O’Hurley, Sheen Provide PestWorld Attendees with Uplifting Stories

This year’s General Session speakers John O’Hurley and Alex Sheen shared very different life experiences, but they both provided attendees with uplifting life lessons.

PestWorld speakers John O'Hurley (left) and Alex Sheen.
PestWorld speakers John O'Hurley (left) and Alex Sheen.
Brad Harbison

BOSTON – PestWorld 2022 provides attendees with opportunities to grow personally and professionally, including hearing from leading motivational speakers. This year’s General Session speakers, John O’Hurley and Alex Sheen, shared very different life experiences, but they both provided attendees with uplifting life lessons. 

O’Hurley, an actor, comedian and author best known for his recurring role as J Peterman on “Seinfeld,” shared what it takes to live "the extraordinary life," in  a session sponsored by Corteva AgriScience. O’Hurley said the extraordinary life “has nothing to do with money or power but the richness and the power of choices.” For him, the decision to live the extraordinary life came when he decided to pursue a career in acting — a profession that is very difficult to break into and one for which there is no real clear career path.

O'Hurley said the extraordinary life is distinguished by:

Achievement – “We achieve be valuing what we imagine,” said O’Hurley.
Balance – O’Hurley noted that when we meet people who are balanced “they seem to stand out in a crowd. They walk differently, as though they have this comfortable sense of their body. They have a natural and easy sense of humor about themselves.”

Meaning - O’Hurley said meaning only comes through acts of appreciation. “Giving back is simply the measure of what we have been given.”

In the Thursday General Session, sponsored by Syngenta, accountability and commitment expert Sheen shared how he started the “Because I Said I Would” social movement and nonprofit dedicated to the betterment of society through fulfilling promises.

Following the loss of his father in September 2014, Sheen began sending promise cards to anyone who requested them at no cost. They have since been distributed to more than 13.1 million people in 178 countries. The stories – some of which are heartwarming, humorous, inspirational and tragic – teach practical life lessons that have inspired lives around the world.