Fiction 4 Change

I've started a twitter account to talk about Fiction4Change, using the power of fiction to create real change in the world.

You can follow me at http://twitter.com/fiction4change

For example, I ran into this really cool article that uses fictional narrative to make a report on a court proceeding much more engaging.
http://www.slate.com/id/2281715/

If you have more examples, send them my way!

Terrene: the hidden valley book launch

Friends,
I am pleased to announce the launch of my new novel: Terrene: the hidden valley.

As many of you know, I have been working on this book for almost two years now. It is born from my desire to help the world navigate the impending challenges of great environmental and technological change and from my belief that stories can change the world. I am happy that I am able to share this with you and hope that you will help me make this book a success. I am launching only an eBook version without any traditional marketing, so you and your networks are critical to the success of this book.

Step 1.) Buy the book here
This is only released on the Amazon Kindle so that I can focus my efforts on one store. Getting traction in one place is critical to bubbling up to the top so that random people will find the book. You are critical to this. You do not have to have a Kindle to buy this book, but you will have to sign up for an Amazon account and download a reader to view it on a PC, Mac, iphone, ipad, or Android device. You can also buy a Kindle ebooks as a gift to someone else.

Step 2.) Write a review here
Good Reviews and good quality reviews are critical for online stores. Please take the time to write a good review for this book. It will make a huge difference in the future of this book and is the best present you could possibly give me.

Step 3. ) Tell your friends
In the coming days, I will begin marketing via special pages on facebook and twitter. Please forward things along. Below, I have also included a template email that you can copy and paste into an email to send out to your friends.

________________________________

A good friend of mine just launched a science fiction novel that deals with some of the environmental issues we will be facing in the next century. His goal is not to make money, but to raise awareness on these issues. Please check it out here and consider purchasing a copy of the book.

www.terrenevalley.com
see it at amazon.com

Choreographing to Change the World

I finished my most recent dance choreography recently. You can see the video here. It's the story of a man reminiscing about a relationship that has passed set to the song "Part of the List" by Ne-yo. I like to make dance choreographies that have meaning. But I do note that most art, be it songs, dance, art, etc. have to do with the human condition and express our most personal emotions, the primary one being love.

At the hip hop dance fest, I saw a choreography about human slavery in the modern world. It was very blunt, giving its message in voice-over narrative, but it was powerful. As a result, I've decided that my next choreography will need to have global meaning. I've been looking for good songs, but it's hard to find one that says what I want. I care about environmental disaster, challenges around the scaling of government and corporations, and finding the hope and courage to try to make a difference. Anyone have any suggestions?

Our Greatest Natural Resource

Studies show that we could easily become 37% more efficient in our water use. Gasoline engines themselves are only about 25% efficient while solar panels are typically around 15% efficient at capturing the sun's energy. Horrendous no? Billions of dollars are currently being invested in making more efficient use of our resources. But there is one resource that doesn't often make it into the news or into investment portfolios, and yet it is perhaps the area we can improve in the most: human potential.

How efficient do you think you are at work? I'm not talking about the hours spent doing actual work vs. playing solitaire. I'm talking about how much of your potential skills, experience, and intellect are being leveraged by your company. If you work at McDonalds, is following the cash register script and all the procedures really using your talents to the fullest? Or if you work in an office, do you really feel like your effort is producing the maximum impact that it can, that filling out TPS reports fulfills your destiny?

I'd guess that globally the true potential of the workforce is being utilized at less than one percent. The conventional wisdom is that work sucks. It's supposed to suck. Sure, some of us are lucky enough to like our jobs, and yet I bet we all still complain about the stupidity of management or beaureacracy or inane cost-cutting procedures or whatnot. These things irk us beyond belief because deep down inside, we know that these things are keeping us from our true potential. We know that we can be more, do more, if only someone knew how to unlock that hidden promise.

A colloquial scientific tidbit is that humans only use 5% of their brain. People always say, "Imagine what we could do if you used all 100%." Well, as a society, we leverage people's potential even less efficiently. Imagine all the things we could accomplish and the problems we could solve if we tackled this challenge.

It is a challenge that may entail changing corporate structures, social circles, cultural desires, residential systems, and even our political system. And yet, if we stop for a moment and imagine a world where every person is truly all that he can be, then maybe, just maybe it's worth the investment.

What if you won the reverse lottery?

I met a man with the strangest problem the other day. He was trying to lower his salary to $1 a year, but his boss wouldn't let him. Yes, it certainly sounds like a good problem to have.

I know what you're thinking. "Rich bastard. He can just donate that money to me." Or maybe, "I'll pay him $1 a year to clean my house." But alas, the truth is more complicated than that and originates from his desire to Change the World. He actually used to be a software engineer at Google. For those of you who don't know, Google not only allows but encourages its engineers to spend 20% of their working hours working on anything they felt passionate about. Sounds crazy right?

Well, this guy felt that the world would be a much better place if people learned how to be "emotionally intelligent." I know that phrase has many meanings, but in this case, it basically meant learning how to be at peace with yourself and others. So he spent 20% of his time creating a curriculum based loosely on meditation. He started volunteer-based classes and invited guest lecturers to come into work.

Now, this began taking more and more of his time (after all, 20% is just a guideline). One day his boss decided that he wasn't really an engineer anymore. So, this being the wonderful world of Google, his boss helped him transfer over to Human Resources so that he could pursue this full-time as his job. Wow.

So why does this guy want only $1 a year when he's getting paid a full salary to pursue his dreams? Well, it's his dream, and he wants to be free from the ties of a "boss" and do things because he wants to, not because he's being paid to. But then why doesn't he just quit if he can afford it? It's hard to make change without a lever, and Google is one big lever (and the food is good.) Like many people who retire but don't, he works because of his ability to have an impact, not for the money.

So that opens up an interesting question. You've all heard the question before of "What would you do if you won a million dollars?" Most people at some point in their answer say something like "I wouldn't go to work anymore." OK, well, what if you won the reverse lottery and only got paid $1 a year at your job, or any job. Assume you don't have to worry about money. Would you act differently in your job? Would you feel you had more freedom in your job and become MORE motivated? The book "Drive" by Daniel Pink talks about the things that create intrinsic motivation in humans (I'll give you a hint, one of them is not money). I won't get into it, but check it out if you're interested.

But now try this. What if everyone had the wonderful luxury that this man has of getting paid $1 a year. Would everyone be more motivated? This is starting to sound like communism, and we all know how that turned out. Except maybe if you take communism, only apply it to people who have worked for a while and have already chosen a job which they are passionate about... well, who knows?