What If

[Music]

so

[Applause]

i was born by the river

in a little tent whoa

and just like the river i’ve been

running

ever since it’s been a

long

long time coming but i know

change gonna come whoa

yes it will

change gonna come ain’t that the truth

before words like coronavirus and social

distancing

had a place in our everyday vocabulary

this global pandemic was simply a what

if

what if two words that when paired

together perceive the stuff of dreams

and when those dreams manifest change

gonna come

what if we actually colonize the moon

what if we could connect with millions

all over the world simply by using a

device

small enough to fit in our pockets

what if we lived in a nation where we

were not judged by the color of our skin

but by the content of our character

what if a flulike virus infected over

180 countries

shutting down global economies forcing

millions to shelter in their homes

for weeks and weeks on end what

if it’s often the most awe-inspiring and

mystical what-ifs that can truly change

the world

in an ever-changing world with its

ever-evolving complexity ambiguity and

uncertainty

what if we had the ability to access an

infinite resource to fuel our growth

through change

what if we had an innate tap to that

same resource that has powered

the greatest cultural movements and

technological advancements of humankind

better still what if we were signaled

into the best opportunities

to use that power to harness that power

to accelerate our better

our betterment our evolution to best

what if i’m a chemical engineer before

founding my consulting firm i spent a

little under 15 years

working in more traditional roles in

corporate america the predominance of

that career was spent leading innovation

for consumer packaged goods giant

a giant whom i’m sure if i were to begin

rattling off from their billion dollar

brand portfolio

every single person watching would

recognize at least one they have in

their homes right now

it was a company i was so proud to help

grow through sharing my talents

gifts and abilities well one day having

worked for that company for about 12

years

i was approached by my manager and told

that there would be an urgent meeting

for the leadership team of which i was

part

so at the designated time a little less

than a dozen of us gathered into the

board room

and we’re all kind of looking at each

other trying to gauge who might already

have some info about what was about to

be shared

but nothing could have prepared us for

the moments that followed

soon after we’d all grabbed our seats

our manager slowly walked in and took

her position at the front of the board

room

and eventually announced that our

business was being acquired

upon hearing that news news that my role

and in turn me

were being acquired by a different

company the first thing that hit me was

grief

it was like somebody had punched me in

the gut expelling all the wind from my

lungs

i immediately felt this overwhelming

loss of a company

and a culture that i had grown to know

and love it was the only company i had

known since graduating university

the company where i’d established my

closest relationships

i’d envisioned this grand career

spanning decades and had even

extrapolated out my annual salary and

bonus projections

for many years to come based on assumed

advancements

i immediately grieved the loss of that

dream

and felt anxious perceiving what it

might mean for my future

and my livelihood perhaps you’ve

experienced something similar recently

a lost job reduced hours unsure of how

you provide for yourself or your family

what if the negative emotion that

accompanies major change

were there to serve not to be diminished

or suppressed but rather embraced

what if that negative emotional energy

energy like anxiety and grief

bubbled up from within to signal us into

our greatest opportunities to grow

social psychologists have learned that

emotional response to a given stimuli

is milliseconds faster than cognitive or

thinking response

just like that grief that punched me in

the gut sitting in that board room

this emotion is innate infinite and

highly efficient often bypassing

the rational brain center moving swiftly

through the amygdala

a more primitive part of the brain this

emotion is a prized inheritance of our

species

a gift a resource flowing in infinite

abundance from within

and i believe the reason is to signal us

into our greatest moments of opportunity

opportunity to choose how we will

maximize the moment

how we will leverage the power of

conscious choice to transform

that negative emotional energy and to

fuel

for lasting growth through any change

a signal an opportunity

a choice a proven natural law is the

first law of thermodynamics which is

founded on the principle of conservation

of energy and it states

energy can either be created or

destroyed it can only be conserved

transferred or transformed now for those

of you looking on at the slide concerned

you might have just stumbled into an

advanced engineering course

let me set your mind at ease i’m not

about to try to explain these highly

complex viscosity and surface friction

curves

i just realized as a degree carry an

engineer i couldn’t live with myself

if i didn’t share some type of data

during this talk

now for those of you still looking on

