Barry Shore:

There’s nobody that I want to share with you than in my humble opinion inspires noble deeds more than the wonderful, inimitable, imaginative, and wondrous, Anthony Gordon. Anthony or AG, as I call him, please say hello to 361,000 people around the world.

Anthony Gordon:

Barry, you’re amazing. What an honor. What a pleasure. And let me tell your listeners, unsolicited why I think it’s an honor and a pleasure. 

Barry Shore:

By the way, he is a solicitor. He comes from South Africa. They call it a solicitor. He’s an attorney. Don’t hold it against him. Unsolicited from a solicitor.

Anthony Gordon:

So I’ll tell you why I need to give you in front of your beloved listeners a huge thank you, thank you, thank you. If you take us back in time, I want to say more than 25 years ago as I pivoted out of the legal fraternity and began the next chapter of my life you were instrumental, my friend, in some key introductions that made a very vital impression on my life. There was nothing in it for you, it speaks volumes about who you are. And my second thank you, thank you, thank you is for you Barry personify the premise of my TEDx talk in London shortly, by virtue of the vicissitudes that you had to navigate through and or who you are and not in spite of but because of a curveball that was thrown into your life. I have never seen you play the victim. And I think that what you did was take this curveball, not sort of running to the corner and say, why me, but use it and it became part of your persona. And as I say to many people we are strongest in the broken parts. And I think that you stand for a person who’s been through a very tough, life-changing jolting event. Because of that you’ve embraced it and I think that you are for many people, a person that, if Barry’s out there cranking, smiling, doing great things, and I don’t have an excuse, man. And I mean it from the bottom of the liver.

Barry Shore:

By the way, Anthony, if you’re watching this, you’ll see that he did a great job. If you’re listening also, you’ll say, where did he get that? Well, my mother reached out from heaven and gave him a script, and he hit it out of the park. As we say on this show FU, capital N, capital N. Let’s just jump right in and talk about this TEDx talk show because it is really something special. And everybody in the world knows what TED and TEDx is but they don’t really. Because I want you, Anthony, let’s go a little bit deep and [distortion: 0:12:17] and give just a sense of what it means to be accepted, first of all, into the TEDx stage world. And now let’s talk about the one that you’re going to be speaking on in Oxford, England. Because I want people just to get a sense, you don’t just send in your resume and say, gee, I’d like to book a stage next Tuesday. Give us some stats and such about what it is, how you do it, why they selected you, and what it is that you want to share with the world?

Anthony Gordon:

Excellent, Barry. So, I will make the disclaimer that some of the stats might be within the margin of error. But here are the stats, or here is the process. I think it would be safe to say that it was as audius an ordeal to be a chosen candidate to present at TED or TEDx, as it was to get into Harvard Law School.

Barry Shore:

That’s a big statement, everybody. Let’s just do a little bit on the side path a moment. If I started reading all of the academic and other accolades that Anthony has acquired from the time he was knee-high to a grasshopper in short pants in South Africa, graduated [unintelligible: 0:13:45] from different universities and on scholarships and Fulbright Scholarships, and a big scholarship to Harvard, undergraduate, Harvard Law School, Oxford, etc., etc., it would take too long so I’m not going to even talk about it. But suffice to say that he really did go to Harvard, I come from Boston I can say, Harvard. He went to Harvard Law, and he was involved with law, review, and all the things that happened with that. So he’s a basic Jewish overachiever. Don’t hold it against him. I didn’t say it. He made the analogy that this was as grueling a situation and an honor to be chosen as it, he made the statement, of getting into Harvard. So with that on the plate let’s continue the journey of getting to this place called TEDx in Oxford.

Anthony Gordon:

So let me tell you why I deliberately made the analogy with a fair amount of thought. In applying to one of the top Ivy League schools the criteria for everyone applying and getting into Harvard is certainly the top academic student in their various school or universities, they generally are folks that have leadership skills, a pretty robust background. But the kind of questions that the application form asks candidates to complete I found a lot more existential, I found it caused me to do introspection, and really was in and of itself an incredibly soul searching process. For example, this is something maybe for your listeners to think about as well. Think about an idea that you are uniquely suited to share with the world. Now think about that. There are 7.8 billion people in the world, little me has something which is so customized, so endemic to my life journey that I can share something that nobody else has. That’s number one. Number two, it has to be to use the adage that’s used by [inaudible: 0:16:11] it has to be an idea worth sharing. So, when they break that down they say that it has to be somewhat innovative, it’s something that folks couldn’t access on a search engine, and the goal is that when the curtain comes down that the guests or the audience should have an idea, a tool, or something that they can take with them for the rest of their life. In other words, it’s not pure entertainment, although I’ll come to the actual presentation and the form, there needs to be a hook. And interestingly, it’s the kind of ideas that are not generally disseminated at a university or a college. So, this is a stage that has a unique forum. In completing that form, which is pages and pages and pages, in some of what they call the sought-after stages, I’m not sure exactly how they quantify which stages have more of a premium. It’s apparently where I am in London. They then ask for an interview. So the interview me from the UK, very probing. And I tell you what I realized Barry, you know me well. I think, why I’ve had success in public speaking, and I think this is part of who I am, I was brutally authentic, completely sincere, I spoke from my heart, I did not give them the answers that I thought they wanted to hear. I gave the answers that I know that I could own. And if that answer was printed on the front page of the Wall Street Journal I would be happy to walk with it. And the second thing I’ve realized, Barry and you know this also is I wanted to say God gives us all various cards. And here’s what the mistake that most people do is they tried to give some of the cards back. I didn’t want this card. I didn’t order this marriage. I didn’t order this baby. I didn’t order this health challenge. Instead, what we’re supposed to do is take the cards we’ve been given, and play them as best as we can. Since I was growing up in the holy city of Johannesburg, I realized I had at a very early age was humor. That was a God-given talent and it wasn’t laughing at people, it was putting a mirror up laughing at life or self-deprecation, just laughing at myself. And I found that at Harvard, and a lot of the hallowed halls that I have sojourned people took it all a little bit too seriously. And I think that that was refreshing. So I used humor. I just was myself. 

Barry Shore:

Let me put you on pause here for the moment because it’s very important to unpack just a few of the pieces you mentioned. Again, Anthony says that people everywhere throughout the world today know what TED or TEDx is. Ideas worth sharing. And it’s not something you can just Google because it is who needs you on a particular stage. And as he pointed out the particular stage he’s going to be speaking on is in Oxford, England. Is that correct?

Anthony Gordon:

The actual stage is actually in London. And it’s called TEDxHultLondon, which is one of the leading business schools in Europe. It’s at the top.

Barry Shore:

Let me just point here. So it’s a stage in London. Just for fun, London we’ll call it the home of Shakespeare. Even though it wasn’t it, and it was Avon but that’s beside the point. The point is that this is a premium stage. And I would like you to tell people because I think your point about authenticity it’s an overworked word but it becomes vital to what we’re going to tell people in just a moment. The analogy you said about cards, the hand that you’re dealt, and not giving back some and such like that were very important ideas worth sharing. I’d like you to tell us how many people actually apply, and how many people total were accepted through this process, as you say, you see he speaks funny, although we have a lot of people from India and other English speaking countries, that when you went through this to be accepted as a participant on this stage, how many people applied, how many people filtered through and how many people are going to be speaking on the stage?

Anthony Gordon:

So I have a reliable authority or from a reliable source, and within the margin over let’s say approximately 6000 people, or roughly 6000 people, all pretty qualified folks, or in effect applying for six spots.

Barry Shore:

Let’s put it into perspective. 10% of 6000 is 600. 10% of that is 60. So 1% of the people would be 60. 10% of that is 6. So 1/10 of 1%, you’re not even in the top 1%. 1% of the people who apply are accepted. 

Anthony Gordon:

That’s correct.

Barry Shore:

And Anthony, is not just one of the ones, I think you’re the leadoff batter, is that correct? 

Anthony Gordon:

So, here’s what we’re doing. I’m very, very fortunate because I was told after the fact that the best spot to get is not the lead, not the last but the spot just before the break. There’s three break three. I don’t know what the science is to this. Here’s what I was told by TEDx organizers, and I’ve spoken to a ton of them. We found specifically in the digital era we’re folks are not exactly sitting, and have got a little antsy. There’s a little bit of fatigue in the second half, there’s a little bit of getting the housekeeping in order in the first [unintelligible: 0:22:43], the speech just before lunch seems to be. And by the grace of God, that’s where I’m placed. And I will tell you that amongst the other folks on the stage, including the lead, I’m not sure of the exact title but it’s the [unintelligible: 0:23:01] currently the head of content for TikTok, and the head of content for a company called Facebook. These are not folks that fell off a truck. These are people that understand the end-user. And these are some of the most sought-after creative positions on planet Earth, which is my favorite planet.

