[Applause]
yes but how many of you have laughed
today for five minutes or more by a show
nice how many of you have laughed this
week for at least five minutes or more
bio show of hands that’s nice
now the contrast is how many of you have
experienced stress for one hour or more
this week by a show of hands look around
according to your recent research by the
Gallup Institute
8 out of 10 Americans experience stress
in their everyday life and Greece can’t
be very far behind and yet we all know
that or should know that stress is a
silent killer that is just too expensive
to be left that to be ignored so please
take a deep breath and just laugh and I
mean no disrespect if you could wave a
magic wand and get anything you want it
would who would be interested who would
want to learn how to dissolve stress and
strain greatly strengthen your emotional
and your physical and emotional wealth
and wealth and well-being by show of
hands well here’s my story and this is
exactly what I’ve done and what I
believe you can do too so let me start
to 2004 so November 2004 I’ve just
arrived in Mumbai India
coming from Los Angeles California
that’s a sixteen thousand kilometer
stretch and I am miserable I’m tired
it’s hot and humid the mosquitoes are
eating me alive
this is not a good day I’m here to learn
how to laugh and the irony of it all is
that laughter is the last thing I want
to do right now now I know what some of
you are thinking what did you say he’s
travelled sixteen thousand kilometers
that’s 10,000 miles to learn how to
laugh that’s a bit of a strange project
whoa
may be strange for you but it’s not for
me I’m almost 35 at a very low point in
my life and everything every stunt you
read about the science of laughter has
convinced me it can help me achieve
exactly what I’ve just described how to
transform my mood and feel better at
will anytime anywhere I’m here in Mumbai
because there’s this group of people who
appear to have mastered the art of
laughter they don’t use jokes or
committee and yet they’ve been laughing
every morning for 20 minutes for the
past ten years that’s a long time and
they claim that it’s the best things
I’ve ever done their leader is a medical
doctor Madan Catania and that man has
assured me that he would share
everything he knows about laughter with
me if I come to Mumbai so he I am so we
go through the introductions hey I’m
Sebastian from California we’ve
exchanged emails remember me
and then just in my impatience and to
make sure he is crystal clear as to why
I’m here
I add so you said you could teach me how
to laugh is that right he looks at me he
looks at me smiles and says yes yes
indeed do you want to laugh now I get
excited and say yes yes yes yes yes I’m
ready what do I need to do I mean there
must be a special trick something clever
and different it can’t possibly be that
easy can
and then that man says to Worlds two
worlds that I care that I can still hear
echoing in my soul because those two
worlds chant everything for me and then
we’ll come back to those shortly but
first let me do backtrack a few more
years because Mumbai is not really where
my story begins and Los Angeles is not
ten years before this happens I’m 25
years old and enjoying the best spring
of my life in Florence Italy I’ve been
here for the past three months
celebrating a very special event and
metaphorically I feel like this jingle
bell ready to sing the music of my
destiny I’m here to say this very
special event I’m here to celebrate is
the fact that I am officially done with
college I now have a degree in
international trade and not just that
I’ve also paid my dues and served for
one year in the French army yes I was
born in France which means that I am
free at last
I have no more obligations I can do
whatever I want my adult life finally is
beginning please inhale as you come up
hands up and as you excel say yes and
again yes and that’s exactly what I’m
thinking this is really cool because I
have a dream and my dream is I’m going
to travel the world a few times and
that’s both my life and career plan it’s
a bit of a vague plan I know but it’s a
dream I’ve had for as long as I can
remember and I just know this is what
I’m supposed to do I speak five
languages I’ve already visited 25
countries work in seven of them and I’ve
done enough and seen enough to know that
I can make this work now just to be
clear I’m not rich and neither is my
family but what I do have is a very
resourceful brain and when it comes to
traveling I
just know how to make things happen and
one thing I’m very clear upon right now
is that traveling with that money is not
fun so hmm
what to do so to cut a long story short
I decide to start a business in England
with two friends the three of us are
smart board and Bish’s and most
importantly we have a clever business
idea and with that we believe will work
and if it does well if it does then we
will sell that business within three
years for three million pounds walking
away with just about a million each
we’ve done the math and we believe it’s
