George Makrinos: Mastering Deep Storytelling Without Losing Creative Control

Hey, everyone. Welcome to the do the Thing podcast. This is your host, Stacy Lauren. Well, you guys, I am so excited because, as you know, when I do the thing, I get to meet the most extraordinary people along the way. And my next guest is the actual perfect picture of how your life can change when you are in the right room with the right people at the same time. I went to Eileen Wilder's event, one of my mentors, and actually I got to speak there, and his business partner had come up to me after asking me questions, and that later led me to meet him. And he produces movies, he's writer, director, all these things. And long story short, we'll get into it in the interview. But we ended up. Now, me, him, and his business partner Christina are all starting a movie studio together, and we're going to be creating the most impactful movies on the planet. And the way that we're going to be crowdfunding them is going to be revolutionary. So our lives literally changed in the last months because we were in the room with people with a shared goal. And anyway, I can't wait for you guys to meet George Makrinos. He has done so many extraordinary things. He's done work with Spike Lee. You'll get to hear it all in this interview. And I am welcoming my guest, George. Hey, George.

Hey, everyone. Hey, Stacey. Thanks for having me.

Yeah, I should say my guest and new business partner.

That's right. Congrats to us. I'm really excited. I can honestly say I'm more excited about this than anything else I've done, because we're doing the thing at a scale that I've never done before with this, and I'm really excited. Really excited.

And it's also the speed of it, too. Right. We don't have to. I think you said this the other day, which I actually resonate with a lot. It's like, we don't have to wait for anyone to say yes. We're just, as you say, green lighting ourself and not waiting for opportunity, creating. We're mixing our. Our messages. It's so good.

It all means the same thing, though, right? It's like, yeah, it's. We're. We're empowering ourselves. We're not waiting for someone else to empower us.

Yes. Well, I'd love to start off and. Yeah, let's have you share your story. I'm so excited to dive into this, and I want the listeners to really also understand the deep story work method that you've created for the last 20 years. Have spent time on. Because that's gonna change the way people look at therapy, their story, their everything. So, yeah, let's get. Let's get all into it.

Sure, sure. Okay. So my background is actually in architecture, art and architecture. It's not in storytelling per se, but I mean, it all came together with deep story work. Structure and story came together there. I would say that my earliest foray into storytelling was college. I went to Cooper Union in New York, which is like a free tuition paid undergraduate degree. It was started with an endowment in like the mid-1800s by Peter Cooper. So that was. That was an amazing sort of start to my journey in the arts. And I would say, like, making a contribution to society was there because Peter Cooper meant that, like, he meant, you know, take your skills and make sure that they help the most amount of people.

Wow.

And so, yeah, that was his thing. So he invented a number of things, one of which was like a coupler for locomotives. And he was doing that in the mid-1800s. And then that led to the Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art. So that was my undergrad degree and the grad degree. I went to Columbia for architecture grad here in New York. I studied architecture there. But I was in a lot of film courses. And while I was there, I also. I met Spike Lee, because I was doing a lot of producing downtown and also in Brooklyn. And so I met Spike Lee and I was invited by Spike Lee into his masterclass in film at nyu, did that, which was the most amazing experience ever. I was on set with Spike for the entire shoot of a feature film that we raised money through crowdfunding for. And then because we sort of had a connection, he asked me, what's your story? And I said that I. Part of my background is in construction. My family has a construction business. We founded a construction business and I was working it at the time. Part of my background is to. I would renovate New York City parks, underserved areas in Brooklyn and elsewhere. And so he loved that about me. And then we sort of hit it off. And then I was in the edit bay for a bunch of. For his documentaries. I was, like I said, in his class, produced a movie together that was incredible. So then after that, I had a great idea for, like, I want to take the Oz books that were written a hundred years ago and turn them into a Lord of the Rings style franchise. So I adapted them into what became known as Ages of Oz. And that was a book series that I published initially with Scholastic. So I had the I was working with the editor of the Hunger Games and Harry Potter at Scholastic, so that was incredible. So going from like Spike Lee to the editor at Scholastic for Hunger Games and Harry Potter was crazy. It was like amazing. Learned so much about story there and also approaching it from a very structural point of view. Yeah. And so developed that book series. And then as a result of that book series, I pitched to Warner Brothers and it was very much like meeting the Wizard. I went to Warner Brothers and like this creative executive's office was like 1,000ft long, it felt like. And I was walking down his office. He had a thousand foot long glass desk. That's how it felt when I was there. And he's like, this stuff that you've created for ages of Oz is really cool. And it could be the Oz project that we've all been waiting for. But what's it about? He asked me and I was like, what's it about? Like, I just told this guy what it's about and I really didn't tell him what's it about. I told him what happens. So I went through plot with him, but I didn't know he was asking me a thematic question.

