0:00:00.000,0:00:01.976
When I was nine years old,

0:00:02.000,0:00:04.143
I went off to summer camp[br]for the first time.

0:00:04.167,0:00:07.976
And my mother packed me a suitcase[br]full of books,

0:00:08.000,0:00:10.667
which to me seemed like[br]a perfectly natural thing to do.

0:00:10.691,0:00:14.976
Because in my family,[br]reading was the primary group activity.

0:00:15.000,0:00:16.976
And this might sound antisocial to you,

0:00:17.000,0:00:19.976
but for us it was really just[br]a different way of being social.

0:00:20.000,0:00:23.976
You have the animal warmth of your family[br]sitting right next to you,

0:00:24.000,0:00:26.858
but you are also free to go[br]roaming around the adventureland

0:00:26.882,0:00:27.976
inside your own mind.

0:00:28.000,0:00:29.976
And I had this idea

0:00:30.000,0:00:32.524
that camp was going to be[br]just like this, but better.

0:00:32.548,0:00:34.976
(Laughter)

0:00:35.000,0:00:37.976
I had a vision of 10 girls[br]sitting in a cabin

0:00:38.000,0:00:40.381
cozily reading books[br]in their matching nightgowns.

0:00:40.405,0:00:41.976
(Laughter)

0:00:42.000,0:00:44.976
Camp was more like a keg party[br]without any alcohol.

0:00:45.000,0:00:47.976
And on the very first day,

0:00:48.000,0:00:49.976
our counselor gathered us all together

0:00:50.000,0:00:52.676
and she taught us a cheer[br]that she said we would be doing

0:00:52.700,0:00:55.976
every day for the rest of the summer[br]to instill camp spirit.

0:00:56.000,0:00:57.976
And it went like this:

0:00:58.000,0:00:59.976
"R-O-W-D-I-E,

0:01:00.000,0:01:01.976
that's the way we spell rowdie.

0:01:02.000,0:01:05.393
Rowdie, rowdie, let's get rowdie."

0:01:05.417,0:01:06.417
(Laughter)

0:01:07.000,0:01:08.976
Yeah.

0:01:09.000,0:01:11.048
So I couldn't figure out[br]for the life of me

0:01:11.072,0:01:12.976
why we were supposed to be so rowdy,

0:01:13.000,0:01:15.976
or why we had to spell[br]this word incorrectly.

0:01:16.000,0:01:21.976
(Laughter)

0:01:22.000,0:01:25.191
But I recited a cheer. I recited[br]a cheer along with everybody else.

0:01:25.215,0:01:26.976
I did my best.

0:01:27.000,0:01:31.079
And I just waited for the time[br]that I could go off and read my books.

0:01:32.560,0:01:35.360
But the first time that I took[br]my book out of my suitcase,

0:01:35.384,0:01:37.400
the coolest girl in the bunk came up to me

0:01:37.424,0:01:39.876
and she asked me, "Why[br]are you being so mellow?" --

0:01:39.900,0:01:41.948
mellow, of course,[br]being the exact opposite

0:01:41.972,0:01:43.176
of R-O-W-D-I-E.

0:01:43.899,0:01:45.776
And then the second time I tried it,

0:01:45.800,0:01:48.976
the counselor came up to me[br]with a concerned expression on her face

0:01:49.000,0:01:51.096
and she repeated the point[br]about camp spirit

0:01:51.120,0:01:54.330
and said we should all work very hard[br]to be outgoing.

0:01:54.354,0:01:56.976
And so I put my books away,

0:01:57.000,0:01:59.976
back in their suitcase,

0:02:00.000,0:02:03.976
and I put them under my bed,

0:02:04.000,0:02:06.376
and there they stayed[br]for the rest of the summer.

0:02:06.400,0:02:08.176
And I felt kind of guilty about this.

0:02:08.200,0:02:10.176
I felt as if the books needed me somehow,

0:02:10.200,0:02:12.976
and they were calling out to me[br]and I was forsaking them.

0:02:13.000,0:02:15.876
But I did forsake them[br]and I didn't open that suitcase again

0:02:15.900,0:02:18.976
until I was back home with my family[br]at the end of the summer.

