Talks at Google

Songwriter and recording artist Jason Derulo visits Google to discuss his book “Sing Your Name Out Loud: 15 Rules for Living Your Dream.” The book tells the remarkable story of Jason’s come up, told through the fifteen rules he lives by—like working hardest at what comes easiest, taking calculated risks, sticking to a routine, and respecting the numbers—which he credits with turning his many far-fetched goals over the years into reality. In 2009, an 18-year-old son of Haitian immigrants burst onto Billboard music charts with the instant #1 song, “Whatcha Say,” which opened with what would prove to be one of the catchiest lines in pop music history – the artist’s own name, sung out loud. Defying every possible odd, Jason Derulo cemented himself again and again with hit after hit, as one of the hardest working singers, dancers, and performers in the world and a risk-taking force of nature. After becoming one of the most followed creators on TikTok, he realized that his personal rules for self-mastery and success are applicable anywhere, for anyone, under any circumstance. Derulo reflects on the defining moments of his career thus far, most notably the wins and losses that strengthened his signature style of creative pursuit and offers his fifteen rules for turning goals into reality – where obstacles are opportunities, closed doors are meant to be opened, failure is inevitable, and good lighting is non-negotiable. Visit YouTube.com/TalksatGoogle to watch the video.

15 Aug 202342min

Tim Urban has become one of the Internet’s most popular writers. With wry stick-figure illustrations and occasionally epic prose on everything from procrastination to artificial intelligence, Urban's blog, “Wait But Why”, has garnered millions of unique page views, thousands of patrons and famous fans like Elon Musk. Urban has previously written long form posts on “The Road to Superintelligence”, and his recent TED talk has more than 6 million views. Tim speaks about his blog “Wait but Why” and his writing on the impact of artificial intelligence. This talk was presented for Google's Singularity Network and hosted by John Bracaglia. Originally published in August of 2016. Visit YouTube.com/TalksatGoogle to watch the video.

11 Aug 202353min

Dominique Roques visits Google to discuss his book “In Search of Perfumes: A Lifetime Journey to the Source of Nature's Scents.” The book contains a mix of history, travelog, and memoir from one of the perfume industry’s leading scouts of natural ingredients, as he tells the story of the precious plants needed to make our favorite fragrances. Do you know how many flowers it takes to produce a kilo of rose oil? One million roses, each handpicked. When it comes to nature, Dominique Roques is a unique authority. He has spent the last thirty years working closely with local communities across the globe to establish a sustainable supply of natural ingredients crucial to perfume making. From resin cultivated by traditional methods in El Salvador to rose oil distilleries in India as old as the Taj Mahal, his network reveals an elusive trade built on the fault lines of tradition and modernity. Roques tells the story of seventeen of the industry’s most precious ingredients–where they come from, their cultural and historic significance, and why we love them—from Indonesian patchouli to the "Damask rose,” interweaving his own recollections and reflections on his life and work. Entertaining and eye-opening, and decorated with beautiful black-and-white illustrations, “In Search of Perfumes” is an irresistible exploration of the smells that fuel our nostalgia and suffuse our fantasies. Visit YouTube.com/TalksatGoogle to watch the video.

8 Aug 202343min

Jia Jiang visits Google to discuss his book “Rejection Proof.” Jia came to the United States with the dream of being the next Bill Gates. But despite early success in the corporate world, his first attempt to pursue his entrepreneurial dream ended in rejection. Jia was crushed, and spiraled into a period of deep self doubt. But he realized that his fear of rejection was a bigger obstacle than any single rejection would ever be, and he needed to find a way to cope with being told no without letting it destroy him. Thus was born his "100 days of rejection" experiment, during which he willfully sought rejection on a daily basis--from requesting a lesson in sales from a car salesman (no) to asking a flight attendant if he could make an announcement on the loudspeaker (yes) to his famous request to get Krispy Kreme doughnuts in the shape of Olympic rings (yes, with a viral video to prove it). Jia learned that even the most preposterous wish may be granted if you ask in the right way, and shares the secret of successful asking, how to pick targets, and how to tell when an initial no can be converted into something positive. But more importantly, he learned techniques for steeling himself against rejection and ways to develop his own confidence--a plan that can't be derailed by a single setback. Filled with great stories and valuable insight, “Rejection Proof” is a fun and thoughtful examination of how to overcome fear and dare to live more boldly. Originally published in November of 2013. Visit YouTube.com/TalksatGoogle to watch the video.

