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But First... The OtherWise CommonSense Standard
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| OtherWise signifies people, products, services and culture with a CommonSense standard of
 working excellence
aesthetic panache
menschkeit (a kind of turbo-charged decency)
adventure, innovation, play
and a conscious perspective peppered with a sacred irreverence.
Taken together, these elements make for an uncommonly high common denominator.
OtherWise is a unique filter and catalyst for accelerating the current awakening of more noble, rigorous and humane values in business, culture and personal life. That's good for you. That's good for us.
In the commercial arena, the startling successes of enterprises like Starbucks, Southwest Airlines, and Whole Foods Markets offer ample proof that businesses can be amply rewarded for emphasizing quality, aesthetic inspiration, innovation, good manners, and good humor.
In the cultural arena, the cross-fertilization of the best in classical, contemporary, and traditional world cultures as experienced in the work of Yo-Yo Ma, Cirque de Soleil, Wim Wenders, and others, points in a similar direction.
In travel, bus tours are giving way to walking treks, and in personal life, - getting ahead is running behind going inward, as a primary value.
What makes OtherWise unique is
1) our allegiance to the blend of the 5 elements of the CommonSense standard
2) our synthesis of classical, contemporary and traditional cultural influences
3) our strangely sacred irreverence that keeps us grounded and flurf-free.
Building upon the base of loyalty of those who appreciate the current awakening and revival of GoodStuff and the particular flavor of the Otherwise approach, we would like to offer you in OtherWisely reverse order our mission (focus) and vision (big picture) to sip and savor.
Look for yourself and your favorite collaborators in this picture.
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Vision (wouldn't leave home without one)
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| 1) | An adventurous and tasteful commercial media/television channel with an OtherWise CommonSense standard of programming, leaving us uplifted, smiling, reflecting. We see sponsorship of this channel by OtherWise-minded enterprises whose advertising, rather than insulting the viewer as a salivating object, actually informs and inspires the viewer as an intelligent participant.
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| 2) | A commercial publishing/media production company, based on the OtherWise CommonSense standard, fostering music, film, and other arts.
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| 3) | An investment vehicle for fledgling OtherWise enterprises.
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| 4) | A "seal of approval" rating for goods and services that support the growth of the OtherWise standard. Kind of like having a cousin in the business wherever you go, allowing the recognition of good commerce, opportunities to employ and opportunities to be well-employed.
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| 5) | A "home" wherever you go, at home or abroad: whether in Portland or Scotland, Kyoto or Auvergne - there will be someone connected to the OtherWise community who refreshes your spirit, renews your connection to what's essential.
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Our Mission (can't come home without one)
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| 1) | To create a distinctive, evolutionary-minded marketplace of people and resources for commerce, culture, travel and inner exploration, based on the OtherWise CommonSense standard.
The creation and development of this marketplace will
a. allow businesses and productions based on this standard to thrive,
b. and will enhance the quality of the lives of the participants in their livelihood, self-expression, self-discovery.
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| 2) | To create or represent products, services and education with the OtherWise mark.
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| 3) | To distill and synthesize the best and most enduring aspects of classical, native and contemporary cultures as a legacy for those who follow, as pleasure for ourselves, and as a thankyou note to whatever brought us here.
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| WHAT CAN YOU DO?
Subscribe to the Golden Retriever, become a WiseMember, bring your talents, contribute.
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| MISSIONARY CAVEAT
While we are all for constructive global change and will
do our part to support it, our fundamental orientation is OtherWise. People
of an OtherWise inclination, even when snakkered on a litre of home-brewed
Hungarian plum brandy, know deep in their bones that civilizations come and
go in the twinkling of Zeus' eye. So, it follows that the only sensible
commitment is to eschew missionary zeal in favor of enriching and enlivening
the Present Moment, brought to you courtesy of the Great Mystery.
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Grand Origins
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n the Beginning, before there were beginnings, there was Nothing.
And... nothing happened. Then, for reasons unknown, as Nothing would have it, Something appeared. BRAVO! A fine composition of outrageous intelligence, winning artistry and irrepressible OtherFriskiness. Encore!
When something works, our view is that it's best to hold on to the enduring essentials and leave other somethings alone. That's why we are, in honor and proud mimicry of Nothing's original and inexplicable impulse, recreating the OtherWise World where you'll find the distilled best of Conscious Business, Artful Living, & Other NobleStuff.
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ere you'll find people and the resources they've created or discovered, who are moved by what's living, original, and excellent. OtherWise people gladly dispose with the rest.
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Humble Beginnings
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his faithful reflection of Nothing's original impulse which we are calling the OtherWise World, has a humble earthly history.
It started when in 1986, William Sebrans, an executive recruiter for the techno-creative side of the computer industry, followed a call to turn his passion for great ethnic and classical music into a soulful enterprise. The idea was to distill gems from the lost record bins of ethnic music and re-package the stuff (which was usually portrayed in grainy color as jumping Russians in Cossack suits) into something artful and appealing. This was called OtherWise World Music, before world music became known as World Music.
For better or for worse, the search business was going too well and was too demanding - and the enterprise was left for later.
In 1992, William changed the name of his recruiting business to OtherWise Search, still echoing the theme of doing business in a non-traditional way, - reflecting some of the enduring essentials that Nothing had established and that nearly no one seemed to be remembering. But the rewards of the search business had worn thin, and William sensed that the computer industry would thrive without him. And he was right on the money.
Then it was time to do nothing and do it well. He did it so-so.
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 | our years later, William started a business and personal coaching practice, calling it OtherWise Coaching, once again in reverential respect for Nothing's original impulse. Something excellent, artful, playful, and metaphysically frisky.
Enter Peter Cohen, - old world craftsman - bookbinder, toolmaker, graphic designer, budding multimedia swordsman and frisky friend.
They both sensed that the world with its barrage of information, opportunities, news, fads, programs, workshops, products, speed, howto books, destinations - (tiring isn't it?), was too much for people whose taste is simple: the best, and whose favorite pastimes include doing nothing and looking out of our eyes, preferably at something worthwhile.
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 | o why not make a place for those kinds of people, where they could come home to the enduring essentials and short-circuit the overload? - A gathering place, a marketplace, for just the people who look at the world as it is and see it OtherWise.
It may not be for everyone, - but perhaps for you.
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Finale
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e've said enough. Take a short stretch, a sniff of the great outdoors. Then, come back for a cup of finely-roasted inspiration by exploring with us.
We want your good company.
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