0:00:09.325,0:00:13.773
If you had the chance,[br]would you change the world?

0:00:13.773,0:00:14.436
(Audience): Yes

0:00:14.436,0:00:16.626
Thank you.[br]There is a little delay.

0:00:16.626,0:00:20.904
Of course you would.[br]Because I didn't say, save the world,

0:00:20.904,0:00:24.081
I said change the world,[br]improve it.

0:00:24.081,0:00:28.421
Make it better than we found it.[br]And we all want to do that, don't we?

0:00:28.421,0:00:31.613
Great! Because I'm here[br]with the happy news

0:00:31.613,0:00:35.587
that you can, and you do,[br]and you will change the world.

0:00:35.587,0:00:38.466
But all too often, partly the reason[br]for your hesitation just now

0:00:38.466,0:00:42.963
we often think, "Gosh changing the world,[br]that's going to be really hard work,

0:00:42.963,0:00:47.025
perhaps impossible,[br]probably not much fun."

0:00:47.025,0:00:49.351
And we leave it to someone else,[br]someone really important.

0:00:49.351,0:00:52.080
They'll do it.[br]And that's a real shame,

0:00:52.080,0:00:56.761
because we are all capable[br]of changing the world

0:00:56.761,0:00:59.746
and I am trying to explain how[br]it's going to work for you individually.

0:00:59.746,0:01:01.088
I am not going to tell you what to do.

0:01:01.088,0:01:04.500
So one of the reasons[br]why we tend to hold back that way

0:01:04.500,0:01:08.188
has to do with the way[br]that we've been taught history.

0:01:08.188,0:01:09.940
Essentially we are told that it is about

0:01:09.940,0:01:11.501
the kind of the things[br]that certain big individuals,

0:01:11.501,0:01:13.416
usually men, have done over the time.

0:01:13.416,0:01:15.944
The great British historian, Carlyle,

0:01:15.944,0:01:20.318
once said that "History is but[br]the biography of great men."

0:01:20.318,0:01:21.951
And if you don't happen[br]to think of yourself

0:01:21.951,0:01:23.772
as a great man already

0:01:23.772,0:01:26.085
that may leave you feeling[br]a little bit left out.

0:01:26.085,0:01:29.385
But luckily, happily, Leo Tolstoy,[br]the novelist, came along.

0:01:29.385,0:01:33.616
This is him in his glory. And Tolstoy[br]came along and said that history

0:01:33.616,0:01:37.824
is more accurately considered[br]to be an infinitely large number

0:01:37.824,0:01:40.864
of infinitesimally small things

0:01:40.864,0:01:45.221
that we all do and don't do everyday.

0:01:45.221,0:01:46.505
What does that mean?

0:01:46.505,0:01:48.171
It's easy to understand what he means

0:01:48.171,0:01:49.755
if you think about an election.

0:01:49.755,0:01:52.504
You vote for this party,[br]or you vote for that party

0:01:52.504,0:01:54.423
or you hate them all[br]so you don't vote for any of them.

0:01:54.423,0:01:56.174
But we all know[br]that whatever you do,

0:01:56.174,0:01:58.340
has an affect on the outcome.

0:01:58.340,0:02:01.084
It helps to determine[br]the final result, we all know that.

0:02:01.084,0:02:03.174
But what Tolstoy is saying,[br]is that everything you do

0:02:03.174,0:02:06.229
and everything you don't do,[br]has an affect on how things are.

0:02:06.229,0:02:09.088
It shapes the way the world is.

0:02:09.088,0:02:11.258
It's really useful and healthy

0:02:11.258,0:02:13.504
and satisfying to take[br]some responsibility

0:02:13.504,0:02:15.260
for yourself in that sense.

0:02:15.260,0:02:17.010
So what can we do about it?

0:02:17.010,0:02:18.177
We want to recognize

0:02:18.177,0:02:20.273
that we all make history all the time.

0:02:20.273,0:02:21.760
And if you don't recognize that,

0:02:21.760,0:02:24.146
if you don't realize what[br]I've just tried to say

0:02:24.146,0:02:25.497
you may be one of those people

0:02:25.497,0:02:28.386
who complains a lot[br]about the "status quo".

0:02:28.386,0:02:31.193
And the Status quo is[br]a horrible abstract noun.

0:02:31.193,0:02:32.684
Nobody likes it,[br]it feels really oppressive,

0:02:32.684,0:02:34.685
but if you notice that[br]you have some responsibility

0:02:34.685,0:02:35.826
then that's good.

0:02:35.826,0:02:37.533
So I'm going to offer you another way

0:02:37.533,0:02:39.226
to think about the status quo.

0:02:39.226,0:02:42.904
I want you to think instead[br]of a powerful king on the stage.

