Time to turn adversaries into allies - Here's how we can do it

Today I hosted my first TED Circle of the year. Twenty-three participants registered, and seven attended. The event was held at 5 PM on January 1, 2022. Friends from Guwahati, Chennai, Vadodara, Mumbai, and Delhi joined the event.

TED Circles are easy to host and flexible for your personality. TED Circles help simply gather a few friends, colleagues, or neighbors for discussions about the monthly themes.?The theme of the month is "Staying Humble." Humble beginnings to start the New Year as we learn from being wrong, questioning our beliefs, rejection and more.

We started the event with our national anthem. All participants shared their introduction on three aspects: their name, what they do, and a few lines about their superpower.

I chose Leah Garces's talk A lesson in turning adversaries into allies. Here's the abstract of the talk: when you're on opposite sides of an issue, how do you broker peace with your adversaries and work together to solve a problem? Follow along as animal rights activist Leah Garcés recounts three lessons she learned in hatching an ambitious plan to end chicken factory farming with the last person she expected: a chicken farmer. This talk was presented to a local audience at TEDx Seattle, an independent event. Here's the talk:

This was an interesting talk. Below are our key takeaways.

1] Be comfortable with uncomfortable situations. Try to manage, engage and overcome than avoiding such situations.

2] Bring humanity to the forefront of the conversation.

3] There is an environment friendly solution to all we do.

4] Try to find common points as conversation starters. This is the essence of building rapport.

5] Turning adversaries into allies is an art and can be mastered with practice.

We also discussed recommended reading. Recommended books are as below.

1] Edge: Turning Adversity into Advantage by Laura Huang https://amzn.to/3JtOQ1D

2] Adversaries into Allies: Win People Over Without Manipulation or Coercion by Bob Burg https://amzn.to/3pJjBYt

Furthermore, I researched and compiled a list of recommended videos as under;

1] A recording of 'Turning Adversity into Opportunity Inspiring you to achieve your goals (no matter who you are)' by Dr Paula Holt. Part of the University of Derby's Student Lecture Series. Originally recorded on 22nd February 2021.

2] Sparsh Shah wants to show people how they can transcend every difficulty that comes their way in life and how they can start a chain reaction to be a guide for other people who want to turn their life around as well. Sparsh is a 13-year-old child prodigy, singer/song writer/rapper born with brittle bones (130+fractures), but an unbreakable spirit. He became a worldwide internet sensation with his Purhythm versions of Eminem covers. He aspires to inspire and sing in front of a billion people one day. Sparsh has been learning Hindustani classical music for the last seven-and-a-half years and American vocal music for the last three years. Sparsh is multi-talented. He performs at community events and has appeared on local radio stations and television shows, besides hosting shows as an MC.?

3] While preparing to deploy with the U.S. Army Marcus suffered a severe spinal injury that left him paralyzed. After dying on the operating table twice, the surgeons saved his life, but told him he'd never walk again. Having no other option, Marcus started doing some brutally honest soul searching, looking for the lesson to be learned from his injury. Marcus Aurelius Anderson is a bestselling author, TEDx Speaker and International Keynote Speaker, and Mindset Coach to Companies, Leaders, and Entrepreneurs. Marcus is also the host of the #1 New and Noteworthy Conscious Millionaire “Epic Achiever” Podcast. Marcus now speaks, writes, and coaches others to overcome their own Adversities and actualize their personal definition of success and fulfillment.

4] In this interview with Coach Michael Taylor, we discuss how you can transform your life, regardless of your struggles. You will be moved to hear Michael's story of struggles and how he transformed them into his success.

5] Bollywood Movies like Mission Mangal, Chak De India and Lagaan are good examples where in adversaries have been turned into allies.

I host TED Circles every month, Stay tuned to my LinkedIn for the information on our next event.

Let's continue to collaborate in the year ahead...

Regards,

Chintan Oza

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