A month ago I finally had a dream come true. Judging by the title of this post, you can probably guess that I attended a TED Talks conference. Ok, it was a TEDx conference, which is an independently organized conference, usually for a specific city or area, that is done outside of TED, but within their guidelines to still be considered a TED conference. This makes it no less exciting for me, and actually a bit more exciting because all of the speakers are those who are in my community! These are people I can meet up with, talk to and continue to share ideas with.
As I was sitting through these amazing talks, I got to wondering. What idea would I spread if I were asked to be a presenter at TED?
Before I get too far into this, I want to make sure we’re all on the same page and everyone knows what TED Talks are. If you don’t know, TED stands for Technology, Entertainment and Design, which after 30 years of conferences, now includes topics from science to humanities and everything in between. They are, as their tag line says, ideas worth sharing. These are all short talks from just a couple of minutes in length to some closer to 20 minutes. I personally relate to some more than others, but they all make you think. TED and TEDx conferences all collect several speakers, and they all present over one or two days.
There are some amazing ideas and concepts. Things that make you sit back and wonder, things that make you laugh, things that make you think, and often things that cause a few tears to well up in your eyes. TED is a whirlwind of intellect, wit and humanity. It is regular people sharing amazing ideas. How could I, everyday me, come up with something TED worthy?
While at TEDxOmaha I was introduced to so many amazing speakers, one of them a friend. You can see all of the TEDxOmaha videos of the speakers I watched too. During the breaks I ran into old friends, made new friends and was thrilled to see several people I met during our homeschool co op. I was in my element, with like-minded people, and maybe even some not so like-minded people I could learn from. It was welcoming and overwhelming all at the same time.
This is my friend Ferial Pearson speaking about the Secret Kindness Agents.
Photo by Bryce Bridges; Creative Commons license.
We also were introduced to Kenneth Be, who reminded us to hang out in the quieter side of life.
Photo by Bryce Bridges; Creative Commons license.
And one that really spoke to the wonder inside me, Kaitlyn Hova gave us a taste of Synesthesia.
Photo by Bryce Bridges; Creative Commons license.
Then, you have me and the other members of the audience. I’m in the deep rose shirt with lace sleeves there on the left (that’s my niece Jesse next to me. Hi Jess!)
Photo by Bryce Bridges; Creative Commons license.
We’re sitting here listening to these amazing speakers tell their stories. Was I the only one wondering, what ideas would I share? The inner voice speaking to me, telling me, you’re just a stay at home, homeschooling mom who blogs, you don’t have a story to tell. When I hush that voice, and really start digging into who I am, not just what I am, I realize, I do have a story to tell. It may never make it to a TED Talk, and I may never feel that I have the courage to speak about it, but I do have something to share.
Sharing. That’s what I do. By nature I’m an information collector, it’s one of the reasons I blog. I have journals upon journals of my own thoughts, favorite poems, favorite quotes, ideas, lists of things, recipes, and more. I love to collect information! I’m a lifetime student and I’d have 20 PhD’s if I had the time and money. Not only do I love to collect this information, but I love to share it. It’s no wonder I’ve spend much of my life coaching others, educating others and even blogging. These are all ways for me to share the information I’ve collected.
Maybe someday I’ll have something more fascinating to share at a TED Talk, maybe I won’t. Maybe I’ll make an amazing discovery or have a fantastic idea on a way to improve the lives of so many other people! Or maybe, I’ll just keep doing what I’m doing. Sharing my collected information with others to improve the life of people one person at a time, giving them information customized for their needs and/or wants. I’m not the only person who shares this information, but it’s what I do. That’s why I’m sharing it with you.
What ideas do you find worth sharing? Tell me in the comments.
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