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What’s on your playlist?

As I begin to write this post on music – and the impact music has on every aspect of our lives – I select “party shuffle” mode from my iTunes library.

Wouldn’t you know it?

The first song to play is “Suenos Liquidos” (which means “liquid dreams” in Spanish). This is a great song, so I write on agreeable. After about 20 seconds, though, I find myself wondering what song will play next.

What is it about the party shuffle feature that’s so exciting? Is it the element of surprise? Or is it the reality check that each of the 867 or 101.4 days of songs we house within our libraries are small reflections of who we are, who we were and who we are trying to become? Is it just me? Or are millions of people musing over the same hypothesis?

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Posted Jun 3, 2009 Tagged under: art and music, inspiration, personal branding

Let the creative revolution begin

Close your eyes. Yes you read this sentence correctly, stop reading for 20 seconds and visualize your future and the future of the world. What does it look like? What does it taste like? What are you doing in the future? Are you playing, creating, laughing, designing, singing, dancing or innovating?

Now, what if I told you the future is already here and that you have the choice and freedom to decide what your future – your today looks like. Our destinies are completely framed by our actions today and I think many of us are so stressed out we don’t realize that we must stop obsessing over tomorrow and realize that tomorrow is actually today. In fact, your future is happening to you right now, this very second.

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Posted Apr 8, 2009 Tagged under: art and music, business, creativity, goals and goal setting, personal branding

You come first, your creative genius comes second

This weekend I participated in the Florida Media Market Film Festival as both a speaker and a marketing adviser to young aspiring film makers and during my two days surrounded by creative purists, I realized there is a huge gap between the ability to pitch a project and the effective ability to pitch yourself as the creator of a project. A sad reality but a reality all the same.

Many of the pitches I heard, the trailers I watched and the discussions I listened to were fantastic feature films and documentaries but the creative parents of these projects, the story tellers themselves, were not as effective as they could be at positioning themselves. They were able to sell the hell out of their ideas but were neglectful at marketing themselves with the same zest.

Young filmmakers can talk you to death about their films but ask some of them about themselves, their motives and aspirations and they stumble along extremely unsure how to answer. I find this to be the sad case with many artists, painters, and with creatives in general, which raises the question, “why do so many creatives fear self promotion?”

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Posted Oct 26, 2008 Tagged under: art and music, business, creativity, personal branding

Gina’s Top 10 “Top 10” lists for the summer

Why do so many of us go crazy over top 10 lists? Is it the “I must have the best” measurement that excites us or is it the fact that lists are highly efficient and reach our intellectual g-spots rather quickly. What ever the reason, i thought you would enjoy experiencing some of my favorite top 10 lists for summer fun. Topics range from top 10 destinations to top 10 Summer gadgets. If you have a favorite top 10 list, please share it with us within the comments section.

Posted Jun 18, 2008 Tagged under: celebration, personal branding

What does an iPod and a Mango have in common?

Yesterday morning I went running in my tropical “old school” Miami Shores neighborhood and had a “LOL” moment about my own personal brand. Equipped with my iPod loaded with Madonna’s new album, Hard Candy, which I highly recommend, I headed out to start my 5 month’s late, new year’s resolution of running three times a week in the mornings.

It was a humid morning, like every other morning in Miami during the Summer, and the air was filled with a thick smell of honeysuckle which was a great motivator to keep me running. Fifteen minutes into the run, I tripped on a mango and immediately thought, “Oh my God a free mango, during a food crisis, i must pick it up and run with it.” The other part of my brain where the senses and memory dwell at the same time experienced a quick flashback to when I was a child spending a summer in Puerto Rico. Mangos have always been a reminder of Puerto Rico and cultural identity for me, not only because i love them but because as a child I was taught to believe that the best, most special Mangos came from my island. That may not be the case but as a child this gave me great pride.

Continuing on my run, with iPod in left hand and now Mango in right, i felt complete. I continued for another 15 minutes and came across the Saint Rose of Lima Church and found myself inspired to stop in front of her statue. In acknowledgment, I made the sign of the cross (which i have not done in years) and laughed out-loud. I was listening to Madonna, taking a moment to pray to Saint Rose all the while holding my iPod and my Mango. What a fantastic reflection of who I am and what my personal brand is all about. I am a constant contradiction of interests and thank God for that.

Message of the story: be who you are, laugh at yourself and remember it’s o.k. to embrace technology while respecting culture and heritage. And It’s great to pray while listening to a Iconic pop-star. Accept your contradictions and celebrate who you are.

Posted Jun 3, 2008 Tagged under: personal branding, self-awareness, spirituality and beliefs