Click Your Fortune #3: Advice for your 16-year-old self - Deena Gornick

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Click Your Fortune is an interactive, choose-your-own-adventure style series that literally feeds questions from students to knowledgeable experts around the world. This intro video explains it all: http://ed.ted.com/lessons/click-your-fortune-episode-3

This episode features the professionals listed below answering dozens of questions submitted by students from all over the world. Got a burning question? A hero you'd like to see interviewed? A career you would like to see explored? Suggest and vote up ideas for future click your fortune videos here: https://community.ed.ted.com/teded/topics/suggest_questions_careers_and_people_for_the_next_click_your_fortune_episode

Francis de los Reyes III: Professor, Environmental Engineering, North Carolina State University
Deena Gornick: Executive Coach
Jennifer Indovina: TED Fellow; CEO, Tenrehte Technologies
Daniel Suarez: TED Speaker; Author; Senior Systems Analyst

If I could meet me when I was 16,

I think the first thing that I would say

is that it is so tempting to do something

for somebody to get them to like you.

Don't.

Really be mindful that you are so wise right now

because of all the things that you don't know.

So just, really before somebody

asks you to do something,

really take time to think about

whether or not it's going to be good for you,

that if, after you do it, you're going to go,

"Oh, I'm so glad I did that!

That was so good for me,

that was so wonderful."

You know, whether that's, whatever it is,

whether it's eating something,

drinking something,

being with somebody,

taking a job,

whatever it is,

just really check into the wisdom

that you already have

to see how you're going to feel after you to do it.

That's the first thing.

And the second thing,

I think there's loads,

but the second thing is jealousy.

Jealousy is a wonderful engine.

When you have it,

really, really take it in

and ask yourself,

"Ooh, I'm really jealous of so-and-so.

What is it I'm jealous about?

What is it that they have that I want?"

And then trust that you already have it

and act as if you do,

and if you don't,

if you really feel,

"Ooh, I don't have that thing or that attribute,"

then trust that somewhere you have some quality

that resembles that and let it grow in you.

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