Barry Shore:

And for most people that are listening, by the way, we do have some [crosstalk: 0:23:31] that’s okay. Just come to watch us every actually. It’s interesting actually they ask can I come and watch Barry Shore’s “The Joy of Living” and we gave him permission. By the way, it’s very important to know two things. Number one, this is the show that I urge you to share with five people. You don’t have to share it with 50 or 100 or 500, 5. Because we’re over 368,000 people that means we’ll be touching a million and a half people with this one show. And the second thing is, everything you want to know about Anthony and there’s much to know will be on my website www what a wonderful world.barryshore.com www.barryshore.com. Everything about Anthony is there. And it’s really important to use this process as he says to understand that each and every person watching and engaged you are your own TED talker, TED speaker. Now, let’s use what you just said about either the current head or the former head of Facebook I think yes Facebook.

Anthony Gordon:

Might have heard of it. I’m going to even further because if anyone’s driving while listening, I suggest that they drive their car to the side of the road because this is going to blow everyone’s mind.

Barry Shore:

That was fair warning. Anthony alert. Anthony alert. Here we go.

Anthony Gordon:

Okay. I have permission just to say the soundbite because you are the right guy, this is the right show to share. I hung up the phone roughly 15, 20 minutes ago with, let’s call him the brainchild, and the person who’s developed the idea behind Mr. Beast. Mr. Beast is far and away today the biggest influencer on YouTube. Here’s what he told me. He said, Anthony, what I’d like you to do is record yourself as if it’s the big day, send it to me and Jimmy Donaldson is Mr. Beast, and from the bottom of our hearts we’ll critique it, we’ll rip it, don’t take anything personally. Why? Because it seems like we’re doing something right because 178 million people seem to think that we are. And what we going to do because we love you, we’re working with you in some capacity is we want you to crush it. Now, that is an unbelievable thing to have.

Barry Shore:

Actually, let me pause. First of all fully believable. In other words, he’s not exaggerating. And I want you to emphasize, hear that statistic again. By the way, 80 plus percent of our audience is under 35 so they do know him. But Mr. Beast touches how many millions of people on YouTube?

Anthony Gordon:

He has on his platforms and this is growing, at last count was 178 million with an M. And that’s growing exponentially because he’s now picking up internationally. When I spoke to James who is the CEO, they picked up now a huge chunk of the international audience. So it’s safe to say they’re north of 200 million.

Barry Shore:

So, 200 plus million people on YouTube know about, follow, and enjoy Mr. Beast? 

Anthony Gordon:

Correct. 

Barry Shore:

And Mr. Beast has dubbed Sir Anthony Gordon with the new sobriquet of Anthony Beast Gordon. You’re listening to ABG, Anthony Beast Gordon right here before he goes on to the stage in London, and crushes it, to use a Gary Vee term, and brings out that great wine that is inside those big juicy grapes. And as we bring it out, and it ferments and it gets tasted and passed around the world, people are going to say, have you heard this talk by Beast Gordon? This is amazing. This is going to rock the world. Do you hear this? But again, I emphasize because I asked Anthony permission to do this and he granted it. Everybody has to know this show is not about Anthony Gordon as interesting as fascinating and famous as he is. He’s not even about Barry Shore, no matter how wonderful you think he is, the show is about you, YOU, you becoming [distortion: 0:28:26] for you to just literally pick up from the ground, utilize, choose and leverage in your life because that’s what this show [distortion: 0:28:33] the joy of living is to become happier, healthier and wealthier. We’re going to a break in just about a minute. [Distortion: 0:28:42] to talk about. You mentioned that company called Facebook. I want to just plant the seed and then we’ll [distortion: 0:28:52] the side of the break. Talk to us about [distortion: 0:28:56-0:29:04] social media.

Anthony Gordon:

The last soundbite broke up a wee bit so I’m going to ask you if you don’t want to repeat that.

Barry Shore:

This process that exists in the world today for the good, the better called social media, Facebook, TikTok, and hundreds of others not just hundreds of million people follow but billions of people seem to be able not to live without it. Is that helping us or is it [distortion: 0:29:40] us?

