5 Lessons on Happiness — from Pop Fame to Poisonous Snakes | Mike Posner | TED

Summary

In this inspiring talk, Mike Posner shares his transformative journey of walking 3,000 miles across the United States, a quest for happiness that took him from the heights of fame to the depths of self-discovery. Posner recounts the five life lessons he learned along the way, including embracing the craziness of great ideas, the power of taking the first step, recognizing quitting as disguised excuses, finding happiness through growth, and the importance of not waiting to pursue one's dreams. His story concludes with a heartfelt tribute to his father, emphasizing the urgency of living authentically.

Takeaways

• 🎵 Mike Posner performs 'I Took a Pill in Ibiza', reflecting on fame, personal growth, and seeking happiness.
• 🌆 Describes his life in LA, highlighting the emptiness despite fame and wealth, emphasizing the superficiality of material success.
• 🛑 Warns against the allure of fame and the dangers of seeking validation through others, advocating for self-acceptance.
• 🚶‍♂️ Shares his transformative journey of walking across America, a 3,000-mile trek, as a quest for personal growth and happiness.
• 👨‍👦 Recounts his father's influence, emphasizing the importance of health and happiness, and the struggle to achieve the latter.
• 🤔 Discusses the challenges and fears faced before and during his walk, including doubts about his career and physical wellbeing.
• 🐍 Details a life-threatening encounter with a rattlesnake, illustrating vulnerability and the unpredictability of life.
• 🚀 Presents life lessons learned from his journey, including embracing crazy ideas, taking the first step, and finding happiness in growth.
• 🎓 Highlights the importance of not procrastinating and living life to the fullest, inspired by the loss of his father.
• 🎤 Concludes with a song dedicated to his father, encapsulating themes of love, acceptance, and letting go.

Q & A

What was the song that Mike Posner became famous for?

Mike Posner became famous for the song 'I Took a Pill in Ibiza'.

How did Mike Posner feel despite his fame and success?

Despite his fame and success, Mike Posner felt unhappy and struggled to find true happiness.

What was the advice Mike Posner's father gave him as a child?

Mike Posner's father advised him to be healthy and happy, which became a significant part of his life's journey.

What drastic decision did Mike Posner make to find happiness?

Mike Posner decided to walk across America, a 3,000-mile journey, to find the happiness he couldn't achieve through fame.

What was the reaction of the music industry to Mike Posner's decision to walk across America?

The music industry viewed Mike Posner's decision as both bad and crazy, warning him it could be a career-ending move.

What was the first life lesson Mike Posner learned from his journey?

The first life lesson he learned was that not all crazy ideas are great, but all great ideas are crazy.

What happened to Mike Posner during his walk across America that nearly stopped him?

Mike Posner was bitten by a poisonous rattlesnake during his walk, which landed him in the ICU for three nights.

What did Mike Posner realize after surviving the snake bite?

After surviving the snake bite, Mike Posner realized that his reasons to quit were just excuses in disguise, especially when it came to things he cared about deeply.

What was the fourth life lesson Mike Posner learned from his journey?

The fourth life lesson he learned was that true happiness comes from growth, which he experienced after completing his walk.

What tragic event happened in Mike Posner's life two years before his walk?

Mike Posner's father was diagnosed with glioblastoma, a form of brain cancer, and passed away before Mike could achieve his biggest dream.

What was the final life lesson Mike Posner shared in his speech?

The final life lesson Mike Posner shared was 'Don't wait.' He emphasized the importance of acting on one's dreams and not postponing them.

How did Mike Posner conclude his speech?

Mike Posner concluded his speech by performing a song dedicated to his father, reflecting on the lessons he learned and the happiness he eventually found.

