Last May I participated to the OuiShare fest.

   …

It is a 4 days international event gathering actors of the Collaborative Economy ecosystem so that they can share knowledge and skills, connect, get inspired, live new experiences, transform inspiration into action.

  …

And contribute to building tomorrow’s world.

  …

What will you find in this article ? An introduction to remind you what the collaborative economy is about, and a snapshot of 8 moments I experienced and share with you.

  …

Here’s the plan :

  …

  …

  …

  …

  …

« I really want to talk to this person, but what should I say ? Oh, she seems busy… Maybe not the right time. (Finding excuses, right ?) And what can I tell her… ? »

  …

And then it’s too late, the person is picking up a call and leaving the room.

  …

I guess this happened to many of us. The OuiShare Fest is aimed at helping participants to connect and develop their network. Besides the « Say hello to your neighbour » insight, I wanted to begin this article sharing with you a tip we were given by an American coach to create a connection with a stranger we want to talk to.

  …

(Nothing revolutionary, no magic formula, don’t get overexcited, we still need to do the work 😉)

  …

Sometimes we see a person and we strongly feel we really would like to talk to her. It is our intuition that speaks, and we should definitely act on that ! Our body is telling us the truth. We may have a few seconds to act, and it is not easy to say : « Hello, you seem very nice and interesting and I just wanted to talk to you. »

  …

So instead of finding excuses for not taking the risk, the advise is as follows :

  …

Find something you like in the person and a way it relates to you. And then express it to the person. It can be very basic and it is ok if our intention is sincere and positive, if we are present, if we smile.

  …

Example : « I really like your jacket. And blue is my favorite color. » (other possibilities : pen, coffee, glasses, shoes, notebook, laptop sticker…)

  …

It is not that easy but if we start practicing I am sure we can quickly become more and more at ease with it !

Ok. Now that we can talk to strangers :

  …

  …

Here is the definition you can find on the OuiShare page :

  …

«  The collaborative economy is defined as initiatives based on horizontal networks and participation of a community. It is built on « distributed power and trust within communities as opposed to centralized institutions » (R. Botsman), blurring the lines between producer and consumer. These communities meet and interact on online networks and peer-to-peer platforms, as well as in shared spaces such as fablabs and coworking spaces. »

  …

Examples : Airbnb, Kickstarter, Uber, Ebay, Fiverr, The Hub, the Bitcoin

  …

At the OuiShare Fest, we explore it at 3 levels : systems, organizations and individuals.

  …

We speak a lot about how to empower and include each citizen in creating the environment we live in – politics, economics, social issues, tech, urban design, science, data, entrepreneurship, relationships, personal development…

  …

The vision is based on 3 main values : fairness, trust, openness.

  …

  …

  …

  …

This was the theme of this year.

  …

It hints at the time of disillusion that is experienced now, 5 years after the first big idea and spring of the OuiShare movement. There were many hopes and dreams. And yet our world has a massive inertial force.

  …

Change takes time. It is work in progress. « Permanent beta », as they say on the OuiShare website.

  …

Stories of this new paradigm need to be told and widespread.

  …

Ok. The scene is set. Let’s dive into the 8 moments.

  …

 Data is the new gold, we know that. And in the same time, we are not really aware of the importance and value of the data most of us give carelessly to all the internet companies that provide services to us.

  …

We believe we are the customer. But we are also the product. Nothing is really free. « If you’re not paying, you are the product ».

  …

I went to a conference about our digital identities. The issue was : how can we own our digital identity ?

  …

It is hardly possible to be totally in control of it, but researchers and nice hackers are exploring the issue. How can we get more control on our identity ?

  …

They speak about « self-sovereign identity ». We should be able to have transparent information, and to be the ones to decide.

  …

These people have come up with a kind of ideal code of conduct that should be followed to guarantee more respect of the digital individual.

  …

Here are some example of rules :

  …

« control and consent » : I decide who can do what with my data, and with my consent

« context » : I don’t want to share the same info in contexts involving my friends / colleagues / bank adviser / family / sports coach  / my parter / boss, etc.

« minimum disclosure » : I share the minimum necessary data

« persistance » : I share my data temporarily

  …

  …

A bunch of fun and lively entrepreneurs shared about their digital nomad experience.

