I don’t have any special talent. I am just infinitely curious.
I usually end up exploring and discovering and pushing the limits of my Marco Polo-ish spirit while TED has for years been one of my major accomplices. Inspiration, challenge, denial, acceptance and often awe at the simplicity and beauty of all those “riveting talks by remarkable people, free to the world.”
And now I humbly stand ahead of the challenge of being one of the speakers in my hometown’s TEDx event. 700 people in the Olympion auditorium with over 5,000 viewers from around the world through the webcast; over 2,000 applications to register for the event and a spirit of positive emotions that is slowly sweeping the city. This year’s theme is the power of “syn.”
In a world full of divisions, polarities and extremism, the positive + sounded as the perfect emotionally cohesive glue amplifying synergy, synthesis, symbiosis. In my mini-terrorist comedian mode, I toyed with the idea of speaking about the power of “sin” – after all occasionally such delectable pleasure comes out of sinning.
But seriously: Seeing things from a positive perspective, being tough enough to resist the collective depressive state, and finding the strength to get up and try hard the things you do best and have that deeper meaning that lifts your soul – that’s what really matters.
So, that’s what I will talk about. And while the “blasé factor” increases exponentially with the degree of adversity, the “been there, done that, don’t need to pay attention to this or that” spirit takes us to the dark, fatalistic mindset. Can you shift and see things differently? Do you want to fight and live the way you really want to? And why are you really hesitating?
Leda Karabela’s career focus has been building alliances with and among institutional stakeholders, which spans 25 years of experience in international management, public affairs, strategic marketing and philanthropy. Her primary focus has been external audiences, such as opinion leaders, media, customers, and donors.
Today, she is bringing her executive experience into the field of coaching, realizing her passion for people, the ways they click and connect with each other, helping clients discover the power within them to improve their performance, effectiveness and reach. Having held responsibilities for global projects and working with virtual teams in multiple countries for Fortune 50 companies such as BP and Microsoft, she has also led the corporate relations program at the Stanford University Graduate School of Business and has lived in Boston, San Francisco, London, Athens and Dubai.
