Hello Good People!
(If you migrated over People and the Planet 2, this is a repeat message).

Hello People of the Planet! So much to share!
So we are moving right along~ it's been a month of doing all of the really fun activities that come with launching a project: writing sponsorship letters, creating visually stunning overviews, seeking sponsors, developing outreach plans, developing media partnership...that's right, me and Luna (that's my cat) have been getting crazy on the computer.

The thrilling news, in case you missed the last update, is that we now have a fiscal sponsor and also received a seed grant from the Baum Foundation. (This means that all future donations can be made as charitable donations and will be tax deductible. Which means...if you are looking for a really cool one of a kind Christmas gift...it could be a video dedicated to someone you love...ask me for more information if interested.)

And you are the first to hear (literally) that today we came to life in the social media spheres:
Twitter: http://twitter.com/#!/PEOPLE_PLANET
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/home.php...

(I used different profile pictures~ feel free to tell me which one you like best...)

These information sites should serve as inspiration central: There will be updates and the likes, but also amazing stories from around the world that are rolling in about people healing in the presence of the natural world. Please join, and invite your friends.

The other news (big breath) is that I also settled on how many stories we are going to tell~ 24.

24 you ask??? WHY so many??? Well, if you would like to see the overview of the project, as backers, I would love to share it with you. Don't hesitate to ask and include your email.

So! Be well! Fill in the address info if you haven't already! Join me in the social network space! And feel free to chime in about potential sponsors!!

Sending all good things,
Leah

Darlings! Beloved supporters of People and the Planet!
Perhaps your email boxes are full...or you lost hope and had doubt...but I'm here to tell you that People and the Planet LIVES on despite the fact I didn't raise 10K.

If you donated to this account...please realize that if you didn't venture over to the new page...your donation was not processed.

I started a new account...where I am happy to say we have made our minimal goal...and will joyfully accept your continued support:
http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/peopleandtheplanet/people-and-the-planet-take-2-0/posts/31848

Below is an update about our new plans to produce the first story in the Dominican Republic (the whales move with the seasons)....but if you head on over to our new home...you will see the video I that is hot out of the oven that shows our very special crowd-funding model.

Blessings, and all the best,
Leah

Greetings dear backers~
I can not tell you how much it has meant that you have been willing to support this project. Believe it or not, just the power of your pledge has been enough to breathe life into this project, and for that I will be eternally grateful.

This campaign has not come to fruition, and the 10K goal in two weeks has not been met, so you will not be charged for your pledge. I've opted to start a new campaign~ so if you want to stay with the project, please join me on this new page: http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/peopleandtheplanet/people-and-the-planet-take-2-0

If you would like to get extremely infrequent updates with the promise of at least one joke that will make you laugh out loud or snicker, than feel free to join my list at www.leahlamb.com (on the right hand side you'll see "join my network."

And if you would like to hear my deep thoughts on the experience of this campaign~ well then, by all means, enjoy:

On Dreaming Big and other random thoughts about not meeting my 10K goal

This is a moment for reflection. As I write this, the kickstarter campaign I launched has 1 hour to go, and I have not achieved the goal of 10K. That means that the 1,800 raised so far will disappear into the ethers. It was like playing the stock market.

The experience provides an opportunity to explore how to better serve this project, the funders, and myself, as I launch it. Truth be told, normally I would keep all of these thoughts to myself and my inner circle of friends and family. But I went public with my campaign to fundraise, and so I feel like I owe it to the people who have supported this first step to understand the impact.

The goal started out as ridiculous~ I reached Rebecca, the person I have been dreaming of doing a feature piece on for over a year and a half now, but didn’t establish the solidity needed to raise funds for the piece until 3 weeks before she said we could come shoot. The whales are there (and they move).

