7 Connective Practices – What If We Stayed Real Close? #TEDxAustin #TEDxATX #TEDx #TED

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Feb 24 2010

7 Connective Practices – What If We Stayed Real Close? #TEDxAustin #TEDxATX #TEDx #TED

Category: community building,connections,lifestreaming,social media,teaming & leadership — jmacofearth @ 7:07 am

The #TEDxATX hash-tag or alternatively #TEDxAustin is beginning to trend down… But what if we didn't let the magic stop? What if we decided to dooooo something to stay connected?

Here's my plan: Don't Just TEDx, TEDeveryday!

As I wrote in an earlier post, the buzz of a great conference begins to wear off and those who were not part of the event begin to show irritation at how we keep bringing up the "event they weren't at." I want you to know you don't have to let go of the feeling of TEDxAustin. Nor do you have to let go of the people and connections you made. You & I *can* stay close!

In a week or so the hash-tag will be a ghost town and the pages that are currently lit up with busy connectors will be attracting fewer and fewer eyeballs. (That's how we used to refer to visitors from an advertising perspective–back in the day.) And your vivid emotions will either be rekindled by a deliberate practice or not.

So what is it that we can do to build our web of connectivity so that we don't have to disconnect?

Well, that, my friends and fellow travelers is the 5 billion dollar social media question. A conundrum really. And let me sum it up with an idea:

7 Connective Practices as inspired by TEDxAustin, 2010

1. We gathered, we shared, we exchanged glances, tears and contact information. (event)

2. In the afterglow of the event we came to realize that a power greater than ourselves could bring us to sanity. (affirmation)

3. As we began to reach out to our fellow TEDxAustin-ers we began to understand them better, we began to build connections beyond TEDx. (effort)

4. HERE'S THE TRICK: Through sustained effort and commitment, we colluded with others to make changes, we not only agreed to "stay close" we committed to concrete actions and re-gatherings. (commitment)

5. We continued to re-connect and re-commit on a regular basis. And we acted on the ideas and connective good we discovered. (fearlessly forward)

6. We ALL AGREED THAT cynicism = death. And that sarcasm, and sometimes well-meant humor, is a close cousin to the negativity and anti-light that is cynicism. (be a positive force)

7. FINALLY: We all move forward with plans and actions that bring us *closer* to each other and *a lot closer* to our calling. (self-examination and self-actualization)

I know for me Steven Tomlinson's performance at TEDxAustin was a peak. And the reason was he called me from where I stood at that very moment. And reading the posts and inspirations that came out of TEDx, I know that many of my fellow TEDers had the same feeling. And then what happened? We went out into the RED Reception area and we DID BIG, we CONNECTED BIG, we FELT BIG.

So as you move more deeply into the next phases of your life, post-event-high, ask yourself if your action is towards or away from your connective purpose, or as Steven put it, "your calling." And from that perspective make a decision about your actions. Do that repeatedly, continuously. And listen to the answers. You MAY in many cases choose the action that is not in alignment with your "soul work" but your longing for the soul work will deepen. And the next time you are faced with that choice it might be an opportunity to grow.

One core principal of Steven's talk was the relationship between calling and career. Even with all the best intentions, and hard work, we might not get where we want/need, or *think* we need to be, financially. And that is the gate that keeps many of us making the choices away from our passions. But the challenge is to BE BIGGER!

Grow, stretch and find a way to lean into the pain of NOT doing what you want to do.

Then do what you have to do: a: to provide for yourself and your family; and b: to step towards your dream.

@jmacofearth
permalink: http://bit.ly/TEDx-BE

IAMACONNECTOR.COM has a growing TEDxAustin page: TEDxAustin Connect (please join and ask for admin rights, and you can add your connections from this masterful event!)

The official Flickr stream of Kirk Tuck images from TEDxAustin is UP!