In this brief motivational monologue recorded in Austria on March 23rd, the speaker introduces the concept of a “Moment of Yes,” urging listeners to act as first responders rather than first reactors. Citing Viktor Frankl’s idea of a space between stimulus and response, he explains that reactions are emotional, unconscious, and often counter‑productive, whereas responses are conscious, purposeful choices that preserve freedom. He illustrates the distinction with vivid examples—a fireman navigating chaos, road‑rage incidents, a child’s tantrum, and workplace conflicts—showing how pausing to assess information allows one to allocate attention, time, and energy effectively. The speaker concludes with a call to embrace purposeful, calming responses that align with personal purpose, encouraging the audience to be a first responder in every situation.
Chapters
Good morning, everyone. This is your Moment of Yes. March 23rd. I'm in Austria. I apologize for being a little bit off on the daily schedule. We'll get back on that. But here's your Moment of Yes for today. So those people that show up at emergencies, we call them first— what? First responders. We call them first responders, not first reactors. And there's a difference in that. The difference between response and reaction. It's subtle but huge. Viktor Frankl has that great quote about there is a space in between stimulus and response. It's in that space where we get to choose, and when we get to choose, we have a sense of freedom. When we react to everything going on around us, it tends to be more emotional, less conscious, and it tends not to be our best reaction. Think about road rage. And things like that. People are just reacting to their emotions instead of being conscious and responding based on the need. A reaction tends to be an emotional unconscious response, where a response tends to be a conscious, thoughtful, I want to choose how I'm going to respond. That is a key, key idea, huge idea when it comes to us Being able to yes and— yes, accept whatever is happening to us and choose how we are going to respond. And so just like that fireman that shows up at a fire with chaos going on around them, they can't emotionally react to the chaos going around. They have to be able to take the information in and in that space pause and then choose how they're going to respond, choose what is the most important information. Where do I need to put my time, attention, and energy? That's what makes us effective. So whether it's the guy that cuts us off on the road, our child who's throwing a temper tantrum, you know, someone at work that we're having a difficult time dealing with, if we just react to everything that's going on, we become a part of the problem. When we respond, we become that calming force that gets to de-escalate the situation, and we're choosing a response That falls in line with our purpose. So today, be a first responder, not a first reactor. Have a great day, everybody.
