WEBVTT 00:00:00.240 --> 00:00:03.256 Wow, what an honor. I always wondered what this would feel like. NOTE Paragraph 00:00:03.280 --> 00:00:08.055 So eight years ago, I got the worst career advice of my life. 00:00:08.080 --> 00:00:09.536 I had a friend tell me, 00:00:09.560 --> 00:00:12.496 "Don't worry about how much you like the work you're doing now. 00:00:12.520 --> 00:00:14.536 It's all about just building your resume." NOTE Paragraph 00:00:14.560 --> 00:00:17.216 And I'd just come back from living in Spain for a while, 00:00:17.240 --> 00:00:20.574 and I'd joined this Fortune 500 company. I thought, "This is fantastic. 00:00:20.598 --> 00:00:22.614 I'm going to have big impact on the world." 00:00:22.638 --> 00:00:25.336 I had all these ideas. And within about two months, 00:00:25.360 --> 00:00:28.360 I noticed at about 10am every morning I had this strange urge 00:00:28.384 --> 00:00:31.936 to want to slam my head through the monitor of my computer. 00:00:31.960 --> 00:00:33.865 I don't know if anyone's ever felt that. 00:00:33.889 --> 00:00:37.416 And I noticed pretty soon after that that all the competitors in our space 00:00:37.440 --> 00:00:40.336 had already automated my job role. 00:00:40.360 --> 00:00:44.576 And this is right about when I got this sage advice to build up my resume. NOTE Paragraph 00:00:44.600 --> 00:00:46.616 Well, as I'm trying to figure out 00:00:46.640 --> 00:00:53.136 what two-story window I'm going to jump out of and change things up, 00:00:53.160 --> 00:00:56.896 I read some altogether different advice from Warren Buffett, and he said, 00:00:56.920 --> 00:01:02.536 "Taking jobs to build up your resume is the same as saving up sex for old age." NOTE Paragraph 00:01:02.560 --> 00:01:04.296 (Laughter) NOTE Paragraph 00:01:04.319 --> 00:01:06.616 And I heard that, and that was all I needed. 00:01:06.640 --> 00:01:09.856 Within two weeks, I was out of there, and I left with one intention: 00:01:09.880 --> 00:01:12.936 to find something that I could screw up. That's how tough it was. 00:01:12.960 --> 00:01:15.976 I wanted to have some type of impact. It didn't matter what it was. NOTE Paragraph 00:01:16.000 --> 00:01:18.715 And I found pretty quickly that I wasn't alone: 00:01:18.739 --> 00:01:21.576 it turns out that over 80 percent of the people around 00:01:21.600 --> 00:01:23.096 don't enjoy their work. 00:01:23.120 --> 00:01:24.656 I'm guessing this room is different, 00:01:24.680 --> 00:01:27.536 but that's the average that Deloitte has done with their studies. 00:01:27.560 --> 00:01:30.608 So I wanted to find out, what is it that sets these people apart, 00:01:30.632 --> 00:01:32.968 the people who do the passionate, world-changing work, 00:01:32.992 --> 00:01:34.616 that wake up inspired every day, 00:01:34.640 --> 00:01:36.416 and then these people, the other 80 percent 00:01:36.440 --> 00:01:38.496 who lead these lives of quiet desperation. NOTE Paragraph 00:01:38.520 --> 00:01:41.776 So I started to interview all these people doing this inspiring work, 00:01:41.800 --> 00:01:44.616 and I read books and did case studies, 00:01:44.640 --> 00:01:47.336 300 books altogether on purpose and career and all this, 00:01:47.360 --> 00:01:51.680 totally just self-immersion, really for the selfish reason of -- 00:01:52.240 --> 00:01:54.736 I wanted to find the work that I couldn't not do, 00:01:54.760 --> 00:01:56.296 what that was for me. NOTE Paragraph 00:01:56.320 --> 00:01:58.962 But as I was doing this, more and more people started to ask me, 00:01:58.986 --> 00:02:00.456 "You're into this career thing. 00:02:00.480 --> 00:02:02.696 I don't like my job. Can we sit down for lunch?" 00:02:02.720 --> 00:02:04.896 I'd say, "Sure." But I would have to warn them, 00:02:04.920 --> 00:02:07.216 because at this point, my quit rate was also 80 percent. 00:02:07.240 --> 00:02:10.466 Of the people I'd sit down with for lunch, 80 percent would quit their job 00:02:10.491 --> 00:02:11.656 within two months. 