[Applause]
so what could you do for somebody what
would you do for somebody what it was
something they didn’t even know could be
done but you knew with your skill set
and what you’re doing what you’ve done
and the people that you know and the
people that you influence and the people
that influence you that you could make a
difference what if someone seemingly
came into your life out of nowhere and
you had the opportunity to influence
inspire affect and make a difference in
their lives would you do it would you
give somebody aid without asking so what
is aid without asking I’m glad you asked
it is a simple idea that when you meet
somebody you try and do and determine
what you can do for them and now what
they can do for you and you do with no
expectation of a return Zig Ziglar said
is you can get all you want out of life
if you just help enough other people get
what they want out of life
the Buddhists and the Hindus call it
karma they believe it is the actions of
a person that ultimately determines
their fate
the Jews say medaka negate Medaille
which means measure corresponding to
measure in Hebrew in Philly in North
Jersey we simply say a well goes around
comes around
so I grow up a typical normal household
probably like many of you my father was
an entrepreneur caught some very bad
breaks as a result he did go bankrupt
many times and as a result he was always
working two jobs or going bankrupt my
childhood adolescence was always dealing
with the foreclosure of the house and
the repossession of my cars and my
mother she was either dealing with
working two jobs or trying not to die of
cancer we’re gonna get to that in a
minute my father did go bankrupt three
times the first time he owned a stocking
route also known as Ho’s Ruiz knee-highs
I can remember he would wake up 6
o’clock in the morning fill that blue
galaxy 500 with stockings drive into
Center City Philadelphia fill up the
racks and all these little small super
Rhett’s that line the streets of
Philadelphia get paid get back into his
car and just go on to the next location
life was good one of the problems was a
couple of people that were buying the
stockings were doing so to go out put
them back over their faces and go back
in and robbed the supermarket kidding of
course of course if one time a company
has a bright idea of putting these
pantyhose into a giant plastic egg and
they called them legs and it became a
national sensation which ultimately
chopped my father’s legs off at the
wallet bankruptcy number two when we
opened up a Buster Brown shoe store in
the upcoming neighborhood of Richboro
Pennsylvania unfortunately about one
year into opening up that store a
recession hit the Northeast and they
stopped building homes and no more homes
equaled no more kids no more kids
equaled no more feet and no more feet
equaled no more need for a Buster Brown
shoe store we kept the bust in Buster
Brown strike three number three the
worst one the one that almost cost us
all when my father got his lifelong
dream to cut the ribbon on a 25,000
square foot supermarket into then dying
little South Jersey town known as
Riverton New Jersey to put it in
perspective you could have fit five of
my father’s stores into any one of
today’s mega super stores my father had
that store for a little over five years
before the continuing decline of
Riverton New Jersey and he continuing
increase of the rent the utilities and
union wages forced us to close we pulled
up one day and the sheriff was already
at the front door so I got out of the
car and I went to the back door because
you know what they say
one door closes often there’s a door
with a broken latch around back
so I grabbed six cases of tuna and when
we were pulling out of the lot that day
I said to my father hate dad do me a
favor go around back I grabbed some tuna
fish my mother became the tuna queen if
it can be made from tunas she made it
we had tuna casserole tuna on toast tuna
tacos and when things got really bad
tuna I’ll tell you what you asked any
mermaid you happen to see what’s the
best tuna the kind you get for free you
know sometimes in life we get some bad
breaks and sometimes we get a good
bounce because of everything that was
going on in my life I became a latchkey
kid I went to the Y for six hours a day
supposedly doing my homework studying
and eating in between games Monday
afternoon I her ball bounced from behind
me and I turned around there was a guy
about six foot five and he’s walking
towards me and yells a little help so I
reached down and the balls right there
so I reached down and I had big hands
for a 12 year old I reached down and I
picked up the ball and I handed it back
to him and I guess he was impressed with
my one hand and grabbed because he says
to me what’s your name and what are you
doing here every single day what is your
story so I told him my name and I told
him my story I told him my situation I
said what’s your name what do you do
he said I’m Mitch and I’m just a vendor
I said Mitch what do you vend
he said Philadelphia soft pretzels and I
immediately thought I could bend that so
