TEDxJamaica - Totally Worth It!!

Yesterday I got up, got dressed, and went to fulfil a dream. Without a ticket or any certainty that I'd get in at all, I went to conquer a mountain. And I DID!

TEDxJamaica #accomplishwhatyouwill was phenomenal. I was grinning all day. And every couple of seconds, I looked around me, took a deep breath, and thought, 'Look at me. I'm here!' Then I gave out an inner squeal. The girl in me was giggling and skipping and dancing all over that place, even if the more mature character had to settle for bright smiles and lots of interesting, animated conversations.

I saw people there who I'd known from before. People who I'd already earmarked as movers and shakers. And I shook hands with dignitaries and people of like passion. What drew us to that place? A common understanding that greatness must be fed, nurtured and fostered if it is to last. So we all sat, and fed our greatness. And in between, we fed our faces.

I read somewhere that in order to function optimally, the brain needs plenty of psychological sunshine. Conferences like TED facilitate an inner and outer glow. It did more for us than give us a few sweet words. It lit a fire on our backsides and challenged us to, as Garth Fagan so aptly said, "D-O or G-O." It reminded us that there is no can't in try.

And, for me, it was a timely reminder that mountains can move, yes, they can walk. I've loved TED for years. Ask my friends and coworkers. I keep them up-to-date (sometimes against their will) on every new, interesting TED Talk that comes out, and I'm constantly inserting anecdotes and quotes and info from talks I've watched into every conversation. I've wanted to attend a TED Talk for, like, forever!! That was (one of) my mountain(s).

But I didn't go to this one. It literally came to me! TED came to Jamaica. And my only regret is that I missed the first two years.

So, this time around, I paid out of pocket. I missed another appointment I'd had. I went; I saw, heard, tasted and smelled; then I let that ambience swallow me up and transport me to worlds of exciting possibilities. I loved every minute of it.

TEDxJamaica was brilliantly organised and executed. My wish now is to see this information simplified and taken into schools so that our kids will have this kind of psychological sunshine as a regular part of their education curriculum. Can you imagine what a nation of TEDx'd kids could do?? They would really accomplish ANYTHING!

And then, as Donna Duncan-Scott boasted, we'd be "the best little island in the world!"