Date Archives → May 29, 2009

TGIF Video: Challenge. Create. Change.

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Challenge. Create. Change. is a video project sponsored by Converse One Star and Target where anyone can submit a video project – of any kind – for a chance to win $10,000 and a screening of their video at this summer’s Wanderlust Festival in Lake Tahoe on Jule 24th-26th. Which, by the way, are two of my favorite words of all time – wanderlust and festival. This little fest has a totally rockin lineup including Michael Franti, Jenny Lewis, Andrew Bird, Spoon, Broken Social Scene and Rogue Wave.

The videos can be in any format, made with any kind of recording equipment and the rules are only that it must by between 27 seconds and 3 minutes in length. Who knows, maybe I’ll even work on one for Kiva and my fellowship!

I like little video contests like this and incentive-based ways to inspire people to create something that stands for something. Yes, some people will create anyway and showcase anyway, but if a brand is looking for a way to get the word out about who they are, a product they’re releasing – it’s refreshing to see so many of them do it with cause. Like Johnson & Johnson did with their “Hostess for a Cause” series where I was a host for a cause-related party. Deadline for Challenge. Create. Change. is June 28th.

My Little Sister’s First Solo European Vacation

Addy and I in Morocco

Travel is big in my family. It’s part of who we are, what we do together and some of my fondest, funniest and most frustrating moments with my family have often been on the road. When I was a kid, we did very traditional family vacations, alternating spring breaks were to Florida for sun or Colorado for skiing. Summer vacation was the first two weeks of August when we went to Kiawah, South Carolina.

As my two younger sisters and I got older, and especially after my mom and stepdad split up, the annual vacation with mom has been one adventure after another. Of course, this is in addition to the travels and adventures I like to take on my own.

My first solo vacation was taken when I was a junior in college studying abroad in Rome, Italy. It was our fall break and most of my friends were going to Amsterdam or down to Naples and I was reading On The Road (ironic but really true) and I wanted an adventure of my own! I decided to take the slow train through Italy and stop at villages along the way and eventually take an overnight to Zagreb, Croatia to see my distant family. That was one of the first trips to truly open my eyes and change my life.

It was with great joy then when I heard that my youngest sister, Adriana, had decided to take 10 days to travel by herself in Belgium and Switzerland this May after school got out (she’s a freshman in college). While my family and I are certainly nervous for her, I also know this is a great step into the wide world of being able to stand on your own two feet and feel comfortable with yourself.

Travel, especially solo travel, has been my savior the past 10 years. When I feel lost or spinning out of control or not sure what is next for me, I like to hit the open road. The freedom of making decisions at every turn – which way to go – where to eat – where to sleep – is empowering to me, freeing and ultimately a huge assurance that I can make decision big and small and I can trust my instincts.

I’ve often said over the years that I’m my best version of myself while traveling. On my toes, alert, awake to the experience – and this last trip I took to South America I had this aha moment when I was hiking by myself one day in Ecuador after being away for about a month. I thought, “Why I can’t be the best version of myself all the time?” I booked a return ticket home for two weeks later. I have been on a roll ever since.
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TGIF Video: Wounded Warrior Project

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In honor of the upcoming Memorial Day, I wanted this week’s inspirational TGIF Video to be dedicated to the Veteran’s who serve our country, the United States of America, with such pride and honor. Protecting the honor and the people of our country is one of the purest gifts an American citizen can give and so I can quite simply, without pause and with the purest of hearts, THANK YOU.

The video above is from the Wounded Warriors Project, a leading Veteran’s nonprofit. It’s been proven that the aftermath and psychological consequences of being exposed to war-like conditions is traumatic to so many of our Veterans and organizations like WWP help support Veterans, bring them together and lobby on their behalf.

This weekend, as we’re celebrating a 3-day weekend, let’s also take a moment to say thank you to our Veterans. If you’d like to find out more ways to get involved, here are three organizations that I believe are doing right by our Vets.

Veteran’s Nonprofits I Support:

The Cause-Filled Life: A Socialbrite Video

I’m usually don’t like watching myself on video. It’s hard to watch! I want to critique every little thing. JD Lasica filled the video you see above after my panel on building community using Los Angeles as a case study at this year’s SXSW. This is maybe one of the first videos of myself that I actually like. It’s how I think I sound when I talk to people about what I’m passionate about, what I’m up to, where I see social media’s role in the nonprofit and cause-marketing industries. I would have thought I’d be more frazzled – this is afterall moments after my panel ended – but actually I was completely at ease. JD was a great interviewer and so it felt like I imagine the good interviews feel like – conversations.

I hope you enjoy it! And while Socialbrite is in stealth mode still, it’s on the up & up! Check it out!

TGIF Video: Entrepreneurs Can Change the World

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I got chills when I watched this video for the first time. Something about the idea of hope, the idea that we all can make a difference in the world, and that we can all do it by helping each other. What an awesome concept. Today’s TGIF Video was made by Grasshopper – which is not a nonprofit. Nope. They are a phone-service that recently rebranded, changed their name and kept their mission simple, “We’re Entrepreneurs Serving Entrepreneurs.” Good for them. Way to put out a viral video that means something and has the ability to stick with people.

This concept of helping entrepreneurs might sound like something else I’ve been talking about a bunch recently…Kiva, right? Or for that matter Accion, Wokai, Ashoka, Grameen, – even Etsy or now Elevyn. These are all methods of us helping each other by supporting entrepreneurship. Which by all definitions is someone taking charge of their life, taking the “bull by the horns,” and working to do better by themselves and for their families.

The quantifiable metrics of these methods, and more ways to incorporate them into the everyday lives of every man, woman and child – well that is part of the mission I’ve embarked on. I am immersed in this thinking of if we all could help each other just a little bit more every day, what would the world look like?

I believe, as Grasshopper does, that it all starts with entrepreneurship. Do you agree?