0:00:00.925,0:00:02.214
Poet Ali: Hi.[br]Audience: Hi.

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PA: I want to ask you guys a question.[br]How many languages do you speak?

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This is not a rhetorical question.

0:00:08.362,0:00:10.317
I actually want you to think of a number.

0:00:10.317,0:00:11.960
For some of you, it's pretty easy.

0:00:11.960,0:00:15.695
Inside your head, you're like, "It's one.[br]You're speaking it, buddy. I'm done."

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Others of you maybe are wondering

0:00:17.350,0:00:20.201
if the language an ex-boyfriend[br]or ex-girlfriend taught you,

0:00:20.201,0:00:21.928
where you learned all the cusswords,

0:00:21.928,0:00:23.757
if it counts -- go ahead and count it.

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When I asked myself the question,[br]I came up with four,

0:00:26.288,0:00:28.265
arguably five, if I've been drinking.

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(Laughter)

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Con un po' di vino, [br]posso parlare italiano.

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(Applause)

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Cheers!

0:00:36.548,0:00:39.911
But on closer examination,[br]I came up with 83 -- 83 languages,

0:00:39.935,0:00:41.922
and I got tired and I stopped counting.

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And it forced me to revisit[br]this definition that we have of language.

0:00:45.570,0:00:46.777
The first entry said,

0:00:46.801,0:00:49.679
"The method of human communication,[br]either spoken or written,

0:00:49.703,0:00:53.327
consisting of the use of words[br]in a structured or conventional way."

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The definition at the bottom refers[br]to specialized fields,

0:00:56.448,0:00:58.506
like medicine, science, tech.

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We know they have their own vernacular,

0:01:00.416,0:01:01.585
their own jargon.

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But what most interested me was[br]that definition right in the center there:

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"the system of communication used[br]by a particular community or country."

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And I'm not interested[br]in altering this definition.

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I'm interested in applying it[br]to everything we do,

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because I believe that we speak[br]far more languages than we realize.

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And for the rest of our time together,

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I'm going to attempt[br]to speak in one language

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that is native to every single[br]human being in this room.

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But that changes things a little bit,

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because then it's no longer[br]a presentation.

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It becomes a conversation,

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and in any conversation,

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there must be some sort of interaction.

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And for any interaction to happen,

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there has to be a degree[br]of willingness on both parties.

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And I think if we just are willing,[br]we will see the magic that can happen

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with just a little bit of willingness.

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So I've chosen a relatively low-risk[br]common denominator

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that can kind of gauge[br]if we're all willing.

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If you're happy and you know it,[br]clap your hands.

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(Claps)

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Now you're talking!

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Para toda la gente que habla español,

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por favor ponganse de pie.

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Y miren una persona sentada [br]a cualquier lado

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y comenzar a reir.

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(Laughter)

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Thank you so much.[br]Please be seated.

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Now, if that felt a little bit awkward,

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I promise there was no joke[br]being had at your expense.

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I simply asked the Spanish-speaking[br]audience to stand up,

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look at a person that was sitting[br]close to them and laugh.

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And I know that wasn't nice,[br]and I'm sorry,

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but in that moment,

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some of us felt something.

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You see, we're often aware[br]of what language does

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when we speak somebody's language,

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what it does to connect,[br]what it does to bind.

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But we often forget what it does[br]when you can't speak that language,

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what it does to isolate,[br]what it does to exclude.

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And I want us to hold on[br]as we journey through

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our little walk of languages here.

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(Farsi) I'd like to translate[br]the idea of "taarof."

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I said in Farsi, "I'd like to translate

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this idea of 'taarof'[br]in the Persian culture,"

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which, really -- it has no equivalent[br]in the English lexicon.

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The best definition would be[br]something like an extreme grace

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or an extreme humility.

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But that doesn't quite get the job done.

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So I'll give you an example.

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If two gentlemen[br]were walking by each other,

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it'd be very common [br]for the first one to say,

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(speaks in Farsi),

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which means, "I am indebted to you."

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The other gentlemen would respond back,

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(speaks in Farsi)

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which means, "I open my shirt for you."

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The first guy would respond back,

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(speaks in Farsi)

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which means, "I am your servant."

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And then the second guy[br]would respond back to him,

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(speaks in Farsi)

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which literally means,[br]"I am the dirt beneath your feet."

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(Laughter)

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Here's an exhibit for you guys,[br]in case you didn't get the picture.

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(Laughter)

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And I share that with you, because

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with new languages come new concepts[br]that didn't exist before.

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And the other thing is,

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sometimes we think language is about[br]understanding the meaning of a word,

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but I believe language is about[br]making a word meaningful for yourself.

