Cash, Conciousness and Capitalism: Kelly Cutrone at TEDxOxford

Summary

The speaker shares her journey from a small-town girl to a successful entrepreneur, emphasizing the importance of intuition and self-discovery. She discusses her struggles with societal expectations, her transition from nursing to PR, and her eventual spiritual awakening. The talk concludes with a call to action for entrepreneurs to integrate compassion and social responsibility into their business models, advocating for a world built on love and community.

Takeaways

• 🎓 The speaker grew up in a small town and pursued higher education in nursing, which was influenced by her mother's wishes rather than her own interests.
• 🏥 She had a profound experience in nursing school where her first patient passed away, which led her to realize nursing was not her calling.
• 💡 The speaker changed her career path to psychiatric nursing and later found her way into public relations in the music industry, which was more aligned with her interests.
• 🗝️ She emphasizes the importance of intuition and following one's own path rather than living up to others' expectations or societal norms.
• 🚀 The speaker highlights the value of entrepreneurship and creating a personal brand, which she believes is essential for success and fulfillment.
• 🧘‍♀️ After a period of personal dissatisfaction, she moved to LA, studied Eastern philosophy, and became a tarot card reader, which helped her find a deeper connection with herself.
• 🌟 She believes in the uniqueness of each individual, likening the human fingerprint and retinal scan to a divine blueprint for individual expression.
• 🤝 The speaker encourages compassion and community involvement, suggesting that businesses should have a charitable component to contribute positively to society.
• 🌱 She stresses the importance of love and compassion for the continuation and betterment of the world, suggesting that these values are currently at risk of becoming extinct.
• 🌍 The speaker criticizes the current state of politics and clergy for not adequately fostering a healthy and happy world, and instead calls for businesses and individuals to take on this responsibility.
• 💼 She concludes by urging the audience, particularly those in a position of privilege and education, to consider how they can use their resources to create a positive impact on their communities and the world.

Q & A

What was the speaker's initial career aspiration?

The speaker initially wanted to become a poetry major and go surfing at the University of Oahu.

Why did the speaker end up as a nursing major instead of pursuing poetry?

The speaker's mother wanted her to be a nursing major because she believed it offered job security, which was the highest aspiration from her perspective.

How did the speaker's experience in nursing school influence her career path?

The speaker's experience with her first patient dying on the first day of nursing school confirmed her belief that nursing was not the right career for her.

What was the turning point that led the speaker to change her career direction to public relations?

The speaker was advised by Anthony Haden-Guest, a famous British journalist, to become a publicist after she was rescued by him when she got evicted.

What significant event in the speaker's life led her to study Eastern philosophy?

The speaker had a breakdown due to unhappiness in her life and marriage, which led her to move to LA, shave her head, and start studying Eastern philosophy.

How did the speaker's interest in tarot card reading develop?

After moving to LA and immersing herself in Eastern philosophy, the speaker became a tarot card reader on Venice Beach, which eventually led to her becoming well-known in that field.

What was the speaker's perspective on the importance of self-discovery and self-connection?

The speaker believes that developing a deep relationship with oneself is the most important thing she has ever done, more significant than any professional success.

What role does the speaker believe businesses should play in society?

The speaker believes businesses should incorporate charity and give back to the community, whether through time, money, or creating business models that contribute positively to society.

What advice does the speaker have for the audience regarding their future endeavors?

The speaker urges the audience to consider creating businesses that give back to the community, retrain local workers, and contribute to a healthy, happy, and abundant society.

How did the speaker's early life in a small town influence her sense of belonging?

Growing up in a small town, the speaker felt unrepresented and without peers until she discovered MTV, which made her feel part of a tribe and motivated her to move to New York City.

What was the speaker's experience with her first patient in nursing school?

The speaker's first patient, Donald, was severely ill with multiple conditions. She pretended to take his vital signs and made up the results. Shortly after, she noticed him 'picking at air,' a sign she learned in class that can precede death, and he passed away.

