0:00:00.708,0:00:02.559
So when I was a little girl,

0:00:02.583,0:00:05.893
a book sat on the coffee table[br]in our living room,

0:00:05.917,0:00:07.934
just steps from our front door.

0:00:07.958,0:00:10.476
And the living room is a first impression.

0:00:10.500,0:00:12.101
Ours had white carpet

0:00:12.125,0:00:16.167
and a curio of my mother's[br]most treasured collectibles.

0:00:16.875,0:00:21.434
That room represented the sacrifices[br]of generations gone by

0:00:21.458,0:00:24.434
who, by poverty or by policy,

0:00:24.458,0:00:26.976
couldn't afford a curio of collectibles

0:00:27.000,0:00:30.268
let alone a middle class house[br]to put them in.

0:00:30.292,0:00:32.976
That room had to stay perfect.

0:00:33.000,0:00:36.768
But I would risk messing up[br]that perfect room every day

0:00:36.792,0:00:39.684
just to see that book.

0:00:39.708,0:00:43.184
On the cover sat a woman[br]named Septima Clark.

0:00:43.208,0:00:48.101
She sat in perfect profile[br]with her face raised to the sky.

0:00:48.125,0:00:50.726
She had perfect salt-and-pepper cornrows

0:00:50.750,0:00:52.559
platted down the sides of her head,

0:00:52.583,0:00:57.476
and pride and wisdom[br]just emanated from her dark skin.

0:00:57.500,0:01:00.184
Septima Clark was an activist[br]and an educator,

0:01:00.208,0:01:04.768
a woman after whom I'd eventually[br]model my own career.

0:01:04.792,0:01:07.268
But more than all the words[br]she ever spoke,

0:01:07.292,0:01:10.309
that single portrait of Septima Clark,

0:01:10.333,0:01:12.809
it defined confidence for me

0:01:12.833,0:01:15.559
before I ever even knew the word.

0:01:15.583,0:01:16.893
It may sound simple,

0:01:16.917,0:01:21.768
but confidence is something[br]that we underestimate the importance of.

0:01:21.792,0:01:25.268
We treat it like a nice-to-have[br]instead of a must-have.

0:01:25.292,0:01:28.768
We place value on knowledge and resources

0:01:28.792,0:01:33.143
above what we deem to be[br]the soft skill of confidence.

0:01:33.167,0:01:35.851
But by most measures,[br]we have more knowledge

0:01:35.875,0:01:39.059
and more resources now[br]than at any other point in history,

0:01:39.083,0:01:44.167
and still injustice abounds[br]and challenges persist.

0:01:44.667,0:01:47.601
If knowledge and resources[br]were all that we needed,

0:01:47.625,0:01:49.934
we wouldn't still be here.

0:01:49.958,0:01:52.601
And I believe that confidence[br]is one of the main things

0:01:52.625,0:01:54.292
missing from the equation.

0:01:55.208,0:01:57.976
I'm completely obsessed with confidence.

0:01:58.000,0:02:00.268
It's been the most important[br]journey of my life,

0:02:00.292,0:02:03.434
a journey that,[br]to be honest, I'm still on.

0:02:03.458,0:02:09.143
Confidence is the necessary spark[br]before everything that follows.

0:02:09.167,0:02:12.643
Confidence is the difference[br]between being inspired

0:02:12.667,0:02:15.101
and actually getting started,

0:02:15.125,0:02:19.143
between trying and doing until it's done.

0:02:19.167,0:02:22.875
Confidence helps us keep going[br]even when we failed.

0:02:24.125,0:02:29.059
The name of the book on that coffee table[br]was "I Dream A World,"

0:02:29.083,0:02:33.601
and today I dream a world[br]where revolutionary confidence

0:02:33.625,0:02:38.934
helps bring about our[br]most ambitious dreams into reality.

0:02:38.958,0:02:42.393
That's exactly the kind of world[br]that I wanted to create in my classroom

0:02:42.417,0:02:43.726
when I was a teacher,

0:02:43.750,0:02:46.434
like a Willy Wonka world[br]of pure imagination,

0:02:46.458,0:02:47.708
but make it scholarly.