Wow.

And yeah. And so that started me on my journey that I would say that's about 17 years ago, started me on my journey to understanding theme why stories work, why they don't work, how to uncover the psychological and thematic and emotional core of a story. It really was that moment was the birth of deep story work. And it's because I was asked a question that I didn't really understand what was behind that question. I didn't get it. And that led me on a journey of studying every single story structure framework known to man. You know, Robert McKee, all of them, basically. And like figuring out which of these were good. What can I use? What are they missing? Can I do something that's more helpful for writers? So anyway, yeah, in that time period, I met and worked with Guillermo del Toro. I was working with his group for about two years, which was amazing. Learned a lot there. And then after that, as a result of the book series, the Ages of Oz book series, I met and befriended Stephen Schwartz, who's another multiple Academy Award winner. And I've been working with Stephen Schwartz for the last few years. We're working on something that I can't talk about right now, but I'm very excited to speak about it very soon. And so, yeah. And so all along the way, it really was like little pieces of deep story work were coming to me. All along the way, like, how do you answer the question, what's it about? And I know how to answer that now. And I can teach that to people. And that's so exciting to me that I spent all this time coming up with this, and now it's time to share it with the world.

Okay. I'm so curious. I'm curious about a lot of things, but I'm really curious about how did you go from, like, being an architect to being able to put those books out and getting with Scholastic? Was there like a do the thing moment there? I mean, how do you even do that? Are you just calling people?

Yeah, so. So that's. That's a great question. So I have never written a query letter. So, like, everyone who tries to get a book deal or a movie deal, they think it's query letters and cold calling. And I've never done that.

Wow.

So why. And it's because I was thinking, like, who is actually doing the thing in this business? Like, who is actually writing these agreements? Who is that? And it's. The answer is lawyers, basically. So this came to me just through research. So I was like, okay, what if I just hire a lawyer and then have the lawyer make the introduction? Because I kept reading. Whenever I was thinking about sending a query letter, I would see, we do not accept unsolicited material. I would see it everywhere, you know, And I was like, oh, what does that mean? And then unsolicited means does not have, you know, legal. It wasn't asked for. There's no legal protection involved. And so it's like, oh, okay, I need legal protection. So I went to a lawyer and the lawyer opened the doors, basically.

Wow, I love that. It's so brilliant, right? Where you're just like, okay, you're taking that 10,000 foot view and then you're able to see who's doing it. So then you just sped up and accelerated the whole process. Where did you even. How do you even do that? Is that a life skill that you've built up where you've done that before?

I think that I'm very entrepreneurial, so my parents founded a construction company. Like, I think it was like 1980, and I was working in it from the time I was 14, as soon as I got my working papers. So I always viewed everything in life, including the creative arts, as something that I could approach entrepreneurially and not like I need to ask someone else for permission. It's something that I viewed as, this is something that I'm creating that I can steer this thing. And so how do I do it? Oh, I need a lawyer. Okay. So that's the first stage in steering this thing. And he's on my team. Not the opposite. Right. Not like I need someone to open the door. It's like, you open the door. But it's not like I. It's like, I chose this lawyer because I knew that he knew somebody that could get me into this thing. And we did it.

Yeah. Okay, so what did it feel like when you got the deal with Scholastic? Was that just, like, shocking to you, or were you like, okay, yeah, I felt this was gonna happen all along.

Okay, That's a great question, too. So the people that I'm working with right now, like, multiple Academy Award winners, films grossing in the billions of dollars, I'm working with them now, and it's simultaneously, like, incredibly amazing, but also, like, I feel like I belong here. Right?

Ooh. Yeah. It's like both. It's both.

And they're the most incredible mentors you could possibly imagine. But still, I feel like I belong here. And I guess I've always had that kind of feeling. And I think that also comes back to the entrepreneurial feeling, which is like, entrepreneurship is do the thing. Right. It's like we're doing it all ourselves. Right. So I guess I don't know if this answers your question, but I always felt like I belonged, but also I was amazed that I'm there at the same time, if that makes any sense whatsoever, I hope.

Yeah, it does. It's almost like you have had this drive inside of you that knew that this was what you were meant to do. Right. And so even though it's still shocking that it's happening. Right. It's like the common goal going back to that. There's this common goal that you have with them. So there's that connection and the camaraderie immediately, and that's where the belonging comes from.