Outlines

00:00

🎓 From Small Town to Big Dreams

The speaker begins by sharing their journey from a small, middle-class town in upstate New York to aspiring to be part of the vibrant world of MTV, which they discovered through cable television. Despite initial resistance from their father, who left them by the roadside in a heated argument about moving to New York City, they negotiated their way back into the car, showcasing early negotiation skills. The speaker emphasizes the importance of finding one's tribe and the influence of societal and parental expectations on career choices, as they transitioned from wanting to study poetry to becoming a nursing major at their mother's behest.

05:02

🚑 A Pivotal Moment in Nursing School

The narrative continues with the speaker's experience in nursing school, where they were assigned to care for a patient named Donald, who had multiple severe health conditions. The speaker admits to fabricating Donald's vital signs due to discomfort with sick patients, leading to a humorous yet cautionary tale about the responsibilities of healthcare professionals. The situation takes a dramatic turn when Donald, exhibiting signs of impending death known as 'picking at air,' passes away, which the speaker interprets as a clear sign that nursing is not their calling. This event prompts a change in direction towards psychiatric nursing and eventually leads to a career in public relations after an unexpected encounter with a British journalist.

10:06

🔮 Spiritual Transformation and Entrepreneurial Success

The speaker recounts their transformation from a successful but unfulfilled publicist to a spiritual seeker and tarot card reader on Venice Beach. After a breakdown and a divorce, they moved to Los Angeles, sold their possessions, and immersed themselves in Eastern philosophy. This period of introspection and self-discovery led to a deep understanding of individual uniqueness and a connection to the divine. The speaker highlights the importance of self-awareness and authenticity, which they consider more significant achievements than their entrepreneurial successes or media recognition.

15:06

🌏 A Call for Compassionate Entrepreneurship

In the final paragraph, the speaker, now a seasoned entrepreneur, criticizes the current state of politics and religion for failing to foster a healthy and happy world. They advocate for businesses to integrate charity and community support into their models, suggesting that entrepreneurs have a role to play in creating a better world. The speaker shares their personal commitment to giving back through their 'Kelly from the block' initiative and encourages the audience to consider how they can contribute positively to society, emphasizing the importance of love and compassion in ensuring the planet's future.

Keywords

💡Intuition

Intuition refers to the ability to understand or know something immediately, without the need for conscious reasoning. In the video, the speaker emphasizes the importance of trusting one's intuition in making life and business decisions, which is central to the theme of self-awareness and authenticity.

💡Entrepreneurialism

Entrepreneurialism is the spirit of innovation, risk-taking, and seeking opportunity without being bound by the resources one currently has. The speaker's journey from a small town to New York City and her ventures in public relations and tarot reading exemplify entrepreneurialism, showing how it can lead to personal and professional growth.

💡Authenticity

Authenticity is the quality of being true to one's own personality, spirit, or character, regardless of external expectations. The speaker discusses her realization that living up to others' expectations did not bring her happiness, and that embracing her true self was essential to her journey, which is a key message in the video.

💡Nursing

Nursing is a profession focused on the care of individuals, families, and communities so they may attain, maintain, or recover optimal health and quality of life. The speaker's initial career path in nursing serves as a narrative point where she first confronts her true interests and the necessity to change direction.

💡Public Relations

Public Relations (PR) is the practice of managing and maintaining a positive public image for an individual, company, client, or brand. The speaker's transition into PR after leaving nursing illustrates her adaptability and the role of PR in shaping public perception and building successful careers.

💡Self-Discovery

Self-discovery is the process of learning about oneself, one's interests, and one's potential. The speaker's story of moving to LA, studying Eastern philosophy, and becoming a tarot card reader is a testament to her self-discovery, which is a central theme in her narrative of personal transformation.

