0:00:00.960,0:00:04.616
So a while ago, I tried an experiment.

0:00:04.640,0:00:08.080
For one year, I would say yes[br]to all the things that scared me.

0:00:08.720,0:00:12.056
Anything that made me nervous,[br]took me out of my comfort zone,

0:00:12.080,0:00:13.840
I forced myself to say yes to.

0:00:14.360,0:00:16.015
Did I want to speak in public?

0:00:16.040,0:00:17.720
No, but yes.

0:00:18.280,0:00:20.176
Did I want to be on live TV?

0:00:20.200,0:00:22.000
No, but yes.

0:00:22.480,0:00:24.296
Did I want to try acting?

0:00:24.320,0:00:27.376
No, no, no, but yes, yes, yes.

0:00:27.400,0:00:29.456
And a crazy thing happened:

0:00:29.480,0:00:32.216
the very act of doing[br]the thing that scared me

0:00:32.240,0:00:33.896
undid the fear,

0:00:33.920,0:00:35.456
made it not scary.

0:00:35.480,0:00:39.920
My fear of public speaking,[br]my social anxiety, poof, gone.

0:00:40.600,0:00:43.576
It's amazing, the power of one word.

0:00:43.600,0:00:45.736
"Yes" changed my life.

0:00:45.760,0:00:47.456
"Yes" changed me.

0:00:47.480,0:00:49.856
But there was one particular yes

0:00:49.880,0:00:52.816
that affected my life[br]in the most profound way,

0:00:52.840,0:00:54.656
in a way I never imagined,

0:00:54.680,0:00:57.320
and it started with a question[br]from my toddler.

0:00:58.440,0:01:01.736
I have these three amazing daughters,[br]Harper, Beckett and Emerson,

0:01:01.760,0:01:05.256
and Emerson is a toddler who inexplicably[br]refers to everyone as "honey."

0:01:05.280,0:01:07.136
as though she's a Southern waitress.

0:01:07.160,0:01:08.376
(Laughter)

0:01:08.400,0:01:11.216
"Honey, I'm gonna need some milk[br]for my sippy cup."

0:01:11.240,0:01:12.856
(Laughter)

0:01:12.880,0:01:16.136
The Southern waitress asked me[br]to play with her one evening

0:01:16.160,0:01:18.936
when I was on my way somewhere,[br]and I said, "Yes."

0:01:18.960,0:01:22.976
And that yes was the beginning[br]of a new way of life for my family.

0:01:23.000,0:01:24.976
I made a vow that from now on,

0:01:25.000,0:01:27.336
every time one of my children[br]asks me to play,

0:01:27.360,0:01:29.896
no matter what I'm doing[br]or where I'm going,

0:01:29.920,0:01:33.520
I say yes, every single time.

0:01:34.280,0:01:37.896
Almost. I'm not perfect at it,[br]but I try hard to practice it.

0:01:37.920,0:01:40.336
And it's had a magical effect on me,

0:01:40.360,0:01:42.760
on my children, on our family.

0:01:43.520,0:01:46.456
But it's also had a stunning side effect,

0:01:46.480,0:01:50.056
and it wasn't until recently[br]that I fully understood it,

0:01:50.080,0:01:53.656
that I understood that saying yes[br]to playing with my children

0:01:53.680,0:01:55.840
likely saved my career.

0:01:56.760,0:01:59.896
See, I have what most people[br]would call a dream job.

0:01:59.920,0:02:02.696
I'm a writer. I imagine.[br]I make stuff up for a living.

0:02:02.720,0:02:04.176
Dream job.

0:02:04.200,0:02:05.536
No.

0:02:05.560,0:02:06.760
I'm a titan.

0:02:07.320,0:02:08.656
Dream job.

0:02:08.680,0:02:11.136
I create television.[br]I executive produce television.

0:02:11.160,0:02:14.256
I make television,[br]a great deal of television.

