leadingpossibilities leading possibilities the art & science of extraordinary
November/December 2011
The Risk Issue
Way of the Wilde Demons Are Not Your Friends
by Christopher Karne Frost Cover photo by Daniel Siboni
by Michael C.S. Wilson
Wanting More Meaning
by Shawn Murphy
Do the Work You’re Meant To Do by Brian Silverthorn
When Smart People Do Dumb Things by Tracy Saville
Tara Gentile: Profitable Actualization
by Lori Anderson
Before the Vision
by Susan Bainbridge The BIG Party 2011 • Kathryn Mattingly Fiction Short • Priscilla Daniels Extraordinary Art • Bob Habian in the Foothills • Terry Moore Poet Urban Laureate in the Making • In and Out for 2012
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Risk Risk is to human experience like oxygen is to any living being—explicitly necessary for the species to survive. We felt it was a good enough reason to make our November/December issue all about risk: the risks some have taken and how and why they’ve paid off, the risks we take in pursuit of better lives, and the risks some people take that land in the sandbox of downright stupidity, as measured by anyone with a heart beat. Some are built for risk. Some take risks like drugs. Some take risks without realizing their behavior will impact others in negative ways, and some never risk anything. Why should we care about risk? Isn’t any kind of risk, in this day and age, well, risky? The answer is yes, and no, because risk is relative and lives in that murky world of what is good or bad, distinctions left up to individuals, which is why we all should care a great deal. One person can take a risk that bleeds negatively into the lives of others in the form of terrible tragedies, such as not fixing a piece of equipment on an underground oil platform drill bit because they think it will hold a little bit longer. Understanding risk-behavior is as important to society as understanding great behavior of CEOs, criminal behavior, or behavior of any kind. To the extent it is a behavior that can when leveraged positively and dramatically deliver great benefit to many people, it is a commodity we ought not risk misunderstanding or underestimating. Risk is a collective human problem and opportunity, because our 2
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ability to progress, learn, grow, adapt and change only happens when we do that which is beyond safe, or known. Yet when we do anything in that place of uncharted territory, we also gamble with a different set of odds than doing what is within our comfort zone. It is an odd dichotomous truth about being human—that if we stay in one place, we’ll cease to be the very thing our species is, but if we venture out and throw ourselves into the dynamic winds of chance, we run the risk of being blown away. To stay or go has it’s endgame odds either way, like a chess game, like football, like cancer research, or the great ideal of spreading freedom to every person, in every corner of the world. The real problem is that we cannot refuse to take risks, if as a human society, we hope to do what our biology commissions us to do—dynamically move forward beyond our comfort zones and in static ways of being in search of species advancement (which is what adaptation to survive in response to external forces is). Darwin helps us understand this dualism of risk or no risk, and contemporary science, psychological, social, and cultural research into why people do what they do also helps us understand the role of risk in our lives. In the end, wherever great or extraordinary experience or achievement lives, risk is a balance of calculated knowledge driving constant momentum toward greater and greater levels of “something.” It is what that something is and that something’s true cost of attainment that society needs to consider, as our
total planetary resources dwindle, or are unequally controlled and divided, as inequality among man increases rather than equality increasing, and that is very much a human problem, a “we” problem to solve. For as the negative consequences of self-indulgent and self-profiting risk behavior wash over us in wave after intensifying wave of environmental calamity, poverty, terrorism, genocide, economic system collapse, obesity sitting next to starvation, and a global educational meltdown, the line between good and bad risk becomes clearer, even though the need for taking even bigger risks remains ever-more critical. We have to make sweeping human system changes in nearly every area of the globe and in every area of our lives, personally, nationally, globally, and humanly. Being able to do so, but smarter, and to collective benefit, is the answer to our ability to finally advance in multiple areas of the human condition, to find what Abraham Lincoln called the better natures of our angels within. In this issue… In the spirit of the very serious charge of our why risk is equal to our human survival, but under the promise of delivering insight and inspiration that tastes and looks good while doing it, we give you risk. Feature writer Christopher Karne november/december ‘11
Frost takes us on a literary journey to meet music artist and budding entrepreneur Laura Wilde, an LA-based Australian transplant who has staked her career and her village support system on bucking the established music industry and pop cultural systems in order to stay true to her values and vision of purpose. I explore why otherwise biologically sound people do extraordinarily stupid things, and sometimes to grave consequences. I also look at a few funnier aspects of our human zaniness and propensity for erring on the side of dorkdom. Writer and co-editor Lori Anderson has found a gem of a risk taker in Tara Gentile, a person who has taken her authentic self and her tremendous gift with words to seriously successful ends in ways that changes other people’s lives and minds. New friend and contributor Brian Silverthorn explores the gamble of doing what you were meant to do, while ongoing friend and contributor Shawn Murphy explores risking what it takes to get more meaning out of it while you’re doing it. Finally in the new Global Voices section, a terrific find on all things leadership, Susan Bainbridge, a transformational leadership visionary and writer, helping people learn how to create and sustain change from her current perch in education in the United Emirates. Our resident Zen path traveller and consciousness pursuer Michael C. S. Wilson reminds us that the journey to dispense with our demons is something all of us must risk. This issue we also introduce two november/december ‘11
other new features—Literary Words Worth Your Time in the short fiction and poetry of Kathryn Mattingly and Terry Moore and—Art, Design, or Music You Have to Experience, where we introduce the grounding multi-medium work of Priscilla Daniels and the out-of-this-world photography of Ryan Lunsford. Artists, writers, musicians, bands, photographers, apparel or interior designers, or filmmakers do read our title submissions page for how to submit your work for profile! Towards the back, take a special peak at the BIG Party photos, peruse our risky, first 2011 Transforming Leader Red Carpet event held in Sacramento October 20th during the River City’s triumphant Artober celebration of all things cultural and art was off the hook (whew – that was a long sentence). But don’t trust our word for it, – take a look first-
hand and note the official survey by the city of post Artober participants who said they thought it rocked, too! Special thanks about the BIG Party goes out to MC Kristin Marshall of KCRA, rock journalist Lonn Friend, artist Raphael Delgado, photog/cinematographer Nicholas Wray, filmmaker Joseph Arthur, performers Clemon Charles, Mike Wilson, and Billy Blackburn, Sacramento356.com, For Art’s Sake, Marco Ferraro of Backstage Pass, all our honorees and volunteers (Shelli, Ashley, Stephanie, Lori and Michael), public relationist Vera Icon PR, TC Printing, Art Stream, and of course Bobbin and Patrick Mulvaney for their generousness and beautiful Next Door space. If we forgot to thank you, I will publicly flay open my heart in the public square when next we meet and make it up to you. Finally, check out our next issue highlights and witness the risks Buddy takes in his 2012 In and Out List predictions. Link up with our new online community, The Possibility Place – subscribe now as it goes up live in December when you can start using the new Crowdsolve forums to get help or advice and begin exploring the worlds of mind, body, spirit, family, purpose and career, literally packed with new writers and expert advice every day, and fresh new profiles of extraordinary people or content to spice up your life. It’s cool. It’s smart. It’s free. May you risk what you can lose, and lose only what you can afford to do without. lp leadingpossibilities
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editorialhonchorinos Tracy Saville, Publisher & Editor In Chief
Tracy holds an MFA in Creative Writing, a BA in Business Management, and a Certifi cate in Negotiations from Harvard Law School. She’s published and edited and is by day a human engineer - a Humansolutionist™ and COCEO in T2 Performance Solutions working for human and organizational transformation. There was the English adjunct professor gig once, a few start-ups in her past, and twenty-fi ve years of leadership and entrepreneurial experience across social, cultural, economic, and policy issue areas serving government, nonprofi ts, and business sectors. She knows the inner-workings of a fuel cell, her son’s heart, a grand bottle of wine, and a perfectly crafted New Yorker story. Words are her thing. She cooks well, cares about extraordinary experiences, loves her grand-dog Buddy, her family, and rock and roll.
Christopher Karne Frost, Senior Executive Editor
Ever seeking, ever gleaning what he can from those he careens into day-to-day, Chris Frost is often mistaken for the contemplative one, staring through the crowd, for that inner truth. That he is recognized as he who will banter endlessly with you over a beer? We like that about him, who in reality is a good soul with a rascal’s smirk, and ready wit and repartee. The razor’s edge is where he plays in the sandbox of words. This is where extraordinary is found and so we think we have ourselves a winner. Originally from Ohio, and Sacramento raised, he is a seeker of life and truth in all its soupy, complex consternation. May you enjoy his ride.
Lori Anderson, Special Features Editor
Never let it be said a Mom is just a Mom, or a working woman is just a working woman, or a social media maven who makes good and knows her way around the Internet is just a… well, you get the picture. Lori we think has serious chops for this sort of thing and knows a good bite of extraordinary when she sees one. Anderson has been marketing businesses in the high-tech, medical device, media, and non-profit sectors for fifteen years when we found her. As community manager for The Sacramento Bee’s niche online communities, Lori developed a passion for social media and online community development and went on to become a marketing and social media collaborator for multiple local entrepreneurial ventures and Susan G. Komen for the Cure. Lori enjoys sharing these ventures with the community and acting as their ‘voice’. She is our special voice, and we love and respect the heck out of her for it. New! Joining us officially this month is Kathryn Mattingly, our editor’s editor, who in her own lovely way has talked our Editor-in-Chief into seeing how in her haste to get the words out of her head, often times sees things that aren’t or are there, that should or shouldn’t be, and so Ms. Mattingly will be new eyes for all. She is also an accomplished and award-winning fiction writer, editor, and creative artist, with a Master’s in Education and an educational leadership background. You can find her fiction work in the next few issues and a complete bio of her coming soon! You can reach us here: lori@t2ps.com, chris@t2ps.com, or tracy@t2ps.com. 4
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inside
features: the risk issue On Front Street by Bob Habian
Page 19
On the Cover:The Way of the Wilde
by Christopher Karne Frost
Page 8
Profitable Actualization: A Conversation with Tara Gentile by Lori Anderson
Page 14
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inside
features: the risk issue Why Smart People Do Dumb Things
PUBLISHER T2 PERFORMANCE SOLUTIONS/PUBLICATIONS EDITOR IN CHIEF Tracy Saville
by Tracy Saville
Page 16
Buddy’s In and Out List
leading possibilities™...
“the art & science of extraordinary”
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Feature and Department Editors Christopher Karne Frost, Senior Editorial Director Lori Anderson, Special Features & Online Community Co-Editor In Chief Kathryn Mattingly, Editor-at-Large Art Direction Collaborators Raphael Delgado - Artist, Ladd Woodland @ Seventh Surface, Timothy O’hagain @ Artstream Media Productions Digital Design and Platform/Distribution Timothy O’hagain and Cathy O’hagain @ Artsream, Julie Vatuone @ Urban Graphics, Bryan Clapper @ Squire Marketing, Jennifer de la Fuente @ Rosebud. Copyediting, Photos,Video Productions Tracy Saville, Chris Frost, Mike Wilson @ ICUcreativegroup, Tim Saville, Kathryn Mattingly Design by Bryan Clapper Squire Marketing and News Services Contributors Shawn Murphy, Brian Silverthorn, Michael C. S. Wilson, Susan Bainbridge, Kathryn Mattingly,Victoria Glover, Terry Moore, Buddy the Klee Kai Public Relations Veronica Delgado Vera Icon PR Social Marketing Steven Bloom Go Time Marketing
Things People Are Up To
Page 21
Cheating Paradise by Kathryn Mattingly
Page 27
Subscriptions Subscribe free to this magazine online on Facebook at www.t2ps.com. For questions about subscriptions: info@ t2ps.com, or call (916) 717-3250, or write to us at: 1931 H Street, Sacramento, CA 95811. LI is published four times per year by T2 Performance Solutions located in Sacramento, California. Submissions Those submitting manuscripts, photographs, artwork, or other materials to leading possibilities for consideration should not send originals unless requested to do so and MUST make initial inquiries via email to: info@t2ps. com. We will send you a Content Licensing Agreement and explore your contributions/submissions for use in both upcoming magazine issues and our online learning community. Unsolicited manuscripts and other materials submitted will not be returned. Corrections should be emailed to: admin@t2ps.com. Please recycle this magazine if you print it. Please do not print if it is at all possible. We may not be able to save the planet, but perhaps we can save a tree or two.
