TEDxStanleyPark 2015
Date: May 23, 2015
Name: TEDxStanleyPark 2015
Presenters: Various
People with inspiration ideas can lead and empower people around them. Moreover, people consider that as leadership. TEDxStanleyPark brings back many local inspirational leaders to discuss their powerful ideas. The theme for this year is to take idea to action. Many entrepreneurs are lacking focus to create ideas into action; nevertheless, this event will create powerful impact to motivate local leaders to start their action plans. Roger Killen, the producer of TEDxStanleyPark, believes this presentation will help many leaders to reach their ultimate goals in their careers.
“Taking ideas to action”
Thinking – is it a lost art?
Peter Legge, the CEO of Canada Wide Media Limited, shares one of his important transformation moments in his childhood memory. During a sports day at private school, he was forced to run a half mile race because his mother sponsored the trophy. He won the race for his parents and encouragement he received from his parents. Afterwords, he realized in order to win anything in life, people need to become participants first.
HIs mentor once said to him that successful people need to realize their runway of life. In their span of life, the history is only for learning because people cannot change the history; however, what matters the most is to develop the actions for the future.
The strongest secret is people become what they think about all the time. Therefore, leaders need to think about their visions, future, and any other important elements that can fulfill their future success all the time. When Legge’s father passed away, Legge would give anything for one more moment with his father. Legge understands in order to change anything in life, he needs to make different decision. Therefore, Legge encourages leaders to take action and start thinking about what they want to be in life.
Yes, we can reduce violence against women
Rumana Monzure, the Assistant Professor at the Department of International Relations, believes violence against women can take many forms. The violence happens every moment. Monzure shares the stats of violence happen to various of countries.
21% America
29% Europe
33% Caribbean
40% Africa
Many violence comes from with their intimate partners and unreported.
Monzure shares the incident of her life that changes her life forever. Monzure grew up believing there are different rules for men and women. She was abused by her husband. The only good thing happened in her marriage was her daughter. Monzure needed to build her own identity and started to find her balance. She managed to bring her daughter to Vancouver and got a divorce to end her miserable marriage. However, her husband abused her and caused her the lost of her vision. She never saw her daughter ever again.
When she realized the damage is permanent, she needed to do things different. With the help of her friends, she was willing to try her life once again.
Monzure will not let others to take her control. She believes happiness is a chemical reaction in her head. She questions herself why she survive the incident; perhaps, she needs to become the voice of all innocent women around the world.
Monzure trusts in humanity, which gives her the love form friends and family. The motivation is her desire to live in meaningful life. By raising the issue of violence in women, and believing her inner power to fight the violence, there is no culture will advocate the justice.
“Loss sight, but gain vision”
Fixing the childhood obesity epidemic
Matt Young, the Founder of Innovative Fitness, feels the childhood obesity has become an urgent issue in the society. Children with obesity suffer mental challenges and low self-esteem. Young introduces the Physical Literacy concept to fix the issue. The concept has helped over thousands of people to be more physical active.
Physical Literacy requires three elements:
- Develop
- Measure
- Promote
Young mentions there are five lenses of opportunity to promote the Physical Literacy concept and help fix childhood obesity. The first opportunity comes from the screen time. The average children will spend 7.4 hours a day in front of the screen. The second opportunity comes from specialization. Many schools are designed not to switch up actives to interact children’s physical activities. The third opportunity is the PE teachers. School board qualifies many people who do not have the right education for children. The forth opportunity is the PE cuts. Schools are cutting away the PE time from children. The last opportunity is the fear. Parents are overprotecting their children due to fear of them getting hurt.
Young believes there are 3 areas to promote the concept to the society. The first place is the household. Parents can reduce the daily intake of the sugar level. Also, parents should allow their children to learn from failure. The second place is school. Teachers are afraid to tell others that they are unhealthy. They need to be emerging, developing, acquired and accomplished. The last place is the society. Leaders need to create addictions on demands of high quality food. Young suggests leaders to be accountable to the future of children’s health.
The risk of distracted driving
Brad Gorski, a local resident in Vancouver, shares the event of distracting driving changes his life forever. The distracting driving is the number one cause of death in the world. Before the incident, Gorski believes he mastered the art of distracting driving. Until one day he blew through the red light and crashed by a semi truck 5 minutes away from home. Gorski went into coma and thought he would never wake up. The miracle happened and he woke up from the coma, but the cause of that incident took away his ability to walk.
