[Music]
[Applause]
when I started coaching others on
leadership at age 29 I felt like a fraud
I was young I had no managerial
experience no formal training or
initials after my name and even worse
when I decided meditation would be at
the heart of my business
I had never meditated of course no one
knew this outside of the few friends I
didn’t tell any clients and I certainly
haven’t shared it in public before today
because somehow that didn’t stop me I
knew I had something to share I knew I
saw something others didn’t
in my short career I had worked with
some of the best and worst leaders
imaginable from world-renowned
management thinkers to physicians who
would openly yell at staff in front of
patients they left a mark and I spent
years immersed in technology as a
digital marketer devoted to getting you
to spend more time on this little guy
every day I learned to pick up on
patterns around me to see trends and
where we are today and where we’re going
and here’s what I saw half of Americans
report excessive stress and anxiety our
normal part of their lives happiness
levels hit a 10-year low in 2017 we’re
facing a loneliness epidemic especially
among men my age and yeah we spend about
11 hours every day on screens just like
this one now this little device and the
technology inside are driving nearly
every trend in our lives today and going
forward and changing things at a pace
most of us can’t fathom see technology
is at an exponential growth curve that’s
one of those hockey-stick looking charts
that shows like the growth of Instagram
today
and this is how technology looks as it
advances its autonomous vehicles driving
us around in the next 10 years it’s AI
in automation displacing millions of
jobs by 2030 right around the time that
virtual reality experiences will seem
completely real its massive change and
we can trace nearly every other trend in
our lives today
to technology as well from energy to
climate change to privacy and security
to something I don’t think enough people
are talking about the scarcity of time
and attention we’re going to face do we
face today as we spend nearly half of
our day on a screen each of us is
exposed to upwards of 10,000 brand
messages every day and that doesn’t
include the deluge of emails and text
messages were expected to respond to you
opting out and turning off happens less
and less our world is becoming a screen
and in the midst of all this well one
thing will remain constant for us as
humans we’re here to connect now I could
tell you the science of this share
stories of mirror neurons or the medial
prefrontal cortex I don’t have to
everyone in this room already knows it
to be true that’s why we’re here today
to be present in person as people share
their deepest truth to feel the texture
of that experience to connect with it
could any of you imagine a TED talk
without this dimension it would be the
same so while our technology platforms
are going to evolve will still be drawn
to connect in the same physical space as
who we are now then the question becomes
how do we reconcile these two parts our
humanity in a world of Technology how
can we be what the world needs today and
tomorrow I believe the people best
equipped to step up and face our
challenges and opportunities the leaders
our world needs today and for the next
20 years
first and foremost be able to connect
with others it’s our primary function
they’ll have to be comfortable dealing
with ambiguity and uncertainty to solve
the complex problems that we face and
they’ll have to be able to remain calm
and focused
despite the environment around them the
leader we need the mindful leader is
defined by three things self-awareness
awareness of others in the ability to
focus and what’s important now I call
this person the mindful leader because
these happen to be the same skills that
a mindfulness practice helps to develop
and I can’t forget what might be the
most important part if you all take one
thing from today for this mindful leader
no title no role no assigned
responsibility is necessary for her to
act as leader to demonstrate these
qualities it’s her choice to be leader
is an internal Act first that produces
external results just like our
meditation practice and it starts with
self awareness that’s the foundation on
which everything is built now so furnace
is icy it is our ability to recognize
whatever it is we’re bringing with us
for a moment to moment
it’s our thoughts maybe surface level or
deeper our emotions and their effects in
our bodies our physical state are we
hungry or tired our judgments our biases
our motivations what would we like to
happen or not happen our needs my desire
to be seen in a certain way it’s all the
stuff that doesn’t show up in a
personality test but impacts every one
of our interactions and the fun part
about it is well we don’t get to reach a
point of complete self-awareness because
we never stopped changing just like the
world around us and that’s a good thing
it keeps our attention rooted here and
the present my first speaking
opportunity with golden bristled the
company I founded was at a creativity
workshop in Nashville my mentor and
teacher Maria was helping me to lead the
group and a guide
meditation remember no meditation
experience here and when I showed up for
the event I was positively amped see I
was an athlete for 20 years so game day
meant to me get my energy up rise to the
occasion be at the top of my game and of
course I was quite nervous and anxious I
really wanted things to go well and
Maria felt it immediately she greeted me
wow your Energy’s blowing me away right
now are you okay
I was unfazed yeah this is just how I am
and on stage just normal well if this is
how you are I can’t be around you before
we go on and she wasn’t and I find
myself still touched by this moment
