If you know me in the non-digital world, I hope that you know I’m not in awe of celebrities nor anything that revolves around their lives. Why? Because they’re human beings that exist just like everyone else. They have problems that are private, successes that are memorable, and if they’re really amazing, they impact others positively.
Impact, it’s a big word with few letters.
This powerful word has been swirling around my thoughts for the last two years of my life than other and I owe it all to my work with the Fund for the Arts and the impact they have in my community and how that impact echoes out into the rest of the world just by the occurrence of one more impact.
Keep the word “impact” in your mind as I jump down the reflective rabbit hole of how I was able to meet one of the most impactful performers of my time thus far, Lady Gaga.
Once upon a time, in a city called Louisville, lived a certain glitter throwing blogger (ahem, moi) that received an email from a PR company offering an all access pass to attend a day full of nonstop behind the scenes access and privileges before the Lady Gaga concert.
Back to first-person talk; third-person self-talk is funny but too creepy for me to carry on.
Somewhere between dreams and reality, I read an email and my heart skipped a few beats as the words were a formal invitation to attend Lady Gaga’s concert in Louisville. * Internal screaming. * Not because of her amazing voice, bold political stances nor her intense passion for her words and art.
Not that all of those things aren’t true because they are but it is these things that give her a light-flashing and disco bumping strong platform so her five foot two body can be a voice to help women victims and the LGBT population of our country. She literally uses every inch of her body to push herself out into the spotlight to show us all that “We don’t need permission to be strong.”
Meeting a woman that positively impacts so many others could make even the most philanthropic human being on earth feel inadequate. So guess what I did … I was so nervous the night before I couldn’t sleep. I read over the details a million times and truly couldn’t believe that Verizon Wireless was offering me this experience for FREE as a part of their new rewards program Verizon Up.
This $1,500 package included a tour behind the scenes, sound-check, dinner, drinks, some Verizon swag, one concert ticket and last but not least, a moment to meet Lady Gaga in the real world of life; live and in living color. In my iPhonographer mind was ready to take a million shots of all of the above because my IG story would have been on fire. However, due to understandable security issues, I was only able to use my phone during the concert. Making all of the other parts of my day all the more memorable because it forced me to live in the moment as it was happening right in front of me. The impact that she had on the fans around me was astounding.
When I first arrived, three young men told me about how they listen to her every single day and that they’ve been following her for years as one of them then confessed that he cries every time he hears her music because her words support him in is day-to-day life. But it didn’t stop there. Eavesdropping around the room that day provided great insight to learn more about her impact helps others. From coming out stories to a domestic violence survivor recalling how her songs helped her regain strength in her heart; her impact echoed far past the surface level of entertaining her audience.
Her lyrics lift others and her genuine heart invites all. Her words come shining through with her fearless ability to be vulnerable and impactful for the person / people absorbing it.
A reward of this magnitude from Verizon Up not only gives me inspiration as a marketer to strive to create impactful rewards prograns, but it also shows the benefit of absorbing consistent positive reinforcement from the words and intentions from someone who can love you like family. And in this case, the mother of all monsters, Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta. The one they call Gaga.
Coming full circle to the role that mothers play in our lives.
A mother’s impact is immeasurable. She picks you up when you fall and cheers you on as you succeed because she believes you’re extraordinary. The journey you had to take to get to where you are can be painful but it doesn’t mean that you’re weak, it means you’re strong because you’re here and you’re growing past any limit you thought you had. If you want to change something in your life, a mother gives you the mental tools to do so then she releases you out into the world for you to make it a better place with your heart and spirit striving for an everlasting impact.