0:00:00.858,0:00:04.573
So a while ago, I tried an experiment.

0:00:04.573,0:00:08.891
For one year, I would say yes[br]to all the things that scared me.

0:00:08.891,0:00:12.188
Anything that made me nervous,[br]took me out of my comfort zone,

0:00:12.188,0:00:14.603
I forced myself to say yes to.

0:00:14.603,0:00:16.229
Did I want to speak in public?

0:00:16.229,0:00:18.434
No, but yes.

0:00:18.434,0:00:20.385
Did I want to be on live TV?

0:00:20.385,0:00:22.707
No, but yes.

0:00:22.707,0:00:24.518
Did I want to try acting?

0:00:24.518,0:00:27.559
No, no, no, but yes, yes, yes.

0:00:27.559,0:00:29.556
And a crazy thing happened:

0:00:29.556,0:00:32.343
the very act of doing[br]the thing that scared me

0:00:32.343,0:00:34.107
undid the fear,

0:00:34.107,0:00:35.663
made it not scary.

0:00:35.663,0:00:40.794
My fear of public speaking,[br]my social anxiety, poof, gone.

0:00:40.794,0:00:43.813
It's amazing the power of one word.

0:00:43.813,0:00:46.042
"Yes" changed my life.

0:00:46.042,0:00:47.644
"Yes" changed me.

0:00:47.644,0:00:49.896
But there was one particular yes

0:00:49.896,0:00:52.613
that affected my life[br]in the most profound way,

0:00:52.613,0:00:54.633
in a way that I never imagined,

0:00:54.633,0:00:58.334
and it started with a question[br]from my toddler.

0:00:58.334,0:01:01.771
I have these three amazing daughters,[br]Harper, Beckett, and Emerson,

0:01:01.771,0:01:05.393
and Emerson is a toddler who inexplicably[br]refers to everyone as "Honey"

0:01:05.393,0:01:07.227
as though she's a Southern waitress.

0:01:07.227,0:01:08.411
(Laughter)

0:01:08.411,0:01:11.476
"Honey I'm gonna need some milk[br]for my sippy cup."

0:01:11.476,0:01:13.148
(Laughter)

0:01:13.148,0:01:16.306
The Southern waitress asked me[br]to play with her one evening

0:01:16.306,0:01:19.022
when I was on my way somewhere,[br]and I said, "Yes."

0:01:19.022,0:01:23.178
And that yes was the beginning[br]of a new way of life for my family.

0:01:23.178,0:01:24.920
I made a vow that from now on,

0:01:24.920,0:01:27.567
every time one of my children[br]asks me to play,

0:01:27.567,0:01:30.107
no matter what I'm doing[br]or where I'm going,

0:01:30.107,0:01:33.961
I say yes, every single time.

0:01:33.961,0:01:37.931
Almost. I'm not perfect at it,[br]but I try hard to practice it.

0:01:37.931,0:01:40.601
And it's had a magical effect on me,

0:01:40.601,0:01:43.736
on my children, on our family.

0:01:43.736,0:01:46.476
But it's also had a stunning side effect,

0:01:46.476,0:01:50.168
and it wasn't until recently[br]that I fully understood it,

0:01:50.168,0:01:53.651
that I understood that saying yes[br]to playing with my children

0:01:53.651,0:01:56.971
likely saved my career.

0:01:56.971,0:01:59.734
See, I have what most people[br]would call a dream job.

0:01:59.734,0:02:02.985
I'm a writer. I imagine.[br]I make stuff up for a living.

0:02:02.985,0:02:04.355
Dream job.

0:02:04.355,0:02:05.678
No.

0:02:05.678,0:02:07.327
I'm a titan.

0:02:07.327,0:02:08.766
Dream job.

0:02:08.766,0:02:11.251
I create television.[br]I executive produce television.

0:02:11.251,0:02:14.269
I make television,[br]a great deal of television.

0:02:14.269,0:02:16.196
In one way or another, this TV season,

0:02:16.196,0:02:19.726
I'm responsible for bringing about[br]70 hours of programming to the world.

0:02:19.726,0:02:22.535
Four television programs,[br]70 hours of TV -- (Applause) --

0:02:22.535,0:02:25.414
three shows in production,[br]at a time, sometimes four.

0:02:25.414,0:02:28.688
Each show creates hundreds of jobs[br]that didn't exist before.

