[BigV]

it was good.

and he's right on target, too. mostly. *spoiler, I'm gonna reference his points* opportunity looking like work, yep, it does. but, not all hard, good work provides opportunity. sometimes it's just a grind. the hard work arc he describes is traced by countless others, a vanishingly few of which result in the same pinnacle upon which he rests there on stage. hard work *is* important, unquestionably. but starting conditions are also crucial, and so are other things less tangible things like poverty and education and gender and skin color that have a tremendous influence on "opportunity" (which still requires work, granted).

being sexy, itself, is a huge part of opportunity as it translates into getting the desirable attention of those who could deliver opportunity. still, his point about what is "sexy", a term that is accepted by and embedded in the psyches of his audience is well played by him, as he suggests to them a different definition of "sexy"; being smart and thoughtful and generous. good on him for delivering a better and healthier mindset wrapped in paper they already like (or did he just give them the opportunity to improve themselves by adopting this new attitude, leaving the hard work of living up to these standards of "sexy"?)

make a life, not live a life... a little vague, and the supporting arguments he makes are not ones I agree with. I don't agree that "all this you see around you was made by people *no smarter than you*". I don't agree with that. LOTS of what I enjoy, take for granted, was thought up and produced by people lots smarter than me (usually in very specific areas, but we're talking about very specific aspects of life). I really like the message he's trying to deliver "you can be anything and make anything you can dream up, just like everything you see around you was dreamt up by someone" (paraphrasing), and he saves this important exhortation for the end when he's got his maximum momentum, but it doesn't follow for me. the second part of his point, to live thoughtfully, with an eye for what could be and don't be a sheep--that's good advice and I agree with it.

It was a good speech, and he delivered good points well. He was talking to a very receptive audience ("WEE LUV YOOOOOOUUU", which always helps). I think he's got a handle on it.