Fate Happens.

Today's Marketing Cookie is about dealing with fate.

Do you believe in fate? Is there a force that can guide the destiny of a marketing Jedi away from the perils of the dark side, or must Luke Skywalker fight his way through it? Great theologians and philosophers have wrestled with the notion of fate for thousands of years, and not even Forrest Gump has determined its existence, saying, "Jenny, I don't know if mama was right, or if it's Lieutenant Dan. I don't know if we each have a destiny or if we're all just floating around accidental like on a breeze... but I think, maybe it's both. Maybe both are happening at the same time."

Marketing, like life, really is just like a box of chocolates. One cannot predict what you're going to get, but you can certainly decide what you will do when it arrives. Marketing conditions could change, the economy could melt down, a major hurricane and power outage could upset your product launch, or a new major competitor could come along and eat your lunch. What did you do to avoid or prepare for the situation? What will you do about it now?

Fate is not a slithering villain waiting in the shadows to pounce on your happiness or rain on your parade. The flying, fickle finger of fate does not randomly pull people down however they act; but rather, fate falls on them unless they act. Sometimes you cannot avoid stepping into a mess. In the sage words of Forrest Gump, "it happens," but being unprepared for challenges is how a manageable situation can go from bad to worse. The question to ask yourself today is not if fate exists, but rather how you will deal with whatever fate gives you. As today's fortune says, "Fate happens, now you decide."