0:02:28.688,0:02:31.381
The budget for one episode[br]of network television can be

0:02:31.381,0:02:33.216
anywhere from three[br]to six million dollars.

0:02:33.216,0:02:34.818
Let's just say five.

0:02:34.818,0:02:37.047
A new episode made every nine days[br]times four shows,

0:02:37.047,0:02:39.787
so every nine days that's[br]20 million dollars worth of television,

0:02:39.787,0:02:43.014
four television programs, 70 hours of TV,[br]three shows in production at a time,

0:02:43.014,0:02:44.059
sometimes four,

0:02:44.059,0:02:46.288
16 episodes going on at all times:

0:02:46.288,0:02:48.633
24 episodes of Grey's,[br]21 episodes of Scandal,

0:02:48.633,0:02:51.071
15 episodes of[br]How To Get Away With Murder,

0:02:51.071,0:02:52.418
10 episodes of the Catch,[br]that's 70 hours of TV,

0:02:52.418,0:02:54.647
that's 350 million dollars for a season.

0:02:54.647,0:02:57.526
In America, my television shows[br]are back to back to back

0:02:57.526,0:02:58.896
on Thursday night.

0:02:58.896,0:03:02.959
Around the world, my shows air[br]in 256 territories in 67 languages

0:03:02.959,0:03:04.608
for an audience of 30 million people.

0:03:04.608,0:03:06.860
My brain is global,

0:03:06.860,0:03:10.389
and 45 hours of that 70 hours of TV[br]are shows I personally created

0:03:10.389,0:03:12.804
and not just produced,[br]so on top of everything else,

0:03:12.804,0:03:16.264
I need to find time,[br]real quiet creative time,

0:03:16.264,0:03:18.632
to gather my fans around the campfire

0:03:18.632,0:03:20.304
and tell my stories.

0:03:20.304,0:03:23.647
Four television programs, 70 hours of TV,[br]three shows in production at a time,

0:03:23.647,0:03:28.454
sometimes four, 350 million dollars,[br]campfires burning all over the world.

0:03:28.454,0:03:30.799
You know who else is doing that?

0:03:30.799,0:03:33.492
Nobody, so like I said, I'm a titan.

0:03:33.492,0:03:35.234
Dream job.

0:03:35.234,0:03:36.673
(Applause)

0:03:36.673,0:03:38.624
Now I don't tell you this to impress you.

0:03:38.624,0:03:42.584
I tell you this because I know what you[br]think of when you hear the word "writer."

0:03:42.584,0:03:45.487
I tell you this so that all of you[br]out there who work so hard,

0:03:45.487,0:03:48.969
whether you run a company[br]or a country or a classroom

0:03:48.969,0:03:51.361
or a store or a home

0:03:51.361,0:03:54.356
take me seriously[br]when I talk about working,

0:03:54.356,0:03:58.002
so you'll get that I don't[br]peck at a computer and imagine all day,

0:03:58.002,0:04:00.022
so you'll hear me when I say

0:04:00.022,0:04:04.201
that I understand that a dream job[br]is not about dreaming.

0:04:04.201,0:04:09.518
It's all job, all work, all reality,[br]all blood, all sweat, no tears.

0:04:09.518,0:04:14.116
I work a lot, very hard, and I love it.

0:04:14.116,0:04:16.461
When I'm hard at work,[br]when I'm deep in it,

0:04:16.461,0:04:18.899
there is no other feeling.

0:04:18.899,0:04:22.405
For me my work is at all times[br]building a nation out of thin air.

0:04:22.405,0:04:24.982
It is manning the troops.[br]It is painting a canvas.

0:04:24.982,0:04:27.467
It is hitting every high note.[br]It is running a marathon.

0:04:27.467,0:04:29.533
It is being Beyonce.

0:04:29.533,0:04:32.668
And it is all of those things[br]at the same time.

0:04:32.668,0:04:34.808
I love working.

0:04:34.808,0:04:37.849
It is creative and mechanical[br]and exhausting and exhilarating

0:04:37.849,0:04:40.334
and hilarious and disturbing[br]and clinical and maternal

0:04:40.334,0:04:41.959
and cruel and judicious,

0:04:41.959,0:04:45.651
and what makes it all so good is the hum.

0:04:45.651,0:04:48.577
There is some kind of shift inside me[br]when the work gets good.

0:04:48.577,0:04:51.386
A hum begins in my brain,

0:04:51.386,0:04:54.706
and it grows and it grows[br]and that hum sounds like the open road,

0:04:54.706,0:04:57.028
and I could drive it forever.