0:02:42.904,0:02:44.184
If you like, you can shut your eyes

0:02:44.184,0:02:46.742
and imagine what a powerful[br]king on the stage looked like.

0:02:46.742,0:02:48.871
It might be a really big crown,

0:02:48.871,0:02:50.664
it might be a golden throne,

0:02:50.664,0:02:53.424
and I would say, "No! Those only[br]tell you that he is the king."

0:02:53.424,0:02:55.585
What makes him powerful?

0:02:55.585,0:02:57.387
What makes him powerful[br]are all that other people

0:02:57.387,0:03:00.020
on the stage flat on[br]their faces before him.

0:03:00.020,0:03:01.503
And if all of those people sat up,

0:03:01.503,0:03:04.825
turned their backs on him,[br]went to sleep,

0:03:04.825,0:03:08.129
told jokes, smoked cigarettes,[br]played the trumpet,

0:03:08.129,0:03:09.915
it would have an enormous[br]effect, wouldn't it?

0:03:09.915,0:03:11.727
He would no longer[br]be a powerful king

0:03:11.727,0:03:13.694
even without him[br]doing anything differently.

0:03:13.694,0:03:17.106
So all of the power comes[br]from those over whom it is exercised.

0:03:17.106,0:03:19.487
And you can imagine,[br]if you imagine that stage,

0:03:19.487,0:03:21.534
imagine just one of those people[br]getting up, turning their back,

0:03:21.534,0:03:22.921
and playing the trumpet,

0:03:22.921,0:03:25.344
it would have an amazing[br]sensational effect, wouldn't it?

0:03:25.344,0:03:26.769
It's a kind of extraordinary thing.

0:03:26.769,0:03:29.211
It's like a human version[br]of the butterfly effect

0:03:29.211,0:03:30.821
that physicists talk of.

0:03:30.821,0:03:32.388
One flap of the wings

0:03:32.388,0:03:34.819
and you have a really distinct[br]change in the weather.

0:03:34.819,0:03:36.390
And so it's really rather wonderful.

0:03:36.390,0:03:38.391
We can see it when[br]I talk about the stage

0:03:38.391,0:03:39.772
but what about in real life?

0:03:39.772,0:03:41.693
What about your life?[br]Your everyday life?

0:03:41.693,0:03:43.321
If you don't like the status quo,

0:03:43.321,0:03:44.386
how can you get up

0:03:44.386,0:03:46.186
and turn your back and[br]do something better instead?

0:03:46.186,0:03:47.304
Well, there are lots of ways

0:03:47.304,0:03:50.338
but I want to have[br]a little experiment in this room.

0:03:50.338,0:03:53.514
I want to see what the human[br]butterfly effect can look like,

0:03:53.514,0:03:54.906
and what I'm going to ask you to do,

0:03:54.906,0:03:56.761
is one of the most beautiful[br]things you can do,

0:03:56.761,0:03:59.153
to be a human butterfly.

0:03:59.153,0:04:00.441
Don't do anything yet, okay?

0:04:00.441,0:04:01.666
Turn to your neighbor,

0:04:01.666,0:04:03.344
and it's going to be someone[br]you don't already know,

0:04:03.344,0:04:04.586
so its someone behind you[br]or in front of you.

0:04:04.586,0:04:06.103
And I want you just to smile,

0:04:06.103,0:04:08.825
and say what your name is[br]and introduce yourself

0:04:08.825,0:04:10.370
because you don't get[br]to choose your neighbors.

0:04:10.370,0:04:12.345
The people who are sitting[br]near you are your neighbors.

0:04:12.345,0:04:15.051
Now I've explained it and given[br]to you a little bit of extra time,

0:04:15.051,0:04:17.185
because I know that some people[br]are listening on translation.

0:04:17.185,0:04:19.147
I don't want them to be shocked[br]by you turning around

0:04:19.147,0:04:21.223
and introducing yourself[br]before they understand.

0:04:21.223,0:04:23.506
So now if anyone[br]is listening on translation

0:04:23.506,0:04:24.861
can you put your hand up

0:04:24.861,0:04:26.493
to tell me that you've[br]already understood this?

0:04:26.493,0:04:27.695
OK. Thank you.

0:04:27.695,0:04:29.750
So now please just quickly[br]introduce yourself to each other.

0:04:29.750,0:04:33.058
Now. Off you go!

0:04:33.089,0:04:36.530
(Chatter)

0:04:36.530,0:04:38.988
Hello, John-Paul.[br]Nice to meet you.

0:04:41.419,0:04:45.585
Thank you. Thank you.[br]That's great!

0:04:45.585,0:04:47.585
What a lovely sight!

0:04:47.585,0:04:49.986
(Applause)

0:04:49.986,0:04:53.665
Congratulations to all of you.[br]Thank you.

