WEBVTT

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Thank you.

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There once was a king in India, a Maharaja
and for his birthday, a decree went out

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that all the chiefs should bring
gifts fit for a king.

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Some brought fine silks,
some brought fancy swords,

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some brought gold.

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At the end of the line came walking
a very wrinkled little old man

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who'd walked up from his village
many days journey by the sea.

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And as he walked up the king's son asked,
"What gift do you bring for the King?"

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And the old man very slowly
opened his hand to reveal

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a very beautiful seashell, with swirls
of purple and yellow, red and blue.

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And the King's son said,

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"That's no gift for the King!
What kind of gift is that?"

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The old man looked up
at him slowly and said,

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"Long walk... part of gift."

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(Laughter)

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In a few moments,
I'm going to give you a gift,

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a gift that I believe
is a gift worth spreading.

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But before I do, let me take you on

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my long walk.

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Like most of you,

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I started life as a little kid.

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How many of you
started life as a little kid?

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Born young?

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About half of you... Ok...

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(Laughter)

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And the rest of you, what?
You were born full-grown?

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Boy, I want to meet your momma!

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Talk about impossible!

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As a little kid, I always had
a fascination with doing the impossible.

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Today is a day I've been looking
forward to for many years,

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because today is the day
I'm going to attempt

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to do the impossible
right before your very eyes,

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right here at TEDxMaastricht.

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I'm going to start

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by revealing the ending:

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And I'm going to prove to you

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that the impossible is not impossible.

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And I'm going to end
by giving you a gift worth spreading:

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I'm going to show you that you can
do the impossible in your life.

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In my quest to do the impossible,
I've found that there are

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two things that are universal
among people around the world.

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Everybody has fears,

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and everyone has dreams.

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In my quest to do the impossible,
I've found there are three things

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that I've done over my years that have

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kind of caused me to do the impossible:

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Dodgeball, or as you call it "Trefbal",

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Superman,

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and Mosquito.

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Those are my three keywords.

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Now you know why
I do the impossible in my life.

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So I'm going to take you
on my journey, my long walk

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from fears to dreams,

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from words to swords,

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from Dodgeball

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to Superman

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to Mosquito.

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And I hope to show you

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how you can do the impossible
in your life.

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October 4th, 2007.

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My heart was racing,
my knees were shaking

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as I stepped out on stage

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at Sanders Theatre

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Harvard University to accept

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the 2007 Ig Nobel Prize in Medicine

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for a medical research paper
I'd co-written

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called "Sword Swallowing...

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... and its Side Effects".

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(Laughter)

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It was published in a little journal
that I'd never read before,

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the British Medical Journal.

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And for me, that was
an impossible dream come true,

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it was an unexpected surprise
for someone like me,

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it was an honor I will never ever forget.

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But it wasn't the most memorable
part of my life.

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On October 4th, 1967,

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this scared, shy, skinny, wimpy kid

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suffered from extreme fears.

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As he got ready to step out on stage,

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his heart was racing,

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his knees were shaking.

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He went to open his mouth to speak,

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the words just would not come out.

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He stood trembling in tears.

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He was paralyzed in panic,

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frozen in fear.

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This scared, shy, skinny wimpy kid

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suffered from extreme fears.

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He had fear of the dark,

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fear of heights,

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fear of spiders and snakes...

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Any of you afraid of spiders and snakes?

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Yeah, a few of you...

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He had a fear of water and sharks...

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Fear of doctors and nurses and dentists,

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and needles and drills and sharp objects.

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But more than anything,
he had a fear of

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people.

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That scared, shy skinny wimpy kid

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was me.

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I had a fear of failure and rejection,

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low self-esteem, inferiority complex,

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and something we didn't even know
you could sign up for back then:

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social anxiety disorder.

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Because I had fears, the bullies
would tease me and beat me up.

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They used to laugh and call me names,
They never let me play in any of their

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reindeer games.

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Ah, there was one game
they used to let me play in...

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Dodgeball -

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and I was not a good dodger.

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The bullies would call my name,

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and I'd look up
and see these red dodge balls

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hurtling at my face at supersonic speeds

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bam, bam, bam!

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And I remember many days
walking home from school,

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my face was red and stinging,
my ears were red and ringing.

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My eyes were burning with tears,

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and their words were burning in my ears.

