Writing

100 Gratitudes, One Hundred Dollars, and the $29,000 Birthday Swim

Posted on by Sarah K Peck

“With great power comes great responsibility.”

We live in a world of abundance, and this is the year that I finally became worth nothing. Out of all the things that I worked through and built this year, the entire time I still had a bed to sleep in, a family close by, a job that I went to everyday and plenty of food to eat. A pool to swim in, places to run, a city to call home.

When I returned from WDS this year, I was humbled, quiet, confused, and a bit sad: despite all of the engagement, inspiration, and learning, I still wonder: Am I doing things worthwhile? I’m not sure yet. Is there more to do? Absolutely. Have I reached all of my capabilities? I don’t think so. Can I do more? Yes. There’s so much more I want to do.

But while I sit trying to figure it out, other people walk hundreds of miles trying to find the most precious resource of all – water. A drop of clear liquid, the power of life. Some people, however, don’t have the luxury of $100. Of food, water, or a roof over their head. Of a bed to sleep in at night. Of sanitation.

So today I’d like your help with a few things. Three things, in particular. Continue reading “100 Gratitudes, One Hundred Dollars, and the $29,000 Birthday Swim”

100 Gratitudes

Posted on by Sarah K Peck

“Dwell on that which makes you happy, and you’ll be happier. You are what you think.”

What are you grateful for? Here’s a list of one hundred things that I’m grateful for today; there are thousands of things.

Hugs
Unexpected generosity
Cities and the intricacies of urban fabric and invisible systems.
My hands
Thank you notes
The internet
Smiles from strangers
Refrigeration
Antibiotics
Conversations
Vulnerability
Kissing
Open spaces
Gardens
Old people
Wonderful storytellers
Good Great sex
Coffee
Spices
Handstands Continue reading “100 Gratitudes”

The Stories of Humanity and the Power of Connection: #WDS 2012 Recap (Day 1)

Posted on by Sarah K Peck

What does it mean to be human?

Humanity is what you say to someone when you think no one’s watching. It’s what you do when you’re all by yourself. Humanity is what you feel when you watch another person suffering, and decide to either do nothing, or do something. Humanity is the ability to reach out and hug someone. Humanity is being grateful for your family, your friends, and your ability to do something in this world.

Humanity is the ability to trust, the ability to connect, the ability to touch. To be human means we can move, create, love, share, and laugh. Humanity—the essential element or essence of being human is more than what you do. It’s who you are, and who you are able to be together. It is the ability for one thousand people to sing–as a group–the entirety of “Don’t Stop Believing,” and fill a theater with our voices.

It’s also not the collection of a bunch of items. It is not the last round of investment funding you raised, it’s not a job promotion, it’s not a cubicle, and it’s not making the fortune 500 list. Humanity is not the amount of accolades you receive, or the accomplishments you rack up, the number of subscribers you have, or the number of friends you have on facebook. It’s not about stuff, it’s not about money, it’s not about things. Humanity is not about celebrity or valuing one person’s life above another—we sometimes place an emphasis on success, defined as being the best or the most-est–and it’s not about any of that.

It’s about celebrating the act of living, and the value of all of them. Lives. Because people matter–all of them, the weird ones, the poor ones, the different ones, the enthusiastic ones, the quiet ones. And if there’s one thing I learned, again and again this past weekend, it’s that people are beautiful. All of them.

This past weekend, I voyaged to Portland, Oregon for my second trip to the annual World Domination Summit, an event and adventure created by Chris Guillebeau, JD Roth, Jolie Guillebeau, and the remarkable World Domination Team. The questions that Chris poses resonate with people everywhere, bringing together a tribe of individuals not defined by race, industry, location, income, or age–but rather, by a willingness to create, to innovate, to inspire, and to act. Throughout his writing and projects, Chris asks everyone:

How will you live a remarkable life?

