Episode 221
Navigating the Creative Journey with Bill Dolan
In this episode of Music Explored, hosts Dee and Anthony welcome guest Bill Dolan, a seasoned creative director and author. The conversation delves into the profound impact of storytelling in both music and film, exploring how personal experiences shape creative journeys. Bill shares his defining moments in storytelling, the importance of audience connection, and the courage required to share one's art. The discussion emphasizes the vulnerability artists face and the significance of mentorship in navigating creative paths. In this conversation, Bill Dolan shares his journey of self-discovery and career development in the television industry. He discusses the defining moments that shaped his path, including the importance of mentorship, overcoming self-doubt, and the power of authenticity. Bill's unique approach to networking through baking cookies highlights how personal touches can create lasting impressions and open doors to opportunities. In this conversation, Bill Dolan shares his insights on storytelling, the transformative power of experiences, and the importance of relationships in marketing. He discusses his near-death experience and how it shaped his approach to business and creativity. The discussion also covers the concept of the 'Platinum Rule' in business relationships, the essential qualities of a creative director, and the profound impact that creative direction can have on society.
Chapters
00:00 Introduction and Guest Introduction
02:49 The Power of Storytelling in Music and Film
06:02 Defining Moments in Creative Pursuits
09:00 The Impact of Audience Connection
12:00 Courage and Vulnerability in Creativity
14:59 Navigating the Creative Journey
17:59 Finding Your Path as a Creative Director
19:26 The Journey to Discovering Passion
22:01 Defining Moments in Career Development
24:39 Overcoming Self-Doubt and Fear
26:15 The Power of Authenticity
31:35 Transforming Opportunities into Success
32:55 The Power of Storytelling
34:33 Transformative Experiences and Marketing
35:47 The Seven Disciplines of Relationship Marketing
41:01 The Platinum Rule in Business Relationships
43:11 Essential Qualities of a Creative Director
49:38 The Impact of Creative Direction on Society
Transcript
From classics to curiosity and where melodies meet me.
Dee:Welcome.
Dee:Welcome back to another episode of Music Explored.
Dee:I am one of your hosts, as usual.
Dee:D.
Dee:I'm here with my partner in crime, Anthony.
Dee:How you doing today, my friend?
Anthony:Guilty.
Anthony:That's me.
Anthony:I'm good, man.
Anthony:It's a blessing to be alive.
Anthony:Great to be back on the podcast and.
Anthony:Yeah, just getting through the busy holiday season, feeling good about things and feeling really optimistic about the new year, man.
Anthony:Just, it's, it's good.
Anthony:Yeah.
Dee:And what better way to end the year, right?
Dee:I mean, I know, I know you're going to intro him, but I'm excited to get to talking to our guest today.
Anthony:Yeah, yeah.
Anthony:This is very exciting.
Anthony:And now we've got people like, who is it?
Anthony:Well, here you go.
Anthony:I'm going to read this one.
Anthony:It's a little, this is an interesting one.
Anthony:I'm going to do a combination of reading and freestyling, so I'll get the important stuff in before I mess anything up potentially.
Anthony:But yeah, Bill, Bill Dolan we have with us today.
Anthony:He is our guest and Bill has on tv, video and an event director.
Anthony:He's the author of a marvelous, like a fantastic book, the Seven Disciplines of Relationship Marketing.
Anthony:I gotta say I'm.
Anthony:Stop right there.
Anthony:Pause.
Anthony:Blew my mind reading this while listening to this book.
Anthony:I, I'll talk to you some more about it.
Anthony:But we really, we could do a whole podcast alone on the content of this book.
Anthony:It's.
Anthony:Yeah, yeah, I'll go on about it.
Anthony:So I'm going to come back to that.
Anthony:Stick a pin.
Anthony:Also a keynote speaker in leadership and something that's going to be very interesting to talk to you about leadership and then near death experiences.
Anthony:Yeah, I think that speaks for itself.
Anthony:And then what's also cool is you've directed projects with names that everybody knows.
Anthony:I'm only going to drop a few of them because the list will go on.
Anthony:But on the film side, I know there's been like Arnold Schwarzenegger, Alec Baldwin, Bill Clinton on the film side.
Anthony:Very interesting.
Anthony:Let's ask about that.
Anthony:Also, you've done a lot in music and more, but you've worked with, well, some notable Christian bands as well as Glenn, Gwen Stefani, and then on the, I guess the branding marketing side just to drop a few in there like Nike and Intel.
Anthony:So I mean, and I'm sure a lot more in between.
Anthony:But you've, you've achieved some major things.
Anthony:You've worked at the highest level of film, music, marketing.
Anthony:So it's a pleasure My long intro.
Anthony:Just to say, Bill, it's a pleasure to have you here, and we're looking forward to this chat today so much.
Bill Dolan:Well, it's great to be here, Anthony.
Bill Dolan:Great to be here, Dee.
Bill Dolan:Great to actually get to connect with you guys, because we've talked about doing this for a while and.
Bill Dolan:Yeah, yeah, we're actually doing it.
Anthony:Today's the day.
Bill Dolan:I'm here for you.
Anthony:Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.
Dee:I appreciate you.
Anthony:And I always.
Anthony:This is funny.
Anthony:I always like to find.
Anthony:Because we are the Music Explored podcast, and obviously we're all connected to music in some way or the other.
Anthony:And a lot of times for our guests, it's just been like, you know, music enthusiasts, if not necessarily connected to the industry.
Anthony:But I did find something here, and I'm very excited to say this.
Anthony:I don't know if you still play, but I know that growing up, you played piano.
Anthony:You're Clint, you're trained classically.
Anthony:I found that connection.
Anthony:So you are one of our musician family.
Anthony:So welcome on that note as well.
Anthony:So I actually.
Anthony:And I mentioned playing piano.
Anthony:That's correct.
Anthony:Right.
Anthony:First of all.
Bill Dolan:That's correct.
Bill Dolan:That's correct.
Bill Dolan:I had nuns beat me in the fingers.
Anthony:Oh, were you one of those ruler guys?
Bill Dolan:I am.
Bill Dolan:I am one of those kids.
Bill Dolan:Yes.
Dee:Wow.
Bill Dolan:Nice.
Bill Dolan:I didn't do my fingers right.
Bill Dolan:I was like, yeah, let's do some jazz action.
Bill Dolan:No, that doesn't happen.
Anthony:That's a sin.
Anthony:Yeah.
Anthony:Jeez.
Anthony:And I guess that's going back to your childhood.
Anthony:Which actually brings me to my.
Anthony:My first question.
Anthony:And this is on the film side, but I know that film is.
Anthony:Film and music are both very.
Anthony:They both have storytelling, like, interweaves either way.
Anthony:Right.