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And whoever said,

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"Sticks and stones can break my bones,
but words will never hurt me"...

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It's a lie.

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Words can cut like a knife.

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Words can pierce like a sword.

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Words can make wounds that are so deep

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they can't be seen.

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So I had fears.
And words were my worst enemy.

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Still are.

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But I also had dreams.

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I would go home
and I'd escape to Superman comics

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and I'd read Superman comic books

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and I dreamed I wanted to be a superhero
like Superman.

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I wanted to fight for truth and justice,

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I wanted to fight against
villains and kryptonite,

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I wanted to fly around the world
doing superhuman feats and saving lives.

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I also had a fascination
with things that were real.

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I'd read Guinness Book of World Records
and Ripley's Believe It or Not book.

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Any of you ever read Guinness
Book of World Records or Ripley's?

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I love those books!

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I saw real people doing real feats.

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And I said, I want to do that.

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If the bullies will not let me

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play in any of their sports games,

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I want to do real magic, real feats.

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I want to do something really remarkable
that those bullies can't do.

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I want to find my purpose and calling,

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I want to know that my life has meaning,

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I want to do something incredible
to change the world;

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I want to prove
the impossible is not impossible.

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Fast forward 10 years -

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It was the week before my 21st birthday.

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Two things happened in one day
that would change my life forever.

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I was living in Tamil Nadu, South India

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I was a missionary there,

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and my mentor, my friend asked me,

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"Do you have Thromes, Daniel?"

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And I said, "Thromes?
What are Thromes?"

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He said, "Thromes are major life goals.

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They're a combination
of dreams and goals, like if you could

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do anything you want to do,
go anyplace you want to go

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be anyone you want to be,

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where would you go?
What would you do?

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Who'd you be?

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I said, "I can't do that!
I'm too scared! I've got too many fears!"

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That night I took my rice mat
up on the roof of the bungalow,

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laid out underneath the stars,

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and watched the bats dive bomb
for mosquitoes.

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And all I could think about were thromes,
and dreams and goals,

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and those bullies with the dodgeballs.

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A few hours later I woke up.

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My heart was racing,
my knees were shaking.

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This time it wasn't with fear.

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My entire body was convulsing.

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And for the next five days

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I was in and out of consciousness,
on my deathbed fighting for my life.

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My brain was burning up
with 105 degree malaria fever.

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And whenever I was conscious,
all I could think about were thromes.

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I thought,
"What do I want to do with my life?"

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Finally, on the night before
my 21st birthday,

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in a moment of clarity,

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I came to a realization:

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I realized that little mosquito,

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Anopheles Stephensi,

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that little mosquito

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that weighed less than 5 micrograms

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less than a grain of salt,

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if that mosquito could take out
a 170 pound man, 80 kilo man,

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I realized that was my kryptonite.

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Then I realized,
no, no, it's not the mosquito,

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It's the little parasite
inside the mosquito,

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Plasmodium Falciparum,
that kills over a million people a year.

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Then I realized
No, no, it's even smaller than that,

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but to me, it seemed so much greater.

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I realized,

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fear was my kryptonite,

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my parasite,

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that had crippled
and paralyzed me my entire life.

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You know, there's a difference
between danger and fear.

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Danger is real.

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Fear is a choice.

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And I realized I had a choice:

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I could either live in fear,
and die in failure that night,

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or I could put my fears to death,
and I could

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reach for my dreams,
I could dare to live life.

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And you know, there's something about
being on your deathbed

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and facing death that actually
makes you really want to live life.

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I realized everyone dies,
not everyone really lives.

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It's in dying that we we live.

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You know, when you learn to die,

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you really learn to live.

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So I decided I was going to change

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my story that night.

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I did not want to die.

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So I prayed a little prayer, I said,

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"God, if you let me live
to my 21st birthday,

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I will not let fear
rule my life any longer.

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I'm going to put my fears to death,

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I'm going to reach for my dreams,

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I want to change my attitude,

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I want to do something incredible
with my life,

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I want to find my purpose and calling,

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I want to know that the impossible
is not impossible."

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I won't tell you if I survived that night;
I'll let you figure that out for yourself.