Gorski was unable to perform the primary tasks, such as sit, walk, talk and eat. With the amazing support form family, he worked his way back to normal with physiotherapy. After 7 months, he walked out of the hospital.
His life changed from that moment. Everything happens for a reason. Gorski hopes his story can provide a warning signal for leaders. Everything can change by a snap of the fingers. Gorski believes life tops everything.
“Nothing is more important than your life”
Masturbation Myths
Teesha Morgan, the sex therapist and the Co-Founder the Westland Academy of Clinical Sex Therapy, believes the society need to change the thinking of the word masturbation. Many people are still tied up with the traditional concept of thinking masturbation is sin to the society. However, there are many false facts about masturbation in the society that are creating the wrong message to the future generation. Currently, there is a still a pattern of women still feel ashamed for self-pleasure and men reply on masturbation for relieve stress.
It is a fiction to say women who love to use vibrator will cause less orgasm; in fact, it will increase more orgasm for women. People who are in relationship will have more masturbation than singles. It is false to say clitoris only a small area; in fact, research shows it differs. Early kids in this generation are encountering more and more sex education. It is false to say too much masturbation will lead to health problem; nevertheless, it should decrease stress. It is true to say masturbation will affect physical activity unless people exhausted from masturbation. It is false to say masturbation will cause premature ejaculation; in fact Morgan believes masturbation should treat like practice for love. Morgan indicates people should make practice and love similar.
The perspective in the society today still feels negativity from the word of masturbation. Society is creating the wrong message with the wrong information to newer generation. Morgan wants people to be leaders. A leader that should be more positive and change the misconception from the society for the future.
The cultural taboos of suicide and mental illness
John Nieuwenburg, the award winning business coach from W5 Coaching, shares his depressed moment of attempting suicide. During the suicide moment, Nieuwenburg felt bad to be alive and no energy to try again. Nevertheless, he was suffering a mental illness.
Suicide is caused by mental illness and it can be a public threat. People need to reframe the word suicide. Based on the stats of the cause of death in 2013, heart disease ranks the highest and suicide ranks the lowest. However, there are more than 40,000 people suicide and 16,000 homicide in a year. Nieuwenburg mentions suicide can cost the society over 1 million dollars, and only 6 to 32 survivors.
“1 murder, 3 suicide, and 75 attempts”
Nieuwenburg emphasizes people with mental illness of depression believe suicide is the only solution. Depression can cause people to feel narrow like a tunnel. Nieuwenburg receives many unconditional love from family after the attempt and never though the love is available.
People will face dilemma, where people need to choose between two tragic options. If people feel trap, it makes sense to believe suicide is the most preferable option. There are many misconception about the word suicide in the society. Suicide is not an act of coward, it is not selfish, and it is not cry for help. The mental illness forces the option and people need to be aware of it. Many people put mental illness as the least priority; however, people with depression usually do not show it. Nieuwenburg indicates at least 1/4 of people have the problem of mental illness.
Many people do not go for treatment of mental illness. Leaders in the world should take charge and change the language, educate others, and communicate out loud. Leaders can reframe it.
“If not us, then who? If not now, then when?”
Beekeeping – a challenged profession
Marta Guarna, the PHD scientist working on translational research in honey bee, believes bees are important phase in the society. Bees coordinate many food people eat, but recently beekeepers are aware of low beehives. With the decrease of bees, the whole economic system will be affected.
Guarna is fascinated how bees is contributing to the society. There are 3 types of beekeepers: honey, raise hives, and raise bees. Plants have pollen sperm, and they need bees to move from one to another to plant ovary. Bees help plants’s sex procedure and it takes a lot of patient from moving one to another. In one carnal, there are at least 500 bee hives and over 1 million bees.
People in the society are not appreciated bees. Bee pollination is important, especially for US economy. Farmers can provide seeds to bees to improve poor nutrition. Bees can create natural defence to avoid pathogen and parasites. Beekeepers want to get away from pesticides.
Guarna believes bees are struggling to increase their population because of habitat loss,pesticides use and overwhelm with diseases. Leaders need to balance the economic condition and help beekeepers to create solution to help the future.