00:02:11.680 --> 00:02:15.896 I was proud of this, and it wasn't that I had any special magic. 00:02:15.920 --> 00:02:17.968 It was that I would ask one simple question. 00:02:17.992 --> 00:02:20.608 It was, "Why are you doing the work that you're doing?" 00:02:20.632 --> 00:02:22.736 And so often their answer would be, 00:02:22.760 --> 00:02:25.056 "Well, because somebody told me I'm supposed to." 00:02:25.080 --> 00:02:27.216 And I realized that so many people around us 00:02:27.240 --> 00:02:30.856 are climbing their way up this ladder that someone tells them to climb, 00:02:30.880 --> 00:02:33.416 and it ends up being leaned up against the wrong wall, 00:02:33.440 --> 00:02:35.096 or no wall at all. NOTE Paragraph 00:02:35.120 --> 00:02:37.816 The more time I spent around these people and saw this problem, 00:02:37.840 --> 00:02:40.056 I thought, what if we could create a community, 00:02:40.080 --> 00:02:42.456 a place where people could feel like they belonged 00:02:42.480 --> 00:02:44.623 and that it was OK to do things differently, 00:02:44.647 --> 00:02:47.362 to take the road less traveled, where that was encouraged, 00:02:47.386 --> 00:02:49.936 and inspire people to change? 00:02:49.960 --> 00:02:52.656 And that later became what I now call Live Your Legend, 00:02:52.680 --> 00:02:54.347 which I'll explain in a little bit. 00:02:54.371 --> 00:02:58.056 But as I've made these discoveries, I noticed a framework 00:02:58.080 --> 00:02:59.461 of really three simple things 00:02:59.485 --> 00:03:02.616 that all these different passionate world-changers have in common, 00:03:02.640 --> 00:03:05.296 whether you're a Steve Jobs or if you're just, you know, 00:03:05.320 --> 00:03:07.376 the person that has the bakery down the street. 00:03:07.400 --> 00:03:09.416 But you're doing work that embodies who you are. 00:03:09.440 --> 00:03:12.336 I want to share those three with you, so we can use them as a lens 00:03:12.360 --> 00:03:15.027 for the rest of today and hopefully the rest of our life. NOTE Paragraph 00:03:15.051 --> 00:03:17.827 The first part of this three-step passionate work framework 00:03:17.851 --> 00:03:20.776 is becoming a self-expert and understanding yourself, 00:03:20.800 --> 00:03:23.456 because if you don't know what you're looking for, 00:03:23.480 --> 00:03:25.096 you're never going to find it. 00:03:25.120 --> 00:03:27.740 And the thing is that no one is going to do this for us. 00:03:27.764 --> 00:03:31.456 There's no major in university on passion and purpose and career. 00:03:31.480 --> 00:03:33.736 I don't know how that's not a required double major, 00:03:33.760 --> 00:03:35.576 but don't even get me started on that. 00:03:35.600 --> 00:03:38.576 I mean, you spend more time picking out a dorm room TV set 00:03:38.600 --> 00:03:41.536 than you do you picking your major and your area of study. 00:03:41.560 --> 00:03:44.176 But the point is, it's on us to figure that out, 00:03:44.200 --> 00:03:47.416 and we need a framework, we need a way to navigate through this. NOTE Paragraph 00:03:47.440 --> 00:03:51.298 And so the first step of our compass is finding out what our unique strengths are. 00:03:51.322 --> 00:03:54.336 What are the things that we wake up loving to do no matter what, 00:03:54.360 --> 00:03:57.856 whether we're paid or we're not paid, the things that people thank us for? 00:03:57.880 --> 00:04:00.856 And the Strengths Finder 2.0 is a book and also an online tool. 00:04:00.880 --> 00:04:04.616 I highly recommend it for sorting out what it is that you're naturally good at. NOTE Paragraph 00:04:04.640 --> 00:04:09.056 And next, what's our framework or our hierarchy for making decisions? 00:04:09.080 --> 00:04:13.296 Do we care about the people, our family, health, 00:04:13.320 --> 00:04:15.456 or is it achievement, success, all this stuff? 00:04:15.480 --> 00:04:18.147 We have to figure out what it is to make these decisions, 00:04:18.171 --> 00:04:19.896 so we know what our soul is made of, 00:04:19.920 --> 00:04:24.616 so that we don't go selling it to some cause we don't give a shit about. NOTE Paragraph 00:04:24.640 --> 00:04:28.336 And then the next step is our experiences. 