today seeing so clearly the lesson in
self-awareness she offered I wasn’t
ready to learn to look closely at the
energy I was bringing in the impact that
could have see on stage I had one mode
amps bring it on and I barely knew how
to turn it on her off and it cost me it
cost me connection with the one person I
wanted to connect with most in the
moment and if I’m honest with you if I
allow myself to look deeper or what was
going on I see this way of being was
largely driven by fear fear being a
fraud I confess to of not living up to a
standard that I set of being rejected by
others it’s the irony in this fear well
it’s with me often and rarely
acknowledged it’s here today so I’m
choosing to lead differently today by
bringing the fear onstage with me so we
can all see it and choosing to meet it
with love as well
and whatever form that takes now
this lesson in self-awareness I received
and my gradual learning well it came
thanks to the fact that it affected
someone else someone in my case I care
deeply about and that’s the second step
toward mindful leadership being aware of
others and how we affect each other
and we can think of it as a simple stair
step is I connect more divi with myself
I can learn to do the same with others
so why is this important why lead
workshops on mindful leadership with all
sorts of groups and I like to ask people
for stories leaders they remember who
made an impact on their lives and why
and in nearly every group I’m told a
story that goes something just like this
they asked me how I’m doing and they
actually stopped to listen they care now
we might find ourselves in quite a state
when all it takes to be a good leader is
to care right but maybe it is that
simple
after all I bet any one of us could
quickly recall a time when someone made
space to connect with us in the profound
impact that made on our day and maybe
our lives it sounds simple but it’s
extremely powerful and despite its
simplicity well we also know how
difficult it can be to leave space for
others when we’ve been interrupted for
the tenth time in an hour
or we have a hundred emails in our inbox
and every single one needs to be
responded to when you’ve had a hard day
at work and we come home to a child who
had an even harder day at school and all
they need is our presence in these
moments the easy choice is to put others
off or dismiss them outright to get lost
in our own stories and perhaps the only
choice we need to make is to be present
to see them as a human just like us
in fact this is the wellspring for deep
trust in connection and with it we can
be the leader we would like to be around
someone who gives others opportunities
for success whose actions increase the
capacity for greatness around them who
creates space for others to grow as
leaders themselves in this ability to
develop other leaders revolves around
one key truth the final component to
mindful leadership we humans are at our
best when we’re working toward a purpose
or cause bigger than ourselves now this
is a fact that’s been documented by
leaders and philosophers throughout time
from Aristotle to Viktor Frankl to simon
Sinek and start with why a simple
concept you might know that itself
achieves exponential growth from a stage
just like this one we’re constantly
drawn even to the idea of working toward
a purpose it’s almost as if we’re
starved for it because we are because
simon Sinek was right most of us have no
problem telling others what we do but we
struggle to talk about why we do it
why we get out of bed every day and do
the work we’ve chosen why it matters to
us and why we matter to the world it’s
no wonder that 70% of people are
disengaged at work every day now this
happens to be the part of the process I
get most excited about it’s where it
gets deeply personal finding our purpose
or why it’s where you get to become the
hero the story so I leave you with a
it’s something you know somewhere inside
you already even if it’s just a whisper
you weren’t put here to trade time for a
paycheck at a place you dread going to
every day our future calls for more from
us all of us even if our everyday lives
seem to be asking for us to dumb things
down or cut them short this little guy
is great really world-changing and he’s
also a trap a convenience time and
attention magnet that can distract us
from doing things that matter if we
don’t open ourselves up to the bigger
truth that were here for more and our
future relies on each of us having the
courage to look deep inside to find what
that is and to use it as our Northstar
going forward now this is arguably the
scariest most vulnerable act imaginable
I know it is also the greatest act of
love you can choose to perform now I’m
not gonna stand up here and tell you
that becoming a mindful leader is as
simple as learning some meditate and
calling it good nor am I gonna tell you
it’s a quest for perfection it’s not it
is a lifelong journey that we are always
on whether we choose to see it or not
it’s an acknowledgment that challenging
moments and days and weeks will happen
and in those moments is our choice to be
leader it is a way to choose to show up
now and now and now I believe each of us
has the capacity to be exactly what the
world needs it’s grown through practice
in the moments that matter by asking
ourselves some simple questions
what am i bringing with me in this
moment am i choosing to be leader how am
i relating to others around me
am i present with them am I connected
with them as a human and where am i
focusing my time and attention is it on
this thing is it on the impact that I
was put here to make if you focus on
these things I believe you can be the
leader our world needs fully present
aware of yourself and others around you
and focused on your larger mission and
[Applause] [Music]
[Applause]