Anthony Gordon:

So, there’s no question that your question encapsulates a large part of the underlying thesis of my TEDx talk and a lot of the work that I do. In the interest of time, I’ll cut it down to the following. What social media has done, while there is no question that it has redeeming qualities, by and large, it has caused people, and I would say, primarily, Gen Z and millennials to become a passive, reactive generation? Their whole sense of self is a product of how people responded to a post, how many people befriend them. And what happens also over time, and this is something that I’m aware of from the actual technology and the folks that are building the apps is they become passive repositories. And it’s almost like when you function after a while in this dazed-out state, like an automaton and you become a passive repository of whatever pop culture is spewing out. And what’s happening, the thesis a part of my talk…

Barry Shore:

We’re going to put you on pause we want to hear your thesis, all the passive repositories. We’ll be right back after these brief messages because sponsors love this show and they follow them. We will be back with more of Beast Gordon, and learning more about social media, how you can break free, become your [distortion: 0:31:26] self, and the best you possible. We’ll be right back after these brief messages. 

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Barry Shore:

Good day beautiful, bountiful, beloved immortal beings and good-looking people. Remember you’re good-looking, always looking for and finding the good, we have good in abundance. Our cup runneth over with good. And a two-legged person named Anthony Beast Gordon, and we were just leaving our intrepid heroes that’s you, YOU. Anthony was calling us of this new generation, I’m a millennial, you didn’t realize that because it looks like I dressed up, people would become passive repositories. Well, that’s big talk. That’s for the university and such like that. Let’s bring it down to the level of real human beings. And let’s talk about something also that I know that you’re quite an expert at. And that is, help us understand why people aren’t as happy as they could be. People are happy. They say, yeah, I’m happy but I want to be happier. How can people become happier in today’s environment? 

Anthony Gordon:

Brilliant. So again, also a premise of my TED talk. I think I can say with confidence, Barry, that every single one of your listeners listening to your outstanding podcast has some pain in their life, and some thorn in their side, or at some point in their life has had a jolting event, which would have them have the reflex reaction, so to speak, to look heaven-bound and say, why me? How do I know that? As someone who has been on the proverbial speaking circuit for many years, I’ve tested this, safe to say at this point, tens of thousands of people, part of a journey of life, is that we all have the bumps in the road. Now, pop culture has inculcated into us, has imparted the thought into us, and unfortunately, millions of people have drunk the Kool-Aid, embraced this as a truism, and it’s dead wrong. Here’s what the myth or the concept is, which relates to your question, that pain is something that’s bad, that everyone else has it easy. Something happened to me, God’s standing at the end of a cloud he’s out to get me. And I know from tremendous experience that’s what people believe. So, what happens is people go through life driving with a handbrake up, in their mind’s eye they think of if, if only I had that guy’s wife, if only I had that guy’s muscles if only I had that guy’s bank account. And we notice that if is the two letters in the middle of the word life. Truth be said, everyone has some pain, some suffering, which are the people out there that are people that should go back to the analogy that we had before, they take the cards they’ve been dealt, and instead of throwing them back and saying, God, one second. I’m supposed to be a billionaire. You gave me a card, I can’t make ends meet, this is the wrong card. Instead of saying, If only, or wallowing in that pain, playing victim, the happiest people will say, okay, these are the cards that I’ve been dealt. Now, I can take these cards, and wallow, if only, play victim, unlikely that that will make me happier. Or I can take the deck of cards that has been bestowed on me and I can play with those chords as best as I can. In order to do that we have to think not that pain is bad, or that the opposite of pain is pleasure, which is certainly the common decadent understanding. We have to think that pain is the price one pays for greatness or for happiness. There’s nobody that I know Barry, I would imagine you as well, that has achieved greatness, success, happiness without paying the price, without a lot of pain. Being good parents takes a huge amount of investment. A good marriage takes a lot of pain. And one of the things you asked about social media, one of the reasons why there is a direct correlation between the proliferation of technology, the increase in the use of social media and depression, anxiety, a spiking of teenage suicides, is that the erroneous myth that social media has imported is this proverbial entitlement generation. I can be happy in three seconds, why? Because there are millions of curated Instagram sites out there, where people are spending money they don’t have to buy things they don’t need to impress people they don’t like. And I know these people, you do as well, Barry. A lot of these folks are living miserable lives. And instead of building their internal world, and again, I say this with absolute sincerity, having a life philosophy like you Barry, where you say, I was thrown a curveball, I was paralyzed for a couple of years of my life. And instead of saying, what, that God hates me, in that broken pot, so to speak, I think you’re strongest. I think that it’s not in spite of it but because of that, that has become part of your persona. I think if one thinks of pain as bad, and here’s where the rubber meets the road, and I see this in the work that I do. Primarily, millennials will do everything, and anything to neutralize the pain, make the pain or numb themselves. This means we’ve seen a huge increase in substance abuse, we’ve seen a huge increase in pornography, a huge increase in alcoholism, even surfing the net in this daze because instead of facing the fact that there’s some pain, there’s some discomfort in my life, let’s rather numb it. And what’s happened is we have a generation of people that are lackadaisical, and they try to be comfortable and avoid pain. Here’s the problem. There’s a binary choice folks that we make. You can either be comfortable, or you can be great. There is no chance that a great person will cruise. We know that physiologically if you want to look like Mr. Universe. You got to wake up at four o’clock, you got to… 

