I work at a pretty cool place. With some pretty cool people. One of those people, actually one of our co-CEO’s, John January, did a pretty cool talk on language at a Creative Mornings event last week. I recently just learned of these super inspiring Friday mornings, and instead of me telling you, here is what they say about it:

“In 2008, Tina Roth Eisenberg (Swissmiss) started CreativeMornings out of a desire for an ongoing, accessible event for New York’s creative community. The concept was simple: breakfast and a short talk one Friday morning a month. Every event would be free of charge and open to anyone.

Today, attendees gather in cities around the world to enjoy fresh coffee, friendly people, and an international array of breakfast foods. Volunteer hosts and their team members organize local chapters that not only celebrate a city’s creative talent, but also promote an open space to connect with like-minded individuals.

The growing archive of past breakfast talks is humbling. From design legends to hometown heroes, speakers are selected by each chapter based on a global theme. CreativeMornings remains free thanks to the support of local sponsors, generous venues, and long term partners.

Anyone can attend. Just register beforehand to reserve your spot. And if you need a little help convincing your boss to let you attend, we’ve got you covered.”

When I moved from my previous job at St. Jude, I was very worried that my exposure to motivating speakers would be more limited, since St. Jude is famous for 1.) being an inspiring place to work every. single. day. and 2.) they bring in very famous speakers on a quarterly basis (looking at you, Brene Brown and Amy Cuddy– my life was forever changed by hearing you two speak in real life), and I was worried moving to a smaller agency would rob me of hearing these brilliant people and being inspired by them. Turns out, I haven’t missed it because I’m surrounded by smart, creative people every day, and there are opportunities like Creative Mornings. But going back to language, the most powerful thing I heard JJ say was this:

And it’s so right. The language we use with ourselves is powerful. It dictates our entire world. And the language we use with others, even non-verbal, has the power to change other’s worlds. 

So if language interests you, put your headphones in, take a short creative break and listen to what JJ has to say. (He did not pay me extra to write this.) The best part about Creative Mornings is that a lot of the talks, from a bunch of different cities, are posted online afterwards. So even if you can’t make it, or your city doesn’t have one (get in on this, Memphis!), you can still enjoy the motivation!

Cheers to being mammals with the gift of language! ~ Amanda