What can you do that no one else can do? Continue reading “The Stories of Humanity and the Power of Connection: #WDS 2012 Recap (Day 1)”

World Domination in Tweets

Posted on by Sarah K Peck

It’s not a secret that I love twitter. It’s an incredibly useful place to find information (and people) around the ideas or projects that you’re interested in. Here are a few of the best tweets from this past weekend–what people had to say and share about the weekend conference #WDS in Portland. Recap(s) coming next!

Chasing Freedom: Independence, Adventure, and The Year-Long Secret Race to #WDS

Posted on by Sarah K Peck

INDEPENDENCE. WHAT IS IT?

A year ago, I went to one of my first conferences I’ve ever attended—aptly titled, “The World Domination Summit.“ (Try telling your parents and your colleagues about this one. Bemused looks and strange faces ensued.) I went anyways. As a slightly more introverted than extroverted person who struggles a bit with social anxiety and large groups of people, I wasn’t sure about meeting all of these new faces, or being part of a crowd. (There’s a reason I spent the majority of my childhood swimming, gardening, or reading–all solo activities. While I’ve shifted in my twenties and become much more of an outgoing person over time, I still find the solace of writing and blogging to be much more rejuvenating than large crowds of people.) In short, I don’t always like going out in public. I was especially terrified because aside from one or two people, I didn’t know anyone, and I didn’t have a wingman.

At the conference, I met some of the most remarkable people I’ve encountered, from Nate, who was walking across America, to Nick, a fellow swimmer and comrade in adventures in New York, to JD, who has taught me so much: In one weekend, I made more friends and found kindred souls than the years spent in various jobs. The recap of the event took four separate posts (Day 1, Day 2, Day 3, and Photos) – and Chris joked that I should become the “scribe” of future conferences because of my note-taking obsession.

This weekend, I’ll be returning to round 2 of the World Domination Summit (#WDS), as both a participant and a workshop leader. But even more than that, I’m excited because a secret year-long race is now coming to a closing point …

Because a year ago, I met three people who joined me in a secret race, and we made a pact that by this time, this year, we would all take strides towards creating freedom and big changes in our lives. Continue reading “Chasing Freedom: Independence, Adventure, and The Year-Long Secret Race to #WDS”

How To Live.

Posted on by Sarah K Peck

My grandmother,  7/20/1926 – 6/15/2012.

I write to you from a space of confusion coupled with adrenaline; sadness mixed with exhilaration; excitement tinged with the loneliness of loss. Over the past few weeks I lost my grandmother, spent time in the hot Arizona desert city Tucson with my Grandpa and family while laying a little lower under the radar, and when I returned found out that one of my mentors and close teammates from college was involved in a serious and terrible accident while competing in her first Iron Man in France. While on the bike portion of the race, she was hit by one of the emergency ambulances and has been in a coma with a broken pelvis and head trauma since.

If emotions are like the 88 keys on a piano, I feel as though my left hand is playing a slow, rumbling sad song as a background melody, while the opposite side of the same keyboard is dancing out a light staccato tickling, my right hand moving quickly and lightly over the upper sets of keys on the piano surface. Emotions aren’t simple, nor are they serial; part of the complexity of humanity is the ability to feel multiple things all at once.

The reality of death and dying makes me ever more curious about the act of living and the aging process. What does it mean to live? How will we design our lives, as Richard Wurman has asked, and what will our legacy be? I’m reading and re-reading some of my favorites, from Frankl’s Man’s Search For Meaning to a book by Sarah Bakewell on Montaigne and the art (and act) of living. Throughout it all I can’t help but think:

How do we deal with life, the precious, wonderful resource and thing that we have?

Or rather, how do we live? Continue reading “How To Live.”

The Never-Ending Curiosity of a 5-Year Old: Why, How? What? and Why?

Posted on by Sarah K Peck

Why?

Why-why-why-why-why?

My brain is like a 5-year old, and up until recently, it was like an over-caffeinated 5-year old without a chance to get outside and run around on the playground. I find myself fixated on the WHY question, as well as the WHAT and the HOW, and I can’t help but wonder, about, well, everything.

In no particular order, questions that dart in and out of my mind:

Writing, Documentation, Blogging

You Have Permission.

