I tend to be skeptical about what you can get from a keynote speaker at a conference. I think I liked the keynote at SunGard Summit 2006, but I've forgotten who gave it and what it was about. I have been at SunGard Summit 2008 since Friday, the start of the executive portion. I've listened to 3 "keynotes" so far; 2 for the executive summit and 1 for the general summit. Both of the executive keynotes were interesting, though BJ Fogg's presentation on the Psychology of Facebook stands out. BJ is an excellent speaker and by the end of the presentation I was ready to sign up for a Facebook account (haven't yet, but give me a chance). And I came to understand the fascination with Facebook and similar technologies a bit better, including some of the pros and cons. He's also committed to the idea of peace in 30 years, a goal I'm more than happy to work towards. As long as we imagine peace is possible, peace is possible.
The keynote speaker for the general Summit, though, was exceptional. The speaker: Erik Weihenmayer. His accomplishment: the first blind man to climb the Seven Summits.
Now, I haven't climbed any mountain of any size since I climbed Mt. Washington in my early teens with my older brother -- a feat I accomplished after much moaning and complaining as we approached the final leg of the climb. Yes, I was almost there and thought it would just be better to go back down. Luckily for me my older brother managed to find in himself the capability to motivate me through something other than brute force (as my older brother he was, by definition, a bully). I'm glad he succeeded because even now I can remember how I felt when I reached the top. Exhausted but exhilarated -- a natural high, as you will.
Listening to Erik and hearing about his accomplishments reminded me of how I felt when I reached the top of Mt. Washington. And it reminded me of many other times I've felt that exhausted but exhilarated feeling, whether from doing something that was a physical challenge, or an emotional one, or a mental one, or even just getting through a tough day. Sometimes we get through it alone, sometimes we get through it only because of the help we get from others. Either way, we get through it... and move on... and we keep moving on. That's why I found him motivating.
He made a comment something along the lines of when people take on and succeed at a challenge they thought they couldn't possibly achieve they open the door for the next and harder challenge. They very thought of all the challenges ahead of me is both exhausting and exhilarating.
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