Anthony:But, yeah, I assume, because you've, you know, you've worked at a high level on both sides of this, assuming it goes back to childhood.
Anthony:Now, what sparked, like, your.
Anthony:I know you have a love for storytelling.
Anthony:I don't know if it started on the film or music side, but, like, what sparked that?
Anthony:Maybe we could start there.
Bill Dolan:Well, it's interesting.
Bill Dolan:It's interesting that.
Bill Dolan:That it'd be great to say, well, I had this dream, and this is kind of how it unfolded.
Bill Dolan:It actually was a dark dream is what it was.
Bill Dolan:Is that when I was growing up, you know, I did.
Bill Dolan:I played music, I played piano.
Bill Dolan:And of course, you know, girls love guitar players, so I learned how to play guitar, too.
Bill Dolan:But, you know, but the thing that really drove me into this whole idea of storytelling was really my retreat.
Bill Dolan:My dad was very ill when I was growing up, in fact.
Bill Dolan:He was.
Bill Dolan:He was in so much pain.
Bill Dolan:He was verbally abusive.
Bill Dolan:He was physically abusive.
Bill Dolan:And I was just trying to, like, sometimes hide.
Bill Dolan:And I would hide in my room where I had a tv.
Bill Dolan:And I used to love classic films, so I watched every monster movie, science fiction movie.
Bill Dolan:I mean, you named it.
Bill Dolan:I was watching all these films, not realizing I was being mentored in storytelling.
Bill Dolan:So what was really my escape eventually grew to be my love.
Bill Dolan:But I didn't know it at the time, so I'm immersed in this.
Bill Dolan:And of course, growing up playing music, I developed a larger appreciation for classical, for rock, for jazz, just all these different types.
Bill Dolan:And realizing that great films, you're right, Anthony.
Bill Dolan:They're about telling stories, and great music is about telling stories.
Bill Dolan:And why those stories connect so much is because they aren't just a front cortex experience.
Bill Dolan:It isn't just a here's what happened here and here's what happened here.
Bill Dolan:No, it's.
Bill Dolan:This is what we felt here.
Bill Dolan:And let me tell you what it feels like, and let me take you on that journey.
Bill Dolan:Let me help you feel that way, and let me actually help you form a relationship with the characters that make you care.
Bill Dolan:And we're wired for relationship.
Bill Dolan:So that idea of relationship and story is so organically connected to the human experience.
Bill Dolan:I didn't know it then, but that was my training, and that's how I grew up.
Bill Dolan:And that's my love now.
Anthony:Wow, that's beautiful.
Anthony:TV was.
Anthony:Many are, I guess, our first loves.
Anthony:TV was your first mentor, and it paid off for you in ways that probably hasn't for many that spent a lot of time in front of the television.
Anthony:So that's pretty cool.
Anthony:Makes me wonder, though.
Anthony:So did you have, I guess, what was your first project that you got into on, like, on the film side?
Anthony:Were you still, like, as it was a childhood thing or.
Bill Dolan:Well, yes, it's interesting.
Bill Dolan:I think all of us.
Bill Dolan:All of us find our ways to tell stories.
Bill Dolan:Either way, it's a story we told to get out of trouble.
Anthony:That's true.
Anthony:That's true.
Bill Dolan:You know, or a story sometimes we secretly tell ourselves about ourselves.
Bill Dolan:But for me, I can tell you a defining moment for me.
Bill Dolan:And it's not that glamorous, but it was an awakening for me.
Bill Dolan:And it wasn't really.
Bill Dolan:It was in high school because even though I was being mentored and being surrounded by story and the arts, my mom was a nurse because, remember, my dad being sick and my mom being a nurse, there was a fascination for Me about the medical field, maybe being a doctor, because there was a part that said, I'd like to do something that's valuable and meaningful and important.
Bill Dolan:I mean, guys that walk around in white jackets with stethoscopes, we all, you know, think are pretty cool.
Bill Dolan:And I thought that that was the route I wanted to.
Bill Dolan:Wanted to go.
Bill Dolan:And by the time I got to high school, and I was kind of rebellious in high school, I went to biology classes, and I was not.
Bill Dolan:I did not have the aptitude for it.
Bill Dolan:You know, I had an aptitude for the girl that sat in front of me.
Bill Dolan:You know, I mean, I had a crush on her, but in terms of the class, I didn't get it.
Bill Dolan:But I would start taking journalism classes.
Bill Dolan:And my journalism instructor said, hey, Bill, you know, every year, and this is approaching the senior year, all the guys that take the pictures for the almanac, it's like this big book.
Bill Dolan:At the end of the year, they do, like a senior slideshow.
Bill Dolan:And what if you'd be willing to produce that?
Bill Dolan:You know, you're in the news, editor of the paper.
Bill Dolan:Could you do that?
Bill Dolan:I said, sure, sure.
Bill Dolan:I'd be happy to do that.
Bill Dolan:Well, I started sifting through the pictures.
Bill Dolan:And then there was a university student from one of the local universities, and he was.
Bill Dolan:He was a major in multimedia.
Bill Dolan:Multimedia.
Bill Dolan:Who knows what multimedia was?
Bill Dolan:But he introduced me to this technology where you could take pictures and sync them to music, you know, make it dissolve and kind of.
Bill Dolan:It's like video editing, except it was using multiple slide projectors and images.
Bill Dolan:So technologically, it was.
Bill Dolan:It was fascinating.
Bill Dolan:And I realized how cool the process was.
Bill Dolan:And all those story skills that I learned as a child watching classic movies, I was able to apply to the story of my class.
Bill Dolan:And I got to use great classic music and all those different things.
Bill Dolan:And the process was fun.
Bill Dolan:It was just like.
Bill Dolan:Just fed me.
Bill Dolan:Even now, as I tell you, I mean, it's been years, and I still get chills because it was a revelation of the process and a recognition that, unlike biology and medicine, I seem to have an aptitude for it.
Bill Dolan:It's so important when you talk about purpose and meaning, find that aptitude.
Bill Dolan:But the key was that this was the big moment.
Bill Dolan:Big moment was the day that we showed it in the auditorium for all the kids.
Bill Dolan:And so we're in the auditorium, lights go dark.
Bill Dolan: There's about: Bill Dolan:And I will say the first slide was intended to be humorous and Boom.
Bill Dolan:The place broke out in laughter.
Bill Dolan:And I'm standing on the side watching.
Bill Dolan:And then it got to a part where I was, like, telling a little bit of the story, and I could tell people were kind of leaning into it and watching.
Bill Dolan:And then there was a part that it was kind of tender and thoughtful.
Bill Dolan:You guys.
Bill Dolan:It blew me away because I'm looking at these people in the audience.
