Discovered this short film about Caine Monroy, a 9-year old boy who created an arcade made entirely out of cardboard inside his dad’s used auto parts store.

Caine is a hero. To him who creates. To her who shares her passion. To someone who has a message. But is ignored.

Caine is a teacher. I learned three things.

ONE

There is wisdom in going back to the basics. You can go to an arcade with high-tech games plus all the bells and whistles. Or you can play in Caine’s cardboard arcade. You decide which captures the true meaning of play.

TWO

Don’t underestimate the power of one believer. It only takes one domino, the right domino, to make all the other pieces fall.

THREE

Always keep it simple and easy. People come to Caine’s arcade knowing who built it and why he waits everyday for someone to play. Everyone gets it.

WE CAME TO PLAY!

Join the fun and creativity tomorrow —

Our workshop series kicks off on April 18 with Your Story Can Make You Extraordinary: A Writing Workshop hosted by the Rogers Park Business Alliance.

Imagine your organization has a spot for a tv commercial during the Super Bowl. What do you say to a captive audience of millions — in 30 seconds? This workshop challenges the conventional use of words. Stripping down your message into the bare essentials can be the key to revealing the most valuable aspects of your organization.

Space is limited to 12 participants.

Click here for more information and to register.

See you tomorrow!

A local nonprofit organization recently asked me to facilitate their board retreat. One of the members is familiar with my team’s storytelling workshops and he felt that stories could possibly add an interesting dimension to the half-day activity. I could not have agreed more.

To quote Thaler Pekar, principal partner of Thaler Pekar & Partners, in her lecture at the S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications at Syracuse University: “When you share a story, you will spark a story. That is the power of story: it is an emergent form of communication, possessing the ability to tap into the experiences of your listener.”

At the initial phone conference with some of the board members, they expressed their need to get to know each other more deeply. One of them used the words “appreciate each other in a context larger than the organization.”

Truly, since the birth of verbal language, people have bonded and maintained more intimate connections through stories they’ve told and shared. In a story, you get the layers of events, ideas, characters, values, beliefs and emotions — all woven into a rich tapestry you can touch and feel. And if you allow yourself the luxury of being wrapped around this rich form of communication, you can be transformed.

Ms. Pekar mentions in her post “Why Story Matters” in the Stanford Social Innovation Review: “If you are selling change … you want to enable your audience to see possibilities, solutions, and their part in them.”

Being open to change and realizing the need for change is what brought the board members together to lead their neighborhood organization. I feel honored to be helping them begin their new journey where they will create a new chapter for their community — a vision for deeper engagement, vibrant exchange and compelling stories.

And so it begins…

Our storytelling workshop series kicks off on April 18 with Your Story Can Make You Extraordinary: A Writing Workshop hosted by the Rogers Park Business Alliance.

Imagine your organization has a spot for a tv commercial during the Super Bowl. What do you say to a captive audience of millions — in 30 seconds? This workshop challenges the conventional use of words. Stripping down your message into the bare essentials can be the key to revealing the most valuable aspects of your organization.

Space is limited to 12 participants. Register now for early bird rate. 

Click here for more information and to register.