TEDxNottingHill - Jim Rees - 10/09/09
## Speaker Context * Speaker role: Speaker (details not fully elaborated, but gives talks about the Race Across America). * Audience: Audience members, some of whom are present at a session that includes a lunch break and previous speakers. * Framing: The speaker frames his talk by sharing his passion for inspiring people to believe in their greatness, starting with the question of "Why do you do it?" regarding the Race Across America. ## People * Speaker: Speaker (Self-reference). * Wife: Speaker's wife (Likes the Cy voice). * Children: Speaker's six children (Mentioned as the speaker has six kids). * American: An American man at a time station (Paid for petrol after being blown away by the speaker's participation in the race). * Previous Speakers: Bill and SEL (Mentioned as having a key theme in their talks that the speaker agrees with). ## Organizations * Team Inspiration: A not for profit organization started by the speaker + inspires children to believe in what's possible. ## Places * UK schools: Location where the speaker goes to talk to children. * Annapolis, Maryland: The endpoint of the Race Across America. * Mojave desert: Terrain incorporated into the Race Across America route. * Arizona: Location of the deserts crossed during the Race Across America. * Rocky Mountains: Mountains crossed during the Race Across America. * Kansas: Area on the Race Across America route that is described as quite flat and very boring. * Appalachian Mountains: Mountains crossed by bike near the finish line of the Race Across America. * Camden town: Location near where a "best bit" of the race occurred. ## Tools, Tech & Products * Cy voice: A voice type the speaker discusses and his wife likes. * Race Across America: The endurance race the speaker participates in. * Root book: A book required by every racer for the Race Across America, containing the route. * Power naps: Technique used by racers to rejuvenate. ## Concepts & Definitions * Greatness: A concept the speaker believes everyone on the planet has inside them. * Self-confidence/Self-esteem: Measured traits in children; found to be high at age 5 but only 5% remained high at age 18. * Conditioning: The process by which youthful high self-esteem can be suppressed by external factors (peers, parents, the system, media). * Opportunity is now here: A business/enterprise lens advocated by the speaker (opposite of "opportunity is nowhere"). * Iron Man Triathlon: Event consisting of a 2.4 mile swim, 112 miles on the bike, and a full marathon. ## Numbers & Data * 2007: Year of a video clip shown of the Race Across America. * 2008: Year the speaker did the Race Across America again. * June this year: When the speaker finished the Race Across America again. * 105-year-old children: Group measured 20 years ago regarding self-confidence/self-esteem. * 5-year-old children: Age group whose self-confidence/self-esteem was measured. * 95%: Percentage of 5-year-old children with phenomenal self-confidence and self-esteem. * 100 children: Number followed up from the initial group measurement. * 18: Age at which the self-confidence and self-esteem of the followed group were remeasured. * 5%: Percentage of the 100 children who retained high self-confidence and high self-esteem at age 18. * 5 to 18: The period during which the decline in self-confidence/self-esteem occurred. * Five minutes: Amount of time the speaker stated he had left when presenting the entrepreneurial message. * 28 years: Duration the Race Across America has been going. * 110,000 m: Total climbing accumulated during the Race Across America. * 2:00 in the afternoon: Approximate time of the "getting a power nap" incident in Kansas. * 10 and 15 minutes: Duration of the power naps used by racers. * 11 days and 8 hours: Time taken to complete the race in 2008. * 13 and 1/2 hours: Total sleep time recorded during the 2008 race. * 36 hours: Duration of a nonstop stint on the bike this year. * 10 days and 20 hours: Time taken to complete the race this year. * Sixth: Speaker's overall ranking out of all 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 duration within which the race must be finished. * 10 to 12,000: Range of calories burned per day by the speaker. * 2:00 in the morning and 4:00 in the morning: Time window associated with "witching hour" hallucinations. * 80 years old: Age of the oldest competitor in an Iron Man Triathlon. ## Claims & Theses * Everyone on the planet has greatness inside them. * 95% of 5-year-old children had phenomenal self-confidence and self-esteem. * Only 5% of those same children had the same levels of high self-confidence and high self-esteem when they were 18. * Greatness has not gone