00:04:28.360 --> 00:04:31.816 All of us have these experiences. We learn things every day, every minute 00:04:31.840 --> 00:04:33.536 about what we love, what we hate, 00:04:33.560 --> 00:04:35.560 what we're good at, what we're terrible at. 00:04:35.584 --> 00:04:37.976 And if we don't spend time paying attention to that 00:04:38.000 --> 00:04:39.536 and assimilating that learning 00:04:39.560 --> 00:04:42.536 and applying it to the rest of our lives, it's all for nothing. 00:04:42.560 --> 00:04:45.216 Every day, every week, every month of every year 00:04:45.240 --> 00:04:47.696 I spend some time just reflecting on what went right, 00:04:47.720 --> 00:04:49.863 what went wrong, and what do I want to repeat, 00:04:49.887 --> 00:04:51.463 what can I apply more to my life. NOTE Paragraph 00:04:51.487 --> 00:04:54.576 And even more so than that, as you see people, especially today, 00:04:54.600 --> 00:04:56.981 who inspire you, who are doing things where you say 00:04:57.005 --> 00:04:59.936 "Oh God, what Jeff is doing, I want to be like him." 00:04:59.960 --> 00:05:01.681 Why are you saying that? Open up a journal. 00:05:01.706 --> 00:05:03.776 Write down what it is about them that inspires you. 00:05:03.800 --> 00:05:05.856 It's not going to be everything about their life, 00:05:05.880 --> 00:05:07.696 but whatever it is, take note on that, 00:05:07.720 --> 00:05:10.016 so over time we'll have this repository of things 00:05:10.040 --> 00:05:14.256 that we can use to apply to our life and have a more passionate existence 00:05:14.280 --> 00:05:15.776 and make a better impact. 00:05:15.800 --> 00:05:18.181 Because when we start to put these things together, 00:05:18.205 --> 00:05:21.496 we can then define what success actually means to us, 00:05:21.520 --> 00:05:24.656 and without these different parts of the compass, it's impossible. 00:05:24.680 --> 00:05:27.300 We end up in the situation -- we have that scripted life 00:05:27.324 --> 00:05:30.456 that everybody seems to be living going up this ladder to nowhere. NOTE Paragraph 00:05:30.480 --> 00:05:33.136 It's kind of like in Wall Street 2, if anybody saw that, 00:05:33.160 --> 00:05:36.976 the peon employee asks the big Wall Street banker CEO, 00:05:37.000 --> 00:05:39.136 "What's your number? Everyone's got a number, 00:05:39.160 --> 00:05:41.696 where if they make this money, they'll leave it all." 00:05:41.720 --> 00:05:44.240 He says, "Oh, it's simple. More." 00:05:45.120 --> 00:05:46.416 And he just smiles. 00:05:46.440 --> 00:05:48.216 And it's the sad state of most of the people 00:05:48.240 --> 00:05:50.776 that haven't spent time understanding what matters for them, 00:05:50.800 --> 00:05:53.536 who keep reaching for something that doesn't mean anything to us, 00:05:53.560 --> 00:05:56.056 but we're doing it because everyone said we're supposed to. 00:05:56.080 --> 00:05:57.816 But once we have this framework together, 00:05:57.840 --> 00:06:00.456 we can start to identify the things that make us come alive. 00:06:00.480 --> 00:06:03.696 You know, before this, a passion could come and hit you in the face, 00:06:03.720 --> 00:06:06.416 or maybe in your possible line of work, you might throw it away 00:06:06.440 --> 00:06:08.631 because you don't have a way of identifying it. 00:06:08.655 --> 00:06:12.191 But once you do, you can see something that's congruent with my strengths, 00:06:12.215 --> 00:06:14.016 my values, who I am as a person, 00:06:14.040 --> 00:06:17.326 so I'm going to grab ahold of this, I'm going to do something with it, 00:06:17.350 --> 00:06:20.208 and I'm going to pursue it and try to make an impact with it. NOTE Paragraph 00:06:20.232 --> 00:06:22.776 And Live Your Legend and the movement we've built 00:06:22.800 --> 00:06:25.467 wouldn't exist if I didn't have this compass to identify, 00:06:25.491 --> 00:06:28.736 "Wow, this is something I want to pursue and make a difference with." 00:06:28.760 --> 00:06:31.816 If we don't know what we're looking for, we're never going to find it, 00:06:31.840 --> 00:06:34.376 but once we have this framework, this compass, 00:06:34.400 --> 00:06:38.856 then we can move on to what's next -- and that's not me up there -- 00:06:38.880 --> 00:06:41.096 doing the impossible and pushing our limits. 