Quest for Kilimanjaro

            “Is it all a dream or, is it really happening?”  This is the line that’s been running thru my head lately.  Those close to me have assured me, that it is indeed happening.  {Insert bashful smile here}

             Let me fill you in.  I was encouraged by my boss to watch the Starbucks Shareholders Meeting on line and pay attention to Blair Taylor’s speech.   So, I did.  I watched that and something called The Partner Forum.    Since Starbucks is a profit sharing company the connection to the people who work for them is very important.  The entire thing (both of them) was captivating.  The way this company is run blows my mind.  The value of the human spirit is the most important asset in this company. From the famers to the barista, the human connection is THE most valuable commodity, period.  This is why I enjoy working for this company.  At the end of the day, and at the end of my days, I know nothing will mean more to me than people.  To work for a corporation that shares that value is tremendous.  

            After watching Blair Taylor speak, I was compelled to write to him.  I found his role in Starbucks to be inspirational and meaningful.  I also found his direction to be admirable.  Blair Taylor is the Chief Community Officer for Starbucks.  This is a new position within the company and I believe the first within a profit sharing company.   In this newly created position, he will lead the company’s Community, Government Relations, Diversity and Global Responsibility teams. He will also serve as a member of the Starbucks Foundation Board of Directors.  I wanted to talk to him about an idea I have, and using my sabbatical as the pilot for the idea.  Here is a little of what I sent to Mr. Taylor:

               My idea is simple.  I would like to start a Digital Storytelling piece of the company and use Social Media as a method to leverage stories for both partners and customers to connect.  I see the world we live in changing and the way we connect can be a powerful thing that results in a revenue generating force of the company not only in profit of sales but of pride.  

             Howard (Schultz) in the Partner Forum, said he wanted to talk about who we are as people, not a brand.  I believe the time for Digital Storytelling is ripe and organic for the company.  Using Social Media to leverage the messaging can be another way Starbucks is innovative and on the cusp of the way we do business.  Using the ‘lens of humanity’ as our compass we could be pioneers of a new way to connect to uniquely show the company is dependent of the human spirit.  

                  As a culture, we are changing the way we relate to who we choose to give our business to, why not tell a story people can feel good about?  The quote Dave Olsen referred to, “Too many people have jobs that are too small for their spirit” is valuable here because Starbucks encourages we as partners to pursue our dreams because of the work environment and the essence of the company.   Turns out, everyone loves a good story.  As you mentioned, people are longing for truth, humanity and authenticity.  The beautiful part about stories is they continue to be told, even after the first telling.

            Here’s the kicker … He wrote back and likes my idea.  So, now I have a meeting set up with Mr. Taylor next month.   I do believe I have hit on an idea that is ripe for development and interest.  I could very well be creating a new position for myself within a company that I’ve grown up in.  I mean really, how cool is that? 

            Part of my proposal to Starbucks is to use my sabbatical as the pilot episode of this new Digital Story Telling.   The cornerstone is that I want to tell the stories only a 10-year partner can tell.  That is the pivotal piece of this.   Partners that work in the stores and customers that connect with those barista’s – these are the stories that need/should be told.  The other piece of my pitch is to show that Starbucks is a “Dream Maker.”  Whether it is the barista that is putting themselves thru school, the mom who needs insurance while they get their framing shop up and running, or the musician who wants to land a record deal, or the photographer looking for a job in his career … Starbucks has a role in helping these people pursue their dreams.  I want to tell those stories, not only here in the US but around the world.  I want to show that we are all connected and all have similar desires and dreams.  Then, I want to create video vignettes leveraged via Social Media.   I believe we, as consumers want to feel connected to who it is we do our life-maintenance business with.  I want to highlight what it means to be a part of community and showcase how that adds value to all of us.

Climb Kilimanjaro. 

That is how this all started. 

Nothing more. 

Then it grew a pair of legs (and balls) and has turned into so much more.

This week, SmartWool said yes and I had a phone interview with the Public Affairs department of Starbucks.  I will start collecting product from SmartWool to donate to the Kilimanjaro Porters Assistance Project http://www.kiliporters.org/.  How I get these items to Tanzania will be my next hurdle.   The idea of donating items on someone else’s behalf that will improve many lives is wonderful & amazing. 

Starbucks wants to know my story.  My story of the past 10 years and what my plans are.   At the very least they would like to follow me on their Social Media avenues.  I will find out quickly - if & what type of support they can offer me via sponsorship of this project. 

Something else has been happening as well.   Asking for what I want in this world.  Not only asking, believing in it and that I am worthy of it.   Talking with my friend Nancy is what made me aware of it.  I’m not sure that I was doing this with a sense of awareness, I was simply doing.  It came from a very organic place of compassion and vulnerability, but also from logic – if I chose not to ‘ask’ then the answer was/is always no.  I stumbled upon this Ted talk last night and it highlights this idea.

http://www.ted.com/talks/amanda_palmer_the_art_of_asking.html

Worse case scenario is that I take 6 months off of work, travel to Africa to climb Kilimanjaro, donate my time and some resources I have arranged.  Come back home and play with all this lovely content and create some digital stories to share, then return to my job with Starbucks.  Not a bad scenario.  Not bad at all.    

Best case scenario,  … has yet to be determined. 

I’ve heard both sides of things.  “Life shouldn’t be this hard” or, “it takes work.”  I guess somewhere in the middle lies the truth.  Perhaps the idea is to slow down and connect to yourself in order to really figure out your path. 