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If I were to flash this series[br]of words on the screen,

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some of you, you'd know exactly[br]what it is right away.

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Others of you, you might[br]struggle a little bit.

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And I could probably draw[br]a pretty clear-cut line

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right around the age[br]of 35 and older, 35 and younger.

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And for those of us that are in the know,

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we know that's text-speak,[br]or SMS language.

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It's a series of characters meant[br]to convey the most amount of meaning

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with the least amount of characters,

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which sounds pretty similar[br]to our definition of languages:

0:04:38.098,0:04:40.913
"system of communication[br]used by a community."

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Now, anyone who's ever got[br]into an argument via text

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can make a case for how it's maybe[br]not the best method of communication,

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but what if I told you[br]that what you saw earlier

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was a modern-day love letter?

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If you follow along:

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"For the time being, I love you lots,

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because you positively bring out[br]all the best in me,

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and I laugh out loud, in other words,[br]let's me know what's up.

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'Cause you are a cutie in my opinion,[br]and as far as I know to see you,

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if you're not seeing someone,[br]would make happy.

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For your information,[br]I'll be right there forever.

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In any case, keep in touch,[br]no response necessary,

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all my best wishes, don't know,[br]don't care if anyone sees this.

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Don't go there, see you later,[br]bye for now, hugs and kisses,

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you only live once."

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(Applause)

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Kind of a modern-day Romeo or Juliet.

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In that moment, if you laughed,

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you spoke another language[br]that needs no explanation: laughter.

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It's one of the most common[br]languages in the world.

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We don't have to explain it to each other,[br]it's just something we all feel,

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and that's why things like laughter[br]and things like music are so prevalent,

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because they seem to somehow[br]transcend explanation

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and convey a profound amount of meaning.

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Every language we learn is a portal

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by which we can access another language.

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The more you know, the more you can speak.

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And it's something common that we all do.

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We take any new concept,[br]and we filter it through

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an already existing access[br]of reality within us.

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And that's why languages are so important,

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because they give us access to new worlds,

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not just people.

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It's not just about seeing or hearing,[br]it's about feeling, experiencing, sharing.

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And despite these languages[br]that we've covered,

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I really don't think we've covered

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one of the most profound[br]languages,

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and that's the language of experience.

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That's why when you're[br]talking with someone,

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if they've shared something you've shared,[br]you don't need to explain it much.

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Or that's why, when you're sharing[br]a story and you finish,

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and the people you're talking to[br]don't quite get it,

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the first thing we all say is,

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"Guess you had to be there."

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I guess you had to be here this week[br]to know what this is about.

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It's kind of hard to explain, isn't it?

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And for the sake of our research,[br]I'm going to close by asking

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that you participate one more time[br]in this language of experience.

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I'm going to filter[br]through some languages,

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and if I'm speaking your language,

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I'm going to ask that you just stand[br]and you stay standing.

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You don't need to ask permission,

0:07:02.103,0:07:03.712
just let me know that you see me,

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and I can also see you

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if you speak this language of experience.

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Do you speak this language?

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When I was growing up in primary school,

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at the end of the year,[br]we would have these parties,

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and we'd vote on whether we wanted[br]to celebrate at an amusement park

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or a water park.

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And I would really hope the party[br]wasn't at a water park,

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because then I'd have[br]to be in a bathing suit.

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I don't know about you, but sometimes[br]when I approach a dressing room,

0:07:32.781,0:07:34.984
my sweat glands start[br]activating on their own,

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because I know the garment is not[br]going to look on me

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like it did on that mannequin.

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Or how about this?

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When I would go to family functions[br]or family gatherings,

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every time I wanted a second plate --

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and I usually did --

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(Laughter)

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it was a whole exercise[br]in cost-benefit analysis,

0:07:52.279,0:07:54.047
my relatives looking at me like,

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"I don't know. Do you really need that?[br]Looks like you're doing OK there, bud."

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Did my cheeks have a big[br]"Pinch me" sign that I didn't see?

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And if you're squirming[br]or you're laughing or you stood up,

0:08:05.284,0:08:06.688
or you're beginning to stand,

0:08:06.712,0:08:09.174
you're speaking the language[br]that I endearingly call

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"the language of growing up a fat kid."

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And any body-image issue[br]is a dialect of that language.

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I want you to stay standing.

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Again, if I'm speaking your language,[br]please go ahead and stand.

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Imagine two bills in my hand.

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One is the phone bill,

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and one is the electric bill.

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Eeny, meeny, miny, mo,[br]pay one off, let the other one go,

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which means, "I might not have enough[br]to pay both at the current moment."

