so if you could have any superpower in
the world what would it be maybe you
wish you could fly and soar across the
sky maybe you wish you were lightning
fast or strong enough to stop a speeding
train how cool would it be if you were
invisible or could teleport and go back
in time well those are all great
superpowers and don’t laugh but when I
was a little girl I wished I had
superpowers that can save the world and
I remember the day that I discovered my
secret superpower like it was yesterday
I was 10 years old and my fourth-grade
class was going on a field trip to clean
up the park and I was the most excited
kid in class because my favorite
superhero was Captain Planet and he was
the coolest superhero because he had
every superpower that you can think of
but he used it specifically to save the
environment from pollution and crime and
the best part is that he didn’t do it
alone he had five teenagers from all
over the world that he called the
planeteers and when their powers
combined Captain Planet would come and
help them save the day together so can
you imagine my enthusiasm I wasn’t just
gonna go to the park to clean up trash I
was gonna get to be like my favorite
superhero with my friends for the day I
couldn’t wait to get home and ask my mom
for permission
I remember my bus pulled up to the house
I bust in through the door and I started
telling my mom all about the field trip
and without even allowing me to finish
or looking at the future form she just
said no I stood there in shock what do
you mean no why can’t I go
and she looked at me rather annoyed and
she said you’re not going because number
one you know that we work several jobs
just to pay the rent and put food on the
table we don’t have money for extra
things like this and number two if I
can’t be there to chaperone I don’t
think that that’s safe so I need you to
go to your room and do your homework and
I don’t want to hear another word about
this field trip okay and it wasn’t okay
I was so angry my dream of being a
superhero was just shattered but I knew
better than to say another word and I
stomped off to my room and I couldn’t
even do my homework because I was crying
practically all night the next morning
my eyes were all puffy as I boarded the
bus and I didn’t say hello to anyone and
I sat by myself which I never do I
dragged my feet all the way to class as
all of my friends were all buzzing with
enthusiasm turning in their field trip
forms everyone but me I wanted to burst
into tears I went over to my desk and
just kind of slumped down wishing that
no one would notice me I wished that I
was invisible in that moment but my
fourth grade teacher miss gyro noticed
me she saw me as she walked over to my
desk and she bent down and she whispered
meet me outside
and I got scared I wiped off my tears I
thought it was in trouble and I just
went straight outside we go outside and
she looks at me and she says darling
what’s wrong and I took that deep breath
trying to explain you know how badly I
wanted to go on this field trip but my
parents said I can’t I was gonna have
superpowers and and now in Cannon and
it’s just not fair and she got down on
one knee and she looked straight at me
and she said you don’t need to go on
this field trip in order to be a supe
here oh you already have a superpower I
I do I looked at her and disbelief as
she said four words to me that I have
never forgotten till this day she said
kindness is your superpower I looked at
her like come on what do you mean
kindness is my superpower she said yes
and I watch you use your superpower of
kindness every single day you come to
school and the first thing that you say
is good morning and you look at me and
you smile and that smile of yours
brightens up my whole day I see you when
you hold the door open for the person
behind you and you even push the chairs
in after class to make sure that nobody
trips I hear you when you say please and
thank you and you compliment people I
can always count on you to listen and
pay attention in class and you even help
others with their homework and every
time you do those things you aren’t
exercising your superpower of kindness
and it is enough to change the world
whoa and that brief conversation ended
up being a defining moment in my life
because in an instant the worst day ever
became the best day ever because I went
from feeling sad helpless and totally
insignificant to feeling acknowledged
appreciated and empowered to discover
that I had this superpower within me
that I didn’t even know I had and guess
what I want to let you in on the world’s
best-kept secret
kindness is your superpower too now can
you imagine how radically different our
world would be if we taught our kids to
believe that they had this super power
of kindness within them at ten years old
I became living proof of Aesop’s famous
quote no act of kindness no matter how
small is ever wasted because from that
moment on I began performing acts of
