WEBVTT 00:00:10.161 --> 00:00:14.161 Six years ago, I walked away from my six-figure dream job, 00:00:15.161 --> 00:00:19.369 a job that I readily invested 60-70 hours a week in, 00:00:19.369 --> 00:00:22.529 consistently over the course of almost five years. 00:00:24.399 --> 00:00:27.779 I had my conscious reasons for doing so at the time, 00:00:28.419 --> 00:00:31.559 but I also had other reasons that I couldn't quite articulate. 00:00:32.679 --> 00:00:35.730 Nowadays, I would say that I had a deep knowing, 00:00:36.400 --> 00:00:41.750 and only now do I feel in a position where I can explain it. 00:00:41.750 --> 00:00:43.453 But first in order to do so, 00:00:43.458 --> 00:00:46.650 I need to tell you about a few things I've learned in the meantime 00:00:46.650 --> 00:00:49.510 about both ants and humans. 00:00:51.330 --> 00:00:54.108 So as a social entrepreneur and social innovator, 00:00:54.108 --> 00:00:58.409 I spend a lot of time thinking about co-opetition in the service economy. 00:00:58.409 --> 00:01:04.798 In other words, how we can help each other thrive more efficiently and effectively. 00:01:06.008 --> 00:01:09.043 It's this interest that led me to ant research 00:01:09.043 --> 00:01:11.199 because ants work together. 00:01:11.199 --> 00:01:14.850 And by no stretch of the imagination am I a myrmecologist, 00:01:14.850 --> 00:01:18.419 which is the type of scientist that studies ants, 00:01:18.419 --> 00:01:22.089 but I do find their research really intriguing and valuable, 00:01:22.089 --> 00:01:26.529 and I think that it has vast implications for both us and our systems. 00:01:28.969 --> 00:01:32.959 So let me drop a few heavy ant stats on you. 00:01:34.449 --> 00:01:39.007 So, ants have been around for a hundred million years, 00:01:39.007 --> 00:01:40.827 since the time of the dinosaurs. 00:01:41.297 --> 00:01:44.927 Arguably, they are one of the most successful species in history, 00:01:45.447 --> 00:01:47.685 and for those of you keeping score, 00:01:47.905 --> 00:01:51.177 dinosaurs: zero, ants: one, 00:01:51.177 --> 00:01:53.639 so they know something about surviving. 00:01:56.969 --> 00:02:00.840 Ants actually constitute a quarter or more of the animal biomass 00:02:00.840 --> 00:02:02.540 on the whole planet, 00:02:02.540 --> 00:02:05.930 which given the fact that they're a millionth the size of a human 00:02:05.930 --> 00:02:07.512 is pretty amazing. 00:02:08.662 --> 00:02:11.800 In fact, if you rewind the clock just 250 years, 00:02:12.280 --> 00:02:14.951 ants and humans literally weighed the same, 00:02:14.951 --> 00:02:17.229 they counterbalanced us on the planet. 00:02:17.229 --> 00:02:20.701 And still today, even though we've gotten better at procreating, 00:02:22.491 --> 00:02:24.340 that's still largely true. 00:02:24.340 --> 00:02:26.984 So while we're having environmental impacts 00:02:26.984 --> 00:02:30.641 and other sorts of things that we might not have intended, 00:02:30.641 --> 00:02:32.684 ants are quietly working behind the scenes, 00:02:32.684 --> 00:02:35.481 repairing forest floors, that sort of thing. 00:02:37.221 --> 00:02:40.761 Ants can lift between 50 and 200 times their own weight 00:02:40.761 --> 00:02:44.011 and withstand between 3,000 and 5,000 times 00:02:44.011 --> 00:02:45.537 their own weight in pressure. 00:02:46.172 --> 00:02:50.489 But there's three specific lessons that I think we can look to ants for 00:02:50.489 --> 00:02:53.105 that we can practically apply in our own lives. 00:02:54.145 --> 00:02:57.665 The first is working together to overcome obstacles 00:02:57.665 --> 00:03:01.410 and particularly obstacles that we can't overcome on our own. 00:03:04.460 --> 00:03:08.030 This is a picture of fire ants, and before I go any further 00:03:09.260 --> 00:03:12.529 anybody who knows fire ants or may have been bitten by a fire ant 00:03:12.529 --> 00:03:14.891 might say, "Fire ants are jerks!" 