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You've got to be resourceful.[br]You've got to figure it out.

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And if you're standing, you know[br]the language of barely making ends meet,

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of financial struggle.

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And if you've been lucky enough[br]to speak that language,

0:08:51.161,0:08:55.463
you understand that there is[br]no motivator of greatness like deficiency.

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Not having resources,[br]not having looks, not having finances

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can often be the barren soil

0:09:01.698,0:09:07.103
from which the most productive seeds[br]are painstakingly plowed and harvested.

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I'm going to ask[br]if you speak this language.

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The second you recognize it,[br]feel free to stand.

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When we heard the diagnosis,

0:09:21.600,0:09:23.015
I thought, "Not that word.

0:09:24.269,0:09:25.882
Anything but that word.

0:09:25.906,0:09:27.304
I hate that word."

0:09:28.638,0:09:30.648
And then you ask a series of questions:

0:09:31.297,0:09:32.482
"Are you sure?"

0:09:33.633,0:09:35.021
"Has it spread?"

0:09:35.988,0:09:37.149
"How long?"

0:09:37.173,0:09:38.466
"Doctor, how long?"

0:09:39.237,0:09:42.821
And a series of answers[br]determines a person's life.

0:09:44.230,0:09:47.655
And when my dad was hungry,[br]we'd all rush to the dinner table to eat,

0:09:47.679,0:09:49.344
because that's what we did before.

0:09:49.368,0:09:52.104
We ate together, so we were[br]going to continue doing that.

0:09:52.947,0:09:55.544
And I didn't understand[br]why we were losing this battle,

0:09:55.568,0:09:58.753
because I was taught if you fight[br]and if you have the right spirit,

0:09:58.777,0:10:00.183
you're supposed to win.

0:10:00.207,0:10:01.502
And we weren't winning.

0:10:02.657,0:10:04.049
For any of you that stood up,

0:10:04.073,0:10:06.469
you know very well that[br]I'm speaking the language

0:10:06.493,0:10:09.099
of watching a loved one battle cancer.

0:10:09.123,0:10:13.180
(Applause)

0:10:14.445,0:10:18.417
Any terminal illness[br]is a derivative of that language.

0:10:19.655,0:10:21.616
I'm going to speak one last language.

0:10:27.843,0:10:29.236
Oh -- no, no, I'm listening.

0:10:30.264,0:10:33.330
Yeah, yeah, yeah, no no, no no,[br]me and you, right here, yup.

0:10:33.354,0:10:35.012
(Laughter)

0:10:35.036,0:10:37.164
No, I'm with ya. I'm with ya!

0:10:37.188,0:10:38.941
(Laughter)

0:10:38.965,0:10:42.745
Or, imagine the lights are all off and[br]a blue light is just shining in your face

0:10:42.769,0:10:44.501
as you're laying on the bed.

0:10:44.525,0:10:46.089
And I know some of you, like me,

0:10:46.113,0:10:48.186
have dropped that phone[br]right on your face.

0:10:48.210,0:10:50.413
(Laughter)

0:10:51.174,0:10:52.878
Or this one, right?

0:10:54.060,0:10:57.459
Passenger seat freaking out,[br]like, "Can you watch the road?"

0:10:57.483,0:10:59.929
And for anybody that stood up,

0:10:59.953,0:11:04.717
you speak the language that I like to call[br]"the language of disconnection."

0:11:05.987,0:11:08.814
It's been called[br]the language of connection,

0:11:08.838,0:11:11.301
but I like to call it[br]the language of disconnection.

0:11:11.325,0:11:13.998
I don't mean disconnection,[br]I mean disconnection,

0:11:14.022,0:11:15.305
human disconnection,

0:11:15.329,0:11:17.800
disconnected from each other,

0:11:17.824,0:11:20.322
from where we are, from our own thoughts,

0:11:20.346,0:11:22.438
so we can occupy another space.

0:11:24.930,0:11:26.497
If you're not standing,

0:11:28.901,0:11:31.295
you probably know what it's like[br]to feel left out.

0:11:32.382,0:11:35.333
(Laughter)

0:11:35.357,0:11:38.211
(Applause)

0:11:38.235,0:11:43.320
You probably -- you know what it's like[br]when everybody's a part of something,

0:11:45.260,0:11:46.926
and you're not.

0:11:46.950,0:11:49.043
You know what it's like[br]being the minority.

0:11:49.401,0:11:51.356
And now that I'm speaking your language,

0:11:51.356,0:11:52.782
I'm going to ask you to stand,

0:11:52.782,0:11:54.642
since we're speaking the same language.