Absolutely. Yeah. And it's. It's carried through, like, seeing Spike win Academy Awards and Guillermo del Toro and, like, all these people who I've worked with, it's like, yeah, it's this feeling of. I mean, I would also say that it's a feeling of, they did it, and I can, too. It's like, I remember this. I think it was a commencement address that Steve Jobs gave where he said that, look around you. The whole world was created by people that are no smarter than you. They just did it. They just did it.

Yeah.

And so stop talking about it and do it. And, like, that was so Impactful to me, that commencement address. And think about it, like everything you're doing, Stacey, like, with the do, it's like this is something that's been ingrained in me forever. And it's just like you and I came together right at the right time where I had all these skills that I'd been building up. And you've been doing the thing yourself. And it's like, now we can merge and merge those skills together.

Yeah. It's so cool. And it's funny, I realize that we have another commonality now because I don't know if you know, my staffing company was construction based. It was. That was our biggest article I found.

A few weeks ago. Yeah.

And so one of my big kind of whys of what gets actually was even the reason I started speaking was because I wanted to go back to the people that I was helping with the staffing company once I understood the formula for how to help people achieve their goals. And the people lived in transitional centers. We got to help people that it wasn't everything that we did, but there was a piece of our business that was really fulfilling, helping people that were overcoming, like, alcohol or drug addiction or even coming out of prison and giving people a second chance to get jobs. And it sounds like with you doing the parks and the underserved communities, you're kind of following that same process. So it's just interesting. I'm sure we have, like, a lot more synergies even there that we don't even know yet.

I think so. I feel like we felt it when we, you know, as we started talking more, and now it's all sort of coming out now.

Yeah, yeah. And then what you're talking about with, like, even what you're doing now, it's still that piece of. What got me to even want to do business with you in the first place was that my people community thing where that's why you feel like you belong, because you guys have the same goal and you're like, I do belong here. I've been doing this too. So.

Absolutely. Yeah, absolutely. It's an amazing feeling, and it's a feeling that everyone can have if you have the. I said as part of this deep story work course that we started, I've been saying that it's like, it's when preparation meets opportunity. So when the opportunity comes and you're prepared, you can feel the way I feel, which is like, I belong here. But also it's amazing because, like, I was prepping this whole time.

Yeah. Okay. So that's where we're going next. So I went on this quest searching for communities and my people. And once I understood the secret to success was being with a group of people with a shared goal, you could share your struggles, your wins and all the things. And your quest was deep story work. So while I am identifying patterns of obsessively looking at communities and like, what are they doing wrong? What are they doing right? You're doing that with movies, right?

What is that? And before we get into it, I'm just. I don't know if it's like you, but if like I. It's like almost. I mean, I can sleep. But it's so exciting to me, like when I get to look at another community and I'm able to see like what they're doing wrong or what they're doing right or like someone that isn't achieving their goals. And I'm like, you're missing the group. And it's consumes me in a way, but that's what my calling is. And it. I'm just curious for you, being deep story work, being the thing that you've been doing that with, how has that been for you? Is it similar to that or how have you been feeling?

It's so amazing now that it's out there because some of the people that we're working with, story wise, are people that are bringing either the story of their life to bear here with deep story work, or they're bringing screenplays or books that they have written before that didn't have a sort of structural understanding, or they're bringing ideas for something that they want to write to deep story work. So there's a broad. It runs the gamut of story. And what's amazing is that every person is seeing in it a framework to get at the psychological core of what it is they're trying to say. And when I say what they're trying to say, what you have to say in life is only important as far as I'm concerned, in so much as it applies to the people that you're sharing it with for me.

Right.

So here's what I mean about that. Like, I view a story, I still subscribe to three acts, but I break the second act into two. And so why do I do that? So the three acts is essentially, for me, the first act is you're basically breaking down your Persona, which is your outward appearance to the world. You're breaking it down. The second act is you're going into your subconscious and you're discovering the root core you, meaning you, the person that's writing it, and also the protagonist of your story. Because you're writing, you're expressing something that you have to say about the world. So that's Act 2. Then Act 3 is where you share it with the world and share with your people, your group. And the discovery is not important unless it's shared with the group. That's what all story's about. It's about discovering something and then sharing it with your group. And this, like we mentioned Hero's Journey before, that's in Hero's Journey as well. But people don't really see it as much as they should, which is that Joseph Campbell, who coined Hero's Journey, well, I think it was coined as a result of his work. But the hero's journey is you go somewhere, you discover something and you bring it back to the people and share it with the people. That's the hero's journey. And so it's all about sharing it with the people. Because if you discover something about yourself and keep it to yourself, you've not completed a hero's journey.

