In which John talks about luck and what we deserve. And also some books he likes. And probable mouse poop. And Crash Course Big History, which will debut in a couple months over at / crashcourse
***** Do youtubers really all know each other and are real friends and such, just thought that only happened during vidcon. Also, just read Lokking for Alaska, thx for making me cry
"No matter your circumstances, you are valuable and rare and worthy of love" I really really needed to hear that. I'm writing it down and keeping it forever
A paradoxical video, in which John, by ascribing his much of his success to luck and not merit, shows how much he merits it and how much he has earned the respect and admiration of so many people. A generous and wise spirit who has provided information and inspiration to more people than we can fathom.
John Green's not the only one who's lucky that ***** wrote _Accio Deathly Hallows_ back in 2007. Not only did they grab a whole new audience from that, but those of us who were grabbed by that found a whole new community. When I look back, there are a great number of amazing experiences and incredible people who never would have been in my life if not for that song existing and getting featured on the front page of TH-cam. The amount of things I would have missed out on, had that not happened, and the amount of my life that would be drastically different is positively bananas. And on another note, I love the overall message of this video. Because I've seen plenty of hardworking people whose luck keeps them down, and people who just blink and suddenly find themselves on easy street. I've personally experienced, in my own life, a lot of wonderful things I didn't deserve. And I've also experienced some crap that I certainly _hope_ I didn't deserve. It's important to do your best, to do the right thing, and to work for what you want...but a lot of things in this world come down to luck. Circumstances of birth, of environment, of who you know, of what opportunities are or aren't available. There are so many elements that are up to chance, even before you factor in the lightning strikes of life, like the car that doesn't notice a person in a crosswalk, the right person seeing a video and featuring it on the front page of TH-cam, or the on-a-whim decision to turn left or right.
***** John Green So true. What makes the ***** so awesome (clique adjective, but so true) is that you are REAL people who's lives are based on chance and luck, just like the rest of us. Thanks for being real. Life has pain, and suffering. It sucks. But it also has incredible things. So. Yeah. I guess I'm just saying thanks for being awesome. What do you think: Is it all just random? Or is it set in stone? That is the question. Bad things happen no matter what someone deserves. We can still choose who we want to be, but is there some part of our lives that is pre-determined? It's strange how much people's viewpoints are entirely affected by tiny factors in life, which shape their experiences and opinions. I mean, that aside, we are all humans, so as soon as we accept life and all its unfairness we can help each other be awesome and live life to its fullest. DFTBA I'm so happy to be a Nerdfighter. Thanks -Alex
+vlogbrothers who are the nerdfighters? and given that they are not an organization that fights and/or kills nerds... how you join? I'll probably ask this again when you make another question ___day
John, I couldn't agree more with your message in this video. Unfortunately, there is often a rhetoric here in the States which removes luck from the equation and says that anyone who is successful has earned it and deserves it, whereas anyone who is unsuccessful and is too sick or too poor or too anything to change that must have some sort of gross personal flaw. Until people acknowledge the extraordinary luck necessary to be successful, bridging that gap will be extraordinarily challenging.
See Damu Menezes comment about using "blessed" instead of luck. A lot of people in this country use religion and religiosity as the basis for good things that happen and being not righteous enough for the ill. At least in my experience; my in-laws always praise god when something goes right and curse themselves when something goes wrong.
John, this probably isn't the best way to ask, but... What's your opinion of people criticising your support of capitalism? (This part of a post of yours: dareandwriteitdown.tumblr.com/post/86220000286/daemutt-daemutt-ecosynchronous )
So, just to get the obvious response out there: no percentage of anything at all was "fortunate" until we (or beings like us) were around to call it that. Second - and maybe related - is there much value to doing another "big history"? Isn't that what we watch Nova specials, Cosmos, and Brady Haran channels for? Is this one going to incorporate the humanities in a meaningful way? (Is that unlikely if the Gates Foundation is sponsoring it?) Maybe we could get, say, an in-depth lesson in the formation of the European Union, or what we learn from the fossil record in Montana, or a brief history of the English Channel. Something that would illuminate not just what we have learned about a given topic (say, the life of Harry Truman) but the methods we have used to GET that information. HOW DO WE PRODUCE KNOWLEDGE IN THE MODERN WORLD AND HOW HAS KNOWLEDGE PRODUCTION CHANGED THROUGHOUT HISTORY? OK, well anyway, you do a great job and I'll check it out no matter what... but I have trepidations.
I think I needed this video exactly at this moment today. I have chronic illness and have been sick 10yrs now and its easy to get into the mindset of who or is deserving. I sometimes feel upset or jealous of people my age, who as young adults can live free independent lives without physical pain or disability. I know that its ok, feelings are just that, what you feel. But those healthy people don't get the lives they do because they deserve to be more happy than me, they're just lucky today. I'm not somehow failing, thus deserve to be sick. And when you have chronic illness its easy to blame yourself: If I was stronger, if I had more willpower, if tried harder I could do more than I am now and thus for failing, deserve to be miserable. So thank you John for the pep talk, sometimes positivity gets muted through the fog of despair.
The comments on vlogbrothers videos are so frackin rad it's like intelligent and thoughtful debate that ends with "Thank you." Like, thumbs up for that, please.
Possibly one of the best and most important VlogBrothers submissions ever. Thanks, John Green . You and your brother have a viewpoint of the world that many others need to accept, absorb, and in turn, emit.
I feel like the person that John Green really needed when he had so much trouble earlier in his life was this future version of him and it makes me think that maybe we become our own rescuer.
Thanatos Erebos if the basement has been empty for the last several weeks and food scarce there (no one eating their lunch and leaving crumbs) they may have dared the middle of the room in search of diminished food supply.
***** rat stew is pretty good. Make sure to cook it long enough, otherwise rat can be a bit chewy + you should cook legs separately if the rat is big enough. Yummy.
As a man who sincerely believes in equality, I agree. Much progress can be made within the lifetimes of this generation, and eventually, society will come to realize that both men and women are equal as humans and should be given equal opportunity to thrive.
well our world favours women too in many a places. Deaths in combat, deaths working hazardous jobs, heart decease, divorce laws, there are plenty of mens rights issues that rival women rights issues.
this is one of my most favourite videos. It is so rare that people acknowledge the luck factor in success.... that said, I am so glad you worked hard, and got lucky, because I LOVE all that is nerdfightaria!
You know John, you're probably my favorite person ever. I feel like you really know a lot, and the things you were talking about in this video are exatly what I belive in. I love how you do not read only the mainstream literature, but you pay attention to the things that are really important. Keep up the amazing work, DFTBA!
I was reading poetry and truth by goethe (is the english title poetry and truth, I was reading it in german; if anyone knows please respond. Thanks.) He was talking about different types of gratitude (I will make you a video response about it tomorrow). He writes about how we should remember where something comes from to feel grateful for it, to value it. Then I thought about it and read a bit more and discovered this quote by Meister Eckhart (who Eckhart Tolle named himself after, in his honour and who was a german philosopher and theologian) 'If the only prayer you said was thank you, that would be enough.' Goethe also talked about different types of gratitude (everything in a video tomorrow)… So yea, I think gratitude is what leads to happiness…
"Luck is everything. But the harder you work the luckier you get" I can't remember who said this, but I think it applies to you and Hank, John. You're both amazing human beings and I couldn't be happier about the great things that are happening in your lifes :)
***** Hi, just asking, but a while ago you did a thing where you recommended a load of books (I think it was 19) and then asked us to recommend books from which you would choose an equal amount. I know you've been busy as of late, but do you have any idea when you will do the follow up?
I live in chronic pain, and this is the first time someone has told me I don't deserve it. Mostly I get told I'm being whiny or made to feel I'm not strong because I can't shrug it off. After seeing this, I may cry. Thank you.
