[Music]
get up and dance with me
Houston Texas how are you guys I was
well this is where I arrived this is
where it all started it is not where I
was born
it is however where I was conceived my
parents it is my parents shook their
Caucasian groove thing when they were 21
years old and a lot of people say how is
it that your parents were able to have
you that young and the answer is fairly
simple
they were both genuinely fond of
intercourse so I was born nine months
after that night in Dallas Texas in 1959
and by the age of 11 I had decided to
become an actor my mom god bless her and
she’s actually watching from Dallas
today I love you mom she is watching and
she did a wonderful thing for me she
took me to see a play at the Dallas
Theater Center with my brother Bryan we
went to see Charles Dickens play a
Christmas carol and the play was
wonderful and at intermission I looked
to her not sounded just like this I had
these precious little North East Texas
accent I whistled on my asses you hear
that little ass whistle so I turned to
her and I said could could I do that
that would be so much fun to be in in
plays and so forth and she enrolled me
immediately a couple of weeks later and
I started training and by the time I was
15 I was doing television commercials
scored a lead in a feature film by the
time I was 16 and when I was 17 I was
traveling around the country in a
limousine signing pictures and kissing
women and frankly deciding that that was
a lifestyle that worked for me I had no
problem with that at all there was
nothing about that year that pissed me
off nothing I went back and finished
high school and moved to LA at age 18
and had been out there for I’ve been out
there for a very very long time
LA has been extremely kind to
now I have been a speaker for 32 years I
have never named a talk but Ted wanted
me to do this and in fact Eric Swanson
Eric if you’re watching thank you I
spoke at Eric’s event in Dallas a few
months ago and he said do you think
you’re ready to do a TED talk and I said
that’s easy dude and then I went wait a
minute
that’s easy dude that’s it
and it just jumped out of my mouth I
thought well there it is so here I am I
started training actors shortly after I
got into the business in LA because I
always was at ease in front of people I
was always at ease in a room going in
front of directors and casting directors
and writers and so forth producers
executive producers and as I said every
dream I ever had has been realized and
I’m kind of on gravy time now but years
ago I discovered that I enjoy being a
speaker more than I enjoy anything else
and being a teacher right along with
that speaker teacher same thing and my
primary attraction to it is because I’m
up here saying my words and not a
writers words I’m still active as an
actor I just finished a series created
by Jim Carrey called I’m dying up here I
don’t know if any of you watch it on
Showtime it’s a wonderful show but most
people know me best for my seven-year
run as Aaron Pierce on the series 24
Fox’s series which was a wonderful thing
but specifically when they asked me to
name my talk today what did I call it
whispers and boomerangs so I want to
clarify what I mean by that every one of
us have whispers there’s no doubt about
that that whisper is that beautiful
voice within and it’s job is to know it
doesn’t think it doesn’t theorize it
knows and it is there to help us there
is no other reason now why we behave
this way especially in this country and
I have no business speaking about other
countries because I’m not from there I
grew up in the u.s. I’m honored to live
here but one of the sad things that
seems to happen is we have our beauty
our awareness our connection with life
itself
kated right out of us and we have to go
back to the day of our birth that
precious day even further back even back
to our conception which for me was here
in Houston because on that day I like
you out swam and here’s the actual math
approximately 500 million other
candidates in order to be here in the
first place so what I’m sharing with you
is that none of you need to study to
learn how to be winners it’s your very
nature it’s your nature right against
all odds in fact against math that you
will never be asked to fight again so it
started there it started with the most
intimidating math you will ever face and
yet you won and you won because you
weren’t intimidated by math in fact the
math that day wasn’t even a concern for
you and you wound up getting here and
you arrived on the day of your birth in
the winner’s circle and you were awarded
a trophy for that victory and that
trophy is the very body in which you
reside I can’t encourage you enough to
take care of it love it it’s the only
one you’ll have in this lifetime I read
a survey many years ago that changed my
life and it was a survey of a hundred
hospice patients who were asked what
their 5 biggest regrets were and without
going over each one of the regrets I’ll
just tell you that the attention-getting
moment for me was when I realized that
97% of them shared the same number one