Right.

I hope it's helpful. Like if that.

Oh, yeah. Well, and that's where I'm excited with our stuff mixing together. Because I'm like, for someone to be able to share it, they have to get over themselves, really. Right. They have to like be able to get the confidence and the courage to deal with whatever criticism could come or just to know that they don't need a mask when they're doing stuff. But yeah, I just love what you're doing. And then I think it also. I think you mentioned something too where. Oh, what was it? Is it like disassociative? It's like. It's also a way for you to almost help overcome your stuff because you're not directly connecting it to you. You want to explain that too?

Sure. So what I think you're talking about is the conscious detachment. That's it is what I think you're talking about. Yeah. So essentially, if you. I'm doing this with one person in particular, where I ask them, just write out the major moments of your life. Stream of consciousness. Don't edit stuff, just stream of consciousness. And we're gonna begin to do what we call narrative mapping, which is that I have an idea of how stories work. It's called deep story work. You know what, before we continue, let me just define it, because I wrote it down in a sentence to define it. So deep story work is a character based story development framework. So it's A development framework for story that helps you discover the psychological core of your story to eliminate guesswork and ensure the greatest narrative impact.

Wow.

That's what deep story work is in a nutshell. And so let me get back to this. So one person that we're working with wrote out all the elements of their life. And what we're doing right now is we're doing a narrative mapping. So we're taking those elements and we're mapping them to moments in the deep story work framework where this person can practice a conscious detachment. So in other words, oh, yeah, that was the all is lost moment of my life, considering this particular story we're telling about my life, which happens to be her entrepreneurial story. Anyway. So is this making sense?

It totally is. Yeah.

No, we're mapping the elements of your life to this narrative framework which allows you to view these moments sort of detached, but once again, it's a conscious detachment because you're seeing the arc. You're not like, oh, I don't know how this stuff fits together. You can see it now and then when you see simultaneously has less power over you and also gives you more agency to see. Oh, this is the lesson I learned here, and this is how I apply to the next act of my story.

Wow, that is so powerful. Yeah, it's almost like it's chapters in a book, in a way, and you're able to, like, read it and not say, like, oh, I wish I didn't do that, or I wish I blank, blank, blank, would have done this differently. No, you're like, what lesson did you learn? And then how can you look at it differently through that?

And one moment in particular, I would say that this actually came from a moment in my life where I was doing some work that I didn't find particularly rewarding, and I made choices that ended up making it so that I couldn't do that work anymore. And then as it was happening, I was thinking to myself, oh, my gosh, this has to happen right now so that I'd be freed up from this so that I can focus on deep story work. And in a normal situation, I would have been like, oh, my gosh, this is terrible. But because I could practice this conscious detachment, I was like, okay, let me fast forward to the next act and what is happening now that's going to make it so that that next act makes more sense. And that's the sort of conscious detachment I'm talking about. Yeah, it's conscious because you're viewing it constructively rather than, like, you Know, viewing it as a victim of external events.

Who was the one that you had pitched to again when you didn't understand the question?

Oh, he was a. He was at the time. You know, I might be wrong. I think he was vice president of production at the time. He's since, like, higher up now. He was a Warner Brothers.

It'd just be cool if you thanked him.

Absolutely. Yeah, that's right. We're going to do that. I'm working with a different studio now. But, yes, I will do that. I will do that.

Be like, thanks for asking me that question. Because now I. In case you guys don't remember, this whole deep story work was stemmed from somebody basically asking George, what is the story about? And when he answered the question, it wasn't the answer that. That he wanted. So he was like, what is this question?

Yeah. So some people would have just let it go. Right. And you didn't understand what the question was, and you would have, like, moved on. What do you think had it in you that had you say, like, no, I want to figure this out?

