many years ago I was walking downtown I
was heading to a movie theater I was in
a bit of a rush and I passed a young man
who was standing on a street corner he
was holding a clipboard wearing a green
smock he was bringing awareness trying
to shut down puppy mills and as I walked
by he called out to me he said hey sir
would you like to save the puppies and I
immediately said no I thought about it a
little later wasn’t that I didn’t want
to help save the puppies I didn’t want
to be standing on a street corner with
this guy with a clipboard and running in
green smock didn’t want to put that
amount of effort into it
because I’m not a good person I’m a bad
person okay I’m not a bad person but I
am self-centered I am a pleasure-seeker
and I care about me and I care about
other people but only if it doesn’t take
too much time or effort and that’s what
the happy for a change perspective is
all about it’s about putting bad people
to good use you’ve wound up with people
who don’t want to contribute too much
time or effort towards making the world
a better place and I believe that
technologies evolved to the point where
we can do just that
when I first heard about the addictive
properties of social media and
smartphones I was ecstatic some of great
news here we have two point four six
billion people connected people who are
willing to be on their devices all day
long tap tap double tap swipe why well
as far as I can tell there like a sense
of connection they like to be seen they
like to see other people let it connect
with their tribe makes them feel not
alone connection but also clearly
they’re getting pleasure from it
you know what I’m talking about those
dopamine spikes and you get those tweaks
connection and pleasure and I think
there’s got to be a way to use that for
positive change in 1995 I’m 11 years old
and I walk into my kitchen I run into my
kitchen interrupt my mother she’s in the
middle of doing the dishes I said mom
could have bubbles she said well it’s a
bubbles mom bubbles can I have bubbles I
just seen some kids playing with bubbles
out in the park
it looked like a lot of fun they told me
I can get some bubbles for a dollar at
the dollar store so I get home I said
mom can I have a dollar for bubbles
please can I bubbles a dollar for
bubbles please bubbles bubbles she said
no I should have known better
back then my mom was a penny pincher and
there was no way she was gonna be
spending money on bubbles just Peter I’m
not gonna spend any money on bubbles and
that’s when she took her hands out of
the sink she rubbed her wet hands
together she placed her thumb against
the tip of her index finger and she blew
through the hole that her fingers
created and out the other end came the
biggest bubble I’ve ever seen
all right this is okay I know we can all
Google the world Guinness records of
bubbles okay but this is 1995 all right
my 11:00 old brain mind blown and I had
two thoughts right in that moment two
distinct thoughts that changed the way I
viewed the world forever more the first
thought was my mother’s a wizard
I mean clearly she knows magic gotta
watch out for her the second idea the
second thought was that ideas were
everywhere that resources were all
around me and if I paid attention and I
valued what I had even if it was dirty
dishwater
and I was creative enough I could put
things together in such a way to give me
what I needed what I wanted what’s more
I was the happiest kid you’d ever seen
after that I was the happiest kid with
the cleanest hands I played with soap
water and
day I made bubbles bubbles within
bubbles triple bubbles bubble hats
bubble bras I was 11 and I felt alive I
felt engaged I felt empowered I started
living in impre– she asian and
appreciating what I had I started
changing my level of expectation I began
living in this anticipation waiting for
it led me that experience led me to my
now fundamental principle which is this
what we give our attention to becomes a
greater part of our experience I’ll say
that again because it’s very important
what we give our attention to becomes a
greater part of our experience when you
give something your attention it expands
it becomes more when you think about it
you have more thoughts like it when you
talk with other people now you’re
spreading that awareness when you look
at it when you watch it and you’re
listening to it you buy it
you read it when you give it your
attention it becomes more substantive
more part of your own personal
experience and the experience of the
world our attention matters so our
motivational speaker a sweaty
motivational speaker and a motivational
consultant and I meet people every day
who have given themselves over to the
pursuit of happiness now the way I
define happiness I define it in two
parts the first part is pleasure how
you’re feeling in that moment the
feeling of feeling happy that emotional
sense that you feel in the moment the
second part is your overall perspective
of your life if you feel like your life
has gone according to your intentions
your goals your desires in other words
