"He tells me film can change the world. He tells me you can build companies based on trust. He speaks softly."Stephen Gaghan in Time
Jeff Skoll was the first President of Ebay and left the company to find a way to promote positive change in the world. He discovered that the way he can reach the most people is through the medium of film. In the video he talks of his move from Silicon Valley to Los Angeles and that he felt as if he may be laughed out of town with his talks of creating a production company geared around social change and the promotion of different groups that make a difference in the world. He also makes a joke that the fastest way to become a millionaire is to start out as a billionaire then move to Los Angeles and make movies, which I found to be a clever joke.
What I find to be particularly amazing about his story is that with success the company is still committed to change. Sometimes we find that success changes a companies values and mission in Hollywood and find that putting out movies for strictly entertainment purposes actually make more money than those that are attempting to affect people in a certain way that causes them attach themselves to a particular purpose. If you go to the company's website, http://www.participantmedia.com/index.php, you'll find that on the right side of each film they have produced and are promoting you'll find the "make a difference" panel where they list at least three different ways and links to get involved with a particular movement associated with the film. That is an amazing commitment to promoting what they believe in as they are not only showing what they have created but the inspiration behind it and how the consumer can get involved.
Jeff Skoll is an inspiration to me as he has proven that you can stay true to who you are, promote change, and create films with meaning and be a success. I dream that I may be a billionaire turned millionaire so I can form a production company with similar values.
His Ted Video
http://www.ted.com/talks/jeff_skoll_makes_movies_that_make_change.html
His Bio
http://www.ted.com/speakers/jeff_skoll.html
Get Involved!
http://www.takepart.com/
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