I said to him who do you sell into
what’s involved where do you sell him
when can I start
how much do your guys make and then I
did the math in my head and I said Oh
Mitch I have to have this job because
after all 100% of the things we don’t
ask for in life we will not get and I
made the decision right then and there
as a twelve and a half year old that I
would gladly give up the next six years
of my life for my adult 60 it just made
so I said to Mitch when you come over to
the house when you meet my parents I
really need to work with you
so I invited Robert house he had dinner
and my parents agreed to allow me to
work for Mitch you give a kid a pretzel
you could feed him for a day teach a kid
that sell soft pretzels and their
families and get their lives back so I
went to sell soft pretzels for Mitch at
every single major sporting event in
Philadelphia and every music event I
went to every parade road from Boston
down to Virginia every single night and
every single weekend and after every
single event I would take the money I
made I’d put in an envelope leave it on
the kitchen counter and it would go
towards the family Bill’s about three
months into it I hear a hushed
conversation from my parents and I
realized that there’s absolutely no way
that we could save enough money fast
enough to save the house in the cars so
that weekend after the parade I say
Mitch we got to make a new deal
I said my family needs $13,500 right now
and I already did the math and if you
can give me that money I can have you
paid back in less than a year and a half
with interest and he thought about it
and he said I’ll do the deal no interest
and because of Mitch we’ve got our cars
off the impound lot and our home out of
foreclosure immediately I ended up
having Mitch paid off in less than a
year and a half and I ultimately went on
to sell more than four hundred and fifty
thousand pretzels I learned a lot of
lessons from Mitch you can imagine in
the the street smarts you get from
selling four hundred fifty thousand
parenthesis in Philadelphia one of my
favorite lessons I ever learned was this
8020 rule where he said you’d never ever
live off of more than eighty percent of
what you make always bank at least 20%
and put it in a bag forever and you’ll
never lose your house and you’ll never
lose your cars what he didn’t say to me
was that for every hundred dollars that
I made during this entire transaction
over these five years that he was going
to take $60 and put it towards my debt
and he put $40 into an investment
account in my name he gave my family
thirteen thousand five hundred dollars
when we needed it most when I asked for
it and without me asking he starts an
investment account in my name when I’m
15 years 364 days old he says to me
Glenn if you could have any car you
wanted within reason what car would it
he says then let’s go look at it we
drove over an Oldsmobile dealership and
that car was right there in the showroom
floor he said to me do you like it I
said yeah I love it he says then let’s
and he hates me an investment portfolio
with my name on it and more than enough
money to buy that car I bought that
Forenza off that showroom floor one day
before it was even legal for me to drive
it in Pennsylvania now let’s go back to
so first time I had learned that my
mother had cancer and I hated that
cancer and I still hate that cancer but
I learned tenacity and I learned
resilience from my mother my mother told
that doctor he was dead wrong there was
no way she was going to die there was no
way she was not gonna watch her kids
grow up and she would find an
alternative method to live and to prove
him wrong and then she told the chief
oncologist from genes Hospital to be
fruitful and multiply not those exact
seven years later true to her word she’s
alive and in remission living off a
complete macrobiotic diet with the help
and aid of possibly every single
my parents were very happy and they owe
the very successful candy store named
we’re not all nuts believe it or not in
Richboro Pennsylvania it had come of age
it was time for me to go to college the
first year me and some of the pretzel
money went to Montgomery County
Community College a local college right
near my house the second year me the
pretzel money
the Forenza flew across the Pacific I
went to the University of Hawaii Thank
You 8020 rule
Thank You Mitch Aloha sadly three months
into it
right before my Christmas break I
learned that my mother’s cancer came
back with a vengeance so I called up my
father and said listen I will come back
and run the candy store so you can take
care of mom and that was that my mother
got four more years
thanks to an illegal drug called
laetrile which is not legal to import
distribute or manufacture in America
thanks to the FDA and big pharma because
after all it is made from the oil of an
apricot kernel and how much money can
you really make from the oil of an
apricot kernel does anybody happen to
remember move
they were the black radical Panther
organization that terrorized
Philadelphia from 1978 to 1985 well
these were the people that imported the
