If you had 18 minutes to talk about changing the world … about the idea that keeps you up nights … about the fire in your belly that water won’t quit …
What is it? What’s the thing that moves you?
Think about it. We’ll get back to it in about 350 words.
So, here’s a thing that happened while I was out of town last week.
According to the website:
TED is a nonprofit devoted to Ideas Worth Spreading. It started out (in 1984) as a conference bringing together people from three worlds: Technology, Entertainment, Design. Since then its scope has become ever broader.
Along with two annual conferences — the TED Conference in Long Beach and Palm Springs each spring, and the TEDGlobal conference in Edinburgh UK each summer — TED includes the award-winning TEDTalks video site, the Open Translation Project and TED Conversations, the inspiring TED Fellows and TEDx programs, and the annual TED Prize.
The two annual TED conferences, in Long Beach/Palm Springs and Edinburgh, Scotland, bring together the world’s most fascinating thinkers and doers, who are challenged to give the talk of their lives (in 18 minutes or less).
Our mission: Spreading ideas.
We believe passionately in the power of ideas to change attitudes, lives and ultimately, the world. So we’re building here a clearinghouse that offers free knowledge and inspiration from the world’s most inspired thinkers, and also a community of curious souls to engage with ideas and each other.
I’ve been familiar with TED talks for several years. They have a killer iPad app that makes it very easy to watch talks.
Then, some fine folks got together with the Reynolds Journalism Institute at The University of Missouri and decided to put on a regional program here in Columbia. In case you don’t know, we’ve got quite a prestigious J School here.
So, umm, I applied to speak at their inaugural event on April 14.
And, umm, I was their first speaker selected. 
With their blessing, I’m going to be blogging about my talk preparation occasionally over the next two months.
I’m going to speak about what my son – with the communication disorder – has taught me – a communications professional – about communication.
Yep. It’s exciting.
But let me ask you this:
If you had 18 minutes to talk about changing the world … about the idea that keeps you up nights … about the fire in your belly that water won’t quit …
What is it? What’s the thing that moves you?
Tell us.
We’ve never needed you more than we do today.
For starters, congratulations Tim! I love getting the Daily Blur every morning. When it generates that in box “ding” for this early riser, it’s just like the old days when the Statesman paper would announce its arrival on the porch with a loud “thwack!” What a terrific honor to be selected to speak at TedX. They are lucky to have you!
So…if I had 18 minutes to change the world, I’d like to see a more compassionate mindset for dealing with people who suffer with substance abuse issues. Maybe if we treated people dealing with addiction issues with more like sick people and less like criminals–and if we put our resources more into treatement and less into the long arm of the law–well, maybe we’d have fewer people abusing drugs and alcohol. Y’know, I’m no doctor, but that’s what I think.
Or maybe I would address the sad state of what passes for political discourse in this country. As someone who spent time on the Georgetown High School debate team, it shocks me how low we can go…how completely juvenile things have gotten. Whither Socrates? (or should that be “wither?”)
And while I’m no teacher either–but my mom was for 30 years–perhaps I would advance the most passionate argument I could muster for giving every public school teacher in the country a substantial pay raise.
Normally I read and move on with my day.. but i had to write on this one. If I had 18 minutes. AND thought I could change the world.. I would speak on attitude. I grew up every poor, with a bi-polar mother who married 4 times in my childhood. I moved from South Georgia to Illinois at 16 (2 days before Christmas) in with a new step dad, 3 step sisters, and a step brother I’d never met. I was the product of a one night stand between my mother and the high school rebel. My childhood wasn’t a rosy picture. I could have drown myself in tears, went into the system, lived the way I was raised, and never thought anything about it. The difference between me and the millions of other children that grew up hard… is my attitude. I am not writing this for anyone to say “good job” or to feel sorry for me. I want everyone to understand that you can do anything in this world you want to with the right attitude!
K –
It was extraordinarily brave of you to share this. I think you rock. Thanks for sharing! I can’t wait to read your book. : )