As my faithful followers know, in addition to my career in real estate, I have long enjoyed a career in opera, both as a singer and a general director. Recently, a friend of mine suggested that I submit a proposal to an organization called IGNITE BALTIMORE. At the time, I knew nothing about them, but was very intrigued by their format. Sixteen speakers each got FIVE minutes, and TWENTY powerpoint slides that auto-advance every 15 Seconds. I was truly blown away by this event, and the fact that 450+ people showed up, just to hear people talk about their ideas and passions. IGNITE BALTIMORE #5 was held last Thursday at the Walters Art Gallery in Mt. Vernon...if you get a chance to attend #6, order your tickets early, and prepare to be blown away.
So, two things have sparked me to blog about my experience here, rather than on my opera-blog:
First, a presentation by Peter Davis that immediately followed mine was called "Business is Theater" which made a compelling argument that we need to treat all business like theater. I spend a good deal of time trying to keep those two worlds apart in my life, and here was someone making a compelling argument embrace the ideals of each, for the other.
Second, I realized that the way I prepared for this event could translate very easily into the way that I prepare for business endeavors. I wrote a blog post on my opera-blog, regarding the preparation...what worked, what didn't, and what I would do next time. That can be found here, if you ever find yourself needing to give a presentation, feel free to learn from my mistakes! I need to remember that I KNOW how to rehearse and prepare a three hour long opera in a foreign language...I should know how to rehearse and prepare a ten minute listing presentation!
Finally, for those of you that can take five minutes, and hear about "Saving Opera, One Voice at a Time." Please watch the video below. Feel free to share wherever you see fit...we need all the help we can get, or this beloved art-form could die on our watch. As dire as the real estate market is in many areas, the arts are in even tougher shape, please do what you can to support your local arts scenes, as we all know...they in turn support your property value, and quality of life!
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