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(Laughter)

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But that night I made my list
of my first 10 Thromes:

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I decided I wanted to
visit the major continents

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visit the 7 Wonders of the World

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learn a bunch of languages,

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live on a deserted island,

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live on a ship in the ocean,

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live with a tribe of Indians
in the Amazon,

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climb to the top
of the highest mountain in Sweden,

00:10:01.210 --> 00:10:03.180
I wanted to see Mount Everest at sunrise,

00:10:03.190 --> 00:10:05.390
to work in the music business
in Nashville,

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I wanted to work with a circus,

00:10:07.080 --> 00:10:09.120
and I wanted to jump out of an airplane.

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Over the next twenty years,
I accomplished most of those thromes.

00:10:12.410 --> 00:10:14.650
Every time I would
check a throme off my list,

00:10:14.650 --> 00:10:18.190
I'd add 5 or 10 more onto my list
and my list continued to grow.

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For the next seven years, I lived
on a little island in the Bahamas

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for about seven years

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in a thatch hut,

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spearing sharks and stingrays to eat,
the only one on the island,

00:10:33.820 --> 00:10:36.249
in a loincloth,

00:10:36.680 --> 00:10:39.160
and I got to learn to swim with sharks.

00:10:39.160 --> 00:10:40.980
And from there, I moved to Mexico,

00:10:40.980 --> 00:10:45.000
and then I moved
to the Amazon River basin in Ecuador,

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Pujo Pongo Ecuador,
lived with a tribe there,

00:10:48.100 --> 00:10:52.180
and little by little I began to gain
confidence just by my thromes.

00:10:52.180 --> 00:10:55.100
I moved to the music business
in Nashville, and then Sweden,

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moved to Stockholm,
worked in the music business there,

00:10:57.870 --> 00:11:01.920
where I climbed the top of Mt. Kebnekaise
high above the Arctic Circle.

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I learned clowning,

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and juggling,

00:11:05.860 --> 00:11:07.480
and stilt-walking,

00:11:07.480 --> 00:11:10.440
unicycle riding,
fire eating, glass eating.

00:11:10.450 --> 00:11:13.620
In 1997 I heard there were
less than a dozen sword swallowers left

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and I said, "I've got to do that!"

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I met a sword swallower,
and I asked him for some tips.

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He said, "Yeah, I'll give you 2 tips:

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Number 1: It's extremely dangerous,

00:11:21.926 --> 00:11:23.948
People have died doing this.

00:11:23.948 --> 00:11:24.953
Number 2:

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Don't try it!"

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(Laughter)

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So I added it to my list of thromes.

00:11:30.440 --> 00:11:33.320
And I practiced
10 to 12 times a day, every day

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for four years.

00:11:35.209 --> 00:11:36.709
Now I calculated those out...

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4 x 365 [x 12]

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It was about 13,000
unsuccessful attempts

00:11:42.660 --> 00:11:45.420
before I got my first sword
down my throat in 2001.

00:11:46.002 --> 00:11:47.630
During that time I set a throme

00:11:47.630 --> 00:11:50.940
to become the world's leading expert
in sword swallowing.

00:11:50.970 --> 00:11:53.820
So I searched for every book,
magazine, newspaper article,

00:11:53.820 --> 00:11:57.670
every medical report,
I studied physiology, anatomy,

00:11:57.676 --> 00:11:59.719
I talked with doctors and nurses,

00:11:59.719 --> 00:12:01.760
networked all the sword swallowers
together

00:12:01.760 --> 00:12:04.250
into the Sword Swallowers
Association International,

00:12:04.250 --> 00:12:06.450
and conducted a 2-year
medical research paper

00:12:06.450 --> 00:12:08.580
on Sword Swallowing and its Side Effects

00:12:08.580 --> 00:12:10.980
that was published
in the British Medical Journal.

00:12:10.980 --> 00:12:11.840
(Laughter)

00:12:11.840 --> 00:12:12.940
Thank you.

00:12:12.960 --> 00:12:17.748
(Applause)

00:12:18.200 --> 00:12:21.570
And I learned some fascinating things
about sword swallowing.

00:12:21.571 --> 00:12:25.260
Some things I bet you never thought
about before, but you will after tonight.

00:12:25.260 --> 00:12:28.550
Next time you go home, and you're cutting
your steak with your knife

00:12:28.550 --> 00:12:31.759
or a sword, or your "bestek",
you'll think about this...

00:12:34.257 --> 00:12:36.589
I learned that sword swallowing
started in India -

00:12:36.589 --> 00:12:39.889
right where I'd seen it first of all
as a 20-year old kid -

00:12:39.889 --> 00:12:42.290
about 4000 years ago, about 2000 BC.