Yeah. I think that comes from childhood where I would say that my probably top three values for me is curiosity. And so. And I think it comes from, like, constantly asking my parents questions. As a child, I did some shadow work and arrived at this reason. And so I was constantly asking, hey, why this? Why that? And I feel like my parents, because they were so busy, they weren't as forthcoming with information as I needed as a child. Oh, so here's conscious detachment for you. Check this out. Okay. Yeah, let's do some conscious detachment. So as a child, I would ask my dad questions, and I'd ask my mom questions. And my dad was too busy. Cause he was working, he was running a business, had three kids, multiple properties in New York City. My mom was raising kids. She was working the properties and the business. So I wouldn't get information from them or enough information for a child. That's a sponge. Right. So that led to me becoming. Now I can look back at that and be thankful that they didn't have time to answer my questions. Because that led to this restless, insatiable curiosity that I have now. And I will tell you that for a long time I was upset about it, and I harbored feelings of, like, you know, why didn't my parents, like, stop what they were doing to answer my questions? Like, why was work more important than answering my questions? And now looking back, I'm grateful to them for that situation. Let's say I'm grateful to the universe for that situation. Because it led to me having this insatiable curiosity that led to. When I get asked a question like, what's it about? I won't give up until I understand how to answer that question better than anyone on the planet, basically. And that's what it became for me.

Wow.

Where now my partners, right now in this project I'm working on, Academy Award winning partners. When they asked me what's it about? I was ready with the sentence that when I said the sentence, their eyes lit up and I knew that I got them basically because it's like, now I know how to answer that question in a way that's universal and in a way that gets people to ask me more instead of me offering more. So, right. Like everybody wants to know how to get an agent. That's the wrong question. The question is, how do you get an agent to want you? Is the right question.

Wow. Yeah.

The right question. Yeah.

Oh, my gosh.

I answered your question. Stated that.

I totally did. Yeah. Because I, I look at it as life assets and I always like to stem back is where the dots connected and how you're able to do certain things. For example, when I first started my podcast, I was really nervous and I wouldn't even hit publish. I was really nervous. And it wasn't until I was interviewing Anastasia, who had actually just. She's in Ukraine during the war and was like three weeks out of the war basically. And I had to interview her and I just felt the pressure of wanting to get her story right was so in me. And so anyway, somehow I remembered back to me interviewing people like with my staffing company. And I would do that with companies and with people. And I was like, wait, I'm doing the same thing. Why am I so nervous? I already have done this before. And so it's like connecting the dots to those life assets. So I love doing that in these interviews because now we've really identified your insatiable curiosity is how you're able to do the things that you're doing and why you've been able to uncover the deep story work method, which is amazing.

Yeah, thank you. I believe that. Yeah. And I'm so excited to see how we together take that to the next level. And I think the answer is we're gonna do global stories together, which is incredible when you think about it, Right?

Oh my gosh. Yeah, let's talk about that. Well, sorry, before we go there, I wanna ask. So when you were identifying deep story work, was that you watching movies, writing down what did that insatiable curiosity lead to during that time? How did you actually notice the patterns?

Yeah, so it was really a confluence of so many threads. And so one of them is I would read a story structure expert. Like, I believe it was John Truby. And so he would say something, and I would be like, okay, that's cool. He would read something. I was in his course and stuff. I would read something and be like, that's cool. But it just feels like something's missing. So what's missing, basically? And that happened with a bunch of different story structure. Let's call them gurus. For example, another one, Robert McKee, another one. I was in Scott Meyer's course. He has another course. And so an element would come from there. And then what I realized was I'd get things from people that I was working with, whether it's the Scholastic group. I was with Simon and Schuster for a while. They asked me questions, and it would be like, what do you have to say? Or, what are we saying with this? And then what I realized is that at the core of this. And I just keep trying to go back to core first principles. Trying to go back to first principles. So the first principle of all this is that we have things to say, and we can get really good at making the things that we have to say universal so that they apply to as many people as possible. And I think I might be veering off course with your question, but I'll try to bring it back. But it really was taking pieces of everything that I was getting and combining them into the root of it, which is we are all humans. Root of it. And we're telling stories about humans. I understand that it's sometimes there's fantasy creatures or whatever, but that doesn't matter because a lot of times the fact that it's fantasy allows us to free ourselves from it and just take the themes and take the learnings from these stories. So in a lot of ways, fantasy teaches us more about us than reality does. In some ways it can. So anyway, so I'd watch something and I'd be like, okay, this thing really represents a collective fear. So it's a collective fear because it's like we as humans. Let's just talk about Aliens. The movie Alien or Aliens, for example, we have this fear of technology that is manifested in this Alien. Another Terminator is the same thing. It's essentially the same exact story. Terminator, Alien is the same story, which is that antagonistic force is a manifestation of a collective fear. And like, oh, okay, so we're fighting the collective fear in the third act. What do we need? How do we get prepared to fight a collective fear? Well, we need to understand our internal fears in order to get the strength to fight the collective fear. And it was like, oh, my God, that's the second and third act of a story. And I'd read Shakespeare, and I'm like, it's right there. It's in Shakespeare, too. It's like it goes across all of story. I'm not sure if that answers it, but that's kind of what's coming to me.

