While it is impossible to summarize everything I have heard and learned during the past two days at the Global Spa & Wellness Summit, or to reduce the Summit to soundbytes, here are my favorite quotes from the last two days (all by speakers), centered around the themes we are all exploring here in Aspen:
Creativity, Imagination, Innovation
“It’s easier to imagine the world than to understand it.” Philippe Bourguignon
“Walk watching the moon rather than watching your shoes.” French proverb, quoted by Philippe Bourguignon
“Innovation is creativity applied to some purpose to create value.” John Kao
“I have failed over and over again in my life… and that is why I succeed.” Michael Jordan in a video shown by John Kao
“Transformation is a key to creativity.” Alejandro Fogel
“Fail. Fail again. Fail better.” Samuel Beckett, quoted by Shelley Berc
“Creativity and analysis should never be done at the same time – they need their own space.” Shelley Berc
“Failure builds strength of ego.” Shelley Berc
“Be creators, not consumers.” Shelley Berc
“Imagination is more important than knowledge.” Albert Einstein, quoted by John Hickenlooper, Governor of Colorado
“You can’t schedule inspiration; all you can do is have an inspired schedule.” Peter Rummell
“Imagination is the voice of the daring.” Sonu Shivdasani
Wellness
“Obesity is a national security risk.” Dr. Richard Carmona
“If you know how your brain works, you know how to work your brain.” Dr. Daniel Friedland
“Drinking is healthy.” Philippe Bourguignon reminding the audience of something all French people know.
“If I were king of your world, the first thing I would do is get rid of the word spa. … The deadly definition of spas is that it is for rich white women.” Peter Rummell
“Healthcare is the single largest drain on our economy.” John Hickenlooper, Governor of Colorado
“The solution is hurting the problem you are trying to solve.” John Hickenlooper, Governor of Colorado, on cutting physical education and reducing recess time to make children perform better in school.
Scarce Resources
“The Western world has been living beyond its means for 30+ years.” Philippe Bourguignon
“We are problem rich and solution poor.” John Kao
“It’s like rearranging the chairs on the deck of the titanic.” Jose Maria Figueres-Olsen speaking about governmental attempts at dealing with the current economic and energy crises.
“We go through life with a plan A, and a plan B, and sometimes a plan C. When it comes to our home, there is no planet B. We have to get it right with this one.” Jose Maria Figueres-Olsen
“Baby boomers won’t be going to retirement homes.” John Kao, speaking about the need to face the challenge of longevity.
“You use more fuel when you make a left turn than when you make a right turn.” Elizabeth Stephenson, quoting research by UPS.
“Every day when we get up and go to work we are often doing more harm than good.” Sonu Shivdasani speaking about each individual’s carbon footprint.
“It’s no longer cool to drink branded bottled water.” Sir Richard Branson about the Six Senses Hotel Water project
Technology
“There are 19,000 tweets per minute.” Philippe Bourguignon
“This internet thing is going to stick around.” Ted Souder
“We are in the midst of the acceleration of everything.” Ted Souder
“Any screen will do.” Ted Souder, speaking of consumer’s habit of watching TV while being on their computer while texting from their phones.
“Technology is a strategic imperative.” Ted Souder
“Brain scans show that people have the same reaction when seeing their mobile phone as when they see their loved one.” Elizabeth Stephenson
“Kenya is the country with the highest penetration of mobile banking.” Elizabeth Stephenson
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