Our wishes for 2012

"Put on your party hat and raise a toast to 2012. This NEW YEAR will be full of excitements and mystery! Buckle-up to your seat and enjoy the ride towards new goals and objectives you will each give to yourself. Wishes of success, wealth, health and happiness to all of you;-)" - Nathalie, Financial Controller

"2012, here we come. It is our choice to fear or not to fear the 'catastrophic' year so many people are announcing. As for me, I am full of hope that this new year will bring us all love, peace, health, energy and creativity (and all the money we need to really enjoy all of the above). And if it were to be a very difficult 2012… I suggest we get our strength from one of my favorite quote : 'What does not kill you makes you stronger'… So bring it on 2012! Happy new year!" - Jacquemine, Accounts Manager

"The greatest lesson of this year: 'Having a well-organized life is not about adding on to it. It's about subtracting and putting careful thought on what you put in it.' Happy New Year!!! - Pong (@whitespacelover), Head Graphic Designer

"À chacun(e) de vous, je souhaite de chaleureuses fêtes de fin d’année ! ♥.Que votre maison soit rempli à craquer de précieux moments partagés avec ceux et celles que vous aimez, de fous rires, de joies, d'amitiés, de santé surtout, et, un dernier souhait que j'aime bien, : Que le bonheur vous court après... et qu'il vous attrape ! HeUrEuSe AnNéE 2012" - Rachelle, Account Executive

"2012, contrary to popular belief will be a year which will come with lots of hopes and possibilities. So, I am wishing that this New Year brightens up the lives of every single person reading this blog with new joys and lots of great surprises!" - Nathalie (@Nathoue), Event Coordinator

"Voici venir 2012 !
Plantons-y Trois Cent Soixante Cinq graines de Positivité,

pour récolter joyeusement Trois Cent Soixante-Cinq Jours

de Succès, de Bonheur et de Prospérité.

A vous tous, Bonne et Heureuse Annee 2012." - Eliane, CEO

"The greatest discovery our generation has the privilege to be the witness of is the power of the mind, the power of will and conviction. Yes, we've came to realize that any human being can alter his life and shape it by altering the attitude of his mind. YOU really can! It's a new year, a driving force, a trigger, a chance for you to become someone better, happier, stronger, healthier... Happy New Year!" - Jay (@jaydesignhaiti), Webdesigner and Coordinator

"May God give us all Protection all the way to 2012…." - Marie Carmel, Purchasing Agent

"En guise de vœux de fin d’année, je me propose de partager avec vous une pensée du philosophe indien Jiddu Krishnamurti. 'Tant que vous n'êtes pas prêt à être responsable de tout - mais vraiment de tout ce qui se produit dans votre vie- vous ne progresserez pas.' Que cette pensée, comme une prise de conscience heureuse, illumine la vie de tout un chacun sur le chemin sinueux de l’émancipation.Bonne et Heureuse Année à vous tous !" - Kanga, Copywriter

"I do not care about how you name him, for 2012 you must call him more.I do not know about how much you love them, for 2012 you must love them more.I do not feel how strong you believe, for 2012 you must have FAITH.'Cause only the strong survive.'" - Josué, Graphic Designer

"May you be where you wish to be, together with those you cherish.May you find the food tastier, the environment quieter, and the pleasure more fulfilling in anything you do. May you have an idea a day, but most importantly, may you fulfill the best of them. And so, a toast to 2012! Live it up! You never know if the predictions are true. ;)" - Véronique (@craav), Digital Marketing Strategist

"A little smile,a word of cheer,

a bit of love from someone near,

a little gift from one held dear,

best wishes for the coming year!" - Gisande, Art Director

"Because life is so precious. Because life is made to be abundant. Because the best things in life are not things. Because the greatest sense of achievement comes when its earned. Because there are miracles to be found everywhere if you look close enough. Because you have the right to be happy. Because you have the right to choose. Because sometimes life is about the “not to do” list. Because time is only a fiction of the mind. Because whether you think you can, or say you can’t, either way you are right. Because the body is a good slave but a very bad master. Because the Maya calendar is of no real importance. Because you are the best version of yourself. Because it’s better to learn from mistakes, preferably someone else’s. Because there is always room for improvement. Because change is the only constant. Because winning is a habit, but unfortunately so is loosing. Because only you is keeping you from reaching your fullest potential. Because reality can only exist in the mind of the observer. 2012 will be your best year ever…if you say so." - Olivier, Marketing Director

"Pou 2012, kenbe Prestige ou wo ! :)" - Monica, Account Executive

"Onè, to the year to come.
Respè,to the one that's gone.

We know we dream,we dream we know.