0:04:53.665,0:04:56.152
It's really important to recognize[br]that these neighbors around you

0:04:56.162,0:04:59.617
are not the ones you chose[br]but they're the ones you've got.

0:04:59.617,0:05:01.431
And it's really lovely[br]to introduce yourself

0:05:01.431,0:05:02.894
in a friendly way to your neighbors,

0:05:02.894,0:05:05.737
but it's easy at TED because everyone[br]here is obviously really lovely.

0:05:05.737,0:05:08.184
But I want you to promise,[br]that when you go home,

0:05:08.184,0:05:10.304
you will introduce yourself[br]to another neighbor,

0:05:10.304,0:05:12.137
who is not someone[br]who you chose,

0:05:12.137,0:05:15.249
and just see if you can spread[br]a little bit of the love that way.

0:05:15.249,0:05:16.505
So that's a little thing you can do.

0:05:16.505,0:05:18.452
Meanwhile,[br]I want to move on

0:05:18.452,0:05:20.907
and I want to talk about certain[br]types of political action we can do,

0:05:20.907,0:05:23.223
other than saying hello[br]to our neighbors.

0:05:23.223,0:05:27.515
The great American political[br]scientist Gene Sharp,

0:05:27.521,0:05:28.981
has spent a lifetime collecting

0:05:28.981,0:05:33.973
198 forms of non-violent political[br]action, an amazing variety.

0:05:33.973,0:05:35.357
He wants to encourage people to use

0:05:35.357,0:05:37.255
some of the things[br]that have been used before.

0:05:37.271,0:05:39.504
So he has put all of these forms

0:05:39.504,0:05:41.185
into basically three groups.

0:05:41.185,0:05:44.457
The first one is highlighting an issue:

0:05:44.457,0:05:45.946
That can be drawing[br]attention to an issue

0:05:45.946,0:05:47.784
that nobody knows about,

0:05:47.784,0:05:49.262
or it could be drawing[br]attention to an issue that

0:05:49.262,0:05:50.941
everyone knows about[br]but they do not take it seriously.

0:05:50.941,0:05:52.597
So highlighting an issue[br]is very important

0:05:52.597,0:05:53.901
and we can all do that.

0:05:53.901,0:05:54.824
I'm sure lots of people in this room

0:05:54.824,0:05:57.375
have already posted things[br]on Facebook or tweeted about them.

0:05:57.375,0:06:00.357
And that's very light-weight[br]and easy, but valuable.

0:06:00.357,0:06:02.783
But sometimes highlighting[br]an issue can be really dangerous.

0:06:02.783,0:06:06.185
You're putting yourself at some risk.

0:06:06.185,0:06:08.198
So I'm going to tell you about[br]the White Rose group.

0:06:08.198,0:06:09.904
That's this group in this picture

0:06:09.904,0:06:11.708
who are now national[br]heroes in Germany

0:06:11.708,0:06:13.889
because they stood up to fascism.

0:06:13.889,0:06:17.824
And they didn't want to be a part[br]of what the Nazi regime were doing,

0:06:17.824,0:06:20.183
so they sent letters[br]to their fellow citizens.

0:06:20.183,0:06:22.878
They wrote letters,[br]they printed them on a machine

0:06:22.878,0:06:25.634
and they sent them at random,[br]to people throughout the country

0:06:25.634,0:06:27.744
whose names and addresses[br]they got from the phone book.

0:06:27.766,0:06:30.964
Can you imagine the effect[br]when you get one of those letters?

0:06:30.964,0:06:32.464
In order to give[br]themselves the appearacnce

0:06:32.464,0:06:34.130
of being a great nation-wide network,

0:06:34.130,0:06:36.106
they also, at great risk,[br]travelled across the country

0:06:36.106,0:06:38.105
with their printing press[br]and with their letters,

0:06:38.105,0:06:40.306
so they could send them from[br]Dusseldorf to Cologne

0:06:40.306,0:06:43.465
and Dresden to Berlin and Munich,[br]and you get the picture.

0:06:43.465,0:06:44.583
So that's what they did.

0:06:44.583,0:06:46.050
So sometimes just[br]highlighting an issue

0:06:46.050,0:06:47.505
can be incredibly[br]dangerous stuff.

0:06:47.505,0:06:49.200
It can be easy,[br]it can be dangerous.

0:06:49.200,0:06:52.960
The second category is[br]withdrawing your consent

0:06:52.967,0:06:54.784
from something you disapprove of.

0:06:54.784,0:06:57.106
So I could tell you about[br]Moses and the Israelites

0:06:57.106,0:06:59.025
who didn't like the way the Pharaoh

0:06:59.025,0:07:01.574
was carrying on,[br]so they got out of Egypt.

0:07:01.574,0:07:03.693
It's quite simple[br]withdrawal of consent.