Well, because some people can do it, and I've mostly been told I'm not trying hard enough by the people who can just shrug it off. Thing is, not everyone is capable of the same thing, and tolerances. There's this thing called the Spoon Theory, which a woman with Lupus came up with, and people who are chronically ill use it to help explain how they have to live. Basically, you have a set amount of spoons, and you give these to the person you're trying to explain things to, and ask them to describe their day. For each thing they do, you take away a spoon, which represents a unit of energy. When there are no more spoons, you can't do anything else. This works on most people, but I was mystified when I tired to use it to explain to my family, that they were telling me that they were going to manifest spoons out of sheer willpower, and then insisted I should be able to do the same. It felt horrible.
Thank you so much for posting this. Even though I know it's genetics, not some punishment, living with chronic pain, surgeries, medication and multiple complications that stem from 1 disorder wears you down after a while. Hearing this is so encouraging. Much love John
I feel like this is what TFiOS is all about--Hazel and Gus didn't deserve to get cancer, but that is the fault in our stars, in the makeup of our universe: that bad things do happen, and those things are not our fault, but neither are the good things that happen to us a product of something we did. A humbling thought, and also a reminder to use whatever undeserved advantages we have to help those with undeserved disadvantages. I'm reminded of Dorothea in George Eliot's Middlemarch: "What do we live for, if it is not to make life less difficult for each other?" Thanks, John, for the reminder :)
This is one of my favorite videos ever. It keeps me optimistic but also humble. I think I watch it on a weekly basis haha. Thanks for being awesome John!
I went back to watch some videos I had missed awhile ago... This one hit me hard. I have been struggling with understanding this whole world and why we do the things and what does that really mean. Not to be all sappy, but this right here is why I watch you guys. A collaboration of people who come together and remind each other that the world is a not so crappy place. Thank you for that.
That assumes a "higher power" that does that blessing and that those who have harder rows to hue are not "blessed" and that there is some cause for the blessing or lack of blessing.
Alissa Frederick This is why I HATE when people say some people are "blessed." A higher power has no interest in people. PEOPLE make things happen with other people.
"blessed" originally comes from a proto-Germanic work meaning "to hallow with blood" (a reference to pagan traditions), but oddly enough was used in Old English translations of the bible to translate Greek and Latin words meaning "to speak well of or praise" and also a Hebrew word referring more directly to worship. It's resemblance to the word "bliss" shifted the pronunciation to the word be use now and shifted the definition towards "make happy". So while there is a religious context associated with it, it does not necessarily connote a higher power doing any thing. Etymologically speaking.
I would posit that John's humble monologue while accurate, lacks a certain acknowledgement that his work IS a shining gem in a sea of drivel. Just being part of the lucky shooting star phenomenon doesn't mean it's undeserved. Yes, a lot of quality material gets buried for 'reasons' but thankfully an overwhelming majority of 'crap' also gets buried. Keep being awesome.
This is one of my favorite vlogbrothers episodes so far. Hearing all of this stuff put this way makes me glad. It helps reaffirm what I've told people that are very close to me while they went through hard times. But that bit you said that tied being a person together with all of the "deserving," I never thought about it like that. "You are not your luck." Thank you.
I love that you are so grateful for everything you have. I hope you can keep that perspective no matter what life brings you. Thanks for continuing to remind people that those of us who live here are so privileged. That's an important reminder! Your awesome :-).
i think you get what you have by a combination of of luck and hard work. i dont think you just get lucky, i think you work hard AND get lucky. it's very rare that you just do nothing and everything just works out for you. thats what most people think and they use it as an excuse to not work hard I think that there are a lot of people out there who deserve a lot more than they get, but if you don't work hard you're not giving yourself a chance to get lucky
That's very true. I mean looking at it from John Green's case, he himself had to write the book, he himself had to complete whatever level of education he completed and make all the books he's written as good as they possibly can be, he himself has acquired those writing skills and become a writer that's talented and committed to their craft. And arguably the book got so much attention and popularity because of his internet presence, which he himself decided to start with his brother, since John is agreeing that the quality of a book has no bearing on its popularity, I don't think that's unfair to conclude. I mean I know there are many many factors that are outside of everyone's control but I guess anyone who wants to be successful must make the best of the factors that are in their control, kind of like with John and his writing.
isra mubashar And if John wasn't such an interesting, likeable, brilliant person on camera he wouldn't have gained such a loyal following, not just a loyal following but a following that values intelligence and human complexities, BECAUSE that's what he values, which has definitely in some way contributed to how widely appreciated tfios, as a book has become, because John has chosen to project certain values in his videos, certain opinions in his videos, he has in some way, shaped and defined the community (definitely on youtube) surrounding his work. And John has also chosen to write a book about teenagers, primarily for a teenage audience, a demographic with obsessive, passionate fandoms, all these reasons have contributed to making the book so widely well-loved and thus given it the attention for a film makers to buy the movie rights and ultimately snap it up into a film. I definitely see where John is coming from with the danger of seeing the world through a 'self-centred myopia-' and striving to help those who are marginalised, I do think it is a separate issue. But choices and priorities certainly have their place in determination, and I don't think it's unreasonable to say that the aforementioned played a much bigger role in John's success than whether he was male or white.
isra mubashar His hard work wouldn't had been possible without a society that built up enough of a literate base that his work would had been appreciated, though, which is part of what he's saying. His skills, built as they are, would be pointless in a lot of other places and time. And they wouldn't had even been buildable in the first place if he didn't come from a class of people that were capable of sending their kids to college, or a society willing to spend money on their tuition, or during a time when that tuition was affordable to him. If he was born several years later, if he was just entering college today, for example, it's possible that his college's financial burdens would mean that when he should had been free to start his career as a book writer, he could had ended up working double and triple minimal wage jobs just to have a roof. And that's just a change of 10 years. You might be able to reach up and touch the stars, but it's because you're standing on the shoulders of giants. Yes, you have to reach out, but to not acknowledge that situation, or worse, when people don't have the same advantages to look down and suggest that they're just not reaching hard enough and work off that assumption, is probably the largest contribution to human misery.
But I think the point is that you can work hard and still get completely screwed over by life. You can get cancer, or you can get run over, or you can have the bad fortune of being born into a slave labor camp in North Korea. Even with all your hard work, ultimately you rely on pure luck for those things not to happen to you. I agree that people ought to always strive to work hard and make the most out of what life gives them, but it is luck that gives your hard work a chance to pay off much more than it is hard work that gives you a chance to get lucky.
TheMagicRat933 Absolutely. And also the idea that you can physically work hard enough to justify the pay of 10,000 workers doesn't even make mathematical sense anyways. It's clear that somebody's pay isn't always linked to their work.
I just get a happy warm feeling inside every time, when Latvia or Latvians are mentioned. And yeah, we have some pretty good books, but publishing in other countries is very difficult.
John this video has come to me in a hard part of my life, and your thoughts about "you are not your luck" really spoke to me and lifted my spirits. Thank you for that.
This video, today, is exactly something I needed to hear. Thank you sir. With the pressures of life and feeling like at every turn I have bad luck, getting perspective like this really speaks deeply to me. You have inspired me today.
It's been about two years since I last watched a Vlogbrothers video, and I just wanted to say thank you for never forgetting to be awesome. This was great and I'm about to spend like, the next four hours playing a little catch-up. You guys are fantastic. Thank you.
My laptop has been broken for a few months so I am just catching up on all my youtube subscriptions today, and I am so grateful to have just watched this video. Whenever I watch a vlogbrother video, I am reminded of how awesome John and Hank are, also how they have faith that every human being can be that awesome. This inspires me to keep moving forward when life feels like quicksand, dragging me down when I struggle. My brother once told me that you need to stop moving and just float then slide your way out if you ever get stuck, and I feel like these videos remind me to.
Every time I happen to watch a Vlogbrothers video that was JUST uploaded, I think 'This is my chance! If I comment something now they might see it and reply!' And then I sit there for ten minutes thinking about what to write.