💡Eastern Philosophy

Eastern Philosophy encompasses a broad range of philosophical ideas and traditions that originated in Eastern societies. The speaker's exploration of Eastern philosophy after her breakdown represents her search for deeper meaning and a different perspective on life, which influenced her worldview and actions.

💡Tarot Reading

Tarot reading is a practice that uses a deck of cards to gain insight into the past, present, or future. The speaker's experience as a tarot card reader on Venice Beach not only provided her with a livelihood but also symbolizes her connection to spirituality and intuition, which are key elements of her personal journey.

💡Charitable Link

A charitable link refers to the connection between a business and a charitable cause, where the business supports the cause through donations or other means. The speaker encourages entrepreneurs to incorporate a charitable link in their business models, reflecting her belief in the importance of giving back to society and contributing to a healthier, happier world.

💡Compassion

Compassion is the feeling of deep sympathy and sorrow for another's suffering, accompanied by the desire to alleviate it. The speaker mentions the importance of maintaining compassion in the face of global challenges, suggesting that individual and collective compassion is crucial for the world's survival and well-being.

Highlights

Speaker's intention to tweet about the event to keep the audience informed.

Speaker's admission of not being a scientist but an expert on Twitter, emphasizing the accessibility of social media.

Discussion on growing up in a small town and the feeling of not being represented, highlighting the importance of finding one's tribe.

The transformative experience of watching MTV and the decision to move to New York City, showcasing the power of media influence.

Anecdote about a confrontation with the speaker's father about moving to New York, illustrating early negotiation skills.

The speaker's journey from nursing to psychiatric nursing, reflecting the process of finding the right career path.

Experience in nursing school with a patient's death, leading to a realization about not being suited for nursing.

Transition from nursing to becoming a publicist, showing adaptability in career choices.

The impact of societal and parental expectations on career choices, and the struggle to break free from them.

The story of working for Nutrisystem and the subsequent entry into New York City's social scene.

The decision to leave a stable job and the challenges faced afterward, including eviction and finding new opportunities.

The journey from being a music publicist to building a successful PR company, demonstrating entrepreneurial spirit.

Personal struggles with happiness and fulfillment despite external success, leading to a life-changing breakdown.

The transformative experience of moving to LA, shaving her head, and studying Eastern philosophy.

Becoming a tarot card reader and the lessons learned about individuality and the divine blueprint.

The importance of self-discovery and building a deep relationship with oneself as a key to success.

The role of businesses in creating a charitable link and giving back to the community for a healthier, happier world.

The call to action for the audience to consider the impact of their actions and businesses on society and the world.

