Sometimes we run into a video that just inspires us to start something new.  Watch this great video about a senior citizen that has to start over:

Take three lessons from this video:

  1. Look at how Paul overcame setbacks and took risks to start a new business (focused on a sustainable innovation!) when many might retire.  He’s inspiring because we also want to keep making a difference for a long time to come!  If you are reading this blog, you probably echo that sentiment.  Paul used his experience and his strengths to create something daring and new.  What are your strengths?  Your experiences?  How can they be focused on a creative and sustainable innovation?
  2. Sustainability was a key driver for his innovation, but not at the expense of practical solutions.  As a result, his company has been growing by leaps and bounds.  Many of us are idealistic – that is what motivates us to make a difference.  I encourage you to test your idealism against the hard realities of the world.  We all want to support our community, reduce our impact, and help create a thriving organization, whether for-profit or non-profit, or political entity.  Put yourself in the shoes of different stakeholders and imagine whether your idea would be well-received at face value.  It is always possible to re-frame or tweak your idea to make it more acceptable to diverse groups of people.  Keep working on your ideas until they are enthusiastically adopted by people who may not think like you.  More on that in other blog posts…
  3. TED Talks are amazing examples of powerful presentations.  If you are not familiar with Ted Talks, I recommend you immediately go to ted.com and start exploring topics of interest.  Most TED Talks have several things in common:  They are no more than 18 minutes in length, they revolve around stories, and they use minimalist graphics.  There are several excellent e-books and audio books on how to create your own Ted-talk style presentations.  I have included three here that I have read and used in teaching how to give powerful presentations:

My students use many of those tips, and I can tell you, their presentations are powerful!  We recently captured some of those talks with video and hope to bring them to you in the near future.  Hope you will be on the lookout for those!