Watching this video, whether by chance, or by fate, was exactly what I was searching for right now. My experience with depression has been centered around the idea of 'deserving' or to be accurate, whether I deserve pain, misery, sadness or even whether I deserve to be alive. The idea that nobody necessarily 'deserves' good luck or bad luck, that it is in fact up to chance and circumstance (in situations that are beyond your control) rarely crosses my mind. Thank you John for the clarity I required so desperately right now. You continue to inspire me. :)
John thank you for making these videos I find that your videos are the only videos that can get me out of a deep depression and it's hard but you make life so beautiful and it makes me happy just to be in existance.
I agree there is a great deal of luck/chance involved in failure and success so we shouldn't try to oversimplify life to "hard work = success". However, we also should not marginalize hard work or trivialize not working hard.
John Green you are an amazing writer. I just got The Fault In Our Stars for my birthday on Sunday and I love it at the second day of reading so much that I am already more than 3/4 of the way through it. Pardon any spelling mistakes please.
I just finished it!!!! Why is cancer so cruel, first Gus then Hazel (maybe)? Who else must die to this mutation of the cell? It's a good book though and really strict home seeing as my grandpa has had cancer three times.
I really needed this. Dealing with chronic illness & not being able to breath or coughing every couple of seconds gets really old really fast. & you start thinking dark horrible things. I finally let out whose dark things yesterday & today had been a little happier & brighter. I needed this reminder that this didn't happen to me because I deserved it, it just happened, because sometimes like just sucks for no reason. & weirdly enough that's comforting. Thanks John.
I am taking Big History at school this year, and it has been an awesome program to be a part of. I'm super excited for Crash Course to get involved so that everyone has access to the truly universal information that Big History offers!
1:07 Because people who write in Latvian aren't that great writers nowadays (or almost ever). I know that because I happen to be a Latvian. Also, I had to rewatch that part 3 times to get the fact that you mentioned Latvians. Yay for irrational national pride!
Well, but is it that Latvians aren't good writers, or is it that Latvian writers don't have the support and opportunities they need to succeed? I would argue it's the latter. Anyway, Latvia is awesome! Hope to visit there someday! -John
Same in Lithuania,its always to be mentioned in a random video as a "random small country that probably no one cares about so I can say whatever I want about it"
***** I think that there are many good Latvian writers and even if they get support there are not a lot of readers who appreciate Latvian literature instead they prefer fancy and popular foreign literature.
***** Well, we do have pretty great poets (sadly the best we had died this year (Imants Ziedonis, but I doubt you can find anything in English)). But we lack great novelists right now. It might be the fact that they're writing in other than English language that they're not successful, but I also think the market is quite saturated, you have to have something special to become something in any arts nowadays, and it's even harder to earn money with that. And that's something that most people lack. What made you pick Latvian, out of all ~6000 languages there are in the world (and ~5800 even smaller languages than Latvian)? I always wonder that, because it happens pretty often.
masansr Not my place to respond, but that never stops me.... because about 1000 of those 5800 languages are either really dialects with an Army and Navy or more commonly an anthropologist championing them; because another 1000 of those languages are so close to extinction that there either isn't an audience to listen or anyone left to write in them; because almost 2500 of those languages have no written form of any kind and like another 1000 of those languages are so obscure and unknown despite having written forms that John's audience and probably John himself doesn't know about them. Finally there are close to 100 somewhat well known (in academic circles) languages which are never-the-less not just near extinction but completely extinct and are only used in scholarly exercises or for translation of historical documents (Latin falls in this category, but so does Hittite and Palaic and Liguarian and Bactrian). I can't speak as to why John chose Latvian ahead of any of the 150 or so other potentially knowable languages which could have made his point, but if it were me I would pick Latvian because it's a language my audience would be aware of, and from an English speakers perspective still be exotic while being "small" (as in few speaker). Also he may have known as you pointed out that Latvian right now does have a dearth of literary publication, which for instance isn't true of the even smaller language Icelandic. Although it was probably just the first language that popped into his head. Although now that I think about it Estonian and Lappish are also very small and even more exotic....
Not really, Zogg, but the universe is a cold, unforgiving place. (I'll use a humane trap, and drop the mouse off a mile from here, and then it will return within 24 hours, and the dance will continue.) -John
Thank you for this, John. I needed this at this exact moment in time. I've been feeling very inadequate because of things I can't control as opposed to feeling blessed because of the things I can do. Thank you.
Well, I can. And it's alright. Probably just as good as being able to read Estonian or Norwegian or any other small Northern/Eastern European language.
John, your way with words never ceases to amaze me. You inspire the deep set philosophical side of me that makes me question life's mere existence and how quick we are to be snuffed of this small and seemingly pointless world. But gratitude is one of the many small and wonderful things that make the world go by in small little pieces of true joy.
Yeah, I hate the "deserving" complex. I mean, I get if you go to med school and lose your mind and hair studying and working and eventually land a well paying job; with that kind of effort involved, you need the financial incentive to motivate people to stay the maddening course and overcome their mountains of laborious effort. So $400-600 thousand a year is okay, especially since you're constantly on call and have enormous responsibilities. That being said, there are people currently sitting on millions and billions of dollars who don't deserve 1% of that. They're parasites; I don't know exactly how I would price labor, but I know they don't do near enough shit compared to the rest of us to deserve those salaries. I strongly believe stigmatizing and becoming intolerant of greed is the next best step humanity can take in the moral direction. Just because you were able to secure a sum of money, does not mean that you are anywhere NEAR close to deserving it--and I will let you know about it to your face!
***** As a med student, I argue that much of what I have had the opportunity to do has come from circumstance. My parents are supportive and prioritized education and I found teachers and professors who gave me enriching opportunities. Some people get to med school without those benefits, but everyone in med school had the opportunity to go to college, which most people do not have. In addition, I think doctors have it easy as we are paid on par with our worth (probably more). Our society also needs garbage workers, people who run services for the homeless, abused and abandoned and people who clean schools. Those people are contributing to society, but because I was lucky enough to have the opportunity to go to school and partially the genetics to find it more easy than others did, I will be paid more than those people who also work long hours.
You almost say it as if being rich is inherently bad. It's okay to be rich, we shouldn't abolish millionaires. Did they EARN it? Debatable, it has a lot to do with the word earn. But if someone starts a business or makes some investments, and makes it big, thats fine. Do they deserve it? again, debatable. But they certainly don't deserve to have it taken away from them, or to not have that opportunity to make it big from the outset.
That one guy from the internet true but they should be forced to give part of their fortune back to the community. We could set a fixed percentage of their income, to give back to the state. We could call it .... income tax.... But alas rich people with creative accountants wouldn't pay them, now would they?
I love how he addresses both sides of deserving and weights them equally. Usually when people talk about life they talk about how we only deserve good things but we don't deserve the bad.
I live in one of the richest areas in CA and attend one of the best schools in the nation. Do I deserve any of this? No. I didn't do anything to have this happen to me. Good video. Thanks, John.
They really did butcher Northern Lights... I've been trying to repress memories of that film deep, deep down since I first saw it. Gahh, just thinking about what it *could* have been makes me a little heartbroken.
this is so amazing to see you talk about this after seeing crash course almost everyday in APWH. you're the reason why i understand what the hell happened in the past and how the Mongol's are just fantastic. thanks john green.
This is actually probably one of my favourite vlogbrothers videos of all time. John is so spot on, I wish it was possible for every human being in the world to watch this.
If that little brown thing was in my house, I would assume it was gecko poo and not worry about it. Not because I'm a bad housekeeper, but because I have to cohabitate with the critters to some extent. Every one in a while I clean up all the gecko poo. But geckos are better than mice. They don't carry disease (I don't think) and they eat the mosquitoes. In other news, great video, I shared it on fb
Thank you for making this video. I wish you were my history teacher! My history teacher is a privileged bigot who doesn't "care about the social aspect of history." He doesn't recognize his privilege (he's a straight white male) and believes people are poor ONLY because they didn't work hard. That may be the case for some, but he is too ignorant to see any other scenario. I wish you worked at my school. :(
I had a history teacher who told us you could become the president of the U.S. if you were born in the states or naturalized. When myself and other students corrected him, he actually told us we were wrong. He said other stupid things, as well (Niagara Falls is a national park according to him, even after I googled it in the middle of class to prove it). Standards need to be raised for educators.