Yeah, because you're basically saying how you were able to identify this pattern of being able to figure out deep story work, which is, I think, really good for people to understand, and whether that's, like, maybe you at some point, talking to the listener, actually, like, gets asked a question you don't know, and then all of a sudden you're like, well, I want to know the answer. Or maybe, like, for my example, mine came from, like, massive disconnection that I've had in my life and was craving to find the secret to community once I realized that was the secret to helping people achieve their goals. So, yeah, it's really good to. To kind of, like, track it back, because that's part of what we're here for, right, Is we figure out what's the deepest thing inside of us that we can now do the thing with.

Yeah, absolutely. I mean, I think part of the reason why I resonate so much with your do the thing, and you're my people, is because of what I just said. It's like the learnings are only important in as much as we share them with those around us and then with the broader world.

Okay, so let's fast forward now. I met you at Eileen Wilder's event with Christina, who is amazing. And I don't even know. I just feel like we're all in this, like, bubble of just pure happiness at the moment with just what we're doing together. And before we kind of talk about what it is, I know I mentioned it a little bit in the intro, but we'll go in a little bit more detail. But what even got you to go there? How did you end up there?

Oh, right. Okay. So I've known Christina for, I think, since 2005, so I think we're going on 19, 20 years now. And so I've been developing my story work through the publishing business and the film business, and she was working on. I don't really want to use the Wrong terms. But I guess let's call it like online or Internet entrepreneurship, business building. Maybe you could help me with those terms. I'm not sure. I'm new to. Oh yeah, funnel hacking.

I just learned about how funnel hacking was yesterday. I was like, oh, I get it now.

Yeah, yeah, I'm totally new to that and it's great. And so she was talking to me about what she did with her father in terms of selling one to many. And I was like, oh, okay, cool. It seems to me like deep story work is something that would work there in that world. And she was like, yeah, it would. And I was like, okay, great. So she said, why don't we go together to this event? And she set it all up and I showed up. I had no idea what it would be like. None whatsoever. But we had to do the thing. So Christina is my first do the thing. And then she made you happen. That's the show. It's like, I'm so grateful to Christina. I'm so grateful to Christina. So we go to this event and it's basically okay, one too many. But Christina said, let's try to do something a little different. Let's try to come up with a million dollar offer. And we did on the spot. And it ended up I had to rack my brain, which was easy because I do it all the time, which is basically what's the best case scenario for us, the best place to. It's that don't think about what's like a good scenario. It's what's the best scenario we were thinking because like, why not? Right? Why not? So we came up with this idea of a studio where we work with entrepreneurs and innovators and people with big ideas and we create a studio and then we amplify their impact through these films that we're going to create with this studio. And because I've seen the inner workings of the film business from the micro budget scale all the way up to the mega, mega budget scale where the movie that my partner's right now are. It's like, if not the biggest movie in the world, it's one of the top three or whatever. I've seen every single rung of those scales. And so it's like what I'm noticing is that it's just money is the thing that can get you from the bottom scale to the top scale. That's really all it is. I mean, listen, your story has to be great as well. It has to be great. It has to be great. But so like, let's say that's a given with deep story work, for example. Then the only thing you need is store is money. Excuse me. So we pitched this million dollar thing and we got a lot of great feedback and then that's where we met you, Stacey. Which was very fortunate.

Yeah. And it's so funny, I'm just realizing this now is. So I spoke at the event which was cool. I got to show what my people party was. It was actually like a live demonstration of it. And then Christina came up to me after to asked me more about it and that's when our story kind of started, which was crazy. What even happened during that three weeks? No one knows. But what's so cool is I almost didn't go to the event. Cause I was training to be an auctioneer right before then. So I flew from Arizona to Texas. And the only reason why I went was cause I was speaking. I would have gone because I loved going, but it was just I had so much else going on at that time. And so anyway, the point was I went. But then think about it. If Christina never. We were sitting at different areas. If Christina never came up to me after, like I don't know if I ever would have met you guys. Right. Or I could have not gone and I wouldn't have met you guys. So I just think it's so important for people to know how important it is for you to talk to people. Because we're here now because of that moment of her coming up and saying something. And then I got activated. I'm like, oh, let's go live. And then all of a sudden we went live, we had your my people party. And then you ended up being my VIP day client, which I think it's more VIP experience. Cuz we ended up playing together for a few weeks and we got deep story work out where people were really excited about it, joined the program. Then we figured out who your kind of like ideal person was from a higher level. And then we had someone else join there. And then I don't know if you want to add anything to that before I go on to the next thing.