Anthony:Yeah.
Bill Dolan:And tears are welling up in their eyes.
Anthony:Wow.
Bill Dolan:And tears start running down my cheeks.
Dee:Wow.
Bill Dolan:I realized in that moment that in a sea and you know, when you go to school, it's like a sea of humanity.
Bill Dolan:You might have a couple good friends and you have a handful of acquaintances, and then there's just a sea of humanity.
Bill Dolan:You don't know who these people are.
Dee:Yeah, true.
Anthony:Right?
Anthony:That's true.
Bill Dolan: an intimate relationship with: Dee:Right?
Dee:Yeah.
Bill Dolan:Who at one time were just faces, but now there were people.
Bill Dolan:I had a chance to touch their heart.
Anthony:Holy smokes.
Dee:Powerful.
Bill Dolan:It changed me.
Bill Dolan:I feel it right now.
Anthony:Yeah.
Bill Dolan:And that's the power of the arts.
Bill Dolan:That's the power of storytelling.
Bill Dolan:It's the power of music.
Bill Dolan:Is that, wow.
Bill Dolan:There's joy in the process, and there's joy in the creativity.
Bill Dolan:There's joy in the journey and the discover.
Bill Dolan:There's something intensely powerful in the connection we can make with another human being.
Dee:Amen.
Bill Dolan:And that's what I felt, and that's the joy I see in some of the greatest artists I work with is, yeah.
Bill Dolan:There's an industry, there's a business, there's a lot of things going around, but at the heart of it is an artist that has a story to tell and a life they can change.
Anthony:Exactly.
Dee:Yeah.
Anthony:Wow.
Dee:You nailed it.
Dee:Does that get any easier for you?
Dee:Because there's a vulnerability there to when you're creating that you're not sure.
Dee:Just because you love it doesn't necessarily mean everyone's gonna love it.
Dee:And in that moment, you knew you got validation right away from everyone in the auditorium that your creative work or your art was.
Dee:Was received well.
Dee:Do you get nervous at all debuting or showing anybody your creative work now these days, after years and years of doing it?
Bill Dolan:Yes and no.
Bill Dolan:I think everybody wants to be liked.
Bill Dolan:No one wants to have that green and say, well, hi, how are you?
Bill Dolan:And they go, well, great.
Bill Dolan:You suck.
Bill Dolan:No one wants that engagement.
Bill Dolan:And so we all want to be approved.
Bill Dolan:We all desperately want to be loved and to love.
Bill Dolan:So that's part of the human experience.
Bill Dolan:But as an artist, you have to grow in courage.
Bill Dolan:It doesn't mean that you still aren't fearful.
Bill Dolan:It doesn't mean that you're still not vulnerable.
Bill Dolan:In fact, I don't think you can be the purest of artists unless you are vulnerable.
Dee:I wholeheartedly agree.
Bill Dolan:So you've gotta be there.
Bill Dolan:But to be able to come out of that shell and say, I'm going to share something that's intimate.
Bill Dolan:I'm going to share something that's a part of my story that I think could connect.
Bill Dolan:And I understand I might share something that you might not like, but I'm going to be courageous enough because I believe that what I have to share has value to someone.
Bill Dolan:And so I'm going to be faithful to the process, to show up.
Dee:Faithful to the process.
Bill Dolan:Wow.
Dee:Yeah.
Anthony:That's huge.
Anthony:Wow.
Anthony:Is that one of the.
Anthony:Was that one of your takeaways at that point?
Anthony:I'm just trying to picture this.
Anthony:I'm still on this auditorium full of students, and I'm picturing you in that moment, like, seeing the reaction, feeling their reaction.
Anthony:You mentioned laughter and tears.
Anthony:So you've taken them on, like, a whole ride of emotions, and you're feeling them with.
Anthony:You're feeling the same emotions with them.
Bill Dolan:Yeah.
Anthony:What did you take away from that moment?
Anthony:Were you hooked?
Anthony:Or was it something where you went back to doing other things?
Anthony:Like, is that the moment that drew you into where you.
Anthony:The direction that you took?
Bill Dolan:Well, definitely, I was hooked.
Bill Dolan:And a lot of times we have profound experiences that still lack definition.
Anthony:True.
Bill Dolan:And I think that's an important part about our life experience, is that we feel things and we experience things, but we might not define what happened there, what really happened there.
Bill Dolan:That's a lot of life.
Bill Dolan:I'm still doing that.
Bill Dolan:And I think that's okay to.
Bill Dolan:Again, that courage thing, to walk down that road of discovery knowing that as much as we want control, as much as we want to know where we're going and know what we're doing, and we praise those people that are so decisive, and they say, oh, I know where I'm going.
Bill Dolan:Oh, that's a bunch of bs.
Bill Dolan:There's some people know what they're doing, and there's some things of which I am a master of my craft in certain areas.
Bill Dolan:And I tell my team, you asked me about this.
Bill Dolan:Look, I've been doing this for decades.
Bill Dolan:I'm really good at this, and I can answer those questions, but there's a whole bunch of stuff I don't know.
Bill Dolan:And we're gonna have to endure the process of discovery as we do it.
Bill Dolan:Even like doing the show.
Bill Dolan:I mean, congratulations for having the guts and the conviction to say, we're gonna do this show, we're gonna bring on guests, and we're gonna discover what it takes to make a good show and what it takes to bring on good guests.
Bill Dolan:And how do we promote this and how do we market this?
Bill Dolan:And da, da.
Anthony:Yeah.
Bill Dolan:I'm gonna guess that you didn't have doctorate degrees in social media broadcast show.
Anthony:Production from Guess what gave it away, man.
Bill Dolan:Guess what?
Bill Dolan:You're earning it now.
Anthony:Oh, wow.
Bill Dolan:And you're earning it because you're courageous enough to show up, faithful in the process, and fail forward.
Anthony:So did you say courageous or crazy enough?
Anthony:I wasn't sure.
Bill Dolan:Right.
Anthony:Yeah, no, that's true.
Anthony:Thank you for that.
Bill Dolan:And look along with that.
Bill Dolan:And again, I go back to that auditorium.
Bill Dolan:I didn't have definition at that time.
Bill Dolan:It unfolded to me.
Bill Dolan:But as much as I say courage is a big piece of it, the crazy thing about artists is sometimes before we have courage, we have passion.
Bill Dolan:And that passion can compel us to do crazy things that our logical mind would say, don't do that.
Bill Dolan:You're going to get hurt.
Bill Dolan:You're going to look stupid, you're going to be rejected, you're gonna be.
Bill Dolan:That's.
Anthony:Yeah.
Bill Dolan:But, man, if you can combine courage and passion, watch out.
Dee:Yeah.
Anthony:Wow.