Great video! Everything you said really hit home with me. It was just what I needed to hear right now. And this doesn't even marginally relate to the point you were making, but would you really consider The Cat in the Hat movie to be a bad movie? I loved that movie as a kid!
Me too! I now realise that it's a bad movie, but I still enjoy it as if it were a good one! Oh, I'm looking forward to the new version planned by Illumination Entertainment (Despicable Me, Lorax). I actually have trouble understanding why The Golden Compass is supposed to be bad (no comparison to the book, but still quite more than OK). Same as the Bicentennial Man (never read the book).
john, that was a very well thought out and spoken video on luck and gratitude. it's important to be thankful and mindful when amazing things happen and the fact that it's your first response (video response, i'm sure you did a happy dance!) is truly role-model worthy. All the same, you've worked hard to hone your writing as a craft and for that I give you a well deserved congratulations.
What is absolutely crazy is that I can pick out some of the things you say in this video and match a few to your writing..... because I've read all of your books that are currently on shelf. You're truly a life changing writer. Thank you Mr. Green!
directawesomeness That was an entirely different team! Illumination Entertainment did a fantastic job! So fantastic, actually, that they got the rights for the Grinch and the Cat in the Hat - can't wait for those!
What is so upsetting about The Golden Compass movie is that it was sooooo close to being a great film. The actors were brilliant. The art direction was brilliant. The cinematography was brilliant. The screenplay, the editing, and the directing were not... I really hope that this series gets picked up by hollywood again in the future.
I really hope so too. I had such high hopes for that film, the book series was always one of my very favourites! But then my god did I hate the film...
this is one of those rare lovely videos that is remarkably encouraging without being cheesy. John is trying to be humble because he is incredibly lucky, and certainly people tell him he's awesome all the time, but that doesn't mean he isn't one of those writers young writers flock to to learn from and to be inspired by. No matter how lucky he is, he'll be perfect for those two things until the day he dies. So it goes.
John Green, I love you for how constantly you work to keep everybody's spirits uplifted. We are blessed to you and your brother at the center of Nerdfitghteria.
I don't know if this is a possibility but I know that alot of NerdFighters(i) feel that is how it should be written. are aspiring novelists(I have 10,000 words of a political dystoipan sci of my own that needs some work.) I don't know if this exists already but I am sure that there are alot of NerdFighters are involved in book publishing and i was thinking that combining the two would be great, having place to help people get the amazing unpublished/unfinished novels out into the world. I would love to see NerdFighter novels being sold through DFTBA Records. Thanks, Jon.
Although I do agree with much of your video, there are a few points I have to disagree on. I felt as though you were devaluing hard work in this video (although I'm certain you didn't intend it to come across as that). I believe it is a combination of hard work and good fortune that lead to success and life, and it is the work you do that determines whether you deserve that success (although not 'deserving' success doesn't mean it's a bad thing to get it). You worked hard on writing your novels, you were lucky to get them published, you do great work for your community and the world through organizing charities, you educated hundreds of thousands through crash course and these videos you make, and you were fortunate to get a movie deal with a talented crew behind it. You, John, have worked hard in your life and been fortunate enough to see it to pay off, and from mine and many other's perspective, you deserve all of the success you have been granted. DFTBA.
Yeah, he did sort of neglect the 'hard work' side of it, but I think that's because that's typically portrayed by many people as this idealistic thing that guarantees, and is the only factor towards, success. John is making the point that this couldn't be farther from the truth. Hard work helps, of course, but there's a ton of luck involved too.
For me, hard work is a given. I don't work any harder than Abdul does in BEHIND THE BEAUTIFUL FOREVERS, though. But yes, hard work should be the starting point. Dedication, hustle, perseverance--all that stuff is vital to success. But they don't make you successful. -John
ROFLMAOtheNARWHAL Hard work only increases the chances of becoming succesful. You can work hard and not become succesful and you can become succesful without working hard, but if you work hard, the probability that you become succesful is higher than if you didn't.But if you're for example unpriviledged or unlucky, but work very hard, your chances are still much lower than those of other people who don't work as hard as you do.
+Tigermond1 This sort of post enables a victim mentality. Perhaps you should let people who are under-privileged speak to their own success or failures, and share their experiences. Your speaking for them is very off-putting.
Your videos make me feel smart and inspired for 5 minutes and then I go right back to my pig pen of stupid...dom.
Thanks, Phil. I just injured my shoulder playing FIFA, so I'm no genius. -John
***** Do youtubers really all know each other and are real friends and such, just thought that only happened during vidcon. Also, just read Lokking for Alaska, thx for making me cry
I'm a big fan of both of you guys! I'd seriously doubt that any one of you is stupid... :) Kisses from France :*
***** Not to rag on you being in pain or anything, but I hope you were recording it.
***** I still want to play you one day. Challenge thrown down when your life isnt crazy
"No matter your circumstances, you are valuable and rare and worthy of love" I really really needed to hear that. I'm writing it down and keeping it forever
I teared up as soon as I heard it
I have so much respect for the Green brothers.
A paradoxical video, in which John, by ascribing his much of his success to luck and not merit, shows how much he merits it and how much he has earned the respect and admiration of so many people. A generous and wise spirit who has provided information and inspiration to more people than we can fathom.
John Green's not the only one who's lucky that ***** wrote _Accio Deathly Hallows_ back in 2007. Not only did they grab a whole new audience from that, but those of us who were grabbed by that found a whole new community. When I look back, there are a great number of amazing experiences and incredible people who never would have been in my life if not for that song existing and getting featured on the front page of TH-cam. The amount of things I would have missed out on, had that not happened, and the amount of my life that would be drastically different is positively bananas.
And on another note, I love the overall message of this video. Because I've seen plenty of hardworking people whose luck keeps them down, and people who just blink and suddenly find themselves on easy street. I've personally experienced, in my own life, a lot of wonderful things I didn't deserve. And I've also experienced some crap that I certainly _hope_ I didn't deserve. It's important to do your best, to do the right thing, and to work for what you want...but a lot of things in this world come down to luck. Circumstances of birth, of environment, of who you know, of what opportunities are or aren't available. There are so many elements that are up to chance, even before you factor in the lightning strikes of life, like the car that doesn't notice a person in a crosswalk, the right person seeing a video and featuring it on the front page of TH-cam, or the on-a-whim decision to turn left or right.
That's true. So many people are better off because Accio Deathly Hallows. What a weird and beautiful thing Hank brought into the world. -John
***** What a weird and beautiful thing your parents brought into the world. :P
***** John Green So true. What makes the ***** so awesome (clique adjective, but so true) is that you are REAL people who's lives are based on chance and luck, just like the rest of us. Thanks for being real. Life has pain, and suffering. It sucks. But it also has incredible things. So. Yeah. I guess I'm just saying thanks for being awesome. What do you think: Is it all just random? Or is it set in stone? That is the question. Bad things happen no matter what someone deserves. We can still choose who we want to be, but is there some part of our lives that is pre-determined? It's strange how much people's viewpoints are entirely affected by tiny factors in life, which shape their experiences and opinions. I mean, that aside, we are all humans, so as soon as we accept life and all its unfairness we can help each other be awesome and live life to its fullest. DFTBA I'm so happy to be a Nerdfighter. Thanks -Alex
+vlogbrothers who are the nerdfighters? and given that they are not an organization that fights and/or kills nerds... how you join? I'll probably ask this again when you make another question ___day
This is one of my most favorite videos ever. I needed to see this.
Hair game is on POINT today
or puff levels are high
whatever floats your boat
Thank you for inspiring me john. I've been in depression for 7 months and i feel i can do anything now. DFTBA nerdfighter
YAY! GO Nerdfighter!