00:12:42.290 --> 00:12:45.580
Over the past 150 years,
sword swallowers have been used

00:12:45.590 --> 00:12:47.400
in the fields of science and medicine

00:12:47.480 --> 00:12:51.160
to help develop
the rigid endoscope in 1868

00:12:51.160 --> 00:12:53.820
by Dr. Adolf Kussmaul in Freiburg Germany.

00:12:53.880 --> 00:12:56.639
In 1906, the electrocardiogram in Wales,

00:12:56.639 --> 00:13:00.240
to study swallowing disorders,
and digestion,

00:13:00.240 --> 00:13:01.860
bronchoscopes, that type of thing.

00:13:01.860 --> 00:13:03.840
But over the past 150 years,

00:13:03.840 --> 00:13:07.860
we know of hundreds of injuries
and dozens of deaths...

00:13:07.880 --> 00:13:14.560
Here's the rigid endoscope
that was developed by Dr. Adolf Kussmaul.

00:13:14.740 --> 00:13:18.679
But we discovered that there were
29 deaths over the past 150 years

00:13:18.679 --> 00:13:22.462
including this sword swallower in London
who impaled his heart with his sword.

00:13:23.142 --> 00:13:25.340
We also learned that there are from 3 to 8

00:13:25.340 --> 00:13:27.780
serious sword swallowing injuries
each year.

00:13:27.780 --> 00:13:29.880
I know because I get the phone calls.

00:13:29.880 --> 00:13:31.150
I just had two of them,

00:13:31.150 --> 00:13:34.320
one from Sweden, and one from Orlando
just over the past few weeks,

00:13:34.320 --> 00:13:37.019
sword swallowers who are in the hospital
from injuries.

00:13:37.019 --> 00:13:38.769
So it is extremely dangerous.

00:13:38.769 --> 00:13:41.629
The other thing I learned is that 
sword swallowing takes

00:13:41.629 --> 00:13:44.320
from 2 years to 10 years
to learn how to swallow a sword

00:13:44.320 --> 00:13:45.610
for many people.

00:13:45.610 --> 00:13:48.020
But the most fascinating discovery
I learned was

00:13:48.020 --> 00:13:51.360
how sword swallowers learn
to do the impossible.

00:13:51.460 --> 00:13:53.460
And I'm going to give you a little secret:

00:13:53.520 --> 00:13:57.580
Don't focus on the 99.9%
that is impossible.

00:13:57.580 --> 00:14:02.030
You focus on that .1% that is possible,
and figure out how to make it possible.

00:14:02.817 --> 00:14:06.140
Now let me take you on a journey
into the mind of a sword swallower.

00:14:06.140 --> 00:14:09.479
In order to swallow a sword,
it requires mind over matter meditation,

00:14:09.479 --> 00:14:12.270
razor-sharp concentration,
pinpoint accuracy in order

00:14:12.270 --> 00:14:15.670
to isolate internal body organs
and overcome automatic body reflexes

00:14:15.710 --> 00:14:20.370
through reinforced brain synopsis,
through repeated muscle memory

00:14:20.450 --> 00:14:23.720
by deliberate practice 
of over 10,000 times.

00:14:24.020 --> 00:14:28.090
Now let me take you on a little journey
into the body of a sword swallower.

00:14:28.310 --> 00:14:30.130
In order to swallow a sword,

00:14:30.130 --> 00:14:32.250
I have to slide the blade over my tongue,

00:14:32.250 --> 00:14:34.780
repress the gag reflex
in the cervical esophagus,

00:14:34.780 --> 00:14:37.740
navigate a 90 degree turn
down the epiglottis,

00:14:38.240 --> 00:14:41.040
go through the cricopharyngeal
upper esophageal sphincter,

00:14:41.060 --> 00:14:42.600
repress the perystalsis reflex,

00:14:42.600 --> 00:14:44.380
slide the blade into the chest cavity

00:14:44.380 --> 00:14:45.960
between the lungs.

00:14:46.080 --> 00:14:48.349
At this point,

00:14:48.399 --> 00:14:50.389
I actually have to nudge my heart aside.

