Here is a different take on Marvin Gaye’s classic “What’s Going On”.
It is a "Song Around The World" recording by Playing For Change.
It starts with an acoustic guitar in Africa, adds a drummer in Los Angeles. Next comes the electric guitar and bass on the streets of Chicago and strings in Serbia. You get the picture …
Now listen to the music.
Years in the making, minutes to watch. Very cool.
This Song Around The World is featured on PFC3. The album features 185 musicians from 31 countries.
“We live in a world awash of information, but we seem to face a growing scarcity of wisdom,” states Maria Popova, Founder of the website Brain Pickings.
She believes that stories—in the broadest sense of the word—shape the meaning and momentum of everyday life.
via YouTube.
Stories will never die, but the ways we tell them are changing.
Interesting.
“We live in a world awash of information, but we seem to face a growing scarcity of wisdom,” states Maria Popova, Founder of the website Brain Pickings.
She believes that stories—in the broadest sense of the word—shape the meaning and momentum of everyday life.
via YouTube.
Stories will never die, but the ways we tell them are changing.
Interesting.
To use an athletic analogy, a normal speech and a TED Talk are totally different events (like a sprint vs the decathlon). It takes a surprisingly different set of skills and type of preparation to perform well.
I've given hundreds of presentations, and don't normally stress about them. I did for this one.
In most of my talks, there is very little "set in stone" to memorize. I tend to have a main topic (or theme), and each slide serves like a module … and I think, talk, interact, and improvise throughout the framework.
This works well for me because I tend to think in anecdotes that branch out from the main theme. That may be a great skill to have, but it's not one that helps you write a good TED Talk.
Why? Because, in contrast, a TED Talk is really about "one idea worth sharing".
In many respects, it's much harder to write and deliver a good 10 minutes about one idea, than it is to prepare to talk about a much broader topic for one hour.
The TEDx committee created a sense of formality with stringent standards and deadlines. My guess is that, during the planning and rehearsal process, they wanted uncomfortable speakers to provoke better speeches.
As a result, I prepared (and threw away) four separate talks before coming up with something that felt right and flowed properly.
Here are some bullet points that highlight lessons learned.
I didn't realize how hard it was to make something simple.
The video should be ready next week.
EDIT: Here it is:
TED Talks are pretty well-know for their quality. So, I was understandably excited (nervous, even) about presenting at the TEDx Plano Conference this past weekend.
It was fun (in the way that preparing for a marathon is "fun").
For example, in the days leading up to the event, I would give it to the unsuspecting people who chose to use the StairMaster next to me. It seemed like a good way to practice with my heart rate up.
I also gave it one-on-one to employees. Why? Because it gave me extra practice runs, and I got to experiment with different variations to gauge responses.
How did it go? The speech, itself, went pretty well … Though it is hard to believe how much work goes into something so fleeting. I guess that is why they have video.
They filmed it with a professional multi-camera crew. At this point, I still have no idea how long it takes for them to edit it and then put it online. I will let you know when I get the link.
By the way, my topic was "The Time Value of a Life Worth Living — An entrepreneur's reflections on not letting life get in the way." It is about a year that brought my Dad's death, the forced sale of my company by venture capitalists, and a divorce (in that order). Sometimes, life's darkest days bring the greatest gifts … if you are willing to look for them.
Next week, I'll write about what it is like to prepare for a TED Talk, and what I believe are some of the key differences from traditional presentations.
EDIT: Here's the video:
Here is a Dilbert-style parody of how a corporate team uses an expert.
What happens when people don't have a clue about problem solving (or 'definition'), realistic goal setting, or practical reality?
You end up with ridiculous tasks that are literally impossible. And that's exactly what "The Expert" nails perfectly.
Funny (and sometimes too true).
As the Olympics ended, I saw something that caught my eye … and speaks to a wider audience.
It was an interview with astronaut, Chris Hadfield. In it, he talks about life, the universe, and what’s really out there.
One of the noteworthy points is not to focus solely on the finish line.
If you view crossing the finish line as the measure of your life, you’re setting yourself up for a personal disaster.
There are very very very few people who win gold at the Olympics. And if you say, ‘if I don’t win gold then I’m a failure or I’ve let somebody down or something,’ … What if you win a silver? What if you win a bronze? What if you come fourth? What if your binding comes apart? … What if all of those millions of things that happen in life happen?
Only a few people that go there are going to win gold. And it’s the same, in some degree, I think in commanding a spaceship or doing a spacewalk. It is a very rare, singular moment-in-time event in the continuum of life.
And you need to honor the highs and the peaks in the moments — you need to prepare your life for them — but recognize the fact that the preparation for those moments is your life and, in fact, that’s the richness of your life.
The challenge that we set for each other, and the way that we shape ourselves to rise to that challenge, is life.
Here is the video.
Focusing on the finish line can be tough, even if you win.
Let's say you set a big goal (for example: winning a gold medal, playing in the Super Bowl, IPOing your company, making a billion dollars, etc.). Achieving a goal like that is often anti-climactic. Why, because what's next? Was that the high point … and everything else is down-hill from there?"
Instead, focus on the process, the growth, and what it makes possible. That is where you will likely find the energy and motivation to find more ways to win and a bigger future.
What do you think?
If you want more Chris Hadfield, here is something.
