 Welcome to the 21 Convention of Miami 2016. This is awesome. This is our first speech of the event for those of you on YouTube. We're going to bring up our keynote speaker with our keynote address. This guy is an amazing guy. I've introduced him way too many times on stage, but the most important thing about this is he's influenced my life and literally thousands of men's lives through his personal connection that he has with people and his speeches and presentation and work through the 21 Convention. I'm talking about Socrates. Man, I'm getting ready to listen because this is some awesome, awesome stuff. What's up, Dan? Dude, thanks. Great introduction. Appreciate it. Thank you, guys. I'd really like to start off in that, really give a round of applause to Steve. He does a phenomenal job. Him and I go way, way back and he's being absolutely too kind. He influenced my life before I influenced his. But that's going to be something you see very, very common in this community, specifically within this event. That happens on a regular day-to-day basis and is already started. I know I met with several of you guys last night. We're talking, sharing ideas, sitting in the hallways. That's going to continue. So just keep that in mind as we go forward. But first off, welcome to Miami. I mean, how fantastic is this venue and this environment and this city? I particularly am very, very fond of it. I happen to live in a home base in Orlando, Florida, the nearest metropolis to Miami. And something that we like to keep in mind is that Miami is just so close to the United States. It just makes it a wonderful element to it. Now, and we kind of joke about that. But one of the things that we also have to realize is that being inside Miami, it's almost like being in the U.S. The culture is different. The languages are different. It's absolutely fantastic. And if you haven't seen the music, if you have not seen the beaches, if you have not gone shopping in the tourist districts, the women, the guys, there's so much to draw upon. Have I mentioned the beaches? Absolutely freaking phenomenal here. The other thing, and I'm going to give away a freebie on this one, and it's a personal one. It's one I know it's probably going to shoot me in the foot for actually opening it up to all the attendees. Right across the way, they have Cubano Cafe. It is some of the best expresso you will have in your life. It's incredibly reasonable. It is sharp. It will keep you on point. But if you taste the coffee, you're going to taste the culture very much like the food, the music, and the idea that it is rich, it is vibrant, and it is incredibly powerful. Much like an expresso shot you'll have across there, this environment, this 21 convention is the same thing for what you're trying to do right now is improve your life and to improve the quality of your surroundings by self-educating and taking that responsibility. But with that in mind, welcome to the 21 convention and the 21 university series. I really want to applaud you guys for that and sit down and make sure that you guys are awarded and this is an enriching experience. As the 21 convention progresses, I want you to understand also that this is a community and a movement. It's two things simultaneously. And in the community sense, it is an element of fellowship, which you're going to see and probably already experienced right now. A lot of the former speakers, alumni speakers, are engaging each other even though we have different practices, we come from different parts of the world. In many cases, literally we have Australians coming here to present. I cannot imagine what it's like traveling 24 hours on an aircraft to come here to speak to each one of you because it's that important to them. Their message being delivered specifically to you. You'll see it between the speakers. You'll see it amongst each other, the attendees and the alumni attendees. At this point, you guys are going to be alumni at the end of this. I want you to understand that you guys need to interact and be part of that. I don't want you feeling like you're isolated and moving and just attending this event in isolation. You're not. You actually have an opportunity to network with like-minded people with the same objectives and the same values. That is incredibly powerful. This organization and this event was originated because an individual, Anthony Johnson, sat down and was involved in a mastermind group for self-improvement. Guys getting together to improve their lives in different functions and different aspects of what they were interested in. They brought together outside speakers who they thought were relevant, had something to say, and they continued. And this was at a micro scale. This is on an individual scale. This is guys meeting at a coffee house, at a bar, or somewhere else where they could actually meet. It eventually evolved into a library where they actually actually took out library space. And in my library space, I don't mean like in the book stands, but literally in the conference rooms that you'll find in a public library. Then it was actually where you had to be charged for that. He took that idea and that concept and says, you know what, we're not the only ones that want to do this. By the way, the guys I want to associate with, the guys I want to sharpen myself with, don't live in my community or not my friends. And he went about talking to those individuals, he thought were important, had something to say, had something relevant to address in his life. And to bring forth. And he contacted those people. He asked them questions. He got them to speak. I was amazed at 17, this individual decided, you know what, we're going to take this road show and we're going to actually throw it in a hotel space. And he did. Okay. And he's done it 17 times now. I find that truly remarkable. And he's brought together some amazing people from across the spectrum, from across the globe, bringing ideas, thoughts and conveying that on a global platform. You