Bill Dolan:Because it means you'll show up and it means you'll get better, and it means you'll grow.
Bill Dolan:And also you'll find your audience.
Anthony:Yeah.
Bill Dolan:You know?
Bill Dolan:Yeah, you'll find your audience, and it's what you're doing.
Bill Dolan:And again, I applaud you for what you're doing.
Anthony:Yeah.
Anthony:Thank you very much.
Dee:We appreciate the kind words, especially from someone as established as yourself.
Dee:So from the moment you realized that you loved what you were doing in that auditorium, how do you go about then pursuing a career as a creative director?
Dee:What was that decision like?
Dee:And do you remember any defining moment where you're like, this is the role I need to be in?
Bill Dolan:I wish there was and there wasn't.
Bill Dolan:You know, a lot of people are talking about Wicked right now.
Bill Dolan:It's a movie that's really hot because based upon the wizard of Oz, I'll tell you, you know, a lot of my journey has been like, the wizard of Oz.
Bill Dolan:You know, somewhere I know there's an emerald City.
Bill Dolan:Okay.
Bill Dolan:And I know there's a path to get there.
Bill Dolan:And, oh, it's, gee, it's a yellow brick road.
Bill Dolan:But, like, A lot of emerald cities and yellow bricks roads.
Bill Dolan:We know there's a general path, but we get to these intersections and they demand, want a decision.
Bill Dolan:And it's always great if you have a mentor now, hopefully it's a little bit better than a scarecrow or tin man or.
Bill Dolan:But the bottom line is that great mentorship helps us with intersections.
Bill Dolan:There's going to be a lot of them between that.
Bill Dolan:I think this is the road.
Bill Dolan:And that was the same thing for me.
Bill Dolan:I came away from that experience loving the process, loving the way of impacting, but I didn't have definition.
Bill Dolan:So what did I take from that?
Bill Dolan:And this is the dangerous leap that some of us make.
Bill Dolan:It automatically means I'm supposed to be a television reporter.
Anthony:Got it?
Anthony:Okay.
Bill Dolan:Why?
Bill Dolan:Because I put context.
Bill Dolan:I was the news editor of the paper.
Bill Dolan:I was on the speech team and.
Bill Dolan:And I loved this process.
Bill Dolan:Yeah, I was supposed to be a television reporter.
Bill Dolan:So I then enrolled in a junior college to study television production.
Anthony:Wow.
Bill Dolan:And so I go there thinking I'm going to learn how I'm going to be a better writer and I'm going to get that.
Dee:Yeah.
Bill Dolan:But then what happened was I started taking the classes where you have to direct things, studio direction and things like that.
Bill Dolan:Was I a good writer?
Bill Dolan:Yeah, I was an okay writer.
Bill Dolan:Was I an okay producer?
Bill Dolan:Yeah, I was an okay producer.
Bill Dolan:Was I a technical genius?
Bill Dolan:Because a lot of television stuff at technical.
Bill Dolan:Not really.
Bill Dolan:Not at all.
Bill Dolan:I mean, there's some people that geek out about it.
Bill Dolan:I was not that guy.
Bill Dolan:But I was doing a broadcast and I decided I wanted to do everything.
Bill Dolan:I want to do music videos, I want to do news shows, I want to do documentaries.
Bill Dolan:I want everything I could take, I was doing.
Bill Dolan:And my professor was watching me one day and we're doing a live show and something fell through because a story didn't happen.
Bill Dolan:And I began to call Cameron, say, okay, now camera two, take two.
Bill Dolan:Ready camera one, take one.
Bill Dolan:They were going to do watch on camera three.
Bill Dolan:Raise camera take three.
Bill Dolan:And I did.
Bill Dolan:And I called the show and it was very instinctive.
Bill Dolan:It sounds glamorous, but it's one step above playing Mario Brothers like a video game.
Bill Dolan:And this is also a defining moment for me.
Bill Dolan:But it came with definition.
Bill Dolan:The other one was pure feeling.
Bill Dolan:This was definition because the head of our department had been in television for years and he semi retired to come back and teach us kids how to do tv.
Bill Dolan:And he pulled me and he says, bill, I just want you to know that I've watched you in the class.
Bill Dolan:And I would say that you are one of the most gifted directors we've ever had in the program.
Bill Dolan:Huge.
Dee:That's huge.
Bill Dolan:So there's really importance of what he said.
Bill Dolan:One, he let me know I had a gift, but then he gave me definition.
Bill Dolan:He said, you are a director.
Dee:Right.
Bill Dolan:I never thought of myself as a director.
Bill Dolan:Crazy, but he says, you gifted director.
Bill Dolan:And that gave me that boost to say, what could I be as a director?
Dee:Right.
Dee:Okay.
Bill Dolan:And so I continued trying to hone my skills, directing everything I could.
Bill Dolan:But I gotta tell you, a lot of people think, oh, and you launched this exciting career on television.
Bill Dolan:You were so decisive.
Bill Dolan:I was on a.
Bill Dolan:On a podcast, actually, earlier this week.
Bill Dolan:And it's a great show with a guy named Jordan Mendoza, and it's called blazing your trail, which kind of gives you that idea.
Bill Dolan:I'm sitting there with a blowtorch going, boom.
Bill Dolan:I'm kicking butt and taking names.
Bill Dolan:You know, me doing it, whatever.
Bill Dolan:That's not how it happened, okay?
Bill Dolan:Remember, there's.
Bill Dolan:There's a young kid that's passionate, right?
Bill Dolan:And I just got a boost of courage because my instructor gave me some confidence and clarity I'd never had at that level.
Bill Dolan:And a buddy calls me who's in my class, and he had gotten an internship at the ABC affiliate in our region.
Bill Dolan:He says, hey, Bill, he goes, Thursday nights are taping a show.
Bill Dolan:And they said I could bring friends in.
Bill Dolan:Would you like to come?
Bill Dolan:I said, are you serious?
Bill Dolan:Because even though I thought television cool, I had never actually been in a television studio, a real job.
Bill Dolan:I've been college studios, you know.
Bill Dolan:But, you know, when I grow up, I want to be a student.
Bill Dolan:Now, this was real.
Bill Dolan:And so I thought about it, said, yeah, I'll be there.
Bill Dolan:And then.
Bill Dolan:And it was about two days before it.
Bill Dolan:And I will tell you, the more I thought about it, the more terrified I got.
Bill Dolan:Because, you know, you've seen like, movies or things like that where someone walks in and says, oh, you'll never work in this town again.
Bill Dolan:And I thought, I'm gonna walk there and they're going to see me and they're going to go, what are you?
Bill Dolan:Who are you?
Bill Dolan:You're not good enough.
Bill Dolan:You're not smart enough, you're not cool enough.
