I was lucky enough to attend TEDxAustin this past weekend where I heard from a number of presenters in a variety of fields. While the theme of the event was Play Big, the speakers that focused on the little things stuck with me the longest.

Chris Shipley of Guidewire Group made a compelling argument for the agility and innovations of small business, noting that we are often the most creative when we are resource-constrained.

Doug Ulman of LIVESTRONG shared the story of his diagnosis and explained how important the little yellow wristband has been in reaching out and uniting cancer survivors.

Steven Tomlinson of the Acton School of Business took us through the unique career journey that has led him to a place of success and more importantly fulfillment. He explained that rather than worrying about our next big move, or chasing after a silver bullet, we should focus on our passions and commit to consistent incremental effort.

Carrie Contey, a prenatal and perinatal psychologist, shared some research about neurological development that highlighted the importance of pauses. She explained that as we learn and develop we not only need to have experiences, but also the downtime to process them. To that end as adults, we need to appreciate the value of being, not just doing.

When recited plainly, many of these observations may seem obvious, and indeed some of them are, but that doesn’t make them any less powerful. As a creative working in a technical and often fast-paced industry, it is all too easy to forget about the little things, to ignore the power of simple ideas, or to not value time spent just being. So my takeaway from TEDxAustin is to put more focus on the little stuff, because I got a great reminder of just how big that stuff can be.