Are you an IDEA worth spreading?

I attended a TEDx conference today at BU (FYI - TEDx is a series of local conferences across the globe that stems from TED, an organization that invites remarkable people from all walks of life to give a mini-spiel about their life's work - "ideas worth spreading"). As always, the TED talks left me speechless - awed with inspiration, drawn by intrigued, and most importantly, empowered to act.

The conference invited speakers mostly around my young age, but to my envy (and inspiration), have all accomplished something in their lives worth spreading. The speakers were not molds of their stereotypes. They were forward thinkers, listeners of their calling, champions of a cause, etc. A blond ditsy girl, straight out of college, flew to Kenya and successfully built an orphanage (www.flyingkitesglobal.org) for a desperate community. A son of Indian immigrants, strayed from a "professional" path to engage in his love for hip-hop, and just recently, opened at the House of Blues Boston for Kid Cudi (http://aviator.bandcamp.com). A BU Japanese exchange student flew to the sinking island of Tuvalu to record a video on the effect of climate change on one of the world's smallest, and fastest dying, countries.The list goes on...and I become ashamed/jealous as I fret over what greater cause or purpose I have impacted in the first 21 years (young, but nonetheless long) of my life or that I have yet to create an idea out of my life that is worth spreading.

I realize that self-reflection is often the critical, missing element to connect and prod one from simply inhaling an idea...to taking action. We all have seen the sad commercials of starving children or sat in on an inspiring lecture. However, as soon as we get up and leave the building, the inspiration quickly dissipates and we regress to the silly, insignificant headaches of our daily schedule. I stress self-reflection because I believe the speakers of the TEDxBU conference and larger community all prevailed in taking proactive action for their passions, versus settling down in the comforts of middle class job security and lying to oneself with excuses to act "one day."

I currently sit at this crossroad, but I certainly received the extra push I needed. I know that I, and you, are filled with latent ideas or dreams we shove in the back of our minds in the "unpractical" category. Nothing is more practical than our happiness. We make a conscious decision every single day of our lives to be happy or not. When we are happy, the joy spreads so naturally from us, and our lives, become the idea that is worth spreading.