laetrile for my mother from Mexico
possibly with some other Mexican cash
crops the most amazing part to me was
that my mother got those extra four
years because this man her Homer was
willing to give her aid without asking
Irv was a radio personality on WWD B my
parents advertised there’s candy store
we’re not all nuts on his program
Irv was so quick with a contrarian view
that his nickname on the air was
actually evil Irv but not to my mother
he and his wife Queen II became friendly
with my parents
Irv was a big believer in alternative
medicine earth knew what the successes
they were having with laetrile in Mexico
furthermore Irv because he was Irv
always allowed the move members to be
regular guests on his program in
order to give move an alternative voice
other than the one that the mainstream
media was portraying Irv took it upon
himself without anyone asking to make
the inroads into Mexico to secure the
laetrile for my mother or without anyone
asking made the introduction between my
father and John Africa the leader in a
black panther organization Irv gave my
mother aid without asking and earth gave
my mother four more years of life March
13th 1985 if there’s seven years of
fighting and convictions and murder and
the murder of a policeman then mayor
Wilson good decided to drop a bomb on
top of the move home compound which
ultimately destroyed 65 homes killed 11
people and five of them more children
how many people have you the idea how
many people have you had the opportunity
to influence inspire affect and make a
difference in their lives how many
people have come into your lives and
made a difference without you ever ask I
was in the title insurance business for
30 years very earlier on I worked with
my brother he owned the title company
and a law firm a couple came in and I
was going to do their refinance
on their hood one there was only one
pail for $25,000 to a collection agency
my father went bankrupt three times I
had no problem asking these people
what’s a collection agency collecting
for he told me they invested in a
timeshare but unfortunately that
timeshare was never built
however they were still being hounded
for the money and threatened that they
were going to get sued and ruined her
credit I knew these people were getting
ripped off and I knew with my skill set
that I could make a difference so I left
that office I walk
back into my office and I picked up one
of the law phones and I called up the
collection agency
and I said hello my name is Glenn
Friedman and I’m calling you from the
Law Offices of Friedman and Baker that
was not a complete lie I said I am here
with one of our mutual clients and
there’s absolutely no way that I am
allowing them to pay you $25,000 as
secure in his debt and to remove it the
most we will possibly pay was $2,500 and
if it takes you more in 30 minutes I’m
canceling the whole thing or I’m
reducing it your choice gave him my
phone number
gave my name is Glenn Friedman again
hung up the phone walk back in told the
people what I just did I said we have
nothing to lose we made small talk sign
some papers we made small talk I told
them that my wife and I were expecting
our first child and my wife was out
registering for all kinds of baby things
and baby furniture and her favorite
thing was this green sea foam green crib
well it took us two and a half hours but
we settled for $1,200 the borrowers
looked at me and I said I can’t believe
that you could do what you just did but
more importantly they said to me I can’t
believe you would do what you just did
and I simply said well you owe a total
stranger a favor one day and then they
did the coolest thing the following week
they came over paid receipt from Carl’s
furniture dad that crib delivered to my
house on the day that my daughter was
born and my daughter slept in that crib
and in two years and eight months later
she got kicked out into a regular bed
because my son came and he slept in that
grid so it was a great ending to a great
story for those people even as recently
as today aid without asking was given to
me by another speaker you’re going to
hear speak in a few minutes
when Frank King originally heard my
stories he said your stories need to be
told your stories need to be heard
because your stories can make a
difference to other people he said he
was going to put
his mind to find me a platform to speak
and that is what I am doing here today
that is like getting aid without asking
squared Abraham Lincoln said it the best
way to predict the future was to create
it
I believe with respect to today’s TED
talk that the best way to create a
better future is to do the same for
others so why should you care because
it’s the right thing to do because it’s
contagious because giving of yourself to
the benefit of others can change the
course of lives and of history and of
generations because it’s important it’s
important to know that your children and
then your children’s children can grow
up in a world full of people willing to
give aid without asking have a good day
everybody [Applause]
so what could you do for somebody what
