I’ll Settle for 44K for My Birthday
Well, this Friday, May 11, 2012 I’ll be officially one year older. It’s been quite a journey and I’m so thankful to everyone who has supported me over the years. It was just over 4 years ago with the prospect of turning 40 that I decided to lay everything on the line and pursue what I believed in. I have no regrets. During that time, I have helped to provide educational and career opportunities for over 1500 teachers and students in Central Texas and have dropped 80+ lbs. None of it has been easy, but I can’t imagine doing anything else. Even now, as I face a seemingly insurmountable task of of raising 44K to support the It Could Be U Digital Youth Academy that kicks off exactly 1 month after my birthday, I only get excited about the opportunity to serve others.
I’ve come to believe that the previous 20 years of my adult life were ultimately about my own selfish and gluttonous pursuits. Not to say that I was on a negative track at all. I was a school teacher in priority schools, developed web sites and software, produced and played music, broke into the advertising community and generally had a good time. Nevertheless, I realize that I was indeed fearful of truly venturing out on my own. My entrepreneurial endeavors were half-baked and I was unwilling to deal with the hardships that come with virulent commitment to seeing such things through to their conclusion.
And then their was my physical state. I was obese. I estimate that I was at least 330lbs at one time. I was in serious DENIAL and headed to an early grave. It’s amazing the lengths that one can go through to remain in that state. I have never been skinny. Nevertheless, I was an all state athlete in high school and frankly despite my natural gifts I was lazy. I worked hard on the field and in practice but I never really dedicated my own personal time to getting in shape. Working out was just what I had to ‘deal with” in order to play the sport I loved at the time – high school football. After high school and no real attention from major colleges, I set those dreams aside to pursue a music degree.
I love music but I also came to recognize that performing was not my true passion. I didn’t have a need to be on stage or really even be validated in that way. Again, I had some natural gifts and I worked hard at honing them to a certain extent. Nevertheless, I was often bored with music. In my 30′s I began to discover the art of “producing”… that is facilitating for others. I have a knack for recognizing talent and putting them in situations where they can flourish. Whether it was music, voice over, software development or media production, I began to figure out that was my sweet spot. I prefer to be in the background making things happen for others. That is what brings me joy.
Robotics instructor Mark Barron explains the basketball playing robot his students developed this year.
Some of my best days are visiting classrooms to interact with students and teachers. Great teachers inspire me because they often times toil away in relative obscurity. They are driven by more than money and they really love their students. They go beyond teaching subjects and teach people. That’s the difference. I get excited just being around them because their dedication is infectious. They are the real game changers. All of the things that I have experienced to date have prepared me for what I do today… being an athlete, a creative, an educator, a techie allows me to see connections that others may not. The issues we face today are not going to be addressed by traditional approaches to education because the nature of work has profoundly changed. Modern product development is not done in silos. Great creative without technical infrastructure is virtually useless and the same goes for innovative tech devoid of good design.
The It Could Be U Digital Youth Academy addresses this issue. 20 students who have competed via portfolio submissions come together for 5 weeks to learn from the best and the brightest across media, tech, finance, health and science to develop digital content and applications to promote healthy lifestyles among their peers. Even better, they get to return to their respective communities in the fall to execute and measure the products they create during the summer. This IS modern product development. Harness creativity, technology and science to solve real problems. These tasks are not beyond our youth. It’s just that we’ve never really engaged them in process.
So, if you believe in my passion, I need your help. As little as $10 helps us accomplish our goals for the summer and gets you special perks via our Indiegogo campaign.
See Who’s Getting a Job!
Austin Reagan high school students with Program Coordinator / Professional Mentor Jonthan Mahone.
See Who’s Getting a Job!
E4 Youth Portfolio Awards Thurs. 4.18 at GSD&M
Click to Register
Over the past several months, I have been paying professional mentors and teachers to help students prepare professionally reviewed portfolios in their chosen fields of interest. Over 50 students from Austin and Pflugerville ISDs have submitted their portfolios to become one of 20 students we will hire and train for 5 weeks at the It Could Be U Summer Academy which kicks off in June. Students are led by 3 professional mentors in the fields of science / technology, media / arts and business along with a slate of top notch Guest Lecturers from advertising, technology, science and business. After surveying these fields, students join a business group and develop digital applications and content designed to promote healthy lifestyles. Students that complete the academy return to their respective campuses in the fall to be employed year round to execute and measure the products they have developed during the summer academy.
What Does This Mean For Students?
So, what does that mean for students? Well, if you’re a musician, that may mean writing music that you believe can influence your peers to lead healthier lifestyles and then being able to track and measure that affect over time. If you’re into software development, maybe that means developing an app leveraging Google APIs to help your peers find healthy food sources in their neighborhoods. Into journalism? Perhaps you choose to launch a podcast series or cooking show targeting your peers? The point is that a student can utilize their passion and creativity to solve real problems bringing them genuine confidence, recognition and yes, money! It Could Be U Academy graduates become community advocates that are empowered to leverage media, technology and access to a network of highly skilled professional mentors looking to make a difference!
What Does This Mean for Professionals & Entrepreneurs?
And what does this mean for professionals and entrepreneurs? This is an opportunity to help students explore their career options while making a tangible difference in the community. Perhaps you can offer your expertise as a Guest Lecturer or on-going summer mentor to expose students to your field? You may wish to become a client or partner with us to promote healthy lifestyles or develop/manufacture a special product? You may want support us by contributing to It Could Be U Project Fund and receive special access as the project unfolds?
