A beautiful day in the neighborhood

"Frankly there isn't anyone you couldn't learn to love once you've heard their story"

I love TED talks, and Mr Stanton (and thank you Mr Stanton for all of your Pixar work) had me when he referenced a favorite quote of Mr. Rogers.

I watch, and enjoy, too much children's television.  I can do without the bad language, the ambiguous morals, the shady characters, plus I love a happy ending.  Mr. Roger's Neighborhood is the one show I wish would come back.  I realize it belongs to a bygone era--his show was too slowly paced to jive with the modern audience.  He was so intentional and would not rush and risk losing his core message: You are special and loved just the way you are.  Those words rank highly in my life creeds.

Mr Rogers the TV personality and Mr Rogers the man are really the same person in his biography.  There was not separation between public and private activities in his life mission:  he was genuine and authentic wherever he was.  He was a man of faith but he did not need a special platform to exercise his faith: he lived out his convictions singing songs, doing puppet shows, and changing his shoes with a conviction to help children grow up as richly as they could.

He was a storyteller, but his stories did not just entertain for a few moments and then fade to oblivion. He left a legacy, and I aim to leave a legacy with just as much conviction as he had, no matter what sort of work I find myself in.  I want to tell the world great stories that give them hope and remind them, as I tell my own children every day, that they are special and they are loved just the way they are.

Merida

I have a lot of favorite Pixar characters: Dory, Mater, Woody, Mike Wazowski (I kind of go for the "side-kicks", they have more fun and are secretly just as heroic as the heroes).  My all-time favorite is easy because she is my daughter.
Growing up there was a running joke in my family about the comic strip "Drabble."  The outlandish father figure Ralph said and did some of the silliest things.  The funny thing was that about once a week Drabble would feature something my father had actually done in real life.  I swear the artist somehow spied on my family for inspiration.
But that's nothing compared to the character of Merida in "Brave" and my Abyee Joe.  Of course there is the flowing head of curly red hair thanks to her Irish roots.  My son actually called the character Abyee when we first saw the movie she looks so similar.  Beyond the hair, though, the story is her story.
My Abyee is a fireball of passion.  She is independent and opinionated.  Often loud.  She is my princess and I have such a soft spot in my heart for her.  She has fearless and crazy younger siblings.  You might argue she lives in a castle.  Her mother wants more than anything to raise her as a good person.  And they butt heads, but at the end of the day she is deeply committed to us as her family.
Pixar, well done creating a story without a prince.  Coming of age stories are often about going out into the world and finding someone or something out there.  In reality, I think there is something so much more significant about finding that thing that is already within you.
It's like Dorothy in the Wizard of Oz and her ruby slippers.  (For a TED talk about this I really enjoyed see http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ueOqYebVhtc&noredirect=1).  I have seen too many people out looking for the thing that will make them happy or successful...and blaming the outside world if they don't have it.  We teach Abyee that she, even at age 9, cannot see herself as a victim or her circumstances.  Every day we talk about focusing on the positive things in her life.  In other words, she has everything she needs for happiness if she will open her eyes to it.
That makes Merida strong and brave.  She doesn't need an army to come out a winner.  Instead she brings people together with respect and appreciation.  I am proud to say I see that in my Abyee as well.  Last school year, she started a new school six weeks before the end of the school year, so when school started last week she was brave enough to "adopt" the new girl in her class to show her around and help her out.  She was standing up for someone else.
Yes, Merida, you may always be my favorite.  I know that Pixar will come out with more amazing characters in the future but that girl, and her journey, her courage, and her love for her family get me every time.
I love you, Abyee.  You make me proud.

What about NewSongs?

People have been asking me what will happen to the music school I started, if I get a new job.  I think people believe I am jumping ship.  The short answer is, I believe the business will get better and thrive.
I will always be a part of NewSongs.  Immediately, I will remain as the president of the corporation and ultimately responsible for all of our students there.
Right now I function as a full time teacher and manager, including all the "hats" of management, HR, training, marketing, sales, organizing, cleaning, decorating...  However, NewSongs has a wonderful team of teachers, each full of strengths and skills.  Some are ready for greater responsibility and open doors of opportunity to "move up" in our little company.  My goal as a business owner has always been to provide the sort of place that I wish existed for me ten years ago.  I worked at a school without enough opportunity to start a "career" when I started my family, and without the creative freedom and input to improve the curriculum we had with fresh ideas.
Currently, my school is full of fresh ideas and curriculum I fully believe in.  Now it needs to open up to allow staff members to reach more of their potential as music teachers and not be forced to quit and move into jobs they are less passionate about because of the money.  My goal is to remove my salary from the company and use that money to raise up others and re-invest into the school and its continual growth.
We are over 300 students and I fully expect to near 400 for the first time this year, but my sights are still high.  I would like to create many programs for our local public schools (who don't have the budget to hire full time staff music teachers) and offer on-campus lessons to reach out to students who cannot make it to our school.  I would like to offer a large community outreach program for low-income students.  I am looking to open new chapters in my own career AND open new chapters for the school.
Good times!