00:03:15.901 --> 00:03:18.340 And, you know, probably you're right. 00:03:18.340 --> 00:03:21.787 But there are 14,000 known species of ants 00:03:21.787 --> 00:03:24.999 and many thousands more that haven't yet been classified. 00:03:29.687 --> 00:03:32.255 Maybe sometimes, but so are some humans, 00:03:33.169 --> 00:03:35.921 so don't paint them all with the same brush. 00:03:35.921 --> 00:03:37.296 (Laughter) 00:03:37.461 --> 00:03:40.185 And with that, I will tell you what this is a picture of. 00:03:40.185 --> 00:03:42.912 This is a fire ant raft 00:03:42.912 --> 00:03:46.039 during Hurricane Harvey in Pearland, Texas. 00:03:47.109 --> 00:03:50.122 As you might expect, a flood is pretty threatening for ants, 00:03:51.132 --> 00:03:55.722 and if they don't do something, they'll obviously drown. 00:03:55.722 --> 00:03:57.901 So what they do is they build a raft, 00:03:57.901 --> 00:04:00.541 and all the other fire ants can pile on top, 00:04:00.541 --> 00:04:07.102 and it's sustainable for between one and three weeks. 00:04:08.162 --> 00:04:09.930 If they tried to individually swim, 00:04:09.930 --> 00:04:12.359 they're not going to swim for a week or three weeks, 00:04:12.359 --> 00:04:16.902 and so by banding together, they can survive the flood, literally. 00:04:17.844 --> 00:04:20.852 Here's another example from a type of army ant. 00:04:20.852 --> 00:04:25.571 When these ants encounter a chasm that they can't cross, 00:04:25.571 --> 00:04:30.092 they form a living bridge with each other, 00:04:30.092 --> 00:04:33.898 and the rest of the ants can walk over the bridge and back 00:04:33.898 --> 00:04:36.091 and accomplish whatever they were trying to do 00:04:36.091 --> 00:04:37.965 more effectively and efficiently. 00:04:39.725 --> 00:04:42.382 In terms of practical applications for us, 00:04:42.382 --> 00:04:46.353 I think the problems that we feel most powerless to solve 00:04:46.353 --> 00:04:49.996 are the ones where this comes into play. 00:04:50.276 --> 00:04:52.373 They are systemic, structural problems, 00:04:52.373 --> 00:04:54.624 environmental problems, political problems, 00:04:54.624 --> 00:04:57.212 social problems, economic problems. 00:04:57.622 --> 00:05:00.421 And it's only through working together 00:05:00.421 --> 00:05:02.660 that we can actually do something about those. 00:05:04.310 --> 00:05:10.372 The second lesson is on leadership and redefining our idea of leadership. 00:05:10.632 --> 00:05:17.027 I'm just going to show you a video now of an ant known as the longhorn crazy ant. 00:05:17.901 --> 00:05:19.530 They are carrying this Cheerio. 00:05:19.530 --> 00:05:22.813 Eight or nine of them are carrying this Cheerio in a certain direction 00:05:22.813 --> 00:05:24.927 and suddenly this one ant zips in 00:05:24.927 --> 00:05:27.612 and they start pulling it in a different direction. 00:05:28.186 --> 00:05:32.902 Obviously, that ant is not as strong as the other nine ants put together, 00:05:33.232 --> 00:05:36.803 but they're confident and assured, and they come in and they know something. 00:05:36.803 --> 00:05:39.243 They start pulling in that direction with conviction 00:05:39.243 --> 00:05:40.995 and the other ants follow them. 00:05:41.815 --> 00:05:43.682 This video and the following video 00:05:43.682 --> 00:05:47.601 are from Prof. Ofer Feinerman at the Weizmann Institute of Science 00:05:47.601 --> 00:05:48.541 and his colleagues, 00:05:48.541 --> 00:05:51.908 and he has a couple things to say in particular about leadership 00:05:51.908 --> 00:05:53.623 in the context of this video. 00:05:54.653 --> 00:05:58.708 One is, "This leader that comes along, she doesn't have to introduce herself, 00:05:58.708 --> 00:06:01.137 she doesn't have to be stronger than the rest - 00:06:01.137 --> 00:06:03.975 she just has to pull in the correct direction." 