00:06:41.120 --> 00:06:43.136 There's two reasons why people don't do things. 00:06:43.160 --> 00:06:45.136 One is they tell themselves they can't do them, 00:06:45.160 --> 00:06:47.296 or people around them tell them they can't do them. 00:06:47.320 --> 00:06:48.856 Either way, we start to believe it. 00:06:48.880 --> 00:06:51.256 Either we give up, or we never start in the first place. NOTE Paragraph 00:06:51.280 --> 00:06:54.176 The things is, everything was impossible until somebody did it. 00:06:54.200 --> 00:06:56.736 Every invention, every new thing in the world, 00:06:56.760 --> 00:06:58.427 people thought were crazy at first. 00:06:58.451 --> 00:07:01.880 Roger Bannister and the four-minute mile, it was a physical impossibility 00:07:01.904 --> 00:07:04.296 to break the four-minute mile in a foot race 00:07:04.320 --> 00:07:06.336 until Roger Bannister stood up and did it. 00:07:06.360 --> 00:07:07.576 And then what happened? 00:07:07.600 --> 00:07:10.216 Two months later, 16 people broke the four-minute mile. 00:07:10.240 --> 00:07:12.976 The things that we have in our head that we think are impossible 00:07:13.000 --> 00:07:15.136 are often just milestones waiting to be accomplished 00:07:15.160 --> 00:07:16.780 if we can push those limits a bit. 00:07:16.804 --> 00:07:20.176 And I think this starts with probably your physical body and fitness 00:07:20.200 --> 00:07:22.736 more than anything, because we can control that. 00:07:22.760 --> 00:07:24.376 If you don't think you can run a mile, 00:07:24.400 --> 00:07:26.456 you show yourself you can run a mile or two, 00:07:26.480 --> 00:07:29.016 or a marathon, or lose five pounds, or whatever it is, 00:07:29.040 --> 00:07:31.536 you realize that confidence compounds 00:07:31.560 --> 00:07:34.056 and can be transferred into the rest of your world. NOTE Paragraph 00:07:34.080 --> 00:07:37.736 And I've actually gotten into the habit of this a little bit with my friends. 00:07:37.760 --> 00:07:40.496 We have this little group. We go on physical adventures, 00:07:40.520 --> 00:07:43.616 and recently, I found myself in a kind of precarious spot. 00:07:43.640 --> 00:07:46.656 I'm terrified of deep, dark, blue water. 00:07:46.680 --> 00:07:48.696 I don't know if anyone's ever had that same fear 00:07:48.720 --> 00:07:51.319 ever since they watched Jaws 1, 2, 3 and 4 like six times 00:07:51.344 --> 00:07:52.496 when I was a kid. 00:07:52.520 --> 00:07:57.056 But anything above here, if it's murky, I can already feel it right now. 00:07:57.080 --> 00:07:58.856 I swear there's something in there. 00:07:58.880 --> 00:08:02.016 Even if it's Lake Tahoe, it's fresh water, totally unfounded fear, 00:08:02.040 --> 00:08:03.696 ridiculous, but it's there. 00:08:03.720 --> 00:08:06.216 Anyway, three years ago I find myself on this tugboat 00:08:06.240 --> 00:08:08.216 right down here in the San Francisco Bay. 00:08:08.240 --> 00:08:11.696 It's a rainy, stormy, windy day, and people are getting sick on the boat, 00:08:11.720 --> 00:08:15.054 and I'm sitting there wearing a wetsuit, and I'm looking out the window 00:08:15.078 --> 00:08:18.056 in pure terror thinking I'm about to swim to my death. 00:08:18.080 --> 00:08:20.336 I'm going to try to swim across the Golden Gate. 00:08:20.360 --> 00:08:24.176 And my guess is some people in this room might have done that before. 00:08:24.200 --> 00:08:27.416 I'm sitting there, and my buddy Jonathan, who had talked me into it, 00:08:27.440 --> 00:08:29.696 he comes up to me and he could see the state I was in. 00:08:29.720 --> 00:08:32.456 And he says, "Scott, hey man, what's the worst that could happen? 