What is smart? | Josh Blacker | TEDxWestVancouverED

This talk was given at a local TEDx event, produced independently of the TED Conferences.
Josh Blacker is an actor and producer born in South Africa, now living in Vancouver. He encourages everyone to follow their inner "pilot light" in whatever they want to do in their life. That's what he calls "smart".

One Halloween I went to a party

and a friend of mine showed up
dressed in a white T-shirt, and 501s,

and about 500 Smarties glued to his pants.

I said, "What are you dressed as?"

He said, "Smarty pants."

(Laughter)

Ever since then I've been intrigued
by the idea of what is "smart."

As a kid, growing up, I used to
stay up as late as possible

so I could crash my parents dinner parties
and entertain the guests.

Any laughing or ovation
would encourage me.

And I felt as though I was in my element,

that I was doing what I was meant to do.

But that was never encouraged
as a career choice,

because my whole life
I was told that I was smart.

"Josh, you're so smart you can do
whatever you want.

Study, work hard, go to university
and everything will work out perfectly."

Then when I was sixteen, my family
moved to Canada from South Africa.

My parents wanted to provide us

with the best possible opportunities
to succeed.

But I didn't fit in.

I had a funny accent, I had my nose
in the books and I didn't know anyone.

So I joined the drama club.

We spent hours after school rehearsing,
reading plays, doing monologues,

talking about our dreams
and how one day

we were all going to move to L.A.
and become famous actors. (Laughter)

One of my mentors once told me
that there's a pilot light

inside each one of us that guides us,

it's a lighthouse in dark and stormy seas.

It was in those moments that I spent
with my fellow actors in the drama club

that my pilot light began
to burn its strongest.

So when it came time
to choose a major at university,

I approached my friends and my teachers

and said, "I want to study drama."

They all reacted exactly the same way.

They looked at me, skeptically,
and said the same thing:

"Josh that's a waste of your intellect.

You can be anything. You can be
a lawyer, a doctor, a judge, an engineer.

Acting is a hobby, not a job."

So, I went to law school,

I passed the bar
and I practiced law for four years.

I was miserable.

And then one day
I was preparing for a big trial

and I started to be overwhelmed
by all these feelings

of fear, and doubt, and panic.

I didn't know what to do,
I was completely overwhelmed.

I know now that I was having
an anxiety attack.

Things had come to a head
and I was completely overwhelmed;

I reached out and I called
an emergency helpline.

They talked me down
and referred me to a counselor.

I spent months talking to a counselor

about my dreams, my goals, my ambitions.

And then one day she turned
and looked at me and said:

"Josh, what is it you most
want to do in the world?"

I said: "I want to perform.
I want to act."

She took a moment,
and looked at me, and smiled.

It was a smile of acceptance
and of encouragement.

And it was a turning point in my life.

It made me realize
I could do what I loved.

I could follow that light
that shone inside me.

So I quit my job, I moved to Vancouver
to become a professional actor.

That was ten years ago.

It's been an amazing journey.
There's been ups and there's been downs.

There have been highs
and there have definitely been lows.

There's been times when I've been
unemployed for months.

But I've also had the opportunity
to work with some great actors:

Jodie Foster and Matt Damon.

And throughout it all
I've never felt more alive.

My pilot light burns brighter
and stronger than ever.

What is "smart"?

It's being brave enough and strong enough

to do what you love and follow that light.

But also it's seeing
that light in other people

and encouraging them to do the same.

Thank you.

(Applause)