when I started coaching others on
leadership at age 29 I felt like a fraud
I was young I had no managerial
experience no formal training or
initials after my name and even worse
when I decided meditation would be at
the heart of my business
I had never meditated of course no one
knew this outside of the few friends I
didn’t tell any clients and I certainly
haven’t shared it in public before today
because somehow that didn’t stop me I
knew I had something to share I knew I
saw something others didn’t
in my short career I had worked with
some of the best and worst leaders
imaginable from world-renowned
management thinkers to physicians who
would openly yell at staff in front of
patients they left a mark and I spent
years immersed in technology as a
digital marketer devoted to getting you
to spend more time on this little guy
every day I learned to pick up on
patterns around me to see trends and
where we are today and where we’re going
and here’s what I saw half of Americans
report excessive stress and anxiety our
normal part of their lives happiness
levels hit a 10-year low in 2017 we’re
facing a loneliness epidemic especially
among men my age and yeah we spend about
11 hours every day on screens just like
this one now this little device and the
technology inside are driving nearly
every trend in our lives today and going
forward and changing things at a pace
most of us can’t fathom see technology
is at an exponential growth curve that’s
one of those hockey-stick looking charts
that shows like the growth of Instagram
today
and this is how technology looks as it
advances its autonomous vehicles driving
us around in the next 10 years it’s AI
in automation displacing millions of
jobs by 2030 right around the time that
virtual reality experiences will seem
completely real its massive change and
we can trace nearly every other trend in
our lives today
to technology as well from energy to
climate change to privacy and security
to something I don’t think enough people
are talking about the scarcity of time
and attention we’re going to face do we
face today as we spend nearly half of
our day on a screen each of us is
exposed to upwards of 10,000 brand
messages every day and that doesn’t
include the deluge of emails and text
messages were expected to respond to you
opting out and turning off happens less
and less our world is becoming a screen
and in the midst of all this well one
thing will remain constant for us as
humans we’re here to connect now I could
tell you the science of this share
stories of mirror neurons or the medial
prefrontal cortex I don’t have to
everyone in this room already knows it
to be true that’s why we’re here today
to be present in person as people share
their deepest truth to feel the texture
of that experience to connect with it
could any of you imagine a TED talk
without this dimension it would be the
same so while our technology platforms
are going to evolve will still be drawn
to connect in the same physical space as
who we are now then the question becomes
how do we reconcile these two parts our
humanity in a world of Technology how
can we be what the world needs today and
tomorrow I believe the people best
equipped to step up and face our
challenges and opportunities the leaders
our world needs today and for the next
20 years
first and foremost be able to connect
with others it’s our primary function
they’ll have to be comfortable dealing
with ambiguity and uncertainty to solve
the complex problems that we face and
they’ll have to be able to remain calm
and focused
despite the environment around them the
leader we need the mindful leader is
defined by three things self-awareness
awareness of others in the ability to
focus and what’s important now I call
this person the mindful leader because
these happen to be the same skills that
a mindfulness practice helps to develop
and I can’t forget what might be the
most important part if you all take one
thing from today for this mindful leader
no title no role no assigned
responsibility is necessary for her to
act as leader to demonstrate these
qualities it’s her choice to be leader
is an internal Act first that produces
external results just like our
meditation practice and it starts with
self awareness that’s the foundation on
which everything is built now so furnace
is icy it is our ability to recognize
whatever it is we’re bringing with us
for a moment to moment
it’s our thoughts maybe surface level or
deeper our emotions and their effects in
our bodies our physical state are we
hungry or tired our judgments our biases
our motivations what would we like to
happen or not happen our needs my desire
to be seen in a certain way it’s all the
stuff that doesn’t show up in a
personality test but impacts every one
of our interactions and the fun part
about it is well we don’t get to reach a
point of complete self-awareness because
we never stopped changing just like the
world around us and that’s a good thing
it keeps our attention rooted here and
the present my first speaking
opportunity with golden bristled the
company I founded was at a creativity
workshop in Nashville my mentor and
teacher Maria was helping me to lead the
group and a guide
meditation remember no meditation
experience here and when I showed up for
the event I was positively amped see I
was an athlete for 20 years so game day
meant to me get my energy up rise to the
occasion be at the top of my game and of
course I was quite nervous and anxious I
really wanted things to go well and
Maria felt it immediately she greeted me
wow your Energy’s blowing me away right
now are you okay
I was unfazed yeah this is just how I am
and on stage just normal well if this is
how you are I can’t be around you before
we go on and she wasn’t and I find
myself still touched by this moment
today seeing so clearly the lesson in