0:04:57.028,0:05:00.070
And a lot of people,[br]when I try to explain the hum,

0:05:00.070,0:05:02.740
they assume that I'm talking[br]about the writing,

0:05:02.740,0:05:04.249
that my writing brings me joy.

0:05:04.249,0:05:07.059
And don't get me wrong, it does.

0:05:07.059,0:05:08.963
But the hum,

0:05:08.963,0:05:11.378
it wasn't until I started[br]making television

0:05:11.378,0:05:13.909
that I started working,[br]working and making

0:05:13.909,0:05:16.741
and building and creative[br]and collaborating,

0:05:16.741,0:05:21.664
that I discovered this thing,[br]this buzz, this rush, this hum.

0:05:21.664,0:05:23.800
The hum is more than writing.

0:05:23.800,0:05:27.306
The hum is action and activity.[br]The hum is a drug.

0:05:27.306,0:05:29.999
The hum is music.[br]The hum is light and air.

0:05:29.999,0:05:33.668
The hum is God's whisper right in my ear.

0:05:33.668,0:05:36.083
And when you have a hum like that,

0:05:36.083,0:05:38.892
you can't help but strive for greatness.

0:05:38.892,0:05:43.559
That feeling, you can't help[br]but strive for greatness at any cost.

0:05:43.559,0:05:46.090
That's called the hum.

0:05:46.090,0:05:49.898
Or maybe it's called being a workaholic.

0:05:49.898,0:05:51.570
(Laughter)

0:05:51.570,0:05:53.822
Maybe it's called genius.

0:05:53.822,0:05:56.771
Maybe it's called ego.

0:05:56.771,0:05:59.348
Maybe it's just fear of failure.

0:05:59.348,0:06:01.182
I don't know.

0:06:01.182,0:06:05.246
I just know that[br]I'm not built for failure,

0:06:05.246,0:06:07.730
and I just know that I love the hum.

0:06:07.730,0:06:10.099
I just know that I want[br]to tell you I'm a titan,

0:06:10.099,0:06:12.653
and I know that I don't[br]want to question it.

0:06:12.653,0:06:14.905
But here's the thing:

0:06:14.905,0:06:16.902
the more successful I become,

0:06:16.902,0:06:20.222
the more shows, the more episodes,[br]the more barriers broken,

0:06:20.222,0:06:23.101
the more work there is to do,

0:06:23.101,0:06:24.448
the more balls in the air,

0:06:24.448,0:06:27.048
the more eyes on me,[br]the more history stares,

0:06:27.048,0:06:29.533
the more expectations there are.

0:06:29.533,0:06:31.576
The more I work to be successful.

0:06:31.576,0:06:34.037
the more I need to work.

0:06:34.037,0:06:35.872
And what did I say about work?

0:06:35.872,0:06:37.835
I love working, right?

0:06:37.835,0:06:39.670
The nation I'm building,[br]the marathon running,

0:06:39.670,0:06:41.736
the troops, the canvas,[br]the high note, the hum,

0:06:41.736,0:06:44.267
the hum, the hum.

0:06:44.267,0:06:46.380
I like that hum. I love that hum.

0:06:46.380,0:06:49.398
I need that hum. I am that hum.

0:06:49.398,0:06:52.092
Am I nothing but that hum?

0:06:52.092,0:06:55.575
And then the hum stopped.

0:06:55.575,0:06:58.797
Overworked, overused,

0:06:58.797,0:06:59.842
overdone, burned out.

0:06:59.842,0:07:02.513
The hum stopped.

0:07:02.513,0:07:05.694
Now, my three daughters[br]are used to the truth

0:07:05.694,0:07:08.782
that their mother[br]is a single working titan.

0:07:08.782,0:07:10.035
Harper tells people,

0:07:10.035,0:07:13.402
"My mom won't be there[br]but you can text my nanny."

0:07:13.402,0:07:17.396
And Emerson says, "Honey,[br]I'm wanting to go to Shondaland."

0:07:17.396,0:07:19.323
They're children of a titan.

0:07:19.323,0:07:21.691
They're baby titans.

0:07:21.691,0:07:26.033
They were 12, 3, and 1[br]when the hum stopped.

0:07:26.033,0:07:28.100
The hum of the engine died.

0:07:28.100,0:07:30.538
I stopped loving work.[br]I couldn't restart the engine.

