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It started simply. All I wanted to do was help. Like millions in the last presidential election I wanted to become involved. That was the phenomenon of that election. Regardless of your political affiliation, we must all marvel at the outburst of civic involvement that gripped this nation.

Being a filmmaker by profession I chose to become involved by creating a film. Therefore on November 4th in Grant Park in Chicago on election day, I prepared a simple project. I wrote a song called “Yes We Did.” Post the event I planned to develop the song into a video production and distribute it free of charge to celebrate this historical moment.

But as I saw the signs “Yes We Did” being held up by thousands of people I became concerned that “Yes We Did” was the wrong sentiment. Our journey lies before us, not behind us is what echoed in my mind that night. Our world needs our involvement to continue not end. So though I wrote a “Yes We Did” song, I threw it out and instead wrote “Yes We Can (Change our Destiny)” as I wanted to ensure that the phenomenon of social involvement that occurred during the election would never fade. President Obama said that night that we must “put our hands on the arc of history and bend it towards the hope for a better day.” I took him seriously.

On December 7th, 2008, Pearl Harbor Day, by interesting coincidence, myself and 40 artists and filmmakers completed the video production “Yes We Can (Change our Destiny)” to ensure that the passion of civic involvement would continue.

I had no idea when I created that video that on inaugural day it would become #1 on Google in the non-profit category, that I’d be interviewed by the press and invited to inaugural events in D.C. where it would be played or that it would rack up over 100,000 video views and over 15 million impressions. I created it because I cared for our world, because I wanted to make a difference. That video continues to make a difference today, being played around the world, inspiring everyone from school children to business people (regardless of political affiliation) that “Yes We Can (Change our Destiny).”

Incidentally, it did help my business as more people in the world were exposed to my company’s ability to create corporate and other types of communication and video projects and distribute them through social marketing. But the key is, that was not the goal. The goal was simply to help our world and that’s why it became so successful.

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