An Inspiring Speech About Optimism, Overcoming Obstacles and Creating Your Own Happiness
#InspiringSpeech #BertJacobs #ChangeYourLife
#InspiringSpeech #BertJacobs #ChangeYourLife
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00:00 This, thank God, is not me.
00:03 (audience laughing)
00:06 This is my little brother, JJ.
00:08 (audience laughing)
00:10 And growing up looking like that is not easy,
00:14 but life is good.
00:16 That's me on the top bunk and JJ on the bottom bunk.
00:18 We're the youngest of six kids and we grew up just outside of Boston.
00:22 And our dad worked in a machine shop, mom raised the kids.
00:26 And I understand, you know, like there's all these photographs of our older brothers and sisters.
00:31 This is like one of three photographs of our childhood.
00:34 So I understand, you get it, you know, they didn't have enough money,
00:38 they lost the camera, whatever.
00:41 But I'd like to have kids and when I have kids, I'm not going to pamper them,
00:45 but I am going to put some fucking sheets on the bed.
00:48 (audience laughing)
00:49 This is our mom, Joan.
00:51 Joan was the first powerful optimist in our lives.
00:55 Almost the entire time growing up, our dad, who wasn't a bad guy,
00:59 was depressed by any definition.
01:02 And our mother was there to keep the family together.
01:06 She stayed by my father's side and she showed us that although we didn't have the money
01:11 to travel to Disneyland, we could go anywhere in our mind.
01:15 She unlocked our imagination.
01:17 When she told us bedtime stories, she didn't just tell us the stories,
01:21 she acted out the characters.
01:23 But maybe the most powerful thing our mother did for us
01:27 was a little ritual at the dinner table.
01:30 She looked around to her six kids, no matter what was happening,
01:33 and she said, "Tell me something good that happened today."
01:37 Very simple prompt, "Tell me something good that happened today."
01:41 It's a nice one to use in your company to start your meetings
01:44 or at your own family's dinner table.
01:46 Because what happens is you change the energy.
01:49 She showed us that our disposition is powerful
01:52 and she changed the energy in the house.
01:54 The media inundates our culture with negative information,
01:58 always reinforcing what's wrong with the world
02:02 and rarely telling us what's right with the world.
02:05 And you know, we all have a choice every day.
02:07 You can focus on what's wrong with your life
02:10 or you can focus on what's right with your life.
02:13 And wherever you put your energy,
02:16 wherever you focus and whatever you focus on, that will grow.
02:20 That was something our mom taught us at the dinner table.
02:23 Optimists roam the world seeing opportunities.
02:26 They don't ignore obstacles,
02:28 but they overcome obstacles by focusing on the opportunities.
02:33 When you're an optimist, you're more innovative.
02:36 You're more innovative because you're open-minded.
02:39 You're not afraid to experiment.
02:41 You're not afraid to explore the world.
02:44 The ones who embraced the idea that life is good the most
02:48 were the ones who were facing the most adversity.
02:51 This is a photograph of a little girl named Lindsay Beggin,
02:54 11 years old and she was diagnosed with terminal bone cancer.
02:57 And the journalist said, "Do you understand your prognosis?"
03:02 And she said, "Yes, they don't think I'm going to live longer than a year."
03:06 And he said, "Do you mind if I ask why you're wearing a hat that says life is good?"
03:10 Because before I was sick, I took my life for granted.
03:12 But now I want to make sure every day counts.
03:15 Lindsay Beggin was 11 years old 17 years ago
03:18 and told she was going to live one year.
03:21 I'm going to play a short video because Lindsay didn't pass away.
03:25 Hi, my name is Lindsay.
03:27 I was diagnosed with Ewing sarcoma, a bone cancer, when I was 10 years old.
03:32 I was going through chemotherapy and lost all of my hair.
03:37 So a bunch of our family friends donated hats to me.
03:40 The one that stuck out to me the most was this life is good hat.
03:44 And I keep it as a reminder.
03:47 It reminded me to be positive and happy and excited,
03:51 even though I was going through something that was a little bit difficult.
03:54 What Lindsay showed us is that her optimism enabled her to access courage.
04:00 So it was the beginning.
04:01 When we started, we thought, well, there's pessimism, there's realism, and there's optimism.
04:05 We're on this team, okay?
04:08 Pessimism is corrosive.
04:10 Realism lacks imagination.
04:13 Optimism, on the other hand, is boundless.
04:17 People have a misconception that wealth and material goods will make you happy,
04:22 but statistics show that they don't.
04:25 Some people think that that special place in life, being in that special place,
04:29 if it's off at the beach or up in the mountains,
04:32 or if you get that promotion or if you meet that special person,
04:35 then you're going to be happy, then you're going to be fulfilled.
04:38 It's not true.
04:40 The only thing that will enable a happy and fulfilling life is your disposition.
04:47 We didn't invent life is good, but we were the first ones to trademark it.
04:51 Some guy said that to me recently.
04:52 He said, "You know, I don't think it's fair."
04:54 I said, "What's not fair?"
04:55 He goes, "Well, you didn't create life is good.
04:57 My grandfather used to say life is good."
04:59 And I said, "Tell your grandfather he should have trademarked it."
05:02 And then he was British.
05:04 The guy was British, so I said,
05:05 "And if I'm not mistaken, the British invented trademarks or whatever, dude."
05:11 [Music]
05:15 [BLANK_AUDIO]