00:06:04.957 --> 00:06:07.308 And "As far as we can tell, 00:06:07.308 --> 00:06:09.559 the scout is no different to the other ants. 00:06:09.559 --> 00:06:11.408 No one designates the leader. 00:06:11.408 --> 00:06:12.634 She designates herself 00:06:12.634 --> 00:06:15.747 because she has current knowledge about the correct direction." 00:06:17.317 --> 00:06:19.410 I think this lesson is most applicable 00:06:19.410 --> 00:06:24.450 to those of you who work or volunteer 00:06:24.450 --> 00:06:27.935 in roles that wouldn't traditionally be considered leadership positions. 00:06:29.415 --> 00:06:33.818 My challenge for you is to think about, is there something that you know, 00:06:33.818 --> 00:06:38.694 a better way, a more efficient or effective path where you can show up, 00:06:38.694 --> 00:06:41.030 and just start leading in the right direction 00:06:41.030 --> 00:06:42.565 and have people follow you? 00:06:44.786 --> 00:06:48.607 The third lesson is making sure there's enough for everyone. 00:06:49.627 --> 00:06:55.244 This is a video of a type of carpenter ant and a process called ant trophallaxis. 00:06:55.701 --> 00:06:59.102 It's fluorescent food, so you can see where the food's going. 00:06:59.582 --> 00:07:01.911 Two ants go, and they look for food. 00:07:01.911 --> 00:07:04.686 What you'll see is one ant finds pretty much all the food, 00:07:04.686 --> 00:07:07.063 and the other ant doesn't find very much food. 00:07:07.063 --> 00:07:11.596 Through this process of trophallaxis that you're seeing right here, 00:07:12.086 --> 00:07:13.274 they share the food. 00:07:13.274 --> 00:07:15.321 Something that you might not know about ants 00:07:15.321 --> 00:07:17.228 is they actually have two stomachs. 00:07:17.234 --> 00:07:20.422 They have their own stomach, and they have a social stomach. 00:07:21.272 --> 00:07:23.864 The purpose of the social stomach is - 00:07:23.864 --> 00:07:25.686 this is not really a typical example - 00:07:25.686 --> 00:07:28.757 it would be that only certain ants go out and get food, 00:07:28.757 --> 00:07:34.264 and other ants are back at their colony, raising young, taking care of operations. 00:07:35.074 --> 00:07:38.735 So they will bring the food back and have enough for everybody 00:07:38.735 --> 00:07:40.236 through their social stomach. 00:07:40.936 --> 00:07:44.361 In our context, our social stomach is our tax system, 00:07:44.361 --> 00:07:47.346 where we pay more, or we pay into 00:07:47.346 --> 00:07:49.121 to provide for the needs of everyone, 00:07:49.121 --> 00:07:50.537 not just ourselves. 00:07:50.537 --> 00:07:53.305 And this afternoon, there's going to be a really good talk 00:07:53.305 --> 00:07:54.644 about universal basic income 00:07:54.644 --> 00:07:57.615 as a potential way to reform our tax system. 00:07:57.615 --> 00:08:02.010 So I will leave it to Floyd to talk to you all about that. 00:08:04.040 --> 00:08:06.270 The next lesson is about humans 00:08:06.270 --> 00:08:10.424 and that humans can also think in the ways that ants do. 00:08:12.546 --> 00:08:14.722 "Umuntu ngumuntu ngabantu" 00:08:14.722 --> 00:08:18.812 is a saying from the Xhosa language of South Africa, 00:08:18.812 --> 00:08:20.240 which essentially means, 00:08:20.240 --> 00:08:23.918 "I am because you are, and you are because we are." 00:08:24.183 --> 00:08:26.893 In other words, no person is an island. 00:08:26.893 --> 00:08:29.794 We define ourselves in relation to one another 00:08:29.794 --> 00:08:33.869 and better ourselves through our acts of service 00:08:33.869 --> 00:08:36.654 and how we serve one another. 00:08:37.824 --> 00:08:39.056 There's a quote. 