0:00:06.850,0:00:08.691
Growing up as a kid in Ireland,

0:00:08.691,0:00:11.948
we had pretty much[br]zero percent immigration.

0:00:12.086,0:00:14.507
I was the brownest person for miles.

0:00:14.666,0:00:16.609
(Laughter)

0:00:16.704,0:00:18.112
Just a hint of a tan.

0:00:18.112,0:00:20.380
They were like:[br]"Look at him ... suspicious."

0:00:20.439,0:00:21.929
(Laughter)

0:00:22.830,0:00:26.049
And now, we have 17 percent immigration,

0:00:26.049,0:00:28.678
and we are one of the only[br]countries in the whole world

0:00:28.678,0:00:33.170
that doesn't have a single political party[br]in parliament opposing immigration.

0:00:33.170,0:00:34.656
One of the only ones.

0:00:35.756,0:00:41.442
We can't because we have shagged our way[br]into all your family trees.

0:00:41.486,0:00:44.481
(Laughter)

0:00:49.001,0:00:51.022
Many of you don't even know it ...

0:00:51.022,0:00:52.195
(Laughter)

0:00:52.423,0:00:55.914
until that day you get[br]your DNA test results.

0:00:56.290,0:00:59.578
You're like: "Look at that![br]I'm like 23 percent Irish!"

0:00:59.724,0:01:00.853
(Laughter)

0:01:00.908,0:01:03.543
This whole time,[br]I thought I was a Filipino.

0:01:03.641,0:01:05.641
(Laughter)

0:01:06.598,0:01:10.078
Three years ago, we became[br]the first country in the whole world,

0:01:10.078,0:01:11.278
by popular vote,

0:01:11.278,0:01:12.888
to legalize gay marriage.

0:01:13.340,0:01:17.468
One of the most[br]steeped-in-Catholicism countries ever

0:01:17.491,0:01:20.595
put it to the people and went,[br]"Gay marriage, what do you think?"

0:01:20.595,0:01:23.635
And collectively we went,[br]"Yeah,feck it, why not, go on there."

0:01:23.646,0:01:25.833
(Laughter)

0:01:27.149,0:01:29.167
To put that into perspective,

0:01:29.167,0:01:33.171
in 1993, homosexuality[br]was actually illegal in Ireland.

0:01:33.341,0:01:35.177
And then the year before last,

0:01:35.177,0:01:39.910
we found a guy who is half-Indian,[br]and gay, and made him Prime Minister.

0:01:39.992,0:01:41.727
(Laughter)

0:01:42.157,0:01:45.210
You go to places like America,[br]where I live at the moment,

0:01:45.220,0:01:48.856
and still they're debating[br]having their first female president.

0:01:48.935,0:01:52.070
In Ireland, we've had[br]21 years of female presidents.

0:01:52.129,0:01:54.232
We were the first country[br]in the whole world

0:01:54.232,0:01:56.114
to have back-to-back female presidents.

0:01:56.114,0:01:58.195
We've moved on to gay, half-Indian people.

0:01:58.244,0:01:59.951
(Laughter)

0:02:00.608,0:02:02.345
We're woke as feck over there.

0:02:02.393,0:02:04.557
(Laughter)

0:02:06.356,0:02:09.286
We don't even have Chinatown in Ireland.

0:02:09.959,0:02:11.656
We let them live with us.

0:02:11.728,0:02:14.639
(Laughter)

0:02:15.168,0:02:17.979
(Applause)

0:02:20.087,0:02:23.457
All these things have happened[br]in a fraction of my lifetime.

0:02:23.457,0:02:28.377
Like our lives are full of[br]huge changes, big huge changes,

0:02:28.377,0:02:30.376
all the time, all around us.

0:02:30.376,0:02:34.282
But for some reason,[br]when it comes to one particular thing,

0:02:34.282,0:02:35.763
one particular feeling,

0:02:35.763,0:02:37.881
we assume it can't really be changed.

0:02:38.155,0:02:39.521
Fear.

0:02:40.967,0:02:44.924
So, I did a bit of[br]an experiment a while ago.

0:02:45.040,0:02:50.560
It was to do the thing I feared the most[br]... every single day ... for a year.

