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A.J. Jacobs        

Best-Selling Author & "Human Guinea Pig"

Known as "the human guinea pig," A.J. Jacobs has engaged in such lifestyle experiments as outsourcing his life to India, reading the entire Encyclopedia Britannica in a quest to become well-informed, living according to the Bible, and adhering to all modern medical advice to achieve optimal health. His experiences are documented in his New York Times bestsellers "The Year of Living Biblically," "The Know-It-All," and "Drop Dead Healthy."

Jacobs serves as an editor at large at Esquire magazine and has written for The New York Times, Entertainment Weekly, and New York Magazine. He has also authored several other books, including "Thanks A Thousand: A Gratitude Journey," and "The Puzzler: One Man’s Quest to Solve the Most Baffling Puzzles Ever, from Crosswords to Jigsaws to the Meaning of Life," released in 2022. He is known for his unique approach to storytelling, using immersive experiences to provide new perspectives.

Jacobs has also made a significant impact in the realm of charity. He is a member of Giving What We Can, pledging 10% of his lifelong earnings to charitable causes. This has included donations to the Against Malaria Foundation and other effective altruism organizations.

He has spoken at various events and is a well-known TED Talk presenter, including talks like "My year of living biblically" and "How Healthy Living Nearly Killed Me". In addition, Jacobs has made appearances on TV shows such as "By The Book" and radio programs like NPR's "Ask Me Another".

In addition to his writing and speaking engagements, Jacobs organized the Global Family Reunion in 2015 and previously hosted the genealogy-focused podcast "Twice Removed." He resides in New York City with his family.

Speech Topics

Thanks A Thousand: A Gratitude Journey

In this keynote, A.J. reveals secrets about how gratitude can make us all happier, more generous and more connected. He provides wonderful insights and useful tips, from how to focus on the hundreds of things that go right every day instead of the few that go wrong to how our culture overemphasizes the individual over the team. "Thanks a Thousand" is a reminder to audiences of the amazing interconnectedness of our world, ultimately teaching us how gratitude can make our lives kinder and more impactful.

The Importance of Self-Delusion in the Creative Process

How can we apply the idea of method-acting to our business lives? This is the question that life-hacker and best-selling author A.J. Jacobs tackles in this insightful (and highly entertaining) talk on the benefits of faking it until you make it. Through a series of examples from his own life, Jacobs shows just how much our behavior shapes our thoughts and our perceptions. Thus, if we want to change our attitude about something, the best way is to “act as if.”

Drop Dead Healthy: One Man’s Humble Quest for Bodily Perfection

A.J. Jacobs lives his life as an experiment. In his New York Times bestsellers The Know-It-All and The Year of Living Biblically, Jacobs tackled mental and spiritual challenges; in his most recent book, Drop Dead Healthy: One Man’s Humble Quest for Bodily Perfection, he physically challenged himself to live a healthy life from head to toe. READ MORE >

The Know-It-All: Behind One Man’s Humble Quest to Become the Smartest Person in the World

In this engaging and delightful talk based on his New York Times best-selling book, speaker A.J. Jacobs gives a behind-the-scenes look at his journey to “become the smartest person in the world” by reading the entire Encyclopedia Britannica from A to Z, all 44 million words of it.

My Year of Living Biblically

Raised in a secular family, but increasingly interested in the role of religion in our world, A.J. Jacobs decided to learn about the Bible firsthand: by living it. He vowed to spend a year following every single rule in the Bible, from the famous ones (the Ten Commandments) to the often-ignored laws (“don’t shave your beard,” “do not wear clothes from mixed fibers,” and even “stone adulterers”). The result is a fascinating look at religion—one that is both reverent and irreverent, funny and deeply serious.

Change Your Behavior, Change Your Mind

Jacobs’s year of living biblically taught him that the most powerful way to change his mind was to change his behavior. The mind will catch up. As he says, “Fake it till you make it.” It’s how he claims he learned to be a better person and a better businessman.

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Walking a Mile in Others’ Shoes

Want to know what your customer is thinking? Live your life as the customer for a week. It’s the same with understanding how your rival thinks. Jacobs stresses the importance of immersing yourself in other points of view to make yourself a better businessperson.

Adapt or Die: Important Business Lessons from Encyclopedia Britannica

After a 33,000-page experiment in extreme learning from the Encyclopedia Britannica, A.J. Jacobs reflects on his experience by formulating six core business lessons from all of history. Adapted from his Linkedin article entitled The Six Most Important Business Lessons From All of History, the author of The Know-It-All explains how taking risks, using your imagination, and stepping up to the plate can greatly benefit companies in any industry. You are sure to learn lots from this clever and engaging speech from “the smartest person in the world.”

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