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Thumbing through my notes this morning I came across a story from a book I read back in January called Imagine. The story is about the Grammy award winning cellist, Yo-Yo Ma. We all know him as he’s probably the most famous cello player to ever live. Even if you haven’t heard his music, you’ve probably at least heard his name. He’s kind of a big deal.

The story goes like this: Yo-Yo Ma prepares to go on stage for a performance in front of thousands of people. Backstage, his demeanor is bright and cheerful just like always. Then just before the show, he takes some time to himself running through the performance in his mind. After those moments of intense concentration, he’s back to being cheerful and interacting with people backstage just before he goes on. He steps out on stage, smiles and bows, and begins to play. What happens next is amazing. He begins to communicate with the audience through the music. It’s like he’s telling them a story and they can’t help but listen. They’re drawn in by the subtle nuances, phrase dynamics, and his movement. You can feel the connection live in the room. The flawless performance ends and the audience cheers in appreciation.

When asked about the way he performs and if he worry’s about making a mistake, Ma had this to say:

“If you are only worried about not making a mistake, then you will communicate nothing… My job is to retrace the story so that the audience feels the suspense. It’s all about making people care about what happens next.”

YoYo ma, Imagine

If you worry about making a mistake, you communicate nothing. The point is not tell the story with perfection, the point is the story. It’s about connection. It’s about making them care about what comes next. This is how we must think about our work as well. The creative stories we tell don’t have to be perfect but they do do have to be told. Connection with our audience through our individual medium is not only how we make a living, it’s how we communicate to them. They want to hear the story. They want to know what happens next. If we worry about making a mistake, we’ll never be able to tell it with the sincerity it deserves.

Ma went on to say:

“I welcome that first mistake. Then I can shrug it off and go on with the performance and turn off that part of my mind that judges everything.”

The part of your brain that judges everything could care less about connection. It’s main concern is self. In order to tell good stories and communicate, we have to switch it off. Let it go, make that first mistake and move on. Make people care about what comes next and allow yourself to forget the mistake that no one noticed but you. It doesn’t have to be perfect, it just has to be told.

Happy Thursday!

 

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Ah, Frozen. Like it or not, there’s no escaping the fact that it’s awesome. Jen and I saw it in theaters and it blew our minds, like everybody else, as it became the highest grossing animated film of all-time. It has everything you might expect: Princess, villain, talking snowman, magic. But it’s told in a very unconventional way. Even the release of the movie itself was unconventional. They released a 2-D version, a few weeks later (after everybody was talking about it) the 3-D version was released. Then, shortly after every parent had decided to hide the Frozen soundtrack from their kids, they released a sing-a-long version in theaters. As if all that money wasn’t enough, Disney then released the digital version almost a full month before the blu-ray/dvd for the low, low price of $19.99. You know why? Because they can. And because they knew people would buy it, because it was that awesome. And they were right. Disney was very calculated with this, but it could have not worked. It could have been a huge flop. But it wasn’t.

Frozen

It’s not what you expect.

The villain is not who you expect, The hero is not who you expect The princesses aren’t what you expect, the resolution is not what you expect. These little differences, the draws away from the conventional storyline, are what blow our minds.

I think it’s why the kids are drawn to it as well. We may think it’s the clever animated snowman, or perfectly crafted songs. That’s definitely part of it! But kids can understand story just like we can. It may be a different understanding, but just like us, their ears perk up when a story is being told. There was just enough rule breaking to make people of all ages see that it was something special.

As we watched the deleted scenes last night on our copy of Frozen (yes, they got us) three things caught my attention:

1. Elsa was originally supposed to be a villain.

They cut out a scene of her capturing two members of a search party, questioning them, and feeding them to her snow army. Yeah, that was supposed to happen. They took it out because her character was “more interesting” as a protagonist and that story was way more valuable. But she would have been an obvious choice for the villain in the typical storyline.

One rule broken.

2. Anna and Elsa were supposed to be closer.

In a deleted scene, we see them getting ready for the coronation together, Anna joking around and Elsa talking with her as if this happened often. This leads me to believe that they cut it out, again, to make Elsa’s character more interesting and mysterious, and both characters stronger by having them separate for most of their life. It made them both individually strong and independent. It’s not until the end that they can really have a relationship. Two strong and interesting female storylines with no prince to save them.

Two rules broken.

3. Kristoff was supposed to be way more brawny.

A scene that was cut shows Kristoff climbing a mountain with a pick while he holds on to his pet reindeer with a rope. Hardcore and awesome. This was supposed to be our introduction to Kristoff. But instead, we are introduced to him as he comes out of a crazy snow storm all bad-ass and frozen, then he plays a ukulele and sings a duet with his reindeer. Still brawny, but the ukulele trims down his macho-ness a bit. What’s more interesting is the way he’s shown leading alongside Anna, who is independent and strong-willed. A strong male character shown leading next to a strong female.

