Remember To Say Thank You

In this simple 3-minute TED talk, Dr. Laura Trice muses on the power of the magic words “thank you”. So powerful!

Success

“So what I want to argue for is not that we should give up on our ideas of success, but we should make sure that they are our own. We should focus in on our ideas. and make sure that we own them, that we are truly the authors of our own ambitions. Because it’s bad enough, not getting what you want, but it’s even worse to have an idea of what it is you want and find out at the end of a journey, that it isn’t, in fact, what you wanted all along.”

Alain De Botton, A kinder, gentler philosophy of success

Constructing Childhood

If you’re a parent, you most certainly will enjoy this CreativeMornings talk in which Raul Gutierrez speaks about the last 100 years of childhood through the lens of his family, how children see the world, and Tinybop’s approach to designing mobile apps for children.

Every (Creative) Parent Should Watch This Talk:

In this short CreativeMorning talk Jonnie Hallman talks about how his father’s work has turned him into the maker he is today. As a parent and a maker this talk really moved me. Every (creative) parent should watch it.

My Do Lectures Talk: “Trust Breeds Magic”

A few months ago I had the absolute honor to attend the Do Lectures USA, a conference that was originally started by David and Clare Hieatt. I publicly admitted in 2010 that it was indeed my dream to attend one of these intimate retreat/conferences. Being invited to speak pushed me into complete happiness overload!

There’s nothing that compares to the 3 days I spent at Campovida with all the fine folks of the 2013 Do Lectures. If you have the chance to attend one of these, be it in Wales, California or now in Australia, do yourself a favor and just do it.

Last week they launched my talk in which I speak on the 4 core principles I base all of my life decisions on and why I believe in labors of love.

Make sure to dive into their talks archive. So many gems.

Thank you David and Clare for starting something truly beautiful.

Stop shooting, We love you

(the sound is not all that good, just hang in there, trust me, it’s worth it)

Wow. This is hands down one of the most powerful talks of CreativeMornings’ month around Bravery: Vanessa German speaks at our Pittsburgh chapter on how love is the only way to stop violence and hate. Everything she knows about bravery, she says, she learned through love and love is what is helping her stop the shootings in her neighborhood.

Vanessa is an actress, playwright, sculptor, performer and educator. She is the founder of, “Love Front Porch” and Homewood’s Art House, and the “STOP SHOOTING, WE LOVE YOU” yard signs.

Vanessa German is one brave woman.

Max Temkin

In this CreativeMornings talk Max Temkin explains why he thinks the often heard advice “do what makes you happy, follow your dreams” is complete BS.

Max is the co-creator of the hilarious and beloved party game for horrible people, Cards Against Humanity. Unlike most of the party games you’ve played before, Cards Against Humanity is as despicable and awkward as you and your friends.

Take A Breath

For our CreativeMornings birthday we asked a few of our former NYC speakers to share 2mins of advice. (You can view all of them here.) This one, by Jason Santa Maria really resonated with me. Remember the human on the other side, when criticizing others.

Why Your Critics Aren’t The Ones Who Count

There is nothing more frightening than the moment we expose our ideas to the world. Author and vulnerability researcher Brené Brown shows us how to deal with the critics and our own self-doubt by refusing to “armor up” and shut ourselves off. “Not caring what people think,” she says, “is its own kind of hustle.”

From last year’s 99U Conference. Did you get your ticket for the 2014 99U?

The Never Talked About Side of Doing Good

What is it to give yourself to an idea? Where the thing you love is the thing that hollows you out. Dedicating yourself to something that becomes all consuming because you believe in the idea and the impact this has on yourself and your relationships. Finding something where you have to give up something of yourself and your relationships and not think about the problems this might create because you believe in the idea. Adil gives a heartfelt talk about his own very personal journey of making his ideas happen.

Lots of more fantastic talks to be found here, over at the Do Lectures Archive.

Designer as CEO?

Designer as CEO

I am honored to be part of next weeks Designers Debate Club. It is taking place on October 1st at the Fashion Institute of Technology here in NYC.

Craig Shapiro and I will be debating *for* designers leading companies while Gadi Amit and Rick Webb are debating against.

The four of us will be in the wonderful hands of ringmaster Debbie Millman. Come and join us! Get your ticket here.

What’s your thought on the topic? Should designers take on the role as CEO?

Creating an Environment for Creativity & Empowerment

A wonderful talk by Mailchimp co-founder Ben Chestnut on creating an environment for creativity and empowerment. I wish I could follow Ben around for 3 months. Just follow him and soak up how he runs Mailchimp.

Nearly Impossible Conference

Nearly Impossible

Nearly Impossible is a two-day Brooklyn conference for people who make and sell physical products. Happening this November, the conference will focus on the stories of how companies have tackled their biggest hurdles and the tools they used to make it all happen.

As someone who knew nothing about shipping physical goods 2 years ago and now ships Tattly to over 600 stores worldwide, I couldn’t be more excited to attend.

