Transcriber: Kim Tien Nguyen Reviewer: Raúl Higareda I discovered a secret of the universe. Do you want to hear about it? It’s a secret so powerful it can transform your entire life in just 10 seconds.
I am here today to share with you my accidental discovery that the universe rewards bold action. Hopefully, you won’t have to sweat through as many shirts as I did to learn this. I’ve always loved the phrase “fortune favors the bold” because anytime I would muster up the courage to take bold action, my life seemed to immediately improve.
It got me thinking, “What if ‘fortune favors the bold’ wasn’t just a cool quote, but rather a formula for how the universe works? ” Let me explain. We can’t control what happens to us in life.
Let’s call this “fortune. ” But we can control how bold we are being. And my hypothesis was that if we increase the boldness in our lives, then what happens to us, our fortune, must also increase.
I’ll never forget the day I first put this hypothesis to the test. I was sitting at a cafe eating breakfast when I saw her. I made eye contact with a woman across the room, and my stomach dropped as electricity shot through me.
She was sitting at a table with another man and a woman, and I didn’t know why, but I knew I needed to speak with her. So when I finished eating, I got my receipt, I flipped it over and I wrote my name and phone number on the back of it. I then stood up from my table, palms sweating, heart pounding, as every fiber of my body told me to sit back down.
Instead, I walked across the room. When I got to their table, the man sitting across from her was speaking, and I didn’t wanna be rude, so I looked at him and I said, “Hey, man, so sorry, can I interrupt for a moment? ” He looked up at me confused, but slowly nodded.
That’s when I turned to this mysterious Wonder Woman and I said, “Hey, you’re really cute, which means you probably have a boyfriend, but if you don’t, here’s my phone number. ” And as I slowly slid the receipt with my phone number across the table, she blurted out, “I don’t have a boyfriend. ” I smiled, said, “Have a good day,” turned, and walked away.
Now, the big question is, “Did she end up texting me? ” She texted me later that night, and I’m so grateful to share that just two weeks ago, we celebrated our two-year anniversary. All it took was 10 seconds of terrifyingly bold action, and the universe rewarded me with the best romantic relationship of my life.
But meeting my girlfriend was just the beginning. I wanted to fully test out this hypothesis that the universe rewards bold action. And inspired by a book I read called Rejection Proof, I embarked on a 100-day challenge of taking bold action and talking to strangers around San Diego.
On day number one of this challenge, I knocked on a stranger’s door and asked if they wanted to go for a walk with me around the neighborhood. Their answer was “No,” but as I waited for them to answer the door after knocking, I felt more alive than I had in years, and I knew that I was onto something. On day number four, I knocked on another stranger’s door.
But this time, I was wearing a swimsuit and holding a beach towel. When the door opened in front of me, I put on my best smile and said, “Hi, my name is Gregory, and I was wondering if I could jump in your swimming pool. ” The man who opened the door stared back in silence for what felt like an eternity and then he burst into laughter.
He then surprised me by saying “Yes,” and we ended up filming a short video of me jumping in his swimming pool, in perfect cannonball form, I might add. I posted this video on Instagram, and over the course of just two weeks, it got over 350,000 views, showing me that this idea of taking bold action really resonated with people. But this was just the beginning.
Over the next 96 days, I asked strangers if they would bake cookies with me, if they would give me a piggyback ride, and if I could borrow $100. I had a “can-I-drive-this” phase where I asked the mailman, Amazon delivery driver, and the FedEx guy if I could drive their trucks. I asked a group of construction workers if I could drive their steamroller, and they almost said yes.
Now, I mostly received polite rejections throughout the course of my 100 days, but I did manage to save $4 at the post office by asking if they had a discount for men with incredibly good mustaches. I started this talk by saying that I would share with you a secret of the universe. What I didn’t tell you is that I’ve been using this secret to change the lives of hundreds of people that I’ve worked with.
From writing books to changing careers, from finding love to facing fears, these five words have been our mantra: the universe rewards bold action. You can’t control what happens to you in life, but you can control how bold you are being. And if you’re willing to step out of your comfort zone, sweat through a few shirts, and hear the word no, you will be rewarded.
Bold action is any intentional act that scares you a little and excites you a lot. It's a commitment to cultivating your courage, to facing your fears, and being playfully outrageous along the way. And the best part about bold action, anyone can do it.
It doesn’t matter whether you’re old or young. It doesn’t matter whether you’re feeling confident or struggling with social anxiety. The magic happens when you take action before you are ready.
And remember, all it takes is just 10 seconds of courage. It’s for that reason that I want to leave you with a single question. What is one bold action that you can take in your life today?
Maybe it's making a difficult phone call. Maybe it's asking for a raise at work. It could even be high-fiving the next stranger you see.
The worst thing that could happen is nothing. Someone tells you no, and you’re in the exact same place as you are right now. But the best thing that could happen is everything.
The author, Anais Nin, once said that life shrinks or expands in proportion to one’s courage. And now, because you’ve listened to this talk, you know the reason why: because the universe rewards bold action. Thank you.