My addict baby

Our baby, Molly Mae, is addicted to Minnie Mouse.  I'm not joking.
I show people videos on my cell phone of Molly taking photos or at restaurants with Minnie Mouse and she won't let her go.  We first discovered this at Goofy's Kitchen when she was about ten months old.  After her loving visit with Minnie she discovered the character was still in the restaurant but circulating at...OTHER TABLES.  She started yelling across the whole place for Minnie to come back.
We took her back when she turned one.  The addiction only grew and because she was starting to walk, she could stand on her own, which meant she went after her own long hugs.  LOOOONG hugs.
Now she is almost 14 months.  And people don't believe me until I pull out ANYTHING with Minnie on it (her bottle, her shoes, her dress, her bed set, lets just say I always have at least one option within arm's reach) and she instantly gives it a kiss and starts to talk with her.  I probably have close to a hundred photos of Molly and Minnie together now.

Why I am telling you this?  Because I think good characters matter.  They make us happy.  They teach us things.  Disneyland without Minnie Mouse (and to be fair, Chip, Dale, Pooh, Tigger and Mickey are all in the superhero class, but Minnie is the queen) is fun, but not the same experience.  I love to use characters while teaching.  The simple addition of a lovable character makes the lesson feel so much more important, more fun, and more real.  They are the proverbial "spoonful of sugar."  Or as one of my favorite authors Ron Clark writes, "If students love your classroom they will enjoy the content you are teaching."  I think Ron Clark has become a "character" in his own right.  I keep trying to pick my own favorite Disney character.  For now it is Mickey Mouse, because he started it all.  He is the legacy.
I love that Pixar is full of life size sculptures of their film characters.  They are "real" to me the same way they are real to my baby.  They are important.  Maybe her addiction is my fault.  If it is, I am certainly not going to try to cure her any time soon.

My Reading List

Here are some of my favorite books that have helped convince me that the "Pixar Way" is the way for me (both in my current business and in the future I am looking for)

"Creating Magic" by Lee Cockerell. This is one of the first that started transforming my way of thinking about my role at the helm of my business.  I had it on audiobook and listened to it at least two times completely, aside from repeating specific sections.  Still one of my favorites, which made

"The Customer Rules" by Lee Cockerell high on my list when it was published recently.  Thanks Lee!

"Disney U." by Doug Lipp.  I find most of my books in the Disney bookstore but this one I found in the local newspaper in an article before it came out.  I really enjoyed both the history and the practical steps about improving training programs.  It helped me to create a more complete and consistent training program to help my teaching staff be more thoroughly prepared and consistent.

"Be Our Guest" by Ted Kinni.  This is a great recap of ideas that I experienced at Disneyland and helps encapsulate how to translate that experience into my own daily life and business.  Honestly, after receiving Disney service these ideas start to seem like common sense...until I leave the park and realize it has to be an intentional behavior change.

"The Disney Way" by Bill Capodagli.  This one is a classic for a reason.  Full of helpful ideas.  And a natural segue to...

"Innovate the Pixar Way" by Bill Capodagli.  Such a great challenge to KEEP improving and thinking differently, which was important once my business started to become more "established."  Resisting the urge to settle for good enough is important.

"The Pixar Touch" by David A Price.  This was a fun read for me to really start to feel the "heartbeat" of the company.  Honestly, my favorite moment of the whole book was the image of personalized, creative "huts" instead of cubicles. Granted, that wasn't the most PRACTICAL idea I took away from the book--but the most fun and captivating.

Then, I always seem to end up with a new reading opportunity after a Disneyland vacation, some not entirely business related.

"Designing Disney" by John Hench.  I don't consider myself a "designer" per se but I am a student of design.  My other favorite title "Design is How It Works."  Viewing PROCESSES and not just THINGS as needed design has become important to me.

"Disneylands that Never Were" by Shaun Finnie.  I found this one on my Nook e-reader, which I must say I love.  Super for reading in the dark with sleeping babies :)  It was so interesting to get a take on some of the creative process and history about attractions and some ideas that never materialized.

I finished two of the "Kingdom Keepers" kids novels.  Having Disney World on my to-do list still, it was a fun setting but not is my "home" park of Disneyland...

"Quotable Walt Disney."  This never gets old.  My second favorite person to quote is Mr. Rogers.  Maybe I will have to blog about Mr. Rogers another time.

I think there are still some books missing.  By the way, I don't ONLY read books about Disney...they just get priority :)