0:02:19.000,0:02:21.976
Now, I tell you this story[br]about summer camp.

0:02:22.000,0:02:24.976
I could have told you[br]50 others just like it --

0:02:25.000,0:02:26.976
all the times that I got the message

0:02:27.000,0:02:30.976
that somehow my quiet[br]and introverted style of being

0:02:31.000,0:02:32.976
was not necessarily the right way to go,

0:02:33.000,0:02:35.976
that I should be trying to pass[br]as more of an extrovert.

0:02:36.000,0:02:38.976
And I always sensed deep down[br]that this was wrong

0:02:39.000,0:02:41.858
and that introverts were[br]pretty excellent just as they were.

0:02:41.882,0:02:43.976
But for years I denied this intuition,

0:02:44.000,0:02:46.976
and so I became a Wall Street[br]lawyer, of all things,

0:02:47.000,0:02:49.976
instead of the writer[br]that I had always longed to be --

0:02:50.000,0:02:53.976
partly because I needed to prove to myself[br]that I could be bold and assertive too.

0:02:54.000,0:02:56.077
And I was always going off to crowded bars

0:02:56.101,0:02:59.673
when I really would have preferred[br]to just have a nice dinner with friends.

0:02:59.697,0:03:03.976
And I made these[br]self-negating choices so reflexively,

0:03:04.000,0:03:06.703
that I wasn't even aware[br]that I was making them.

0:03:07.497,0:03:09.276
Now this is what many introverts do,

0:03:09.300,0:03:10.976
and it's our loss for sure,

0:03:11.000,0:03:12.976
but it is also our colleagues' loss

0:03:13.000,0:03:14.976
and our communities' loss.

0:03:15.000,0:03:17.976
And at the risk of sounding grandiose,[br]it is the world's loss.

0:03:18.000,0:03:20.976
Because when it comes[br]to creativity and to leadership,

0:03:21.000,0:03:23.976
we need introverts doing[br]what they do best.

0:03:24.000,0:03:26.524
A third to a half of the population[br]are introverts --

0:03:26.548,0:03:27.976
a third to a half.

0:03:28.000,0:03:30.976
So that's one out of every two[br]or three people you know.

0:03:31.000,0:03:33.976
So even if you're an extrovert yourself,

0:03:34.000,0:03:35.976
I'm talking about your coworkers

0:03:36.000,0:03:37.976
and your spouses and your children

0:03:38.000,0:03:40.976
and the person sitting[br]next to you right now --

0:03:41.000,0:03:42.976
all of them subject to this bias

0:03:43.000,0:03:45.096
that is pretty deep[br]and real in our society.

0:03:45.120,0:03:47.976
We all internalize it[br]from a very early age

0:03:48.000,0:03:50.976
without even having a language[br]for what we're doing.

0:03:51.000,0:03:52.976
Now, to see the bias clearly,

0:03:53.000,0:03:55.976
you need to understand[br]what introversion is.

0:03:56.000,0:03:57.976
It's different from being shy.

0:03:58.000,0:03:59.976
Shyness is about fear of social judgment.

0:04:00.000,0:04:01.976
Introversion is more about,

0:04:02.000,0:04:03.976
how do you respond to stimulation,

0:04:04.000,0:04:05.976
including social stimulation.

0:04:06.000,0:04:08.976
So extroverts really crave[br]large amounts of stimulation,

0:04:09.000,0:04:11.077
whereas introverts feel[br]at their most alive

0:04:11.101,0:04:13.477
and their most switched-on[br]and their most capable

0:04:13.501,0:04:15.906
when they're in quieter,[br]more low-key environments.

0:04:15.930,0:04:18.359
Not all the time --[br]these things aren't absolute --

0:04:18.383,0:04:19.576
but a lot of the time.

0:04:19.600,0:04:23.976
So the key then to maximizing our talents

0:04:24.000,0:04:25.976
is for us all to put ourselves

0:04:26.000,0:04:28.976
in the zone of stimulation[br]that is right for us.

