Ah.....TED.....!
Sooooooooo much pressure and preparation for ten minutes on the famed red TED carpet circle.
But it was TOTALLY worth it. Every bit of it! So I pulled a few all-nighters, shed some tears, wrung my hands, sweated, blushed and botched but all before those surreal ten minutes of actually being a TED speaker. A zillion hours went into writing, rewriting and practicing. A NEW sculpture (the second in the “Never Promised You a Rose Garden” series) was completed two days before TED, packed, hauled and wrestled onto the stage. We set the sculpture up in between speaker practice sessions the day before the event. Immediately after the event the sculpture was repacked along with the sculpture placed in the TEDxBozeman event lobby. Jeffery and I caught the tail end of the after party – thrilled to spend more time with the other amazing speakers and the TED staff.
Phew!
Now a few days into my post-TED life I can sit for a bit and reflect. Weeks before I got on that stage I knew the experience was worthwhile just from its "stretch and grow" factor. People think of me as a natural speaker - I can certainly ramble but TED is anything but rambling. The super tight time restrictions imposed by the TEDxBozeman team made me chisel away the ramble parts along with plenty of powerful points but the process of editing (and editing and editing) was a true learning experience for me. I do it ALL the time in my sculptures - but never to this degree for a speaking event. I pack a LOT of life into every day living and could easily entertain 10 minutes of Ideas Worth Sharing (the TED motto) from each day of my life – let alone my whole lifetime…! So I gave a glimpse…a wee tiny glimpse into my life, passion and work.
I walked off the stage wondering if I had actually “done TED right.” A whole day or two had to pass before the TED blanket settled comfortably around my shoulders. Just a bit of distance from my self imposed criticism and I can finally bask in the "TED glow." The TEDxBozeman team pulled off a seamless classy inspiring event. I am proud. Humbled. Inspired.
Waiting to share with you…
I will let you know when the TED folks have edited the talks and posted them online. Meanwhile I have a studio to sweep, another sculpture to finish and HUGE piles of neglected desk life to catch up on.
I did say it was ALL worthwhile… and I believe it is just the beginning...