Great to hear that. I hope that you keep a positive mindset
DFTBA! Wooooo Hoooo! :D
thank you so much from your support nerdfighter, you all awesome. i will looking for another nerdfighter project and i hope i can help others too.
its great that he helped you DFTBA my friend DFTBA
John, I couldn't agree more with your message in this video. Unfortunately, there is often a rhetoric here in the States which removes luck from the equation and says that anyone who is successful has earned it and deserves it, whereas anyone who is unsuccessful and is too sick or too poor or too anything to change that must have some sort of gross personal flaw. Until people acknowledge the extraordinary luck necessary to be successful, bridging that gap will be extraordinarily challenging.
See Damu Menezes comment about using "blessed" instead of luck. A lot of people in this country use religion and religiosity as the basis for good things that happen and being not righteous enough for the ill. At least in my experience; my in-laws always praise god when something goes right and curse themselves when something goes wrong.
John Green talks about Deserving.
Deserving
John, this probably isn't the best way to ask, but... What's your opinion of people criticising your support of capitalism? (This part of a post of yours: dareandwriteitdown.tumblr.com/post/86220000286/daemutt-daemutt-ecosynchronous )
***** Latvian here
So, just to get the obvious response out there: no percentage of anything at all was "fortunate" until we (or beings like us) were around to call it that. Second - and maybe related - is there much value to doing another "big history"? Isn't that what we watch Nova specials, Cosmos, and Brady Haran channels for? Is this one going to incorporate the humanities in a meaningful way? (Is that unlikely if the Gates Foundation is sponsoring it?) Maybe we could get, say, an in-depth lesson in the formation of the European Union, or what we learn from the fossil record in Montana, or a brief history of the English Channel. Something that would illuminate not just what we have learned about a given topic (say, the life of Harry Truman) but the methods we have used to GET that information. HOW DO WE PRODUCE KNOWLEDGE IN THE MODERN WORLD AND HOW HAS KNOWLEDGE PRODUCTION CHANGED THROUGHOUT HISTORY? OK, well anyway, you do a great job and I'll check it out no matter what... but I have trepidations.
Could you do a video that gives tips for us that want to become authors?
Would be nice.
Can you do a video of your thoughts on affirmative action?
I think I needed this video exactly at this moment today. I have chronic illness and have been sick 10yrs now and its easy to get into the mindset of who or is deserving. I sometimes feel upset or jealous of people my age, who as young adults can live free independent lives without physical pain or disability. I know that its ok, feelings are just that, what you feel. But those healthy people don't get the lives they do because they deserve to be more happy than me, they're just lucky today. I'm not somehow failing, thus deserve to be sick. And when you have chronic illness its easy to blame yourself: If I was stronger, if I had more willpower, if tried harder I could do more than I am now and thus for failing, deserve to be miserable. So thank you John for the pep talk, sometimes positivity gets muted through the fog of despair.
Wow, I relate to this so much. Are you secretly me? ;)
I watch this video every few months. It helps put all of my small successes and setbacks into a much larger perspective. Thank you, John.
The comments on vlogbrothers videos are so frackin rad it's like intelligent and thoughtful debate that ends with "Thank you." Like, thumbs up for that, please.
Possibly one of the best and most important VlogBrothers submissions ever. Thanks, John Green . You and your brother have a viewpoint of the world that many others need to accept, absorb, and in turn, emit.
I feel like the person that John Green really needed when he had so much trouble earlier in his life was this future version of him and it makes me think that maybe we become our own rescuer.
0:50 *cough cough* Percy Jackson *cough cough*
We expect updates on that mouse.
As of now, it is alive. -John
And now?
Thanatos Erebos if the basement has been empty for the last several weeks and food scarce there (no one eating their lunch and leaving crumbs) they may have dared the middle of the room in search of diminished food supply.
And ***** delivers! :D Good luck with handling it.
***** rat stew is pretty good. Make sure to cook it long enough, otherwise rat can be a bit chewy + you should cook legs separately if the rat is big enough. Yummy.
I feel lucky to be a woman in a world that still favours men because there's so much progress to be made, and that can be made in our generation. :)
I love that comment so much.
Correctrix
I really like you comment,
As a man who sincerely believes in equality, I agree. Much progress can be made within the lifetimes of this generation, and eventually, society will come to realize that both men and women are equal as humans and should be given equal opportunity to thrive.
Correctrix I like you.
well our world favours women too in many a places. Deaths in combat, deaths working hazardous jobs, heart decease, divorce laws, there are plenty of mens rights issues that rival women rights issues.
this is one of my most favourite videos. It is so rare that people acknowledge the luck factor in success.... that said, I am so glad you worked hard, and got lucky, because I LOVE all that is nerdfightaria!
You know John, you're probably my favorite person ever. I feel like you really know a lot, and the things you were talking about in this video are exatly what I belive in. I love how you do not read only the mainstream literature, but you pay attention to the things that are really important. Keep up the amazing work, DFTBA!
John deserves to get his sandwich stolen.
Every time, AYWRMVLUISYS. Every time. -John
I was reading poetry and truth by goethe (is the english title poetry and truth, I was reading it in german; if anyone knows please respond. Thanks.) He was talking about different types of gratitude (I will make you a video response about it tomorrow). He writes about how we should remember where something comes from to feel grateful for it, to value it. Then I thought about it and read a bit more and discovered this quote by Meister Eckhart (who Eckhart Tolle named himself after, in his honour and who was a german philosopher and theologian) 'If the only prayer you said was thank you, that would be enough.' Goethe also talked about different types of gratitude (everything in a video tomorrow)… So yea, I think gratitude is what leads to happiness…
Looking forward to your thoughts in your video - going to subscribe to you so I'll see it when you are done :)
osmia Oh thats so sweet, thank you! :-)
This video is great on so many levels and I thank you so much for putting it together.
loved your video on the fault in our stars. I'm glad I was not the only person who had that view.
It's Beckie0! Why do I keep finding you all over the Internet? First Lilly Allen, now this...
"Luck is everything. But the harder you work the luckier you get" I can't remember who said this, but I think it applies to you and Hank, John. You're both amazing human beings and I couldn't be happier about the great things that are happening in your lifes :)
'and I even miss you probably rat poop' LOL
MOUSE. MOUSE. MOUSE. Don't scare me. ;) -John
*****
sorry LOL
*****
The question is, what do you plan on doing to that mouse when you find it? Hmmmm?
***** Hi, just asking, but a while ago you did a thing where you recommended a load of books (I think it was 19) and then asked us to recommend books from which you would choose an equal amount. I know you've been busy as of late, but do you have any idea when you will do the follow up?
***** Are rats really that much worse than mice? I feel like people have a much more negative view of rats for no reason. -_-
I live in chronic pain, and this is the first time someone has told me I don't deserve it. Mostly I get told I'm being whiny or made to feel I'm not strong because I can't shrug it off. After seeing this, I may cry. Thank you.
Well, because some people can do it, and I've mostly been told I'm not trying hard enough by the people who can just shrug it off. Thing is, not everyone is capable of the same thing, and tolerances. There's this thing called the Spoon Theory, which a woman with Lupus came up with, and people who are chronically ill use it to help explain how they have to live. Basically, you have a set amount of spoons, and you give these to the person you're trying to explain things to, and ask them to describe their day. For each thing they do, you take away a spoon, which represents a unit of energy. When there are no more spoons, you can't do anything else. This works on most people, but I was mystified when I tired to use it to explain to my family, that they were telling me that they were going to manifest spoons out of sheer willpower, and then insisted I should be able to do the same. It felt horrible.
Thank you so much for posting this. Even though I know it's genetics, not some punishment, living with chronic pain, surgeries, medication and multiple complications that stem from 1 disorder wears you down after a while. Hearing this is so encouraging. Much love John
Your humbleness astounds me john. We need more people like you.
