Roughly 1,500 creators, innovators and idea generators gathered at the Max M. Fisher Music Center on Wednesday for the third annual

.

Their goal was simple: Share positive ideas for the world from Detroit. They did, and then organizers shared the proceeds with groups doing positive things in Detroit: Loveland, DSO Civic Youth Ensembles, the Cass Tech First Robotics team, Public Art Workz and the David Blair Foundation, named in honor of the late, great poet.

Curator Charlie Wollborg says he's

, but if you're like us, you're still trying to wrap your brain around what happened Wednesday. Below, you'll find some of the brightest ideas from TEDxDetroit 2011.

1. Make the Motor City a RobotTown

: Mark Salamango is pushing an ambitious plan to build a world-class robotics center in Detroit. While he's still looking for funding to make it happen, he's already partnered with the U.S. Army and General Motors, whose EN-V personal mobility vehicle he promoted. We talked with Salamango before his speech, and he told us he's serious about purchasing the old Michigan State Fairgrounds site from the state. (

)

2. See homeless, help homeless

: In the not too distant past, Veronika Scott walked past a playground in Detroit and saw a group of homeless people using their own clothing as makeshift shelter. Today, she's running a non-profit company that produces coats that transform into waterproof sleeping bags. And she's handing them out to the homeless. We spoke to her after her speech, and she confirmed plans to expand her operation in her new Corktown headquarters. (

)

3. 'Bend the rule' to let creativity grow

: Controlled rebellion was a common theme amongst right-brain presenters at TEDxDetroit. Creative events organizer Rob Bliss explained he couldn't have pulled off a massive pillow fight, giant downtown water slide or internationally-famous lip-dub video if civic leaders in Grand Rapids hadn't allowed him the room to rebel. "This all happened because good people allowed us to bend the rules to make creative things happen," he said, challenging Detroit to follow a similar path. (

)

4. Use failure as launch pad

: Failures? Randal Charlton's had a few. Following bad luck in business and his daughter’s death, Charlton came to Detroit because it was the “lowest cost place in America” for an attempt to restore his career. He's now running TechTown, Wayne State's highly-lauded business incubator. “It’s OK to fail, as long as you take lessons from that failure and move on to the next thing," he said. (

)

5. Make Magic in the D

: Josh Linkner is working to transform Detroit, and he's working with a few big names with deep pockets. After starting five companies in 20 years, he's running Detroit Venture Partners, a venture capitol firm which he founded with Dan Gilbert and Brian Hermelin. He believes Detroit is at the precipice of a defining moment, and so does his new partner, Magic Johnson, who could have used his money anywhere. "...Rather than invest in San Francisco or Boston, he decided to bring his "Magic" right here to 'the D,'" Linkner said. (

)

6. Do good (business)

: Doing good and doing good business need not be mutually exclusive, according to Christina Keller of Cascade Engineering. Her West Michigan plastics company has embraced sustainability, regulations and utilizes a welfare career program to employ financially-struggling workers. All while making a healthy profit. "Start with something good," she said. "It will drive innovation. Then, make it a good business."

7. Prepare yourself, your community

: Bobby Smith runs En Garde! Detroit, the largest youth fencing center in America. The sport, once thought to be the domain of elite East Coast prep schoolers, is taking off in the Motor City. And he's not just teaching fencing; he slips in mentoring, nutrition, music appreciation and even financial literacy. "If we aren't teaching our kids to save, how are they going to invest in their communities?" he asked, advocating volunteerism and pushing for change in public education.

8. Keep it simple

: After an introduction from last year's youngest presenter, 9-year-old Sebastian Kuipers explained how he turned a $6 weekly allowance into a thriving lemonade stand business in Muskegon. "Keep it simple," he said. "Have a great product, be better than your competition and give back to your community."

9. Rough it up

: Ann Arbor physician Anthony DeBenedet doesn't just enjoy rough housing with his kids. He actively encourages other parents to follow suit. "Parents spend too much time worrying about scraped knees than the real dangers: apathy and stifled creativity," he said. Winding kids up and letting them cool down doesn't just tire them out so they'll go to bed, it helps them learn to understand and manage their own emotions. "In order to power Detroit, we must empower families," DeBenedet said.

10: Learn from Detroit's original badass

: Chief Pontiac didn't just inspire the name of an automobile brand or city, he inspired our nation's love of freedom and democracy when he stood up to the British, according to Brian Mulloy of Apigee. "A badass from Detroit gave us our first glimpse of the American revolution," he said, heavily paraphrasing Benjamin Franklin.

11. Find your ruby red morsel of joy

: Bob Sutherland started his business by selling Cherry Republic t-shirts out of his car in Northern Michigan. Two decades later, he operates four retail outlets, sells 170 different cherry products and employs 80 year-round employees with up to 230 during the holidays. The key, he said, is putting his heart -- not just his head -- into his work. "Somehow the business got bigger and bigger because I love cherries, I love my region and it just shows up in everything I do," he said. "If I try to sell cherries through logic, it falls flat. In everything the Cherry Republic does, we try to touch people's hearts."

12. Have balls in a ballsy place

: Easy ladies, it's just a metaphor. David Leider runs Gas Station TV, the only national television network headquartered in Michigan. GSTV recently announced a $50 million partnership with a Texas-based gas pump manufacturer that should triple its audience size. "I think it's pretty ballsy to have a media company in Detroit," he said. "You know, the cost of doing business in Detroit is definitely lower, but there's hungry people here to do smart, good things."

13. Do it in your pajamas

: Julie Aigner-Clark, a Michigan native and creator of "Baby Einstein," took to the TEDxDetroit stage in her pajamas to describe her journey from making home videos for her child (in her pajamas) to selling the multimedia product line to Walt Disney Co. in 2000. "Almost all of the important work I've done in my life, I've done in my pajamas," she said. Aigner-Clark, a breast cancer survivor, said she is extremely pleased she sold the company because it allowed her to spend more time with her new endeavor, Aigner Clark Creative, which helps develop projects with social value that can be used to raise money for nonprofit organizations.

Hungry for more TEDxDetroit? Check out

, or read about

from last year.