When you're a kid,

you get asked this one
particular question a lot.

It really gets kind of annoying.

"What do you want to be
when you grow up?"

Now, adults are hoping for answers like

"I want to be an Astronaut" or

"I want to be a Neurosurgeon".

You adults and
your imaginations. (Laughter)

Kids,

they are more likely to answer with
pro skateboarder

surfer or Minecraft player.

I asked my little brother,
and he said,

"Seriously dude, I'm 10,
I have no idea,

probably a pro skier.

Let's go get some ice cream!"

(Laughter)

See, us kids are going to answer

with something we're stoked on

What we think is cool.

What we have experience with,

and that's typically the opposite
of what adults want to hear.

But if you ask a little kid,

sometimes you'll get the best answer,

something so simple,
so obvious,

and really profound.

"When I grow up,
I want to be happy".

For me, when I grow up,

I want to continue to be happy

like I am now.

I'm stoked to be here at TEDx,

I've been watching TED videos

for as long as I can remember.

But I never thought I'd make it
on stage here so soon.

I mean,
I just became a teenager,

and like most teenage boys,

I spend most of my time wondering:

"How did my room get so messy
all on its own?" (Laughter)

Did I take a shower today?
(Laughter)

And the most perplexing of all,

How do I get girls to like me?
(Laughter)

Neuroscientists say that
the teenage brain is pretty weird.

Our prefrontal cortex is underdeveloped,

but we actually have
more neurons than adults.

Which is why we can be so creative,
and impulsive, and moody,

and get bummed out.

But what bums me out
is to know that

a lot of kids today are
just wishing to be happy,

to be healthy, to be safe, not bullied,

and be loved for who they are.

So it seems to me when adults say,

"What do you want to be
when you grow up?"

They just assume that you'll 
automatically be happy and healthy.

But maybe that's not the case.

Go to school. Go to college. Get a job.

Get married. Boom!

Then you'll be happy, right?

We don't seem to make learning
how to be happy and healthy

a priority in our schools.

It's separated from schools,

and for some kids,
it doesn't exist at all.

But what if we didn't make it separate?

What if we based education on the study

and practice of being happy and healthy?

Because that's what it is, a practice.

And a simple practice like that.

Education is important,

but why is being happy and healthy

not considered education?

I just don't get it.

I've been studying the science
of being happy and healthy.

It really comes down to practicing
these 8 things:

Exercise, diet and nutrition,

time in nature, contribution
and service to others,

relationships, recreation,

relaxation and stress management,

and religious or spiritual involvement.

Yes, I got that one.
(Laugther)

So these 8 things come
from Dr. Roger Walsh.

He calls them
"Therapeutic Lifestyle Changes"

or TLCs for short,

He's a scientist that studies
how to be happy and healthy.

In researching this talk,

I got a chance to ask him
a few questions like:

"Do you think better schools today
are making these 8 TLCs a priority?"

His response was no surprise.

It was essentially "No".

But he did say

that many people do try
to get this kind of education

outside of the traditional arena

through reading or practices
such as meditation or yoga.

But what I thought was his best response

was that much of education is oriented,

for better or worse,

towards making a living
rather than making a life.

In 2006, Sir Ken Robinson gave

the most popular TED talk of all time,

"Schools Kill Creativity."

His message is that creativity is
as important as literacy,

and we should treat it
with the same status.

A lot of parents watched those videos,

some of those parents like mine
counted it as one of the reasons

they felt confident to pull their kids
from traditional school,

to try something different.

I realize that I am part of this small
but growing revolution of kids

who are going about
their education differently.

And you know what?
It freaks a lot of people out.

Even though I was only 9

when my parents pulled me out
of the school system,

I can still remember my mom 
being in tears

when some of her friends told her
she was crazy, and it was a stupid idea.

Looking back, I'm thankful
she didn't cave to peer pressure,

and I think she is too.

So out of the 200 million people

that have watched Sir Ken Robinson's talk,

why aren't there more kids
like me out there?

Shane McConkey is my hero.

I loved him because
he was the world's best skier.

But then one day I realized
what I really loved about Shane.

He was a hacker.

Not a computer hacker,

he hacked skiing.

His creativity and inventions made
skiing what it is today,

and why I love to ski.

A lot of people think of hackers
as geeky computer nerds

who live in their parent's basement,
and spread computer viruses.

But, I don't see it that way.

Hackers are innovators.

Hackers are people who challenge
and change the systems

to make them work differently,
to make them work better.