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The Village Demons Are Not Your Friends by Michael C.S. Wilson . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .18 On Front Street: A Taste of Cool in the Foothills by Bob Habian . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .19 Your Purpose & Career Wanting More Meaning by Shawn Murphy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .23 Do the Work You’re Meant to Do by Brian Silverthorn . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .24 Before the Vision (On Leadership) by Susan Bainbridge. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .25 Life & Style Things People Are Up To . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .21 Random Sightings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .22 Literary Words Worth Your Time The Short Fiction of Kathryn Mattingly . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .27 The Poetry of Terry Moore . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .29 Must Do Art, Design or Music The Grounding Art of Priscilla Daniels . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .32 The Electric Photography of Ryan Lunsford . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .36 Denouement The BIG Party 2011 Round-up . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .38 The Creative Fund and Platform . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .39 Coming in February . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .40 november/december ‘11
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extraordinaryprofile
Way of
the Wilde Way of the Wilde
cover and profile photo by Daniel Siboni
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by Christopher Karne Frost
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here is a photograph housed at FasterLouder.com, a website dedicated to all things faster and louder in music in Australia, shot by Boo Harris, Australian photographer, wherein Laura Wilde is cradling her Gibson Flying V in both hands—which themselves appear wrapped
photos this page by Robert John
above the wrists in leather forearm accoutrement, as if bound by the faster louder credo.
Editor’s note: er blond, perfectly layered hair frames her face, upon which an expression of joy, focus and determination is etched. Her twenty-one year-old fingers grasp the upper frets of the V-neck like someone who has been playing electric guitar for thirty years, a veteran already, a rock Goddess in the making. But music and rock phenom Laura Wilde is not a veteran rock Goddess any more than she is just a rock musician. You could no more say she is young or old by listening to her symphony-like mastery over her guitar or her raspy, emotion-filled voice in command of the rock lyric like nobodies business than you could say she is just a model, a daughter, a business woman, an entrepreneur, just by looking at her. She is all these things and so much more. Laura is, like the place of her birth—Melbourne, Australia—an enigma, wrapped in a riddle, housed
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in a piece of real estate that makes most jaws drop on site. She is deep, complicated, highly intelligent, and just so happens to be all tied up in an extraordinary human being, who also just happens to be a young woman, a rock artist other rock artists envy, a beautiful person inside and out, and quite likely going to be both famous and infamous for it all. I sent my feature writer and senior editor, Chris Frost and our videographer and Zen writer Mike Wilson to Los Angeles this year, to catch up with Laura Wilde, to see if we couldn’t see what made her tick, or rock, as it were. What they discovered, what Christopher Karne Frost captures for you in his article “Way of the Wilde”, is a peek inside the mind of a woman about to become silly famous for her gifts. And while their evening didn’t afford the capture of video we can share (no suggestion it was untoward – just no performance time, which is what we’d hoped for), we think Laura
“Hope for the best, expect the worst.” —Laura Wilde Wilde is someone twenty-somethings can learn from, fifty-something can study to see how to get a handle on their own daughters in the making, and just about anyone with half an appetite for extraordinary can appreciate. Wilder things are afoot, and wild doesn’t always equal bad. Laura Wilde proves that sometimes, wild is best.
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grin like one of those front row fans at a first concert I once made fun of, as I wander along Sunset Boulevard in search of a dream I had years ago, when the idea of rock and roll seemed feverish and surreal. We’d stopped along the infamous stretch of concrete that has felt the boots of many a hardcore rock fan before me, and dropped inside for refreshment leadingpossibilities
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photo by Robert John
at a place I only know from the movies. Before I can recall which one, I soon find myself tracing the maze-like hallways and stairwells back from the men’s bathroom to our table and my oh-so cool company on the patio of “The Rainbow Bar and Grill” next to “The Roxy.” Cooler heads prevail as I put my fan-boy meanderings aside, and I intelligently choose not to tell my new friend Laura Wilde about my giddy, unbridled joy of being in the land of fantasy and rock stars. Instead I peer out across the LA evening with my Zen partner video man in tow, and settle in for the night. It is easy to see how one’s machinations about stardom can get away from one if one is not too careful in a place like this. After all, I am in the land of dreams, in an infamous rock and roll bar, about to chat with a soon to be famous rocker who I know is beyond my dreams, and I note already that she is above dreaming dreams she has no intention of hunting down and owning. Many rockers of old have undoubtedly walked the floors I stride; gear and 10
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grainy images of Motley Crue, Alice Cooper, The Doors and Van Halen are all upon the walls. And I can’t help but smile again at the thought of my illustrious company this night scattered around the walls of the room ten years from now, where some journalist like me will sit in a corner and thank his lucky stars to have been invited along for the ride. Laura Wilde of Melbourne, Australia – perhaps the next big name in L.A., or the world—has my rapt attention.
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here have been many female rockers before her to shake the scene; Lita Ford, Pat Benatar, Blondi and Gwen Stefani to name a few, and a few more still who hail from Australia from the rock world, bands such as AC/DC or INXS. There is something about rock and roll and Australia, where even American bands like the Foo Fighters will tell you they always want to play for Australian fans at the Big Day Out music event because rock is respected down under like no other. (“Summer’s biggest day out rolls
into Melbourne”. The Age. 25 January 2003. Retrieved 10 May 2008). I knew AC/DC hailed from the big country, but I always thought they had influenced musical tastes of Australians and not the other way around. It seems, however, the big nation of red rock, ancient people and jumping rats the size of skyscrapers could teach the U. S. a thing or two about how to indulge in their rock and roll. Laura Wilde is relatively known in her country as a comer, and she has made her way to the U.S. in search of American rock fame now. I can’t help wonder that the stars born of a previous age, as things have changed dramatically for the world of the Entertainer – the world of the Rock Star—could not have imagined the likes of Laura Wilde. The days of whiskey sodden band-mates trashing motel rooms, one another, and the world around them in general is a thing of the past, a thing not so kindly looked upon and certainly no longer respected. Laura is proof. november/december ‘11
“It’s a team, a band, not every man for himself. Each has to have pride in the show.” —Laura Wilde
There is an art to being a Rocker of today, and it’s a business – it, my new friend Laura assures me, by her actions less than her words, should be respected and handled accordingly. e talked about her influences in music. Lenny Kravitz influenced Laura with the Flying V, and Gwen Stefani not only with her music, but more so in the way she conducts her life. Bands Laura was enthralled with over the years? Led Zeppelin, Jimi Hendrix, Slade, T. Rex, Guns n Roses, Motley Crue, Nirvana, Joan Jett and Iggy Pop, just to name a few. A girl after my own heart. Like the artists mentioned, many more have graced the global stage, and Laura certainly possesses the skill set required to graduate to this esteemed list. And yet, besides her obvious good looks and gifted musical arsenal guaranteeing success, there is within a kind, generous and intrinsically intelligent being. My curiosity peeked after watching her work the drums, the computer, her bass, and navigate my increasingly thoughtprovoking questions with grace and an easy smile; I found myself wondering if she had any idea how truly bright she is? Her humbleness, modesty and easy charm were obviously ingrained and definitely not just for show. What a blessing for the entertainment and mundane world I mused. What might the final curtain be? How far ahead was her sight? I am curious to see and so I go further. Her schedule is daunting with band rehearsals, singing lessons, and writing, her lyrics and music taking up time
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the way it should. She tells of walking the streets and checking out “what’s in - and what’s out.” She reminded me at times of a CEO, only the streets, bars and bandstands were her hallways, conference rooms and infamous water cooler spaces – all places to be in on the know. It seems she practices what a wise man and woman before her did teach and teach her well: know the formula and stick to the plan, the formula being hard work, perseverance, patience and sacrifice. And it sounds so simple,
My own plan was to come to LA, meet the woman, have the conversation, write the damn article. I sometimes don’t see beyond my own nose. Plan? What plan? But now I believe it is a plan I will surely fail, for this conversation is suddenly so beyond the box and outside the lines, for what I find is not expected, not of the basic or average varietal rock musician idle. I find a young woman made of steel nerves and determination that doesn’t want to be famous, but extraordinary at her craft and business, and it is this reason I suddenly know that Laura, I think, will indeed stick to the plan. I realize I must not write dribble and suddenly I wonder if I am capable. I suppose this is a good time to tell you that at twenty-one years of age, Laura carries herself with a confidence and mysticism usually reserved for those who have already attained the heights of Olympus, already shaken the foundation of the world. She has had great success at photo by Josh Ellis home in Melbourne, having headlined her own 22-show and really it is – if you just stick to the tour, having a drink named for her plan. For how many times in movies at her local pub, having conquered a do we see things go awry when what television stint on BEAT TV working as happens? Someone %$#@! with the a presenter, and she has even had the plan. Laura and “those who won’t be honor to play a private acoustic show named” (because she asked us not to) for the Saudi Arabian Royal Family. did stress to me most emphatically in Last but not least - celebrity judge for their Aussie accents – “just stick to the “Australia’s Hottest Hunk Finale” and fucking plan,” and I made a mental “Ralph Swimsuit Competition.” note: this was the one time I heard a Here in the states she has canned curse word and thought it was perfectly her first album, which she awaits with executed, not at all profane, and mangreat anticipation as do her growing aged with great care. fan base of tens of thousands. And I felt like I was in a Tarantino film she fights on, fights for the summit, with Ozzy Osbourne chastising me, and does so with a smile. Having had even though it was a very simple task. opportunities to advance her career far leadingpossibilities
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forward with major label signings, she has turned them away as the price for glory was to be paid with the soul, by having her cast her dreams aside to be just another glam rocker and not the Rock-Star she knows she is. How strict in her ideals, her soul, and her core; she will not be sacrificed for stardom. Very noble, and to be admired; greatly here on the hard city streets of LA. Being one who sets the bar so very high for herself has forced upon her the endless task of learning the technologies and business savvy usually reserved for those previously mentioned, as well as sacrificing time “out and about,” where instead of bar hopping or hanging with friends to all hours of the night, she is taking care of business. In the end, the newfound capabilities she has worked into her daily grind can only make her stronger and more viable in an ever-challenging market, for the higher she climbs the more temperamental the terrain. Having at one time many hands in the pot to assist and stir—cowriters, editors and producers have more often only proven how difficult it is to find another to replace them with, people who possess the same caliber of mind, the same drive for a common goal and the smarts to match. Few others have been able to tow the line, making the climb more difficult. Yet instead of cutting the cord ahead of her and calling it quits, she reaches back and swiftly and surely cuts the line behind, severing the connection completely to those who would drag her down. And with increased burden she travels on, consumed in her pursuit and relentless in her drive. I hoped never to be on the back end of that cut line. She laughs often as we speak, and as her comfort level increases, so too do the jokes begin to fly. It seems Laura keeps those around her entertained with more than bass rifts, catchy lines and drum solos, as she is quite the jokester, another thing about her that is quixotic or juxtaposed against what you think about her on sight. And it comes to me, as she leans for12
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“I have to learn for myself, and have certainly been burned.” —Laura Wilde
she spends a good deal of time, sharing in the wanton destruction of watermelons and other lead and full-metal-jacket worthy targets whenever the tension boils too high. It isn’t easy being a rocker, and I can think of a great many worse ways to blow off steam.
