How does Bruce Lee’s philosophy inspire happiness? Why is it that when you tell jokes at a bar they don’t always work? What makes chatting up with 10 girls easier than with just one? Will tear gas become Hong Kong’s baptism after the city’s months-long, massive protests? In this thought-provoking, deeply personal and entertaining talk, award-winning comedian Vivek Mahbubani begins with a Cantonese phrase “前面有樂/落” (chin-min-yau-lok) which has a double meaning of “Happy future” and “Stop, please,” then goes on to share how being nervous is an integral part of his preparation for any gig, and a simple but powerful ritual that helps him turn tragedy into comedy. Vivek Mahbubani is a Hong Kong-bred bilingual stand-up comedian performing in both Cantonese and English. He was crowned the Funniest Person (in Chinese) in Hong Kong in 2007 and won at the Hong Kong International Comedy Competition in 2008. Having been ranked as the top comedian in Hong Kong, in 2014, the World Famous Laugh Factory in the USA ranked Vivek as one of the top 10 comedians in their Annual Funniest Person in the World Competition. In 2015, he was handpicked as one of the comedians to represent Asia’s best in Melbourne International Comedy Festival’s inaugural “Comedy Zone Asia” shows. In 2016, he was featured in Comedy Central’s first ever “Stand up Asia!” shows.
In 2018, he was one of the recipients of the Ten Outstanding Young Persons Selection in Hong Kong, an annual prize that started back in 1970 to showcase the city's outstanding next generation. Vivek was selected by the U.S. State Department to join the International Visitor Leadership Program in 2009. This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at https://www.ted.com/tedx