0:04:29.000,0:04:30.976
But now here's where the bias comes in.

0:04:31.000,0:04:32.976
Our most important institutions,

0:04:33.000,0:04:34.976
our schools and our workplaces,

0:04:35.000,0:04:36.976
they are designed mostly for extroverts

0:04:37.000,0:04:39.976
and for extroverts' need[br]for lots of stimulation.

0:04:40.000,0:04:43.976
And also we have[br]this belief system right now

0:04:44.000,0:04:45.976
that I call the new groupthink,

0:04:46.000,0:04:48.976
which holds that all creativity[br]and all productivity

0:04:49.000,0:04:53.000
comes from a very oddly gregarious place.

0:04:54.000,0:04:56.334
So if you picture the typical[br]classroom nowadays:

0:04:56.358,0:04:59.976
When I was going to school,[br]we sat in rows.

0:05:00.000,0:05:01.976
We sat in rows of desks like this,

0:05:02.000,0:05:04.263
and we did most of our work[br]pretty autonomously.

0:05:04.287,0:05:07.976
But nowadays, your typical classroom[br]has pods of desks --

0:05:08.000,0:05:10.976
four or five or six or seven kids[br]all facing each other.

0:05:11.000,0:05:13.477
And kids are working[br]in countless group assignments.

0:05:13.501,0:05:15.976
Even in subjects like math[br]and creative writing,

0:05:16.000,0:05:18.976
which you think would depend[br]on solo flights of thought,

0:05:19.000,0:05:22.976
kids are now expected to act[br]as committee members.

0:05:23.000,0:05:27.191
And for the kids who prefer to go off[br]by themselves or just to work alone,

0:05:27.215,0:05:29.076
those kids are seen as outliers often

0:05:29.100,0:05:31.000
or, worse, as problem cases.

0:05:33.746,0:05:35.622
And the vast majority of teachers

0:05:35.646,0:05:38.376
reports believing that[br]the ideal student is an extrovert

0:05:38.400,0:05:39.976
as opposed to an introvert,

0:05:40.000,0:05:42.334
even though introverts[br]actually get better grades

0:05:42.358,0:05:43.976
and are more knowledgeable,

0:05:44.000,0:05:45.976
according to research.

0:05:46.000,0:05:47.976
(Laughter)

0:05:48.000,0:05:50.976
Okay, same thing is true[br]in our workplaces.

0:05:51.000,0:05:53.976
Now, most of us work in open plan offices,

0:05:54.000,0:05:55.976
without walls,

0:05:56.000,0:06:00.286
where we are subject to the constant[br]noise and gaze of our coworkers.

0:06:00.310,0:06:01.976
And when it comes to leadership,

0:06:02.000,0:06:04.976
introverts are routinely passed over[br]for leadership positions,

0:06:05.000,0:06:07.216
even though introverts[br]tend to be very careful,

0:06:07.240,0:06:09.216
much less likely to take outsize risks --

0:06:09.240,0:06:11.976
which is something[br]we might all favor nowadays.

0:06:12.000,0:06:14.976
And interesting research[br]by Adam Grant at the Wharton School

0:06:15.000,0:06:16.976
has found that introverted leaders

0:06:17.000,0:06:19.334
often deliver better outcomes[br]than extroverts do,

0:06:19.358,0:06:21.976
because when they are managing[br]proactive employees,

0:06:22.000,0:06:25.263
they're much more likely to let[br]those employees run with their ideas,

0:06:25.287,0:06:27.383
whereas an extrovert[br]can, quite unwittingly,

0:06:27.407,0:06:28.976
get so excited about things

0:06:29.000,0:06:31.216
that they're putting[br]their own stamp on things,

0:06:31.240,0:06:35.976
and other people's ideas might not[br]as easily then bubble up to the surface.

0:06:36.000,0:06:39.776
Now in fact, some of our transformative[br]leaders in history have been introverts.

0:06:39.800,0:06:41.176
I'll give you some examples.

0:06:41.200,0:06:43.976
Eleanor Roosevelt, Rosa Parks, Gandhi --

0:06:44.000,0:06:48.976
all these peopled described themselves[br]as quiet and soft-spoken and even shy.