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s for her bullet-delivering “children” or “playthings” - the handcannon and HK are neither the oldest or first, but instead that honor goes to her first Flying V, her electric guitar, a Gibson Flying V to be exact, first prototyped in 1957, launching the V-like futurist design, much the same as Lenny Kravitz cradled while mesmerizing a young three year-old Laura with “Are you gonna go my way?” I know in an instant the respect she shows for her weaponry is applied to guitar as well as her collected arsenal. Laura told me the day her V was dropped in her fingers was the day she was hooked. At the age of twelve her parents gave her the first guitar and amp she would call her own. Today the walls of her domicile shine with many of photo by Calvin Cropley her favorite tools of the trade, and ward with a quip at my expense, that had so too the bedrooms of children she has Austin Powers been a strikingly beautiful, donated her trophies, that they too may blonde-haired vixen with an Aussie acdream guitar dreams. Being a fan myself cent, sporting black leathers and enough of all things medieval, I was enthralled knuckle iron to flay a face, he would have with her great-room, filled to the rafter been she, right before me. with posters of movies past such as The Yet alas, I realize, I am blessed with Terminator and Pulp Fiction, the room’s someone very real in Laura Wilde when high shag red carpet and drum-set, guns, I peer up to swim a moment in her joy. guitars and banners ringing out to me And behind her, the reminder of her as a King’s great hall, or Queens in this watching muscle, a matte-black Desert case, with her weapons of war at the Eagle, or hand cannon should you prefer ready set amongst the skins of fallen foes to call it – so I laugh a little louder. Laura, and their fallen banners, all calling out the it seems, is a gun aficionado, another triumph of her kingdom. juxtaposed fact that doesn’t quite mesh with the obvious recipe. In time I see e spoke of karma as Laura our good-natured jokester has an affinexplained she practices ity for firearms that would make many and believes; “what goes a survivalist blush. Soon I spot a brand around comes around” and to always new HK 4-16 Assault Rifle. Do I send a “pay it forward.” And no sooner had blankie and bib, or Gift Certificate to the we discussed this that a tale Laura had local armory so that her newborn doesn’t shared earlier in our discussions invaded go hungry? my mind and seemed most applicable. She talks of friends and the sandsA year or so back she recounted how of-the desert with whom and where
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scarlet woman (chorus): lyrics by laura wilde Pull up a chair and watch the tables turn See the upper hand crash and burn Don’t let the guard down Stay high above That’ll teach a girl to fall in love www.laurawilde.com
her parents had bought her a fancy new camera, which she shortly thereafter gave away to a familiar face in the crowd by the name of Calvin Cropley, a young man who always seemed to be at her shows and for whom she knew had a great interest in photography. Calvin later captured what may be the iconic and everlasting image of Laura rocking out on stage (photo facing page). Good karma indeed.
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was so taken by her intelligence, by how so young she was and yet she already understood more of economics and the entertainment industry than many of today’s producers of yesterday. The sleek-worded, ill-balanced contracts of before shouldn’t be a worry for Laura, though I fear many a sucker still walks the streets to keep the snake tongued schemers of the entertainment industry well nourished for many a year to come. Ironically, thus far Laura’s greatest foe has proven to be perception - that of the narrow minded. For too many billboards and magazines host silkenskinned models posing with the tool of Laura’s trade – The Flying V. The fact she can rip the skin from your ears while you gesticulate in delight with hair aflame to her tornado sound is missed by those who have not yet taken the time to listen, to truly know, and sometimes obscured by her extraordinary beauty that could easily grace the cover of Sport’s Illustrated as much as it could the Rolling Stone.
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n her wisdom and matter-offactedness about the short-sidedness of LA she knows she has to overstep, she shared the following with me about the road to success; “To be a successful Rock-Star today, november/december ‘11
is to be a Rock-Star without being a Rock-Star.” She further theorized how technology has broken down the barriers between star and fan, so the drunken Rock-Star is a thing of the past – no one has the time or patience for it. And where before, hundreds of musicians made millions of dollars, now millions of musicians make hundreds of dollars. “You have to have your (stuff) together or you aren’t going to make it.” Wise words, one and all. At the outset of our trip to meet this young blonde haired Rock Star, my videographer Michael and I were none too clear of what was in store. A trip to L.A., a couple of nights spent on Sunset Strip with all its starry-eyed hopefuls, tourists and God knew what. Perhaps a lucky run-in with an established star doing none too graceful two-steps down the boulevard, we wondered – we didn’t know. But no sooner had Laura opened the door, the feeling of something unusual was about to happen set in, and throughout our entire day I had the feeling of being elsewhere, in something yet to be, part of something soon to be seen, became ever more prevalent. There was even a time I forgot Michael’s name entirely and had to ask “who are you again?”
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e weren’t fed spacecakes or slipped a rufi, and we didn’t have any drinks (well until that evening that is) or partake of any medicinal, yet there we were with this family, enjoying a moment of undeniable tranquility and joy. It was very simple, it was very clean, and it was quite a memorable and moving experience, one for which Michael and myself will always be thankful. In
photo by Robert John
the end it was us who was treated to time and opportunity to sit, talk, jest and jive with some of the coolest, down to earth people either of us will ever meet. What should be noted is the undeniable professionalism and character Laura brought to our interview, and to her life and career, it seems. I was left with a knowing for as before we had drunken louts belting out rifts and getting pissed drunk in front of the world as “role models” for the youth of the 80’s, 90’s…in the 21st century, now we have at least one role model right; bright, capable, talented and truly respect worthy, an individual blazing a path in the world of entertainment and society alike. Laura carries this banner with conviction and holds it high as a new face for the industry steps forth. I can think of none other more worthy to lead the charge, for there are too few such talented, soulful, and inspirational people as Laura in this world, whether it is as a Rock-Star or something else entirely. She will attain heights the rest of us only spy through tube-capped lenses of our digital cameras in a crowd of ten thousand. Rock on Laura, Rock on. lp leadingpossibilities
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yourmindbody&spirit
Profitable Actualization
A conversation with Tara Gentile By Lori Anderson
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ara Gentile has a passion. A passion for helping people dig deep into the treasure trove that is their very own unique spirit and life’s work or purpose. Once that purpose is unearthed, Tara tirelessly helps clients to hone, shape and polish it until they are able to see how their unique passion and expertise makes it sparkle – and ultimately how it can be turned into a viable, profitable business. In her own words, Tara liberates passion-driven entrepreneurs toward actualization – of ideas, visions and dreams – turning them into dollars and cents. Tara is one busy young entrepreneur, a mom, wife, and purveyor of actualization who herself exemplifies the terms successful, passion-driven and disciplined entrepreneur. As an eager student of Tara’s expertise via blogs, newsletters, e-books and innovative e-courses, I’ve learned to polish up my own ideas and dreams, while building the confidence to share my value with the world. May you be inspired to do the same as I share Tara’s perspectives with you… Lori: What factor has your own self-actualization/sense of self and personal power played in the development/success of your business? Tara: My business is almost entirely the story of my self-actualization, or re-actualization as it might be. Throughout high school and college, I exuded personal power. No goal was outside my grasp, no dream too big. Immediately after I graduated college, however, something snapped. 14
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I felt helpless and unprepared for life outside the ivory tower. My desire to create my own career came after 4 years working in retail management with a college degree that said, “She’s smart!” not “She’s qualified!” I was worn down, burnt out, and completely unsure of how to get out of the downward spiral. Not surprisingly, I also suffered my worst bout of depression during this time. I made the decision to turn everything around when my daughter was born in July 2008. I spent six months discovering myself as a mother and rediscovering myself as someone with personal power. In January 2009, I launched the first iteration of my business. Each time I articulated a new goal or formulated a new plan, I felt a little more me. My inner monologue changed from one of “Why me?” to “Why the heck not?!” When I’m at work in my business, at an event talking about what I do, or actively working with clients, I feel more actualized than I’ve ever felt in my life. At the same time, I am nowhere near the peak of this process. I continue to grow and develop every day. L: Was there a major “aha!” moment (or series of them) that brought you to your current per-
spective, ideals and life purpose? T: Becoming a mom was certainly the catalyst for making big changes in my life. But it was the realization that what I had been given - born with was enough to get started. I had been waiting in agony for someone to give me something more. To offer me an opportunity, grant me
another degree, hold my hand. I had known before that my intellect and talent was enough to get me pretty far, yet I’d forgotten to really use them. Reclaiming that knowledge was enough to get me started. Finding success, of course, has required constant learning and acquisition of new skills (what doesn’t?!) but the november/december ‘11
“I made the decision to turn everything around when my daughter was born in July 2008. I spent six months discovering myself as a mother and rediscovering myself as someone with personal power.” —Tara Gentile
foundation of my self-actualization came from awareness of the gifts I’d already been given. L: What are you seeing as the most trending thing that people you serve seem to really be looking for - and is that the same thing as what they need? T: The people I serve - passiondriven solo entrepreneurs - are looking for ways to exit the continuum of the conventional. They’re tired of the corporate ladder, traditional family roles, usual ways of earning a living, and feeling like a cog in the machine. They want more. Even if they don’t know what “more” looks like. For most, “more” wears the hat of “doing what you love and getting paid for it.” That’s where I come in. I help people discern what’s really profitable about their passion. Frankly, that’s the easy part. The hard part is helping them to understand that “more” also comes with the responsibility to have confidence in themselves, their abilities, and their value to the world. That’s really the trend. People don’t want to be told what their place in the world is; they want to create it. L: What are the most important extraordinary things about your life that you would never trade or give up? T: 1) My daughter, Lola. She is 3 years of joy, trouble, temper tantrums, and wonder wrapped up into a tiny little body. She helps me see things with a fresh set of eyes. november/december ‘11
tofindtara email: hello@taragentile.com website: taragentile.com twitter: @taragentile
2) The inter net. Is that cheesy? I’ve had access to the online world since 1992 (I was 10) and I wouldn’t give it up for the world. Sure, I take breaks from time to time but I always come back to marvel at my connectedness. It’s not a burden for me; it’s a thrill. 3) Earning power. For me, it’s not really about “how much” as it is about always being able to provide for the unexpected. When I need more, I can create it. There is real peace of mind in knowing that I have the ability to provide for myself, my family, and those I around me. You know, in truth I can’t stand questions like this one! Ha! My life is grand and extraordinary but there is very little in it that I wouldn’t trade away. I’m very flexible - fluid - and I find that has served me well in this life of entrepreneurship. Things change, priorities adjust, and I roll with the punches. That said, so many things get better with time! I’m a selfdescribed early adopter. I love change. Out with the old, in with the new. I love my MacBook Air, my Kindle, even just the way my business is run. But if I run into something that appears to improve on any of those things, I’m willing to give it a try! I have some fundamentals that I understand as unchangeable as
I mentioned above but, all in all, very little is precious to me. And I like it that way! What is your backstory - why and how did ‘Tara Gentile’ the brand emerge? The “Tara Gentile” brand is the current iteration of the self-realization I talked about in the first question. It’s also the result of my own journey toward confidence in my abilities, my value, and (giving) myself to the world. My business used to take the form of brand names and pseudonymous personas but I’ve discovered that I actually have more value when I’m my big-thinking, expansive-dreaming, practicalphilosophizing self. This brand has also emerged from getting clear about my purpose. It’s not enough to say what I do, I have to also communicate why I do it. That’s what people are attracted to. They may contract my services but what they’re really buying into is my vision for an economy that is led by passionate individuals, not heartless corporations. At this time, there is no brand name that better represents that vision. It’s mine. And I’m happy to stand up and be counted. lp To find Tara: email: hello@taragentile.com website: taragentile.com twitter: @taragentile
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Why Smart People Do Dumb Things By Tracy Saville The following is an excerpt from “FallingUp: Extraordinary Lives for Every Day People – The Human Guide to a Best Lived Life,” The Possibility Place Publications, 2011, 2012. All rights Reserved.
