The Big Picture


	Title: The Big Picture and Big Decisions Speaker: Ransom Stephens, Ph.D., Ransom@RansomStephens.com Short Description A perspective-altering view of how it all works. By looking at life, luck and money in the light of different time scales, the Big Picture comes clear: How you got here and how to navigate to your greatest possible future by making The Big Decisions. Skip to video excerpt Description It’s easy to get caught up in day-to-day life – the alarm clock, the bills, what’s for dinner – and overlook the long-lasting impact of simple decisions. By combining unique approaches to thinking about time and money, death and taxes, careers and dreams, “The Big Picture and Big Decisions” has helped thousands of people confront and realize their most authentic desires even when faced with tremendous challenges. When we think of life in the context of a month, then a year, a decade, and, finally, as a single unit of time, serious Responsibility contrasts with petty responsibility, the Big Decisions come clear, and it’s easier to confront where we’re going with where we’ve been and where we all end up. “One of the most entertaining and thought provoking speakers we’ve had.” –Doug Neeper, Leadership team, CPC Job Connections. “A great talk with tons of good suggestions for looking for jobs and having a fulfilling career. Ransom rocks!" – Lee Sawyer, Louisiana Tech, faculty advisor to the Southeast Conference Society of Physics Students. This speech will help participants understand: That life is a sequence of phases that are linked by decisions. That it’s harder to recognize paradise than it is to find and that painful transitions are the only path from one paradise to the next. That our lives form a continuous story and how that realization can help us navigate the future The nature of “luck” and its role in the power of positive thought. That the financial security provided by working for a big corporation is an illusion and the future workplace is spelled: consultant. Topics covered include: What do you want, why do you want it, how can you get it? The role of visualization and time scale in decision making Money and mortality Income and aging. What do you need money for? Building a career – the genius of the ten-year-old Will your career support your desires or be a support system for your desires? Timescale What do you want your world to look like one, two, five, 10, 40, 60 years in the future? How about 100? Luck as a random process The Placebo effect and the power of positive thought The illusion of job security and the future of employment Become a consultant right now Leveraging expertise Forming a consulting group Defining goals over different time scales The role of visualization The dreaming is the hard part The price of Choice Slavery and credit responsibility and Responsibility Death and taxes Resilience Details Available as a 50 or 75 minute speech or two hour workshop. Each presentation is customized to address the specific needs of the audience. About the speaker Ransom Stephens, Ph.D., writer, physicist, and public speaker, is the author of the novel: The God Patent (Numina Press, December 2009) and over two-hundred articles in the electronics industry, science journals, and magazines on impossible subjects like quantum physics, the future of publishing, and parenting teenagers. As a physics professor, he worked on experiments in laboratories across the United States and Europe, discovered a new type of matter and was on the team that discovered the top quark; as an engineer, he directed advanced technology for a wireless-web startup and led an engineering commando team to solutions of cutting-edge problems for a Fortune 100 high tech corporation. In 2005 he started Ransom’s Notes and now makes a living as a writer and speaker. Ransom’s reputation for delivering a clear understanding of complex topics is legendary. He likes heavy metal rock and hates jazz. Book him at PublicSpeaking.RansomStephens.com.

	A short excerpt from The Big Picture and Big Decisions: The Nature of Luck



	Testimonials “I just wanted to thank you. I still think the things you said during your keynote. Not very many people discuss what rabbits we chase, but instead how to keep up with those rabbits. I'm sure people thank you all the time, but in all sincerity thank you for making such an impression on me. I still think about what you said one year later.” – Robert Simpson, Attorney. “In my role as Special Programs Coordinator, I engage speakers from a variety of disciplines to address our university students, faculty and outreach programs. Dr. Ransom Stephens’ speeches still elicit rave reviews years, even a decade later. Last week, a former summer science student told me that Dr. Stephens’ talk was the turning point in his decision to pursue a science career. Ransom’s rapport with people of all ages is unique, and he has a gift for presenting information in ways that are particularly relevant to teens and young adults. It's rare to find a career scientist with such a gift for communicating the essence of why one's career choices matter, and how to make them wisely; it's even more rare to find someone who can deliver that information in such a compelling way” -Lori Norris, University of Texas at Arlington “Outstanding REAL stuff to ponder. Loved the pace, humor and content.” - Pat Malone “Addressed the very question with which I am wrestling.” - Laura Craig “Thought provoking – interesting realistic perspective on life and the big picture.” Richard Ponder “The students loved your presentation! It is not often that our students agree on anything, but this time it has happened. Thank you so much for your time and effort to motivate and encourage. Your presentation is one that the students will remember and recall when they need uplifting.” – Karen Kesseru, Crossroads High School, Petaluma CA.