There is a theory —
The word KA dates back some 75,000 years ago, and was the word of the BLOMBOS Cave people dwelling in what is now South Africa. This single “word” had many meanings, a sort of word stone. KA was the world above, behind and inside the world. KA was the life that we saw, and the energy that made life possible. KA represented the sky, the rocks, and the spirits that dwelled in the rocks, or beneath the ground itself. KA was the spirit that is inside of us, and the Great Spirit that made the sun “wake up” in the sky. In the early definition of this word, there were two worlds : the world that we see in our daily life, and the world of the senses. The second world was accessible only through suspending reason, and allowing the Great Spirit to come through us.
Much later on, the Ancient Egyptians came to believe that KA, amongst other things, was the symbol of the “life powers” which the gods gave to Man. The KA was considered the spiritual double that lived within each person. Kings even claimed to have more than one KA— King Rameses II claimed to have had 20.
KA magazine — The idea behind the magazine was simple, and almost naïve. What would happen if I did a magazine that I would like to read? Really, a magazine that was not based on anything other than positive news, something that inspired me to be, well, better than I was before I read it? What would this magazine look like? The first thing is, it would have to be something that was clear, and as honest as could be. The articles would be uncensored, and on a variety of topics; from health, spirituality, fashion, design, fitness, music and all the way to space travel. I felt that in the context of the various topics, I wanted to find the best people in their representative fields. But the twist was, I wanted to create a magazine that wasn’t based on taking — but on giving. KA was to be a magazine that first asked the question: How can we help you get your amazing message out to as many amazing people as possible?… in a really sexy way!
Then I started to tell the people around me, and one by one the negative remarks came in: How can you do it? It is so expensive! Do you even know how to make a magazine…? With this response, I thought: Great! I have a winner! You see, as I studied all the people that have made tremendous differences in their respective fields; from Richard Branson to Steve Jobs, they actually all started with people saying the same things that I was hearing. So, instead of making me feel bad, it actually made me convinced, that we at KA, were on to something. This, coupled with the fact that I have been in the fashion industry as a designer and retailer for the past 22 years— well, to say that I have a “thick skin”, is an understatement.
Then the tipping point occurred, and the magic started. My assistant and partner realized that the key to everything was choice. Such a simple word, but it made all the difference. You see, the idea was that we had to align ourselves by choice with products and people that spoke the same language. Therefore, if a call was made, and the recipient was on the same vibe as us, then the response would be 100% a positive one, and if there were no response, then that too would be positive. That way, we would know precisely where to place our energies.
The big gift of choice was to know before hand whether the people you were choosing were even in alignment to what we were doing. Once this shift in perspective occurred, the magazine became a thing of joy. It was no longer about getting ads and working on something to please all these various interests, it was simply a labor of “love”. We felt that if we wished to give our back cover to the people at Fisker Karma Automotive as a gift for the amazing work they have done with this car, and the joy they were bringing us with this product — then, so be it! Does this make business sense? Time will tell, but I remembered an interesting comment on a recent TED viewing, from the founders of Google: While living above a pizza shop, they had a simple choice to make: Sell it, or share it?… the rest is history. Once this shift was made, that’s when everything connected.
KA magazine is a simple idea based on an equally simple word, which also just by chance, happens to be my initials. The power is not in money, how much you make, and how much you spend, but in the daily positive connections that you create.
I personally believe that the power of giving is the stronger of the two opposites. I also believe that there is more than one other person that believes as I do — and this, is a good start.
KEVIN ALLWOOD