Play To Win... Because Play Is Good Business | Kimberly Faith | TEDxTenayaPaseo
The speaker argues that play is fundamental to a fulfilling life, serving as the cornerstone for professional success and personal well-being. Play, defined as voluntary, pleasurable activity done for its own sake, allows individuals to resist the pressures of adult productivity and even survive profound trauma. This concept is demonstrated by the speaker's own recovery, which was sustained by reclaiming the childlike desire to "splash through puddles, find animals in the clouds and build forts." ## Speakers & Context - Unnamed speaker; shares a personal narrative of recovery and resilience. - Mentions the year **2015** when they had crossed the year mark of living in Vegas. - Describes a period of self-sufficiency after arriving in Vegas, involving trash picking and eventually finding a bed. - Mentions painting while in a jacuzzi at an empty clubhouse. ## Theses & Positions - Play is the cornerstone for becoming a better person, leader, family member, and professional. - Playing is necessary to win the "game called life." - The speaker argues that the adult world needs more of the playful spirit found in childhood narratives, like those in *Elf* and *Willy Wonka*. - The opposite of play is not work; the opposite of play is depression. - Play allows one to see things from a different perspective, which increases innovation and creativity in the workplace. ## Concepts & Definitions - **Play (Dr. Stewart Brown definition):** Something done for its own sake; it is voluntary, pleasurable, and offers a sense of engagement; it takes one out of time, and the act itself is more important than the outcome. - **The Wholehearted (Dr. Brené Brown):** One of the 10 characteristics involves cultivating play and rest, and letting go of exhaustion as a status symbol and productivity as self-worth. ## Mechanisms & Processes - **Play's benefits:** Relieves stress and releases endorphins; improves brain function and prevents memory problems; stimulates creativity and innovation; improves relationship and connection; heals emotional wounds; teaches teamwork and cooperation; increases energy. - **Historical evidence:** Dr. Stewart Brown's study of violent criminals (including Charles Whitman, who murdered his wife, child, and 15 others on August 1, 1966) found that virtually all studied criminals had a restricted history of play. - **Corporate vetting:** Companies like NASA and Boeing reportedly refused to hire top graduates from schools like Harvard if they discovered the student did not play as a child. - **Recovery process:** The speaker used play—splashing, finding objects with personality (like the rock "Miles"), and building forts—to survive and heal following a period of sexual assault and fighting depression. ## Named Entities - **Dr. Stewart Brown:** Play researcher and founder of the National Institute for Play. - **Dr. Brené Brown:** Former shame researcher who studies those who live wholehearted. - **Charles Whitman:** Individual who brutally took the lives of his wife, child, and 15 other innocent victims on August 1, 1966. - **Yosemite:** Location where a pivotal healing moment occurred for the speaker. - **The Rock:** Celebrity whom the speaker took "Miles" to see for his birthday. ## Numbers & Data - Date of crime spree: **August 1, 1966**. - Number of victims of Charles Whitman: **wife, child, and 15** other innocent victims. - Time spent studying Whitman: **five months**. - Years since speaker moved to Vegas: **almost seven years**. - Age when speaker built a fort: **35**. ## Examples & Cases - **Jacuzzi Painting:** Speaker setting up to paint in a jacuzzi in an empty clubhouse while in Vegas. - **Vegas Struggle:** Living in Vegas, sleeping on the floor, and continuing to trash-pick despite the hardship. - **The Puddle Jump:** The advice to "splash through puddles," which is both a literal act and a metaphor for taking risks. - **Finding Animals in Clouds:** Staring at the sky and using imagination to see objects like "smiley faces and doorknobs cutouts of sharks in rocks." - **Building a Fort:** The speaker building a fort four years prior, which they slept in, demonstrating tenacity and using available resources. - **The Recovery Crisis:** The speaker was drugged after accepting orange juice from men, losing the next 12 hours, having belongings stolen, and being raped, leading to months of fighting depression and suicide. - **Miles the Rock:** The speaker turning a rock found during a Yosemite hike into a pet named Miles, which exemplifies finding animals in the clouds. - **Instagram:** Created an Instagram account for Miles, showing pictures of him doing yoga and visiting "The Rock." ## Tools, Tech & Products - **Googly-eyed stickers:** Suggested tool for making everyday objects appear personalized. - **Instagram:** Platform used by the speaker to document Miles's activities. ## References Cited - **CNBC MarketWatch, LinkedIn, Biospace.com, Rasmussen:** Sources cited for the top five skills employers desired in **2020**. - **Dr. Stewart Brown's Book *Play***: Book cited concerning the definition of play and its negative opposite. - **Mary Poppins:** Childhood hero whose words are quoted about the necessity of fun in work. ## Counterarguments & Caveats - The speaker acknowledges that sometimes days are "worse than others" during recovery. - The concept of productivity is often used in contemporary culture to shame play. ## Conclusions & Recommendations - The final call to action is to embrace play: *"splash through puddles, find animals in the clouds, build forts with your inner child."* - These playful acts are not gone; they are waiting inside the individual to make life fun again. ## Implications & Consequences - Play is a biological necessity shown to counteract the debilitating effects of depression and trauma. - The ability to play is critical for societal and individual resilience, suggesting a necessary paradigm shift away from purely productivity-based value systems. ## Verbatim Moments - *"Play has always been a non-negotiable in my life."* - *"play... is something done for its own sake it's voluntary it's pleasurable it offers a sense of engagement it takes one out of time and the act itself is more important than the outcome"* - *"The adult world needs more of that."* - *"The opposite of play is depression."* - *"The top five skills desired by employers in 2020 according to cnbc marketwatch linkedin biospace.com and rasmussen are all learned and promoted by this activity yes play"* - *"The wholehearted cultivate play and rest letting go of exhaustion as a status symbol and productivity as self-worth"* - *"Every single one of these criminals had a restricted history of play"* - *"When I moved to Vegas almost seven years ago i had no earthly idea how hard it would be to move cross-country by myself to a city where i knew no one"* - *"i don't remember the next 12 hours of my life"* - *"it was my desire to play i had to play to survive"* - *"When i got back i decided to keep that rock slap a pair of googly eyes on him and give him a name wanna guess what i named him miles"* - *"Splash through puddles find animals in the clouds build forts with your inner child he or she hasn't gone away they're still inside you waiting to come out and make your life fun again"*