Discipline or regret – a father’s decision
David Knapp-Fisher is a father, a husband, and a writer. Knapp-Fisher believes people choose regret but not to discipline. At the end of life, regret usually appears. This happens because people tend to move things to their bucket list and escape the reality in any circumstances.
Knapp-Fisher believes everyone must choose one of two pains in life.
- The pain of discipline
- The pain of regret
Knapp-Fisher shares his life experience. When he was young, he had the dream of return to Europe one more time. When his marriage failed, he thought he lost the opportunity to go with his son to Europe. His son was diagnosis with muscle illness and it was determined that his son would never able to walk again in the future. Knapp-Fisher knew his job is to give the best to his son, he focused on what he could do, not things he could not do.
In his second marriage, he took his son with him and his wife to Mexico because he knew it might be his last trip. He was able to come up with 18,000 dollars to fund for the trip. His life changed when he discovered he was about to achieve his dream goal.
At Europe, Knapp-Fisher ensured no one will interfere the trip. During a small accident, the local doctor warned Knapp-Fisher that his son was very fragile. 2 weeks after the trip, his son was no longer able to walk. Knapp-Fisher believes if he did not seek the opportunity, the opportunity could be gone forever.
Knapp-Fisher took his son to New York. His son felt happy and fulfilled. His son was motivated from the action of his father and began to pursue his dream. He took the opportunity to work as broadcaster, graduate as high school valedictorian. Knapp-Fisher has no longer look at his son the same way because he did more things than any 40 years old people can do.
Knapp-Fisher is proud to be friend with his son.
4 lessons from Knapp-Fisher for leaders:
Every leader has challenges and every leader should embrace the challenge
Leaders should focus on what they can do
Do whatever it takes to achieve the goal. A tiny disicpline will lead to big reward in future
Leaders should never procrastinate
“When time is there, I choose discipline”
We are citizens first
Daphne Bramham, the Vancouver-based Journalist from Vancouver Sun, believes the society is replacing the true meaning of the word citizenship. Bramham’s family left the Black Sea to a place of freedom. Nonetheless, the place never allowed them to be citizen. They began to travel north and eventually end up in Canada. They build home and become the citizen of Canada to help Canada become a better country.
Bramham believes the society is now looking at citizens as taxpayers. The word has power and the usage of the word citizen has become like taxpayer, which signifies the word corporate.
Bramham mentions there are people taking advantage of taxpayer and as a report, she sees many things garment do with tax money that are wasteful. The distrust in government increases and the voters will decrease. There are people want to deregulation and do not want to give up citizenship. In Egyptian, citizens want revolution and government is overthrown. In Hong Kong, citizens protest on streets to demand full right. In Paris, people are working for tourist attack. All the citizenships are sharing the freedom of speech and expression.
Canadians are lucky because most of the battles are fought by ancestors. If people are not getting what they want, they will demand it. There should not be any argument from citizenship and taxpayer. In Greece, the economic is bankrupt and citizenship lost the control from bankers. However, money is not the main thing. Once people have enough, it does not matter the rest.
Bramham believes social contact, engagement, good government and better employees will make citizens happy. Canada is the top 5 place that has highest tax rate, but Canada is considered to be the happiest place on earth. It is important to take out taxpayer from the word citizenship. Leaders need to work together.
“Good citizen equals happy, wealth, and leave legacy for the future”
Drones have much more potential
Homayoun Najjaran, the Associate Professor at University of British Columbia, believes drones can be a great technology, but it is going to be banned. General public must step forward t save drones.
In order to save drones, people need to ask what is the next thing, product, or applications after drone. People want to see drones to be licensed, just like driver. The society is leading towards a different view of technology.
20 years ago, drones were danger technology because no one was educated to understand the power of drones. Technology is much more mature now and there are research to advance drones beyond the current capability to help the economy. Najjaran believes drones has complete sensor to tell technology what to do. People must believe drones can be used to engage with people’s lives.
There are many new applications with the power of drones: 3D maps, monitor infrastructures, medical sample tests and more.
The society is still have 3 concerns with drones: privacy, security, and safety. These concerns are once raised when interest was introduced to the world. Now internet is a part of people’s lives, people are start to adapt internet. Drones are going to the same route as internet.
Najjaran wants leaders to think how drones can be convent to people’s lives.
