On a regular basis people tell me people in Indiana aren’t as cool, hip, smart or interesting as people on the coasts.  And I just don’t believe it.  I have found some amazing, passionate, interesting people with life changing idea, right here in Indiana.  And yesterday about 275 of them gathered at the Cabaret Theater for the Inaugural Smaller Indiana, Bigger Ideas Conference.

If you were there, please share your thoughts.  If you weren’t here is just a taste of what you missed with some of my favorite quotes and thoughts from the day:

Scott Massey –

  • Leaders need to be four things: Scout, Knower, Witness and Conduit
  • The pace of change today should change how we think about ‘change.
  • If your not doing something that is bigger than you, you may be wasting your time
  • And an intriguing question for Scott: What constitutes work in a concept economy?

Jenni Devoe

  • Your old customers want to cast you in your old mold. Want to change the direction of your business? Change your customers!
  • You’re not going to get where you envision being if you don’t first take the time to envision being there
  • Dream until you die

Mark Hill

  • It is about mote than ideas. It is about execution
  • Wishful thinking is the enemy of execution
  • People that are successful are the people that do what they say they are going to do.
  • Find something you’re passionate about and you’ll never have a job

Sally Brown

  • Quoting Helen Keller: Life is a daring adventure or nothing at all
  • Measure your success with something other than money
  • Ask yourself four questions. What can you do? What should you do? What will you do?  And How will you inspire others

David Forsell

  • Life is a gift
  • It wasn’t that David had less to say then the other speakers, I was just so wrapped in his story, that I stopped taking notes.  I hope someone else will fill in the blanks

Ken Johnson

  • If you are the smartest person you know, your circle is too small
  • Then mentality of low expectations is all around us – Call for greatness!

And then there was more…  Jon Ketzenberger and his panel  left us with a few more thoughts but I was running out of steam.   My favorite from the panel discussion:

  • – We don’t have to embrace fear when we have the resources to embrace innovation.

    And from some of the attendees:

    • Jon Speer  ( @creoquality) summed up the event in three words Passion, Connect, Execute
    • Mike Magan ( mikemagan) Indiana is in the early stages of a positive transformation.

    And along with the speakers and the panel, were the unexpected performances from the Indianapolis Ballet Company and “Married to Magic”  performers from IndyFringe.

    For more, check out the Twitter Stream at @ #SIBI and www.smallerindiana.com home page for the videos when they go live in the next few days!