0:02:50.823,0:02:52.618
It was a horrendous plan.

0:02:53.666,0:02:55.969
Especially because[br]when I went to university,

0:02:55.969,0:02:58.130
my nickname was Shakin' Stevens,

0:02:58.807,0:03:03.954
after the musical icon, I suppose,[br]if you liked it, at the time.

0:03:04.125,0:03:06.112
And it wasn't for the musical ability.

0:03:06.124,0:03:07.794
I don't know if you've ever had it,

0:03:07.794,0:03:09.939
when you stand in front[br]of a group of people,

0:03:09.939,0:03:11.193
and you have to speak,

0:03:11.198,0:03:13.773
or you're holding a bit of paper,[br]and you're speaking,

0:03:13.773,0:03:16.393
and you are like: "Why is[br]that piece of paper moving?

0:03:16.393,0:03:19.181
Why am I shaking while I'm speaking?"

0:03:19.181,0:03:22.281
That happened for me every time,[br]and it was even worse.

0:03:22.281,0:03:23.812
It kind of went through my body.

0:03:23.812,0:03:26.051
So, the shaking went into my shoulders,

0:03:26.051,0:03:27.352
down through my hips,

0:03:27.352,0:03:29.043
and I was just involuntarily ...

0:03:29.043,0:03:30.262
(Laughter)

0:03:30.283,0:03:33.012
becoming a kind of Irish salsa dancer.

0:03:33.012,0:03:34.965
But -[br](Laughter)

0:03:35.199,0:03:38.720
And it was so bad[br]that people would come to see it.

0:03:39.106,0:03:41.106
(Laughter)

0:03:41.808,0:03:44.116
That's a pretty Irish thing,[br]where they're like:

0:03:44.116,0:03:46.646
"Look at him, going to pieces.[br]We'd better see that."

0:03:46.653,0:03:47.880
(Laughter)

0:03:48.126,0:03:50.529
I should have known,[br]I should've remembered,

0:03:50.529,0:03:52.248
that it was possible to change this,

0:03:52.248,0:03:54.364
but for some reason,[br]I think for a lot of us,

0:03:54.364,0:03:55.727
when it comes to fear,

0:03:55.727,0:04:00.308
we forget that we have the power[br]to somehow change that.

0:04:01.081,0:04:05.689
Sometimes you just need[br]that catalyst to drive change.

0:04:05.689,0:04:09.442
For me, unfortunately,[br]it came in the worst possible way.

0:04:09.616,0:04:10.971
A friend of mine, Arash,

0:04:10.977,0:04:14.440
who was the most outdoorsy[br]and athletic person I've ever met,

0:04:14.440,0:04:16.495
within the space of 96 hours

0:04:16.495,0:04:20.187
went from hiking[br]the John Muir Trail in California

0:04:20.187,0:04:23.254
to lying in the John Muir hospital

0:04:23.254,0:04:26.923
surrounded by doctors telling him[br]he'd never walk again,

0:04:26.923,0:04:29.475
after suffering[br]a severe spinal cord injury.

0:04:29.743,0:04:31.755
He didn't want to accept that prognosis.

0:04:31.755,0:04:34.236
None of his friends wanted[br]to accept that prognosis,

0:04:34.236,0:04:36.861
so they all rallied to do[br]fundraisers on his behalf

0:04:36.861,0:04:39.591
to get him to his goal[br]of getting back on his feet again.

0:04:39.627,0:04:41.390
And it kind of rubbed off on me.

0:04:41.390,0:04:44.156
And I was like: "Well maybe[br]I could do something to help."

0:04:44.156,0:04:45.350
So I organized -

0:04:45.350,0:04:48.173
I just happen to know a comedian[br]who lived next door to me,

0:04:48.173,0:04:51.694
and I was like: "If I did a comedy show,[br]charity show, would you do it?"

0:04:51.694,0:04:52.914
And he said yes.

0:04:52.914,0:04:56.394
So to Arash, I was like: "Let's do[br]this comedy show to raise some funds."

0:04:56.394,0:04:59.527
And he's like: "That's a great idea man.[br]You're going to host it?"

0:04:59.527,0:05:01.189
I was like: "Oh no."

