Keep Calm and Carry On

It’s easy to Stay Calm in Palm Springs

When I was in Palm Springs a couple of weeks ago, I walked into a little boutique in downtown Palm Springs. The owner was a British guy, and he had a selection of t-shirts with the slogan, “Keep Calm and Carry On”.

I don’t remember hearing it before, but I immediately loved it. It resonated with me. Much like 2009 was a year were the phrase “Don’t Give Up” fit, this is a year for me to Keep Calm and Carry On.

I am not alone.

The history of “Keep Calm and Carry On”

In the early days of World War II, the British government created a series of propaganda posters to encourage the population for what would be a very difficult war. Three posters used the crown of King George and the same simple typeface.

The first 2 posters displayed these simple and straightforward sayings:

Freedom is in peril. Defend it with all your might.

Your courage. Your cheerfulness. Your resolution.  Will bring us victory.

The posters were printed and placed in shop fronts around the country, but the “Keep Calm and Carry On” posters were held back for especially bleak times or a home invasion. Though they printed over a million of these posters, they were never displayed and forgotten.

In 2000, Stuart Manley, owner of Barter Books in England discovered a poster tucked in a box of books purchased at an auction. His wife liked it, framed it, and hung it in the store. Soon the poster received so much attention Barter Books reprinted and sold it (it is now in public domain).

Since the recession, the fascination with the phrase has deepened. It has been made into t-shirts (like mine), posters, coffee mugs, candy and much more.

Nancy Nardi shared this video on Google Plus last week that has even more great information in it.

This message is for you.

In life, we all face challenges. We face crisis in our businesses, families, marriages, staff, finances, emotions, creativity, and on and on and on.

The message is simple and clear:

1. Stay Calm. This is so hard to do when you face crisis (large or small). Our emotions tell us to freak out, run away, lash out, give up or a million other things. Don’t give in to those thoughts. Everything is a choice. Choose to stay calm.
2. Carry on. Life is heartless; it doesn’t wait for you when you are in crisis. You can’t stop moving. You can’t go back. You must move forward.
3. Fight. This isn’t stated in the poster, but it’s implied. The simple fact that they held these posters back for the worst of times, meant that fighting would continue. You must continue to fight for your life, business and art. Don’t allow a crisis to steal them from you.

The video above ends with these words which sums up this article better than I can with my own words.

Like a voice out of history, it (the slogan) offers a very simple, warm-hearted message to inspire confidence in others during difficult times. And it’s something that should never fade from fashion…Keep Calm and Carry On.

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