Transcripts

I'm just gonna tweet you guys out okay

what's going on here

keep everybody in the loop y'all like

Twitter follow me at people's Rev join

the revolution here we go through tweet

this right out

is everybody else tweeting too or now

I'm 45 just humor me for a minute I only

have about 30 more years of this before

I'll probably give it up my talk today

is going to be probably different

because I'm not a scientist I barely

graduated college well done but I'm an

expert on Twitter easy you don't have to

be smart to use social media that's the

good news

okay so I've done my little PR part now

for the event my talk today is really

about intuition and creating your own

brand and entrepreneurial ism and it was

titled originally cash consciousness and

capitalism but at the end of the day

I've been really thinking about what do

I have to offer you that you haven't

heard before or that might be a good

reminder as you go out in the world and

you continue with your studies and so I

think it's fair to start to say that I

grew up in a really really small town to

a very middle-class family in upstate

New York which looks a lot like the

English countryside except we don't have

castles we have trailers and cow cow

tipping is a favorite sport that's what

we do go rollerskating and then go

cow-tipping so that was a while other

kids were playing rugby I was cow

tipping and I never felt represented

anywhere in my immediate surroundings I

felt loved at home and it was nice but I

didn't have any peers and I never saw

myself represented in my community

there was nothing that was happening

outside of me where I said oh that's for

me that's where I belong and when I was

16 years old cable television I know

this is like the old days we got cable

TV and there was something called MTV

and the first time I saw MTV I was like

oh my god that's where I have to go and

I quickly made a statement to my parents

that I wanted to move to New York City

it was in the car we were driving down

the expressway my father pulled over and

told me to get out of the car and he

left me which is child abuse now um in

2011 he left me on the side of the road

and said no no child of mine is ever

gonna live in New York City my mother

was screaming Lele you can't leave her

he's like we're driving away and he left

me on the side of the road he came back

about 10 minutes later and asked if I

would make a deal with him that I would

promise never to move to New York and

he'd let me back in the car so I learned

how to negotiate at a very early age and

I said fine and I will never move to New

York City and I got back in the car and

I got dinner which is what you need when

you're that age so um I that was the

first time that I ever really felt you

know like this is who I am and this is

my tribe in my world I also just want to

put in here that I believe that we are

tribal people and that we have genetic

memory living in our DNA and we're

hungry for tribes and I certainly was

when I was younger so I was going to be

the first person to go to college in my

family and I wanted to become a poetry

major and go surfing at the University

of Oahu

that was kiboshed and I ended up

becoming a nursing major because that's

what my mom wanted me to be and you know

I talked about this because a lot of

times regardless of whether you have

financial and economic privilege or not

a parents influence on their kids and

society's influence on us from a place

of gender and expectation is so powerful

and what I found is that there are so

many people that are living other

people's dreams or demands and I was one

of those people so I had to do the right

thing I had to be the one to go to

college and I was going to major in

nursing because my mom said you know if

you ever get fired you could always get

another job like this was the highest

place of thought that from where they

came from that they could offer to me

this was the top of their mountain and

and I respect and love that I don't feel

like chipped off about it or anything so

my first week of nursing school I had a

an asymmetrical kind of at a net like

shaved head with a Dorothy Hamill swing

with a long braid and I refused to wear

the dresses and I got these big white

wide gaucho pants and a little

stethoscope and I would pretend that I

was a doctor and kind of walk around the

campus and they're nursing instructors

hated me and they were like we don't

like punk rock kids in this school and

you know you're not going to make it

through nursing school and they just

started to threaten me so the first day

I went to the hospital you get to have

patients that they have a lot of things

wrong with them so my patients name was

Donald and he was basically blind had

glaucoma diabetes COPD constructive

chronic obstructive pulmonary disease

heart failure catheters down my bag and

basically was on his way out and so when

you're in nursing school they give you

people that have all these diseases so

you can study how all the systems of

anatomy and physiology and illness and

treatment work together so I walked into

his room in my Gauchos with my

stethoscope and I'm supposed to take his

vital signs and he was like and I was

like oh my god like I cannot help you

like I am NOT into sick people this is

not gonna be for me this is not my job

and um and so I just kind of like inched

over to rob you know the clipboard and I

looked at him and I just made up his

vital signs which is why I really urge

