Translator: Tanya Cushman Reviewer: Peter van de Ven
All right. All right.
Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.
In closing ...
(Laughter)
Okay, okay, no, I just had to do that.
Let me start - I obviously can't see people in the back,
but by raise of hands, I can get a general estimate here,
How many of you in the audience have found the meaning of life?
Raise your hand.
(Laughter)
Okay. So there are a few of you. Keep your hands up a little bit.
Okay, everybody else look around,
at the end of this talk, please go see them for the answer.
(Laughter)
All right. Just wanted to get that in context.
I'm a recovering academic,
(Laughter)
so one of the problems as a recovering academic
is that I have to consolidate at least 16 weeks - a semester course -
into a few minutes.
And the timekeeper, fortunately, is going to keep me on track.
So, fortunately, I was born in Brooklyn, New York,
so I can speak very quickly,
and then if we get this on the web, you can slow it down on your own.
(Laughter)
All right.
What I'm going to share with you really does have a lot to do -
because we've been talking about the inspiration for this TEDx event
being Viktor Frankl,
who, as you all know, was my mentor.
And I'm really happy to see, to not only open up the event today,
but also to see quotes and so forth,
and I notice that different people have talked to me about, you know,
How did I meet Viktor Frankl and what was his impact on my life? and so forth.
And let me tell you, I mean,
the human quest for meaning is a megatrend of the 21st century.
More and more people are looking at meaning
because they are seeing so many meaningless things in their lives,
including their work lives,
that people are starting to really look at meaning
as maybe the salvation or the opportunity to find what the Greeks -
I'll give you a Greek lesson here in a little bit -
"the good life," as Socrates would say.
We call it "living the meaningful life."
And so Viktor Frankl was really the master or the grand master in meaning.
He had a ministry, a medical ministry,
that was really out to not only use meaning as a way to conduct therapy,
but it was also a way to spiritualize medicine and the practice of medicine,
which, again, has Greek roots.
You're going to hear a lot -
the word "Greek" is going to happen many, many times over the next minutes.
And so the idea here is think about what the world would be like
if all of us were living and working with meaning.
Wouldn't it be a great place?
Maybe some of the things -
because this talk has been influenced so much by the other talks preceding me.
I mean, it's amazing - not just the inspirational stories
but the formidable challenges that everybody's had to go through,
and so it's hard not to be influenced by that.
And the more I hear these stories, the more I realize
when we start talking about war versus peace,
when we start talking about people who can't really express themselves fully,
civil human rights,
I mean, all these things, these are all meaningful values
that all of us should be, as Doctor Frankl would say,
"authentically committed" to achieving and realizing those.
So that's really the essence of what I'm going to share with you,
and what I'm going to try to do
is give you an opportunity to learn a little bit from my ancestors,
my ancient Greek ancestors,
in terms of what they've contributed.
Because the Greeks, as you know, in the last few years
have been going through tremendous challenges, all right?
I mean, the economic crisis.
I mean, people come to me,
and they act as if Greece is responsible for the global economic fallout,
or that little, teeny country -
there's almost as many people in Hong Kong as there is in Greece -
but that little, teeny country in the Mediterranean,
that invented and offered so many things to Western Civilization,
is now being used as a scapegoat for a lot of things.
Now, fortunately, we have a Greek cousin, Cyprus, that's now getting more attention.
But the idea here is we really are looking for,
"What can we learn from a culture
that offered for thousands of years so much?"
just like China has, and there's a lot of kindred spirit -
one of the reasons that I decided to come to this event.
Because the invitation was, to me, was a humbling and honoring opportunity
to not only share with you the search for meaning ala Viktor Frankl
but also to be able to share with you
some of the things that come from my heritage.
So that's really what this is all about.
I've spent a number of years,
even prior to the economic crisis,
going to Greece, looking and not only reconnecting with my heritage
but also looking at what Greek philosophers -
going back to the ancients,
many of whom were contemporaries of Confucius and Lao Tzu and the Buddha -
but also looking at traditional Greek culture,
and What can we learn from that and bring that back here?
Because as Elaine and I have experienced in Greece,
there are many things. even within the confines of all these challenges,
that people seem to be living, believe it or not,
a good-slash-meaningful life.
We were trying to figure out, What's their formula?
What is it about this?
So what I'm going to share with you is a concept,
and it's going to be a very easy concept, in many respects,
to remember and to practice.
And by the time we end this talk,
I'm hoping that this will be something
that will carry with you after you leave here today,
and that you'll be able to carry forth in your work life and your everyday life.
So let me share with you.
In going to Greece over the last several years,
one of the things that we picked up many, many times
is we heard a word that I'm sure most of you have heard.
It's a word - the Greek word now -
"Opa!"
Okay, how many of you have heard the word opa?
Okay? I mean, most of you have.
I'm not talking about the German reference to grandfather;
I'm talking about the Greek word,
and typically that word, that opa word, is typically used,
or at least heard particularly here and North America and Western Europe,
it's heard at times of celebration.
