Menu

Julie Holunga – The Journey

4th Time’s a Charm

Standing at my desk, I did a quick final check of emails before running out the door. I saw an email from TEDxCherryCreekWomen. I opened it quickly, expecting to read, Thank you for applying. We had an overwhelming number of applicants this year. You were not selected…

I have received that email three times in the past. Thank you, try again.

This time, the email was different.  It began… Read the attached document carefully and respond as soon as possible. My initial thought was, This seems like a lot of steps to say thanks, but no thanks.

I clicked on the attached document and this time it read, We are excited to invite you to present at TEDxCherryCreekWomen 2020…We would be honored to have you join us!

I reread that sentence five times, thinking…They would be honored if I joined THEM?

I ran down the stairs, shouting the news to my husband. After 20 years, he is used to my highs, and doesn’t even come running anymore. This time, even he was ecstatic.

My first call was to my mom. I started the conversation with, “Mom, do you know what a TED Talk is?’ Surprisingly, she did, and with a slight impatience in her voice, “Yes, Julie. I do!”

Of course I am elated to join them. Does anyone ever say no to such a highly regarded opportunity?

Applying for a 4th time to a TEDx conference took some convincing. I was about to head out on vacation and it was one more thing on my list to do. My coach, a TEDxCherryCreekWomen alumna herself, suggested otherwise. She convinced me to apply YET again. She said, “You need to be on that stage. People need to hear your message!”

And I listened.

My message is this, for leaders to positively influence those around them, they need to communicate using powerful language. They need to be aware of the unconscious ways they may be sabotaging their effectiveness. One of my personal pet-peeves is hearing and reading influential people using weak language which undermines their impact.

When I told my two teenage kids the good news, my son said; “Mom, this is your Stanley Cup Finals!”  (The whole family plays hockey, with the exception of the dog and me.)

The preparation process thus far has stretched me way past my comfort zone, and deep into discomfort. I’ve been so nervous at times; my legs won’t stop shaking under the table. With every meeting and coaching session, I am more excited. Yes, my idea IS worth spreading.

Throughout this journey, I am reminded of the importance of not giving up on the vision I so passionately adhere to. Keep showing up and amazing things will happen!

Here’s the way I see it…my first three applications were the playoffs. The fourth time is a charm. This is my Stanley Cup Final – and believe me…I will be laced up and ready!

Related Posts

noah-buscher-M19QtooXPKs-unsplash

Nga Vương-Sandoval – The Journey

The moment. That moment when I received the news.  I re-read my e-mail multiple times to ensure that that read it correctly. Yes!  I’m going to be presenting at the TEDx Cherry Creek event! I was overjoyed. 

I believe that things will happen when they’re supposed to happen.  I trust that there’s a greater purpose and reason for each of us individually and within our greater society. The fact that this opportunity to be a speaker at TEDx transpired at the most unlikely time meant that it was supposed to happen now. 

We’re living in the midst of an international pandemic. We’re sitting in the front row of daily events of social and racial justice movements that fiercely contend against the establishment. I’m observing that communities and individuals are defining who they are and fighting for what they believe in during this time of global unrest.  I’m witnessing the increased appetite from those who want to discover who they are and how they’re viewed by others.  I’m witnessing the importance of how others perceive us, but more importantly is how we see ourselves.

We’re in a time when there’s an upsurge for diversity, equity, and inclusion in all of our spaces.  From all of these events and issues, one particular message has become clearer than ever: how we view an individual is less significant than how that person views themselves and what they identify as. 

This is why I’m confident that now is the perfect time to present my talk on “Assimilation as Colonization.”  It’s time for me to share a topic that has profoundly shaped how I view myself, how I view others, how I interact with various communities, and how I identify with the vast world around me.  Now is the perfect opportunity for me to share my “idea worth spreading.”