I feel like this is what TFiOS is all about--Hazel and Gus didn't deserve to get cancer, but that is the fault in our stars, in the makeup of our universe: that bad things do happen, and those things are not our fault, but neither are the good things that happen to us a product of something we did. A humbling thought, and also a reminder to use whatever undeserved advantages we have to help those with undeserved disadvantages. I'm reminded of Dorothea in George Eliot's Middlemarch: "What do we live for, if it is not to make life less difficult for each other?" Thanks, John, for the reminder :)
You and Hank always put things in perspective for me, John, and I love it. :)
This is one of my favorite videos ever. It keeps me optimistic but also humble. I think I watch it on a weekly basis haha. Thanks for being awesome John!
I went back to watch some videos I had missed awhile ago... This one hit me hard. I have been struggling with understanding this whole world and why we do the things and what does that really mean. Not to be all sappy, but this right here is why I watch you guys. A collaboration of people who come together and remind each other that the world is a not so crappy place. Thank you for that.
You're not lucky John, you're blessed.
That assumes a "higher power" that does that blessing and that those who have harder rows to hue are not "blessed" and that there is some cause for the blessing or lack of blessing.
Alissa Frederick Blessing is a subjective term. You're trying to make it objective.
Alissa Frederick This is why I HATE when people say some people are "blessed." A higher power has no interest in people. PEOPLE make things happen with other people.
KFuzze Blessing is definitely NOT subjective. "Blessed" is consecrated, holy, worthy of worship. None of these terms is secular.
"blessed" originally comes from a proto-Germanic work meaning "to hallow with blood" (a reference to pagan traditions), but oddly enough was used in Old English translations of the bible to translate Greek and Latin words meaning "to speak well of or praise" and also a Hebrew word referring more directly to worship. It's resemblance to the word "bliss" shifted the pronunciation to the word be use now and shifted the definition towards "make happy". So while there is a religious context associated with it, it does not necessarily connote a higher power doing any thing. Etymologically speaking.
I would posit that John's humble monologue while accurate, lacks a certain acknowledgement that his work IS a shining gem in a sea of drivel. Just being part of the lucky shooting star phenomenon doesn't mean it's undeserved. Yes, a lot of quality material gets buried for 'reasons' but thankfully an overwhelming majority of 'crap' also gets buried.
Keep being awesome.
This is one of my favorite vlogbrothers episodes so far. Hearing all of this stuff put this way makes me glad. It helps reaffirm what I've told people that are very close to me while they went through hard times.
But that bit you said that tied being a person together with all of the "deserving," I never thought about it like that. "You are not your luck." Thank you.
I love that you are so grateful for everything you have. I hope you can keep that perspective no matter what life brings you. Thanks for continuing to remind people that those of us who live here are so privileged. That's an important reminder! Your awesome :-).
i think you get what you have by a combination of of luck and hard work.
i dont think you just get lucky, i think you work hard AND get lucky.
it's very rare that you just do nothing and everything just works out for you.
thats what most people think and they use it as an excuse to not work hard
I think that there are a lot of people out there who deserve a lot more than they get, but if you don't work hard you're not giving yourself a chance to get lucky
That's very true. I mean looking at it from John Green's case, he himself had to write the book, he himself had to complete whatever level of education he completed and make all the books he's written as good as they possibly can be, he himself has acquired those writing skills and become a writer that's talented and committed to their craft. And arguably the book got so much attention and popularity because of his internet presence, which he himself decided to start with his brother, since John is agreeing that the quality of a book has no bearing on its popularity, I don't think that's unfair to conclude. I mean I know there are many many factors that are outside of everyone's control but I guess anyone who wants to be successful must make the best of the factors that are in their control, kind of like with John and his writing.
isra mubashar And if John wasn't such an interesting, likeable, brilliant person on camera he wouldn't have gained such a loyal following, not just a loyal following but a following that values intelligence and human complexities, BECAUSE that's what he values, which has definitely in some way contributed to how widely appreciated tfios, as a book has become, because John has chosen to project certain values in his videos, certain opinions in his videos, he has in some way, shaped and defined the community (definitely on youtube) surrounding his work. And John has also chosen to write a book about teenagers, primarily for a teenage audience, a demographic with obsessive, passionate fandoms, all these reasons have contributed to making the book so widely well-loved and thus given it the attention for a film makers to buy the movie rights and ultimately snap it up into a film. I definitely see where John is coming from with the danger of seeing the world through a 'self-centred myopia-' and striving to help those who are marginalised, I do think it is a separate issue. But choices and priorities certainly have their place in determination, and I don't think it's unreasonable to say that the aforementioned played a much bigger role in John's success than whether he was male or white.
isra mubashar
His hard work wouldn't had been possible without a society that built up enough of a literate base that his work would had been appreciated, though, which is part of what he's saying. His skills, built as they are, would be pointless in a lot of other places and time. And they wouldn't had even been buildable in the first place if he didn't come from a class of people that were capable of sending their kids to college, or a society willing to spend money on their tuition, or during a time when that tuition was affordable to him.
If he was born several years later, if he was just entering college today, for example, it's possible that his college's financial burdens would mean that when he should had been free to start his career as a book writer, he could had ended up working double and triple minimal wage jobs just to have a roof. And that's just a change of 10 years.
You might be able to reach up and touch the stars, but it's because you're standing on the shoulders of giants. Yes, you have to reach out, but to not acknowledge that situation, or worse, when people don't have the same advantages to look down and suggest that they're just not reaching hard enough and work off that assumption, is probably the largest contribution to human misery.
But I think the point is that you can work hard and still get completely screwed over by life. You can get cancer, or you can get run over, or you can have the bad fortune of being born into a slave labor camp in North Korea. Even with all your hard work, ultimately you rely on pure luck for those things not to happen to you. I agree that people ought to always strive to work hard and make the most out of what life gives them, but it is luck that gives your hard work a chance to pay off much more than it is hard work that gives you a chance to get lucky.
TheMagicRat933
Absolutely. And also the idea that you can physically work hard enough to justify the pay of 10,000 workers doesn't even make mathematical sense anyways.
It's clear that somebody's pay isn't always linked to their work.
I just get a happy warm feeling inside every time, when Latvia or Latvians are mentioned. And yeah, we have some pretty good books, but publishing in other countries is very difficult.
John this video has come to me in a hard part of my life, and your thoughts about "you are not your luck" really spoke to me and lifted my spirits. Thank you for that.
This video, today, is exactly something I needed to hear. Thank you sir. With the pressures of life and feeling like at every turn I have bad luck, getting perspective like this really speaks deeply to me. You have inspired me today.
John green I'm afraid "you are so busy being YOU that you have no idea how utterly unprecedented you are."
You are absolutely deserving.
This was an absolutely fantastic video John. Thank you. Seriously, I needed this reminder and I'm sure many others did too.
I agree. I think believing too much that you're awesome makes you less awesome and I don't think I'm awesome enough to deserve nerdfighteria
It's been about two years since I last watched a Vlogbrothers video, and I just wanted to say thank you for never forgetting to be awesome. This was great and I'm about to spend like, the next four hours playing a little catch-up. You guys are fantastic. Thank you.
This is probably one of my favorite videos of yours, John!! I love it!
These videos are what make my Tuesdays tolerable.
congratulations on the grant for Big History, I noticed nobody was watching the original Big History channel they started up
I didn't know that was a thing! :O
I always come back to this one. It is my favorite. So humbling.
Honestly, I think this and "Perspective" are your best videos. I rewatch them a lot.
I still have yet to recover from the fiasco that was The Cat in the Hat. Thanks for opening up an old wound John.
Congratulations for being lucky! But you're also very deserving of it :)
My laptop has been broken for a few months so I am just catching up on all my youtube subscriptions today, and I am so grateful to have just watched this video. Whenever I watch a vlogbrother video, I am reminded of how awesome John and Hank are, also how they have faith that every human being can be that awesome. This inspires me to keep moving forward when life feels like quicksand, dragging me down when I struggle. My brother once told me that you need to stop moving and just float then slide your way out if you ever get stuck, and I feel like these videos remind me to.
