Our Thoughts & Intentions Create Our Reality | Allen Klein | TEDxMontaVistaHighSchool

thank you thank you TEDx so when I was seven years old my parents yes that's me my parents took me to see my first Broadway show Oklahoma the musical and I remember that we came in late and so when the show was over when the Curan came down I didn't want to leave the theater I felt like a movie I could just sit there and it would start again the curtain would go up again I'd see the beginning well that wasn't true and my parents dragged me kicking and screaming out of the theater that day but from that day on from that day on I realized that I wanted to be a scenic designer I wanted to see those or make those pretty stage pictures that I saw and so that week after the show I went back to school PS 64 in the Bronx and instead of doing a book report that like all the other students were doing about the book we were reading I took a cigar box and I made a pretty little stage picture about that book I did a diorama a stage set and then many years later I got into Hunter College in New York City and I designed a lot of the school productions and then I finally finally got into Yale Drama School to become a scenic designer it was the most prestigious theater school in the time at the time in the country and it was a three-year master's and at the end of the first year they asked me to leave they basically said you had no talent wait a minute wait a minute baby you can't tell me I had no talent I was a scenic designer since I was seven years old nobody nobody could tell me I wasn't a designer not even Yale School of Drama and so I left jail I went back New York City and I got into the scenic design Union as an apprentice and then I took the very stringent test to become a full designer it was a month long test and guess what I failed but I had determination I had my intention since seven years old to become a designer so I took the test again and I passed and this time I was doing nationwide productions on TV and my fellow classmates was still doing college productions and I designed such shows as mer Griffin the Jackie Gleason show and my favorite Captain Kangaroo many of you young people don't know this is but he was on TV a children's show for 30 years and I learned a really great lesson on that journey going from seven years old to designing national TV and that lesson and the lesson I want to share with you today is that our thoughts and our intentions create our reality you know I thought over the years what if my parents had instead of a Broadway show what if they took me to a wrestling match not what I want to be so I went back to school became the designer and then fast-forward say 40 years I'm no longer a designer I'm now an author and a professional speaker and a division of Random House had published seven of my books and they were doing really well they were sold 400,000 copies and then Random House cost-cutting measures they decided to close that division and the books were no longer in print you couldn't get the books that was it and I called them over and I got the rights back to the books and I thought I'm going to try to sell the books to another publisher well for a year and a half I struggled and struggled nobody wanted the books that was it the end of the books and I thought sometimes when I struggled too much it may not be the right thing I'm going to just put my intention out there and get the books published I knew the books would be published and so what I did is I wrote out this card and I put it above my desk on the computer and I looked at it every single moment of the day I was at my desk and it said the perfect publisher will find me the perfect publisher will find me and about two months after I did this card I went to this writers meeting and it was a theatre setting and I was sitting on the aisle and a man next to me was turned around talking to two women and I overheard them say to him we have a very successful publishing company but we're looking for a new division and we are looking for motivational inspirational joyous books and I turned around and I said I have seven of those books and they are ready to go and they gave me their card and I looked at the card and this was the first miracle their office was five blocks away from where I lived so I didn't send them the books the next morning I took them the books and the rest is kind of history they have published eight of my books and I have another one the manuscript goes to them next week but you know that's not the perfect publisher found me but that is not the end of the story they were got too big for their little office so they moved to a bigger headquarters and they had this big party and I walk in the door and this woman comes right up to me and she says Alan you know I own this company she said you don't see me here a lot I live in London now but we are so glad that you're one of our authors and I looked at her and she said she knows me and I looked and looked at her and I thought I don't know you how come you can say you know me and she said for ten years I lived across the street from you and I'd watch you walk your dog every single day the perfect publisher found