00:08:39.056 --> 00:08:41.629 You may have heard this concept under a different term, 00:08:41.629 --> 00:08:44.519 which is "ubuntu," which is a lot more widely known. 00:08:45.089 --> 00:08:46.291 Audrey Tang says 00:08:46.291 --> 00:08:49.571 that ubuntu "implies that everyone has different skills and strengths; 00:08:49.571 --> 00:08:50.815 people are not isolated, 00:08:50.815 --> 00:08:52.107 and through mutual support, 00:08:52.107 --> 00:08:54.604 they can help each other to complete themselves." 00:08:55.804 --> 00:08:57.636 This is the closest human worldview 00:08:57.636 --> 00:09:02.208 to what I like to believe ants think and how they operate, 00:09:02.208 --> 00:09:04.629 which is basically what an ethos means, 00:09:04.629 --> 00:09:06.461 and how we, as humans, 00:09:06.461 --> 00:09:11.061 could really start embodying more of how ants work. 00:09:13.071 --> 00:09:16.161 But in order to do that, I think it's time for a firmware upgrade. 00:09:16.161 --> 00:09:18.162 If you don't know what firmware is, 00:09:18.162 --> 00:09:21.320 it's a little bit of software that runs on a motherboard like that. 00:09:21.320 --> 00:09:23.954 You might be most familiar with it from your cell phone. 00:09:23.954 --> 00:09:28.719 If you've ever updated your Android or iOS phone, done a system update, 00:09:28.719 --> 00:09:31.668 it allows you to do, express, or build things 00:09:31.668 --> 00:09:33.988 that you couldn't do before. 00:09:33.988 --> 00:09:36.642 A most practical example is about once a year 00:09:36.642 --> 00:09:39.575 you do a system update and you have new emojis. 00:09:40.505 --> 00:09:42.249 (Laughter) 00:09:43.369 --> 00:09:46.270 But the firmware upgrade that's needed for us 00:09:46.270 --> 00:09:51.007 is to do the inner work. 00:09:51.357 --> 00:09:54.648 Our firmware - I'll move to the next slide - 00:09:54.648 --> 00:10:00.608 our firmware is passed down over generations, millennia, 00:10:00.608 --> 00:10:02.404 and there's a lot of things in there. 00:10:02.404 --> 00:10:04.178 The firmware, just to be clear, 00:10:04.178 --> 00:10:06.497 is the software that runs between our ears. 00:10:07.469 --> 00:10:09.306 A lot of the things passed down 00:10:09.306 --> 00:10:11.949 are no longer relevant, they're not useful. 00:10:11.949 --> 00:10:14.629 Let's just say there are a lot of bugs in the system - 00:10:14.629 --> 00:10:15.649 (Laughter) 00:10:15.649 --> 00:10:17.660 pun moderately intended. 00:10:18.650 --> 00:10:22.517 The way that we can work on getting those bugs out is through inner work, 00:10:22.517 --> 00:10:26.538 and that's working on how we think, and on our hearts, 00:10:26.538 --> 00:10:29.418 and how we perceive the world. 00:10:29.418 --> 00:10:30.448 I'm really encouraged 00:10:30.448 --> 00:10:32.839 that there are thousands of people stepping forward 00:10:32.839 --> 00:10:34.102 to help do that work, 00:10:34.102 --> 00:10:37.690 because much like the Cheerio, we can't lift the heavy rocks ourselves. 00:10:37.690 --> 00:10:38.887 And those are heavy rocks 00:10:38.887 --> 00:10:42.180 that are revisiting basic programming that we don't even think of 00:10:42.180 --> 00:10:45.755 that has us operate day in and day out. 00:10:45.755 --> 00:10:48.709 But I think, specifically, we're in need of a "reoriANTation," 00:10:48.709 --> 00:10:50.351 if you'll allow me that, 00:10:50.821 --> 00:10:53.328 to move away from something towards something. 00:10:53.768 --> 00:10:57.386 What to need to move away from is the basic way of thinking of, 00:10:57.386 --> 00:11:02.268 how can I get the most value for me, or for me and mine right now, 00:11:02.268 --> 00:11:03.760 and move towards? 