random kindness with this new sense of
purpose passion and power that grew
stronger within me the more I exercised
it by the time I made it to high school
that kindness muscle was strong but I
kept my superpower all to myself I was
scared to share my secret I was scared
of being judged or labeled as a brag but
in ninth grade I was blessed with
another kind of teacher mr. Plaza who
saw the spark of kindness in me and
insisted that I ran for president of the
school’s community service club called
the interact club and I turned him down
several times I pleaded with him to just
allow me to run for secretary or
treasurer or just the member believe it
or not I was incredibly shy and I was
terrified to speak in front of people
well not only did mr. Plaza completely
ignore my plea I was voted unanimously
as president and he sparked this massive
ripple effect in my life because for
years
later I ended up graduating high school
with over 3,000 hours of community
service events and leadership roles that
earned me Hall of Fame status several
prestigious awards and scholarships and
all of a sudden I was a first-generation
Hispanic student with the choice of
going to any school in the nation that I
wanted with a fully paid bachelor’s and
master’s degree I began thank you
I began to realize that being kind pays
off literally one of my scholarships
paid for me to go on this week-long
leadership retreat called leadershape
and I was asked a big question at this
retreat if you knew you had a superpower
that could change the world
what kind of world would you create
that’s a big question and most students
kind of struggled with answering it I
was excited I felt like I had been
preparing to answer this question since
I was 10 years old and before I share
with you my answer suffice it to say I
came back on campus fired up and I
started an event on campus that grew to
be one of the largest student ran
philanthropic events in all of South
Florida raising well over a million
dollars in the fight against cancer and
it continues to grow to this day over a
dozen years later and that event
belonged to one of the largest
nonprofits in the US and my relentless
effort to make this happen
caught their attention and the next
thing I knew I was being offered a
job to do the exact same work that I had
been doing as a volunteer since I was
fifteen years old at 21 years old I
realized that I can make a living doing
what I love and exercising my superpower
of kindness every day I was in heaven
now while working for the nonprofit
full-time and going to graduate school
full-time I was randomly offered another
dream job a casual meeting turned into
this impromptu interview and the next
thing I knew I was working for local
government planning the city’s large
skilled events for an entire community
of over 40,000 people year round I
officially became a public servant and I
was totally consumed by my job after
graduation it was really easy for me to
fall into this proverbial hamster wheel
of life day after day after day
and I put my dreams and my superpower
and my vision for changing the world on
the back burner for three and a half
years until one day one day I found
myself sitting on my desk with the
lights off suffering from a chronic
migraines and I realized that I was
being incredibly unkind to myself I was
unhappy I was unhealthy and I was
incredibly unfulfilled by the work that
I was doing now let me ask you friends
how many of you have been in a point in
your life whether it’s work or a
relationship
or a particular circumstance were you
knew that you knew there’s got to be
more than this in that moment I knew
that I had fallen into the trap of
complacency and I knew that I knew and I
had to quit what I once considered my
dream job and let me tell you I remember
sobbing hysterically as I wrote my
resignation letter I was terrified
because I had absolutely no idea what I
was gonna do or how I was gonna do it
but in 2010 I decided to take a massive
leap of faith in myself and I became a
full-time philanthropist inspirational
speaker and event creator within six
months of starting my business I decided
to start a non-profit with my husband
and my family called the park project
and park is an honor of that field trip
that I didn’t get to go on and it is
also an acronym for my mission which is
to inspire people to perform acts of
random kindness and if you’re still
wondering what my answer was at that
leadership retreat that I went to six
years earlier that answer became the
vision statement for park project if I
knew that I had a superpower that could
change the world my vision is to create
a world where everyone performs acts of
random kindness and I turned our vision
statement into an acronym as well and
our hashtag for the movement we part
because I know that the power to change
the world does not just rest in me it is
up to we and I am convinced that if we
Park every day in small ways we can heal
mankind together we can create the