possible and if and when that happens
then I will be the happiest man on the
planet doing travelling things I would
never be able to afford otherwise
something deep within me doesn’t really
like the idea of being locked up in a
box of glass and concrete for three
years or more but 1 million pair is it’s
a big motivation for an ambitious 25
year old who’s broke and dreams of world
travels so I ignore my gut feelings and
go instead with the loud advice of one
of my role model at the time Richard
Branson let’s fast forward three years
in 1998 our business is flourishing
we’ve caught the dot-com bubble right at
the beginning and it’s the ride of a
lifetime for those of you who weren’t
there think of the recent cryptocurrency
bubble we work as much as we want with
who we want and at the price that we
want we’re not a big business yet but we
already have 30 full-time employee a
pipeline filled with big clients and a
clear path for growth ahead of us
something in my in my personal life
however it’s a different picture there’s
been so much happening so fast for the
past and all the time for the past 3
years that I have slowly become addicted
to stress which is a different way of
saying that depression is now almost
always around the corner for me and not
just that I’ve
so allowed myself to be convinced that 1
million pound is not enough I mean why
such a lack of ambition what I really
need is 10 because with that kind of
money I will never have to work again
like never in the history of forever am
i blind it’s working this is just a
matter of time I need to stay I’m not
blind
but I’m very confused because all I
really want to do is travel but ten
million per man that’s a lot of money
and once again yes yes yes yes I let
money blinded me again and I decided to
stay so let’s fast forward three more
years in 2001 business couldn’t be
better
we now have 80 employees and cash is
rolling in but now something is really
wrong with me and I can’t ignore it
anymore
I eat excessively I’ve developed a
really bad attitude I’m almost insomniac
and most importantly I feel like I’m
drowning chained to a routine that is
slowly destroying my soul work has
become my life and my life has become a
series of really long and less work
weeks 1891 and hours long or more it’s
time to quit and I get it I will not die
the richest man in my cemetery now I
feel very good about this decision to
reconnect with my dream of world travels
but my two partners do not please put
your hand on your cheeks take a deep
breath and say oh no I know unlike me
they love their lives they still love
their dream which was always very
different from mine and also they don’t
need all of the cash we’ve got to fund
the sustained continuous expansion of
the business and borrowing money to buy
me out is not an option they are willing
to consider at this point in time so we
can involve in a heated legal battle
that day a team of lawyers managed is
much better than my one guy my dream of
becoming an English millionaire gets
and we all move on fast forward three
more years in 2004 I’m now living in Los
Angeles California I came here on
vacation after England just to clear my
head
and in life happens again fell in love
got married had a child just not exactly
in that auto we had a child and we got
married life was great at the beginning
but life is not a long and can River
eventually sadly the marriage ended and
in 10 years I had shifted from this to
this at age 34 I am swimming in a pool
of pain guilt anger resentment I feel
like I have just experienced two major
of failures first in my profession and
then in my personal life I know it’s all
in my head and yet I am stuck in that
place where the eyes can’t see and I
need something anything to get me out of
it and the answer came in the mail I
picked up one day a magazine I never
read fell on an article on the healing
benefits of laughter the emerging
movement of Indian laughter Club and It
was as if a light bulb at senator I had
turn itself on inside as if my heart
knew something my mind couldn’t get
laughter was what I needed and with this
said let’s go back to the hot and humid
Mumbai I told you about earlier behind
and the two worlds that changed
everything for me now would you like to
know what they were do you want to laugh
and that pretty much is what I learn in
India that year it was weird and I
didn’t like and I didn’t really like it
at first but it worked every time do
they lift it
I felt better again and I was hooked so
I trained as a laughter trainer and
learn what was known at the time and
then started set on a lifelong journey
of deepening that knowledge and I
thought and I started to share what I
learn with people around me in Los
Angeles at first in southern Southern
California then across the US and slowly
but surely I and we as a growing
laughter community started to attract a
lot of attention and I mean a lot ground
was felt I’ll people loved it so I
expanded my laughter activities into
Western Europe Eastern Europe
I brought laughter therapy to Russia the