Outlines

00:00

🎤 Journey to Self-Discovery

In this paragraph, Mike Posner introduces himself as the artist behind the hit song 'I Took a Pill in Ibiza' and shares his personal transformation. Despite achieving fame and wealth, he felt unfulfilled and unhappy. Posner decided to embark on a 3,000-mile walk across the United States to find a deeper sense of purpose and happiness. He outlines the initial skepticism from his music industry peers and the life lessons he learned, starting with the acceptance that not all crazy ideas are great, but all great ideas start as crazy ones.

05:01

🚶‍♂️ The Walk of a Lifetime

Posner describes the daunting task of walking across America, beginning on the East Coast and detailing the physical and mental challenges he faced. He talks about the fear and doubt that accompanied the start of his journey, but once he took the first step, those fears dissipated. He shares his experience of walking through various states, dealing with extreme weather conditions, and ultimately being bitten by a poisonous rattlesnake, which led to a life-threatening situation and a significant setback in his journey.

10:04

🏔️ Overcoming Adversity

After recovering from a rattlesnake bite, Posner faced a critical decision: return to his comfortable life or continue his grueling journey. He chose the latter, recognizing that his reasons for quitting were merely excuses. This decision reinforced his third life lesson: when it comes to things we truly care about, our reasons to quit are often just excuses in disguise. Posner persisted, facing and overcoming numerous challenges, including traversing the Rocky Mountains and the Mojave Desert, until he reached his destination.

15:07

🎶 Finding True Happiness

Upon completing his walk and reaching the Pacific Ocean, Posner finally experienced a sense of true happiness, which he identifies as coming from personal growth. He reflects on the loss of his father to brain cancer and the regret of not pursuing his dream sooner. He concludes with the fifth and final life lesson: the importance of seizing the moment and not delaying the pursuit of one's dreams. Posner's story ends with a heartfelt tribute to his father and a performance of his song, which encapsulates the themes of self-discovery and the journey of life.

Keywords

💡Happiness

Happiness in the context of the video refers to a state of well-being and contentment that Mike Posner initially struggles to achieve despite his fame and success. It is the ultimate goal he seeks through his journey of self-discovery and personal growth. The video illustrates that true happiness comes from within and is often the result of overcoming challenges and achieving personal growth, as evidenced by Posner's emotional experience upon completing his walk across America.

💡Self-discovery

Self-discovery is the process of uncovering and understanding one's own identity, values, and purpose. In the video, Mike Posner embarks on a literal and metaphorical journey across America to find himself and understand what truly makes him happy. This journey is filled with physical and emotional challenges that lead to profound personal insights and a clearer sense of self.

💡Overcoming Fear

Overcoming fear refers to the act of confronting and surmounting one's anxieties or apprehensions about a particular situation or decision. In the video, Mike Posner faces his fears by embarking on a challenging journey despite the potential risks to his career and physical well-being. His ability to push past these fears is a testament to his courage and determination.

💡Resilience

Resilience is the capacity to recover quickly from difficulties or to withstand and bounce back from adversity. In the video, Mike Posner demonstrates resilience by not only continuing his walk across America despite the physical pain and challenges he encounters, such as a rattlesnake bite, but also by learning from these experiences and using them to grow stronger.

💡Personal Growth

Personal growth involves self-improvement and the development of one's character, skills, and understanding. In the video, Mike Posner's journey across America serves as a catalyst for significant personal growth, as he learns valuable life lessons and gains a deeper understanding of what truly matters to him.

💡Pursuit of Dreams

The pursuit of dreams refers to the active effort to achieve one's aspirations or goals. In the video, Mike Posner's decision to walk across America represents his pursuit of a dream that he had long postponed. This pursuit is not just about the physical journey but also about the fulfillment of a personal desire to challenge himself and find happiness.

💡Life Lessons

Life lessons are valuable insights or pieces of wisdom that are typically gained from experiences. In the video, Mike Posner shares five life lessons he learned during his journey, which include the importance of taking action, recognizing that reasons to quit are often excuses, and understanding that true happiness comes from personal growth.

