TED2013: Inspired

My dear friend Tom Rielly has been urging me to attend the TED Conference since 1995. I'm very happy to say that I was finally able to attend this year (thanks to Tom's generosity, ingenuity and kindness). It really was a once in a lifetime experience which was utterly inspiring on many levels — especially creatively. I feel a renewed energy for my current film project, The Royal Road and gratitude for all the super smart and brilliant folks out there trying to make the world a better place.

Highlights of the week included the following TED Talks: the former Governor of Michigan, Jennifer Granholm making the case for jobs and clean energy; the surprisingly smart and super articulate Bono talking about his work on global poverty reduction; photographers Sebastiao Salgado and Camille Seaman; Tesla/Solar City founder Elon Musk; the teenage scientists Taylor Wilson and Jack Andraka; L.A. urban gardening activist Ron Finley and Australian math geek Adam Spencer.

I also especially enjoyed Phil Hansen on creativity arising out of limitations; Freeman Hrabowski on education; deep sea squid researcher Edith Widder; the young Kenyan inventor Richard Turere; Mohamed Jemni's WebSigns ASL avatar translator and Alex Laskey on reducing household energy use and his organization, OPower. As well as the musical performances of the Sleepy Man Banjo Boys, Amanda Palmer and Ji-Hae Park.

Most of these are not up on the TED site yet but keep an eye out for them in the coming weeks.

In addition to the amazing array of TED Talks I was especially excited to experience the TED Fellows program of up and coming thinkers, activists, artists and innovators. You can find out more about the TED Fellows program — including how to apply — right here. I also got to meet and talk with tons of interesting TED attendees. The guest list is as impressive as the line-up of speakers.

Next year's conference will take place March 17-21st in Vancouver, BC, Canada. Click thru to find out how to apply.