Annotated Video Transcripts
This page may be photocopied. © 2016 National Geographic Learning, a part of Cengage Learning. 73
1
To “learn (something) the hard way” means that something negative was experienced before coming
to a new realization.
2
A “journey of rediscovering” (or rediscovery) refers to setting out to relearn something that you once
knew, but have forgotten or moved away from.
3
A synonym for “in the course of” is “during.”
4
To “sleep your way to the top” refers to having sex with superiors at work in order to get promotions.
Huffington is making a joke here by using this to explain that sleeping more will contribute to our
success at work.
5
The noun virility actually refers to a man’s ability to procreate, or his sex drive. However, it is often
used as a metaphor to talk about masculinity and power, which is why a “virility symbol” is something
that is supposed to make a man seem more masculine and powerful.
6
“One-upmanship” refers to a competitiveness between people in which one person tries to make
themselves sound better than another. For example, if someone says they slept four hours, another
person brags that they only slept three.
7
In this case, a “breakfast date” likely refers to a meeting in the morning over breakfast, not a romantic
date.
8
A “conference call” is a work meeting done over the phone, usually with participants calling in from
multiple locations.
Part 1
My big idea is a very, very small idea that can unlock billions
of big ideas that are at the moment dormant inside us. And
my little idea that will do that is sleep.
This is a room of type-A women. This is a room of sleep-
deprived women. And I learned the hard way
1
the value of
sleep. Two-and-a-half years ago, I fainted from exhaustion.
I hit my head on my desk. I broke my cheekbone. I got
ve stitches on my right eye. And I began the journey of
rediscovering
2
the value of sleep. And in the course of
3
that, I studied, I met with medical doctors, scientists, and
I’m here to tell you that the way to a more productive, more
inspired, more joyful life is getting enough sleep.
Part 2
And we women are going to lead the way in this new
revolution, this new feminist issue. We are literally going to
sleep our way to the top,
4
literally.
Because unfortunately for men, sleep deprivation has
become a virility symbol.
5
I was recently having dinner with
a guy who bragged that he had only gotten four hours’ sleep
the night before. And I felt like saying to him—but I didn’t say
it—I felt like saying, “You know what? If you had gotten ve,
this dinner would have been a lot more interesting.”
There is now a kind of sleep deprivation one-upmanship.
6
Especially here in Washington, if you try to make a breakfast
date,
7
and you say, “How about eight o’clock?” They’re likely
to tell you, “Eight o’clock is too late for me, but that’s OK, you
know, I can get a game of tennis in and do a few conference
calls
8
and meet you at eight.” And they think that means that
they are so incredibly busy and productive, but the truth is
they’re not, because we, at the moment, have had brilliant
leaders in business, in nance, in politics, making terrible
decisions. So a high I.Q. does not mean that you’re a good
leader, because the essence of leadership is being able to
see the iceberg before it hits the Titanic. And we’ve had far
too many icebergs hitting our Titanics.
Unit 2
ARIANNA HUFFINGTON
How to Succeed? Get More Sleep
TED21c_TE3_66339_EM_071-096_003 73 5/19/15 2:27 PM
This page may be photocopied. © 2016 National Geographic Learning, a part of Cengage Learning.74
9
The term “hyper-connected 24/7” means to be online and accessible twenty-four hours a day, seven
days a week.
10
When someone can “see the big picture,” they have a larger perspective on a given situation or issue.
11
Something that is “on a personal level” is about our individual lives, experiences, and emotions.
12
The phrase “I urge you” is a call to action. A speaker uses this phrase to strongly suggest that others
follow a suggestion.
13
Huffington uses the figurative expression “shut your engines” to tell us to go to sleep.
In fact, I have a feeling that if Lehman Brothers was Lehman
Brothers and Sisters, they might still be around. While all
the brothers were busy just being hyper-connected 24/7,
9
maybe a sister would have noticed the iceberg, because she
would have woken up from a seven-and-a-half- or eight-hour
sleep and have been able to see the big picture.
10
So as we are facing all the multiple crises in our world at the
moment, what is good for us on a personal level,
11
what’s
going to bring more joy, gratitude, effectiveness in our lives
and be the best for our own careers is also what is best for
the world. So I urge you
12
to shut your eyes and discover the
great ideas that lie inside us, to shut your engines
13
and
discover the power of sleep.
Thank you.
TED21c_TE3_66339_EM_071-096_004 74 5/19/15 2:27 PM
