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http://www.thebrooker.com Every day I have the privilege of delivering an important message about the incredible power of gratitude. Check in once a day to see and hear how this amazing belief can transform, re-focus, and re-frame your life into one of appreciation and thankfulness. You will look at your life much differently, and will feel a level of joy that escapes so many people as they cope with the trials and tribulations of everyday life filled with struggles and challenges. I promise you, this power will change your life.
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0:00
Thank you, Aaron, for that lively and energizing piece. I'm Lindsay Russell. As senior class secretary, I'd like to say that this position has been a privilege
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The administrators and teachers have pushed me to get out of my comfort zone and be the best student I can be
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My peers have helped me form into an individual who I'm proud of, and my fellow officers have helped me grow to be a better leader
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At this time, it gives me a great pleasure to introduce our guest speaker
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David George Brooke has been a speaker, teacher, life coach, and best-selling author for over 25 years
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Known as that Gratitude Guy, he is a keynote speaker for many service organizations, business associations, and Chamber of Commerce
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He is a former Nordstrom store manager and has managed the corporate world for over 30 years
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His published books include the Broker's Daily Gratitude Journal, Happiness Starts with Gratitude, and Gratitude Nuggets to Chew On
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With over 400 gratitude videos on YouTube, thousands have seen his message, and he is now considered a leader authority on gratitude
1:02
and how living a life of gratitude can enhance and improve your life and lead to success
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He is quoted as saying, my lifelong quest has been to help people obtain the level of fulfillment and happiness they are capable of reaching
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I have the real-life experience to draw upon when encouraging individuals to never give up
1:21
Please welcome Mr. David George Brooke. Thank you, Lindsay. I'd like to take you back to June of 1968
1:36
I'm 18 years old. I'm sitting in the Coliseum Arena, Seattle Center Arena
1:41
I've got my little diploma rolled up in my hand. There's about 550 of us graduating from Queen Anne High School
1:47
So I walk out to my car after it's done, and we wave goodbye to people, and I thought to myself
1:52
gosh, and number one, I wonder how many of these people I'm ever going to see again. But I also had a plan for my whole life that kind of developed over the next couple of years
2:00
And I realized later, that plan didn't quite work out. And I realized that in many ways, I kind of came to think that maybe the success you have in your life is from the plan that you get
2:12
versus you thought you'd get, thought you were going to get rather, and how you dealt with it
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And I thought to myself, well, this is what I'm going to do. I'm going to ask people, what would I have liked to have known at 18 that I now know at 64
2:26
So I started asking people, and I got some really interesting comments
2:30
It's never too late. It was something that came up a lot. Of course, this is all with the benefit of hindsight
2:36
Be teachable. Never stop being a student. Here we have all these young men and women graduating, and in some cases, they're going on to college
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In other cases, they think this is the end of the line, when really, in fact, it's really only the beginning of our learning
2:48
If we learn for our entire lives. Seek out a mentor. Another comment I heard a lot
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Don't party as much. That kind of cracked me up a little bit
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I'm sure there's some people that thought maybe they wasted some time doing that. Be present. Time flies
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Boy, do I know that. That was 45 years ago. It seems like just a couple of years ago
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Set goals. Another one. Very, very common. In fact, I read this recently. A dream written down with a date becomes a goal
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A goal broken down into steps becomes a plan. A plan backed by actions makes your dreams come true
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I thought it's really true, because a lot of people talk, and a lot of people don't always act
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I also highly recommend having a bucket list. It wasn't called that way back when I started
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But I always had that list of things I wanted to do at some point before I passed on
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Another common thread. Understand your finances. Somebody said to me, what if I just put away 10% of everything I'd ever made
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What would I have? Good point. When you get a problem, receive it like a gift
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I think in so many ways, life is like this. It's ups and downs. This is where everybody wants to be
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This is not fun. They want to get back here again. But that's where the lessons are learned
4:08
You will fail. It will be part of the process. Another one that people told me a lot
4:12
It's going to be part of it. You're going to learn from it, as I just mentioned. Always have a plan B. That was kind of a common thread
4:19
Stop worrying. It's wasted energy. And finally, find your passion and find your joy
4:27
It took me 45 years to find my passion, which I'm going to talk about in a second, about gratitude
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But I will tell you, with all those great comments, that's not what I would have said