me I put my intention out there I gave up struggling so invite you to use this do your own card fill in the blank the perfect college will find me the perfect job will find me the perfect boyfriend or girlfriend will find me so why is that because your thoughts and your intentions create your reality so it's a beautiful Saturday morning in San Francisco I'm in my car I'm driving to the gym I just said seeing the Broadway musical Billy Elliot I have the CD in my tape deck and I am singing away I'm happy electricity electricity inside of me and I'm free I'm free and then I hear a siren pulling me over it wasn't for my singing it was for getting a speeding ticket see in San Francisco on Geary Street there's a tunnel when you enter the tunnel it is 35 miles an hour when you get out of the tunnel immediately it changes to 25 miles an hour and I didn't you know I'm singing I didn't notice that I'm probably doing 42 miles an hour in a 25 mile an hour zone and I get the ticket and I get to the gym and I'm still singing I'm still happy and I'm telling fellow gym mates I just got a speeding ticket and they're saying Alan how come you're still happy and you just got a ticket you shouldn't be so happy how come and out of my mouth came I am NOT going to let that policeman or that ticket ruined my day it was my intention to have a great day that day and I was not going to let anyone or anything ruin it and how often do you let other people or other things ruin your day and you do not have to do that why folks fill in the blank because your thoughts and intentions create your reality so I want to give you five ways that you can harness the power of intention the first way is to be clear on what you want you know I wanted to be a scenic designer I didn't want to be a brain surgeon or astronaut I knew I was very clear I wanted to be a scenic designer so you have to be very clear the other thing is put it down on paper when you put things down on paper it makes it more concrete you can't just think it up here it makes it more powerful so I'm in New York City my wife with some San Francisco would come and visit every year and I'd see these great Victorian houses and I said someday I want a Victorian house and so in New York City I would draw pictures of Victorian houses and guess what folks I have a Victorian house the power the power of intention okay the third way is you don't have to know how it will happen that is not your job you just put out your intention make it clear as you can put it down on paper tell the world about it and either it will happen and sometimes you won't but that's not your job to figure out how it will happen and also you need to act on it you can't just write it down or think it up you have to act on it so several years ago I am watching TV it's Thanksgiving Day and I'm watching the Macy Day Thanksgiving Day Parade and I used to go to it when I lived in New York City and I'm thinking god I would love to march in that parade but I had no idea how to do that so I asked everyone I know because I believe we're six degrees of separation from people that could help us achieve what we want to achieve so I asked everyone I knew and nobody knew how to do that so I thought I'm gonna ask a lot of more of my friends so I put in on Facebook 2,000 on my friends I figured somebody might know and a woman wrote back to me said you know I don't know anyone in Macy's I don't know how I can get you in the parade but she said I'll tell you what I'll just find out and I'll let you know and so she found out I contacted the right person and in 2013 I much in the Macy Day Thanksgiving Day Parade and the fifth way the fifth way is you know take take your intentions seriously take what you want to do in this world seriously but don't take yourself so seriously lighten up so I have a little reminder that you can take with you to help you on your journey to lighten up it's in those packets they say do not open did you take the packet out don't open it yet and close your eyes pack it in hand eyes close and with your eyes closed I'd like you to think about some little stress you might be having some little anxiety just concentrate on that until I tell you what to do and with that in mind what I'd like you to do is keep your eyes closed but open that packet take out what's inside that packet and with your eyes closed put it on your nose and once it's on your nose open your eyes and look around the room you all look great you look like a patch of cherry tomatoes so I invite you to take these and use it when you go out of here maybe use it in traffic jams but play with your nose to see what happens so final story final story about intention on January 5th of this year I wrote on my bucket list that I want to do a TED talk 20 days later January 25th I get an email asking me if I would be interested in doing a TED talk and folks Here I am today standing on the Ted red round rug reminding you about the power of intention thank you thank you

Channel: TEDx Talks

Views: 120,440

Rating: 4.8039927 out of 5

Keywords: TEDxTalks, English, United States, Life, Comedy, Humor, Personal growth, Self

Id: rqPu52vWpJA

Length: 14min 38sec (878 seconds)

Published: Thu Jul 14 2016