There is something overwhelming about a professional conference, particularly on a day when you give a major presentation. To the people in the audience there is the illusion that the enthusiastic people up onstage have an infinite well of energy, that the speakers are drawing upon some magical elixar of perfect focus and endless enthusiasm.
This is an illusion. This moment of heightened performative reality carries its price. What actually happens in my case is that for the duration of the talk I go into a high adrenaline state, buoyed by my excitement at the message. But then afterward I feel drained, even dazed, as though the Muse has started charging me interest for the time I have spent in her company. It’s all I can do to get through the rest of the afternoon.
But every once in a while — like today — that price is worth it. If you can really tap into something universal for a half an hour or so, and get across a message that is truly important, or at least get people to think and to dream of what might be possible in this world, then maybe, just maybe you have helped to steer the flow of history toward a more positive place.