0:02:14.280,0:02:16.136
In one way or another, this TV season,

0:02:16.160,0:02:19.696
I'm responsible for bringing about[br]70 hours of programming to the world.

0:02:19.720,0:02:21.776
Four television programs,[br]70 hours of TV --

0:02:21.800,0:02:22.816
(Applause)

0:02:22.840,0:02:25.296
Three shows in production[br]at a time, sometimes four.

0:02:25.320,0:02:28.656
Each show creates hundreds of jobs[br]that didn't exist before.

0:02:28.680,0:02:30.936
The budget for one episode[br]of network television

0:02:30.960,0:02:33.336
can be anywhere[br]from three to six million dollars.

0:02:33.360,0:02:34.616
Let's just say five.

0:02:34.640,0:02:37.096
A new episode made every nine days[br]times four shows,

0:02:37.120,0:02:40.176
so every nine days that's[br]20 million dollars worth of television,

0:02:40.200,0:02:42.176
four television programs, 70 hours of TV,

0:02:42.200,0:02:44.656
three shows in production at a time,[br]sometimes four,

0:02:44.680,0:02:46.376
16 episodes going on at all times:

0:02:46.400,0:02:48.776
24 episodes of "Grey's,"[br]21 episodes of "Scandal,"

0:02:48.800,0:02:51.056
15 episodes of[br]"How To Get Away With Murder,"

0:02:51.080,0:02:53.456
10 episodes of "The Catch,"[br]that's 70 hours of TV,

0:02:53.480,0:02:55.416
that's 350 million dollars for a season.

0:02:55.440,0:02:56.976
In America, my television shows

0:02:57.000,0:02:59.016
are back to back to back[br]on Thursday night.

0:02:59.040,0:03:02.816
Around the world, my shows air[br]in 256 territories in 67 languages

0:03:02.840,0:03:04.656
for an audience of 30 million people.

0:03:04.680,0:03:06.360
My brain is global,

0:03:06.880,0:03:10.216
and 45 hours of that 70 hours of TV[br]are shows I personally created

0:03:10.240,0:03:12.696
and not just produced,[br]so on top of everything else,

0:03:12.720,0:03:16.256
I need to find time,[br]real quiet, creative time,

0:03:16.280,0:03:18.456
to gather my fans around the campfire

0:03:18.480,0:03:19.720
and tell my stories.

0:03:20.160,0:03:22.113
Four television programs, 70 hours of TV,

0:03:22.137,0:03:23.856
three shows in production at a time,

0:03:23.880,0:03:27.920
sometimes four, 350 million dollars,[br]campfires burning all over the world.

0:03:28.640,0:03:30.200
You know who else is doing that?

0:03:30.800,0:03:33.536
Nobody, so like I said, I'm a titan.

0:03:33.560,0:03:34.816
Dream job.

0:03:34.840,0:03:36.056
(Applause)

0:03:36.080,0:03:38.336
Now, I don't tell you this to impress you.

0:03:38.360,0:03:42.496
I tell you this because I know what you[br]think of when you hear the word "writer."

0:03:42.520,0:03:45.425
I tell you this so that all of you[br]out there who work so hard,

0:03:45.449,0:03:48.856
whether you run a company[br]or a country or a classroom

0:03:48.880,0:03:51.376
or a store or a home,

0:03:51.400,0:03:54.096
take me seriously[br]when I talk about working,

0:03:54.120,0:03:58.096
so you'll get that I don't[br]peck at a computer and imagine all day,

0:03:58.120,0:04:00.016
so you'll hear me when I say

0:04:00.040,0:04:03.520
that I understand that a dream job[br]is not about dreaming.

0:04:04.000,0:04:09.416
It's all job, all work, all reality,[br]all blood, all sweat, no tears.

0:04:09.440,0:04:13.240
I work a lot, very hard, and I love it.

0:04:13.840,0:04:16.176
When I'm hard at work,[br]when I'm deep in it,

0:04:16.200,0:04:18.696
there is no other feeling.

