Like a kid inside a Chuck E. Cheese sky tube, October has vanished. One minute you’re sitting there scrolling through your phone, and the next… poof… you’re wondering what just happened. The good news? Kids…and October…always reappear. We hope you enjoyed Tenth Month as much as we did and had the chance to attend some conferences, cruise down a few trails, share good food around a table with people you love, and get inspired by some pretty insane views.
It’s impossible to do All The Things that make Tenth Month so dang a-ma-zing. But don’t cry into your Double IPA quite yet, because we’ve got a recap of the top 10 stories and moments you might have missed.
1. The search for enlightenment (no, it’s not hidden behind the baked beans in the pantry)
BendFilm Festival taught us that connection and meaning are available to us at any age. An ode to the remarkable talents of the late Harry Dean Stanton, Lucky explored the uncharted territory of facing one’s mortality. Lucky—a quirky, crusty, 90-year-old atheist—starts each day with yoga, a glass of milk and a smoke. He experiences loneliness and his aging body with an authentic vulnerability that provoked us to consider why we work so hard to protect our shared humanity.
2. A rebel with a cause teaches us about emotions and health
What if the power to erase pain existed within us? All the Rage—another BendFilm Festival hit—champions the work of Dr. John Sarno, a medical pioneer using mind-body approaches to treat chronic illness. The documentary explores Sarno’s methodology via the compelling narrative of his patient, Michael Galinsky.
3. Wait. What?
This year’s Swivel conference taught us a few fun facts:
DID YOU KNOW: You can follow Matt Siltala’s beard on Twitter? It’s true. Check it out @siltalasbeard.
GET THIS: Princess Cruise Lines created the television show The Love Boat to revive and market the cruising industry. Ian Lurie, CEO of Portent Inc., gave us the lowdown.
FACT: 55% of online shopping starts on Amazon. Google who?
HOT TIP: Remove 50% of your old, non-indexed content from Google. One of Marcus Tober’s clients did this and their Google visibility went up over 240%.
TRY THIS: According to Erin Gargan, Founder of Socialite, face-to-face meetings are 34x more persuasive. Time to put on your good pants and get out there.
4. Vampires are rocks in your pockets
Lynette Xanders of Wild Alchemy took the Swivel crowd on a deep dive to unearth their “vampires” during the Tuesday afternoon workshop. These soul suckers are the people, places, things and everyday Kryptonite that drain your energy and leave your tank on empty—nosey neighbors, the DMV, broken toasters, junk mail, the 5,893 unread emails in your inbox, and crumbs in your keyboard, to name a few. Everything we surround ourselves with provides stimulation, either good or bad. What gives you energy and makes you happy? Do more of that.
5. That’s some serious cheddar
LeadMethod walked away with a total of $485,000 in funding from this year’s Bend Venture Conference (BVC), making the Bend-based company the “how do we hold all these checks” winner of the 2017 event.
6. A photo finish
This year’s BVC Early Stage Competition was packed full of five amazing Central Oregon companies, with voting coming in tight. Less than 20 audience votes separated first and last place! The sold-out crowd was on the edge of their seats as BendBroadband Business handed an oversized $17,500 check to BladeRunner Energy, a Bend-based startup using technology to harnesses renewable energy from the natural flow of water.
7. Community for the win
Bend Venture Conference beamed in keynote speaker Brad Feld, from Boulder, CO. Along with moderator Aviel Ginzburg, Feld gave an insightful speech about the importance of investing in community, drawing similarities between Boulder’s early 2000’s start-up ecosystem and modern-day Bend. The key is to keep building upon that entrepreneurial energy and spirit of bold thinking.
8. Design is a human right.
Architect John Cary, a Bend Design Conference speaker, believes that everyone deserves good design. During his travels, Cary discovered that the president of Malawi was creating birthing centers to reduce the risk of women dying in childbirth. When Cary saw the proposed brick building, he immediately went to work with a team to design a birthing center that honored the natural rhythms, needs and culture of the women. The result was shown in a heartwarming video in which the women meander around a village of birthing huts with their swollen bellies. “Once you see what design can do, you can’t un-see it,” remarked Cary.
9. What do our clothes say about us?
Did you know that fashion is the second most polluting industry after oil? Angela Luna, Founder and CEO of ADIFF, asked the Bend Design Conference crowd to think about the production of their clothing. Is each piece built to last? Sustainably and ethically produced? Inspired to solve world problems through fashion, Luna designed a line of clothing for humanitarian causes. She wowed the crowd by transforming her two-person tent into a stylish coat with lovely lines—in less than five minutes. The tent coat is lightweight but serves as a barrier from the elements and keeps humans warm and dry in refugee camps across the world.
10. To “whoa” moments
Art.
Film.
Design.
Tech.
Storytelling.
Brave ideas.
Urban adventures.
Happy people.
Sunshine on your shoulders.
Epic trails.
Fire pit convos.
Good beer.
And good vibes.
Thanks, October. It’s been swell. See you next year for more Tenth Month magic!