Information is like food - watch your diet!

We live in an age of attention.

Media consumption happens throughout our days and some of the most powerful entities in the world are using their big data schemes to find the best ways to win a little bit more of our attention. To say that we are bombarded with content would be an understatement. We end up consuming information when we don't want it or need it just because someone (or something) has figured out how to lure us in with just the right hook at just the right time.

This world of attention offers abundant opportunities and access to life-changing information that we have never had before. But just like a healthy food diet, a healthy information diet is critical to our overall health. The negative results of a poor information diet include overwhelm, depression, ideological extremism, and an overall decrease in what we think of as "mental" health. But just as healthy food is more available to more people than ever, we can - with a bit of effort - achieve a healthy information diet.

We can't go back to the world from before so we need to come up with strategies to navigate through this sea of content. This means that we now need to pay more attention to that which is demanding (or hacking) our attention. Watch what you watch, read, and listen to - see how it makes you feel; see what it makes you think about; see how it makes you act. Find trusted sources that reliably produce what you want to see. When you enjoy certain content, ask yourself whether it is simply entertaining you or whether it is also enriching your life (the best content does both). Welcome silence and lengthen the stretches of time where you aren't consuming any content at all. Take complete days off of content consumption and just see what happens.

It may not be easy, but it is absolutely within reach for every one of us. Just as there are many producers of healthy food and approaches to healthy eating, there are many of us who are producing content that will help us confront the challenges of this age of attention. But it will only happen if we embrace the current media landscape and create what we need to thrive in it.

Join us. It might even be fun.

The Future is a Story You Create

Have you ever noticed how many movies, tv shows, books, and other media tell stories about a catastrophic, apocalyptic, or otherwise negative future? Whether it's environmental catastrophe, meteors hitting the earth, zombies eating everyone, or our simply causing our own economies to implode, this type of story really seems to sell (just try watching the news for a few minutes some time).

Fear sells. It also motivates. Something about us loves to be able to anticipate bad things before they happen, which is why we want to see them ahead of time. But seeing all of these negative stories play out - especially stories that show us how powerless we are to stop these negative stories - is taking a toll on us. It makes us feel like a negative version of the future is inevitable.

But is it?

These are, after all, only predictions. And, as Yogi Berra is believed to have said, "it is difficult to make predictions, especially about the future." If we look at some of our grandest predictions throughout history, we come face to face with a rather abysmal track record. If you think about it, this can actually be a very positive thing. The fact that we don't know whether the future is bad or not means we ought not to automatically believe that it will be. And, more importantly, the fact that it isn't here yet, ought to remind us that the future... depends on what we do today.

When it comes to the future, there are two kinds of people; those who see the future as something that can be bright and beautiful and those who see the future as something that can only be dark and depressing. This is a matter of focus. In some sense, both will be true at the same time. Those who focus on stories about our own powerlessness in the face of an impending doom, tend to give up on the future. They will find something to do until the future arrives (and it won't be pretty). They will make very different decisions in life from the other kind of person. If they think this way, they will probably help bring that kind of future.

The other type of person is one who believes that the future can be good. This isn't a guarantee, of course - and that is part of what makes the difference. They believe that their thoughts, actions, and decisions matter - that they can actually help determine what the future will be like. They focus on stories about a bright and beautiful future and then they help make it that way. They look for solutions to problems, which makes them more likely to find solutions that those who don't bother.

Stories helps us imagine the future in a powerful way. They help us visualize what we can do to build the future - they help us cause good or bad things to happen. Without these blueprints, we won't know what to build.

So next time you're reading, watching or listening to something, think about the future. Watch how it affects you in the days and weeks after. And then think about what you would want the youngest of us to think about and learn from stories and how it will affect them. What story do you want them to create?

Why?

Good Gang Music Factory is about identifying and amplifying the greatest ideas in the world with music and story.

Ideas can be good or bad but they are always delivered most effectively through stories. Music delivers emotions directly to the soul, speeding us up or slowing us down so that we can experience stories more completely. Music and story are powerful tools, which means they can change the world. Good ideas make the world better; bad ideas make it worse.

We have decided to aim for a better world. We believe that the future can be better if we believe that it can be better. We believe that helping others imagine a better world will literally help create a better world.

We believe that this only happens one person at a time, and that the power of this is about to be realized.

We live in a world of distraction. We need ways to keep us oriented toward the good that is possible if we keeping going and keep growing. We need to learn and then remember what we can do if we try.

That is why.

Thank you for joining us.