Live Your Groove

hmm hello

um my name is excited to speak and

i’m tyson today i was thinking

what would be the most awkward way i

could come into this

how’d i do huh pause

for the applause good good thank you i

figured i’d impress you with that

hello my name is kyson stoker and i am

awkward

just a simple fact i embrace about

myself today i’m here for one purpose

and for one purpose alone and that is to

help each of you live

your groove remember that we’ll circle

back in a second

but for now if i were to do a little

less awkward of an intro i’d go a little

something like this

[Music]

now is the time to groove

i’ll briefly explain what this groove

thing is

and then spend most of our time here

together explaining the why and

how to live it why should you guys

listen to me

truthfully you shouldn’t i’m here

because you should listen to yourself

because ultimately the decision is yours

will you take the time to adjust your

perspective your self-perception

and your choices in order to let the

music of life flow deeper into your life

so pay attention to those thoughts that

pop in your mind and feelings that kind

of burn in your heart

this is your groove speaking pushing you

to action

bringing the change that only you can

know and believe me

it’ll be wonderful now

what is this groove i think you already

saw it

you just may not have noticed shall we

rewind a bit

[Music]

all right wait for it wait for it

right there pause go back a little bit

right there check that out that

is my groove face don’t worry

i’m not in pain it’s actually meaning

that i’m

in my groove i’m knowing that my

contribution is enough it’s powerful

it’s musical i’m comfortable in my skin

each of us

has a groove unique attributes and

talents that make us who we are

today we’ll be chatting about three

steps to living our groove

find improve and share

step one do you remember that time when

you realized that you’re not the same as

everybody else

they could do some things that nobody

else could or that even the

nobody could do things you couldn’t for

some of us it happens early on

for some of us it’s later and let’s be

honest for most of us it’s

kind of a daily situation finding our

grooves

is about questioning the narrative let’s

be honest

there’s a lot going on in the world

right now there’s more narratives to

question than i have time

or qualifications to talk about

but questing the narrative starts with

the voice that affects us all

it’s about questioning the most bitter

and unforgiving critic of them all

ourselves it’s about taking a stand to

these

inner voices that silence us and those

thoughts that leave us paralyzed

it’s about determining that our quirks

and our qualities our strengths

and our weaknesses make us wonderful and

needed

and powerful let’s look at the drum set

for an example

of some thoughts we all too often have

now

listen to this music right

some good stuff does anybody feel like

it’s missing something huh

[Music]

some of you might be saying yes some no

some of you might be looking at the drum

set and you’re like

you silly goose there’s no drums in it

this is true ultimately however the

music is missing you

or in this case it’s missing me now for

to look at my instrument

it’s an awkward set of cylinders and

symbols that make

loud and obnoxious noises it’d be easy

for me to listen to this music

and think well i don’t have anything on

my instrument that sounds like a

guitar or that synthesizer i definitely

can’t

sing beautiful lyrics with my drums

so i guess who i am just doesn’t fit

it’s too different the music’s better

off without me

i mean i want to try but i just don’t

want anybody notice me

what if i try and mess up and ruin it

for me and for everyone else

sound familiar some what-ifs here and

what-ifs there we’re constantly trying

to prophetically divine

our future before we ever take a step

into our present

but i wonder if i accept and embrace

all the awkward parts of who i am or

what my instrument is

if it really will ruin the music

[Music]

so my friends take time to question what

others

what culture what you yourself think

about your groove

about your unique contribution this is

the first

and probably biggest step because it

lays an essential foundation for living

our grooves

what strengths do you have what might

you be afraid to show what

weaknesses or quirks are unique to you

this just might help you identify

your unique groove as we consider these

aspects of ourselves

it’s important to understand what’s true

and what’s not

let’s go on this journey inspired me by

a mentor go back with me

think of a time when you told a lie

how’d that feel feels kind of mushy and

dark and restrictive

right do we ever give in to beliefs

about ourselves

that kind of feel that way beliefs about

our weaknesses

about our past about setbacks

about fears of the future they feel

restrictive and dark a little mushy

i submit this idea to you that they feel

like lies

because they are lies as we discover our

groove pay attention that dark versus

light feeling

when you find truths about yourself they

will always feel

like light like your heart’s expanding

and like you’re taking a drink of the

best dang chocolate milk there is out

there

that might be just a personal thing all

right step two

i’ve now found out unique attributes

about myself

is that it no way not today

i didn’t come this far only to come this

far

let’s move to a live example on the

drums i’m constantly learning

new ideas and new concepts or new parts

of my groove

that i then put through the refiner’s

fire of thousands of repetitions to be

able to put it in my drummer’s toolbox

to be able to use later on right so

let’s throw ourselves on the drums here

sit down in the trusty drums here

take this relatively simple lick we’ll

throw in some we’ll throw in some hands

and we’ll just repeat it over and over

again until my limbs fall off

[Music]

