Ten Words: Recent Episodes

Jeremy Waite

A weekly show full of BIG ideas, small words and short sentences, featuring people who have changed the world by making complicated things simple. From artists to astronauts, scientists to storytellers, preachers and poets, Ten Words looks at some of the world's most quotable people to discover what their words really meant.

Part biography, part storytelling masterclass, Ten Words is a fun and fast-paced podcast for anyone interested in the power of words or improving their own communication skills.

"*Scenes that can only be performed, they can't be read".***

Aaron Sorkin was the inspiration behind this podcast. And his stories have influenced my life over the last twenty years. So in this extended edition, I look behind the scenes at the five scenes which Aaron Sorkin says he is most proud of writing. And for good measure, I add in two scenes which have heavily influenced my life.

I look at Moneyball, as the underdog movie which inspires us all the think differently in order to challenge the status quo. And off the back of a recent Extinction Rebellion interview where the co-founder of the movement made sensational (un-true) claims about climate change, I also take a look at the one and only time Aaron Sorkin decided to address the climate crisis. And no, it's not as dull as it sounds I promise!!

LINKS

The News Room v Climate Change - Fact checking the script
How can a climate debate be good TV (Marti Noxon)
Aaron Sorkin's screenwriting tips
How to win a presidential debate according to Aaron Sorkin
Behind the scenes on Aaron Sorkin's favourite clips
Aaron Sorkin BIO

"The story doesn't really begin until you've introduced the intention".

He wrote some of the greatest shows that have ever been aired on TV, he has the highest grossing American play in history and he got nominated for an Oscar for his first play, which he wrote on the back of cocktail napkins while he was working in a bar.

He's Aaron Sorkin, and this show features some of his best advice, my favourite scenes and a look behind the scenes at his biggest triumphs and his deepest challenges.

LINKS

Behind the scenes with Aaron Sorkin
Sorkinism's
The Newsroom - Full opening scene [8 mins]
Every "What's Next?" in The West Wing
Biography of Aaron Sorkin
Aaron Sorkin (Wikipedia)
The Social Network Aaron Sorkin Interview
The Social Network links & credits
Aaron Sorkin's top screen writing tips
Aaron Sorkin Teaches Screen Writing (Masterclass.com)
How To Win A Debate by Aaron Sorkin
Newsroom - Critics Review

"Nothing stays the same and it can't remain the same".

He's been in broadcasting for over 65 years and is regarded by his friends as a 93-year old trapped in a teenagers body. He's the only presenter to win a BAFTA for shows in black and white, colour, HD, 3D and 4K. This episode is devoted to the man who taught us all about the natural world and how we need to take more care of this fragile blue marble that we find ourselves on.

In this extended special edition, I look behind the scenes at what makes him a great presenter and what he thinks are the secrets to his success.

Sir David Attenborough Bio
President Obama + Sir David Attenborough
Natural History Mastercalss with Sandi Toksvig at BAFTA
My favourite Attenborough quotes
Brian Cox & David Attenborough on Charles Darwin
A tribute to Sir David Attenborough's career
Sir David's appearance on Desert Island Discs
Jeremy.Earth: "Good Humans, Technology & Climate Change"

My Extinction Rebellion Photos

"Enjoy the journey of life and not just the end game".

He's played a dragon, a sorcerer, a detective, a whistleblower, a coding breaker and an inter-galactic evil genius - and in his first ever stage performance in the nativity as Joseph on at primary school, he pushed Mary off stage because she was taking too long.

So what makes Benedict Cumberbatch tick? What inspires him? And what creative skills can we learn from the characters he's played? This episode looks into all this and more.

SHOW NOTES

Benedict Cumberbatch [WIKIPEDIA]
20 Facts about Benedict
52 Things you never knew about Benedict
Follow @LettersLive on Twitter
Sol Lewitt's letter to Eva Hesse
Benedict Cumberbatch at LettersLive
Background on the Sol LeWitt letter [Brainpickings]
Benedict on acting & inspiration [BLOG]
Benedict on pissing off Julian Assange
Playing Van Gogh in BBC's Painting with Words
Benedict's Top 10 Rules for Success
"If I had more time I would have written you a shorter letter"
"If I am to speak for ten minutes...'
Joyce Carol Oates [WIKIPEDIA]
MASTERCLASS.com: Joyce Carol Oates

My slightly schizophrenic on-the-fly notes written not long after I woke up

Next on your reading list?

Sol Lewitt's letter to Eva Hesse

This episode's recording dashboard from Backpack Studio

Personality Insights Graph of Matthew McConaughey's Oscars speech via IBM Watson (not John Watson!)

Transcript of Matthew McConaughey's Speech

   *2 March 2014, Dolby Theatre, Los Angeles, California, USA*

 *Thank you -- all of these performances were impeccable. In my opinion I didn't see a false note anywhere. I want to thank Jean-Marc Vallee our director. I want to thank Jared Leto and Jennifer Garner who I worked with daily.*

There are three things that I need each day. One, I need something to look up to, another to look forward to, and another is someone to chase.

First off, I want to thank God because that's who I look up. He's graced my life with opportunities that I know are not of my hand or of any other hand. He's shown me that it's a scientific fact that gratitude reciprocates.

To my family is to what I look forward to. To my father who I know is up there right now with a big pot of gumbo, he has a big lemon meringue pie over there. He's probably in his underwear and has a big can of Miller Lite and he's dancing right now. To you dad, you taught me how to be a man.

To my mother who's here tonight, who taught me and my two older brothers -- demanded -- that we respect ourselves. And in turn we learned we were better able to learn how to respect others. Thank you for that mama.

To my wife, Camilla, and my kids Levi, Vida and Mr Stone (Livingstone), the courage you give me every time I walk through the door is unparallelled. You are the four people in my life that I want to make the most proud of me. Thank you.

And to my hero. That's who I chase. When I was 15 years old I had a very important person in my life come and ask me 'Who's your hero?' I said, 'I thought about it and it's me in ten years. So I turned 25 ten years later and that same person comes to me and goes, 'Are you a hero?' I said, 'Not even close!' She said why and I said, 'My hero is me at 35.' You see, every day, and every week, and every month, and every year of my life, my hero is always ten years away. I'm never going to be my hero. I'm not going to obtain that and that's fine with me because it keeps me with somebody to keep on chasing.

So to any of us, whatever those things are and whatever it is we look up to, whatever it is we look forward to and whoever it is we're chasing, to that I say Amen. To that I say alright, alright, alright. And just keep living, huh? Thank you.

   Source: https://genius.com/Matthew-mcconaughey-bes...

"Take the things that you love and build on them."

What does Academy award-winning DJ and producer Mark Ronson have in common with marketing hustler Gary Vaynerchuk? Both of them believe that the future belongs to the DJ's.

"Life is not about finding yourself, it's about creating yourself". Bob Dylan

In this episode I take a look at inspirational advice from Mark Ronson about how you can write yourself into the story of something (or someone) you love, and contrast it with practical advice from Gary Vaynerchuk about how exactly you and I can do that. Featuring "cameos" from Bob Dylan and David Bowie, this show is for anyone to wants to re-create their own story by curating someone else's.

Mark Ronson's TED Talk
Everything is a Re-Mix (Brilliant short documentary by Kirby Ferguson)
Gary Vaynerchuk - "It takes 2 cents to grow a wine show"
Vaynerchuk Keynote at Web 2.0 Expo NY (2008)

"You can change the world just by sharing your story".

This episode marks a watershed moment for me as I take a new career path, inspired in part by many of the conversations we've had on this podcast. In this episode, I look back at a few of my favourite quotes, and look at the ten words (and the three words!) which have changed my life.

If you are looking to embark on a new career path which feels "more you", take on a new challenge which feels or shift your focus creatively, then this might be the episode for you. It's one of the few times I talk about myself a little, bit I assure you there's no ego here - just lots of good advice to help you find your voice and tell your own story a little better.

"There is no 'I' in team (but there is a 'Me')".