00:14:50.389 --> 00:14:51.720
If you watch very carefully,

00:14:51.720 --> 00:14:53.860
you can see the heart beat with my sword

00:14:53.860 --> 00:14:55.859
because it's leaning against the heart

00:14:55.859 --> 00:14:58.809
separated by about an eighth of an inch
of esophageal tissue.

00:14:58.809 --> 00:15:00.580
That's not something you can fake.

00:15:00.580 --> 00:15:02.710
Then I have to slide it
past the breastbone,

00:15:02.710 --> 00:15:05.540
past the lower esophageal sphincter,
down into the stomach,

00:15:05.540 --> 00:15:09.020
repress the retch reflex in the stomach
all the way down to the duodenum.

00:15:09.020 --> 00:15:09.750
Piece of cake.

00:15:09.750 --> 00:15:10.930
(Laughter)

00:15:10.930 --> 00:15:12.880
If I were to go further than that,

00:15:12.880 --> 00:15:17.720
all the way down to my Fallopian tubes.
(Dutch) Fallopian tubes!

00:15:17.720 --> 00:15:20.980
Guys, you can ask your wives
about that one later...

00:15:22.160 --> 00:15:23.900
People ask me, they say,

00:15:23.900 --> 00:15:26.740
"It must take a lot of courage
in order to risk your life,

00:15:26.740 --> 00:15:28.800
to nudge your heart,
and swallow a sword..."

00:15:28.800 --> 00:15:30.500
No. What takes real courage

00:15:30.500 --> 00:15:33.020
is for that scared, shy, skinny wimpy kid

00:15:33.080 --> 00:15:35.620
to risk failure and rejection,

00:15:35.620 --> 00:15:37.040
to bare his heart,

00:15:37.040 --> 00:15:38.240
and swallow his pride

00:15:38.240 --> 00:15:41.060
and stand up here in front
of a bunch a total strangers

00:15:41.060 --> 00:15:43.670
and tell you his story
about his fears and dreams,

00:15:43.680 --> 00:15:47.580
to risk spilling his guts,
both literally and figuratively.

00:15:48.280 --> 00:15:49.450
You see - thank you.

00:15:49.450 --> 00:15:53.720
(Applause)

00:15:53.850 --> 00:15:56.250
You see, the really amazing thing is

00:15:56.250 --> 00:15:58.650
I've always wanted to do
the remarkable in my life

00:15:58.650 --> 00:15:59.780
and now I am.

00:15:59.780 --> 00:16:02.880
But the really remarkable thing
is not that I can swallow

00:16:02.880 --> 00:16:05.170
21 swords at once,

00:16:07.640 --> 00:16:10.500
or 20 feet underwater in a tank
of 88 sharks and stingrays

00:16:10.500 --> 00:16:12.307
for Ripley's Believe It or Not,

00:16:13.840 --> 00:16:17.600
or heated to 1500 degrees red hot
for Stan Lee's Superhumans

00:16:17.610 --> 00:16:19.470
as a "Man of Steel"

00:16:19.520 --> 00:16:21.574
and that sucker was hot!

00:16:22.460 --> 00:16:24.920
Or to pull a car by sword for Ripley's,

00:16:24.930 --> 00:16:26.290
or Guinness,

00:16:26.290 --> 00:16:28.760
or make it on the finals
of America's Got Talent,

00:16:28.820 --> 00:16:31.540
or win the 2007
Ig Nobel Prize in Medicine.

00:16:31.550 --> 00:16:33.900
No, that's not
the really remarkable thing.

00:16:33.900 --> 00:16:36.350
That's what people think.
No, no, no. That's not it.

00:16:36.350 --> 00:16:37.800
The really remarkable thing

00:16:37.800 --> 00:16:40.660
is that God could take that scared,
shy, skinny wimpy kid

00:16:40.660 --> 00:16:42.200
who was afraid of heights,

00:16:42.200 --> 00:16:43.890
who was afraid of water and sharks,

00:16:43.890 --> 00:16:46.370
and doctors and nurses
and needles and sharp objects

00:16:46.370 --> 00:16:47.640
and speaking to people

00:16:47.640 --> 00:16:49.800
and now he's got me
flying around the world

00:16:49.800 --> 00:16:51.320
at heights of 30,000 feet

00:16:51.320 --> 00:16:53.900
swallowing sharp objects
underwater in tanks of sharks,

00:16:53.900 --> 00:16:57.430
and speaking to doctors and nurses
and audiences like you around the world.

