From the Sandbox: The Upside to Losing
Every day, our community manager Katrin Winiarski, reads through her feed of all Sandboxers’ blog posts. Every Thursday, she chooses the most inspiring, funny or brilliant one and reposts it on this blog. This post has been written by Sandboxer Melissa Kong. The original version can be found here.
Did you know that we feel our losses 2 to 2.5 times more than we feel our gains? In other words, if we lost $100, it would feel 2 to 2.5 times worse that it would feel good if we won $100.
I think to some extent, we all fear loss- and as a result, we often respond in one of two ways. Sometimes, we’ll cling too tight to the things we fear losing. We wrap ourselves up in things that ultimately don’t make us who we are at all- like the infatuation with money, or the need to have a prestigious career title. We carefully guard everything- from our computers and clothes, to our books and phones. We guard some things like we’d be lost without them…when maybe, the truth is that we’re really lost with them.
Other times, we avoid anything worth losing altogether. We fear the pain of working hard and falling in love with something worth holding onto, so we never reach out to grab it. For instance, some of us have brilliant business ideas that, if put into action, would really fill our souls- ideas that would change other people’s lives, and most certainly our own. But, too often, we never move forward with the ideas we dream about because we are so afraid of what could be lost if we fail. We never go for it at all, and we are left wondering how things might be different if we had just taken a leap of faith.
The bigger the potential loss, the more we avoid it. It is our fear of losing that stops us from experiencing things big and small- from jumping into the ocean for the first time and learning what a wave of salty blue water feels like on our skin, to falling in love and learning what it feels like to be loved back.
The bigger the risk, the greater the reward. And with the biggest risks- like choosing to let people into our lives and loving them for simply caring enough to be part of it for a while, the reward is just that- letting people in and loving them.
Despite how painful it is to lose something, we must embrace loss- because life is full it. Throughout the course of each of our lives, we are bound to lose a lot- from simple things like pens and books, to bigger things like jobs and money. And no matter how many of those things we lose, no loss will hurt more than that of losing the ones we love. Sometimes we’ll lose them because their time has run out on this earth…maybe after a long life, and maybe after a short one. Other times we’ll lose the ones we love because the time we were meant to spend with them has run out…after many years, or just a few moments.
But the point isn’t to spend our time trying not to lose what matters to us, or to avoid getting too close to anything that would hurt to lose in the first place. The point is simply to embrace whatever we are lucky enough to have… from the simple things, like dinners and dollars- to the much bigger things… like the people who walk into our lives, however long or briefly they are with us, by plan or serendipity.
It’s hard not to think about the pain that any kind of loss brings. But in those moments that make you want to cling tight to what you fear losing, or that make you want to avoid embracing anything that you wouldn’t want to lose in the first place, remember:
Loss will remind you of what maters. It will keep you humble and grounded. It will get you to rethink who you are and who you want to be.
And, often you’ll find that in the process of losing something else, that’s when you really find yourself.
Melissa is an Assistant Brand Manager at Time Inc. Home Entertainment in New York where she manages brand extension projects for many publications. She is also the editor-in-chief of the Student Branding Blog and majored in Psychology at Hamilton College in New York.
Uncovering the Iran of Innovators: First Tehran Sandbox Dinner
Thinking of Iran, words that come to mind mostly are in the realm of ”nuclear weapons”, “sanctions”, “chador” or “petrol” - and on TV, news from Iran hardly ever is good news. On the ground, things look different: there’s also the Iran of startup entrepreneurs from e-learning to nano-tech, of upcoming contemporary artists, of high-end researchers, movie directors and musicians. The Iran of
innovators.
So Sandbox Network is going new ways and is extending to Iran, helping to build bridges and fostering good relationships, openness and innovation. As a first step, our early member Hannes Gassert, currently in Iran, and local open source entrepreneur Ashkan Roshanayi are organizing the country’s first Sandbox Dinner in two weeks. Should you be in the area, then please sign up here or send us a private message to hannes@gassert.ch. And don’t forget to forward this good news from Iran whoever might be interested to come as well. If you can’t come, but there’s something you always wanted to know about isolated Iran and its innovators but never dared to ask: please do leave a comment!
The trigger for a massive global transformation?
The search for the name of a newborn movement to unleash human potential.
For example, there is Supercool School, an online school platform that Assetmap, a new venture by Sandboxer Nathaniel Whittemore, is an online platform that helps individuals discover and leverage resources directly from the community around them, using the methodology of Asset Based Community Development (ABCD).
Sandboxer Bjoern Lasse Herrman is working towards just that. He is not alone. There is a discussion underway involving thought leaders in this field. Individuals focused on human development and empowerment outcomes, who have realized the need to frame and brand the category of ventures they work on.