0:07:03.693,0:07:06.027
But I want to tell you about Rosa Parks,

0:07:06.027,0:07:09.187
a seamstress who,[br]one day, in the 1950s,

0:07:09.187,0:07:11.718
decided on the bus[br]in Montgomery, Alabama,

0:07:11.718,0:07:13.805
that she was not going[br]to give up her seat

0:07:13.805,0:07:17.104
to a white person[br]as the rules required.

0:07:17.104,0:07:19.473
And one reason why I like[br]her story, is that she said

0:07:19.473,0:07:22.266
she was too tired to go along[br]with the system any longer.

0:07:22.266,0:07:24.103
So you don't have to be full[br]of energy and enthusiasm

0:07:24.103,0:07:25.720
to change things.[br]You can just be quite tired.

0:07:25.720,0:07:28.622
Another reason why[br]I like Rosa Parks' story

0:07:28.622,0:07:31.784
is that she didn't actually run[br]everything that happened afterwards.

0:07:31.784,0:07:33.544
That was her thing, she was a spark

0:07:33.544,0:07:36.023
that led lots of other people in the black[br]community to do amazing stuff,

0:07:36.023,0:07:37.661
But she didn't run everything.

0:07:37.661,0:07:39.545
So don't worry, you can start[br]something and if it's any good,

0:07:39.545,0:07:41.384
people will follow and[br]they will take it on.

0:07:41.384,0:07:43.075
That's ok, you can relax.

0:07:43.075,0:07:44.865
And the third thing[br]I like about her thing,

0:07:44.865,0:07:46.705
is that she started[br]with something very small.

0:07:46.705,0:07:48.543
It's very hard to believe,[br]with hindsight,

0:07:48.543,0:07:49.786
that lots of people at the time

0:07:49.786,0:07:53.023
thought that what they were[br]doing was campaigning

0:07:53.023,0:07:55.142
to change the rules[br]about where black people

0:07:55.142,0:07:59.225
were allowed to sit on buses[br]in Montgomery, Alabama.

0:07:59.225,0:08:02.596
But actually of course[br]their success and their ambition

0:08:02.596,0:08:05.743
increased over time, so within[br]a very remarkably short period,

0:08:05.743,0:08:07.583
they had desegregation[br]across the whole of the U.S.,

0:08:07.583,0:08:10.384
which is a previously[br]unthinkable achievement.

0:08:10.384,0:08:11.951
So you can start[br]with something small

0:08:11.951,0:08:15.222
and you will become[br]more ambitious as a result of it.

0:08:15.222,0:08:16.943
So that's withdrawing your consent.

0:08:16.943,0:08:18.980
The third broad category is building

0:08:18.980,0:08:21.896
a better alternative to what[br]is currently available.

0:08:21.896,0:08:24.116
So I could tell you about[br]Charles De Gaulle

0:08:24.116,0:08:27.399
who set up the French government[br]in exile in the Second World War,

0:08:27.399,0:08:30.251
bacause he didn't like the ones[br]that was in Vichy France,

0:08:30.251,0:08:33.104
but I want to tell you instead[br]about my friend Richard Reynolds,

0:08:33.104,0:08:35.626
who lives in a tower block[br]in South London,

0:08:35.626,0:08:37.223
in a rather unattractive[br]part of London,

0:08:37.223,0:08:38.653
he wouldn't mind me saying that.

0:08:38.653,0:08:42.302
He lives in a high floor[br]so he doesn't have a garden.

0:08:42.302,0:08:43.862
So one day he[br]started to go downstairs,

0:08:43.862,0:08:45.733
and look around in the area[br]where he lived,

0:08:45.733,0:08:48.726
and he found bits of earth,[br]and he would put plants down.

0:08:48.726,0:08:51.063
He wasn't a very good gardener,[br]so some of the plants died

0:08:51.063,0:08:52.983
but he got better and[br]some of the plants survived.

0:08:52.983,0:08:54.984
And then some[br]of his friends joined in,

0:08:54.984,0:08:57.467
and then complete[br]strangers joined in

0:08:57.467,0:08:59.390
and then the local authority said,

0:08:59.390,0:09:01.013
"You can't do that,[br]it's not your land."

0:09:01.013,0:09:02.181
But they carried on anyway,

0:09:02.181,0:09:03.377
because they[br]are Guerilla Gardeners.

0:09:03.377,0:09:04.736
You see, and Richard is the leader

0:09:04.736,0:09:06.221
of the worldwide[br]Guerilla Gardening Movement,

0:09:06.221,0:09:09.202
and if you look him up online,[br]he is Richard_001.

0:09:09.202,0:09:11.891
But the thing is, the reason why[br]I mentioned this story,

0:09:11.891,0:09:14.664
is that anything you do, can be an[br]inspirational example to someone else.

0:09:14.664,0:09:16.653
And Richard is an inspirational[br]example, he is a leader.