Barry Shore:

Wait a minute, are you saying that if I want to look like Mr. Universe I can’t sit on the couch and eat Cheetos all day and visualize it? Is that what you’re saying? Oh, no, wait a minute, wait a minute. I’ve seen the Instagram reels where he becomes [Barry makes snoring sound 0:42:15]. Let’s unpack some of the things you said. Because this is big. This is really big, Anthony. I want to make mention of some of the words you’ve used, you’ve said beautifully. If, and you said something just genius. I want everybody to hear this again if are the middle two letters of the word life.

Anthony Gordon:

Yep. 

Barry Shore:

If, of all the words that have ever been penned, the saddest of these are, oh, it might have been if I had just done this. If you live the way that you want to become the best you, you’re going to rejoice in every possible situation. Okay, is it easy to be paralyzed? Dah, no. But if you end up bitter and angry, where’s the benefit? So, as he was just pointing out to us, we have in my latest book, “The Joy of Living” how to slay stress and be happy. One of the 11 strategies for slaying stress is to get out of your comfort zone, get uncomfortable because comfort is the place where dreams go to die. Now, I’m going to tell everybody here something amazing. We’re very direct, Anthony and myself. We’ve known each other for decades. The first four letters of the word direct are dire. You need to know that sometimes when people are direct with you, and it sounds dire, it’s always for your benefit. It’s for your benefit. To be able to, for want of a better term, unplug from the social media toxicity is to your advantage. In other words, if you really want an advantage in life, you want to know what can I do with these cars and get and somehow turn one over and say, oh, that’s the extra ace I wanted for my full house. Well, the best way to do that, in my humble opinion, and you can tell me if I’m off on this wonderfully, Anthony is to unhook yourself from social media. Let’s say if you’re doing eight hours a day now, you do 7 hours and 52 minutes, those extra eight minutes will give you an advantage over tens of millions of people who are still stuck, [unintelligible: 0:44:37]. Is that correct? 

Anthony Gordon:

Not only is that correct but what happens is there is a hypnotic effect in social media. And what happens is the sharpness in your mind atrophies and you become automaton-like and I’ll give you an example. There was a research piece which your listeners can Google, where they were looking at marriage, and looking through a double-blind study, where there’s a subject group and a control group, the difference between the quality of the marriage by virtue of the quality of the communication between husband-wife, between a husband and wife that picked up the phone versus text. The digital connection, SMS versus the phone. God created the world with the proverbial voice, the connection, the emotional intimacy between husband and wife between sweethearts, I’ll buy a dozen eggs versus 12 times eggs lol. Husbands and wives are becoming business partners. They’re losing that warmth and that connectivity, and that’s one of the reasons. It’s become pragmatic. That’s not your wife or your husband. Your wife and your husband have to be people that you have an emotional connection with. There has to be a romantic connection. And we see directly the correlation between once again, the increase in social media and how it’s impacted marriages

Barry Shore:

The decrease in marriage stability.

Anthony Gordon:

Your listeners, Barry should for sure read the book “The Shallows.”

Barry Shore:

Say it again, what’s the book?

Anthony Gordon:

It’s called “The Shallows.”

Barry Shore:

Everything is available on barryshore.com. You don’t have to rush out right away. I just want to put it on pause for one moment because I want to mention again 80% of our audience is under 35. And there are a number of people that are married, thank God, and there are many that are not. A lot of it has to do with unfortunate situations in the generation today. However, I want to use and extend what Anthony is saying from marriage to friendship. Now, let’s be blunt. Not all friendships have to be romantic. So put that one to the side. But there is some sort of romance in a friendship. But friendship, we’re talking about two or three people. We’re not talking about I have 100 friends, look at me on Facebook or 5000. No, we’re talking about real friendship. Friendship means effort. Friendship means voice. Friendship means activity. Yes, of course, it’s utilitarian and it’s beautiful to be able to text somebody and such. But in today’s environment, where literally there is no cost in terms of money to communicate with somebody by voice, the difference between voice communication and text communication is that of the Grand Canyon versus a shallow bathtub. You can’t even come close. It makes all the difference in the world. So yes, please continue.