massive shift that this world
desperately needs now I’m sure some of
you have heard the quote by Margaret
Mead never doubt that a small group of
committed citizens can change the world
indeed it is the only thing that ever
has and part project is a great
testament of this quote because our very
first large-scale event was on the 10th
anniversary of 9/11 we decided to
produce a 5k to remember honor and
celebrate our servicemen and women and
their families we produced this event in
under three months with absolutely no
business plan no big-name sponsors no
marketing budget no email list and
absolutely no social media following our
only resource was a small group of
committed people who believed in our
vision and the power of kindness pulling
off that first 5k was nothing short of a
miracle we inspired over 600 people to
participate and we donated thirteen
thousand dollars to five local
nonprofits and that event grew into the
award-winning 5k park fest which has
inspired thousands of people to park and
we’ve donated over fifty thousand
dollars to well over a hundred
nonprofits and schools in just three
short years and my friends I will not
stand here in front of you and pretend
like any part of this journey was easy
have there been numerous challenges to
overcome along the way yes do I realize
that we are climbing a long staircase
together yes but do I believe that our
vision is achievable and worth pursuing
yes yes in the words of the great dr.
Martin Luther King jr. you don’t have to
see the full staircase you just have to
take the first step and I stand before
you today as that same ten year old
little girl who wished that she had
superpowers that can save the world
and I chose to take that first step in
faith and believe that kindness is my
superpower and I’m asking all of you to
take that first step in faith together
with me because you and you and me and
we all have the power to be the spark of
kindness no matter who you are how old
you are where you come from or how much
money you have
I believe that the power to change the
world rests in we I believe that the
simple idea is worth spreading world
wide and I am confident that change
starts here and now the moment that you
decide to be the spark and perform acts
of random kindness it’s like my favorite
superhero Captain Planet always said the
power is yours but I’ve learned that
only if our powers combine
can we park and save the world together
thank you
[Applause]
the world what would it be maybe you
wish you could fly and soar across the
sky maybe you wish you were lightning
fast or strong enough to stop a speeding
train how cool would it be if you were
invisible or could teleport and go back
in time well those are all great
superpowers and don’t laugh but when I
was a little girl I wished I had
superpowers that can save the world and
I remember the day that I discovered my
secret superpower like it was yesterday
I was 10 years old and my fourth-grade
class was going on a field trip to clean
up the park and I was the most excited
kid in class because my favorite
superhero was Captain Planet and he was
the coolest superhero because he had
every superpower that you can think of
but he used it specifically to save the
environment from pollution and crime and
the best part is that he didn’t do it
alone he had five teenagers from all
over the world that he called the
planeteers and when their powers
combined Captain Planet would come and
help them save the day together so can
you imagine my enthusiasm I wasn’t just
gonna go to the park to clean up trash I
was gonna get to be like my favorite
superhero with my friends for the day I
couldn’t wait to get home and ask my mom
for permission
I remember my bus pulled up to the house
I bust in through the door and I started
telling my mom all about the field trip
and without even allowing me to finish
or looking at the future form she just
said no I stood there in shock what do
you mean no why can’t I go
and she looked at me rather annoyed and
she said you’re not going because number
one you know that we work several jobs
just to pay the rent and put food on the
table we don’t have money for extra
things like this and number two if I
can’t be there to chaperone I don’t
think that that’s safe so I need you to
go to your room and do your homework and
I don’t want to hear another word about
this field trip okay and it wasn’t okay
I was so angry my dream of being a
superhero was just shattered but I knew
better than to say another word and I
stomped off to my room and I couldn’t
even do my homework because I was crying
practically all night the next morning
my eyes were all puffy as I boarded the
bus and I didn’t say hello to anyone and
I sat by myself which I never do I
dragged my feet all the way to class as
all of my friends were all buzzing with
enthusiasm turning in their field trip
forms everyone but me I wanted to burst
into tears I went over to my desk and