Sandboxer Max Marmer believes that “the consolidation and focus around a single brand could create a rising tide that lifts their work through more effective PR, fundraising, and most importantly, collaboration.” One huge differentiator that sets these projects apart from almost all other organizations is their emphasis on “human potential” or “social capital”, rather than economic capital. The hope is that by creating a clearly defined space for these organizations to work in, there will be more opportunity to share this social capital, allowing them to achieve complimentary aspects of mutually shared visions. Their aspirations are tied to value creation, based on co-operative contribution, and will allow them to fulfill personal passions. Giving new meaning to their work, its helping people lead happier lives.
Sandboxer Dhaval Chadha initiated a design thinking session at Singularity University, where he currently studies, and united a group of Sandboxers & Friends from the Silicon Valley. Alexandros Pagidas beautifully synthesized the results into this Emergent Map.
The discussion has grown to include around fifty people, but those already participating want open it up further, to hear everyone’s suggestions. So what would you name this movement to unleash human potential?
From Russia with Love
Me and my local informant
Officially on a short holiday between St. Petersburg and Moscow, I was also on a mission: organize a Sandbox dinner in both these cities.
Thanks to the great help of several Sandbox members from Russia and abroad, we could put together a small event in St. Petersburg and a bigger one in Moscow.
The latter was truly amazing: 25 people showed up, representing the creme de la creme of Russian entrepreneurship. I had the chance to meet the founders of several Russian startups, a student involved in a government project aiming to redesign the Russian education landscape as well as top senior people such as Alexander Galitsky, a renowned Russian investor.
Alexander Galitsky
There was one word on all lips: Skolkovo, the Russian Silicon Valley project. Announced by President Dmitry Medvedev in March 2010, it will consist in a high-tech hub for scientists and entrepreneurs to help Russia develop and commercialize new technologies.
Initially, Skolkovo will focus on five priority directions for Russia: energy, IT, telecommunications, biomedicine and nuclear technologies. The territory of Skolkovo innovation center (also called Innograd) will host branches of multinational corporations, as well as top tier graduate programs. It will provide tax incentives, easy access to new clients, and mechanisms to finance and sell new ideas.
One thing is certain, Russia has a lot of young talents and we wouldn’t be surprised to see a new Sandbox hub with more regular events emerging soon in the capital.
Antoine is a co-founder and the CEO of Sandbox. He can’t resist to link here the song that rythmed his holiday.
Meet a Sandboxer: Darina Garland
Darina Garland, is a Scot, Living in London. Durig her studies at University College for the Creative Arts Darina worked for Creative Partnerships, a initiative that links creative professionals with schools to help realize projects that embed creative practice into the curriculum. Darina on Twitter and Facebook.
Tell us the story of your latest project.
Along with Kristian Tapaninaho I set up and run Suklaa- which is a media and education company. We design and deliver lots of different projects. Our main aims are to boost the creative capacities of students and teachers and to help embed innovation into teaching and learning. We run projects for NESTA, Creative Partnerships, Royal Opera House, National Theatre and many more.
What are you doing and how did you get there?
We’re big believers in the need to transform education -we’re massive fans of and work with Sir Ken Robinson. One of our latest projects is called ‘Making it Happen’ which has stemmed from a frustration we have had when attending lots of exciting education conferences but then nothing much happens afterwards- nothing changes. We hope ‘Making it Happen’ will be the start of a long term project for real educational change. Working with our good friend Claudia Barwell, NESTA (National Endowment for Science, Technology and the Arts), Sir Ken and Ted X London we’ll invite key leaders in multiple industries to envision the future of education and then make pledges to make it happen. This project is in it’s infancy- but we’re really excited so watch this space!
Tell us about the biggest successes and failures in your life. What worked, what didn’t, and what did you learn?
Biggest successes- are when we manage to convince the young people we work with that they are capable of absolutely anything!
Biggest failures- probably came in the earlier days of Suklaa- when we tried to gain new clients via marketing rather than reputation. Now, luckily we get new clients through current connections, good rep and tendering for new programmes like we did for our NESTA project, ‘idiscover’. Personally, I think that we have failures and successes every day- you have to keep moving, to keep ideas generating to stay in the game- and you can’t have big ideas without lots of rubbish ones too!
What do you want to achieve in the next week, the next year, the next 10 years?
In the next week.. I want to have a beautiful wedding! (it’s on the 31st July!- to the lovely Kristian!)
In the next year.. Launch ‘Making it Happen’ and really start making education change a reality.
In the next ten years.. help completely transform the education system into something that values individuality, multiple intelligences, innovation, passion and excites children and teachers alike. It should liknk to real life, kids should real whole books for pleasure and learning and not just the chapter of the book that will be in the exam!! (aka far away from the league table system that has teachers and kids jumping through hoops to get the grades.)
