Michael Trainer discusses the importance of creating big, bold visions and aligning them with core values to attract support. He shares insights from his experiences hosting events with notable figures like Beyoncé and the Dalai Lama, emphasizing the power of vision in mobilizing resources and creating impactful experiences.
Get Resonance: The Art and Science of Human Connection
Takeaways
Sound bites
"Align your vision with core values." "Big visions mobilize resources." "Create impactful experiences." "Notable figures love bold visions." "Reciprocity builds support." "Events should resonate with audiences." "Visionary leadership drives growth." "Authentic connections are key." "Purpose-driven events last." "Vision transforms experiences."
Chapters
Michael Trainer (00:01.58)
Welcome to Residence, I'm your host Michael Treanor and
Michael Trainer (00:10.402)
Welcome to Resonance. I'm your host, Michael Treanor. And today I want to talk about how to get people behind your vision. I've been very lucky in this life and that I've been fortunate to build some incredible platforms with some of the biggest names in the world. I've been able to host everyone from Beyonce to His Holiness the Dalai Lama. And people will ask me sometimes, how did you go about
doing that? What was the key or the secret? And the truth is, in both of those instances, it wasn't about me. It was about aligning someone to a bigger vision that was
speaking to their core values and vision. And I think that's one of the key pieces we often overlook. People, just like they approach networking, look to extract value. How can I get you to say yes to supporting me in my dream? But without doing the legwork to see one, is this the right person? Two, are they aligned to my vision and my
And three, is there something that I can do to add value to this person? Because there's a subtle law of reciprocity. Anytime someone does something for us, we feel in a way a desire to support them back. And this is a deeply human tendency. Now, that can be manipulated.
but it also can be authentically utilized in a way that I think fosters the meeting of two very powerful forces. And genuinely, when I'm looking to build a vision, when I'm looking to build, for example, I'm gonna do my next big event next year, the Resonance Summit. And as I think about who are the people that will resonate most with the audience.
Michael Trainer (02:23.278)
But two, who are the people also that will grab their attention, right? Because if you can't get enough people through the door, then is it worth doing? This is a big question. I think sometimes it is, because I think sometimes it's about just showing up for ourselves. That's what I'm doing right now on this 30-day challenge. I'm not worried about how many people listen. I'm worried about who I get to be to show up and add value, regardless of who comes. That said, when I do an event,
I do a big event, I do it right. I'm not trying to mess around. And in part that is because if I invite someone else to give their precious time and attention to a vision that I'm working to build and support, I want it to be worth their energy. I want it to be worth their time. And I've found in life that when we dedicate ourselves and declare a big vision, people will get behind it, especially if it's around a bigger purpose.
It's ironic. It's almost like, you know, I've heard in financial circles, you know, are you, what's your goal? Okay. Now what if you 10x'd it? Is it 10x harder to achieve those results? Or can you apply the Pareto principle and put that 20 % of effort and still kind of exponentially increase, just increasing your vision, but finding the right pieces that support that bigger vision. I saw that for sure with Global Citizen Festival.
In fact, if we had had a smaller vision, if we had said, you know what, we're going to do a concert for a thousand people or, you know, 5,000 people, we never would have attracted the talent and the results, which to this day is now billions of dollars in mobilized commitments around any extreme poverty. We wouldn't have been able to attract the Beyoncé's, the Jay-Z's, the Coldplay's because we weren't thinking big enough. And when you say, you know what,
How about performing on the Great Lawn in Central Park? Beatles never played there, Stones never played there. How about performing in front of 70,000 people? By the way, what about performing in front of the largest syndicated broadcast of its kind? Homepage of the New York Times, homepage of YouTube, homepage of XYZ platforms, right? Large collaborative platforms.
