It All Comes Full Circle-TEDxJohannesburg

Hello!

Happy New Year and welcome back! I haven’t posted in a while because I was figuring out the direction of the blog and redesigning the website as you can see! (It’s beautiful I know 😉). If you’re new here welcome to you too!

Photoreading Got Me to TEDxJohannesburg!

Before you get excited, I didn’t give a TED talk (this time). I entered the 100 Ideas 100 Millenials competition that the TEDx Johannesburg organizers were running. As the name suggests it was only for millennials and we had to submit our ideas that fell in line with at least one of the UN Millennium Development Goals. So just a month and a half after learning how to Photoread I figured why not give it a go. My idea? Using Photoreading in the education system because I was already noticing the changes in the way that I was learning and taking in information.

Fast-forward and the day of the winner’s announcement comes and goes without any feedback on my end. Oh well, at least I tried (insert pat on the back). A week later I get an email saying I had been selected!!!!

The day of TEDx Johannesburg finally arrived and I was excited and also freaking out! I got there feeling shy and a little out of place. So I gathered the little courage I had and gave myself a pep talk. No hiding in the shadows madame! You did not come all this way to waste it! Find the other millennials and socialize! We are not wasting this opportunity.

Meeting the 100...some of them at least

From the 100 that were chosen I met Kholiswa Ntshinga; a data analyst and a genius working to make healthier and safer maize, Gift Lubele; an entrepreneur on a mission to save the planet and Relebohile Mopeli; a fellow Witsie with a ground-breaking idea for the career market. As the day progressed, I also met Glenda Setshedi; founder of Career Active, the master minds behind Touch Jason Tuohy, Jabulani Sibiya and Jason Pretorius and the co-founder of Spinetector Suit, Sello Malinga. Unfortunately, some of the 100 were unable to make it to the event so I didn’t get to meet everyone.

The Main Event

The TED talks were all amazing but, the ones that I connected with the most either carried at least one of the values that I had learnt through my Photoreading journey or held a new lesson.

From Mutinta Bbenekele, a spoken word artist and arts activist, I learnt how important it is to write and record my own history and tell my story. From Tebogo Malope, a film director, I learnt how a story can change a name and a narrative. Doc Watson, a conservationist and a founding member of Dimension Data, reminded me, that if you don’t believe you can do it won’t happen. From Simphiwe Makapela, I was reminded that there are 36 ways to fail at catching a rat and finally get it right on the first try (feedback not failure). André Vermeulen, a neurologist, showed me the science behind how the brain can adapt to anything and how you can change your brain if you so wish. From Laduma Ngxokolo, a world-renowned fashion designer, I was reminded that attention to detail in your work is everything. From Siphiwe Mhlambi, a photographer (like myself!), I learnt that your identity is in what you connect with and it will show up in your work. Lastly from Penny Heyns, a business woman and Double Olympic gold medalist, I learnt that you must give everything 110% and even when you are ready to quit go back and try again.

I left Tedx having met with many more incredible people and buzzing with many new ideas. From the members of the 100 that I met, I was inspired by their amazing ideas and challenged to keep at this Photoreading thing I have going on . Most importantly I felt and I still feel like I have all the tools I need and more to be the greatest version of myself and change my little pocket of the earth.

Thank you for coming to my TED talk.

Love and Light

Kombe