0:04:18.720,0:04:22.176
For me, my work is at all times[br]building a nation out of thin air.

0:04:22.200,0:04:24.976
It is manning the troops.[br]It is painting a canvas.

0:04:25.000,0:04:27.656
It is hitting every high note.[br]It is running a marathon.

0:04:27.680,0:04:29.296
It is being Beyoncé.

0:04:29.320,0:04:32.240
And it is all of those things[br]at the same time.

0:04:32.920,0:04:34.576
I love working.

0:04:34.600,0:04:37.656
It is creative and mechanical[br]and exhausting and exhilarating

0:04:37.680,0:04:40.256
and hilarious and disturbing[br]and clinical and maternal

0:04:40.280,0:04:41.656
and cruel and judicious,

0:04:41.680,0:04:44.760
and what makes it all so good is the hum.

0:04:45.640,0:04:48.856
There is some kind of shift inside me[br]when the work gets good.

0:04:48.880,0:04:50.776
A hum begins in my brain,

0:04:50.800,0:04:54.496
and it grows and it grows[br]and that hum sounds like the open road,

0:04:54.520,0:04:56.520
and I could drive it forever.

0:04:57.400,0:04:59.781
And a lot of people,[br]when I try to explain the hum,

0:05:00.520,0:05:02.736
they assume that I'm talking[br]about the writing,

0:05:02.760,0:05:04.216
that my writing brings me joy.

0:05:04.240,0:05:06.560
And don't get me wrong, it does.

0:05:07.400,0:05:08.600
But the hum --

0:05:09.640,0:05:11.656
it wasn't until I started[br]making television

0:05:11.680,0:05:13.896
that I started working, working and making

0:05:13.920,0:05:16.536
and building and creating[br]and collaborating,

0:05:16.560,0:05:21.000
that I discovered this thing,[br]this buzz, this rush, this hum.

0:05:21.800,0:05:23.816
The hum is more than writing.

0:05:23.840,0:05:27.096
The hum is action and activity.[br]The hum is a drug.

0:05:27.120,0:05:29.736
The hum is music.[br]The hum is light and air.

0:05:29.760,0:05:33.120
The hum is God's whisper right in my ear.

0:05:33.680,0:05:35.400
And when you have a hum like that,

0:05:36.120,0:05:38.656
you can't help but strive for greatness.

0:05:38.680,0:05:43.280
That feeling, you can't help[br]but strive for greatness at any cost.

0:05:44.120,0:05:45.320
That's called the hum.

0:05:46.120,0:05:49.696
Or, maybe it's called being a workaholic.

0:05:49.720,0:05:51.376
(Laughter)

0:05:51.400,0:05:53.200
Maybe it's called genius.

0:05:54.200,0:05:55.800
Maybe it's called ego.

0:05:56.520,0:05:58.760
Maybe it's just fear of failure.

0:05:59.680,0:06:01.296
I don't know.

0:06:01.320,0:06:05.136
I just know that[br]I'm not built for failure,

0:06:05.160,0:06:07.000
and I just know that I love the hum.

0:06:07.840,0:06:10.096
I just know that I want[br]to tell you I'm a titan,

0:06:10.120,0:06:12.576
and I know that[br]I don't want to question it.

0:06:12.600,0:06:13.800
But here's the thing:

0:06:15.080,0:06:16.896
the more successful I become,

0:06:16.920,0:06:20.536
the more shows, the more episodes,[br]the more barriers broken,

0:06:20.560,0:06:22.040
the more work there is to do,

0:06:22.760,0:06:24.016
the more balls in the air,

0:06:24.040,0:06:26.936
the more eyes on me,[br]the more history stares,

0:06:26.960,0:06:28.720
the more expectations there are.

0:06:29.280,0:06:31.376
The more I work to be successful,

0:06:31.400,0:06:32.760
the more I need to work.

0:06:33.920,0:06:35.656
And what did I say about work?