if you feel like your life had substance
and meaning had purpose then you might
say that you experience happiness
pleasure purpose happiness
but I don’t like to talk about happiness
as though it’s disconnected from the
world around you
it doesn’t exist in isolation there’s a
reason you’re able to feel happy there’s
a reason you feel that way it’s an
evolutionary characteristic when we feel
happier when communities when tribes
feel happier they do better they’re less
violent less aggressive more open more
willing to connect more compassionate
and pathetic the more creative more
entrepreneurial more engaged when tribes
when people in tribes are happy the
tribe tends to survive tends to thrive
happiness matters I was talking to a
young lady many years ago she came to
one of my events and she asked me she
said oh great Peter she didn’t say great
Peter
oh great Peter I keep thinking negative
thoughts they keep thinking negative
thoughts how do I stop thinking these
negative thoughts and ask her if you
could stop thinking these negative
thoughts what would you then think about
she thought about it she said I don’t
know I said how are you able what makes
you think you’re able to stop thinking
these negative thoughts if you have
nothing else to give your attention to
your attention you’re always giving
something your attention maybe not when
you’re sleeping maybe not when you’re
meditating maybe not when you watch TV
but you’re always giving something your
attention and in order to stop thinking
and ever negative thought you have to be
compelled to think about something else
you have to give yourself a reason and I
started thinking what reason what thing
how could I teach people to do this and
I started realizing at least from my
experience the best thing to receive my
attention was a new idea a great idea
the moment I learned an idea the moment
you learn an idea you are transformed in
that moment now as it relates to happy
for a change a great idea as defines us
a great idea is one that empowers you
makes you more capable more effective
more efficient more able it empowers you
and a great idea is one that is
pleasurable it inspires you it compels
you towards action it evokes positive
feelings within you
empowerment pleasure great ideas I want
to show you three great ideas the world
is filled with great ideas these are
just ones that I find compelling this is
Tesla Tesla is an electric vehicle
company I like to talk about Tesla
because I’m most surprised when people
don’t know about Tesla it’s a great idea
Tesla I love and I love Tesla because I
love Elon Musk and I love Elon Musk
because I love his perspective on life
he’s asked on a regular basis why do you
do what you do Elon and he says I
believe people need a reason to be
excited about the future a reason to
look forward to the future to be excited
there are many people who spend their
time online following Elon Musk
following Tesla I’m not even on market
to buy a car and I read about Tesla
almost every single day because I like
to be a part of that adventure it’s
empowering to see that future Tesla is a
this is a company called impossible
foods now impossible foods makes what
they call an impossible burger now I
want you to take a look at this screen
what you’re seeing here is not meat you
hold your gas it’s not meat the
philosophy for impossible foods is to
make a vegetarian burger that appeals to
meat-eaters and according to them what
makes me taste like meat is a compound
called heme heme heme found with
hemoglobin inside blood but they also
found him in the root of a plant and
they extracted it they included it in
their mix and they made a burger that
bleeds that you could cook medium-rare
that tastes like meat when I saw this it
did more for me to convince me to go off
me more so than any slaughterhouse video
I’ve ever seen because I didn’t feel
regret I didn’t feel shame I didn’t feel
guilt I felt anticipation eagerness I
felt hungry I showed my mom this video
within 10 seconds my meat-eating mother
was like we’re gonna get this I won this
I don’t need this right now I said I
know how you feel mama impossible foods
it’s a great idea lastly here this is a
group it’s a podcast it’s a community
online community really called kind of
funny and for the longest time I thought
kind of funny with just about video
games and just about a popular culture
but when you dive down deeper you
realize this is a community of people
thousands of people who have a
philosophy they want to encourage each
other to pursue their ambitions their
dreams their passions and they encourage
each other they inspire each other every
member of this group of any member of
this online community they call
themselves the best friends when they
meet each other are you a best friend
I’m a best friend and they act like
they’re best friends
I was introduced to them by my brother
my twin brother Tom and I never knew
that my brother’s dream was to become
and pursue stand-up comedy I know this
guy’s 30 plus years I had no idea
whenever younger used to make me laugh