00:11:04.390 --> 00:11:07.802 How can I add the most value for all of us right now? 00:11:08.530 --> 00:11:11.511 So with that said, I can now tell you in a better way 00:11:11.511 --> 00:11:16.149 why I walked away from my six-figure dream job 00:11:16.149 --> 00:11:17.430 six years ago. 00:11:18.545 --> 00:11:21.891 Essentially, I realized I had this deep knowing 00:11:21.891 --> 00:11:25.568 that while what I was doing was valuable, 00:11:25.568 --> 00:11:31.347 and I was working extremely hard at it, I wasn't showing up as my whole self. 00:11:31.347 --> 00:11:34.988 I wasn't showing up with all the value I could bring to the world. 00:11:34.988 --> 00:11:38.873 And this is a question that I have really unpacked over the last six years, 00:11:38.873 --> 00:11:42.327 which has seen me start and found not one, not two, 00:11:42.327 --> 00:11:44.274 but three very different businesses. 00:11:44.274 --> 00:11:45.958 The best way I could explain that 00:11:45.958 --> 00:11:50.117 is that one represents the most value I can bring to the world 00:11:50.117 --> 00:11:51.627 with the left side of my brain; 00:11:51.627 --> 00:11:54.718 one is the most value I can bring with the right side of my brain; 00:11:54.718 --> 00:11:57.159 and one is the most value I can bring with my heart. 00:11:57.159 --> 00:11:59.951 And a lot of people don't understand that, 00:11:59.951 --> 00:12:02.386 and I'm not necessarily looking for them to. 00:12:02.386 --> 00:12:05.411 I'm not looking for their permission or approval. 00:12:05.411 --> 00:12:07.289 I know that what I'm doing is valuable, 00:12:07.289 --> 00:12:09.146 and much like the ant with the Cheerio, 00:12:09.146 --> 00:12:13.189 I'm just pulling with all my focus and energy in that direction, 00:12:13.189 --> 00:12:14.768 or in those directions. 00:12:16.448 --> 00:12:19.794 My question for you is, what are you leaving on the table? 00:12:19.794 --> 00:12:23.215 What parts of yourself are you not bringing to the world? 00:12:24.275 --> 00:12:27.537 How can you add the most value for all of us right now? 00:12:30.324 --> 00:12:34.506 This is basically doing more than you need to do. 00:12:34.506 --> 00:12:36.879 So, rather than working your nine to five job, 00:12:36.879 --> 00:12:39.516 and then playing Candy Crush, or binge-watching Netflix, 00:12:39.516 --> 00:12:42.177 or scrolling social media for five hours, 00:12:42.177 --> 00:12:44.968 or if you're like me, maybe more than one of those things, 00:12:46.148 --> 00:12:47.839 take some of that time 00:12:47.839 --> 00:12:51.296 and devote it to creating value for others 00:12:51.296 --> 00:12:55.039 instead of simply consuming the value that other people have created. 00:12:55.039 --> 00:12:56.738 There's a saying which is, 00:12:56.738 --> 00:12:59.082 how we spend our days is how we spend our lives. 00:12:59.082 --> 00:13:01.082 And just for some context, 00:13:01.082 --> 00:13:03.783 assuming that you've got about 16 hours a day to use 00:13:03.783 --> 00:13:05.757 and that you sleep sometimes, 00:13:05.757 --> 00:13:08.480 if you spend an hour a day on social media for a year, 00:13:08.480 --> 00:13:10.499 that's three weeks of your year. 00:13:10.889 --> 00:13:13.339 Two hours is one and a half months. 00:13:15.939 --> 00:13:18.230 The one thing we can't get is more time. 00:13:18.230 --> 00:13:22.616 So I hope that that inspires you to take at least 5 minutes or 15 minutes 00:13:22.616 --> 00:13:23.768 of one of those hours 00:13:23.768 --> 00:13:26.558 and contribute it to what I'm talking about. 00:13:27.043 --> 00:13:29.722 So there's one other person who's talked about "ubuntu," 00:13:29.722 --> 00:13:33.800 and his name's Nelson Mandela - you might have heard of him. 00:13:35.000 --> 00:13:38.569 And he says, "Ubuntu does not mean that people should not enrich themselves. 00:13:38.569 --> 00:13:40.122 The question therefore is, 00:13:40.122 --> 00:13:43.266 are you going to do so in order to enable the community around you 00:13:43.266 --> 00:13:45.368 and to enable it to improve?" 