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Mine would have been four words. Be grateful and never quit. If somebody had told me that back there in 1968, I think it would have helped me over some of the hurdles
4:47
and different obstacles and challenges that I had to find. And when I talk about not quitting, I think about the things that happened to me
4:56
My wife unfortunately passed away. And we had two sons. Connor was four at the time and Kyle was 14
5:02
And I had a lot of loss prior to that. My mother and father and friends and buddies in Vietnam and so forth
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And at some point I thought, boy, if I'm going to raise Connor and Kyle
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I better set a very good example about never quitting and understanding gratitude
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which in so many ways has to do with appreciating what you have versus what you don't have
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But Connor really struggled. He was four when Dana died, as I mentioned
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And I went to school and they said, he's not right. I said, you know, his mother just died a few months ago
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Yeah, but he's messed up. You're going to have to hold him back. And I had to hold him back first grade twice and he had all these special programs
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But through all this, I kept saying, Connor and Kyle, we can't give up. Your dad can't give up. Our mom has left
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So you're going to hang in there and I'm going to set a good example for you. But both of those sons of mine really, really tried
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But Connor said, I want to play baseball. And he just tried and tried. And they said, he'll never make it in sports
5:58
He'll never make it in life. These counselors are kind of rough on me. But Connor kept showing up. He kept coming back
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And he started playing tee ball. How many people here have kids that play tee ball
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Again, probably the majority. Well, here's the thing I don't understand. When you hit the ball at tee ball, the ball doesn't move
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It just sits here. And here's Connor. He's just swinging away. And he's swinging way up here. Connor, the ball is down here on the tee
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That's where you're supposed to hit it. So he keeps lowering his swing
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Finally, he goes too low. He hits the tee. He knocks the ball. It falls forward. He goes, Dad, I got a hit
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Went about three inches. But he kept trying. He kept hanging in there, hanging in there
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He played. We went through four or five more years. He was probably 11 years old
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Couldn't run. Couldn't throw. Couldn't catch. Couldn't hit. Other than that, he was not too bad
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But then we get to May 31st, 2005. He's about 11 years old
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And we're in a game up in Kirkland. And it's 7-6, the other team
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And there's a guy in 2nd and 3rd. It's the bottom of the 7th
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And I think the manager was out of players. Because there was nobody left
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And then I look over in the dugout. And who comes out? Connor
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So if you could just picture this. He's swinging the bat like he's Babe Ruth
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I'm going, Connor, you have a hard time with a bunt. And then he looks. Dad, I'm up
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Now what child talks to their parents that are in the stands
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But I appreciate the fact he's up there and he's just swinging like crazy. So, guy in 2nd and 3rd, as I mentioned, and two out
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Full count. The next pitch comes in. Connor rips it down the left field line
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Goes just inside the bag. The guy from 3rd comes in. The guy from 2nd round comes in to home
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The ball, the guy, the catcher, all come together. He catches the ball. The ball pops out
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And they win the game 8-7. And here is Connor standing out in 2nd base
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Dad, I got a hit! The entire dugout walks out and puts Connor on their shoulders and carries him off the field
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I remember that moment like it was 5 minutes ago. And when we got home that night, I said, Connor, it was never about baseball
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It's about the fact you just never gave up. And I so admired that in him and I admired that in Kyle
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And as I say with those four words, be grateful and never quit
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They are words to live by. I didn't even understand gratitude until a little bit later in life and understand why it was so important
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But I also understood some really, really neat life lessons that I had learned from people that were
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had been around a little bit longer than I had. I wish I'd had the courage to live a life true to myself and not the life others expected of me
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One of the great lessons these people that had been in their 80s mentioned to me
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I wish I hadn't worked so hard. All of you young people are headed out into lives and careers and so on
