Choosing to trust or to fear largely determines whether we flourish or wither. Today, powerful industries that push and profit from fear intensify this struggle. With examples from Siberia to San Bernardino, author and international river guide Ken Streater illustrates how individuals and communities—be they businesses, organizations, towns, or countries—can choose trust over fear. By doing so, he shows that we create places of hope, innovation, and happiness instead of despair, decay, and sadness.

As an international rafting company owner, social entrepreneur, acclaimed author, and community growth innovator, Ken Streater has studied cultures in over forty countries - amid the deltas of Botswana, in small villages of Siberia, on the streets of China, and through deep conversations with luminaries and community gatekeepers.

Ken’s work as a worldwide river guide immersed him in societies rich in tradition, poor in material wealth, and politically varied, in places wrought by fear or flourishing in trust. Through these experiences on five continents, Ken created his own heart-driven business culture by providing employees and clients with opportunities to make their dreams come true in the peace of wild places.

This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at http://ted.com/tedx