Many years ago, I took a few different business classes, taught by Christopher Gaines at College of The Redwoods in Eureka, CA. I really enjoyed the experience because it taught me about how business is integrated into our lives, and how starting a business can put one on the right track to financial freedom. I also had so much fun learning the language of business, as it pertains to every day life.
Before business classes, I was introduced to business through an internship opportunity offered by a great friend. During the experience, I began writing a song that I would continue writing through out the time I was learning about business. This song was an amalgamation of all that I had learned during that time. Throughout the experience I pondered if there was a business that I could start, one that reflected my personal values and could help people.
I had spent all that time learning, knowing that I wanted to do something that supports community and encourages people to do what they love. Ever since I discovered how much I loved making music and writing, I had a knack for asking people about what excites them before anything else. After 8 months of writing, the song was finished and that same evening a business idea: Rhapsodic Global was conceived on February 3rd, 2014.
Here we are, 8 and a half years later and Rhapsodic Global is still going strong! My process is fairly slow, I can move fast when I need to but it's not my natural state of being. I am processing a lot of information, doing tons of research, and right around the corner from a major breakthrough. Pretty much always. So.. Appropriately, I take the time to write the music that truly signals the vast amount of details in my process. Easy to say..
I had spent 8 months writing this song about business, then it happened when a few friends and I discussed the drawbacks of social media. We wanted a networking site built to support our businesses rather than just data-mining for advertisers. The first version of the website was launched the very same night, but the idea and corresponding song took months if not years of processing to achieve, so I named the song after the business idea.
I was so excited that I submitted the Rhapsodic Global song to the Great American Song Contest in the same year of 2014. Songs are evaluated by "Top Music Industry Professionals," listed on their website and each applicant receives a written evaluation. The experience really validated me as a song writer, even with lackluster production skills I made decent music. I'm surprised that I never showed off these results from my first song contest.
At the same time I know why I never shared this. I quickly became obsessed realizing the potential of Rhapsodic Global to create a new advertising paradigm. Over the years, I've lost touch with many of my friends from that era. People who knew me as a rapper first, writer at heart, and Rhapsodic Global's CEO? Back then, even I didn't understand what Rhapsodic Global is and is becoming, all I know is that it's much bigger than myself.
Now that I know I am a writer first, rapper at heart, and Rhapsodic Global's original Connector; things have become more clear. The specific words in that order in a statement symbolize the clarity I've found over the years. But there's still a few tools missing from my story, to become a more complete person it's time for me to practice what I preach. How will our network thrive as a place of inspiration and productivity if I do not follow my passion?
My song got some great feedback when I entered the contest in 2014. The judges praised my lyrics and how it all worked with the beat and imagery, even without me adding any clues to what the song is about.. Because really, what is that song even about? To me, the song is a symbol for the commitment I made to creating this project. The same project you're reading this blog on now, started as a flash of inspiration and creativity, curated over time.
This flash of creativity was the result of many months spent digesting business literature into a lyrical reflection. And now, after all this time focusing on Rhapsodic Global, I see many new turns on the horizon. I have turned my focus from writing lyrics to writing promotions and playing an original instrument. I have learned that encouraging and providing a space for others to share their life story is my life's purpose.
In order to make it all real, I must produce music and film as those are my chosen passions. I keep getting this notion that I can be a promoter who chooses what I promote based on standards of qualification and inspiration. I am still writing songs, even if I don't share them as often as I used to. This is why I will be entering the Great American Song Contest, to reconnect with myself and to symbolize how far I've come as a person.
The Great American Song Contest has been around 24 years. Last time I entered, I ended up seeing a huge boost in all of my stats on SoundCloud and Reverb Nation. I knew back then that I wouldn't be winning without a written chorus for my song, but it didn't matter because the song meant something to me. This time around, I have written a truly original and awesome song with an A+ chorus. We'll see what they say!
Go to the Great American Song Contest website to see more details and submit your own song! The deadline to enter is November 17th, 2022. An Entry Fee of $35 is required for each song entered into the contest. Follow the link below to find contest rules, and good luck to all who enter! Stay tuned to Rhapsodic Global to hear my song, and to hear updates about my contest results. Thanks for reading about my journey into the world of business!
I'll leave this blog post with an excerpt I read out of a book called. "Seeing With The Minds Eye," by Nancy & Mike Samuels, MD. This particular post not only promotes the Great American Song Contest, it's about symbolism. For me, entering this contest is symbolic of my progress and of accepting the role my passion plays in my personal evolution. I hope sharing my process can be inspiring for other's to act on our passions!
In the early 1960's, Harold Rugg, an educator at Columbia University, proposed a theory of creativity...
Rugg believed that the threshold between the conscious and unconscious is the only part of the mind that is free from censorship. The transliminal mind is characterized by a state of relaxed readiness or relaxed concentration. In this state, a suggestion to create is accepted and the creative ideas are viewed by the person as real.
To solve a problem, then, the transliminal mind freely, without censorship, scans it's images to come up with the simplest meaningful symbol-image that answers the problem confronting it. When such a symbol-image is found, an idea is born. This is the creative flash. This moment, the flash, is what makes possible a new work of art or even an experimental breakthrough.
The Peace Sign Fractal by Anthony DeLuca (2011)
^ Rhapsodic Global Logo ^
This promotional blog post was written by Anthony DeLuca of AnthonyJosephDeLuca.com, and donated to be promoted on RhapsodicGlobal.org!