Venice, CA. March 18, 2009

 “FUEL is the product of activist and writer Josh Tickell’s quest to stand up to our country’s addition to oil and educate people on alternative solutions. Most documentaries that speak to fuel usage and the global crises it causes are depressing. Fuel speaks from a very personal perspective about the problems with petrochemical corporations and the political procrastination with moving in another direction.

What really sets this film apart is its hopeful outlook for the future: There are alternatives out there–solutions are available, we need to jump on board. Josh then moves on to describe better bio-diesel options (like algae based fuel grown from wastewater) and the untapped potential behind other alternative energy sources like solar and wind energy. These are not vague options. Josh outlines plans for exactly how these technologies can work, help create jobs, and benefit the economy.

I work within the renewable energy industry and am an environmental activist. In times of confusion and dismay, it is easy to forget why we are doing what we are doing. The coastal fog has lifted. I am involved with renewables because they are our future, and I want to be the person that lets you know about it. I want to reach more then my neighbors, I want to reach the planet. Honestly, Josh showed pure motivation, never gave up. This gentlemen worked for years to push his idea–and through a huge push back. This is an example that if you believe in something, and dare to be persistent you will make it happen.

This film empowers you and allows you to remember: the masses don’t gain momentum without a group to follow.    “Be the change you want to see in the world.” – Gandhi

There is a mission out there and it is set for every one of us, to make a simple change. This film, with all the right material and great sound track to keep the momentum, will inspire each and every individual that we have a purpose, to pass on the amazing planet –that we have experienced, to generations to come.”

Inspired…

Matthew Schwab

Solar Installer & Consultant

 + WHERE YOU CAN SEE FUEL  & (below) letter from Executive Producer, Josh Tickell - sent in Fuel Newsletter, March 26, 2009

* Invite all your contacts using the following invitations - just click VIEW INVITATION under your local theater, copy, and paste into the body of a new e-mail message!

SANTA MONICA, CA – held over for the 7th week!
AMC Loews Broadway 4, February 13 – April 2
Meet Josh Tickell and Rebecca Harrell on 3/28 and 3/29 at 7PM!
BUY TICKETS!
VIEW INVITATION

ENCINO, CA – opening weekend!
Town Center 5, March 27 – April 2
Meet Rebecca Harrell at this theater on 3/27 at 7PM!
BUY TICKETS!

PASADENA, CA – opening weekend!
Laemmle Playhouse 7, March 27 – April 2
Meet Josh Tickell at this theater on 3/27 at 7PM!
BUY TICKETS!

DENVER, CO – held over!
the Starz Film Center, March 20 – April 2
BUY TICKETS!
VIEW INVITATION

SANTA FE, NM – opening weekend!
Center for Contemporary Arts, March 27 – April 2
BUY TICKETS!
VIEW INVITATION

BELLINGHAM, WA
the Pickord Cinema, March 20 – March 27
BUY TICKETS!
VIEW INVITATION

Pamela Millar, The Global Summit’s 1PIE Portal session Chair has just been appointed Corporate Ambassador to the Middle East and North Africa by the US State Department initiative called Vital Voices Global Partnership. She will be one of only three women business leaders this year chosen to participate in this important trade mission. The Corporate Ambassadors Program represents a new strategy designed to develop women’s entrepreneurship overseas by connecting high-level female executives from the United States with emerging businesswomen leaders from other countries. The program will equip women in emerging markets with management, business development, marketing, and communications skills.

In light of Empowerment Works’ first hand experience of Bridgemakers positive impact in The Global Summit +++, EW is pleased to share and recommend the following consulting special to our community.

RECESSION SPECIAL
Limited Time Offer! $75 Personalized Business Coaching

In tough economic times, you need to find ways to work smarter, not harder. This is why the strategic planning professionals at Bridgemakers Consulting (http://bridgemakersconsulting.com) are offering an affordable package to get your business off to the right start in the new competitive economic climate.  For a limited time,  you will receive one hour of personalized intensive business coaching and receive as well, a number of helpful books and reports to kickstart your business in the new year.

