by: Ivan Simic, .ME

The opening keynote of the 2016 conference, one of the most captivating speakers you can have the privilege of listening to, Brian Solis, used his charm and extensive expertise to empower the audience to make the world just a little bit better for themselves and their surroundings.

Opening with the clarification that he is on Spark.Me to “figure things out” with the audience, he took everyone involved on a journey that revealed that everyone has their own potential. Among the overwhelmingly positive response his thoughts provoked, we picked some of the most inspirational quotes from Brian that we would like to share with you, so you can enhance your life and get a glimpse of the inspiration that captivated the Spark.Me crowd today.

Brian also talked about his new book, called simply “X”, which inspired the organizers to play the song of the same name during his walk on stage.

I’m Here To Figure Things Out With You

In some of his first words, Brian noted that his goal is to figure things out with the Spark.me crowd. The things that needed figuring out ranged from how to break new ground when it comes to marketing, developing and life in general, to how you have to start change somewhere for the actual change to happen. Brian noted that the rules that we are currently applying in marketing are just old and don’t work the way they should, and are thus hindering progress. The rules need to be changed and for that, thinking outside the box is a necessity.

You Are The People You’re Reaching Out To

Many marketers today just can’t come to grips with what do they want to offer and to whom. One of the most used “wrong” approaches is the way of marketing things to “someone out there” whom you view as just a click or a subscriber. In his keynote, Brian noted that you need to view the people to who you’re marketing as you view yourself. These people are real people, and aren’t just random clicks, and treating them as such can lead you to great business success.

The Egosystem

Besides being a cool name, the phrase Egosystem describes the current state of mankind, once you factor in the massive influence social media has had on shaping of the world as we know it. Brian took the opportunity to describe that there’s a certain belief that people who don’t get enough “likes” on a photo think that they’re doing something wrong and that they need to change something to get more likes the next time around. He also showed a photo of a sidewalk in China that has a separate lane just for people who are texting and walking, which perfectly describes the current state of our usage of social media. Because the people who text walk slower as well, the lane was opened so the “slow walkers” don’t slow down the rest of the pedestrian traffic.

You Need To Learn How To Unlearn

The basic problem in the current state of the modern world, according to Brian, is the practice of putting new technology into old designs – a practice that is fundamentally wrong. He used the example of TV remotes, that are simply not evolving at all, despite the technology that powers them and the technology that they are controlling being extremely developed and “smart”, in the full sense of the word. To improve the current state the remote is in, people should rethink the remote, not just improve the quality of the buttons. This example goes to show that a tectonic shift in thinking needs to happen for us to actually live better lives.

We Need More People Doing Crazy Things

The quote we’re referring is a bit censored, but the main goal is the same. The world needs people that are crazy, and the people who are doing crazy things. You see, the seemingly crazy ideas are actually the ones that make a change. There are numerous recounts of hugely successful people telling that they were more than once told that they are, pretty crazy. Crazy is very good actually – “crazy ideas” spawned more successful projects than any seemingly “normal” or “logical” ideas. The main point here is not to be afraid to think outside the box, no matter how large or comfortable the box is.

An amazing keynote for the start of an even more amazing first day of Spark.Me. Undoubtedly there will be more talks like this for the duration of the conference, and everyone is sure to leave inspired and with their spark lit to ignite the change in their communities.

Continue following our updates for all of the best updates from Spark.Me 2016!