Focus is a muscle: Connor O'Leary at TEDxUIUC

Connor O'Leary has been through a lot. Whether it be professional cycling races, cancer, CBS's The Amazing Race, he has found that there has been one reason he can continue to be a successful and strong human being. He credits it to his focus and introduces us to the concept that focus is a muscle and gives us ways to improve our own focus muscle.
About TEDx, x = independently organized event
In the spirit of ideas worth spreading, TEDx is a program of local, self-organized events that bring people together to share a TED-like experience. At a TEDx event, TEDTalks video and live speakers combine to spark deep discussion and connection in a small group. These local, self-organized events are branded TEDx, where x = independently organized TED event. The TED Conference provides general guidance for the TEDx program, but individual TEDx events are self-organized.* (*Subject to certain rules and regulations)

[@trifecta9810]

Focus is a muscle and you can actually practice focus. Place and object in front of you as you sit. Look at that object for a few seconds, then close your eyes and replicate that object in your mind as detailed as possible for as long as possible. When the image changes or goes away, look at the object again and repeat. Do it until you can picture the entire room accurately! It may take months but your focus will be massive.

[@myananda4293]

EXCELLENT SUGGESTION! THANKS FOR THE POSITIVE REINFORCEMENT OF WHAT HE WAS TRYING TO CONVEY..yOU GOT IT!

[@SavertonJr]

THIS IS WHY i LOOK AT KZbin COMMENTS

[@notnaelles]

the best thing I've ever read, thanks man

[@nellyj4181]

+ anti dentite hey ,if anyone else wants to uncover how do i focus on the present try Elumpa Instant Focus Alchemist(do a google search ) ? Ive heard some awesome things about it and my work buddy got excellent success with it.

[@tatjananovakovic2193]

Not certain about the points made but ,if anyone else is searching for how can i focus on the present try Loctavan Fast Focusing Strategy( search on google ) ? Ive heard some unbelievable things about it and my brother in law got cool success with it.

[@ritasys7129]

Thank you young man for encouraging me, 50 years old woman in tough waters of life, to come back to what I learned in past, and to save myself using my own experiences. May you be richly blessed for sharing your amazing experiences! I thank your parents for supporting such a great young person!

[@janeholmes8202]

I was this close to hold my tears the entire time I was listening to him. What an awesome human being!

[@deepeshthapa7261]

hey ,if anyone else needs to find out about how can i focus on the present try Elumpa Instant Focus Alchemist(just google it ) ? Ive heard some interesting things about it and my brother in law got cool success with it.

[@veraelainevercede4052]

continue inspiring other peoples' lives through your life experience. GOD bless you Connor O'Leary...!!!

[@mwerensteijn]

Man.. I have a lot of respect for you Connor. Absolutely inspiring

[@kylenoe2234]

Habit is the key to success.

[@musebay]

They won the Amazing Race Season 24! Congrats to Connor and Dave!

[@kishorshelke1859]

A 300 wolf

[@xGameFreakz]

wow

[@joenny44]

interesting points ,if anyone else is searching for how can i focus my mind try Elumpa Instant Focus Alchemist(Have a quick look on google cant remember the place now ) ? Ive heard some super things about it and my buddy got amazing results with it.

[@JN-go2yq]

Great to hear a younger person talk about motivation, overcoming adversity, and achieving well in life. Kia Kaha. ( Stay strong in Maori).

[@SandeepKumar-tj1jz]

Connor you are a real hero. Keep inspiring and spreading hope. Focus is all about training your mind.

[@cannersamson7931]

Congrats to you bro! You have beaten and survived the cancer, yeahhh you might think that focus saves your life often times but God is with you as well beside you always helping you to recover as quick as possible keep up on the right track bro! Godspeed...

[@quitoguru]

Honestly, I do not understand people. This guy is making a good point, you do not have to wait for a critical moment in order to get focus, just act like the stuff you are making right now depends on your life and you will perform successfully....

[@markodell]

A compelling life story and powerful message about FOCUS: Bike racing against the best endurance athletes in the world, his life race against cancer and competing on the Amazing Race.

[@DennisPinpin]

Connor, any speech delivered with hands in the pocket distracts the audience attention, making them waste attention wondering what you’re hiding, or are uncertain about. It’s a great speech that will impact many lives, and it will be even better if you keep your hands visible to the audience.

[@jerihurley9201]

After listening to 3 other videos on tedx talks & getting bored after a few minutes I tried this one. I was able to focus on his whole talk. The best part was when he sd he focused in 30 second segments. I can do that! He’s just an average guy who is amazing. Thank you 🙂

[@grahamkeil2253]

What a brilliant man! Good on you Inspirational! Thank you

[@PRINCESSAMY200]

So inspiring. You are brave and strong. People can learn tons from your story! Hope you guys win the amazing race!!!

[@takeyouwithme743]

simple yet deep.Never lose focus

[@johndavis6719]

Connor seems like a decent down to earth type of guy.

[@rythmicrose2844]

You're amazing! Thank u for the talk

[@BhaveshChandaria]

a) Competitive spirit b) Finisher c) Superior Peers d) Mind never stops e)credible people see you going places e) obsessed , great one.....

