Fargo INC! August 2016 | Page 32

EMERGING PRAIRIE cultural perspective. He calls himself a millennial expert, although he draws a line between the “Oregon trail millennials and the virtual reality millennials,” he said. He spoke about what millennials are looking for in a city: good public schools, walkability, pet friendliness, and being great for young families. TAKE CARE OF YOURSELF The audience also learned the value of a healthy mentality as well, with speakers Kaitlin Hopkins, award-winning actress and educator; Lissa Rankin; author of Mind over Medicine, and Bec Heinrich, leadership consultant. Hopkins prodded at the lack of mental health education, particularly in the entertainment industry where mental illness is prevalent. She asked the audience, “We check our blood pressure once a year. Why not our mental health?” Rankin, too, stated that mental and spiritual health is a key component to our overall well-being. Loneliness is the biggest threat to our health, she said, and fostering connections and “leaning in to relationships” are the correct medicine. To demonstrate, she asked everyone in the room to rise and hold hands with their neighbor. “This is medicine, people.” she said. Heinrich addressed another threat to mental health and that is a disease she calls “the disease of doing.” That being the push and pull many feel from the 30 AUGUST 2016 world to do, do, do. The antidote to this damaging pressure is one word: rest. “Rest is deep internal renewal,” Heinrich said, noting that leaders who are constantly giving need an equally constant process of refueling. “We need to slow down in order to accelerate.” WHAT NOW? These are only glimpses. Richard Wiese told stories from his travels and Julia Huffman called for a renewed reverence of nature and the wolf. The Minimalists questioned consumerist America, asking the audience, “What would your life look like with less?” And Fargo’s own Jack Wood shared how in the community garden he started to help bring food to impoverished families, it’s about “community, not charity.” The event concluded with Jim Hodge, a world-renowned master of fundraising, calling for change in philanthropy. “I believe a whole lot of shift has to happen for philanthropy to return to its purpose,” he said. Philanthropy is about dreams, not strategic plans, he said. It’s about compelling, not selling. It’s about abundance, not scarcity. “When we abandon the model of scarcity, we stop scheming on how to get a benefactor and start dreaming,” he said. The event, which was organized by Annie Wood and Lindsay Breuler, curated by Emerging Prairie's Greg Tehven, and came to fruition with the help of more than 100 volunteers and sponsors, was hailed as another success by many attendees. Scott Holdman, cocreator of FundingLogic, claimed it was the “best one yet.” But the true success of an event built around the mantra of “ideas worth spreading” is in the aftermath. Now is when we see how the ideas presented on stage will be embodied in each of the hundreds upon hundreds of attendees, returning to their respective cities and countries. The rallying cry for the event might be summarized best in the closing line from Peter Reike, the first paraplegic man to conquer Mt. Rainier. “Choose to be the power for change,” he said. “If we each do this, then we can truly accelerate.” See you next year. MORE INFO Emerging Prairie emergingprairie.com 122 1/2 Broadway N, Fargo