Bakersfield College kicked off its 2019 Distinguished Speaker Series with entrepreneur and author Thomas Blackwell in the indoor theater on Sept. 9.

Blackwell travels all over the world imparting his wisdom onto people of all groups and backgrounds. 

His public speaking career began in 2004 when he was asked to speak to a crowd of 10,000 people, telling the audience his story about how he became successful in business. 

He continued to share his thoughts on having a positive mindset in front of school sports teams, companies, and college students alike. 

The event at Bakersfield College opened up with a performance from the BC Chamber Singers titled, “You Will Be Found.” Thomas Blackwell was then introduced by his good friend and Performing Arts Department Chair, Dr. Jennifer Garrett. 

Blackwell made his way to Bakersfield for the first time to promote his book, “The Liberty of Our Language Revealed” and inspire a crowd of several hundred BC students and faculty. 

He shared several remarkable stories about marrying his high school sweetheart, his four precious daughters, and how he became successful in many avenues of life. He also conducted several experiments that showed how one’s mindset can change their life entirely. 

An experiment done with the help of Blackwell’s children was shown in a PowerPoint, demonstrating the effect that negative words and sounds could have on water. Another experiment required the help of audience members. They were told to speak positive words and thoughts as Blackwell would try to push their straight arm down. It was impossible. When the volunteers were asked to say negative words, it only took two of Blackwell’s fingers to push their arm to their waist with ease. Positive thoughts can have a major impact on who we are internally and externally.

“If you want to change your world, change your perspective of it,” Blackwell said. His visit to Bakersfield College taught students valuable lessons that would be otherwise difficult to come across. Communication major Kaycie Manzano said,

“I found his theory about the water being affected by positive words very interesting.” When asked what we can learn from Thomas Blackwell’s appearance she added,

“We should all surround ourselves with positive people.”

Bakersfield College was fortunate enough to have a remarkable person initiate the 2019 Distinguished Speaker Series. Thomas Blackwell was the first of six speakers that will visit Bakersfield College in the fall semester. Blackwell says his key formula to life is E+R=O. 

Event plus response  equals outcome. When faced with challenges, he suggests changing “Why me?” into “What can I learn?”