would you do for somebody what it was
something they didn’t even know could be
done but you knew with your skill set
and what you’re doing what you’ve done
and the people that you know and the
people that you influence and the people
that influence you that you could make a
difference what if someone seemingly
came into your life out of nowhere and
you had the opportunity to influence
inspire affect and make a difference in
their lives would you do it would you
give somebody aid without asking so what
is aid without asking I’m glad you asked
it is a simple idea that when you meet
somebody you try and do and determine
what you can do for them and now what
they can do for you and you do with no
expectation of a return Zig Ziglar said
is you can get all you want out of life
if you just help enough other people get
what they want out of life
the Buddhists and the Hindus call it
karma they believe it is the actions of
a person that ultimately determines
their fate
the Jews say medaka negate Medaille
which means measure corresponding to
measure in Hebrew in Philly in North
Jersey we simply say a well goes around
comes around
so I grow up a typical normal household
probably like many of you my father was
an entrepreneur caught some very bad
breaks as a result he did go bankrupt
many times and as a result he was always
working two jobs or going bankrupt my
childhood adolescence was always dealing
with the foreclosure of the house and
the repossession of my cars and my
mother she was either dealing with
working two jobs or trying not to die of
cancer we’re gonna get to that in a
minute my father did go bankrupt three
times the first time he owned a stocking
route also known as Ho’s Ruiz knee-highs
I can remember he would wake up 6
o’clock in the morning fill that blue
galaxy 500 with stockings drive into
Center City Philadelphia fill up the
racks and all these little small super
Rhett’s that line the streets of
Philadelphia get paid get back into his
car and just go on to the next location
life was good one of the problems was a
couple of people that were buying the
stockings were doing so to go out put
them back over their faces and go back
in and robbed the supermarket kidding of
course of course if one time a company
has a bright idea of putting these
pantyhose into a giant plastic egg and
they called them legs and it became a
national sensation which ultimately
chopped my father’s legs off at the
wallet bankruptcy number two when we
opened up a Buster Brown shoe store in
the upcoming neighborhood of Richboro
Pennsylvania unfortunately about one
year into opening up that store a
recession hit the Northeast and they
stopped building homes and no more homes
equaled no more kids no more kids
equaled no more feet and no more feet
equaled no more need for a Buster Brown
shoe store we kept the bust in Buster
Brown strike three number three the
worst one the one that almost cost us
all when my father got his lifelong
dream to cut the ribbon on a 25,000
square foot supermarket into then dying
little South Jersey town known as
Riverton New Jersey to put it in
perspective you could have fit five of
my father’s stores into any one of
today’s mega super stores my father had
that store for a little over five years
before the continuing decline of
Riverton New Jersey and he continuing
increase of the rent the utilities and
union wages forced us to close we pulled
up one day and the sheriff was already
at the front door so I got out of the
car and I went to the back door because
you know what they say
one door closes often there’s a door
with a broken latch around back
so I grabbed six cases of tuna and when
we were pulling out of the lot that day
I said to my father hate dad do me a
favor go around back I grabbed some tuna
fish my mother became the tuna queen if
it can be made from tunas she made it
we had tuna casserole tuna on toast tuna
tacos and when things got really bad
tuna I’ll tell you what you asked any
mermaid you happen to see what’s the
best tuna the kind you get for free you
know sometimes in life we get some bad
breaks and sometimes we get a good
bounce because of everything that was
going on in my life I became a latchkey
kid I went to the Y for six hours a day
supposedly doing my homework studying
and eating in between games Monday
afternoon I her ball bounced from behind
me and I turned around there was a guy
about six foot five and he’s walking
towards me and yells a little help so I
reached down and the balls right there
so I reached down and I had big hands
for a 12 year old I reached down and I
picked up the ball and I handed it back
to him and I guess he was impressed with
my one hand and grabbed because he says
to me what’s your name and what are you
doing here every single day what is your
story so I told him my name and I told
him my story I told him my situation I
said what’s your name what do you do
he said I’m Mitch and I’m just a vendor
I said Mitch what do you vend
he said Philadelphia soft pretzels and I
immediately thought I could bend that so
I said to him who do you sell into