You know, maybe you're breaking plates at a restaurant,
maybe you're at a festival,
maybe you're at a wedding, you're dancing,
and opa is really an uplifting, enthusiastic type of thing.
Well, interestingly enough,
opa, the word, as a common Greek word, goes back to Ancient Greece.
And actually, we found it and traced it back to the writings of Homer.
You've all heard the word Homer? I don't mean the TV character.
(Laughter)
You're right. "The Iliad" and "The Odyssey."
And Homer was able to articulate
and the history of the word opa emerged in really a unique way.
As a matter of fact, in a way that's almost analogous
to the Chinese philosophy and symbol, the yin and the yang.
Because in the Greek alphabet, there are two "O's."
There's one that looks like our O in English, omicron,
and then there's another O, another letter O,
that looks, in the capital, like a horseshoe.
I know you see it around.
It's the omega.
And the omega sign - like Omega watches.
So there's two O's.
So O-P-A in Greek has two different references,
two different meanings even.
The O that looks like our O is that expression of spirit.
Actually, we refer to it as enthusiasm.
The English word "enthusiasm" actually comes from two Greek words,
and it actually means, "manifesting the spirit within."
We're not talking about religion;
we're talking about team spirit, individual spirit and so forth.
That's really what this is,
that's when we see the celebratory kind of use of opa.
That's what you hear about, see in the movies.
I'm sure you've seen "My Big Fat Greek Wedding."
That's all of our family, isn't it?
So the idea here is that's the opa.
But when Homer was writing about opa, there was also the other side.
And the other side of opa is the omega opa.
And the omega opa reference goes back to opening up our eyes,
being awake,
looking for danger in our path as well as looking for opportunities.
Now, unfortunately, to the Greeks in the modern times,
especially the last number of years,
they kind of forget or forgot the omega opa.
That's what got them into trouble.
They weren't looking down the road
to see whether or not there was some danger down the path.
Okay? The economic crisis is obviously one result of that.
We're going to spend too much, we're going to do things -
trying to keep up with other parts of the world.
We're not really doing the planning, maybe the management
that they should have done to make sure to protect themselves.
But the idea here is that those two types of opa words,
omega and omicron,
are like two sides of the same coin.
It's the Greek version of the yin and the yang.
It's the idea you've got to have both and integrate both
to live your life fully.
That goes back to the ancients.
But if we look now at more current context,
what we've done is we've said, "Well, wait a minute.
We can take 'opa,' and we can actually create an acronym
using O, P and A."
So let me just share with you quickly what they are.
The "O" in OPA means connect meaningfully with others.
Others is the O.
We have heard all day today
so many people saying how important it is to connect with others, haven't we?
When you're in times of stress, when you're depressed.
Viktor Frankl once said,
back in the time of World War II when he was writing,
he said, "Society is plagued with three major problems."
He referred to them as the "mass neurotic triad."
The three are aggression - has aggression gone away since World War II?
Not at all.
Aggression is probably more;
we have more types of aggression
than Viktor Frankl probably even dreamt of.
Depression - has depression gone away?
No, what we're hearing a lot is depression is increasing,
clinical depression's on the rise, particularly among young people,
so depression certainly hasn't gone away.
And addiction.
All right? So aggression, depression and addiction
are three things that Viktor Frankl described as major societal problems
at a time that you think we would've been focusing on resolving;
and instead, they've been exacerbated over the years.
So the idea here is that we have to deal with those kinds of issues.
So the idea of connecting meaningfully with others is one way to deal with those.
Reach out when you're depressed. We heard that today, okay?
Reach out when there's aggression, and try to find people to help you.
This is an important element.
So connecting meaningfully with others -
but that's a major problem in our society today.
You know, we have Facebook, we have all these social media,
but yet in many respects, we're more disconnected than ever.
Would you agree with that? (Audience) Yes.
This is the kind of thing -
authentic connections, meaningful connections
are very important.
And this is like what we found in Greece.
Because when we went into Greece, and we went into villages,
and some stories of going to visit the village
and having people taking you into their little almost a hut
and sharing with you and making you feel -
because that's part of what the Greek notion of hospitality is.
It's all about taking care of each other and taking care of strangers.
If you've traveled to Greece,
you probably have recognized that Greek hospitality is world-wide.
I mean, talk about the hospitality industry,
you can't get anything better in terms of feeling welcomed.
And that's a major part in all of our travels, our experiences -
and it's not just because I have family throughout Greece;
it's the fact that I've talked to thousands of people,
and they've all experienced that notion.
If we could just apply that kind of Greek hospitality to our own world.
Think about it.
We go to a traditional Greek village, and they treat each other as villagers.
We talk about a global village, don't we?
We say it takes a village to raise a child,
but we don't treat each other like villagers;
we're strangers, okay?
So "O" is connect meaningfully with others.
The "P" in the OPA acronym is engage with deeper purpose.
We've heard that many times.
The idea is we need to find our purpose.
You know, Viktor Frankl and based on Viktor Frankl's work,
one of the things that I espouse - we've all heard the statement -
where there's a will, there's a way.
