October 23rd found me in Washington DC, participating in what would become my new favorite event of the year. A single day of creativity, exploration, storytelling, and play produced by the creative mastermind Michelle James (@CreatvEmergence). One day, 12 workshops to choose from, 3 panels, and an abundance of right and left brain thinkers looking for better ways to engage both sides of the brain.
My day began with my own workshop where I led between thirty and forty participants to the discovery of simplicity in creativity; finding the nuggets of our work that others can easily respond to so we can amplify them. Through words and pictures each participant articulated their clients/customer’s/community’s pain, the destination they desired, and the vehicle their company or organization used to shift their audience from one end of the spectrum to the other.
Kristi Faulkner of Womenkind (@Womenkind) described her customers’ pain as “insulted”. Another woman shared that hers were “disconnected” and she held up a simple stick figure with space between every limb that awed the group. A statue made of people represented the pain of “oppression” and another of a woman high on a chair, surrounded by joyous supporters represented the destination of “understood”.
What left the greatest impression on me from my morning session, was the sheer number of people who were coming together because they believed so deeply in solving the pain of others. Oddly, in this world, those of us with solutions, still have to fight creatively to help others move from pain to freedom, from pain to joy, from pain to empowerment. I felt surrounded by warriors who understood that storytelling was one of the greatest weapons they could yield.
After my session, I had a beautiful conversation with Donusia Lipinski, an immigration attorney with a heart of gold. Donusia, like her name, was gentle and kind and passionate, and her desire to use storytelling to put a human face on the suffering of her customers was monumental.
From there I moved into a workshop with James Jorasch (@ScienceHouse) who taught us to use the layout of our childhood home to remember the content of a speech we were giving. Brilliant, creative, wacky, all rolled into one. But effective as hell.
My lunchtime was spent with Patrick Ross (@on_creativity), a non-profit executive director turned travel writer (his term, not mine – I think he’s writing a kind of spiritual, literary memoir of sorts!). We shared conversation about how we came to creativity so many years ago; him as a solo singer turned journalist and me as a choir singer turned actor. We arrived at new epiphany about how his journey as a soloist led to his unique individual voice as a writer, and where my work in the choir led to my desire to collaborate and always be part of the sound of many. I enjoyed the new insight and the self discovery we shared felt like a bond of mutual respect and admiration.
Back at the conference, I found myself swept into a conversation with Rasul Sha’ir (@Cnvrgnc) whose passion for the intersection of business, culture and technology was thrilling. Rasul was easily the coolest attendee with his long beard, swank attire and newsboy cap, but his mind was on fire with wisdom and stories of transmedia and together we riffed for a solid hour. I still can’t tell you exactly what Rasul and his company do, but I can tell you the guy is absolutely brilliant and worth following.
The last workshop of the day that I headed into was led by the genius that is Michael Margolis (@getstoried). Michael is a story architect (a new term I’m freaking in love with) who helped us rethink how we talk about ourselves and how we write our bios. We’re all on a hero’s journey, born to do what we’re doing, and there is a precise way to capture that story from our past and share it to help people intimately understand who we are at our core. Loved Michael’s talk and am excited to continue to explore ways of working together.
Other fabulous people I connected with include Lynne Feingold who is like my female spiritual twin. Same laugh, same insanity, same lust for creativity in the business world (Lynne works for the US Treasury Department making our leaders better through executive coaching, presentations and workshops, and also on her own business called SingYo that combines the art of song with the art of Yoga.) Love me some Lynne Feingold! Just explosive with love and light.
I also spent some killer time with Steven Dahlberg (@StevenDahlberg), the director for the international Centre for Creativity and Imagination who showed me that you don’t have to be a crazy extrovert to be creative; and Lauree Ostrofsky (@simplyleap) who taught me to lead by following – a concept I had never seen and was so impressed with. She literally led an entire crowd to a restaurant without physically leading the pack. It made me so nervous, like we weren’t going to get there, but she was comfortable and calm and moved us all where we needed to go while deep in conversation. Maybe I’m the simple one, but I swear I was watching a wizard at work!
I wish I had more time with the brilliant attorney and creative mind Ted Bilich (@TBilich) who is teaching creativity to students in law school (amazing!), the kinetic Melanie Sklarz (@DoseofCre8ivity), Sean Kelly (@SeanKellyStudio) whose work is off the charts brilliant, Debbie Weil (@debbieweil) who was so full of joy and wonderment, and Gregg Fraley (@greggfraley) whose depth of wisdom in the innovation world was palpable.
On the whole, this single day event was packed with a combination of sparks and lightning bolts. What I especially loved was the flow of like minds and the ways in which we lit each other up and impressed one another. I am a huge fan of all these folks I have mentioned and I encourage you to follow their work.
Special thanks again to Michelle James (@CreatvEmergence) who brought us together. You built an event that was both beautiful and enlightening. More than that, you are the generator of lasting relationships that will no doubt impact the world in greater ways than any of us can imagine. To you I say Bravo.
*Top Image Mural by Diane Cline (@DayJobView)
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Corey’s writing and visionary work has been published in Writer Magazine, Script Magazine, and on StartUp Nation and has been featured on Fox News, NBC5, Sacramento and Co, Adelante (WGN Chicago), and in print such as Young Money, Hoy, La Raza, Hispanic Executive Quarterly, MovieMaker Magazine, Dance Magazine and Hollywood Screenwriter Magazine. He is the co-author of EDGE! A Leadership Story (finalist, National Best Books 2008 Awards) with Bea Fields and Eva Silva Travers, From the Barrio to the Board Room with Robert Renteria, Excalibur Reclaims Her King with Angelica Harris and The Family Business with Dr. Kay Vogt. He is also Chairman of the Dream of Writers of the Round Table Inc. Read More
Corey – I kickstarted my right/left brain thinking with you that morning. Amplification of what ‘is’, helped bring me clarity, as we were challenged to speak/express ourselves concisely, clearly, succinctly, And when it landed right, it resonated with everyone, with such ease. Loved your energy, how you kept us moving, increasing our awareness. Thanks ever so much for kickstarting my day and for your insights, wisdom, intuition, passion, encouragement and for giving me the hope, that I am not alone in this struggle. Thanks for who you are.
Corey–
A beautiful post, which really captures the spirit of the event.
With so many truly talented individuals presenting, it was difficult to choose between sessions. Your session was outstanding, and I’m glad to have this space to thank you!
Be well,
Kira
@T_C_P