you guys if you're sick not to go to a

hospital because there are lots of

jokers that work in hospitals and they

don't do their job especially a teaching

hospital try never to go to one so I

just wrote down the vital signs and I

was like man 120 over 70 that's good

cause 62 and then all of a sudden I saw

him doing this thing like and and I was

like oh my god he's picking it air and

just like the week before in class I

learned that right before people die

they do this inexplicable thing called

picking it air right and I was like oh

my god he's picking it air so I ran to

the nurse

and I said excuse me Donald is picking a

tear you know room 436 like zip it up

and he died my patient died the first

day of nursing school and I took this as

a sign and I was correct to take it as a

sign that I was not meant to be a nurse

so I was sure of it now I mean I knew it

before but it was absolutely confirmed

like my patient was nixed and I went to

the pay phone because we didn't have

cell phones then and I called my mom and

I started crying I said listen I'm not

cut out for this I don't like sick

people my guy died mom my patients dead

okay and um my mom is like now you're

just gonna have to pull yourself

together because you're in a hospital I

guess what people do there Kelly they

die so I was like stuck in nursing

school so I quickly changed fields into

psychiatric nursing which I worked in an

intensive care unit in a psych hospital

which became a great background to

become an entrepreneur because when you

weren't paying back the bank on time you

could be used really good you know psych

terms like I know you appear to be upset

but I just want to comfort you and let

you know that we will be paying you

shortly

so from there I I disengaged with

expectation unknowingly and I had no

plans and I was hired to become

untrained a nurse trainer for

Nutrisystem I was pretty skinny

I think borderline maybe eating disorder

I was into being really thin and um you

know my clients lost more weight than

any other clients in the history of

Nutrisystem so I found myself in New

York City and within two weeks I

basically was on the scene hanging out

with people like Tim Leary and Pink

Floyd and I don't even know who and I

quit my job and I had nowhere to go and

I soon got evicted and I was rescued by

a man by the name of Anthony haden-guest

who's a quite a famous British

journalist he was the art critic for

Vanity Fair for years and he said to me

one day you know darling what are you

going to do with your life and I was

like well I want to be an MTV VJ and he

was like you're far too smart for that

you should be a publicist so that

started the journey of me going to get a

job as an assistant in a PR company and

from there I have to say that that was

the beginning of you know a pretty

amazing career I was a music publicist

for a long time and then one day I just

realized I do not work well with others

like I'm not employable in a corporate

situation I do not like to be told what

to do I do not like the fact that I

could be sitting at my desk and somebody

could just come up to me and tell me

that I don't belong here anymore so I

realized from there I went night I met

Bob Guccione jr. who on Spin Magazine

his dad was a basically a pornographer

who owns husba Penthouse and he had

started this rock magazine and he hired

me to come be the director of PR and I

thought that was going to be an amazing

job but I was the director of myself

there was no one else in the PR

department and we ended up having a

fallout because we had a writer who had

been part of the Tiananmen Square

revolution back in the day our magazine

was coming out three months late and he

wanted to be on every news source so I

quickly wrote him a press report and

printed out 250 outlets and told him

that they all declined coverage and I

was quitting and starting my own company

I was 22 then and I went on to build one

of the

biggest public relations music companies

I did Frank Sinatra Pet Shop Boys

finding cannibals Tammy Wynette Julio

Iglesias going on tour with Frank

Sinatra one year twenty two is really

fun I really recommend that if you guys

ever get a chance Steve and Edie and

Frank rolling on a tour of us with like

ten lap dogs in the Mafia was quite a

good time so what happened was is that

by that point I I believed everything

that we were told like you know be hot

be pretty be cool be smart go to go to

the right school get out you know get a

job find a dude lock it down get married

I married Andy Warhol's protege Ronny

Cutrone very famous pop artist and I

thought that I was supposed to have it

all like I was supposed to have it Oh

like there it was like I was in New York

I was involved blah blah blah blah blah

and I was miserably unhappy miserably

unhappy and the thing that I found that

I was missing in all of this is that one

I was doing what everybody else expected

me to do and to I had no sense of faith

there was just no faith and no belief in

anything greater than myself and there

was no connection at all to society and

my community and any type of caring for

anybody else other than calling Naomi

Campbell up and finding out if we were

going to go to an S&M Club later at

night after we hit the bars you know

which was also really fun back in New

York in those days you guys

um and so what happened from there was I

basically had a breakdown you know I was

making a ton of money and I was

believing in all this stuff and I didn't

like my husband I didn't like my life so

