Who’s TED?

My infatuation with TED talks only started about a year ago when a friend helped me analyse how I was spending my travelling time.
At that stage I was travelling 110kms everyday to get to and from work. The only thing that kept me sane Or should I say, “relatively sane”) was music. A memory stick full of my favorite songs kept me singing along (probably badly) and kept my mind off the hassle of long distance commuting.
One evening I was visiting friends for dinner (pretty sure I was complaining about commuting, and time and feeling overwhelmed and dumb and limited) when Luke asked me what I listened to in the car. “Music, naturally! I live in the lyrics” I quipped. He suggested in a very simple way “why not consider something more engaging, a language course, audio book or audio course?”

My immediate reaction was No! I couldn’t give up my music! But thankfully the idea grew on me and I started investigating what was out there. After trying a few different alleys, I came across TED talks, which I’d known about but which were never readily accessible unless you had uncapped internet. To my utmost joy, I found out they were downloadable. Problem = Solved.
I very quickly accumulated over 200 talks on my memory stick, popping up in-between my favorite songs. It has been a fascinating journey of revelation, inspiration, soul searching, admiration, laughter, analysing and absorbing. The talks cover a huge range of topics, and just about everything else in-between.
TED started way back in 1984 as a conference where Technology, Entertainment and Design converged. They’ve grown a bit since then, and now boast 1000’s of talks (all under 18 minutes) on just about every conceivable topic. Their motto “ideas worth spreading” pretty much sums up their mission in three simple, yet perfect words. Amazingly enough, in our commercial times, they are still a non-profit.
TEDx, is based directly on the TED talks, but for people who want to bring “ideas worth spreading’’ to their local communities.

Enter TEDx Pretoria.

So, I my naivety, I thought that attending TED talks was like having tea with the queen. You needed to be rich (definitely not me) seriously clever (also not me) or you had to be someone famous. And then, by chance, I saw a post on Facebook for TEDx Pretoria.
I hopped onto their website, pretty sure I wouldn’t meet the financial or IQ requirements to gain entrance. Only to find that tickets were affordable, and available to the general public. Holy cow I was stoked!

I arrived on the day, not too sure what to expect. I’d read the speaker line up, and there were some interesting sounding talks, but sometimes things that sound interesting, don’t actually turn out to be. Needless to say, I was blown away. I chose to attend alone, and spent a good deal of my time people watching (a favorite pastime) and although I didn’t have anyone I could elbow and grin at when in agreement with a speaker or idea, I didn’t feel alone in the crowd (as an introvert, something that I often feel acutely). I spent the day amidst some 300 other attendees, lost in a world of ideas and thoughts, inspiration and enthusiasm.

By the end of the day, we were family, we’d been through the excitement and nerves, the message and the power the speakers portrayed, and we were bound by that.

I couldn’t recommend a TEDx conference enough, to anyone who wants to expand their brain, learn, explore and think. Do it! We need more thinkers in this world.

And if you can’t attend a TEDx conference, watch a talk (or ten) they’re just insanely awesome. Here’s five of my favorites:

Do What You Like, Like What You Do: Bert Jacobs at TEDx BeaconStreet

Success, failure and the drive to keep creating | Elizabeth Gilbert

Neil Pasricha: The 3 A’s of awesome

Grit: the power of passion and perseverance | Angela Lee Duckworth

Bobby McFerrin Demonstrates the Power of the Pentatonic Scale