  …

« Digital nomads » or « laptop/online entrepreneurs » are people who have chosen a job that allows them to work from anywhere in the world. They only need their laptop and smartphone. Their clients and partners don’t need them to be physically here. They are writers, journalists, digital business owners, coaches, IT consultants…

  …

For example, they may be spending most of the year in one city (Paris) and a few months in another city (Buenos Aires, Tokyo, Ubud…). Or they may travel and live in a different place every 2-3 months (sharing the year between New York, Rio de Janeiro, Singapore, Berlin…).

  …

They speak about the joy and evidence of self-determination and total freedom.

  …

They say : « We don’t possess many things. We don’t need many things. We have chosen to downsize, to shift priorities. »

  …

More and more people chose to live this way.

  …

(By the way, what they said reminded me the inspiring book by Tim Ferris : The 4 hours week.)

  …

New structures are developing to answer the needs of these people. More and more co-working spaces – when I was in Ubud, Bali, I discovered that there was a co-working space there ! Hubud. I spent a little time there and loved the atmosphere. Particularly the view on the rice terraces.

  …

Eric, one of the speakers, is one of the founders of Copass. Copass is a network of coworking spaces in around 40 or 50 cities in the world. As the founders put it : « Access the largest network of coworking spaces with one Pass. Your monthly membership lets you work from all the best workspaces in your city or on the planet. »

  …

There was also the founders of DNX, Marcus and Felicia. DNX is an organization that « connects and supports digital nomads ». They bring digital nomads together through community building, they design and organize moments and experience for them to be connected, inspired and nourished, share knowledge, solve problems collectively, have new experiences…

  …

Last but not least, I discovered roam.

  …

Digital nomads need places where to work, but also places where to live.

  …

Roam offers digital nomads a « co-living » solution. A neat place where you can live for a few weeks / months with other digital nomads – peers and like-minded people. It already exists in Madrid, Miami, Ubud.

  …

Their motto : « Make this life a wonderful adventure. »

  …

« roam is an experimental community testing the boundaries between work, travel and life adventure. » And more precisely : « A new way of living. Sign one lease. Live around the world. »

  …

It is still quite expensive : 500$/week. But the (co?)founder of roam explained that in the years to come there would be more infrastructures dedicated to co-living and that rents would become more affordable.

  …

We talked about the values and mindset of the digital nomads. The speakers shared about the deep connection that is created among these new nomads, the friendship, the solidarity and the skills sharing, the trust. The conclusion words were this quote I love : « If you want to travel fast, travel alone. If you want to travel far, travel together. »

  …

They mentionned a group of single parenting women travelling together and helping each other.

  …

As far as families are concerned, we talked about the « homeschooling » and « unschooling » ways of rising kids. The school of live VS classic academic systems.

  …

And lastly, we spoke about the administrative and logistics aspects. Visas, taxes. It is a new way of living in the world that challenges the notion of boundary and national laws, so rules are still quite undefined as far as taxes are concerned.

  …

More than ever, the world is our oyster…

  …

  …

  …

It’s been a couple of years that I have been willing to understand better what the blockchain is and how it works. I still find it very mysterious. So I decided to go to a workshop about applications using the blockchain.

  …

In the room there was a mix of outsiders and curious people like me who understood 1 word out of 2, and others who were geeks and experts or aficionados.

  …

I understood a little more but still, it is complicated. So I won’t be the one explaining to you.

  …

  …

This was a conference in the big Circus. The speaker, Nilofer Merchant, is an American innovation expert.

  …

She is currently writing a book exploring where business ideas that change the world come from and develop.

  …

She shared about how the myths and heroes of the Silicon Valley lead us astray from the true way of building successful innovative businesses.

  …

  …

«  Find the big idea »

Nilofer Merchant suggests another perspective. Successful Silicon Valley businesses actually all started small and the real issue for entrepreneurs and innovators is : what is THE idea that matters to ME ?

And then, she underlines that what matters is the energy that was put into the ideas it by the founders. Big ideas  very often come from a side project. Sometimes they had been working on it on and off for years. They did not even think the idea would go anywhere.