Before Sir David Brailsford took over as performance director for Team GB cycling, they had won 1 gold in 76 years. At the Beijing Olympics they won 8 gold medals with a further 17 at the paralympic games and 59 world championships over the next decade.

What exactly did Sir Dave do? And what can we learn from his performance philosophies? It's not everyone, but in this episode we did into the "Kaizen" of marginal gains - the 1% rule - and look at ways which we might be able to improve the performance of ourselves and the team around us.

"It's really important to remind ourselves that impossible things happen".

He's flown further and faster than almost any other human. Astronaut Chris Hadfield was the commander of the International Space Station, has travelled 62M miles, is the US Navy AND Air Force's all-time top test pilot and has orbited earth 2336 times.

What Chris Hadfield has to teach us about communicating your mission, explaining things simply and learning things REALLY fast is well worth listening to. Fasten your seatbelt!

Chris Hadfield's keynote show reel
The Presentation Secrets of Chris Hadfield [LINKEDIN]
Chris Hadfield on NotebooksandBourbon [INSTAGRAM]
Chris Hadfield's Masterclass
What I Learned From Going Blind in Space [TED]
13 Moments That Changed My Life
Space Oddity by CH for Bowie

"We can't save the world by playing by the rules".

In August last year, hardly anyone knew who Greta Thunberg was. A few months later, she's inspiring millions of people to campaign governments around climate change and has been nominated for a Nobel prize. What did Greta do to become so influential in such a short period of time? And what can we learn from the way that she did it? Let's take a look...

SHOW NOTES

Greta's story [WIKIPEDIA]
How to analyse one of your talks with IBM Watson
Nominated for a Nobel Prize
Greta's TEDxStockholm Talk [11 mins]
@TEDxStockholm on twitter with no idea what's about to happen
Per Espen Stoknes on 'Apocalypse Fatigue'
Follow Greta on Twitter
Photos and placards from the #FridaysForFuture march
Kairos - "A supreme moment which one must act..."

"You can change the world just by sharing your story".

In 1997 Steve Jobs took back the reigns of Apple when the company he founded was just three months away from bankruptcy. Fourteen years later Apple become the world's largest brand and went on to become the first trillion dollar company. Beyond the hype, the myths and the cliches, what was it that sparked this legendary turnaround? In this episode, I look behind the scenes of the Think Different campaign to look for answers.

SHOW NOTES

Think Different Campaign
Crazy Ones (Read by Steve Jobs)
Crazy Ones (Original Version)
Steve Jobs (private marketing strategy session)
Think Simple & Insanely Simple by Ken Segall (books)
The story behind the 'Think Different' campaign

The Crazy Ones (Unpublished version)

Here’s to those who have always seen things differently.
The ones who follow a vision, not a path.
Where others percieve first as valuable,
you value the first thing that actually matters.
While others are distracted by the new,
you focus on the significance of a whole new take.
Even before you could see how, you never doubted
we would change things.
And then we did.
Together.
Again and again, and again, and again…
Relentless optimism is what moves the world forward.
So, keep seeing things differently.
Keep trusting there is always another way, a better way, a bigger way.
One that lifts up humanity.
Breaks down our barriers.
And heals the landscape.
You are the difference between the world as it was
and the better place it will become.
And different is the one thing about us,
that will always be the same.

"I'm a dreamer, don't tell me not to dream..."

Martin Garrix went from his bedroom to playing in front of 100,000 people in less than two years. At just 22, he is already the world's #1 DJ for 3 years running, but his unprecedented rise to success has not pleased everyone. So what is the secret to his success and what can we learn from it? Perhaps the future really does belong to the DJ's...

SHOW NOTES

Martin Garrix YouTube channel (featuring the Martin Garrix Show)
Martin Garrix & Mike Yung
"Dreamer" by Martin Garrix featuring Mike Yung
The story behind "Dreamer"
This Was Tomorrow [Documentary]
What We Started [Documentary]
Armin Van Buuren Teaches Dance Music [Masterclass]
Deadmau5 Teaches Electronic Music Production [Masterclass]
ANIME (Martin Garrix set at ADE 2018)
Everything is a Remix by Kirby Ferguson
Do what you can with what you have (Tony Robbins on Ten Words)
Taylor Swift on fighting negativity and beating the odds (Ten Words)

My 'beautiful mind' style notes from my Rome keynote (a trial run testing the content for my new book) RemiXed: The Future Belongs to the DJ's

"Laws of work: Show up. Shut up. Do your job".

David Mamet is a Pulitzer Prize–winning playwright, screenwriter and director known for such works as 'American Buffalo,' 'Glengarry Glen Ross,' 'The Untouchables' and 'Phil Spector.' His trademark rapid-fire dialogue are studded with obscenities and explore the power relationships and corporate corruption.

There is only really one rule of drama - "Don't be boring".

He is one of the most prolific storytellers of modern times. In this special episode on Ten Words I look behind the scenes of his most famous script, what motivates him to write, why are writers like beavers and why is Brazilian Jiu Jitsu the secret to his success?

David Mamet's Masterclass on dramatic writing

"It's only with the heart that one can see rightly".

Antoine de Saint-Exupéry accidentally wrote one of the best selling books of all time. Since publishing "Le Petit Prince" in 1943 it has achieved almost mythical status having been translated into over 200 languages and has been voted the greatest book of the 20th century. It continues to sell almost 2 million copies everyday, but at the time Saint-Exupéry wasn't even sure anyone would like it. Leaving the finished manuscript with a friend before he went off to war he said, "I'd like to give you something splendid, but this is all I have".

In this episode of Ten Words, I look behind the scenes and what inspired this gorgeously eccentric and reluctant author-adventurer-artist-aviator to write. And what lessons we can learn from his relentless pursuit of creativity?

It's one of my favourite books of all-time, so much so that I even wear a bracelet everyday embossed with the Little Prince's star! I hope you enjoy hearing a little bit about Saint-Exupéry's story as much as I enjoyed putting this episode together.

Thanks for listening!

Jeremy :)

 **LINKS**

https://www.washingtonpost.com/entertainment/museums/the-little-prince-a-new-york-story/2014/01/09/2763abf2-77cf-11e3-8963-b4b654bcc9b2_story.html?noredirect=on&utm_term=.7000701739d2
http://mentalfloss.com/article/64148/12-charming-facts-about-little-prince
https://www.cbc.ca/books/75-facts-you-might-not-know-about-antoine-de-saint-exup%C3%A9ry-and-the-little-prince-1.4942933
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Little_Prince
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antoine_de_Saint-Exup%C3%A9ry
https://www.brainpickings.org/2014/02/03/exupery-little-prince-morgan-drawings/
https://www.montblanc.com/en/collection/landing-pages/stories-to-tell-exupery.html

"What's your motivation? What's great? What's missing? What's preventing this?"

He's one of the top business coaches in the world worth over $6Bn who left an abusive home, to work as a janitor on $40 a week. What was the one thing which changed his life, and what can we learn from the way that he communicates to over 200,000 people every year?

In this episode I try to steer clear on the self-help bumper sticker quotes, and look more deeply at what drives the most successful people (including how they break up each day into 100 x 10 minute chunks). Digging back into the 20 years that I have followed Tony, and sharing some of my experiences from working alongside him in 2015, whatever your opinions are of Tony Robbins, I think there's something in here for you. Because one thing's for sure - he's NOT (just) a motivational speaker...

Show Notes

Tony Robbins facts and here
Follow Tony on Twitter
Watch 'I Am Not Your Guru' on Netflix
10 minute morning ritual << Genius
Tony Robbins advice with Evan Carmichael (Search all Evan's YouTube clips on Tony - they're really well curated)
Tony's TED Talk - "Why we do what we do" (2006)

"You can change the world just by sharing your story".

What started out as a bit of fun earlier this year has taken on a life of its own. Around 20,000 people now listen to the Ten Words podcast each week, to look behind the scenes and who said what and why.

So in this episode, I review the story so far and pick my highlights from the first 20 episodes, featuring poets, pastors, strippers, celebrities, politicians, scientists and storytellers. I hope you enjoy it.

