TEDxNottingHill - Jim Rees - 10/09/09
The speaker argues that everyone possesses inherent greatness, but this potential is suppressed by external factors like peer pressure, parental expectation, and media, which can be overcome by adopting the mindset that "opportunity is now here." He illustrates this resilience by detailing his participation in the grueling Race Across America, which required intense physical endurance and mental fortitude. The core message is that belief—whether you think you can or can't—determines whether you will even attempt to realize one's full potential.
## Speakers & Context
- **Speaker:** Self-reference; speaks about the Race Across America and personal philosophy.
- **Wife:** Likes the "Cy voice."
- **Children:** The speaker has six children.
- **Audience:** Members present at a session that includes a lunch break and previous speakers.
- **Framing:** Talk is structured around answering the question, "Why do you do it?" regarding the Race Across America, aiming to inspire belief in inherent human greatness.
## Theses & Positions
- Every person on the planet possesses greatness internally.
- The most common obstacle to realizing potential is external conditioning—driven by peers, parents, and the media.
- The operational mindset for success, whether in business or life, is that *"opportunity is now here"* (contrasting with the misconception of *"opportunity is nowhere"*).
- The key to any successful enterprise or individual endeavor is maintaining the right mindset.
- Individuals are, by default, only "scratching our full potential," suggesting vast untapped potential.
- The fundamental rule of action is: *"If you think you can, or if you think you can't, you're probably right."*
## Concepts & Definitions
- **Greatness:** An inherent, universal potential within every person.
- **Self-confidence/Self-esteem:** Measured traits in children; initial high levels (at age 5) show a significant decline by age 18.
- **Conditioning:** The process by which youthful high self-esteem can be suppressed over time by external social forces.
- **Opportunity is now here:** The required entrepreneurial lens for success, advocating focusing on solutions rather than causes of problems.
- **Iron Man Triathlon:** An endurance event requiring a 2.4 mile swim, 112 miles on the bike, and a full marathon.
## Mechanisms & Processes
- **Childhood Study:** Data collected about 20 years ago tracked 100 children measuring self-confidence and self-esteem at age 5, finding 95% displayed "phenomenal self-confidence and self-esteem."
- **Skill Suppression:** The decline of self-esteem from age 5 to 18 is attributed to environmental conditioning.
- **Race Endurance:** The process of traversing diverse terrains (Mojave desert, Arizona deserts, Rocky Mountains, flat Kansas, Appalachian Mountains) requires strategies like long bike stints and power naps.
- **Hallucination Mechanism:** Extreme sleep deprivation, particularly during the race, can trigger hallucinations, including seeing a pothole transform into a black Panther.
## Timeline & Sequence
- **2007:** Year of the first video clip shown from the Race Across America.
- **2008:** Year the speaker completed the Race Across America.
- **June this year:** When the speaker most recently completed the Race Across America.
- **20 years ago:** When the initial measurement of 100 children's self-esteem was taken.
- **Age 5:** Age group measured initially for high self-esteem (95% high).
- **Age 18:** Age at which the follow-up measurement showed only 5% retaining high self-esteem.
- **5 to 18:** The critical developmental period where the decline in self-esteem occurred.
- **28 years:** Duration the Race Across America has been running.
- **11 days and 8 hours:** Time taken to complete the race in 2008.
- **10 days and 20 hours:** Time taken to complete the race in the current year.
- **June:** The month the speaker completed the race most recently.
## Named Entities
- **Annapolis, Maryland:** The designated endpoint of the Race Across America.
- **Mojave desert, Arizona, Rocky Mountains, Kansas, Appalachian Mountains:** Key geographical terrains crossed during the Race Across America route.
- **Team Inspiration:** A not for profit organization established by the speaker to encourage children to believe in what is possible.
- **America:** Reference to the continent/US in the context of the race.
## Tools, Tech & Products
- **Race Across America:** The specific, rigorous endurance race event.
- **Root book:** A required guide for every racer containing the entire race route map.
- **Cy voice:** A specific type of voice the speaker's wife reportedly likes.
## Numbers & Data
- **105-year-old children:** Group measured during the study 20 years ago.
- **5-year-old children:** Age group measured initially, boasting 95% phenomenal self-confidence.
- **100 children:** Number followed up in the longitudinal study.
- **18:** Age at which the 100 children were remeasured.
