TEDx Tampa Bay Recap

My last post was written in anticipation of attending TEDxTampaBay. Not only did I get a chance to go to this amazing event, I actually got to help out the organizers for the day!

Sylvia Landis and I manned the registration table and tweeted about the event while watching the Talks live and via live stream.

The presenters were all amazing, I can’t wait until TED has had a chance to review them and they are available on the internet.

Michelle Mallot of How Do You Innovate spent time throughout the day working on amazing pictorial representations of the Talks.

I had some neat surprises… The first being, not only was a friend attending the event, they also sponsored it and did the awesome graphics! To get in touch with them, check out Museum.

The City of Tampa’s first official Poet Laureate, James E. Tokley Sr. gave the final Talk of the day.

Not being a Tampa native, I had no idea that he wrote the gargantuan poem “Leviathan” seen in Downtown Tampa. It is also the largest poem ever produced and posted in the history of the world! Impressive, I’d say.

The message that really stood out to me is one that I’ve been hearing a lot lately: Stop being fearful and insecure. As a child, I wandered up to strangers and would chat up any adult that would listen. As I’ve gotten older, I’ve become less and less confident starting the conversation. The more I learn about life, the world I live in seems scarier and scarier. The gentle reminder that each of the speakers gave me in their own way was exactly what I needed, life is not something to be afraid of.

Some more comprehensive recaps:

TEDx Tampa Bay: Happiness is the Key – Peter Radizeski

TEDx Tampa Bay Thought Provoking and Inspiring – Team Duct Tape

The seeds of success found in failures – Richard Mullins

I was too busy to get any pictures myself, photo credit TEDxTampaBay Flickr. More pics there, too.