0:06:49.000,0:06:50.976
And they all took the spotlight,

0:06:51.000,0:06:55.000
even though every bone in their bodies[br]was telling them not to.

0:06:56.269,0:06:58.876
And this turns out to have[br]a special power all its own,

0:06:58.900,0:07:01.876
because people could feel[br]that these leaders were at the helm

0:07:01.900,0:07:03.876
not because they enjoyed directing others

0:07:03.900,0:07:06.176
and not out of the pleasure[br]of being looked at;

0:07:06.200,0:07:08.248
they were there[br]because they had no choice,

0:07:08.272,0:07:11.444
because they were driven to do[br]what they thought was right.

0:07:11.468,0:07:14.076
Now I think at this point[br]it's important for me to say

0:07:14.100,0:07:16.976
that I actually love extroverts.

0:07:17.000,0:07:19.976
I always like to say some of my best[br]friends are extroverts,

0:07:20.000,0:07:22.000
including my beloved husband.

0:07:24.000,0:07:26.239
And we all fall[br]at different points, of course,

0:07:26.263,0:07:28.976
along the introvert/extrovert spectrum.

0:07:29.000,0:07:32.406
Even Carl Jung, the psychologist[br]who first popularized these terms,

0:07:32.430,0:07:34.821
said that there's no such thing[br]as a pure introvert

0:07:34.845,0:07:36.176
or a pure extrovert.

0:07:36.200,0:07:38.724
He said that such a man[br]would be in a lunatic asylum,

0:07:38.748,0:07:40.976
if he existed at all.

0:07:41.000,0:07:44.976
And some people fall smack in the middle[br]of the introvert/extrovert spectrum,

0:07:45.000,0:07:46.976
and we call these people ambiverts.

0:07:47.000,0:07:50.000
And I often think that they have[br]the best of all worlds.

0:07:50.999,0:07:53.976
But many of us do recognize[br]ourselves as one type or the other.

0:07:54.000,0:07:57.286
And what I'm saying is that culturally,[br]we need a much better balance.

0:07:57.310,0:08:00.976
We need more of a yin and yang[br]between these two types.

0:08:01.000,0:08:02.976
This is especially important

0:08:03.000,0:08:05.286
when it comes to creativity[br]and to productivity,

0:08:05.310,0:08:08.976
because when psychologists look[br]at the lives of the most creative people,

0:08:09.000,0:08:10.976
what they find

0:08:11.000,0:08:13.286
are people who are very good[br]at exchanging ideas

0:08:13.310,0:08:14.976
and advancing ideas,

0:08:15.000,0:08:17.976
but who also have a serious[br]streak of introversion in them.

0:08:18.000,0:08:20.229
And this is because solitude

0:08:20.253,0:08:22.376
is a crucial ingredient[br]often to creativity.

0:08:22.400,0:08:23.976
So Darwin,

0:08:24.000,0:08:25.976
he took long walks alone in the woods

0:08:26.000,0:08:28.976
and emphatically turned down[br]dinner-party invitations.

0:08:29.000,0:08:31.976
Theodor Geisel, better known as Dr. Seuss,

0:08:32.000,0:08:34.025
he dreamed up many[br]of his amazing creations

0:08:34.049,0:08:36.025
in a lonely bell tower office that he had

0:08:36.049,0:08:38.976
in the back of his house[br]in La Jolla, California.

0:08:39.000,0:08:42.976
And he was actually afraid to meet[br]the young children who read his books

0:08:43.000,0:08:47.000
for fear that they were expecting him[br]this kind of jolly Santa Claus-like figure

0:08:47.024,0:08:50.976
and would be disappointed[br]with his more reserved persona.

0:08:51.000,0:08:53.239
Steve Wozniak invented[br]the first Apple computer

0:08:53.263,0:08:56.260
sitting alone in his cubicle[br]in Hewlett-Packard

0:08:56.284,0:08:57.921
where he was working at the time.