Thank you SO much for joining me on the journey so far. I can't wait to see where we go next!

Ep. 1 PILOT ~ "You can change the world just by telling your story".
Ep. 2 BARACK OBAMA ~ "Fired Up? Ready to go". x2
Ep. 3 VIVIENNE WESTWOOD ~ "Buy less. Choose well. Make it last. Quality not quantity".
Ep. 4 CEDRIC VILLANI ~ "To achieve good results work all night and eat soup".
Ep. 5 ELLEN ~ "It's failure that gives you the proper perspective on success".
Ep. 6 GARRY KASPAROV ~ "A good human plus a machine is the best combination".
Ep. 7 J.K. Rowling ~ "The stories that we love will live in us forever".
Ep. 8 JERRY SEINFELD ~ "The road less traveled is less traveled for a reason".
Ep. 9 BEYONCE ~ "Growth. Love. Happiness. Fun. Belief. Enjoy your life (it's short)".
Ep. 10 JOCKO WILLINK ~ "Good".
Ep. 11 MAYA ANGELOU ~ "I've learned that I still have a lot to learn".
Ep. 12 DITA VON TEESE ~ "Only mediocrity is safe from ridicule. Dare to be different".
Ep. 13 QUENTIN TARANTINO ~ "Violence is one of the most fun things to watch".
Ep. 14 ABRAHAM LINCOLN ~ "I destroy my enegies when I make them my friends".
Ep. 15 TAYLOR SWIFT ~ "Happiness and confidence are the prettiest things you can wear".
Ep. 16 THOMAS BURBERRY ~ "There's no such thing as bad weather, just bad clothing".
Ep. 17 BRENE BROWN ~ "Connection is what gives meaning to our lives".
Ep. 18 TOM HANKS ~ "Life is a grand adventure so keep writing and reading".
Ep. 19 YUJA WANG ~ "I don't practice I rehearse. Practice is for beginners".
Ep. 20 EUGENE PETERSON ~ "God let it be with me just as you say".

"God, let it be with me just as you say".

He's a poet, pastor, preacher, philosopher and storyteller. He's the author of 40 books but is best known for The Message. A translation of the bible which took him over 20 years to write and has sold over 17M copies, making him one of the most important (yet largely unknown) authors of our generation.

In this feature length episode (part podcast / part audio book!) I celebrate Eugene's 85 years on this planet and explore the simplicity of his words, and how he re-wrote such an epic book by re-mixing it into a language that everyone can understand. Including me.

I'll never forget being at a U2 gig in 2001 just before 9/11 when Bono recited Psalm 116 from the Message at a key part of the Elevation Tour show. The entire atmosphere in the arena seemed to change instantly. This shared experience seemed to connect everyone but at the time, I, like almost everyone else, had no idea what was going on. Or what he actually said. So I set off on a mission to find out. Seventeen years later, the journey of that mission has finally come to life with this episode of the Ten Words podcast. I hope you enjoy it.

Jeremy :)

SHOW NOTES

Official website for The Message Bible
A tribute to Eugene Peterson by @atU2
The connection between Eugene + U2
Eugene Peterson interview in Relevant Magazine
The Hidden Legacy of Eugene Peterson
Transcript of Eugene's TV interview "On Being"
Eugene only ever preached "One Sermon"
Retrospective on Eugene's life of "one long obedience"
Bible stats featured in this episode
Bono on Eugene Peterson
Bono dedicates U2 concerts to Eugene Peterson the "beautiful soul"
Eugene's obit in the NY Times
Read The Message Bible online for free
Rob Bell's book - What is the Bible?
Follow Rob Bell on Twitter @realRobBell
Follow the Message on Twitter @themessage

VIDEOS

The Man Behind the Message. (If you only watch ONE video THIS is the one).
Eugene's first TV interview on making the bible relevant (again)
Bono & Eugene Peterson chatting about the Psalms
NavPress tribute to Eugene Peterson "A Life Well Lived".
Eugene on translating the Psalms and being pissed off at his congregation

PHOTO GALLERY

  My "Kingfisher Chair". 37 times.....

"I don’t practice. Practice is for beginners. I rehearse".

Yuja Wang is regarded among classical music aficionados as being one of the most important artists of our generation. So wide is her appeal and influence on artists of all genres that Red Bull even sponsored her for a documentary about the art of performance. A child prodigy from the age of 6, Beijing born Yuja has risen to the top of the classical music industry to become one of the world's most famous concert pianists.

But despite her prolific talent, many people don't see past the short dresses that she chooses to wear to perform. So what is it that makes her tick? Did she deliberately construct a "brand" in order to stand out, and what advice could she give to us as performers? Let's find out...

SHOW LINKS

Yuja Wang bio
Yuja Wang Dresses Up Chopin (Red Bull Media House)
Yuja Wang - Variations on the Turkish March (Odeonsplatz)
Yuja Wang plays the Flight of the Bumble-Bee (Vol du Bourdon)
"More than just a red dress". The OCR article
The Art of Performance: The New Yorker
Seth Godin on classical performers
Yuja Wang performs in her underwear
Juilliard School NYC
Lola Astanova

READ

The Icarus Deception by Seth Godin
The Dip by Seth Godin
Linchpin by Seth Godin
Life's a Pitch by Stephen Bailey

"Life is a grand adventure, so keep writing and reading".

His films have grossed over $9Bn, he has won two Academy Awards and is regularly referred to as "the nicest man in Hollywood". In this exciting episode of the Ten Words podcast I look beyond Tom's filmography and focus on how he approaches the creative process of reading, writing and film making.

What I discovered were some amazing pieces of advice that I think we can all apply into our personal and professional lives, regardless of how creative we feel we are. This was a LOT of fun to record. I hope you enjoy it.

SHOW NOTES

California Typewriter: The Movie
Tom Hanks Bio
Tom's Box Office Figures
I. AM. TOM. (New York times article on Typewriters)
The Typewriter Manifesto
Tom Hank's 10 Rules for Success (Evan Carmichael)
How to Analyse a Speech

"Connection is what gives purpose and meaning to our lives".

Brené Brown is a Texan researcher storyteller, and she is one of the most reluctant public speakers you will come across. Ironic considering that she's now a global phenomenon around the topic of vulnerability, the author of several New York Times best selling books and the star of one of the most watched TED talks of all time.

In this episode I look behind the scenes at what made her talk such a huge success, and I get completely caught up with the work which she feels compelled to share with the world. It's a heavy topic and a tricky one to navigate in such a short talk, but Brené manages to make the audience laugh 22 times in just 19 minutes! When they say that the best way to make an audience remember is to make them laugh, it is no wonder this became one of the most watched TED talks of all time.

Whether you are interested in "The Power of Vulnerability", want to become a better public speaker yourself, or maybe (like me) you just adore Brené Brown, there is something in this episode for everyone.

Enjoy.

SHOW LINKS

"The Power of Vulnerability" TED talk
Brené's 99U keynote
IBM Watson Personality Insights API Link for you to play with
IBM Watson Tone Analyzer
Brené's website
Marie Forleo + Brené Brown
Follow Brené on Linkedin
Follow Brené on Twitter

MY NOTES

IBM WATSON ANALYSIS OF BRENE'S TED TALK

**FOR MORE INSPIRATION**

BRENÉ'S TED TALK (FULL TRANSCRIPT)

So, I'll start with this: a couple years ago, an event planner called me because I was going to do a speaking event. And she called, and she said, "I'm really struggling with how to write about you on the little flyer." And I thought, "Well, what's the struggle?" And she said, "Well, I saw you speak, and I'm going to call you a researcher, I think, but I'm afraid if I call you a researcher, no one will come, because they'll think you're boring and irrelevant."

And I was like, "Okay." And she said, "But the thing I liked about your talk is you're a storyteller. So I think what I'll do is just call you a storyteller." And of course, the academic, insecure part of me was like, "You're going to call me a what?" And she said, "I'm going to call you a storyteller." And I was like, "Why not 'magic pixie'?"