0:06:35.680,0:06:37.000
I love working, right?

0:06:37.640,0:06:40.016
The nation I'm building,[br]the marathon I'm running,

0:06:40.040,0:06:42.256
the troops, the canvas,[br]the high note, the hum,

0:06:42.280,0:06:44.136
the hum, the hum.

0:06:44.160,0:06:46.216
I like that hum. I love that hum.

0:06:46.240,0:06:49.040
I need that hum. I am that hum.

0:06:49.600,0:06:51.600
Am I nothing but that hum?

0:06:53.320,0:06:54.760
And then the hum stopped.

0:06:55.680,0:06:58.096
Overworked, overused,

0:06:58.120,0:06:59.416
overdone, burned out.

0:06:59.440,0:07:01.640
The hum stopped.

0:07:03.080,0:07:05.656
Now, my three daughters[br]are used to the truth

0:07:05.680,0:07:07.800
that their mother[br]is a single working titan.

0:07:08.560,0:07:09.776
Harper tells people,

0:07:09.800,0:07:12.640
"My mom won't be there,[br]but you can text my nanny."

0:07:13.240,0:07:16.760
And Emerson says, "Honey,[br]I'm wanting to go to ShondaLand."

0:07:17.680,0:07:19.056
They're children of a titan.

0:07:19.080,0:07:20.880
They're baby titans.

0:07:21.520,0:07:24.800
They were 12, 3, and 1[br]when the hum stopped.

0:07:25.720,0:07:27.160
The hum of the engine died.

0:07:27.800,0:07:30.296
I stopped loving work.[br]I couldn't restart the engine.

0:07:30.320,0:07:32.296
The hum would not come back.

0:07:32.320,0:07:34.640
My hum was broken.

0:07:35.480,0:07:39.296
I was doing the same things[br]I always did, all the same titan work,

0:07:39.320,0:07:41.776
15-hour days, working[br]straight through the weekends,

0:07:41.800,0:07:45.136
no regrets, never surrender,[br]a titan never sleeps, a titan never quits,

0:07:45.160,0:07:47.360
full hearts, clear eyes, yada, whatever.

0:07:48.000,0:07:49.520
But there was no hum.

0:07:50.840,0:07:52.600
Inside me was silence.

0:07:54.080,0:07:57.776
Four television programs, 70 hours of TV,[br]three shows in production at a time,

0:07:57.800,0:07:59.016
sometimes four.

0:07:59.040,0:08:02.856
Four television programs, 70 hours of TV,[br]three shows in production at a time ...

0:08:02.880,0:08:04.976
I was the perfect titan.

0:08:05.000,0:08:07.320
I was a titan you could[br]take home to your mother.

0:08:08.520,0:08:12.080
All the colors were the same,[br]and I was no longer having any fun.

0:08:12.560,0:08:13.880
And it was my life.

0:08:14.800,0:08:16.136
It was all I did.

0:08:16.160,0:08:18.880
I was the hum, and the hum was me.

0:08:19.640,0:08:22.216
So what do you do when the thing you do,

0:08:22.240,0:08:24.920
the work you love,[br]starts to taste like dust?

0:08:25.880,0:08:27.936
Now, I know somebody's out there thinking,

0:08:27.960,0:08:30.336
"Cry me a river,[br]stupid writer titan lady."

0:08:30.360,0:08:32.135
(Laughter)

0:08:32.159,0:08:34.216
But you know, you do,

0:08:34.240,0:08:37.015
if you make, if you work,[br]if you love what you do,

0:08:37.039,0:08:40.096
being a teacher, being a banker,[br]being a mother, being a painter,

0:08:40.120,0:08:41.336
being Bill Gates,

0:08:41.360,0:08:44.696
if you simply love another person[br]and that gives you the hum,

0:08:44.720,0:08:46.296
if you know the hum,

0:08:46.320,0:08:50.336
if you know what the hum feels like,[br]if you have been to the hum,

0:08:50.360,0:08:53.400
when the hum stops, who are you?