Anthony Gordon:

I’ll go even deeper. One of the things of the customs in Jewish law is if God forbid, a person passes away, and you wish to give condolences to the mourner you visit the person who is mourning, and the Jewish custom is the person who is the visitor shouldn’t open their mouth, they cannot initiate communication. Why are they there? The very fact that there is a physical human being in the room gives a person solace and comfort. I’ll even give you another example. I volunteered to be an EMT. One of the first things that they…

Barry Shore:

Let’s tell people what is an EMT. 

Anthony Gordon:

So it’s the first responder. It’s a person who is usually in a triage situation. And we are one rung under a paramedic. When you arrive on the scene, one of the things they trained us is to take the pulse of the victim. Why? Not only to get a sense of what the diastolic and the systolic is but the human touch, the very fact that there’s a human being there makes all the difference. I hope I don’t open a Pandora’s Box but I’ll go even deeper. There’s been research that talks about the difference between a baby who came into this world through the classic birth canal versus a cesarean section. According to Research, if you go, the baby meanders down the little roller coaster down the birth canal, there’s a sense of they all get a warm sense of being stroked before they enter this world. And a cesarean section baby, which in many cases is necessary, pops out. And the research shows that that baby craves that sense of a tactile warmth of a hug. That is the human condition. We’ve now got this cold interaction, and perhaps it’s not by chance that the very first ad that Apple brought on the world was a faceless person dancing alone. That was the first ad for Apple.

Barry Shore:

This is so instructive. Another point of interest is that no matter when the birth occurs something that is done is to make sure the baby is placed close to the mother. In other words, that physical contact [distortion: 0:51:08] what Anthony is [distortion: 0:51:10], he’s the beast, is believing the human condition. The ability for someone to hug someone 70, 80, 90, 100 is as important as hugging a newborn, a one-year-old, a three-year-old. As a matter of fact, oftentimes more so for the end of years. In other words, zero or one day to four years old, hugging as much as possible, as important as the years 100 to 120. That is just brilliant. And it’s so important. I love that point about you as the emergency medical team coming and taking the pulse and just the touch says, I’m alive, I’m here, there’s hope. Hope stands for helping everyone progress [distortion: 0:52:03]. His whole world is on helping everyone [distortion: 0:52). He’s a winner to help others. That’s what who stands for. How does he do it? He helps others win. That’s what how stands for. And he also has the why in life. Winners help wisely. That’s what he’s doing right now, helping us all share in what he’s doing when he’s going to be on the stage in London. At TEDx, there will be hundreds of millions of people who will be listening to the message. You’re getting it now. But the message is clear. So, let’s just do a quick talk about something that entrances me that you’re working with now, you set up the issues, the difficulties, the increase of disconnect, and people less happy than they could be in thinking if I only. Tell us about your amazing process, as you say, called the University of Life.

Anthony Gordon:

Excellent. So let’s go back to our opening gambit. In our opening gambit, you asked an excellent question about how people want to be happier. I believe my response was that we are all dealt chords. It’s people who are frustrated with the cards that they’re dealt and trying to give cards back that will live a frustrating life. That’s something that’s impossible. As opposed to the peace and the acceptance of these are my cards let me deal with them. So, one of the cards that I was dealt Berry, and after 120 years I don’t believe that I can take credit for, is that I’ve always been a person who has performed very well scholastically as soon as I can possibly remember. So, I have had the opportunity of walking the hallowed halls of Keble College at Oxford University, Harvard Law School, and Harvard Business School. And at some point in my life, I realized while I’m deeply grateful for having been at some of the best-known tertiary education institutes in the world, there was something lacking and that was wisdom. I did not learn wisdom in the Ivy League schools. However, I was at an event and I shared with someone and I just blurted out, I didn’t learn this at Harvard. And I realized a true life sagacity, how to have a successful relationship, how to deal with adversity, how to know what your proclivity is, what your aptitude is in terms of choosing the most appropriate vocation, how to deal with disappointment. There is no syllabus that covers the most important tools for life. I can say that with a fair amount of confidence because the cards that I was dealt gave me the opportunity of apparently spending time at some of the best-known educational institutions in the world. And truth be said, that content, those tools are more important to have a successful life, have a happier life than anything that I had learned at any syllabus. So what I realized was the following. There is a notion in pop culture that we live and learn. It would seem to me that it would make a lot more sense that we don’t live and learn but we will learn and then go out and live. Which will mean that using a GPS analogy, while we all know the very final destination if you’ve got the tools, and you’ve got the wisdom, and you can navigate through life in a more seamless way, the chances are you will recalculate a lot less. You don’t have to go through 11 marriages to figure out what it takes to have a successful marriage. And you don’t have to make the same mistake many times over. And so, what we’ve done is taken a lot of the content developed over many, many years of seminars, workshops, conferences, and put this together into the University of Life. The most important life lessons to ensure that one can live a more meaningful, purposeful, and happier life.