I was like, "Let me think about this for a second." I tried to call deep on my courage. And I thought, you know, I am a storyteller. I'm a qualitative researcher. I collect stories; that's what I do. And maybe stories are just data with a soul. And maybe I'm just a storyteller. And so I said, "You know what? Why don't you just say I'm a researcher-storyteller." And she went, "Ha ha. There's no such thing."

So I'm a researcher-storyteller, and I'm going to talk to you today -- we're talking about expanding perception -- and so I want to talk to you and tell some stories about a piece of my research that fundamentally expanded my perception and really actually changed the way that I live and love and work and parent.

And this is where my story starts. When I was a young researcher, doctoral student, my first year, I had a research professor who said to us, "Here's the thing, if you cannot measure it, it does not exist." And I thought he was just sweet-talking me. I was like, "Really?" and he was like, "Absolutely." And so you have to understand that I have a bachelor's and a master's in social work, and I was getting my Ph.D. in social work, so my entire academic career was surrounded by people who kind of believed in the "life's messy, love it." And I'm more of the, "life's messy, clean it up, organize it and put it into a bento box."

And so to think that I had found my way, to found a career that takes me -- really, one of the big sayings in social work is, "Lean into the discomfort of the work." And I'm like, knock discomfort upside the head and move it over and get all A's. That was my mantra. So I was very excited about this. And so I thought, you know what, this is the career for me, because I am interested in some messy topics. But I want to be able to make them not messy. I want to understand them. I want to hack into these things that I know are important and lay the code out for everyone to see.

So where I started was with connection. Because, by the time you're a social worker for 10 years, what you realize is that connection is why we're here. It's what gives purpose and meaning to our lives. This is what it's all about. It doesn't matter whether you talk to people who work in social justice, mental health and abuse and neglect, what we know is that connection, the ability to feel connected, is -- neurobiologically that's how we're wired -- it's why we're here.

So I thought, you know what, I'm going to start with connection. Well, you know that situation where you get an evaluation from your boss, and she tells you 37 things that you do really awesome, and one "opportunity for growth?"

And all you can think about is that opportunity for growth, right? Well, apparently this is the way my work went as well, because, when you ask people about love, they tell you about heartbreak. When you ask people about belonging, they'll tell you their most excruciating experiences of being excluded. And when you ask people about connection, the stories they told me were about disconnection.

So very quickly -- really about six weeks into this research -- I ran into this unnamed thing that absolutely unraveled connection in a way that I didn't understand or had never seen. And so I pulled back out of the research and thought, I need to figure out what this is. And it turned out to be shame. And shame is really easily understood as the fear of disconnection: Is there something about me that, if other people know it or see it, that I won't be worthy of connection?

The things I can tell you about it: It's universal; we all have it. The only people who don't experience shame have no capacity for human empathy or connection. No one wants to talk about it, and the less you talk about it, the more you have it. What underpinned this shame, this "I'm not good enough," -- which, we all know that feeling: "I'm not blank enough. I'm not thin enough, rich enough, beautiful enough, smart enough, promoted enough." The thing that underpinned this was excruciating vulnerability. This idea of, in order for connection to happen, we have to allow ourselves to be seen, really seen.

And you know how I feel about vulnerability. I hate vulnerability. And so I thought, this is my chance to beat it back with my measuring stick. I'm going in, I'm going to figure this stuff out, I'm going to spend a year, I'm going to totally deconstruct shame, I'm going to understand how vulnerability works, and I'm going to outsmart it. So I was ready, and I was really excited. As you know, it's not going to turn out well.

You know this. So, I could tell you a lot about shame, but I'd have to borrow everyone else's time. But here's what I can tell you that it boils down to -- and this may be one of the most important things that I've ever learned in the decade of doing this research.

My one year turned into six years: Thousands of stories, hundreds of long interviews, focus groups. At one point, people were sending me journal pages and sending me their stories -- thousands of pieces of data in six years. And I kind of got a handle on it. I kind of understood, this is what shame is, this is how it works. I wrote a book, I published a theory, but something was not okay -- and what it was is that, if I roughly took the people I interviewed and divided them into people who really have a sense of worthiness -- that's what this comes down to, a sense of worthiness -- they have a strong sense of love and belonging -- and folks who struggle for it, and folks who are always wondering if they're good enough.

There was only one variable that separated the people who have a strong sense of love and belonging and the people who really struggle for it. And that was, the people who have a strong sense of love and belonging believe they're worthy of love and belonging. That's it. They believe they're worthy. And to me, the hard part of the one thing that keeps us out of connection is our fear that we're not worthy of connection, was something that, personally and professionally, I felt like I needed to understand better. So what I did is I took all of the interviews where I saw worthiness, where I saw people living that way, and just looked at those.

What do these people have in common? I have a slight office supply addiction, but that's another talk. So I had a manila folder, and I had a Sharpie, and I was like, what am I going to call this research? And the first words that came to my mind were "whole-hearted." These are whole-hearted people, living from this deep sense of worthiness. So I wrote at the top of the manila folder, and I started looking at the data. In fact, I did it first in a four-day, very intensive data analysis, where I went back, pulled the interviews, the stories, pulled the incidents. What's the theme? What's the pattern? My husband left town with the kids because I always go into this Jackson Pollock crazy thing, where I'm just writing and in my researcher mode.

And so here's what I found. What they had in common was a sense of courage. And I want to separate courage and bravery for you for a minute. Courage, the original definition of courage, when it first came into the English language -- it's from the Latin word "cor," meaning "heart" -- and the original definition was to tell the story of who you are with your whole heart. And so these folks had, very simply, the courage to be imperfect. They had the compassion to be kind to themselves first and then to others, because, as it turns out, we can't practice compassion with other people if we can't treat ourselves kindly. And the last was they had connection, and -- this was the hard part -- as a result of authenticity, they were willing to let go of who they thought they should be in order to be who they were, which you have to absolutely do that for connection.

The other thing that they had in common was this: They fully embraced vulnerability. They believed that what made them vulnerable made them beautiful. They didn't talk about vulnerability being comfortable, nor did they really talk about it being excruciating -- as I had heard it earlier in the shame interviewing. They just talked about it being necessary. They talked about the willingness to say, "I love you" first ... the willingness to do something where there are no guarantees ... the willingness to breathe through waiting for the doctor to call after your mammogram. They're willing to invest in a relationship that may or may not work out. They thought this was fundamental.

I personally thought it was betrayal. I could not believe I had pledged allegiance to research, where our job -- you know, the definition of research is to control and predict, to study phenomena for the explicit reason to control and predict. And now my mission to control and predict had turned up the answer that the way to live is with vulnerability and to stop controlling and predicting. This led to a little breakdown --

-- which actually looked more like this.

And it did.

I call it a breakdown; my therapist calls it a spiritual awakening.

A spiritual awakening sounds better than breakdown, but I assure you, it was a breakdown. And I had to put my data away and go find a therapist. Let me tell you something: you know who you are when you call your friends and say, "I think I need to see somebody. Do you have any recommendations?" Because about five of my friends were like, "Wooo, I wouldn't want to be your therapist."

I was like, "What does that mean?" And they're like, "I'm just saying, you know. Don't bring your measuring stick."

I was like, "Okay." So I found a therapist. My first meeting with her, Diana -- I brought in my list of the way the whole-hearted live, and I sat down. And she said, "How are you?" And I said, "I'm great. I'm okay." She said, "What's going on?" And this is a therapist who sees therapists, because we have to go to those, because their B.S. meters are good.

And so I said, "Here's the thing, I'm struggling." And she said, "What's the struggle?" And I said, "Well, I have a vulnerability issue. And I know that vulnerability is the core of shame and fear and our struggle for worthiness, but it appears that it's also the birthplace of joy, of creativity, of belonging, of love. And I think I have a problem, and I need some help." And I said, "But here's the thing: no family stuff, no childhood shit."

"I just need some strategies."

Thank you. So she goes like this.

