WEBVTT

00:00:05.994 --> 00:00:10.060
I want to take you back 
to the winter of 1993.

00:00:10.060 --> 00:00:12.015
My husband and I are living in Boston.

00:00:12.015 --> 00:00:14.268
We're newly married, 
and we're kind of early on

00:00:14.268 --> 00:00:16.958
in our A-type high-octane
business careers.

00:00:16.958 --> 00:00:18.515
So we were working all the time.

00:00:18.515 --> 00:00:20.351
We didn't have much time for fun,

00:00:20.351 --> 00:00:25.226
and as avid backpackers and climbers,
we longed for time in nature.

00:00:25.226 --> 00:00:30.177
So hallelujah, we managed to escape 
for a long weekend-backpacking trip

00:00:30.177 --> 00:00:32.781
in the White Mountains of New Hampshire.

00:00:34.541 --> 00:00:37.458
We were enchanted 
by the notion of meandering

00:00:37.458 --> 00:00:40.294
into this frozen wintry wonderland,

00:00:42.664 --> 00:00:44.810
breathing in the smell of the pines,

00:00:44.810 --> 00:00:48.488
feeling the crunch! crunch! crunch!
of the snow beneath our snowshoes,

00:00:48.488 --> 00:00:52.106
and snuggling up 
next to a campfire at night.

00:00:52.106 --> 00:00:54.594
So, in preparation for this trip,

00:00:54.594 --> 00:00:58.094
we bought every winter 
camping gizmo and doodad

00:00:58.094 --> 00:01:00.480
our young wallets could afford.

00:01:00.480 --> 00:01:04.857
So there we were, in this beautiful, 
pristine winter wonderland

00:01:05.907 --> 00:01:09.016
with 80 pounds each on our backs.

00:01:09.016 --> 00:01:11.425
(Laughter)

00:01:11.425 --> 00:01:14.724
Now, our dream vacation backpacking trip

00:01:14.724 --> 00:01:17.364
- probably the only one
we were going to get that year -

00:01:17.364 --> 00:01:18.800
turned into a nightmare.

00:01:18.800 --> 00:01:21.420
We had welts on our shoulders, 
blisters on our feet,

00:01:21.420 --> 00:01:23.645
sweat-soaked base layers.

00:01:23.645 --> 00:01:27.100
We were seduced by the allure of more,

00:01:27.100 --> 00:01:29.176
and we didn't just have more on our backs,

00:01:29.176 --> 00:01:32.373
you might say that we were 
"more-on" backpackers.

00:01:32.373 --> 00:01:36.066
So after a bunch of trips like that,
we took all of those learnings,

00:01:36.066 --> 00:01:38.515
and my husband and I
founded an outdoor company

00:01:38.515 --> 00:01:41.843
on the basic notion 
that when it comes to connection

00:01:41.843 --> 00:01:46.353
in the outdoors and your gear, 
less really is more.

00:01:46.353 --> 00:01:50.146
We really had found the key
to fun and freedom in the outdoors,

00:01:50.146 --> 00:01:52.810
and it was simple: go light.

00:01:52.810 --> 00:01:55.720
So let's talk about the culture of more.

00:01:55.720 --> 00:01:59.734
When we think about the word 'more,'
we think more money, more sex,

00:01:59.734 --> 00:02:03.920
more friends, more respect,
more success, more power, right?

00:02:05.560 --> 00:02:08.780
So where does all this fascination 
with more come from?

00:02:08.780 --> 00:02:12.833
From the rise of industrial capitalism 
at the turn of the 20th century.

00:02:12.833 --> 00:02:16.219
Suddenly, mass-produced products 
were available to everyone,

00:02:16.219 --> 00:02:20.172
life-enhancing products
that raised the standard of living.

00:02:20.172 --> 00:02:23.179
Suddenly, we had more freedom, 
more education, more wealth,

00:02:23.179 --> 00:02:26.847
higher wages and more democracy.

00:02:26.847 --> 00:02:30.441
But let's talk about some of the things
that also came with that.

00:02:30.441 --> 00:02:33.714
Suddenly, we filled our days 
from morning to night

00:02:33.714 --> 00:02:37.533
with no time to breathe, 
and we had so many choices.

00:02:37.533 --> 00:02:41.927
As a society, we were consumed 
with the consumption of things.

00:02:41.927 --> 00:02:46.594
Now, tell me, why do we need 
24 flavors of ranch dressing?

