The Fargo TEDsters

Over 1300 attendees gathered downtown Fargo for an event that can be described as simply inspiring and motivating. TedxFargo and TedxYouth@Fargo encouraged those attending, the TEDsters, to cultivate new ideas and live “On Purpose”. The theme “On Purpose”,  was centered around the idea to not just live life, but to live life On Purpose.

You could feel the excitement in the air Thursday morning as TEDsters gathered at ecce art + yoga to check in and claim a breakfast sandwich before heading to the Fargo Theatre to find a seat for the first session.

The sessions were filled with speakers from across the United States who shared their ideas and passion in life. Among the 32 speakers were Dan MacCombie, co-owner of Runa and named a Forbes “30 under 30”, Rich Karlgaard, North Dakota native and publisher of Forbes magazine, and Kelby Krabbenhoft, President and Chief Executive officer of Sanford Health.

An award-winning author, business coach and speaker, Pamela Slim, shared her idea of creating internal stability for ourselves. Slim stated that the only thing in life we can truly rely on is utter uncertainty, therefore it’s important for us to create internal stability for ourselves. She expressed thankfulness to Fargo saying the city is a “hotbed of creativity and has institutionalized kindness“.

In addition to the sessions, TedxFargo and TedxYouth@Fargo hosted TedxAdventures. These adventures ranged from finding your inner zen at rooftop yoga to exploring the #1 rated private airport in the Americas.

Throughout the day, TEDsters were able to keep up-to-date with events by checking their itinerary booklet. The booklets were created by DSGNX Fargo and included details about the day as well as nifty graphic design. There were messages inscribed inside the front and back covers, but in order to read them, you had to bend the booklet.

To wrap up TedxFargo, advice cards were collected from the attendees and displayed as an art exhibition. The cards were positioned to spell “On Purpose”, the theme of the event. Upon departure, TEDsters were encouraged to remove and take an advice card as a reminder of how to “Live Life On Purpose”.