what’s involved where do you sell him
when can I start
how much do your guys make and then I
did the math in my head and I said Oh
Mitch I have to have this job because
after all 100% of the things we don’t
ask for in life we will not get and I
made the decision right then and there
as a twelve and a half year old that I
would gladly give up the next six years
of my life for my adult 60 it just made
so I said to Mitch when you come over to
the house when you meet my parents I
really need to work with you
so I invited Robert house he had dinner
and my parents agreed to allow me to
work for Mitch you give a kid a pretzel
you could feed him for a day teach a kid
that sell soft pretzels and their
families and get their lives back so I
went to sell soft pretzels for Mitch at
every single major sporting event in
Philadelphia and every music event I
went to every parade road from Boston
down to Virginia every single night and
every single weekend and after every
single event I would take the money I
made I’d put in an envelope leave it on
the kitchen counter and it would go
towards the family Bill’s about three
months into it I hear a hushed
conversation from my parents and I
realized that there’s absolutely no way
that we could save enough money fast
enough to save the house in the cars so
that weekend after the parade I say
Mitch we got to make a new deal
I said my family needs $13,500 right now
and I already did the math and if you
can give me that money I can have you
paid back in less than a year and a half
with interest and he thought about it
and he said I’ll do the deal no interest
and because of Mitch we’ve got our cars
off the impound lot and our home out of
foreclosure immediately I ended up
having Mitch paid off in less than a
year and a half and I ultimately went on
to sell more than four hundred and fifty
thousand pretzels I learned a lot of
lessons from Mitch you can imagine in
the the street smarts you get from
selling four hundred fifty thousand
parenthesis in Philadelphia one of my
favorite lessons I ever learned was this
8020 rule where he said you’d never ever
live off of more than eighty percent of
what you make always bank at least 20%
and put it in a bag forever and you’ll
never lose your house and you’ll never
lose your cars what he didn’t say to me
was that for every hundred dollars that
I made during this entire transaction
over these five years that he was going
to take $60 and put it towards my debt
and he put $40 into an investment
account in my name he gave my family
thirteen thousand five hundred dollars
when we needed it most when I asked for
it and without me asking he starts an
investment account in my name when I’m
15 years 364 days old he says to me
Glenn if you could have any car you
wanted within reason what car would it
he says then let’s go look at it we
drove over an Oldsmobile dealership and
that car was right there in the showroom
floor he said to me do you like it I
said yeah I love it he says then let’s
and he hates me an investment portfolio
with my name on it and more than enough
money to buy that car I bought that
Forenza off that showroom floor one day
before it was even legal for me to drive
it in Pennsylvania now let’s go back to
so first time I had learned that my
mother had cancer and I hated that
cancer and I still hate that cancer but
I learned tenacity and I learned
resilience from my mother my mother told
that doctor he was dead wrong there was
no way she was going to die there was no
way she was not gonna watch her kids
grow up and she would find an
alternative method to live and to prove
him wrong and then she told the chief
oncologist from genes Hospital to be
fruitful and multiply not those exact
seven years later true to her word she’s
alive and in remission living off a
complete macrobiotic diet with the help
and aid of possibly every single
my parents were very happy and they owe
the very successful candy store named
we’re not all nuts believe it or not in
Richboro Pennsylvania it had come of age
it was time for me to go to college the
first year me and some of the pretzel
money went to Montgomery County
Community College a local college right
near my house the second year me the
pretzel money
the Forenza flew across the Pacific I
went to the University of Hawaii Thank
You 8020 rule
Thank You Mitch Aloha sadly three months
into it
right before my Christmas break I
learned that my mother’s cancer came
back with a vengeance so I called up my
father and said listen I will come back
and run the candy store so you can take
care of mom and that was that my mother
got four more years
thanks to an illegal drug called
laetrile which is not legal to import
distribute or manufacture in America
thanks to the FDA and big pharma because
after all it is made from the oil of an
apricot kernel and how much money can
you really make from the oil of an
apricot kernel does anybody happen to
remember move
they were the black radical Panther
organization that terrorized
Philadelphia from 1978 to 1985 well
these were the people that imported the
laetrile for my mother from Mexico