00:02:46.594 --> 00:02:48.581
(Laughter)

00:02:48.581 --> 00:02:49.860
So is it any wonder

00:02:49.860 --> 00:02:54.439
what this obsession with more
has brought on a global basis?

00:02:54.439 --> 00:02:56.734
Folks, we're gobbling up the planet,

00:02:56.734 --> 00:03:00.152
and well, we're not having a heck
of a lot of fun while we're doing it.

00:03:00.152 --> 00:03:02.661
Capitalism is a good thing,

00:03:02.661 --> 00:03:06.564
but it has lost its way, and so have we.

00:03:08.614 --> 00:03:10.907
I get the allure of more.

00:03:10.907 --> 00:03:14.179
I know the power of the dark side.

00:03:15.399 --> 00:03:18.921
I think to myself how I look 
so hot, so powerful,

00:03:18.921 --> 00:03:20.923
and so sexy in those shoes.

00:03:20.923 --> 00:03:22.516
I've got to have them.

00:03:22.516 --> 00:03:24.719
So I plunk down my credit card,

00:03:24.719 --> 00:03:28.134
and I have that immediate rush 
of gratification.

00:03:28.134 --> 00:03:30.375
And I take them home 
in their fancy packaging

00:03:30.375 --> 00:03:32.642
and I stand in front 
of the full length mirror.

00:03:32.642 --> 00:03:34.034
I put them on my feet,

00:03:35.494 --> 00:03:37.766
and I have that sickening realization

00:03:37.766 --> 00:03:41.039
of just how much I put on my credit card,

00:03:41.039 --> 00:03:43.352
and that they freaking hurt my feet!

00:03:43.352 --> 00:03:44.925
(Laughter)

00:03:46.785 --> 00:03:50.319
And what's left after that initial rush,

00:03:50.319 --> 00:03:52.500
but emptiness and pain?

00:03:55.660 --> 00:03:57.100
Fast forward to 2002,

00:03:57.100 --> 00:03:59.910
my husband and I are building
an awesome company.

00:03:59.910 --> 00:04:03.744
We have product awards and media hits 
coming out of our ears,

00:04:03.744 --> 00:04:05.380
we are rowing internationally,

00:04:05.380 --> 00:04:09.353
and we are riding this huge wave
of traditional business success,

00:04:09.353 --> 00:04:12.440
but we're working more 
than 100 hours a week.

00:04:12.440 --> 00:04:14.500
We're pouring capital in.

00:04:14.500 --> 00:04:19.319
We're buying ad-buys for a single page
that cost more than 20,000 dollars each.

00:04:19.319 --> 00:04:22.180
We're buying trade show booths 
that cost more than a house.

00:04:24.070 --> 00:04:27.652
And you know, all of that 
was in the pursuit of more:

00:04:27.652 --> 00:04:32.968
more market share, more growth, 
more recognition, more success.

00:04:34.238 --> 00:04:37.020
Can you see the irony 
of building a company

00:04:37.020 --> 00:04:41.366
all about less but living all 
of your time in the land of more?

00:04:43.466 --> 00:04:45.320
And what did it really get us?

00:04:45.320 --> 00:04:48.394
It got us less time with each other, 
less time with the family,

00:04:48.394 --> 00:04:51.680
less time with friends, 
less time in spiritual pursuit,

00:04:51.680 --> 00:04:54.008
less time working out,
and ironically,

00:04:54.008 --> 00:04:55.735
less time in nature.

00:04:59.285 --> 00:05:02.430
We were running our business 
like the "more-on" backpacker.

00:05:04.760 --> 00:05:06.917
I want to be honest and tell you

00:05:06.917 --> 00:05:09.094
that the seduction of more 
led me personally

00:05:09.094 --> 00:05:11.284
down a very, very dark path.

00:05:12.574 --> 00:05:15.065
I was emotionally, 
spiritually, and physically

00:05:15.065 --> 00:05:18.355
so worn out and so out of balance

00:05:18.355 --> 00:05:22.840
that I spent the next eight years 
having five miscarriages,

00:05:22.840 --> 00:05:25.663
three failed in-vitro fertilization rounds

00:05:25.663 --> 00:05:29.272
and spending a fortune 
in Western and Eastern medical treatments.

00:05:31.252 --> 00:05:34.973
Can you imagine seeing 
your baby's heartbeat

00:05:34.973 --> 00:05:37.560
at 12 weeks via ultrasound

00:05:38.660 --> 00:05:42.411
only to find out a few weeks later 
that the baby had died in your belly?