What was your most inspring moment during the last two weeks?
It was during a leadership and change workshop I ran with my colleague Claudia Barwell. We worked with 26, 16 year olds who are about to become the school executives (head girl, boy, sports captains etc). Amongst other activities we asked them all to rate their intelligence at the beginning of the day. Lots of them were very negative about their abilities. We ran several interactive exercises that explored multiple intelligences. It was a fun-packed and inspiring day. At the end of the session we asked them to rate their intelligences again- they were transformed. During the evaluation with a senior member of staff every student had their hand up desperate to share what they’d learned. Their feedback was lovely, one student said: If you can change 26 attitudes in a day; then if we did this with everyone, you can change everything – drastically. Everyone should do it.
How could other Sandboxers and the outside world support you and why would that be exciting for them?
We’d love to hook up with people who know about innovation and creativity in education, as well as people who have ideas about how the systems can be transformed. Top gamers, entrepreneurs, change-makers and movers and shakers! This would be especially helpful for our Making it Happen programme- but we’re always looking for new connections. I think that working with young people and teachers is one of the most rewarding jobs possible. It’s mutually beneficial for anyone as the ideas and new perspectives kids can offer can will often blow your mind!
Darina’s favorites:
- book: Charlie and the Chocolate Factory- Roald Dahl and ‘The Element- How Finding Your Passion Changes Everything’ Ken Robinson.
- movie: Back to the Future
- place on earth: 2 Places: London, the bustling cosmopolitan, fast paced metropolis- where anything can happen!! and to counter balance this- Kristian’s family summer cabin.. on a tiny island in the middle of finland surrounded by lakes, forests and silence!
- travel destination during last year: New York, Finland, Scotland, Athens
- food: Thai Green Curry with vegetables and tofu. Without Question
- drink: Champagne.
- quote: ’If you’re not prepared to be wrong, you’ll never come up with anything original’ Sir Ken Robinson.
Catalyze entrepreneurial ideas into results with Hans Raffauf
Sandboxer Hans Raffauf is no stranger to innovative thinking. As co-founder of Palomar5, he has spent time living and working with the brightest individuals (all Palomar5 residents are now Sandboxers) brainstorming topics and projects that encompass the imaginations and talents of the Palomar community. If you are interested in reading about what he learned, you can check out this blog.
Through his new venture, betapitch, Hans wants to help entrepreneurs convert their ideas into tangible results. He has started it with two founders of betahaus, a platform that strives to meet the requirements of independent, creative professionals by providing them with an exciting, collaborative workspace. With local roots in cities across Germany, betahaus has a strong understanding of the entrepreneurial scene and more and more start-ups are renting their space.
What if you could get their space for six months, for free? betapitch is inviting start-ups from all over Germany to meet in betahaus, Berlin, for a pitching competition. Hans and the team want to support creative personalities by giving the winners not just the workspace, but the services of an incubator as well. betapitch wants to provide the network of investors, mentors and services that a young company would need.
To take part, send a one-page pitch to team@betapitch.de. 10 start ups will be pre-selected to do 10-minute-presentations, followed by a 5 minute answering session. Keep in mind that the aim is for all companies to make a profit (no non-profits). Technology based companies are particularly exciting, and social businesses are very welcome too.
The betapitch is going to take place in Berlin on Saturday, 2nd October 2010. Sandboxers are especially encouraged to get involved!
From the Sandbox: My Way or the Highway – My View on Career Choices
Every day, our community manager Katrin Winiarski, reads through her feed of all Sandboxers’ blog posts. Every Thursday, she chooses the most inspiring, funny or brilliant one and reposts it on this blog. This post has been written by Sandboxer Fredrik Hagenius. This is only a shortened version, the original version can be found here.
First Sandbox Dinner in Prague by Tomas Laboutka and Zdenek Fous
The inauguratory Sandbox dinner in Prague took place on Tuesday 29th June, in a great restaurant “Potrefená Husa”, providing the attendees with a mix of quality Czech cuisine with the option to grab a glass of traditional beer.
The dinner was hosted by the two local ambassadors Tomas Laboutka and Zdenek Fous. Both of them also lead FL Ventures - a company focused on creating successful businesses from innovative ideas. They are bridging the innovators and start-up entrepreneurs with necessary contacts, investments and business know-how. Tomas and Zdenek invited 8 talented individuals for the dinner; majority of them also entrepreneurs, which have achieved something special for their age and they have built strong visions and discovered drive that fuels their lives. Naturally, the entrepreneurial spirit, launching of ventures and the perils on the road, became one of the main topics to discuss on the dinner. For example, Sandbox member and Partner at Ask designers Ryan Cole presented his views on the differences between the US, Dutch and Czech business environment, especially in respect to work efficiency and price levels. Radka Kucerova who worked 2 years in investment banking in London for Credit Suisse pointed out to the market differences between UK and CEE and the prospective venture start-ups. Jan Rieger discussed the generous governmental financial support, he secured for his new venture in magnetic resonance.
