TEDx Dubai was all about igniting the passion in people to not only talk about issues but to actually get out there and do something about it.

Five people, all with full time jobs that are not related to conference organization, pulled off the impossible as far as I am concerned and I am proud to have been part of it!

TEDx Dubai was not about money, in fact it cost each of the organizers money, out of our pockets to put this conference on.

TEDx Dubai was about giving the community permission to start to DREAM-DO-BE the change in your own corner of the world.

I am happy to say that while many people did not get it, they are asking when all the video will be available, they are asking when the next event will happen, they are asking about a follow up.

TEDx Dubai was and is not about Giorgio and me pushing and pulling people to do things it is about you saying , MY TURN!

While many people are still stuck in the old economy thinking of what is physically in it for me there are many who have embraced the TED and TEDxDubai idea.

This email arrived a few days ago.

hello james

a fellow Dubai TEDxer has made some drastic changes to her life because of TEDx and i though i tell you about it her names is Gaby Feile she is German you might know her from the great blog she wrote about TEDx right after the conference, she just quit her job in the  Monarch hotel Dubai because for her she just couldn’t relate to it after TEDx and he farewell party was yesterday she had a garage sale for her furniture and gave all the money for Masarat and her 8 days academy and she is leaving soon to spain to work with an NGO that help children by the way she is not the only person who i heard about who did some thing similar of thinking of it

im thinking of starting TED night at the shelter either to show TED videos each night a certain theme of life stream other TEDx conferences my question is how can i know about upcoming TEDx conferences i tried searching online i couldn’t find much about them?

So, what is the take home here?

Go out and do that one thing this week that is going to change the way someone thinks about anything, just make it something you care about!

Don’t you just love how we all sit around and yammer about what we should do or what we could do?

And what do we do? 8 out of 10 times we do NOTHING!

But what if you simple idea becomes infectious?

What if your simple idea could change the world, build communities, unite like minded people, help the environment, cost NOTHING and put a huge smile on a person’s face?

No I am not talking about Disney, I am talking about www.freecycle.org!

May 1st 2003 Deron Beal sent out an email to give away a bed, free, just come and get it!

Fast forward to 2009, 6,846,000 people are members of the freecycle movement.

And it all started with the idea of giving something away instead of trashing it or selling it.

I suspect our economic system has corrupted us all to some degree, we seldom give things away just because we can,  we are always looking for the catch or the payback.

Freecycle.org is a pay it forward scheme that could actually hold a key to the reformation of our global commercial systems.

Care more, think more, have more!

Deron Beal walked me through the idea of freecycle.org.

A conversation with Deron Beal of Freecycle.org.

In the waiting room I struck up a conversation with Mr. Julian Miller of MillerExecutive Search.

Nothing new about talking to people in a waiting room except that the conversation started with the simple sentence, from him to me, “I wish I could get away with wearing that shirt”.

The shirt is a classic James with 12 colours and hidden animals, very loud and very me, it was tempered with a sea blue blazer.

Julian got me thinking, about the image package.

Why can I get away with meeting senior executives looking like I am just about ready to catch surf while others have to wear suits that cost more than my monthly grocery bill?

I wonder if we don’t create and perpetuate expectations that demand a certain veneer, in this case clothing style?

I am certain that Julian and I were able to sustain the attention of the executives we met yet I am 100% certain I was more comfortable. I am also certain that my presentation was taken with every bit the importance as the next guy’s.

So I suspect the lesson is build your image, work it and make it sustainable!  Whether you are walking the dog or meeting a CEO your image needs to be clear, palpable and consistent.

Mine is.  I walk into a room and instantly become the surf guy everybody knows. Interesting how colour attracts people. I walk onto a pool deck and again I am there in a big way without saying a word.

I suspect we need to be taught how to create, manage and sustain our non verbal communication as manifest in our body language and clothing, not to mention hair… Yet another area that our education seems to let us down.

Don’t worry too much there is still hope, I am here!

Business worldwide is knuckling down and CEOs seem to be running for cover.

We have a huge opportunity to educate, inform and spread ideas and the physical things that go along with them.

TWITTER, TWITPIC, FACEBOOK and PODOMATIC are increasingly becoming the center of my work, education, social reality.

What I find surprising is that these easy, free, global tools are not being more widely used to help the flow of ideas.

I suspect the problem from the perspective of large organizations is they simply have too many grey haired people trying to figure out how to enhance the pension fund!

Social networking seems to still be the island of the young and funny enough those who have a lot to lose, many are on the cutting block of Yahoo, Sony, Banks…

Now is the time to look at social networking and apply it there is a who new angle to enterprise waiting to be pushed forward.