Our Lives Speak is a grassroots social campaign that encourages continuous positive thinking and action. We are on a mission to elevate the mindsets and the trajectory of the Mid South, where people come together and unite under the ideals of empowerment, inspiration, and community engagement. We believe that positive social change begins first with mindset; the belief that anything is possible, that every individual on this earth possesses unique talents that must be manifested through their work and contributions to society.

Memphis FilmWork producers interviewed more than 50 Memphis residents two important questions, ‘what word or phrase best describes how their life speaks and how does that word come back to them via the universe.

We realize throughout history that words can unite, heal, and transform. One single word has the power to change the energy of one person and propel him or her to do great things.

In contrast, we have seen how words have the power to hurt, stifle, and devalue the human experience. At the Life Speak Center, we continuously endeavor to drive positive speech and action throughout. Our programs and events present a positive message for all, educating audiences on how to successfully build a highly productive and purpose-driven life.

Each year we host an annual Our Lives Speak Empowerment Summit where we invite guests from around the country to inspire Memphis with messages of hope and a call to action. Our goal is to bring the Memphis community together to celebrate its differences, recognize its strengths, and mobilize our city to move in a positive direction.

On August 3, 2016, Memphis FilmWorks will host our very first Our Lives Speak Empowerment Summit where we invited Capital Magnet School founder and educational reform guru, Dr. Steve Perry, to speak to more than 400 attendees about the importance of education and its impact on raising healthy families and communities around the world.

Joining Dr. Perry was dynamic women’s empowerment speaker and popular TV personality Judge Lauren Lake. Together, these speakers challenged our audience members to lead the way in preparing our sons and daughters for a solvent future.

Even more exciting, we were proud to honor Overton High School Student Dacavien Reeves the first recipient of the Beacon Of Light award which recognizes noteworthy accomplishments of ordinary people doing exceptional things in their community.

In addition to our Empowerment Summit, Memphis FilmWorks will begin hosting similar events on a quarterly basis to support this increasingly important initiative to bring hope, healing, and empowerment to the greater Memphis community.

Quite simply, like a seed that is planted into the ground with the expectation of becoming a fruit, a flower, or a tree, there is water, important nutrients, light, and support that goes into that seed in order for it to grow into whatever it becomes in life. And when that seed matures, it then begins to provide support for the rest of our universal ecosystem. When we as human beings plant positive seeds of growth into the lives of others from the very start, it’s amazing what we become, it’s amazing what we achieve: inventors, scientists, teachers, doctors, lawyers, athletes, musicians, business leaders, politicians, all prepared to support the world in a powerful way.

Unfortunately, when we deny a seed the ability to receive positive nutrients, resources, and support for growth, not only will that positive seed not grow, it will begin disrupting the soil where it is planted and increase the likelihood of destroying neighboring roots that would have otherwise successfully matured into a productive member of society, and cause an entire community to suffer and fail to thrive.

Therefore it is critically important to the brand of Our Lives Speak that we are planting positive seeds of growth and opportunity into the lives of our youth as well as to the lives of many adults who perhaps either did not receive the proper support as they were growing up or was influenced by poorly seeded roots, we have a chance through Our Lives Speak to restore hope, healing, and positive speech for everyone. Anyone that needs a transformative experience.Anyone that looks to heal and carry out the dreams once deferred because of an uncertain beginning.

It is going to take each and every one of us to see that opportunity happens for all and when that happens, what we will find as a community is that our community will be fortified, our family structure will be restored, our children will have the tools to thrive, they will view life differently and their voice will be heard beyond the silos of our their own situation.

At Memphis FilmWorks, the focus is not just the story itself, but on the healing and transformation that stories bring to the community at large. Storytelling through digital media can not only bring about cultural enlightenment, social change, and community action but it can also help address critical topics in our society as well.