4 Aug 202353min

Award-winning structural engineer Roma Agrawal visits Google to discuss her book “Nuts and Bolts: Seven Small Inventions That Changed the World in a Big Way.” The book takes readers on a deep dive into the seven most basic building blocks of engineering that have shaped the modern world. From the physics behind both Roman nails and modern skyscrapers, to rudimentary springs that inspired lithium batteries, Agrawal shows us how even the most sophisticated items are built on the foundations of these ancient and fundamental breakthroughs in engineering. She deconstructs our most complex feats of engineering into seven fundamental inventions: the nail, spring, wheel, lens, magnet, string and pump. Each of these objects is itself a wonder of design, the result of many iterations and refinements. Together, they have enabled humanity to see the invisible, build the spectacular, communicate across vast distances, and even escape our planet. She invites us to marvel at these small but perfectly formed inventions, sharing the stories of the remarkable, and often unknown, scientists and engineers who made them possible. The nuts and bolts that make up our world may be tiny, and are often hidden, but they've changed our lives in dramatic ways. Visit YouTube.com/TalksatGoogle to watch the video.

1 Aug 202341min

Vanessa Van Edwards visits Google to discuss her book “Captivate: The Science of Succeeding with People.” Do you feel awkward at networking events? Do you wonder what your date really thinks of you? Do you wish you could just decode people? To do this and more, you need to learn the science of people. As a human behavior hacker, Vanessa Van Edwards created a research lab to study the hidden forces that drive us. In her book “Captivate”, she shares shortcuts, systems, and secrets for taking charge of your interactions at work, at home, and in any social situation. These aren’t the people skills you learned in school. This is the first comprehensive, science-backed, real life manual on how to build connections. Just like knowing the formulas to use in a chemistry lab, or the right programming language to build an app, “Captivate” provides simple ways to solve people problems. You’ll learn how to work a room, how to read faces, and how to talk to just about anyone. When you understand the laws of human behavior, your influence, impact, and income will increase significantly. What’s more, you will improve your interpersonal intelligence, make killer first impressions, and build rapport quickly and authentically in any situation—negotiations, interviews, parties, and pitches. You’ll never interact the same way again. Originally published in June of 2017. Visit YouTube.com/TalksatGoogle to watch the video.

28 Jul 202349min

Tim Spector visits Google to discuss his book “Food for Life: The New Science of Eating Well”, an easy-to-follow guide on how to eat—for our health and the health of the planet. Tim’s book reveals a new approach to nutrition, encouraging us to forget misleading calorie counts and nutritional breakdowns. In “Food for Life”, he draws on over a decade of cutting-edge scientific research, along with his own personal insights, to deliver a new and comprehensive approach to what we should all know about food today. Investigating everything from environmental impact and food fraud to allergies and deceptive labeling, Spector also shows us the many wondrous and surprising properties of everyday foods, which scientists are only just beginning to understand. Tim Spector is a professor of genetic epidemiology at King's College London. He is a multi-award-winning expert in personalized medicine and the gut microbiome, and the author of five books, including the bestsellers “Spoon-Fed” and “The Diet Myth”. He appears regularly on TV, radio and podcasts around the world, and is one of the top 100 most cited scientists in the world. Visit YouTube.com/TalksatGoogle to watch the video.

25 Jul 202349min

Eric Ries visits Google to discuss his book ""The Lean Startup"", a guide to help both new and established entrepreneurs and managers do one important thing: make better, faster business decisions. Most startups fail. But many of those failures are preventable. “The Lean Startup” is a new approach being adopted across the globe, changing the way companies are built and new products are launched. Eric Ries defines a startup as an organization dedicated to creating something new under conditions of extreme uncertainty. This is just as true for one person in a garage or a group of seasoned professionals in a Fortune 500 boardroom. What they have in common is a mission to penetrate that fog of uncertainty to discover a successful path to a sustainable business. The Lean Startup approach fosters companies that are both more capital efficient and that leverage human creativity more effectively. Rather than wasting time creating elaborate business plans, The Lean Startup offers entrepreneurs a way to test their vision continuously, and to adapt and adjust before it’s too late. Eric Ries provides a scientific approach to creating and managing successful startups in an age when companies need to innovate more than ever. Originally published in April of 2011. Visit YouTube.com/TalksatGoogle to watch the video.

21 Jul 20231h