EXCLUSIVE: Michele Clark & the Rise of New Music at Sunset Sessions

There is a quote that hangs on Michele Clark's wall that reads: "There are no limitations to the self except those you believe in." That one simple sentence, which hangs as a daily reminder and reflection for Michele, captures the inspiration and spirit that fills so many entrepreneurs, artists and athletes. In all of us there is a burning passion, something we love and would love to do. The problem is that all too often we do not listen to that voice, we do not follow that passion, mostly because we do not believe in ourselves.

Michele's passion was, and still is, music. Born in New Jersey, Michele began to explore the Asbury Park music scene at the tender age of 15 years. She was immediately hooked and knew that music would be her life. In 1990, Michele started Michele Clark Promotion, which quickly became the leading independent radio promotion firm for the Triple A format. Prior to selling the company (which had changed its name to M:M Music), Michele had collected numerous awards and was instrumental in the radio campaigns for Matchbox Twenty, Coldplay, David Gray, Maroon 5, Train, Norah Jones, Jewel, Edwin McCain, Hootie and the Blowfish, John Mayer, Sheryl Crow, the Dave Matthews Band, Lenny Kravitz, and countless others, including such rock legends as the Rolling Stones, Paul McCartney, Peter Gabriel, Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers, Neil Young and Van Morrison.

About 17 years ago, Michele saw a problem with music conventions: all of the artists were there, but few (if any) radio folks were in attendance. How could new music be discovered and break through if those responsible for getting airplay were not in attendance? As Michele puts it, "if you see something being done wrong, do it right." So Michele took out her credit card and flew a bunch of artists, radio professionals and others in the music industry to beautiful St. Thomas island for a weekend of an intimate music discovery experience. And like that, Sunset Sessions was born.

Over the years, Sunset Sessions have hosted the likes of The Black Keys, Fun, Jack Johnson, Stevie Nicks, Carlos Santana, Jason Mraz, James Blunt, The Zac Brown Band, Colbie Caillat, Melissa Etheridge, Nickelcreek, Chris Isaak, Billy Corgan, Steve Stills, Jewel, and many more. Today, Sunset Sessions has evolved into a destination where anyone passionate about music who can assist in breaking new artists and getting new music and bands discovered (including radio programmers, music supervisors, music managers, television bookers, etc.) can come together and find the next big thing. In Michele's words, it's a "new music adventure."

Michele Clark listened to her inner voice and followed her passion. As a result, she has been living the dream for many years. For Michele, success is not about money or fame. It's about doing what she loves and being happy. In her own words: "If you follow your passion, if you do what you love, the rest takes care of itself." Truer words cannot be spoken. The trick is, they need to be believed.

The next Sunset Session will take place this June 6th, 7th and 8th in Carlsbad, California. For more information, go to www.sunsetsessions.org.

Quotes for the Artist, Athlete and Entrepreneur

Forbes.com recently published "Top 32 Quotes Every Entrepreneur Should Live By." What immediately struck me is that the quotes not only pertain to entrepreneurs but also artists and athletes. The themes that consistently surface are simple:

     • Do what makes you happy.

     • Follow your dreams, no matter how seemingly impractical.

     • Surround yourself with people who uplift and inspire you.

     • Trust your intuition.

     • And never give up.

Here are a few of my favorites:

"Success is not the key to happiness. Happiness is the key to success. If you love what you are doing, you will be successful." – Albert Schweitzer

"Keep away from people who try to belittle your ambitions. Small people always do that, but the really great make you feel that you, too, can become great." – Mark Twain

"Your time is limited, so don't waste it living someone else's life. Don't be trapped by dogma – which is living with the results of other people's thinking. Don't let the noise of other opinions drown out your own inner voice. And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. They somehow already know what you truly want to become. Everything else is secondary." – Steve Jobs

"Logic will get your from A to B. Imagination will take you everywhere." – Albert Einstein

"Success is walking from failure to failure with no loss of enthusiasm." – Winston Churchill

"Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn't do than the ones you did. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover." – Mark Twain

To read the entire Forbes.com list, click here: http://www.forbes.com/sites/tanyaprive/2013/05/02/top-32-quotes-every-entrepreneur-should-live-by/

Creating an Epicenter of Innovation: Welcome to Eden

After only five short years of being in existence, the progressive organization founded in 2008 by entrepreneur Elliot Bisnow (Bisnow Media) and know as Summit Series has found a permanent home in a place all too appropriately named "Eden." 

Eden, Utah is home to Snow Mountain, the largest ski resort in the United States. The plan is to build 500 single family homes, a small mountain village with a recording studio, art galleries and bohemian retail shops, a few boutique hotels, a members-only lodge and a mountain-top activity center. In addition, plans for home shares, need-based lodging and subsidized cabins are in the works for those who cannot otherwise afford the lavish resort. Rather than taking a traditional real estate developer's approach, they are applying the "disruptive ethos" of Silicon Valley to the project, building local partnerships and integrating with the local community, while trying to preserve the mountain's natural beauty.

The idea behind Summit Series is simple: if you bring creative, innovator, influential people from all walks (e.g., entrepreneurs, artists, politicians, thought leaders, activists, etc.) together, then amazing things will happen. Since its inception, Summit Series has hosted the likes of Sir Richard Branson, President Bill Clinton, Mark Cuban, rapper Jazzy Jeff, John Legend and Russell Simmons, just to name a few.  Summit Series has managed to capture and cultivate the creative spirit, and there is no telling where having a permanent home will take the group.  As stated on their website:

"Summit's mission is to catalyze entrepreneurship, address global issues, support artistic achievement, and build community in an effort to make our world a more joyful place."

Or as co-founder Jeff Rosenthal puts it, Summit is about "great people doing great things." What better place to do that than, well, Eden?

Read more about Summit's purchase of Powder Mountain here: http://thenextweb.com/entrepreneur/2013/05/07/exclusive-summit-series-inks-the-40-million-dollar-deal-on-powder-mountain/.

For more information, visit their website: http://www.summit.co/