The enVision Conference 2012 is over, and what a great event it was. I’m so proud of my friend Hannah Bell for her hard work in organizing it for the second year. With sessions on all aspects of leadership from finding your purpose and staying true to your values to job interview tips and showcased organizations, it was a great opportunity for young people to learn more about how they can achieve their dreams and become a leader in our generation – something that seems to be unfortunately few and far between.
I liveblogged at the conference website and tweeted the entire conference, but I also wanted to share two of my favorite sessions here.
Dude Perfect: Going After the Impossible
Dude Perfect is a group of five guys from Texas A&M University who do crazy basketball trick shots. It’s probably not something you’d think of as a potential career path, but (even for folks like me who have almost no interest in sports whatsoever) it’s awesome.
Check out this video they shot with some of the U.S. Olympic athletes:
Two of Dude Perfect’s members, twins Cory and Coby Cotton, participated in the conference. Cory spoke Saturday morning about “going big” – the theme of his new book and of Dude Perfect in general.
One of the best quotes of the day was a simple one:
Why would we not chase what we’re naturally passionate about?
Whether that passion is writing, teaching, running for office, healing the sick, or solving one of the world’s many problems, there’s no reason big enough to justify not even trying. Cory, Coby, and the rest of Dude Perfect loved basketball and seeing who could top the other. Maybe it’s not what they envisioned as a career path or claim to fame, but they went with it and have seen huge success. Not everyone gets invited to shoot commercials for GMC, meet Olympians, and reach people across the nation with their talent and positive philosophy. People probably would’ve laughed at them, saying such a goal was impossible – but it wasn’t.
Thomas Umstattd: The Art of Social Media
Thomas is CEO of Castle Media Group, a small firm that helps authors, small businesses, and conservative candidates or organizations leverage social media. He spoke not on social media best practices, but on its impact and relevance in our society.
For those of us who are not favored by the media, social media is very good news.
Social media levels the playing field. As Thomas pointed out, “[We] have the same Twitter Barack Obama has.” Everyone’s voice is equal. Through social media, we can connect with a potentially unlimited amount of people with nearly no constraints – no Robert’s Rules, as Thomas put it. We can break the news, and we can control our message. Think of the plane that crashed in the Hudson River – social media knew about that before the media could even get a camera there. Think of the Arab Spring protests – traditional media outlets here and abroad barely touched portions of it, and yet the desire for fair, democratic government was thriving online.
There are only a few things needed for a topic to spread on social media. The most important is fire. If you don’t care, neither will anyone else. But with drive, consistency, and careful attention to what our audience desires, we truly can make change.
Being on Bloggers Row
The enVision Conference was my first experience being on a bloggers row. It was hectic, but no more so than live tweeting. My comfort zone has always been to let things simmer before blogging rather than cranking posts out on the spot, so it was a great challenge, and I’m so fortunate to have had the opportunity. I hope to blog again next year!
Check out Christina Hastings‘ and Nathan Exley’s blogs (that’s us below) for their takes on the conference.
Photos c/o Christina Hastings.