I haven’t always been a banana in fact
the journey from here to here was not
what I quite expected when I was younger
I wanted to be really good at pretending
I wanted to be so good so that no one
would know the real me so one summer age
20 I went off to Italy to study to
become a clown in commedia dell’arte
what I discovered there was a form of
theatre popularized in the 16th century
full of characters with social masks a
devious servant a foolish old man a
captain a lover all stock characters
that we would recognize in our pantomime
today but in order to play these
characters to be a clown I had to know
who I really was
so I’d left the UK only to discover that
I couldn’t hide from me this was not
what I had signed up for I was not happy
what do you mean you want me to look at
my personal life I want to pretend and I
so desperately wanted to carry on
pretending I didn’t want to look at who
the real Emma was so I learnt the
physicality I enjoyed understanding
stagecraft and I learnt how to hold a
crowd but to be a clown you have to be
the lowest status in the room and as I
stand here dressed as a banana I once
again find myself the lowest status in
the room but I had to continue I had to
persevere somehow this driver about
being on stage and wanting to pretend
kept on winning I wanted to become truly
expert in hiding so I got lucky I went
to drama school and I went there with
the sole intention of truly once and for
all becoming an expert in pretending
because I didn’t want to look at who I
was or where I’d come from my family
full of angst trauma and grief is my dad
died when I was 10 and his death left a
void that I so desperately wanted to
fill with somebody someone that would be
safe someone that wouldn’t go away so I
became an adult the first of many layers
so now I wanted to carry on pretending
and drama school was good for me it was
a place for me to pretend and to create
and to start to unpick the adult self
but as I stood there with a mirror
looking at me what became unquestionably
true was that I did not want to show the
real me so I hid amongst other layers
looking after my peers the mother figure
and yes I learnt that the craft of
acting is the portrayal of truth but it
was my truth that I wanted to put on
other layers so I put on the layer of
being an entrepreneur I am going to
become really successful and run
businesses but in reality I’ve had two
businesses fail my failures weren’t
meant to happen to me I wasn’t meant to
deal with the shame of having to let
people go I didn’t want to have to admit
that I’ve made the wrong choices but I
had made the wrong choices and it was
those mistakes those failures some of
the most horrific times in my life that
I truly believe have led me to right
here right now and this very right
moment because it was those failures
that led me to stop
and ask myself the difficult questions
Who am I really what makes my heart sing
what do I want to create because it was
those failures are one of the main
failures for me was that I thought
society needed me to be a certain way I
was invited to an event in the city so
because it was the city I bought a suit
I don’t wear suits I bought myself a
handbag I don’t use handbags I
frightened my quiff I have a quiff and
at that event I disappeared and as I
left that big tool building in the city
I promised myself never again no more
hiding then I was invited to this event
tutti-frutti and I knew the other
professional women were going to wear a
brooch or a headdress but wasn’t just
going to be quite enough for me and
always a dress with like little
pineapples on it so I took a deep breath
and I bought my first Bernardo outfit as
I put it on for the very first time I
felt this fear in my stomach but I took
a breath and I went out but I got into a
taxi cuz it was raining I didn’t be a
wet to banana and then after the event I
went on the tube went to restaurants and
the response I got from people would
blew me away because as I stood there
truly as me people were open they were
excited they were engaged and it dawned
on me because I’d let all my layers down
other people let bears down – so it’s
led me to walk the streets of London and
men many different guises Smurfs and
elves and a lampshade because I truly
believe when we give ourselves
permission to enjoy our lives it’s
extraordinary what can happen and for
those of us in business those businesses
that really seem to succeed are those
that put fun joy happiness
right at the heart of the way that they
do things they don’t just do business
because that’s the way they’ve always
done it but yet when I asked a roomful
of entrepreneurs recently where would
you place business this is fun
this is serious 98% of them said serious
why now those of you that are brave
those of you that choose to put fun and
joy in the heart of your lives will of
course get health benefits you’ll sleep
better you’ll feel less stressed and
your whole way of being will shift so I
ask you each and every single one of you
when are you going to ask yourself those
questions what makes you tick who are
you because by asking those questions
the results and the rewards can be quite
extraordinary so that in mind can I ask
you to do something okay in a moment I’m
gonna get you to all stand up and I’m
gonna put a box in front of you don’t
worry not really he’s invisible
and you’re gonna pull items out of your
box like this I want you to think of
your kitchen if you will sort of your
kitchen yeah and you can do this you’re
going to go nuts
banana toaster fridge washing machine