just kind of slumped down wishing that
no one would notice me I wished that I
was invisible in that moment but my
fourth grade teacher miss gyro noticed
me she saw me as she walked over to my
desk and she bent down and she whispered
meet me outside
and I got scared I wiped off my tears I
thought it was in trouble and I just
went straight outside we go outside and
she looks at me and she says darling
what’s wrong and I took that deep breath
trying to explain you know how badly I
wanted to go on this field trip but my
parents said I can’t I was gonna have
superpowers and and now in Cannon and
it’s just not fair and she got down on
one knee and she looked straight at me
and she said you don’t need to go on
this field trip in order to be a supe
here oh you already have a superpower I
I do I looked at her and disbelief as
she said four words to me that I have
never forgotten till this day she said
kindness is your superpower I looked at
her like come on what do you mean
kindness is my superpower she said yes
and I watch you use your superpower of
kindness every single day you come to
school and the first thing that you say
is good morning and you look at me and
you smile and that smile of yours
brightens up my whole day I see you when
you hold the door open for the person
behind you and you even push the chairs
in after class to make sure that nobody
trips I hear you when you say please and
thank you and you compliment people I
can always count on you to listen and
pay attention in class and you even help
others with their homework and every
time you do those things you aren’t
exercising your superpower of kindness
and it is enough to change the world
whoa and that brief conversation ended
up being a defining moment in my life
because in an instant the worst day ever
became the best day ever because I went
from feeling sad helpless and totally
insignificant to feeling acknowledged
appreciated and empowered to discover
that I had this superpower within me
that I didn’t even know I had and guess
what I want to let you in on the world’s
best-kept secret
kindness is your superpower too now can
you imagine how radically different our
world would be if we taught our kids to
believe that they had this super power
of kindness within them at ten years old
I became living proof of Aesop’s famous
quote no act of kindness no matter how
small is ever wasted because from that
moment on I began performing acts of
random kindness with this new sense of
purpose passion and power that grew
stronger within me the more I exercised
it by the time I made it to high school
that kindness muscle was strong but I
kept my superpower all to myself I was
scared to share my secret I was scared
of being judged or labeled as a brag but
in ninth grade I was blessed with
another kind of teacher mr. Plaza who
saw the spark of kindness in me and
insisted that I ran for president of the
school’s community service club called
the interact club and I turned him down
several times I pleaded with him to just
allow me to run for secretary or
treasurer or just the member believe it
or not I was incredibly shy and I was
terrified to speak in front of people
well not only did mr. Plaza completely
ignore my plea I was voted unanimously
as president and he sparked this massive
ripple effect in my life because for
years
later I ended up graduating high school
with over 3,000 hours of community
service events and leadership roles that
earned me Hall of Fame status several
prestigious awards and scholarships and
all of a sudden I was a first-generation
Hispanic student with the choice of
going to any school in the nation that I
wanted with a fully paid bachelor’s and
master’s degree I began thank you
I began to realize that being kind pays
off literally one of my scholarships
paid for me to go on this week-long
leadership retreat called leadershape
and I was asked a big question at this
retreat if you knew you had a superpower
that could change the world
what kind of world would you create
that’s a big question and most students
kind of struggled with answering it I
was excited I felt like I had been
preparing to answer this question since
I was 10 years old and before I share
with you my answer suffice it to say I
came back on campus fired up and I
started an event on campus that grew to
be one of the largest student ran
philanthropic events in all of South
Florida raising well over a million
dollars in the fight against cancer and
it continues to grow to this day over a
dozen years later and that event
belonged to one of the largest
nonprofits in the US and my relentless
effort to make this happen
caught their attention and the next
thing I knew I was being offered a
job to do the exact same work that I had
been doing as a volunteer since I was
fifteen years old at 21 years old I
realized that I can make a living doing
what I love and exercising my superpower
of kindness every day I was in heaven
now while working for the nonprofit