00:08:32.480 --> 00:08:34.616 You're wearing a wetsuit. You're not going to sink. 00:08:34.640 --> 00:08:37.456 And If you can't make it, just hop on one of the 20 kayaks. 00:08:37.480 --> 00:08:40.296 Plus, if there's a shark attack, why are they going to pick you 00:08:40.320 --> 00:08:42.940 over the 80 people in the water?" So thanks, that helps. 00:08:42.964 --> 00:08:45.820 He's like, "But really, just have fun with this. Good luck." 00:08:45.844 --> 00:08:48.336 And he dives in, swims off. OK. NOTE Paragraph 00:08:48.360 --> 00:08:52.736 Turns out, the pep talk totally worked, and I felt this total feeling of calm, 00:08:52.760 --> 00:08:55.696 and I think it was because Jonathan was 13 years old. NOTE Paragraph 00:08:55.720 --> 00:08:57.656 (Laughter) NOTE Paragraph 00:08:57.680 --> 00:09:00.376 And of the 80 people swimming that day, 00:09:00.400 --> 00:09:03.216 65 of them were between the ages of nine and 13. 00:09:03.240 --> 00:09:05.976 Think how you would have approached your world differently 00:09:06.000 --> 00:09:09.176 if at nine years old you found out you could swim a mile and a half 00:09:09.200 --> 00:09:11.896 in 56-degree water from Alcatraz to San Francisco. 00:09:11.920 --> 00:09:13.336 What would you have said yes to? 00:09:13.360 --> 00:09:16.216 What would you have not given up on? What would you have tried? 00:09:16.240 --> 00:09:18.336 As I'm finishing this swim, I get to Aquatic Park, 00:09:18.360 --> 00:09:19.736 and I'm getting out of the water 00:09:19.760 --> 00:09:21.856 and of course half the kids are already finished, 00:09:21.880 --> 00:09:24.214 so they're cheering me on and they're all excited. 00:09:24.238 --> 00:09:27.254 And I got total popsicle head, if anyone's ever swam in the Bay, 00:09:27.278 --> 00:09:30.776 and I'm trying to just thaw my face out, and I'm watching people finish. 00:09:30.810 --> 00:09:33.826 And I see this one kid, something didn't look right. 00:09:33.840 --> 00:09:35.856 And he's just flailing like this. 00:09:35.880 --> 00:09:39.296 And he's barely able to sip some air before he slams his head back down. 00:09:39.320 --> 00:09:41.536 And I notice other parents were watching too, 00:09:41.560 --> 00:09:44.016 and I swear they were thinking the same thing I was: 00:09:44.040 --> 00:09:47.976 this is why you don't let nine-year-olds swim from Alcatraz. 00:09:48.000 --> 00:09:49.216 This was not fatigue. 00:09:49.240 --> 00:09:51.536 All of a sudden, two parents run up and grab him, 00:09:51.560 --> 00:09:55.336 and they put him on their shoulders, and they're dragging him like this, 00:09:55.360 --> 00:09:57.216 totally limp. 00:09:57.240 --> 00:09:59.576 And then all of a sudden they walk a few more feet 00:09:59.600 --> 00:10:01.576 and they plop him down in his wheelchair. 00:10:01.600 --> 00:10:05.136 And he puts his fists up in the most insane show of victory I've ever seen. 00:10:05.160 --> 00:10:07.816 I can still feel the warmth and the energy on this guy 00:10:07.840 --> 00:10:09.416 when he made this accomplishment. 00:10:09.440 --> 00:10:12.416 I had seen him earlier that day in his wheelchair. 00:10:12.440 --> 00:10:14.416 I just had no idea he was going to swim. 00:10:14.440 --> 00:10:17.536 I mean, where is he going to be in 20 years? 00:10:17.560 --> 00:10:20.976 How many people told him he couldn't do that, that he would die if he tried that? NOTE Paragraph 00:10:21.000 --> 00:10:23.136 You prove people wrong, you prove yourself wrong, 00:10:23.160 --> 00:10:24.976 that you can make little incremental pushes 00:10:25.000 --> 00:10:26.536 of what you believe is possible. 00:10:26.560 --> 00:10:28.976 You don't have to be the fastest marathoner in the world, 00:10:29.000 --> 00:10:31.381 just your own impossibilities, to accomplish those, 00:10:31.405 --> 00:10:33.381 and it starts with little bitty steps. 00:10:33.405 --> 00:10:35.736 And the best way to do this 00:10:35.760 --> 00:10:37.976 is to surround yourself with passionate people. 