0:00:00.960,0:00:02.536
When Dorothy was a little girl,

0:00:02.560,0:00:04.360
she was fascinated by her goldfish.

0:00:05.080,0:00:08.536
Her father explained to her that fish swim[br]by quickly wagging their tails

0:00:08.560,0:00:10.440
to propel themselves through the water.

0:00:11.040,0:00:13.176
Without hesitation,[br]little Dorothy responded,

0:00:13.200,0:00:16.456
"Yes, Daddy, and fish swim backwards[br]by wagging their heads."

0:00:16.480,0:00:18.096
(Laughter)

0:00:18.120,0:00:20.936
In her mind, it was a fact[br]as true as any other.

0:00:20.960,0:00:23.296
Fish swim backwards[br]by wagging their heads.

0:00:23.320,0:00:24.520
She believed it.

0:00:25.320,0:00:28.296
Our lives are full[br]of fish swimming backwards.

0:00:28.320,0:00:30.816
We make assumptions[br]and faulty leaps of logic.

0:00:30.840,0:00:32.095
We harbor bias.

0:00:32.119,0:00:34.376
We know that we are right,[br]and they are wrong.

0:00:34.400,0:00:36.016
We fear the worst.

0:00:36.040,0:00:38.200
We strive for unattainable perfection.

0:00:38.920,0:00:41.000
We tell ourselves[br]what we can and cannot do.

0:00:41.880,0:00:45.976
In our minds, fish swim by in reverse[br]frantically wagging their heads

0:00:46.000,0:00:47.429
and we don't even notice them.

0:00:49.160,0:00:51.336
I'm going to tell you[br]five facts about myself.

0:00:51.360,0:00:52.680
One fact is not true.

0:00:53.760,0:00:58.560
One: I graduated from Harvard at 19[br]with an honors degree in mathematics.

0:00:59.680,0:01:03.640
Two: I currently run[br]a construction company in Orlando.

0:01:04.920,0:01:08.040
Three: I starred on a television sitcom.

0:01:09.440,0:01:13.880
Four: I lost my sight[br]to a rare genetic eye disease.

0:01:14.960,0:01:19.400
Five: I served as a law clerk[br]to two US Supreme Court justices.

0:01:20.360,0:01:21.560
Which fact is not true?

0:01:23.880,0:01:25.240
Actually, they're all true.

0:01:26.240,0:01:27.520
Yeah. They're all true.

0:01:28.800,0:01:30.960
(Applause)

0:01:32.680,0:01:36.336
At this point, most people really[br]only care about the television show.

0:01:36.360,0:01:38.040
(Laughter)

0:01:39.680,0:01:41.240
I know this from experience.

0:01:42.320,0:01:45.656
OK, so the show was NBC's[br]"Saved by the Bell: The New Class."

0:01:45.680,0:01:49.280
And I played Weasel Wyzell,

0:01:50.240,0:01:54.296
who was the sort of dorky,[br]nerdy character on the show,

0:01:54.320,0:01:59.096
which made it a very[br]major acting challenge

0:01:59.120,0:02:00.616
for me as a 13-year-old boy.

0:02:00.640,0:02:02.160
(Laughter)

0:02:03.320,0:02:06.240
Now, did you struggle[br]with number four, my blindness?

0:02:07.120,0:02:08.320
Why is that?

0:02:09.280,0:02:12.256
We make assumptions[br]about so-called disabilities.

0:02:12.280,0:02:15.456
As a blind man, I confront[br]others' incorrect assumptions

0:02:15.480,0:02:17.240
about my abilities every day.

0:02:18.640,0:02:21.176
My point today is not[br]about my blindness, however.

0:02:21.200,0:02:22.400
It's about my vision.

0:02:23.480,0:02:27.280
Going blind taught me[br]to live my life eyes wide open.

0:02:28.200,0:02:30.576
It taught me to spot[br]those backwards-swimming fish

0:02:30.600,0:02:32.096
that our minds create.

0:02:32.120,0:02:34.280
Going blind cast them into focus.

0:02:35.760,0:02:37.840
What does it feel like to see?

0:02:38.720,0:02:40.360
It's immediate and passive.

0:02:40.800,0:02:42.936
You open your eyes and there's the world.

0:02:42.960,0:02:45.056
Seeing is believing. Sight is truth.

0:02:45.080,0:02:46.280
Right?

0:02:47.120,0:02:48.800
Well, that's what I thought.

