TORONTO (Digital Journal) — Richard St. John says he knows the secret to success. After interviewing thousands of the world’s richest and most accomplished people, he’s written a book about it, called Spike’s Guide to Success. But yesterday, on the second day of ideaCity05, he was willing to divulge that secret to everyone in attendance.
Now, the audience at ideaCity, a three-day symposium featuring visionary speakers from every field of commerce and culture, is already one you could consider successful. One pollster, given the chance to take the stage, even referred to them as “elite,” albeit to weak groans of protest.
It should not have shocked anyone when that secret was revealed to be a combo of drive, persistence, and most of all, passion. No surprise, because everyone else who spoke that day — from circumnavigator Derek Hatfield to ethnobotanist Chris Kilham to children’s songwriter Raffi Cavoukian — practically oozed the stuff.
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| Guests of ideaCity05 pose for the annual “class photo”. — Photo by Digital Journal |
Throughout impromptu, sometimes rambling 20-minute stretches, the audience at Toronto’s packed Isabel Bader Theatre heard impassioned diatribes on everything from the need for arts education to the insidious scourge of neatness. That rant came courtesy of award-winning humorist John Freed, whose snapshots of his own disastrously messy office were almost as disturbing as animal-rights pioneer Stephanie Lafarge’s gruesome footage of animal abuse.
According to Toronto real estate developer Harry Stinton, the day’s first speaker, Canada is not known for its passion. “Inspired Canadians who are passionate become ‘Canadian-born,’” he joked. “The passion we have is a dislike for passionate people.”
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| Samba Squad, world drum percussionists led by award-winning Rick Shadrach Lazar, close out day two of ideaCityo5. — Photo by Digital Journal |
As if to prove Stinton wrong, the next speaker was Derek Hatfield — one of only 126 sailors to trek around the world solo, and the only Canadian to complete the 28,700-mile race. What made Hatfield persevere through vicious weather, severe sleep deprivation and a capsized boat? His answer was a simple tautology: “It’s a race.”
Other presenters exhibited an equally fiery single-mindedness towards their respective crafts. Renowned architect Douglas Cardinal went broke trying to achieve his unique vision of perfection, but he continues to produce wildly original building designs today.
One of the day’s most stirring speeches came from author and medicine hunter Chris Kilham, who travels the world’s most remote areas in search of useful herbs. His speech about the gradual erasure of native knowledge and culture moved the audience greatly.
Between speakers, the featured artists offered bursts of the most diversely passionate music you could expect to hear in one day. Avant-garde violinist Helmut Lipsky’s jazz/tango fusion blew the roof off as did harmonica prodigy Jerome Godboo’s blues improv and the 16-piece Samba Squad’s thundering percussion assault.
Attendees can expect another 10 hours of cerebral stimulation today, with speakers Gord Downie, June Callwood and Robert Kennedy, Jr.