00:13:45.368 --> 00:13:48.662 I like to believe that he meant enrich in the broadest sense: 00:13:48.662 --> 00:13:52.506 physically, mentally, spiritually, financially. 00:13:53.026 --> 00:13:54.948 But there's something missing: 00:13:54.948 --> 00:13:56.490 a way to make this practical 00:13:56.490 --> 00:13:59.099 and an easy way to remember in our daily lives 00:13:59.719 --> 00:14:03.629 because ubuntu is not necessarily a concept that floats around here. 00:14:04.369 --> 00:14:06.719 So bear with me, I'm going to go off for a second, 00:14:06.719 --> 00:14:09.581 but I promise I'll connect the dots in a few slides. 00:14:09.581 --> 00:14:11.960 The word that came to mind for me is "ante," 00:14:11.960 --> 00:14:15.254 and for anybody that plays poker, it comes from there 00:14:15.254 --> 00:14:20.090 where each round of the card game, everybody has to pay a certain amount. 00:14:20.090 --> 00:14:22.979 I think we need a new definition of "ante," 00:14:22.979 --> 00:14:26.979 which rather than a small amount of money from every player that goes into the pot, 00:14:26.979 --> 00:14:31.996 a small amount of value from every human 00:14:31.996 --> 00:14:33.713 that has contributed to the world. 00:14:37.569 --> 00:14:44.390 Another phrase is "ante up," which means to do one's part, 00:14:44.390 --> 00:14:47.653 and that's really what I want to leave you with 00:14:47.653 --> 00:14:50.914 is to think of what it is to do your part. 00:14:50.914 --> 00:14:54.247 To me, that's choosing to do more than you absolutely need to do. 00:14:54.247 --> 00:14:57.644 So, in other words, start doing what you know has value 00:14:57.644 --> 00:15:00.302 on top of what the world tells you has value, 00:15:00.302 --> 00:15:03.502 even if other people don't necessarily appreciate it yet. 00:15:03.502 --> 00:15:06.003 And a fair question that you might ask is, 00:15:06.353 --> 00:15:08.224 "Well, how do I know what that is?" 00:15:08.854 --> 00:15:13.972 What I would say is I believe everybody has the same deep knowing 00:15:13.972 --> 00:15:17.363 and that if you quiet your mind and sit with yourself, 00:15:17.363 --> 00:15:20.572 there's something inside you, a small voice that you can listen to 00:15:20.572 --> 00:15:22.563 that will tell you what that is. 00:15:22.563 --> 00:15:25.706 And if you don't hear it, listen even more intently. 00:15:26.987 --> 00:15:30.438 As a hint, if there's something that you always wished that you could do, 00:15:30.438 --> 00:15:32.373 or known you could do but aren't doing, 00:15:32.373 --> 00:15:33.744 go and do some of that. 00:15:34.674 --> 00:15:38.542 Just quickly, as a mental hook here, 00:15:38.542 --> 00:15:40.833 I was thinking about ants and energy, 00:15:40.833 --> 00:15:43.487 and Einstein had E = MC2 for energy, 00:15:43.487 --> 00:15:46.849 so I think of "ante" as "ant energy." 00:15:46.849 --> 00:15:49.957 And it's not enough just to believe in what I'm saying, 00:15:49.957 --> 00:15:54.975 but also Gandhi said, "Be the change you want to see in the world." 00:15:54.975 --> 00:15:57.601 To me, that is about embodying this. 00:15:57.601 --> 00:15:59.484 How do you embody ant energy? 00:16:00.784 --> 00:16:04.803 And so, we face some pretty significant problems today, 00:16:04.803 --> 00:16:06.913 ones that are seemingly intractable 00:16:06.913 --> 00:16:11.545 and I believe need us to bring our full selves to the table. 00:16:13.305 --> 00:16:18.223 The "ante" is already being upped in the poker chips kind of game. 00:16:18.223 --> 00:16:21.843 The world is getting more complex, and the problems are getting more complex. 00:16:21.843 --> 00:16:25.783 I think it's time for us to up the ant energy to match that. 00:16:26.403 --> 00:16:28.752 And so the question I'm leaving you with is, 00:16:28.752 --> 00:16:31.582 how are you going to "ante" up?