with worry let me further reassure you

this is my only data rich slide

now for those of you far smarter than i

yes these graphs

marginally at best support my point

but anyhow by this law energy can either

be created or

destroyed and the same must hold true

for emotion which in and of itself

is energy peter mcwilliam said it best e

motion is energy in

motion energy as defined in an

engineering context is the capability to

do

work and i’m sure you would agree that

emotion can certainly fuel action

or work you all are a beautiful audience

and this is by far one of the most

exciting moments of my life

but if a bear or a tiger were to come

barely through that door

fear would fuel action fear would fuel

my legs to move faster than they’ve ever

moved before

although anyone looking on from a

distance might still beg the question

why is she moving so slowly doesn’t

she know there’s like a bear chasing her

nonetheless fear would fuel action right

in fact it can be so effective that

there are leaders who lead

by fear if you don’t do this that will

happen

you’ll lose your job you won’t get that

promotion you won’t be able to provide

for yourself

or your family and even though leading

by inspiring fear can be effective in

the short term

it is neither sustainable nor enabling a

fulfilled growth

in fact fear often stalls progress

through change

because when we’re invited to conserve

the energy of fear for

days weeks months on end our health can

take a toll

you see by applying this law this

conservation of energy we can either

conserve

transfer or transform our negative

emotional energy

by conserving we’re essentially holding

them within right fueling higher and

higher stress levels

and all the physiological impact that

come with it like lost sleep and

declining health

by transferring we’re engaging in

venting sessions right with anyone and

everyone who will listen

temporarily transferring our anger or

frustration from ourselves to another

individual

to another individual but it eventually

finds its way right back to us

like this energetic game of hot potato

or we can transform we can choose to

transform that negative emotional energy

into the energy that can fuel that can

motivate our growth

our journey to our authentic success

that energy is the same

energy that has fueled our

intentionality towards

international peace and that has enabled

and motivated the life-altering

innovation

that is making the world a better place

for many years to come

that power resides within each and every

one of us

that power resides within you

the question is how will you choose

to harness it a signal

an opportunity a choice

it wasn’t on the day of that

announcement but shortly thereafter

i embraced the grief lingering in the

pit of my stomach

and the anxiety stiffening the muscles

in my shoulders and back

to be signals blasting from a source of

infinite wisdom within

signals communicating that i was sitting

in a moment of opportunity

opportunity to grow to evolve to become

better i began considering how can i

best

use this moment and the power of choice

i chose to transform the energy of grief

for what i was losing into the energy of

pride for what i had accomplished over

those past 12 years

i chose to transform the energy of

anxiety for losing my job

into anticipation for what lie ahead

i chose to trust in the very fact that i

was feeling that anxiety and grief

to mean there was something great in

store for me

it wasn’t always easy and i had more

moments than i care to count

fill with those signal emotions but i

ended up excelling in that new company

successfully transitioning my

organization through the acquisition

i became a better leader i became a

better colleague

i became better i was inspired to

integrate this throughout every facet of

my life

i quit drinking i lost over 50 pounds

i was inspired to cultivate it to hone

it in a way that it can enable others

through their growth challenges

while still working full-time i work

diligently to build a consulting firm

with this message at its core

and i’m so grateful to live each and

every day on purpose

inspiring thousands through their

toughest change challenges

and if not for that fateful day sitting

in that boardroom

when i mentally buckled to my knees

overwhelmed by grief

and anxiety none of that would have come

to pass

and i certainly wouldn’t be standing in

front of all of you

on this stage in this very moment

a signal an opportunity

a choice what if today you chose to

believe the fear

anger anxiety frustration that come with

major change

to be your prized inheritance gifts

what if today you began allowing those

gifts to exist

and ultimately signal you into your

greatest moments of opportunity to

choose

to transform that negative energy into

energy that can fuel your lasting

and fulfilled growth what

if well like the iphone

this what if has become my reality and

it’s my hope that in the face of every

tragedy

disappointment devastation that change

may bring you’ll embrace it as your

reality

and one day together we’ll sing in

unison

there are times when i thought

i could last for long

but now i know i’m able to carry on

it’s been a long

long time coming but i know

change gonna come whoa

yes it will be well thank you

you