I first heard of the word – TED in 2011 faraway Sagamu, Ogun State, Western Nigeria from two great guys – Christopher (an outstanding inspirational speaker) & Mike (an IT administrator). Both Christopher and Mike are very enterprising Nigerians doing the best they can to empower their immediate communities. TED is an acronym meaning Technology, Education & Development. Quickly, I visited TED.com on the internet, registered and tried putting up an event with TED sponsoring it. I failed and everything and anything that have to do with TED.com was forgotten.
Honestly speaking, I did not know why I refuse to unsubscribe from receiving newsletter emails from TED.com in my email account. All emails I get from TED, I simply delete them not wanting to know what the content is not until the email of April, 2014.
April to me is special. That is my birthday month. I don’t joke with the month of April. Another interesting factor that makes April special is simply because in April, the Christian communities globally celebrate the resurrection of Jesus Christ. I feel extremely blessed, unique and indeed special to have entered this untruthful, wicked, corrupt and unjust planet on the month Jesus Christ conquered death, the devil alongside its agents.Pardon my Christianity language and usage.
I can’t recall the incident that transpired that made me visit the public cyber café in the neighbourhood. But I find myself in the public café and connected to their internet connection. During my surfing, as usual, I got an email from TED. But this email, I did not delete. The email had a name – Elizabeth Gilbert.
The name – Elizabeth Gilbert did ring a bell. Then I opened the email, read few lines and proceeded in downloading the video of Elizabeth Gilbert. After few days, I transferred the video to my ‘borrowed’ android mobile phone. The video was on the mobile phone for five days. It was the sixth day I finally watched Elizabeth Gilbert ‘ inspiring , thanksgiving and moving ’ video as a guest of TED March, 2014 edition.
Elizabeth Gilbert is not the first and would not be the last author whose literary work has been turned into a movie to be invited to speak at TED. What is very special and fascinating about the Eat, Pray, Love girl as she was been addressed at JFK Airport? What is even spectacular about her Eat, Pray, Love movie? To begin with why watching Gilbert speak at TED, I felt the connection and synergy of the plight another colleague feels. There was a whole lot of chemistry from her heart felt speech. That is what I feel and know is very special and fascinating. Talking about the movie, I just love the engaging experiences of exploring and respectfully appreciating different and diverse cultural and belief system.
Despite getting consecutive rejection letters in her mail box for six years Gilbert kept her dream alive by constantly doing what she has and still love to do – WRITE.
Even though many would want to disagree with me, there is nothing as frustrating than failing again and again in a field you passionately love. Such outcomes leave the individual speechless with his/her mouth widely open in shock.
Elizabeth, your story gives me and other yet-to-be celebrated writers the zeal of keeping on as we have reached the point of no return. The Rubicon I have crossed, the sky to me is my starting point in the Media and Writing world as I will continue to soar to greatest heights in Writing, Voicing, Publishing and AudioVisual Productions as the eagle.
Before signing off, there are few comments from Elizabeth’s thoughts on writing that touches me I really love to share with first time authors, yet to decide authors and established authors because none including the Dan Brown, J. K.  Rowlings, Tom Clancy & John Grisham whose works have been produced into films hold the monopoly of knowledge.
I believe that – if you are serious about a life of writing …you should take writing like a holy calling. I became a writer the way other people become monks or nuns. I made a vow to writing, very young. I didn’t know how else to do this. I had no, as they say, connections. I just began.
Magazines, editors, agents – they all employ young people making $22,000 a year whose job it is to read through piles of manuscripts and send you back letters telling you that you aren’t good enough yet: LET THEM DO IT. Don’t pre-reject yourself. That’s their job, not yours. Your job is only to write your heart out, and let destiny take care of the rest.
If you write something beautiful and important, and the right person somehow discovers it, they will clear room for you on the bookshelves of the world – at any age.
Many thanks TED for inviting Elizabeth Gilbert. And thank you Elizabeth Gilbert for the inspiration through your failures and success story.
Remember, ‘It’s not the world’s fault that you want to be an artist…now get back to work’. Believe this or not, WRITING is a profession that command respects.
Shalom!