- **5%:** Percentage of the 100 children who retained high self-confidence and self-esteem at age 18.
- **2007, 2008, June this year:** Years of the speaker's documented participation.
- **3,000 Mi:** Distance from the start to the endpoint in Annapolis, Maryland.
- **10 and 15 minutes:** Duration of recommended "power naps."
- **13 and 1/2 hours:** Total sleep time accumulated during the 2008 race.
- **36 hours:** Duration of a nonstop biking stint performed this year.
- **10 days and 20 hours:** The time achieved completing the race this year.
- **Sixth:** The speaker's overall ranking among solo competitors this year.
- **24:** Total number of solo Riders from around the world this year.
- **12:** Number of solo Riders who finished the race this year.
- **12 days:** The maximum time allowed to complete the race.
- **10 to 12,000:** Daily calorie burn range maintained while cycling.
- **2:00 in the afternoon:** Approximate time of the "getting a power nap" incident in Kansas.
- **2:00 in the morning and 4:00 in the morning:** The time window associated with experiencing "witching hour" hallucinations due to sleep deprivation.
- **80 years old:** Age of the oldest recorded competitor in an Iron Man Triathlon.
## Examples & Cases
- **UK schools:** Location where the speaker travels to talk to children to encourage belief in their potential.
- **Longitudinal Study:** The case tracking 100 children's self-esteem from age 5 (95% high) to age 18 (only 5% high).
- **Kansas Incident:** The speaker taking a required power nap at 2:00 in the afternoon in Kansas, which resulted in the property owner telling him to leave.
- **Time Station Kindness:** An American man at a time station in Camden town paid for the speaker's petrol after being amazed by his solo participation in the Race Across America.
- **Iron Man Triathlon:** Example used to demonstrate general extreme endurance capability, where the oldest competitor was 80 years old.
## Trade-offs & Alternatives
- **Opportunity Lens:** Contrast between *"opportunity is nowhere"* (how most people view the world) versus *"opportunity is now here"* (the successful entrepreneurial lens).
- **Professional vs. Amateur Competition:** Race Across America competitors are not motivated by money or glory, unlike professional cyclists featured on TV, suggesting the motivation is internal honor.
## Counterarguments & Caveats
- The speaker clarifies that the video clip shown was from **2007**, while he competed in **2008** and **June this year**.
- He explicitly states, *"I'm not an Olympic cyclist."*
- He admits that the physical exertion of the race means he *"can't actually eat enough to actually keep the calorie count up."*
## Methodology
- **Interactive Discussion:** Used engaging questions ("How many people have kids?") to keep the audience attentive after lunch.
- **Anecdotal Evidence:** Used personal experiences (napping in Kansas, Americana) to illustrate themes of persistence and resilience.
- **Data Comparison:** Juxtaposed longitudinal childhood data (5 to 18) with extreme physical endurance feats (RAA, Iron Man) to prove transferable mindset skills.
## Conclusions & Recommendations
- Adopt the entrepreneurial lens that *"opportunity is now here"* to guide enterprise and success.
- The absolute necessity for any endeavor is having the right mindset, as demonstrated by the physical impossibility of completing the RAA without it.
- The overriding conclusion is the passionate belief that *"we are all built for greatness."*
- The key actionable message is the adage: *"If you think you can, or if you think you can't, you're probably right."*
## Implications & Consequences
- Lack of belief or mindset leads directly to the suppression of inherent potential.
- Believing limitation ("I can't") preemptively blocks the attempt to achieve potential, regardless of physical capability.
- Applying a positive mindset is shown to unlock capabilities far beyond what is currently perceived as possible, both physically and professionally.
## Open Questions
- The speaker does not explicitly state his single, ultimate goal, other than to leave the audience with the core message regarding belief and potential.
## Verbatim Moments
- *"I have a passionate belief that everyone on the planet has greatness inside them."*
- *"95% of those children had phenomenal self-confidence and self-esteem."*
- *"the frightening thing is that actually only 5% of those same children had the same levels of high self-confidence and high self-esteem."*
- *"Opportunity is nowhere" versus "opportunity is now here."*
- *"it's almost bragging rights I suppose."*
- *"I'm not an Olympic cyclist."*
- *"I believe that the key to any budding entrepreneur... really is the key is mindset."*
- *"If you think you can, or if you think you can't, you're probably right."*
- *"I do have a passionate belief that we are all built for greatness."*