Idea: a thought. An impression. An opinion. Sounds so small and unassuming. Quite the contrary if you ask the folks at TEDx Huntsville.

“We want to catalyze an entrepreneurial community in Huntsville; turn ideas into action,” TEDxHuntsville curator Amy Robinson told me.

A lofty goal, but one TEDx Huntsville seems poised to achieve at their 2012 conference, appropriately themed ‘Reignite.’ Audience members will hear from an impressive line up of local and internationally known speakers from a wide variety of disciplines including technology, entertainment, medicine, design and more. I spoke to several of this year’s speakers to give a better idea of what to expect from this year’s conference.

“We’re excited to create an environment where people who appreciate Ideas Worth Spreading can come together to discover spectacular innovations and hear inspiring stories,” says TEDxHuntsville Founder Everett Alexander.

About TEDx Huntsville

What exactly is TEDx Huntsville? You may have heard of TED, the nonprofit organization devoted to Ideas Worth Spreading. This annual conference invites the world’s leading thinkers and doers to speak for 18 minutes and their talks are then made available for free.

TEDx takes the idea of TED and brings it to local communities. This year’s TEDx Huntsville conference will be held on September 9th from 1 to 5 pm at Randolph School’s Thurber Arts Center. Click here to purchase your tickets. For those who can’t make it, I’ll be LIVE tweeting from the event. Just follow the hashtag #TEDxHSV.

Follow Your Passion

Idea Worth Spreading: Challenge, break and disrupt anything you can whenever you can. –Paul DeJoe, Ecquire

If there is one person who exemplifies the spirit of TEDx Huntsville’s 2012 conference and the word entrepreneur, I would say it’s Paul DeJoe, the CEO and co-founder of Ecquire, contact management software.  His advice for anyone unsure about following their passion was simple and straightforward.

“If you don’t follow your passion you will die with regrets.”

Seems easy enough if your company is doing fabulously, but what about those of us struggling and living on Ramon noodles?

“If you don’t do something your passionate about it will catch up with you and you’ll regret it. Do something you’re passionate about because it most likely will take 5-10 years and maybe beyond to achieve your goals. If you don’t love what you do and why you do it, it will show,” Paul countered.

And I had to agree with him. Even at this stage of my career, I’ve had several jobs each of which I’ve liked to varying degrees. But I LOVE my current job. I do not consider it a job. It is simply part of who I am. And this is what I believe Paul was talking about.

He also gave me a preview of his TEDx talk: How Huntsville can save the world. Intrigued? I know I am!

The Impossible

Idea Worth Spreading: The idea that YOU CAN! whatever needs doing or whatever one is passionate about can be accomplished. nothing is impossible. –Tasia Malakasis, Belle Chèvre

Another presenter that exemplifies the entrepreneurial spirit that TEDx hopes to inspire in others is Tasia Malakasis, owner and president of Belle Chevre. Her locally produced cheeses from Elkmont, Alabama, have become internationally known, garnered over multitudes of awards, and mentioned everywhere from The Today Show to Southern Living magazine to O! Magazine and countless others.

When I spoke with Tasia recently, I asked her what made her choose this particular career.

“My passion for food – eating, cooking, sharing, dining, entertaining,” she said. Clearly a wise choice. Perhaps a trend? That following your passion leads to success? Maybe TEDx is on to something here…

To her fellow would be entrepreneurs Tasia gives this advice, “make a plan and be adaptable and open to ‘accidents.'”

And to those who are struggling with the choice between following their passion and a more logical career, Tasia had these words of wisdom,” Go logical first, learn all you can, then follow your heart passionately, but with reason as a good friend.”

She also gave me a preview of her TEDx talk: Happy Accidents (how the best things in life happened NOT on purpose).

Think before you decide

Idea Worth Spreading: Psychological bias and how it creeps into the decisions we make every day. We are impacted by our mood, our past decisions, and the people with whom we associate, to name just a few. –Daniel Crosby, Incblot 

When I saw that my good friend Daniel Crosby was speaking for the 2nd year in a row at TEDx, I was thrilled. (In case you missed it, click here to see his rock star speech from last year’s TEDx and see why “You’re Not That Great.”)

I couldn’t wait to hear what Daniel would be doing to top this presentation from last year. And he did not disappoint. He had one word for me: helmet camera (ok that’s 2 words but who’s counting?)

“My presentation will involve a helmet camera. If you’ve always dreamed of a shrink teaching you about decisional bias while wearing a helmet camera, I can think of no finer place to be than TEDx Huntsville,” Daniel reported.

Nor can I Daniel! This awesomeness is why Daniel is THE man and why we’re friends. We also share the same Meyers-Briggs personality type, ENJF for those of you who are curious. Which I bring up because Daniel is an organizational psychologist and analyzed my personality test as part of the Connect Class we participated in together (and he wanted to kill me the 1st time we met).

Pause. You might be thinking, a what? Here’s how Daniel describes it: he helps companies select and develop exceptional people.

Which is fine and dandy but why does all that matter?

“At IncBlot we talk about ‘flooding the Earth with skills for living and leading.’ It’s my thought that there is a lot more connectivity between our work lives and personal lives than we realize. So, whenever I’m doing a corporate training I’m always trying to emphasize how these skills are also applicable to life outside the board room – say in cultivating a great marriage or being a good parent.”

Told you, Daniel is THE man.

Wait there’s more!

What other awesomeness awaits you at this year’s conference? How about Ashley Capps? You may have heard of a music fest he started… Bonnaroo. You’ll actually get the chance to meet him at the reception after all the speeches. If you like music even a little bit, the chance to chat with this guy alone is worth your ticket price.

For the more technically inclined there’s Dr. Sameer Singhal of CFD Research Corporation, who created a battery out of a bug. And there’s the TEDx Lab, run by the folks at Makers Local 256. They’ll be on hand to provide interactive technology demonstrations. Not only do these fellows produce some stellar laser etched cookies, but they have an awesome workshop over in 5 points. I highly recommend you check it out, especially if you’re the type of person who likes to build, make, craft, tinker, and the like.

To sum up: TEDx Huntsville 2012 is an event you want to attend. Amazing speakers (complete list here). Inspiration at every corner. Or as curator Amy Robison puts it:

“Ted makes you dream bigger.”

Event Information

Date: Sunday, September 9th
Time: 1-5pm
Location: Randolph School’s Thurber Arts Center
Cost: General Admission $40; With TEDxHuntsville T-Shirt $55
Tickets: Available online here
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