Yes, that I'm so excited because for me, even though I do the writing producing the majority of the time in the film business really is your honing the writing. You're figuring out what's it about. It's very individual. The shooting is like super intense over a few days. If it's a micro budget, it's over a few days or it's over with respect to these giant movies. Could be 18 months, but super intense. But the majority of the time is individual. And so I sort of got into that brain space of the majority of times individual. And what you're bringing to this is that even that individual time can be and should be group time. And I love that. That's something that is so new to me because just the other day, I'll add this, that we were trying to come up with some names for the studio, and it's like, and how would I do that? How would George do that in his normal world? He would sit online, type in synonyms, spend hours by myself, trying to figure out the title. And then Stacy's like, no, let's just do it in the group. And I was like, okay. And then we just came up with the names together with the group. The group gave us some ideas, and we were done. We were done. And it was like, it's such a feedback loop, a positive feedback loop that, like, it makes me want to do that more, which is what we are doing with deep story work. We're doing these stories in groups, which is amazing. My people.

Yeah. Yeah, I love that. I love that you just said my people groups. Thank you. So, yeah, then what happened was we ended up talking to one of the first movies that are being created, Tammy from Saddles and Service. And Sean Kelly, who's a celebrity auctioneer, he was on Search Hunters and just is amazing. He's the one I'm training under. He connected us to Tammy, which I'm really grateful for, because then as soon as we were on Zoom with her, I don't even know what happened, because at this point, I'm done. I didn't need to be involved anymore, but somehow I was like, let's go on Saturday. It was Wednesday. And we all just were like. We all were like, okay, let's go. And so she basically helps people. She's actually combating the suicide rate with veterans, active military, first responders through using equine therapy, and also by being in community together. And so it's amazing what she's doing. And I just felt like I had to go. And then you guys said, yes, we went. We had the most ridiculously unbelievable day where I got to see this work that I've been doing for the last two years in living form. And there was something about that that just, like, not something. I mean, obviously, I know what moved me as I started to understand even more through the horse, how to get people to meet people where they are, where sometimes you just don't even have to have the words you could be a horse. And for online, it's actually the lurker. Right. You could lurk in a Facebook group. And so anyway, it was a whole nother thing that I got to learn just from seeing that. And then I think I was like, I don't know what this is, but I feel like I want to keep doing this. And I don't know if it's like a studio or whatever. And that's when I got to hear what you did with Eileen, because I wasn't there that day when you guys told her what you were looking for.

Yeah, it's really exciting. It's been a wildly rewarding month and a half, I guess. And I think that the last few weeks of it was when it's really real and we're seeing it happen and we sort of, I'll speak for myself, that I can see the impact that we can make. And that's the most exciting piece of this. It's that we can have a global impact and we're doing something that is. You are doing something that's unprecedented, financing wise. And I think that, like I told you, it's gonna be studied and modeled. It's amazing.

Yeah. Thank you. It's like the energy from each of us is getting us to amplify our own gifts. Right. And so we're gonna be crowdfunding these films a few different ways. One is we're looking for a million dollar sponsor. So if you are listening and you that would want to be featured in this film and use their products and their brand as a way, feel free to let us know. So that's gonna be one way. And then the second way is I'm using these charity auctions that I'm learning how to do, and I'm gonna just be experimenting with them in my local area until we do a big gala, which will be a green light giving gala where we do the big half million dollar million hour that we get to do. And then the third leg, which is the one that George is referring to, which actually there's four legs now, I think about third leg, what George is referring to is we're doing it actually for entrepreneurs. We're actually just invited Tony Robbins. We'll see what he says. But we basically just recorded a video inviting him to speak at this. It's going to be another green light giving gala, but it's specifically for entrepreneurs using the knowledge that they already have, like masterminds or fly on the wall experiences or dinners at people's houses or Programs and things like that and auctioning those off. And then the other leg is we're doing just, like, a regular crowdfunding thing on GoFundMe. So we have a lot of different ways that we're going to be doing it, which is exciting because we get to kind of, like, once you pump it up, it's like, okay, now go pump it up. Now go pump it up. Now go pump it up. Now go. And whichever one ends up being the one that's the biggest revenue generating, then I get to focus on that. But I'm really excited just from the challenge of that has me so excited.

Yeah, it's beyond exciting for me, too. It's like, I'm so confident in your ability to rally people, and I'm also confident in my ability with what I'm doing and what Christina is doing. Like, the speed with which she's moving is unbelievable. And so it's like, when you have a team like that, I feel like we can shoot for the stars, and, like, I feel like there's a good chance we're gonna get there, and I'm really excited about that.

