Kevin Weijers delivered one of the most hands-on approach talks during the 2015 edition of TEDxBreda. His ultimate goal is to improve productivity, which also comes with improving your way of life. And to do so, Kevin put his brilliant idea into practice: delivering 50 presentations in 15 weeks. Let’s hear it from the man himself how his 8 minute TEDx talk influenced his life:
Early 2013 I decided to quit e-mail. After three months I did my full time government job in 10 hours a week. I started a blog to explain my approach. This led to public speaking and a challenge to give 50 presentations in 15 weeks. I talked about challenging assumptions and simplifying complexity. After every talk I would ask: “How can I help?”.
A new challenge
My 34th talk was a TEDx-Talk. In Breda, city in The Netherlands. A few months before stepping on stage, I got the urge to travel the world. Because I didn’t want to stop helping people, I came up with a way to combine the two — inspired by Mark van der Heijden: www.80experiments.com. A new challenge to do 80 experiments while sharing the time to help up companies, charities and brands in exchange for food and shelter.
Currently I’m in Cape Town and at experiment number 8: To hike up Devil’s Peak, Table Mountain and Lion’s Head in one day for charity.
I’ve also helped a law firm and also a professional soccer club in Singapore, a 2D animation studio and national radio station in Kuala Lumpur, and a business school in Hanoi.
The crucial piece of the puzzle
A lot of people ask me questions about my project. “How do you find companies to do your experiments with?” is amongst the most frequently asked. The answer: “My 8 minute TEDx-Talk is proven to be a crucial piece to the puzzle.”
I pitched my idea at TEDxBreda. After the video went online I got replies from all over the world. I had invites from 32 countries within a week. This blew my mind. It still does. And wherever I go now, people tell me they’ve seen my TEDx-Talk. Or are intrigued by the fact that I gave one.
It seems to be an internationally recognized mark of trust.
A fantastic experience
Before getting on that stage on the 4th of November 2015, I was dead nervous. But I did it. Just as the other speakers who shared their idea. A fantastic experience. My advice is: if you think you have a story to tell, don’t hesitate, climb on that stage and share it with the world.
And watch out because before you know it, amazing things start to happen…
PS: If you have questions for me, feel free to reach out: www.80experiments.com/contact. And a special thanks to Menno (and the rest of the TEDxBreda team) from Cape Town!
And there you have it, folks – the result of putting your dreams down on paper and taking them on, one day at a time, until your goals are reached. Thank you Kevin, for your inspiring presentation and your dedication.