0:08:57.945,0:09:01.620
And he says that he never would have[br]become such an expert in the first place

0:09:01.644,0:09:04.076
had he not been too introverted[br]to leave the house

0:09:04.100,0:09:05.376
when he was growing up.

0:09:05.808,0:09:07.976
Now, of course,

0:09:08.000,0:09:10.976
this does not mean that we should[br]all stop collaborating --

0:09:11.000,0:09:14.620
and case in point, is Steve Wozniak[br]famously coming together with Steve Jobs

0:09:14.644,0:09:16.976
to start Apple Computer --

0:09:17.000,0:09:19.976
but it does mean that solitude matters

0:09:20.000,0:09:23.976
and that for some people[br]it is the air that they breathe.

0:09:24.000,0:09:29.976
And in fact, we have known for centuries[br]about the transcendent power of solitude.

0:09:30.000,0:09:32.976
It's only recently that[br]we've strangely begun to forget it.

0:09:33.000,0:09:35.976
If you look at most[br]of the world's major religions,

0:09:36.000,0:09:37.976
you will find seekers --

0:09:38.000,0:09:40.976
Moses, Jesus, Buddha, Muhammad --

0:09:41.000,0:09:44.976
seekers who are going off by themselves[br]alone to the wilderness,

0:09:45.000,0:09:47.676
where they then have profound[br]epiphanies and revelations

0:09:47.700,0:09:50.376
that they then bring back[br]to the rest of the community.

0:09:50.400,0:09:53.976
So, no wilderness, no revelations.

0:09:54.000,0:09:55.976
This is no surprise, though,

0:09:56.000,0:09:58.976
if you look at the insights[br]of contemporary psychology.

0:09:59.000,0:10:01.976
It turns out that we can't[br]even be in a group of people

0:10:02.000,0:10:04.976
without instinctively mirroring,[br]mimicking their opinions.

0:10:05.000,0:10:07.334
Even about seemingly[br]personal and visceral things

0:10:07.358,0:10:08.976
like who you're attracted to,

0:10:09.000,0:10:11.976
you will start aping the beliefs[br]of the people around you

0:10:12.000,0:10:14.524
without even realizing[br]that that's what you're doing.

0:10:14.548,0:10:16.976
And groups famously follow the opinions

0:10:17.000,0:10:19.676
of the most dominant[br]or charismatic person in the room,

0:10:19.700,0:10:21.476
even though there's zero correlation

0:10:21.500,0:10:24.276
between being the best talker[br]and having the best ideas --

0:10:24.300,0:10:25.976
I mean zero.

0:10:26.000,0:10:27.976
So...

0:10:28.000,0:10:29.976
(Laughter)

0:10:30.000,0:10:32.976
You might be following the person[br]with the best ideas,

0:10:33.000,0:10:34.976
but you might not.

0:10:35.000,0:10:37.976
And do you really want[br]to leave it up to chance?

0:10:38.000,0:10:40.381
Much better for everybody[br]to go off by themselves,

0:10:40.405,0:10:41.976
generate their own ideas

0:10:42.000,0:10:44.143
freed from the distortions[br]of group dynamics,

0:10:44.167,0:10:45.976
and then come together as a team

0:10:46.000,0:10:48.976
to talk them through[br]in a well-managed environment

0:10:49.000,0:10:50.976
and take it from there.

0:10:51.000,0:10:52.976
Now if all this is true,

0:10:53.000,0:10:55.976
then why are we getting it so wrong?

0:10:56.000,0:10:58.976
Why are we setting up our schools[br]this way, and our workplaces?

0:10:59.000,0:11:01.524
And why are we making[br]these introverts feel so guilty

0:11:01.548,0:11:04.476
about wanting to just go off[br]by themselves some of the time?

0:11:04.500,0:11:06.976
One answer lies deep[br]in our cultural history.

0:11:07.000,0:11:08.976
Western societies,

0:11:09.000,0:11:10.976
and in particular the U.S.,

0:11:11.000,0:11:17.105
have always favored the man of action[br]over the "man" of contemplation.