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remember the first time I stood outside myself and watched with fascination at my own lunacy. Those things for which we know inside are against our better interests—the simple lesson that we MUST choose to be good. We have to learn that everything we do badly or well has everything to do with how well we master ourselves; how well we lead our lives and ultimately how well we are able to lead everything else around us as grown ups with grown up responsibilities. These ideas exceed the basic “get a grip on adulthood” lesson we’re all supposed to grasp. Our momentary lunacy, or lack of consciousness about what we’re really doing and what we truly value, big and small, gets in the way. For example, smart personal choices and success isn’t a simple matter of being awake to one’s own feelings, attitudes or perceptions, though these are important aspects of getting to master our lives, to actualize our potentials. One must truly also know others as well, because therein lies the secret to every happy, productive relationship. Today it just might be your relationship with your adolescent son that is at risk when you make a decision that comes from a place of unconsciousness, but tomorrow it could be your vote cast for a candidate whom you think is authenti16
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cally real, only to find out he is a neoconservative who loves war and profit above your best interests. Today it is a nagging feeling that things aren’t right on your job, so you jump ship without thinking it through, while tomorrow you could lose that promotion you were supposed to get, not get that new job you think you will, and lose what you could not afford to lose the most: time. When people lose everything, there is a reason. Mostly, it is because they are asleep at the wheel. Making a mistake in any case wields very serious consequences for you and for all of us. The risk is that if we remain blinded to ourselves and to the benefits of consciousness of self, the amount of stupid human tricks we will rack up in our responsibility column becomes a kind of energy force that perpetuates itself. To live fully, and awake, knowing that mistakes may be made, but at least our choices and risks taken are conscious—
this is how smart people do smart things. The good news is, in a very scientific way, we are the perfect experiment in motion, a consistent turning over of theory, hypothesis, testing, and confirmation—ruling in what we believe works—ruling out what doesn’t. We seem to know the pattern of trial and error is a part of our human agreement. If we’re listening and if we’re awake. But when we are asleep at our own wheel, we can’t see how to drive our car. It isn’t as gooey as it sounds, or as esoteric. This is very practical stuff. And when it comes to underwhelming performance of our own individual purposes and gifts, it isn’t just ourselves we shortchange if we don’t work to stay away from “dumb” unconscious mistakes—we shortchange the entire global village. Risks are good, if we’re awake. Stupid is as stupid does, and even Forrest Gump knew that. lp november/december ‘11
Buddy’s 2012 Out With The Old/ In With The New List
Partying with any kind of tea – bags or otherwise. Green tea is still fi ne, as long as it doesn’t come attached to a red string. Partying as defined by fellowship with people who contribute positively to your life and without stimulants. Substance abuse. Seriously. It mucks with the pursuit of consciousness and is a real buzz kill. Joy abuse. Joy, Joy, Joy, and more joy.
of, or aspire toward. Distinctions are the new “it.” Personal mastery and personal leadership.
Current use of carbon as a political weapon.
Short term relationships you know won’t work, but the sex is great, so you hang on.
Renewable energy that isn’t politicized and creates real jobs.
Cutting the ties to people or things that do not feed your inner soul or outer lives.
Whiners and complainers.
Limitations. The only ones are in your mind. All things are possible, even the one’s you think are fantasy.
Giving up.
Plans and intention.The idea that great is possible for everyone.
Not doing good while doing well.
Lying. About anything. Ever. Enuff’ said. The truth, and nothing but the truth, so help you God/Universe/Godhead/Mother Earth/Your Mother – you get the idea.
Giving.
Really being a part of changing the world for the better. The 1% 100% of humanity.
Complicated fi nancial schemes; fancy mortgage products; excessive materialism; and technologies that don’t work.
Mediocre leadership – there is no such thing.
Under leveraging. Saving. Re-using. Using only what you need. Sustainability and efficiency. Smart consumerism. Quality over quantity.
Obesity.
Questions over the survivability of social media platforms that engage and connect people with integrity. Done, bought the t-shirt; they are not going anywhere anytime soon.
Being great.
Healthy lifestyles that breed quality and longevity.
Doers and problem-solvers. Coverage of people being famous for being famous. The end of pop culturalisms love affair with empty fame. Salt. Clean food. Fad diets. Sound nutrition. Bad moods. Consciousness. Rules for what constitutes a loving family.
Dogma, of any kind. Ideas and concepts of every kind. Half-assed journalism.
Crowdsolving, Crowdfunding. Crowds who gather peacefully. Groups.Teams. Villages. People who work for the benefit of others to get what they want.
Profi t without conscience.
Settling for good enough. Settling for anything.
Cultural economies.
Never ever accepting less than. Principles.Value. Integrity.
Post-secondary degree traps that don’t deliver real educations that benefi t people and society.
Not knowing what you want, like, need, dream
Innovative educational schools and
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programs built to people’s real needs that enhances internal and external human ability and skill equally.
Local journalism. Unconditional love without discrimination. And pickles, tattoos, children, and parades. Formulaic cop dramas. Zombies and heroes. leadingpossibilities
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thevillage
Demons Are Not Your Friends Why Regret Stands in the Way of Consciousness By Michael C.S. Wilson
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he journey to becoming a fully enlightened person who is consistently living with no regrets or pain created by themselves, and having the highest degree of love for life as they go along, is probably the most exhausting, hope-stripping, confusing path to ever walk. But, the ultimate prize of this relentless determination is pure beauty and love, found in every moment. The key is letting your demons go. For every regretful past experience one is capable of forgiving, or letting go of in the act of forgiving, a new found realization of what is possible for one’s life is born into consciousness, into active knowledge, and suddenly what is past no longer rules one’s life and one becomes the self. As the newly adopted knowledge that life can be lived without regret settles in, guided by one’s self into one’s integrity, one sees new opportunities to adopt even more new behaviors that build upon the ability to release regret and pain, advancing the soul and self in the process. If one does not accept the challenge of progressing the soul, the new knowledge learned is denied and forgotten, leaving the same regret locked inside, and the pain cycle continues. I think of these regrets as demons, and they’ve got to be exercised to experience enlightened states of being. I realize this is relatively dense subject matter, and ripe with philosophical concepts. But philosophy is very important, especially that which can unlock a newer, clearer you. We are all philosophizing whether we know it or not. Everything we do, or say, is a message to the entire universe, whether or not you realize it or accept it. It leaves a stain, for good and bad. Everything is conscious and connected, so being unconscious or acting out of regret and pain creates a negative wake that impacts others. Some things are not as conscious as or have as well-tuned reasoning skills as others, but even a stone in a lake is awake, as the molecules 18
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When I play the drums, it is consciousness expressed. It is the essence of letting go and being present at the same time. hold it together forming to make matter. A stone is only a stone because it is the process of becoming something else, dynamically moving forward. Human beings are the same. So here’s the rub. It’s hard. Exhausting. The bravest act ever taken, the business of letting go so you can find you. It is up to the individual to see how the self creates and reacts to experience. Narrow down the pixel size in your perception. Pick apart qualities and experience, deepening your senses that combine to make up your totality of awareness. A trifecta of seeing, hearing, and feeling, harmonized to enable the thoughts of your mind flowing in and out of your being like you’ve always known exactly what to do. ENLIGHTENMENT. I suppose everybody has a different clock that ticks at different speeds, but if one studies the self, glorifying its existence, one can fall into a natural groove and work all the kinks out. My best advice is to be a person of integrity by committing to a life without past regrets or pain felt from unsettled business. Don’t let the demons of your past stand between you and a better life. Stay tuned for Michael’s new website and blog at The Possibility Place coming soon. Do you have a question or comment for Michael? Send it to him at MCSwilson@ hotmail.com. lp november/december ‘11
Left, Island of Black and White performing outside the Barudoni Building at Front Street Friday. Right, The Old St. Mary’s Chapel (1883), recently relocated and restored in Heritage park on historic Front Street in downtown Rocklin.
As part of our new series on people writing about extraordinary locales and experiences, we give you:
On Front Street: A Taste of Cool in the Foothills By Bob Habian http://www.downtownrocklin.com
When you close your eyes and reflect on your favorite place, I’m betting Placer County only comes to mind for those who grew up in the foothills of Northern California … the odds are even for those who did; you won’t think of downtown Rocklin as being a happening place. In fact nearly 50% of the residents of Rocklin don’t even know there is or ever was a downtown. There is, and it’s coming back, and makes for a great destination if you’re headed for the hills. At the turn of the century (18991900), there were over twenty bars and more than sixty granite quarries in Rocklin, CA. The town was all work by day, and all out fun by night. The Italian, Chinese, Irish and Finnish communities mixed and huddled and broke bread and brawled. They were tough, spirited, and made an impression on the land november/december ‘11
that remains today. The adventure is in finding the relics of what was, and the challenge for insightful designers and culture barons is to participate in shaping its future. After graduating architecture school at Cal Poly SLO, I moved my family to Rocklin in 1991. It proved to be a great place to raise a family. HOWEVER… as a somewhat cultured design professional, I found myself, (like many others) “drowning in a sea of suburbia.” Everywhere I looked, I saw big-box retail, strip malls, tract houses, and that streetscape that looks a lot like Anywhere, USA. And then I found Front Street. Front Street is a little gem of a place that has history, charm, human scale, and is almost entirely the antithesis of suburbia. The historic street was at the heart of the original city, and is today on its way to becoming a place of fun, culture, music and community. Located just off Highway 80
East between Roseville and Loomis and Rocklin Road at the railroad tracks, (it literally “fronts” the tracks), Front Street is home to a handful of structures that survived two waves of epic fires that blazed through town long ago. The Rocklin House is home to a quaint insurance office, The Barudoni Building is a 1905 iconic building with granite walls that are twenty-four inches thick, and it currently serves as the headquarters for Blue Limit Music, an independent record label with studios in Rocklin and Loomis. You’ll also find the newly renovated St. Mary’s Chapel. The chapel was given a new lease on life after volunteers from the Rocklin Historical Society, the City and many private individuals pooled their resources to rebuild the old 1880’s building to its original glory. Many couples have chosen St. Mary’s as their wedding chapel, due to its classic style and gold-country vibe. Additionally, you’ll find original Victorian homes with leadingpossibilities
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character and style, some of which are a bit tired while others show great pride of ownership. 2011 marked the first season of Front Street Fridays, a trade and music festival series that was essentially a fourhour music concert, held every Friday from May through October, which featured independent, original artists, like Hero’s Last Mission, the Bell Boys, and Adrian Bourgeois, along with Blue Limit Music artists, Trevor Meneses and rising star, Providence Cordell. There were even a few special performances by bands from as far away as Sydney, Australia, (“Indigo Belle”) and Nashville, TN (“the Carter Brothers”, grandsons of the late, great June Carter Cash). The 2012 season starts back up on Friday, May 4th. The Rocklin Historical Society, along with Kiwanis and a number of local businesses, churches and community members are celebrating the second year of yet another new tradition on Front Street, the Old Town Tree Lighting Festival. In December, you can join hundreds of visitors in an old-style holiday festival, complete with carriage rides, caroling, cider, a tree decorating contest, and live music. The event is entirely FREE to the public and all ages are welcome. And while these activities mark the rebirth of activity on Front Street, there is room for so very much more. The Barudoni Building is preparing for its opening as a live music, beer and wine venue, that will offer its interior for events and celebrations for businesses, brides, and brides-tobe. The newly launched Rocklin Star is certain to become an important component of reinvigorating suburbia with a dose of rootsy culture. And if you’ve always wanted to live in a loft above a bar, and take the train to work every day, then you’ll find that on Front Street, too. I had the pleasure of renovating the upper floor of the historic Barudoni Building into two contemporary urban live-work lofts. The lofts are roughly 100 yards from the Rocklin Train Depot, where Amtrak’s Capitol Corridor shuttles workers between Colfax and San Jose daily. The train 20
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Concert-goers on the courtyard of the St. Mary’s Chapel (Rocklin Train Depot in the background), enjoying another weekly festival at Front Street Friday.
