Elevation inspiration
A break from routine helps a writer to think big
This week I had the privilege of hearing tennis star Venus Williams, astronaut Chris Hadfield, singer Chantal Kreviazuk and businesswoman Michelle Romanow (and those were just the highlights!) all speak at a conference here in Toronto called Elevate that describes itself as a festival to bring tech and the arts together (with a heavy dose of entrepreneurship I'd add). Yes, I'm name dropping - because how often do these opportunities happen - but another part of the fun of listening to people who are so accomplished tell their stories is mentally doing a pattern search for commonalities in their stories.
One similarity shared by these superstars is risk taking or problem solving, looking for ways to do things differently or seize opportunities that come along. Chris Hadfield shared several clips of missions into space and reflected on the impossible problem of getting there, and also on the similar moonshot that's being interrogated right now by companies like SpaceX about how to get to space more often and with a reusable rocket.
Another notable commonality is the speakers’ commitment to putting in the work, the long hours of practice or skill building. When Venus Williams was asked a question about her love of travel and how she got to explore different cities at competitions, while she went starry-eyed about her favourite city, Paris, she also admitted that if she was seeing the city, it usually meant she was off the court. So alongside the sights she was contemplating how to make her next match even better - such is her commitment to her craft.
Another element I enjoyed about this conference in particular and this sort of gathering in general is the time away from my own desk and even my daily routine to think about the big goals in my business. While I try to fit in "CEO time" on a regular basis to work on my business rather than inside it, it's also refreshing to get away from my own work entirely to find inspiration in hearing about how others took their risks. This weekend, I’ll be thinking about how I can apply these ideas to my own projects. How can I take a risk this fall? What skills could I work on or process could I improve? Clearly a lot to sort through and act on.