And then I said, "It's bad, right?" And she said, "It's neither good nor bad."

"It just is what it is." And I said, "Oh my God, this is going to suck."

And it did, and it didn't. And it took about a year. And you know how there are people that, when they realize that vulnerability and tenderness are important, that they surrender and walk into it. A: that's not me, and B: I don't even hang out with people like that.

For me, it was a yearlong street fight. It was a slugfest. Vulnerability pushed, I pushed back. I lost the fight, but probably won my life back.

And so then I went back into the research and spent the next couple of years really trying to understand what they, the whole-hearted, what choices they were making, and what we are doing with vulnerability. Why do we struggle with it so much? Am I alone in struggling with vulnerability? No.

So this is what I learned. We numb vulnerability -- when we're waiting for the call. It was funny, I sent something out on Twitter and on Facebook that says, "How would you define vulnerability? What makes you feel vulnerable?" And within an hour and a half, I had 150 responses. Because I wanted to know what's out there. Having to ask my husband for help because I'm sick, and we're newly married; initiating sex with my husband; initiating sex with my wife; being turned down; asking someone out; waiting for the doctor to call back; getting laid off; laying off people. This is the world we live in. We live in a vulnerable world. And one of the ways we deal with it is we numb vulnerability.

And I think there's evidence -- and it's not the only reason this evidence exists, but I think it's a huge cause -- We are the most in-debt ... obese ... addicted and medicated adult cohort in U.S. history. The problem is -- and I learned this from the research -- that you cannot selectively numb emotion. You can't say, here's the bad stuff. Here's vulnerability, here's grief, here's shame, here's fear, here's disappointment. I don't want to feel these. I'm going to have a couple of beers and a banana nut muffin.

I don't want to feel these. And I know that's knowing laughter. I hack into your lives for a living. God.

You can't numb those hard feelings without numbing the other affects, our emotions. You cannot selectively numb. So when we numb those, we numb joy, we numb gratitude, we numb happiness. And then, we are miserable, and we are looking for purpose and meaning, and then we feel vulnerable, so then we have a couple of beers and a banana nut muffin. And it becomes this dangerous cycle.

One of the things that I think we need to think about is why and how we numb. And it doesn't just have to be addiction. The other thing we do is we make everything that's uncertain certain. Religion has gone from a belief in faith and mystery to certainty. "I'm right, you're wrong. Shut up." That's it. Just certain. The more afraid we are, the more vulnerable we are, the more afraid we are. This is what politics looks like today. There's no discourse anymore. There's no conversation. There's just blame. You know how blame is described in the research? A way to discharge pain and discomfort. We perfect. If there's anyone who wants their life to look like this, it would be me, but it doesn't work. Because what we do is we take fat from our butts and put it in our cheeks.

Which just, I hope in 100 years, people will look back and go, "Wow."

And we perfect, most dangerously, our children. Let me tell you what we think about children. They're hardwired for struggle when they get here. And when you hold those perfect little babies in your hand, our job is not to say, "Look at her, she's perfect. My job is just to keep her perfect -- make sure she makes the tennis team by fifth grade and Yale by seventh." That's not our job. Our job is to look and say, "You know what? You're imperfect, and you're wired for struggle, but you are worthy of love and belonging." That's our job. Show me a generation of kids raised like that, and we'll end the problems, I think, that we see today. We pretend that what we do doesn't have an effect on people. We do that in our personal lives. We do that corporate -- whether it's a bailout, an oil spill ... a recall. We pretend like what we're doing doesn't have a huge impact on other people. I would say to companies, this is not our first rodeo, people. We just need you to be authentic and real and say ... "We're sorry. We'll fix it."

But there's another way, and I'll leave you with this. This is what I have found: To let ourselves be seen, deeply seen, vulnerably seen ... to love with our whole hearts, even though there's no guarantee -- and that's really hard, and I can tell you as a parent, that's excruciatingly difficult -- to practice gratitude and joy in those moments of terror, when we're wondering, "Can I love you this much? Can I believe in this this passionately? Can I be this fierce about this?" just to be able to stop and, instead of catastrophizing what might happen, to say, "I'm just so grateful, because to feel this vulnerable means I'm alive." And the last, which I think is probably the most important, is to believe that we're enough. Because when we work from a place, I believe, that says, "I'm enough" ... then we stop screaming and start listening, we're kinder and gentler to the people around us, and we're kinder and gentler to ourselves.

That's all I have. Thank you.

"There's no such thing as bad weather just bad clothing".

This is not just the story of how I fell in love with a 'brand' in 3 minutes, but a tale of passion, purpose, love, loss, tragedy and adventure. In this special episode I dig deep into the archives to discover the real story behind Thomas Burberry in an effort to try and understand what made him tick.

What I discovered was not what I expected. A far cry from the $5Bn luxury fashion house you see today, Burberry not only had very humble beginnings, but it was built upon an invention that was discovered by accident in a farmers field. That innovation made it possible for explorers, pioneers and adventurers to go further and higher than anyone else had ever gone.

If you are interested in fashion, the process of innovation, branding, entrepreneurship or just good old fashioned storytelling, this episode might be just what you've been looking for.

LINKS

Tale of Thomas Burberry
Thomas Burberry (Wikipedia)
Britt Warner
Burberry (Interbrand)
Burberry (Strategy + Annual Report)
Fireside chat with Tale of Thomas Burberry director Asif Kapadia
Gaping Void

