Show Notes
Nirvan Mullick is a filmmaker, storyteller, and the big-hearted founder of Imagination Foundation, a nonprofit born out of the success of one of Nirvan’s viral films, “Caine’s Arcade.” (If you haven't seen it, it’s the first link in the bio.) He also founded Interconnected—an LA-based creative agency that tells stories for impact. The Venn diagram for his trajectory in life is “I see you. I want you to see you. I want everybody to see you.” That part is simple. That part is soul. The hard part—the part that makes someone transcend creativity and embrace ACTION is the next part: execution. In this episode, he walks us through his personal philosophy for how to see ideas come to life, how to see them nurtured, and how to see them embraced. What makes this POV special is that it isn’t a business trick. This isn’t the entrepreneur’s guide to wealth. This is CREATION and success uniting in its own way. Nirvan takes us way past any “how to,” that stalks us from the click-bait corners of the internet. This isn’t that. This is anything but. This is the science of nurturing your ideas, carefully, considerately, honestly. And coming to a creative conclusion that births something beyond your imagination. Now, you might be asking, “How is that possible?” because we've been taught to think ideas are only as good as the person thinking them, but that's not the case. An idea is as good as your ability to let go. Nirvan says, “Ideas envision their own existence. Ideas have this inherent idea of what they want to become, and if you can tune in to them, they will tell you how to do [the idea].” Think about that. IDEAS have IDEAS about their own existence. That’s the secret. (Not anymore, if you already pressed play, which you definitely should.) After the film made an impact, Nirvan doubled down. He built a movement (#CardboardChallenge), which then led to the nonprofit. That’s how we got Imagitionation.org, which merged with TwoBitCircus.org and supports over 180 Chapters in 30 countries. The organization has received support and recognition from Lego, Ashoka, VANS (to name a few) for its work fostering the creative expression of kids worldwide. But, you know what’s funny? When I ask Nirvan how he introduces himself, he says, “I am just a *guy trying to make things I care about for people I care about. And I care about everybody.” And if you’re here, if you’re listening to this show, isn’t that you, too? *gender not restricted—you know. It’s US.
WORKS: - Creator, filmmaker, director of Caine's Arcade, a short film that became a viral phenomenon in 2012, receiving millions of views and changing the life of a creative 9-year-old kid - Founder, Interconnected—an LA based creative agency that helps tell stories for impact - Founder, Imagination.org - Filmmaker with works screened in festivals worldwide, from Cannes to Annecy - Director of the viral #EarthToParis climate campaign for the UN Foundation and GOOD, generating over 1.4 billion impressions leading up to the historic Paris Climate Agreement - Board Member of TwoBitCircus.org, which Imagination.org merged with in 2018 - Recipient of the Dan Eldon Award for Creative Activism and the Big Ideas in Action award
TOOLS: - Inspiration on where to find ideas and how to treat them - Tips to inspire your curiosity - Reminders of how impactful and necessary play is - Stories that awaken your imagination - Tools to seek out opportunities that support other people’s dreams - Mental health support for the very common and very real social anxiety that plagues so many of us (myself included) - Confirmation that you’re special, unique, and that there really is only one You, and there’s a power to that
LAND ACKNOWLEDGEMENT: BETTER is recorded on the unceded and ancestral territory of the hən̓q̓əmin̓əm̓ and Sḵwx̱wú7mesh speaking peoples, the xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam), Sḵwx̱wú7mesh (Squamish), and səlilwətaɬ (Tsleil-Waututh) Nations, and has been stewarded by them since time immemo
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