0:09:16.653,0:09:18.723
One other little thing I'd like[br]to point out about Richard,

0:09:18.723,0:09:21.865
is [that] his great blessing is[br]he doesn't have a garden.

0:09:21.865,0:09:24.023
If he'd had a garden he wouldn't[br]be a Guerilla gardener, would he?

0:09:24.023,0:09:25.739
The thing that you see is[br]a lack or a short coming

0:09:25.739,0:09:27.469
could be the thing that's[br]really the making of you.

0:09:27.469,0:09:29.482
So that's quite an encouraging[br]thought, isn't it?

0:09:29.482,0:09:31.545
So, all of these people[br]can be an inspiring example.

0:09:31.545,0:09:33.984
I've taken great care[br]to tell you about things

0:09:33.984,0:09:36.945
like desegregation[br]or fighting fascism

0:09:36.945,0:09:37.945
which is sort of terribly important

0:09:37.945,0:09:39.242
but also to tell you[br]about someone

0:09:39.242,0:09:40.945
who just wants[br]to do some gardening.

0:09:40.945,0:09:42.013
Because when you're changing the world

0:09:42.029,0:09:43.466
it doesn't have to be[br]changing the whole world.

0:09:43.466,0:09:45.571
And something that you perceive[br]to be very important to you,

0:09:45.571,0:09:47.945
it could be just changing your world[br]in a way to make it better

0:09:47.945,0:09:49.889
and gardening is fine.

0:09:49.889,0:09:53.555
So what are you going to do?[br]I'm not going to tell you.

0:09:53.555,0:09:56.341
Often we feel like we're impaled[br]on a kind of a paradox:

0:09:56.341,0:09:57.801
We really want to do something,

0:09:57.801,0:10:00.117
but we have no idea[br]what it is going to be.

0:10:00.117,0:10:01.256
And one way to resolve that

0:10:01.256,0:10:04.781
is to think about[br]the things that you enjoy.

0:10:06.349,0:10:09.288
And so I want you[br]to think about that.

0:10:09.304,0:10:13.387
The positive psychologists[br]are people who got fed up

0:10:13.387,0:10:14.623
with being negative psychologists

0:10:14.623,0:10:15.786
and saying what's[br]wrong with people.

0:10:15.786,0:10:17.467
They wanted to find out[br]what's great about people

0:10:17.467,0:10:18.666
and share that knowledge.

0:10:18.666,0:10:19.704
So they did a test.

0:10:19.704,0:10:20.709
One of the things they did,

0:10:20.709,0:10:23.680
they sent out two groups of people[br]to find out what gives people pleasure.

0:10:23.680,0:10:26.144
The first was sent[br]to do hedonism,

0:10:26.144,0:10:29.471
if you like having a foot massage[br]while eating chocolate.

0:10:29.471,0:10:31.743
And the second group was sent out[br]to do something meaningful.

0:10:31.743,0:10:33.143
Meaningful to them,[br]I'll come back to that.

0:10:33.143,0:10:34.905
The results came in and the people

0:10:34.905,0:10:36.302
who'd done something meaningful,

0:10:36.302,0:10:38.464
had a much deeper and longer[br]lasting sense of satisfaction

0:10:38.464,0:10:40.225
than the ones who'd[br]done the hedonism.

0:10:40.225,0:10:41.930
That something about[br]them had changed inside,

0:10:41.930,0:10:45.024
they felt, I'm the sort of person[br]who does that thing, which is nice.

0:10:45.024,0:10:46.583
So, changing the world[br]is actually nicer

0:10:46.583,0:10:49.224
than having a foot massage[br]and eating chocolate.

0:10:49.224,0:10:50.986
But the thing is, what is[br]something meaningful?

0:10:50.986,0:10:53.677
You impose the meaning[br]on what you do, not me.

0:10:53.677,0:10:54.904
I can't tell you[br]what is meaningful.

0:10:54.904,0:10:55.986
I can give you an example:

0:10:55.986,0:10:57.664
You could walk[br]your neighbor's dog,

0:10:57.664,0:11:00.627
and really feel resentful and[br]really hate the whole thing

0:11:00.627,0:11:01.908
and just not really[br]be happy about it.

0:11:01.908,0:11:03.503
Or you could walk[br]your neighbors' dog,

0:11:03.503,0:11:04.545
because your neighbor's unwell,

0:11:04.545,0:11:05.837
and you know that[br]they'd feel really happy

0:11:05.837,0:11:06.824
for you having done it.

0:11:06.824,0:11:07.986
As you would feel[br]all puffed up with joy,

0:11:07.986,0:11:09.687
you'd feel like a really great person.

0:11:09.687,0:11:11.789
So the same thing,[br]can be either good or bad.

0:11:11.789,0:11:12.744
You impose meaning, not me.

