Me with: Matt Groening, Steve Wozniak, & Bello Nock

My life was turned upside down in Monterey, CA last weekend.  How did I get there? Why did I go? (especially with finals the following week!) What compelled me? The factor, of course! :)  I saw possibilities in Monterey and literally dropped everything, booked hotel and flight, without available funds, per se, and hoped my parents would be okay with it.

Never before have I been in a room with so many people with the factor before.  These individuals were energetic, inspiring, driven, creative, and entrepreneurial visionaries.  Some of the people I met and interviewed include Steve Wozniak, Matt Groening, Tim Ferriss, Amy Tan, Mike Rowe, and Peter Diamandis. The experience and inspirational advice from these people were out of this world.

So - I was blown away in Monterey for 4 main reasons:

1) The revolutionary ideas, breaking research, and global progress presented to us.

For example, one of my favorite talks was Dan Ariely’s on his research and book - “Predictably Irrational.” He has dissected human behavior and discovered some pretty wild results that are difficult to explain.  For example, “I give you a choice. A trip to Rome. Or a weekend in Paris. All expenses covered. And most choose Paris. But what if I added a fourth condition. You get a trip to Rome or Paris, all expenses paid. But no breakfast is included in Paris. You have to pay for the breakfast in Paris. Suddenly, Rome with breakfast becomes more desired than Rome without breakfast.”  So I ask - how are you irrational?

Another one was David MaCaulay, author of “How Do We Work?” One day, he decided that he wanted to understand — really understand — how everything inside of us works.  So he created illustrations of our insides using everyday items.

Bruce Shapiro.  The perfect example of an inquisitive and curious human mind.  He is a true inventor, and I was captivated by the creations he brought on stage.  For example, he discovered how to make bubbles shape into someone’s face.

David Gallo on his and Bill Lange’s unbelievable discoveries miles below the sea level.  Fish living in 200 degree celsius water in underwater lakes.  Someone from the audience joked, “hard to cook fish!”

Or Zahi Hawass, from the Discovery Channel, retelling his discover of King Tut!  (Zahi is one of the most passionate people I’ve ever seen present)

2) Main lesson: a truly simple idea can quickly evolve into something intense, powerful, popular, or captivating.

For example, check out speaker Matt Harding’s video on Youtube.  Simple, fun, exciting, compelling.  From a simple idea, Harding’s dances have become iconic and community-inspiring.

Or, for a powerful switch of gears, look at Miru Kim’s work.  Never in my life have I seen something like this.

3) It is critical to open your world up past your main interest and goal / ambition in life. For example, on a limited college budget, I try to only attend business-related conferences being a business / entrepreneurial-minded student.  However, after having been exposed to research, ideas, and breakthroughs in oceanography, photography, sustainability, space exploration, lifestyle design, and many others, I’ve realized that diversity of perspective is critical to becoming an interesting and well-cultured person that people want to not only work with, but converse with.

4) Quality & Creativity of the Event: Ever wonder how it feels to be wined and dined?? Not only amazing were the obvious extras, but the thought and creativity that came along with them.

For example, when the conference began, no one came to the stage and welcomed us verbally.  Instead, Greg Anderson and Elizabeth Joy Roe left us buzzing for more with their captivating piano duet. They got your blood flowing, your head buzzing, your eyes wide open, and your senses jazzing.  As an event-planner, I can’t imagine a better desired mood for your audience in opening seminar!

Also, when I got in line for registration (behind Amy Tan and Groening, by the way!) the registration staff handed me a deck of oversized playing cards, each one featuring a speaker.

There was a fun circus theme to everything, the idea of Michael Hawley, the EG’s Producer.  To signal the start of each seminar, they’d play loud circus music, which - I know - sounds absolutely looney, but it actually created a unique and exciting atmosphere.

I deeply thank all those who made this experience possible.  They know who they are.  My head is still swirling in inspiration and ideas, so I welcome anyone to reach out with questions or interest in any of the above topics.

I recently had a minor epiphany - there will be no better time in my life to do something entrepreneurial than right now - while in college.

I embarked on some research to prove this point beyond any reasonable doubt.  Do you doubt me yet? Good! A challenge is what I’m looking for.

I started out by connecting with legendary entrepreneurs who started young, currently young and successful entrepreneurs, or those who have had high interaction and experience with young entrepreneurs.

Below are some of their answers, when asked, “Why do you believe young people should act on their ideas now?”  In order of interview:

Cameron Johnson, famous young entrepreneur and author, “You Call the Shots”

“The hardest part of your question is keeping it short, I could probably list dozens of reasons (I call them advantages) for a college student to start a business.

Here are a few: better to fail early, your overhead will never be less, your connections will never be more plentiful (having access to a college community where every skill is available), there will never be a better time, you’re more likely to find help/recognition from others/media when you’re young. A job in exchange for a college degree is less and less common - large companies will continue to downsize and outsource and entrepreneurship/small job growth will flourish.”

Luke Skurman, CEO College Prowler:

“First, I’d rather bet on myself than anyone else.  There are so many external factors that I can’t control when I put my professional fate in somebody’s hands (call me a control freak!) but I don’t like that. I like betting on me.  It’s calculated good risk.  Secondly, if you go work for a “corporate” publicly traded company, yes, you’ll get a nice salary and benefits but the greatest single way to earn personal upside is through stock / options.”

Zach Kaplan, CEO Inventables.

“I’d say it is easier to start a company as a college student or immediately after graduation because you have less responsibility and commitments than later in life. In addition your monthly expenses are quite low and in some cases your parents might be helping out so if your venture fails you’ll have a pretty soft landing. Once you get started you’ll know pretty quickly if being an entrepreneur is for you.  Today most college students have access to 3 important tools for getting started: a phone, an internet connection, and a computer.”

Doug Imbruce, CEO TheU.com.

The only advice I can give is rather simple and based on a speech I once heard Jeff Bezos give. It’s all about the regret minimization factor: you don’t want to leave this world with any regrets… so one should always take the biggest risks, dream the wildest dreams, and seize the smallest and largest opportunities! There is no better time to do so when you are young and familial obligations are non-existent. Period.

Todd Masonis, Co-founder Plaxo.

“One of the hardest things about starting a company is to find other like minded people to start with, and a good university generally has good access to people in a similar situation. I’ve also found that students have much better access to VCs and advisers as most anyone will give advice to a student, but that gets harder once you graduate. There’s often also alumni or professor support, or access to free labor that also makes it an opportune time.”

Kevon Saber, CEO AllDorm, Inc.

“In addition to the reasons you mentioned, I would add that starting a real venture provides incredible context for classroom learning.”

Steve Wozniak, Co-founder Apple.

“Out here (Silicon Valley), failing is like a badge of honor.  Being able to say that you failed 3 or 4 times while you were young and then used this experience to finally build something GREAT is considered legendary. So yes, starting young is definitely the right idea.”

David Pogue, Tech Columnist NY Times.

“Young people nowadays have such incredible opportunities, living in the Internet Age.  Online, they can potentially impress and do business with someone 20 years older than them.”

Chad Moutray, Chief Economist SBA.

“While it looks bad now, there are definitely opportunities out there.  You just have to look a little harder.”

**FYI: “Entrepreneurship is key to growth in growth and job creation in America.  Entrepreneurship accounts for 50% of all GDP and 50% of all new job creation.” (MIT OpenCourseWare)

Check back soon for a recap of my interviews with Tim Ferriss (FourHourWorkWeek.com) and Peter Diamandis (www.Xprize.com).