[@funkynata]

Very inspiring and thanks for the few tips. Wish I had some practical ones to remain focused at work !

[@guillaume6373]

Thank you so much for this inspirational talk

[@losraiders34]

Awesome!

[@bandara77]

Very helpful concept, thank you Connor

[@johnnycycle]

Great speech!!

[@jayceerae8544]

He's really cute. I loved him on the amazing race.

[@sushmikagautam7066]

Yeah he is cute😍😍

[@ramguna2010]

Inspiring..

[@oujisanhikari18]

thank you so mush Connor you're inspiring.

[@bagdenikhil1]

Thank you! Inspiring speech really!

[@benitadsilva852]

This guy is amazing, !!!!!

[@iqmalnaqib8040]

thank you king

[@jalalkhosravi6458]

Great man

[@kylenoe2234]

I couldn't keep focused for the duration of this video. Clicking away now. Ttfn.

[@DonWoschto]

So.... where did he teach me how to focus?

[@araelm5299]

+DonWoschto I know right! Im in minute 16 thinking exactly that!

[@Darpan65]

Nobody ever said anything about 'Teaching'. He just proves to you that Focus is a muscle and you have to train it to make it more efficient. Just what the title of the video conveys too.

[@walnutgroveowners1361]

At the 13 minute mark he gets more specific.

[@OhAzanChannel]

@@Darpan65 Thanks for clarifying it. So, now i don't have to watch till the end.

[@pwetty4r4]

He never mentioned teaching in the title

[@meenakumar9543]

Really awesome talk

[@Ace1973ish]

Very useful

[@CageRadio1988]

LITERALLY!!!!

[@ManoftheDove]

Well done!

[@gene978]

I say his Parents Raised a Very Impressive young man. Money helps when you run into all kinds of Bumps in the road. He’s a lucky Man.

[@VidiSensiVici]

The author used the word "focus." but sometimes he really meant "discipline." It is such a catch 22 when blood thinning medication is used to thin the blood, but then it is easier for the system to bleed to form blood clots somewhere else in the body. Broccoli is a super food which has dual agent, blood thinning and blood clotting because it has lots of Vitamin K to balance things out as we need. Therefore eating broccoli including the stems regularly would help us to be in balance without taking blood thinning medicine. Practicing Taichi or deep breathing would help to bring lots of oxygen to the system and helping us to focus. Being positive helps us to boost up our immune system to fight against the odds.

[@harshilmehta6745]

Just an observation: Person isn’t showing their hands and hiding them mostly. This is symbol that they may be hiding something or lying or exaggerating it according to body language.

[@kp7502]

What doesn't kill you makes you stronger

[@ladibyrd]

You learnt a lot and your story is inspiring. You have estrogen dominance btw - blood clotting and cancer are estrogen dominance symptoms.

[@MyLittleMagneton]

I don't understand, how did focus save him ?

[@EpicBunty]

focus saved him

[@rashshawn779]

focus, and you will understand.

[@musicjunkie421]

@@rashshawn779 got em

[@360.Tapestry]

it saved him

[@artistfrank8511]

Focused was the name of the doctor that did the chemo therapy ...you gotta focus more!

[@rwp-artartinthedark3538]

People always worry about cancer the symptom but what causes it? Diet? Environmental? Some say fuck cancer I say fuck radiation!

[@humanyoda]

Maybe it was his extreme focus on athletic activities that has caused his cancer at the age of 22.

[@CashTeam1]

Thank you

[@good4221]

*Stop reading the comments, and focus on the video* :)

[@jyotirmaibabu]

very useful,straightforward talk thank you.

[@unzahid]

good.

[@casheddy8922]

you can do anything for 30 seconds---that's a great start!

[@kit7916]

the fucking excuses I make

[@sibam_debnath]

You are a superman.💪🚲

[@yahuyahu1362]

it's a traumatic story of a cancer victim.. nothing to do with focus..I kinda lost focus in between..cldnt watch full..sorry.

[@360.Tapestry]

he lost focus telling the story. got distracted by blood clots

[@RIMJANESSOHMALOOG]

He has the most irish name ever

[@jamotide]

I don't get how focus saved him from the embolism.

[@saharincuker7718]

hi guys, the greatest results that ive ever had was by following the Magic Focus Plan (i found it on google) - without a doubt the most helpful resource i've tried.

[@TorinW]

That was a 17 minute anecdote, not really much of a TED Talk... If he talked in greater depth about channeling determination from other aspects of life to build focus, then his story would have had some decent meaning to walk away with

[@thsu8]

***** So this 17 minute talk was worth your time because this guy Connor is hot?

[@HannanAlisyntacticspi]

13 years old?

[@TorinW]

that's a question?

[@nhwhn]

Torin Weatherbee this guy's comment is just a simple dumb complaint. what is the point? your opinion does not bring any change to the content or quality of the video. Just had to comment on your stupidity. bye =)

[@TorinW]

HWN Cue my stereotypical response pointing out that all you're doing is complaining about the fact I "complained" about the video. Thanks for your simple dumb complaint! At least I gave some sort of constructive criticism in response, as opposed to just calling OP stupid 😘 but hey what is YOUR point? Under normal circumstances you can't change the content of a video posted online, so why even have a comments section?