but if you can’t think of anything I
don’t you just stand there go can’t
think of anything which goes nothing
nothing nothing until you go oh yes
fridge fridge magnet apple orange pear
okay so on the count of three can you
all stand up once you three very good
heyget okay and now on the count of
three I want you to take items out of
your box thinking of your kitchen okay
one two three go
[Music]
excellent excellent you all have
kitchens I like this right but say there
don’t sit down looking off you ready to
sit down no stay up okay now I’d like to
do exactly the same exercise but this
time you’re going to take items out of
your box from your very own planet
that’s your very own planet one two
three go
[Music]
good well I’m so pleased that went well
you can sit down now right I’m curious I
think I do know the answer but who found
the kitchen the easiest show of hands
anybody find the planet the easiest ever
got anybody we’ve got a couple of hands
oh well done well done but even those of
you that found the planet the easiest
there would have been a moment where
there was a thought process well what
does she mean planet what can I have a
my planet I don’t know what’s going to
be bright what’s going to be wrong Oh
haven’t really thought about that that’s
quite hard but if I asked a roomful of
children there would be no thought
process we were all children once and I
believe it’s time that we all reconnect
with that little girl or that little boy
that’s inside of us we all used to learn
through play everything was possible we
didn’t block our own ideas we didn’t say
no I’m not creative no we’re not
scientific because we weren’t scared say
things like I’m no good at music I’m no
good at maths because we didn’t have
those words but yet as adults we put
more and more challenges in our way we
put more and more obstacles in our path
until we become paralysed by our own
limitations it’s time to live with more
of a yes and attitude and yes why not
it’s time to do the things that terrify
you the most because as I stand here
dressed as a banana it’s a pretty scary
place to be but as I stand here dressed
as a banana it’s a pretty good place to
be
because this is me so when are you going
to ask yourself those difficult
questions questions you’ve been putting
off questions perhaps you’re scared of
questions from a place deep within and
when you’re going to ask what makes my
heart sing and work it out and then tell
another human being because we’re all
alike you and me
all human beings and we all need to come
together whether that’s as a pair an
apple a banana some grapes or the whole
fruit bowl we all need to pay more
attention to ourselves we all need to
reconnect with ourselves we all need to
be more banana thank you
[Applause]
the journey from here to here was not
what I quite expected when I was younger
I wanted to be really good at pretending
I wanted to be so good so that no one
would know the real me so one summer age
20 I went off to Italy to study to
become a clown in commedia dell’arte
what I discovered there was a form of
theatre popularized in the 16th century
full of characters with social masks a
devious servant a foolish old man a
captain a lover all stock characters
that we would recognize in our pantomime
today but in order to play these
characters to be a clown I had to know
who I really was
so I’d left the UK only to discover that
I couldn’t hide from me this was not
what I had signed up for I was not happy
what do you mean you want me to look at
my personal life I want to pretend and I
so desperately wanted to carry on
pretending I didn’t want to look at who
the real Emma was so I learnt the
physicality I enjoyed understanding
stagecraft and I learnt how to hold a
crowd but to be a clown you have to be
the lowest status in the room and as I
stand here dressed as a banana I once
again find myself the lowest status in
the room but I had to continue I had to
persevere somehow this driver about
being on stage and wanting to pretend
kept on winning I wanted to become truly
expert in hiding so I got lucky I went
to drama school and I went there with
the sole intention of truly once and for
all becoming an expert in pretending
because I didn’t want to look at who I
was or where I’d come from my family
full of angst trauma and grief is my dad
died when I was 10 and his death left a
void that I so desperately wanted to
fill with somebody someone that would be
safe someone that wouldn’t go away so I
became an adult the first of many layers
so now I wanted to carry on pretending
and drama school was good for me it was
a place for me to pretend and to create
and to start to unpick the adult self
but as I stood there with a mirror
looking at me what became unquestionably
true was that I did not want to show the
real me so I hid amongst other layers
looking after my peers the mother figure
and yes I learnt that the craft of
acting is the portrayal of truth but it
was my truth that I wanted to put on
other layers so I put on the layer of
being an entrepreneur I am going to
become really successful and run
businesses but in reality I’ve had two
businesses fail my failures weren’t
meant to happen to me I wasn’t meant to
deal with the shame of having to let
people go I didn’t want to have to admit
that I’ve made the wrong choices but I
had made the wrong choices and it was
those mistakes those failures some of
the most horrific times in my life that
I truly believe have led me to right
here right now and this very right
moment because it was those failures
