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What's Your Big Idea?

IF,

as a filmmaker,

  • I ever stop wondering about the mysteries of life;
  • I don't teach people what I'm doing everyday to make this world a better place through my craft as a filmmaker;
  • I forget to laugh every day;
  • I fail to ask questions that will enlighten the journey for others;
  • I think and act like I know everything;
  • I fail to enable the voices of others;
  • Listening compassionately becomes a chore;
  • I wake up thinking my story doesn't effect anyone else;
  • I fail to listen to my intuition which acts like a "True North" radar;
  • I don't realize our inherent power to create greatness in this world;
  • I keep my eyes closed and neglect to constantly seek out new sources of inspiration;
  • I think there's a perfect formula for every video story, or for that matter, a formula for life;

THEN

I absolutely have no way to become better as a filmmaker.


Hat tip to Mike Sansone for inspiring me to get this out of my heart and into the world.

If you're interested, here's the original statement from Carl Glickman's book, Leadership for Learning: How to Help Teachers Succeed.

IfThen.jpg

While this concept was originally intended for teachers, as a filmmaker I feel I have been teaching something to someone every day. For instance:

  • Teaching new clients what will happen on their video journey.
  • Teaching people in my life that their personal story really does makes a difference to others.
  • Teaching people how to break into the field of video storytelling for organizations.

Perhaps you feel the same way. What's your "Big Idea?" What's your "IF/Then" statement?

---Tom

Posted on Monday, May 5, 2008 at 04:48PM by Registered CommenterThomas R. Clifford in , | Comments9 Comments

Reader Comments (9)

Boy, Tom. Like I didn't have enough to ponder after Sobcon. . .I've added this to my new post schedule.

For me, its all about "The End".

If:
And in the end
The love you take

Then:
Is equal to the love you make.
May 5, 2008 | Unregistered CommenterJ. Erik Potter
I know! I was all set to write about SOBCon08 and then Mike posted this IF/THEN riff...

Had to write it; the moment hit!

I'll post about SOBCon08 in the next day or two. Brain drain right now :-)

Be great!

Tom
May 5, 2008 | Registered CommenterThomas R. Clifford
Tom,
This is so beautiful. I especially like the being open to inspiration and rejecting the formulaic. In the search for "best practices" people get dull and stop seeing possibilities. If we allow ourselves to see more, then we can innovate.
Lois
May 6, 2008 | Unregistered CommenterLois Kelly
Thanks, Lois :-)

I just to write it as soon as I saw Mike's post...the spirit hit!

Tom
May 6, 2008 | Registered CommenterThomas R. Clifford
Tom, inspired by your post I've set this as an exercise, to recast in personal terms, regarding my mission.

You got a nice mention in Michael Martine's post today. I'd *love* to hear your 10 word distillation! (Could you call that a "falling down the elevator shaft" pitch? No, too violent.)
May 7, 2008 | Unregistered CommenterMark V. McDonnell
Just encountered a nice follow-on to my previous comment, proferring the "TwitPitch":

http://searchengineland.com/080506-183500.php

Cheers!
May 7, 2008 | Unregistered CommenterMark V. McDonnell
Hi Mark!

Glad you've found the inner fire to write your 10 word mission :-)

I posted mine on Michael Martine's comments. May post it here, too, later.

Take care!!

Tom
May 7, 2008 | Registered CommenterThomas R. Clifford
Tom,
Thank you for sharing this. I am very familiar with the original version because I am a teacher. And now I am also a writer (sort of-working on it). I think that everyone's purpose on this Earth is to use their talents and skills to help others. I don't mean in a Mother Theresa sort of way, although that would be ideal. Passing on knowledge that you have acquired is a genuine way of giving back.

May 9, 2008 | Unregistered CommenterSandra Mendoza-Daly
Well Pooh!
Now I'm going to have to relate this to storytelling and make my own "If" list.
My poor little brain is a-churnin'!
Fab blog and I hope you won't mind if I spin and link to my blog.
La
May 27, 2008 | Unregistered CommenterLL, Storysinger

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