Bill Dolan:You're not.
Bill Dolan:Blah, blah, blah.
Bill Dolan:I could go down the list.
Bill Dolan:Some of those things were things that were implied to me by my father as a little kid, by people.
Bill Dolan:And the trouble is that some of those things that we hear as a child might have happened once and they can create scars, but the danger is, is that they become an echo chamber with our own voice.
Bill Dolan:Now, you're not good enough.
Bill Dolan:You're not smart enough.
Bill Dolan:You're not talented enough.
Bill Dolan:You're not connected enough.
Bill Dolan:You go down the list of every lie you've ever heard, and we repeat it to ourselves over and over again.
Bill Dolan:And here I was, on the verge of having the opportunity of my life.
Anthony:Right?
Anthony:Yeah.
Bill Dolan:And the echo chamber emerged, Right?
Bill Dolan:So I went to my mom.
Anthony:Yeah.
Bill Dolan:I said, mom, I got a situation where I'm going to this TV station and I'm trying to think, what should I say?
Bill Dolan:What should I do?
Bill Dolan:Whatever.
Bill Dolan:Ever.
Bill Dolan:And she gave me the best worst advice ever.
Dee:Okay, what was that?
Bill Dolan:She said, billy, just be yourself.
Anthony:I knew it.
Anthony:That's the motherly advice.
Bill Dolan:Yeah, Mom.
Bill Dolan:Oh, gosh.
Bill Dolan:But then I had a revelation.
Bill Dolan:Now, have you guys ever heard of Famous Amos cookies?
Dee:Yes.
Bill Dolan:Famous Amos.
Bill Dolan:A lot of people don't know.
Bill Dolan:Famous Amos was a casting director in Hollywood.
Dee:I had no idea.
Anthony:Wow.
Anthony:Okay.
Bill Dolan:And his signature is.
Bill Dolan:He would show up on the set with a bag of cookies.
Anthony:Oh, wow.
Bill Dolan:And there we go.
Bill Dolan:And there we go.
Bill Dolan:Famous Amos.
Bill Dolan:Of course, everybody loved Famous.
Bill Dolan:Famous Amos was a great character.
Bill Dolan:He was a fun guy, very talented guy.
Bill Dolan:But he also made pretty good cookies.
Bill Dolan:And someone eventually told him, you sell those cookies.
Bill Dolan:And that's how Famous Amos became a popular brand for us.
Bill Dolan:But I was thinking, wait a minute.
Bill Dolan:I make good chocolate chip cookies.
Bill Dolan:I could do that.
Bill Dolan:So an hour before I left for the TV station, I had made a batch of hot chocolate chip cookies.
Anthony:Wow.
Bill Dolan:Okay.
Bill Dolan:And then I had this kind of Famous Amos moment.
Bill Dolan:And I wrote on the bag, bill's famous chocolate chip cookies.
Bill Dolan:Okay.
Dee:Yeah.
Bill Dolan:Put that on the bag.
Bill Dolan:And I made it like a stick figure.
Bill Dolan:Very rudimentary, very rude.
Bill Dolan:Clearly, I did not have design skills, but I had heart skills.
Bill Dolan:So I think I'm gonna go to the station, I'm gonna give people hot chocolate chip cookies.
Bill Dolan:And I get to the.
Bill Dolan:To the TV station.
Bill Dolan:And to my horror, it wasn't just me.
Bill Dolan:It was two other guys from my class that.
Bill Dolan:That my friend Don had invited.
Bill Dolan:The one guy he invited, he was a veteran.
Bill Dolan:He was there going to school on the GI Bill, older than me, crazy confident.
Bill Dolan:He walks in, he sees a producer, and he's like, hey, great to meet you.
Bill Dolan:Love your TV station, Love your show, blah, blah, blah.
Bill Dolan:And I'm like, I can't be Mike.
Bill Dolan:I'm not him.
Dee:There's no way.
Bill Dolan:And I'm having Mike envy.
Bill Dolan:And Now I'm.
Bill Dolan:All the echoes are coming back.
Bill Dolan:And then the producer turns to Jeff to my left.
Bill Dolan:Now, Jeff was like the class nerd, and he knew everything about technology.
Bill Dolan:And he immediately goes, you know, here's my best Jeff voice.
Bill Dolan:Excuse me.
Bill Dolan:It sounds horrible, but it's done in love.
Bill Dolan: oes, oh, I see you have the XY: Bill Dolan:So 7.
Dee:I know plenty of those.
Dee:I know plenty of Jeffs.
Bill Dolan:Yeah.
Anthony:Oh, that is funny.
Anthony:Yeah, yeah.
Bill Dolan:And the music.
Bill Dolan:There's a lot of technology, you know.
Bill Dolan:Dang.
Bill Dolan:And I'm thinking, I can't be Jeff.
Bill Dolan:So I am now just shrunk between these two pillars of confidence and technological wizardry.
Bill Dolan:And the producer looks at me, and all I could get out of my mouth was, hi, I'm Bill.
Bill Dolan:Would you like a cookie?
Anthony:Not the way you had rehearsed it in your mind.
Bill Dolan:All I said, as nervous as could be.
Bill Dolan:But the bag, you could smell the cookies.
Bill Dolan:They were wafting out.
Bill Dolan:And he reached and he pulled out a cookie, and the chocolate chips were still melty.
Bill Dolan:He takes the bite.
Bill Dolan:He goes, oh, these are great.
Bill Dolan:So he calls over the technical director says, hey, there's this kid from college.
Bill Dolan:You brought some cookies.
Bill Dolan:Would you like one?
Bill Dolan:He goes, yeah.
Bill Dolan:So I walk over the technical director, and he reaches in the bag and he reads the bag.
Bill Dolan:He goes, well, thank you, Bill.
Bill Dolan:And he goes to the audio director and says, hey, would you like.
Bill Dolan:Yeah.
Bill Dolan:And they go, thank you, Bill.
Bill Dolan:And he calls down to the studio, the magical world where all this stuff happens, where all these people, engineers and producers and the host, the talent, people I've been watching on television for years, are now in their makeup on, getting ready.
Bill Dolan:And he calls down on the microphone, by the way, that's the vog, the voice of God.
Bill Dolan:Hey, we got this kid up here.
Bill Dolan:He's got hot chocolate chip cookies.
Bill Dolan:Anybody want some hot chocolate chip cookies?
Bill Dolan:Cookies?
Bill Dolan:Yeah.
Bill Dolan:Bring them down.
Bill Dolan:I go down and I walk into the studio, and I see these heroes, these celebrities.
Bill Dolan:First time I've seen a celebrity in my life.
Bill Dolan:And I walk over with my bag, and they, thank you, Bill.
