I attended Dreamforce, an annual conference held by Salesforce, in San Francisco late last year. Here are some nuggets to ponder from that event…
Alec Baldwin
Smart, funny and witty, Alec drew the curtain on what it’s like to be famous. Made me want to never look at another news rag in the supermarket line. It also made me ask myself, “Why are we so obsessed with movie stars?”
Green Day and Blondie
Blondie was great but Green Day was cursed by the rain. The electrical system suffered a blow and killed the sound system. After the band’s speakers sputtered to a dead silence, the lead singer, Billie Joe Armstrong, performed an intimate acoustic set for the fans up front. A real demonstration of passion and dedication.
Huey Lewis and the News
A surprise performance that made my week. They performed a few favorites during the keynote and then more outside. Is it even possible to imagine that it’s been 30 years? They transported me back to the days of waxing my first car in my parent’s driveway – not a care in the world other than, “Will he call?”
Sexual Discrimination
Sheryl Sandberg shed light on the sexual discrimination both sexes hold. She brought up that girls and boys are treated differently from the start. A young girl who takes charge is seen as “bossy” while a young boy is a “leader.”
She made me realize my own discrimination as I’d exclaimed at the beginning of the conference, “Two young women are C-level officers at major corporations?!,” (Sheryl Sandburg is the COO at Facebook and Melissa Mayer is the CEO of Yahoo!). Sadly, I wouldn’t have had the same reaction had they been men.
Read Sheryl Sandburg’s book, “Lean In” to help bring about recognition and change.
Deepak Chopra
Deepak was THE anticipated speaker for me. I’ve read his books, blogs, and am generally awestruck by his viewpoint. He didn’t disappoint with insights on:
– The formula for happiness:
S (Set point which is determined from birth: 50%)
+ C (Conditions of living: 10-12%)
+V (Voluntary action: what you do with your time – it should include fulfillment, a creative outlet and make others happy)
– The two biggest questions:
1. What is the stuff of the universe?
2. What is this nothing from where we all come?
I didn’t even want to breathe in this section of his talk for fear I’d miss something. It was spellbinding prose on quantum physics and recent discoveries. “There are 40 billion habitable planets in our universe,” according to a recent finding. 40 billion!
– Deepak’s new program to bring balance between two alarming, contradicting health issues: obesity in the United States and starvation in other countries.
Learn more.
His recommendations:
1. Know yourself. What are your weaknesses? Do you eat when you’re stressed?
2. Love yourself. If I love myself, what choice would I make? Burger or salad? Treat yourself with the love and attention you’d give your child.
Wayne Dyer
Dr. Wayne Dyer sat serenely in his chair, as in a fireside chat, while sharing his insights on happiness and wholeness. He talked about how changing your thoughts changes your life, “When you change the way you look at things, the things you look at change.”
He asked, “What are the top three things Americans do for pleasure?” My first guess was alcohol, my friend’s was sex. She was closer than I. They are:
1. Shopping
2. Food
3. Sex
Unfortunately, these will not bring lasting happiness. Meditation, moving away from the ego, and embracing what makes you feel good are the things that do.
He also asked, “What would you do if you weren’t afraid?” Wow. there’s a question that points to so many other books I’ve read. What would I do if I weren’t afraid? I’d do all the things I’d envisioned when I was an idealistic, optimistic, college student. I’d paint, write, make a difference in the world. I guess I’ve mapped out my to do list for the next 20 years.
David Agus
Dr. Agus shared the breakthrough “predictive medicine” concept – getting advanced insight into what diseases you may be apt to have later in life and taking preventative measures now.
He also touched on the importance of schedules – for meals, sleep and exercise. In a clinical study, there is a 30% increase in productivity and retention in children with consistent sleep schedules.
