5 ways to kill your dreams
-
0:01 - 0:03I dedicated the past two years
to understanding -
0:03 - 0:06how people achieve their dreams.
-
0:06 - 0:08When we think about the dreams we have,
-
0:08 - 0:10and the dent we want to leave
in the universe, -
0:10 - 0:14it is striking to see how big
of an overlap there is -
0:14 - 0:17between the dreams that we have,
and projects that never happen. -
0:17 - 0:18(Laughter)
-
0:19 - 0:20So I'm here to talk to you today
-
0:20 - 0:24about five ways
how not to follow your dreams. -
0:25 - 0:30One: Believe in overnight success.
-
0:30 - 0:31You know the story, right?
-
0:31 - 0:36The tech guy built a mobile app
and sold it very fast for a lot of money. -
0:37 - 0:41You know, the story may seem real,
but I bet it's incomplete. -
0:41 - 0:43If you go investigate further,
-
0:43 - 0:45the guy has done 30 apps before
-
0:45 - 0:48and he has done a master's
on the topic, a PhD. -
0:48 - 0:51He has been working
on the topic for 20 years. -
0:52 - 0:53This is really interesting.
-
0:53 - 0:59I myself have a story in Brazil
that people think is an overnight success. -
0:59 - 1:01I come from a humble family,
-
1:01 - 1:05and two weeks before
the deadline to apply for MIT, -
1:05 - 1:07I started the application process.
-
1:07 - 1:09And, voilà! I got in.
-
1:10 - 1:13People may think
it's an overnight success, -
1:13 - 1:17but that only worked
because for the 17 years prior to that, -
1:17 - 1:19I took life and education seriously.
-
1:19 - 1:23Your overnight success story
is always a result -
1:23 - 1:26of everything you've done
in your life through that moment. -
1:27 - 1:30Two: Believe someone else
has the answers for you. -
1:30 - 1:33Constantly, people want
to help out, right? -
1:33 - 1:36All sorts of people: your family,
your friends, your business partners, -
1:36 - 1:39they all have opinions
on which path you should take: -
1:39 - 1:42"And let me tell you,
go through this pipe." -
1:42 - 1:43But whenever you go inside,
-
1:43 - 1:46there are other ways
you have to pick as well. -
1:46 - 1:49And you need to make
those decisions yourself. -
1:49 - 1:53No one else has the perfect
answers for your life. -
1:53 - 1:56And you need to keep picking
those decisions, right? -
1:56 - 1:59The pipes are infinite
and you're going to bump your head, -
1:59 - 2:01and it's a part of the process.
-
2:02 - 2:05Three, and it's very subtle
but very important: -
2:06 - 2:09Decide to settle
when growth is guaranteed. -
2:09 - 2:11So when your life is going great,
-
2:11 - 2:13you have put together a great team,
-
2:13 - 2:16and you have growing revenue,
and everything is set -- -
2:16 - 2:18time to settle.
-
2:18 - 2:20When I launched my first book,
-
2:20 - 2:23I worked really, really hard
to distribute it everywhere in Brazil. -
2:23 - 2:26With that, over three million
people downloaded it, -
2:26 - 2:28over 50,000 people bought physical copies.
-
2:28 - 2:32When I wrote a sequel,
some impact was guaranteed. -
2:33 - 2:36Even if I did little, sales would be OK.
-
2:36 - 2:38But OK is never OK.
-
2:38 - 2:40When you're growing towards a peak,
-
2:40 - 2:44you need to work harder than ever
and find yourself another peak. -
2:45 - 2:46Maybe if I did little,
-
2:46 - 2:48a couple hundred thousand
people would read it, -
2:48 - 2:50and that's great already.
-
2:50 - 2:52But if I work harder than ever,
-
2:52 - 2:55I can bring this number up to millions.
-
2:55 - 2:59That's why I decided, with my new book,
to go to every single state of Brazil. -
2:59 - 3:01And I can already see a higher peak.
-
3:01 - 3:03There's no time to settle down.
-
3:03 - 3:06Fourth tip, and that's really important:
-
3:06 - 3:09Believe the fault is someone else's.
-
3:10 - 3:12I constantly see people saying,
-
3:12 - 3:16"Yes, I had this great idea,
but no investor had the vision to invest." -
3:16 - 3:18"Oh, I created this great product,
-
3:18 - 3:22but the market is so bad,
the sales didn't go well." -
3:22 - 3:26Or, "I can't find good talent;
my team is so below expectations." -
3:27 - 3:28If you have dreams,
-
3:28 - 3:31it's your responsibility
to make them happen. -
3:32 - 3:34Yes, it may be hard to find talent.