0:05:01.189,0:05:04.076
He didn't know about[br]the whole Shakin' Stevens thing.

0:05:04.076,0:05:06.018
(Laughter)

0:05:06.410,0:05:11.010
Up to that moment, I would have described[br]public speaking as my biggest fear,

0:05:11.010,0:05:13.618
and as a crippling fear.

0:05:14.078,0:05:15.484
But when you're stood there,

0:05:15.484,0:05:19.135
and your friend is sat there[br]in a wheelchair, looking at you,

0:05:19.135,0:05:22.658
that is not the term you ever[br]feel right about using again ...

0:05:22.658,0:05:23.751
(Laughter)

0:05:23.921,0:05:25.476
for a fear.

0:05:25.884,0:05:28.223
It just made it seem[br]a little bit ridiculous.

0:05:28.223,0:05:31.238
And I was like, especially like,[br]Irish people en masse,

0:05:31.238,0:05:34.012
fair to say, we hate public speaking.

0:05:34.012,0:05:37.501
But Irish people en masse,[br]we love speaking.

0:05:37.850,0:05:39.866
(Laughter)

0:05:40.064,0:05:41.064
We love it.

0:05:41.064,0:05:43.278
You'll be like:[br]"Do you ever speak to people?"

0:05:43.278,0:05:44.428
"Oh yeah, all the time."

0:05:44.428,0:05:46.487
"In public?"[br]- "Oh, absolutely, yeah."

0:05:46.487,0:05:48.229
"Public speaking?"[br]- "Oh no, no, no.

0:05:48.229,0:05:49.714
(Laughter)

0:05:49.935,0:05:51.198
Not doing that."

0:05:51.285,0:05:53.942
All of a sudden, it just felt nonsensical.

0:05:53.942,0:05:58.689
So it was kind of time to at least[br]try and get over this nonsensical fear.

0:05:58.689,0:06:00.588
But who do you ask for help?

0:06:00.588,0:06:03.974
Or like, who were the masters[br]of this topic, or where do you go to?

0:06:03.974,0:06:07.874
And for me, I was a big fan of the theory[br]popularized by Malcolm Gladwell,

0:06:07.874,0:06:12.284
that it takes 10,000 hours doing something[br]to make someone a master.

0:06:12.284,0:06:15.486
So I was like: "Who are the masters[br]of this public speaking stuff?"

0:06:15.486,0:06:18.930
And the answer seemed[br]unconventional ... but obvious.

0:06:19.319,0:06:24.352
It's like, surely stand-up comedians[br]are doing this more than anybody else.

0:06:24.581,0:06:26.767
Surely they know a lot about it.

0:06:26.812,0:06:30.365
It turns out the average stand-up comedian[br]on the way to making an income

0:06:30.365,0:06:31.660
from doing stand-up comedy,

0:06:31.660,0:06:32.921
if they're good,

0:06:32.921,0:06:36.831
it takes them on average about seven years[br]to make an income from stand-up comedy.

0:06:36.831,0:06:40.310
The ones who are dedicated, they estimate[br]to spend about four hours a day

0:06:40.310,0:06:43.441
in some way, shape, or form,[br]working on their craft.

0:06:43.563,0:06:48.248
Four hours a day, by those seven years,[br]is roughly those 10,000 hours.

0:06:48.592,0:06:52.289
And they do it in the worst[br]conditions possible.

0:06:52.650,0:06:54.234
Like, imagine, I live in America.

0:06:54.234,0:06:56.117
They're having a tough day and they're:

0:06:56.117,0:06:58.977
"I'm having an emotional day today.[br]I feel a lot of anxiety.

0:06:58.977,0:07:01.184
I went to the supermarket.[br]They'd no avocados.

0:07:01.184,0:07:02.572
It was horrendous.[br](Laughter)

0:07:02.572,0:07:04.860
I went to Bikram yoga,[br]and a guy flatulated.

0:07:04.860,0:07:07.069
It was just no, no,[br]it's just too much for me.

0:07:07.069,0:07:10.528
I put four photos on Instagram.[br]Nobody liked them, not even my mother ...

