Dutchsinse retweeted
Ten million people have watched a 17-year-old accidentally destroy the entire self-help industry.
He filmed the talk at TEDxMidAtlantic in October 2013 and died two months later.
Tony Robbins charges $5,000 for a weekend seminar on happiness. A dying teenager delivered the whole thing in 12 minutes for free.
His name was Sam Berns. He was a high school junior from Foxboro, Massachusetts, one of about 350 kids in the world born with progeria, a rare genetic disease that causes rapid aging. He weighed 50 pounds.
When NPR asked him the single most important thing people should know about him, he answered: I have a very happy life.
His entire framework fits on a napkin.
Be okay with what you cannot do, because there is so much you can. When the standard way does not work, build another one. Surround yourself only with high-quality people. Always have something to look forward to. Never waste energy on self-pity.
That last rule alone has probably cost the self-help industry a hundred million dollars in unopened affirmation journals.
"I have a very happy life."
That was Sam Berns at seventeen, talking to NPR about progeria. He had two months left to live.
Founders spend $5,000 on Tony Robbins and still cannot stop checking their phone for the one investor who ghosted them. Executives journal their gratitude every morning and still arrive at the office angry at the coffee line.
The talk is free on YouTube. The Progeria Research Foundation runs on donations.
Sam died in January 2014. Almost none of the ten million viewers have stopped waiting for a better moment to be happy.
The philosophy is free. The willingness to actually choose what you can do before your next bad day is the entire edge.