💡Career

A career refers to a person's professional life and the progression of their occupation, often involving work, especially as a means of earning a living. In the video, Mike Posner's career as a musician is initially seen as a barrier to his pursuit of happiness. However, it also serves as the context for his journey, as he must step away from the music industry to find true fulfillment.

💡Journey

A journey is a long trip or a series of events that one experiences, often used metaphorically to describe a process of personal or spiritual development. In the video, Mike Posner's physical journey across America is also a metaphor for his internal journey of self-discovery and growth.

💡Adversity

Adversity refers to difficult or painful circumstances that test a person's resilience and determination. In the video, Mike Posner encounters several forms of adversity, including physical pain, fear of failure, and the potential risk to his career, all of which contribute to his personal growth and the lessons he learns.

💡Inspiration

Inspiration is the process of being mentally stimulated to feel or do something, especially something creative. In the video, Mike Posner's journey serves as an inspiration to others, showing that it is possible to overcome personal challenges and achieve one's dreams. His story encourages viewers to pursue their own paths, despite the obstacles they may face.

Highlights

Mike Posner shares his transformative journey of walking 3,000 miles across the United States.

The inspiration behind his walk was to find happiness and personal growth, as advised by his father.

Posner's struggle with happiness despite achieving fame and success in the music industry.

The life lesson that all great ideas are crazy, but not all crazy ideas are great.

The importance of taking the first step to overcome fears and doubts.

Posner's encounter with a poisonous rattlesnake and his recovery, reinforcing his determination.

The realization that reasons to quit are often excuses in disguise.

The profound happiness Posner found through personal growth and achieving his goal.

The regret of not starting his journey sooner, which led to his father not witnessing his happiness and accomplishment.

The advice to not wait for the right time to pursue one's dreams and aspirations.

Posner's song 'I Took a Pill in Ibiza' and how it represents a different phase of his life.

The impact of fame and the pursuit of others' approval on personal well-being.

The challenges of walking across America, including physical pain and the risk of accidents.

The therapeutic and self-discovery aspects of Posner's journey.

The emotional connection to his father and the legacy he wanted to honor.

The metaphorical significance of walking and flying in the context of Posner's personal growth and freedom.

The final accomplishment of reaching the Pacific Ocean, symbolizing the completion of his journey and the attainment of happiness.

Transcripts

(Music)

I took a pill in Ibiza

To show Avicii I was cool

And when I finally got sober, felt ten years older

Oh, fuck it, it was something to do

I'm living out in LA

I drive a sports car just to prove

I'm a real big baller 'cause I made a million dollars

And I spend it on girls and shoes

You don't want to be high like me

Never really knowing why like me

You don't ever want to step off that roller coaster

And be all alone

You don't want to ride the bus like this

Never knowing who to trust like this

You don't want to be stuck up on that stage singing

Stuck up on that stage singing

All I know

Are sad songs

Sad songs

Darling, all I know

Are sad songs

Sad songs

(Music ends)

(Applause and cheers)

Thank you.

My name is Mike Posner,

and some of you may recognize me from that song,

“I Took a Pill in Ibiza”

but I'm not the same person I was when I wrote that.

In fact, that's why I'm here today.

I want to tell you about the time that I did something crazy

and it changed me.

I want to tell you about the time

that I tried to walk 3,000 miles

all the way across the United States of America,

the big challenge that got in my way

and the five life lessons that I learned.

But way before I tried to walk across America,

my story begins with my father.

My dad used to always tell me when I was little,

"Mike, there's two things that are most important to me.

Number one, I want you to be healthy.

And number two, I want you to be happy."

Now the healthy part, that came easy to me.

But the happiness ...

I struggled with that.

I was kind of a shy and depressed kid,

and I thought if I could get everyone to like me, you know,

maybe I would be happier.

And so I set about trying to get everyone to like me.

And I'll let you guys in on a little secret.