00:10:38.000 --> 00:10:40.762 The fastest things to do things you don't think can be done 00:10:40.786 --> 00:10:43.358 is to surround yourself with people already doing them. NOTE Paragraph 00:10:43.382 --> 00:10:45.816 There's this quote by Jim Rohn and it says. 00:10:45.840 --> 00:10:49.216 "You are the average of the five people you spend the most time with." 00:10:49.240 --> 00:10:52.536 And there is no bigger lifehack in the history of the world 00:10:52.560 --> 00:10:55.616 from getting where you are today to where you want to be 00:10:55.640 --> 00:10:58.536 than the people you choose to put in your corner. 00:10:58.560 --> 00:11:00.856 They change everything, and it's a proven fact. 00:11:00.880 --> 00:11:05.176 In 1898, Norman Triplett did this study with a bunch of cyclists, 00:11:05.200 --> 00:11:08.000 and he would measure their times around the track in a group, 00:11:08.025 --> 00:11:09.176 and also individually. 00:11:09.200 --> 00:11:12.896 And he found that every time the cyclists in the group would cycle faster. 00:11:12.920 --> 00:11:15.736 And it's been repeated in all kinds of walks of life since then, 00:11:15.760 --> 00:11:17.656 and it proves the same thing over again, 00:11:17.680 --> 00:11:20.536 that the people around you matter, and environment is everything. 00:11:20.560 --> 00:11:23.136 But it's on you to control it, because it can go both ways. 00:11:23.160 --> 00:11:25.736 With 80 percent of people who don't like the work they do, 00:11:25.760 --> 00:11:28.936 that means most people around us, not in this room, but everywhere else, 00:11:28.960 --> 00:11:32.616 are encouraging complacency and keeping us from pursuing the things that matter to us 00:11:32.640 --> 00:11:34.696 so we have to manage those surroundings. NOTE Paragraph 00:11:34.720 --> 00:11:36.720 I found myself in this situation -- 00:11:38.680 --> 00:11:41.576 personal example, a couple years ago. 00:11:41.600 --> 00:11:45.776 Has anyone ever had a hobby or a passion they poured their heart and soul into, 00:11:45.800 --> 00:11:49.296 unbelievable amount of time, and they so badly want to call it a business, 00:11:49.320 --> 00:11:53.456 but no one's paying attention and it doesn't make a dime? 00:11:53.480 --> 00:11:57.576 OK, I was there for four years trying to build this Live Your Legend movement 00:11:57.600 --> 00:12:00.936 to help people do work that they genuinely cared about and that inspired them, 00:12:00.960 --> 00:12:02.296 and I was doing all I could, 00:12:02.320 --> 00:12:04.496 and there were only three people paying attention, 00:12:04.520 --> 00:12:07.759 and they're all right there: my mother, father and my wife, Chelsea. 00:12:07.783 --> 00:12:09.279 Thank you guys for the support. NOTE Paragraph 00:12:09.303 --> 00:12:10.776 (Applause) NOTE Paragraph 00:12:10.800 --> 00:12:15.496 And this is how badly I wanted it, it grew at zero percent for four years, 00:12:15.520 --> 00:12:17.496 and I was about to shut it down, 00:12:17.520 --> 00:12:19.216 and right about then, 00:12:19.240 --> 00:12:22.776 I moved to San Francisco and started to meet some pretty interesting people 00:12:22.800 --> 00:12:25.016 who had these crazy lifestyles of adventure, 00:12:25.040 --> 00:12:27.056 of businesses and websites and blogs 00:12:27.080 --> 00:12:30.336 that surrounded their passions and helped people in a meaningful way. 00:12:30.360 --> 00:12:33.016 And one of my friends, now, he has a family of eight, 00:12:33.040 --> 00:12:35.376 and he supports his whole family 00:12:35.400 --> 00:12:38.256 with a blog that he writes for twice a week. 00:12:38.280 --> 00:12:41.328 They just came back from a month in Europe, all of them together. 00:12:41.352 --> 00:12:43.416 This blew my mind. How does this even exist? 00:12:43.440 --> 00:12:46.936 And I got unbelievably inspired by seeing this, 00:12:46.960 --> 00:12:49.936 and instead of shutting it down, I decided, let's take it seriously. 