The Four Words that Changed the Course of my Life

You have no idea what kind of opportunities await you just on the other side of that next connection.

Five years ago I met a stranger on a plane who, with four simple words, completely changed the course of my life. Watch 'til the end, because you won't believe the twists and turns.

Take this moment to connect or reconnect with people in your life. Email, share, or tag three people with this video. Let's spread the message of human connections.

(Full transcript below video)

Special thanks to: -Dr. Zoe Chance for her kindness and friendship; -Neon Entertainment, my agency, for their support of my career; -Navy Entertainment for inviting me on and organizing three amazing tours for the American Troops; -Inova Heart & Vascular Institute, Collaborative Practice of California, and the Western Mass Association of Student Councils for inviting me to share my magic and message with your people.

Video Transcript

The last story I have for you starts five years ago. Five years ago I was on a very early flight. Not unusual for me. I'm on a lot of flights. But that morning I was exhausted; I was burnt out. I was at the airport at 4 am, I'd been on the road constantly for months. I just wasn't having it. I travel all the time. If you travel a lot you probably get into the rhythm of wearing the same clothes all the time. Travel clothes. Stuff you're comfortable in on the plane. I was wearing my ripped Express jeans. The ones with the really expensive holes. How much money can I pay for the least amount of jeans? Those jeans. I was wearing my zip-up hoodie. Pro tip: Planes are getting smaller and smaller. Pullovers are hard to get on and off. Also, some planes are too warm, some planes are too cold. Regulate your own temperature. That'll be the best thing you hear all day. Some people are writing that down! So I was wearing my zip up hoodie, my ripped Express jeans and a fedora. I get on to the plane and I look at my boarding pass, and I have the last seat on the plane. I don't know if you've ever sat in the last seat on a plane before. I never had before, I never will again. I get all the way to the back and I'm tired and I'm gross and the bathroom is right there. You can smell it already, I'm getting nauseated. And I look, and my seat mate is already here. An elegantly dressed business woman, pantsuit, pixie haircut. And I'm just gross and sweating, and I don't feel well. You ever feel like apologizing to someone as you sit next to somebody? So I sit next to her, and the pilot comes on and goes, "How you doin' folks?" Now if you travel a lot that is a red flag because pilots don't chat unless there's something wrong. So he comes on, I hear the pilot introduce himself, and he tells us it's gonna be a 30 minute delay because someone forgot to put the wing on or whatever. That's all I hear in that moment. So I'm just about to put my headphones on. I'm having none of this morning. And I never do that. Because I like to meet people! You get that sense from me. But I'm having none of this morning, so I'm just about to put on my earbuds and I hear this: "I like your hat." It's the lady sitting next to me. She goes, "I noticed back in the terminal, but I thought it'd be kinda weird to come up to a stranger, but since we're sitting next to each other I just wanted to let you know that I like your hat. Hi, I'm Zoe." She introduced herself. Brightened my morning, shook her hand, we start chatting. Eventually we have the conversation you always have when you're flying. I said, "Where are you going?" She said, "Minneapolis." I said, "What for?" She said, "A conference." I said, "What kind of a conference?" She said, "Marketing." I said, "Oh, what do you do?" She said, "I'm a professor of influence and persuasion at Yale University. Dr. Zoe Chance." I was like, "Whaaaaaat?" That was the coolest job title I've ever heard! Professor of Influence and Persuasion? There's no way your name is actually Dr. Chance. That has got to be something you made up. She said, "Where are you going?" I said, "Minneapolis." She said, "What for?" I said, "A conference." She said, "What kind of a conference?" I said, "Entertainment." She said, "Well what do you do?" I said, "I'm a magician." She goes, "No!" I said, "Yeah." She goes, "I love magicians!" I was like, "No you don't. Nobody loves magicians." She goes, "I'm a Professor of Influence and Persuasion. Magicians are my jam." So we talked on the whole flight. We got along famously. She gave me her card and said, "You have to tell me when your next show is back in Connecticut." I told her, "It's about two months from now." She said, "I'll be there." I said, "Okay." I'm never gonna hear from this lady again. Two months later she was right there in the audience. She came up after the show and said, "That was so much fun. I have to bring you into Yale to be a guest speaker." I said, "Okay." I'm never gonna hear from this lady again. And two months later I was a guest speaker at Yale University, one of the most prestigious institutions in the world. We became friends, colleagues of sorts. A few years later I was invited to give a TEDx talk. A tiny little TEDx talk. I called up my friend Zoe, and I said, "Can you help me write this?" She said, "Absolutely." So she helped me write it. A few months later I gave it. As you know, it became one of the most popular TEDx talks of all time, very quickly, went viral. I started getting calls from people all over the world to come speak and do magic. And one of those came from the United States Navy. They said, "Will you come overseas and do a tour for the troops and their families on military bases all over the world?" I said, "Absolutely!" So all of a sudden I was in Europe. I was in Spain and Italy. And one day in Italy I'm in Naples and I had a day off and they said, "Would you like to go visit Pompeii?" Well I'm not good at geography or history. Pompeii is the ancient city covered in ash by Mount Vesuvius. I'm in Naples - Mount Vesuvius is outside my window! I'm like, "Yes!" So we go up to Pompeii. You pay like two dollars and you get to just walk around this ancient city and I ducked down an alleyway and it emptied out onto a massive outdoor amphitheater. And I realized I was standing on a stage, the same stage, where thousands of years ago my ancestors in entertainment, performers, actors, and comedians, they entertained their audiences. It was a surreal moment in my life. A moment that only existed because five years ago, one stranger said to me, "I like your hat." You have no idea what kind of opportunities await you just on the other side of that next connection. Our world is truly a shared experience. Imagine if we could all feel understood. Thank you.