Even though it seemed like a crazy task, put together a talented crew & raise 10K without established contacts, I believe anything is possible if you put your mind to it. (I’m such a believer, that I even put that title on my card.) For better or worse I have a history of making big things happens in small amounts of time (extra stress always included). And these past experiences makes me explore the concept of sustainability~ and puts me in a place of questioning if our desire to rush things, life, projects, development, isn’t at the core of the sustainability issue our planet is facing. So with that, I have to question if it is wise to rush.

But then I think about rivers, and the rush they use to garnish momentum, and look what they do, they shape our land, and nourish our bodies. And I consider the whales, who are will be featured in a new way in this first video. I think about how the majority of the stories we have in the world are about how people have been killing whales, and how this story will be able to infuse a new story into the public consciousness, that whales have the ability to heal people. I wonder what impact that might have on protecting these species, and start to wonder if my line about not rushing things is just the easy way out the back door of hard focused work.

When I said yes to jumping off the platform of reason and by trying to raise 10K in 2 weeks, it’s because I saw a certain kind of momentum I’ve learned to trust. I believe in following the yes’s. When one of the world’s most successful whale photographers jumped on board for no cost; I saw a yes, and when the talented crew of videographers and editors of the microdocs team came on board, I saw a yes, and when the tourism board of Tonga came on board and said they would help offset travel costs, I saw a yes. So….I followed suit, and said yes.

It’s a funny thing when you dream big. You start to see how it can threaten people. I started to hearing from people I trusted that it was an impossible goal. It made me realize that when you aim hi, it creates a reflection for others to see where they aim lo.

Meanwhile, backers started arriving. People I knew, and people I didn’t know. I ended up in conversation with potential funders who are interested in the long term project, and I ended up coming into conversation with a lot of people who believe in the vision, that we need more stories designed to reconnect us to the planet, to inspire a sense of hope, and offer clear direction. While we need people to point out what is wrong, we also need more people to show us how to do it right, our world is ripe and ready for these stories.

So there is still 7 days to go before we will have the potential to fly to the Tonga to catch the whales and Rebecca working with them this season. I look at this as a game~ doing this kind of work ~ fundraising for something I believe in. I think of it as building a Kingdom of Allies; you never know where the next step will take you, who will lead you to the next story in the series, or who will provide a great idea or insight, or who will give the right kind of advise and emotional support, and will bring the funds that are required. I’ve learned that the most important rule is that you need to trust. It puts my in a constant state of being open, and being generous. (After all, you can’t ask people to give unless you are willing to give yourself).

So I’m starting a new kickstarter campaign. The goal is lower, which insures that people who want to be involved can be, and the length of time is longer. While I am off speaking with funders, I still love the idea of building a groundswell of backers out there who want to influence the kind of media they consume on the Internet and be part of the team in charge of sharing it on the Internet. I can’t help it, I will always love the power of grass roots organizing at the end of the day. Until the next post….

Hello Good Backers of this project!
I hope you had a magnificent weekend.

Well, I have 46 hours to go, and over 8K to raise...so...it is time to activate Plan B: Relaunch the campaign with a smaller financial goal and a longer amount of time to raise funds.

While I didn't accomplish raising 10K in 2 weeks, I did get the word out, attract future funders, and secure a couple of great platforms to distribute the videos we produce.

I will be canceling this campaign tomorrow...(don't cry for me Argentina)... that means this page will go away, and your pledge will not be charged. If you care to stick along for the ride (and I hope you do) you will want to head on over to: http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/peopleandtheplanet/people-and-the-planet-take-2-0/promote and repledge.

Your pledge on this page will be canceled on Tuesday at 3pm PST and if you want to stay involved with this project you will need to goto the new page: http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/peopleandtheplanet/people-and-the-planet-take-2-0/promote

Meanwhile: a few quotes in case you are meditating on the idea of this kickstart #fail.

Click on the link below to see the video...

“The greatest barrier to success is the fear of failure.”

“Life's real failure is when you do not realize how close you were to success when you gave up.”

“Success builds character, failure reveals it”

“There are no failures - just experiences and your reactions to them.”