0:11:12.744,0:11:15.339
So you need to think what actually[br]is something meaningful to you,

0:11:15.339,0:11:16.762
and one way to do that[br]is to ask yourself

0:11:16.762,0:11:19.056
what have you done in the past[br]to make a difference,

0:11:19.056,0:11:20.677
that made you feel good.

0:11:20.677,0:11:22.163
And what are the dreams that you've had.

0:11:22.163,0:11:24.483
But if you really want to cut[br]to the absolute nub of issue,

0:11:24.483,0:11:27.275
you must ask yourself this question:

0:11:27.275,0:11:31.385
What would you do if you knew[br]you couldn't fail?

0:11:31.385,0:11:32.782
As if success was magically guaranteed.

0:11:32.782,0:11:34.583
It's important to ask[br]the question in that way.

0:11:34.583,0:11:36.387
So you get rid of the boring answers

0:11:36.387,0:11:37.466
that are sort of achievable,

0:11:37.466,0:11:38.514
and you don't really want to do them.

0:11:38.514,0:11:40.690
Go for the one that is[br]absolutely sensational,

0:11:40.690,0:11:41.907
and you are really passionate about,

0:11:41.907,0:11:43.464
because then you will persist with it.

0:11:43.464,0:11:44.988
So you do that.[br]Ask yourself that question,

0:11:44.988,0:11:46.906
keep that question from now[br]to the rest of your lives.

0:11:46.906,0:11:48.742
And then once you've[br]come up with an answer,

0:11:48.742,0:11:50.176
I'll hope it would be something[br]so magnificent,

0:11:50.176,0:11:52.343
you're almost embarrassed[br]to tell anybody because it's so great.

0:11:52.343,0:11:53.910
And then there is a danger:

0:11:53.910,0:11:55.096
What might happen then,

0:11:55.096,0:11:57.836
is you put it on a shrine[br]and it will be like an icon.

0:11:57.845,0:11:59.503
Or it will be like a beautiful painting

0:11:59.503,0:12:01.384
that's been beautifully painted,[br]has got a beautiful frame

0:12:01.384,0:12:03.965
and you know just where it's going[br]to go in the whole way at home.

0:12:03.985,0:12:07.198
But nobody is painting it,[br]so it's not going to happen.

0:12:07.198,0:12:08.847
And you are using static thinking.

0:12:08.847,0:12:11.582
We might want to move away[br]from static thinking to process thinking.

0:12:11.597,0:12:13.146
Instead of thinking[br]about the end result,

0:12:13.146,0:12:15.442
start thinking about it [br]as a process.

0:12:15.442,0:12:16.950
One person who can help us with that,

0:12:16.950,0:12:19.356
is the german philosopher[br]Nietzsche, who said:

0:12:19.356,0:12:23.121
"Not every end is a goal.[br]The end of a melody is not a goal."

0:12:23.121,0:12:24.716
He's got a point but[br]what does he mean?

0:12:24.716,0:12:26.838
Well if you go to a concert,[br]you don't say,

0:12:26.838,0:12:29.806
"I wish this music would finish[br]and then I can really enjoy it."

0:12:29.806,0:12:31.665
You enjoy it as it goes along.

0:12:31.665,0:12:35.225
So start thinking about your mission[br]instead as a piece of music.

0:12:35.227,0:12:37.967
It's already started. Can you hear it?[br]I think it sounds great.

0:12:37.967,0:12:39.225
So that's what you want to do.

0:12:39.225,0:12:40.824
What is great about noticing that,

0:12:40.824,0:12:42.769
it is a process instead of an end result[br]that you are after,

0:12:42.769,0:12:44.814
is you then liberate yourself[br]to stop being freaked out

0:12:44.814,0:12:46.859
by the sheer monumental scale[br]of what you want to do,

0:12:46.859,0:12:48.905
and you enjoy every step,[br]because no one did anything

0:12:48.905,0:12:51.505
in all of human kind[br]except in small steps.

0:12:51.505,0:12:53.067
And Neil Armstrong[br]didn't wake up one morning,

0:12:53.067,0:12:54.770
and said, "I'm going to the moon now."

0:12:54.770,0:12:57.779
Lots of people had to go[br]to the office and do stuff.

0:12:57.779,0:12:59.306
So we can all do that.

0:12:59.306,0:13:00.366
We have to notice the smalls steps

0:13:00.366,0:13:01.904
and the great thing about smalls steps[br]is they give you courage.

0:13:01.904,0:13:04.178
There are mini victories, they move you[br]onto the next small step,

0:13:04.178,0:13:05.264
that's not quite so small,

0:13:05.264,0:13:07.789
and so you can use those as a way[br]to encourage yourself.