possibly with some other Mexican cash
crops the most amazing part to me was
that my mother got those extra four
years because this man her Homer was
willing to give her aid without asking
Irv was a radio personality on WWD B my
parents advertised there’s candy store
we’re not all nuts on his program
Irv was so quick with a contrarian view
that his nickname on the air was
actually evil Irv but not to my mother
he and his wife Queen II became friendly
with my parents
Irv was a big believer in alternative
medicine earth knew what the successes
they were having with laetrile in Mexico
furthermore Irv because he was Irv
always allowed the move members to be
regular guests on his program in
order to give move an alternative voice
other than the one that the mainstream
media was portraying Irv took it upon
himself without anyone asking to make
the inroads into Mexico to secure the
laetrile for my mother or without anyone
asking made the introduction between my
father and John Africa the leader in a
black panther organization Irv gave my
mother aid without asking and earth gave
my mother four more years of life March
13th 1985 if there’s seven years of
fighting and convictions and murder and
the murder of a policeman then mayor
Wilson good decided to drop a bomb on
top of the move home compound which
ultimately destroyed 65 homes killed 11
people and five of them more children
how many people have you the idea how
many people have you had the opportunity
to influence inspire affect and make a
difference in their lives how many
people have come into your lives and
made a difference without you ever ask I
was in the title insurance business for
30 years very earlier on I worked with
my brother he owned the title company
and a law firm a couple came in and I
was going to do their refinance
on their hood one there was only one
pail for $25,000 to a collection agency
my father went bankrupt three times I
had no problem asking these people
what’s a collection agency collecting
for he told me they invested in a
timeshare but unfortunately that
timeshare was never built
however they were still being hounded
for the money and threatened that they
were going to get sued and ruined her
credit I knew these people were getting
ripped off and I knew with my skill set
that I could make a difference so I left
that office I walk
back into my office and I picked up one
of the law phones and I called up the
collection agency
and I said hello my name is Glenn
Friedman and I’m calling you from the
Law Offices of Friedman and Baker that
was not a complete lie I said I am here
with one of our mutual clients and
there’s absolutely no way that I am
allowing them to pay you $25,000 as
secure in his debt and to remove it the
most we will possibly pay was $2,500 and
if it takes you more in 30 minutes I’m
canceling the whole thing or I’m
reducing it your choice gave him my
phone number
gave my name is Glenn Friedman again
hung up the phone walk back in told the
people what I just did I said we have
nothing to lose we made small talk sign
some papers we made small talk I told
them that my wife and I were expecting
our first child and my wife was out
registering for all kinds of baby things
and baby furniture and her favorite
thing was this green sea foam green crib
well it took us two and a half hours but
we settled for $1,200 the borrowers
looked at me and I said I can’t believe
that you could do what you just did but
more importantly they said to me I can’t
believe you would do what you just did
and I simply said well you owe a total
stranger a favor one day and then they
did the coolest thing the following week
they came over paid receipt from Carl’s
furniture dad that crib delivered to my
house on the day that my daughter was
born and my daughter slept in that crib
and in two years and eight months later
she got kicked out into a regular bed
because my son came and he slept in that
grid so it was a great ending to a great
story for those people even as recently
as today aid without asking was given to
me by another speaker you’re going to
hear speak in a few minutes
when Frank King originally heard my
stories he said your stories need to be
told your stories need to be heard
because your stories can make a
difference to other people he said he
was going to put
his mind to find me a platform to speak
and that is what I am doing here today
that is like getting aid without asking
squared Abraham Lincoln said it the best
way to predict the future was to create
it
I believe with respect to today’s TED
talk that the best way to create a
better future is to do the same for
others so why should you care because
it’s the right thing to do because it’s
contagious because giving of yourself to
the benefit of others can change the
course of lives and of history and of
generations because it’s important it’s
important to know that your children and
then your children’s children can grow
up in a world full of people willing to
give aid without asking have a good day
everybody [Applause]
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