Sometime in December, I was in Boca Raton taking solace in the comfort of my parent's home as I recovered from a bizarre health (I should say, unhealth) situation. While there, I received an email from this guy named Adam Rothenhaus who happened upon my website while searching for "now" references in Google. He mentioned that he created this item called "The Now Watch" and thought there might be some synergy between us. I checked out his watch, and liked it, and the spirit behind it. So I emailed Adam and asked him if he wanted to talk about it for Now Age Press readers.
So, Adam, what inspired your to create The Now Watch?
I guess the simplest way to say it is that I was inspired by the experience of living in the present moment itself. Experiencing what it really meant to be in The Now made me want to live there as often as possible. But usually I was somewhere else in my mind... probably dreaming about the future. So I wanted to create a reminder for myself to help me live in The Now and realized that the perfect place for that reminder was where the eternal collides with the time of day... right on the face of a clock or a watch. Thus the concept for The Now Watch was created, at least in my mind. And that's where it stayed for a while.
How did you arrive at the notion of "living in the present moment"? While it's a bit cliche as a phrase of new age rhetoric, like most new age slogans, it holds a lot of weight. I'm curious about your path to the platitude.
I'd say my arrival began in earnest while I was in an art gallery in New York City back in 1996 when I read the words "the time is now" above the entry to the exhibit. It just resonated... I didn't fully get it at that moment, but I did on an intellectual level. It was at time in my life of rapid growth... right after I finished doing all the things I was supposed to do and started to really be true to myself. Soon after I began driving around America... alone.
I had a stretch of several awesome days in LA, particularly on Venice Beach, watching the sunset, where that intellectual understanding deepened. There was a vivid moment on the beach where I looked around, surrounded by exquisite beauty and I said, "I'm in a place where there is nothing that isn't happening." I'm still not sure exactly what I meant. It was for me a mystical moment. One that in retrospect was when I arrived in the present moment... fully arrived. I don't think I thought of it as the present moment then, but that's what it was, and it became a central part who I would become.
Can you describe the process that turned your moment of self-realization into The Now Watch? In other words, did the watch directly follow your spiritual awakening?
In short... I'd have to say no. The watch actually began to physically materialize more like ten years after that moment on Venice Beach I described.
If I checked my journals I'd probably find that the idea to place the word "Now" on the face of a watch or clock came to me sometime in 2001. I do recall the night fairly clearly. I recall making some sketches and doing some online research about how to make watches and clocks. I can see myself at my desk that night. But like so many ideas... the initial idea for The Now Watch came and then went to rest in the back of my mind
Then around November of 2005 a colleague of mine at the law firm I was working with was encouraging me to read Island by Aldous Huxley because one of the messages is about living in the present moment. So I started asking him, "What time is it," as I passed his office. He'd say something like 6:30 but I'd remind it was also "Now". I continued to do so until he remembered that first and foremost... it is Now. I guess I liked conveying the message and soon the idea for The Now Watch was back in bloom. I looked into the intellectual property considerations. I told my graphic designer friend about the idea. He loved it and soon enough designed what would soon become the face of the watch. I had some key pieces in place. Next I worked up a budget and step by step we produced the first of what we hope to be many timepieces that help bring more presence to people's lives.
How complicated was the design and production process for the Now Watch?
Not very. I like to think complicated and The Now Watch are on opposite ends of a spectrum. I mean the idea is just so simple and that's the beauty of it. Our fundamental value is simplicity. I try to keep everything about The Now Watch simple and that includes the design and overall look of the watch. My friend Rick, the graphic designer, agreed and he came up with what we feel is a simple face design where the NOW just pops out at you. We'd probably have to ask Rick about what he thinks about the process as well to get a more complete answer, but I'd have to say there hasn't been anything particularly complicated on the design front. Fortunately, with Rick on The Now Watch team, the design process has been simplified tremendously for me.
It was a little more challenging from a production point of view. I didn't have a friend who was in the business of making watches but I figured there were plenty of companies out there that could produce what I envisioned. So once we had the design all set I started looking for a place to actually manufacture the watches. I searched hard. It wasn't easy. Google helped... a lot. There were a fair amount of options but the tricky part was finding the right people in the right company to make our original Now Watches. It took a lot of effort... a whole lot, but thanks to many helpful people along the way, it really wasn't a complicated process.
That's not to say there haven't been and won't continue to be obstacles. That's just part of the deal with a venture like this. There have been plenty of opportunities for me to give up but I didn't. I have a lot of faith in the concept and I believe it is a product whose time has come. If early reaction is any indication... I've learned that people really dig it, on many different levels, and that makes the overall process of making The Now Watch available in the marketplace much more enjoyable.
Now Age Interview