I was in the Lewiston Public Library and my heart was beating so fast that my neck hurt. I went over my talk in my head, over and over. It was the TEDxDirigo Tryouts and I was about to meet Adam Burke, the executive director. I was there to talk about my business, The Wood Chop School, which teaches sustainability skills to those interested in embracing a more sustainable lifestyle. I wanted to spread our gospel to a slightly wider audience than I had been able to reach on my own. Giving a TED Talk had been a dream of mine for some time.

In Maine, we are lucky enough to have a number of informative publications that cover all of the cool things happening here; my wife and I are addicted to all of them. We saw the ad for the TEDxDirigo tryouts in Maine Magazine. I submitted a few paragraphs on the TEDxDirigo website about why I should be chosen to compete. They accepted me. There were 15 of us trying out and it turned out that each of my competitors had been going over their speeches, too. I knew and had tremendous respect for many of the other speakers prior to the tryouts. The speeches were really good and I have even more respect for the speakers now. The theme of the event was "Villages." Most speakers talked about the need for villages. Some named the driving force, that unyielding change that makes coming together as a village so important. That force is called paradigm shift and it will change how you, and every single person you know, live and conduct business. It is characterized by three factors that we are personally experiencing with increasing frequency and read about in the headlines almost daily. These factors are oil scarcity, water scarcity, and climate change. My fellow competitors spoke about this because the only effective way to cope with paradigm shift is to become leaders of sustainability and to encourage others to do so, as well. These people were leaders. Everyone in the room was talking about the urgency and need that we all collectively face. There were stories of challenge and triumph and there were stories of dedication and sacrifice.

In the history of the planet, there has never been a better time to live in this place than right now.

The motto of TED is "Ideas Worth Sharing" and my ideas about paradigm shift apparently are worth sharing. I hit the stage and started talking and before I knew it, Adam was holding up the timer with 0.00 written on it and when the votes were tallied I had won the opportunity to speak at TEDxDirigo on Oct. 20 at Bates College! 

In my talk I'm going to say that in the history of the planet, there has never been a better time to live in this place than right now. It is rich in all of the things that the rest of the planet is finding more and more scarce. The management of these resources is what will ultimately determine our sustainability as individuals and as a community. It is critical now to be setting the pre-conditions for the world that we would like to thrive in and to disconnect from that which interferes with that process. Not just survive, but thrive. This is what I’m going to talk about in October. This is what we teach at The Wood Chop School and this is what I'll be discussing on penbaypilot.com 

Right now, I’d like to use this opportunity to welcome readers to this blog. Since this publication was put together in such a forward-thinking manner, a column dedicated to sustainability was planned and I have the privilege of contributing to that effort. In this column, I’ll be writing about sustainability and answering questions about how to become more sustainable and to prepare for the challenges that lay ahead. Please contact me at seth@thewoodchopschool.com with questions or comments.

Between now and the next time we meet, go ahead and thrive!

Seth Silverton is the director of The Wood Chop School. On Oct. 11, The Wood Chop School will be offering a three-hour class called Attributes of the Sustainable Mind that provides participants with 21 tools and practices designed to inform and develop a sustainable and durable worldview. The class is being held at The Conway House in Camden and one can sign up by clicking here.