and obviously it was language
differently and in each instance but
basically what they were saying was this
here it is it’s time for Amanat
departure and what they said is that
they regretted that they had spent the
entirety of their lives
devoted to living the life they thought
someone else wanted them to live mmm
he’s right I heard the collective hmm
and that’s the effect it has on us so I
can’t encourage you enough because none
of you appear to be scheduled to leave
this week at least we never know some of
us might not make it through the end of
the day we never know but it seems like
most everyone’s going to be here
a little while longer anyway I can’t
encourage enough the implementation of
that attitude now in other words don’t
base your life on what your spouse
thinks your mother thinks your your
minister thinks what I want to say
society itself really but rather check
in with the deepest yearnings of your
soul and that’s where whispers occur I
have had so many whispers in my life
that I’ve honored and I’ve done Studies
on this we’re just in my own my studies
aren’t to go to books my studies her to
just connect to the within and as I
study the whisper it occurs to me that
the two primary reasons that people veto
their whispers one it doesn’t seem to
make sense please stop doing that
please stop insisting that your whispers
make sense trust them follow them they
will make sense in time as they say in
the 12-step programs more will be
revealed trust that it makes sense that
you’re being whispered to the way you
are if you get to a stoplight normally
you would turn left to go home but
something is telling you to turn right
please honor that turn right you are
being watched over you are being
protected I have had whispers that have
saved my physical life on three
occasions if this were not an 18-minute
talk I would tell you about each one of
them it’s really really powerful so
honor those whispers to the nth degree I
had a whisper that I should become an
actor so I did and it’s gone on to make
tremendous sense boomerangs simply
references what we do every day
energetically speaking what we throw
into the sky and for me the only thing
we’re throwing into the sky is love love
and to do so with excellence and place
your signature on it and throw it into
the sky meaning every conscious
contribution you’re making to life hurl
it into the sky with trust in the spirit
of trust that knowing that it is on a
bloomerang and boomerangs do not need
our precious micromanagement they know
exactly what to do it is their very
nature to return and they do in droves
so Hurley’s many of them as you can into
the sky plant as many crops as you can
and watch because if one or two of your
crops have a bad year it’s not a problem
it’s not a problem because you’ve
planted so much it’s harvest
in year round random thought I loved
what Jason did up here earlier today for
this specific reason the deck the deck
appears to have been stacked against him
where he would say what is the longest
shot for you to ever do become a
professional speaker and he went yeah so
what’s your point and went ahead and did
it
Jim Abbott one-handed pitcher for the
California Angels back when they were
called the California Angels and he
became a pitcher not just a baseball
player spud Webb and the NBA same idea
spud looks in the mirror and says I see
an NBA player despite the protestations
of everyone else Arnold Schwarzenegger
when we were doing a movie together last
year called
aftermath told me when I learned years
ago to ignore the naysayers now since I
was born right here in Texas I want to
tell you some of the stuff that I find
funny about Texas and specifically an
article that my buddy Ron Jacques read
in the Houston Chronicle God rest his
soul Ronnie I miss you Ronnie grew up
here very successful stand-up comic and
and Ronnie sounded just like this got a
Depot bass voice and deep southern voice
and he said Glen I don’t believe this
nonsense he said I’m reading an article
that talks about a train a train that is
rolling down the track it jumps off
derails GUP goes up over the embankment
and plows through the backend of a
Ramada Inn where they are having a
wedding celebration and the train hits
25 people injures 20 of them kills five
and the Houston Chronicle reported the
incident this way and I quote it
appeared that most of the guests were
caught by surprise
most of them
not-not-not not all of them most of them
which would lead me to believe that
somebody must have been expecting it
somebody must have gotten up that
morning and turned to their beloved and
said you know what Myrtle I wouldn’t be
a bit damn surprised if a locomotive
doesn’t run over our butts today
brothers and sisters I’m gonna tell you
something if while I’m standing here
today a train is to come plying through
that back wall you’re gonna see me poop
my shorts right in front of you if a
train coming through a ballroom wall
does not surprise you
you are one difficult son of a gun to
impress let me tell you another quick
when I got from the news this one comes