Some of the speakers include Harley Finkelstein, COO of Shopify, David Bias, VP of Impossible Project and Rachel Shechtman, Founder of Story. Congrats to Rusty Meadows on a great idea.

Nearly Impossible is taking place on November 7th and 8th in Brooklyn and costs $295. Register here.

CreativeMornings Video: Harley Finkelstein

Harley Finkelstein, entrepreneur, lawyer, and the Chief Platform Officer (CPO) at Shopify spoke at CreativeMornings/Ottawa in April.

Harley speaks on how “technology is eating the world” and how in an economy where everything is becoming democratized—fundraising, prototyping, selling, fulfillment—behemoth companies are going to find it harder to compete with the small, creative organizations. An excellent watch for large corporate CEOs and small business owners alike.

Find a CreativeMornings chapter near you.

CreativeMornings/Video: Chris Glass

At May’s CreativeMornings/Cincinnati, my dear friend Chris Glass got personal and shared what makes him tick and why design is ‘awesome’. (His own words!) Chris is one of my favorite people. You should watch his talk.

Yvon Chouinard, Founder of Patagonia

I am thoroughly fascinated by Yvon Chouinard, founder of Patagonia. Yvon is a legendary climber, businessman and environmentalist.

I can’t remember when I last highlighted as many paragraphs as in his book Let My People Go Surfing: The Education of a Reluctant Businessman. Mr. Chouinard makes me think about my values and how I run my businesses. The world needs more leaders like him!

I would like to create an extensive list of entrepreneurs that have values we can look up to. I refuse to believe that in order to super-successful you have to be ruthless and unethical. I want to believe that (business) success can be built on respect, kindness and decisions that don’t always come down to money. Yvon Chouinard fits that category. Who else?

In this talk, Mr. Chouinard talks about his personal history, how he created Patagonia, and the philosophy he uses to run the company. He discusses how he has tried to minimize Patagonia’s impact on the environment, such as making fleece clothing from recycled soda bottles. He also talks about his One Percent for the Planet plan in which participating businesses contribute at least 1% of their net annual sales to groups on a list of researched and approved environmental organizations. I also recommend this article about Mr. Chouinard over at Inc Magazine.

Flow, The Secret To Happiness

In this TED talk Mihaly Czikszentmihalyi asks, “What makes a life worth living?” Noting that money cannot make us happy, he looks to those who find pleasure and lasting satisfaction in activities that bring about a state of “flow.”

(Thanks Rob)

Explosion of Creativity

“The internet has resulted in the biggest explosion of creativity in history.”
— Andy Baio

Watch Andy’s CreativeMornings talk.

CreativeMornings / The Future

The FUture

This April, all of our whopping 49 CreativeMornings chapters around the world are hosting talks that address our theme “The Future”. It was picked by our San Francisco chapter host Erika Hall, and the talented Frank Chimero illustrated it.

Writer/artist Austin Kleon already spoke at our shiny new Austin, TX chapter. Other speakers include location software maker/explorer Amber Case (Portland), and Catherine Rohr, who founded an accelerator program for ambitious entrepreneurs with criminal histories (New York.)

To find the April event closest to you, keep your eye on CreativeMornings.com, or follow your local chapter on Twitter. As always, free tickets are available starting the Monday before the talk.

I would like to express my gratitude to Squarespace, our global partner for this month. If it wasn’t for the generosity of our sponsors CreativeMornings could not be free event series.

My SXSW Talk

Here’s my SXSW talk in which I speak on my path of becoming a designer in Switzerland, making the transition moving to New York and establishing my various businesses. I speak on my 11 rules and values I live by, both in my professional and personal life. In fact, I speak on the fact that I barely distinguish between the two and that my kids have been my biggest career catalysts. Enjoy!

Also, here’s a Recap Rap by Saul Paul.

SXSW Wave

I asked the audience during my SXSW talk to do the wave for me. Why? I realized that there were more people in the room listening to me than lived in the Swiss village I grew up in. In this fleeting moment of authority, I figured I might as well see what it would look like if my entire village did the wave. And it worked! Dave Racine was sitting in the way back and took a vine. His perspective was such much better than mine from the stage! Thank you Dave!

ps: Watch my talk here.

SXSW Talk LiveStream Today

SXSW Keynote

I am currently in Austin, Texas, attending the massive SXSW conference. I have the honor to be be giving the Keynote for SXSW Interactive which will be live streamed: Tune in here for the live stream, at 2pm Austin time, 3pm New York time or 8pm Zurich time. Today, Sunday March 10th!

UPDATE: You can watch my recorded talk here.

Amanda Palmer: The art of asking

An absolutely impressive talk by Amanda Palmer. She believes we shouldn’t make people pay for music, but letting them pay. In this passionate TED talk that begins in her days as a street performer (drop a dollar in the hat for the Eight-Foot Bride!), she examines the new relationship between artist and fan. Amanda Palmer believes we shouldn’t fight the fact that digital content is freely shareable — and suggests that artists can and should be directly supported by fans.

Attitude

Attitude

A quote from Ping Fu’s moving CreativeMornings talk last month.