that led me to stop
and ask myself the difficult questions
Who am I really what makes my heart sing
what do I want to create because it was
those failures are one of the main
failures for me was that I thought
society needed me to be a certain way I
was invited to an event in the city so
because it was the city I bought a suit
I don’t wear suits I bought myself a
handbag I don’t use handbags I
frightened my quiff I have a quiff and
at that event I disappeared and as I
left that big tool building in the city
I promised myself never again no more
hiding then I was invited to this event
tutti-frutti and I knew the other
professional women were going to wear a
brooch or a headdress but wasn’t just
going to be quite enough for me and
always a dress with like little
pineapples on it so I took a deep breath
and I bought my first Bernardo outfit as
I put it on for the very first time I
felt this fear in my stomach but I took
a breath and I went out but I got into a
taxi cuz it was raining I didn’t be a
wet to banana and then after the event I
went on the tube went to restaurants and
the response I got from people would
blew me away because as I stood there
truly as me people were open they were
excited they were engaged and it dawned
on me because I’d let all my layers down
other people let bears down – so it’s
led me to walk the streets of London and
men many different guises Smurfs and
elves and a lampshade because I truly
believe when we give ourselves
permission to enjoy our lives it’s
extraordinary what can happen and for
those of us in business those businesses
that really seem to succeed are those
that put fun joy happiness
right at the heart of the way that they
do things they don’t just do business
because that’s the way they’ve always
done it but yet when I asked a roomful
of entrepreneurs recently where would
you place business this is fun
this is serious 98% of them said serious
why now those of you that are brave
those of you that choose to put fun and
joy in the heart of your lives will of
course get health benefits you’ll sleep
better you’ll feel less stressed and
your whole way of being will shift so I
ask you each and every single one of you
when are you going to ask yourself those
questions what makes you tick who are
you because by asking those questions
the results and the rewards can be quite
extraordinary so that in mind can I ask
you to do something okay in a moment I’m
gonna get you to all stand up and I’m
gonna put a box in front of you don’t
worry not really he’s invisible
and you’re gonna pull items out of your
box like this I want you to think of
your kitchen if you will sort of your
kitchen yeah and you can do this you’re
going to go nuts
banana toaster fridge washing machine
but if you can’t think of anything I
don’t you just stand there go can’t
think of anything which goes nothing
nothing nothing until you go oh yes
fridge fridge magnet apple orange pear
okay so on the count of three can you
all stand up once you three very good
heyget okay and now on the count of
three I want you to take items out of
your box thinking of your kitchen okay
one two three go
[Music]
excellent excellent you all have
kitchens I like this right but say there
don’t sit down looking off you ready to
sit down no stay up okay now I’d like to
do exactly the same exercise but this
time you’re going to take items out of
your box from your very own planet
that’s your very own planet one two
three go
[Music]
good well I’m so pleased that went well
you can sit down now right I’m curious I
think I do know the answer but who found
the kitchen the easiest show of hands
anybody find the planet the easiest ever
got anybody we’ve got a couple of hands
oh well done well done but even those of
you that found the planet the easiest
there would have been a moment where
there was a thought process well what
does she mean planet what can I have a
my planet I don’t know what’s going to
be bright what’s going to be wrong Oh
haven’t really thought about that that’s
quite hard but if I asked a roomful of
children there would be no thought
process we were all children once and I
believe it’s time that we all reconnect
with that little girl or that little boy
that’s inside of us we all used to learn
through play everything was possible we
didn’t block our own ideas we didn’t say
no I’m not creative no we’re not
scientific because we weren’t scared say
things like I’m no good at music I’m no
good at maths because we didn’t have
those words but yet as adults we put
more and more challenges in our way we
put more and more obstacles in our path
until we become paralysed by our own
limitations it’s time to live with more
of a yes and attitude and yes why not
it’s time to do the things that terrify
you the most because as I stand here
dressed as a banana it’s a pretty scary
place to be but as I stand here dressed
as a banana it’s a pretty good place to
be
because this is me so when are you going
to ask yourself those difficult
questions questions you’ve been putting
off questions perhaps you’re scared of
questions from a place deep within and
when you’re going to ask what makes my
heart sing and work it out and then tell
another human being because we’re all
alike you and me
all human beings and we all need to come
together whether that’s as a pair an
apple a banana some grapes or the whole
fruit bowl we all need to pay more
attention to ourselves we all need to
reconnect with ourselves we all need to
be more banana thank you
[Applause]
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