first time in 2008 then Pacific region
Australia Mexico South America this is a
map of where my laughter travels have
taken me so far that’s just that’s over
a million kilometer in and that’s just
in the past decade can you please take a
deep breath and say wow I know I know
and if it was just that that’d be great
but there is more actually just as a
side note I’m not implying that I’m the
one who I’m the man who put laughter
therapy on on the face of the planet
I’m not we are there’s an army of us I’m
just one of the most active after years
of much study and practice I created my
own method called laughter wellness and
it’s now taught on six continents in a
variety great variety of settings from
the world of health care because doctors
and nurses need to lighten up as much as
their patients to the world of aged care
because seniors need and loves is an
impact in nothing short of amazing from
the world of education because happier
teachers lead to happier classrooms to
the world of corporate wellness at large
because laughter of the way we use it is
a most impactful way to create sustain
and develop what we have of
most precious in life and in business
which is called attitude now what we
share is best summarized by the sound of
this Jingle Bell and a message that
comes with it there’s a tremendous
amount of positive energies that we all
have direct access to right beneath our
body and mind and laughter is a great
way to tap into them but it’s not a
process of adding things stuff people
into your life it’s the opposite it’s
the process of letting go of what
shouldn’t be there in the first place
that working souls from free expression
I’m not claiming that laughter is a
miracle cure but it did save my life and
that of many other people I don’t have
time to talk to you about talking of
which I’d love to tell you more about my
laughter peace project in the Middle
East is this was Israel and this was
Palestine last year so I’m not going to
talk to you about that cause time is
short but maybe the next telex and if
big Ted wants to invite me I could I
mean let’s just say that they are now
regular laughter wellness class is being
taught there change will not happen from
the top down from the bottom up if
something is to be it’s up to me and you
and us and may not be much but it’s
something and it’s on the ground so some
of you may have warmed up why if there
was a heart on the map I just showed you
earlier well that’s because I only have
one true love and that’s where we met
racheal is a master of master trainer
and performing arts she came to a
laughter wellness teacher training I
offered in Ecuador in 2012 it was love
at first sight we got married in 2015
that’s right girl number two on that
picture is my son Julian who’s been
travelling with me every summer since he
was 10 and wizards now and sometimes I
wonder where would I be what would have
happened to me if I was if I had stayed
in England now on a good side most
likely I would be a multimillionaire
my 2x partners are but what price is
chasing what you don’t really want
really more important health and
happiness
actually what are you chasing right now
and is it what you really really want
how much is disgusting you and is it
worth it so there’s a question I would
like to ask the sort among you whose
life is not 100 percent coherent with
what you truly believe in what do you
think is gonna happen to you tomorrow if
you don’t work on it today in my life I
can’t tell you this was an easy process
it was not but it was very much worth it
so how many of you who here would like
to accept a simple challenge that can
greatly improve the quality of your life
physical and emotional well-being by a
show of hands and this is a time of
commitment what do you really really
want the challenge is very easy it’s an
invitation to ask yourself simple
questions on a regular basis if not
daily number one do I want to be right
or do I want to be happy learn to let go
and you’ll find that laughter is greatly
helpful in that process do not do not
the way there’s no need to fight every
battle shoes your battles wisely they
are not always not always fighting
number two number two what do I want to
choose in my life today sorry what do I
want to create in my life today
choose your emotional state choose your
emotional rage every day what do I me
one to create in my life today of course
this won’t happen every day the flip
side of the question is how did I create
this it can be a hard question to ask
but I will argue that life doesn’t
happen to us but always for us there’s
always a blessing somewhere but
sometimes we have to look for it and
three and last how coherent is my life
today with what I truly believe in never
lose track of your values those are the
guiding lights in your life and you all
know we all know that driving
in pitch-dark always your eyes closed is
a bad idea this being said I thank you
and I look forward to the possibility of
laughing and sharing with you more
shortly thank you if guys
you [Music]
yes but how many of you have laughed