1 hour of business consulting at half price –
This is a great opportunity to have our CEO and professional  business consultant take a fresh look at your business, its  challenges, and goals and make appropriate recommendations of how to quickly overcome obstacles and plan for success.

+  BONUS COACHING BOOKS

Life Evaluator Assessment –   FREE
This invaluable guide will give you a barometer for assessing each segment of your life at a given moment in time. It is a wonderful and neutral way to determine your feelings about what is and is not working in various areas of your life. When used periodically, it can be an invaluable tool to assess your goals.

FOCUS ebook –  FREE
With so much uncertainty in the overall economy, it is the time to FOCUS on what matters most. Knowing how to focus, how to build up confidence and self-esteem, and knowing when to exercise self-discipline are HUGE steps toward a better life for yourself and those around you. This book will teach you how to do just that.

10 Steps to Entrepreneur Success – FREE
This report will walk you through the 10 most important steps  that are the cornerstones of all successful entrepreneurs. Learn  from the pros and save yourself invaluable time and money!

FIND OUT MORE AT:  http://bridgemakersconsulting.com/Recession-special.html Bridgemakers Consulting: Global diplomacy and accelerating Sustainable Business Success!

The “Music of the Diola” compilation album has been an extensive, global collaboration.  A few years after Empowerment Works began working to preserve local heritage in the lower Casamance region of Senegal, West Africa, it crossed paths with ethnomusicologist, Tobias Sturmer, who had recently completed field recording  ten full albums- all by the indigenous Diola ethnic group, making it their most comprehensive collection in history. 

The synergy in this project was deep, as it was the Diola people’s plight to protect their land, freedom, and culture, which inspired EW’s mission and local assets based “7 Stages to Sustainability” approach.

Refined by editing team members on three continents, EW (led by Tobias as Artistic Director) produced a compilation of 18 songs from the ten albums to raise funds for local programs, raise public awareness, and celebrate culture. Music of the Diola’s final production was supported financially by renowned author, Nicolas Evans (The Horse Whisperer, +), who had volunteered in the Casamance region in his 20s.

We are now proud to announce the final Music of the Diola tracks are available for purchase/download via the most ideal source imaginable: EW Partner in Empowerment, Planetwize-  a responsible media group meets socially conscious Itunes, promoting music downloads that support the planet. Learn more and listen to the music through Planetwize’s Actiontrax portal here.

Empowerment Works!(EW) is proud to share the inspirational work of John Marshall Roberts - a remarkable “Social Entrepreneur” in the EW Partners in Empowerment (PIE) network - with you.

We first connected with John as a volunteer from the Evenson Design Group while seeking partners to co-create The Global Summit. He collaborated in our first strategic think-tank almost a year ago at  jungle [8] creative (EW Partner in Empowerment extraordinaire who’s pro-bono team, led by principal Lainie Liberti, brought The Global Summit brand and website to life), where it was clear John’s extraordinary understanding of what makes people tick would support, not just our own messaging, but the sustainability movement.

This has remained evident in his speaking presentations, new book, “Igniting Inspiration: A Persuasion Manual for Visionaries,”(available through Amazon here and array of articles written for SUSTAINABLE BRANDS INTERNATIONAL’s Sustainable Life Media, the most recent of which is presented BELOW for you to savor.

Congratulations John!   Readers, read on!   

Three Species of Environmental Cynic (and How to Beat Them)

Cynicism and resignation, properly viewed, are but the last stages of mental resistance before a person lets go of limiting beliefs. Here’s how to give the cynics in your circle a little nudge in the right direction. By John Marshall Roberts

As I travel around the country speaking at sustainability gatherings, I get a lot of tough questions. People are frustrated. They care deeply about sustainability and they want to make a difference, but they keep bumping up against cynical naysayers who seem unwilling to share their vision. “How can I get my employees to buy into my new environmental initiative without asking for a kickback?” a weary plant manager asks. “How can I make my boss to see that we can’t stay profitable if we don’t make tough choices now?” a sinking product designer inquires. “How can we possibly get customers who don’t give a damn about the environment to pay an extra $2 for our organic free-trade widget?” a battle-hardened CMO pleads.