I've only been involved as a nerdfighter for about a year. This is one of my favorite videos from you ever, John Green.
for the "really good books that got turned into terrible, terrible movies" you forgot PERCY JACKSON
Amen.
Yes he did! Your name perfectly fits your argument too.
Every time I happen to watch a Vlogbrothers video that was JUST uploaded, I think 'This is my chance! If I comment something now they might see it and reply!' And then I sit there for ten minutes thinking about what to write.
Watching this video, whether by chance, or by fate, was exactly what I was searching for right now.
My experience with depression has been centered around the idea of 'deserving' or to be accurate, whether I deserve pain, misery, sadness or even whether I deserve to be alive. The idea that nobody necessarily 'deserves' good luck or bad luck, that it is in fact up to chance and circumstance (in situations that are beyond your control) rarely crosses my mind.
Thank you John for the clarity I required so desperately right now. You continue to inspire me. :)
John thank you for making these videos I find that your videos are the only videos that can get me out of a deep depression and it's hard but you make life so beautiful and it makes me happy just to be in existance.
I agree there is a great deal of luck/chance involved in failure and success so we shouldn't try to oversimplify life to "hard work = success". However, we also should not marginalize hard work or trivialize not working hard.
John Green you are an amazing writer. I just got The Fault In Our Stars for my birthday on Sunday and I love it at the second day of reading so much that I am already more than 3/4 of the way through it. Pardon any spelling mistakes please.
I just finished it!!!! Why is cancer so cruel, first Gus then Hazel (maybe)? Who else must die to this mutation of the cell? It's a good book though and really strict home seeing as my grandpa has had cancer three times.
Struck
I really needed this. Dealing with chronic illness & not being able to breath or coughing every couple of seconds gets really old really fast. & you start thinking dark horrible things. I finally let out whose dark things yesterday & today had been a little happier & brighter. I needed this reminder that this didn't happen to me because I deserved it, it just happened, because sometimes like just sucks for no reason. & weirdly enough that's comforting. Thanks John.
I am taking Big History at school this year, and it has been an awesome program to be a part of. I'm super excited for Crash Course to get involved so that everyone has access to the truly universal information that Big History offers!
1:07 Because people who write in Latvian aren't that great writers nowadays (or almost ever). I know that because I happen to be a Latvian.
Also, I had to rewatch that part 3 times to get the fact that you mentioned Latvians. Yay for irrational national pride!
Well, but is it that Latvians aren't good writers, or is it that Latvian writers don't have the support and opportunities they need to succeed? I would argue it's the latter. Anyway, Latvia is awesome! Hope to visit there someday! -John
Same in Lithuania,its always to be mentioned in a random video as a "random small country that probably no one cares about so I can say whatever I want about it"
***** I think that there are many good Latvian writers and even if they get support there are not a lot of readers who appreciate Latvian literature instead they prefer fancy and popular foreign literature.
*****
Well, we do have pretty great poets (sadly the best we had died this year (Imants Ziedonis, but I doubt you can find anything in English)).
But we lack great novelists right now.
It might be the fact that they're writing in other than English language that they're not successful, but I also think the market is quite saturated, you have to have something special to become something in any arts nowadays, and it's even harder to earn money with that. And that's something that most people lack.
What made you pick Latvian, out of all ~6000 languages there are in the world (and ~5800 even smaller languages than Latvian)? I always wonder that, because it happens pretty often.
masansr
Not my place to respond, but that never stops me.... because about 1000 of those 5800 languages are either really dialects with an Army and Navy or more commonly an anthropologist championing them; because another 1000 of those languages are so close to extinction that there either isn't an audience to listen or anyone left to write in them; because almost 2500 of those languages have no written form of any kind and like another 1000 of those languages are so obscure and unknown despite having written forms that John's audience and probably John himself doesn't know about them. Finally there are close to 100 somewhat well known (in academic circles) languages which are never-the-less not just near extinction but completely extinct and are only used in scholarly exercises or for translation of historical documents (Latin falls in this category, but so does Hittite and Palaic and Liguarian and Bactrian). I can't speak as to why John chose Latvian ahead of any of the 150 or so other potentially knowable languages which could have made his point, but if it were me I would pick Latvian because it's a language my audience would be aware of, and from an English speakers perspective still be exotic while being "small" (as in few speaker). Also he may have known as you pointed out that Latvian right now does have a dearth of literary publication, which for instance isn't true of the even smaller language Icelandic. Although it was probably just the first language that popped into his head. Although now that I think about it Estonian and Lappish are also very small and even more exotic....
Does that mouse deserve to be tracked down?
Not really, Zogg, but the universe is a cold, unforgiving place.
(I'll use a humane trap, and drop the mouse off a mile from here, and then it will return within 24 hours, and the dance will continue.) -John
***** We Mice thank you for the Sport John. No cheese please, its bad for us. Peanut butter or fruit.
***** getting rid of pangalactic creatures proves to be quite difficult.
Very. By the way, do you have time to hear about our Lord Mickey?
You are saying things that are exactly what I need to hear at this moment, and what I'm sure a lot of people need to hear. Great video
Thank you for this, John. I needed this at this exact moment in time. I've been feeling very inadequate because of things I can't control as opposed to feeling blessed because of the things I can do. Thank you.
I really appreciate you.
I wish i could read Latvian.
Well, I can. And it's alright. Probably just as good as being able to read Estonian or Norwegian or any other small Northern/Eastern European language.
John, your way with words never ceases to amaze me. You inspire the deep set philosophical side of me that makes me question life's mere existence and how quick we are to be snuffed of this small and seemingly pointless world.
But gratitude is one of the many small and wonderful things that make the world go by in small little pieces of true joy.
I keep on coming back to this video. Somehow inspiring and kind of humbling at the same time. Thank you John.
Yeah, I hate the "deserving" complex. I mean, I get if you go to med school and lose your mind and hair studying and working and eventually land a well paying job; with that kind of effort involved, you need the financial incentive to motivate people to stay the maddening course and overcome their mountains of laborious effort. So $400-600 thousand a year is okay, especially since you're constantly on call and have enormous responsibilities.
That being said, there are people currently sitting on millions and billions of dollars who don't deserve 1% of that. They're parasites; I don't know exactly how I would price labor, but I know they don't do near enough shit compared to the rest of us to deserve those salaries. I strongly believe stigmatizing and becoming intolerant of greed is the next best step humanity can take in the moral direction.
Just because you were able to secure a sum of money, does not mean that you are anywhere NEAR close to deserving it--and I will let you know about it to your face!
^Workin' on that stigmatizaton right now.
***** As a med student, I argue that much of what I have had the opportunity to do has come from circumstance. My parents are supportive and prioritized education and I found teachers and professors who gave me enriching opportunities. Some people get to med school without those benefits, but everyone in med school had the opportunity to go to college, which most people do not have.
In addition, I think doctors have it easy as we are paid on par with our worth (probably more). Our society also needs garbage workers, people who run services for the homeless, abused and abandoned and people who clean schools. Those people are contributing to society, but because I was lucky enough to have the opportunity to go to school and partially the genetics to find it more easy than others did, I will be paid more than those people who also work long hours.
You almost say it as if being rich is inherently bad. It's okay to be rich, we shouldn't abolish millionaires. Did they EARN it? Debatable, it has a lot to do with the word earn. But if someone starts a business or makes some investments, and makes it big, thats fine. Do they deserve it? again, debatable. But they certainly don't deserve to have it taken away from them, or to not have that opportunity to make it big from the outset.
***** "3) Finally is money really the best way to measure what a person has or doesn't have and what they deserve?"
Very good point
That one guy from the internet
true but they should be forced to give part of their fortune back to the community.
We could set a fixed percentage of their income, to give back to the state. We could call it .... income tax.... But alas rich people with creative accountants wouldn't pay them, now would they?