0:02:49.520,0:02:54.440
Then, from age 12 to 25,[br]my retinas progressively deteriorated.

0:02:55.280,0:02:58.296
My sight became an increasingly bizarre

0:02:58.320,0:03:00.600
carnival funhouse hall[br]of mirrors and illusions.

0:03:01.640,0:03:03.976
The salesperson I was relieved[br]to spot in a store

0:03:04.000,0:03:05.200
was really a mannequin.

0:03:05.880,0:03:07.376
Reaching down to wash my hands,

0:03:07.400,0:03:10.616
I suddenly saw it was[br]a urinal I was touching, not a sink,

0:03:10.640,0:03:12.355
when my fingers felt its true shape.

0:03:13.160,0:03:15.296
A friend described[br]the photograph in my hand,

0:03:15.320,0:03:17.440
and only then I could see[br]the image depicted.

0:03:18.720,0:03:23.040
Objects appeared, morphed[br]and disappeared in my reality.

0:03:24.080,0:03:26.520
It was difficult and exhausting to see.

0:03:27.600,0:03:30.856
I pieced together fragmented,[br]transitory images,

0:03:30.880,0:03:32.856
consciously analyzed the clues,

0:03:32.880,0:03:35.960
searched for some logic[br]in my crumbling kaleidoscope,

0:03:36.840,0:03:38.126
until I saw nothing at all.

0:03:39.600,0:03:41.256
I learned that what we see

0:03:41.280,0:03:43.640
is not universal truth.

0:03:44.200,0:03:46.400
It is not objective reality.

0:03:48.000,0:03:52.696
What we see is a unique,[br]personal, virtual reality

0:03:52.720,0:03:54.840
that is masterfully[br]constructed by our brain.

0:03:55.560,0:03:57.894
Let me explain with a bit[br]of amateur neuroscience.

0:03:57.918,0:04:01.158
Your visual cortex takes up[br]about 30 percent of your brain.

0:04:01.560,0:04:05.016
That's compared to approximately[br]eight percent for touch

0:04:05.040,0:04:06.840
and two to three percent for hearing.

0:04:07.600,0:04:11.336
Every second, your eyes[br]can send your visual cortex

0:04:11.360,0:04:13.520
as many as two billion[br]pieces of information.

0:04:14.360,0:04:17.800
The rest of your body can send your brain[br]only an additional billion.

0:04:18.680,0:04:22.896
So sight is one third[br]of your brain by volume

0:04:22.920,0:04:26.240
and can claim about two thirds[br]of your brain's processing resources.

0:04:27.040,0:04:28.256
It's no surprise then

0:04:28.280,0:04:30.376
that the illusion[br]of sight is so compelling.

0:04:30.400,0:04:32.800
But make no mistake about it:[br]sight is an illusion.

0:04:33.920,0:04:35.736
Here's where it gets interesting.

0:04:35.760,0:04:37.856
To create the experience of sight,

0:04:37.880,0:04:41.416
your brain references your conceptual[br]understanding of the world,

0:04:41.440,0:04:45.496
other knowledge, your memories,[br]opinions, emotions, mental attention.

0:04:45.520,0:04:50.080
All of these things and far more[br]are linked in your brain to your sight.

0:04:51.040,0:04:54.456
These linkages work both ways,[br]and usually occur subconsciously.

0:04:54.480,0:04:56.336
So for example,

0:04:56.360,0:04:58.496
what you see impacts how you feel,

0:04:58.520,0:05:01.120
and the way you feel[br]can literally change what you see.

0:05:02.040,0:05:03.760
Numerous studies demonstrate this.

0:05:04.600,0:05:06.456
If you are asked to estimate

0:05:06.480,0:05:09.656
the walking speed of a man[br]in a video, for example,

0:05:09.680,0:05:13.800
your answer will be different if you're[br]told to think about cheetahs or turtles.

0:05:15.120,0:05:18.416
A hill appears steeper[br]if you've just exercised,

0:05:18.440,0:05:20.656
and a landmark appears farther away

0:05:20.680,0:05:22.360
if you're wearing a heavy backpack.

0:05:23.960,0:05:26.840
We have arrived[br]at a fundamental contradiction.

0:05:28.160,0:05:32.576
What you see is a complex[br]mental construction of your own making,

0:05:32.600,0:05:34.376
but you experience it passively

0:05:34.400,0:05:36.800
as a direct representation[br]of the world around you.