Yeah. So for you guys listening, hopefully we didn't lose you here. Cause now we're, like, all talking. It's so interesting in terms of, like, where we're at. We're basically creating movies for people. And one of the things we're looking to is people that have nonprofits. It would be amazing to be able to tell that story. Do you want to share? Is it because it's, like, the way you word it? I really like is real life is better than fiction, but these are based on real life stories. Maybe just share a little bit about that piece too.

Yeah. So even though we're working with charities, these are not going to be documentaries. These are going to be based on a true story, based on real life, but they will be fiction stories because we do want to. I personally want to do everything I can to get these to the Oscars in Oscars contention, not documentary contention. And I believe, like Stacy just said, real life is stranger than fiction, and it's in a lot of ways more powerful than fiction. So what we're gonna do is we're gonna take the best of both worlds. We're gonna take these real life stories and then bring deep story work to them, and hopefully the result is something that everyone finds very powerful and impactful.

Yeah. And then we're also doing people that aren't nonprofits, the just people with really impactful stories that will have the deep Story work method touched on it. So it's got a lot of things. So for you guys listening, there's a lot of different layers that you can get involved with what George is doing. There's one layer which is. Well, one is just by even figuring out who you are in the world and what you want to do and what impact you want to make, there could be just even that level because, I mean, I've paid hundreds of thousands of dollars to get coaching on the same thing that your deep story work method, you know, is helping people with. Then there's another level where maybe you want to use that to write a book or do a keynote talk or whatever is in your heart to do next. So there's that level, and then the other level is create a movie from it. Right. And so there's just a lot of different ways that this can actually be applied, which is really exciting. From either a personal growth level to actually creating something really meaningful and legacy driven, too.

Yeah, the possibilities are really incredible. When you get at the psychological core of the story, you basically will understand your story better than you've ever understood it. And that understanding is something that once you have it, the sky's the limit with the story at that point.

All right, George, the time is here. What is your number one piece of advice for people on doing the thing?

Yeah, so I'm going to say number one piece of advice, and this is something that Stacy is teaching me day to day. Is that analysis paralysis? It's perfect. Is the enemy of good. Let's get started. And it doesn't matter how we get started. We're going to take the first step. Because I do believe there's that famous saying, I don't know where, if it's from the I Ching, I have no idea. But it's like the journey of a thousand steps starts with one. And so take that first step. If you take that first step, then the second, the third, the fourth, the fifth, they'll all get easier and you'll see that you're climbing that mountain and getting to your goal.

And is there anything I didn't ask you that you wish I asked you?

Oh, wow.

Do I have any fears? I would say, do I have any fears or trepidations going into this? I think.

Oh, that's a great question. Yes, tell us. Tell us.

I can't say that I have fear fears right now because it's not just all on my shoulders. It's like, I have a great team. I have a great team, and my team, Stacy, Christina, Everyone else that joins up with us, we're going to lift one another up and we'll get where we need to go.

And where can people find you? I'm like, do we know how do they. If they want to get into deep story work or just even follow along on your journey, how can they connect?

Christina made a Movie Deal Secrets Facebook page. I think that's a way to start.

Okay, cool.

We've been so busy the last few weeks. I don't think we've updated that. And I apologize for that. I'm doing my best with social media. I'm not terribly good with social media. I really apologize. And that's been true of my book series as well. People are like, you're not replying to Facebook. And I'm so sorry. I need an assistant. We're going to get these.

But I'm doing my best. So let's do Movie Deal Secrets Facebook page.

I love that.

And I think I have a Gabriel Gale Facebook page also. We could do that too.

Just don't expect him to respond.

Yeah, I'm sorry. I'm going to get better at that. I apologize. Oh, Ages of Oz Instagram as well.

Oh, cool. Okay, great. Amazing. Oh, my gosh. This is so much fun having you on. Thank you so much. Thanks for coming into my life. I feel like since we met, it's like the thing I've been working so hard to do and help people with, you've helped me realize. So anyway, I just appreciate having you as part of this whole thing. I'm so excited for what we're about to do together, too.

Feeling Stacey, is truly Mutual. I've spent 20 years developing this, and now I see the path for it to reach its greatest impact with the world. And I couldn't be more grateful or happier.

Aw. All right, you guys, thanks for joining. And do the thing. Don't wait for opportunity. Create it. And hey, guys, have you checked out my Facebook group yet? Go to do the Thing collaboration dot com.