0:08:54.640,0:08:55.840
What are you?

0:08:56.760,0:08:58.176
What am I?

0:08:58.200,0:09:00.080
Am I still a titan?

0:09:01.080,0:09:05.840
If the song of my heart ceases to play,[br]can I survive in the silence?

0:09:07.840,0:09:11.080
And then my Southern waitress toddler[br]asks me a question.

0:09:11.920,0:09:15.816
I'm on my way out the door,[br]I'm late, and she says,

0:09:15.840,0:09:18.120
"Momma, wanna play?"

0:09:18.880,0:09:22.216
And I'm just about to say no,[br]when I realize two things.

0:09:22.240,0:09:24.840
One, I'm supposed[br]to say yes to everything,

0:09:25.440,0:09:28.680
and two, my Southern waitress[br]didn't call me "honey."

0:09:29.560,0:09:31.840
She's not calling everyone[br]"honey" anymore.

0:09:32.640,0:09:34.336
When did that happen?

0:09:34.360,0:09:36.816
I'm missing it, being a titan[br]and mourning my hum,

0:09:36.840,0:09:39.760
and here she is changing[br]right before my eyes.

0:09:40.440,0:09:43.520
And so she says, "Momma, wanna play?"

0:09:43.960,0:09:45.240
And I say, "Yes."

0:09:46.160,0:09:48.576
There's nothing special about it.

0:09:48.600,0:09:51.296
We play, and we're joined by her sisters,

0:09:51.320,0:09:52.776
and there's a lot of laughing,

0:09:52.800,0:09:56.416
and I give a dramatic reading[br]from the book Everybody Poops.

0:09:56.440,0:09:57.816
Nothing out of the ordinary.

0:09:57.840,0:09:58.936
(Laughter)

0:09:58.960,0:10:01.136
And yet, it is extraordinary,

0:10:01.160,0:10:03.656
because in my pain and my panic,

0:10:03.680,0:10:05.736
in the homelessness of my humlessness,

0:10:05.760,0:10:08.320
I have nothing to do but pay attention.

0:10:08.760,0:10:10.176
I focus.

0:10:10.200,0:10:11.400
I am still.

0:10:12.160,0:10:14.536
The nation I'm building,[br]the marathon I'm running,

0:10:14.560,0:10:17.520
the troops, the canvas,[br]the high note does not exist.

0:10:18.400,0:10:20.336
All that exists are sticky fingers

0:10:20.360,0:10:23.696
and gooey kisses[br]and tiny voices and crayons

0:10:23.720,0:10:25.296
and that song about letting go

0:10:25.320,0:10:28.336
of whatever it is that Frozen girl[br]needs to let go of.

0:10:28.360,0:10:30.296
(Laughter)

0:10:30.320,0:10:32.480
It's all peace and simplicity.

0:10:33.880,0:10:38.096
The air is so rare in this place for me[br]that I can barely breathe.

0:10:38.120,0:10:40.280
I can barely believe I'm breathing.

0:10:40.920,0:10:43.600
Play is the opposite of work.

0:10:44.520,0:10:45.920
And I am happy.

0:10:46.680,0:10:48.056
Something in me loosens.

0:10:48.080,0:10:50.400
A door in my brain swings open,

0:10:51.320,0:10:52.816
and a rush of energy comes.

0:10:52.840,0:10:57.096
And it's not instantaneous,[br]but it happens, it does happen.

0:10:57.120,0:10:58.320
I feel it.

0:10:58.640,0:10:59.920
A hum creeps back.

0:11:00.480,0:11:03.176
Not at full volume, barely there,

0:11:03.200,0:11:06.496
it's quiet, and I have to stay[br]very still to hear it, but it is there.

0:11:06.520,0:11:09.240
Not the hum, but a hum.

0:11:09.880,0:11:13.040
And now I feel like I know[br]a very magical secret.