I got divorced and I moved to LA and I

shaved my head

and I sold everything that I owned and I

started studying Eastern philosophy and

I became a tarot card reader on Venice

Beach if you're an entrepreneur it's

like you can take the girl out of

entrepreneurialism but you can't take

entrepreneurial ism out of the girl so

what happened next was I became a really

good tarot card reader and I went at

first I didn't have a car because I sold

everything I believed that things were

really bogging me down and it was a big

hassle so I had two pairs of jeans two

tank tops a pair of flip-flops and a

hoodie and a shaved head later in the

media when Britney Spears would shave

her head people called me as you know

one of the top fashion people in the

world and said what do you think about

this horrible thing that she's done I

said I think it's great man I did it

when I was 24 whatever it's really good

you learned a lot about yourself when

you shave your head as a woman and so I

just studied Eastern philosophy and

became a tarot card reader and I went

from making like a hundred to two

hundred dollars a day on Venice Beach to

really making you know eight hundred a

thousand dollars a day in cash just

reading tarot cards and one thing led to

another and next thing you knew I was

kind of a well-known tarot card reader

sometimes when people like talk about me

now and in one circle and then they go

you mean the tarot card reader and then

my friends guess she's not a tarot card

reader though then they find out that I

was um so at that point uh you know what

I learned was I finally learned who I

was through that period of time and I

think that the point of this whole

conversation in this moment about the

tarot card reading is is that you know a

lot of religions talk about to thine own

self be true but who is the self you

know and I started tripping on these

different concepts of the individual and

the fingerprint and how you know there's

only one fingerprint or one retinal

icecat if each of us that exists in the

whole world and after doing all the

studies in all of those journeys that I

took I found out that I really believe

that that is

a blueprint for the divine that the

divine has given us wanting us to

express it individually and uniquely and

that's why there's only one because

otherwise wouldn't my why wouldn't my

daughter have the same water why

wouldn't I have the same one is

something in my family there's just one

of those and so I really started to

learn at that point in time really

searching for the sense of what are we

really doing here you know what is this

life about and what do we go for and how

do we use our time and so it was through

these type of things that I started to

get a very deep relationship with myself

and that is the most important thing

that I have ever done

more so than writing a New York Times

bestseller or having a company that

people perceive to be successful

sometimes it is sometimes it is and then

that's the truth that's how it is when

you're an entrepreneur but the most

important thing that I've done is I've

become awakened to the divine being and

myself and in the world and one of the

things that I really want to encourage

you all to do which has been very very

powerful I work with a woman named Alma

and Jane Goodall calls her God's love

and a human body and she travels the

world hugging people she's hugged over

40 million people she's an Indian guru

teacher and she's pretty awesome she's

coming to London so you guys should all

go see her

amma org or embracing the world org and

I was with her over the fourth of July

and some people said to her I think it

was a writer from The New Yorker hey

Alma you know what's up with the end of

the world what you think is going to

happen with the end of the world and she

said what do you mean what's going to

happen take a look around look what's

happening in the world today she said

whether or not this planet continues is

going to be rest on the shoulders and in

the hearts of humanity and if you agree

to have love and compassion in your

heart then the world will continue but

this is something that's becoming

extinct so we must keep love and

compassion in our heart so for me I I

really what I'm seeing as a 45 year old

woman who's been in business for a long

time I do not think that our politicians

and I did not think that our clergy are

doing a good job of keeping this world

in a healthy happy place you know we

can't agree on human rights so we

shouldn't talk about God right so I

think that the businesses and the way

that we

forge our businesses today and I can

tell you just as a money-making business

model I see it with brands like Warby

Parker and Tom's to have a charitable

link with everything that you do whether

you can give up five hours of your time

a week to go and do something just I

call myself Kelly from the block but I

spell it the French Way like BL o qu way

so it's my fashion charity title and

whether or not you know we give our time

or we give our money or we set up a

business model where we can give back to

our community or stop outsourcing

everything globally and retrain the

factory workers and the people who need

jobs in our town this is something that

I urge you when you leave this really

gorgeous privileged place that you get

to be in school at that you consider

doing so we can have a place that's

super cool and super happy and super

healthy and full of abundance thank you

you