0:07:10.533,0:07:12.907
Now I'm going to go to this comedy club,

0:07:12.907,0:07:15.432
make it better, add alcohol,[br]sit there, fold my arms,

0:07:15.432,0:07:17.482
stare at a person and go:[br]'Make me laugh.'"

0:07:17.482,0:07:18.742
(Laughter)

0:07:19.118,0:07:22.563
It just sounds like the worst possible[br]environment to do this.

0:07:22.883,0:07:25.917
So my plan was getting[br]considerably worse as I went along.

0:07:25.917,0:07:29.125
Not only was I going to try and do[br]this public speaking for a year,

0:07:29.125,0:07:31.319
I was going to do[br]stand-up comedy for a year.

0:07:31.367,0:07:33.922
And for this terrible plan,[br]I blame Americans.

0:07:35.409,0:07:38.456
They're just a lot more positive[br]than Irish people ...

0:07:38.456,0:07:40.891
unnecessarily sometimes.

0:07:40.983,0:07:43.752
Like, they will support you with anything.

0:07:43.903,0:07:46.217
You could be like: "I'm quitting my job.

0:07:46.217,0:07:49.898
It's a good job, and I'm going to sell[br]inflatable penguins on the Internet."

0:07:49.898,0:07:52.372
And they're like:[br]"God that's a great plan man.

0:07:52.408,0:07:54.235
(Laughter)

0:07:54.371,0:07:56.082
You should try that. Bring it in."

0:07:56.082,0:07:57.082
High five.

0:07:57.085,0:07:58.469
(Laughter).

0:07:58.685,0:08:02.935
Sometimes you dismiss Irish people[br]to be like: "Cop on to yourself.

0:08:03.332,0:08:07.141
Get those penguins down off the Internet:[br]you're bringing shame to the family."

0:08:07.166,0:08:09.199
(Laughter)

0:08:11.632,0:08:14.217
I got reminded of this,[br]a bit of a social media thing:

0:08:14.217,0:08:18.013
I posted a little video of myself[br]kite-surfing under the Golden Gate Bridge.

0:08:18.013,0:08:19.816
I thought, "This will get the likes."

0:08:19.816,0:08:22.722
Posted this, and the American[br]comments come in:

0:08:22.722,0:08:25.294
"Dude that looks awesome. You go."

0:08:25.505,0:08:26.605
Next comment:

0:08:26.605,0:08:28.899
"Oh my God. Looks like[br]you had the perfect day.

0:08:28.899,0:08:30.894
Hope you had a great time."

0:08:31.123,0:08:32.222
Irish comment:

0:08:32.222,0:08:34.611
"I hope a shark bites your balls off."

0:08:34.666,0:08:36.775
(Laughter)

0:08:38.717,0:08:40.357
And that was my mother.

0:08:40.384,0:08:42.469
(Laughter)

0:08:43.525,0:08:44.884
So, safe to say,

0:08:44.884,0:08:48.513
I wasn't really ready to tell Irish people[br]about the plan that I was having.

0:08:48.513,0:08:50.937
I needed a way to hide it from them.

0:08:50.937,0:08:54.106
And it turns out it's quite hard[br]to clock up the stage time needed

0:08:54.106,0:08:57.569
to get some experience as a comedian[br]if you don't have any experience.

0:08:57.569,0:09:01.171
So, I had to make it look like[br]I'd been around for a while doing comedy.

0:09:01.439,0:09:03.775
Americans couldn't really[br]pronounce my last name,

0:09:03.775,0:09:06.475
a little bit strange[br]even by Irish standards: Nihill.

0:09:06.475,0:09:08.380
So they kept calling me Irish Dave.

0:09:08.966,0:09:10.236
So, I was like:

0:09:10.236,0:09:13.160
"Well, there's a stage name[br]that sounds pretty horrendous."

0:09:13.220,0:09:16.274
The idea was that I was already good[br]at doing comedy in Ireland,

0:09:16.274,0:09:18.611
and I just happened to be[br]in America for a while.

0:09:18.611,0:09:20.898
It needed to look like[br]he'd been around a while.

0:09:20.898,0:09:23.018
So, alright, Irish Dave,[br]let's go with that,

0:09:23.025,0:09:25.575
made him a website,[br]made him look pretty good online.

