From the Ivory towers of Oxford University to barrios in Brazil, from the soundstages of Hollywood to the Outback of Australia, from the privileged houses of Eton to the orphanages of Cambodia, Rick’s own story is one of diverging experiences and constant change. Yes, he is first a filmmaker, philosopher, author, and listener but he is also a proud imperfectionist and a committed “authentician.” He is a renowned keynote speaker that believes that we own nothing more valuable than our own stories and that by learning to unlock them, we can use them to heal us and set us free.
Speaking Engagements
FEATURED KEYNOTE
Finding Our Place in the Universe
When I was a boy, my Grandfather was my best friend. We used to spend summers up at his lake cabin in Idaho and one night, under a canopy of stars, he directed my eyes toward the night sky and observed that the universe was like a grand puzzle. As with all puzzles, every piece was vital and no two pieces were alike. Then, he told me, it was my mission to find my place in the puzzle.
Mark Twain famously said, “The two most important days of your life are the day you were born and the day you discover why.” Are there any two more important questions we can ask ourselves than, “Who in the world am I and why am I here?” How can we become fearless explorers of the unknown despite our fears? If time is our most precious commodity, how can we bring our A-game to every moment of our lives? Even though we may be the product of our past how can we be the authors of our future? Practical steps to living our best, most productive, lives at work and at play.
Good For:
• Adults
• Employees
• Kids & Teens
FEATURED KEYNOTE
The Greatest Story Ever Untold. Your Own.
An African proverb observes that ‘When a. person dies, a library burns down.’ The UN estimated that over a quarter of humans born today will never even be registered as being born. This leads to the analogous question, “When a tree falls in the forest, if no one hears it, does it make a noise?” Think of the pure waste of human wisdom that is lost because 99.9% of us take our stories with us to our graves. Through my work I have discovered that our personal story is the most valuable thing we’ll ever own and investing in it is the first step to living a meaningful, if not epic, life. Applying the StoryQ Method honed over 25 years and 10,000 interviews across six continents, we discover how the Elixir of Personal Storytelling can help us become better leaders, employees, husbands, wives, children, parents, brothers, sisters, friends and even enemies.
Good For:
• Adults
• Employees
• Kids & Teens
FEATURED KEYNOTE
Personal Storytelling 101
According to the long-running Harvard Happiness Study, it’s not wealth, position or power that we most desire, it’s connection. So why are we all so divided? Why do we often feel alone? What does it mean to be authentically human in an age of AI? What tools can help us surmount barriers and build bridges to form a more compassionate and content future?
It’s as old as time itself. Telling stories around the campfire. It’s in our very DNA. It’s how we connect and communicate.
What do the best educators, leaders, salesmen, artists, lawyers, health providers, scientists and the like all have in common? They know how to tell a story.
Learn the secrets and you’ll see just how much more compelling your own story becomes.
Good For:
• Adults
• Employees
• Kids & Teens
OTHER IN-DEMAND TOPICS
The Infinite Knowledge of Harold and the Purple Crayon
When Rick was a child, he mysteriously lost his hearing for a year. During that year of silence, it was this illustrated book that gave him hope. In the book, Harold, confined to his room, decides to draw his own adventure using his purple crayon. He wants to go for a walk in the moonlight, but there is no moon, so he draws one. He has nowhere to walk, so he draws a path… and so on.
Harold discovers that he can be the author of his own life, the central character in his own story. In a world often filled with “victims,” how do we find our own crayon?
Good For:
• Kids
• Adults
IQ vs. EQ: If Knowledge is Power, Self-Knowledge is Superpower
We all have within our grasp direct access to a superpower—one that dwarfs all other superpowers. After all, what good is it to have the power of flight if we don’t know where to go? What good is it shape-shift if we don’t know who we are in the first place?
If the greatest mystery we will ever face is, “Who in the world am I?”, finding the answer to that question can give us power over unlocking almost every other door. This superpower is already inside you. Find out how to unlock it.
Good For:
• Kids & Teens
• Adults
Who’s Bitch Are you?
According to Rick: “It has come to my attention over 5500 interviews that we are all someone’s or something’s bitch.
“For instance, I have struggled with impatience my whole life. I have been impatience’s bitch. In the last decade, however, I have addressed this problem through the 5000 Days Project. What better way to deal with impatience than to start a project that never ends? Yes, I will never reach the end of this project while I’m alive. There: I found a way to make impatience my bitch.”
Whose bitch are you?
Good For:
• Adults
• Employees
How to Manage the 40 Thoughts that Fill Your Mental Hard drive.
While brain science claims we can take in as much as 11 million bits of information per second, we can only really hold 40 thoughts in our head at one time.
Which 40 thoughts we choose to focus on determines our outlook and where we reside on the continuum between our longings and our fears. In fact, it determines our mental health. The great news is that with some practice, we can choose which 40 thoughts fill our mental hard drive.
What 40 thoughts fill yours?
Good For:
• Adults
• Teens
• Employees
Who’s Writing your Autobiography?
Are you the main character in your own story or a secondary character in someone else’s? Will you be the Captain of your own ship or simply a Passenger?
Are you letting circumstances define you or are you defining yourself?
Who is the author?
Good For:
• Adults
• Kids & Teens
• Employees
EQ: Your Most Valuable Asset
What is the key to producing authentic and innovative leaders, fearless creative game changers who know how to shift and transform based on the changing set of complex challenges before them?
Growing Emotional Intelligence within your team enables them to leave their baggage at home and bring their “A game’ to work creating a force greater than the sum of its parts.
Good For:
• Adults
• Employees
How Movies Can Grow our EQ
Each of us are the main character in our own epic movie—or at least we should be. But what about those obstacles, those character flaws and those fears that blind us from knowing where we need to go?
Understanding story structure and character arcs can illuminate the way.
Spoiler Alert: It works!
Good For:
• Adults
• Kids & Teens
• Employees
Select, Customize & Inspire
These topics can be presented as keynote presentations, workshops, campfire seminars, Q&A format, or live online presentation (video conference).
Typical presentations range from 30 - 60 minutes.
All talks can be tailored to use your existing language and reflect the needs of your organization or event.
A slide deck is created to guide people through the content visually.
A handful of follow-up materials are included such as private links to supplementary films as well as ebook links and recommendations.
“A successful life all comes down to listening to people. Rick’s talk, sharing lessons he’s learned from more than 5,000 interviews, was both captivating and insightful. The takeaways can improve corporate cultures, friendships and families.”
— STEVE CASE, CHAIRMAN OF REVOLUTION, FOUNDER OF AOL; FORMER CHAIRMAN OF TIME WARNER
Booking Inquiries
Rick’s Bio
Rick Stevenson has conducted nearly 10,000 filmed, one-on-one life interviews across six continents — a body of work that may represent one of the largest private archives of personal storytelling ever created.
An award-winning filmmaker and founder of the StoryQ Method, Stevenson uses the language of cinema to help others understand and shape their own narratives in real time. His life’s work informs his keynote talks, including Finding the Joy and Meaning Locked Inside You and Using the Movies to Discover Your Own Leading Role, where he translates decades of lived insight into practical frameworks for identity and meaning.
He has directed, produced, or written twelve feature films and more than 100 hours of television, collaborating with artists including Robert Redford, Hugh Grant, Christopher Plummer, Kiefer Sutherland, Meg Ryan, and Patrick Dempsey. A Doctor of Philosophy from Oxford University, Stevenson is an author and public speaker focused on storytelling and the narratives that shape human lives.
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