Great Teachers

"Teaching students is not something you can DO.

To truly teach one must BE a teacher.

Find the connection to the student, and open their minds."

- Donnalynn Civello (who is my yoga teacher in New York)

Besides Wall Street, the movie I really want to see is Waiting for Superman, a new documentary directed by David Guggenheim who won an Academy Award for Inconvenient Truth.

Waiting for Superman from Get Schooled on Vimeo.

There has been quite a lot of buzz and attention around this film, from Bill Gates to Oprah to TIME magazine and a week of programming - including an appearance from President Obama - on the Today Show, all peeling back layers to 'the problem' that the film is highlighting: education in America. If you have time, please click some of these links and read the articles - and what big brains like Bill Gates is writing in his personal blog about it. While the trailer brings tears to my eyes whenever I watch it, it's encouraging to think that some big fire power is finally drawing our nations' attention to this problem, and hopefully better balancing what we value most as a society.

In the TIME article I read how David Guggenheim was approached to make this film and he wasn't interested. Too complex, too 'political', no easy answers. It was a moment when he was driving his three kids past public schools in LA to private schools when it he first changed his mind, out of guilt, and ultimately a sense of society obligation:

"I just could not escape the fact that I was driving by these schools and not doing my part," he says. "I was helping my kids, but what about other people's children? How can I make a movie that will make parents care about other people's children as much as we care about our own?

I've been spending some time immersing myself in this partly because we have clients such as Boys and Girls Club and America Scores who are national after school providers: well respected organizations that often fill a critical gap for kids when they are in school systems faced with deep education cuts. I'm also paying attention for another reason entirely: my father was a teacher.

As a daughter of a long time teacher, I always felt that teaching was one of the most important professions, certainly for its critical role in 'educating' but also its profound role in impacting - positively or negatively - countless lives of kids during development years. When you're a teacher you are the adult outside of parents and immediate family that is the fork in the road, either helping to engage, inspire, guide, enlighten...or not. For years growing up, whenever we'd be out as a family to dinner or at a game, often a well adjusted, happy looking, fully functioning adult would come up to us and say hi to my father and we'd always know - it was a former student.

This video below is David Guggenheim's thoughts on 'great teachers.' "We're never going to have great schools without great teachers," he says. Mine was Mrs. Owen, my third grade teacher, who first discovered I loved to write, and always my father.

A Conversation with Davis Guggenheim from TakePart on Vimeo.

Happy Feet

I've had this image above in my inner eye for the past year, my former Saturday morning yoga "studio": an impossibly beautiful private cove in Laguna with an almost perfect combination of sunshine, mild temperatures, leaping dolphins during tree pose, my favorite smell of fresh ocean air and the amazing feeling of breathing with the waves, feet happily wiggling in the soft sand. This image kept me going through my first winter in the Northeast in a while, during some cold, dark, bleak days, when my former home felt like a surreal dream.

This weekend I'm going to see a documentary that a friend and former colleague directed called FLOATING The Nathan Gocke story, which is about a surfer with spinal cord injuries who is motivated to surf again. As I watched the trailer below, it reminded me - the way unexpected events that blindside you often do - to be grateful for the simple things - like walking!

This morning I did some sun salutations listening to Renee, my Laguna yoga teacher's, lyrical French voice on CD leading me through the asanas. As I was feeling that calm energy that yoga brings flowing through my body, I pushed back into downward dog with extra motivation, enjoying the simple pleasures of feeling my toes on the mat, with an intention to "Love the life you live, live the life you love."

Happy Friday everyone.

The Girl Effect

My nieces sent me these pictures of themselves modeling shirts I had sent, both giving off that happy little girl "I can do anything" glow. Katy, in green who's 10, wrote me an email tonight and among other things, asked if we had snow yet (!) and if so, "You have to take pictures for me!" She signed her name with "Love you a lot" a little flashing happy face icon. Ellie tends to use lots of xoxo's and a flashing crab.

This new video premiered today, about little girls just a couple years older than Katy and Ellie. Please watch this, and share it with others: http://www.girleffect.org/video

Thinking Big

September in New York has an almost perceivable crackle in the air of stuff happening! This week is both Climate Week and The Clinton Global Initiative - where many great minds and leaders from business, government and NGOs get together to discuss, assess, collaborate and focus enormous energy and some high wattage star power and resources on some of the world's biggest problems. While I am not there, like listening to sports, I'm following some of it on Twitter to learn more.

The power of one can be tremendous - one dream, one bold idea, one gesture, one decision to essentially do something, for others, to create positive change - but there's certainly momentum, scale and the cumulative effect of many rallying behind something to break the barriers of 'what's possible.'

In one of my favorite essays in that lovely book Showing Up for Life: Thoughts on the Gifts of a Lifetime by Bill Gates senior, he mentions a dinner at Bill and Melinda Gates home in the early days of the Foundation, where some doctors, scientists and leaders in the field of immunity traveled to their home to essentially thank them for funding for vaccines for children in the developing world. These scientists didn't come with open hands, they came simply to say thank you, but during the course of the dinner when Bill and Melinda began asking questions and educating themselves more, Bill Gates asked "What would you do if you had more money?" This question prompted the topic that 30 million children in the world weren't receiving necessary life-saving vaccines.

