After, “Are you still homeless?” the question I get asked most is, “How can I get invited to speak at TED?” Actually, “How can I get invited to speak at TED?” is usually accompanied by some variation of an assumption I have an inside track or the ear of Chris Carter or the TED organizers.

People believe I can get people I don’t know in front of the committee, or get them invited to speak at TED just on my say so.

I understand from others I know who have spoken at TED that this just comes with the territory and the fact that you made the cut and got to talk there yourself.

I know people think like this because people I don’t even know write me and ask me to (1) help them get to TED, (2) put in a good word for them at TED or (3) recommend them for TED. I know they have no clue about what TED is because when I ask, “What’s your great idea?” the person usually responds, “What do you mean??” or, “I don’t have one, I just want to speak at TED.” or “Can you write something for me?”

The idea that you can make a difference without doing the work, or get recognized simply because you think you need a TED talk on your vita is narcissistic. It’s also a huge misconception about what TED and the selection process and whole event is about. That would totally make TED like any other prestigious organization — dependent more on the good old boy social circle network, back scratching and favors and not dependent on great ideas, insight, story telling and vision. People like Seth Godin, Dan Pink and others keep getting invited back because they consistently have something world changing to say. And that’s how it should be. I do pass along ideas I personally think are TED worthy and of the six ideas I’ve passed along, I do know that five of them were considered. Those I’ve referred to TEDx organizers have, across the board, been selected as well. They were selected because they had TED worthy ideas, talks, insights or material NOT because they knew someone who spoke at TED.

So, if you want to be invited to speak at TED:

Do something, be something, invent something, research something, create something amazing, brilliant, inspired, funny or powerful. Change the world or present something that educates, entertains, inspires or causes those who see it or experience to change the world.

TED isn’t about YOUR ego. It’s about your ideas, solutions and insights or experiences that — told in a talk can shift people’s minds and hearts. That’s why a homeless woman, a refugee, a child soldier, and people with no connections, no power, no political or financial influence have been selected to speak at TED. TED is a model for how you should be living your life day-to-day— sharing solutions, ideas, insights, wonder and visions with people who can act on them.

Sadly, TED, for so many, has become simply another way to leverage people’s attention and prestige into money, fame and fortune. That, as far I know and believe, is not the purpose of TED, although it can be a by-product. Some days I wonder if TED will go the way of the casting couch, that it will be more of a smooth marketing, social media machine based on a list of speakers who got there because of who they knew rather than what they knew. I worry that it will become a calculated popularity machine, not a tool for the impassioned and world changing individuals. But I’m not going to be part of that kind of TED. For me, it’s about spreading ideas, vision and wonder. I hope it is for you too.

That said, TED now looks at one minute tapes of your proposed TED talk, so if you still want to be invited and you think that based on your own merits and not on who you know, you have what it takes to change the world, here’s your chance. Audition your own TED talk. Be warned, it’s not about who you know, but how world changing your message and idea is:

http://blog.ted.com/2011/04/15/a-chance-to-audition-your-own-ted-talk/ The deadline is past, but if you want to see who made the cut, go here: http://blog.ted.com/2011/05/26/great-minds-think-alike-creative-minds-think-together-ted-full-spectrum-auditions/

Good luck. The world needs incredible, world changing ideas, visions and insights. If you see it as a way to “get rich, famous and in demand quick,” I can point you to any of a dozen Internet scams that will pay off better and faster.