0:11:19.000,0:11:21.976
But in America's early days,

0:11:22.000,0:11:24.976
we lived in what historians[br]call a culture of character,

0:11:25.000,0:11:27.096
where we still,[br]at that point, valued people

0:11:27.120,0:11:29.976
for their inner selves[br]and their moral rectitude.

0:11:30.000,0:11:32.576
And if you look at the self-help[br]books from this era,

0:11:32.600,0:11:34.376
they all had titles with things like

0:11:34.400,0:11:36.976
"Character, the Grandest[br]Thing in the World."

0:11:37.000,0:11:39.976
And they featured role models[br]like Abraham Lincoln,

0:11:40.000,0:11:42.286
who was praised for being[br]modest and unassuming.

0:11:42.310,0:11:43.976
Ralph Waldo Emerson called him

0:11:44.000,0:11:46.976
"A man who does not[br]offend by superiority."

0:11:47.000,0:11:49.976
But then we hit the 20th century,

0:11:50.000,0:11:51.976
and we entered a new culture

0:11:52.000,0:11:54.263
that historians call[br]the culture of personality.

0:11:54.287,0:11:56.963
What happened is we had evolved[br]an agricultural economy

0:11:56.987,0:11:58.376
to a world of big business.

0:11:58.400,0:12:01.976
And so suddenly people are moving[br]from small towns to the cities.

0:12:02.000,0:12:05.311
And instead of working alongside people[br]they've known all their lives,

0:12:05.335,0:12:08.976
now they are having to prove themselves[br]in a crowd of strangers.

0:12:09.000,0:12:10.976
So, quite understandably,

0:12:11.000,0:12:14.976
qualities like magnetism and charisma[br]suddenly come to seem really important.

0:12:15.000,0:12:18.191
And sure enough, the self-help books[br]change to meet these new needs

0:12:18.215,0:12:19.976
and they start to have names

0:12:20.000,0:12:22.216
like "How to Win Friends[br]and Influence People."

0:12:22.240,0:12:26.976
And they feature as their role models[br]really great salesmen.

0:12:27.000,0:12:29.000
So that's the world we're living in today.

0:12:29.024,0:12:32.976
That's our cultural inheritance.

0:12:33.000,0:12:37.976
Now none of this is to say[br]that social skills are unimportant,

0:12:38.000,0:12:42.976
and I'm also not calling[br]for the abolishing of teamwork at all.

0:12:43.000,0:12:46.191
The same religions who send their sages[br]off to lonely mountain tops

0:12:46.215,0:12:48.976
also teach us love and trust.

0:12:49.000,0:12:50.976
And the problems that we are facing today

0:12:51.000,0:12:52.976
in fields like science and in economics

0:12:53.000,0:12:54.976
are so vast and so complex

0:12:55.000,0:12:57.776
that we are going to need armies[br]of people coming together

0:12:57.800,0:12:59.376
to solve them working together.

0:12:59.400,0:13:03.176
But I am saying that the more freedom[br]that we give introverts to be themselves,

0:13:03.200,0:13:04.676
the more likely that they are

0:13:04.700,0:13:07.700
to come up with their own unique[br]solutions to these problems.

0:13:09.000,0:13:14.000
So now I'd like to share with you[br]what's in my suitcase today.

0:13:18.000,0:13:19.976
Guess what?

0:13:20.000,0:13:21.976
Books.

0:13:22.000,0:13:23.976
I have a suitcase full of books.

0:13:24.000,0:13:25.976
Here's Margaret Atwood, "Cat's Eye."

0:13:26.000,0:13:28.976
Here's a novel by Milan Kundera.

0:13:29.000,0:13:33.976
And here's "The Guide for the Perplexed"[br]by Maimonides.

0:13:34.000,0:13:36.976
But these are not exactly my books.

0:13:37.000,0:13:38.976
I brought these books with me

0:13:39.000,0:13:42.976
because they were written[br]by my grandfather's favorite authors.

0:13:43.000,0:13:44.976
My grandfather was a rabbi

0:13:45.000,0:13:46.976
and he was a widower

0:13:47.000,0:13:49.976
who lived alone in a small[br]apartment in Brooklyn

0:13:50.000,0:13:52.976
that was my favorite place[br]in the world when I was growing up,

0:13:53.000,0:13:56.429
partly because it was filled with[br]his very gentle, very courtly presence

0:13:56.453,0:13:58.976
and partly because[br]it was filled with books.

