


Great music is powerful. And as someone who gets a lot of inspiration from music, I’ve always wondered – why aren’t there more songs that tell stories about how we feel as innovators and leaders who’re at the helm of culture and team development?
There are so many powerful poetic and creative songs, and they’ve taught me some immensely powerful lessons in life, in love and relationships, in friendships and social connections, and even in mental well being. I adored the BTS, Disney Classics and Stromae – and they all told stories through their music! Because music is often born out of real life experiences – from trauma and heartbreak to love and blissfulness – if you listen closely, you can feel the feelings of someone who is singing from their heart. So… I thought, if we are hungry to find more songs that reflect the journeys of innovators and leaders, then we’ll need to create them together!
It makes sense. Innovators, in essence, see something different, build something out of nothing, and speak up when others say let’s keep the status quo.
The reward, when done well, may be high but there are far too many rejections, risks, and failures that happens along the way in that messy journey. I remember how empowering it had felt when I realized that the feeling the fear of being bold is ok because that makes me human! We’re all innovating and can create more – if we just have the courage to know that being authentically you, speaking your own voice, is what matters.
So when my team came to ask me “What is the story you want to share in this song”, I immediately knew what we needed.
A song dedicated to the innovator’s journey.
I’m beyond thrilled to introduce you to this first original song by InnovatorsBox® Studios that speaks about how innovators (you, yes – you are an innovator!) feel as they create their own world and universe.
There are no labels that stop us from imagining who and what we can be.
I hope our song “Paint My World” inspires you to continue to paint your own world. We need more innovators like you to paint more color into the black and white narrative of what society dictates to be a way of living and succeeding in life. Let me dive back into those chocolate desserts with my flip flops to my next meeting again.
See you on the other side, innovators!
And if you are like me, you love learning more about the who and the why of how a project comes to life. So I’m thrilled to take a moment to introduce you to my talented music team who made this original song come to life.
Meet Serin Oh, a singer songwriter and our Creative Producer and Artist-in-Residence at InnovatorsBox® Studios. I’m so thrilled that Serin said yes to our creative production as we build the Studios. Serin’s journey as an innovator too is a true reflection to what we wanted to communicate: creating your own voice by taking the roads less traveled. Serin shared with me how it was important for her to grow as a singer-songwriter, but not in a conventional way. Having released her first three singles after Berklee Music school, she knew how important it was to trust her voice to tell her story. And I mean, how do you not fall in love with her voice!
This is why I was so eager to have Paniz Farokhnia, our Music Producer and Engineer at InnovatorsBox® Studios. Her love in making music that tells a story was something she deeply cared about!
I asked them also what inspired them in how they wrote the lyrics which I loved how it came together:
Well, what about the beat?
As you can see each line and beat was created with care and the thought of what we can communicate about you, innovators. Still we went back to the drawing board as it’s also important to reimagine how we communicate visually so we worked with Rowanne Chang our Studio Graphic Producer to communicate this vision of painting a universe of possibilities.
Rowanne is someone who has worked in both live music production and promotion – so she knew just how important a visual can be to communicate the story of a music. So it didn’t surprise me when, as we shared our vision, she knew immediately how we should tie the stories together to communicate that limitless voice.
And when I asked Rowanne what resonated with her when working on the visuals for this song, she shared:
As you listen to this song while you’re going about your day, or when you need a little pick me up, I hope that it reminds you to be bolder, to be your authentic, unapologetic self, while remaining kind to yourself.
And share away the beats with your loved ones, or just anyone. It may just help them stand up proud in their unique and quirky way. It may help them paint their own color!
Monica H. Kang, Founder, and CEO of InnovatorsBox® and Author of Rethink Creativity is transforming today’s workforce through the power of creativity. She helps companies rethink culture, leadership, and team development by making creativity practical and relatable regardless of industry or job title. She has worked with clients worldwide including Fortune 500 companies, higher education, government, and nonprofits. Monica’s work has been recognized by The White House, Ashoka Changemakers, National Minority Supplier Development Council (NMSDC), and Women’s Business Enterprise National Council (WBENC). Prior to InnovatorsBox®, Monica was a nuclear nonproliferation policy expert. She holds an M.A. from SAIS Johns Hopkins University in Strategic Studies and International Economics and a B.A. from Boston University.