0:13:07.789,0:13:08.984
So you've got your mission,

0:13:08.984,0:13:11.310
you've got the need[br]to find small steps,

0:13:11.310,0:13:12.687
but if you really want[br]to pin down the small steps,

0:13:12.687,0:13:14.021
ask yourself this question:

0:13:14.021,0:13:17.774
What can you do[br]in the next 24 hours?

0:13:17.774,0:13:19.344
Because if you can't do[br]anything in the next 24 hours,

0:13:19.344,0:13:22.755
what makes you think[br]you will ever start?

0:13:22.755,0:13:25.134
Ok, so you've got the mission,[br]you've got the small steps,

0:13:25.135,0:13:27.907
and now you're going[br]to need to find some allies.

0:13:27.907,0:13:29.592
You're not going to do[br]much all on your own.

0:13:29.592,0:13:30.775
So one way you can do that,

0:13:30.775,0:13:32.147
is to try and draw a map[br]of your support network,

0:13:32.147,0:13:33.442
the people you already know.

0:13:33.442,0:13:34.665
Do it like this,[br]put yourself in the middle,

0:13:34.665,0:13:36.026
put the names of people[br]around the edge

0:13:36.026,0:13:38.786
who give you support[br]and to whom you give support.

0:13:38.786,0:13:40.962
So on this one you can see[br]I'm giving a lot of support to William.

0:13:40.985,0:13:42.102
He is giving me nothing back.

0:13:42.102,0:13:44.836
What do I do about that?[br]I'll have to work it out.

0:13:44.836,0:13:48.118
But the relationships[br]that are most useful,

0:13:48.118,0:13:50.310
and psychologists use this[br]with addicts and alcoholics,

0:13:50.310,0:13:51.723
are the ones that are reciprocal.

0:13:51.723,0:13:54.500
So you can see Sonya and Ben,[br]both are reciprocal relationships.

0:13:54.500,0:13:56.146
So you might want to draw this map,[br]it is quite interesting.

0:13:56.146,0:13:58.397
And then go and ask[br]those people for help.

0:13:58.397,0:14:00.551
You must actually ask them to help you.

0:14:00.551,0:14:03.009
You might think, "I can't ask,[br]that's awful, a real imposition."

0:14:03.009,0:14:04.665
But people like to be asked,[br]because it means

0:14:04.665,0:14:06.815
that they are wise and kind[br]and generous and sensitive.

0:14:06.815,0:14:09.085
But the only reason people[br]don't like to be asked,

0:14:09.085,0:14:11.146
is when they can't see[br]a way to say no.

0:14:11.146,0:14:12.519
So you say to them,[br]"Would you help?

0:14:12.519,0:14:13.863
And by the way if you can't,

0:14:13.863,0:14:16.115
either now or at any time[br]in the future, I really don't mind."

0:14:16.115,0:14:17.146
And you have to mean it.

0:14:17.146,0:14:18.103
And once you've asked them[br]in that way,

0:14:18.103,0:14:19.366
why would they say no?

0:14:19.366,0:14:20.609
And what you have done[br]then is liberate them

0:14:20.609,0:14:22.578
to be an active part of your mission.

0:14:22.578,0:14:25.174
They will want to do things,[br]to really be part of it.

0:14:25.174,0:14:26.300
And they'll phone you and say,

0:14:26.300,0:14:27.429
they've seen something[br]in the newspapers.

0:14:27.429,0:14:28.505
So that's great.

0:14:28.505,0:14:30.105
You may also find that[br]there are other people,

0:14:30.105,0:14:31.182
sort of activists all over the country.

0:14:31.182,0:14:32.746
This is my country, the U.K.

0:14:32.746,0:14:34.904
You may find people spread[br]all over the place,

0:14:34.904,0:14:36.770
and you can go and find some of those.

0:14:36.770,0:14:40.346
And I want to end, by giving you[br]some account of my own experience.

0:14:40.346,0:14:41.618
Because I feel a bit dishonored,

0:14:41.618,0:14:44.353
standing in front of you and say[br]anyone could change the world,

0:14:44.353,0:14:48.001
if I didn't try to say something[br]how I've tried to do.

0:14:48.001,0:14:49.206
So some years ago,

0:14:49.206,0:14:50.746
I got very seriously freaked out,

0:14:50.746,0:14:52.106
very depressed about climate change,

0:14:52.106,0:14:56.109
and peak oil, result shortages,[br]that are coming.

0:14:56.109,0:14:57.177
And I didn't know what to do,

0:14:57.177,0:14:59.038
I thought we had to change[br]the whole way that everyone lives,

0:14:59.056,0:15:01.561
we had to get much more[br]self-sufficient, more resourceful,

0:15:01.561,0:15:02.666
stop flying things around the world.

0:15:02.666,0:15:05.071
Everyone has got to start growing food.

0:15:05.071,0:15:06.726
They've got to start making[br]their own clothes,

0:15:06.726,0:15:07.927
doing all sorts of things like that.