0:02:49.083,0:02:52.351
All of my students were black or brown.

0:02:52.375,0:02:55.083
All of them were growing up[br]in a low-income circumstance.

0:02:56.167,0:02:59.184
Some of them were immigrants,[br]some of them were disabled,

0:02:59.208,0:03:02.184
but all of them were the very last people

0:03:02.208,0:03:05.000
this world invites to be confident.

0:03:05.875,0:03:09.309
That's why it was so important[br]that my classroom be a place

0:03:09.333,0:03:12.726
where my students could build[br]the muscle of confidence,

0:03:12.750,0:03:16.184
where they could learn to face each day[br]with the confidence you need

0:03:16.208,0:03:20.351
to redesign the world[br]in the image of your own dreams.

0:03:20.375,0:03:25.351
After all, what are academic skills[br]without the confidence to use those skills

0:03:25.375,0:03:27.333
to go out and change the world.

0:03:28.208,0:03:32.059
Now is when I should tell you about[br]two of my students, Jamal and Regina.

0:03:32.083,0:03:35.851
Now, I've changed their names,[br]but their stories remain the same.

0:03:35.875,0:03:39.351
Jamal was brilliant, but unfocused.

0:03:39.375,0:03:42.143
He would squirm in his chair[br]during independent work,

0:03:42.167,0:03:46.184
and he would never stay still[br]for more than three or four minutes.

0:03:46.208,0:03:48.851
Students like Jamal[br]can perplex brand new teachers

0:03:48.875,0:03:52.833
because they're not quite sure[br]how to support young people like him.

0:03:54.000,0:03:55.434
I took a direct approach.

0:03:55.458,0:03:58.351
I negotiated with Jamal.

0:03:58.375,0:03:59.976
If he could give me focused work,

0:04:00.000,0:04:02.434
then he could do it[br]from anywhere in the classroom,

0:04:02.458,0:04:05.059
from our classroom rug,[br]from behind my desk,

0:04:05.083,0:04:09.125
from inside his classroom locker,[br]which turned out to be his favorite place.

0:04:10.458,0:04:12.976
Jamal's least favorite[br]subject was writing,

0:04:13.000,0:04:16.601
and he never wanted to read[br]what he had written out loud in class,

0:04:16.625,0:04:19.017
but we were still making progress.

0:04:19.041,0:04:23.143
One day, I decided to host[br]a mock 2008 presidential election

0:04:23.167,0:04:24.476
in my classroom.

0:04:24.500,0:04:27.976
My third graders had to research[br]and write a stump speech

0:04:28.000,0:04:29.393
for their chosen candidate:

0:04:29.417,0:04:33.268
Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton[br]or John McCain.

0:04:33.292,0:04:35.268
The heavy favorites were obvious,

0:04:35.292,0:04:38.351
but one student chose John McCain.

0:04:38.375,0:04:39.625
It was Jamal.

0:04:40.583,0:04:45.351
Jamal finally decided to read something[br]that he had written out loud in class,

0:04:45.375,0:04:49.226
and sure enough, Jamal stunned[br]all of us with his brilliance.

0:04:49.250,0:04:53.309
Just like Jamal's dad,[br]John McCain was a veteran,

0:04:53.333,0:04:55.601
and just like Jamal's dad protected him,

0:04:55.625,0:04:59.768
Jamal believed that John McCain[br]would protect the entire country.

0:04:59.792,0:05:02.601
And he wasn't my candidate of choice,[br]but it didn't matter,

0:05:02.625,0:05:06.768
because the entire class[br]erupted into applause,

0:05:06.792,0:05:09.643
a standing ovation[br]for our brave friend Jamal

0:05:09.667,0:05:13.143
who finally showed up[br]as his most confident self

0:05:13.167,0:05:15.000
for the first time that year.

0:05:16.208,0:05:18.559
And then there was Regina.

0:05:18.583,0:05:21.434
Regina was equally[br]as brilliant, but active.

