TED Community » Cijaye DePradine

More About Me

I'm passionate about

Making a difference, doing things that matter. FEELING everything I do.

An idea worth spreading

I do not believe that you can succeed if you do not overcome your fears, embrace challenge or accept that change is a requirement of growth. I also do not believe you can succeed unless you understand that every reality you see in your life is because of a choice you made. If you are not there yet - you should consider your options in getting there (ie: www.ftrnation.com) because every large fear or challenge is "a stepping stone to the greatness your life deserves". Only when you agree with this - will success poor over you.

Talk to me about

Running a Self Aware Business and/or Making a Difference.

People don't know that I'm good at

Making online marketing - HONEST and ETHICAL! Seeing what you don't in your business.

My TED Story

I do not have a TED story yet that I know of - but I am a go getter and will definitely create one. I like it here!

Comments

• TEDCred score: +1.10 TEDCred reflects your contribution to the TED community.

• A comment on Talk: Kid President: I think we all need a pep talk

  May 31 2013: Just shared this again today on Twitter simply because this amazing lil' man has truly turned my original desire to simply be better - into desires to be AWESOME and EPIC! Mad love for you Kid President! MAD LOVE!

• A reply on Talk: Andy Puddicombe: All it takes is 10 mindful minutes

  Feb 22 2013: Peter, I noticed the absence of PowerPoints as well. I believe there is a time and place for them though and such a lecture, doesn't seem to be fitting for that. How counter intuitive would that be when trying to portray the value of no distractions. That said, the balls were still used as a teaching aid and were distracting - but intentionally so. That to me is a well thought out talk. :)

• A comment on Talk: Andy Puddicombe: All it takes is 10 mindful minutes

  Feb 22 2013: Very effective presentation. Loved the juggling acts he displayed. Incredibly poignant I tried day 1 of Andy's meditations this morning and I have felt amazing ever since. Even though I have a lot going on I am at peace with it all. What a great way to start your day. Thank you Andy.

• A reply on Conversation: Should we teach our kids about how advertisement (public relationships, marketing) works?

  Oct 29 2012: Great response Andres, and you did make an excellent point that I too should have brought up. The word consumer is an "unfriendly" classification. I use it simply to group those who buy things together - but the reality is - I too very much dislike the term.
  
  Long story short though - your overall concept of educating youth at a SCHOOL level about how this all works and how they can protect ourselves is very smart and in many ways (I believe) quite necessary.
  
  P.S. I understand your points about the time drains involved with due diligence, but because I am often one that helps business recover from seriously bad decisions that resulted from NOT doing due diligence, I see that time as quite important (at least for larger investments)

• A comment on Conversation: Why do we NOT invest effectively in the poor and marginalized so they can participate in the global economy?

  Oct 25 2012: You are welcome RH. I am sure there are plenty of other opportunities out there, but this one appeals greatly to me because it provides people with their most basic needs - which would otherwise require money they may not have; it keeps them and their families from being hungry IF NOTHING ELSE and it gives them the opportunity to earn this while being incredibly supported and motivated to do so. I find this model incredibly empowering. Now if only there was a a way for housing, utilities and other necessities could be funded/provided in this way too - no ONE organization or individual gives up everything, everyone feels pride in what they are doing and our neighbors are taken care of. This alone would probably reduce crime too. Great conversation.
• +2

  A comment on Conversation: Should we teach our kids about how advertisement (public relationships, marketing) works?

  Oct 25 2012: Andres, I do agree with you on much of what you have said. Marketing does work best when it triggers emotions and all marketers know this.
  
  That said, we are ALL consumers. Even Marketers are. We still need to buy things and we typically buy what we need or what we want. If we want something we don't need - is that the marketers fault OR is it our issue for being weak?
  
  So the education required here (for adults and children alike) is not just about how marketing really works - it's about due diligence and self control (among a few other fundamental but complex forms of logic)!
  
  We will always need to buy things. That won't ever go away. So of COURSE marketing is going to live on forever. But we (as consumers) do need to assess what we are exposed to better and we need to check in with ourselves about whether its RIGHT for us or not.
  
  We are (as a global community) in a world of debt. Why - because we buy more than we need and we need more than we can afford. AND we have very little education on HOW to change this.
  
  Is that REALLY the fault of marketing?
  
  P.S. I do take issue with some of the comments below. Saying that all marketers are liars, scammers, profiteers etc. is very accusatory. Even if few and far between, there are actually some marketers on the planet that do what they do because they believe in the companies they do it for AND actually care about those who would likely buy their products.
  
  P.P.S. An ethical marketer see's marketing as NOT a way to scam people out of their money for a crappy product but a way to educate consumers better so that they can make informed decisions.
• +1

  A comment on Conversation: Why do we NOT invest effectively in the poor and marginalized so they can participate in the global economy?

  Oct 25 2012: Great question/discussion and I believe to a large degree that the WHY falls somewhere between innovation and time. I don't think expendable funds is the entire issue here. (Even though I did just read that for ever dollar the USA brings in - it's exhausted into 3 key areas of investment - and the rest is borrowed to cover all other investments)...BUT...besides that...without time you cannot innovate what is necessary to improve this situation - and even if you could innovate smart solutions (and by you I am speaking of those with MEANS to do this) --- without the time to make it happen, it simply doesn't.
  
  An example that comes to mind for me about how innovation and time/dedication HAS provided a great solution for the poor and marginalized - is a non-profit called Quest. There is a lot more to the organization than I will explain here but basically, through grants, corporate sponsorships, food donations from local restaurants and grocers and community crowd funding they have purchased a warehouse, turned it into a "healthy" grocery store - that is only accessible by invitation only (to the poor and marginalized). The shelves are stocked with all sorts of healthy foods, diet specific foods and better options than lets say a food bank (even though they work WITH the food banks).
  
  Anyhow they require all "shoppers" to participate in the operation somehow in order to earn grocery credits. Some might stock shelves, some might clean, some might do cash, bag or greet others. In turn they can shop the warehouse for their own foods and improve their lives. No cash is exchanged with these individuals, but skills development and work ethics DOES result in higher moral --- and for some the desire to do more with their lives. My understanding is that some of their shoppers have since gotten jobs - well paid ones and STILL come back to volunteer at Quest. It's life changing. And only one example. But effective.
• +4

  A comment on Talk: Brené Brown: Listening to shame

  Oct 22 2012: Brene says "Vulnerability is the birthplace of innovation, creativity and change" - how fantastic. I absolutely adore this message. I adore Brene. What a great teacher for self awareness, for courage, for commitment and change. I am so happy to be part of Brene's audience on this (even if it is online).
• +1

  A comment on Talk: Brené Brown: The power of vulnerability

  Oct 22 2012: Such an entertaining and thought provoking talk! I absolutely love this one. Brene Brown has nailed it! We can only LIVE and truly "accept" all that is great in life when we stop controlling the outcome of everything. I am so thrilled to have seen this. Thank you Brene.

• A reply on Talk: Brené Brown: The power of vulnerability

  Oct 22 2012: Love that: WE CANNOT EXPERIENCE LOVE, IF WE AVOID EXPERIENCING PAIN - so very very true! Thank you.