0:07:30.538,0:07:32.628
The hum would not come back.

0:07:32.628,0:07:35.785
My hum was broken.

0:07:35.785,0:07:39.407
I was doing the same things[br]I always did, all the same titan work,

0:07:39.407,0:07:41.962
15 hour days, working[br]straight through the weekends,

0:07:41.962,0:07:45.096
no regrets, never surrender,[br]a titan never sleeps, a titan never quits,

0:07:45.096,0:07:48.300
full hearts, clear eyes, yada, whatever.

0:07:48.300,0:07:50.297
But there was no hum.

0:07:50.297,0:07:52.447
Inside me was silence.

0:07:54.212,0:07:57.811
Four television programs, 70 hours of TV,[br]three shows in production at a time,

0:07:57.811,0:08:00.510
sometimes four. I was the perfect titan.

0:08:02.752,0:08:07.745
I was a titan you could take home[br]to your mother.

0:08:07.745,0:08:12.783
All the colors were the same,[br]and I was no longer having any fun.

0:08:12.783,0:08:15.082
And it was my life.

0:08:15.082,0:08:16.428
It was all I did.

0:08:16.428,0:08:19.772
I was the hum, and the hum was me.

0:08:19.772,0:08:22.047
So what do you do when the thing you do,

0:08:22.047,0:08:26.157
the work you love,[br]starts to taste like dust?

0:08:26.157,0:08:28.874
Now, I know somebody's out there[br]thinking, "Cry me a river,

0:08:28.874,0:08:31.335
stupid writer titan lady."

0:08:31.335,0:08:32.775
(Laughter)

0:08:32.775,0:08:34.377
But you know, you do,

0:08:34.377,0:08:37.256
if you make, if you work,[br]if you love what you do,

0:08:37.256,0:08:40.182
being a teacher, being a banker,[br]being a mother, being a painter,

0:08:40.182,0:08:41.482
being Bill Gates,

0:08:41.482,0:08:44.895
if you simply love another person[br]and that gives you the hum,

0:08:44.895,0:08:46.567
if you know the hum,

0:08:46.567,0:08:48.355
if you know what the hum feels like,

0:08:48.355,0:08:50.491
if you have been to the hum,

0:08:50.491,0:08:54.066
when the hum stops, who are you?

0:08:54.066,0:08:58.432
What are you? What am I?

0:08:58.432,0:09:01.334
Am I still a titan?

0:09:01.334,0:09:06.814
If the song of my heart ceases to play,[br]can I survive in the silence?

0:09:06.814,0:09:12.038
And then my southern waitress toddler[br]asks me a question.

0:09:12.038,0:09:15.846
I'm on my way out the door,[br]I'm late, and she says,

0:09:15.846,0:09:18.957
"Momma, wanna play?"

0:09:18.957,0:09:22.185
And I'm just about to say no,[br]when I realize two things.

0:09:22.185,0:09:25.342
One, I'm supposed[br]to say yes to everything,

0:09:25.342,0:09:29.770
and two, my Southern waitress[br]didn't call me "Honey."

0:09:29.770,0:09:32.324
She's not calling everyone[br]"Honey" anymore.

0:09:32.324,0:09:34.274
When did that happen?

0:09:34.274,0:09:37.084
I'm missing it, being a titan[br]and mourning my hum,

0:09:37.084,0:09:40.544
and here she is changing[br]right before my eyes.

0:09:40.544,0:09:43.933
And so she says, "Mamma, wanna play?"

0:09:43.933,0:09:46.139
And I say, "Yes."

0:09:46.139,0:09:48.833
There's nothing special about it.

0:09:48.833,0:09:51.480
We play, and we're joined[br]by her sisters,

0:09:51.480,0:09:52.803
and there's a lot of laughing,

0:09:52.803,0:09:56.425
and I give a dramatic reading[br]from the book "Everybody poops."

0:09:56.425,0:09:59.142
Nothing out of the ordinary.[br](Laughter)

0:09:59.142,0:10:01.394
And yet, it is extraordinary,

0:10:01.394,0:10:03.879
because in my pain and my panic,

0:10:03.879,0:10:05.945
in the homelessness[br]of my humlessness,

0:10:05.945,0:10:08.476
I have nothing to do but pay attention.

0:10:08.476,0:10:10.241
I focus.

0:10:10.241,0:10:11.959
I am still.