from the Miami Herald I was down there
doing a show called blood line for
Netflix we have any blood line fans out
there okay well if you if you need to
learn about drug-dealing we are your
show and I went straight from playing
the do-gooder of the world Aaron Pierce
into playing a guy who traffics cocaine
and makes people go away permanently
that’s what I do so I was down there and
read an article about well the title the
article said and it caught my eye it
said man killed by duck man killed by
duck brothers and sisters do you know
that the number of people on planet
earth who have been killed by a duck is
still in single digits
I got to read this so I start reading
and here’s what it had to say apparently
there was a gentleman who was cruising
down a waterway on a jetski you know and
here comes this low flying duck now if
you’ve ever seen one of these these low
flying geese or so that have their head
way out man and their butts out and men
they are they are bringing it Jim
they’re just bring ma’am and then BAM
hits him right smack dab in the middle
of the forehead kills the man and kills
the duck now my dear friends I have
spent my entire life believing that we
died on the day we’re supposed to die
and if that’s true it does beg the
question and I couldn’t help but wonder
how many ways did God miss that guy that
day before getting down to the duck
option that was my first thought my
second thought was did his friend who
was videotaping the incident did it
occur to his friend at any point to say
dark and my third my third thought was
mohel maybe it was the Ducks day to die
so I I’ve done so many different talk
shows I had the privilege of being on
the Jimmy Kimmel Live show two weeks ago
but I’ve done so many different radio
shows we used to kind of cross pollinate
with American Idol on Fox 24 every year
and we would go from one station to the
next yes it was like media day how we
did hundreds and hundreds of these
interviews and I was asked about my
public speaking I teach a program called
the extra mile which is about really
just living in celebration right
we’re either down here enduring or down
here celebrating and it is your option
it is your choice we’ve been shown time
and time again you can overcome anything
and for the record if your pattern has
been to complain please stop that
nonsense today and here’s why if you
think about this and bear with me and I
know this is gonna rub some of you the
wrong way initially but if you’ll stay
with me you’ll see the blessing in this
everyone you have ever met was there to
help you it’s the truth
now you said well you just don’t know
you just don’t know right the truth is
here’s how I can prove that because even
the people you didn’t care for even the
people you’ve held onto resentment
toward everyone who has ever crossed
your path has helped you in here’s how
because they either showed you exactly
how to live life or exactly how not to
in which case your previously regarded
enemies have helped you immeasurably by
showing you exactly how not to do it God
knows I’ve met a number of examples
where I was able to look at them and
instead of becoming embittered was able
to look and go you know what thanks for
showing me that because I don’t need to
go down that path because I was just on
the receiving end of your behavior and I
never want to put someone else on the
receiving end of what it is I am feeling
right now thank you so that’s that’s a
whole reframing that will help a lot of
you dr. David Hawkins sums up life this
way he says that every choice every
thought every action we take does one of
two things it’s so simple it either
contributes to or contaminates it’s that
simple
and so if we wonder why it is we’re
feeling the way we’re feeling put your
life on paper dare to be rigorously
honest and write down the contributions
you make to your own life what are the
things you do that you feel fantastic
about dancing by the way is one of those
for me here’s another big one eye
contact if you have people Bob Danelle
showed us eye contact this morning I
practice eye contact regularly but if
you find someone in your
life who not only will engage you at the
level of deep eye contact but they will
hold it and maintain that cherish
cherish those people it’s so important
to do that so contribution and
contamination what are you doing to
contaminate your life what are you doing
that your body doesn’t like what what
job are you doing that you can’t stand
it’s eroding your soul right we’re down
here to satisfy the deepest yearnings of
our soul that’s why we breathe air so I
want to ask you this one question in
closing and feel free to shout at me on
Facebook look me up I teach in three
cities every week Dallas Los Angeles and
Salt Lake City I have my own studio in
all three cities and I fly to them all
the time so here’s my closing question
for you you had something in mind during
that initial swim you were here to
express not impress so my question to
you today is simply this why did you
swim so fast and whatever you come up
with
go do it thank you
get up and dance with me