know, a new media source. You know, this is not a standard thing. You don't have to wait to go to a library to check out the information in a book from a standardized publishing source. He's able to create content, capture that content and deliver it. So when we talk about community, this is what we're talking about. This is terribly important. And I want you guys to feel a part of it because you absolutely are. You are central and to the core of this community. You are our true core fan base. You guys have done tremendous things to be here. That speaks volumes to you, to the value you place on these things. And we hope as speakers to be able to return that content, not only in our presentations with me speaking here or the other speakers that will be here on stage, but also in the hallways, at lunch, at dinner. This is a social networking element. Let's talk. Let's share ideas. Let's have that conversation. Let's make sure that conversation is continued over a period of time, not just for this event, but outside that event. And that goes to what we talk about the 21 convention being a movement. We talk about the sharing of ideas and pushing those ideas forward to make change in the world. Not just personal change with each one of you individually, but in a world in a community of men, of individuals, and our societies and cultures on a whole. This has a power to change how we think, how we believe, how we act, and how we interact amongst each other. I find that utterly remarkable. As a movement though, we also have to recognize that these ideas are not commonly accepted. They're at threat and they're at risk. Not only at a fundamental level as far as what's being said and delivered, but the idea of the 21 convention and what Anthony's created is literally under attack. Right now we know that there are organizations, individuals, that are threatening free speech. They are literally dichotomizing the idea of thought, idea in the vehicles of those expressions through the violence of censorship. Whether that's technically an individual acting out and calling in a bomb threat to shut an organization like this down, or whether it's a perceived threat that comes with the risk where we have to actually finance heightened security measures, heightened security protocols, that raises the bar of entry to be able to perform and have functions like this, all these sort of things are at risk. You're going to see massive transformations the next coming year with this organization as we adapt to a hostile cultural environment. That doesn't like men taking responsibility for their lives. That doesn't like men be responsible for themselves. People who don't rely on government for all their solutions. People who don't rely on culture for all the answers. That's not a popular thought in any number of spectrums of sex, politics, education, any of these things. We have to recognize that these things are things we're going to be combating. Part of that is going to be a physical venue. Another part of that is also going to be the manner in which we deliver this. We know right now censorship is on the rise. We know a number of events that have been absolutely shut down because of it. We know that there are organizations. For example, Prager University right now is being censored for their online content, educational series content that is absolutely sharp, educated, spot on and highly effective communication process is being censored for no other reason that they don't like the message of a conservative idea. The way in which they're doing this is moving the content into an adult content-only area. It's limiting who can see it, why they can see it, and it's slandering and it's marring the content form. This is terribly safe for work content. This is the danger of when you actually have your media being presented by somebody else, a third-party platform. You're going to see the 21 Convention and the 21 University series moving to an isolated control area where they can control that. So we can make sure that this information is available and being able to deliver to each and every one of you and that we still have this dialogue and communication and you have access to this information. You're going to have to see these things change within this organization. So these things are at risk, both as an organization. Also, this is at risk with Anthony Johnson. This is a single individual carrying that load. That is a tremendous responsibility and every time he does one of these events, everything is at risk. So along those lines, I really want to extend an appreciation of the fact that you guys are not only here to improve your own lives, you're actually making sure that these things function for. Each and every one of you were influenced by a video or a presentation you saw online that somebody else supported that ultimately Anthony had to put himself financially at risk, personally at risk, each and every time. We want to make sure that we move into a realm in which this is no longer at risk and we become a more stabilized business platform and we can continue to have those ideas moving forward. But to do so, we have to have your involvement and part of that is your attendance here. It is a direct reflection of the quality and value being conveyed. We understand it, we can provide it. It's not something we just do in isolation where we get a grant and we're pushing it. Now, we're responding directly to a community's need and a service-based response and I think that's terribly powerful. The message goes right to you for the ideas and thought content you want to see and you want to hear but we have to make sure that that is continued to be able to be available and that's going to mean you guys continue to save it involved. I don't want you thinking you're just here to support yourself. Each and every one of you is being supported by the other. Look around you, you're supporting each other. Get used to that idea, be welcoming to that idea. Don't feel like you're in