With each inquiry I perk up. Yes, it’s a strange reaction, I know. But with these sorts of questions something inside me clicks. Perhaps it’s because I realize - deep in my bones - that each of these frustrating situations holds the seed of a new possibility. Cynicism and resignation, properly viewed, are but the last stages of mental resistance before a person lets go of limiting beliefs and surrenders to a larger planetary vision. Mentally resistant bosses, employees, spouses, and co-workers are like butterflies trapped in the suffocating cocoon of past learning. Through their resistance they are secretly asking for you to help lead them towards a more liberated perspective. And - with the proper communication tools at your disposal - this is exactly what you’ll do.

Cynicism Is the Lack of Inspiration

If President Obama proved anything with his mind-blowing presidential run, it’s that inspiration sells. But what is inspiration exactly? Moreover, how can we, ordinary folks without the inborn gifts of world-shaping rhetoric, learn to inspire others to take action towards our most cherished green initiatives?

Two words: humility and insight. We must first realize that inspiration is not a “what,” but rather a “how.” The experience of being inspired is so utterly mysterious and incomprehensible that trying to describe it in words is a fools errand. Why? Because inspiration is precisely what happens when we are willing to let go of words, release the past, and direct our imagination towards the vision of heretofore unseen possibilities. In other words, inspiration is what happens when we - if only for a moment - are willing to suspend our ongoing steady-state cynicism and simply wonder.

Once we understand this, we can start to see that - as aspiring change agents - we’ve been framing our communication challenge incorrectly. We’ve been trying to pummel our way through to people’s core by engaging and reasoning with their battle-hardened, past-colored lenses. We’ve been hoping that, through sheer force and reason, we’ll lead others to the sustainability promised land of our personal vision. And the irony of ironies is that our belief in the efficacy of forcing is itself a form of cynicism - it stems from our hidden belief that people are shallow and easily duped.

The moral of the story? We can’t ignite inspiration with cynicism any more than we can heat a sandwich with a refrigerator. Just as cold is that lack of heat, cynicism is the lack of inspiration. No amount of forcing or earnest pleading will ever change that.

A Cynic by Any Other Name…

In my work as a communications strategist, I’ve discovered three major species of environmental cynicism infecting virtually all of my clients. These ’species’ are actually three highly popular mental strategies that everyday ordinary folks use to avoid taking environmental action. As we cover these below, revisit your own experience and see if they don’t ring true.

Sustainability Cynic # 1: The Non-Believer

Description: The non-believer has decided that the jury is still out on global warming. These folks tend to eagerly dismiss the idea of man-made climate change(and the sustainability movement in-general) as some sort of grand opportunistic hoax perpetrated by fear mongering opportunists. Facts and arguments do little to change this deeply entrenched, highly irrational belief.

Deeper causes: The non-believer mindset is animated by one underlying force: repressed fear. Individuals who think this way are terrified of uncertainty and have uncommonly strong need for security. They tend to form strong, black and white opinions about a variety of social, economic and political topics, and crave absolute clarity from their chosen authority figures. They tend to believe that - in any given situation - there is just one absolute truth, and one leader qualified to dispense it.

Favorite world-shaping metaphor: Life is a test.

Communication strategies: Reasoning with this sort of cynic is hopeless. Don’t even try. Any scientific facts you give will fall upon deaf ears because they are not willing to consider that they may be wrong. Understand that - because these folks view life as a pass or fail test - they are clenched tight against being on the wrong side of the truth. To these folks the implications of being wrong are far too disastrous to even consider.