We laugh.We lie.We curse.We hug.We fear.We praise.We hope.We rise.We love.
And that's how the year unfolds.

If this year depended on what others have done for you, may 2012 depend on what you will do for others.

Happy New Year to all." - Ted, Graphic Designer

Prestige, la bière d’Haïti

So, we’re pretty sure that by now, you’ve heard that Heineken NV has acquired more shares of BRANA, the brewer of our national pride, Prestige and other leading brands such Malta H and Guinness. BRANA also produces and bottles other well-known-and-sentimentally-haitian brands such as Toro,  King Cola and Sources Crystal. They also produce Teem, 7up and Pepsi under license.

This comes at a time where there’s a lot of signs of Haiti being the apple of the eye of many foreign investors, where, perhaps Haiti is the new land of opportunity…Oh by the way (and this has nothing to do with our post today) the US is changing their slogan to “the United States of infinite possibilities”.

There are a lot of mixed feelings about the acquisition, but let us put you at ease with the idea, and show you how we see it. Mercedes Benz will always be German even if some of its cars are produced in Mexico. Budweiser will always be American even if a Belgian company owns it, and Prestige will always be THE Haitian beer even if produced by the third largest brewer in the world. This change will actually help propel Prestige onto another level. Sure, Prestige is already sold in certain states in the USA and Canada, but how proud would you feel if you found Prestige on a cruise ship, and in the most secluded of places!?

What we’re trying to say here is that Heineken NV making this move, the local market will surely benefit from it. For one, it means more jobs. I personally bet ya that within 2 years we will have at least 2 to 3 other local beers. How fun would that be to have the choice between 3 Haitian beers on a menu. I know that on a Monday night, I’d love a Prestige light. Okay, maybe two.

You see, the more there is demand for the beer, the more places the beer is sold, the more sustainable jobs here in Haiti there will be. Heineken is a pretty good example to follow when it comes to great Corporate Responsibility socially, environmentally and financially - and will continue on with BRANA's traditions. This opens up a world of possibilities.

Now, if you’re worried that by having a foreign shareholder means that Prestige will no longer be truly Haitian, you are surely mistaking. Prestige was born and raised in Haiti. Prestige belongs to us. It belongs to you. It belongs to me. It is us, consumers, who are the true owners of Prestige and it will belong to generations to come. 

Kenbe Prestige ou! 

Btw, Heineken NV is a publically traded company. Hint hint…You might want to buy a few shares yourself. ;)

Ever heard or read about “Six Degrees of Separation”?

According to our friends at Wikipedia, the original “six degrees” finding, published in 1967 by the psychologist Stanley Milgram, was drawn from 296 volunteers who were asked to send a message by postcard, through friends and then friends of friends, to a specific person in a Boston suburb.

The new research, uh… a much bigger group made up of 721 million Facebook users, more than one-tenth of the world’s population. Technology and social networks are linking us closer than ever. We are now just mere 4.something degrees away from one another. 

In other terms, the chances of you meeting your idol (The Dalai Lama? Your president? Heck, you could even add Oprah and why not add Mark Zuckerberg to the mix) is simply 4.something friends away from happening.

We’re not going to get into the way they made this deduction as it goes into some complicated algorithms that you would seriously need to be an analytical mind to understand. Frankly, you’d get a headache from our explanation. To keep it short and sweet, let’s face it, the social network era has provided us with tremendous reach. Any Jean, Pierre, Véronique and Paulette can share ideas with only a few jumps to a large portion of the world’s population and with even fewer steps to the entire population of a nation.

How did we go from carrier pigeons to 15MB/second speed Internet connections? Ideas now spread faster than they ever have, and the pixels of separation between you (in Haiti) and your mentor (on Mars) will become fewer and fewer. 

Long live innovation and the digital age!

PG, over and out.

Fix your Bike

For this post,  we will attempt to do an exercise. 

We invite you to take part in this process. If done well,   it will have thought us all a lesson... or two. 

Let's start by taking a look at this picture:

Take a close look and you will see many reasons why this bike is a pain in the you know what. While looking at the image, right here, right now, list ALL the things that are keeping YOU from moving forward. List all the psychologic or life flat tires that are inhibiting your success,  and write them down. It could be anything. Anything that is keeping you from reaching your fullest potential. Keep the list. We will.

By next monday,  fix your bike or fix your car or fix your laptop, and post it for your appreciation. By then, we will each take our individual list and learn, by looking at the restored "bicycle",  how to rewrite our negative life affirmations into positive ones. 

It could be a life changing week! Especially with the new year resolutions!  

Go! Go! Go! 

List at least three things that are keeping your tires flat... See you next monday.