0:09:25.575,0:09:26.741
Facebook page,

0:09:26.741,0:09:29.594
Facebook fans, which mildly[br]controversially at the time,

0:09:29.594,0:09:31.662
you could just buy on the Internet.

0:09:31.781,0:09:32.858
(Laughter)

0:09:33.059,0:09:35.093
So I was pretty big there for a while ...

0:09:35.125,0:09:37.167
(Laughter)

0:09:37.299,0:09:38.891
especially in India.

0:09:38.935,0:09:40.531
(Laughter)

0:09:40.545,0:09:44.033
The first booked show I did[br]was five ladies and I.

0:09:44.033,0:09:48.033
That comedy show was called[br]"Oestrogen entrée, with a side of balls."

0:09:49.333,0:09:51.077
I was that side of balls.

0:09:51.110,0:09:52.110
(Laughter)

0:09:52.232,0:09:54.397
A very proud moment as you can imagine.

0:09:54.494,0:09:56.538
But thankfully, it went up from there,

0:09:56.538,0:09:59.864
and I started doing all these comedy clubs[br]and shows and festivals.

0:09:59.864,0:10:04.853
At the end of that year, I found myself[br]on stage in front of 1400 people

0:10:04.853,0:10:07.669
in America's largest[br]storytelling competition.

0:10:07.669,0:10:10.293
And I'm about to lay an egg.

0:10:10.293,0:10:11.922
Because, after your story,

0:10:11.922,0:10:14.723
they judge you in front of[br]all the other people.

0:10:14.856,0:10:16.573
So it's like diving in the Olympics.

0:10:16.573,0:10:21.016
They actually hold up a scorecard[br]from 0 to 10 about how you just did.

0:10:21.016,0:10:22.808
That sounds horrendous.

0:10:23.076,0:10:24.902
That's like you losing your virginity,

0:10:24.902,0:10:27.548
and someone just popping up[br]at the end of your bed ...

0:10:27.652,0:10:29.026
I mean like: 2

0:10:29.131,0:10:31.294
(Laughter)

0:10:31.459,0:10:32.881
Room for improvement.

0:10:32.912,0:10:34.361
(Laughter)

0:10:35.030,0:10:37.330
The funny thing is[br]that by the end of this time,

0:10:37.330,0:10:40.351
I was learning a lot that comedians[br]were learning the hard way.

0:10:40.351,0:10:42.222
We'd done the charity event for Arash.

0:10:42.222,0:10:43.560
It went really, really well.

0:10:43.560,0:10:45.639
Nobody would have noticed Shakin' Stevens.

0:10:45.639,0:10:47.457
What I was learning, over time,

0:10:47.457,0:10:50.467
and through repetition[br]and knowledge from this group of people,

0:10:50.467,0:10:52.677
was not how to overcome a fear,

0:10:52.677,0:10:56.733
but how to manage a fear,[br]and, in my case, how to hide a fear.

0:10:57.330,0:10:59.692
And I think we're sold that[br]quite a lot in life.

0:10:59.692,0:11:01.802
"Here's the easy way[br]to overcome your fear."

0:11:01.809,0:11:03.373
You might never overcome it,

0:11:03.379,0:11:05.793
but just at least tell me[br]how to manage it,

0:11:05.793,0:11:07.579
like stop the Shakin' Stevens bit.

0:11:07.878,0:11:10.701
And a key part of it was just[br]telling yourself in your head

0:11:10.701,0:11:11.934
that you are not nervous.

0:11:11.934,0:11:13.178
Of course you are.

0:11:13.178,0:11:14.377
The sweating is coming,

0:11:14.377,0:11:16.569
and I'm like the salsa dancing[br]is coming back,

0:11:16.569,0:11:19.297
but people are like:[br]"Just tell yourself you're excited."

0:11:19.297,0:11:21.409
Look at how it were like[br]2,000 of you today:

0:11:21.409,0:11:23.968
I was like: "Ah, I'm so excited."

0:11:24.037,0:11:26.069
(Laughter)

0:11:27.280,0:11:29.137
So, I literally found myself on stage,

0:11:29.137,0:11:30.400
1400 people,

0:11:30.400,0:11:34.785
and there's three comedians out of ten[br]in this competition of storytelling.