00:16:57.430 --> 00:16:59.580
That's the really amazing thing for me.

00:16:59.580 --> 00:17:01.450
I always wanted to do the impossible -

00:17:01.450 --> 00:17:02.380
Thank you.

00:17:02.380 --> 00:17:03.760
(Applause)

00:17:03.760 --> 00:17:05.220
Thank you.

00:17:05.660 --> 00:17:09.040
(Applause)

00:17:09.700 --> 00:17:12.569
I always wanted to do the impossible,
and now I am.

00:17:12.569 --> 00:17:15.858
I wanted to do something remarkable
with my life and change the world,

00:17:15.858 --> 00:17:16.899
and now I am.

00:17:16.899 --> 00:17:19.819
I always wanted to fly around the world
doing superhuman feats

00:17:19.819 --> 00:17:21.379
and saving lives, and now I am.

00:17:21.379 --> 00:17:22.720
And you know what?

00:17:22.720 --> 00:17:25.569
There's still a small part
of that little kid's big dream

00:17:25.569 --> 00:17:27.291
deep inside.

00:17:30.320 --> 00:17:36.197
(Laughter) (Applause)

00:17:37.000 --> 00:17:40.240
And you know, I always wanted to find
my purpose and calling,

00:17:40.270 --> 00:17:41.530
and now I've found it.

00:17:41.540 --> 00:17:42.920
But guess what?

00:17:42.920 --> 00:17:46.230
It's not with the swords,
not what you think, not with my strengths.

00:17:46.230 --> 00:17:48.510
It's actually with my weakness, my words.

00:17:48.510 --> 00:17:51.090
My purpose and calling
is to change the world

00:17:51.090 --> 00:17:52.390
by cutting through fear,

00:17:52.390 --> 00:17:54.910
one sword at a time, one word at a time,

00:17:55.070 --> 00:17:57.450
one knife at a time, one life at a time,

00:17:57.540 --> 00:17:59.700
to inspire people to be superheroes

00:17:59.700 --> 00:18:01.860
and do the impossible in their lives.

00:18:02.060 --> 00:18:04.680
My purpose is to help others find theirs.

00:18:04.680 --> 00:18:05.680
What's yours?

00:18:05.680 --> 00:18:06.960
What's your purpose?

00:18:06.960 --> 00:18:08.960
What were you put here to do?

00:18:09.260 --> 00:18:11.590
I believe we're all
called to be superheroes.

00:18:12.160 --> 00:18:14.260
What is your superpower?

00:18:14.560 --> 00:18:17.990
Out of a world population
of over 7 billion people,

00:18:17.990 --> 00:18:20.250
there are less than a few dozen
sword swallowers

00:18:20.250 --> 00:18:21.661
left around the world today,

00:18:21.661 --> 00:18:22.940
but there's only one you.

00:18:22.940 --> 00:18:24.070
You are unique.

00:18:24.070 --> 00:18:25.540
What is your story?

00:18:25.540 --> 00:18:27.760
What makes you different?

00:18:27.760 --> 00:18:29.180
Tell your story,

00:18:29.180 --> 00:18:31.721
even if your voice is thin and shaky.

00:18:31.900 --> 00:18:33.340
What are your thromes?

00:18:33.340 --> 00:18:35.850
If you could do anything,
be anyone, go anywhere -

00:18:35.850 --> 00:18:37.430
What would you do?
Where'd you go?

00:18:37.430 --> 00:18:38.480
What would you do?

00:18:38.480 --> 00:18:40.340
What do you want to do with your life?

00:18:40.340 --> 00:18:41.760
What are your big dreams?

00:18:41.760 --> 00:18:44.450
What were your big dreams as a little kid?
Think back.

00:18:44.450 --> 00:18:46.240
I bet this wasn't it, was it?

00:18:46.483 --> 00:18:47.880
What were your wildest dreams

00:18:47.880 --> 00:18:50.450
that you thought were so strange
and so obscure?

00:18:50.450 --> 00:18:54.040
I bet this makes your dreams look
not so strange after all, doesn't it?

00:18:55.370 --> 00:18:57.050
What is your sword?

00:18:57.050 --> 00:18:58.650
Each one of you has a sword,

00:18:58.650 --> 00:19:00.600
a double-edged sword of fears and dreams.

