as crazy as it may sound and as
impossible as it may seem what if we
could harness the greatest adversity of
all time to unleash an inheritance a
legacy a heritage a future more
brilliant than our wildest imaginings
who can you imagine anything more worthy
of your finest effort and energy than
that
and what if beyond the big thing we
could all do that with our everyday
struggles and adversities what if
somehow we could harness those as well
can you begin to sense the effect that
could have on your legacy well how do we
do that
well do you remember that game maybe you
played it as a child called 20 questions
where through a series of carefully
contrived questions you glad gradually
peel back to that core answer how about
if we play our version of that game
right now even on a global scale and why
don't we begin with that potentially
daunting even overwhelming force called
adversity so when it comes to our
heritage forged forming and future what
role has adversity played what role
could adversity play because couldn't we
argue in a way that adversity our
hardships headaches and hassles our
struggles stumbles and suffering our
obstacles even our everyday difficulties
big and small are kind of the crux of it
all but now wait wait wait wait wait
wait because is it really our
adversities that overtime congeal to
form that ink
with which we are writing this human
narrative or is it our core responses to
our adversities that have the potential
to shape-shift our future and if your
answer to that question is that it's way
more about our core responses than any
given event or adversity and what about
that what if we could somehow master our
core response to any and all adversity
to anything and everything who can you
imagine anything more potent and
important than that so how do we do that
well we're looking through this lens of
adversity what if in addition to your IQ
and whatever dose of EQ you may possess
that each and every one of us is roaming
this planet with our own individual aq
your own adversity quotient a pattern of
response to adversity that each and
every one of us would quite literally
hardwired as a child and have been
living with ever since without even
knowing it and what if in addition to
understanding your aq you could actually
validly and reliably measure it and even
more importantly what if it's not fixed
what if it were something you could
permanently strengthen upgrade and
improve can you begin to sense the
effect that could have on your legacy
because if we're gonna talk about
inheritance shouldn't we talk about our
beneficiaries the people who we hope
most benefit from whatever we pass along
because what do they care about most
what you say and do and everything's
going great or what you say and do what
we say and do and how we show up when
something goes wrong when adversity
strikes
and which one has a far more radical
effect on their respect their trust
which one shines a far keener light upon
as a more formative effect on your very
character and all that that implies for
your legacy okay okay so if my aq plays
a profound role in who I become how I
roam this planet the life I experience
the kind of contribution I make and the
kind of legacy I pass along if that's
true at an individual level what about
it the grand collective level what about
human kind well before we go there
shouldn't we go here because have you
ever had one of those moments would you
just look yourself in the eye in the
mirror and you just ask yourself one of
us totally stripped down get real
questions maybe even life-changing
questions would you like to know mine
that explains exactly why I'm here with
you right now how could I ever put the
past forty years of my life my life's
work spent researching and exploring
assembling and then pressure testing and
then measuring and permanently improving
the ecus of 1 million individuals in a
hundred 37 countries around this
beautiful world of ours how can I ever
put all of that how could I ever put all
of me to any higher use than what we're
talking about right now
forging the human inheritance and if you
like might
viii the moment you ask yourself the
very same question okay okay so what is
that big one for example how many of you
would say global climate change
represents the great adversity of our
time could you please raise your hands
okay and you can see the agreement in
the room right and it makes sense
because if we zoom in to the heart of
inheritance is in global climate change
all about her
the human earth relationship and aren't
there so many other related consequences
we care about as well okay so if it all
comes down to her how are we doing with
her might you say we've been neglecting
or ignoring her could we say we've been
misusing even abusing her is it time we
were just flat-out admit that in so many
vital ways we are failing her and what
about that question because if we fail
her the human earth's relationship how
much does any of the rest of it even
matter I mean even those most elevating
Noble portions of ourselves like those
elements my lovely bride inspires inside
me every day just through her personal
example like kindness and compassion
grad gratitude and goodness inclusivity
love as rich and meaningful and
important as those are how much do they
ultimately matter if we fail her okay so
