Whether at work or at home, sometimes my most important job is getting out of the way.
I often say that my kids stand up because I fall down. Recently, my son confirmed this: After a long day of work including an evening event, I arrived home to find my youngest child finishing his homework sitting on my bed.
I joined him but failed to keep my eyes open. When I awoke, I learned that his 11-year-old brother had not only put the 8-year-old to bed and taken out the dog, the two had also put away the $200 worth of groceries I had picked up on the way home and left in the car.
I am blessed indeed.
I am equally blessed at work to be surrounded by an inspired incredible team of volunteers, board members, part-time help, interns and one colleague, Charisse Bennett. Charisse led us all to a memorable and magical TEDxCreativeCoast event at the Jepson last Friday, and more than 100 emails, posts and tweets have flooded the Creative Coast office with thanks and praise ever since.
Just in case TED.com has not found its way to your favorites yet, TED is more than an online platform for ideas. The concept kicked off in 1984 with a conference where technology, entertainment and design converged.
There, Nicholas Negroponte, founder of MIT’s pre-eminent computer science laboratory for new media and human-computer interface, made five impressive predictions about technology.
Since then, the likes of Bill Clinton and Bill Gates have taken the stage to address prestigious invitation-only audiences filled with today’s top educators, entrepreneurs, business leaders and world changers.
Thirty years later, TED now holds numerous conferences around the globe and provides licenses for TEDx events in hundreds of communities. TEDxCreativeCoast has run successfully for five years, and fans are already clamoring for 2015.
I observed on Thursday night that even if the event were cancelled last minute, the process would have been worth it.
The Creative Coast believes strongly in connections, growth and collaboration. In the months leading up to the event, I was delighted to see more than 75 people stretch themselves to submit excellent applications for the 15 spots. I watched speakers blossom, friendships form and genius emerge.
Emcee Andrew Davies described this year’s theme as “combining the dichotomy of slow evolution with abrupt revolution we have R/Evolution.”
This truly awe-inspiring day had plenty of advice to offer from both our live presenters as well as the required ted.com videos.
Entrepreneur and entertainer Jody Espina borrowed from Guy Kawasaki to advise, “Don’t worry, be crappy.”
“Love what your body can do, not what it looks like,” encouraged Camilla Meshiea.
“…life is a lot more than collecting things and getting from point A to B very quickly” said ShareSavannah’s Kevin Klinkenberg.
Ugochukwu (Francis) Okenchukwa shared my personal favorite, “Ambition is the road to success. Perseverance is the vehicle you arrive in.”
Librarian Melanie Florencio illustrated the importance of maker spaces and highlighted the transition of libraries from places where content is consumed to where it is created.
Educator Jaime McGrath informed us that music makes better people and better learners. Also, he demonstrated how “growing gardens grows character.”
Similarly, on screen Ron Finley warned, “If you ain’t a gardener, you ain’t a gangster” as he encouraged us to make our shovel the weapon of choice and instructed, “Growing your own food is like printing your own money.”
We were challenged.
Eva Bowman taught us to question, “How do I want my half of this conversation to go?”
Harry Delorme, Telfair’s senior curator of education, reminisced of a favorite exhibit asking, “How many times do you hear people cheering in a museum?”
We were entertained.
Banker Mike English took the stage with his guitar and musical partner Rachelle Abney, aka Sister Ray Ray, on the harmonica to jam out to an elated house after lunch. They demonstrated how music brings together very different people. Robyn Richardson sang a few notes, and Espina closed out the day on his saxophone.
We played “Personal Bingo” to get to know each other, debated favorites during long coffee breaks and enjoyed the retweets in Boston, Cincinnati and beyond. eThree Media, who handled the video work and live stream, reached 4,086 people on a Facebook post about TEDxCreativeCoast.
All in all, lives were changed. Indeed, sometimes leadership is getting out of the way.
Bea Wray is the executive director of The Creative Coast, a not-for-profit organization that promotes the creative and entrepreneurial community within the region. Bea can be reached at 912-447-8457 or bea@thecreativecoast.org
By Bea Wray