so much he’s making me laugh so much I’d
be in tears I’d be on the ground
writhing in agony holding my belly
begging him to stop and he wouldn’t
just kept making me hurt over and over
maliciously he’s a bad person too and he
kept this dream a secret even from me
but this community kind of funny he paid
attention to ours every week he
contributes his attention his money to
this group and they inspired him to
pursue his dream and he’s a lot happier
now because of it kind of funny it’s a
great idea I don’t know if McDonald’s
makes the best burger I’ll just say it
that way but what I do know is that they
spend nearly a billion dollars every
year on advertising because I think they
know that if they can get your attention
they’re far more likely to survive and
to thrive but there are people out there
toiling in obscurity working on your
behalf
trying to make a world a better place
creating ideas products services to
empower you but they don’t have a
billion dollars to get your attention
they might not even have a million
dollars they might not even have a few
thousand happy for a change
aims to encourage you to become a
deliberate seeker of great ideas to give
them your attention so that they
flourish so that they take hold so that
they improve our lives and the world
around us what we give our attention to
becomes a greater part of our experience
so why not give our attention to great
ideas it’ll help the world sure
but more importantly feels good when you
learn a new idea you are creative you
become powerful you become interesting
because you’re interested you become
more attractive despite how sweaty you
may be you become more compelling more
influential there’s nothing that I found
more transformative or useful than a
great idea I’m going to use these
devices that distract us and turn
meaningless action into meaningful
action and we can tap tap DoubleTap
swipe all day long okay folks when the
next time you’re trying to figure out
what should I post what should I share
how should I waste my time on YouTube
give your attention to great ideas we
can make bad people useful that people
like me and we can save all the puppies
every single if we learn and remember
that our attention matters and that
happiness matters and we place happiness
within its proper context I want to
provide purpose for the pursuit of
happiness and I want people to be happy
on purpose for a purpose and I believe
that it starts with paying attention and
creating a habit out of being happy for
a change
thank you [Applause]
was heading to a movie theater I was in
a bit of a rush and I passed a young man
who was standing on a street corner he
was holding a clipboard wearing a green
smock he was bringing awareness trying
to shut down puppy mills and as I walked
by he called out to me he said hey sir
would you like to save the puppies and I
immediately said no I thought about it a
little later wasn’t that I didn’t want
to help save the puppies I didn’t want
to be standing on a street corner with
this guy with a clipboard and running in
green smock didn’t want to put that
amount of effort into it
because I’m not a good person I’m a bad
person okay I’m not a bad person but I
am self-centered I am a pleasure-seeker
and I care about me and I care about
other people but only if it doesn’t take
too much time or effort and that’s what
the happy for a change perspective is
all about it’s about putting bad people
to good use you’ve wound up with people
who don’t want to contribute too much
time or effort towards making the world
a better place and I believe that
technologies evolved to the point where
we can do just that
when I first heard about the addictive
properties of social media and
smartphones I was ecstatic some of great
news here we have two point four six
billion people connected people who are
willing to be on their devices all day
long tap tap double tap swipe why well
as far as I can tell there like a sense
of connection they like to be seen they
like to see other people let it connect
with their tribe makes them feel not
alone connection but also clearly
they’re getting pleasure from it
you know what I’m talking about those
dopamine spikes and you get those tweaks
connection and pleasure and I think
there’s got to be a way to use that for
positive change in 1995 I’m 11 years old
and I walk into my kitchen I run into my
kitchen interrupt my mother she’s in the
middle of doing the dishes I said mom
could have bubbles she said well it’s a
bubbles mom bubbles can I have bubbles I
just seen some kids playing with bubbles
out in the park
it looked like a lot of fun they told me
I can get some bubbles for a dollar at
the dollar store so I get home I said
mom can I have a dollar for bubbles
please can I bubbles a dollar for
bubbles please bubbles bubbles she said
no I should have known better
back then my mom was a penny pincher and
there was no way she was gonna be
spending money on bubbles just Peter I’m
not gonna spend any money on bubbles and
that’s when she took her hands out of
the sink she rubbed her wet hands