0:11:34.785,0:11:38.516
So, of course, my theory is they're[br]the true masters going to come 1, 2 and 3.

0:11:38.516,0:11:42.482
And Arash has got wind that I'm in this[br]under the sneaky name Irish Dave,

0:11:42.500,0:11:45.010
and he's come, so they're[br]all there in the audience.

0:11:45.010,0:11:46.210
I am laying an egg.

0:11:46.210,0:11:49.146
I don't have butterflies[br]in my chest; I have pigeons.

0:11:49.213,0:11:51.417
If you'd touch my hand[br]before I went on stage,

0:11:51.417,0:11:53.564
it felt like a mackerel[br]just went like that.

0:11:53.564,0:11:54.564
(Laughter)

0:11:54.570,0:11:56.381
If you'd hugged me, same as today,

0:11:56.381,0:11:59.098
you'd feel like you'd hugged[br]someone got out of a shower.

0:11:59.098,0:12:00.806
You're like: What's going on there?

0:12:00.806,0:12:02.507
But it was just hiding them, right?

0:12:02.509,0:12:04.250
So we're doing this competition,

0:12:04.276,0:12:08.493
and at this stage I had written a book [br]I'd self-published about my experience,

0:12:08.493,0:12:10.223
and I'd just sold it to a publisher,

0:12:10.223,0:12:13.291
and they were like: "We're going[br]to need a new ending on this."

0:12:13.295,0:12:16.689
So I'm like: "Winning this competition,[br]that could be a good ending."

0:12:16.689,0:12:18.603
So towards the end of this competition -

0:12:18.603,0:12:21.526
1, 2 and 3, as I anticipated,[br]are the comedians -

0:12:21.526,0:12:24.247
and I'm winning, and there's[br]only one person left.

0:12:24.247,0:12:25.455
And this lady goes -

0:12:25.455,0:12:27.140
no comedic background or training -

0:12:27.140,0:12:29.663
gets on stage and is amazing and kills it.

0:12:29.663,0:12:31.718
And they're in bits[br]laughing at everything,

0:12:31.718,0:12:32.980
and she wins.

0:12:32.987,0:12:37.210
I was like: "Oh well,[br]there goes me ending here."

0:12:37.632,0:12:40.746
And I was like: "How did you do that?

0:12:40.752,0:12:41.952
I was fascinated.

0:12:41.952,0:12:45.159
I've studied this for ages,[br]but you wiped the floor with everybody.

0:12:45.159,0:12:47.276
She's: "I've been studying[br]comedians a lot.

0:12:47.276,0:12:49.166
I've been reading a lot about it."

0:12:49.166,0:12:51.101
I was like: "What did you read? Tell me.

0:12:51.101,0:12:53.733
Anything super helpful?[br]I'm publishing a book on this."

0:12:53.738,0:12:55.050
And she's like: "This one."

0:12:55.055,0:12:58.015
Pulling up her notes, she says,[br]"This book was really helpful.

0:12:58.015,0:13:00.870
'Do You Talk Funny?'[br]by a guy called David Nihill."

0:13:01.561,0:13:04.503
(Laughter)

0:13:05.125,0:13:07.438
I say, "You beat me with my own book."

0:13:07.465,0:13:09.771
(Laughter)

0:13:10.763,0:13:13.612
Oh! And I thought, right,[br]that's the end of that.

0:13:13.685,0:13:17.473
Told the story, and sure enough,[br]a week or so after, this guy contacts me.

0:13:17.473,0:13:19.663
"Would you be interested[br]in doing a TED talk?

0:13:19.663,0:13:21.959
I liked your story.[br]Would you like to share it?"

0:13:21.959,0:13:24.399
And I said, "Ooh,[br]now this would be a good ending."

0:13:24.399,0:13:25.653
And then: "Wait a minute.

0:13:25.653,0:13:27.046
I have a friend called Arash,

0:13:27.046,0:13:30.206
and he's the reason I got into[br]all this mess in the first place,

0:13:30.206,0:13:31.819
and all this lunacy started.