I was very effective at getting people to like me.

(Laughter)

In fact, by the time I was 22, I had become famous.

I would walk onto stages and people, forget about like,

they would scream for me.

I would take my shirt off at the concert,

they’d scream even louder.

I’d go backstage, they tell me how great I was,

but I'd get to the hotel and I'd be alone.

And the happiness that Dad wanted for me,

it just wasn't there.

I don't know how to tell you this, I tried everything.

Therapy, meditation, self-help books or retreats.

Nothing worked.

And it's not like this went on for six months,

this went on for 10 years.

And so out of options,

I decided to chase after the happiness that Dad wanted for me

in one last way,

in a way that had been stuck in my head for many years.

I decided to walk across America.

Now, very quickly,

the people I worked with in the music industry

gave me the feedback that this was both a bad and a crazy idea.

You can't just stop making albums, stop doing shows and leave.

This is a career-ending decision.

That's when I learned life lesson number one.

Not all crazy ideas are great,

but all great ideas are crazy.

(Applause)

And so I made the decision,

but still, these negative thoughts kept coming up in my head.

Thoughts like:

What if I really hurt myself permanently from doing this walk?

What if they're right and I do ruin my career

from trying this project?

What if I fail?

What if I don't make it across

and, like, I fail in front of everyone?

And to make matters worse, I lived in LA,

but strategically, I wanted to start walking on the East Coast.

So before I walked across America, I had to drive across America.

And I don't know if you guys have checked lately,

but America --

It's really freaking wide.

It's really freaking wide.

In fact, even driving across it at 70 miles per hour was daunting.

I literally had to look at this vast expanse of land

that I was going to attempt to walk across.

I was going to try to walk one eighth the circumference of planet Earth.

And so it was scary.

But on April 15, 2019,

I stood off the coast of New Jersey, and I took a step.

And when I took that step,

all the fears and doubts about what might happen if I chose to do this,

they disappeared because I was doing it.

And that's when I learned the second lesson.

Step one is take one step.

I walked across New Jersey and Pennsylvania.

I walked across Ohio,

where I developed blistering foot pain.

It was worse than I thought it would be, but I kept going.

I walked across Indiana and Illinois.

I walked across Missouri during a heat wave,

I walked across Kansas.

I walked into Colorado.

Before I knew it, I'd been walking for over three months.

I could just see the Rocky Mountains on the horizon when -- ow!

Pain shot up my left leg.

And then I heard a sound that I didn't want to hear.

Sh-sh-sh-sh.

And I realized that a poisonous rattlesnake

had just sunk its fangs into my left leg.

I called 911 and I asked, "Dispatch,

am I going to die?"

And the voice on the other end of the phone said,

"I don't know, sir."

I spent three nights in the ICU,

and my leg swelled to the size of an elephant trunk.

I went from walking 24 miles every day

to not being able to walk to the bathroom.

But after a lot of PT and great medical care,

a really funny thing happened.

I got better.

(Laughter)

And so now I had a decision to make.

I could either, A: return to my life of fame and luxury and Uber Eats.

(Laughter)

And unhappiness.

Or I could B: go back to the sweltering heat.

Go back to the blistering foot pain,

go back to the sides of the roads

where the cars almost hit me every single day.

This path sucked and it hurt a lot,

but it taught me lesson number three.

When it comes to things I care about,

my reasons to quit

are always excuses in disguise.

See, I had the best reason to quit of all time.

Let me spell it out for you.

I was bit by a deadly snake,

(Laughter)

and I almost died.

This is the gold standard of reasons to stop doing something.

(Laughter)

In fact, it was such a good reason to quit

that if I did quit,

most people probably wouldn't even consider me a quitter,

it would just be a really cool story with a bad-ass ending.

But I wasn't doing this for most people.

I knew.

I knew that the only way

for me to become the version of myself that I'd actually be proud of

and have a chance to taste the happiness that Dad wanted for me so bad,

was to walk the remaining 1,000 miles.