TIMELINE

1835 Born Thomas Burberry was born in 1835 in Brockham Green, Surrey.
1856 (Age 21) The Burberry fashion house was founded in 1856 in Basingstoke in Hampshire, UK, by Thomas Burberry, who was at the time an apprentice draper. As a specialist in outdoor sportswear, the designer quickly established a wealthy clientele who devoted themselves to hunting and fishing. Burberry was founded on the principle that clothing should be designed to protect people from the British weather.
1861 the census reveals that he was employing in his shop 7 men, 3 boys and 7 females.
Burberry began to researching and experimenting with materials to produce fabrics which were weatherproof and suitable for clothing customers who enjoyed the country pursuits of fishing, hunting and riding.
The company developed rapidly and in 1870, Thomas Burberry is described as a "draper and manufacturer employing 80 hands".
1879 almost Ten years later the designer invented gabardine, after a fruitless search for an alternative to rubber (Aquascutum), which was the only waterproof material known at the time. his innovative research and design resulted in a breathable, weatherproof and tear-proof fabric called Gabardine. The material was light and ventilated, but protected the wearer from the extremes of the weather. The material's success as a lighter and more comfortable alternative to rubber, allowed the Burberrys line (the “s” had not yet been dropped at the time)
Thomas Burberry invents gabardine – the breathable, weatherproof and hardwearing fabric revolutionising rainwear – which up until then had typically been heavy and uncomfortable to wear.
Thomas Burberry soon lobbied well-known British generals to adorn his gabardine. the Minister of Defense put Thomas Burberry in charge of creating new uniforms for the officers of the British Army. Thomas Burberry then invented the Tielocken, a water resistant coat in gabardine that is considered the ancestor of today’s trench coat.
1881 His business expanded further and clearly he was making money. He moved to a house in Basingstoke which had 160 acres, staffed with a number of servants, and a governess to look after his six children (1881 census).
1888 Gabardine patented (9 years later - SLOW - Why? Purpose? Commercial intent?)
1891 The company expanded with a shop opening in Haymarket, London, in 1891, and in Reading, Manchester, Liverpool, and Winchester. Burberry's products were also sold through thousands of agencies. Exports abroad began with wholesale branches being opened in Paris, New York and Buenos Aires.
1893 Norwegian polar explorer, zoologist and recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize, Dr Fridtjof Nansen is the first recorded polar explorer to take Burberry gabardine to the poles when he sets sail bound for the Arctic Circle.
1901 "LOGO" The Equestrian Knight logo appears for the first time accompanied by the Latin word 'Prorsum' meaning 'forwards'. The company runs a public competition to design a new logo for the brand. The winning entry is inspired by 13th and 14th-century armour on display at The Wallace Collection in London – and the Equestrian Knight Device is born
1908 Air Commodore Edward Maitland wears Burberry gabardine to travel from Crystal Palace to Russia in a hot air balloon. Covering a distance of 1,117 miles in 31 ½ hours, he sets the world’s long-distance overseas record and the British long-distance in-flight record.
1910 Celebrated aviator Claude Grahame-White wears Burberry gabardine. He is the first person to fly between London and Manchester in less than 24 hours.
1911 Norwegian Explorer Roald Amundsen and his team became the first people to reach the South Pole with a Burberry gabardine tent and clothing.
1912 British Explorer Captain Robert Falcon Scott reaches the South Pole wearing Burberry clothing and equipped with a Burberry tent. Tragically he and his team died on the return journey.
1912 The Tielocken coat, designed by Thomas Burberry, is patented. Considered the predecessor to the trench coat, the Tielocken closes with a single strap and buckle fastening and only features a button at the collar.
1914 Acclaimed British Explorer Sir Ernest Shackleton wears Burberry gabardine for three expeditions in the early 20th century, including the ill-fated Endurance expedition.
1914 The Burberry trench coat is refined during the First World War. The functional design includes epaulettes used to suspend military equipment such as gloves and whistles, D-rings used to carry grenades, the gun flap to provide additional protection when in action and the storm shield to allow water to run off it smoothly.
1917: Thomas Burberry retired from the company in 1917 (BEFORE END OF WWI)
1919 HM King George V officially appointed Burberry a Royal Warrant as Tailors.
1920 - Burberry’s Limited goes public - raising £2M share capital
1920 Nova check The Burberry check, now registered as a trademark, is introduced as a lining to our rainwear.
1934 - same day delivery to anyone living in London in own vehicle
1937 Burberry sponsors a record-breaking flight from Croydon to Cape Town in an aeroplane called 'The Burberry’. Both aviators, Flying Officer Arthur Clouston and Betty Kirby-Green, wear Burberry.
1940s During the Second World War, Burberry supplied the British Army with a range of military apparel and accessories, including the trench coat. Burberry also catered for various other divisions of the British Armed Forces, including the Royal Air Force (RAF), the Royal Navy, the Royal Pioneer Corps, the Officer Cadet Training Unit (OCTU), and the Auxiliary Territorial Service (ATS) - including the women’s division.
Despite the austere conditions posed by war, Burberry continued to make civilian clothing during the 1940's including weatherproofs, overcoats and suits for both men and women. The brand adapted the product category to war time to include women’s siren suits, which were designed to be worn in an air-raid.
By 1965 One in five coats exported from Britain is a Burberry product.

"Happiness and confidence are the prettiest things you can wear".

After a short break Ten Words returns with an epic 80 minute episode on one of the world's most influential women (TIME) and a singer who many (including Rolling Stone Magazine) also call, one of the greatest song writers of all time.

In this episode we look at the attitude that made her famous, why her fans love her SO much, how she writes her songs and why she is the queen of the one-note melody. There is also a bonus section at the end where I deliver a short marketing lesson!

SHOW NOTES

Why does Taylor write so many one note melodies?
Taylor Swift biography
The Greatest Living Songwriter?
Joe Sabia - The guy behind 73 questions
Delicate by Taylor Swift (hat tip to Fat Boy Slim & Christopher Walken)

VOGUE'S 73 QUESTIONS

What’s your favorite movie?
Favorite movie in the past five years?
Favorite Hitchcock film?
A book you plan on reading?
A book that you read in school that positively shaped you?
Favorite TV show that’s currently on?
On a scale of one to ten how excited are you about life right now?
iPhone or Android?
Twitter or Instagram?
Who should EVERYONE be following right now?
What’s your favorite food?
Least favorite food?
What do you love on your pizza?
Favorite drink?
Favorite dessert?
Dark chocolate or milk chocolate?
Coffee or tea?
What’s the hardest part about being a mum?
What’s your favorite band?
Favorite solo artist?
Favorite song?
If you could sing a duet with anyone, who would it be?
If you could master one instrument, what would it be?
If you had a tattoo, where would it be?
To be or not to be?
Dogs or cats?
Bird-watching or whale-watching?
Best gift you’ve ever received?
Best gift you’ve ever given?
Last gift you gave a friend?
What’s your favorite board game?
What’s your favorite country to visit?
What’s the last country you visited?
What country do you wish to visit?
What’s your favorite color?
Least favorite color?
Diamonds or pearls?
Heels or flats?
Pilates or yoga?
Jogging or swimming?
Best way to de-stress?
If you had one superpower, what would it be?
What’s the weirdest word in the English language?
What’s your favorite flower?
When was the last time you cried?
Do you like your handwriting?
Do you bake?
What is your least favorite thing about yourself?
What is your most favorite thing about yourself?
Who do you miss most?
What are you listening to right now?
Favorite smell?
Who was the last person you talked to on the phone?
Who was the last person you sent a text to?
A sport you wish you could play?
Hair color?
Eye color?
Scary film or happy endings?
Favorite season?
Three people alive or dead that you would like to have dinner with?
Hugs or kisses?
Rolling Stones or the Beatles?
Where were you born?
What is the farthest you have been from home?
Sweet or savory?
Lipstick or lip gloss?
What book have you read again and again?
Favorite bedtime story?
What would be the title of your autobiography?
Favorite sound?
Favorite animal?
Who is your girl crush?
Last photograph you took?

"I destroy my enemies when I make them my friends".

Containing just 272 words, the Gettysburg Address packs more greatness into two minutes than any other speech ever given. (Including MLK’s I have a dream speech IMHO). What was it that made this ten sentence speech so powerful? What exactly did America’s 16th President Abraham Lincoln say on 19th November 1863 and why did he say it?

In this episode I look behind the scenes at this iconic speech, and search for inspiration that can help us all tell our own stories better. And what better place to do that than the Gettysburg Address, a speech famous for containing big ideas in small words and short sentences.

THE GETTYSBURG ADDRESS

Video (featuring Bill Clinton, Bill Gates, Barack Obama, Steven Spielberg and Taylor Swift)
Transcripts of the Gettysburg Address

LINKS

Learn the Address (2013 Campaign celebrating the 150th anniversary of the address)
Analysis of the Gettysburg Address (context)
Analysis of the Gettysburg Address (rhetoric)
Emancipation Proclamation background
Aristotle's Poetics
Barack Obama reading the Gettysburg Address (read the comments)
10 Facts about Abraham Lincoln and the Gettysburg Address
The Greatest 250 Word Speech Ever Written
The Gettysburg Address (Speech analysis)
Lincoln by Steven Spielberg (Trailer)

THE ONLY PHOTOGRAPH OF THE GETTYSBURG ADDRESS

MY TEN WORDS PREP NOTES

"Violence is one of the most fun things to watch".

He is obsessed with cinema and loves plundering the history of film like some kind of pirate director. He's a big believer that good artists copy but great artists steal and thinks that the comic book violence in his films has no real connection to reality. It's not like he hasn’t thought that through either. He has an IQ of 160! Sharper than a Hanzo sword and more satisfying than a Big Kahuna Burger… it’s Quentin Jerome Tarantino.

"Only mediocrity is safe from ridicule. Dare to be different".

She's "The Queen of Burlesque", an American vedette, burlesque dancer, model, costume designer, entrepreneur, singer and actress. She's a 'glamour evangelist' and repopularized burlesque performance after creating a persona modeled on Rita Hayworth, Marilyn Monroe and Betty Page. She has no problem with being "objectified" and challenges the misconception that "it's what's on the inside that counts". With Dita, it's very much what's on the outside that counts.

It's a perspective I really struggled to understand until I looked deeper into her ten words. This show is as much a personal journey into my understanding of what makes her tick, as much as it is a show about a truly remarkable, unique and complex woman.

Is packaging everything? Is she real? Fake? Or does the self-created persona she loves so deeply really have a deeper purpose?