00:19:00.600 --> 00:19:03.520
Swallow your sword, whatever it might be.

00:19:03.890 --> 00:19:05.870
Follow your dreams, ladies and gentlemen,

00:19:05.870 --> 00:19:08.900
It's never too late to be
whatever you wanted to be.

00:19:09.720 --> 00:19:12.920
For those bullies with the dogdeballs,
those kids who thought

00:19:12.920 --> 00:19:14.916
that I would never do the impossible,

00:19:15.060 --> 00:19:17.645
I've got just one thing to say to them:

00:19:17.645 --> 00:19:18.841
Thank you.

00:19:18.940 --> 00:19:22.220
Because if it weren't for villains,
we wouldn't have superheroes.

00:19:23.020 --> 00:19:27.237
I'm here to prove
the impossible is not impossible.

00:19:28.300 --> 00:19:32.310
This is extremely dangerous,
It could kill me.

00:19:32.340 --> 00:19:33.720
I hope you enjoy it.

00:19:33.720 --> 00:19:35.260
(Laughter)

00:19:36.350 --> 00:19:38.700
I'm going to need your help with this one.

00:19:46.731 --> 00:19:48.405
Audience: Two, three.

00:19:48.405 --> 00:19:52.100
Dan Meyer: No, no, no. I need your help
on the counting part, all of you, ok?

00:19:52.100 --> 00:19:53.210
(Laughter)

00:19:53.210 --> 00:19:55.840
If you know the words? Ok?
Count with me. Ready?

00:19:55.870 --> 00:19:56.964
One.

00:19:56.964 --> 00:19:58.150
Two.

00:19:58.170 --> 00:19:58.980
Three.

00:19:58.980 --> 00:20:00.920
No, that's 2, but you've got the idea.

00:20:06.760 --> 00:20:07.780
Audience: One.

00:20:07.840 --> 00:20:08.750
Two.

00:20:08.800 --> 00:20:10.010
Three.

00:20:11.260 --> 00:20:13.280
(Gasping)

00:20:14.360 --> 00:20:15.940
(Applause)

00:20:16.251 --> 00:20:17.450
DM: Yeah!

00:20:17.450 --> 00:20:23.100
(Applause) (Cheers)

00:20:23.100 --> 00:20:24.820
Thank you very much.

00:20:25.450 --> 00:20:28.800
Thank you, thank you, thank you.
Thank you from the bottom of my heart.

00:20:28.800 --> 00:20:31.290
Actually, thank you
from the bottom of my stomach.

00:20:31.880 --> 00:20:35.020
I told you I came here to do
the impossible, and now I have.

00:20:35.030 --> 00:20:37.730
But this was not the impossible.
I do this every day.

00:20:37.800 --> 00:20:42.800
The impossible thing was for that scared,
shy, skinny wimpy kid to face his fears,

00:20:42.840 --> 00:20:44.600
to stand up here on a [TEDx] stage,

00:20:44.600 --> 00:20:47.100
and to change the world,
one word at a time,

00:20:47.100 --> 00:20:49.080
one sword at a time, one life at a time.

00:20:49.080 --> 00:20:52.060
If I've made you think in new ways,
if I've made you believe

00:20:52.060 --> 00:20:54.460
the impossible is not impossible,

00:20:54.460 --> 00:20:57.960
if I've made you realize that you can
do the impossible in your life,

00:20:58.120 --> 00:21:01.020
then my job is done,
and yours is just beginning.

00:21:01.020 --> 00:21:04.100
Never stop dreaming. Never stop believing.

00:21:04.820 --> 00:21:06.350
Thank you for believing in me

00:21:06.350 --> 00:21:08.250
and thanks for being part of my dream.

00:21:08.250 --> 00:21:09.550
And here's my gift to you:

00:21:09.550 --> 00:21:11.486
The impossible is not...

00:21:11.486 --> 00:21:12.920
Audience: Impossible.

00:21:12.920 --> 00:21:14.920
Long walk part of gift.

00:21:15.100 --> 00:21:19.560
(Applause)

00:21:19.560 --> 00:21:21.020
Thank you.

00:21:21.060 --> 00:21:25.360
(Applause)

00:21:25.580 --> 00:21:27.560
(Cheering)

00:21:27.780 --> 00:21:30.240
Host: Thank you, Dan Meyer, wow!