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Need your help achieving my dream

Writer's picture: Meg BearMeg Bear

Updated: Dec 23, 2024

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Sure this dream is not really on a par with Martin Luther King Jr. or anything, but it’s still a dream.


I really want to get to a TED Conference in person.  I mentioned this here and here.

Yes, I know this is totally out of my league, and yet I also know that this is something that will be life changing for me and overall a good idea.


Here is the why something like TED is a uniquely good idea for me


  • I love looking at things in a new way — most things I’ve seen recently that have really gotten me thinking have been from TED


  • I love the energy and thinking I do at conferences. There is something in the process that really works for me. I get most all my big ideas at conferences and it’s almost always the sum of a lot of little inputs vs. just one talk or presentation or person


  • I love learning new stuff — I really thrive on gathering new ideas, facts, etc


  • I use what I learn in action-oriented, creative ways. I make connections others don’t and use those connections to do something specific, concrete and useful.


  • I share what I learn. I blog it, I talk about it I send emails that simultaneously blow peoples minds and bore them to tears.


Sure, all the above bullets probably cement my brand as a geek but I’m no longer in middle school and I think being a geek is cool.


Here’s what I’m not


Particularly well connected in a way that would get me to TED and I’m also not the best essay writer.


Here’s what I’ve done.


  1. Joined the Online Community

  2. Started following the TED twitter accounts here and here

  3. Subscribed to the blog

  4. Printed out the application and freaked out

  5. Targeted the TedActive conference since a) it’s still open for 2010 registration and b) I suspect it’s a little more open to “unknowns”


Here’s what I need


  1. Some good suggestions on how to best “stand out” with the questions below

  2. Ideas on things I could do in addition to the list above

  3. Someone(s) to review my profile and give me ideas to make it better, especially looking for things I’ve left off

  4. An idea on how to pick references (I need two). What kind of references would appeal to the people deciding Ted attendance?


Here is the application questions (remember I want suggestions that are true about me, I’m not looking for textbook perfect answers or anything just better ways to describe me)


  1. If a friend were to describe your accomplishments in up to three sentences what would s/he say?

  2. What other achievements would you like to share?

  3. What are you passionate about (work, creative output, issues, communities…)

  4. What do we need to know about you that we didn’t ask?

  5. (Optional) Can you share a memorable anecdote from your life that will give us a further sense of what makes you tick?


Thanks in advance for helping with Team Meg!  Direct email responses are also welcome.

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