Anthony:Wow.
Bill Dolan:Thank you, Bill.
Bill Dolan:Thank you, Bill.
Bill Dolan:And I walked up that night again.
Bill Dolan:I was like, chill, taking a breath, didn't want to screw up.
Bill Dolan:And when I was done, I was all out of cookies.
Bill Dolan:And as I walked out the door, the producer said, hey, Bill, you're coming back next week, right?
Bill Dolan:I said, yeah.
Bill Dolan:So I came back for six consecutive weeks.
Dee:Wow.
Bill Dolan:Now, keep in mind, I'm 20 years old.
Anthony:Right.
Anthony:Okay.
Bill Dolan:I'm in the middle school, and after six weeks, the producer comes to me and he says, bill, he says, we have a stack of intern apps at my desk about that thick for people who want to be the summer intern.
Bill Dolan:He said, but, hey, everybody knows you.
Bill Dolan:Everybody likes it.
Bill Dolan:He goes, if you want to be the summer intern of our show, it's yours.
Dee:Wow.
Dee:I'm making cookies tomorrow.
Anthony:Tomorrow?
Anthony:For who?
Bill Dolan:I became that intern 90 day internship.
Bill Dolan:And on the 91st day, I was hired.
Anthony:Wow.
Bill Dolan:Wow.
Bill Dolan:To work for that ABC affiliate and within two years became one of the youngest major market directors in the country.
Anthony:Really?
Dee:That Mike and Jeff.
Bill Dolan:Yeah.
Anthony:Be yourself.
Dee:Yeah, be yourself.
Anthony:So as a beautiful story, did you continue to bring the cookies or was it just one week?
Dee:Do you use that in all introductions now?
Bill Dolan:All through my internship, I did.
Bill Dolan:And then occasionally.
Bill Dolan:Now, here's the thing that's funny is that that story, at its heart, really, it's a story about being you yourself.
Anthony:Yeah, exactly.
Bill Dolan:And bringing value, using your life as a gift.
Bill Dolan:And sometimes your gift is a.
Bill Dolan:It could be a smile, it could be an encouraging word.
Bill Dolan:It could be a cookie.
Dee:Right.
Bill Dolan:And you have to decide what that is.
Bill Dolan:But coming into that.
Bill Dolan:And again, I realized that later, but with my clients, a lot of them were saying, where are we going to get these cookies?
Bill Dolan:So I started baking cookies for my clients.
Bill Dolan:And this Christmas, again, some of my clients got jars of cookies.
Bill Dolan:And I ended up.
Bill Dolan:They shared with their employees.
Bill Dolan:And I made a website called Bills Famous cookies dot com.
Bill Dolan:And all it is is I just tell that story.
Anthony:Yeah.
Dee:That's awesome.
Dee:Wow.
Anthony:And that ties it all together because, I mean, you didn't mention on here, but, like, from.
Anthony:From your book.
Anthony:I think you made a mention in the book of.
Bill Dolan:Yeah, I think I did.
Anthony:With your mom.
Anthony:So now I'm thinking of the story within the story.
Anthony:And then you have the story of what's in your head, which I never thought of it that way.
Anthony:We all have things that we've heard as a child and these things that echo.
Anthony:So that's like an inner story.
Anthony:I still will say that it was you that showed up.
Anthony:And obviously it wasn't the cookies that got you the opportunity, but they did open up the door.
Anthony:I think actually the cookies may have helped defeat the inner story that you were playing in your head.
Anthony:So then they could see you and you could be more comfortable being yourself.
Anthony:So that's.
Anthony:I mean, moms always say, be yourself.
Anthony:You know, like, come on, that's.
Anthony:The last thing I want to be right now.
Anthony:That's what got me asking you this question.
Anthony:But at the end of the day, it's you that Sean did shine through and, you know, the rest is history.
Anthony:It's really cool.
Anthony:Thanks for sharing that part of your story with us.
Anthony:And now.
Anthony:And the cookies still are a part of your life.
Anthony:Yeah.
Anthony:That's amazing.
Anthony:Cool.
Anthony:I can't wait to try one.
Bill Dolan:Yeah.
Anthony:Oh, man, I wanna.
Anthony:I know we don't have a ton of time and there are some other things I think I'll be bold enough to say that we'll have to have you back because there is a lot that I want to go through with you.
Anthony:So I don't want to start on something that we can't finish today.
Anthony:I do want to mention the book once again, and I do not want to mention the title.
Anthony:Up the seven Disciplines of Relationship Marketing.
Anthony:I've read a lot of marketing books and a lot of business books, and this one, let me just say it's different, your approach to marketing.
Anthony:There's like a.
Anthony:There's like.
Anthony:Like a theory that I think that you've created in here.
Anthony:Just you've tied some things together that don't usually go together in this way.
Anthony:And that's just because I think you called it Jesus marketing, actually.
Anthony:Was that the term?
Bill Dolan:Well, a lot of people have called it that, I think, because at the root of it, it goes back to a death experience that I had that definitely changed my life.
Bill Dolan:In fact, I say a lot that I wish everybody could die and then come back.
Anthony:Okay.
Bill Dolan:Because it would change how you live.
Anthony:I can't even imagine.
Anthony:I can't imagine.
Bill Dolan:And keep in mind, a lot of us have death experiences.
Bill Dolan:Sometimes it's the death of a relationship, the death of our finances, sometimes the death of a dream.
Anthony:Yeah.
Bill Dolan:Wow.
Dee:Yes.
Bill Dolan:In some cases a physical death.
Bill Dolan:And I actually have physical death where my heart stopped.
Bill Dolan:And the thing that.
Bill Dolan:Among many lessons that comes from that is I went back to my childhood years and said, you know, who are the heroes of my faith or growing up?
Bill Dolan:And when I started to think about, wait a minute, how do I put this together?
Bill Dolan:I've had this profound after death experience, this encounter face to face with God.
Bill Dolan:I've come back now, but yet I've grown up in this media and marketing.
Bill Dolan:What does this mean?
Bill Dolan:You know, it's kind of like the ingredients of a salad no one's ever made before.
Bill Dolan:And you have to say, is this really something?
Bill Dolan:And the book came about in part because I Realized that one of the greatest things that every human being has is this deep desire to love and be loved.
Bill Dolan:And we find different ways one to love, and we find different ways to receive and to desire love.
Bill Dolan:But the only way you can have that is in relationship.
Bill Dolan:Yes, in your relationship, to have that.
Bill Dolan:And it seems pretty obvious, but I think we forget that, especially when we apply it to business, because we look at, I hit the, you know, the sales mark, or I look at the bottom line or, you know, what's that checkbox.
Bill Dolan:But behind every one of those things is a life.
