Optimism is a discipline | Luc Simonet | TEDxLille

This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community.

Luc Simonet proposes a new model of society founded on optimism. Optimism is available to every one if you choose to subscribe to it. Although it appears to be trivial, this idea, if it were to spread, could transform our way of life and how we view the world. Becoming a citizen of Optimistan is a real declaration that you aspire to happiness and a better way of living. It is an act of political benevolence for yourself and others.

So, first I would like to wish
all the ladies a happy Women's Day

because today
is International Women's Day.

You know that it was

Jean-Marc Reiser who said,

"Women who want to be equal to men

are seriously lacking in ambition."

So I have been a lawyer
since the dawn of time,

a tax lawyer, a business lawyer,

and eight years ago,
when my clients phoned

to say, "I've got this or that problem,"

I wanted to say "I don't care."

I said to myself, perhaps it was a sign
that I should change something in my life

because I think
when you are no longer enthusiastic

it is clearly a sign that you need
to change something in your life.

Of course, you know
where the word "enthusiasm" comes from.

It comes from the Greek "enthousiasmos"

which literally means
"in the breath of the divine".

Obviously that is not religious,

you could say that it is
the breath of transcendence.

It is true that, sometimes,
I practice tax law

in a way that is a little bit unusual,

because I remember that 25 years ago,
a lawyer phoned me saying,

"Luc, I've got a big problem,

a very rich client is being horribly
blackmailed by his daughter

who has also stolen
a lot of money from him, etc."

I said to her, "OK,
bring your client to see me."

So this very upset 80-year-old man came,

"Sir, we must arrange
everything in Liechtenstein

in the Caymans, in Luxembourg,

my daughter is going to steal it all,
she is blackmailing me," etc.

I let him go on
like a crazy horse at full gallop,

and I didn't interrupt
him again for ten minutes.

After ten minutes,
I calmly interrupted him,

and in his head,
he had come to see a tax lawyer,

and I said, "Sir, do you not think

that all the money
your daughter is stealing from you

is nothing more
than a symbol of the love

that you have never given her?"

His lawyer was shocked,

the client didn't hear me
and carried straight on,

"Tally-ho, tally-ho!
Liechtenstein! Cayman!", etc.

And I let him continue,
and I didn't interrupt him again.

And after quarter of an hour
he stopped, and he said,

"All the same, Sir,

what you said to me
just now strikes a chord.

I realized that I've never given
my daughter a second glance.

I was always away on business,
I looked after my business," etc.

And on leaving my office,
this client had a wonderful impulse:

he phoned his daughter
and invited her to dinner that evening,

and he apologized to her
for all the harm he had done her.

This man never again suffered
from the least bit of blackmail or theft.

And so, for several years now,
I have given a course in business law

in a Business School in Brussels.

And I like to tell
the story of the stonemason,

which you no doubt know, but just in case
there is someone who doesn't,

I will tell it all the same.

It is the story of a man
who passed a Cathedral,

and he saw three workmen
busy dressing stones.

He asked the first,
"What are you doing?"

"Me, Sir, as you can see,
I'm busy dressing a stone.

It's a terrible job, you don't earn
much money, it's dreadful," etc.

Then he passed the second man
who was a little less sulky,

and who said, "I'm dressing a stone.

I also dress stones,
but actually it's quite good.

I'm in the fresh air, and I make
a living and can feed my children."

The third man was doing
the same as the others.

He asked what he was doing,

"Sir, you can see
I'm busy building a cathedral!"

And he was very happy.

So I explained to my students

here are three workmen
doing exactly the same thing.

However, the question
is not what they are doing,

but in what state of mind
they are doing it.

I said, "You, for example,

why do you want to be a sales engineer
or to get a degree in consular studies?"

They think I'm a bit crazy

because I'm giving a class
in business law,

and I hear from the back of the class
"For the dough!"

I say, "OK, let's talk about that a bit,
what does money mean to you?"

You know, you might think
that money is an inert substance

that you will try to get as much
as possible of to soothe your worries.

What worries?

Well, firstly the worry about
the finite nature of your life,

because you know, money is a number
and by definition, numbers are infinite.

So to ward off your worries about
the finite nature of your life,

you may be tempted to accumulate
as much money as possible.

"However," I say,
"Think of money as energy."

A beautiful energy
if you do beautiful things

for or with money, a repulsive energy
if you do repulsive things for or with it.

So now I am on sabbatical,

and so I have created
this association called

the League of Optimists
of the Kingdom of Belgium

- it's a bit surrealist -
it's a bit Belgian.

But, the idea behind it is to create,

I would say with a bit
of lightheartedness

an idea that is
more serious than it seems.

What is this idea?

I'll try to... Ah, there...

The idea is to say, "I am the master
of my thoughts and not the opposite."

If I am master of my thoughts,

undoubtedly... - oh never mind

if I am the master of my thoughts,
I am a responsible person.

If I have this responsibility,
I am responsible for my life,

for my environment and for the world.

So the idea behind it
is to say that optimism

is not an innate ability to be happy

which will liberate us
from all painful problems

and great sorrows of our lives.

Optimism stems
from a decision and discipline,

and it also forms the basis
of each person's responsibilities.

That is to say that if we want
the world to be a better place,

everyone is going to have to get involved

and I think that is the fundamental idea.

So you know, we have, I want to say
we have heard a lot today,

people talk a lot about the crisis.

This crisis is of course a difficult
and painful economic crisis,

but it is probably and may still be
a crisis of meaning.