00:12:49.960 --> 00:12:51.936 And I did everything I could to spend my time, 00:12:51.960 --> 00:12:54.456 every waking hour possible trying to hound these guys, 00:12:54.480 --> 00:12:57.256 hanging out and having beers and workouts, whatever it was. 00:12:57.280 --> 00:12:59.016 And after four years of zero growth, 00:12:59.040 --> 00:13:01.376 within six months of hanging around these people, 00:13:01.400 --> 00:13:04.096 the community at Live Your Legend grew by 10 times. 00:13:04.120 --> 00:13:07.976 In another 12 months, it grew by 160 times. 00:13:08.000 --> 00:13:11.056 And today over 30,000 people from 158 countries 00:13:11.080 --> 00:13:14.176 use our career and connection tools on a monthly basis. 00:13:14.200 --> 00:13:18.576 And those people have made up that community of passionate folks 00:13:18.600 --> 00:13:20.816 who inspired that possibility that I dreamed of 00:13:20.840 --> 00:13:24.016 for Live Your Legend so many years back. NOTE Paragraph 00:13:24.040 --> 00:13:26.296 The people change everything, and this is why -- 00:13:26.320 --> 00:13:28.536 you know, you ask what was going on. 00:13:28.560 --> 00:13:31.016 Well, for four years, I knew nobody in this space, 00:13:31.040 --> 00:13:34.536 and I didn't even know it existed, that people could do this stuff, 00:13:34.560 --> 00:13:36.536 that you could have movements like this. 00:13:36.560 --> 00:13:40.216 And then I'm over here in San Francisco, and everyone around me was doing it. 00:13:40.240 --> 00:13:44.336 It became normal, so my thinking went from how could I possibly do this 00:13:44.360 --> 00:13:46.176 to how could I possibly not. 00:13:46.200 --> 00:13:49.416 And right then, when that happens, that switch goes on in your head, 00:13:49.440 --> 00:13:51.107 it ripples across your whole world. 00:13:51.131 --> 00:13:54.056 And without even trying, your standards go from here to here. 00:13:54.080 --> 00:13:57.795 You don't need to change your goals. You just need to change your surroundings. 00:13:57.819 --> 00:14:02.176 That's it, and that's why I love being around this whole group of people, 00:14:02.200 --> 00:14:03.820 why I go to every TED event I can, 00:14:03.844 --> 00:14:06.776 and watch them on my iPad on the way to work, whatever it is. 00:14:06.800 --> 00:14:10.216 Because this is the group of people that inspires possibility. 00:14:10.240 --> 00:14:13.256 We have a whole day to spend together and plenty more. NOTE Paragraph 00:14:13.280 --> 00:14:16.736 To sum things up, in terms of these three pillars, 00:14:16.760 --> 00:14:20.696 they all have one thing in common more than anything else. 00:14:20.720 --> 00:14:23.176 They are 100 percent in our control. 00:14:23.200 --> 00:14:26.256 No one can tell you you can't learn about yourself. 00:14:26.280 --> 00:14:28.423 No one can tell you you can't push your limits 00:14:28.447 --> 00:14:30.736 and learn your own impossible and push that. 00:14:30.760 --> 00:14:33.696 No one can tell you you can't surround yourself with inspiring people 00:14:33.720 --> 00:14:35.911 or get away from the people who bring you down. 00:14:35.935 --> 00:14:37.364 You can't control a recession. 00:14:37.388 --> 00:14:40.576 You can't control getting fired or getting in a car accident. 00:14:40.600 --> 00:14:42.696 Most things are totally out of our hands. 00:14:42.720 --> 00:14:45.080 These three things are totally on us, 00:14:47.000 --> 00:14:51.150 and they can change our whole world if we decide to do something about it. NOTE Paragraph 00:14:52.080 --> 00:14:55.080 And the thing is, it's starting to happen on a widespread level. 00:14:55.104 --> 00:14:58.295 I just read in Forbes, the US Government reported for the first time 00:14:58.319 --> 00:15:01.016 in a month where more people had quit their jobs 00:15:01.040 --> 00:15:02.376 than had been laid off. 00:15:02.400 --> 00:15:05.616 They thought this was an anomaly, but it's happened three months straight. 