0:10:11.959,0:10:14.211
The nation I'm building,[br]the marathon I'm running,

0:10:14.211,0:10:18.646
the troops, the canvas,[br]the high note, does not exist.

0:10:18.646,0:10:21.223
All that exists are sticky fingers[br]and gooey kisses

0:10:21.223,0:10:23.824
and tiny voices and crayons,

0:10:23.824,0:10:26.796
and that song about letting go[br]of whatever it is that frozen girl

0:10:26.796,0:10:29.405
needs to let go of.

0:10:29.405,0:10:30.473
(Laughter)

0:10:30.473,0:10:34.119
It's all peace and simplicity.

0:10:34.119,0:10:38.368
The air is so rare in this place for me[br]that I can barely breathe.

0:10:38.368,0:10:41.154
I can barely believe I'm breathing.

0:10:41.154,0:10:44.730
Play is the opposite of work.

0:10:44.730,0:10:48.236
And I am happy.[br]Something in me loosens.

0:10:48.236,0:10:53.065
A door in my brain swings open,[br]and a rush of energy comes.

0:10:53.065,0:10:56.850
And it's not instantaneous,[br]but it happens, it does happen.

0:10:56.850,0:10:58.708
I feel it.

0:10:58.708,0:11:00.565
A hum creeps back,

0:11:00.565,0:11:03.375
not at full volume, barely there,

0:11:03.375,0:11:06.556
it's quiet, but and I have to stay[br]very still to hear it, but it is there.

0:11:06.556,0:11:10.155
Not the hum, but a hum.

0:11:10.155,0:11:14.032
And now I feel like I know[br]a very magical secret.

0:11:14.032,0:11:16.354
Well, let's not get carried away.

0:11:16.354,0:11:20.928
It's just love. That's all it is.

0:11:20.928,0:11:24.132
No magic. No secret. It's just love.

0:11:24.132,0:11:26.710
It's just something we forgot.

0:11:26.710,0:11:30.146
The hum, the work hum,[br]the hum of the titan,

0:11:30.146,0:11:32.236
that's just a replacement.

0:11:32.236,0:11:34.488
If I have to ask you who I am,

0:11:34.488,0:11:36.578
if I have to tell you who I am,

0:11:36.578,0:11:38.853
if I describe myself in terms of shows

0:11:38.853,0:11:42.870
and hours of television[br]and how globally badass my brain is,

0:11:42.870,0:11:46.399
I have forgotten what the real hum is.

0:11:46.399,0:11:51.066
The hum is not power[br]and the hum is not work-specific.

0:11:51.066,0:11:53.249
The hum is joy-specific.

0:11:53.249,0:11:55.362
The real hum is love-specific.

0:11:55.362,0:11:59.147
The hum is the electricity that comes[br]from being excited by life.

0:11:59.147,0:12:01.863
The real hum is confidence and peace.

0:12:01.863,0:12:04.348
The real hum ignores the stare of history,

0:12:04.348,0:12:07.389
and the balls in the air,[br]and the expectation, and the pressure.

0:12:07.389,0:12:10.338
The real hum is singular and original.

0:12:10.338,0:12:12.683
The real hum is God's whisper in my ear

0:12:12.683,0:12:15.052
but maybe God was whispering[br]the wrong words,

0:12:15.052,0:12:18.929
because which one of the gods[br]was telling me I was the titan?

0:12:18.929,0:12:21.135
It's just love.

0:12:21.135,0:12:24.107
We could all use a little more love,

0:12:24.107,0:12:26.475
a lot more love.

0:12:26.475,0:12:31.398
Any time my child asks me to play,[br]I will say yes.

0:12:31.398,0:12:33.302
I make it a firm rule for one reason,

0:12:33.302,0:12:37.156
to give myself permission, to free me[br]from all of my workaholic guilt.

0:12:37.156,0:12:39.571
It's a law, so I don't have a choice,

0:12:39.571,0:12:41.916
and I don't have a choice,

0:12:41.916,0:12:44.122
not if I want to feel the hum.

0:12:44.122,0:12:46.026
I wish it were that easy,

0:12:46.026,0:12:49.509
but I'm not good at playing.

0:12:49.509,0:12:51.714
I don't like it.

0:12:51.714,0:12:57.542
I'm not interested in doing it[br]the way I'm interested in doing work.

0:12:57.542,0:13:00.979
The truth is incredibly humbling[br]and humiliating to face.