Most of my life has been by happenstance.  I just ‘go with the flow’ and enjoy myself.  That’s not a bad way to live, in fact when I look back on my story it’s pretty amazing.  That feels good.  Something has shifted in me over the last few years and I believe it’s because I took the time to myself, to get to know ME again.  The result has been well worth the investment.  My sense of self at work and personally has shifted in a way I feel proud of.

This project for Kilimanjaro is growing, evolving into something new every day.  I’ve simply asked myself ‘what do you want?’ and then listen to how to make that happen.  I’m dreaming big.   

I’ve been having conversations with a few companies in hopes of gaining some sort of sponsorship for this event.  I’m currently talking with SmartWool about donating socks on their behalf to the Porters Program.  The other conversation I’m having is with Starbucks. 

I approached Starbucks months ago while at a conference in Houston.  I didn’t follow up until recently.  Turns out Starbucks is interested in my project.   Starbucks is a profit sharing company and many of the employees (partners) are unaware that they have money in a Fidelity Account just because they show up for work.   I’ve identified a gap with how Starbucks is communicating this to the thousands of people that work in the stores.  These partners need to have partners talking to them, not the people above them.  These people identify with one another and they need that conversation.  They need to know Starbucks can be a ‘dream maker’ and has a compassionate side to the way it does business that begins at the store level.  So, I went into stores and filmed baristas answering the question ‘what’s one of your dreams?’  The truth is most of the people who work in the stores come from middle class families and are educated.  Therefore their dreams are a reflection of that.   Sure, there are some fringe stories of extreme circumstances – donating a kidney, recovering after a severe fight with illness, but what about the everyday dreams.  The average dreams.  Starbucks is a global company.  I want to travel around the world and continue to ask the question to people of all cultures in stores “what’s one of your dreams?”   I want to show a sense of relatedness and connection that results in inspiration, motivation and pride.  Filming Kili is one thing, to continue to film and show how my dream can connect to many other dreams, that’s another.  To highlight the fact that after 10 years of working for a company that has helped me every year to live my dreams then, offer me an opportunity to capture Kilimanjaro… that is a beautiful story that should & needs to be told. 

With the help of my Regional Director, my District Manager and others I have honed in on one person to talk with in the Public Affairs team in Seattle.  The conversations have just begun but I have a sense this will be some hearty conversation and dialogue.  My pitch is in its infancy but I trust that it has legs and good intention.   That is a good place to start.  I’ll continue to nurture and let others help breathe life into it, I’ve never been much of a control freak and believe this will pay off with this event.

My sabbatical begins July 18^th for 6 months.  With any luck this will mean a few months of traveling and the remainder playing with all the content and memories of those adventures, to create some lovely stories to share. 

Oh, and entire thing begins with another Epic Relay run across Colorado with lovely people.  Turns out … I’m Lucky.

I’m a Sagittarius. 

Some of the traits: dreamer, friendly, warm, enthusiastic about life, optimistic with the drive to experience life to the full – incorporating adventure (mental and physical).  Sagittarius people are idealistic and have high expectations. They quickly outgrow childhood haunts and have a thirst for travel. Freedom of movement is important to them and they always manage to raise their sights a little higher each time. As a result they usually travel far and wide.

The Sagittarius’ word is her bond. Those born under this sign will never offer what they cannot deliver. A high code of ethics is never far from their surface. They are benevolent and quick to offer support to those less able to fight for themselves.  They have high standards but are playful and even light hearted in pursuit of these.

Yep, that’s me.  What the horoscope won’t tell you about a Sag, is when we toss our arrows; we can drive ourselves crazy following them.  We tend to be focused to a fault.  Age is teaching me a lovely lesson about letting go and it is bringing me much joy. 

So, when do you let go and when do you follow your arrow?  Simple, you follow your arrow when it is focused on your own personal growth, never at the expense of someone else.  When the arrow is attached to grace, to kindness and to peace, you follow it.   You let go when the arrow is attached to someone else’s battle or struggle.  The kindest thing you can do is to walk away and wish them well.  Maybe family, maybe friends or maybe someone you care for deeply but it’s simply ‘not yours’.  That phrase has helped me tremendously these past few years: “ it’s not mine.” 

Doesn’t mean that I don’t care. 

 I’ve been dancing around what I plan to do with my “Quest” to climb Kili.  I’m neither a photographer nor a videographer.   What I am, is an observer.  I’m a storyteller.  For nearly ten years I wrote music and told stories.  It was the most humiliating and scary thing I’ve ever done.  I have been watching people for my entire life and I can quickly click into the emotion, the fumes of people’s lives.  It feeds me.  It is something that offers me satiation beyond words. 

My plan is to film this trek.  I have an eye for composition and structure and I’ll lean on that.  I have some ideas of stories that hold interest for me but more importantly I want to stay open to the fact I have no idea what will happen.  I want to make a documentary about this.  This isn’t a professional project, this is a personal one.  It may be a project that’s only audience is my family and friends.  I can get lost in editing and creating a story to watch.  I started doing it with my friend Stella as well as some relay runs I’ve been apart of over the years. 

But this… this is a whole other ball game.  This is me learning Final Cut Pro.  This is me learning to use an elite HD camera and all that comes with that.  This is me being my own Project Manager for a 9 day Trek to the highest freestanding mountain on the planet.  I have to navigate power, memory cards, notes, my own health and wellness – all while being present enough to enjoy and take heed of something that will change me forever. 

 So, yes, I’m a Sagittarius. To a fault. 

And, I’m fucking proud of it!