“Drones have the potential to change the landscape of our life”
Death with dignity
Grace Pastine, the lawyer and the director for British Columbia Civil Liberties Association, believes people who are suffering from medical conditions have the right to choose their death. Human life is sacred and taking lives from someone is wrong in the society. However, Pastine questions the legal system that why family members cannot ask others to end their lives if they are suffering. The conclusion of the battle has a verdict and Canada has agreed to align the regulation to give people the opportunity to choose their paths.
Pastine shares one of her clients are suffering ALS. The suffering was painful for the client and the client is seeking help to end his life. The client did not see the result of the case and left with regret. Another client wanted a peaceful and not painful death, but during that year, it was against the law. British Columbia won on behalf of Pastine and the Supreme of Canada agrees to give the right to people for the choice; however, the client did not see the result.
Many places are still illegal or legislation pending. This is a global conversation and there are limiting people to access the law. Patine is proud to say now the law is change. It requires two doctors to exam patient to see if they are stable to make the mindful decision. If physician assists the death, the law of responsibility will no longer to the doctor.
Pastine mentions 3 principles: compassion, protection and respect. For compassion, when pain is unbearable, but suffer slowing to death. Government responses no one should suffer that kind of slow death. For protection, people who are suffering do not want to end up suffering the rest of their lives. They are afraid to become what will happen. By escaping, they choose death in their own ways. Government does not encourage people to do that, but now they have the choice. As for respect, people need to have the fundamental rights. Government recognizes people have the right to make decision. When patients know they have the choice, it gives them the peace of mind.
Pastine wants leaders to step up and contact law maker, go public, and join social media to make their voice heard.
“Supreme government gives citizen the right to die with dignity”
Integrity and the life of the planet
Zale Zeviar, the CEO of WhoZaGood Inc, believes integrity can change the world. Integrity brings human collaboration and allows the economy to balance. Integrity can mean differently in different people; however, the fundamental is the same. Quality of honest, and state of being whole and undivided are two main elements in integrity.
Zevair believes without integrity, there will be insanity. Integrity helps people to connect to each other. In early age, Zevair believed money is the only thing that connects him. This led him to chaos. He gave everything he had to corporate world and loss everything at the end. Zevair needed the time to rethink his actions. By retreating from society, he took the opportunity to try meditation. One of the missing pieces in his puzzle is to pay the moral debt. Finally, he saw the whole picture and believed it was a calling to bring integrity to the world.
Zevair understands integrity can tie human together in the society. It is the ecosystem within the ecosystem. Zevair shares people have both integrity cells and unhealthy cells. It is important to allow integrity overrun the unhealthy cells. When people are in pain, cells are responding and it becomes obsess with the unhealthy elements, which it leads to insanity. The mother nature is giving the signs and hints to human nature that earth is in pain. There are at least 5 plastic islands sailing across the ocean. The dumping of nuclear wastes is damaging the mother earth. The spiritual law indicates as long as people align with mother nature, they are safe.
Leaders should not focus just for the money because in the end, they will realize money cannot be eaten. Zevair wants leaders to understand the nature law and do the right thing.
The spirit of the village
Jacky Yenga, originally from Cameroon, Central Africa, believes isolation and disconnect can destroy life of happiness. Yenga was born in Africa and raised in a strong culture community. The opportunity came for Yenga to go to Paris for a better life, and her family and the community gave her the warmest good bye. She could not wait to meet the new community, but later realized the culture shock. In Yenga’s culture, friends become family, but she felt isolated in the new culture. The experience of trauma was giving her the pain and homesick. However, Yenga’s decision of being here was the opportunity to be in a better life.
“I am grateful, but it comes with a cost, the pain of isolation”
Yenga believes isolation should not be the measure of life. She shares 3 simple habits.
The first habit is to refine success. People are into material and abundance. Materialistic should not be the main. The foundation of life is to route everything together. The quality of life increases with singing and dancing.
The second habit is to do it together. People need to remember the important of collaboration. Yenga mentions one stick is fragile, but if many sticks are together, they are tough. Working together should be fun.
“To be without a friend is poor indeed”
The last habit is to live with wisdom. People need to have the knowledge and apply to appropriate matter. People become wise when they are out of money. Wisdom does not come over night, and it continues a small bit at a time. People go to school to learn knowledge, not wisdom.
“How wise are you?”
Yenga suggests leaders to change the 3 habits because it will increase the values of leaders’ lives.