Karen Duffy

Author of "Wise Up: Irreverent Enlightenment from a Mother Who's Been Through It;" Former Actress, Model and Recreational Therapist.

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New York, NY, USA
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Karen Duffy Biography

From becoming an iconic MTV VJ to starring in Dumb and Dumber to being diagnosed with a life-threatening disease, Karen Duffy has been through a lot. Her most recent book, "Wise Up," offers advice on overcoming life's obstacles great and small, finding love in your life, and determining how much to duke the waiter (as with everything—be generous!). With irrepressible humor and the wisdom of experience, she shows how we all can learn from Stoic thinkers as well as from Bulgarian dancing bears. It’s written in the form of letters to her son, but it is rooted in Classical philosophy that is enlightening for everyone.

There are times in life when we should turn to the great thinkers for advice. And there are times when you need the kind of enlightenment that only a Jersey-born Revlon model can give. Duffy has offered profound insights in speeches to corporate clients such as Akzo Nobel and HireArt, professional groups including the Young President's Organization, commencement addresses, and numerous speeches and presentations to Stoic groups such as the Plato's Academy Centre, the Stoic Summit, and Modern Stoicism's Stoic Week.

Duffy is an actress, former MTV VJ, and New York Times bestselling author of "Model Patient" and "Backbone." She has written for the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, the New York Daily News, Oprah Daily and Oprah Quarterly, Airmail, and Cosmopolitan. She lives in New York.

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Speaker profile last updated by AAE Talent Team on 09/04/2024.

Karen Duffy Speaking Topics

  • Optimism: Using Stoicism to Find The Bright Side When Things Look Darkest

    Bring up philosophy, and people look at you like you asked them to chew bees. But Stoic philosophy is practical wisdom for everyone. The Stoics of ancient Greece and Rome used a practice called 'premeditation malorum'-imagining bad things that might occur, so as to be better prepared to roll with the punches. You can also flip this practice on its head, and anticipate that good things will happen, so you can appreciate them when they do.

    Stoic optimists do not live with their heads in the clouds. They are committed to being a person with both feet on the ground, who focuses on the positive, who looks for the good in people, and opportunities to be of service. When negative events happen, optimists pick themselves up with Stoicism.

    Optimists propel us forward. Innovators, entrepreneurs, and activists are optimists. Stoics know that optimism won’t solve all the world’s problems, but we will never stop trying.

  • Lust For Life: Cultivating Resilience

    We all get knocked down, and you can’t embrace life if you don’t claw your way back up. You can’t run toward life if you’re flat on your back. Lust for life means you practice resilience so you can rebound and wring every last drop out of life. I love the quote from Ralph Waldo Emerson, “Nothing great was ever achieved without enthusiasm.” To overcome obstacles and bounce back from misfortune, you need resilience and a lust for life.

    For the past 25 years I’ve been living with a degenerative neurological disease which causes chronic pain. When you live in high level pain for a long period of time, your internal 'Harm Alarm' your internal• wiring system goes nuts. This can wear down the most resilient person.

    In the first phase of my disease, pain kept me roped to the bed like Gullliver. I was unable to do much of anything. I had always been an avid reader, I go through books like an elephant goes through peanuts, and reading was something I could do even in my reduced state. Books became my painkillers, just as much as medication. In residence at New York Hospital, I rediscovered the Stoic thinkers Marcus Aurelius and Epictetus and Seneca and I fully embraced Stoicism.

    These Wise Guys taught me to embrace the ability to reframe pain, and rebound from the obstacles I now face. In a way, getting sick was a new beginning for me. I had to mourn for my old life, and figure out a whole new life.

  • Get A Life-Philosophy: Using Stoic Wisdom to Free your Mind

    The Romany community of Bulgaria has trained bears to dance for hundreds of years. It is a medieval tradition that lived on as a modern vestige of the Dark Ages. The bears were taught to imitate celebrities, give massages to humans, dance to a tambourine, and even play ice hockey.

    In 2007, dancing bear acts were banned. Treatment of the bears was rightfully deemed cruel and inhumane. Animal behavioral specialists retrained the bears, teaching them how to hibernate, how to hunt. The Dancing Bear Park became an ursine experiment in freedom.

    Freedom is stressful and strenuous. The difficulty of making their own choices can cause pain. At these times the bears revert to the exact behavior that the rehabilitation staff were trying to get them to unlearn: when the bears see a human, they get up on their hind legs and dance a jig.

    We all have a key to our own cages. The only person standing between you and freedom is you. There is no one tethering you or muzzling you or making you dance the tarantella. It is up to you to make the most of your time here, and that’s why you need a philosophy for living.

    Your philosophy for life is your operating manual. It will guide you through concrete questions, such as, How do I apologize after I screw up? What can I do to be of service? and How much should I duke the waiter? (At the very least 20 percent--in all things, be generous). Answering these questions will help you answer the bigger ones, like, How can I be a good person? And how can I live a meaningful life? These two questions are the central tenets of the Stoic philosophy that guides me through life.

Karen Duffy Videos

  • “Wise Up” and Be A Courageous Role Model w/ Karen Duffy
    This is the video recording of a conversation between Karen Duffy and Brittany Polat at the Courageous Paths to Flourishing: Stoicon Women Virtual...

Karen Duffy Books

  • Wise Up: Irreverent Enlightenment from a Mother Who's Been Through It
    Wise Up: Irreverent Enlightenment from a Mother Who's Been Through It

FAQs on booking Karen Duffy

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  • What topics does Karen Duffy speak about?

    Karen Duffy is a keynote speaker and industry expert whose speaking topics include Authors, Happiness, Inspirational, Literary, Medicine, Motivational, Philosophy, Resilience, Women.
  • Where does Karen Duffy travel from?

    Karen Duffy generally travels from New York, NY, USA, but can be booked for private corporate events, personal appearances, keynote speeches, or other performances. For more details, please contact an AAE Booking agent.
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Karen Duffy is a keynote speaker and industry expert who speaks on a wide range of topics such as Optimism: Using Stoicism to Find The Bright Side When Things Look Darkest, Lust For Life: Cultivating Resilience and Get A Life-Philosophy: Using Stoic Wisdom to Free your Mind. The estimated speaking fee range to book Karen Duffy for your event is $20,000 - $30,000. Karen Duffy generally travels from New York, NY, USA and can be booked for (private) corporate events, personal appearances, keynote speeches, or other performances. Similar motivational celebrity speakers are Casey Kang Head, Amberly Lago, Deanna Singh, Dr. Kristen Lee and Victoria Rowell. Contact All American Speakers for ratings, reviews, videos and information on scheduling Karen Duffy for an upcoming live or virtual event.

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