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I want to take you back [br]to the winter of 1993.

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My husband and I are living in Boston.

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We're newly married, [br]and we're kind of early on

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in our A-type high-octane[br]business careers.

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So we were working all the time.

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We didn't have much time for fun,

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and as avid backpackers and climbers,[br]we longed for time in nature.

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So hallelujah, we managed to escape [br]for a long weekend-backpacking trip

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in the White Mountains of New Hampshire.

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We were enchanted [br]by the notion of meandering

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into this frozen wintry wonderland,

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breathing in the smell of the pines,

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feeling the crunch! crunch! crunch![br]of the snow beneath our snowshoes,

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and snuggling up [br]next to a campfire at night.

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So, in preparation for this trip,

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we bought every winter [br]camping gizmo and doodad

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our young wallets could afford.

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So there we were, in this beautiful, [br]pristine winter wonderland

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with 80 pounds each on our backs.

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(Laughter)

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Now, our dream vacation backpacking trip

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- probably the only one[br]we were going to get that year -

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turned into a nightmare.

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We had welts on our shoulders, [br]blisters on our feet,

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sweat-soaked base layers.

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We were seduced by the allure of more,

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and we didn't just have more on our backs,

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you might say that we were [br]"more-on" backpackers.

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So after a bunch of trips like that,[br]we took all of those learnings,

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and my husband and I[br]founded an outdoor company

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on the basic notion [br]that when it comes to connection

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in the outdoors and your gear, [br]less really is more.

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We really had found the key[br]to fun and freedom in the outdoors,

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and it was simple: go light.

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So let's talk about the culture of more.

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When we think about the word 'more,'[br]we think more money, more sex,

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more friends, more respect,[br]more success, more power, right?

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So where does all this fascination [br]with more come from?

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From the rise of industrial capitalism [br]at the turn of the 20th century.

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Suddenly, mass-produced products [br]were available to everyone,

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life-enhancing products[br]that raised the standard of living.

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Suddenly, we had more freedom, [br]more education, more wealth,

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higher wages and more democracy.

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But let's talk about some of the things[br]that also came with that.

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Suddenly, we filled our days [br]from morning to night

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with no time to breathe, [br]and we had so many choices.

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As a society, we were consumed [br]with the consumption of things.

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Now, tell me, why do we need [br]24 flavors of ranch dressing?

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(Laughter)

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So is it any wonder

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what this obsession with more[br]has brought on a global basis?

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Folks, we're gobbling up the planet,

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and well, we're not having a heck[br]of a lot of fun while we're doing it.

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Capitalism is a good thing,

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but it has lost its way, and so have we.

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I get the allure of more.

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I know the power of the dark side.

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I think to myself how I look [br]so hot, so powerful,

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and so sexy in those shoes.

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I've got to have them.

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So I plunk down my credit card,

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and I have that immediate rush [br]of gratification.

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And I take them home [br]in their fancy packaging

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and I stand in front [br]of the full length mirror.

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I put them on my feet,

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and I have that sickening realization

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of just how much I put on my credit card,

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and that they freaking hurt my feet!

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(Laughter)

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And what's left after that initial rush,

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but emptiness and pain?

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Fast forward to 2002,

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my husband and I are building[br]an awesome company.

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We have product awards and media hits [br]coming out of our ears,

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we are rowing internationally,

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and we are riding this huge wave[br]of traditional business success,

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but we're working more [br]than 100 hours a week.

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We're pouring capital in.

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We're buying ad-buys for a single page[br]that cost more than 20,000 dollars each.

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We're buying trade show booths [br]that cost more than a house.

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And you know, all of that [br]was in the pursuit of more:

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more market share, more growth, [br]more recognition, more success.

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Can you see the irony [br]of building a company

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all about less but living all [br]of your time in the land of more?

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And what did it really get us?

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It got us less time with each other, [br]less time with the family,

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less time with friends, [br]less time in spiritual pursuit,

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less time working out,[br]and ironically,

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less time in nature.

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We were running our business [br]like the "more-on" backpacker.

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I want to be honest and tell you

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that the seduction of more [br]led me personally

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down a very, very dark path.

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I was emotionally, [br]spiritually, and physically

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so worn out and so out of balance

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that I spent the next eight years [br]having five miscarriages,

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three failed in-vitro fertilization rounds

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and spending a fortune [br]in Western and Eastern medical treatments.

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Can you imagine seeing [br]your baby's heartbeat

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at 12 weeks via ultrasound

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only to find out a few weeks later [br]that the baby had died in your belly?

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Why are we so afraid of the word 'less'?

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We think we'll have lack.[br]We think we'll be judged.

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We think we won't have enough.

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We think we're worried [br]what other people will say.

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And all of that is rooted in fear.

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But good people, [br]what the heck are we afraid of?

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We are living in a civilization

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with so much prosperity,[br]and abundance, and wealth.

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Happiness, when it comes from buying[br]things and stuff, is fleeting,

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and therefore, an illusion.

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Let's reframe the word 'less,'

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'less' doesn't mean lack.

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'Less' doesn't mean lack.

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'Less' means less stress, [br]less anxiety, less anger,

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less worry, and more happiness,

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joy, connection, and abundance.

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So, after eight years of fertility [br]treatments and trying everything,

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everything to try and have a child,

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I was brought to my knees,

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and everything in me screamed, "Stop!"

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So I did. I got quiet.

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I stopped being the CEO[br]of the company that I cofounded.

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I stepped off boards,[br]I eliminated commitments.

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I stopped chasing every notion [br]I'd been told was my ticket to happiness,

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and I stopped with the attachments,

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and all of those things [br]that weren't serving me

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like self-judgment, and blame, [br]and stress, and worry.

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And after I cleared out [br]the clutter of my life,

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and I spent time in nature,

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and I reconnected [br]with my family and my friends,

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I started to sing again, [br]and I spent time in prayer.

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This was the result.

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(Applause)

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Let's be honest,

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I have trained and worshipped[br]at the high altars of more,

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but I know in my bones the abundance[br]and joy that comes from less.

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Make no doubt, we all have [br]the power to turn away

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from the dark side [br]to choose a different path,

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to change the rules of the game, [br]to reverse the destructive forces

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we have wrought on humanity [br]and our biosphere.

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I'm in the business [br]of selling you things, but what if,

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imagine, what if we all[br]bought fewer things?

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And when we did buy things,

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we bought from brands and companies[br]that were aligned with our values?

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What if we trusted and had faith[br]that on the other side of this wall,

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this illusion, this falsehood of more,

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is a life of abundance and joy [br]just waiting for us?

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I want to leave you with a question:

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What is that abundance, that joy [br]that your heart aches for,

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and what can you have [br]less of to make room for it?

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(Applause)