The buzz of the conference is over. The excitement and energy have faded. A few questions remain. What did I learn? How will it help me? How will it help others? What will I now do differently?
Well first of all. TEDxFrankfurt was a great success. A great opening from Simon Anholt. An outlandish demo from Greg Gage (even if it was verging on animal cruelty). A perfect ending from Benita Matofska.
It was refreshing to see Simon ask “What happens when the whole world votes?” Well, you can find the answer on the Global Vote website. With a globalised economy we are interdependent. Now more than ever before. Our decisions affect others and their decisions us. So why do we still use a voting system which is optimised for an us vs them attitude.
The real question is “Are you looking inwards and backwards?” Unfortunately probably too many people are. That’s likely because they find comfort there. The better alternative is the challenge “Are you looking outwards and forwards?”
MarieMarie serenaded us at the break, the subtle tones of the harp in sharp contrast to the shrieks from Greg’s talk. It really was needed to calm the nerves. Greg was there with his do it yourself kit to get kids interested in neuroscience. If you’re interested in what he did then look at his previous TED talk here or his experiment here.
The event closed with the “Secret of the Sharing Economy” Benita delivered her plea for us to share more. She listed the benefits both financially and environmentally. Check out more here. But she took it a step further to the emotional level:
“When you trust someone, something wonderful can happen”
So, how do I look outwards and forwards? How do I trust someone so that something wonderful can happen?
These are very interesting questions to ponder. Especially as I was fortunate enough to be watching the event live. There seemed to be a certain amount of irony. World class speakers wanting to change the world. But the audience in a comfortable bubble, a 5 star hotel.
These events are inspirational, but they need to inspire real action. The energy in the room was great. But will we as the audience remain passive. We shouldn’t attend such talks just to sit back and relax.
So, what about outwards and forwards, what about making something wonderful happen for someone else?
Well, I thought about it and found an answer. It’s time I shared some of my money. Time to trust a budding entrepreneur who needs some support. So I made some more loans on Kiva. It’s not a donation, it’s loan, it’s a massive enabler. It’s helping to kick start something special.
https://www.kiva.org/lender/leadtechie
“When you trust someone, something wonderful can happen” I hope in a few months these businesses will be starting up. They will be giving meaningful work to the entrepreneur. They will be helping their local communities.
Thank you Simon and Benita. For the inspiration. For reminding me to look outwards and forwards and to trust someone.
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