0:05:21.458,0:05:24.018
She'd inevitably finish her work early,

0:05:24.042,0:05:27.809
and then she'd get on about the business[br]of distracting other students.

0:05:27.833,0:05:29.143
(Laughter)

0:05:29.167,0:05:31.434
Walking, talking,

0:05:31.458,0:05:33.976
passing those notes[br]that teachers hate but kids love.

0:05:34.000,0:05:35.893
You look like you passed a lot of them.

0:05:35.917,0:05:37.268
(Laughter)

0:05:37.292,0:05:40.684
Despite my high ideals for our classroom,

0:05:40.708,0:05:44.184
I would too often default[br]to my baser instincts,

0:05:44.208,0:05:47.851
and I would choose[br]compliance over confidence.

0:05:47.875,0:05:51.726
Regina was a glitch in my intended system.

0:05:51.750,0:05:54.393
A good teacher can correct misbehavior

0:05:54.417,0:05:56.268
but still remain a student's champion.

0:05:56.292,0:05:58.434
But on one day in particular,

0:05:58.458,0:06:01.143
I just plain old chose control.

0:06:01.167,0:06:02.851
I snapped,

0:06:02.875,0:06:05.434
and my approach[br]didn't communicate to Regina

0:06:05.458,0:06:08.059
that she was being a distraction.

0:06:08.083,0:06:13.000
My approach communicated to Regina[br]that she herself was a distraction.

0:06:14.042,0:06:16.268
I watched the light go out from her eyes,

0:06:16.292,0:06:19.851
and that light sparked joy[br]in our classroom.

0:06:19.875,0:06:22.018
I had just extinguished it.

0:06:22.042,0:06:24.684
The entire class became irritable,

0:06:24.708,0:06:27.292
and we didn't recover[br]for the rest of the day.

0:06:28.250,0:06:30.684
I think about the day often,

0:06:30.708,0:06:35.226
and I have literally prayed[br]that I did not do irreparable harm,

0:06:35.250,0:06:40.809
because as a woman who used to be[br]a little girl just like Regina,

0:06:40.833,0:06:44.934
I know that I could have started[br]the process of killing her confidence

0:06:44.958,0:06:46.208
forever.

0:06:46.833,0:06:49.976
A lack of confidence[br]pulls us down from the bottom

0:06:50.000,0:06:51.976
and weighs us down from the top,

0:06:52.000,0:06:57.184
crushing us between a flurry[br]of can'ts, won'ts and impossibles.

0:06:57.208,0:06:59.809
Without confidence, we get stuck,

0:06:59.833,0:07:03.083
and when we get stuck,[br]we can't even get started.

0:07:04.083,0:07:06.643
Instead of getting mired[br]in what can get in our way,

0:07:06.667,0:07:10.684
confidence invites us[br]to perform with certainty.

0:07:10.708,0:07:13.768
We all operate a little differently[br]when we're sure we can win

0:07:13.792,0:07:16.518
versus if we just hope we will.

0:07:16.542,0:07:18.518
Now, this can be a helpful check.

0:07:18.542,0:07:20.309
If you don't have enough confidence,

0:07:20.333,0:07:23.059
it could be because you need[br]to readjust your goal.

0:07:23.083,0:07:24.643
If you have too much confidence,

0:07:24.667,0:07:28.809
it could be because[br]you're not rooted in something real.

0:07:28.833,0:07:31.434
Not everyone lacks confidence.

0:07:31.458,0:07:35.976
We make it easier in this society[br]for some people to gain confidence

0:07:36.000,0:07:39.958
because they fit our preferred[br]archetype of leadership.

0:07:40.833,0:07:43.351
We reward confidence in some people

0:07:43.375,0:07:45.851
and we punish confidence in others,

0:07:45.875,0:07:48.393
and all the while far too many people

0:07:48.417,0:07:51.809
are walking around[br]every single day without it.