IT WAS JUST NOW THAT I REALIZED HE WROTE "LOOKING FOR ALASKA". I'm exploding inside.
I love how he addresses both sides of deserving and weights them equally. Usually when people talk about life they talk about how we only deserve good things but we don't deserve the bad.
Thank you so much for putting it into words for us, because we forget this way too often. This speaks to me on a spiritual level. Thanks John!!!
I live in one of the richest areas in CA and attend one of the best schools in the nation. Do I deserve any of this? No. I didn't do anything to have this happen to me. Good video. Thanks, John.
i cri evry tme about the golden compass so much potential squandered
i did and i stopped it half way through it was HORIBLE
They really did butcher Northern Lights... I've been trying to repress memories of that film deep, deep down since I first saw it. Gahh, just thinking about what it *could* have been makes me a little heartbroken.
Not to mention The Voyage of the Dawn Treader film, which turned my favorite Narnia book into my least favorite Narnia Movie. Such a disappointment.
Ever seen Eragon?
no what is that?
this is so amazing to see you talk about this after seeing crash course almost everyday in APWH. you're the reason why i understand what the hell happened in the past and how the Mongol's are just fantastic. thanks john green.
This is actually probably one of my favourite vlogbrothers videos of all time. John is so spot on, I wish it was possible for every human being in the world to watch this.
If that little brown thing was in my house, I would assume it was gecko poo and not worry about it. Not because I'm a bad housekeeper, but because I have to cohabitate with the critters to some extent. Every one in a while I clean up all the gecko poo. But geckos are better than mice. They don't carry disease (I don't think) and they eat the mosquitoes.
In other news, great video, I shared it on fb
Stop making so much sense John Green
I haven't seen this video in a while and now looking back on it, it has cemented it's place in my top 5 Vlogbrothers videos of all time
I have chronic pain, and I have had this conversation with myself 100 times over.... happy to hear you talking about it :D
Thank you for making this video. I wish you were my history teacher! My history teacher is a privileged bigot who doesn't "care about the social aspect of history." He doesn't recognize his privilege (he's a straight white male) and believes people are poor ONLY because they didn't work hard. That may be the case for some, but he is too ignorant to see any other scenario. I wish you worked at my school. :(
I had a history teacher who told us you could become the president of the U.S. if you were born in the states or naturalized. When myself and other students corrected him, he actually told us we were wrong. He said other stupid things, as well (Niagara Falls is a national park according to him, even after I googled it in the middle of class to prove it). Standards need to be raised for educators.
Twihard61386 AGREED! Compensation needs to be raised for teachers. (And standards)
Great video! Everything you said really hit home with me. It was just what I needed to hear right now. And this doesn't even marginally relate to the point you were making, but would you really consider The Cat in the Hat movie to be a bad movie? I loved that movie as a kid!
Um... The real people Cat in the Hat? Because the animated one's wonderful, it's just the new one would without a doubt be considered a bad movie.
Me too! I now realise that it's a bad movie, but I still enjoy it as if it were a good one! Oh, I'm looking forward to the new version planned by Illumination Entertainment (Despicable Me, Lorax).
I actually have trouble understanding why The Golden Compass is supposed to be bad (no comparison to the book, but still quite more than OK). Same as the Bicentennial Man (never read the book).
john, that was a very well thought out and spoken video on luck and gratitude. it's important to be thankful and mindful when amazing things happen and the fact that it's your first response (video response, i'm sure you did a happy dance!) is truly role-model worthy. All the same, you've worked hard to hone your writing as a craft and for that I give you a well deserved congratulations.
What is absolutely crazy is that I can pick out some of the things you say in this video and match a few to your writing..... because I've read all of your books that are currently on shelf. You're truly a life changing writer. Thank you Mr. Green!
but the cat in the hat is one of my favourite films :(
The newer, real people version?
I didn't like the cat in the hat movie, but that's just my opinion. Although I really liked the lorax movie!
fossilfighters101 Yep. Enjoyed it. I now know that it's bad, but I still enjoy it.
directawesomeness
That was an entirely different team! Illumination Entertainment did a fantastic job! So fantastic, actually, that they got the rights for the Grinch and the Cat in the Hat - can't wait for those!
Rebekah Underwood I'm going to watch it now on your recommendation, and if it's bad..........that's on you. lol.
What is so upsetting about The Golden Compass movie is that it was sooooo close to being a great film.
The actors were brilliant.
The art direction was brilliant.
The cinematography was brilliant.
The screenplay, the editing, and the directing were not...
I really hope that this series gets picked up by hollywood again in the future.
I really hope so too. I had such high hopes for that film, the book series was always one of my very favourites! But then my god did I hate the film...
Thank you, John. This is exactly what I needed to hear and see today.
this is one of those rare lovely videos that is remarkably encouraging without being cheesy. John is trying to be humble because he is incredibly lucky, and certainly people tell him he's awesome all the time, but that doesn't mean he isn't one of those writers young writers flock to to learn from and to be inspired by. No matter how lucky he is, he'll be perfect for those two things until the day he dies. So it goes.
IM READING, IM READING!!!!
Look around, look around, at how lucky we are to be alive right now.
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Needed this to remember to be thankful and appreciative. Thank you so much! You're the best!
John Green, I love you for how constantly you work to keep everybody's spirits uplifted. We are blessed to you and your brother at the center of Nerdfitghteria.
And John just debunked capitalistic ideology in four minutes.
I don't know if this is a possibility but I know that alot of NerdFighters(i) feel that is how it should be written. are aspiring novelists(I have 10,000 words of a political dystoipan sci of my own that needs some work.)
I don't know if this exists already but I am sure that there are alot of NerdFighters are involved in book publishing and i was thinking that combining the two would be great, having place to help people get the amazing unpublished/unfinished novels out into the world. I would love to see NerdFighter novels being sold through DFTBA Records.
Thanks, Jon.
Probably one of my favorite videos and topics discussed here
I think I needed this video today. Thanks, John.
Thank you to all of the nerdfighters reading this comment, simply for being nerdfighters and for being awesome. :)
And the same to you! :D
Although I do agree with much of your video, there are a few points I have to disagree on.
I felt as though you were devaluing hard work in this video (although I'm certain you didn't intend it to come across as that). I believe it is a combination of hard work and good fortune that lead to success and life, and it is the work you do that determines whether you deserve that success (although not 'deserving' success doesn't mean it's a bad thing to get it). You worked hard on writing your novels, you were lucky to get them published, you do great work for your community and the world through organizing charities, you educated hundreds of thousands through crash course and these videos you make, and you were fortunate to get a movie deal with a talented crew behind it. You, John, have worked hard in your life and been fortunate enough to see it to pay off, and from mine and many other's perspective, you deserve all of the success you have been granted. DFTBA.
Yeah, he did sort of neglect the 'hard work' side of it, but I think that's because that's typically portrayed by many people as this idealistic thing that guarantees, and is the only factor towards, success. John is making the point that this couldn't be farther from the truth. Hard work helps, of course, but there's a ton of luck involved too.
For me, hard work is a given. I don't work any harder than Abdul does in BEHIND THE BEAUTIFUL FOREVERS, though.
But yes, hard work should be the starting point. Dedication, hustle, perseverance--all that stuff is vital to success. But they don't make you successful. -John
ROFLMAOtheNARWHAL Hard work only increases the chances of becoming succesful. You can work hard and not become succesful and you can become succesful without working hard, but if you work hard, the probability that you become succesful is higher than if you didn't.But if you're for example unpriviledged or unlucky, but work very hard, your chances are still much lower than those of other people who don't work as hard as you do.
+Tigermond1 This sort of post enables a victim mentality. Perhaps you should let people who are under-privileged speak to their own success or failures, and share their experiences. Your speaking for them is very off-putting.
The crash courses that you and hank made are amazing!!!
All of your videos are brilliant (both of you), but this one really stands out. Thank you for uploading it.