0:13:31.819,0:13:35.408
His story's more powerful and better[br]than anyone's I think I've ever heard.

0:13:35.408,0:13:37.278
Could I send you a little video of him?

0:13:37.278,0:13:40.482
He did a practice run with an audience[br]using comedians' techniques.

0:13:40.482,0:13:43.200
Could I send you that?[br]Maybe you'd consider booking him?"

0:13:43.200,0:13:44.699
And he booked him in my place.

0:13:44.699,0:13:46.465
And I was there backstage watching

0:13:46.465,0:13:49.576
when Arash got[br]a 51-second standing ovation

0:13:49.576,0:13:52.970
as he told everybody[br]how he trained for one whole year,

0:13:52.970,0:13:54.031
keeping it a secret,

0:13:54.031,0:13:56.708
with the sole goal of standing again[br]on his own two feet

0:13:56.708,0:13:59.590
so he could propose to his beautiful[br]girlfriend, eye to eye.

0:13:59.743,0:14:01.843
He didn't want to do it[br]from his wheelchair.

0:14:01.843,0:14:03.240
And, of course, she said yes.

0:14:03.359,0:14:06.280
So, at the end, he stood up[br]from his wheelchair, on stage,

0:14:06.280,0:14:08.760
doing something doctors told me[br]he'd never do again.

0:14:08.760,0:14:12.470
She came out and joined them,[br]and the whole place just lost their mind.

0:14:12.558,0:14:14.948
And I get hairs in the back[br]of my neck standing up

0:14:14.948,0:14:16.564
just telling you guys about it.

0:14:17.229,0:14:18.563
The comedy event we did

0:14:18.563,0:14:21.425
became a recurring event[br]called "Comedy for a Spinal Cause".

0:14:21.425,0:14:24.379
Today, we've raised for people[br]with spinal cord injuries

0:14:24.379,0:14:26.490
just over $45,000.

0:14:26.876,0:14:28.276
Arash wrote a book -

0:14:28.441,0:14:31.440
(Applause)

0:14:35.531,0:14:37.526
Arash wrote a book about his experiences.

0:14:37.526,0:14:39.377
He started a non-profit.

0:14:39.377,0:14:41.278
He continues his recovery,

0:14:41.278,0:14:43.912
and continues to be[br]an inspiration around him.

0:14:44.307,0:14:47.362
Six weeks from today,[br]in this very hall in Manchester,

0:14:47.362,0:14:49.375
there's going to be a musical act planned.

0:14:49.375,0:14:52.030
Ironically, his name is Shakin' Stevens.

0:14:52.030,0:14:53.497
(Laughter)

0:14:53.604,0:14:54.863
What are the chances!?

0:14:54.920,0:14:57.712
If you take nothing away[br]from all this lunacy,

0:14:57.712,0:15:00.097
it's our lives are full of change,

0:15:00.101,0:15:01.382
and, a lot of the time,

0:15:01.382,0:15:04.079
we can drive and control[br]that change more than we think,

0:15:04.079,0:15:07.080
whether it's just some[br]involuntary dancing moves,

0:15:07.080,0:15:10.051
a feeling that you have,[br]or a whole country.

0:15:10.426,0:15:12.102
You might not overcome a fear,

0:15:12.102,0:15:15.655
but with help from the right people,[br]I believe you can learn to manage it.

0:15:15.912,0:15:19.017
Public speaking, ultimately,[br]if it's one of your biggest fears,

0:15:19.017,0:15:21.811
like it's mine and so many[br]other people's out there,

0:15:21.811,0:15:24.089
try and tell yourself you're excited,

0:15:24.089,0:15:26.249
no matter how many people[br]are looking at you.

0:15:26.249,0:15:29.611
Remember, at the end of the day,[br]it's just you sharing your story.

0:15:29.611,0:15:31.520
You know it better than anyone else,

0:15:31.520,0:15:34.003
and you never know[br]what'll happen when you tell it.

0:15:34.003,0:15:36.445
And if you need help[br]along the way, ask a comedian.

0:15:36.469,0:15:38.519
I believe they're[br]the world's true masters.

0:15:38.519,0:15:39.519
Thank you very much.

0:15:39.519,0:15:41.633
(Applause)