contractors, and place ride from Rocklin makers, that’s a good to Sacramento for thing. There’s simply commuters is a snappy a tremendous amount twenty-five minute of opportunity to ride that departs at build great places and 7am, Monday through carve great spaces in Friday. And for those areas like the Big Gun of you who are simply Quarry, (an enormous ready to escape the hole in the ground Sacramento city limits, that is the result of 150 I encourage you to years of blasting granite take the 5:30pm train for use in the curbs of from Sacramento to abouttheauthor many of the streets of Rocklin, book a night San Francisco). The or two one of the Bob Habian is an Architect/Entrepreneur and committed visionary resulting quarry pit, many Rocklin hotels for the future of downtown Rocklin. currently eighty-five (I recommend the Contact Bob at bobhabian@gmail. feet deep, is targeted Rocklin Park Hotel), com or call (916) 541-8659 and join to become an open-air and spend a little time the dream team. amphitheater with a on a walking tour seating capacity of up or visit the Rocklin to 4,500 people. Big opportunity here. History Museum nearby. Now close your eyes once again, Call me a dreamer, but I believe and think about downtown Rocklin. that downtown Rocklin is going Take a trip soon and find out not only to become the premier center for what you’ve been missing, but also arts and culture in south Placer what you might do to take an active County. Granted, most of what will part in shaping it’s future. be required to achieve that is as yet http://www.downtownrocklin.com lp un-built, but for architects like me, november/december ‘11
thingspeopleareupto In this new feature space, we present Nicholas Wray’s portraits of the eclectic at this year’s BIG Party 2011. Enjoy…
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01. The Boys from Shady Lady 02. The irrepressible urban artist Lily Moon 03. T2 writer/VP Michael C. S. Wilson with his Nana and CFO 04. Billy Blackburn as we expect him to be. 05. Community writer David Alvarez 06. Smart, creative guy Clay Nutting 07. The O’Hagain clan and one of the boys. 08. Kathryn Mattingly and her hubby, Dennis 09. Photog Meagan Lucy and Adam Corrigan, her photog husband, 10. Our MC Kristin Marshall from KCRA 11. Larisa Bryski and her one and only (Skip’s and well – rock and roll) 12. Ladd Woodland, resident graphic genius 13. Lonn Friend, rock writer with Kristin and Veronica Delgado – lucky guy. 14. Lori Anderson and her guy Mike Brown 15. Wes Fong our event photo 16. Michelle Alexander and Christina Marie hamming it up 17. And the crew – Nicholas Wray and company who made the night. People are still talking! november/december ‘11
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randomsightings
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02 01. Contemporary artist Raphael Delgado hamming it up at the Sacramento Sammies Block Party 2011 02. T2’s Sammies Booth 03. Tracy Saville and all the girls at Folsom Live 2011 Music Festival 04. Michael C. S. Wilson playing lives at Folsom Live (Folsom, CA) 05. Trisha Pickerel doing what she does best at Folsom Live 06. KFBK radio interview – Tracy Saville and Kitty O’Neal 07. September LI launch party 08. Sammy Hagar – photo taken by Tim Saville at Harrah’s show September 10, 2011.
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yourpurpose&career
Wanting More Meaning By Shawn Murphy
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t seems amidst all the craziness in our world, the conversation about having a more meaningful life comes up often. It’s a bright spot on these murky horizons without a doubt. Meaning is a topic central to a book proposal I’m working on and how leaders can leverage this aspect of being human. Perhaps because I’m writing about it, I see it everywhere. My friend Laura Goodrich writes about this phenomenon in her book Seeing Red Cars.
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e face several realities: tough global and personal economic lessons, relearning to make do with what we have, and living more simply. The list could go on. And because I’m preoccupied with all things leadership, I see how realities of our lives and times impacts leaders especially. BUT there is a way for leaders to be proactive and use adversity to their advantage, in ways that not only helps their employees in authentic ways, but helps their bottom line in the process by doing a better job of retaining them and providing value for them to stay. With tight budgets and meager salary raises, leaders can shift their focus to help employees pull more meaning from their work. Leaders who connect with their people get this – intuitively. I think, too, that leaders who want more from themselves get this. I like to believe november/december ‘11
abouttheauthor Shawn Murphy, CEO of Achieved Strategies, is an optimist. He believes anything is possible. It shows up in all his interactions and in his work. He is committed to transform how leaders connect with their people, inspire change, create value for the company’s customers, and grow the business rooted in partnership. He stands for: Preparing leaders to make a difference in the lives of those they lead; Guiding leaders to cause inspired change and transformation by balancing a fierce focus on the business’s strategy and operations with a relentless passion for caring about and engaging people; Designing solutions that cause business results to go beyond the limitations of past efforts; and Accelerating change forward by helping people get “unstuck” from beliefs and assumptions that no longer work for them.Visit him at his website AchievedStrategies.com, or for more information his toll free number is 888-361-5181.
there’s a certain “knowing” that there’s more meaning in leadership than cheerleading. People inherently also know when they’re being spoon fed a contrived response from a leader that says they care when actions don’t reflect that attitude. You really have to care to care. It’s also being brave or audacious, and it’s about wanting to see people achieve their goals. It’s about being part of another person’s life and experiencing her highs-and-lows, about failing together and recovering together, and about witnessing those ah-ha moments spread across an employee’s face, or standing on tables to make a point that will be remembered because it was delivered with passion. Yes, these are crazy times. But you, the leader who connects, you’ll witness the influences of wanting more meaning happening around you. It will take a good long pause to see it, but once you do tap into it, you can make a powerful contribution to your employees’ life.
And a Note On Recovering from Loss…
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y grandmother (we called her Nana) died in early October. It was unexpected. For us we felt it was the worst way to go. I think for my Nana it was the best way. Her passing ripped a tear in my life. Suddenly her spirit was not here. There in the space she once occupied; there was an empty hole. And there is no way to reconcile the loss other than to adapt to the empty space. Life will go on. Life must go on. The sense of loss had me thinking about how employees may be feeling with the sense of loss from laid-off co-workers, ending of important projects, a loss in pay, or change in work spaces. From the losses I see exhaustion and anger in employees’ faces and eyes. As a manager how are you addressing the sense of loss? We all deal with loss differently. In these uncertain times, this is no time to project onto others negative ways leadingpossibilities
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Helping each other can of dealing with grief, assumbring people closer togething it’s to “just keep movOur brains will attempt to reconcile loss. If er. It also helps reconcile ing” and ignore the impacts it’s not supported, the unresolved senses of the loss. And in business such difficult decisions loss can lead to dysfunction or destruction. this translates into focus, create. productivity, quality, imOur brains will attempt to ing of the house and moving my proved morale, and that’s reconcile loss. If it’s not grandfather to California. just for starters. supported, the unresolved senses I think the approach is the same People bruise, get angry, feel of loss can lead to dysfunction or for businesses. Turn to your “work sad, and feel lost when there is loss. destruction. families” to talk through what emGiven that people make a busiIn my family, my cousins and I ployees are experiencing. This is ness successful, we’d all do well are supporting our parents as they no time to disregard “feeling- disto respond to organizational loss deal with the many details. We cussions” in the workplace. It’s a remembering this: both people and are also talking with our parents, time to help each other. It’s a time business growth depends on it. letting them know we are here for to adapt and move forward. lp them. We’ll help with the pack-
Do the Work You’re Meant to Do By Brian Silverthorn
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re you doing the work you’re meant to do? You should be and you can. Does your work fit easily and comfortably into your life or do you have to force your life to accommodate the demands of your work? Many people define themselves by their work. They may have chosen their work for power, prestige, position or money. They may have chosen their work to please a parent or impress others. They may have chosen their work when they needed money and they now find themselves stuck in a place where they don’t really want to be. These people may be so busy making a living that they haven’t taken time to make a life. Common work related topics that come up in conversation include: • a micro-managing or incompetent boss, • departments that refuse to cooperate or to just do their jobs, • co-workers who spend more time trying to avoid work than getting their work done, • feeling unappreciated or under utilized, or • not being allowed to contribute thoughts and ideas. There are more examples of dissatisfaction and frustration, but I’m sure you get the picture. Why would anyone choose to spend 24
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abouttheauthor Brian believes that everyone should do work they love and fit that work comfortably into the lives they want to live. Everything he does in business is focused on helping people achieve this goal. He started and grew a couple of successful businesses in the Mid-west. After that he spent 25 years as a behind the scenes guy for company presidents and CEOs helping them grow their businesses successfully. Currently Brian and two partners are starting two technology companies. And, he’s also producing a video series teaching everything you need to know to start and grow a successful business. The free series will be available soon on his video channel. If you’re curious and want to learn more about Brian and his new ventures, please visit http://smallbusinessuprising.com, http://connectorswerk.wordpress.com, and http://job2work.wordpress.com. If you’re looking for your dream job or your looking for ideal employees and you’d like to be involved in the testing phase of a new method for making great matches between employees and employers, send your contact information to brian@smallbusinessuprising.com. Put LifeDream.net in the subject line.