isolation, you're not. And I want to make sure that we reflect that in both and how we interact and going forward. So that's going to be something you kind of come to expect. One of the other elements I want to talk about also is I want to sit down and honestly thank each and every one of you personally for actually attending. You guys are showing that not only is your personal education a personal responsibility, you're taking massive action to affect change in your life. That is terribly an impressive action. You're realizing that mediocracy and average should be treated like a disease and that disease is curable. And you're taking steps to cure that disease within yourself. Mediocracy as a default state. I know left in my own devices I'd be watching doing or doing something else. We're right here in the middle of a work week. I should be at work doing something else. You guys could be doing any number of things as well, but you're not because you value yourselves and you're taking steps to improve yourselves and to educate yourself. So I really do want to express a sincere appreciation for that effort. The financial outlay you guys have put out to actually come and to be here. The emotional outlay to sit down and acknowledge, hey look I'm looking for help. I'm looking for solutions. I'm looking for ideas. And I'm going to put myself out there emotionally. That takes a tremendous amount of vulnerability and internal strength and confidence to be able to do that. I want to applaud and recognize that effort that each and one of you have done. Something else we want to talk about. I want you to understand what you can kind of expect with the 21 convention. This isn't something where you just come here and take notes. This isn't a lecture, even though we have presentations you can watch the videos. We want you guys to be involved. We expect you guys to come in with questions, answers, to talk to us, to have discussions, and to mutually share compatible ideas and to have a mixing bowl. And one of the things I found that was terribly moving in my own life was the idea of a mastermind that when you bring three people together you get more than just three ideas. The whole series of ideas and solutions you would not have come up or originated on your own. And it becomes what Napoleon Hill described as a third mind. And that very much takes place in these events. You have here as many people as going on when you guys come in and have these communications and thoughts you come up with new ideas. You have new ways of thinking. You have expressed alternative ideas and context. It is terribly important that you capitalize on that and move that forward. And so what I would like to see each one of you do is not only have an agenda or a plan for today's event but to literally sit down and say, what am I going to do not in the next 30 days but make it in a year. And usually what happens is people vastly over-expect or have expectations of what they can achieve in a year. We look at, for example, New Year's Resolutions as a classic example of that where people sit down and say, I'm going to do the following things this year and two months later it doesn't happen or doesn't occur. So look well beyond the one-year mark. Take a five-year goal. Work your way back. Where do you want to be? Who do you want to be? What type of life do you want to be? What type of environment and culture impact do you want to have? And then work your way back. Have those goals in mind and make sure that your yearly or two-yearly goals are actually in line with that. And bring it back down to nine, six, three months. And you can even do it down to a weekly basis. I know I have a Word document and I do just that so that I can literally know what I have to do on a weekly basis to make sure I hit my monthly goals. My monthly goals then fight into my three-monthly goals. And so I can track that sort of thing. Make sure you do that. That's going to be a personal thing you can do on your own when you're by yourself and doing it. But when you're doing this, have your teammates. Have the other attendees in mind, the guy who's right next to you. Think about him when you're here, okay? Because he's doing the same thing in another location. You're not alone in this. The other thing I'll ask is, do you guys actually get involved either through any of the Facebook exchanges or the alumni and tenor? Stay connected. Communicate those ideas. Make sure you're able to continue to have a dialogue and you have a resource base of guys who were here for the same reasons and at the same time, same experiences. You're going to find that you have more motivation, true motivation, a purpose. And you realize that you have a teammate and a support network that you may not have had prior to today. I find that terribly relevant. I find that terribly personally enabling for my own life. I do this because not only do I get enjoyment out of it, but I become a better person, but I also do it because I know I'm speaking to you guys. I also know I have a safe and secure audience in which I can actually convey these ideas and get feedback in return. I find that powerful. I find it moving and it has changed my life. I hope I can do the same thing for you. And if nothing more, I don't have all the answers, okay? But together we can find solutions. Together we can discuss these things. So I want to thank you all for doing this. I want to thank you all for attending. I think I want to personally thank you for supporting this organization and Anthony Johnson and his efforts. I wish that we can continue this. I hope you do. And I don't want this to stop, okay? We have a litany of people I'm really terribly excited to see, okay? I'm going to be more excited not only to see their presentations, but to see and hear the dialogue and the communication that stems from that. Let's make sure that happens. Let's stay connected. And welcome to the 21 University and 21 Convention Miami, Florida. Thank you. All right. Let's give it up for Socrates.