With E4 Youth, we have created a scalable year round process for exposing students to careers by providing access to teacher training and support, professional mentors, field trips, portfolio building and access to employment. The E4 Youth sequence of Engagement, Education, Employment & Entrepreneurship allows students to own their educational destinies and create a culture of achievement that transforms our communities. I hope that you will join me in celebrating the 2012 E4 Youth Portfolio Award Winners Thursday, April 18th 5:30pm at GSD&M and welcoming our new class of 20 It Could Be U Digital Youth Academy employees! Need more info? Email me at mentor@e4youth.com.
2am & Shades of My Musical Past
Download some music! Edmond Settles - 2am (piano, female vocals, acoustic guitar, strings and percussion) Love theme from the film 2am written and produced under middle name "Edmond" Settles.
So, I retired from music about 5 years ago. I performed in clubs, wrote and produced lots of stuff. One of my favorite projects was a film made by my long time friend Korey Coleman titled 2am. Korey Coleman is more recently known for the entertainment site Spill.com where he commands a team of animators, gamers and movie reviewers at the behest of their parent company Hollywood.com. Their animated movie reviews are streamed more than a million times a month along with an ever growing catalog of podcasts that 14 – 34 year old males latch on to like woobies.
Well, before Korey invented Spill.com, he made a movie and I (using my middle name “Edmond” Settles) composed the love theme and several other ditties. Let me know if you dig it.
Smoothies Are My Friend
I have to admit that I’m enjoying making these little food videos. I don’t really plan them out. They are rather spontaneous musings between me and my iPhone. I realize that after four years on my journey to better health that what seemed insurmountable to me has been broken down into manageable chunks or phases. Being more healthy takes work but that doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t enjoy it. You should be able to eat something healthy that makes you smile everyday (Twinkies and ice cream don’t count. Sorry.)
I’ve been experimenting with blending smoothies, juices and shakes. In this episode, I use the ever popular ingredients of strawberries (120 calories) and a banana (72 calories). Then for a little extra flavor and smooth texture, I add chocolate whey protein (100 calories), almond milk (40 calories) and ice (0 calories). So, I’m able to make a smoothie at 2/3′s of a pitcher that only has about 300 ultra healthy calories in it. I usually drink 1 or 2 glasses before and after hitting the gym and never feel as though I’m missing out.
So, I hope enjoy this video as much as I did making it. More soon!
Changing My Eating Habits
Well, it was bound to happen… I made a video featuring one of the seminal dishes I used to start changing my eating habits – the veggie egg white omelette.
Today, I started off the morning with a chocolate whey protein smoothie that had some strawberries, a banana, ice and almond milk along with my daily supplements. Then, I hit the gym for a good solid 40+ minutes (sweated off a pound) and returned to finish off my smoothie and cook up my omelette for lunch. Gourmet style with lots of vibrant color and flavor, the egg white omelette is full of protein. Served up with some whole wheat toast and a drizzle of raspberry chipotle sauce, it’s a delicious filling meal and only about 400 calories. One of the keys to eating healthier is cooking both good looking and good tasting meals. From day 1, I’ve never felt as though I was sacrificing anything in the way of taste or sustenance because I looked forward to making and eating my meals.
So, there you have it. I hope this inspires you to think about what you’re putting in your body!
More soon!
Steve Stoute: The Tanning of America
Over the last several years I’ve been very impressed with Steve Stoute and his forays into advertising. He’s been able to take his vast network of connections in the hip hop world and combine it with a great acumen for trendsetting to build an advertising agency. I love what he is doing in that he is flying the face of what “traditional” ad agencies have done for years. His agency having been bought by a larger general market firm, he has decided to buy back majority ownership and not settle for being marginalized as only an “African-American” or “multi-cultural” shop. He believes that he can have a great impact on the general market and I believe that is more true than ever.
Based on demographic changes in America, the general market, by definition, is multi-cultural. It’s only going to get more diverse in the coming years and Mr. Stoute understands that hip hop culture has a disproportionate mindshare in America and indeed across the world. So, while general market agencies continue to become less diverse, they do so at their own peril. It’s going to get more and more difficult for them to say to their clients that they can be effective at communicating with their customers when so few of them actually look like the audiences they need to reach.
I hope that Mr. Stoute’s move into the general market waters is followed by many more. After all, this a huge opportunity for those willing to make that leap.
Facebook Investor Says Social Is Over
VC guy and musician Roger McNamee lays out 10 very intriguing hypotheses about the future of social media, advertising, and content creation. Some interesting points from the original article at :
http://www.businessinsider.com/roger-mcnamee-video-2011-7#ixzz1T5rACmsH
Microsoft’s share of internet-connected devices has gone from 95% to under 50% in 3 years;
“Apple will sell a hundred million internet-connected devices this year. That’s two thirds of the PC market.” If you add the other non-PC internet devices, that’s more valuable than the PC market.
Podcast: Leveraging Video & Social Media for Your Small Business
Got Video? Live Webcast
Broadcasting Live with Ustream
So, I’m broadcasting my talk on Leveraging Video for Your Small Business or Non-Profit live Wednesday, July 13th 12pm Central for about 1 hour. I hope you’ll enjoy!
In the mean time, here’s an excerpt from a previous talk about Branding Your Creativity Through Social Media.
the US – Marcus Graham Project
So, I met Lincoln Stevens, founder of the Marcus Graham Project, about 3 years ago when I was starting the Media Communications Council. He works with young African American men aspiring to enter the advertising industry and every summer hosts a boot camp in which young come from all over the country to work together for real clients being guided by advertising leaders. I’m very pleased to see that the project is maturing and making an impact on diversity in the ad industry. It was heartening to meet Lincoln and understand what his dream was as I was pursuing a similar dream with the MCC. We too have a come a long way and I look forward to working with Lincoln and his amazing program some time in the near future!