We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Megan and Jorge Lacera a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Alright, Megan and Jorge thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Can you talk to us about a project that’s meant a lot to you?
Meaningful work is an essential value to us. A project may be meaningful because of the people with whom we collaborate–ideas are exchanged, relationships formed, wisdom is shared. There could be meaning in the compensation–money allows us to take care of our family, build our lives, and give back to others. And of course, there is meaning in the actual content. We believe that stories matter and can positively impact the world!
Meet Valentina and her best friends Jasmine, Andy, and Xander. They’ve lived in the Wild Oaks apartment building their entire lives. They are the Wild Ones!
Legend has it, there’s a monstruo lurking deep in the forest of their town. No one has ever seen it, but the Wild Ones believe it exists. But something’s going on that’s more menacing than any monstruo–greedy developers want to tear down their home. The Wild Ones know what they have to do: find the monstruo and convince it to help them save their home. Come join the Wild Ones on this epic adventure!
This story is truly an example of meaningful work for three primary reasons. First, we created it together and collaborating with each other brings us deep, lasting joy. Second, the story reflects themes that are important to us: believing in yourself, believing in your true friends, and believing in where you come from. Third, publishing this book allows us to connect with young readers and share our love of reading, stories, art and adventure.
Megan and Jorge, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?
We are biased of course, but we think our meet-cute story is pretty awesome. It’s also a foundational piece of what we do. We met while working at American Greetings–Megan was a writer and Jorge was an visual development artist. We were colleagues first, collaborating on famous brands like Care Bears, Strawberry Shortcake and creating and pitching entirely new properties for entertainment, toys, gaming, and more.
It was at American Greetings (AG) that we learned how to collaborate, how to work together to make something even better than what we could make on our own. Our ability to collaborate with a shared respect for achieving the best possible outcome sets us apart. Since AG, we’ve worked in AAA video games, branded entertainment, tabletop gaming, IP development and with global toy companies. We know how to do a lot–and we bring that rich experience to everything we do. And the end of the day, it all comes down to the stories we craft.
We are most proud of the meaningful, creative, loving life we’ve built together. We’ve had our share of challenges, setbacks, and curveballs, but we tackle it all together, growing individually and as a couple with each new adventure.
Is there mission driving your creative journey?
We are both spiritual people who believe God has a purpose and a calling for us. Aligning ourselves with that purpose drives us each day–and the purpose shifts and changes as we grow and change and pay attention. We make time to meditate, journal, pray and talk to each other about where we are, what we feel called to do, and how life takes detours and new formed roads. Right now, we are focused on expanding our creative gifts–practicing and developing our leadership potential, our storytelling skills, our presentation and speaking abilities, our talent for connecting meaningfully with people. We hope to help and inspire others to awaken and act on their own creative lives–to follow their hearts and the quiet, unique voice within.
Are there any books, videos or other content that you feel have meaningfully impacted your thinking?
Definitely. Reading, learning, engaging with others’ work has made a huge impact on us. Here’s a short list of some of our favorites:
THE WAR OF ART by Steven Pressfield. A very short book packed with genius. The key message is overcoming Resistance…and the notion that Resistance is a force in our lives, a signal that we’re circling something (a creative endeavor like writing a book, starting a business, trying something new) with the power to change our lives, to push us to grow.
THE HARVARD BUSINESS REVIEW’S MUST-READS. This series of books curates powerful content from hundreds of Harvard Business Reviews essays and articles, compiling them into themes like Leadership, Strategy, Managing Yourself, Managing People and Navigating Change.
THE ARTIST’S WAY by Julia Cameron. Inspirational and practical advice for creating a life and habits that fuel meaningful creative work.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.studiolacera.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/authormeganlacera/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MeganAndJorgeLacera
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/meganlacera/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/jlacera
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@studiolacera825
- Other: As we’re two people, here are other links so both of our individual accounts are represented. Jorge LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jlacera/ Jorge Insta: https://www.instagram.com/jorgelaceracreates/ Megan Twitter: https://twitter.com/MeganLacera
Image Credits
Megan Lacera, Jorge Lacera