0:13:00.979,0:13:02.581
I don't like playing.

0:13:02.581,0:13:05.483
I work all the time[br]because I like working.

0:13:05.483,0:13:09.965
I like working more[br]than I like being at home.

0:13:09.965,0:13:14.144
Facing that fact is incredibly[br]difficult to handle,

0:13:14.144,0:13:21.296
because what kind of person[br]likes working more than being at home?

0:13:21.296,0:13:24.151
Well, me.

0:13:24.151,0:13:27.379
I mean, let's be honest,[br]I call myself a titan.

0:13:27.379,0:13:29.585
I've got issues.

0:13:29.585,0:13:33.532
And one of those issues[br]isn't that I'm too relaxed.

0:13:33.532,0:13:35.668
(Laughter)

0:13:35.668,0:13:38.129
We run around the yard,[br]up and back and up and back.

0:13:38.129,0:13:42.216
We have 30-second dance parties.

0:13:42.216,0:13:45.374
We sing show tunes.[br]We play with balls.

0:13:45.374,0:13:47.603
I blow bubbles and they pop them.

0:13:47.603,0:13:53.059
Then I feel stiff and delirious[br]and confused most of the time.

0:13:53.059,0:13:56.263
I itch for my cell phone always.

0:13:56.263,0:13:57.935
But it is okay.

0:13:57.935,0:14:02.718
My tiny humans show me how to live[br]and the hum of the universe fills me up.

0:14:02.718,0:14:05.969
I play and I play until I begin to wonder

0:14:05.969,0:14:09.568
why we ever stopped playing[br]in the first place.

0:14:09.568,0:14:11.611
You can do it too,

0:14:11.611,0:14:15.187
say yes every time your child[br]asks you to play.

0:14:15.187,0:14:18.619
Are you thinking that maybe[br]I'm an idiot in diamond shoes?

0:14:18.619,0:14:18.869
You're right, but you can still do this.

0:14:20.453,0:14:23.100
You have time.

0:14:23.100,0:14:26.792
You know why? Because you're not Rihanna[br]and you're not a muppet.

0:14:26.792,0:14:29.206
Your child does not think[br]you're that interesting.

0:14:29.206,0:14:30.716
(Laughter)

0:14:30.716,0:14:32.573
You only need 15 minutes.

0:14:32.573,0:14:35.336
My two and four year old only ever[br]want to play with me

0:14:35.336,0:14:38.215
for about 15 minutes or so[br]before they think to themselves

0:14:38.215,0:14:39.655
they want to do something else.

0:14:39.655,0:14:43.370
It's an amazing 15 minutes,[br]but it's 15 minutes.

0:14:43.370,0:14:47.387
If I'm not a ladybug or a piece of candy,[br]I'm invisible after 15 minutes.

0:14:47.387,0:14:48.362
(Laughter)

0:14:48.362,0:14:52.774
And my 13-year old, if I can get[br]a 13-year old to talk to me for 15 minutes

0:14:52.774,0:14:55.385
I'm Parent of the Year.

0:14:55.385,0:14:56.337
(Laughter)

0:14:56.337,0:14:58.218
15 minutes is all you need.

0:14:58.218,0:15:03.280
I can totally pull off 15 minutes[br]of uninterrupted time on my worst day.

0:15:03.280,0:15:05.462
Uninterrupted is the key.

0:15:05.462,0:15:08.109
No cell phone, no laundry, no anything.

0:15:08.109,0:15:10.074
You have a busy life.[br]You have to get dinner on the table.

0:15:10.074,0:15:13.083
You have to force them to bathe.[br]But you can do 15 minutes.

0:15:14.314,0:15:16.728
My kids are my happy place,[br]they're my world,

0:15:16.728,0:15:19.190
but it doesn't have to be your kids,

0:15:19.190,0:15:23.183
the fuel that feeds your hum, the place[br]where life feels more good than not good.

0:15:23.183,0:15:25.645
It's not about playing with your kids,

0:15:25.645,0:15:27.177
it's about joy.

0:15:27.177,0:15:29.986
It's about playing in general.

0:15:29.986,0:15:32.215
Give yourself the 15 minutes.

0:15:32.215,0:15:34.491
Find what makes you feel good.

0:15:34.491,0:15:38.067
Just figure it out[br]and play in that arena.

0:15:38.067,0:15:43.152
I'm not perfect at it.[br]In fact, I fail as often as I succeed:

0:15:43.152,0:15:46.495
seeing friends, reading books,[br]staring into space.