Barry Shore:

And on that note, we’re going to tell everybody it’s going to be available online within the next 90 days. And the genius of what we’re doing today is people who are listening to this will be invited to be founding members, there’s a very minimal monetary cost because we want to have no barriers to entry. Anthony “the beast” Gordon is doing this, literally because he wants to help give over to people that which he didn’t get at these famous places. It’s called law. Even though he’s a law scholar he doesn’t know what law stands for, law stands for love and wisdom. And he wants to share that with everybody. Share stands for spreading happiness and rejuvenating energy. So, Anthony, our time has gone. I’m going to ask you three quick questions. Are you ready, sir?

Anthony Gordon:

I’m ready, sir.

Barry Shore:

Number one, will you come back again?

Anthony Gordon:

I would love to, Barry. You are a pleasure to be around. And an easy, easy person to speak to.

Barry Shore:

Thank you. Number two, you have 80 seconds only and this is difficult for you, only 80 seconds to tell everybody what is your most fervent desire? 80 seconds only.

Anthony Gordon:

So, my most fervent desire would be to empower as many people as possible with insights and tools into life so that they can live the most successful, the most purposeful, and happiest life that they are capable of.

Barry Shore:

Thank you. And number three, I may give you a hug in front of 368,218 people around the world. Are you ready?

Anthony Gordon:

I’m ready sir.

Barry Shore:

Okay. Hug stands for harmonizing unlimited, giving. Here we go 1-2-3 roar. 

Anthony Gordon:

Beautiful. 

Barry Shore:

And of course, you’re listening to The Joy of living with your humble host Barry Shore. The Joy of Living can be summed up in one word, giving. And you tuned in consciously and conscientiously because you know that this show will enable you to be happier, healthier, and wealthier when you utilize the three fundamentals of life which are number one, life has purpose. Number two, go mad, go make a difference. And number three, unlock the power and the secrets of everyday words and terms like www what a wonderful world. Smile, see miracles in life every day. Or as my eight-year-old niece says, see miracles in everyday life. Create the kind of world you want to live in causing, rethinking as Anthony has been sharing with us, enabling all to excel. Because remember the six most important words you’ll ever internalize, utilize and leverage in your life, choice not chance determines your destiny. And use four-letter words. Remember the four-letter words that we use in the positive, purposeful, powerful, pleasant world are life, love, hope, grow, free, gift, pray, play, swim. And tell the world to FU, capital N, capital N. By the way, when you see your family and friends after the show and you do this, say FU everybody, capital N, they’ll say, what are you talking about? Where’d you get that? Say I was listening to Barry Shore, The Joy of Living, he wants to teach the world to FU, capital N capital N, and it opens up the ability to say, what are you talking about? And then you tell them about joy, happiness, peace, and love. And remember to use the two most important words in the English language every day, three times a day for the rest of your life. And these two words are thank you, thank you, thank you to harmonize and network kindness. Everyone you meet is fighting a battle that you know nothing about, therefore be kind. Keep inspiring noble deeds, you can do it. You are the key. Anthony, don’t go away.

Outro  

Thank you for listening to this episode of The Joy of Living Podcast. Now, that’s another step towards your healthier, happier, and wealthier life. Never hesitate to do good in the world no matter what the situation. Join us for another upbeat discussion next time at barryshore.com. And be sure to leave a rating and subscribe to the show to get more conversations like this. And remember to share it with your family and friends, too. See you on the next episode.