I started 4th Park Studios in January of 2011 with a mission to “partner with next-generation leaders, assisting them in developing their big ideas.” I wanted to start a company that was all about next-generation leaders and making ideas happen. I made it my goal to start on day one with a “WHY”. I didn’t want to be the type of entrepreneur that started businesses for no other reason than to make money. It has always been my personal desire to assign meaning and purpose to everything I do. So my very first company would definitely be smothered in a vision that was compelling. But the more I talked about it and tried to inject it into our business culture and team, the more it felt like that weird taste you get in your mouth after taking medicine. lol. It just didn’t taste right. It didn’t feel compelling. It didn’t feel organic or natural. It felt forced. I tried to make it fit. For two years, I tried to convince my team and my clients that this was WHY my company existed. Some bought into it, but others were just concerned about WHAT we did and HOW we did it. Even at my best efforts, I couldn’t seem to communicate a strong enough WHY.

You see, I knew at the beginning that in order to have longevity in business today, I would have to be intentional about building a company that had a purpose, a mission, a story. It couldn’t just be about making websites and designing logos. Everybody does that. It had to be something that grabbed people’s hearts. It’s these types of stories that spark movements, inspire change, and impact the world. I didn’t want to be another entrepreneur with another company that makes a profit and gets a bunch of design awards. I wanted something different. I wanted to create something remarkable; something memorable. And I knew it started with our story.

My heart has always been to work with next-generation leaders and to build the type of agency that focuses on making ideas happen, not just creating them. Our first story was great at first. People would ask me what I do and I would say… “I’m the founder and brand architect at 4th Park Studios. We’re a brand agency that focuses on partnering with next-generation leaders, assisting them in developing their big ideas.” Every time I said it, I felt like I was speaking a different language. Some people thought it was cool, but most simply nodded their head. I mean, we were able to close many deals and start several projects with that story, but I still felt like it wasn’t compelling enough. It just didn’t stick. But being stubborn, I worked to make it fit. Now we’re two years in and the company is starting to expand, and it still feels forced.

So a few weeks ago, I decided it was time to go back to the drawing board and rewrite the story. I spent several days brainstorming; thinking about the possibility of what our brand messaging and story could be. I knew that in order to communicate your brand effectively, you have to have a story – and a good one at that. Some of the most powerful storytellers in business are remembered because of the stories they told. Stories like “Think Differently” from Apple or “Just Do It” from Nike or “One For One” from TOMS. These were stories that the world could identify with. These were more than just stories; they were mantras, a declaration, a movement. And we loved those companies for it.

At 4th Park Studios, I believe we can do the same. I believe we can make a sound; spark a movement; inspire a generation. I believe we can be the change we wish to see. Little ol’ us with our big ol’ ambitious ideas. We can do this! We will do this!! We are doing this!!! It’s not an obligation, it’s an opportunity. I believe that we get to play a part in history… His Story. A story of revolution. A story of love. A store of restoration. A story of hope. A store of possibility. We get to be a part of making our world better because we’re here. We get to be pioneers and leaders in our generation.

It wasn’t long until I saw our story looking me square in the eye. I had been avoiding it all along. It was actually a story I had already been telling. It was MY story.

Here it is…

“Awakening Possibility.”

Awakening. Possibility. Here are two words that I believe sums up our WHY. My WHY. Inside of these two words lie the very heartbeat of our company and our team. We want to be known for the ideas we awaken. When people interact with our team and culture, we want them to leave awakened. We want to be a company that does more than make websites and logos. So I asked myself and my team… What if we could be known for the ideas we awaken? What if we could awaken possibility in every client we meet? What if we could awaken their big ideas? What if we could awaken their brand? What if we could awaken their minds? What if we could awaken them as leaders? What if we BECAME awakeners? Of Possibility? What if we led with a mantra that anything is possible? That you are possible? That your ideas are possible? That you can actually change the world? How cool is that!?

This story definitely fueled me and my team way more than our original story. Though our first story is still relevant as to what we actually do, I think we can do a better job of telling a better story. A story that the world could believe in. A story the world wants to hear. What if we could be a new kind of company? Not just another agency. What if we didn’t try to copy anyone else? What if we set our own path? Launched our own ideas? Created our own culture? Implemented our own projects? What if we could be known for awakening possibility? How cool would that be?

I can’t wait to tell the world. I can’t wait to see their reaction. I hope they can identify with this new story. I hope this story will become their story. How awesome would that be? To have a team that gets to work together on not only awakening possibility in themselves, but in the world. It’s breath-taking. It’s remarkable. It’s phenomenal. It’s great. It’s epic. And we get to do it. We get to be it. And we don’t have to wait. We can do it and be it now. We’ve already started telling this new story on our website. This is just the beginning.

I’m sitting in Starbucks on a Sunday afternoon. I feel like I’m about to explode into confetti. lol. I remember sitting in my room and dreaming of what my life could be and who I could become. I was just a young kid with a dream and a lot of ambition. I knew there was more to me than the story I was given. I knew I could write and create a better story; my own story. It just took me some time to get my crayons back. I didn’t realize that I had given up my crayons for a story that was already written for me. It was a story written in pencil: Filled with dull moments, boring jobs, mediocrity, insecurity, regret, fear, ambiguity, poverty, ignorance, and meaninglessness. It’s the same kind of story many of us are given at a young age where we’re told what to think, how to think, and to eventually not think at all. It’s as if we were being put to sleep. It wasn’t until I began this journey of awakening possibility in myself that I was able to see. So I went on a mission to get my crayons back. Not only would I rewrite my story, I’d write a better one and I’d write it my way… with my crayons!