0:11:13.800,0:11:16.296
Well, let's not get carried away.

0:11:16.320,0:11:19.400
It's just love. That's all it is.

0:11:20.240,0:11:23.360
No magic. No secret. It's just love.

0:11:24.120,0:11:25.640
It's just something we forgot.

0:11:26.560,0:11:30.056
The hum, the work hum,[br]the hum of the titan,

0:11:30.080,0:11:31.440
that's just a replacement.

0:11:32.000,0:11:34.376
If I have to ask you who I am,

0:11:34.400,0:11:36.336
if I have to tell you who I am,

0:11:36.360,0:11:38.816
if I describe myself in terms of shows

0:11:38.840,0:11:43.096
and hours of television[br]and how globally badass my brain is,

0:11:43.120,0:11:46.040
I have forgotten what the real hum is.

0:11:46.680,0:11:50.400
The hum is not power[br]and the hum is not work-specific.

0:11:50.880,0:11:52.440
The hum is joy-specific.

0:11:53.000,0:11:55.296
The real hum is love-specific.

0:11:55.320,0:11:58.976
The hum is the electricity[br]that comes from being excited by life.

0:11:59.000,0:12:01.736
The real hum is confidence and peace.

0:12:01.760,0:12:04.256
The real hum ignores the stare of history,

0:12:04.280,0:12:07.296
and the balls in the air,[br]and the expectation, and the pressure.

0:12:07.320,0:12:09.880
The real hum is singular and original.

0:12:10.480,0:12:12.536
The real hum is God's whisper in my ear,

0:12:12.560,0:12:14.936
but maybe God was whispering[br]the wrong words,

0:12:14.960,0:12:17.818
because which one of the gods[br]was telling me I was the titan?

0:12:18.800,0:12:20.000
It's just love.

0:12:20.920,0:12:23.896
We could all use a little more love,

0:12:23.920,0:12:25.280
a lot more love.

0:12:26.280,0:12:28.440
Any time my child asks me to play,

0:12:28.920,0:12:30.240
I will say yes.

0:12:31.240,0:12:33.136
I make it a firm rule for one reason,

0:12:33.160,0:12:34.416
to give myself permission,

0:12:34.440,0:12:36.720
to free me from all[br]of my workaholic guilt.

0:12:37.240,0:12:39.536
It's a law, so I don't have a choice,

0:12:39.560,0:12:41.696
and I don't have a choice,

0:12:41.720,0:12:43.280
not if I want to feel the hum.

0:12:44.000,0:12:45.736
I wish it were that easy,

0:12:45.760,0:12:49.336
but I'm not good at playing.

0:12:49.360,0:12:50.920
I don't like it.

0:12:52.440,0:12:56.800
I'm not interested in doing it[br]the way I'm interested in doing work.

0:12:57.400,0:13:00.656
The truth is incredibly humbling[br]and humiliating to face.

0:13:00.680,0:13:02.416
I don't like playing.

0:13:02.440,0:13:05.216
I work all the time[br]because I like working.

0:13:05.240,0:13:09.120
I like working more[br]than I like being at home.

0:13:10.000,0:13:13.760
Facing that fact[br]is incredibly difficult to handle,

0:13:14.720,0:13:20.720
because what kind of person[br]likes working more than being at home?

0:13:21.640,0:13:23.360
Well, me.

0:13:23.920,0:13:27.176
I mean, let's be honest,[br]I call myself a titan.

0:13:27.200,0:13:28.576
I've got issues.

0:13:28.600,0:13:30.216
(Laughter)

0:13:30.240,0:13:33.256
And one of those issues[br]isn't that I am too relaxed.

0:13:33.280,0:13:35.376
(Laughter)

0:13:35.400,0:13:39.080
We run around the yard,[br]up and back and up and back.

0:13:39.720,0:13:42.176
We have 30-second dance parties.

0:13:42.200,0:13:44.760
We sing show tunes. We play with balls.

0:13:45.240,0:13:47.336
I blow bubbles and they pop them.