Houston Texas how are you guys I was
well this is where I arrived this is
where it all started it is not where I
was born
it is however where I was conceived my
parents it is my parents shook their
Caucasian groove thing when they were 21
years old and a lot of people say how is
it that your parents were able to have
you that young and the answer is fairly
simple
they were both genuinely fond of
intercourse so I was born nine months
after that night in Dallas Texas in 1959
and by the age of 11 I had decided to
become an actor my mom god bless her and
she’s actually watching from Dallas
today I love you mom she is watching and
she did a wonderful thing for me she
took me to see a play at the Dallas
Theater Center with my brother Bryan we
went to see Charles Dickens play a
Christmas carol and the play was
wonderful and at intermission I looked
to her not sounded just like this I had
these precious little North East Texas
accent I whistled on my asses you hear
that little ass whistle so I turned to
her and I said could could I do that
that would be so much fun to be in in
plays and so forth and she enrolled me
immediately a couple of weeks later and
I started training and by the time I was
15 I was doing television commercials
scored a lead in a feature film by the
time I was 16 and when I was 17 I was
traveling around the country in a
limousine signing pictures and kissing
women and frankly deciding that that was
a lifestyle that worked for me I had no
problem with that at all there was
nothing about that year that pissed me
off nothing I went back and finished
high school and moved to LA at age 18
and had been out there for I’ve been out
there for a very very long time
LA has been extremely kind to
now I have been a speaker for 32 years I
have never named a talk but Ted wanted
me to do this and in fact Eric Swanson
Eric if you’re watching thank you I
spoke at Eric’s event in Dallas a few
months ago and he said do you think
you’re ready to do a TED talk and I said
that’s easy dude and then I went wait a
minute
that’s easy dude that’s it
and it just jumped out of my mouth I
thought well there it is so here I am I
started training actors shortly after I
got into the business in LA because I
always was at ease in front of people I
was always at ease in a room going in
front of directors and casting directors
and writers and so forth producers
executive producers and as I said every
dream I ever had has been realized and
I’m kind of on gravy time now but years
ago I discovered that I enjoy being a
speaker more than I enjoy anything else
and being a teacher right along with
that speaker teacher same thing and my
primary attraction to it is because I’m
up here saying my words and not a
writers words I’m still active as an
actor I just finished a series created
by Jim Carrey called I’m dying up here I
don’t know if any of you watch it on
Showtime it’s a wonderful show but most
people know me best for my seven-year
run as Aaron Pierce on the series 24
Fox’s series which was a wonderful thing
but specifically when they asked me to
name my talk today what did I call it
whispers and boomerangs so I want to
clarify what I mean by that every one of
us have whispers there’s no doubt about
that that whisper is that beautiful
voice within and it’s job is to know it
doesn’t think it doesn’t theorize it
knows and it is there to help us there
is no other reason now why we behave
this way especially in this country and
I have no business speaking about other
countries because I’m not from there I
grew up in the u.s. I’m honored to live
here but one of the sad things that
seems to happen is we have our beauty
our awareness our connection with life
itself
kated right out of us and we have to go
back to the day of our birth that
precious day even further back even back
to our conception which for me was here
in Houston because on that day I like
you out swam and here’s the actual math
approximately 500 million other
candidates in order to be here in the
first place so what I’m sharing with you
is that none of you need to study to
learn how to be winners it’s your very
nature it’s your nature right against
all odds in fact against math that you
will never be asked to fight again so it
started there it started with the most
intimidating math you will ever face and
yet you won and you won because you
weren’t intimidated by math in fact the
math that day wasn’t even a concern for
you and you wound up getting here and
you arrived on the day of your birth in
the winner’s circle and you were awarded
a trophy for that victory and that
trophy is the very body in which you
reside I can’t encourage you enough to
take care of it love it it’s the only
one you’ll have in this lifetime I read
a survey many years ago that changed my
life and it was a survey of a hundred
hospice patients who were asked what
their 5 biggest regrets were and without
going over each one of the regrets I’ll
just tell you that the attention-getting
moment for me was when I realized that
97% of them shared the same number one
and obviously it was language
