TEDx Beirut Salon in Tripoli 2012

I just got back from TEDx Beirut Salon, which, for the first time was held in Tripoli at the CCIAT (Chamber of Commerce, Industry and Agriculture), and it turned out to be one of the most inspirational events of my life! Whoa, mind = blown!

Before the event, I had no idea what TEDx was. As it turns out, TED (Technology, Entertainment and Design) is, in a nutshell, “a global set of conferences owned by the private non-profit Sapling Foundation, formed to disseminate ‘ideas worth spreading’”…

I first heard of TEDx thru a social media invite on Facebook. I registered for the event and I have to admit, I was a little hesitant about going alone. Nonetheless I printed the online ticket and mustered the courage to go, and was happily surprised to see several familiar local faces…

As the Facebook event promised, they wanted to “spread inspiration all over Lebanon, not only in Beirut. And we could not think of a better place to start than in Tripoli.” Let me pause here for a second. That’s a big promise right there, spreading inspiration. How hard is it to spread inspiration? Well, believe me when I say TEDx Beirut Salon delivered beyond expectation!

After a warm welcome, in which they gave out complementary TEDx Beirut Salon CDs of previous talks, we took our seats as the event began right on schedule, at 3:00PM. It started off with a short video on Success, followed by a short discussion on the video, involving the audience. Then, the highlight of the event took place when I watched one of the most inspirational videos I’ve seen from one of the most inspirational people I know, Mrs. Hala Fadel. Here’s the video, entitled “God is an entrepreneur”:

Her words, her experiences, she just struck me. Though she was speaking to us all, for a moment I felt like I was the only person in the room and that she was talking directly to me. I have a newfound appreciation and respect for this woman, she’s absolutely down-to-earth brilliant!

She reminded me of this idea I have, an idea worth spreading, as the TEDx slogan goes, and I’ve never felt more motivated to work on it… stay tuned!