0:13:47.360,0:13:52.320
And I feel stiff and delirious[br]and confused most of the time.

0:13:52.800,0:13:55.480
I itch for my cell phone always.

0:13:56.080,0:13:57.896
But it is OK.

0:13:57.920,0:14:02.776
My tiny humans show me how to live[br]and the hum of the universe fills me up.

0:14:02.800,0:14:05.776
I play and I play until I begin to wonder

0:14:05.800,0:14:08.800
why we ever stop playing[br]in the first place.

0:14:09.480,0:14:10.760
You can do it too,

0:14:11.480,0:14:14.400
say yes every time[br]your child asks you to play.

0:14:15.600,0:14:18.496
Are you thinking that maybe[br]I'm an idiot in diamond shoes?

0:14:18.520,0:14:21.336
You're right, but you can still do this.

0:14:21.360,0:14:23.016
You have time.

0:14:23.040,0:14:26.776
You know why? Because you're not Rihanna[br]and you're not a Muppet.

0:14:26.800,0:14:29.176
Your child does not think[br]you're that interesting.

0:14:29.200,0:14:30.336
(Laughter)

0:14:30.360,0:14:32.336
You only need 15 minutes.

0:14:32.360,0:14:35.136
My two- and four-year-old[br]only ever want to play with me

0:14:35.160,0:14:36.576
for about 15 minutes or so

0:14:36.600,0:14:39.616
before they think to themselves[br]they want to do something else.

0:14:39.640,0:14:43.216
It's an amazing 15 minutes,[br]but it's 15 minutes.

0:14:43.240,0:14:47.216
If I'm not a ladybug or a piece of candy,[br]I'm invisible after 15 minutes.

0:14:47.240,0:14:48.256
(Laughter)

0:14:48.280,0:14:53.016
And my 13-year-old, if I can get[br]a 13-year-old to talk to me for 15 minutes

0:14:53.040,0:14:54.376
I'm Parent of the Year.

0:14:54.400,0:14:56.056
(Laughter)

0:14:56.080,0:14:57.816
15 minutes is all you need.

0:14:57.840,0:15:02.480
I can totally pull off 15 minutes[br]of uninterrupted time on my worst day.

0:15:03.120,0:15:05.216
Uninterrupted is the key.

0:15:05.240,0:15:08.136
No cell phone, no laundry, no anything.

0:15:08.160,0:15:10.896
You have a busy life.[br]You have to get dinner on the table.

0:15:10.920,0:15:14.056
You have to force them to bathe.[br]But you can do 15 minutes.

0:15:14.080,0:15:16.496
My kids are my happy place,[br]they're my world,

0:15:16.520,0:15:19.016
but it doesn't have to be your kids,

0:15:19.040,0:15:20.456
the fuel that feeds your hum,

0:15:20.480,0:15:23.136
the place where life[br]feels more good than not good.

0:15:23.160,0:15:25.656
It's not about playing with your kids,

0:15:25.680,0:15:26.936
it's about joy.

0:15:26.960,0:15:29.320
It's about playing in general.

0:15:30.160,0:15:32.096
Give yourself the 15 minutes.

0:15:32.120,0:15:34.296
Find what makes you feel good.

0:15:34.320,0:15:37.600
Just figure it out and play in that arena.

0:15:38.920,0:15:43.096
I'm not perfect at it.[br]In fact, I fail as often as I succeed,

0:15:43.120,0:15:45.960
seeing friends, reading books,[br]staring into space.

0:15:46.640,0:15:49.696
"Wanna play?" starts to become shorthand[br]for indulging myself

0:15:49.720,0:15:53.936
in ways I'd given up on right around[br]the time I got my first TV show,

0:15:53.960,0:15:56.696
right around the time[br]I became a titan-in-training,

0:15:56.720,0:16:00.120
right around the time I started[br]competing with myself for ways unknown.