Now I have the challenging mission of encapsulating how I decolonized my framework about race, culture, and identity.  I have the task of transforming how my viewpoint and personal journey ultimately inspired my talk.  Most important, I’ll be taking the TEDx stage, standing on the big red dot, and dismantling the outdated concept of assimilation.

thisisengineering-raeng-8yS04veb1TQ-unsplash

Jamie Voros – The Journey

I love that any given cohort of TEDx speakers make up an incredibly diverse crowd. As a graduate researcher, part of my job is to share my ideas with those in my field. We routinely present at conferences, write papers and engage with those inside our field of work. TEDxCherryCreek, however, piqued my interest as a way of sharing and hearing ideas beyond the community of scientists, engineers, and academics that I would normally interact with. I love the people I meet in my line of work but after getting accepted as a TEDxCherryCreek speaker, I was most excited to meet my peers. I was most excited to meet incredible people with amazing stories from far beyond the bare white walls of the laboratory that usually surrounds me.

As much as I am fulfilled by the work I do, I often miss the diversity of conversations that I had before I really specialized and chose a field of work to delve into. Even with the current restrictions on in person meetings, thus far, being part of a TEDx cohort has not disappointed. I have already had the opportunity to meet (even if over zoom) most of the women with whom I will be sharing a stage. I continue to be impressed with the broad range of backgrounds and topics that we are going to cover.

The biggest challenge I have faced so far is dramatically changing the way I talk to an audience. I am comfortable explaining technical details. I am comfortable fielding questions from an audience interested in the underlying technology. However, I am less experienced with making the work we do applicable to a far broader population. The team at TEDxCherryCreek puts in immense effort to ensure that we, the speakers, are best prepared to talk to their audience.

Overall, I am incredibly excited that I will be able to share an idea which I am genuinely passionate about. I am also excited to hear talks, stories and ideas that I would never come across in my day to day. Beyond that, however, meeting the people behind the ideas that are so far flung from my everyday has been the most exciting part of my TEDx journey so far.

agence-olloweb-9wYdW55NbnY-unsplash

Julie Ulstrup – The Journey

“Excited feels the same as nervous,” I know, I know. Whenever I  give a talk, I feel nervous, excited, joyful, scared, freaked out and excited. Did I mention excited?

In my previous life, working at a large university in the Midwest, I would speak to large groups frequently without batting an eyelash. As a middle school and high school counselor, I taught classes to students and their parents, no sweat. But giving a TEDx talk, sharing my own big idea, now this is exciting!

Giving a TEDx talk and being on the TEDx stage to share my big idea is really quite incredible. My talk, about being seen, has many parallels to being on the TEDx stage and being heard. It is a basic human desire to be seen and to be heard. To share my message with a larger audience, is being seen and heard in a way that can change lives and inspire others to do the same.

Several friends have given talks on the TEDx stage  and their journeys have been different than mine. My experience with TEDxCherryCreek Women has far exceeded my expectations as I prepare for my talk. My fellow women  with whom I will be on stage, all are inspiring. The coaching and guidance I have received from the organizers has been supportive and empowering. In fact, this has been the best part of preparing my talk. During our first meeting I had the opportunity to practice with their guidance. They explained, “the reason we do it this way is to help you realize you’ve got this all inside, you know what you want to say.” YES, I do.

There is a parallel to what I do, as a portrait photographer to the TEDxCherryCreek process. I empower others to be seen, so that they can then portray themselves to the world as vulnerable, real, beautiful and powerful. It is in my clients all along. The same has been true of this experience for me. The organizers are guiding me through the process empowering me to discover that the words within me were there all along, ready to be shared on the stage.

Sharing my big idea is what I do, who I am and how I live. Every day in my studio, meeting with clients or having a conversation with someone I have just met, my enthusiasm is contagious. Others can feel the bright light that shines within themselves. In six weeks, I’ll be on the TEDx stage. I’m excited.

Julie Ulstrup is an elevator of women, inspiring, celebrating and empowering them to see themselves every day as powerful, vulnerable, authentic, beautiful because she believes an empowered woman makes the world a better place. For more information about Julie please visit her website https://www.julieulstrup.com

Joy and Gratitude,

Julie

Back To Top
© 2021
Powered by WordPress • Themify WordPress Themes

Ideas Worth Spreading

About TED/TEDx, x = independently organized event.

In the spirit of ideas worth spreading, TEDx is a program of local, self-organized events that bring people together to share a TED-like experience. At a TEDx event, TED Talks video and live speakers combine to spark deep discussion and connection. These local, self-organized events are branded TEDx, where x = independently organized TED event. The TED Conference provides general guidance for the TEDx program, but individual TEDx events are self-organized.