« Big ideas don’t start big, they become big because of what I do. »

  …

  …

It was something about Heroes… About this idea that one hero changes the world.

Nullifier Merchant worked at Apple in the past, she showed images of a team. She insists on the collective power that allows the idea to get bigger and transform into reality. She says that « Ideas may be born of you, but they grow from the power of us ». There is a need of collaboration and trust.

  …

  …

«  I rock ! Therefore, I win. And winners take all, right ? »

The hero may feel he only deserves the reward.

She says : « No one invented the internet all by themselves. » Inventors use what has been already created by others – she uses the example of internet, underlining how each invention was incremental and based on what was found and created earlier by others.

« We need to understand the plurality of how we get things done. »

  …

She concludes : « Let’s find a new way to be, a new how, not the Silicon Valley way. Let’s focus on prosperity VS wealth, let’s build a community driven towards serving society. »

  …

If you want to watch her talk it is here !

  …

And some ideas for more inspiration :

The book Where good ideas come from by Steven Johnson

And for fun, watch the US series Silicon Valley

  …

  …

  …

This workshop took place on the « floating fest » peniche – the place in the Fest which is particularly dedicated to individual growth, group connexion, games, experiences… – and was facilitated by the creator of Superhelden Training (which in German, I am almost certain, means Superhero Training).

  …

Jorn created this startup to help people identify what they really want to do. What fits them. What is their power. As he says : « it all starts with you ».

  …

And I can only agree with that. I witness that there are so many people denying who they truly are or want to be.

  …

Jorn says there is a lot of inner resignation, and a lack of orientation in a world where there are so many possibilities.

  …

And I indeed see or hear about people who are resigned, who have forgotten their dreams. People who don’t remember they once had dreams. People getting along with an acceptable level of frustration. « Because this is the way life is ».  Because there is nothing possible « out there ».

  …

Indeed, it is true that when looking at job opportunities on internet, the possibilities seem limited.

  …

But the good news is : 1/ the strongest limits are those we put to ourselves – because of our conditionnings, past experience, limiting beliefs, and fears. Our potential is unlimited. And 2/ a new world is being born, which allows so many possibilities.

The only issue is : it is a matter of choice. My own choice. Our life is much less rigid than we think. Do I want to make the decision and take the first step out of my comfort zone ? Do I want to start creating my path, take ownership of my life, connect to my truth and inner power and embody my talent ? What blocks me ? What am I waiting for ?

  …

And I see so many people starting stepping into the unknown, seeking their truth, starting the path to create a meaningful and joyful life, taking the risk, unlearning and relearning, trying, failing. Letting Life surprise them. Being lost many times. Sometimes they say to me : « I thought my transition was over. But it goes on ». Yes it is uncomfortable. But it is so rewarding. It’s about being with what is and learning to enjoy the path. What a humbling experience. They learn to dance with the Universe.

  …

Seeing them, being with them, sharing with them makes me very happy.

  …

Back to the workshop.

  …

Jorn shared the theories he developed in his organization. There are 4 Hero profiles : the Entrepreneur, the Helper, the Maker and the Fighter.

  …

Then the group split and each person went to a corner of the room corresponding to the Hero profile we most identified with.

  …

I chose the Entrepreneur.

  …

Then, we had to select a piece of paper with a hashtag which characterized the profile. I selected : « #IdeaVolcano ». And then we chose a partner and sat for a while sharing about « Why I have this superpower and why it’s cool » – we were both Idea Volcanos with my partner.

  …

Jorn calls it the Superhero pitch. It is a way to create a genuine connection with one person and create safe space to become aware of our strengths in a new way.

  …

I totally recognized myself in the #IdeaVolcano – even if I am careful about labelling, as labelling is restrictive and we are far much more than that (and permanently changing).

  …

While I was preparing my project last year, a coach I met told me I was going through an « extatic burn-out ». I was so excited by all the possibilities for my exploration year, all I could be, all I could do. There was no limit. I had ideas all the time, and sometimes during weeks it was hard for me to rest and sleep at night ! It was magic and tiring.

  …

So yes, obviously. #IdeaVolcano.

  …

Later, Jorn shared more practical insights about how to materialize our talent in the world : through employment, self-employment, part-time work, and leadership.

