Think Kindness is the third video installation of This Is Reno’s TEDx University profile, description provided by Miriam Hodgman. Think Kindness features the thoughtful storytelling of Brian Williams, University of Nevada alumnus, as he shares a novel idea to track the ripples of positivity generated by indiscriminate acts of kindness.
Want to live forever? Live a life worth remembering recommends Brian Williams, Think Kindness creator. An University of Nevada alumnus, Brian Williams was recruited to work for one of the largest commodity firms in Orange County, California. Williams, however, also had an overriding passion, which was fueled by the teachings of his boyhood martial arts instructor. That passion, part of his attaining his black belt, was understanding the important life skill – kindness is the ultimate form of self-defense. After five years of working as a commodities broker, as well as running his own successful martial arts school, Brian was ready for a change. With sage advice from his old martial arts teacher, he began the development of Think Kindness. William’s organization allowed him to chase an emotional feeling, redefining life from a noun into a verb, an action generating positive acts of kindness into stories worth talking about. More importantly, it enabled him to also create a vehicle that engages others in tracking their own random acts of kindness.
TEDx’s Think Kindness video opens the door to William’s vision, allowing him to tell a wider audience about this novel idea. Initially, Williams approached schools with the idea of school competitions, contests where students would compete to see which schools could generate the most acts of kindness. These contests, logged in student journals, were an immediate source of inspiration to peers. They also intrigued a media who might otherwise have been continuing the spin cycle of negativity, covering the darker sides of human interaction, such as violent crime. With the assistance of technical savvy web developers, Brian has been able to evolve Think Kindness even further. Think Kindness now has a tracking mechanism, a card, available. This card can be left with an act of kindness, allowing the recipient to log online and share the story about that moment of kindness in a journal entry, as well as flag where the act occurred. Now the impact that kind acts generate can be quantified and mapped, demonstrating the exponential ripple that could very well extend forever.
TEDx was created in the spirit of TED’s mission, “ideas worth spreading.” The program is designed to give communities, organizations and individuals the opportunity to stimulate dialogue through TED-like experiences at the local level. At TEDx events, a screening of TEDTalks videos — or a combination of live presenters and TEDTalks videos — sparks deep conversation and connections. TEDx events are fully planned and coordinated independently, on a community-by-community basis.