Michael Trainer (04:50.99)
And then speaking to their altruistic interest, I know you care deeply about women and girls. What if we compare your performance with the prime minister of XYZ country who's willing to commit 50, 100, 200 million dollars in collaboration with a bank or the World Bank or another country or a large philanthropists if we can mobilize that energy.
and your platform is the key to unlocking that gift. Would that be something that's of interest? That's a very different ask than, hey, Bono, hey, Beyonce, do you wanna play at my charity concert? So what I'm sharing is how can you create a big and bold vision? And how can you, from that place of vision, align someone's altruistic
and enlighten self-interest such that you can start to create momentum and results around the bigness and the beautifulness of that vision. For me, I've often found that to keep it very pragmatic, it's really helpful if you can get one early mover in the movement building context, one early mover that is your anchor. In musical terms, it would be your headliner, right?
If you can get Beyonce as your headliner, you can get anyone else on the bill because everyone wants to play for Beyonce or with Beyonce.
In the same context when I did the event with His Holiness the Dalai Lama, there's no one that wouldn't want to be on that stage. It's aligned with his vision because he represents such a profound, one-of-a-kind enlightened spiritual figure. So who are the people that have such a, for lack of a better term, a resonance around who they are and how they show up that if they were to
Michael Trainer (06:57.646)
come into alignment with your vision, the orbit would be profound because it's, it's
Michael Trainer (07:15.148)
because it's an honor just to be in their presence. This is something I think as we think about.
vision as we think about our relationships, as we think about community and events.
Michael Trainer (07:33.964)
One of the things that I think about in architecting is how can I create a one of a kind, truly profound experience? Because that ultimately is where relationships live. They live at the heart of experience. How can I create such a profound experience that it will never be forgotten? And not only will it never be forgotten, it will be lived.
In other words, beyond the moment of its execution, its happening, the memory and the stories from those memories live on and continue to inspire hearts and minds, ideally for days, months, years, potentially in an epic context, generations to come. you think about Freddie Mercury at Live Aid, right? You see that performance, you cannot not be moved by it, right? And so,
When I think about architecting events or experiences, I think about what are the stories that can live in the connection between people and how can those experiences ripple forward and generate other relationships. It's a principle I actually write about in the book called B exponential, right? Think about the experiences you can create.
where one plus one doesn't equal two, but it equals something more. It equals 11, right? Like someone asks me, hey, Michael, do you want to join me for a coffee on Tuesday? Well, the answer might be yes. But I think to myself, what if on Tuesday I got together 20 of the people that have asked me if I want to have a coffee and we do a hike or we have a dinner? Then not only am I connecting one on one with the person who invited me,
but I'm connecting with 19 other people in that same hour of time. That's an exponential opportunity. Not only that, but all of those other people have the opportunity to connect and synergize with each other and form possibilities previously unrealized. It's why I love hosting dinner parties and almost always, little tip, have a dinner party invitation in my back pocket. Something I like to do every couple of months because I love the synergy that can happen one over a shared.
Michael Trainer (10:00.108)
meal, is timeless. But two, if I ever want to get someone's contact and connect with them or add value to them, one of the best ways to do so is, hey, I have a dinner coming up later this month or next month. Are you in town? Would that be of interest? And that's something that I've done for years. I also love to volunteer with different organizations. One that I love and I also write about in the book is the Wolf Connection. And I've had incredible connections with people.
based on inviting them to walk with wolves under the full moon. Beautiful nonprofit run by my friend Teo. And you know, I've been fortunate enough to connect with Rosario Dawson, Woody Harrelson, a variety of people that I've just said, hey, why don't you go to the Wolf Connection, bring your family, I'd love to connect you.
that may not lead to anything beyond, but what it does is I'm starting to think about, okay, what is in your interest? What is of value to you? And how can I be a note? How can I be at the center of value for you? How can I create exponential memories for you and what you care deeply about your family? And then if an opportunity presents itself later, I live in a beautiful reflection
in your mind, in your memory, right? Instead of being reflected on as, that's the guy who tried to extract value from me. It's, that's the guy who always just kind of randomly reaches out with an opportunity, which I may or may not seize. In both of those instances, it led to really wonderful conversations. I know Woody took his family to Wolf Connection and I wound up joining a men's group, literally with some of my rock star heroes.
from Flea from the Red Hot Chili Peppers to Tony Kanal from No Doubt to my dear friend Bill Fold, co-founder of Coachella, Moby, the incredible DJ. We wound up forming a men's group that was gestated out of meeting Moby at the Wolf Connection and our shared passion for the Wolf Connection and for animals. And I share that to say,
Michael Trainer (12:17.174)
I never would have thought that I would be doing a sweat lodge with Flea from one of my favorite bands of all time. But it happened because I was in a stand for a possibility. I was in a stand for the exponential. was inviting people simply for the point of adding value to their life to this place that I found deeply meaningful that was about something more. It wasn't the hottest party in Hollywood. It was literally a refuge for rescued wolves.