differently and in each instance but
basically what they were saying was this
here it is it’s time for Amanat
departure and what they said is that
they regretted that they had spent the
entirety of their lives
devoted to living the life they thought
someone else wanted them to live mmm
he’s right I heard the collective hmm
and that’s the effect it has on us so I
can’t encourage you enough because none
of you appear to be scheduled to leave
this week at least we never know some of
us might not make it through the end of
the day we never know but it seems like
most everyone’s going to be here
a little while longer anyway I can’t
encourage enough the implementation of
that attitude now in other words don’t
base your life on what your spouse
thinks your mother thinks your your
minister thinks what I want to say
society itself really but rather check
in with the deepest yearnings of your
soul and that’s where whispers occur I
have had so many whispers in my life
that I’ve honored and I’ve done Studies
on this we’re just in my own my studies
aren’t to go to books my studies her to
just connect to the within and as I
study the whisper it occurs to me that
the two primary reasons that people veto
their whispers one it doesn’t seem to
make sense please stop doing that
please stop insisting that your whispers
make sense trust them follow them they
will make sense in time as they say in
the 12-step programs more will be
revealed trust that it makes sense that
you’re being whispered to the way you
are if you get to a stoplight normally
you would turn left to go home but
something is telling you to turn right
please honor that turn right you are
being watched over you are being
protected I have had whispers that have
saved my physical life on three
occasions if this were not an 18-minute
talk I would tell you about each one of
them it’s really really powerful so
honor those whispers to the nth degree I
had a whisper that I should become an
actor so I did and it’s gone on to make
tremendous sense boomerangs simply
references what we do every day
energetically speaking what we throw
into the sky and for me the only thing
we’re throwing into the sky is love love
and to do so with excellence and place
your signature on it and throw it into
the sky meaning every conscious
contribution you’re making to life hurl
it into the sky with trust in the spirit
of trust that knowing that it is on a
bloomerang and boomerangs do not need
our precious micromanagement they know
exactly what to do it is their very
nature to return and they do in droves
so Hurley’s many of them as you can into
the sky plant as many crops as you can
and watch because if one or two of your
crops have a bad year it’s not a problem
it’s not a problem because you’ve
planted so much it’s harvest
in year round random thought I loved
what Jason did up here earlier today for
this specific reason the deck the deck
appears to have been stacked against him
where he would say what is the longest
shot for you to ever do become a
professional speaker and he went yeah so
what’s your point and went ahead and did
it
Jim Abbott one-handed pitcher for the
California Angels back when they were
called the California Angels and he
became a pitcher not just a baseball
player spud Webb and the NBA same idea
spud looks in the mirror and says I see
an NBA player despite the protestations
of everyone else Arnold Schwarzenegger
when we were doing a movie together last
year called
aftermath told me when I learned years
ago to ignore the naysayers now since I
was born right here in Texas I want to
tell you some of the stuff that I find
funny about Texas and specifically an
article that my buddy Ron Jacques read
in the Houston Chronicle God rest his
soul Ronnie I miss you Ronnie grew up
here very successful stand-up comic and
and Ronnie sounded just like this got a
Depot bass voice and deep southern voice
and he said Glen I don’t believe this
nonsense he said I’m reading an article
that talks about a train a train that is
rolling down the track it jumps off
derails GUP goes up over the embankment
and plows through the backend of a
Ramada Inn where they are having a
wedding celebration and the train hits
25 people injures 20 of them kills five
and the Houston Chronicle reported the
incident this way and I quote it
appeared that most of the guests were
caught by surprise
most of them
not-not-not not all of them most of them
which would lead me to believe that
somebody must have been expecting it
somebody must have gotten up that
morning and turned to their beloved and
said you know what Myrtle I wouldn’t be
a bit damn surprised if a locomotive
doesn’t run over our butts today
brothers and sisters I’m gonna tell you
something if while I’m standing here
today a train is to come plying through
that back wall you’re gonna see me poop
my shorts right in front of you if a
train coming through a ballroom wall
does not surprise you
you are one difficult son of a gun to
impress let me tell you another quick
when I got from the news this one comes
from the Miami Herald I was down there