-
3:34 - 3:36Yes, the market may be bad.
-
3:36 - 3:38But if no one invested in your idea,
-
3:38 - 3:40if no one bought your product,
-
3:40 - 3:43for sure, there is something there
that is your fault. -
3:43 - 3:45(Laughter)
-
3:45 - 3:47Definitely.
-
3:47 - 3:50You need to get your dreams
and make them happen. -
3:50 - 3:53And no one achieved their goals alone.
-
3:53 - 3:57But if you didn't make them happen,
it's your fault and no one else's. -
3:57 - 4:00Be responsible for your dreams.
-
4:01 - 4:05And one last tip, and this one
is really important as well: -
4:06 - 4:11Believe that the only things that matter
are the dreams themselves. -
4:11 - 4:14Once I saw an ad,
and it was a lot of friends, -
4:14 - 4:17they were going up a mountain,
it was a very high mountain, -
4:17 - 4:18and it was a lot of work.
-
4:18 - 4:21You could see that they were sweating
and this was tough. -
4:21 - 4:25And they were going up,
and they finally made it to the peak. -
4:25 - 4:27Of course, they decided
to celebrate, right? -
4:27 - 4:30I'm going to celebrate, so,
"Yes! We made it, we're at the top!" -
4:31 - 4:33Two seconds later,
one looks at the other and says, -
4:34 - 4:35"OK, let's go down."
-
4:35 - 4:37(Laughter)
-
4:37 - 4:39Life is never about the goals themselves.
-
4:39 - 4:41Life is about the journey.
-
4:42 - 4:44Yes, you should enjoy
the goals themselves, -
4:44 - 4:47but people think that you have dreams,
-
4:47 - 4:50and whenever you get to reaching
one of those dreams, -
4:50 - 4:53it's a magical place
where happiness will be all around. -
4:54 - 4:57But achieving a dream
is a momentary sensation, -
4:57 - 4:59and your life is not.
-
4:59 - 5:02The only way to really achieve
all of your dreams -
5:03 - 5:06is to fully enjoy every step
of your journey. -
5:06 - 5:08That's the best way.
-
5:08 - 5:10And your journey is simple --
it's made of steps. -
5:10 - 5:12Some steps will be right on.
-
5:12 - 5:14Sometimes you will trip.
-
5:14 - 5:19If it's right on, celebrate, because
some people wait a lot to celebrate. -
5:19 - 5:22And if you tripped,
turn that into something to learn. -
5:22 - 5:27If every step becomes something
to learn or something to celebrate, -
5:27 - 5:29you will for sure enjoy the journey.
-
5:30 - 5:32So, five tips:
-
5:32 - 5:34Believe in overnight success,
-
5:34 - 5:37believe someone else
has the answers for you, -
5:37 - 5:40believe that when growth is guaranteed,
you should settle down, -
5:40 - 5:42believe the fault is someone else's,
-
5:42 - 5:45and believe that only
the goals themselves matter. -
5:45 - 5:48Believe me, you do that,
and you will destroy your dreams. -
5:48 - 5:50(Laughter)
-
5:50 - 5:51(Applause)
-
5:51 - 5:52Thank you.
-
5:53 - 5:54Thanks.
-
5:54 - 5:58(Applause)
- Title:
- 5 ways to kill your dreams
- Speaker:
- Bel Pesce
- Description:
-
All of us want to invent that game-changing product, launch that successful company, write that best-selling book. And yet so few of us actually do it. Brazilian entrepreneur Bel Pesce breaks down five easy-to-believe myths that ensure your dream projects will never come to fruition.
- Video Language:
- English
- Team:
- closed TED
- Project:
- TEDTalks
- Duration:
- 06:11
Maggie S (Amara staff) edited English subtitles for 5 ways to kill your dreams | ||
Maggie S (Amara staff) edited English subtitles for 5 ways to kill your dreams | ||
Krystian Aparta commented on English subtitles for 5 ways to kill your dreams | ||
Krystian Aparta edited English subtitles for 5 ways to kill your dreams | ||
Krystian Aparta edited English subtitles for 5 ways to kill your dreams | ||
Helene Batt edited English subtitles for 5 ways to kill your dreams | ||
Morton Bast edited English subtitles for 5 ways to kill your dreams | ||
Morton Bast approved English subtitles for 5 ways to kill your dreams |
Krystian Aparta
The English transcript was updated on 12/22/2016.