by Natasha Juliana
6-18-2013

What do you need more of? Time, money, clothes, food, cars, apps, patience, friends, packaging, knowledge, TV shows, disposable sporks?

Last Saturday afternoon my husband and I, along with a fellow coWORKer, had the pleasure of attending the second annual TEDx Sonoma County.  The afternoon focused on addressing the simple question of ‘MORE?’ and how the essential human desire to constantly strive for more has shaped our lives. Of course, this can apply to any number of subjects and the eighteen speakers presenting that day ran the gamut.

If everyone had more, what would they want, what would they need, and would the world be better or worse for it? If everyone did more, what would they do, how would they do it, and what would the world be like?

We’ve all heard of workaholics and shopaholics but what if we all became “passionaholics” as speaker Emily Scott Pottruck suggests. What if we found our passion and then engaged it so completely that it inspired big action, big change? Emily found her passion when she traveled to the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) for the opening of The City of Joy, a community that supports women survivors of sexual and gender violence. As a board member of VDAY: A Global Movement to Stop Violence Against Women and Girls, Emily has turned her passion into action.

‘More’ was the official theme of the day; ‘More Action’ was my take away. As the day came to a close, my biggest fear was that all of these inspired audience members enthusiastically discussing what they had just heard would go home, turn on the TV, and resume life as usual. It’s easy to do. But as I overheard others discussing how they can apply the day’s lessons to their own life, I left hopeful. Hopeful that ‘Ideas Worth Spreading’ might just spark a pandemic of passionaholics.

Natasha Juliana is co-owner of WORK: Independent Modern Workspace with her husband Matt. They live in Petaluma with their daughter, beagle, three chickens, and turtle. Curious about coWORKing? Contact Natasha and she’ll give you the low-down. natasha@workpetaluma.com