Three rules broken.

Why is it so awesome?

This broken, unconventional story stole the hearts of millions of people because we are drawn to the unconventional. Our brains aren’t made for comfort, they’re made for thinking up things that don’t exist and making them happen.We are made for change not consistency. We can find solace in comfort but we can also find chains. Breaking rules is never comfortable and it doesn’t always work. But locking yourself inside the confines of what someone has said is the “right way” or “this is what you’re supposed to do” is a great way to make something unremarkable. To make something awesome sometimes you have to not only break the rules but make your own. 

There are so many more ways that Disney was able to tell this story in an unconventional way. To break away from what we expect from a Disney princess story. They broke rules, they took risks and like it or not, they made something awesome that blew people’s minds.

It could have not worked. But it did.

Happy Wednesday!

Questions:
What if we broke more rules?
Is there something you’ve been doing because “that’s what you’re supposed to do?”

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Pay attention to the way places, people and experiences make you feel (good and bad). Carry a notebook and write things down. We’re trying to draw a picture. To gain understanding of how we work so that we can contribute our best work. The best version of you, has a story. Like all good stories there’s struggle, there’s ups and downs, there’s antagonists and protagonists. In a horror movie, when you see a person about to go into the wrong room where he will likely meet certain death, we freak out! We wonder, “What are you thinking?! Have you ever even seen a horror movie, bro?” It seems obvious to us because we know more of the story. The more story we know, the better we can direct. But directing is not just about knowing what comes next, it’s about understanding the story.

Knowing Your Story

When we pay attention, we start to see trends, common themes. These common themes help us to understand where we are and where to go and what to do. They guide us. Those experiences, that feeling of ‘this is why I’m here,’ is what we need to pay attention to. These things make you feel alive. Also, pay attention to those experiences that drain you. That take away joy. Those are important to note because part of knowing your story is understanding the struggles as well as the victories. There will never be one without the other. Every person who ever won a gold medal in the 100m had to run the race first.

Carry a notebook, pay attention, write things down. Knowing why you’re here on the planet, is not all going to happen overnight. Most of us aren’t going to wake up and know exactly where to go. It’s a journey. It’s a process. It’s uncovering the picture. But it starts to become more clear when we start to pay attention.

Happy Monday!

Question:
What makes you feel alive?

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Courageous.

Brave.

Bold.

Daring.

When I say these words I can feel the power in them. As if they reflect their meaning in the sounds we make when we say them. To have courage means we can do the things that scare us. To be brave is to show courage, and endure the road ahead. Not without fear, but in spite of fear. To be bold is to be a risk taker, and to be daring is to be audaciously bold. These are powerful words that have been inspiring me this week.

I’ll leave you with this thought and a challenge to all of us:

To be courageous and brave in the face of fear. In the beginning of the void. In the midst of the wilderness. Be bold with your steps and daring in the reckless pursuit of a life you envision for yourself. Because this is it, walk like you know where you’re going and fight like hell.

Happy Friday, folks!

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A runner at the gate. His head hangs as he prepares for a very short race that he’s prepared for all his life. A hundred times he’s been here but every time feels like the first. The roar of the crowd is drowned out by the sound of his own heartbeat. The fear of failure is real as he never knows the outcome of any race he starts. He raises his head as the shot triggers his first step. The first few steps are slow but with each step he gets faster and faster until he’s finally at full speed. Passing everyone, he races to finish line feeling the wind in face and seeing the track in a whole new way. The crowd cheers and he wins. {Close scene.}

The First Step
We experience the most fear the most doubt just before we start. We know just enough about the possible outcome to paralyze us before begin the race. But with the first step, we start to gain momentum. Just like a roller coaster at the top of the first big drop: We can see the bottom it’s not until we push over the edge that the ride starts become real and we discover more and more as we go on. After that first step though, you know what’s easier? Not the finish line. Not the end. The second step. And the third and fourth step.
Momentum driven by progress

Because what we can’t see or understand at the beginning is that we will have a little bit of help if we just start. That help is called: momentum. Momentum is driven by progress. If there’s no progress, there’s no momentum. If there’s no progress, there’s nothing. But once we start to see the progress, we start to get excited. Like this thing might actually work! We push forward gaining momentum, just like a runner, until we’re at full speed. Then we feel the wind on our face and everything starts to take shape. All things we can’t possibly see if we don’t take that first step.

Think of the person who finally decides to lose weight and starts to see results. Or the person who decides to get strong and starts doing things they never thought possible. What’s the secret? Deciding to start. Deciding to keep starting everyday. Maybe it’s not the first step but everyday it’s a step and another step, one in front of the other, until you win.

Momentum only works if you’re moving. So let’s get moving.

Happy Thursday!

Question:
Are you mad enough to start?
Are you feed up enough to do something about it?
What would it look like if won?

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