You all have heard that?
Okay, but we're going to add to that.
Where there's a purpose, there's a will.
Okay, so where there's a will, there's a way,
but where there's a purpose, there's a will.
So many of the speakers today have talked about that.
When they were able to identify and articulate a purpose,
their will increased.
Their desire to live increased.
They were willing to go through the fire.
Whatever.
We've heard so many things here that are like remarkable,
and it wasn't just today.
This entire time I've been here,
it's been amazing the kind of inspirational stories.
So engage with deeper purpose.
And then the "A" is something
that, again, we've all, probably most would attribute to many crazy Greeks.
It's attitude.
The idea behind this is embrace all of life with attitude.
I'm not talking about positive psychology.
I'm not talking about trying to just say we've got to be focused on happiness.
As a matter of fact, Viktor Frankl said, very clearly, very profoundly,
he said, "Happiness cannot be pursued.
Happiness can only ensue
from doing something to help others beyond yourself or to be in service."
So think about that.
Your most happy moments usually come when you're not even noticing them -
you weren't planning them.
But if you try to be happy by going out and partying all night -
and I notice a lot of people party in Hong Kong;
(Laughter)
maybe they're happy; I don't know -
or you're shopping until you drop, doesn't necessarily mean you're happy.
So the idea behind happiness here, again, part of it, it's a mindset.
It's the notion of attitude.
And again, I heard a number of people today, in their talks,
talk about the importance of your choice of attitude.
And again, the first principle of logotherapy,
Viktor Frank's logotherapy,
is the fact that every one of us,
every one of us as human beings
have the ultimate freedom to choose our attitude.
And Frankl survived four Nazi concentration camps.
I look at my life.
I never, never would compare my life to Viktor Frankl's.
But as a U.S. Army veteran, Vietnam era, there's been many times
where I could have taken a quick dive and never come back up again,
but part of my passion, part of my enthusiasm for life
revolves around the fact
that many of my own brothers and sisters didn't make it.
So I'm living my life with enthusiasm, with passion, not just for me.
But it would be arrogant of me,
it would be totally, you know, something that I couldn't even imagine
that I was given the opportunity that they weren't.
They died at age 18, 19, 20, 21.
And I was given an opportunity to be 25.
(Laughter)
Okay, so the idea here is that attitude is a very, very important part.
There are many exercises or many ways of dealing with it.
I know a lot of people say,
"I already have an attitude. Why would I change it?"
That was supposed to be joke.
(Laughter)
But there are ways
of how we can get ourselves out of that inner, mental concentration camp,
outside of that box that kind of shuts us in.
Because we heard so many people, again, talking about the challenges they had,
about, How can I have a good day?
You know, I have a bad-hair day.
You know, is that all you have?
That's your biggest problem is a bad-hair day?
Right? I mean, it's amazing.
But think about the possibilities of,
Do you want to take the high road or take the low road in terms of your life?
Which way do you want to go?
So the idea behind exercising the freedom to choose your attitude is important,
but it's also important to recognize it within the "A" construct of OPA.
Attitude isn't just about having a good attitude.
It's also being able to have a positive, resilient attitude
when times aren't going so well.
Because life is about ups and downs.
If you think about a heart monitor, and you think about balance,
What happens when the heart monitor is a straight line?
Are you excited about life?
(Laughter)
No.
The heart monitor shows a wave,
which basically means sometimes it's going to take a dip.
So our resilience factor, which is really what this whole event is about,
is about, How do you deal with the dips?
And not just say I'm ecstatic about all the great times.
And so those are critical issues.
So the whole concept here now of opa
is, again, "O" stands for what?
(Audience) Others.
All right. "P" stands for what?
(Audience) Purpose.
And "A" stands for what?
(Audience) Attitude.
So together we have - say it together -
others, purpose, attitude.
So what does that mean?
Opa!
So what I want you to do from here on out
whenever you're finding yourself stressed out -
I'll give you a quick example.
I have a second here to do this.
Because we're all adults in this room, right?
I'm not going to take my clothes off, don't worry.
Imagine you're walking down a sidewalk, and the sidewalk is crooked.
I noticed, again, in Hong Kong - lot of steps.
I don't know how many times I almost twisted my ankle.
And you're walking along, and you trip.
Okay, as an adult, what do you normally do when you trip?
What's the first thing you do?
You look around. You want to make sure nobody saw you.
Right? Because you're embarrassed, afraid that somebody -
Oh my God, I didn't do it.
It was the city of Hong Kong - they screwed up.
What I want you to do is when that happens in life,
and you take a trip,
I want you, after you trip, to go like this:
Opa!
(Laughter)
Okay? All right? So this is the thing.
So I want everybody to stand up, okay?
Because this is your last thing here.
I want everybody on the count of three -
I'm going to go backwards, three, two, one -
I want you to, without hitting your sidekicks here,
I want everybody, at the top of your lungs, to say -
okay, three, two, one -
(Audience) Opa!
Thank you very much.
(Applause) (Cheering)