40 minutes north of Los Angeles. But it's a very cool experience, right? If you're someone that lives in LA, you probably get invited to a lot of hot parties, but you don't get invited to walk with wild wolves under the full moon and to sit by the fire as Moby plays guitar very often. so thinking about the uncommon, profound shared experience that you can invite someone into is such a profound
gift and honestly one of the things that has led to the greatest, for lack of a better term, success in my life. It's, as I talk about it, I don't know that I've fully broken it down into a format that is replicable but I'm trying to give you the juice from what's worked for me and what it is is I try to create events and experiences.
that are rare, are not easily accessed. And then I look to curate through an alchemy, a social alchemy of wonderful people, a combination of people that others want to be in the orbit of as anchors for a profound and beautiful experience for all involved.
that ideally has a consequence beyond simply the moment. Whether that be a charitable contribution, whether that be a men's group, whether that be something that is, as I described in the book, the more that wants to live. The more is in my belief is that sense of purpose, that sense of possibility that...
Michael Trainer (14:40.226)
that exponential possibility that wants to live in and through all of us. And it's my belief, as I talk about, that this music that wants to live is the gestation of the more. It is the possibility and potentiality that wants to live through us. And when we are in devotion to the more, our life moves in profound.
ways, ways that we could never have foreseen. And I'm going to talk a lot more about that in the coming months. But in essence, to bring it down into grounded reality, my question is, what are the events or experiences that you could invite people into that might be as simple as a wonderful dinner party in a local park or a volunteering opportunity, a beach cleanup?
What are the opportunities, unique experiences that could be a sweat lodge, that could be...
Michael Trainer (15:49.165)
you know, a kickball game with, you know, a really fun context, you know, or really fun people. Everyone gets dressed up, you know, what are the ways you can think outside the box such that you can invite people into an experience and perhaps that's something, experience that you host every month or every other month so that anytime you meet someone that's of interest, you have a go-to in your mind for an invitation. How can you be an invitation? How can you think through
some of the people that you think would really be of value or of interest in terms of their stories, their music, the more that they represent and ideally have them as part of this event or experience. And then how can you make that event or experience as valuable as possible for all concerned? By being exponential, by finding ways for others to connect with each other, by finding out what the vision and values, the unmet needs, the challenges that each of those people are facing.
and seeing if there's a synergy between some of the various parties that are present to assuage their anxiety, to relieve their challenges, to create new friendships, to create new possibilities. And in that way, you become the conduit, the connector for profound friendships, professional relationships, romantic relationships, connections beyond your wildest imagination. Remember,
Not long ago, I was walking in Temesco Canyon and a woman driving a Range Rover rode down her window and said, Michael, do you remember me? And I said, yeah, vaguely. And it was a woman I had met like six years ago. And she rolls down her back window and there are two beautiful children sitting in the back seat. And she said in her own way, these guys are because of you.
I met my husband at the Super Bowl party that you invited me to like six years ago. And I was like...
Michael Trainer (17:53.806)
Whoa, think about that for a moment, right? Not just figuratively, but literally there are lives that can live beyond your wildest imagination when you are a stand for the connection that is possible. So I hope you guys found value. All of these are part of the principles that I discussed in my book, Resonance, The Art and Science of Human Connection. You can find it on Amazon.
And I'm so grateful for your listening and I will keep coming at you with hopefully stories, principles, tactics, opportunities that you find valuable because that is my commitment to be a stand for the more that wants to live through me and wants to live in the space between us and through you. So to the more my friends.