A few weeks ago I recorded a video of myself talking about a superhero film. Here’s the link: https://youtu.be/rKRmMQaLZz8
Many of the reviews for Batman v Superman were negative, and online discussions quickly became a battlefield. For some reason, I felt compelled to share my personal response to the film. In my mind, the only goal was to discuss a movie.
The clip I posted broke nearly every ‘rule’ for online video:
At 18 minutes, it was far too long.
It was visually boring. No slick effects or editing. Just one guy talking with no additional shots or camera angles. It was probably the simplest video I have ever produced.
There were no funny cats, cute kids, or clever click-bait. It was just me. Talking. For 18 minutes.
But, within 3 days the video had over 100,000 views across multiple platforms. It has more than 1,600 comments on YouTube. Famous people shared it. It has been subtitled into multiple languages and reposted, and I gave my heart-felt blessing for people to do it.
After 3 week of reflection, here’s the MOST IMPORTANT THING to me about this experience:
In life, I often feel like I am surrounded by voices that are trying to control my behavior. Politics, marketing, work, social media. These voices want to shape my behavior by manipulating me with fear, pride, and desire.
My continual longing is for connections that are REAL. I don’t want to be managed, I want to truly see people and be truly seen. I think the best comes out in me when I am able to live and work in environments where I feel safe to be myself. And I instantly love people who show me their heart and encourage me to show mine without judgment.
Although it wasn’t my plan, I somehow managed to create an 18-minute glimpse of this. And people felt invited to join. Not simply to talk about a movie but to celebrate the real opportunity we have to show weakness, embrace brokenness, and gain strength from each other. In this kind of space, we can uncover the highest potential in our own lives and for the world.
For the past 3 weeks, I’ve been dreaming about what we could accomplish together if we committed ourselves to creating loving environments in our families, our workplaces, and online. And then we chose to share our hearts authentically and openly within those safe settings.
In a world like that, I believe all of us would be free to become the superheroes we were born to be. I want to keep contributing to spaces where we can be real together. Thanks for continuing to join me!