Overall the dinner was a great success as Pavel Prouza (from Brandz Friendz) posted it on Facebook: “Sandbox dinner - what an excellent evening! Met many interesting, spirited people from different business fields, we all shared one thing. Passion.” Next dinner in Prague is planned for the first two weeks in August – feel free to come and let’s make things happen.
3 Girls in search of the best Generation Y Ideas
Thirteen cities. Forty-Three days. One mission: to connect and highlight young innovators and go-getters across the US. The ladies at GenJuice have made it their goal to encourage, mobilize and connect over 1,300 young people across the nation to start projects and companies.
Co-founder and Sandboxer Arielle Scott was all set to write her senior thesis at Berkeley on Gen-Y innovation and entrepreneurship. For anecdotal evidence, she decided to bring all her entrepreneurial friends together…and voila! Her friends were able to connect and consequently get a lot of value out of one another. After the fruitful attempt Arielle and Virgilia, also a Sandboxer, decided to spread the innovative spirit beyond the Bay area. The tour has been put together since February.
At a conference, one can expect anywhere between 30 to 40 people physically present. However, thanks to a partnership with JustIn TV, anywhere between 2000-3000 people are able to participate through an online feed that streams live video.
What participants discuss is entirely up to them. It is the level of individual participation that sets GenJuice apart from other conferences. Instead of being passive listeners, addressed by a speaker, everyone involved gets to be a keynote.
It does not matter what industry one works in. You do not have to own your own company to participate. After all, being an innovator is not the same thing as being an entrepreneur. It is the idea, or the desire to have an idea that is important.
The objective of this event is to achieve a free flow of ideas, and to get creative juices flowing in earnest. Ultimately, this ‘unconference’ is about the physical connection. GenJuice wants to leave each participant with a potential partner or co-founder, one who shares an appetite for innovation.
Come October 1st 2010, when the whirlwind tour comes to an end, GenJuice has no plans of slowing down. The girls have dreams to become the “TechCrunch” for Gen-Y innovation. On this date, they will release the online destination to hear the stories of incredible young artists, creators, designers, programmers, innovators and entrepreneurs who participated throughout the tour.
If you are interested in taking part, or following GenJuice across the nation, you can find them on Twitter @meetgenjuice, and watch their weekly episodes on JustIn TV. Lastly, meet the lovely ladies who started this movement: @ariellescott, @virgiliasingh and @danielleleslie. The next stop is Austin, Texas, on the 22nd of July. Go ahead, get involved!
From the Sandbox: Paradoxical Emergence
Every day, our community manager Katrin Winiarski, reads through her feed of all Sandboxers’ blog posts. Every Thursday, she chooses the most inspiring, funny or brilliant one and reposts it on this blog. This post has been written by Sandboxer Edward Harran. This is only a shortened version, the original version can be found here.
I want less, so I can do more.
I want order, so I can embrace chaos.
I want to value me, so I can value others.
I want to stand up for myself, so I can stand up for the world.
I want to listen to my truth, so I can speak it.
I want to be where I am, so I can explore and wander later.
I want to go slow, so I find flow faster.
I want to take action, so I have a strong platform for life-kindergarten.
I want ‘money’ ( well, let me phrase, I want the modern day economic value-exchange currency) , so I have space in the future to freely share it.
I want to master my energy, so I can use energy for others.
I want to make myself everything, so I understand that its nothing.
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I want to dig deep so I can find the seeds within.
I want my (#)gear, so I can start really riding my bike.
I want to understand what drives me, so I can fuel my engine with the right petrol.
I want to, not only see the jig-saw, but start putting the pieces together.
I want to be the captain of my ship, so I can stir it into the right ports.
I want to master the art of surfing, so I can start riding the waves.
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In valuing me, I value the world.
In valuing my solitude, I deepen my love of people.
In banishing duality, I live the whole.
In trusting the lessons, I find the teachers.
In being awesome, I create awesome.
In feeling rhythm, I live the flow of it.
In continually embracing paradox, I emerge.
Edward Harran is Sandbox Ambassador in Brisbane, Australia and he works freelance as Attention Philanthropist / Digital Media Strategist. He helps all kinds of organizations to understand the digital space and use all the benefits of social media. Edward is also a Palomar5 fellow, a network-organization of innovators experimenting with new environments and empowering individuals to create and realize new ideas. He studied Communications at the University of Queensland and he is currently developing Micropatronage, a prototype of a system in which the public directly supports the work of others by making donations through the internet.