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But you'll never hear anybody say, I wish I would have worked more when they get later in life
9:03
I wish I'd had the courage to express my feelings. Another interesting thing
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I wish I had stayed in touch with my friends. As you get older in life and people pass on and people go different directions
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friends become maybe even more important than they are now. And the last one I found really, really powerful
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I wish I had let myself be happier. When John Lennon was five years old, his mother said
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John, I'm going to tell you right now the most important thing you are going to want to find in your life is happiness
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To be happy. John Lennon thought, okay. So a few years later he's in school and the teacher's looking around at the different students
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She says, John, what do you want to be when you grow up? He says, happy
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The teacher looks at John and says, you don't understand the assignment
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John Lennon looks at the teacher and goes, you don't understand life
10:00
Of course, that's kind of typical John Lennon. But I thought it was really great
10:05
And I guess as I mentioned through the ups and downs of life, I've never found anybody that really did truly get that plan they thought they were going to get
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But I got a lot of people that dealt with a plan they did get. And so I realized you're going to need some tools along the way
10:20
And somebody suggested to me one day, they said, have you ever gotten a gratitude journal? Do you understand the gratitude journal
10:25
And I did not know what that was. But I understood a lot about gratitude and again, focusing on what you have versus what we don't have
10:32
We live in a world, sadly, that focuses so much on what we don't have
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So when I talk about embracing gratitude, I think a lot of it comes down to how we look at something
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It's very, very key. So I'd like you to all stand up if you'd be so kind
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And I just want you to do something that we haven't been here very long. But just take your right arm and I just want you to stretch it out and start turning in a clockwise manner
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Now, I understand we're in a digital age here. So if anybody's not certain of which way, there's a watch
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And just start turning in a clockwise manner, stretching as far as you can. I understand that always feels good
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Now, keep it going clockwise. Now, just start bringing it slowly down to the top of your head, forehead, eyes, shoulders, chest, stomach
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Which direction is it going now? Who said that? Bueller, anybody
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I think it's going counterclockwise. You can sit down. Thank you. I didn't have a glass I could say that was half full or half empty
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So I figured that would work pretty well. But it does depend on how you look at it
11:43
I have many, many reasons why I could go around being depressed and having a really tough time in life
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I had a lot of losses. I mentioned my wife and mom and dad and friends. And there's a lot of things I wouldn't even bore you with
11:52
But I will tell you it's a choice that you make. Happiness is a choice
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John Lennon talked about happiness and wanting that to be his goal in life
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Gratitude is a choice when you focus on what you have versus what you don't have
12:05
So I talk a lot about embracing gratitude. But I also talk about it takes as long as it takes
12:11
I wanted to be a speaker when I was 19 years old
12:15
I graduated from high school and I went over to this other high school. And when I was a freshman at the University of Washington, he said, I'd like you to speak for this group
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And I said, okay. And then when I went back to my car, I thought, wow, that's pretty cool. I want to be a speaker
12:27
Well, I didn't really attack this until about two years ago. And that took me 42 years to get that together
12:33
But you know what? It doesn't matter. When I get to look at eyes of every single person in this audience or any other group I'm fortunate enough to speak to
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it's your journey. It doesn't matter if you're young, old, or older
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A word I'm using now more. Or wherever you are in this continuum of life, it's your journey
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It's so unique. And when you embrace gratitude and focus on what you have versus what you don't have
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it makes it a lot easier to navigate. Third thing is that you've got to get the junk out of your brain
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You've got to get rid of the junk and make room for gratitude. I go by these cul-de-sacs every so often and I see these garages, which I believe are designed for cars
13:13
And they're just floor-to-ceiling boxes. It just cracks me up. And they have a space like this big and they kind of go like this to get into their garage
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It's junk. People are always driving over things literally or figuratively in their lives
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picking it up, putting it in front of them, and driving over them again
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I was in a workshop a while ago and this young lady said, well, you know, I've really had it with my ex-husband because he's kind of a piece of..