0:05:37.680,0:05:40.280
You create your own reality,[br]and you believe it.

0:05:41.560,0:05:43.800
I believed mine until it broke apart.

0:05:44.920,0:05:47.360
The deterioration of my eyes[br]shattered the illusion.

0:05:48.720,0:05:51.016
You see, sight is just one way

0:05:51.040,0:05:52.720
we shape our reality.

0:05:53.280,0:05:55.880
We create our own realities[br]in many other ways.

0:05:57.160,0:06:00.120
Let's take fear as just one example.

0:06:01.440,0:06:04.280
Your fears distort your reality.

0:06:05.880,0:06:10.056
Under the warped logic of fear,[br]anything is better than the uncertain.

0:06:10.080,0:06:12.536
Fear fills the void at all costs,

0:06:12.560,0:06:14.696
passing off what you dread[br]for what you know,

0:06:14.720,0:06:17.496
offering up the worst[br]in place of the ambiguous,

0:06:17.520,0:06:19.280
substituting assumption for reason.

0:06:20.120,0:06:22.856
Psychologists have[br]a great term for it: awfulizing.

0:06:22.880,0:06:23.976
(Laughter)

0:06:24.000,0:06:25.536
Right?

0:06:25.560,0:06:28.840
Fear replaces the unknown with the awful.

0:06:30.080,0:06:31.976
Now, fear is self-realizing.

0:06:32.000,0:06:33.736
When you face the greatest need

0:06:33.760,0:06:36.416
to look outside yourself[br]and think critically,

0:06:36.440,0:06:39.256
fear beats a retreat[br]deep inside your mind,

0:06:39.280,0:06:41.056
shrinking and distorting your view,

0:06:41.080,0:06:43.136
drowning your capacity[br]for critical thought

0:06:43.160,0:06:44.880
with a flood of disruptive emotions.

0:06:45.880,0:06:48.736
When you face a compelling[br]opportunity to take action,

0:06:48.760,0:06:51.256
fear lulls you into inaction,

0:06:51.280,0:06:54.800
enticing you to passively watch[br]its prophecies fulfill themselves.

0:06:57.880,0:07:00.096
When I was diagnosed[br]with my blinding disease,

0:07:00.120,0:07:03.160
I knew blindness would ruin my life.

0:07:04.400,0:07:07.336
Blindness was a death sentence[br]for my independence.

0:07:07.360,0:07:09.240
It was the end of achievement for me.

0:07:10.600,0:07:14.576
Blindness meant I would live[br]an unremarkable life,

0:07:14.600,0:07:16.296
small and sad,

0:07:16.320,0:07:17.520
and likely alone.

0:07:18.280,0:07:19.480
I knew it.

0:07:21.440,0:07:24.240
This was a fiction born of my fears,[br]but I believed it.

0:07:24.800,0:07:27.416
It was a lie, but it was my reality,

0:07:27.440,0:07:30.600
just like those backwards-swimming fish[br]in little Dorothy's mind.

0:07:31.920,0:07:34.416
If I had not confronted[br]the reality of my fear,

0:07:34.440,0:07:35.640
I would have lived it.

0:07:36.200,0:07:37.480
I am certain of that.

0:07:39.920,0:07:42.440
So how do you live your life[br]eyes wide open?

0:07:43.480,0:07:44.960
It is a learned discipline.

0:07:45.520,0:07:47.960
It can be taught. It can be practiced.

0:07:48.680,0:07:50.109
I will summarize very briefly.

0:07:51.640,0:07:53.536
Hold yourself accountable

0:07:53.560,0:07:56.056
for every moment, every thought,

0:07:56.080,0:07:57.280
every detail.

0:07:58.120,0:07:59.776
See beyond your fears.

0:07:59.800,0:08:01.536
Recognize your assumptions.

0:08:01.560,0:08:03.336
Harness your internal strength.

0:08:03.360,0:08:05.536
Silence your internal critic.

0:08:05.560,0:08:08.360
Correct your misconceptions[br]about luck and about success.

0:08:09.480,0:08:12.920
Accept your strengths and your weaknesses,[br]and understand the difference.

0:08:13.600,0:08:14.896
Open your hearts

0:08:14.920,0:08:16.320
to your bountiful blessings.

