The intangible qualities. We can only recognize them when we see them.
How can we put a measure on that which makes us human i.e. mortal yet full of life versus a machine whose sole existence is to carry out instructions and perform repetitive tasks without getting bored (the sad thing is when the machine gets to do interesting things, while human boring things).
Fordism has spreaded from automobile assembly line to the entire manufacturing process as we see today (Foxconn and workers’ tension).
Heart and Soul , however, are a bit elusive: Air on the G String, Nocturne; Shubert can move you, a movie clip can make you feel joyous or sad, elated or evaporated (The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face).
B movies and production houses have succumbed to poor substitutes e.g. sound track and laugh track.
Anything with an audience e.g. a lesson plan, a presentation, all-hands meeting; requires heart-and-soul delivery . To be flawless, one needs to go through 3 stages of rehearsal (courtesy of recent LinkedIn article on presentation rehearsal: You Sucks stage, Robotic stage, and finally You Rocks!).
Aim for standing ovation. Paint a broad stroke of vision, the type of speech Jesse Jackson would give at convention.
Facts and feeling. Sweat and tears. Fire and brimstone.
Orators of the past were known to speak at tent meetings for hours on end, most notably John Wesley. Today we only have day-time television which caters to the lowest common denominators : “Jerry, Jerry” ( with bouncers on the set). Or Maury, Maury …also w/ bouncers.
Jean-Luc Godard said: “all we need for a movie is a gun and a girl”. Hence, it seems as though all content was just to fill the programming gap, waiting to sell soap, soup and cereal.
Via Twitter, we saw glimpses of greatness, but only in 140 characters.
To stir the heart and soul, we need some work-up time.
Warm them up then chill them out. Stirring and settling.
Then BAM!. Hit them at the gut level. A call to ACTION.
Truth has its own ring and can stand on its own legs.
Don’t get in its way.
Fear not.
Ask not.
Stay hungry, stay foolish.
He who is no fool to lose that which he cannot keep, to gain that which he cannot lose.
I have a dream.
Man from Hope.
It took a village.
Great orators stirred us and their sound bites stayed with us.
We feel a lump in our throat. It resonates and reinvigorates us.
It stirs up our Heart and our Soul.
It passed muster.
Quality is what you recognize when you see it.
The rest, any machine can do, at the automobile or chocolate factory.
Le Temp Modern. I love Lucy. Foxconn Apple plants. From Detroit to Disneyland, at the turn of the 20th century to present time, are we happier now? (studies show China experiencing similar dissonance i.e. wealthier, but not happier, due to eroded “iron rice bowl”). Or the gas line and hot-dog line (at Cosco) have weighed you down?
Wake up Hot-Dog Nation. We can do better. Think and Ask Not. Feel the pain. Use it. Start rising. And don’t stop there. Have a dream. A different dream (by definition dreams are supposed to be out of this world. What are you being afraid of: that it might come true?) Seek First. That Thy will be done,….but first on Earth.
Thang Nguyen 555 