we live in a consumerist society which
means they need you to buy stuff and the
easiest way to sell it is to tell you
you're not enough
[Applause]
[Music]
all right this should be easier without
vision right right here oranges when I
step into a room full of powerful people
I say how can I open hearts and it
starts with me showing vulnerability so
what I'll choose to do is make up a poem
just for you right now so you know that
there's no agenda it's a unique alchemy
of everyone in this room not a moment
too soon not a moment too late it's
exactly what you came here to receive
because what I've seen here at this
experience has warmed my heart it's
given me hope going from one dope person
to the next
dope person I've recognized that in each
of your eyes I see a version of myself
one that cares one that's willing to go
there the dark places inside of
ourselves that allow us to become the
best versions of ourselves so that we
can become a reflection for Humanity of
what humanity can be when we step into
unity and community and allow ourselves
to be seen in our authenticity a mission
that we feel deep inside a mission that
allows us to guide others simply by
being the light when it feels right what
is possible what might be
a vision for what can exist on this
planet what we saw when we all came down
and landed from the stars and something
that has lit me up is the passion inside
each and every one of you filling your
cup coming here and saying I am worthy
of expanding everything inside of myself
I can put my shadow beside myself not
identify with the ego let it go and be
something more be worthy of your own
show and get on stage and let people
know that you are here to grow you are
here to glow and shine and remind people
they are divine time after time line
after line rhyme after rhyme
unless it's oranges vision I'm not over
it
and so what happens when I step on sage
and I allow you to see me truly see me
without any idea of what it means to be
me other than to get on stage and be
brave and say this is who I am this is
what I felt this is what I've learned
from each of you this is what I've
earned from each of you recognizing that
together we've done something special
each and every morning we wake up we go
and we take up all the food from there
and we ice if you're like me I stole a
couple bottles of water took them to my
hotel room and then pretty soon we're in
these breakout sessions all these rooms
that are full drinking it up by the
earful and then going out and playing
drinking it up by the mouthful and
recognizing that one of the best things
we can do for everyone reminding them
that it's true that being happy is the
best way to elicit change because the
revolution gets to be irresistible the
revolution gets to be irresistible if
you haven't made it fun if you haven't
made it cool why would anyone take the
curriculum from your school on how to
live life I would think twice from
listening to the person who goes back
home and hates their job and hates their
relationship and really wants to get out
of everything that they did for the last
ten years but hasn't yet found the
strength within themselves to do it and
so I stand on the stage and a lot of
people have asked me this question over
the past few days have you always been
like this
have you always been able to choose love
been able to rise above has this
methodology this ideology fit like a
glove always know I want to let you know
that this was something that I learned
to do because I was molested at the age
of five by a man very close to me and my
family and I didn't remember that memory
until I was almost 31 years old and so
my mission has been how do I give myself
permission to choose love for someone
who did something to me that caused me
to walk through the world with fear in
my heart putting up walls not letting
people near to my heart clear from the
start that there's a certain distance
that we get to have because if you got
too close there'd be something bad that
could happen to me at any given moment
there could be calamity or tragedy what
I can't see the unknown is fear in me
because we project into the unknown
based on our past experience and so if
you've walked through the world fear in
this then you're gonna project into the
unknown fearing that and so yes I come
onstage and I wear a dope hat and I
speak in rhymes and you go you see that
and recognize that I learned how to do
this I learned how to see this I learned
how to be this which means every single
one of you can every single one of you
who took my hand and said thank you but
I don't know if my circumstances are
actually the same as yours could you
choose love if you were sitting exactly
where I was sitting or would you start
forgetting the things that you preach
about the things that you speak about
and I know it's possible for you with
what I've been through in my life I
recognize that in yours
life doesn't give you anything that you
aren't strong enough to overcome strong
enough to turn your pain into your
purpose and become the one that can have
a unique message that goes out to an
audience that is uniquely yours who
wants to hear your voice wants to see
the choice that you made to overcome the
same types of behavior that they
experienced so they don't feel so alone
they know it's possible for them to
regain their cosmic throne kings and
queens in this room you are role models
for the people who see gloom and doom
when they look out and they see the news
and they hear about Trump and they see
all the page views on stupid [ __ ] that
doesn't mean anything but then when you
put out a video that you think should
get a million views it gets well there's
a lot of people in this room man oh no