00:15:05.640 --> 00:15:08.336 In a time where people claim it's kind of a tough environment, 00:15:08.360 --> 00:15:10.696 people are giving a middle finger to this scripted life, 00:15:10.720 --> 00:15:12.776 the things that people say you're supposed to do, 00:15:12.800 --> 00:15:16.536 in exchange for things that matter to them and do the things that inspire them. NOTE Paragraph 00:15:16.560 --> 00:15:19.336 And the thing is, people are waking up to this possibility, 00:15:19.360 --> 00:15:25.336 that really the only thing that limits possibility now is imagination. 00:15:25.360 --> 00:15:27.336 That's not a cliché anymore. 00:15:27.360 --> 00:15:30.536 I don't care what it is that you're into, what passion, what hobby. 00:15:30.560 --> 00:15:34.016 If you're into knitting, you can find someone who is killing it knitting, 00:15:34.040 --> 00:15:36.376 and you can learn from them. It's wild. 00:15:36.400 --> 00:15:39.896 And that's what this whole day is about, to learn from the folks speaking, 00:15:39.920 --> 00:15:43.336 and we profile these people on Live Your Legend every day, 00:15:43.360 --> 00:15:46.056 because when ordinary people are doing the extraordinary, 00:15:46.080 --> 00:15:47.856 and we can be around that, 00:15:47.880 --> 00:15:49.616 it becomes normal. 00:15:49.640 --> 00:15:53.736 And this isn't about being Gandhi or Steve Jobs, doing something crazy. 00:15:53.760 --> 00:15:56.189 It's just about doing something that matters to you, 00:15:56.213 --> 00:15:58.253 and makes an impact that only you can make. NOTE Paragraph 00:15:59.600 --> 00:16:03.256 Speaking of Gandhi, he was a recovering lawyer, 00:16:03.280 --> 00:16:04.616 as I've heard the term, 00:16:04.640 --> 00:16:07.896 and he was called to a greater cause, something that mattered to him, 00:16:07.920 --> 00:16:09.136 he couldn't not do. 00:16:09.160 --> 00:16:11.399 And he has this quote that I absolutely live by. 00:16:11.423 --> 00:16:13.736 "First they ignore you, then they laugh at you, 00:16:13.760 --> 00:16:15.880 then they fight you, then you win." NOTE Paragraph 00:16:17.960 --> 00:16:20.616 Everything was impossible until somebody did it. 00:16:20.640 --> 00:16:23.816 You can either hang around the people who tell you it can't be done 00:16:23.840 --> 00:16:25.656 and tell you you're stupid for trying, 00:16:25.680 --> 00:16:28.976 or surround yourself with the people who inspire possibility, 00:16:29.000 --> 00:16:30.600 the people who are in this room. 00:16:31.600 --> 00:16:35.496 Because I see it as our responsibility to show the world 00:16:35.520 --> 00:16:38.936 that what's seen as impossible can become that new normal. 00:16:38.960 --> 00:16:41.136 And that's already starting to happen. 00:16:41.160 --> 00:16:43.856 First, do the things that inspire us, 00:16:43.880 --> 00:16:47.576 so we can inspire other people to do the things that inspire them. 00:16:47.600 --> 00:16:49.240 But we can't find that 00:16:50.200 --> 00:16:52.256 unless we know what we're looking for. 00:16:52.280 --> 00:16:54.376 We have to do our work on ourself, 00:16:54.400 --> 00:16:56.976 be intentional about that, and make those discoveries. 00:16:57.000 --> 00:17:00.524 Because I imagine a world where 80 percent of people love the work they do. 00:17:00.548 --> 00:17:01.856 What would that look like? 00:17:01.880 --> 00:17:05.896 What would the innovation be like? How would you treat the people around you? 00:17:05.920 --> 00:17:07.300 Things would start to change. NOTE Paragraph 00:17:08.800 --> 00:17:12.016 And as we finish up, I have just one question to ask you guys, 00:17:12.040 --> 00:17:14.776 and I think it's the only question that matters. 00:17:14.800 --> 00:17:17.400 And it's what is the work you can't not do? 00:17:18.480 --> 00:17:20.736 Discover that, live it, 00:17:20.760 --> 00:17:23.440 not just for you, but for everybody around you, 00:17:24.400 --> 00:17:27.256 because that is what starts to change the world. 00:17:27.280 --> 00:17:29.600 What is the work you can't not do? NOTE Paragraph 00:17:30.400 --> 00:17:31.616 Thank you guys. NOTE Paragraph 00:17:31.640 --> 00:17:34.160 (Applause)