0:15:07.927,0:15:09.827
So I joined all the campaign[br]groups you can imagine

0:15:09.827,0:15:11.118
and there were wonderful

0:15:11.118,0:15:14.919
and we did some great stuff[br]joining these networks nationwide.

0:15:14.919,0:15:16.492
After about a year,

0:15:16.507,0:15:17.585
I realized we were doing[br]some amazing stuff

0:15:17.585,0:15:18.958
but I was seeing all the same faces.

0:15:18.958,0:15:20.542
Lovely faces, but all the same faces.

0:15:20.542,0:15:21.783
And I wanted everybody to change,

0:15:21.783,0:15:24.206
not just the seasoned campaigners.

0:15:24.206,0:15:26.618
And I happen around then to read[br]a book by Alistair Mackintosh

0:15:26.625,0:15:29.754
which talks about how it's[br]no good being a campaigner,

0:15:29.754,0:15:31.265
if you're not a good neighbor.

0:15:31.265,0:15:32.531
And it kind of hit me[br]in the head right there,

0:15:32.531,0:15:34.022
so you know why I've now asked you

0:15:34.022,0:15:35.266
to think of each other as neighbors.

0:15:35.266,0:15:36.506
I felt like, what can I do with it,

0:15:36.506,0:15:38.459
so I can resign from[br]these campaigners,

0:15:38.459,0:15:40.327
and I went to work on my street,

0:15:40.327,0:15:43.636
and I had an allotment where[br]I was growing my own food.

0:15:43.636,0:15:46.222
And so I went to the allotment,[br]filled a sack full of apples

0:15:46.222,0:15:47.448
and I went home.

0:15:47.448,0:15:49.452
And I have a wonderful beautiful wife[br]and daughter,

0:15:49.452,0:15:53.077
little daughter at the time, Nancy,[br]and so I grabbed Nancy's hand,

0:15:53.077,0:15:56.146
I didn't need to take Nancy,[br]but she gave me courage basically.

0:15:56.162,0:15:57.562
And so I took the sack and the apples,

0:15:57.562,0:15:59.268
and I carried Nancy along with me.

0:15:59.268,0:16:01.585
We knocked on every door,[br]and people opened the door

0:16:01.585,0:16:03.596
and I said I'm taking the risk.

0:16:03.596,0:16:06.229
Yeah, a man with apples and[br]a lovely daughter isn't a big threat.

0:16:06.229,0:16:07.993
And they opened the door[br]and I took the apples,

0:16:07.993,0:16:09.940
and so that was nice[br]to get to know people a bit better.

0:16:09.945,0:16:13.204
Then, the sneaky bit[br]was six months later

0:16:13.204,0:16:15.551
but forgive me, because[br]it came from the right place.

0:16:15.551,0:16:18.470
I deliberately grew[br]too many tomato seedlings,

0:16:18.470,0:16:19.807
and I put them all in a box,

0:16:19.807,0:16:21.402
and I grabbed Nancy's[br]lovely hand again,

0:16:21.402,0:16:23.810
and we walked on the street,[br]and knocked on the doors.

0:16:23.810,0:16:26.418
We'd said, "Hello", then[br]Nancy again said, "Hello"

0:16:26.418,0:16:29.344
and I said "Oh dear, I've got[br]too many tomato seedlings"

0:16:29.344,0:16:31.147
and I gave it to them,[br]and they took them.

0:16:31.147,0:16:33.363
And I know for a fact that[br]many people in my street

0:16:33.386,0:16:35.195
that year for the first time[br]started growing food.

0:16:35.195,0:16:39.123
So I hadn't had to freak them out about[br]climate change or resort shortages.

0:16:39.123,0:16:40.458
I just got them growing a plant,

0:16:40.474,0:16:41.775
that was kind of the solution.

0:16:41.775,0:16:43.283
So I was very lucky,[br]it was possible in that way,

0:16:43.303,0:16:45.929
to find the happy solution that way.

0:16:45.929,0:16:49.040
Nancy drew a picture, this is[br]a reenactment for you.

0:16:49.054,0:16:51.945
So I had been lucky

0:16:51.945,0:16:54.290
and by chance I discovered[br]something that's really important

0:16:54.290,0:16:56.857
which is: Try to emphasize the positive.

0:16:56.857,0:16:59.264
Because as the late philosopher[br]Reynold Williams once said,

0:16:59.264,0:17:02.564
"The key is not to make[br]despair convincing,

0:17:02.564,0:17:05.383
but to make hope possible."

0:17:05.383,0:17:08.183
You are on a journey,[br]it starts now.

0:17:08.183,0:17:09.946
You might as well make it fun.

0:17:09.946,0:17:11.815
Thank you.

0:17:11.815,0:17:14.507
(Applause)