This was my story. Mine! And it was time for me to get to writing.

I had no idea that I would be able to write chapters of this new story so soon. In just a few short years, I’ve seen these chapters come to life in ways I can’t even begin to explain. I couldn’t list them all, but I can name a few:

• I graduated from college.
• I created a list of 100 life goals that I wanted to accomplish, and I started accomplishing them.
• I started a brand agency at the beginning of 2011 and named it 4th Park Studios. I had no idea that it would evolve into a real company in less than 2 years.
• I grew my company’s team from two to six people in less than a year.
• I started working with amazing people who I believe will help change the world.
• I set realistic financial goals and started reaching them.
• I received more job offers than ever before (all of which I turned down).
• I found a community of friends who ended up being better than what I could ever ask for. Shout out to my No Losing Family!
• I became a part of the MLK Jr. Family and was given the opportunity to design the website for Coretta Scott King’s biography book, “Desert Rose”.
• I started a workshop and named it The Playground. It’s growing into a collective community of young entrepreneurs and creatives.
• I got several opportunities to perform onstage infront of tens of thousands of people at conferences and events, all singing songs about God.
• I created my own work/life schedule where I can set my own work hours whenever I want.
• I started a web hosting company and named it Backpack Host. Now we’re hosting people’s websites.
• I helped several people brand and develop themselves, a business, or an idea.
• I experienced enormous growth in my faith, my love for God, Jesus and humanity.
• I helped start one of the coolest churches I’ve ever been a part of – Courageous Church.
• I became an investor.

As you can see, I took life on by the horns. I spent every waking moment learning, studying, reading, researching, beating my craft, praying, asking better questions, managing my money, improving my skills, creating new relationships, and creating the life I dreamed. Since then, life has become this challenge; this game of greatness. I really believe anything is possible. With a constant drive to learn and work, you can do so much in such a short amount of time. I no longer look at the TV screen or read books, wishing I could have the life that someone else has. I’m now living my own. And it feels good. Really good. I’m creating my own story. Writing my own book. Creating art on my own canvas. I no longer have time to compare to others anymore. My competition has become myself. Life has become a roadmap of possibility and I get to chart a new path; to go further than I’ve gone before. I can do it. I really can. It’s no longer a myth to me anymore. It’s no longer a far-off dream that I have to sit and fantasize about. It’s reality. My reality. Now.

As I’m sitting here typing, I desire so much to share this excitement, this energy, this joy, this adventure with others. I want them to experience it too. The freedom of creating a life that matters. The freedom of becoming the person you have always wanted to be. The freedom of setting your own rules, charting your own path, and making your own money. The freedom of adding value to everyone you meet just because you can. The freedom found in the message of Christ. The freedom of loving God and knowing that He actually loves you back. The freedom of living an awakened life. It’s this childlike freedom. This sense of bliss. Of serenity. Of zen. Of openness. Of possibility. It’s this freedom that no one can give you and no one can take away. Life becoming simple; easy. When your life has a sense of direction and purpose, things like fear and doubt tend to lose their power. Everything starts to make sense. You find yourself making different decisions, entertaining different thoughts, asking different questions, hanging around different people, wanting different things, going different places, and living a different life. Before you know it, all your dreams are coming true and your life becomes this flow… this unforced rhythm of grace.

Before this awakening, my life was typical: “Go to school, get a job, pray that you don’t get fired anytime soon, and enjoy your weekends.” Now my life has purpose. My life has become a movement: A movement to awaken possibility in the lives of others. To call people to their purpose. To invite people to greatness. To challenge people to live an epic life, an awakened life. It’s become my greatest ambition. To leave this mark on the world. To see a generation of sleepers awakened. To take back the world’s crayons. To create a better tomorrow by seizing what is possible today. To inspire a generation of pioneers to create their own maps and chart their own paths. To compel a generation of thinkers to bring their best ideas to the world. To influence a generation of creatives to bring their best art to the world. To agitate mediocrity. To persuade a generation to believe that the way you change the world is by first deciding to be the change you wish to see in the world.

And this world needs it. It needs you to wake up. It needs me to wake up. It needs us to get up and get on with this great work we get to contribute, this great art we get to create, this great story we get to tell, and this great love we get to share. And the world will be better because we did. The world will be glad I did. The world will be glad you did. You’ll be glad you did. And no one’s stopping us. It starts with me. It starts with you. One awakened life at a time. One awakened mind at a time. One awakened voice at a time. Does it seem impossible? Only if you think it is. Nothing is impossible. Impossible is nothing. Anything is possible. You are possible. So WAKE UP! GET UP! And let’s take on this adventure of life together.

JOIN THE MOVEMENT! WHOOT!!!

Based on his work with over 1000 teams, Keith Yamashita shares his insights about great collaborative environments.