As he challenged them to come back with breakthrough ideas for, his parting words that evening were, "Don't be afraid to think big."

Last year when my godson Connor heard about the gorilla species in danger of extinction, as a 9 year old, he rallied pretty significant financial support for a fund-raising event we were involved with for the Wildlife Conservation Society. I remember him saying, with urgency: "Aunt Laura, we have to save the gorillas!"

I'm looking forward to hearing new ideas, and action, that comes out of these important summits, first prompted by that line in the sand that says "No, we are no longer tolerating this"!

Big Leaps!

"There is always the possibility of a fiasco.

But there is also the possibility of bliss."
Joseph Campbell

I smiled when I saw this quote on my phone this morning, thanks to The Daily Love, from Joseph Campbell, the original Jedi Warrior.

No matter if following your bliss leads you down many staring into the abyss moments, probably the worst thing that will happen is that it won't work out. I say this as someone who tends to like to ease my way into something sloooowly, testing those waters, cushy, shallow end style vs. the big uncomfortable leap into the deeper waters.

The thing is, I don't think that's how following your bliss works.

Earlier this week a friend sent me the picture above from a new upcycling collection bin that will be featured outside the World's Largest Retailer, for TerraCycle, an amazing company started by an entrepreneur in his dorm room whose business model is based on transforming the idea of waste into something useful. Besides 'solving a problem', what I've always loved about entrepreneurial businesses is that there's truly that epic hero's journey of a lot of verrrry uncomfortable soul searching moments, but also milestones like this that boost you with a fresh dose of courage to just keep moving!

The two years I worked with Sambazon, we had many memorable milestones such as first launching into grocery channel, opening a factory in the Amazon Rainforest, being recognized by the U.S. and Brazilian government for our sustainable agro-forestry model, being featured in People magazine and on Oprah - not to mention, the uphill awareness battle of having people learn to pronounce much less purchase this weird fruit they've never heard of before called açai! But there were also many, many failures, false starts, and disappointments.

When I first started working with them I asked the founder what in the world made him think he could transport this exotic and highly perishable fruit from a different part of the world, manufacture and market it and try to have even the smallest segment of America fall in love with it. He had told me something like "I didn't know to know."

I believe most of the dreams planted in our heart tend to have a really big column of all the calculated reasons why something won't work that stack up much higher than the reasons they will. And we're probably blessed with that ability not to see around the corner, in order to take those big leaps, with a mixture of faith, bravery and naiveté, or else we might never begin.

Also this week I saw an announcement about Will Smith and Jada Pinkett Smith 'giving up their birthday' for charity: water. I can imagine that in his wildest dreams the founder never imagined that his original act of asking friends to donate to a well to bring fresh water to people living in extreme poverty would somehow place him on this path of having two of the most famous celebrities in the world, joining his cause. Then one run-of-the-mill Tuesday, he got the big call...

Will and Jada's Birthday Celebration from charity: water on Vimeo.

Following your bliss is being an entrepreneur in your own life, and it can be so bigger than the limits of our own imagination - we're the equipment.

Alternatively, you can also live your entire life without the big leaps and just ignore that annoying, gnawing feeling inside...because it will eventually go away.

Enjoying the Ride

One year ago yesterday, the photos above commemorated day one of "move day", followed by lunch in Dana Point with my friend Elizabeth and the purchase of a surf shop version of a pea coat when I thought, "Hmmm, this might be good when the weather gets a little colder..."

Day 2 of "Move day" was today, the 16th, with a one way ticket east from LAX to JFK, arriving in the evening and moving into Carly's room for 10 days before the co-op board in my building could meet and determine whether or not I was a worthy residential candidate. New York's version of a 'soft landing'.

Those first several weeks were very much blur, as I began adjusting to everything new again, from the OC Heroes to the Masters of the Universe, commuting by subway instead of car, listening to the BQE instead of song birds in my tree, wearing socks again...

The first weekend I arrived in NYC I turned down a trip to the beach as I was feeling a little out of sorts and questioning why in the world I thought moving back to New York was a good idea. My friend and colleague Adam read my blog post and sent me a text that afternoon,that I saved and stumbled upon earlier this week:

"Just saw your blog. While you don't know why you moved yet, there was a def reason u felt compelled to go. So my advice is sit back, relax, enjoy the ride and when the reason reveals itself, whenever it does...and it will eventually. You will know then. Until then go buy a warm coat and go get reacquainted with NYC!"

Adam's text had the same theme as the name of the CD Jeremy made me before I left, and was the big lesson I finally learned this past year:

Enjoying the Ride.

Happy September 16 everyone!

Surprise and Delight

The concept of surprise and delight is a great tactic that a few special marketers at beloved brands employ. Surprise and delight is that Christmas morning feeling, as demonstrated by my nieces above, two Florida girls who were surprised with an unexpected trip to Utah over New Years to see their cousins (and snow for the first time!).