full-time and going to graduate school
full-time I was randomly offered another
dream job a casual meeting turned into
this impromptu interview and the next
thing I knew I was working for local
government planning the city’s large
skilled events for an entire community
of over 40,000 people year round I
officially became a public servant and I
was totally consumed by my job after
graduation it was really easy for me to
fall into this proverbial hamster wheel
of life day after day after day
and I put my dreams and my superpower
and my vision for changing the world on
the back burner for three and a half
years until one day one day I found
myself sitting on my desk with the
lights off suffering from a chronic
migraines and I realized that I was
being incredibly unkind to myself I was
unhappy I was unhealthy and I was
incredibly unfulfilled by the work that
I was doing now let me ask you friends
how many of you have been in a point in
your life whether it’s work or a
relationship
or a particular circumstance were you
knew that you knew there’s got to be
more than this in that moment I knew
that I had fallen into the trap of
complacency and I knew that I knew and I
had to quit what I once considered my
dream job and let me tell you I remember
sobbing hysterically as I wrote my
resignation letter I was terrified
because I had absolutely no idea what I
was gonna do or how I was gonna do it
but in 2010 I decided to take a massive
leap of faith in myself and I became a
full-time philanthropist inspirational
speaker and event creator within six
months of starting my business I decided
to start a non-profit with my husband
and my family called the park project
and park is an honor of that field trip
that I didn’t get to go on and it is
also an acronym for my mission which is
to inspire people to perform acts of
random kindness and if you’re still
wondering what my answer was at that
leadership retreat that I went to six
years earlier that answer became the
vision statement for park project if I
knew that I had a superpower that could
change the world my vision is to create
a world where everyone performs acts of
random kindness and I turned our vision
statement into an acronym as well and
our hashtag for the movement we part
because I know that the power to change
the world does not just rest in me it is
up to we and I am convinced that if we
Park every day in small ways we can heal
mankind together we can create the
massive shift that this world
desperately needs now I’m sure some of
you have heard the quote by Margaret
Mead never doubt that a small group of
committed citizens can change the world
indeed it is the only thing that ever
has and part project is a great
testament of this quote because our very
first large-scale event was on the 10th
anniversary of 9/11 we decided to
produce a 5k to remember honor and
celebrate our servicemen and women and
their families we produced this event in
under three months with absolutely no
business plan no big-name sponsors no
marketing budget no email list and
absolutely no social media following our
only resource was a small group of
committed people who believed in our
vision and the power of kindness pulling
off that first 5k was nothing short of a
miracle we inspired over 600 people to
participate and we donated thirteen
thousand dollars to five local
nonprofits and that event grew into the
award-winning 5k park fest which has
inspired thousands of people to park and
we’ve donated over fifty thousand
dollars to well over a hundred
nonprofits and schools in just three
short years and my friends I will not
stand here in front of you and pretend
like any part of this journey was easy
have there been numerous challenges to
overcome along the way yes do I realize
that we are climbing a long staircase
together yes but do I believe that our
vision is achievable and worth pursuing
yes yes in the words of the great dr.
Martin Luther King jr. you don’t have to
see the full staircase you just have to
take the first step and I stand before
you today as that same ten year old
little girl who wished that she had
superpowers that can save the world
and I chose to take that first step in
faith and believe that kindness is my
superpower and I’m asking all of you to
take that first step in faith together
with me because you and you and me and
we all have the power to be the spark of
kindness no matter who you are how old
you are where you come from or how much
money you have
I believe that the power to change the
world rests in we I believe that the
simple idea is worth spreading world
wide and I am confident that change
starts here and now the moment that you
decide to be the spark and perform acts
of random kindness it’s like my favorite
superhero Captain Planet always said the
power is yours but I’ve learned that
only if our powers combine
can we park and save the world together
thank you
[Applause]
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