Genuine Insights

TEDxMIA Watch Party tonight at The Stage

TEDxMIA is one of a privileged number of TEDx organizations to be joining the global conversation being sparked by TED in Long Beach California. On March 2nd at 5.15pm ET. We will be hosting a mega watch party at The Stage in the Miami Design District. Attendees will be able to enjoy two sessions from TED 2011 : the Knowledge Revolution and Radical Collaboration.

We will also be tweeting and sharing the feedback on our website at TEDxMIA.com. Here’s to global tribes meeting locally !

Join our global conversation on twitter @tedxmia or http://tedxmia.com.

Posted Mar 2, 2011 Tagged under: events, fat brains, ideas and innovation, inspiration, places

Practical Genius Top 10 Lessons of 2010

1. Shut down.

The greatest lesson I’ve learned this year was the power of granting myself time for mental stillness. Carving out time to shut down for 30 minutes and tune inward does small wonders to sustain a healthy mind. Turn off the television, radio, and hand-held devices and allow yourself to physically and mentally chill. What you will quickly notice after doing this for 10 consecutive days is you will be sharper because of it. Solutions to problems will take shape in your mind, new ideas will reveal themselves, and you will also begin to enjoy greater intuitiveness. Remember, in order for your mind to create meaning it needs meaningful rest.

2. Find what you LOVE.

One of the greatest aspects of self-discovery is finding what you love. Many of us have ignored the yummy places within our hearts and minds and I have learned that if you commit to finding what you love and decide to make love to it, life as you know it changes. Ask yourself: what do you love? Is it innovation, fitness, technology, dancing, literature, travel, discovery, ideation, the environment or something as simple as food. What ever “it” may be, find “it”, act upon “it” and honor your love of “it” by investing the time to explore and enjoy “it.” As with all matters of the heart, you will know it when you find “it.”

3. Change it up.

Change is powerful and not as hard you think it is. This year I changed how I managed my time and what happened was life on every level began to change because of the direct impact of just shifting one particular aspect of it. So I want you to change it up a bit. This could mean changing how you manage your time, changing the furniture in your family room or changing what you eat – or even when you eat. It doesn’t matter which slice of your life you decide to change, just pick one aspect and commit to making the shift. When you commit to it, a domino effect for the better will happen. I promise, its powerful.

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Posted Dec 28, 2010 Tagged under: inspiration, lists, reflection

Miami, where Global Tribes Meet

When you decide to take on a challenge as great as attempting to replicate one of the country’s leading gathering experiences (a TED conference) you really have to equip yourself with the right combination of scuba tanks, gear and dive buddies for the deep-dive experience that is the production of a TEDx event. This past week a group of amazing minds all based in Miami accomplished what many thought wasn’t possible for our great city.

Viewing the experience as a truly explorative journey, our quest was to celebrate not the obvious success of Miami’s cultural diversity but to experience the diversity of ideas and innovation that is being born in our back yards and rarely recognized. Basically, we wanted to “out” local genius and with the right due diligence, we identified eight fat brains who were willing to commit to the quest for excellence in content and delivery.

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Posted Nov 11, 2010 Tagged under: art and music, events, ideas and innovation, inspiration, networking, social media and technology

Top 5 Lessons I learned from Oprah

This past weekend I celebrated mother’s day with 6,000 women in attendance for O Magazine’s Live your Best Life Weekend and of all the lessons I learned from Oprah and her tribe which included my favorites, Martha Beck, Suze Orman, Adam Glassman and Nate Berkus, the following were the greatest insights.

1. Live boldly.

Not one but three of the speakers, including Elizabeth Gilbert, author of Eat, Pray Love all shared the importance and power of living boldly and I couldn’t agree more. In the last 15 months, I have taken risks, conquered fears and have realized the more chances I take, the bolder my life becomes and the bolder my life becomes the greater the rewards.

2. Fill your cup first before you fill the cup of others.

“Wow,” I thought to myself, as I listened to Oprah share this simple yet profound piece of advice at Radio City on Saturday night. Both men and women suffer from this but women are the biggest culprits.. Why is it that we take care of our mothers, our husbands, our children, our cats and dogs before we even begin to think about our own needs? Why, why, why? If I could stress one insight the most, it’s this one. Fill your cup first ladies. And remember you are really doing a disservice to everyone you love by continuing the role of sacrificial lamb, so stop.

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Posted May 11, 2010 Tagged under: inspiration, lists, motivation

What Matters Most

As we begin to prepare for 2010 i find myself thinking of what will matter most in my life, in my community and for the world over the next twelve months. Searching, writing and setting out my own futuristic projections i find comfort in knowing I am not alone with many of my crazy projections. Guru Seth Godin today posted what will probably be the greatest gift I will receive this season and for this i share it with all of you. He answered my question by bringing together more than 70 thinkers to inspire us all on what really matters. This saved my Monday morning and i hope it infects you with hope as it did for me. My favorite insights are: Neoteny, by Joichi Ito; World Healers by Martha Beck, Slow Capital by Fred Wilson and of course, Autonomy, by genius, Dan Pink.

DOWNLOAD THE FREE E-BOOK.

Posted Dec 14, 2009 Tagged under: inspiration