A few years ago, I felt like I was 1 , so I decided to
follow in the footsteps of the great American 2 ,
Morgan Spurlock, and try something new for 30 days. The idea is actually
pretty simple. Think about something you've always wanted to add to your
life and try it for the next 30 days. It turns out 30 days is just about the
right amount of time to add a new habit or 3 a habit -- like
watching the news -- from your life. There's a few things I learned
while doing these 30-day 4 . The first was, instead of the
months flying by, forgotten, the time was much more
5 .
This was part of a challenge I did to take a picture every
day for a month. And I remember exactly where I was and what I was doing
that day. I also noticed that as I started to do more and harder 30-day
challenges, my 1 grew. I went from
2 computer 3 to the kind of guy who bikes to
work. For fun! (Laughter) Even last year, I ended up hiking up Mt.
Kilimanjaro, the highest mountain in Africa. I would never have been that
4 before I started my 30-day challenges. I also
5 that if you really want something badly enough, you can
do anything for 30 days.
1 ? Every
November, tens of thousands of people try to write their own 50,000-word
novel, from scratch, in 30 days. It turns out, all you have to do is write
1,667 words a day for a month. So I did. By the way, the secret is not to go
to sleep until you've written your words for the day. You might be
2 , but you'll finish your novel. Now is my book the
next great American novel? No. I wrote it in a month. It's 3 .
(Laughter) But for the rest of my life, if I meet John Hodgman at a TED
party, I don't have to say, "I'm a computer scientist."
No, no, if I want to, I can say, "I'm a 4 ."
(Laughter) 1 changes, things I could keep
doing, they were more likely 2 . There's nothing wrong with
big, crazy challenges. In fact, they're a 3 . But
they're 4 to stick. When I gave up sugar for 30 days,
day 31 looked like this. [image of a pile of candy] (Laughter) So here's
my question to you: What are you waiting for? I
5 you the next 30 days are going to pass whether you like it
or not, so why not think about something you have always wanted to try and
6 ! For the next 30 days. Thanks.
... end.