self-awareness she offered I wasn’t
ready to learn to look closely at the
energy I was bringing in the impact that
could have see on stage I had one mode
amps bring it on and I barely knew how
to turn it on her off and it cost me it
cost me connection with the one person I
wanted to connect with most in the
moment and if I’m honest with you if I
allow myself to look deeper or what was
going on I see this way of being was
largely driven by fear fear being a
fraud I confess to of not living up to a
standard that I set of being rejected by
others it’s the irony in this fear well
it’s with me often and rarely
acknowledged it’s here today so I’m
choosing to lead differently today by
bringing the fear onstage with me so we
can all see it and choosing to meet it
with love as well
and whatever form that takes now
this lesson in self-awareness I received
and my gradual learning well it came
thanks to the fact that it affected
someone else someone in my case I care
deeply about and that’s the second step
toward mindful leadership being aware of
others and how we affect each other
and we can think of it as a simple stair
step is I connect more divi with myself
I can learn to do the same with others
so why is this important why lead
workshops on mindful leadership with all
sorts of groups and I like to ask people
for stories leaders they remember who
made an impact on their lives and why
and in nearly every group I’m told a
story that goes something just like this
they asked me how I’m doing and they
actually stopped to listen they care now
we might find ourselves in quite a state
when all it takes to be a good leader is
to care right but maybe it is that
simple
after all I bet any one of us could
quickly recall a time when someone made
space to connect with us in the profound
impact that made on our day and maybe
our lives it sounds simple but it’s
extremely powerful and despite its
simplicity well we also know how
difficult it can be to leave space for
others when we’ve been interrupted for
the tenth time in an hour
or we have a hundred emails in our inbox
and every single one needs to be
responded to when you’ve had a hard day
at work and we come home to a child who
had an even harder day at school and all
they need is our presence in these
moments the easy choice is to put others
off or dismiss them outright to get lost
in our own stories and perhaps the only
choice we need to make is to be present
to see them as a human just like us
in fact this is the wellspring for deep
trust in connection and with it we can
be the leader we would like to be around
someone who gives others opportunities
for success whose actions increase the
capacity for greatness around them who
creates space for others to grow as
leaders themselves in this ability to
develop other leaders revolves around
one key truth the final component to
mindful leadership we humans are at our
best when we’re working toward a purpose
or cause bigger than ourselves now this
is a fact that’s been documented by
leaders and philosophers throughout time
from Aristotle to Viktor Frankl to simon
Sinek and start with why a simple
concept you might know that itself
achieves exponential growth from a stage
just like this one we’re constantly
drawn even to the idea of working toward
a purpose it’s almost as if we’re
starved for it because we are because
simon Sinek was right most of us have no
problem telling others what we do but we
struggle to talk about why we do it
why we get out of bed every day and do
the work we’ve chosen why it matters to
us and why we matter to the world it’s
no wonder that 70% of people are
disengaged at work every day now this
happens to be the part of the process I
get most excited about it’s where it
gets deeply personal finding our purpose
or why it’s where you get to become the
hero the story so I leave you with a
it’s something you know somewhere inside
you already even if it’s just a whisper
you weren’t put here to trade time for a
paycheck at a place you dread going to
every day our future calls for more from
us all of us even if our everyday lives
seem to be asking for us to dumb things
down or cut them short this little guy
is great really world-changing and he’s
also a trap a convenience time and
attention magnet that can distract us
from doing things that matter if we
don’t open ourselves up to the bigger
truth that were here for more and our
future relies on each of us having the
courage to look deep inside to find what
that is and to use it as our Northstar
going forward now this is arguably the
scariest most vulnerable act imaginable
I know it is also the greatest act of
love you can choose to perform now I’m
not gonna stand up here and tell you
that becoming a mindful leader is as
simple as learning some meditate and
calling it good nor am I gonna tell you
it’s a quest for perfection it’s not it
is a lifelong journey that we are always
on whether we choose to see it or not
it’s an acknowledgment that challenging
moments and days and weeks will happen
and in those moments is our choice to be
leader it is a way to choose to show up
now and now and now I believe each of us
has the capacity to be exactly what the
world needs it’s grown through practice
in the moments that matter by asking
ourselves some simple questions
what am i bringing with me in this
moment am i choosing to be leader how am
i relating to others around me
am i present with them am I connected
with them as a human and where am i
focusing my time and attention is it on
this thing is it on the impact that I
was put here to make if you focus on
these things I believe you can be the
leader our world needs fully present
aware of yourself and others around you
and focused on your larger mission and
[Applause] [Music]
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