0:07:51.833,0:07:54.226
For some of us,

0:07:54.250,0:07:56.917
confidence is a revolutionary choice,

0:07:57.833,0:08:00.143
and it would be our greatest shame

0:08:00.167,0:08:03.268
to see our best ideas go unrealized

0:08:03.292,0:08:05.768
and our brightest dreams go unreached

0:08:05.792,0:08:09.643
all because we lacked[br]the engine of confidence.

0:08:09.667,0:08:11.833
That's not a risk I'm willing to take.

0:08:12.792,0:08:14.851
So how do we crack the code on confidence?

0:08:14.875,0:08:18.393
In my estimation,[br]it takes at least three things:

0:08:18.417,0:08:21.833
permission, community and curiosity.

0:08:22.625,0:08:24.518
Permission births confidence,

0:08:24.542,0:08:27.059
community nurtures it

0:08:27.083,0:08:28.917
and curiosity affirms it.

0:08:29.833,0:08:31.601
In education, we've got a saying,

0:08:31.625,0:08:34.351
that you can't be what you can't see.

0:08:34.375,0:08:37.018
When I was a little girl,[br]I couldn't show confidence

0:08:37.042,0:08:39.183
until someone showed me.

0:08:39.207,0:08:41.183
My family used to do everything together,

0:08:41.207,0:08:43.893
including the mundane things,[br]like buying a new car,

0:08:43.917,0:08:45.434
and every time we did this,

0:08:45.458,0:08:49.726
I'd watch my parents[br]put on the exact same performance.

0:08:49.750,0:08:51.184
We'd enter the dealership,

0:08:51.208,0:08:53.976
and my dad would sit

0:08:54.000,0:08:56.143
while my mom shopped.

0:08:56.167,0:08:58.809
When my mom found a car that she liked,

0:08:58.833,0:09:01.018
they'd go in and meet with the dealer,

0:09:01.042,0:09:04.893
and inevitably, every time[br]the dealer would turn his attention

0:09:04.917,0:09:07.934
and his body to my dad,

0:09:07.958,0:09:10.309
assuming that he[br]controlled the purse strings

0:09:10.333,0:09:12.309
and therefore this negotiation.

0:09:12.333,0:09:16.833
"Rev. Packnett," they'd say,[br]"how do we get you into this car today?"

0:09:17.833,0:09:21.726
My dad would inevitably[br]respond the same way.

0:09:21.750,0:09:26.601
He'd slowly and silently[br]gesture toward my mother

0:09:26.625,0:09:28.768
and then put his hands[br]right back in his lap.

0:09:28.792,0:09:30.726
It might have been the complete shock

0:09:30.750,0:09:33.601
of negotiating finances[br]with a black woman in the '80s,

0:09:33.625,0:09:34.934
but whatever it was,

0:09:34.958,0:09:38.434
I'd watch my mother[br]work these car dealers over

0:09:38.458,0:09:41.059
until they were basically[br]giving the car away for free.

0:09:41.083,0:09:42.393
(Laughter)

0:09:42.417,0:09:43.875
She would never crack a smile.

0:09:44.958,0:09:47.292
She would never be afraid to walk away.

0:09:48.333,0:09:52.226
I know my mom just thought[br]she was getting a good deal on a minivan,

0:09:52.250,0:09:54.393
but what she was actually doing

0:09:54.417,0:09:59.059
was giving me permission[br]to defy expectations

0:09:59.083,0:10:02.708
and to show up confidently in my skill[br]no matter who doubts me.

0:10:03.750,0:10:07.309
Confidence needs permission to exist

0:10:07.333,0:10:11.601
and community is the safest place[br]to try confidence on.

0:10:11.625,0:10:14.684
I traveled to Kenya this year[br]to learn about women's empowerment

0:10:14.708,0:10:16.393
among Maasai women.

0:10:16.417,0:10:18.476
There I met a group of young women

0:10:18.500,0:10:20.184
called Team Lioness,

0:10:20.208,0:10:24.601
among Kenya's first all-female[br]community ranger groups.

