TED Community » Allison Martyn

More About Me

I'm passionate about

connecting people and helping them find purpose and value. Everyone has SO much to offer to each other and to the world - sometime they just need help putting 2 and 2 together.

An idea worth spreading

Everything has a second, third, forth, and sometimes fifth life. Recycling is great, but if you tap into your creative mind, you can probably repurpose whatever you are about to recycle!

Those old, stained tshirts can turn into rags and there's no more need for paper towels! Or take that Kleenex box and before recycling it, use it as a stuff box for underwear in a drawer! Overwhelmed with plastic bags? If you can't use them all as trash liners, (first start taking reusable bags to the grocery store), then use them as stuffing when mailing packages or stuff them in a child safe fabric doll and you now have a homemade soft toy that makes a great crinkly sound!

Everything has more character if it has been repurposed. Because of its nature, it has a story to tell that sometimes encourages people to rethink consumerist tendencies.

Talk to me about

rock climbing, surfing, snowboarding, sustainability, upcycling, British Columbia, traveling, God and the church, Kenya, South Africa, Sudan, a new definition of success, learning new languages, REI

People don't know that I'm good at

painting nails. slack lining. and picking up languages.

My TED Story

I don't have one yet... but I think it will have something to do with this: My life's desire is to motivate and mobilize people to create exponential impact toward meeting the basic needs of people in developing countries.

Comments

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• A comment on Talk: Joe Smith: How to use a paper towel

  May 4 2012: LOVE IT! Reduction is a planet and a wallet's best friend.
• +1

  A comment on Conversation: What we can learn from babies?

  Apr 4 2012: From babies, I learn simplicity. They only need food and to be with those who love them. If we could make our decisions based on these simple needs, we would be much more fulfilled and bountiful in spirit.
• +5

  A reply on Talk: Leymah Gbowee: Unlock the intelligence, passion, greatness of girls

  Mar 29 2012: I cannot speak from Lehmah, but I would expect that she had begun her work with girls because of the generalist fast that they have a lower status in the community than men. They are often raising children on their own without any support from the childrens' father(s), it is challenging to find work and they are not a priority when it comes to education.
  
  I agree Richard, there are absolutely boys that are in need of basic things such as education, food, clothing, but we all have to start somewhere, eh? And my guess is that because of Lehmah's own story, she was drawn to support and help the young girls of Africa.

• A comment on Talk: Leymah Gbowee: Unlock the intelligence, passion, greatness of girls

  Mar 29 2012: Wow. I want to learn from this woman.

• A reply on Talk: Amy Purdy: Living beyond limits

  Mar 22 2012: Kat! Yes, perfect - I wish I would have thought of this. I was a ski instructor in Vail the last two winters and have had friends help out with this program and every moment was life changing for both parties. I hope it works out for Amy!

• A comment on Talk: Amy Purdy: Living beyond limits

  Mar 22 2012: Wow - Amy SO speaks directly from her heart. Incredibly moving. I felt like I got to know her in less than 10 minutes. What a tremendously inspired and inspiring woman.
• +3

  A comment on Conversation: How do you find out what your passion is ?

  Mar 21 2012: SINA! I love this question! Isnt it the point of every day? This generation no longer feels like we have to work at the same company doing the same thing for 40 years, and we are free to really pursue what gives us life. But what a question to answer!
  
  I have been spending the last 3 months especially on this and am so grateful to have figured out what my core passion is and will outline a few tips solely from my own experience that might possibly help someone else... or you!
  
  1. Be simple. We tend to over analyze ourselves, other people, situations. We each have instinct. If something brings you joy, note what that is.
  2. After you determine a list of things you love, can you boil them down to the exact activity or aspect of that thing that you enjoy?
  3. Now see what overlaps...
  4. See if you can differentiate what your core mission is versus vision. Mission wakes you out of bed. Mission is how you love relating to people. Vision is the avenue by which that mission is manifested.
  
  For example, my mission is to motivate and mobilize people toward X to have a greater impact than if I was to work alone. My vision is to eliminate the absence of basic needs for people in developing countries. So I will use my mission, the core of who I am, to connect people and ideas and work toward accomplishing my vision.
  
  These are my quick thoughts and I hope they make sense!

• A comment on Talk: Andrew Stanton: The clues to a great story

  Mar 13 2012: this makes me want to write a book! or at least try. Try and find that storyteller within that was lost some time along college papers and grad school research.

• A reply on Conversation: Perhaps we give our schedules too much power and unscheduled time not enough.

  Mar 7 2012: Bastian - where do you live in Europe? I have spent some time over there and can definitely see how you guys could use some scheduled margin to slow down and see where life leads instead of us leading life all the time. Do you think this is possible? Would your professional friends see the value in leaving some holes in their day?

• A comment on Talk: Ken Robinson says schools kill creativity

  Mar 2 2012: When I was 10, in elementary art class, my art teacher challenged me what I was painting.
  
  "It is a sunset!" I said with excitement at the stripes of red, pink and blue
  
  She responded,"Sunsets don't look like that. Throw it away and start over."
  
  I was devastated at the instruction as I loved sunsets and the one I was painting was from the night just before when I was in the car with my mom. I shared the story with my mom and she encouraged me to paint it again. (She also, being a teacher at the same school, had a few choice words for the art instructor.)
  
  In the bridge to a revolution in creativity in education, those of us with any influence in children's lives have a responsibility to encourage and foster that creativity. Let's not wait until all the public school systems in the world figure it out. Let's do what WE can now. Cheers.