0:15:46.495,0:15:49.769
"Wanna play?" starts to become shorthand[br]for indulging myself

0:15:49.769,0:15:54.134
in ways I'd given up on right around[br]the time I got my first TV show,

0:15:54.134,0:15:56.735
right around the time I became[br]a titan in training,

0:15:56.735,0:16:00.798
right around the time I started[br]competing with myself for ways unknown.

0:16:00.798,0:16:04.885
15 minutes? What could be wrong[br]with giving myself my full attention

0:16:04.885,0:16:06.742
for 15 minutes?

0:16:06.742,0:16:08.925
Turns out, nothing.

0:16:08.925,0:16:13.081
The very act of not working has made it[br]possible for the hum to return,

0:16:13.081,0:16:17.353
as if the hum's engine could only refuel[br]while I was away.

0:16:17.353,0:16:20.743
Work doesn't work without play.

0:16:20.743,0:16:24.040
It takes a little time,[br]but after a few months,

0:16:24.040,0:16:26.432
one day the floodgates open

0:16:26.432,0:16:29.775
and there's a rush, and I find myself[br]standing in my office

0:16:29.775,0:16:34.071
filled with an unfamiliar melody,[br]full on groove inside me,

0:16:34.071,0:16:36.486
and around me, and it sends me[br]spinning with ideas,

0:16:36.486,0:16:39.806
and the humming road is open,[br]and I can drive it and drive it,

0:16:39.806,0:16:42.267
and I love working again.

0:16:42.267,0:16:45.959
But now, I like that hum,[br]but I don't love that hum.

0:16:45.959,0:16:47.283
I don't need that hum.

0:16:47.283,0:16:50.417
I am not that hum. That hum is not me,

0:16:50.417,0:16:52.298
not anymore.

0:16:52.298,0:16:55.920
I am bubbles and sticky fingers[br]and dinners with friends.

0:16:55.920,0:16:57.661
I am that hum.

0:16:57.661,0:16:58.962
Life's hum.

0:16:58.962,0:17:00.401
Love's hum.

0:17:00.401,0:17:04.952
Work's hum is still a piece of me,[br]it is just no longer all of me,

0:17:04.952,0:17:07.251
and I am so grateful.

0:17:07.251,0:17:09.224
And I don't give a crap[br]about being a titan,

0:17:09.224,0:17:13.938
because I have never once seen a titan[br]play Red Rover, Red Rover.

0:17:13.938,0:17:18.024
I said yes to less work and more play,[br]and somehow I still run my world.

0:17:18.024,0:17:21.414
My brain is still global.[br]My campfires still burn.

0:17:21.414,0:17:25.640
The more I play, the happier I am,[br]and the happier my kids are.

0:17:25.640,0:17:29.402
The more I play,[br]the more I feel like a good mother.

0:17:29.402,0:17:31.886
The more I play,[br]the freer my mind becomes.

0:17:31.886,0:17:33.767
The more I play, the better I work.

0:17:33.767,0:17:36.321
The more I play, the more I feel the hum,

0:17:36.321,0:17:38.271
the nation I'm building,[br]the marathon I'm running,

0:17:38.271,0:17:41.127
the troops, the canvas, the high note,[br]the hum, the hum,

0:17:41.127,0:17:44.216
the other hum, the real hum,

0:17:44.216,0:17:45.771
life's hum.

0:17:45.771,0:17:48.441
The more I feel that hum,[br]the more this strange,

0:17:48.441,0:17:51.785
quivering, un-cocooned,[br]awkward, brand new,

0:17:51.785,0:17:54.919
alive non-titan feels like me.

0:17:54.919,0:17:58.333
The more I feel that hum,[br]the more I know who I am.

0:17:58.333,0:18:01.862
I'm a writer, I make stuff up,[br]I imagine.

0:18:01.862,0:18:05.322
That part of the job,[br]that's living the dream.

0:18:05.322,0:18:07.876
That's the dream of the job.

0:18:07.876,0:18:11.684
Because a dream job[br]should be a little bit dreamy.

0:18:11.684,0:18:15.422
I said yes to less work and more play.

0:18:15.422,0:18:18.069
Titans need not apply.

0:18:18.069,0:18:19.950
Wanna play?

0:18:19.950,0:18:21.737
Thank you.

0:18:21.737,0:18:31.183
(Applause)