So what can you do to get through to them?

First of all, listen That’s right. Ask questions, sit back, and listen. Let them tell you all about their opinion. As they speak, do your best to feel grateful and compassionate for what the are telling you - realize that they are confessing their deeper fears to you under the protective guise of steadfast clarity and resolve. Don’t judge, don’t argue, don’t rebut - simply ask questions and listen.

Once you’ve listened thoroughly, you’ll usually find that these folks will relax their opinions slightly. Due to the laws of reciprocity, they’ll then usually ask you what you think. At this point it’s usually most effective to talk on a very personal level about your reasons for being interested in sustainability. Talk about your children, your family, your love of nature, your country, or the world - the “we’re all in it together” universals. The non-believers take heart in the basic universals of being a human, and the notion of duty and shared purpose. If you can help them see how your commitment to sustainability stems from a deeper longing for a meaningful purpose, you will access their humanity and win over a new dutiful, disciplined ally.

Sustainability Cynic # 2:The Hard-Boiled Capitalist

Description: The hard-boiled capitalists have decided that sustainability cannot coexist with profitability, and tend to dismiss sustainable visionaries as romantic idealists. Highly competitive and pragmatic, they will usually express these beliefs not through over tirades, but rather through a business strategies that focus almost exclusively upon the financial bottom line (with little or no homage paid to environmental and humanistic implications, except insofar as they relate directly to financial or legal interests). When cornered, these cynics will often claim that it’s too late to fix the problem anyway, so why bother?

Deeper causes: Hard-boiled capitalistic cynicism is hard-wired into most business people in the U.S. through years of white-collar brainwashing. This perspective frames the business world as a zero-sum game in which only unsentimental realists survive. (”Nice guys finish last.”) On a deeper level, this world-view is kept in place by a deep mistrust of other people’s motives and a crippling fear of being inadequate.

Resonant world-shaping metaphor: Life is a game.

Communication strategies: Whatever you do, do not start by citing the nobility of your cause! To these cynics, noble causes are for those poor saps who never put away childish things and entered “real world.”

Instead, present your initiative first through a financial lens. Do your homework! Show how your initiative will help create a sustainable competitive advantage in your particular industry or niche. The key word here is “competition.” Hard-boiled capitalist cynics frame the world as a game in which the most clever person wins. Use this metaphor freely in your communications with hard boiled capitalists. Find a competitor in your industry. Are they beating your on an important sustainability issue or dimension? If so, bring this up as leverage. Let this person know that unless they take action soon, they may be left behind for good. Nothing gets a hard-boiled capitalists blood boiling more than the fear of losing. Use this knowledge to strategically ignite their passions towards your worthy cause.

Sustainability Cynic #3: The Environmental Elitist

Description: Unlike the earlier types, this cynical species has a passionate interest in the environmental movement. Unfortunately (and ironically), this passion is often expressed in a way that undermines the very movement they seek to promote. Deeply mistrustful of large organizations (and of capitalism in general) these cynics seem to regard all human institutions as cancers on butt of mother nature. They tend to favor low-tech environmental solutions that bring people together in a spirit of community, and are prone to make strong value-judgments about “non-believers” and “hard-boiled capitalists” who might not immediately share their cherished values.

Deeper causes: The psychology of the Environmental Elitist is held in place by a naggingly constant inner upwelling of frustration and guilt. These folks are the ultimate romantic idealists, and are often disappointed by the great disparity between their ideals and the cold hard facts of reality. What’s more, they tend to feel personally responsible for every bit of suffering in the world. They usually deal with this guilt by projecting it outwards onto others who don’t share their lofty ideals. They also have a strong distaste for authority. Looking around the world, they are painfully aware of the damage caused by people who blindly buy into the rules and prescriptions of the properly sanctioned authorities - be they political, religious or economic.

Core world-shaping metaphor: Mankind is a family.

