The Inaugural Be Human Salon with Peter Strople

Human, derived from humane: to be benevolent in treating fellow humans.

The Be Human Project is a movement to discover and bring to light amazing efforts people are making to transform the cold machinery of business into something more human. Our mission is to help individuals realize their dreams, and for business to embrace the humans that make business possible.

Eliot Frick, bigwidesky founder and CEO, delivered an inspiring TEDx talk at TEDxGatewayArch’s first annual “Confluence” in January 2014, which was a springboard for the Be Human Project. Frick’s vision for the Be Human Project includes efforts to organize quarterly salons and an annual gathering to bring together people who share the passion to bridge gaps between business and humanity in ways that are sustainable and magnetic to the movement, and that effect change.

The salon format features well-known guests participating in a hosted conversation with Frick on topics relevant to the Be Human Project. We were thrilled when Peter Strople, the world’s most connected man, agreed to join us for our inaugural salon in February 2014. Our venue, the Dark Room at Spot Media Productions in St Louis, Missouri, proved to be the perfect setting for a comfortable and inspiring evening for everyone.

Peter shared personal experiences and his ideas for “Instant Change: Power of Now,” “Theory of Flow” and “Home Plate,” which opened hearts and minds to trust, love, and understanding. To further engage our guests, Peter posed the question, “what would you do if you were given $10 million dollars to spend on anything?” And when answered, Strople then asked, “What would you do with $10 million dollars if you only had six months to live?” If these questions were asked at the beginning of the program, or in casual conversation between friends, one would not be surprised to hear desires for such things as material possessions and world travel … but following the hosted conversation and Peter’s personal messages, responses were to ‘do good’ with the money, something more human, and we believe it was the program that influenced the answers to be selfless acts of kindness. It seemed everyone in the room sensed this unspoken shift of consciousness.

The evening left us feeling humbled, hopeful and inspired to think about, pursue and apply what it really means to be human.

We are looking forward to our next salon, and continuing on the path to build momentum for our movement.

We’d like to acknowledge Spot Media Productions for the use of their space and the excellent video and audio production of our inaugural salon, and Westwood Catering for their delicious fare and gracious attention to our guests.