Posted on by Sarah K Peck

I’m planning my week, my day, and a couple of thoughts run through my head: I’ll try this. I’ll do this. Ooh, wouldn’t this be exciting! I can’t wait!

And then the other thoughts, the safety traps, the counter mechanisms, the judgments, the space between what I want to do and what I’ve done so far. The voice that says it’s not enough, that I’m not anywhere close, that I shouldn’t try, that I’ll never get there.

In a rough-and-tumble few weeks, I Failed. Fell. Knocked down. Stood up. Tried to do simple things and couldn’t do them. Tried to do hard things and found myself, normally able, somehow incapable. I stopped doing things because my expectation was so high that the nominal version of achievement felt so inadequate that not doing something about it felt better than going through the muck of re-building my momentum.

Frustrated, aware that I was frustrated, and incapable of figuring out what to do next, a good friend took a hike with me and said, “Give yourself permission to be here.” Continue reading “You Have Permission.”

Reinvent Business Hackathon: Fast Company, Frog Design + 200 Hackers in San Francisco

Posted on by Sarah K Peck

“Reinvent Business” Hackathon – Winning Concepts from frog on Vimeo.

After a whirlwind week, this past weekend I was part of the inaugural frog design, LRN and Fast Company‘s weekend summit “Reinvent Business Hackathon.” It was a 2-day intense creative event with 180 people from around the world to break into small teams to change business and re-humanize the structures by re-thinking how, why, and what we do in business.

I learned an incredible amount, met some stunning faces, and am still processing all of my thoughts – more in an upcoming article soon! Check out the comments on Twitter (#reinventbiz or @sarahkpeck) where I’ve been posting updates.

The purpose of the event, in the words of the organizer:

“The financial crisis, environmental crises, growing income disparity, unemployment, corruption, Occupy Wall Street, public resignation letters, etc. – the ‘trust gap’ between business and society is widening. Companies are facing a crisis of meaning, and they are challenged by a deficit of trust. They have developed global compacts, company values, codes of conduct, compliance policies, and entire corporate departments to foster social responsibility and encourage more values-based decision making. Yet we continue to witness near-term, siloed behaviours across industries that seem disconnected from society’s needs.”

Changing business from within?

“The need for a real understanding of the common human values that connect organizations and individuals is becoming ever more important. Transparency, inclusivity, inspiration, and organizational responsiveness are crucial in nurturing businesses’ social fabric and facilitating empathy and collaboration. But the challenge remains: How do we translate these values into tangible, personal experiences? How can social technology unlock the human potential inside organizations?”

A Recap List:

The best articles I’ve read to date to summarize the event–because my non-stop brain and work is a bit fried at the moment–are as follows. It was an incredible weekend, pushing the limits of my creativity, challenging how I worked with others with an urgency to innovate and collaborate in a short 48 hour time frame.

Have you ever been part of a hackathon? It’s an incredible way to meet people, learn quickly, build things–and maybe even find an idea or a team for a side project. I’ve done a handful of hackathons and innovation meet-ups over the past year and met brilliant people as a result. I definitely recommend it.

Life Doesn’t Always Go According to Plan… Hospitals, Applications, Hackathons, and Other Adventures.

Posted on by Sarah K Peck

Image from Murray Mitchell.

OVERWHELMED.

That’s the word of the week.

First: I am grateful. For you. ALL of you. You’re stunning. More updates on the Start Something Project project in just a bit.

As you know, it—LIFE—sometimes doesn’t go exactly as planned.

Scratch that – it never goes according to plan.

Yet here was the plan last week: a quiet worknight, reading applications to the Start Something Project, putting together the final touches on an article with Metropolis Magazine, and reading a bit more of the history of SWA Group for a project I’m working on with my company later this summer. I was really looking forward to reading all of the Start Something applications, but for some reason, my stomach wouldn’t stop hurting. Continue reading “Life Doesn’t Always Go According to Plan… Hospitals, Applications, Hackathons, and Other Adventures.”