16 Days Before My TEDx Talk: Excitement, Nerves & Why This Matters

October 1, 2026 · By Dom LeRoux
 

Sixteen days from today, I’ll be stepping onto the stage at TEDx Oconomowoc in Wisconsin to share an idea that has shaped much of my life: We Have Opportunity Backwards.
  
Right now, I’m excited. I’m nervous. I’m thinking about the words, the stories, the pacing, and how to make the message clear.
    
Some mornings, I wake up early and want to get straight to work on it. Occasionally, an idea comes to me in the middle of the night. I grab my phone, make a quick note, and go back to sleep.
   
This matters to me, and I can feel that in how much attention I’m giving it.

Why This Feels Personal

I’m comfortable speaking in front of people. As a college instructor, I stood in front of  students regularly, explaining ideas and answering questions.
  
But this feels different.
  
I’m sharing a philosophy I’ve lived with for years. I’ve used it in my career, taught it to my children, and seen it influence my friendships and family relationships. It also played a role in the relationship I rebuilt with my father.
   
Now, I’m bringing it to people who don’t know me.
   
Some may connect with it immediately. Others may disagree or ask questions I haven’t considered. Once the talk is published, people anywhere may watch it and form their own opinions.
   
That is where the vulnerability comes in. Something deeply personal is becoming public.
   
I believe in the idea. I also know that sharing it means being willing to listen to how other people receive it.

The Idea I Want to Share

We often talk about opportunity as something we’re waiting for.
   
We wait for the right job, the right introduction, or someone to notice what we can do. We imagine that once a door opens, we’ll have the chance to prove our value.
    
My experience has taught me to approach that sequence differently.
  
Create value first. Build trust. Strengthen relationships. Create the conditions for opportunities to emerge.
  
We cannot force an opportunity to happen. But we can choose how we prepare, how we contribute, and how we show up for others.
   
That is the message behind my upcoming book, We Have Opportunity Backwards, and the idea I’m preparing to share onstage.
    
There is an essential distinction, though: creating value does not mean someone owes us a return. What we give cannot come with an invisible invoice.
    
We can hope something will emerge while respecting boundaries and accepting that the outcome remains outside our control.

The Responsibility of Making It Clear

With sixteen days remaining, I keep asking myself what the audience will need from me.
   
Will the stories help them understand? Will the visual tool make the sequence clearer? Am I giving them something practical they can use?
   
English is not my first language, and when I’m excited, I can speak quickly. I’m paying attention to my pace, shortening sentences, and thinking about where to pause.
   
I’m also preparing a board to help communicate the idea visually.
   
Each choice brings me back to the same question: if someone hears this philosophy for the first time, will they understand it well enough to try it?
   
I want people to leave with a step they can take that day.

The Conversations I’m Looking Forward To

Almost as much as the talk itself, I’m looking forward to the conversations around it.
    
I’ll have a booth at the event, where people can stop by, ask questions, and share their experiences.
    
I want to hear what resonated. I also want to hear what didn’t.
    
Someone might tell me they’ve been living this way for years without having a name for it. Another person might ask, “How much should you give?” or “When do you stop?”
    
Those questions matter. They help explore the boundaries of an idea and where it needs a clearer explanation.
   
I’m going there ready to share, listen, and learn—from the audience and from the other speakers.

What Would Make This Meaningful?

  Of course, I want to deliver the talk well. I’m putting time and care into preparing it.

But the response that would mean the most to me is someone saying:
   
“This made me think differently.”
    
If one person decides to strengthen a relationship, contribute before asking for something, or take a step they’ve been waiting to take, that matters.
   
I don’t need to know what opportunities might follow. The change in that person’s thinking would already make the experience meaningful.

Where I Am Today

Today, the dominant feeling is excitement, with nervousness mixed in.
   
There are things I cannot predict: how it will feel to step onto the stage, how the audience will respond, and what conversations will happen afterward.
    
For now, I can prepare carefully and keep moving forward.
     
Sixteen days to go. I’m looking forward to sharing something I care deeply about—and discovering what I can learn along the way.
  
What is something meaningful you’re moving toward, even though you don’t yet know how it will turn out?