MY MISSION
Too many ambitious young people are quietly overwhelmed, worried they won’t measure up in a world that keeps shifting under their feet. I create spaces where those fears get named, shared, and then reshaped into fuel. Through humor, play, and real stories from my own wild path — from student leadership to surviving cancer — I help high school and college students build resilience, community, and confidence. My message is simple: the world may be uncertain, but you’re more capable than you think. I stand for bold, joyful grit, and I’ll show you how to find it in yourself.
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MEET CURTIS
Hi, I’m Curtis Haley, and I’m a professional speaker and semi-professional game show host. I’ve been the International President of a student organization, started a successful business, graduated summa cum laude from a large university as a first-generation college graduate, and survived brain cancer. Even with all of those accomplishments under my belt, for a long time I felt like I wasn’t enough – just as many young people do today. That’s why I speak to youth audiences to let them know the message I wish someone would have told me: You’re Going to Be Okay.
My goal with every event is to foster an environment of play, humor and resilience to help students build a sense of bold, joyous grit that they can continue building after the event.
When I’m not speaking, you can find me practicing stand-up comedy, playing Connections in the New York Times, or singing badly in the car to the chagrin of my wife, Elissa, and our preschool son Henry.
MY TALKS
Talk One
You're Going to Be OK
That hard thing in your life right now? You're going to make it through to the other side. No, really, it's true. And I'll prove it. Listen to this talk and I'll make a convincing argument for why you, the person reading this, are going to be OK, no matter what life throws at you.
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Talk Two
You Don't Know What You Don't Know
A famous researcher once said that in at least one area of our lives, all of us are "confident idiots." In this talk, we explore ways to identify our mental blind spots, approach new information, and even - GASP! - change our minds.
Talk Three
The Super Secret Truth About Human Nature
In this session, you have the chance to learn a fundamental truth about all people that could re-shape the way you look at everyone around you forever. Also, I do it by giving audience members money. What more can I say?