It's just how they think,
it's a mindset.

I'm growing up in a world

that needs more people
with the hacker mindset,

and not just for technology.

Everything is up for being hacked,
even skiing,

even education.

So whether it's Steve Jobs,

Mark Zuckerberg or Shane McConkey,

having the hacker mindset
can change the world.

Healthy, happy, creativity,

and the hacker mindset are
all a large part of my education.

I call it "Hack-Schooling".

I don't use any one
particular curriculum,

and I'm not dedicated to
anyone's particular approach.

I hack my education.

I take advantage of opportunities
in my community,

and through a network
of my friends and family.

I take advantage of opportunities
to experience what I'm learning.

And I'm not afraid to look for shortcuts

or hacks to get a better,
faster result.

It's like a remix
or a mashup of learning.

It's flexible, opportunistic,

and it never loses sight of making happy,

healthy and creativity a priority.

And here's the cool part
because it's a mindset

not a system.

Hack-schooling can be used by anyone
even traditional schools,

So, what does my school look like?

Well it looks like Starbucks
a lot of the time. (Laughter)

But, like most kids,

I study a lot of math, science,
history, and writing.

I didn't used to like to write

because my teachers made me
write about butterflies and rainbows.

And I wanted to write about skiing.

It was a relief when my good friend's mom

started The Squaw Valley Kids Institute

Where I got to write through
my experiences and my interests

while connecting with great speakers
from around the nation

and that sparked my love of writing.

I realize that

once you're motivated to learn something,

you can get a lot done
in a short amount of time

and on your own.

Starbucks is pretty great for that.

Hacking physics was fun.

We learned all about
Newton and Galileo,

and we experienced some
basic physics concepts like

kinetic energy though experimenting
and making mistakes.

My favorite was the giant Newton's cradle
that we made out of bocci balls.

We experimented with a lot of other
things like bowling balls

and even giant jawbreakers.

Project Discovery's Ropes Course
is awesome

and slightly stressful.

When you're 60 feet off the ground,

you have to learn
how to handle your fears,

communicate clearly and
most importantly, trust each other.

Community organizations play
a big part in my education.

A High Fives Foundations Basics Program:

"Being Aware and Safe
in Critical Situations"

We spent a day with the
Squaw Valley ski patrol

to learn more about mountain safety.

The next day we switched
to the science of snow,

weather, and avalanches.

But most importantly,

we learned that making
bad decision puts you

and your friends at risk.

Young Shu-Tak Woo brings history to life.

You study a famous character in history,

so you can stand on stage
and perform as that character.

and answer any question
about their lifetime.

In this photo,

you see Al Capone and Bob Marley

getting grilled with questions

at the historical Piper's Opera
House in Virginia City.

The same stage where
Harry Houdini got his start.

Time in nature is really
important to me.

It's calm, quiet, and
I get to just log out of reality.

I spend one day a week outside all day.

At my Foxwalker classes,

our goal is to be able to survive
in the wilderness with just a knife.

We learn to listen to nature,
we learn to sense our surroundings,

and I've gained
a spiritual connection to nature

that I never knew existed.

But the best part is
that we get to make spears,

bows and arrows,
fires with just a bow drill,

and survival shelters for the
snowy nights when we camp out.

Hanging out at The Moment Factory

where they hand make skis
and design clothes,

has really inspired me to
one day have my own business.

the guys at the factory have showed me
why I need to be good at math,

be creative and get good at sewing.

So I got an internship
at Big Short Brand

to get better at design and sewing.

Between fetching lunch,
scrubbing toilets,

and breaking their vacuum cleaner,

I'm getting to contribute
to clothing design,

customizing hats, and selling them.

The people who work there are
happy, healthy, creative

and stocked to be doing
what they're doing.

This is by far,
my favorite class.

So, this is where I'm really happy,

powder days.

And it's a good metaphor for my life,

my education,

my Hack-schooling.

If everyone skied this mountain

like most people think of education,

everyone would be skiing the same line,

probably the safest,

and most of the "powder"
would go untouched.

I look at this and see
a thousand possibilites.

Dropping the cornice,
shredding the spine,

looking for a [unclear]
from cliff to cliff.

Skiing to me is freedom,
and so it's my education.

It's about being creative,
doing things differently.

it's about community,
and helping each other,

it's about being happy and healthy

among my very best friends.

So I'm starting to think I know

what I might want to do
when I grow up.

But if you ask me
what do I want to be when I grow up,

I'll always know that
I want to be happy.

Thank you.
(Applause)