Some of you may recognize the title as the words behind the acronym TED as in TED Talks.
You may also have seen the acronym TEDx Talks, the X meaning that the event was “fully planned and coordinated independently, on a community-by-community basis.”
This week I have decided to share some of the moments that impacted my day at TEDx Victoria: Emergence.
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Two words: Adam Kreek
From his bio: “Olympic Gold Medalist and Entrepreneur, Adam Kreek has spent the past decade studying human performance, achievement, and wellbeing. He now shares his expertise and the powerful lessons of high performance and entrepreneurship with organizations and communities globally.”
My take: mega-fit, mega-hunk meets your favourite nephew wrapped up like a teddy bear. (took me ages to get it that brief!)
Now I was aware of Adam Kreek’s existence, not so much from his Olympic win (because I think if you’ve made it to the Olympics you’re a winner whether you get a medal or not!), but from an article in a magazine I happened across in the summer of 2012. (I will admit here to a softness for rowers ever since my own days in a quad experiencing the elation/rush of perfect execution and teamwork)
Pieces of Adam’s article have stayed with me to this day. “The purpose of a personal brand is people like predictability. People want to know who you are. One of the keys to personal branding is to be authentic so you can be predictable. If it backfires, people lose trust. It’s our purpose as humans to inspire each other. We’re all social creatures and we all benefit from what each other creates. We can use a personal brand to inspire each other.”
“Be authentic, honest and real. Create a narrative. Distil what is and what’s been and how you can play on that…. Being who you are and honest and having a firm desire to give back can really inspire people. As long as other people can see themselves in your narrative, then they’ll start buying in.”
“… you need a very strong work ethic and discipline. You need to learn, to find mentors, and find teammates to push you forward. You need to create systems around you and drag yourself forward. Will is far too overrated. Peer pressure is a better tool… but it’s less like a machine and more like a piece of artwork.”
So, by the time I arrived at TEDx, I already thought he was amazing!
And then he introduces his “Capacity Bubble”
Let me back up a bit here and explain that Adam’s talk was titled “I Seek Failure”. Now I can identify with that! I appreciate failure because it challenges me to push myself, to reroute myself, to recreate that which I thought would work. Adam’s Capacity Bubble however, put a slightly different slant on it and I am still puzzling in my head how to apply it to my business. I used to teach fitness, and in an effort to be the most fit I could be I would, on certain days, push a specific muscle group to failure. And that application I can understand.
In Adam’s Capacity Bubble he has two circles: the perceived limit and the actual limit. I understand that we all have preconceived notions of what we can do, how far we can push ourselves… in every aspect of our lives. That is our “perceived limit”. In fitness, when I worked to failure, I encountered my actual limit. Adam’s hypothesis is that once we know our actual limit, if we operate just inside that, we are operating at our maximum and that is where we can excel.
How do I find that point at which I encounter “failure” in my business? not just a task, but my business.
If I can find the answer to that question, it stands to reason that if I operate just inside that limit, I am operating at my maximum.
I think I’ll leave it there and see what your responses are.
Maybe I’ll ask Adam.
Well. You asked me. “I seek failure” is a metaphor for pushing yourself through your limit in a safe way. In a workout, we seek failure. In preparation, we seek failure. In adventure, exploration, we seek failure. We don’t seek failure when the race really matters. I did have a life raft & emergency transponders on my ocean rowboat.
Instead, during the race that matters we hover right below the “actual” limit that failure revealed to us.
What really matters to you right now? Do you have an idea for growth in that arena that scares you? Then do it! Be safe, but push the limits. See what you learn. Apply that learning and grow.
I would love to hear what you do! Best of luck with your business. What you do really matters. 😉
Well, it is very kewl when you go to the source, and the source answers. Adam, your explanation makes perfect sense now… and sounds very much like what my mentor tells me regularly. Push yourself, challenge yourself. or should I say push myself; challenge myself.
I guess I have some work cut out for me!! anybody else with me? 🙂
Very powerful and thought provoking. Love that Adam came and posted here. Definitely food for thought, and timely as I need to push myself. I’ve been sitting on something that I know will be great. Time to get out my own way and do what I know I’m good at.
I was very pleased when I saw Adam’s name in my in-box, Heather – what a gentleman!
(Someone else asked me if I could quote Johnny Depp and see if he’d drop by..)
I find that my learning curve these last 2 years has been so steep that sometimes I just need to stop and tread water. But in treading water, some of my great ideas are hatched… it is the getting moving toward those great ideas that sometimes is difficult for me.
You have peaked my curiosity now, Heather, nothing like a public declaration to force your own hand!
True – I hadn’t thought if it that way. Another push to get it done.
I seem to be pushing the comfort zone envelope, but I’m not convinced I’m pushing the real envelope yet. I’m getting closer, though, and in some ways it’s almost a relief!
You’ll do it, Joyce! I am reminded of two classic quotes: “Behold the turtle. He makes progress only when he sticks his neck out.” – James Bryant Conant and “Don’t be afraid to go out on a limb. That’s where the fruit is.” (attributed to a number of different people). Just keep pushing any envelope you encounter! 🙂
This is an excellent post and story Agnes and we all have to push ourselves if we want to get to where we want to be. Thanks for sharing.
How wonderful to see your sphere of influence expanding Agnes. Great post about pushing your boundaries. I was teetering on the edge of the cliff for quite a while before I took that leap of faith and it’s amazing how much I am enjoying the journey now!
I have been pushing my boundaries this year Agnes and am having the time of my life because of it!
I like to inspire and be inspired. A great book I read that helps to accept failure as a part of everyday life is Go for NO! This encourages you to approach people with the aim of getting a no. When you target 10 no’s a day, it’s surprising how many actually say YES! But you still have to get those 10 no answers.
My experience right now with failure and pushing boundaries is that I wrote a blogpost making people “angry”. The thing is that by irritating them, failing in being nice and following the crowd, I also step out of my comfort zone and get noticed.
I got this great quote from a friend when I announced I was climbing out on that limb.
“The only thing worse than people talking about you is people not talking about you”.
Oscar Wilde
We want to be noticed otherwise there is no business to build!