Bill Dolan:That said, I value this relationship and I'm willing to invest in it because of what I believe in you and what I believe the outcome will be with me.
Bill Dolan:What will I experience, what transformation will I experience?
Bill Dolan:And if I'm going to get an outcome or a transformation, which, by the way, applies to every artist, is that every artist, when someone buys your record or goes to your concert or listens to your music, there's an outcome or transformation that someone believes they will experience through that.
Bill Dolan:And it may be subtle and it may be profound, but it is one of the profound gifts that artists and entrepreneurs can give to other people.
Bill Dolan:And so if you come back to that and now move that past a transaction to really think about transformation, and that transformation happens in relationship.
Anthony:Yeah.
Bill Dolan:What does that look like?
Bill Dolan:And of course, one of the greatest heroes of relationship, a certain person named Jesus.
Bill Dolan:In fact, not just a hero of transformational relationships, but I'd have to say that, and I say this respectfully.
Bill Dolan:Some people see it as sacrilegious, so forgive me.
Bill Dolan:Some people might go, that's horrible.
Bill Dolan:You can't do that.
Bill Dolan:But look at Jesus, the author of the.
Bill Dolan:If not one of the greatest revolutions in the history of mankind.
Bill Dolan:I mean, he created, not just he did his market, like, hey, you should read the gospel.
Bill Dolan:He created a movement that has continued, continued on for hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of years.
Bill Dolan:And there's a few people that you can say this life represented a movement.
Bill Dolan:And so what I did to create this book was I actually went back and I reverse engineered what I saw in the life of Christ.
Bill Dolan:And I looked at all those steps that he took.
Bill Dolan:I tried to separate myself from any kind of spiritual connotation yet.
Bill Dolan:But just say, what are the physics of this?
Bill Dolan:And the physics of it produced what I call seven disciplines that when you do them, they're like gears in a watch or gears in a fine engine that a lot of cases like marketing and media, we get a gear and we think oh, this is it.
Bill Dolan:You know, get a gear and.
Bill Dolan:Oh, this is it.
Bill Dolan:Power is the interconnection and working of the gears.
Bill Dolan:It's the harmony of them coming together that produces energy and power and velocity that could never be experienced without this powerful combination.
Bill Dolan:And that's what the seven disciplines does.
Bill Dolan:I went, oh, my gosh.
Bill Dolan:Gosh, it's mind blowing.
Bill Dolan:So that's really.
Bill Dolan:I can't say I wrote it.
Bill Dolan:I didn't invent it.
Bill Dolan:It was really a discovery of reverse engineering, the greatest communicator in the face of the earth.
Anthony:Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Anthony:It's brilliant.
Anthony:That's.
Anthony:It's brilliant.
Anthony:You have to read it, I guess.
Anthony:Yeah, we'll.
Anthony:We'll drop some links of where you could find the book and all that stuff.
Anthony:It's definitely a highly recommended read by us on this podcast, at least.
Anthony:Yeah.
Anthony:And one of the things I like from it too is you mentioned not the golden rule, but the Platinum rule.
Anthony:And I really like this for business, for relationship in general, because the golden rule is do unto others as you would have them do unto you.
Anthony:The Platinum Rule.
Anthony:And I don't want to mess it up because I'm sitting here with the man himself that wrote it.
Anthony:Is paraphrase, just to be safe is basically, you're not going to worry about what you're going to get back for it.
Anthony:You're going to do unto others what they would like done onto them.
Anthony:Right, Exactly.
Dee:Regardless of the return.
Bill Dolan:Right.
Anthony:It's not, it's not a give and take in this point.
Anthony:You have something in you to give, and that's what I'm giving you.
Anthony:Understanding that the rest will come back by whatever means.
Anthony:So, yeah, that's.
Anthony:I mean, there's so many takeaways from that book.
Anthony:Definitely, like I said, highly recommended.
Anthony:Read that book, find it.
Anthony:And.
Anthony:And you go into a little bit more detail too, because that fact, I think is really weird to hear someone say, you hear, you know, your own voice.
Anthony:I heard your voice say when I died.
Anthony:It's like, that's not, that's.
Anthony:That's a whole mental trip just to hear someone talk about their death.
Anthony:Right.
Dee:Okay.
Anthony:I know we don't have a lot of time to go into that sounds.
Bill Dolan:Like the next show.
Anthony:That's why I'm like, how do I not continue on a whole paths where I'm like, sorry, about time.
Anthony:We got to keep talking.
Dee:This was our intro to Bill Dolan and then part two.
Anthony:We'll thank experience.
Dee:Yeah, I know he's a busy guy, but if he could come back.
Dee:That would be tremendous, because I literally have questions about that, only specifically that.
Dee:But before I get you out here, just because this is the intro to us actually, in our audience, actually getting to meet you.
Dee:And for someone that doesn't know any or much about being a creative director, I'm just curious, what are some of the essential qualities you believe for someone to be a successful creative director?
Bill Dolan:Well, I would say, actually, you touched on it earlier, Dee.
Bill Dolan:It's vulnerability.
Bill Dolan:That first part is vulnerability.
Bill Dolan:Because to truly be creative in a way that connects with other lives means that you need to be empathetic.
Bill Dolan:You need to feel.
Bill Dolan:When I'm doing marketing pieces for corporations and organizations, I mean, we have our classic question.
Bill Dolan:I always ask a leader if I'm working with a CEO, and they say, bill, we want to engage you to do a project.
Bill Dolan:Help us tell our brand story better.
Bill Dolan:Help us do a sales kickoff for our team and help bring the brand to life there.
Bill Dolan:I can do that.
Bill Dolan:But I really want to know, for those people, that's your audience that you feel called to serve, what do you want them to know?
Bill Dolan:What do you want them to feel, and what do you want them to do?
Bill Dolan:If you can define those three things, the no part really has to do with what I call the front left cortex.
Bill Dolan:What will you take away and say, here's my list, my checklist.
Bill Dolan:Know this, but the feeling part is really addressing the limbic system.
Bill Dolan:It's one of the great mysteries of the human mind where so much contains.
Bill Dolan:And some psychologists would say that actually the limbic and the feeling system makes up 90% of our brain function that we feel intensely and always without definition.
Bill Dolan:It's only with definition that it comes to the front cortex.
Bill Dolan:And you can say, oh, that was pain, or that was hurt, or that was desire, or that was hunger.
Bill Dolan:You know, we feel those things.
Bill Dolan:Of course, if you want to see what a pure limbic system is, look at a baby.
Bill Dolan:You know, is it there?
Bill Dolan:They know they need to eat, they need to go to the bathroom.
Anthony:They need.
Bill Dolan:But they want to be held, they want to be loved.
Bill Dolan:And so all they can do is coo and cry.
