We Are Alive
“We hit that tree with the sound of lightning.”
I nearly lost my life in a car accident on the afternoon of 3/11/2001, exactly 6 months before 9/11. That event and its aftermath forced me to reexamine my life, and to dedicate myself from that day forward to “things that matter.”
The leaves are almost all fallen here in Pennsylvania where we are currently hanging our hats. I hope that you have braved the first snows and freezes of autumn with good courage and many cups of hot tea.
After teaching Millenials for a decade at Stony Brook University and a few other small colleges in New York, and working with clients from military generals to CEOs to young entrepreneurs, I see one thing on the decline everywhere I look: #creativity.
That’s the main reason I applied for, and accepted the invitation to speak at the TEDxSBU conference last month. It was a great honor to see the big TED Talk symbol behind me on the stage, to have incredible filming done by Livestream and Stony Brook, and to spend 18 minutes on the red carpeted dot that so many incredible thought leaders have stood upon over the past few years.
I delivered the most emotionally difficult speech of my life.
Please take a listen, and start the conversation with those around you about the importance of creativity in this fast-paced world.
I know that TED Talks are long. This is no exception. I used just about every one of my allotted 1080 seconds to deliver my message. So here’s the deal. If you listen to this TEDx speech of mine, I will give you something that takes me 18 minutes to do. You name it, and I’ll do it! Just drop me a line, or hit me up on social media with your request. (No reasonable request will be refused)
My former students enjoy the part of the talk where I describe the incredible power of creativity in our lives and work. I describe our experiences and training as a “wingsuit,” and encourage us to make more “leaps” in our lives — to take measured risks — and in my favorite line of the talk, I say: “We will #fail, but we will never fall.”
Here’s just one more thought to leave you with. I believe there is significance to sharing our stories with people. I could have spoken about so many things, whether music (where I have my PhD and academic credentials), publishing or business (where I make my career and run a successful company). But I decided to speak about the three words that changed the rest of my life. Ever since March 11, 2001, I have decided to blink my eyes open each morning and do things that matter.