0:10:24.625,0:10:27.768
These eight brave young women[br]were making history

0:10:27.792,0:10:29.309
in just their teenage years,

0:10:29.333,0:10:33.559
and I asked Purity, the most verbose[br]young ranger among them,

0:10:33.583,0:10:35.518
"Do you ever get scared?"

0:10:35.542,0:10:39.809
I swear to you, I want to tattoo[br]her response all over my entire body.

0:10:39.833,0:10:42.601
She said, "Of course I do,

0:10:42.625,0:10:44.934
but I call on my sisters.

0:10:44.958,0:10:48.476
They remind me that we[br]will be better than these men

0:10:48.500,0:10:50.042
and that we will not fail."

0:10:51.125,0:10:54.726
Purity's confidence to chase down[br]lions and catch poachers,

0:10:54.750,0:10:59.101
it didn't come from her athletic ability[br]or even just her faith.

0:10:59.125,0:11:02.809
Her confidence was[br]propped up by sisterhood,

0:11:02.833,0:11:04.601
by community.

0:11:04.625,0:11:08.559
What she was basically saying[br]was that if I am ever in doubt,

0:11:08.583,0:11:10.893
I need you to be there

0:11:10.917,0:11:12.809
to restore my hope

0:11:12.833,0:11:15.768
and to rebuild my certainty.

0:11:15.792,0:11:20.351
In community, I can find my confidence

0:11:20.375,0:11:23.601
and your curiosity can affirm it.

0:11:23.625,0:11:26.143
Early in my career,[br]I led a large-scale event

0:11:26.167,0:11:28.393
that did not go exactly as planned.

0:11:28.417,0:11:31.143
I'm lying to you. It was terrible.

0:11:31.167,0:11:33.559
And when I debriefed the event[br]with my manager,

0:11:33.583,0:11:36.393
I just knew that she[br]was going to run down the list

0:11:36.417,0:11:38.726
of every mistake I had ever made,

0:11:38.750,0:11:40.226
probably from birth.

0:11:40.250,0:11:44.434
But instead, she opened with a question:

0:11:44.458,0:11:46.167
What was your intention?

0:11:47.500,0:11:50.393
I was surprised but relieved.

0:11:50.417,0:11:53.309
She knew that I was already[br]beating myself up,

0:11:53.333,0:11:57.809
and that question invited me[br]to learn from my own mistakes

0:11:57.833,0:12:01.726
instead of damage[br]my already fragile confidence.

0:12:01.750,0:12:06.851
Curiosity invites people[br]to be in charge of their own learning.

0:12:06.875,0:12:10.684
That exchange, it helped me[br]approach my next project

0:12:10.708,0:12:13.292
with the expectation of success.

0:12:14.750,0:12:18.125
Permission, community, curiosity:

0:12:19.042,0:12:23.518
all of these are the things that we[br]will need to breed the confidence

0:12:23.542,0:12:27.601
that we'll absolutely need[br]to solve our greatest challenges

0:12:27.625,0:12:30.226
and to build the world we dream,

0:12:30.250,0:12:35.351
a world where inequity is ended[br]and where justice is real,

0:12:35.375,0:12:38.601
a world where we can be free[br]on the outside and free on the inside

0:12:38.625,0:12:43.184
because we know that none of us are free[br]until all of us are free.

0:12:43.208,0:12:45.934
A world that isn't[br]intimidated by confidence

0:12:45.958,0:12:47.893
when it shows up as a woman

0:12:47.917,0:12:49.184
or in black skin

0:12:49.208,0:12:53.768
or in anything other than[br]our preferred archetypes of leadership.

0:12:53.792,0:12:56.351
A world that knows[br]that that kind of confidence

0:12:56.375,0:13:01.000
is exactly the key we need[br]to unlock the future that we want.

0:13:02.042,0:13:04.934
I have enough confidence[br]to believe that that world

0:13:04.958,0:13:07.268
will indeed come to pass,

0:13:07.292,0:13:10.559
and that we are the ones to make it so.

0:13:10.583,0:13:11.893
Thank you so much.

0:13:11.917,0:13:15.333
(Applause)