huh

pay attention to that look we’ll we’ll

bring it back a little later on

so anyways my my my wonderful

friends wherever you are not to make

this little virtual

uh relationship we have awkward but uh i

love you

and i love your grooves you are the best

this world has to offer so do yourself a

favor

by offering yourself the best you are

i issue this challenge as life gets

busier

and busier because it becomes so easy

for taking time to develop our groups to

be drowned out

my jobs we have to work people to please

bills to pay

so today i issue this challenge for 10

minutes

10 minutes a day for you to take time

to refine those personal attributes and

quirks about you

whether it be practicing an instrument

playing a sport

calling people you want to stay

connected with whatever it be that helps

you refine and connect to your groove

plan your days out beforehand make goals

with family so you can support each

other take advantage of work breaks

whatever needs so you can get those 10

minutes a day

i promise you’ll see progress and that

you’ll feel a deeper connection to your

personal

life fulfillment as you do this

so i found out i’m a drummer

in case you guys didn’t realize it i’m a

drummer

and i’ve taken consistent and

intentional time to improve on my skills

on on being a drummer and i’m having a

grand old time but

as quoted in the sound of music love

isn’t love

till we give it away our groove isn’t

our groove

until we give it away my drum groove

won’t create

music until i give it to the band

and let it roam free

true we don’t develop and share grooves

to impress or please other people

i promise you’ll get caught into an

endless cycle of discouragement

and darkness there but

this world is in dire circumstances from

self-loathing to segregating

from comparison to crime from

widespread disease to inter-spread lack

of peace

we need your groove now more than ever

so

we share we find career as public

offices and other organizations that

allow us to improve this world

through our unique attributes

and i know please trust me i know

that the grooves you each have will

create powerful music

in this world but

the biggest impact you’ll have will be

on those

closest to you and in the smallest of

ways

i’m saying please get out there and

dream big

dream big but remember

that the biggest successes come from the

smallest

intentions i had an experience

that had a big impact in my life i went

to high school once

i’ll never do it again years after

high school i got an email from a girl

that went to high school with

they know her super well but i did

and she’s explained to me that she

wanted to thank me

that she had moved to our high school

and that she was finding her place there

and here i am reading this to be honest

thinking that i must have done something

heroic

or some kind of hero and she says she

wanted to thank me for saying hi to her

in the halls

how’s that years after our high school

experience

she felt the need to send me an email

to thank me for saying hi

as you guys share your grooves you will

find that the smallest moments

will create deep and heartwarming music

so should we put the groove we developed

to the music

see how it sounds all right let’s send

it

[Music]

[Music]

so

[Music]

[Applause]

[Music]

so

[Music]

[Applause]

remember our groove consists of the

unique

attributes and abilities even the

weaknesses we have

that make us who we are this world has a

way of

taking the beauty we give it and

throwing it back in our faces

don’t you let it your groove is powerful

it is enough it’s needed

you are powerful you’re enough

and we need you when things don’t go

quite as planned and trust me they won’t

look to the live your groove guide more

as a spiral staircase

as we apply the same steps over and over

again we’re

reaching greater heights right as we’re

sharing our groove

we’re discovering more things about it

and as we’re improving

we’re finding other ways to share who we

are

when our groove is mocked and rejected

by others

we can revisit those things we’ve

learned for what they mean to us

appreciating that when we can’t fully

contribute like we’d like

we can take time to improve on those

things we’ve learned

find improve share

repeat look for the light

learn from the dark and find improve

share repeat these steps over and over

again and i

promise that your story will be a very

very happy one we can all avoid

the regrets of tomorrow by choosing to

live our groove

today thank you