A few years ago when I worked on Target Stores, this was a big strategy of theirs - what could they do to surprise and create wonder and excitement and a little magic among their consumers, out of nowhere. It wasn't about 'increasing per store sales' or 'driving consumer acquisition' or narrowly focusing on 'increasing shareholder value', it was about making people happy and giving them a boost in their day, which arguably strengthens the brand/consumer relationship, and ultimate value in a consumer's mind.

Another great brand, Clif Bar, also does this with their consumers and has even surprised and delighted members of our agency team. This gesture speaks very highly to the type of company Clif Bar is - one that views its agency relationship as a partnership, not a vendor.

As the best companies know, business is personal, because business is made of people. And the power of good vibes can ultimately cause you to drive further, pay more, forgive mistakes and spread the word to others.

Yesterday, Oprah Winfrey, who knows a thing or two about thinking big, surprised and delighted her audience of loyal fans with a trip to Australia with her in December, on a plane flown by John Travolta! Yes it's good for ratings, and PR and buzz, but the concept of surprise and delight is fishing in deeper waters than just that alone.

Because your heart must first be in the right place for surprise and delight to be authentic.

Try it and see.

September 2010

I happened to look up when crossing the Brooklyn Bridge about an hour ago, and was startled to see the twin beams of light. The picture above, taken a few minutes later from my roof deck, doesn't truly show how the beams disappear into the low cloud cover overhead, and then fold back into light.

Delays

The Tuesday back to work after a long Labor Day weekend brings a certain charge of excitement in the air of the new season ahead. Long Island beaches can be at their loveliest in September but people are back in town, kids are off to school, plans are being made, and the many, many events that swirl around in a city like New York are buzzing, hatching and happening.

In September, it's very easy to bounce from activity to activity to activity and in all the busyness, forget to whisper a quiet Thank You.

At work today I was keeping an eye out for 4:30 pm EST to roll around as I was hoping to quickly tune in to another type of event happening, many miles away, before bouncing back to what I was working on. charity: water - an organization that began four years ago when the founder first gave up his birthday for contributions for a well in a far off land - was celebrating its birthday in a village called Moale in the Central African Republic. There was a live well digging being promoted to supporters and across social media networks, where the people of Moale have been waiting for clean water for over 16 years.

Unfortunately the well digging didn't go as planned, and there was no happy celebration to witness for the people of Moale today.

Sometimes it can be very difficult to see the gifts in delays but personally this reminded me how fortunate we are to live in a place where we can just turn on a tap to drink clean water, whenever we want to.

Eataly!

Yesterday I met my friend whose work visa had just been denied at Eataly, which just had opened two days before, and is happily located two blocks from my office. For fickle New Yorkers, "the next big thing" can be pretty illusive and often changes in a New York minute. In this case, the next big thing really is big -- 50,000 square feet - and is a dazzling, amazing, joyful Willie Wonka like experience for adults.

As we embraced the best pizza I've ever eaten (in fact two of them!) with a glass of barbera wine, and just enjoyed the pleasure of simple, great food, I could sense she was already feeling better...and the future seemed wide open.

And Eataly goes into my working "Wow, New York is getting better" file!

Storms

As someone with family in South Florida and three close friends from New Orleans, it feels like I've logged my share of hours watching hurricane projected paths and Jim Cantore reporting from various points on the Eastern Seaboard during "Hurricane Season." Friends of mine in California would sometimes say things like "Why would anyone live in Florida and deal with those hurricanes?" when of course Floridians might say the same about California earthquakes and wildfires....

As a meteorological condition vs. geological, having to do with an extreme low pressure system over warm ocean water, there's an element of advance warning to hurricanes, and a season for them. This time of year my sister and brother in law bring boats back from the Bahamas, they have hurricane shutters and generators, Mag lights, radios, batteries and food supplies. As a Tropical Storm might gather strength over the Atlantic, there is often a few days before it hits land, so one can often prepare: buy extra food and water, shutter up, tie down boats, bring in outdoor furniture, pets and plants, then decide to evacuate or bunker down and ride out the storm.

Preparing for something - whether you want it to happen or not - helps give a sense of 'control over your destiny' (whether that is actually true or not). The storm may get bigger, and it may hit, and you can't do anything about that, but there's been a certain period of time of wrapping your head around things, making decisions, coping.

The other storms in life - earthquakes, flash floods, tornadoes, tsunamis - sudden death, terrorist attacks, unexpected news about a severe health condition, loss of relationship, job, home, pregnancy - fall in that blind side category, where there is often no preparing, just dealing, under extreme stress.

A friend of mine received unexpected news yesterday pertaining to her work visa in this country which is causing her to rethink and readjust her plans for staying in this country where she's attended school, worked, made friends and made a life. I know that somehow things will work out for her, but also know she's in the storm right now, and unable to think about much else.

Storms aren't forever, the sun does come out again, but the during time can be a tough place to be for a while.