thousand ten thousand but recognize that
for each one of those views that's a
human being who will choose to listen to
you in this digital age we sometimes
forget that every one of those views is
a human being searching for it
searching for love the best they know
how and learning to forgive and open
your heart to compassion for each and
every person who may not have the same
passion who may not have the same level
of courage when you can see them as
human being human you don't get
discouraged you recognize that in their
eyes you see yourself before you became
the person who could even see yourself
and when you look when you learn to love
the deepest parts of yourself
the shadow the anger the judgment you
can have compassion when people reflect
back to you the parts of yourself that
you used to feel guilty about or shame
about this is a journey that begins by
learning to love ourselves and so I'm
gonna share a poem with you right now
this one I wrote many of you may have
seen it it's called you are who you've
been looking for and generally what
happens is when I share a poem I give
you that energy and then you give it
back to me in the form of applause for
this poem in particular I would like for
there to be a moment of silence when I
finish and I want that to be a
permission slip for you to fall more
deeply in love with yourself take the
energy that you felt the appreciate
appreciation that you felt and points it
inward for everything it took for you to
be the person who's sitting here today
all the other things you could have been
doing you chose to be here for all the
things that you're gonna do when you
leave here to carry this message out
loud and clear I want you to give
yourself gratitude and appreciation and
love and we will do that in a moment of
silence and after that moment of silence
you are welcome to clap as much as you
want can I have everyone take a nice
deep breath in
you are who you've been looking for so
stop looking for more unless you're
looking in a mirror because it's about
time for you to see clearly that you are
who you've been looking for and that
empty feeling you got that hole in your
chest you only got that feeling because
you think you're not blessed with
everything you need you see we live in a
consumerist society which means they
need you to buy stuff and the easiest
way to sell it is to tell you you're not
enough buy this car you'll get girls buy
this bra
you'll get guys and we're seeing it so
much that we start believing these lies
but the truth is the makeup they're
selling to make you feel prettier is the
same makeup you buy to stop feeling
shittier about this lie they keep
telling you that you are not enough and
what about the movies we watch all the
shows on TV the more I watch the more I
see I need you to complete me huh
and yes love is the answer love is the
key but if you can't love yourself how
can you ever love me and loving yourself
what does that even mean like massages
and selfies and that sort of thing
because the more I think about it the
more it feels weird I've always been
taught that self-love was something to
be feared I've been taught that
arrogance is bad and vanity it's not
good and even my bracelets are telling
me to act how Jesus would so what should
I do
how should I act I'm supposed to love
myself but how do I even do that well I
got a trick that I picked up from a
friend who noticed that I was quick to
defend her when she would say something
negative about herself she'd say I'm so
dumb and I'd say you're so brilliant
she'd say I'm so weak and I'd say you're
so resilient and when she said I feel
ugly and I said you look beautiful she
asked me why I was so dutifully filling
up her cup constantly and yet treating
my own cups so irresponsibly because
when I looked in the mirror my voice was
quite clear you're ugly you're too thin
your hairlines receding and you got a
pimple on your chin and that was when
she gave me a piece of advice that chain
to my life she gave me a hug and she
said treat yourself like someone you
love treat yourself like someone you
love now I had been standing but I
needed to be sitting because I couldn't
believe that I had been letting myself
keep forgetting that I was who I'd been
looking for and deep in my core I knew
it was time to stop looking for more
until I could look through all my fear
and look into a mirror and see clearly
that the man looking back at me is the
only one who can make me happy and I am
already enough and I'm not any more
special or unique than you that's why
I'm here to speak to you
you are already enough and when you
start to see that you will start to be
that your world will get brighter your
load will get lighter and you can see
that with life you can be a lover not a
fighter and that life you deserve it
because you are worth it and there's no
point in letting yourself keep
forgetting because no matter what you
say or do you are perfect and so today I
hope I leave you with a direction
correction away from the flaws you see
in your reflection they aren't flaws to
me they are simply protection against
all the doubts you have of your
perfection so start today take a good
long look in the mirror and say I am who
I've been looking for
you
feeling every cell of your body becoming
receptive to your own self-love shining
a light on that part of yourself that
you've been struggling to let go of that
part of yourself that you've been
struggling to love
pouring light into every crevice like
warm water seeping through your body
until you feel yourself glowing feeling
yourself elevated simply by choice
sealing it with a nice deep breath in
and out my name is Adam Rowe thank you
very much
[Applause]
[Music]
you