most of every workday dealing with one or more of these situations? It just doesn’t make sense. I’ve heard all the arguments that try to justify these situations - benefits, security, and lack of other opportunities. These aren’t justifications. They’re cop-outs. They assume that it’s necessary to quit a current job or business in order to find the right one. Not true! It’s possible for everyone to do the work they’re meant to do. However, some people believe that the process for determining that work requires too much time and effort. As with all-important undertakings the first step is to make a commitment to consistently devote some time to the
process until the answer appears. The next step is to get started. No goal is ever achieved without getting started on the work required to achieve it. This process does require some effort. However, if living a happy, abundant life is important to you, you’ll make the effort. If you think the process is too much work or the result isn’t worth the effort, then you’ve made the decision to live your life frustrated and dissatisfied. That may sound harsh, but it’s true. Deciding to take action and make some consistent effort can produce big results. Consistency of action and effort are the keys to achieving any goal that’s important to you. Consistency november/december ‘11
will help you create the lifestyle you want through doing the work you were meant to do. One of the great things about discovering what you should be doing with your life is that you already have all the answers. The unfortunate thing is that the circumstances of life start working early on to cover the answers up or make them unrecognizable over time. The good news is that you can dig through all the accumulated clutter and find that long lost knowledge. The only skills you need are your imagination and your ability to visualize. The daydreaming that may have gotten you in trouble in school can now be used to get you where you want to go in life. This is an easy process. Set aside 15 minutes a day when you can sit quietly and uninterrupted. Start imagining what an ideal day would look like for you. Don’t allow the negatives to creep in. Don’t think about how much money it would take and where that money would come from. This is your ideal
day. Create it any way you want. Where would you live? What work would you do? Don’t say you’d just sit around and count your money. That sounds cool and may even happen for a while, but it’s not realistic. You’re wired to do something. You have a genius in you that wants to get out and won’t be denied. How would you spend your time? What stuff would you own? Would you travel? How often and where? Why would you do what you do? Eventually you’ll see the what and the why of your ideal day very clearly. Soon after that the how will reveal itself. This may sound unrealistic and even hokey. But…it works! I suggested this idea day exercise to a client of mine a few years ago. At the time he was working long days and long hours. He was frustrated and discouraged. After a few months of daydreaming and imagining his life changed dramatically. He spent more time with his
family. He took his kids to school. He worked out. He spent one to one time with his wife. He spent time in a coffee shop everyday and accomplished more in a couple of hours than he used to do in an entire day at the office. Once you’ve determined the work you were meant to do put the word out to your network. Make the description of your ideal job or business clear and comprehensive. The more vivid you can make the word picture of what you want the greater your chances of getting it quickly. There are so many things we can’t control is this mixed-up world we live in why not focus time and energy on the things we can control? Doing the work you were meant to do and living the life you want to live are things you can control. Find the key. Enjoy the abundance. This article was originally written in 2010 and is copyright protected Brian Silverthorn, 2010, All Rights Reserved. lp
Before the Leadership Vision… By Susan Bainbridge
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here is much talk these days of leaders and their vision. Almost every article published begins with the notion that leaders must have a ‘vision’; as if this is a unique concept. Of course leaders need a vision! Otherwise they would have no idea of their direction and so could not “lead” anyone, anywhere. Much more interesting, is what comes before the vision. What traits do certain people possess, that places them in leadership roles very early in life? Teachers recognize children with leadership abilities as soon as they begin formal education. What have these children learned in their first 5 years on earth that makes them leaders? 1. They tacitly understand that they ‘have a voice’. Not only do they know that they have the right to speak; but also they understand november/december ‘11
abouttheauthor Susan Bainbridge is an author, blogger, and has been a leader and educator for 40 years. She has transformed students, teachers, schools, communities, institutions and businesses. She has met the challenge of change in her own culture and in different cultures in which she has lived and worked. Her ideas and philosophy of transformational leadership go far beyond the rhetoric of simply a ‘vision’ and she can articulate the process in such a way, that other potential leaders can understand the specifics and map out their personal journey to create and sustain positive change. To find Susan….subscribe to her transformational blog at Scoop it! Recent Publication: Hoarfrost and Cherry Blossoms Website: http://www.susanbainbridge.net YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1PlivuDCuI0 Blogs: http://susanbainbridge-author.blogspot.com/ http://susan-bainbridge.blogspot.com/ Twitter: http://twitter.com/#!/arcticnovel Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/Susan-Bainbridge/118680931522549 Scoop.it: http://www.scoop.it/u/susan-bainbridge
that when they do speak, they must have something to say. Something others will find worthwhile and valuable. The school playground is a marvellous forum for practising leaders. The school years offer in-
valuable forays for skill-building and experience. 2. They are polite. They know when, where, how, and why to speak. Having a ‘voice’ does not mean interrupting others! leadingpossibilities
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3. They have no fear. Leaders don’t see themselves as brave. They simply enjoy taking risks. They have been taught to understand that life is all about risk. 4. They are losers. Leaders understand that life includes thousands of attempts to reach goals. They venture out there! They shoot at the net or swing at the ball, every chance they get. They know that every attempt brings them closer to the ultimate goal. They don’t look at failure in the same way as the majority of people. 5. They have high social intelligence. Leaders can ‘read the room’. They know who they can trust, who is speaking honestly, who is not on their side and which influencers they must win over. They know how to behave in varied situations. 6. They are talented sales people and motivators. There is no point in charting a route or envisioning a transformation if you cannot sell the idea to your team. A team needs to embrace the vision joyously and enthusiastically. 7. They are introverts. They do not receive their energy from oth-
ers, but find it within themselves. It is others who feed off the energy of the leader. They socialize when it is part of the job, but prefer to spend time alone. These are the attributes acquired long before the creation of a vision. Not all leaders have a full complement of each trait; after all we are talking about humans and so each leader has a unique blend of ability and skill. Pundits are still trying to de-
uating syndrome for some, much like our images of the Kennedy dynasty. In my collecting and reading of articles on leadership from all over the world, I find there is a common thread throughout leadership discussions these days promoting the idea that leadership can be taught. Perhaps leadership can be taught by thoughtful mentors EARLY in a child’s development. It must be
“Teachers recognize children with leadership abilities as soon as they begin formal education. What have these children learned in their first 5 years on earth that makes them leaders?” termine whether these traits are taught or inherited. Does the joy of risk-taking lie deep within the DNA or is it a lesson learned early in life? It’s probably a little of both. Children born into families that embrace these traits and exhibit them daily are most likely already carrying the Alpha and symmetry genes. So it might be a self-perpet-
taught very early, because leaders require years of practice before adulthood in order to test and refine skills. Can someone learn how to become a leader later in life? Of course . . . but success depends on the motivation of the student and the quality of the teacher! Are you teaching tomorrow’s leaders? lp
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Cheating Paradise literarywords
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By Kathryn Mattingly
y view from this room has deeply affected me, like a painting that speaks to the soul through the artist’s brush. At first all I saw was the very average and dated décor. When slipping through the sliding door onto the deck, disappointment was further felt at how small the inlet was with its white sandy beach barely bigger than a picture post card. There were lots of native Hawaiians everywhere at first glance, and although I found them interesting, they were somewhat intimidating. At least, upon my initial arrival to shores more foreign than familiar. But slowly the view from my deck transformed… became interesting, as it gathered personality and depth, just as you did. The cumbersome black lava dock that seemed less than picturesque with its noisy machinery - at second glance - is merely the backdrop for the tiny boat-studded bay. Dock activities upon even closer examination are one intriguing event after another, and never boring to observe from my binoculars. The sailboats bobbing in the sea beside the broad dock have set my heart to dreaming unencumbered dreams that have no boundaries, no rules to fence me in. There is just ocean blending into sky as my thoughts soar unrestrained. I have observed the mood shifts of this scene outside my window, created by the different shades of light and array of sounds, just as I know your moods by heart. Each morning a rooster crows in the distance while pigeons coo in nearby palms. The sky glows a soft pink and hills beyond the bay shimmer in a rosy mist. Canoes and kayaks are neatly arranged on the early morning shore, and there
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is order in the peaceful dawn, where soon there will be chaos. After the rooster quits crowing and the mist on the hills lift, people begin to appear on the beach and along the wide dock. Skippers are preparing their boats to set sail, or transport divers and deep-sea fishing tourists to where they can renew their spirits. Each day they embark upon a different adventure and capture another memory to sustain them on the mainland through stress filled days ahead of hectic routines, just as our stolen moments sustain me through the harrowing weeks without you. By mid-day toddlers run in the shallow waves and lovers lay side by side on towels letting lotion-drenched bodies absorb the mystical powers of a tropical sun. Kneading out knots formed by a career of choice, spouse of choice, lifestyle of choice. Loosening muscles constricted by daily duties that weigh us down and send us looking for where the clock stops. Where time stands still. Where palm trees, sun, surf and sand merge as one priceless therapy session. Early evening brings a subtle breeze to lick at hot, oiled skin and clear out semi-conscious thoughts of selling everything you own and leaving everything you are to come here and be someone else, anyone else. The lights begin to glow in the lamps that dot the shore and line the dock of the tiny mystical inlet, or fantastical lazy bay. The harbor changes color like a chameleon, from sea greens and misty blues to shades of melon and peach as a tender sunset caresses the shoreline. In the middle of the night I lean on the rail and feel as one with this setting, as I now feel as one with you. The sprinkling of lights everywhere give feathery shadows to the palm leaves moving ever so slightly in the balmy, barely distinguishable breeze. Sounds are noticeably noc-
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turnal. Hushed, reverent. Lush greenery rustles - swaying like a whisper, and the tide is but a tiny ripple kissing the sand. Boats in the harbor are moored with creaking ropes that strain against the lapping sea. Silent twinkling stars light hills beyond the bay. Nothing stirs in the predawn but my imaginings. A morning serenade from the neighboring rooster awakens me. The native birds are quiet, but can be heard in the late afternoon as a frenzied chorus of chirping in the bushes beside the paths traveled endlessly by browned, barefooted beings. I know the routine well - the sights, the sounds, the life outside my railing on this miniature island beachfront postcard, with the long wide dock and glistening sea-blue bay. It is holding me hostage for a fraction of time, an instant. It is a taste of what life can be at its most illusive height of non-reality –just as you are. I have come to know your sounds - your touch. Memories of you tickle me like a soft tropical breeze. Who you are has melted into who I am, similar to this view, this inlet, this bay of sailboats silhouetting the horizon. You are my paradise. You fill me up with your poetry, like exotic flowers - delicate, fragile, oozing a sweet scent. Luring me in, seducing my senses. Like blossoms on the breeze,
I will mourn the loss of my short stay in paradise. I will never forget the sounds and the moods, the various settings of light and shadow. salt spray in my hair, your hands on my body. Caressing, arousing – tasting, tantalizing. Your love is like shimmering colors in the mist, with no hope on the horizon, as we dare to dream beyond where even sailboats boldly roam. I lie near the shoreline where waves rush over me. Foamy, frothy, and glistening as they soak into the sand beside me, as I sink into your strong arms, fall into your mirage of safekeeping from the world. For only an instant - like paradise - fleeting, costly, not obtainable, not really. Not for long. Not forever. Not for every day tangible touchable reality. Because we have lives to return to, love ones to protect, lies to tell. Why do we hide who we really are, what we really are all about? Why do we cling to images and illusions that define us through others, but not through our own eyes? How did fear and deceit come to rule us? What courage it would take to give up the falsehoods we hide behind, to respect others with our honesty. We are cheating those who trust in us to be true, cheating on private beaches with stolen moments. 28
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abouttheauthor Cheating Paradise was a Writer’s Digest Short-Short Competition award winner. Kathryn Mattingly is a six-time Maui Writers attendee, and has studied under best-selling authors: Terry Brooks, Elizabeth George, Dorothy Allison, John Saul and Gail Tsukiyama. She has a BS from University of Oregon and an MFA in Education-Teaching from Pacific University. Kathryn has received significant recognition for excellence, including four first place awards for short fiction pieces: “Cheating Paradise,” “Goodbye My Sweet,” “Light of the Moon,” and “The Stein Collection.” She was a New Century Publications quarterly finalist with her second novel, “Benjamin” and for her short story collection, “Affairs of the Heart.” Her work is published in eight anthologies and in the magazine: “Dark Discoveries.” This is the first time her work appears in “leadingpossibilities”. What others have to say about Kathyryn’s work: Editor, Writer’s Digest on Cheating Paradise: “This year’s contest attracted close to 18,000 entries.Your success in the face of such formidable competition speaks highly of your writing talent, and should be a source of great pride as you continue in your writing career.” Publisher, Liz Engstrom Cratty, TripleTree Publishing: “Kathryn Mattingly’s fiction has always shown great depth of character and emotion, with simple, yet clever plots. Her characters live and breathe in my mind for a long time after reading about them. I’ve had the pleasure of publishing three of Kathryn’s short stories, and I hope she keeps writing short stories and novels forever.” We couldn’t agree more.
