Generally our summer plans include a trip out of the country, and the experiences of discovering new people and places offer a good dose of adventure and inspiration. We all benefit from the opportunity to step away from our routines and return home with fresh ideas. This year, though we ventured out of the state, our schedules and family commitments meant staying closer to home. I found myself missing the adventure and was reminded of this while watching the trailer for the upcoming film Eat Pray Love where Julia Roberts exclaims, “I want to marvel at something!” If you read the book, you know she did just that, as she traveled the globe.
Well, here I sit in the middle of one of the most beautiful cities in the world. What am I doing thinking that it’s only elsewhere where I might find something marvelous?
How do you see your own backyard with a fresh perspective? Mix it up. This week, I did just that – not intentionally, but by chance. I found myself crossing the Golden Gate Bridge, heading up to the very top of the hill in Tiburon for an afternoon meeting. The views, the bay, the fog, the gorgeous home, the conversation, the gracious host - everything about the afternoon was a big departure from my office routine. I looked at my city from across the bay and marveled. That energy has stayed with me all week and just thinking about the experience as I write this, I am inspired to look for inspiration and a fresh perspective in the week ahead.
And here’s my take-away for all of you event producers out there: when you’re planning a meeting or event in a venue that’s both familiar and often used, take this approach to energize your guests. Stage the room differently, turn the agenda upside down, change the lighting – you get the idea. Mix it up. People will take notice.
What other event gets teenagers out of bed at the crack of dawn during summer vacation, prompts grown men to cry, and brings together 204 nations in fair-minded competition? With 715 million people are expected to tune into the final World Cup match (compared to 106 Million for our Football game aka The Super Bowl), it is clearly the most important sporting event anywhere. The Wilsonwest Team has had the privilege to be a part of the World Cup at Stanford (1994), in Paris when France reigned supreme (1998), and most recently in Berlin (2006). As an event producer, I have never seen more spectacle and frenzy. You can truly feel (and hear) it in the air!
This year, since we’re not in the center of it all, I have been observing from afar and wondering what lessons we might we learn from World Cup where aside from a few bad referee calls and temper tantrums, the world’s drama is played out fairly on a stage of grass. What if we could channel that energy to take on some the planet’s biggest challenges? This would certainly be a call to action for social media experts – mobilize people all over the world to stop and focus their energy, time and even money on just one thing – even if it’s for only the 15 minutes allotted during half time. What if we could create a competition that is as exciting as the one played out on the field? With all the eyes of the world focused on such a venture, would it not be an opportunity of a lifetime?
Seth Godin never ceases to amaze, impress, inspire, and otherwise get you off your seat. This time, it’s with the publication of an e-book entitled What Matters Now drawing upon the wisdom of the wise ones of our day – people we should all be paying attention to. Each short essay is centered around a word and an idea that matters now. You can download it here.
Seth encourages us to share the book and with his prompting, I have added a word of mine to the list…
Everything moves so quickly now. Is there time for the elegance of grace? Please tell me that it’s not forgotten. With grace, one moves easily, seemingly unhurried – yet traveling with the greatest of ease. This ease of motion has a calming effect upon others. Your movement appears effortless and refined.
Acting with grace bestows respect upon the tasks you are performing and the people you engage. It is pleasing to all and generous in spirit. Powerful yet humble by nature, a graceful act inspires others.
Is there time for grace? Yes, I argue. Grace in its seemingly effortless beauty is timeless and is what matters now.
It’s easy to go back to school these days given the amazingly rich content available to all of us on the web. I schedule a class a couple of times a week and tune into TED Talks, webinars, and conferences from the comfort of my office. In my quest to become more savvy about social media and real-time web, this morning I tuned into LeWeb ’09, a tech conference (and much more) held annually in Paris and attended by thousands.
I loved Chris Pirillo’s talk and his notion that community requires tools that CANNOT be built – notably SPIRIT. Nope, can’t build a spirit tool – that comes from within. Build a community he argues? Nope, they build themselves from within. That resonated with me as I have been searching for a little more soul in my social media.
Do you agree with Chris’s notion?
Watch/listen to Chris and then tell me what you think in the Comments Section of this post. I look forward to our conversation.
otherwise get you off your seat. This time, it’s with the publication of an e-book entitled 