  …

There are indeed many ways to start expressing our talent and do things we are passionate about.

  …

The first step is : making the choice and decision.

  …

  …  …

One afternoon, I participated to a Speaking circle on the peniche.

  …

And I witnessed what I consider to be a very interesting manifestation of how the law of attraction works.

  …

What is the law of attraction ? For those who are not so familiar with it : in the perspective of quantum physics, the Universe we live in made of atoms, of energy. Each being, each object is basically energy. And each being, each object vibrates at a certain frequency.

  …

The law of attraction – a very powerful law of the Universe – is as follows : in our life, we attract beings, and things, and situations that vibrate at the same level as we do.

  …

In relation to that, Bob Proctor – an amazing speaker, teacher and expert on the mind, human potential and success – shares impacting knowledge about the power of our thought and of our feelings.

  …

What we think about creates an emotional state, and this emotional state creates our physical level of vibration – think about the energy you convey when you are very angry, or stressed, or joyful. You have probably noticed that the days you feel angry, you attract to your life negative outcomes, while when you feel gratitude, love and joy, your life gets filled with happy and fulfilling situation and people. This is how we manifest in our life what we think about. This is how we create our life step by step, and then our destiny.

  …

So I was participating to this Speaking circle. I don’t really remember the theme. We were sitting in a circle, but there were many people, so some people were sitting inside the circle. We would raise questions/issues and then those who wanted could share their vision and feelings about it, using the « talking stick ».

  …

The talking stick is a tool that was used in indigenous tribes tradition. When you want to speak, you get the talking stick, and you can speak as long as you have it. The others listen and no one interrupts. I love using talking sticks because they allow more presence, sacred speaking, and true listening.

  …

At some moment, the question was : « What is the force that drives me in my life ? What makes me go ahead, make decisions, act ? ».

  …

Some people started to share. Some mentioned curiosity and eagerness to learn. Some others, love. Others, connection to others. These participants would speak from different places in the room.

  …

And then a French young man started speaking. He was inside the circle, on one side. He said that as far as he was concerned, he had to say that what drove him was fear. Fear about what others thought about him. Fear of failure.

  …

I thought it was very courageous from him to show vulnerability in such a way. I felt moved by him.

  …

And then what happened was VERY interesting.

  …

The person just close to him asked for the talking stick and reacted : « As you mention this, I would like to share now, because it is the same for me. Fear. » And she told more about it – I don’t remember what she said exactly. And then, another person sitting close to her asked for the speaking stick : « Well, it is the same for me. » And then, a fourth person sitting just close to them expressed that he also felt very driven by fear. And this time, she commented with humour : « I don’t know what’s happening in this area of the room… »

  …

These 4 people did not know each other before. They came to the event, and sat somewhere in the room.

  …

In my mind, I had a very strong insight. I thought : « Wow. This seems like the power of the law of attraction ! Interestingly, these people share that there is fear within, and without knowing each other, they sat close to each other. It could be their level of vibration that led them unconsciously to sit close to people who had the same frequency. »

  …

And I connected that with my personal experience. I connected that with the fact that at the OuiShare Fest, this year, I was meeting few people but each time I had something strong in common with the person : having spent 3 months in the Philippines recently, being involved in a coaching training, the will to help people develop their talent and express their inner power, a strong interest in holistic development (mind/heart/body), etc.

  …

There is no coïncidence. These people and I share the same vibration frequency.

  …

It made me reflect a lot on our free-will and our ability to determine our life.

  …

I thought : OK, so it means that whenever I get into a room full of strangers – at a conference, or cocktail, or party for example – I tend to think that I choose to speak to someone because my mind chooses it (« this person looks nice and warm and interesting »), and actually, in the same time, there is a part I do not consciously control – the physical invisible energy one, that drives me close to the people I share the same vibration frequency with.

  …

  …

  …

This is a teaser, friends ! 😉 But indeed, this guy is amazing. His name is Tim, and his talk was the one I definitely preferred. I was in love with his words. He spoke about bringing back romanticism in our disenchanted world. And it felt so right and moving.

  …

Tim is German and lives in San Francisco. He recently founded a community, The Business Romantic Society : « a global collective of strategists, advertisers, curators, artists, developers, designers, researchers, and data scientists with the shared mission to bring beauty and enchantment to business. »

  …

Sounds simply magic to me.

