Let me start by confessing that I arrived late at the SLC. I missed the opening ceremonies and John Horn’s presentation. If you attended the conference, you do not have to tell me that I missed out on some really good stuff. Please, I do not want to hear it again. It just makes me hate myself even more for not getting my sh*t together on that day.
Having said that, I honestly felt like I did not miss that much because of the superfluous greatness of the workshops and talks that I was able to attend. Each speaker/workshop facilitator opened my eyes to see this wonderful world that had been waiting for me to explore. In my own Guinness Book of World Records, January 11, 2014 officially holds the record for the most number of epiphanies that I had in one day. I had so many that I eventually ended up writing down every word that the speaker said in order to keep up with all the light-bulb moments I was having. Here are my five most favourite ones:
From Darshan Soni’s “Social Media and National Tragedy: A Change in Our Perception of Events” workshop:
“We all make mistakes. But Social Media can frame those mistakes and display them infinitely.” -Darshan Soni
This is one of the many things that we already know, but do not take the time to think critically about every day. Most of us know that once we post something online, it cannot be deleted anymore. However, there are still a lot of us who do not really think before we tweet (or instagram, or reblog, or post a Facebook status).
From Mark Busse’s talk about the power of authenticity and vulnerability:
“Who you are is unique. What you’ve learned is not.” -Mark Busse
Mark Busse believes that to be able to obtain our dream job, and for employers to hire the right people, the first thing that we should talk about in job interviews is why we do what we do. He says that every person out there is talking about what they do or how they do it. So once we find the answer to why, and start talking about it, we stop being like everybody else; we become unique.
“Passion is not something you pursue. It is something that you produce. You participate in it.” -Mark Busse
“Most people–teachers, parents, friends, mentors–tell you to pursue your passion. I’m sorry to tell you this, but that is bullshit. Passion is a feeling. You don’t pursue it”, Mark said. I definitely agree with him on this one! Passion is a feeling, that’s a fact. So is it something that we pursue? I don’t think so. I don’t think humans have the ability to pursue emotions. (If there is a scientific study that suggests otherwise, please send me a link to it. I would love to know more about this kind of things!)
Just in case you’re wondering, I also do not believe that we can actually pursue happiness. I believe that happiness is a choice. It is a product of what we do. If we choose to be happy, we do and revel in the things that make us happy. We don’t pursue it.
But I digress. On to the next one!
From Waneek Horn-Miller’s talk during the closing ceremonies:
“Dig deep. Find that one reason that stops you from quitting” -Waneek Horn-Miller
Oftentimes we forget why we do what we do in the first place. We usually want to give up, forgetting how far we’ve come. Listening to Waneek Horn-Miller’s amazing life experiences and words of wisdom definitely made it easier for me to dig deep.
“You are only as powerful as the person next to you.” -Waneek Horn-Miller
Most favourite quote of the day! Waneek said that we are only as powerful as the people around us. If we empower other people, we, too, are empowered. It is SO true! I really admire how Waneek’s talk emphasized the idea that humanity and community can help us reach our infinity.
It was undoubtedly a day of discovering my infinite potential. SLC 2015, I’m patiently waiting for you!
Hi Sean,
A friend of mine found this blog post and pointed it out to me. I have to say, I am humbled that you thought my quote deserves a place on your top 5 list. The notion I have before I present anything is that; if I can invoke a big thought and engage at least one person, then my presentation has served its purpose.
The way you so accurately distilled the messages in presentations and noted them down on the spot, demonstrates the perfect conference delegate. Keep doing what you’re doing. It was wonderful facilitating a workshop for you! I also couldn’t agree more on that quote by Waneek: find the one reason that stops you from quitting 😀
Darshan
I am not so sure about demonstrating the “perfect conference delegate”, but I did what I could to seize the powerful moments of the conference. As a social media enthusiast, your words really spoke to me, so I decided to write them down! Thank you, too, Darshan! 🙂
nice quotes,
“Chase your dreams but always know the road that will lead you home again.”
thank you
I also really appreciate the words of Mark Busse; about how passion isn’t something you pursue. I think it has to do with the paradox of hedonism: happiness is like an ever receding rainbow, always out there for the taking, but never found by simply running directly towards it. I’ve always found happiness to be arrived at rather serendipitously, when I least expect it. But when it does come… there’s nothing quite like it. 🙂
I agree with you! Although I view happiness as more of a choice, I have to agree that our happiest moments come when we least expect them. And yes, there are definitely nothing like them! 🙂