[@dorothealecornu3965]

It was God that give you good focus it is God that save you

[@chromybutt7385]

Ok, so I definitely focused through 15 minutes of video. Why the heck would you make me waste my time so much?

[@Star-vg7ix]

God saved your life here.

[@shujatahmad722]

Where is focus????

[@bspain1637]

I'm truly glad he's doing better but this lecture hasn't much to do with focus.

[@egidijus6973]

And that's people why you should eat a whole food plant based diet.

[@shaynehawkins713]

we are just bodies who imagine a objective viewpoint/attention. it is nothing more then focusing the bodies parabolic nervous system in the body too a point. hence the belief in this silly reality. it is more subjective then the body as its based internally and picks and chooses its aspects of reality forming a false ego. the body is naturally aware of the world and is not subjective at all. it simply does not attempt too too decipher the world around it. it accepts as is the truth of it regardless. this union between reality/god is automatic and only a mind of imagination interferes in the process of connection.

[@9715614629]

the best success that i've had was by following the Magic Focus Plan (just google it) - definately the most helpful resource i've tried.

[@benwyse]

Wasted 17 minutes of my life listening to another horror story. I have learned more from the title of the speech than his entire speech itself.

[@jagans6409]

Ever heard BODY MIND CONNECTION? ♥️

[@myananda4293]

EVERYTHING HE SAYS CAN BE APPLIED TO ANY ARE OF YOUR LIFE, IF YOU HAVE THE DESIRE TO BE YOUR BEST--IN MY CASE IT IS THE COMMITMENT; CONCENTRATION; AND CONSISTENCY NEEDED FOR MEDITATION AND SPIRITUAL PRACTICE--NOT THAT MUCH DIFFERENT FROM BIKE RACING.OR GETTING THROUGH CANCER!!!

[@yordanyea]

please translate to spanish, thanks.

[@rohanofelvenpower5566]

Okay Im at 15:15 and seriously this is waste of flipping time. Dont watch this crap people, its a waste of time. What does Mr Conor get out of it? It looks good on cv? does he get paid? this whole storytelling of his is such a waste of time....

[@AlexMcCombie2100]

God - who pissed in your cornflakes? I liked it.

[@ThEBeSt-gx8ze]

Arramu Maiam☝ watch all ted talks at 2x the speed 👍

[@anferneepuerronelli1617]

hey ,if anyone else wants to discover how do i focus on the present try Elumpa Instant Focus Alchemist(just google it ) ? Ive heard some interesting things about it and my cousin got excellent results with it.

[@RamKumar-yi6wn]

This is the best Ted talk I've ever heard ! You can see in this man's eyes that he's different !

[@theultimatereductionist7592]

I know, right? Well said, RohanOfElvenPower.

[@williamd.salinas7496]

I've been investigating top methods for focusing and discovered a fantastic website at Magic Focus Plan (check it out on google)

[@darlinghysa7407]

focus is a feeling or a contraction of the main muscle that is like the muscle of the dick. you can be happy while you do good things and to be true or ejaculate this need a lot of experience but to grow out from the muscle 'at purpose' this isnt discovered yet..

[@theultimatereductionist7592]

That cancer was more focussed that he was.

[@magic71202]

It was not much the "focus" he talked about here.

[@kevinjoseph5646]

Why does it sound more about you alone. This is a typical me, myself and I story. I'm glad that you are alive, however you forgot to thank God.

[@sincorazon9920]

renew urmind really dude

[@artistfrank8511]

@@sincorazon9920 really dude?

[@nimarfz2981]

bunch of sentiments that culminated no where! thanks for wasting my 17 minutes.

[@ashwinchavan367]

Vhjg

[@ashwinchavan367]

J

[@ashwinchavan367]

🚳🚭🚱🚷📵🔞🚹⚠🚻🛅🚹🛃♿⚒🛡🗑🏹🗝🔧🗝🛡🔩🔩🔧🔧🧲⛏🔩🗝🗝🛡🗑🔒🧲🗝⚙🗞📓💷💵💷

[@FocusMrbjarke]

No one care if you where asked to do a ted talk just start talking about what you need to talk about

[@nikkigarlejo6600]

First of all he can't focus on standing still haha. Thank you for the great talk :)

[@dianapetrova9914]

+Nikki Anne Garlejo There are many components to focusing. One place I discovered that successfully combines these is the Magic Focus Plan (google it if you're interested) without a doubt the no.1 blueprint that I've heard of. look at the extraordinary info .

[@AdoneSound]

Dont do chemo!!!!!!!!!!!

[@jroark101]

Focus had nothing to do with your recovery bro

[@htcm8167]

hmm focus or medical treatment saved his life ?!

[@Hoessein80]

Why is this guy so arrogant? Like he is teaching us rocket science.

[@360.Tapestry]

"but i remembered that focus is a muscle. and it has memory - muscle memory" lol stick to riding bikes, your understanding of language is amateurish