0:11:54.715,0:11:57.186
Because I believe that language[br]of being the minority

0:11:57.186,0:12:00.564
is one of the most important languages[br]you can ever speak in your life,

0:12:00.564,0:12:02.961
because how you feel[br]in that position of compromise

0:12:02.968,0:12:06.214
will directly determine how you act[br]in that position of power.

0:12:07.937,0:12:09.366
Thank you for participating.

0:12:09.390,0:12:12.027
If you'd take a seat,[br]I want to speak one last language.

0:12:12.051,0:12:14.074
(Applause)

0:12:17.449,0:12:19.107
This one, you don't need to stand.

0:12:19.131,0:12:21.734
I just want to see if you recognize it.

0:12:23.783,0:12:26.492
Most the girls in the world[br]are complainin' about it.

0:12:27.279,0:12:30.150
Most the poems in the world[br]been written about it.

0:12:30.174,0:12:33.283
Most the music on the radio[br]be hittin' about it, kickin' about it,

0:12:33.283,0:12:34.457
or rippin' about it.

0:12:34.655,0:12:37.128
Most the verses in the game[br]people spittin' about it,

0:12:37.128,0:12:39.761
most the songs in the world,[br]people talkin' about it.

0:12:39.959,0:12:42.818
Most the broken hearts I know[br]are walkin' without it,

0:12:42.842,0:12:44.106
started to doubt it,

0:12:44.130,0:12:45.524
or lost without it.

0:12:46.166,0:12:48.855
Most the shadows in the dark[br]have forgotten about it.

0:12:48.879,0:12:51.315
Everybody in the world[br]would be trippin' without it.

0:12:51.319,0:12:53.640
Every boy and every girl[br]will be dead without it,

0:12:53.704,0:12:55.834
struggle without it, nothing without it.

0:12:56.735,0:12:59.417
Most the pages that are filled[br]are filled about it.

0:13:00.154,0:13:03.011
The tears that are spilled[br]are spilled about it.

0:13:03.035,0:13:05.520
The people that have felt it[br]are real about it.

0:13:05.544,0:13:07.932
A life without it, you'd be lost.

0:13:07.956,0:13:10.454
When I'm in it and I feel it,[br]I be shoutin' about it.

0:13:10.478,0:13:12.638
Everybody in the whole world[br]knowin' about it.

0:13:12.662,0:13:14.956
I'm hurt and broke down[br]and be flowin' about it,

0:13:14.980,0:13:17.182
goin' about it wrong[br]'cause I didn't allow it.

0:13:17.206,0:13:19.054
Can the wound or scar heal without it?

0:13:19.078,0:13:21.923
Can't the way that you feel[br]be concealed about it?

0:13:21.947,0:13:24.935
Everybody has their own ideal about it,

0:13:24.959,0:13:26.402
dream about it,

0:13:26.426,0:13:27.816
appeal about it.

0:13:28.382,0:13:30.298
So what's the deal about it?

0:13:30.322,0:13:32.492
Are you 'bout it to know[br]that life is a dream

0:13:32.516,0:13:33.989
and unreal without it?

0:13:34.013,0:13:35.537
But I'm just a writer.

0:13:35.561,0:13:37.092
What can I reveal about it?

0:13:37.830,0:13:42.419
Why is it that the most spoken-about[br]language in the world

0:13:42.443,0:13:46.242
is the one we have the toughest time[br]speaking or expressing?

0:13:46.266,0:13:48.348
No matter how many books,[br]how many seminars,

0:13:48.372,0:13:50.902
how many life-coaching sessions we go to,

0:13:50.926,0:13:52.529
we just can't get enough of it.

0:13:53.610,0:13:54.774
And I ask you now:

0:13:54.798,0:13:57.820
Is that number that you had[br]at the beginning, has that changed?

0:13:58.476,0:14:00.533
And I challenge you, when you see someone,

0:14:00.557,0:14:01.808
to ask yourself:

0:14:03.407,0:14:05.480
What languages do we share?

0:14:05.504,0:14:07.404
And if you don't come up with anything,

0:14:07.428,0:14:09.852
ask yourself: What languages[br]could we share?

0:14:09.876,0:14:12.055
And if you still don't[br]come up with anything,

0:14:12.817,0:14:15.175
ask yourself: What languages can I learn?

0:14:16.315,0:14:19.107
And now matter how inconsequential

0:14:19.131,0:14:23.679
or insignificant that conversation[br]seems at the moment,

0:14:23.703,0:14:26.250
I promise you it will[br]serve you in the future.

0:14:27.238,0:14:29.347
My name is Poet Ali. Thank you.

0:14:29.371,0:14:36.077
(Applause)