0:08:17.480,0:08:19.696
Your fears, your critics,

0:08:19.720,0:08:21.576
your heroes, your villains --

0:08:21.600,0:08:24.616
they are your excuses,

0:08:24.640,0:08:26.976
rationalizations, shortcuts,

0:08:27.000,0:08:29.320
justifications, your surrender.

0:08:30.360,0:08:32.679
They are fictions you perceive as reality.

0:08:34.000,0:08:35.655
Choose to see through them.

0:08:35.679,0:08:36.919
Choose to let them go.

0:08:38.080,0:08:41.039
You are the creator of your reality.

0:08:42.240,0:08:45.280
With that empowerment[br]comes complete responsibility.

0:08:46.440,0:08:51.560
I chose to step out of fear's tunnel[br]into terrain uncharted and undefined.

0:08:52.440,0:08:54.840
I chose to build there a blessed life.

0:08:56.120,0:08:57.896
Far from alone,

0:08:57.920,0:09:00.896
I share my beautiful life with Dorothy,

0:09:00.920,0:09:02.576
my beautiful wife,

0:09:02.600,0:09:04.760
with our triplets,[br]whom we call the Tripskys,

0:09:06.400,0:09:08.416
and with the latest addition[br]to the family,

0:09:08.440,0:09:09.800
sweet baby Clementine.

0:09:10.840,0:09:12.040
What do you fear?

0:09:13.600,0:09:15.360
What lies do you tell yourself?

0:09:16.520,0:09:19.440
How do you embellish your truth[br]and write your own fictions?

0:09:20.360,0:09:22.840
What reality are you[br]creating for yourself?

0:09:24.200,0:09:27.376
In your career and personal life,[br]in your relationships,

0:09:27.400,0:09:29.016
and in your heart and soul,

0:09:29.040,0:09:31.440
your backwards-swimming fish[br]do you great harm.

0:09:32.560,0:09:36.480
They exact a toll in missed opportunities[br]and unrealized potential,

0:09:37.400,0:09:39.776
and they engender insecurity and distrust

0:09:39.800,0:09:42.240
where you seek fulfillment and connection.

0:09:43.560,0:09:45.760
I urge you to search them out.

0:09:47.360,0:09:51.536
Helen Keller said that the only thing[br]worse than being blind

0:09:51.560,0:09:53.560
is having sight but no vision.

0:09:54.920,0:09:58.696
For me, going blind[br]was a profound blessing,

0:09:58.720,0:10:00.760
because blindness gave me vision.

0:10:01.720,0:10:03.720
I hope you can see what I see.

0:10:04.280,0:10:05.496
Thank you.

0:10:05.520,0:10:07.680
(Applause)

0:10:20.720,0:10:23.896
Bruno Giussani: Isaac, before you[br]leave the stage, just a question.

0:10:23.920,0:10:27.696
This is an audience of entrepreneurs,[br]of doers, of innovators.

0:10:27.720,0:10:31.376
You are a CEO of a company[br]down in Florida,

0:10:31.400,0:10:33.536
and many are probably wondering,

0:10:33.560,0:10:35.776
how is it to be a blind CEO?

0:10:35.800,0:10:39.576
What kind of specific challenges[br]do you have, and how do you overcome them?

0:10:39.600,0:10:42.736
Isaac Lidsky: Well,[br]the biggest challenge became a blessing.

0:10:42.760,0:10:45.320
I don't get visual feedback from people.

0:10:45.880,0:10:47.976
(Laughter)

0:10:48.000,0:10:50.176
BG: What's that noise there? IL: Yeah.

0:10:50.200,0:10:53.696
So, for example,[br]in my leadership team meetings,

0:10:53.720,0:10:56.080
I don't see facial[br]expressions or gestures.

0:10:57.640,0:11:01.376
I've learned to solicit[br]a lot more verbal feedback.

0:11:01.400,0:11:05.400
I basically force people[br]to tell me what they think.

0:11:06.080,0:11:07.936
And in this respect,

0:11:07.960,0:11:12.056
it's become, like I said, a real blessing[br]for me personally and for my company,

0:11:12.080,0:11:14.680
because we communicate[br]at a far deeper level,

0:11:15.400,0:11:17.320
we avoid ambiguities,

0:11:18.080,0:11:24.010
and most important, my team knows[br]that what they think truly matters.

0:11:26.560,0:11:29.456
BG: Isaac, thank you for coming to TED.[br]IL: Thank you, Bruno.

0:11:29.480,0:11:33.185
(Applause)