If you happened to come by our offices in the Murphy building this most recent First Friday, you may have noticed a bit of a party going on.
Over two hundred visitors. DJ Kyle Long in the house, y’all. Yeah, it’s hard for us to say that with a straight face. But that’s okay. We’re not straight-faced kind of people. We like to mix things up a bit.
And that, in fact, is what we were getting up to with all that ruckus. Hosting a gathering, on behalf of TEDxIndianapolis, where anyone with an interest could survey the topics submitted by prospective speakers and vote for their favorites. A chance for the Indianapolis community to have its say and, at the same time, to create a little excitement about the October 21 event.
And why were we doing this? Not only because we love hanging around with DJs and rubbing elbows with all kinds of interesting people. (Although sure, we do.)
Beyond that, Well Done Marketing happens to be a TEDxIndianapolis Presenting Sponsor. We’ve committed over one hundred hours to helping plan and coordinate the event. We’ve created a sleek new website designed not just to capture interest, but also to connect the [TEDxIndianapolis] community. So, yeah; we’re maybe a little more involved than just being the people who hired the DJ.
Think about the kind of person who shows up at a TEDx event. Chances are, that person is:
- Curious
- Thoughtful
- Social
- Passionate
- Just slightly off-kilter. But in a good way.
And remember, the whole concept behind TED is “Ideas Worth Spreading.” Moving change from the mind of one person into the minds of thousands. Creating dialogue and sparking projects.
You hear so much talk about these days about position. Stance. Holding ground. Carving out a niche. That’s fine. It’s useful to know where you live and what exactly you have to work with. But ask yourself, where would we be, exactly, without digression? Exploration? Openness to new ideas and challenging concepts?
There’s a time as well for trying out unfamiliar streets, a kind of grace to making peace with dead-ends. “Man’s real home is not a house, but the Road,” Bruce Chatwin writes, of the trails in Tibet. “Life itself,” he continues, “is a journey to be walked on foot.” No journey is without its risks, and no adventure complete without its full complement of strangers.
TEDx people are the kind of people who have so much insightful stuff to say, so many game-changing initiatives to start, you hate to think that you’ll have to stop listening to them eventually and get back to work.
So what happens, we’re wondering, if we don’t draw that distinction? What happens if listening to TEDx and getting back to work are, actually, one and the same thing?
If you find us out there, flag us down. We’ll let you know how it’s going.