When I first sparked the idea that I should give a TED type presentation, I initially thought, “How would I ever get picked to do one? What am I famous for? Who would listen to me?” I decided to consult the TED site for guidance.
According to their website, TED is a nonprofit devoted to “Ideas Worth Spreading” - through TED.com, their annual conferences, their annual TED Prize and local TEDx events.
I have been a longtime listener to TED Talks; introduced by many friends to their site; and the idea intrigued me. A site dedicated to the free exchange of ideas. That’s right. TED is a non-profit, and none of the presenters are paid for their presentations. They do that so people focus on the message, not thinking someone is trying to sell them something.
Once I found that out I thought, “I can do this! I have been performing for free for years as a musician in LA.” ( A sobering thought). But really, I started to think, it’s all about the idea, not how famous or profound you are. I am an artist and I have something to say. I also knew that I am indeed an expert. According to Malcolm Gladwell, you need to spend over 10,000 hours, roughly 10 years or more, dedicated to practice in any particular field to master it. I have spent much longer than that perfecting my musical craft, so I had no reason not to pursue my dream of presenting a TED type talk.
I started doing preliminary research and remembered that there are many roads to TED and TED.com, one of which being TEDx local events. These are TED talks that are given all around the world, on a smaller scale, by independent producers that obtain a TED license. I figured this would be my best shot, and I was going to try and pitch my idea to them. I sent out four or five solid pitches to different TEDx events being held in America, after reviewing all the requirements and themes for the presentations. At the time, I wanted to be able to speak and present my music. I had seen some musical performances on TED and thought since that was the field I had the most expertise and content, it would make the most logical choice for submission. So, I sent all my emails out and then waited.
A few months went by, and I had long forgot that I had even submitted for any TEDx talks, when, while in Texas for Christmas Vacation in 2013, I received an email from the organizers of TEDx Napa Valley indicating they wanted me to come and perform for their audience that following Spring. When I told my Mom and my bandmates (Tony Hampton and Luis Narino of Noble Creatures) they were really thrilled for me, as they knew my hard work and perseverance had paid off.
When I got back to LA a few days later, I had emails with more forms to sign; and conference calls to solidify schedules, lodging, and logistics in the months to come.
Finally at the end of March 2014, we make our assent from LA to Napa for the dress rehearsal and the show. After some light technical difficulties in the run-through, we were whisked a way to a speaker dinner, where I got to rub shoulders with VIP guests, and fellow speakers, in between sips of wine from Clos de Val winery.
The next day, it was show time. We got there early to make sure everything was ready, went through sound check and were told to go to the dressing room for make-up (this is the big time boys). After a few minutes of primping I was ready. I went out into the main room to watch a few of the speakers, and was eventually told by one of the assistants to head to the back; I would be going on next.
It is hard to explain what happened exactly when I hit the stage, but in my mind all I could think was, “It’s go time. Don’t mess up. You got this.”
We hit the first note and from then on it was smooth sailing. The audience was engaged and interactive. I had time in between my two songs to address the audience, explain my thoughts about music, and what I wanted to say as an artist. It was a dream fulfilled; and it never would have happen if I did not shake of the negative thoughts and just go for it. It also would not have happened without these five TED.com videos below that inspired ME to want to do my own. TED really does have ideas worth spreading, and I continue to keep reviewing content on their site periodically to keep being inspired by the great work that they do.
For more pics from my wonderful TEDx experience in Napa click here. Also more on TEDx Napa at www.tedxnapavalley.org. More on TED at www.TED.com.
Do you have any favorite TED Talks you would like to share? Feel free to comment and post your thoughts and links. We would love to read and watch them.