0:13:59.000,0:14:01.976
I mean literally every table,[br]every chair in this apartment

0:14:02.000,0:14:03.976
had yielded its original function

0:14:04.000,0:14:06.976
to now serve as a surface[br]for swaying stacks of books.

0:14:07.000,0:14:08.976
Just like the rest of my family,

0:14:09.000,0:14:12.286
my grandfather's favorite thing to do[br]in the whole world was to read.

0:14:12.310,0:14:14.976
But he also loved his congregation,

0:14:15.000,0:14:17.976
and you could feel this love[br]in the sermons that he gave

0:14:18.000,0:14:21.976
every week for the 62 years[br]that he was a rabbi.

0:14:22.000,0:14:24.976
He would takes the fruits[br]of each week's reading

0:14:25.000,0:14:26.312
and he would weave

0:14:26.336,0:14:29.177
these intricate tapestries[br]of ancient and humanist thought.

0:14:29.201,0:14:31.839
And people would come from all over[br]to hear him speak.

0:14:32.703,0:14:34.976
But here's the thing about my grandfather.

0:14:36.067,0:14:37.676
Underneath this ceremonial role,

0:14:37.700,0:14:39.976
he was really modest[br]and really introverted --

0:14:40.000,0:14:42.976
so much so that when[br]he delivered these sermons,

0:14:43.000,0:14:44.976
he had trouble making eye contact

0:14:45.000,0:14:49.000
with the very same congregation[br]that he had been speaking to for 62 years.

0:14:49.024,0:14:50.976
And even away from the podium,

0:14:51.000,0:14:52.976
when you called him to say hello,

0:14:53.000,0:14:55.239
he would often end[br]the conversation prematurely

0:14:55.263,0:14:58.976
for fear that he was taking up[br]too much of your time.

0:14:59.000,0:15:01.976
But when he died at the age of 94,

0:15:02.000,0:15:04.976
the police had to close down[br]the streets of his neighborhood

0:15:05.000,0:15:08.910
to accommodate the crowd of people[br]who came out to mourn him.

0:15:11.846,0:15:14.876
And so these days I try to learn[br]from my grandfather's example

0:15:14.900,0:15:16.276
in my own way.

0:15:16.300,0:15:18.976
So I just published a book[br]about introversion,

0:15:19.000,0:15:21.000
and it took me about seven years to write.

0:15:21.024,0:15:23.976
And for me, that seven years[br]was like total bliss,

0:15:24.000,0:15:26.976
because I was reading, I was writing,

0:15:27.000,0:15:28.976
I was thinking, I was researching.

0:15:29.000,0:15:30.976
It was my version

0:15:31.000,0:15:33.976
of my grandfather's hours[br]of the day alone in his library.

0:15:34.000,0:15:36.976
But now all of a sudden[br]my job is very different,

0:15:37.000,0:15:39.976
and my job is to be[br]out here talking about it,

0:15:40.000,0:15:42.976
talking about introversion.

0:15:43.000,0:15:46.976
(Laughter)

0:15:47.000,0:15:48.976
And that's a lot harder for me,

0:15:49.000,0:15:52.976
because as honored as I am[br]to be here with all of you right now,

0:15:53.000,0:15:55.976
this is not my natural milieu.

0:15:56.000,0:15:59.976
So I prepared for moments[br]like these as best I could.

0:16:00.000,0:16:02.286
I spent the last year[br]practicing public speaking

0:16:02.310,0:16:03.976
every chance I could get.

0:16:04.000,0:16:06.976
And I call this my "year[br]of speaking dangerously."

0:16:07.000,0:16:08.976
(Laughter)

0:16:09.000,0:16:10.976
And that actually helped a lot.

0:16:11.000,0:16:12.976
But I'll tell you, what helps even more

0:16:13.000,0:16:17.976
is my sense, my belief, my hope[br]that when it comes to our attitudes

0:16:18.000,0:16:20.120
to introversion and to quiet[br]and to solitude,

0:16:20.144,0:16:22.621
we truly are poised on the brink[br]on dramatic change.