Let's find out...

"I've learned that I still have a lot to learn".

Maya Angelou was a civil rights activist, writer, poet, performer and responsible for some of the most famous quotes you've ever heard. In this episode I dig into her past to try and discover what made her such a prolific writer and despite her traumatic childhood, how did she manage to inspire so many people? This episode has laughs, love, literature, prose and power. I hope you enjoy listening to it anywhere near as much as I enjoyed recording it.

SHOW NOTES

Still I Rise
How Maya Angelou writes
More on Maya's writing process
I know why the caged bird sings
How to write a poem
Maya's advice for Writers
Maya Angelou on "The Art of Fiction"

There are SO many great clips of Maya speaking, performing and giving advice on YouTube that I engourage you to find a quiet corner with your notebook and a nice pen (and maybe a bourbon infused coffee?!) and search them for yourself. I would start with any conversations she's had with Oprah.

This was such a wonderful episode to enjoy. Thank you for listening. x

"Good".

He's an ex-NAVY S.E.A.L. and one of the scariest people you're likely to come across. His mindset and his attitude towards getting things done has now been turned to the business world and he's shaking things up as much inside companies, as he did on the battlefield.

He's Jocko Willink and he doesn't need ten words. He only needs one. So in this special episode, I curate three of my favourite Jocko stories and explain why he has such a huge impact on my life, and could do on yours as well.

Hooyah!

SHOW NOTES

"Good" by Jocko Willink
Jocko's Podcast [LISTEN]
Jocko's YouTube Channel [INSTANT Motivation]
Jocko's TED Talk "Extreme Ownership"
Follow @JockWillink on Twitter
Jocko Willink's legendary podcast with Tim Ferris
8 Lessons from Navy SEALS (Linkedin)
"Discipline = Freedom" Post by Tim Ferris
Tools of Titans [BOOK] Full of people like Jocko and curated by Tim Ferris
Way of the SEAL by Mark Divine

Tools Of Titans: The Tactics, Routines, and Habits of Billionaires, Icons, and World-Class Performers

The Way of the SEAL: Think Like an Elite Warrior to Lead and Succeed

"Growth. Love. Happiness. Fun. Belief. Enjoy your life (it's short)".

She’s a worldwide sensation – and it's not without good reason. Her music is bouncy and uplifting, her looks are stunning, she is worth over $350M but the most intoxicating aspect about Queen Bey is her empowering stance on life. She wasn't handed her position as one of the most powerful women in the world, she worked REALLY HARD for it, and along the way she's modeled a few lessons we should all learn.

LINKS

Beyonce's wikipedia
Lessons we can learn from Beyonce
15 Success Secrets from Beyonce
Beyonce's Career Advice
What motivates Beyonce?
Beyonce + Harvard Business School
The Business of Being Beyonce (Harvard)
How to Unleash Your Inner Beyonce
Beyonce's 2013 Super Bowl Half-Time Show
What Inspires Beyonce?
Beyonce Facts
You Don't Have The Same Hours in the Day as Beyonce
Beyonce Interview on Sixty Minutes
IBM's 1995 Ten Word Annual Report
Management in Ten Words by Sir Terry Leahy

Management in Ten Words: Practical Advice from the Man Who Created One of the World's Largest Retailers

"The road less traveled is less traveled for a reason".

In this episode we dive into the mind of a comedy legend in order to see what makes him tick and discover his secrets to successful storytelling. We also hear some surprising insights into his about work-life balance.

He's a writer, comedian, actor, director and producer who is worth over $670M. He made a show about nothing (which still brings him over $60M each year) making him the most successful comedian the world has ever seen. He's Jerry Seinfeld and you're going to love what he has to tell you.

Jerry's comedy sets are 70-75 minutes, so I thought it only fair that we devoted a similar amount of time to Ten Words!

LINKS

Jerry's website
Follow Jerry on Twitter
Comedians in Cars on Netflix
Interesting facts about Jerry from Rolling Stone
The commercial success of Seinfeld
Jerry's interview with Bob Roth about Transcendental Meditation
Talking Funny with Chris Rock, Ricky Gervais and Louis CK
Dissecting Jerry's PopTart joke
Seinfeld's theme played by Anna Sentina

SHOW NOTES

This week I tried a different format and placed all my audio clips as post-it notes (instead of my usual Duarte notebook method) - matched to the mixing desk in BossJock Studio. I thought it worked out pretty well. Let me know what you think.

"The stories that we love will live in us forever".

In this raw and 'unpolished' episode of the Ten Words Podcast I go on a personal and professional journey with J.K. Rowling to uncover what drove her success, how she coped through the darker days and what inspired her to be a writer. I talk about her commercial success and the demons she's struggled with along the way and look at why she chose to mention the word "failure" thirteen times during her epic Harvard University Commencement speech in 2008.

J.K. Rowling is an incredibly impressive woman who held on to her vision as she turned down by the first twelve publishers who she approached with the Harry Potter manuscripts. And when her book was finally accepted, she was told not to give up her day job and write under the name of J.K. (instead of Joanne) because "boys won't read wizard books that are written by a woman"! But as with all magical fairytales, this one turned out beautifully and has a gorgeous ending that can inspire us all.

This show is also slightly more emotional than usual, given that J.K. Rowling inspired me to write shortly after I became bankrupt and lost my house, car, savings and marriage, and also dealt with failure and depression. I hope the sentiment of this show is OK and my personal feelings don't get in the way of you being inspired by J.K. Rowling yourself. We all have huge challenges and wonderful opportunities which we may or may not choose to chase and embrace.

"You can change the world just by sharing your story".

It is my wish that this podcast, in some small and tiny way, helps people to tell their story a little bit better, by listening to other people tell theirs.

SHOW LINKS

Transcript for J.K. Rowling's 2008 Harvard Commencement speech
J.K. Rowling Harvard Commencement 2008
Speech analysis tool powered by IBM Watson
J.K. Rowling tweeting writing advice
Evan Carmichael's 10 Rules of Success for J.K. Rowling
J.K. Rowling HATES My Video
J.K. Rowling & Oprah
"Harry Potter & Me" J.K. Rowling BBC Interview
Mind UK The Mental Health Charity for anyone struggling with depression or wanting to help someone else who is.

MY SHOW NOTES

"A good human plus a machine is the best combination".

Garry Kasparov is a former World Chess Champion, writer, and political activist. He is widely regarded as the greatest chess player of all time, but it was his famous matches against the IBM super-computer Deep Blue in 1996-97 where he wrote his name into history and brought conversations around artificial intelligence, and chess, into the mainstream. Garry is a 'beautiful mind' who believes that we should make decisions with our hearts and that normal people, using good tools, can achieve remarkable things.

"If you don't take risks you don't drink champagne".

In this episode we look deeper into Garry's 'ten words' by analysing one of his greatest presentations ~ his TED Talk from April 2017. By looking at the way that he structures his talk, we can begin to understand what makes him so unique, not just as a chess player, but as a storyteller. Doing something I've not done before, I hope you enjoy this "live" behind the scenes look at his presentation, as we look together at what makes a great story. I hope you enjoy his deep-dive into Garry's mind (from my point of view) as much as I enjoyed putting this episode together.

"We ask too much of technology and not enough of ourselves".

