Neil Pasricha

Speaking topics

Presentations listed below include in-person and virtual keynotes, as well as workshops, fireside chats, and other presentation formats.

• You Are Awesome: How to Navigate Change, Wrestle with Failure, and Live an Intentional Life

  We live in a world where we’re bombarded by expectations. So many of us are anxious, uncertain, unprepared for the future. We no longer have the tools to handle failure or even perceived failure. We lack resilience. We are turning into an army of porcelain dolls, about to break with just the slightest jolt. Social media tells us we’re never good enough, and we cower and crumble. The rates of depression, loneliness, and suicide? All rising!  “You Are Awesome” offers advice on how to become more resilient, how to bend instead of break, and how to get back up after failure and loss knocks you down.

  Mixed with stories of his own personal failures, Neil Pasricha shares nine story-based, science-backed secrets to help you build up fortitude and live a happier, more intentional life. By taking this journey with Pasricha as your guide, you’ll learn how to positively reframe your own perceptions of failure, and, ultimately, how to become your most unbreakable and awesome self.

• Be Happy First: Resilience and Breakthrough Performance in Times of Change

  After Neil Pasricha’s wife left him and his best friend suddenly took his own life, he crash-landed in an empty downtown bachelor apartment. Just twelve months later, he was working directly for the CEO at Walmart, running the International Academy of Digital Arts and Science’s “Best Blog in the world”, which was on its way to garnering over 50 million hits, and had just published The Book of Awesome, which stormed the New York Times bestseller list and sold over a million copies. The lesson was clear: resilience, change, and growth can came from times of challenge.

  This inspiring talk is for anybody looking for simple practical ways to lift performance to new heights. In Pasricha’s case, he realized before life could change, he had to change. Leadership ultimately comes from within. When company execs would ask him “How did you get so happy?” he’d say the secret is to “Be happy first” and let the mindset you cultivate ultimately enable your success.

  Pasricha’s presentation leaves audiences with the tools they need to achieve their biggest goals. Past clients include Uber (marketing), Momenta (bioscience execs), and University of Texas (students and faculty).

• Building Trust in Distrustful Times

  According to the Edelman Trust Barometer, trust in media, business, and government are at an all-time low. We have never believed less, agreed less, or trusted less. Yet, building trust, and developing the community that surrounds it, remains imperative for any art project, online influencer, startup, or brand. So, what are the new ways to build trust and community online in an era of mistrust? What works? What doesn’t? And how do we figure out who to really believe and rally behind? Join New York Times bestselling author Neil Pasricha as he answers these questions.

• Lead Yourself First, Before You Lead Others

  Which company is #1 on the Fortune 500 today and has been for more than a decade? Walmart. The retail behemoth’s rise to half a trillion dollars in sales with over two million employees spread across the globe has been well-documented. But what hasn’t been documented is how they develop, nurture, and grow leaders up through those ranks.

  Neil Pasricha served as Director of Leadership Development inside Walmart for the past ten years — working directly for two CEOs and partnering with Harvard Business School to develop the first global executive program inside the retail giant. Join him as he shares a window into what his research and work reveal about what truly makes leaders tick and walk away with clear takeaways on how they can drive you and your teams.

  How do you lead a team of two, two hundred thousand, or even two million people? It starts with yourself. Let Pasricha show you how.

• The Subtle Art of Happiness

  Why can so few people at work genuinely say, “I love my job”? Gallup reports 87% of the global workforce is disengaged. But what if there were subtle, secret weapons that could turn employees into their most powerful, engaged, and productive selves? It’s not crazy talk. It’s actually happening.

  Using his unique blend of counterintuitive research and sidesplitting stories, Neil illuminates a clear path forward into workplaces where people show up inspired, do great work, and leave with full minds and full hearts. Raw, hilarious, and heartwarming, this is the perfect keynote to kick off or close your conference with the ultimate high. Past clients include: Audi (national dealer teams), AstraZeneca (sales agents), and TD Bank (top global leaders).

• The Science of Positive Growth Mindset

  Does great work lead to happiness? Or does happiness lead to great work? Neil Pasricha shares counterintuitive, research-based answers in this fun, fast-paced, research-grounded tour of the emerging neuroscience and positive psychology landscape.

  Pasricha challenges audiences by asking: “Would you press a button and have 31% higher productivity, 37% higher sales, and 300% greater creativity on Monday morning?” When heads start nodding, he shows how to get there. Based on fresh research Pasricha published in Harvard Business Review­, as well as the latest in neuroscience and positive psychology, this speech is not just motivation — it’s application. Perfect for left-brained, analytical, or even skeptical audiences. Past clients include Google (engineers), Kaiser Permanente (physicians), and Citigroup (investment bankers).

• Custom Workshop

  Many organizations choose to have Neil add on a custom workshop to his keynote. These workshops can bring an organization purpose to life, embed a conference or session theme into company culture, or develop customized happiness challenges which individuals design and share with their peers in order to commit to the practice of happiness. Note: As workshops require additional interviews, pre-meetings, and time on-site, they are not always available. Please discuss options with your agent.