This film is beautiful! It brings to life what I talk about often on focusNjoy.com and in my practice: something only has meaning in the presence of something else. Like night and day, young and old or for example cops and robbers etc.. Sit back and enjoy the visual poetry, touching the essence of life.
I love sports and I love athletes with the ability to inspire you with their passion. Following 55-year old David Patterson, a personal trainer and competitive regional bodybuilder, this documentary delves into the sport of bodybuilding. We are guided into the world where only the strongest survive and only the committed make it. With many, many wins under his belt, David discusses how building a body with weight training is both an art and a sport. It will certainly give you a life’s lesson or two. Enjoy!
Tomorrow, Sunday May 13th is Mothers Day. Though it’s easy to see this day as a commercially exploited tradition (and maybe it is), it really has a deep meaning. Wikipedia defines Mother’s Day as: a celebration that honors mothers and motherhood, maternal bonds, and the influence of mothers in society. Now I’m not the perfect son, honoring his mom with a hand written letter elaborating on my love and appreciation for her. Nor will I overload her with flowers, cookies and presents. But, like the people in this film, I will definitely say to her: thank you mom! To make this film, the filmmaker went around New York City asking real people on the street to say thank you to their mothers and what he came back with are some terrific responses, some unexpected, some adorable, and as he put it: “(…) they all brought a huge smile to my face”. And it made me smile too.
‘Come play’ is a beautiful short that encourages us to perceive and explore life playfully. It shows you some words, sentences and images in a powerful combination, creating a serene and inspirational atmosphere. I realized once again that: ‘The words you use to give meaning to the things you see, is what you see. If you like this film, you’ll also like: ‘Wake Up. Day Calls You’, as seen in this post.
Watching this won’t have a relaxing effect on your mind, but then that’s precisely it’s aim. The film shows you in a striking way just how television screams for your devoted time and attention. Promising you to be your 24/7 loyal friend, providing you with everything you ‘need’ in life. As long as you don’t walk away from it, that is. Now, don’t get me wrong, I’m not against television at all. And of course it’s not just television that’s trying to get your attention. It’s also radio, computers, magazines, game consoles, smart phones and tablets etc.. We surround ourselves with devices that are all fighting over our time and attention by promising us… yeah, what exactly do they promise us? This film emphasizes the importance of making conscious choices when it comes to ‘media consumption’. To not get hypnotized, to remain independent, free thinking and… to go off line every now and then.
Can you imagine life without the concept of time? Sure, we wouldn’t have any deadlines to chase, but we would also lose the ‘good times’, wouldn’t we? Without time, ‘quality time’, ‘prime time’ and ‘big time’ would seize to exist. No more ‘running out of time’, being ‘ahead of our time’ or make it ‘in the nick of time’. We would no longer have ‘all the time in the world’, we couldn’t take a ‘time out’ or just ‘kill time’ if we wanted to. Wikipedia says: “Time is a part of the measuring system used to sequence events, to compare the durations of events and the intervals between them…”. We use time to organize life. Seconds, minutes and hours. Days, weeks and years. Past, present and future. Sooner, later, slow, fast etc.. But ultimately it’s our perception what gives time meaning. It’s by how we perceive time, that it starts working for us or against us. The film I show you here was made in Brooklyn NYC, within an 8 hours span. It takes you only 3 minutes to watch, yet it makes you feel as if time stands still. And that makes it a perfect example of how perception influences your experience of time. NOTE: This post is also published as a column in the Dutch Magazine for Coaching.
Chances are that you are one of the 20.829.525 (and counting) people that saw this video. It’s about a girl singing an acoustic version of Adele’s song ‘Rolling in the Deep’. I saw it some time ago and immediately loved it. I then showed it to my kids. They loved it even more. And my wife almost had to cry, she too was swept off her feet. And so our family is responsible for at least 15 of that astonishing total of 20.829.525 views. Why did we love it so much? Because here’s a girl that obviously is aware of the camera, but she is also just herself. Overly excited to do it right. Not flawless in her singing, but so enthusiastic she just makes your heart melt. Now, I come from the world of television format development and I’ve witnessed the worldwide uprise of the talent show formula at very close range. In fact, I’ve been a part of the creation process of many. Many spin offs that is. Because once an idea proves to be a commercial success, it’s creative potential is quickly drained by television makers all over the world. And so audiences worldwide see one talent show after another. And although I’m amazed by all the talent out there, many talent shows are more about show than about talent. Immense studio’s, crowds that go wild, visual effects, fancy camera movements, fast editing, clever storytelling – sure – a show it is. And that’s all fine with me. I post this film to show that the simple setup of a guy with a guitar and a young girl on a couch, can be more than enough to entertain you, move you and make you feel good. Or how a small show can have a huge effect.