  …

He wrote a book, The Business Romantic, and founded a consulting business aimed at bringing back a real passion from the client and a true drive at work for employees (I hope my words are faithful to what he expressed).

  …

He is simple and humble and fun. And very intelligent.

  …

He says we are entering a new romantic age. He says this is a time when human beings are particularly sensitive to the values of the Heart : passion and compassion. He claims the right for romance in a moment when many people have so many « friends » but very little intimacy and deep connection.

  …

He shared about fascinating trends he studied and that are connected to this need of intimacy, and romance. Real togetherness : co-living, intimate « let’s have dinner and share about death » experiences, the interest of people for what is unpredictable (« I will go to this OuiShare Fest and will create amazing connections with like-minded people and live unexpected experiences), the norm of radical transparency, secret societies, & business models based on secrecy.

  …

He gave the example of Forgotify on Spotify : you can listen to the 4 millions songs that have never been listened to.

  …

Suddenly, listening to him, I travelled in time.

  …

I was back in classe préparatoire, with my Literature & Latin professor Monsieur Magné. I was 19. I saw him again miming playfully the deepest expression of the romantic movement, shaking is head and moving his hand : «  Les cheveux dans le vent et le coeur en écharpe ». « With the hair blown by the wind and wearing the heart as a scarf » (hard to translate !).

  …

I was thinking Musset. Lamartine. Georges Sand. I felt my heart beating stronger.

  …

I leave Monsieur Magné behind and come back to Tim, awesome peaceful warrior of the new romantic movement.

  …

Tim mentioned the romantic vocabulary used by companies. He gives the example of Google creating « Daydream », a smartphone based Virtual Reality experience. He explains that consumers dream of intimacy and mystery.

  …

Products need to be thought, created and designed « for the self and for the soul ». Writing these words, I am thinking about the profile 4 of the Enneagram that I studied in my coaching class. The individualist, the artist, the unique one.

  …

Mystery and romance. Of course.

  …

Like the Business Romantic Facebook page

  …

  …

  …

I attended two interesting talk and roundtable about the future of work. Here are the ideas that I found were the most interesting and that I share with you for inspiration and nourishment.

  …

  …

1 out of 10 jobs nowadays existed 100 years ago

we are currently designing the post-industrial work and yet we still lack its narrative

we are in a moment when we redesign 1/ growth, 2/ productivity, and 3/ the meaning of work

before : « profit over purpose » / now : « purpose over profit »

in the industrial world, it was very expensive and complicated to create a business. Now thanks to the « computer power », almost anyone can do it.

in the old world we are MAKING things / in the new world we CONNECT things

the industrial world created products, the post-industrial world creates customers

« What it the opposite of industrialism ? It is something happening in a unique time and place »

« We don’t pay for products but for processes »

  …

  …

in the post-industrial era, there will not be « jobs » for everyone – think about the 45% of unemployment of the youth in Spain

the notion of JOB is outdated and corresponds to the old world

what happens when human beings can no longer compete with machines ? we can see the situation through a new perspective when we stop thinking about « job » but consider instead the notion of « work »

a majority of people still think that work means getting a job, finding an employer who gives us a job

what if work was not « a job » we have, but the problems we solve for specific customers and the tasks we do in order to achieve this ?

in the post-industrial world we will not work for an employer, we will solve problems for our customers

  …

  …

the focus will be on entrepreneurship and we will be looking for individuality, for the « onliness » of each of us

onliness : what only me can bring, thanks to my experience of life, story, talent, skills, interests, sense of purpose

each of us have a special way we can contribute

in the post-industrial world, work is about relationships – work is interaction between independent people – network is paramount and replaces assets

in the future of work we have 3-4 different activities that allow us to develop different talents and fulfill different needs

and then it becomes hard to define who we are and what we do – we need to work on our own narrative

we will do more and more personal brand management – letting people know who we are, what we are up to in this world

the question is : « How can each person find a way to do meaningful things with meaningful people in a meaningful way ? »

  …

  …

Want to stay posted about the OuiShare Fest 2017 ? It’s here.

  …