Laura Gassner Otting

Normally my keynotes happen in the morning, as the opening session to set the tone for the entire event. (Fun fact: the word keynote comes from the idea that there is a note that sets the key for the entire orchestra, so that’s why it is used for conferences.) For morning keynotes, you get up, you get on stage, you get gone. And, in those mornings, I barely have enough time to get nervous. But, every once in a while, I get hired for an afternoon keynote. And, whoa nelly, my nerves go wild...

Buckle up, turkeys, it's time to get nerdy. I know that you are being inundated this week with talk of gratitude from every brand whose website you ever even had the audacity to sneeze near. So let me do what I love to do: tell you a bit about the science behind the story. Yeah, that's right, I'm going to tell you why you should be grateful for gratitude. Our story begins 12.5 weeks ago, when I was assigned a talk to watch in class. Like most videos or podcasts I have to consume, I decided to...

This week, I’m finally doing the thing I’ve been putting off for way too long: foot surgery. But, Laura, you say: could you possibly write about a less sexy topic? By the way, to all of my new subscribers -- hi! -- I don't actually promise sexy topics. And, yet, I can promise that some, maybe this one still, might hit you squarely in the solar plexus. Why? Because while foot surgery isn't sexy, prioritizing yourself is. Let me tell you what I mean. My mother's birthday is November 25th. And,...

Last week, I was in London for the Thinkers50 Summit & Awards Gala—an event so full of smart, accomplished, world-changing humans that it made my brain hurt in the best possible way. There were moments I stood in awe. There were moments I laughed so hard I cried. And there were moments—quiet, grounding moments—when I was reminded why I keep saying yes to rooms like that in the first place. Because being around big thinkers? It changes you.It expands you.It demands more of you.And if you’re...

Hang on to your hats, I have a bee in my bonnet. During one of my recent keynote Q&As, a woman asked “I want to change my career, but I feel guilty. Like I might let people down. What should I do?” Outside, I was nodding along. Inside, I was screaming, “Come. The F*ck. On.” As if we were put on this planet to never grow… As if we were put on this planet to never learn… As if we were put on this planet to never change… No. Nope. Absolutely not. Let me tell you something: You weren’t born to...

I learned something nine years ago from the first ever speech I gave, and you can use it in every single daily interaction you have. Let me explain... Driving my 8th grader home from school one day, I received a call from a friend who happens to be the executive producer of TEDxCambridge. Knowing she was in a bit of a career transition — one that I had energetically encouraged — I felt the responsibility to take the call to make sure everything was going smoothly; being a conscientious,...

I just wrapped my second residency for my PhD program. The difference between this one and the first? Night and day. The first time around, I was flailing — trying to keep up with the language, the frameworks, the rhythm of academic life. I was surviving. I walked into that first residency in September like a tourist in a foreign country where I didn’t speak the language. Everything felt new and hard and like everyone else knew what they were doing and I was somehow already behind. (Spoiler:...

Last week I stepped off stage after speaking to a powerhouse group of women in optometry—smart, ambitious, mission-driven. And yet, I left the room thinking about one stat I just can’t shake: 70% of students in optometry school are women.Only 50% of practicing optometrists are. This means that there is an entire generation of women entering the profession who are going to have a harder-than-average time finding mentors and champions, along with another entire generation of leaders who will...

On Thursday, I stood on stage in front of a room full of brilliant engineers, visionary founders, and high-stakes decision-makers to deliver my Wonderhell keynote — a talk about ambition, growth, and that weird liminal space between success and self-doubt. You know the one. You’ve just achieved something you once thought impossible…And instead of feeling satisfied, you’re overwhelmed by the possibilities it unlocked.Excited. Anxious. Grateful. Exhausted. Welcome to Wonderhell. It’s the place...

Force: (n) strength or power exerted upon an object; physical coercion; violence; intensity Power: (n) the ability to do or act; capability of doing or accomplishing something Energy: (n) the capacity for vigorous activity; available power Leverage: (n) the mechanical advantage or power gained by using a lever, a rigid bar that pivots about one point and that is used to move an object at a second point by a force applied at a third Have you ever tried to muscle through something where you...