doing a show called blood line for
Netflix we have any blood line fans out
there okay well if you if you need to
learn about drug-dealing we are your
show and I went straight from playing
the do-gooder of the world Aaron Pierce
into playing a guy who traffics cocaine
and makes people go away permanently
that’s what I do so I was down there and
read an article about well the title the
article said and it caught my eye it
said man killed by duck man killed by
duck brothers and sisters do you know
that the number of people on planet
earth who have been killed by a duck is
still in single digits
I got to read this so I start reading
and here’s what it had to say apparently
there was a gentleman who was cruising
down a waterway on a jetski you know and
here comes this low flying duck now if
you’ve ever seen one of these these low
flying geese or so that have their head
way out man and their butts out and men
they are they are bringing it Jim
they’re just bring ma’am and then BAM
hits him right smack dab in the middle
of the forehead kills the man and kills
the duck now my dear friends I have
spent my entire life believing that we
died on the day we’re supposed to die
and if that’s true it does beg the
question and I couldn’t help but wonder
how many ways did God miss that guy that
day before getting down to the duck
option that was my first thought my
second thought was did his friend who
was videotaping the incident did it
occur to his friend at any point to say
dark and my third my third thought was
mohel maybe it was the Ducks day to die
so I I’ve done so many different talk
shows I had the privilege of being on
the Jimmy Kimmel Live show two weeks ago
but I’ve done so many different radio
shows we used to kind of cross pollinate
with American Idol on Fox 24 every year
and we would go from one station to the
next yes it was like media day how we
did hundreds and hundreds of these
interviews and I was asked about my
public speaking I teach a program called
the extra mile which is about really
just living in celebration right
we’re either down here enduring or down
here celebrating and it is your option
it is your choice we’ve been shown time
and time again you can overcome anything
and for the record if your pattern has
been to complain please stop that
nonsense today and here’s why if you
think about this and bear with me and I
know this is gonna rub some of you the
wrong way initially but if you’ll stay
with me you’ll see the blessing in this
everyone you have ever met was there to
help you it’s the truth
now you said well you just don’t know
you just don’t know right the truth is
here’s how I can prove that because even
the people you didn’t care for even the
people you’ve held onto resentment
toward everyone who has ever crossed
your path has helped you in here’s how
because they either showed you exactly
how to live life or exactly how not to
in which case your previously regarded
enemies have helped you immeasurably by
showing you exactly how not to do it God
knows I’ve met a number of examples
where I was able to look at them and
instead of becoming embittered was able
to look and go you know what thanks for
showing me that because I don’t need to
go down that path because I was just on
the receiving end of your behavior and I
never want to put someone else on the
receiving end of what it is I am feeling
right now thank you so that’s that’s a
whole reframing that will help a lot of
you dr. David Hawkins sums up life this
way he says that every choice every
thought every action we take does one of
two things it’s so simple it either
contributes to or contaminates it’s that
simple
and so if we wonder why it is we’re
feeling the way we’re feeling put your
life on paper dare to be rigorously
honest and write down the contributions
you make to your own life what are the
things you do that you feel fantastic
about dancing by the way is one of those
for me here’s another big one eye
contact if you have people Bob Danelle
showed us eye contact this morning I
practice eye contact regularly but if
you find someone in your
life who not only will engage you at the
level of deep eye contact but they will
hold it and maintain that cherish
cherish those people it’s so important
to do that so contribution and
contamination what are you doing to
contaminate your life what are you doing
that your body doesn’t like what what
job are you doing that you can’t stand
it’s eroding your soul right we’re down
here to satisfy the deepest yearnings of
our soul that’s why we breathe air so I
want to ask you this one question in
closing and feel free to shout at me on
Facebook look me up I teach in three
cities every week Dallas Los Angeles and
Salt Lake City I have my own studio in
all three cities and I fly to them all
the time so here’s my closing question
for you you had something in mind during
that initial swim you were here to
express not impress so my question to
you today is simply this why did you
swim so fast and whatever you come up
with
go do it thank you
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