Open Door

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In this twenty-three minute TED talk, India Arie and Idan Raichel share several songs from their collaboration album “Open Door”. In addition, India gives a moving speech about her creative process for songwriting, which she says is dependent upon first praying, then listening, and finally accepting instead of expecting. She details how to not edit the creative process, and how to instead allow the creativity to “flow”. This TED talk has been one of the most meaningful and engaging TED talks I’ve ever seen. Plus, it’s a great little mini-concert of original sound and rare beauty.

Open Door is an album about acceptance and Community. They bridge together two cultures from opposite ends of the Earth into a celebration of diversity and open-mindedness. Open Door means to open yourself to others while also allowing others into you. Their songs are deep and true, resonating with every human spirit on Earth…and at a time when we could really use the uplift and solidarity. In many ways this album is more of a social movement of practical peace, so it’s unfortunate that no one can find it. Their concert tour has received critical acclaim, but the album still has not been released…even though it was produced more than 3 years ago.

India Arie calls the phenomenon of creative expression a spiritual act, knowing as she does that as soon as she begins to edit “the flow”, everything goes. Only when you allow the creative flow to course through you sans editing will you experience the gift of expressing original art. Music is collaboration with the divine within, whether we choose to accept this or not. India articulately describes this, as well as her process for reclaiming this natural-born gift. These rare songs are evidence. They will uplift your spirit and rejuvenate your soul. Enjoy!

Spokes of a Wheel, Bars of a Cage; Capitalism's Ideal Consumer

In this video, I describe what I believe to be the four standards of ideal female beauty according to our current US Ideology. I have studied the role of women and girls in media for several decades, and have come to some interesting conclusions. It is my hypothesis that Capitalism is currently dependent upon the self-hate of its consumers in order to thrive. In the diagram I showed at the beginning of the video, I chart how the stages of indoctrination to the beauty standard is implemented; like a self-perpetuating wheel, which is why I affectionately refer to this phenomena as The Capitalist Cycle.

Here it is again:

Diagram taken from my graduate thesis,
"Constructed Identities: Hegemonic Ideology, Race, Class, and Gender in US Media" (2002)

While Capitalism might currently depend on the inadequacy of its consumers to sell them "meaningful" products and services, it does not need to depend on this criteria to fill its bottom line. It is my argument, and the belief of my company, that Capitalism could thrive more abundantly basing its bottom line on genuinely uplifting its consumers with products, services, and industries designed to create sustainability and real value to humanity. We are already beginning to see this change taking place as consumers get more vocal about defining their true desires. Jessica Alba, for example, "frustrated in her attempts to create a clean, safe environment for her baby, realized she probably wasn’t alone. Seeing an opportunity, she poured herself into the process of developing a line of products parents could trust." (Jeff Macke) She is now going public with her company Honest for as much as a billion dollars.

In a thoughtful article entitled "Creating Sustainable Corporations" Paul Shrivastava writes "sustainable economic development can be ushered in only if corporations, the main economic engines of the future, are made environmentally sound. This can be facilitated through total environmental management and sustainable organizational design". I agree. In a capitalist society, the consumers are said to drive the market. This is also how corporations make the most money. A shift in more consumer-reflective market values, and thus an increase in industry profitability, will only begin to happen when we understand Capitalism as the engine it is and begin steering it toward a sustainable direction. And since advertising, marketing, and entertainment is the force and identity of Capitalism's value system, this is the job of the media.

Transmedia; A Treasure For Eclipse Entertainment

I first became introduced to the concept of “transmedia” from a Full Sail student’s post on Full Sail Connect a few weeks ago. I don’t know what originally struck me about the post, but the word transmedia resonated with me on a deep level. I realized that even though I had never heard this word, my entertainment company fit the rubric. I instantly began researching the term, history, controversy, and even found myself registering to be a part of a community forum of transmedia creators whose motto is “to shape the future of entertainment and culture.”

As demonstrated by this image, the market (and technology) is shifting to demand a connection between the media's story-lines, multi-media products, and brand franchises. In addition to our more traditional storytelling methodologies, E² also employs transmedia means. What I've learned is that my company is naturally poised on the leading edge of this swelling wave of change. 

Our creators' joy in life is to create good entertainment, that’s it. I’m not in this industry to make money. I’m in it to make entertainment. And we’ve done it. With our own multi-media production studios we aim to cross-list our talents by producing multiple genres of media simultaneously, weaving them together in seamless story lines. In fact, our creations have already come to us in this "transmedia way". We have been creating a plethora of entertainment that spans all genres of media, as well as style, history, and culture. We literally have something for everyone, whether we’re talking about video games, movies, animation, television, or music. The story arcs weave together seamlessly, as well as the artists, talents, and products. Additionally, we celebrate the diversity of the marketplace, knowing that there’s no need for domination when there can be healthy collaboration between businesses. Although we are an independent company, we think big.

In the past, it has been recommended that a company NOT take on more than one “business” at a time, or over-stretch its vision to encompass several productions simultaneously...but as we are learning, the market demands connections between the milieu of media. Our company is thus timely and in demand. Remaining practical and patient while plotting our timing so that each E² creation receives its full gestation and celebratory labor, our art and craft is sure to stay impeccable over generations of exponential growth. In addition, keeping our organizational structure operating with integrity and sound principles and policies, we should be able to handle the force of this curling wave and effectively steer humanity in to the new age.

Organize or Agonize...

After reading the 2^nd chapter in John C. Maxwell’s book Developing the Leader Within, I was struck to share an invaluable organizing tool with you. Maxwell’s analysis of prioritization as key for great leadership is so accurate it is not to be underestimated. He offers the Pareto method for better understanding and prioritizing our busy schedules, which is awesome. However, the Pareto method may be too outdated as an effective organization tool for our modern lives. Our schedules are much more hectic than they were even 10 years ago. Which is why I'm sharing this with you now...

My friend and colleague recently introduced me to Brendon Burchard. He is a leading-edge business coach and an expert to experts. He created an amazing 1-page productivity planner that can be easily executed first thing in the morning before you begin your workday. It is a time-saver savior! We are all collaborators in this boat together…so why not travel full sail ahead? We have demanding schedules that expect a lot from us, so I felt this was a must share. Given Maxwell’s belief that “too many priorities paralyze us,” I think even he would advocate the use of this resource.

I’ve included the pdf of Brendon Burchard’s 1-page productivity planner for you to download and use at your free will. I’ve also included the link to a 30-minute video of him explaining why and how to use his tool. Use it well, and may the force be with you…