*See BONUS CONTENT for a special analysis of Kasparov's keynote from professional speaking coach Martin Brooks @Impacttologist ***

MY SHOW NOTES

**SHOW LINKS**

Garry Kasparov's TED Talk (Transcript in 23 languages)
Garry's Masterclass
Garry's "official" bio
Alpha Go 'Official Trailer' featuring Google' Deep Mind
The (Best) Jobs of the [near] future will be AI Trainers (Bloomberg)
AI-Spy from The Economist
"Your strategy needs a strategy" by Jeremy Waite (Linkedin)
IBM Watson 'Personality Insights". FREE DEMO (Try on YOUR keynote or next presentation script)
Current Chess World Champion Magnus Carlsen
Magus Trailer (Well worth watching)
Human + Machine (Great article in WSJ)
How Life Imitates Chess 'Making the right moves from the board to the boardroom' by Garry Kasparov (GREAT book)
Garry Kasparov's Wikipedia page
"Into the night". Fabulous FREE documentary as a 'day in the life' with Garry and Peter Thiel
Business Insider Interview with Garry talking about "Man and Machine"
FT Retrospective on when Garry met Deep Blue
'5 Epic Fights Between Man and AI'. Great piece from New Scientist
Follow Garry on Twitter

GARRY KASPAROV'S TED TALK

As analysed by IBM Watson

  Note: The most successful companies are the ones who invest more in people than technology. "Organic intelligence" over "Artificial Intelligence". According to analyse firm Gartner:

Through 2019, every $1 enterprises invest in innovation will require an additional $7 in core execution – Gartner predicts that by 2018, IT service providers’ modernization engagements to support digital innovation deployments will increase by at least 30% over 2016 spending levels.

"It's failure that gives you the proper perspective on success".

She's one of the most respected people on television and one of the world's most successful comedians but it wasn't always like that. Six years after having the title role in one of America's most successful sitcoms, her show was dramatically axed when she "came out" on her show.

Ellen's "failure" combined with her unique philosophy, transformed her into one of the most inspirational people you could ever wish to meet. She’s worth almost $400M but is on a personal crusade to give most of it away, and encourage others to do the same. She's one of those people who make the world a much better place just by being in it. I hope you enjoy my take on Ellen's comedy, her storytelling philosophy, her attitude and her deep love for her audience. Also watch out for a look at the best Oscar’s acceptance speech of all-time towards the end of the show.

LINKS

Ellen's gorgeous animal rights ad for Amex shot by Annie Leibovitz
Ellen's Bio
The Ellen Show on YouTube
Kindness Montage
Kindness Clip
Ellen's Commencement Speech at Tulane University
Ellen on Twitter
Analyse how introverted you are with IBM Watson
Playlist of Ellen's acts of Kindness
Charles Head's "Marketing News Tonight" show on YouTube.
"My career is one long conversation with my audience"

MY SHOW NOTES

BOSSJOCK STUDIO DASHBOARD

#BeKindToOneAnother

Apologies for the gratuitous overuse of the word “incredible”

"To achieve good results, work all night and eat soup".

Cedric Villani is the Field's Medal winning maths professor from Paris who changed the world by discovering a new theorem (by accident). He has since dedicated his life to communicating the beauty of mathematics and insists that "to achieve good results, work all night and eat soup".

He is a beautiful person, with a beautiful mind, which I do my best to explore in this episode as I seek to discover the truth behind those ten words. Join me on this voyage of discovery as we seek to understand why math(s) really is "sexy".

This bourbon fueled episode was "slightly longer" than expected because of the various stories I share, here's some timings to help you dig in and out of the podcast depending upon how much time you have. I thought this would be a better solution rather than debating for hours which bits to cut out.

Thank you for listening!

TIMINGS

0:00 ~ Intro
4:23 ~ "To achieve good results work all night and eat soup"
8:48 ~ Why is maths sexy?
14:47 ~ Why do people HATE maths?
19:40 ~ The Idea of Creating Something Beautiful
37:30 ~ The Birth of a Theorem
40:00 ~ Maths, Mountains and Music
44:51 ~ How to find your own mountain to climb
54:20 ~ What makes you wake up in the morning?
55:43 ~ Why are Nobel laureates so good at presenting?
1:00:55 ~ When I failed at Hugo Boss by presenting bad math
1:02:34 ~ How should your office make you feel?
1:04:34 ~ The Gömböc
1:16:59 ~ Why are questions more valuable than the answers?
1:18:25 ~ Cedric's best advice "The Bottom Line"

Cedric Villani with a Gömböc

LINKS

"Birth of a Theorem" on Amazon
Gaping Void by Hugh Macleod
"How to be Creative" FREE eBook by Hugh Macleod
"What's so sexy about math?" TED Talk
"The Beautiful Minds" TED Talk
Cedric Villani on Numberphile [Playlist]
Melanie Safka [Spotify]
The Gömböc [Wired Magazine]
The story of Cedric's spiders
The Gömböc Lecture [Oxford University]
Numberphile on YouTube

"Buy Less. Choose Well. Make it Last. Quality Not Quantity".

In this extended bank holiday edition we chat about the Dame of British Fashion, the lady responsible for founding the punk movement who believes that fashion really can change the world.

Conscious to not turn this episode into just 'another' biography about one of fashions most loved characters, I look behind the scenes at the ten word slogans which made Vivienne famous and built her brand. I share the finest advice I've ever received in business, talk about why her words are so important to me and more importantly, what they might mean for you. I also explain why Vivienne designs her clothes as "stories" and reveal her ideal reading list for any freedom fighters wanting to follow in her footsteps.

This one is a beefy 75 minutes but I didn't want to cut anything out - so I'll leave you to enjoy as much or as little as you like. It was a lot of fun to record. I hope you enjoy it!

Jeremy

Show Links:

Vivienne's Get a Life Website
Westwood Documentary Trailer (go see it!)
Vivienne's Manifesto [Play]
100 Days of Active Resistance [100 seconds]
Get a Life Keynote at Southbank Centre
Guardian Live "Buy Less Choose Well"
Vivenne at Cannes Lions
Vivienne's TED Talk [1] [2]
Zeitgeist Fireside Chat 2012
Bloomberg Interview

My Show Notes:

 **Show Images:**

"Fired Up? Ready to Go". x2

For the first official episode of the Ten Words podcast we are taking a closer look at the skinny kid with the big ears (who's not from Kenya) and managed to defy all the odds to become the 44th President of the United States.

Widely regarded as one of the greatest speakers of recent generations, this episode takes a deep dive into how he managed to inspire so many people with his words, and what inspired him to break down his manifesto down into bite-sized chunks and soundbites - without diluting their meaning. He spoke well, but many people thought he was all style without much substance. So we'll have a dig into that too. I also attempt to give a famous speech that I've never given before!

It's fun, it's fast, there's music, there's singing, and there's a ton of great quotes that may also inspire you to tell your own story a little bit better.

Each week I'll post the show notes, links and a photo of my notebook along with the Bossjock Studio screenshot, so you can see my working process (if you're interested).

Enjoy.

The notes I used for this episode, drawn in the same way that I write all my keynotes. More info on the process here if you're interested.

Linkedin post here on how this podcast got started and how I create each episode.

Episode Links

Art of the Speech by Phillip Collins
You Talking To Me? by Sam Leith
Edith's Obama Fired Up Story [VIDEO]
Chris Hughes on Obama's 2008 Campaign (Fast Company)
Dimmi "Promisses" on Spotify [SONG]
MC Yogi "Vote for Hope" [VIDEO]
"Yes We Can" with Will.I.Am [VIDEO]
Obama's Final Speech
Obama "Yes We Can" Speech
Shape of the Perfect Keynote [LINKED IN]

Ten Words - The book is available here

All profits from the book go to charity (the NHS in the UK) to pay for two incubators for premature babies in Chelsea Westminster Hospital where my twins Petra and Mathilda were born

You Talkin' to Me?: Rhetoric from Aristotle to Obama

Welcome to the Ten Words podcast. The weekly show full of BIG ideas, small words and short sentences. In this initial extended episode (1 hour!), I want to introduce you to the Ten Words podcast, and explain where it came from, why you should care (!) and what makes it so special and unique. This inaugural episode also features me experimenting with formats to see what works (and what doesn't), so please bear with me and let me know what you think!

In this slightly schizophrenic episode, we bounce around all over the place, covering some of the inspiration behind the podcast. It features content from Seth Godin, Steve Jobs, Zig Ziglar, Pixar, Carmine Gallo, Oprah, Barack Obama, Tom Ford, Robin Williams, Aaron Sorkin and the West Wing. Hopefully, it will not only entertain you with some wonderful words from some marvelous people, but maybe even inspire you to tell your own story a little better. Enjoy.