Whatever You Do Be Full Out: 3 Simple Things I Learned at TEDxCincy

Yesterday, I attended TEDxCincy. TEDx events are a branch off from the http://www.ted.com/ site where each week great thinkers and speakers share talks on their area of expertise. The topics run the gamut from author Chimamanda Adichie: The danger of a single story
and Dan Barber: How I fell in love with a fish to this crazy Dutch dude who builds beach creatures.  The idea is that ideas matter, no matter the field.

So yesterday in Cincy, some leading thinkers of the area got together and organized a TEDx event. The speakers were fantastic. And the show SOLD OUT! Congrats Cincy on being a progressive city. There were many inspirations from so many great speakers. But it's hard to take back everything and apply it. So I'll grab just three ideas and see if I can make those stick to my life, my work, my day-to-day existence.

Here are some Ideas Worth Spreading:

1. Create Safe Spaces

Mary Pierce Brosmer, poet and founder of Women Writing for (a) Change, said it much more eloquently but her idea was to embrace the feminine of our nature and not go against the grain. One of her students once told her, "High school was my Vietnam, your classroom was my oasis." Her idea was to foster creativity in positive ways. To create safe spaces that help creativity grow.


2. People Not Projects

Ben Nicholson, creative director at Lightborn studios was a phenomenal speaker and his talk was on, of all things... love. His point was to create space in your life for positive things. There is only so much space and time. Cut out things like horror flicks that create fear and waste time. His equation was Love = % fear/time. Be about people not projects. Recognize conflict and step into it to build new relationships. Create beauty and art and quality in everything you do.

3. Be Optomistic

Dave Knox, currently with Rockfish Interactive, and Claire Thompson, a student gave very different talks. But what radiated from them both was hope and optimism. One of the early speakers, Dr. Victor Garcia provided a lot of insights on crime in Cincy and painted a negative picture. Ugh. We knew that already. We read the papers, posts. Dave Knox came on and told us about what we're doing right. Cincy is this hub of creativity, a hot spot bigger than LA, on par with NYC and Atlanta. According to Entrepreneur magazine, we've got more top universities for creativity than any other area. Claire Thompson is a student and artist who almost lost her sight. She didn't give up and even won a spot in a Good Morning America in a design contest. Optimism is contagious. Pass it on.

Bonus Takeaway: Life is a Party

Joe Rigotti, party planner, gave a short, great piece set to party music with disco balls for emphasis. He encourages us to enjoy life and find reasons to celebrate. Anything can be a reason for a party. Like a wise man once said, "Party On." Great words to live by.

Thanks again to TEDxCincy organizers for putting on a terrific event that showcases our progressive city.

What blew your mind or what insight is shaping your day today?