00:05:51.611 --> 00:05:54.576
Why are we so afraid of the word 'less'?

00:05:56.116 --> 00:05:59.464
We think we'll have lack.
We think we'll be judged.

00:05:59.464 --> 00:06:01.053
We think we won't have enough.

00:06:01.053 --> 00:06:03.777
We think we're worried 
what other people will say.

00:06:03.777 --> 00:06:05.560
And all of that is rooted in fear.

00:06:05.560 --> 00:06:08.679
But good people, 
what the heck are we afraid of?

00:06:08.679 --> 00:06:10.407
We are living in a civilization

00:06:10.407 --> 00:06:13.619
with so much prosperity,
and abundance, and wealth.

00:06:16.479 --> 00:06:22.671
Happiness, when it comes from buying
things and stuff, is fleeting,

00:06:22.671 --> 00:06:24.834
and therefore, an illusion.

00:06:26.214 --> 00:06:28.662
Let's reframe the word 'less,'

00:06:28.662 --> 00:06:30.304
'less' doesn't mean lack.

00:06:31.244 --> 00:06:34.020
'Less' doesn't mean lack.

00:06:34.020 --> 00:06:37.533
'Less' means less stress, 
less anxiety, less anger,

00:06:37.533 --> 00:06:40.521
less worry, and more happiness,

00:06:40.521 --> 00:06:43.827
joy, connection, and abundance.

00:06:46.917 --> 00:06:51.239
So, after eight years of fertility 
treatments and trying everything,

00:06:51.239 --> 00:06:55.246
everything to try and have a child,

00:06:55.246 --> 00:06:57.253
I was brought to my knees,

00:06:59.733 --> 00:07:03.401
and everything in me screamed, "Stop!"

00:07:06.981 --> 00:07:10.260
So I did. I got quiet.

00:07:10.260 --> 00:07:12.987
I stopped being the CEO
of the company that I cofounded.

00:07:12.987 --> 00:07:15.541
I stepped off boards,
I eliminated commitments.

00:07:15.541 --> 00:07:20.394
I stopped chasing every notion 
I'd been told was my ticket to happiness,

00:07:20.394 --> 00:07:24.453
and I stopped with the attachments,

00:07:24.453 --> 00:07:26.847
and all of those things 
that weren't serving me

00:07:26.847 --> 00:07:30.510
like self-judgment, and blame, 
and stress, and worry.

00:07:32.020 --> 00:07:35.428
And after I cleared out 
the clutter of my life,

00:07:36.708 --> 00:07:38.290
and I spent time in nature,

00:07:38.290 --> 00:07:40.659
and I reconnected 
with my family and my friends,

00:07:40.659 --> 00:07:43.964
I started to sing again, 
and I spent time in prayer.

00:07:45.534 --> 00:07:47.095
This was the result.

00:07:48.455 --> 00:07:50.326
(Applause)

00:07:56.566 --> 00:07:58.439
Let's be honest,

00:07:58.439 --> 00:08:03.595
I have trained and worshipped
at the high altars of more,

00:08:06.175 --> 00:08:11.554
but I know in my bones the abundance
and joy that comes from less.

00:08:13.501 --> 00:08:17.396
Make no doubt, we all have 
the power to turn away

00:08:17.396 --> 00:08:20.513
from the dark side 
to choose a different path,

00:08:21.813 --> 00:08:26.631
to change the rules of the game, 
to reverse the destructive forces

00:08:26.631 --> 00:08:30.541
we have wrought on humanity 
and our biosphere.

00:08:32.351 --> 00:08:36.266
I'm in the business 
of selling you things, but what if,

00:08:37.476 --> 00:08:41.154
imagine, what if we all
bought fewer things?

00:08:41.154 --> 00:08:43.100
And when we did buy things,

00:08:43.100 --> 00:08:47.710
we bought from brands and companies
that were aligned with our values?

00:08:49.640 --> 00:08:54.954
What if we trusted and had faith
that on the other side of this wall,

00:08:54.954 --> 00:08:58.922
this illusion, this falsehood of more,

00:08:58.922 --> 00:09:02.807
is a life of abundance and joy 
just waiting for us?

00:09:05.077 --> 00:09:07.220
I want to leave you with a question:

00:09:08.500 --> 00:09:13.485
What is that abundance, that joy 
that your heart aches for,

00:09:14.655 --> 00:09:18.740
and what can you have 
less of to make room for it?

00:09:18.740 --> 00:09:20.110
(Applause)