anywhere; it's just been suppressed over time. * The Race Across America is considered the toughest race on the planet. * Opportunity is now here is absolutely the lens with which Enterprise and budding entrepreneurs will always continue to succeed. * Most people look through the lens of opportunity as nowhere. * The key to any budding entrepreneur, any business in this environment, or any environment, really is the key is mindset. * Without the right mindset, you can't do something like the Race Across America. * If you think you can, you'll take the next step; if you think you can't, you won't even give it a try. * Most of us are only really just scratching our full potential. ## Mechanisms & Processes * The decline in self-confidence/self-esteem occurred between the age of 5 and 18. * The process described for the race involves traversing the Mojave desert, the deserts of Arizona, crossing the Rocky Mountains, going across Kansas, and finally crossing the Appalachian Mountains. * The strategy used by solo riders includes taking long stints on the bike to cover distance. * The process of hallucinations during the race is linked to sleep deprivation. ## Timeline & Events * 2007: Video clip shown from this year's Race Across America. * 2008: Year the speaker did the Race Across America again. * June this year: When the speaker finished the Race Across America again. * 20 years ago: When the initial measurement of 5-year-old children's self-confidence/self-esteem was done. * 28 years: How long the Race Across America has been going. ## Examples & Cases * The speaker going to schools in the UK: To inspire children to believe in what's possible. * The study of 100 children: Tracking their self-confidence/self-esteem from age 5 to 18. * The speaker's race in 2008: Completed in 11 days and 8 hours. * The speaker's race this year: Completed in 10 days and 20 hours, achieving 6th overall. * The "getting a power nap" incident in Kansas: A time the speaker was seen napping in front of a property, leading the owner to demand he leave. * The time station in Camden town: An instance where an American paid for the speaker's petrol after witnessing his effort. * The speaker's previous participation: Involved competing in Iron Man triathlons and flying around the world. ## Trade-offs & Alternatives * Opportunity is now here: Advocated by the speaker for entrepreneurs. * Opportunity is nowhere: The lens through which most people look, hindering success. * Professional cycling vs. Race Across America competitors: Professional cyclists are on TV, while Race Across America competitors are not doing it for money or glory. * Iron Man Triathlon vs. Race Across America: A comparison showing the speaker's general endurance capability (Iron Man involving 2.4 mi swim, 112 mi bike, marathon). ## Counterarguments & Caveats * The speaker notes that the video clip shown was from 2007, but he has raced in 2008 and this year. * The speaker states he is not a professional cyclist. * The speaker admits he can't eat enough to keep up with the calorie burn from the race. ## Methodology * An interactive Q&A session used to gauge audience participation (asking for hands/shouts). * Comparison to an existing study (the 20-year data tracking of 100 children). ## References Cited * The data done about 20 years ago on 100 children. * The Tour of France: Cited as an example of a professional cycling event (contrast). ## Conclusions & Recommendations * The speaker recommends adopting the lens that "opportunity is now here." * The speaker advises that the key to any budding entrepreneur or business is having the right mindset. * The speaker concludes by stating, "I have a passionate belief that we are all built for greatness." * The core takeaway: "If you think you can, or if you think you can't, you're probably right." ## Implications & Consequences * Failure to maintain mindset leads to the suppression of greatness. * Believing one cannot achieve something prevents the attempt. * Without the right mindset, it is impossible to perform feats like the Race Across America. * Applying the right mindset can lead to doing more than one currently thinks is possible, both physically and in other aspects of life. ## Open Questions * What has happened in the period from 5 to 18? (The central mystery regarding the decline in self-esteem). * What is the speaker's specific, ultimate goal for the audience after the talk? ## Verbatim Moments * "The frightening thing is that actually only 5% of those same children had the same levels of high self-confidence and high self-esteem." * "I have a passionate belief that everyone on the planet has greatness inside them." * "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."