Intention Manifests Reality

Chances are, you’ve a had a moment in your life when you experienced something that really spoke to you. If you explored the experience with an open mind and heart, it just may have opened up some pathways in life that you least expected. This is the magic of exploration. When we flow with the energy, incredible things can happen.

One late night, after we had launched Gorilla® Glass® 6, I settled in to do some reading at home. I was in the process of putting away my phone and noticed YouTube was open. On the screen was a video called Chanda Mama — an Indian Nursery Rhyme being performed collectively by a group of musicians who were scattered around the world. Suddenly, instead of reading, I found myself exploring the origins of this video. It led me to Playing For Change (PFC) and the organization’s founder, Mark Johnson. Through its tremendously popular videos, PFC raises money to build music schools around the world, in regions where this type of education is underserved. I recall sending an email to my team, stating that PFC is something we need to look at further. The intention was created. The reality would come later.

Three months later, after we had finished a large project with Imagine Dragons, my team was gathered for our 2019 planning meeting. The team member that had brought us the Imagine Dragons project said, “Hey I have a great organization that we should work with. They are called Playing For Change.” Intention became a reality.

In 2019 we created a Song Around the World with PFC’s Mark Johnson and his team. We chose the song “Love” by the Imagine Dragons performed by musicians spanning the globe. It was a magical year of working with PFC, getting devices into their schools through their foundation,  

As we entered 2020, we were leading an innovative, new technology event in India that would target the youth; called “Tech2Innovate.” Playing For Change musicians attended and performed as a highlight of the event. As we were wrapping a hectic 14 days in India, Mark and I sat down to lunch with our teams. In discussing current events and the way the world was flowing, we started ruminating about how music has the power to play a unifying role in our world. The thought was left there. Again, an intention was created.

Then COVID happened and we were asked to be still.

Little did I know, Mark was taking our lunchtime conversation way beyond idle chatter. In July of 2020, I was on the phone with Mark and he told me that the United Nations had approached him with the idea of a virtual global music event, aptly titled “Peace Through Music.” The intention was now a reality. He asked me, “Would Corning® Gorilla® Glass be interested in supporting it?” Heck yeah! We were all in.

As the event was coming to life it struck me — all those years Mark had been creating videos, capturing musicians around the world, and breathing new life and purpose into these incredible songs. It’s a skill that primed Mark to deliver an extraordinary global event for peace. Mark had the right intention, with the right people, at the right moment, to create a better reality.

I firmly believe when you have the right intention and act with purity, the outcome will always be something good.

We are grateful to be along for this ride. “Peace Through Music” was, and continues to be, an incredible performance  that features a slate of the most prolific musicians, brought together to support the thing the world needs now — Unity, Peace and Oneness.

Below is the video to the performance, hope you can find the time to enjoy it and help the organizations that it supports.