today for five minutes or more by a show
nice how many of you have laughed this
week for at least five minutes or more
bio show of hands that’s nice
now the contrast is how many of you have
experienced stress for one hour or more
this week by a show of hands look around
according to your recent research by the
Gallup Institute
8 out of 10 Americans experience stress
in their everyday life and Greece can’t
be very far behind and yet we all know
that or should know that stress is a
silent killer that is just too expensive
to be left that to be ignored so please
take a deep breath and just laugh and I
mean no disrespect if you could wave a
magic wand and get anything you want it
would who would be interested who would
want to learn how to dissolve stress and
strain greatly strengthen your emotional
and your physical and emotional wealth
and wealth and well-being by show of
hands well here’s my story and this is
exactly what I’ve done and what I
believe you can do too so let me start
to 2004 so November 2004 I’ve just
arrived in Mumbai India
coming from Los Angeles California
that’s a sixteen thousand kilometer
stretch and I am miserable I’m tired
it’s hot and humid the mosquitoes are
eating me alive
this is not a good day I’m here to learn
how to laugh and the irony of it all is
that laughter is the last thing I want
to do right now now I know what some of
you are thinking what did you say he’s
travelled sixteen thousand kilometers
that’s 10,000 miles to learn how to
laugh that’s a bit of a strange project
whoa
may be strange for you but it’s not for
me I’m almost 35 at a very low point in
my life and everything every stunt you
read about the science of laughter has
convinced me it can help me achieve
exactly what I’ve just described how to
transform my mood and feel better at
will anytime anywhere I’m here in Mumbai
because there’s this group of people who
appear to have mastered the art of
laughter they don’t use jokes or
committee and yet they’ve been laughing
every morning for 20 minutes for the
past ten years that’s a long time and
they claim that it’s the best things
I’ve ever done their leader is a medical
doctor Madan Catania and that man has
assured me that he would share
everything he knows about laughter with
me if I come to Mumbai so he I am so we
go through the introductions hey I’m
Sebastian from California we’ve
exchanged emails remember me
and then just in my impatience and to
make sure he is crystal clear as to why
I’m here
I add so you said you could teach me how
to laugh is that right he looks at me he
looks at me smiles and says yes yes
indeed do you want to laugh now I get
excited and say yes yes yes yes yes I’m
ready what do I need to do I mean there
must be a special trick something clever
and different it can’t possibly be that
easy can
and then that man says to Worlds two
worlds that I care that I can still hear
echoing in my soul because those two
worlds chant everything for me and then
we’ll come back to those shortly but
first let me do backtrack a few more
years because Mumbai is not really where
my story begins and Los Angeles is not
ten years before this happens I’m 25
years old and enjoying the best spring
of my life in Florence Italy I’ve been
here for the past three months
celebrating a very special event and
metaphorically I feel like this jingle
bell ready to sing the music of my
destiny I’m here to say this very
special event I’m here to celebrate is
the fact that I am officially done with
college I now have a degree in
international trade and not just that
I’ve also paid my dues and served for
one year in the French army yes I was
born in France which means that I am
free at last
I have no more obligations I can do
whatever I want my adult life finally is
beginning please inhale as you come up
hands up and as you excel say yes and
again yes and that’s exactly what I’m
thinking this is really cool because I
have a dream and my dream is I’m going
to travel the world a few times and
that’s both my life and career plan it’s
a bit of a vague plan I know but it’s a
dream I’ve had for as long as I can
remember and I just know this is what
I’m supposed to do I speak five
languages I’ve already visited 25
countries work in seven of them and I’ve
done enough and seen enough to know that
I can make this work now just to be
clear I’m not rich and neither is my
family but what I do have is a very
resourceful brain and when it comes to
traveling I
just know how to make things happen and
one thing I’m very clear upon right now
is that traveling with that money is not
fun so hmm
what to do so to cut a long story short
I decide to start a business in England
with two friends the three of us are
smart board and Bish’s and most
importantly we have a clever business
idea and with that we believe will work
and if it does well if it does then we
will sell that business within three
years for three million pounds walking
away with just about a million each
we’ve done the math and we believe it’s
possible and if and when that happens