Bill Dolan:It's kind of what a lot of humans are doing most of the time, just in their own little special way.
Bill Dolan:But when you get that definition, a great creative director is able to think both very empathetically but also strategically, because my creative usually has an outcome, right?
Bill Dolan:Yes, it really does.
Bill Dolan:There's a season where I am cooing and crying as an artist, but There is a powerful transformation when I become a creative director because now I'm making sounds and experiences that have a strategic objective.
Bill Dolan:And by the way, there are creative directors who are doing things that are hurting people.
Bill Dolan:Just being a creative director doesn't make you a good person.
Bill Dolan:You still have to say, am I operating within a purpose and a value system?
Anthony:Right.
Anthony:That's true.
Bill Dolan:That you have to ask that question, am I doing this for you or am I doing this for me?
Dee:Yeah.
Bill Dolan:And there's a lot of creative that is brilliantly done, that is designed for the well being of the company, the corporation or that creative director because of what they want out of it.
Dee:Right.
Bill Dolan:And what they want you to do for them, like pay me, you know.
Bill Dolan:But then there's the creative director.
Bill Dolan:And I believe this is a place I pray all of us ascend to, is the recognition.
Bill Dolan:And we'll talk about this in our next time because we will get together again.
Dee:I love it.
Dee:Beautiful.
Bill Dolan:And I'll say this, and it's probably a good place to pause on for what I would call great creative direction.
Bill Dolan:And it's this.
Bill Dolan:That today when you woke up and you were conscious of taking a breath, I just want to emphasize you didn't do anything really to earn that breath.
Dee:You're right.
Bill Dolan:You didn't buy it, you did it.
Bill Dolan:I can't say even earned it or deserved it.
Dee:Right.
Bill Dolan:That that breath was a gift.
Dee:And.
Bill Dolan:I believe a gift from the divine.
Bill Dolan:And more than just a gift to say, I want you to have life today, but I want you to use this life I gave you today because you have a purpose, you have meaning, you have value.
Bill Dolan:And that value is realized in the value that you can bring to other lives.
Bill Dolan:Absolutely.
Dee:Wow, that's beautiful.
Bill Dolan:We get to do that.
Bill Dolan:Most people get to do that every day in some form.
Anthony:Yeah.
Bill Dolan:But I know this program and people in your audience about creatives and we'll tell you the depth of a creative gift to be able to that timer, I'll say, oh, you're going to want me to stop here?
Anthony:We had set a timer.
Bill Dolan:The gift that a creative can give can not only touch the depths of the human heart in a way that nothing else can, but through the power of media, that gift that you create can impact millions.
Dee:Yes.
Bill Dolan:There's an ethical value system that I see in great creative directors because it's no longer about validating me, it's about what I can give to this world and what kind of powerful impact can make on this world.
Bill Dolan:And when a creative director Grasps that we're no longer just doing creative work.
Bill Dolan:We're world changers.
Dee:That's deep.
Anthony:What a way to start the year.
Anthony:I mean, this is our first episode of 25, and the whole thing has been amazing.
Anthony:But that chunk right there is definitely something that we could all take and say, this is something I'm going to start each day remembering that breath wasn't earned.
Anthony:It's not promised.
Anthony:There's no guarantee on it even be grateful for them.
Anthony:What more do we have than to be grateful?
Anthony:We're grateful for you, Bill.
Anthony:We thank you so much for your time.
Bill Dolan:Appreciate you guys so much.
Bill Dolan:Much thanks for having me.
Anthony:I want you to shout out Spirit Media, your company, if you could maybe just quickly let people know where to find you.
Anthony:Also, I am curious if you could let us know what type of.
Anthony:Because you mentioned you work with corporations.
Anthony:What type of companies would be fitting to reach out to you and just stuff like that so people can get in touch?
Bill Dolan:Well, sure, I appreciate that.
Bill Dolan:I mean, our.
Bill Dolan:Our agency is spiritmedia.com and that's where you can reach me.
Bill Dolan:And that's where a lot of our work, we produce a lot of brand stories for companies.
Bill Dolan:People need to tell their story well.
Bill Dolan:They need to tell them efficiently and in an engaging way.
Bill Dolan:And that's really our gift.
Bill Dolan:And so when people want to tell their story through video and short stories or maybe even explainer videos, we do that exceptionally well.
Bill Dolan:The other thing is because of my entertainment background, you mentioned Gwen Stefani.
Bill Dolan:I've worked with the Black Eyed Peas.
Bill Dolan:I've worked with Maroon 5.
Bill Dolan:I produce a lot of shows on a large scale.
Bill Dolan:So we're really good at understanding the tools and experiences that we can help brands really come to life.
Bill Dolan:And so we also do events for companies, whether they're product launches, sales events, sales gatherings, even corporate launches.
Bill Dolan:And a lot of the folks that like to work with us are especially those B2B firms that are doing things at a high level.
Bill Dolan:And they recognize that the value of having a great brand experience, both internally and externally, is intensely valuable.
Bill Dolan:And they also realize the cost of doing a mediocre job is going to undermine their value, undermine their belief, undermine the performance of their team.
Bill Dolan:So when they come to us, they say, in fact, I gotta give credit to a friend of mine.
Bill Dolan:I used to work with a guy from Warner Brothers, and he was a lighting director for our shows.
Bill Dolan:And he always taught me early on, he said, let people walk into the living embodiment of their brand.
Bill Dolan:And when you think about some of the greatest artists and the greatest performers.
Bill Dolan:They have learned how to let people walk into not just an arena, not just a stage, but to walk into the living embodiment of that brand where they feel to their soul.
Bill Dolan:And a great brand experience, like a great entertainment show tattoos your psyche in a way that you will never forget.
Bill Dolan:And that's what we help companies do.
Anthony:Wow.
Dee:That's beautiful.
Anthony:That's amazing.
Anthony:Again, thank you so much for your time.
Anthony:Thank you for sharing that.
Anthony:Yeah, you are.
Anthony:You're a gift man.
Anthony:You're a blessing.
Anthony:You've been a blessing to chat with and I'm a true blessing to, I'm sure everyone who's going to listen to this and everything else that you've put out there.
Anthony:So, yeah, thanks again.
Anthony:We'll definitely keep in touch and follow your journey and look out for some more cool, interesting, mind blowing and thought provoking products and projects from you.
Bill Dolan:We'll do a part two in the near future.
Anthony:Thank you so much.
Bill Dolan:God bless you.
Bill Dolan:Appreciate you so much.
Dee:Until next time, everybody stay safe.
Dee:Happy New Year.
Dee:Yes.
Dee:Amen.
Dee:Anthony.
Dee:I love you, buddy.
Dee:Talk to you guys.
