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These Are Ideas Worth Spreading

Great ideas have the potential to change everything. However, these ideas need to be shared, discussed and acted upon or they will dissolve and simply not make the impact they were intended to. Crossing a threshold -- whether a breaking point or a boundary, frequently results in a transformation.
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Coworkers in casual meeting in modern studio
Morsa Images via Getty Images
Coworkers in casual meeting in modern studio

Great ideas have the potential to change everything. However, these ideas need to be shared, discussed and acted upon or they will dissolve and simply not make the impact they were intended to.

Crossing a threshold -- whether a breaking point or a boundary, frequently results in a transformation. For many, traversing that point of no return is the moment when individual choices are re-examined, or when movements and ideas evolve.

I experienced one such threshold after watching a 2012 TED talk by Amy Cuddy, after a friend shared the video with me. Cuddy, a social psychologist, relates to her audience how our body language is influenced by our testosterone and cortisol levels and how it can affect our chances for success in life. I was immediately inspired to act as a catalyst for new and innovative ideas, and to help people change the world by telling their stories. Most importantly, I wanted to share Amy's talk with my own networks to bring her ideas to a larger audience. I also use her physical lessons every day in the way I use my own posture to open myself up to the world. Try it. It works!

Through my own experiences since moving to Toronto, I've gained perspective on how I could support the city by helping to bring these diverse yet local ideas out into the open.

The stage is being set for a series of powerful and provoking ideas that will challenge minds on topics that start locally but impact globally.

Imagine the Canadian Research Chair on the verge of a whole new way of delivering medicine. An innovative city planner who developed a profession that didn't yet exist. A serial entrepreneur who embraced his place on society's periphery to "catch lightning in a bottle." An aerospace engineer who is inspiring a new generation of world explorers. A hostage negotiator and international terrorism consultant who uses shared humanity to talk people off the threshold of potential criminal behaviour. Or a punk rock optimist who has embraced her body to express her own form of creativity. Now imagine all of these people are in the same room together, sharing in detail how they've crossed their own threshold to help change the world.

But these transformational people-and the ideas and they bring from their respective experiences and discoveries-are amplified beyond the local context when their discoveries are shared with and by an audience of passionate, connected change-makers -- a diverse group of individuals from different backgrounds, industries, neighbourhoods and passions. They are curious and motivated individuals passionate about creating change who can contribute to the dialogue within and beyond the conference itself, as well as amplify the ideas and conversations discussed across their networks, both in person and online.

Do you share this vision for making a difference in the world through ideas and action? Can you amplify the lessons and discoveries?

We invite you to discover "Thresholds" at the seventh TEDxToronto conference-Canada's largest TEDx event-on October 22 at the Royal Conservatory of Music. Delegate applications close August 14.

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