Communication strategies: When dealing with this species of cynic, it’s important to first let them know that you are ‘on the same team’, and that you share their basic values. By doing this, you will engender a level of trust that allows for a much deeper rapport. Once trust is established, your challenge is to call these folks to see how they may ultimately undermine their own agenda by being so quick to judge. Are they willing step down from the ivory castle of Platonic ideals and accept their flawed fellow human being as is, without indictment or reproach? Would they be willing to trade an ounce of ideology for a pound of pragmatism?

Ask questions and listen. Where does their core guilt and frustration lie? Usually you’ll find that they unconsciously vilify the very corporate leaders that they would need to get buy-in from to get their pet projects up and running. The irony of this self-sabotage is blaring - use humor to make such contradictions evident. Be straight. Be authentic. Don’t let the pie-eyed idealism fool you - these hard core cynics are seeking for truths that would leave most other ordinary cynics quaking in their boots. Existential weaklings they are not! Show them that you can see the inherent value of their sometimes scoffed at environmental quest. Use the “mankind as family” metaphor whenever possible. Appeal to their inherent belief in humanity. Question their assumptions. Leave no stone unturned. But at the end of it all, focus on the need for concrete, measurable results. Show them that their lofty ideals are achievable if they only had the gumption to stop complaining, buck up, and start trusting other people. Inspire them with a grandiose vision, yes, but then show them the immediate next step that must be taken to translate that vision into tangible reality.

The Common Denominator? A Frustrated Desire to Serve

Whatever types of mental resistance you may come across in yourself and others, never forget this one core truth: all humans secretly long be of service. Cynicism - no matter how entrenched and virulent - is but a rocky layer of frustration caked around a universally human altruistic impulse that has been repressed through years of social conditioning and survival-based thinking. The truly sustainable leaders of tomorrow will be those with the humility to keep this core truth in mind as they engage in the seductive mind-play of engaging cynicism and igniting eco-inspiration on a massive scale. Try as we might, we can’t get away from the shared source that sustains us. Instead of escaping, why not just embrace it? Barack Obama did this with his game-changing presidential campaign, and has started chain reaction the likes of which our generation has never before seen. The implications are still being written, and the next step starts with you.

__________

John Marshall Roberts is an author, speaker, and communications strategist for a variety of sustainable and socially conscious clients. His new book, “Igniting Inspiration: A Persuasion Manual for Visionaries,” is available here. Find more information on his blog.

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The Global Summit founding members, and long-time EW Partners In Empowerment, Green Society present:

Green Society Showcase @ Conscious Life Expo (more details below)

Friday the 13th 6:00 pm - 1:00 am

February 13-16, LAX Hilton
http://www.ConsciousLifeExpo.com

Green Society Showcase and Booth Located in Plaza, Friday Pass $15
3:00pm - 1:00am
If you come after 9:30
$10 for Admission

Green Business Leaders In Action
An Interactive Forum and Networking Party~
Innovative business leaders from LA’s vibrant green
network will share the projects, events and the
communities that they have created. Come network!
Hosted by Greg Wendt ~  6:00 - 9:30pm

Gudni Gudnason~
A member of a secret organization for 16 years,
prohibited from teaching or revealing most of what he
was learning. Now it is the time of no more secrets…
know thyself, the Modern Mystery School.
9:30-9:45 pm Friday-13 / 7:00-10:00 pm Monday-16

Dr. Robert Cassar~
A master student of parasitology, toxicology, etherology
living foods, heavy metal detoxification, solar flares
and human microbial acid/alkaline terrain modification
Come participate in the alkaline lifestyle challenge
and the Earth Shift Project ~ 9:50-10:45 pm

Cipes and the People~
Join the conscious revolution
and Cipes, a beautiful mix of soul, pop, funk, love, loud truth and reggae
10:45 - 11:45pm

POD ~
Brings soft transcendence ambiance and mystic trance.
11:45 pm - 1:00 pm