Cheating paradise. What could be more foolish than that? I am sad to leave this room and this view that I have grown so accustomed to. I will mourn the loss of my short stay in paradise. I will never forget the sounds and the moods, the various settings of light and shadow. Like the back of my hand, I know this picture of perfection - these palm trees, lush hills, and sleek sailboats. This harbor will live forever in my mind, only its details fading with time. But the monstrous dark lava dock will remain crystal clear to me always, because it is part of the real world, the everyday busy working world. It is the link from fantasy to reality, the lifeline that clearly defines the truth of the matter - I cannot return again to your open arms, any more than I can ever forget our time in paradise, our last hurrah, our final kiss, our love that could only leave a wake of destruction in its path. An illusion of integrity merely makes a mockery of it. And so the tiny picture postcard of our shared fantasy will sit unassumingly in the journal of my life, and if I could write upon the back and mail it to your door, my sweet, lost, forbidden love, it would simply say that paradise comes with a cost. And that price is more than I can bear. lp november/december ‘11
Photo by Tyler Mussetter
“I think poetry will become or has become a part of our everyday living. Only dance has it like that.” —Terry Moore
Moore Please: The Transforming Words of Terry Moore By Tracy Saville
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father. A son. A mentor. A rock against which other people can toss their pain. A man who seems to be a wall of confidence and intelligence, a poet master, and a regular guy who once wrote love letters to imaginary women. How lucky was I to have found the genius of spoken word artist, Terry Moore. Meeting him for our interview at The Urban Hive, my eclectic shared office space where art is infused in the bricks it seems, we settled in, this our first face-to-face meeting. And within ten seconds of sitting together in person, it was like a warm spring afternoon made lovely by a cool northeasterly breeze, mint-flavored ice tea, and a few well-placed naughty jokes that your Aunt Lita wouldn’t mind re-telling in public. There’s something sweet and good and unexpected about Moore, a Northern Californian who graduated from one of the oldest high schools in Sacramento, and who by his own account saw writing and school as something deserving of only enough effort to survive. When I asked him if he had any rough spots growing up or whether or not he was a bad boy, he blushed, and then laughed, a deep outside of his body kind of chuckle with a grin that spoke volumes. Know that Terry Moore has opened for Maya Angelou and over 30 other big names, has received five Best Poet awards, and hosted The Show, a poetry and music event for over 10 years. He is respected enough to help other upcomnovember/december ‘11
ing poets and singers in his local community to reach higher heights and has brushed words and shoulders with the likes of Cornel West, Harvard’s infamous activist professor who, according to Moore, sat in the front row once during one of his performances, and told Moore he “was impregnated with his words,” an unsettling experience to be sure. Moore recounted though how the experience cemented his love affair Photo credit unknown. Artist permission granted. with the craft. There is great reverence about what he does simmering behind the beguiling eyes of this upstanding spoken wordist, and a highly professional quality and ease about his stature, though he is also as comfortable as a worn favorite recliner to be around. I felt he knew that the word experience isn’t about him; it’s about you and me, and what that connection with him in any form means to our lives. A self-published author of 17 poetry books, he is a oneleadingpossibilities
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of-a-kind performer, who brings a candidly poetic, satirically funny, poignant, and always irreverent unique voice to every stage he performs. No two shows are ever the same, and much of what comes out of his mouth is unrehearsed, so special and singular is his talent. Having been a structural mechanic, working on an A6 Intruder bomber carrying ship in the Navy at 19 years of age, he credits the Navy with how he found himself speaking rhyme and capturing human emotions on stage. “Boredom,” he said, “I found poetry because that ship was boring.” How very un-poetic, I thought, but then I realized there is great poetry in the fact Moore found his voice in the bowels of an iron container writing every day to imaginary women. Imagine being cooped up for five months with 5,000 men, occasionally playing for the Navy’s Basketball World Team (and so he also has game on the court). Eventually his mind turned to writing letters, to girls back home and imaginary girlfriends, love letters and poems which he describes as a time when he wrote to women, whereas now he is known for writing about woman, in ways from reading his work, it seems, he knows them from the inside out. Moore admits he doesn’t write a lot of his work on paper, that much of his creation happens inside his head until he walks on a stage and lays it down. He stays away from politics, because it changes so much and feels as if controversial words can split the minds of people in a room, when what he hopes for is unificaPhoto by Rayford Johnson tion, not altercation. He knows what he does is healing and that when he performs for people like single mothers, or people searching for answers, what they need is to feel affirmed, to feel recognized, not judged. He tells the truth, but is always encouraging in the end. About poetry Moore believes it is the most popular and intellectual literary genre, the only craft where you can go enjoy it every single night of the week at a venue. There is not a huge industry for it, he admits, but the special and dedicated poets make it. Popular culture seems to be embracing it more, especially spoken word, as poetry and performance is appearing in more commercials and in more movies than ever before. “I think poetry will become or has become a part of our every day living,” Moore believes, (and) it’s even in schools as an after school program. Only dance has it like that.” Words, it seems, are born in him, and once there he has to get them out. He also believes that words should never 30
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be used “in the art of war,” a sentiment so moving I nearly cried when he said it. About creative blockage he said the only thing that blocks him emotionally from creating is a basketball game, which I suggested must not be a problem lately considering the NBA lock out. He rolled his eyes and squinted happily, and I was unsure if his expression was about not having his basketball fix or having unfettered time with words. About whom he admires in the poet realm he easily spouts the names Saul Williams, Maya Angelou, and Talaam Acey. “Y’all should buy my CD’s because I used to sell crack,” says Acey, whereas Saul Williams writes things like “the truth is changing lanes” against a visually stunning backdrop of cityscape on video and originally produced music. Angelou, of course, writes books with titles such as “All God’s Children Need Traveling Shoes,” and it seems in watching Moore perform on one of his many YouTube videos (see links below) he is truly an amalgam of all these influences; street smart, creatively innovative, and deeply resonant. Moore added later in our interview that he was
Photo by Gerry Simpson
also inspired by Michael Guinn from Texas, who was an investigator and found spoken word and poetry as a means of managing his stressful life. And he mentioned loving Sacramento’s own Leah Alright Byrd, who like Moore who does over 70 shows a year, has performed on local Northern California stages like Mahogony on Broadway. Eventually our conversation meandered to his family, and he has a seven year-old daughter whom he adores and a fiancé equally as important to him. He spoke of his father, who carried a cassette tape of one of his performances everywhere he went, and he would play it for anyone who would listen. His father passed away before Moore won four Best Poet awards, which he regrets, but he was, Moore proudly beams, “an active promoter” of career. His mom, who brags about him often at church, is also a great supporter of his career, as are local celebrities such as Sacramento Mayor Kevin Johnson mother, november/december ‘11
Georgia “Mother Rose” West, who owns a book store called Underground Books in Oak Park, a community struggling to keep it’s roots alive through literature, art, and Photo credit unknown. Artist permission granted. grass roots passion for authentic artistry in the black culture. T’Mo, a name that started in the military and stuck, is what most of the world call Terry Moore these days, and he has a new collection of poetry out called “Shadows of My Love,” which can only be found at Underground Books in Sacramento, in deference to the community he loves so dearly. This year already he’s performed at the Guild Theatre Red Carpet Ladies Night Out, the Black Nurses Scholarship Fundraiser, the Century Methodist Chapel Harvest Festival, Beacon of Hope fundraiser for Cottage Housing, and he opened for NAACP Music Festival, the World Music and Dance Festival, and ZAPP, an old school R&B band. Locally, too, you can find him performing at Luna’s Café in downtown Sacramento or at the South area’s Florin Business Art’s Complex in the Obama Room, or the Sacramento Poetry Center. Throughout our interview, which was easy and flowed like we had been best friends for years, I couldn’t help but feel like I was in the presence of someone who would before his life was done touch the hearts and minds of millions. I can’t yet say how that kind of acclaim will come, but if he sticks to his authentic drive for staying focused on the encouraging truthful words people need to hear, he’ll get there sooner than most. I loved terry Moore’s spirit and life force on sight, and I was moved to tears of both joy and creative awe when I first saw him perform. The thing about spoken word as compared to words on a page is that you receive the human connection, and there is an energy force built between that live performer and the audience that is wholly unique to that moment in time. We share some of his poetry lyrics here, but to know the genius of Terry Moore, you have to watch him do his thing. I did and was blown away. I know you will feel the same. His impact is universal. To connect find him at fromtheheart1@hotmail.com, or explore all that is T’Mo, you can find him at these following links: Terry Moor’s Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1099660603 Event Page: http://www.mybmsf.com/terrymoore/ Official Site: http://www.terrymoore.info/ A video to catch: http://www.youtube.com/ watch?v=yqJb0XxK4Vo lp november/december ‘11
hispoetry The Man You Need
I may not buy you roses What good are they when they will soon die? Many times they are intended to cover pain The pain of lies while looking into your eyes I may not serenade you publicly I’d rather do it more passionately privately Not on stage to show off to others who don’t even know us I’d rather serenade you at home where you can have the best of me
Photo by Gerry Simpson
I won’t blind you into love with material item purchases I’d rather make your dinner and rub your feet after a long hard day Money can be used by any man without a real plan But my plan is to use my labor of love to make you stay I may not run all around the church But best believe I’ll pray for you all of the time I may not be better for your body than milk But I know I’ll be the best for your heart and mind I may not have all the right words to say But when you’re lying next to me you will feel my love Every morning when the sun rises and shines on our faces No words will be needed for these moments given from heaven above I won’t be who they suggest for you in the magazines Not Brad, Usher, Denzel, or any other suggested lead I was sent directly to your arms from God I was simply born to be the man you need I’ll work hard for you in every area I’ll keep the honesty, dedication, and pure love out in front for you to see Because I know that in order for you to feel like a Queen 100% I must without a doubt, be the man that you need me to be. My Little Angel I knew you were an angel from the moment I laid eyes on you I was right there where a real father is supposed to be Watching you enter into this world Waiting for the nurse to hand you over to me That was my proudest moment A moment that will always be in the center of my heart It was then that I decided That I would never allow anyone to tear us apart Now you’ve gotten older I’ve watched you grow tall I’ve watched you blossom into a beautiful rose of a little girl A rose that I will never allow not even one of your pedals to fall I was the very first to hold you I was the one who gave you your name I will always love you my little angel I know you feel the same It is important for me to be with you It is important to me to be in your life along the way Now that I’m here let me make it clear Only my life’s expiration can take me away I’m so proud of you my angel You are such a beautiful and wonderful little girl Thank you for being the greatest gift I could ever ask for Thank you for being the center of my world. leadingpossibilities
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artmusicdesign
The Brave New Artisan
Work of
Priscilla Daniels
The following pieces are skull masks and paintings. In her own words, Priscilla describes the work, methods, and intention. Masks vs. Paintings “With the masks I wanted to create pieces that honor the traditional meaning of Dia De Los Muertos, while still providing the personal unique approach of celebrating individuality. I wanted to create a different kind of mask with a more personal message to the viewer. When a person dies, each person is engraved in our memory for different reasons. These reasons make us cherish everything unique about them. Often times these memories are the sole purpose of people carrying on traditions that would otherwise be forgotten with time. The things we remember about the ones who passed have helped remind us of our purpose here. 32
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“ 2011 Dia De Los Muertos mask series” title: “Tequila con Limon” (Series at Mayahuel tequila museo in Sacramento, Ca)
(From 2011 Dia De Los Muertos “made with love” mask series) november/december ‘11
From 2011 Dia De Los Muertos mask series titles “Fiesta of flavor” (Series at Mayahuel tequila museo in Sacramento, Ca)
From 2011 Dia De Los Muertos mask series
“When I think about someone close to me that is no longer here I think about their characteristics — their favorite color, food, favorite flower, their hobbies, work, quirky habits…These are things that make us smile, laugh and cry and carry on some of the person’s traditions in our own individual lives. When creating a mask, I use just about anything that is related to the character I am attempting to build within the mask. These masks create a colorful, vibrant, personal piece of remembrance for any home or wall space. Materials
“The new world” 2011
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start with acrylic paint for the base and are built from there with anything from pieces of wood to beads, feathers, faux birds, faux fruit, baskets, compact mirrors and the list continues on. Currently a series of my masks are on display at Mayahuel Tequila Museo in Sacramento, Ca.” “Like my masks, my paintings usually include bold acrylic colors with dark lines that outline the subjects showcased.”