then I will be the happiest man on the
planet doing travelling things I would
never be able to afford otherwise
something deep within me doesn’t really
like the idea of being locked up in a
box of glass and concrete for three
years or more but 1 million pair is it’s
a big motivation for an ambitious 25
year old who’s broke and dreams of world
travels so I ignore my gut feelings and
go instead with the loud advice of one
of my role model at the time Richard
Branson let’s fast forward three years
in 1998 our business is flourishing
we’ve caught the dot-com bubble right at
the beginning and it’s the ride of a
lifetime for those of you who weren’t
there think of the recent cryptocurrency
bubble we work as much as we want with
who we want and at the price that we
want we’re not a big business yet but we
already have 30 full-time employee a
pipeline filled with big clients and a
clear path for growth ahead of us
something in my in my personal life
however it’s a different picture there’s
been so much happening so fast for the
past and all the time for the past 3
years that I have slowly become addicted
to stress which is a different way of
saying that depression is now almost
always around the corner for me and not
just that I’ve
so allowed myself to be convinced that 1
million pound is not enough I mean why
such a lack of ambition what I really
need is 10 because with that kind of
money I will never have to work again
like never in the history of forever am
i blind it’s working this is just a
matter of time I need to stay I’m not
blind
but I’m very confused because all I
really want to do is travel but ten
million per man that’s a lot of money
and once again yes yes yes yes I let
money blinded me again and I decided to
stay so let’s fast forward three more
years in 2001 business couldn’t be
better
we now have 80 employees and cash is
rolling in but now something is really
wrong with me and I can’t ignore it
anymore
I eat excessively I’ve developed a
really bad attitude I’m almost insomniac
and most importantly I feel like I’m
drowning chained to a routine that is
slowly destroying my soul work has
become my life and my life has become a
series of really long and less work
weeks 1891 and hours long or more it’s
time to quit and I get it I will not die
the richest man in my cemetery now I
feel very good about this decision to
reconnect with my dream of world travels
but my two partners do not please put
your hand on your cheeks take a deep
breath and say oh no I know unlike me
they love their lives they still love
their dream which was always very
different from mine and also they don’t
need all of the cash we’ve got to fund
the sustained continuous expansion of
the business and borrowing money to buy
me out is not an option they are willing
to consider at this point in time so we
can involve in a heated legal battle
that day a team of lawyers managed is
much better than my one guy my dream of
becoming an English millionaire gets
and we all move on fast forward three
more years in 2004 I’m now living in Los
Angeles California I came here on
vacation after England just to clear my
head
and in life happens again fell in love
got married had a child just not exactly
in that auto we had a child and we got
married life was great at the beginning
but life is not a long and can River
eventually sadly the marriage ended and
in 10 years I had shifted from this to
this at age 34 I am swimming in a pool
of pain guilt anger resentment I feel
like I have just experienced two major
of failures first in my profession and
then in my personal life I know it’s all
in my head and yet I am stuck in that
place where the eyes can’t see and I
need something anything to get me out of
it and the answer came in the mail I
picked up one day a magazine I never
read fell on an article on the healing
benefits of laughter the emerging
movement of Indian laughter Club and It
was as if a light bulb at senator I had
turn itself on inside as if my heart
knew something my mind couldn’t get
laughter was what I needed and with this
said let’s go back to the hot and humid
Mumbai I told you about earlier behind
and the two worlds that changed
everything for me now would you like to
know what they were do you want to laugh
and that pretty much is what I learn in
India that year it was weird and I
didn’t like and I didn’t really like it
at first but it worked every time do
they lift it
I felt better again and I was hooked so
I trained as a laughter trainer and
learn what was known at the time and
then started set on a lifelong journey
of deepening that knowledge and I
thought and I started to share what I
learn with people around me in Los
Angeles at first in southern Southern
California then across the US and slowly
but surely I and we as a growing
laughter community started to attract a
lot of attention and I mean a lot ground
was felt I’ll people loved it so I
expanded my laughter activities into
Western Europe Eastern Europe
I brought laughter therapy to Russia the
first time in 2008 then Pacific region