This is to say that we have
successfully learnt how to make things.

The technological advances
of the last few years have been rapid

in the areas of IT, of technology, etc.

But the problem is
that we no longer know why.

And that is the question of meaning.

So, I have created this association,

the League of Optimists
of the Kingdom of Belgium,

which now has 5,000 members in Belgium.

We have created
large and small sister organizations

notably in the Netherlands, Germany,
in your country, France,

but notably with France Roque, Philippe
Gabilliet, Jean d'Ormesson, Erik Orsenna,

Matthieu Ricard, Eric-Emmanuel Schmitt,
and Jean-Michel Guenassia.

In Switzerland, Monaco, and Benin,

we are busy at the moment,
and also in Spain,

we are now busy with Norway, Canada,

Congo, Congo-Brazzaville,
and a dozen countries in Africa.

So we have formed
an international organization

which is called Optimists Without Borders,

moreover, whose current
president is French.

The idea is that every two years
the Presidency will change,

and all that will constitute
the concept of Optimistan.

So, what is Optimistan?

Optimistan is
a metaphorical State, a poetic state,

it is a new state of conscience

according to this quote
by Teilhard de Chardin,

"As the world becomes more complex,

so its level of consciousness
must be raised."

So the idea that we have come up with

is to say, "Let us create together
a new state of conscience,"

and furthermore,
all citizens of Optimistan,

that is to say all members
of all the Associations of Optimists,

will soon receive,
a real Optimistan Passport

will a QR code that will enable us
to contact each of them.

But for me, optimism is not
just the opposite of pessimism.

I think that it is even more
the opposite of cynicism.

Cynicism is an absolute plague,

and I truly think that today

the world is developing
in an extremely cynical fashion.

Financial capitalism
has become absolutely cynical.

And I think that the world
we have constructed here in the West,

this world of money, must be destroyed.

I think, in fact,
that it will die of its cynicism

in the same way that
communism died of its cynicism,

if it does not change, and soon,
towards more fraternity.

So I think that at heart,
optimism is also this realization

that we are all linked together
and that we are also linked to the planet.

And so I think that the idea
is still to revitalize life

to stop us from becoming
like vermin on the planet.

So, what I want to do myself is,
at least, take part in a small way,

in the re-enchantment of the world.

That seems to me to be
an absolutely fundamental task.

I think that, if you like,
we have today...

we have well understood how to do things,
but now, we must remind ourselves of it.

For example, we also have a big project,

to create a school for shareholders:

the Optimistan Share Holder School.

Why an Optimistan Share Holder School?

Well because, you know,
a long time ago people told me

that I absolutely should create
an Optimistan Business School.

I have a problem with Business Schools

which teach that the goal
of business is to make a profit.

I think that that is once again
a manifestation of cynicism.

I think that the goal
of business is not profit.

The goal of business
is doing the right thing

for humanity and for the world,

and that profit must be
the necessary consequence of business.

Obviously profit is absolutely necessary

but it is in fact there to ensure
the survival of the business,

but it cannot be the goal.

And so, what I would like is
to talk, in a manner of speaking,

to those people who truly have
the power to take decisions.

Because unfortunately, I have noticed
that many managers behave

I would say, like true mercenaries

and who become more and more greedy.

And, quite frankly, I can no longer stand
listening to shareholders saying,

"Yes, but we provide
jobs for the workers."

I have never heard a worker say,

"Yes, but I provide a dividend
for my shareholders."

So, I say no, it is not the shareholders

who give jobs to the workers or employees.

It is businesses who give

the proceeds of work to one group
and the proceeds of shares to the other.

It is not one group that creates work
and another that creates wealth.

It is a whole.

And so I think
that we must reflect, really...

we must rethink, I would say

the fundamental question
of business conscience.

Because there is a lot of talk,
about business culture,

but not much about business conscience.

However, I think that it is
absolutely necessary to think about it.

So, I truly believe
that financial capitalism today

as it is, as it changes,

well, it can do nothing more for humankind

and, in my opinion, we live

in what is still one of the most
prosperous part of the planet,

and well, I say that we have invented
this financial capitalism,

we must think here, we have,

I would say an urgent responsibility
to invent a new model of society

which would work
if it were applied to the whole world.

I really like this quote
from Immanuel Kant, who said,

"We should act in such a way
the world order would not be disturbed

if everyone acted as we act."

However, the situation is such
that if the whole world started to live

according to the model
of overproduction and over-consumption

of goods which add little happiness
which we have invented here,

well, life on Earth would
no longer be possible for our children.

The question I ask is
is that what we want?

I don't. And if I don't want that,

I think that parents in Congo,
New York, Argentina, Japan,

also have the right to want

life to still be possible
for their children.

So, I think that we who have,
who live on this part of the planet

who have an educated population,
where, I would say,

poverty is still
under control... perhaps...

Well, I say that we also have
the responsibility to invent a new model.

There, that my proposal.

So, a new state of conscience,
and I think that if we regroup,

if everyone works together,

we can really bring forth
a new way of living together

which, in my opinion,
will be much happier,

which, inevitably, will be a little bit--

will free up lots of energy,
and there you have my proposal.

The League of Optimists in Belgium

has organized lots of conferences

and after each conference,
there is always a little reception

and so I know
I'm about to be interrupted,

you have been very patient up to now,

you have been very good,
it is very, very good,

well, in fact, what I ask every time
is that everyone who attends the reception

should not leave
until they have spoken to three people

that they did not know before.

So thank you.

(Applause)