And ...

I don't know how to tell you this.

There was no podcast I could listen to about it,

there was no book I could read about it,

there was no documentary I could watch about it,

there was no magical piece of advice a friend could give me about it,

there was no psychedelic,

I had to do it.

I had to do it.

And so I went back to the exact spot that that darn snake bit me.

(Laughter)

I was scared to go back there, too.

(Laughter)

And I took a step.

And I kept taking steps

until I walked up and over the Rocky Mountains.

And I kept taking steps until I walked across Colorado.

And I kept taking steps when I didn't want to keep taking steps.

I kept taking steps until I walked across Navajo Nation.

I kept taking steps until I walked across Arizona.

I kept taking steps until I walked across Nevada.

I kept taking steps until I walked across the Mojave Desert.

I kept taking steps until the Hollywood sign was on my right.

I kept taking steps until the pavement turned into sand.

I kept taking steps until my walk transformed into a sprint.

And after six months and three days,

2,851 miles, 5.7 million steps,

I dove face-first into the Pacific Ocean.

(Cheers and applause)

And while I was in that water,

an unfamiliar emotion washed over me.

And that was happiness.

That’s when I learned lesson number four,

that true happiness

comes from growth.

So now I had the health,

I had the happiness.

But I didn’t have my dad.

Two years before I started walking across America,

my dad was diagnosed with glioblastoma,

that's a form of brain cancer.

And on January 11, 2017 ...

My dad passed away.

And I want to be real with you today.

I had the idea

and the inspiration to walk across America

way before my dad got sick

But every time spring rolled around, I would say, “Next year.

Next year, I’m too busy right now.

I’ve got a concert, I’ve got a tour.

Next year, I've got work, I've got a wedding that I don't want to go to,

but I feel like I've got to go to it.

Next year, next year.”

And as a result of me saying "next year" ...

My dad never got to see me achieve my biggest dream.

My biggest accomplishment.

And he never got to see me truly happy.

And so, if lesson number one is not all crazy ideas are great,

but all great ideas are crazy.

And lesson two is step one is take one step.

Three: reasons are excuses in disguise.

Four: true happiness comes from growth.

Then lesson number five ...

Don't wait.

Don't wait.

Thank you.

(Applause and cheers)

This song is for Dad.

(Music)

You tell me that you can see your mother

I couldn’t see her

That was my fault, it wasn’t yours

And I spit back these words I heard in Ram Dass lectures

To make you feel better about what's in store

And everyone has their theory of where you're going

And here I am about to throw more words on top of that pile

I happen to think that you always know who I am

You're just stretching out your wings

You're gonna fly for a while

And that's all right with me

Fly, baby, fly

Yeah, that's all right with me

Fly, baby, fly

I'm so tired of life inside the saddle

There's no reason for that

It happened just because

And the moon’s so bright tonight that I have a shadow

And that's a reminder

that I'm not who I thought I was

And everyone has their theory of where you're going

Here I am about to throw more words on top of that pile

I happen to think that you always know who I am

You're just stretching out your wings

You're gonna fly for a while

And that's all right with me

Fly, baby, fly

Yeah, that's all right with me

Fly, baby, fly

Yeah, that's all right with me

Fly, baby, fly

Yeah, that's all right with me

Fly, baby, fly

And then it comes undone

It all unwinds

And there's only so much I can take

Only so much time

Yeah, it comes undone

It all unwinds

Been in the dark so long that the light just makes me blind

Been in the dark so long that the light just makes me blind

At some point, every light begins to flicker

So I suspect that even mine

will start to wane

But I've got an idea that I'd like you to consider

If I could love you without trying to change you,

could you do the same?

If I could love you without trying to change you,

could you do the same?

(Music ends)

(Applause)

Thank you guys so much,

my name is Mike Posner, appreciate you.

(Applause)