if it all comes down to her what are we
gonna do about her might we ask that
question and look at that along the
adversity continuum the model we use to
facilitate these very same conversations
with governments leaders organizations
and their people around the world for
the past few decades because as soon as
you look at this can't you instantly
recognize avoiding is unacceptable
survival is utterly insufficient right
and is there anybody who really wants
their legacy to be about passing along
yet more struggle and suffering
suffering a struggle is there anyone in
this room who believes we're gonna
damage control or manage our way to
greatness is it miss the moment where we
need to somehow come up with some
regenerative thinking towards some
regenerative solutions with some
regenerative leadership isn't the whole
idea that we use our adversity to have
the people and planet around us be
better and stronger because we exist so
how do we do that well why would we not
tap the wisdom of the more than 1
million ecus we've measured around the
world why would we not look at and zoom
in on those with the strongest ecus what
do they do that the rest of us can begin
to mimic and master now well what if I
suggested to you that they don't do it
just a little better they do something
different with adversity something we
can all do what if you could take any
worthy adversity one you choose to take
on and like them you could convert it
into the very fuel that propels you
propels us to the very place we never
could have arrived at without that
adversity what if like them we could
harness our adversities of choice well
how do we do that well might this be the
moment we get really intimate with our
core our core response to anything and
everything the four core dimensions that
form this scientifically grounded
construct called your a cue because if
control is about influence and it asked
a question to what extent can you
influence whatever happens next
and if ownership is the step-up factor
and it asks how likely are you to step
up to do anything to make it better and
if reach
about magnitude and asked the question
how far do you perceive this will reach
into in effect everything else and if
endurance is about duration and it asked
the question how long do you perceive
this will last or endure can't you
readily see how a person with even a
modest a cue right in the middle of that
big beautiful bell curve might respond
to her by thinking or asking well isn't
this all beginning effect kind of
everything at an ever more alarming pace
with no end in sight and aren't some of
the studies that I've been reading and
some of the scientists saying it might
already be too late and if that's the
case shouldn't we just sit back and
enjoy it while we can
I mean what can I really do and if our
core response bears any semblance to
that what just happened to our chances
what just happened to that inheritance
and can't you sense that completely
understandable but dark undercurrent of
learned helplessness that belief that
what you do doesn't matter so so why
even try and if that scientifically
grounded syndrome that dark extremely
viral emotional and social cancer takes
root within the soil of our memes our
culture our world what just happened to
humanity's hope so are we doomed well
what if we could somehow not just
immunize ourselves against learned
helplessness but begin to permanently
eradicate it from the whole equation and
conversation can you imagine
because if we know definitively that a
ques can be permanently upgraded and
improved and if we know definitively
that those are the strongest a cues are
doing something we can all begin to
mimic and master starting now and met
the same
four core questions that they asked are
the same ones all of us can ask
regarding anything with anyone at any
moment starting now why would we not
begin to do what they do what would that
higher aq response to this adversity
begin to feel and sound like might have
begin to feel and sound something like
this
aren't there's so many facets of the
situation that each of us can
potentially influence even more smarter
and better and can't every one of us
step up in more ways in more effective
ways in order to further minimize any
potential downside and maximize the
potentially boundless upside so that we
can get through the darkest worst of
this and toward the ever brighter
boundless best of this as quickly as
possible and if our collective core
response
bears any semblance to that what just
happened to our chances what just
happened to our future and is there any
other way to get there because here's
the thing right if all this ingenuity
and innovation and intelligence if our
collective IQs brought us to where we
are so far isn't it time isn't this V
time that we tap the full force of our
collective ecus to forge the only future
worth passing along who says it's crazy
what proof is there that it's impossible
not what if but what happens when we
harness the greatest adversity of all
time
to unleash an inheritance of heritage a
legacy of future more brilliant than our
wildest imaginations to help the people
and planet around us regenerate to help
her thrive can you imagine putting
yourself can we imagine putting
ourselves to any higher use than that
thank you so much
[Applause]