by Pamela on July 28, 2010
Kiera Van Gelder and Amanda Wang, speakers at the National Alliance for Mentally Ill Convention. They spoke on the “Courageous Women in Recovery” panel.
A few months ago, I wrote about Amanda Wang’s courageous and brilliant project The Fight Within Us, a documentary she is producing to raise awareness about Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD), a condition she was diagnosed with a few years ago. Amanda is training for a Golden Gloves bout, and using that as a living metaphor for the fight she faces each day to manage this challenging and sometimes debilitating mental illness.
I spent time with Amanda at the Public Words Speaker Forum at Harvard, and was so impressed with her desire to make a difference for the 16-18 million estimated people in the world who have BPD.
One of Amanda’s supporters expressed the importance of her message:
My story is simple, really. I am the mom of a daughter diagnosed with BPD. She is 24 years old, beautiful, brilliant, amazing… and so many of the things that you described in your story is so her. She has finally found the courage to work toward a college degree and is doing well… but doubts her ability to ever overcome her “limitations.” She doesn’t acknowledge BPD like you do — she is not currently seeing a therapist and she doesn’t speak freely about it — despite the diagnosis and several sessions attending Dialectical Behavior Therapy.
As for me — I want to see the stigma associated with BPD (especially with some clinicians, who can sometimes take such a fatalistic approach) gone forever. I want to see BPD understood. I want there to be more research. I want my daughter, and all of the other daughters and sons out there to somehow understand their inherent worth and to know the love.
Amanda, you represent a candle in the darkness (not to be cliche, but it’s true). Your hard work toward a very cool goal (Golden Gloves) is inspiring and someday, when she is ready, I want to share your story with my sweet girl. In the meantime, your goals of dialogue across social media about BPD will effect change. I just know it.
All of my clients face doubt and anxiety when launching a project, since that is part of the entrepreneurial journey. Amanda’s experience is magnified by her illness, yet despite that, she puts herself out there in a vulnerable way in order to raise awareness about the cause.
Which is why I think her fight has a powerful message for all of us: acknowledge doubt, feel fear, worry about what people will think of our ideas, and DO IT ANYWAY!
The Mission
Today, Wednesday, July 28, we would love to get a good buzz going about the project so we can raise the remaining funds to reach the goal by Saturday, July 31.
Here is how you can help:
- Donate to The Fight Within Us on Kickstarter — every single dollar counts! If we get 5,000 people to donate $1 or 1,000 people to donate $5, we will reach the goal. Here is a link to the donation page.
- Post about the project on Facebook and Twitter.
- Let Amanda know if you have people or organizations who would be interested in the message. You can reach her on Twitter @RethinkBPD, or amanda (at) rethinkbpd (dot com).
Regardless of the outcome of this campaign, Amanda has already won.
Thanks so much for your support. May we all find the courage to make a difference in the world.
by Pamela on July 19, 2010
Robert Plant, Photo Credit Rounder Records
I read a fantastic interview with Led Zeppelin member Robert Plant, conducted by Larry Rogers in the Arizona Republic on July 16. The full interview is here.
Plant, who is coming to Arizona to play with Patty Griffin in advance of a new album dropping in September, described his current musical path.
Instead of touring under the legendary name Led Zeppelin, he chose Band of Joy. His reasoning:
Q: Why did you choose the name of a band from before Led Zeppelin for this project?
A: When I was a kid in the original Band of Joy, I wore my musical heart on my sleeve, and I really kicked ass, and that’s kind of how I teamed up with Jimmy Page back then. I stepped out of the rank and file of performers.
I’ve kept my vision of what . . . Led Zeppelin was, from album to album, in everything I’ve tried to do before, during and after that big time in my life.
So when I got to playing with Buddy on the Alison Krauss tour, I began formulating an idea of going back to how liberated I felt when I was 17, 18, 19 years old.
He also talks about his musical inspiration:
Question: What is it about American roots and folk music, much of which has its foundation in the British Isles, that appeals to you?
Answer: Hill music, whether you’re in Bulgaria, Wales, Scotland, Tennessee, there seems to be something about the altitude that keeps the music rarefied, like the air up there.
You can hear beautiful refrains and scales, which in some places are almost locked away like treasure from times gone by. I hear . . . the remnants of what this island had to offer many, many years ago, before Tin Pan Alley arrived.
I hear its ricochet through the southern states of America. It’s plaintive and touches a great place for me, a kind of nerve which inspired me and (guitarist) Jimmy Page when we wrote bits of “Led Zeppelin III” and we were touching on “Babe I’m Gonna Leave You” on “Zeppelin I.”
I never thought about Hill music. I do now.
Here is what I learned from his example that applies to all of you, once you get rich and famous:
- Never lose touch with the root of your passion
“When I was a kid in the original Band of Joy, I wore my musical heart on my sleeve, and I really kicked ass, and that’s kind of how I teamed up with Jimmy Page back then. I stepped out of the rank and file of performers.”
How powerful to recognize the conditions that caused your success! So instead of trying to write a song that sold a million records (or a book that sold a million copies, or a website that got a million hits), look to feed the conditions and feelings that inspired you to create a kick-ass piece of work.
- Make decisions based on what the art needs, not what makes you look good
Plant said: “Some old friend of mine, if you like (Rod Stewart), called an album “The Great American Songbook.” (Laughs) Well, that was “The Great American Schmaltz,” really.”
Is there anything more sad than a rock legend pitching a soft drink (sorry Gene Simmons)? Or creating an album just because it could sell? Everyone has to eat, but if you are not a starving artist, trust your sensibility for what makes great art and use it to make creative decisions.
- Don’t try to squash the next generation for fear they will eclipse you. Instead, find them, learn from them, and use your reach to get them more exposure.
Asked about why he chose Patty Griffin to work with, he said: “I asked Emmylou (Harris) what was really happening on the American female-vocal scene, and she immediately referred to Patty.”
Looking for the best in your field, even if they are younger than you and exceptionally talented, will strengthen your game, not weaken it. Being around talented people pushes you to grow. Don’t surround yourself with people who remind you of how great you once were.
So often, those who finally attain fame, wealth or exposure try to desperately hold on to what they have. It is a losing battle. Crazy luck, perfect timing and divine intervention combines with hard work to deliver breakout success.
Real success comes from feeling joy in the process of creation.