0:16:22.645,0:16:23.976
I mean, we are.

0:16:24.000,0:16:25.976
And so I am going to leave you now

0:16:26.000,0:16:29.976
with three calls for action[br]for those who share this vision.

0:16:30.000,0:16:31.976
Number one:

0:16:32.000,0:16:33.976
Stop the madness for constant group work.

0:16:34.000,0:16:35.976
Just stop it.

0:16:36.000,0:16:38.976
(Laughter)

0:16:39.000,0:16:40.976
Thank you.

0:16:41.000,0:16:42.976
(Applause)

0:16:43.000,0:16:45.143
And I want to be clear[br]about what I'm saying,

0:16:45.167,0:16:46.976
because I deeply believe our offices

0:16:47.000,0:16:50.976
should be encouraging casual, chatty[br]cafe-style types of interactions --

0:16:51.000,0:16:53.120
you know, the kind[br]where people come together

0:16:53.144,0:16:55.335
and serendipitously have[br]an exchange of ideas.

0:16:55.359,0:16:56.976
That is great.

0:16:57.000,0:16:59.676
It's great for introverts[br]and it's great for extroverts.

0:16:59.700,0:17:02.129
But we need much more privacy[br]and much more freedom

0:17:02.153,0:17:03.676
and much more autonomy at work.

0:17:03.700,0:17:04.976
School, same thing.

0:17:05.000,0:17:07.976
We need to be teaching kids[br]to work together, for sure,

0:17:08.000,0:17:10.976
but we also need to be teaching them[br]how to work on their own.

0:17:11.000,0:17:13.776
This is especially important[br]for extroverted children too.

0:17:13.800,0:17:15.276
They need to work on their own

0:17:15.300,0:17:17.872
because that is where deep thought[br]comes from in part.

0:17:17.896,0:17:19.976
Okay, number two: Go to the wilderness.

0:17:20.000,0:17:22.976
Be like Buddha, have your own revelations.

0:17:23.000,0:17:24.976
I'm not saying

0:17:25.000,0:17:28.239
that we all have to now go off and build[br]our own cabins in the woods

0:17:28.263,0:17:30.976
and never talk to each other again,

0:17:31.000,0:17:33.334
but I am saying that we could[br]all stand to unplug

0:17:33.358,0:17:38.000
and get inside our own heads[br]a little more often.

0:17:39.000,0:17:41.976
Number three:

0:17:42.000,0:17:44.429
Take a good look[br]at what's inside your own suitcase

0:17:44.453,0:17:45.976
and why you put it there.

0:17:46.000,0:17:47.976
So extroverts,

0:17:48.000,0:17:50.073
maybe your suitcases[br]are also full of books.

0:17:50.097,0:17:54.976
Or maybe they're full of champagne glasses[br]or skydiving equipment.

0:17:55.000,0:17:58.976
Whatever it is, I hope you take[br]these things out every chance you get

0:17:59.000,0:18:01.976
and grace us with your energy[br]and your joy.

0:18:02.000,0:18:04.976
But introverts, you being you,

0:18:05.000,0:18:07.554
you probably have the impulse[br]to guard very carefully

0:18:07.578,0:18:09.454
what's inside your own suitcase.

0:18:09.478,0:18:10.976
And that's okay.

0:18:11.000,0:18:12.976
But occasionally, just occasionally,

0:18:13.000,0:18:16.000
I hope you will open up your suitcases[br]for other people to see,

0:18:16.024,0:18:19.024
because the world needs you and it[br]needs the things you carry.

0:18:21.000,0:18:23.239
So I wish you the best[br]of all possible journeys

0:18:23.263,0:18:25.976
and the courage to speak softly.

0:18:26.000,0:18:27.976
Thank you very much.

0:18:28.000,0:18:31.976
(Applause)

0:18:32.000,0:18:34.976
Thank you. Thank you.

0:18:35.000,0:18:42.000
(Applause)