Australia Mexico South America this is a
map of where my laughter travels have
taken me so far that’s just that’s over
a million kilometer in and that’s just
in the past decade can you please take a
deep breath and say wow I know I know
and if it was just that that’d be great
but there is more actually just as a
side note I’m not implying that I’m the
one who I’m the man who put laughter
therapy on on the face of the planet
I’m not we are there’s an army of us I’m
just one of the most active after years
of much study and practice I created my
own method called laughter wellness and
it’s now taught on six continents in a
variety great variety of settings from
the world of health care because doctors
and nurses need to lighten up as much as
their patients to the world of aged care
because seniors need and loves is an
impact in nothing short of amazing from
the world of education because happier
teachers lead to happier classrooms to
the world of corporate wellness at large
because laughter of the way we use it is
a most impactful way to create sustain
and develop what we have of
most precious in life and in business
which is called attitude now what we
share is best summarized by the sound of
this Jingle Bell and a message that
comes with it there’s a tremendous
amount of positive energies that we all
have direct access to right beneath our
body and mind and laughter is a great
way to tap into them but it’s not a
process of adding things stuff people
into your life it’s the opposite it’s
the process of letting go of what
shouldn’t be there in the first place
that working souls from free expression
I’m not claiming that laughter is a
miracle cure but it did save my life and
that of many other people I don’t have
time to talk to you about talking of
which I’d love to tell you more about my
laughter peace project in the Middle
East is this was Israel and this was
Palestine last year so I’m not going to
talk to you about that cause time is
short but maybe the next telex and if
big Ted wants to invite me I could I
mean let’s just say that they are now
regular laughter wellness class is being
taught there change will not happen from
the top down from the bottom up if
something is to be it’s up to me and you
and us and may not be much but it’s
something and it’s on the ground so some
of you may have warmed up why if there
was a heart on the map I just showed you
earlier well that’s because I only have
one true love and that’s where we met
racheal is a master of master trainer
and performing arts she came to a
laughter wellness teacher training I
offered in Ecuador in 2012 it was love
at first sight we got married in 2015
that’s right girl number two on that
picture is my son Julian who’s been
travelling with me every summer since he
was 10 and wizards now and sometimes I
wonder where would I be what would have
happened to me if I was if I had stayed
in England now on a good side most
likely I would be a multimillionaire
my 2x partners are but what price is
chasing what you don’t really want
really more important health and
happiness
actually what are you chasing right now
and is it what you really really want
how much is disgusting you and is it
worth it so there’s a question I would
like to ask the sort among you whose
life is not 100 percent coherent with
what you truly believe in what do you
think is gonna happen to you tomorrow if
you don’t work on it today in my life I
can’t tell you this was an easy process
it was not but it was very much worth it
so how many of you who here would like
to accept a simple challenge that can
greatly improve the quality of your life
physical and emotional well-being by a
show of hands and this is a time of
commitment what do you really really
want the challenge is very easy it’s an
invitation to ask yourself simple
questions on a regular basis if not
daily number one do I want to be right
or do I want to be happy learn to let go
and you’ll find that laughter is greatly
helpful in that process do not do not
the way there’s no need to fight every
battle shoes your battles wisely they
are not always not always fighting
number two number two what do I want to
choose in my life today sorry what do I
want to create in my life today
choose your emotional state choose your
emotional rage every day what do I me
one to create in my life today of course
this won’t happen every day the flip
side of the question is how did I create
this it can be a hard question to ask
but I will argue that life doesn’t
happen to us but always for us there’s
always a blessing somewhere but
sometimes we have to look for it and
three and last how coherent is my life
today with what I truly believe in never
lose track of your values those are the
guiding lights in your life and you all
know we all know that driving
in pitch-dark always your eyes closed is
a bad idea this being said I thank you
and I look forward to the possibility of
laughing and sharing with you more
shortly thank you if guys
you [Music]
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