0:16:01.240,0:16:04.736
15 minutes? What could be wrong[br]with giving myself my full attention

0:16:04.760,0:16:06.080
for 15 minutes?

0:16:06.520,0:16:08.360
Turns out, nothing.

0:16:08.960,0:16:13.016
The very act of not working has made it[br]possible for the hum to return,

0:16:13.040,0:16:16.480
as if the hum's engine[br]could only refuel while I was away.

0:16:17.600,0:16:20.120
Work doesn't work without play.

0:16:21.400,0:16:24.040
It takes a little time,[br]but after a few months,

0:16:24.600,0:16:26.216
one day the floodgates open

0:16:26.240,0:16:29.616
and there's a rush, and I find myself[br]standing in my office

0:16:29.640,0:16:33.736
filled with an unfamiliar melody,[br]full on groove inside me,

0:16:33.760,0:16:36.536
and around me, and it sends me[br]spinning with ideas,

0:16:36.560,0:16:39.616
and the humming road is open,[br]and I can drive it and drive it,

0:16:39.640,0:16:41.400
and I love working again.

0:16:42.000,0:16:45.736
But now, I like that hum,[br]but I don't love that hum.

0:16:45.760,0:16:47.016
I don't need that hum.

0:16:47.040,0:16:50.216
I am not that hum. That hum is not me,

0:16:50.240,0:16:51.440
not anymore.

0:16:52.040,0:16:55.736
I am bubbles and sticky fingers[br]and dinners with friends.

0:16:55.760,0:16:56.960
I am that hum.

0:16:57.400,0:16:58.736
Life's hum.

0:16:58.760,0:17:00.056
Love's hum.

0:17:00.080,0:17:04.319
Work's hum is still a piece of me,[br]it is just no longer all of me,

0:17:04.880,0:17:06.400
and I am so grateful.

0:17:07.200,0:17:09.296
And I don't give a crap[br]about being a titan,

0:17:09.319,0:17:12.480
because I have never once seen a titan[br]play Red Rover, Red Rover.

0:17:13.880,0:17:18.175
I said yes to less work and more play,[br]and somehow I still run my world.

0:17:18.200,0:17:21.160
My brain is still global.[br]My campfires still burn.

0:17:21.960,0:17:25.359
The more I play, the happier I am,[br]and the happier my kids are.

0:17:25.920,0:17:29.176
The more I play,[br]the more I feel like a good mother.

0:17:29.200,0:17:31.656
The more I play,[br]the freer my mind becomes.

0:17:31.680,0:17:33.576
The more I play, the better I work.

0:17:33.600,0:17:36.096
The more I play, the more I feel the hum,

0:17:36.120,0:17:38.496
the nation I'm building,[br]the marathon I'm running,

0:17:38.520,0:17:41.140
the troops, the canvas,[br]the high note, the hum, the hum,

0:17:41.164,0:17:43.564
the other hum, the real hum,

0:17:44.000,0:17:45.456
life's hum.

0:17:45.480,0:17:46.736
The more I feel that hum,

0:17:46.760,0:17:50.296
the more this strange,[br]quivering, uncocooned,

0:17:50.320,0:17:51.656
awkward, brand new,

0:17:51.680,0:17:54.200
alive non-titan feels like me.

0:17:55.120,0:17:58.000
The more I feel that hum,[br]the more I know who I am.

0:17:58.560,0:18:01.680
I'm a writer, I make stuff up, I imagine.

0:18:02.400,0:18:05.256
That part of the job,[br]that's living the dream.

0:18:05.280,0:18:07.360
That's the dream of the job.

0:18:07.960,0:18:10.880
Because a dream job[br]should be a little bit dreamy.

0:18:11.840,0:18:14.760
I said yes to less work and more play.

0:18:15.680,0:18:17.360
Titans need not apply.

0:18:18.160,0:18:19.360
Wanna play?

0:18:19.960,0:18:21.176
Thank you.

0:18:21.200,0:18:30.880
(Applause)