together she placed her thumb against
the tip of her index finger and she blew
through the hole that her fingers
created and out the other end came the
biggest bubble I’ve ever seen
all right this is okay I know we can all
Google the world Guinness records of
bubbles okay but this is 1995 all right
my 11:00 old brain mind blown and I had
two thoughts right in that moment two
distinct thoughts that changed the way I
viewed the world forever more the first
thought was my mother’s a wizard
I mean clearly she knows magic gotta
watch out for her the second idea the
second thought was that ideas were
everywhere that resources were all
around me and if I paid attention and I
valued what I had even if it was dirty
dishwater
and I was creative enough I could put
things together in such a way to give me
what I needed what I wanted what’s more
I was the happiest kid you’d ever seen
after that I was the happiest kid with
the cleanest hands I played with soap
water and
day I made bubbles bubbles within
bubbles triple bubbles bubble hats
bubble bras I was 11 and I felt alive I
felt engaged I felt empowered I started
living in impre– she asian and
appreciating what I had I started
changing my level of expectation I began
living in this anticipation waiting for
it led me that experience led me to my
now fundamental principle which is this
what we give our attention to becomes a
greater part of our experience I’ll say
that again because it’s very important
what we give our attention to becomes a
greater part of our experience when you
give something your attention it expands
it becomes more when you think about it
you have more thoughts like it when you
talk with other people now you’re
spreading that awareness when you look
at it when you watch it and you’re
listening to it you buy it
you read it when you give it your
attention it becomes more substantive
more part of your own personal
experience and the experience of the
world our attention matters so our
motivational speaker a sweaty
motivational speaker and a motivational
consultant and I meet people every day
who have given themselves over to the
pursuit of happiness now the way I
define happiness I define it in two
parts the first part is pleasure how
you’re feeling in that moment the
feeling of feeling happy that emotional
sense that you feel in the moment the
second part is your overall perspective
of your life if you feel like your life
has gone according to your intentions
your goals your desires in other words
if you feel like your life had substance
and meaning had purpose then you might
say that you experience happiness
pleasure purpose happiness
but I don’t like to talk about happiness
as though it’s disconnected from the
world around you
it doesn’t exist in isolation there’s a
reason you’re able to feel happy there’s
a reason you feel that way it’s an
evolutionary characteristic when we feel
happier when communities when tribes
feel happier they do better they’re less
violent less aggressive more open more
willing to connect more compassionate
and pathetic the more creative more
entrepreneurial more engaged when tribes
when people in tribes are happy the
tribe tends to survive tends to thrive
happiness matters I was talking to a
young lady many years ago she came to
one of my events and she asked me she
said oh great Peter she didn’t say great
Peter
oh great Peter I keep thinking negative
thoughts they keep thinking negative
thoughts how do I stop thinking these
negative thoughts and ask her if you
could stop thinking these negative
thoughts what would you then think about
she thought about it she said I don’t
know I said how are you able what makes
you think you’re able to stop thinking
these negative thoughts if you have
nothing else to give your attention to
your attention you’re always giving
something your attention maybe not when
you’re sleeping maybe not when you’re
meditating maybe not when you watch TV
but you’re always giving something your
attention and in order to stop thinking
and ever negative thought you have to be
compelled to think about something else
you have to give yourself a reason and I
started thinking what reason what thing
how could I teach people to do this and
I started realizing at least from my
experience the best thing to receive my
attention was a new idea a great idea
the moment I learned an idea the moment
you learn an idea you are transformed in
that moment now as it relates to happy
for a change a great idea as defines us
a great idea is one that empowers you
makes you more capable more effective
more efficient more able it empowers you
and a great idea is one that is
pleasurable it inspires you it compels
you towards action it evokes positive
feelings within you
empowerment pleasure great ideas I want
to show you three great ideas the world
is filled with great ideas these are
just ones that I find compelling this is
Tesla Tesla is an electric vehicle
company I like to talk about Tesla
because I’m most surprised when people
don’t know about Tesla it’s a great idea
Tesla I love and I love Tesla because I