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And I said, well, that's too bad. When did you get divorced? 1997
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So you're still hanging on to that. You've got to get rid of that stuff
13:51
And when you go back out to those cars today, notice that your windshield is about this deep, two feet maybe, maybe five feet wide
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And then notice how big the rearview mirror is. It's pretty small
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Mostly you want to focus on what's in front of you. Learn a little bit and pay attention to what's behind you
14:12
If you look in there and you see some flashing blue lights, pull over
14:17
Don't want to get in trouble. But mostly focus on what's in front of you
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Baccalaureate, commencement. I remember thinking when I was in my commencement at Queen Anne High School, as I mentioned
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what's up with that? That's starting. Oh, I see. I thought I was finishing
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But really I was just starting. It's mostly in front of you
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And you learn from what's behind you, but use it sparingly and apply it to the future
14:39
This gentleman says to me, after Dana had passed away and all these other things had happened
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boy, you just are kind of a mess. I said, well, you know, it hasn't been easy, Bob, going through what I've gone through
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And I got a gratitude journal one day. I ordered one and I started writing in it
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And I noticed a huge difference. I've become a huge advocate. This takes five minutes a day to write in it
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Five minutes. I put on the cover here, if you think about it, it's like a dream
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If you talk about it, it inspires you. But if you write about it, it empowers you
15:11
Now I'm pretty fortunate to do a lot of schools. And you can imagine the first question is, do you have an app
15:19
And actually the funny thing is, I do. I actually do have an app. And you just press the button and you go, I'm so grateful to Becky Schrager for inviting me today
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And it just types it. It just types it right on the little phone there, right in the gratitude journal
15:30
But it's not quite the same. When we start with a thought in our brain, the CPU up here
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it goes to our heart, our arm, our hand, the pen to the paper
15:40
There's something about it that's visceral that you connect. And I saw an article recently that said even the laptops, even the tablets and all this
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it's not as good a connection, which is why we still take notes with our pen and our paper
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and how it seems to really get solid into the brain. You'll really discover a huge difference
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This takes, as I say, five minutes a day. It's very, very simple and it's easy
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And all you're doing is writing down and focusing on what you're grateful for
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It's just that simple. So I talk about this when I do more expanded talks and I get into workshops and things that are really fun
16:15
But embracing gratitude, it takes as long as it takes. Don't ever, ever, ever give up
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That's Winston Churchill who originally said that. Get a gratitude journal. Make room for gratitude and clear out the junk in your brain
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And the last one is sharing gratitude. You'll notice that anybody that gets excited about something wants to share it
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When you get some really good or really bad news, I always think that always tells me who my best friend is because that's the first person you call
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When you get good or bad news. So you want to share it
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So I want to just do a little brief exercise speaking of sharing gratitude
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How many people here since I've been speaking have been on their cell phones? Anybody
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Gosh, this is a phenomenal group. I'd like you to all take your smart phones out if you would
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Hopefully there's good reception in here. And I'm going to give you 30 seconds to do something
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I'm going to put my little timer here. This is called the four T's
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Tweet, text, telephone, or tell. The four T's. And most people text
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And I want you to text somebody and tell them how grateful you are to have them in your life
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And I'll give you 30 seconds and you can go start now
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First you'll notice nobody's using the telephone. These were phones at one point
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Got 10 seconds
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And stop. And you can do that later or finish it later. Of course I was going to tell some of the students, hint, you may want to text your parents
18:13
But I didn't want to be too obvious. I was at a school recently where they had kind of a performing arts center like this, but it went up sort of higher
18:22
And I could hear this lady right over here and she's actually using this as a telephone. It was quite a concept
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And she must have been talking to her husband. Yes, honey, I just want to let you know how grateful I am for you
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And I want to let you know how much I love you. Yes, I'm very good
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I don't know. Some speaker just told me to tell you this
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I went, no, it's supposed to be your idea. It's not supposed to be my idea
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Gosh, you're blowing it. And then somebody else shows me the text
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Afterwards, I was talking to go look, I sent to her. I'm really grateful for your she text back
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What's up? And another one. What do you need? It was just a reminder to me about how we don't do it probably enough
19:08
I went skydiving once and I had eight of my buddies. I made reservations and I was all excited
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And then the week before, two of them canceled. And then a couple more canceled
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And then the Wednesday before the Saturday, I got a call. Dave, we're sick
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So I walk into Issaquah skydiving. I walk proudly up to the counter and I go reservations for Brooke
19:30
He goes, great, where's your friends? And I went, I don't have any
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And I went all by myself. I have a little picture that's really super, but it's not the same and you don't get to share it
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So I'd ask when you think about where I am at my age and looking back to where all you fine young men and women are that have graduated
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and I'm very proud of you even though I don't know any of you, it's a phenomenal accomplishment
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If you hear nothing else I say, please remember, be grateful and never quit
20:02
It will serve you very well. Thank you so much
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