“I’ve gotten accustomed to using in writing for business audiences, rationalists and tech bros of all genders made me seem, in a word (invoked multiple times), “unlikable.”
No problemo. This simply confirmed my worst suspicions about myself. Not. one. problemo.”
Amazing talk Cate! I am a newer follower but I have already gotten immense benefits from your words. It is great to hear them in your voice and learn more about your story. I think about your "Really Trying" article all the time.
Good on you for pitching it, getting it, and getting it done. Too bad it had to be so short. I feel like you could easily have talked a LOT more on the subject of agency and gotten into many working examples.
"... that kind of haunting is the cost of doing things you’re not fully prepared for — and sometimes the only chance you get is the chance to do it under-prepared."
Great line, great insight. Note to self: sometimes ya gotta do it underprepared and accept the haunting!! 👻👍😅
So well articulated, Cate - thank you. In my own way I can identify with your path and with some of the choices you made.
It's great to see the word getting more airplay. Hoping it doesn't get "trauma"-fied and conflated with entitlement. I'd love to read more about your definition of agency and your paths to it (and will check out your piece linked above). Most of all, congratulations!
ooh yes, it's a great point about entitlement -- very valid, as some of the worst people seem to love to invoke agency as a justification for doing antisocial things IMO
Thanks for the talk, it's inspiring. Now it's time for me to stop obsessively reading all the posts on how to be more agentic and actually take actions instead!
Great talk Cate. I’m looking forward to your book.
I’m wondering why you never discuss what drugs you used. I’m a former opioid addict and I strongly believe that openness surrounding addiction and drug use can help others in the same boat. I feel it’s even more interesting given the angle you’re taking regarding how drug addiction ultimately turned you into a more agentic person
I do talk about it. I was poly-substance, but the drug I struggled most with was nitrous. I simply pick and choose where I share specifics because in most contexts I don't think it matters, and when I talk about the spiritual experiences that were triggered by drugs and that put me on the path to addiction, I don't want to inspire people to take those drugs in search of those experiences.
This is a funny sentence: "I quickly calculated that it was in my interests to get my hopes up"
And your description of how you memorized it is fantastic: "I isolated myself for three days, pacing around my room while drilling the talk in sing-song, in triple time, in Siri-speak — whatever I could do to avoid the cardinal sin of memorizing inflections along with the words."
I took an acting class for the first time this year, and this is exactly how we were encouraged to memorize lines, to ideally not do them the same way over and over so we don't carve a groove that we can't escape from.
Thanks for sharing your experience!
It's also very appropriate about how your talk is about being agentic and the way that you basically manifested the experience of doing it is itself a great meta-example of being agentic!
I really appreciated your talk and how you presented your personal journey and the role of agency. Also loved the story of the journey to get to that talk!
“I’ve gotten accustomed to using in writing for business audiences, rationalists and tech bros of all genders made me seem, in a word (invoked multiple times), “unlikable.”
No problemo. This simply confirmed my worst suspicions about myself. Not. one. problemo.”
This made me lol
Amazing talk Cate! I am a newer follower but I have already gotten immense benefits from your words. It is great to hear them in your voice and learn more about your story. I think about your "Really Trying" article all the time.
One of the best TED talks I’ve watched recently. Content was obviously great but the delivery was wonderful!
oh, thank you!!
Good on you for pitching it, getting it, and getting it done. Too bad it had to be so short. I feel like you could easily have talked a LOT more on the subject of agency and gotten into many working examples.
great talk! Thank you for sharing :)
Can´t wait for the book!
And I appreciated the humor, I chuckled in some parts, which doesn´t happen often haha
thank you!!
SUCH. A GREAT. TALK. Also so motivating to hear about the process of this coming together, thank you for sharing and congrats!
thanks, Carly!
A powerful talk! Hearing the message in your voice makes it all the more impactful
"... that kind of haunting is the cost of doing things you’re not fully prepared for — and sometimes the only chance you get is the chance to do it under-prepared."
Great line, great insight. Note to self: sometimes ya gotta do it underprepared and accept the haunting!! 👻👍😅
So well articulated, Cate - thank you. In my own way I can identify with your path and with some of the choices you made.
It's great to see the word getting more airplay. Hoping it doesn't get "trauma"-fied and conflated with entitlement. I'd love to read more about your definition of agency and your paths to it (and will check out your piece linked above). Most of all, congratulations!
ooh yes, it's a great point about entitlement -- very valid, as some of the worst people seem to love to invoke agency as a justification for doing antisocial things IMO
Thanks for the talk, it's inspiring. Now it's time for me to stop obsessively reading all the posts on how to be more agentic and actually take actions instead!
Great talk Cate. I’m looking forward to your book.
I’m wondering why you never discuss what drugs you used. I’m a former opioid addict and I strongly believe that openness surrounding addiction and drug use can help others in the same boat. I feel it’s even more interesting given the angle you’re taking regarding how drug addiction ultimately turned you into a more agentic person
I do talk about it. I was poly-substance, but the drug I struggled most with was nitrous. I simply pick and choose where I share specifics because in most contexts I don't think it matters, and when I talk about the spiritual experiences that were triggered by drugs and that put me on the path to addiction, I don't want to inspire people to take those drugs in search of those experiences.
Dear Cate,
Congratulations on the TED talk! It's great!
This is a funny sentence: "I quickly calculated that it was in my interests to get my hopes up"
And your description of how you memorized it is fantastic: "I isolated myself for three days, pacing around my room while drilling the talk in sing-song, in triple time, in Siri-speak — whatever I could do to avoid the cardinal sin of memorizing inflections along with the words."
I took an acting class for the first time this year, and this is exactly how we were encouraged to memorize lines, to ideally not do them the same way over and over so we don't carve a groove that we can't escape from.
Thanks for sharing your experience!
It's also very appropriate about how your talk is about being agentic and the way that you basically manifested the experience of doing it is itself a great meta-example of being agentic!
Congrats and thanks again!
Love
Myq
thank you, Myq!
I really appreciated your talk and how you presented your personal journey and the role of agency. Also loved the story of the journey to get to that talk!
thanks, Heather!
This is beyond. Incredible talk, shared this immediately with my team. Appreciate you!
Thank you for sharing this and your TED talk. Wow! I can’t wait for the book! X
Thanks, Debbie :D
Excited to watch this!!!