http://thomasclifford.squarespace.com/ I recently came across Tom Asacker. Tom who? Tom is a "branding guru." Tom's article reinforces the concept that your stories about yourself and your company are more memorable and meaningful than your facts, figures and data. http://www.acleareye.com/sandbox_wisdom/2006/07/truth_six_from_.html The one idea that keeps raising its head over and over, is this: your brand is your story; your story is your brand. So here's the question: are your customers going to remember you by your "stuff" or your "story?" Stuff...or, story? It's your choice.

http://thomasclifford.squarespace.com/ Spent today reading "Our Iceberg is Melting" by change gurus John Kotter and Jolger Rathgeber. http://ouricebergismelting.com/ Consider it as the new version of "Who Moved my Cheese?" Using the fable approach to change, Kotter strikes a chord that resonates quickly and easily with the reader. The idea that a penguin colony's iceberg is melting away gives rise to widespread fear and panic to penguins everywhere...where do the penguins go? They have lived their entire lives in one place and this is all they know. They feel trapped...until a seagull shows them the way out. (You'll have to read the book to understand). Change is everywhere; happening all the time to you and me. While it's natural to resist change, the penguins in this story finally realize there are other icebergs they can move to and eventually live on. What "iceberg" are you resting on? Is it melting? If so, what are you going to do? What are you afraid of?

I got to thinking...

Unlike a photograph, a hologram contains the "whole in every part."

As the seed, so the fruit.

No matter how small the "slice" is, that single "slice" contains the whole.

Just like that story you heard, or read, or saw.

Every story (the part), contains a truth (the whole) we all know as true, at some level.

Truth is experienced in the tiniest of places.

Think whole...think part...think story.

tc :)

Whoop-eee!

Thanks, Michael  :-)

It's payback time.

"Director" Tom

 

http://flickr.com/photos/vatsug/


"Down the Rabbit Hole" has hit the market.

5 hours+ of "what is reality?" and "who is creating it?"

New scenes, tons of new interviews, expanded original version, and more.

Phew!!!  What are you waiting for?


Director Tom  :)

photo: http://flickr.com/photos/kwerfeldein/

If I were to guess how many people consciously practice envisioning a future for themselves...I bet it's not many.

Why is that, I wonder?  It's really not difficult to create visions. 

Have you ever tried it?  Again...I bet not.

Why?  It's not hard--really.   You know what's hard?  Discipline.

The discipline of conscious creation.

That's hard.  But it shouldn't be, should it? 

After all, it's your life.  So what the heck-

Close your eyes for three minutes.  Ask for what you want.  Then let it go.

The universe has a funny way of listening.


Director Tom  :)
--enjoy the ride

Photo credit

Here's more proof how small counts.

How small?

For starters, how about you?   

People brand you, like it or not.

Asking the global questions:
Who am I?  Why am I here?  What do I want?

...will give you the micro answers:
Your brand...your story...your uniqueness...your "you!"

Are you a global brand or micro brand? 

So...whose telling your story?

Director Tom  :)

http://flickr.com/photos/fire_brace/39740120/in/photostream/


How do you fulfill your desires?  Or you even clear what your desires are?  If not, why not?

How can you possibly expect to "get" what you think you want, if you haven't made those intentions clear...to yourself or the universe?

If you were to draw a "roadmap" or "blueprint" that described the path for the fulfillment of desires, what would it look like?

Deepak Chopra's article on "Desire and the Chain of Command" is a stunning display of how desire gets fulfilled in our lives.

According to Deepak, desires pass through four layers or levels of manifestation:
1.  personal consciousness
2.  the desire body , or the unconscious level
3.  collective consciousness
4.  pure consciousness

The clearer our desires become at the deepest levels, the better the chances of those desires have of becoming fulfilled.

So...if, indeed, there is a roadmap to help you fulfill your desires...what are you waiting for?

:-)

photo

I got to thinking...

When organizations decide to tell their story through film, they take a leap.

As a filmmaker, I, too, take that leap with them.

Together, we take a leap into the unknown...that "place" where questions unfold endlessly.

Questions like: Who will tell the story? How will it be told? Why is their story worth watching? Who cares? What's the payback? Will we make a difference?

Sometimes the answers come easily...sometimes not.

But I trust, and know, that the DNA for the corporate story is contained in every employee.

I trust the voices that carry the DNA will be captured authentically.

I also trust smart organizations will seek opportunities for that DNA to express itself...authentically and emotionally.

Authentic corporate films = the blueprint for the "e-motional" DNA of an organization.

---enjoy the ride :-)

"Director" Tom

Light Traveler   (photo)



It just takes a second. 

This friendly reminder brought to you by Robin Sharma.

Director Tom  :-)
...film matters.
...film works.

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Make sure your feed is updated...and thanks for subscribing!

Tom :-)

As a corporate-image filmmaker, I am a pretty lucky person. 

I've traveled the country, filmed in almost every state and most importantly...transformed, inspired and moved people to action along the way. 

I get to craft and shape an organization's image and story on film. 

Read that again...closely. 

Two of the most powerful tools available today, story + film, ignite together to create a "third dimension" for an organization's message.  Take a look at what I mean...it's Powerful stuff!

(photo: Light Traveler) 

When I started directing 23 years ago, I remember creating "reality television" videos for The Travelers Insurance.  We featured "real people with real stories" frequently.  We called it "cinema verite"  or "cinema of truth."  It's an accurate phrase becasue the "truth" or our "story" is contained in each of us...it's undeniably yours.

It has also been tremendously rewarding to work closely with CEO's, Senior Management, HR Executives and Departmnent Executives of many organizations to tell their story on film.

When I say "story," I mean "authentic story."  

I'm not taking about some canned script that has been approved by everyone in the marketing department.  Nope.  I'm talking...the real deal.  I'm talking about the emotional DNA, or e-DNA, of a company's story contained in it's people.

Remember the cinema verite principle? 

Real people + real stories = Authentic Story; the eDNA.

So, I got to thinking...

Chances are many people have questions about how to tell their video story, like: 

"How do I know what to look for in a producer?"  "Are all filmmakers alike?"  "What makes a filmmaker different from the others?"  "How do they tell stories?"  "Who, then, should tell our corporate story?"

Stay tuned.  I will explore the "inner secrets" of what a coporate-image filmmaker offers an organization, why you should care about your video story and how an authentic video inspires people to action.

Films matter...the story is in the "e-DNA!"

Tom  :-)