“The lime tree” 2011 and “Rosa” 2011
“The Valley” 2011
From 2011 Dia de Los Muertos mask series titled “In the garden”
“Stairs to his heart” 2011
“The Makeup Gift” 2011
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Intention “Many times I find myself implementing water as a choice for natural element outside of the subject to give the feeling of comfort and tranquility, but more importantly, because water in itself carries emotion for me; dependence on wa-
ter is so crucial and is obviously the natural base of our environment that provides life to so many living things. When I use a natural element like water or even dirt in a painting, it inspires me to another level.”
“Hermanas” 2011
“Her light within” 2011
“In some paintings, I combine human figure with natural elements to show the pull between human emotion and environment and how they affect one another. I go back and forth between the two subjects while I am painting giving each adequate attention. My goal when I am finished with a painting like this is to create a feeling of balance within the piece. With all of my art, my goal is to create a story. It wouldn’t make sense if I wanted the story to be mine and mine alone forever. Of course my paintings are inspired
by my emotions, my own thoughts and ideas, but the message will always strike each viewer differently based on their own individual memory and life. This is one thing that I hope for when a viewer comes across one of my pieces. I feel that any art is a form of deeper communication for the artist and the appreciator. Art helps us reach a little deeper into others and ourselves as well. As an artist I feel it is important to share art with others because you never know what lasting impact it might have on someone.”
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Inspiration “One of the artists that I am inspired by is Frida Kahlo because of her willingness to take risks at a whole new level in her work. The fact that she was a woman made it even more amazing that she was willing to take those risks back in her time. She broke ground for a lot of women and artists. She opened people’s eyes to the idea that women artists don’t have to paint status quo trees and flowers; its about human emotion too.”
“Artists like Georgia O’Keefe, Diego Rivera, Klempt, Van Gogh, Paul Gaugin and many others also inspire me. I think that being an artist you can never tell where life is going to take you, but what is interesting is to watch the style of your work change and cater to new situations and environments in the process of your journey.”
About the artist Priscilla is a self-taught artist who works with acrylics, oils and mixed mediums. Many of her pieces can be characterized as invoking an emotional connection to the scene or thought being portrayed. She uses bold paint colors that play a strong role with this connection. Much of Priscilla’s inspiration to create came from the sounds and images as her parents made the decision to spontaneously move from Southern California to Northern California with her three siblings in hopes of finding refuge and solitude away from a rough poverty stricken area in which Priscilla’s family previously lived. At age 10, Priscilla, her mom and three younger siblings moved into a Women’s Refuge Shelter for Victims of Domestic Violence. While being a child resident at that Women’s shelter Priscilla participated in an art class there that encouraged her. “There were so many materials to express myself I was overwhelmed with inspiration.” She has survived much, and is now a mom herself, and believes “art will always be a part of my life that no one can take from me.” Priscilla calls her work “Story Art.” Her work has been shown in exhibitions throughout California and while living in Sacramento, her work was recently selected as cover art for the June 2011 issue of N magazine Including a full-page spread and bio inside. She has held individual exhibitions throughout Northern California. She has participated and donated her works for causes that benefit victims of Domestic Violence. Priscilla currently
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resides in Las Vegas, Nevada, and she be connected with through the following: Contact Info :www.facebook.com/Priscilla’sStoryArt dpriscilla54@yahoo.com 530-440-3000 lp
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“Take a Bow.” Model: Belle Star, Nevada City, CA. 2011/made with fl ash light, led bar and cold cathode
c i r t c ele
The
Photographic Art of Ryan Lunsford
Editor’s Note: Ryan shot the early band photos of our son’s first award-winning band and the iconic brand photo for our leader development company, where Tim Saville is yelling at me and I stand against the onslaught. We knew he was special. He can capture life and emotion with speed that grabs an impossible shot very few photographers are capable of. When we saw this recent light work, we knew it was perfect for the Risk issue. Ryan is indeed a risk taker, but he rarely loses, mostly because of his research, preparation, and eye for details. He has that disciplined approach to his work and the results are electrifying.
About the artist
Ryan Lunsford began snapping photos when his daughters came to be, thinking that it would be 36
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used mostly to document their existence. He quickly became obsessed, now spending a good part of his days thinking about image making. “It’s like a sickness,” Lunsford reports, “I’m constantly imagining everything as a photograph, whether it would work or not. I don’t let a day pass that I don’t do something photography related whether it’s shooting, working on something in post or just reading another photog’s blog. I’m completely head over heals for the art of making photographic images.” We couldn’t be happier about that. Recently, he’s been enthralled with long exposure light photography, the process of finding a dark or mostly dark location, setting the camera to bulb, locking open the shutter and painting the scene with light. He describes it this way: november/december ‘11
“2011. Truckee, CA/made with flashlight and firework fountain spun on string”
“Invasive Species - 2010 in Monterey, CA/made with led flashlight”
Sometimes you paint the subject and sometimes the light itself is the subject. You can record every movement of the light as it passes through time and then view that passage of time in a single image. The senses become heightened in the dark. Objects and spaces take on different shape and different meaning. When I’m surrounded by night, in a forest or next to the roaring ocean, or in an abandoned drainage culvert or mine there’s a sense of mystery, a tenseness and it comes across in the images. As the camera records only light, the darkness is a blank canvas in which I can shape my own world. For me making these images is as much about the experience of creating as it is to having the finished product. When asked who he was influenced by: Douglas Hooper is an amazing local photographer that introduced me to light photography and whom I owe a great debt of gratitude. He is an official Burning Man photographer and has an incredible catalogue of work. There are just so many mind blowing photographers right now that I would not even know were to start in naming personal influences. It really all depends on genre of imagery. I spend a lot of time in the “light junkies” Flickr group where I have made contacts from all over the globe. I believe the best light photographers in the world are in this group. Every day a light junky from Japan, Germany, Australia, Los Angeles or New York uploads an image that I look at and think, ‘crap, I wish I did that.’ In the end, I draw a ton of influence from music. Music has always been a stimulant in my life. There is nothing like a great song to get you pumped for any occasion and photography is no different. For more information and to see more of his work: www.lunsfordphoto.com become a fan at http://www.facebook.com/pages/RyanLunsford-Photography/169105433160523 or see his photo stream at Flickr http://www.flickr.com/photos/ryanlunsford/ lp november/december ‘11
Above, “Golden Globes – Auburn, CA drainage culvert, 2010/made with sparklers” Left, “Down the Drain” - Nevada County drainage culvert, 2010/ made with battery powered Christmas lights and electric luminescent wire”
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denouement
What a Big Party 2011 We Had…
30 social, creative, civic, and business leaders were honored as Transformative sources of change in the Northern California region (Photo 01 by Nicholas Wray), and you can read all about them in the magazine program designed for the October 20th event here! (http://issuu. com/nerdperfect/docs/bigparty?mode= window&viewMode=doublePage) (02) Nicholas Wray created an unbelievably innovative photo situation at the event to capture profile photos, and we helped raise some funds to kick off his new Sacramento 100 Urban Portrait Project (see inside “Things People Are Up To”). (03, 04, 05, 06) Special gust MC Kiristin Marshall (07) and literary guest from LA, rock Journalist Lonn Friend (08, 09) made the evening eclectic and high energy, as did a surprise performance by Billy Blackburn, our next issue Entrepreneurial Feature Cover Profilee (10). Clemon Charles and Mike Wilson was there with the alt/pop music arrangements (11, 12) who hung with Tim Saville, CO-CEO of T2, and his partner Tracy Saville (13), the evening’s host and hostess. The red carpet theme was swank, the food rocked (By Mulvaney’s B&L – just named a top TOP eatery by Zagats), the crowd was over 150 and for many, the first time they’d ever networked together, and our honorees (14) were celebrated for their innovative leadership and their transforming impact to the art, business, and cultural scene in Sacramento. Put October 20th 2012 on your calendars now…we will be back when this year’s honorees recommend next year’s. All other photos by Wes Fong and David Alvarez. lp 38
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The Creative Fund and The Possibility Place www.t2ps.com/thepossibilityplace to subscribe
C
oming in January, the new online community that will support this magazine and so much more great content -- “The Possibility Place” will host and launch the creative content commerce marketplace that drives The Shirt Off Your Back Campaign and The Creative Fund. LeadingPossibilities magazine was launched in September as an introduction to the content readers can expect in this new learning community, to house “worlds” of exploration of mind, body, spirit, family, purpose, and career, housing writers writing original content, writers and publishers who want to share their essays and articles published elsewhere, profiles of people and places/experiences, short fiction, poetry, spoken word, webinars, training vids, film, graphic novel work, art, music, photography - all connected to one of the themes in the “world” within the site representing the human experience. Our goal is make this magazine and content community global, certainly saturated on the West Coast by mid2012 and heading East by the summer. The big picture? We’re building it all to also sell and distribute the creative content and products of creative designers, such as apparel, art, music, and books and film, to connect creative assets with consumers who want extraordinary quality and emerging, fresh voices and talent to fill their lives. The initiative will jump start in California and the West Coast, building up inventory of both high end new original content, apparel, and products as well recycled and re-conditioned, or re-distributed. The Possibility Place is becoming a full fledged publisher, distributor, and merchant, using it’s income and profit to support the development and november/december ‘11
Photos by Wes Fong
expansion of conscious, extraordinary talent and artistry, and programs we believe will help change the world for the better. The magazine and community will remain free to users and visitors. Creators and producers are still paid for their new/original content/ products, but items are priced lower and profit proceeds go to the fund, which in turn supports art supplies and programs for kids in schools, sustainable farm-grown food for the hungry, and writers/photographers/artists/film makers whose work transforms people’s lives in some transcendent way. Look for all the details coming soon – you should subscribe to this magazine to get the breaking details!
FINAL WORD ABOUT OUR PUBLISHING: Each time we publish - we strive to carry art, photography, design, risk-
based fashion and life style experience (risk as in people taking risks with their entrepreneurial talent in these areas) anything that enhances a person’s visual, emotional, psychological, emotional, intellectual experience - our main magazine objective is to profile people, places and things/experiences that are extraordinary, that demonstrate some core aspect of authentic consciousness, transformative quality or extraordinary aspect of the human condition/ability. We are also self-deprecating, satirical at times, and mission-driven to be and continue to grow into a publishing company whose content (owned and commissioned) earns journalistic credibility, is viewed as ethical, nonpartisan, literary at times but not precious or critically arrogant, unique, of high quality, vibrant, cutting edge and Harvard-grade whenever we’re sharing best strategies or advice/ knowledge. lp leadingpossibilities
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cominginfebruary Also, Adam Reader, renowned sculptor, shares his irrepressible work and mind with readers, redefining what we think of when we say “something out of nothing” and how current culture can have its place in traditional forms of art. Plus so much more!
Adam Reader
Billy Blackburn
The Entrepreneurial Issue, including our cover profile of Billy Blackburn, a hydroponic entrepreneur who is using his green-acquired cash to fund a musical business dream; Lori Anderson’s interview with health and fitness expert and musicradio talk show host Tina Arana Anderson… Plus the extraordinarily Ron Kendall powerful and unique art of Ron Kendall, the social engineering mind and photography eye of Nicholas Wray, new poetry and short fiction from familiar and unfamiliar pens, our new Enlightenment features, a story about ghosts, and a report on the cultural economy on the West Coast.
Tina Anderson
Then, in our first investigative series, we launch two stories about the evolution of contemporary art and how it’s finding it’s commercial roots and post-digital soul, and we ask what’s happening in Seattle, Portland, LA, in Sacramento…our interview with Michelle Alexander Norcal’s champion for the cultural economy: Is there something going on in the world of start-ups in creative capitalism? Subscribe here if you haven’t already! https://www.t2ps. com/ThePossibilityPlace/freestuff.html 40
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Michelle Alexander november/december ‘11