I'm working on another course,
A follow-up to Finding Serenity.
As I reflect on the people and events that shaped my life.
There's a theme that keeps showing up.
Power of connection.
Of the time we're adults if we've been paying attention.
We know that connecting with another human being can be life-changing.
So the universe responded last week and drew my attention to a TED Talk by Neil Katyal.
Describing his arguing a case before the Supreme Court.
Katyal is a former acting solicitor general.
He's argued more than 50 cases before lie of court.
But this one was different.
He was going to be asking the nine justices to do something that had never been done in American history.
Overturn a sitting president's defining legislation.
Katyal was pumped by the opportunity.
And at the same time.
Terrified.
He put together a team of the best legal minds in the country.
He used AI to analyze 25 years of Supreme Court data.
Predicting the justices questions.
He also worked with a sports coach to lock in a positive mindset.
A meditation teacher to anchor himself in peace and presence.
And This one was my favorite.
An expert in improv,
To sharpen his listening skills.
When all was said and done.
When the court issued its ruling.
Cut y'all head one.
Six to three.
In his talk,
Katyal shows how stunningly accurate AI was in predicting what questions the justices would ask.
Which made him thoroughly prepared to respond.
But,
He says,
That's not what won the case.
His work with the sports coach.
Meditation teacher and improv expert taught him how to connect.
How to persuade the justices.
By appealing to something beneath the surface.
Hard to adjust.
Not only the argument.
But the delivery,
The pause,
The tone.
The look that says I hear you.
And here's my answer.
He concludes his talk by saying that AI can provide us with expertise.
But connection?
Is an irreplaceable human skill.
Irreplaceable.
I spent many years on film sets.
The stakes were,
Of course,
Never quite that high.
But I witnessed the power of connection.
A director fully present,
Genuinely connected to the cast and crew.
We would follow anywhere.
The best teachers in my life were the ones who connected.
Listened,
Who left me with the feeling of being seen.
I'm imagining that.
Someone was coming by.
Someone you'd like to have a deeper connection with.
What's in the way?
Is it the fear of being hurt?
A judgment about them or yourself that's holding you back.
Let me leave you with this.
Connection is always closer than we think.
And looking at what we're thinking.
Is often the first step.