love Elon Musk and I love Elon Musk
because I love his perspective on life
he’s asked on a regular basis why do you
do what you do Elon and he says I
believe people need a reason to be
excited about the future a reason to
look forward to the future to be excited
there are many people who spend their
time online following Elon Musk
following Tesla I’m not even on market
to buy a car and I read about Tesla
almost every single day because I like
to be a part of that adventure it’s
empowering to see that future Tesla is a
this is a company called impossible
foods now impossible foods makes what
they call an impossible burger now I
want you to take a look at this screen
what you’re seeing here is not meat you
hold your gas it’s not meat the
philosophy for impossible foods is to
make a vegetarian burger that appeals to
meat-eaters and according to them what
makes me taste like meat is a compound
called heme heme heme found with
hemoglobin inside blood but they also
found him in the root of a plant and
they extracted it they included it in
their mix and they made a burger that
bleeds that you could cook medium-rare
that tastes like meat when I saw this it
did more for me to convince me to go off
me more so than any slaughterhouse video
I’ve ever seen because I didn’t feel
regret I didn’t feel shame I didn’t feel
guilt I felt anticipation eagerness I
felt hungry I showed my mom this video
within 10 seconds my meat-eating mother
was like we’re gonna get this I won this
I don’t need this right now I said I
know how you feel mama impossible foods
it’s a great idea lastly here this is a
group it’s a podcast it’s a community
online community really called kind of
funny and for the longest time I thought
kind of funny with just about video
games and just about a popular culture
but when you dive down deeper you
realize this is a community of people
thousands of people who have a
philosophy they want to encourage each
other to pursue their ambitions their
dreams their passions and they encourage
each other they inspire each other every
member of this group of any member of
this online community they call
themselves the best friends when they
meet each other are you a best friend
I’m a best friend and they act like
they’re best friends
I was introduced to them by my brother
my twin brother Tom and I never knew
that my brother’s dream was to become
and pursue stand-up comedy I know this
guy’s 30 plus years I had no idea
whenever younger used to make me laugh
so much he’s making me laugh so much I’d
be in tears I’d be on the ground
writhing in agony holding my belly
begging him to stop and he wouldn’t
just kept making me hurt over and over
maliciously he’s a bad person too and he
kept this dream a secret even from me
but this community kind of funny he paid
attention to ours every week he
contributes his attention his money to
this group and they inspired him to
pursue his dream and he’s a lot happier
now because of it kind of funny it’s a
great idea I don’t know if McDonald’s
makes the best burger I’ll just say it
that way but what I do know is that they
spend nearly a billion dollars every
year on advertising because I think they
know that if they can get your attention
they’re far more likely to survive and
to thrive but there are people out there
toiling in obscurity working on your
behalf
trying to make a world a better place
creating ideas products services to
empower you but they don’t have a
billion dollars to get your attention
they might not even have a million
dollars they might not even have a few
thousand happy for a change
aims to encourage you to become a
deliberate seeker of great ideas to give
them your attention so that they
flourish so that they take hold so that
they improve our lives and the world
around us what we give our attention to
becomes a greater part of our experience
so why not give our attention to great
ideas it’ll help the world sure
but more importantly feels good when you
learn a new idea you are creative you
become powerful you become interesting
because you’re interested you become
more attractive despite how sweaty you
may be you become more compelling more
influential there’s nothing that I found
more transformative or useful than a
great idea I’m going to use these
devices that distract us and turn
meaningless action into meaningful
action and we can tap tap DoubleTap
swipe all day long okay folks when the
next time you’re trying to figure out
what should I post what should I share
how should I waste my time on YouTube
give your attention to great ideas we
can make bad people useful that people
like me and we can save all the puppies
every single if we learn and remember
that our attention matters and that
happiness matters and we place happiness
within its proper context I want to
provide purpose for the pursuit of
happiness and I want people to be happy
on purpose for a purpose and I believe
that it starts with paying attention and
creating a habit out of being happy for
a change
thank you [Applause]
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