Trust your struggle | Zain Asher | TEDxEuston
-
0:14 - 0:16Hello everyone.
-
0:16 - 0:20My name is Zain Asher,
and I'm an anchor at CNN International. -
0:20 - 0:23I'm super proud to say
that I have my dream job. -
0:23 - 0:27I wake up every day,
and I'm so excited to go to work. -
0:27 - 0:29But my life wasn't always this way
-
0:29 - 0:32and I do want to share
a little bit about my background -
0:32 - 0:35and help, hopefully, motivate
and inspire some of you. -
0:35 - 0:38So, I'm an anchor
at CNN International now, -
0:38 - 0:41but about four, four and half years ago,
-
0:41 - 0:43I was working as a receptionist.
-
0:43 - 0:46And the reason why I share that
is because I want to let you know -
0:46 - 0:48that success is never really
in a straight line. -
0:48 - 0:51There's always going to be bumps
along the way. -
0:51 - 0:53For the longest time in my life,
-
0:53 - 0:56I always believed that hard work
was a key to success. -
0:56 - 0:58I thought, "You know what?
If you work hard, -
0:58 - 1:00of course you're going to be successful."
-
1:00 - 1:03But now I realize that there's
so much more to the story. -
1:03 - 1:05There are plenty of people who work hard,
-
1:05 - 1:08who don't necessarily make it
in their chosen careers. -
1:08 - 1:12There are plenty of people
who are extraodinarily talented, -
1:12 - 1:14who know the right people,
who are well educated, -
1:14 - 1:16who don't necessarily make it.
-
1:16 - 1:19So, if it's not always hard work,
what then determines -
1:19 - 1:21whether you're going to be successful?
-
1:21 - 1:23As I intend to answer this,
-
1:23 - 1:26I'll share with you a little bit
about my life and my background. -
1:26 - 1:29I was born and raised here in London.
-
1:29 - 1:32My family and I,
we're originally from Nigeria. -
1:32 - 1:34The worst and probably
most difficult day in my life -
1:34 - 1:37was September 3rd, 1988.
-
1:37 - 1:39I was about five years old.
-
1:39 - 1:42And my mother and I were in the kitchen,
in our house in London. -
1:42 - 1:45We'd just gotten back
from a wedding in Nigeria. -
1:45 - 1:48And my brother and my father
were still in Nigeria -
1:48 - 1:50a few days after the wedding,
for a road trip, -
1:50 - 1:52a father-and-son road trip.
-
1:52 - 1:55And they were supposed to come home
on September 3rd, 1988. -
1:55 - 1:58We were supposed to pick them up
from the airport. -
1:58 - 1:59And we were waiting and waiting.
-
1:59 - 2:01I guess we assumed
they'd missed their flight. -
2:01 - 2:04We continued to wait.
We didn't hear anything. -
2:04 - 2:05And then, later on that day,
-
2:05 - 2:09my mother got a phone call
from a family friend in Nigeria, -
2:09 - 2:12and the voice on the other end of the line
just basically said, you know, -
2:12 - 2:16"Your husband and your son
have been involved in a car crash. -
2:16 - 2:19One of them is dead
and we don't know which one." -
2:19 - 2:22So, the car crash happened in Nigeria,
-
2:22 - 2:24and there were
about five people in the car. -
2:24 - 2:28Everyone in the car died instantly
apart from one person in the back seat, -
2:28 - 2:30where my father
and my brother were sitting. -
2:30 - 2:32It turned out to be my father who died.
-
2:32 - 2:34My mother was pregnant at the time.
-
2:34 - 2:36Of course she was devastated
because my parents -
2:36 - 2:39were really the loves
of each other's lives. -
2:39 - 2:41So, I was raised
in a single-parent family. -
2:41 - 2:45For a while, my mother sent me to live
in Nigeria by myself, with my grandmother. -
2:45 - 2:48When I came back,
she decided that, you know, -
2:48 - 2:52in life, if you want to be successful,
you have to be able to relate to people -
2:52 - 2:53from all walks of life.
-
2:53 - 2:57She'd deliberately send me
to various types of schools. -
2:57 - 2:58I went to school in Nigeria,
-
2:58 - 3:01I went to a state school
in a poor neighborhood in South London, -
3:01 - 3:04I went to a private school,
and then I went to a boarding school. -
3:04 - 3:06This was on purpose, deliberately,
-
3:06 - 3:10because my mother felt
that, if you want to make it in life, -
3:10 - 3:12you need to be able to relate
to everybody. -
3:12 - 3:16So, when I was sixteen
- I have a strict Nigerian mother - -
3:16 - 3:21but when I was sixteen, she decided
that she wanted me to go to Oxford. -
3:21 - 3:24And she sat down and she thought,
"OK. How can I guarantee -
3:24 - 3:27that my child's going to get into Oxford?
What can I do to make that happen?" -
3:27 - 3:31She thought about it for a few days,
and she came up to me with a proposal, -
3:31 - 3:33and she said that she was going to ban me
-
3:33 - 3:36from watching any television
for eighteen months. -
3:36 - 3:37(Laughter)
-
3:37 - 3:42So, I was only allowed to watch
BBC and CNN International. -
3:42 - 3:46If I wanted to watch anything else,
I had to ask special permission for that. -
3:46 - 3:50And then, no television expanded
into no phones, no cable, no music. -
3:50 - 3:52I literally had nothing else
to do but study. -
3:52 - 3:55And my mother said to me,
"If you're living in my house, -
3:55 - 3:58the only way you're ever going to be able
to watch television again -
3:58 - 4:00is if you get into Oxford."
-
4:00 - 4:01(Laughter)
-
4:01 - 4:03So, I really laugh now, and it is funny,
-
4:03 - 4:06but, you know, her plan worked.
-
4:06 - 4:10I worked very hard, I got straight A's,
and I went to Oxford. -
4:10 - 4:13So, overall, I didn't necessarily
have the easiest childhood. -
4:13 - 4:16I was raised in a single-parent family;
we didn't have much money; -
4:16 - 4:18
I changed schools constantly, -
4:18 - 4:20and therefore,
I found it difficult to make friends. -
4:20 - 4:23I didn't have the easiest childhood,
but I loved every minute of it -
4:23 - 4:26because it prepared me for real life.
-
4:26 - 4:29As I mentioned,
especially after having gone to Oxford - -
4:29 - 4:32and I went to grad school as well
in New York, Columbia - -
4:32 - 4:34I really believed up until that point
-
4:34 - 4:36that hard work was the key
to being successful. -
4:36 - 4:38Now I realize
there's a lot more to the story. -
4:38 - 4:41I'm going to share with you
what I think is more to the story. -
4:41 - 4:45The first thing I believe is,
trust your struggle. -
4:45 - 4:48This is something I'd heard a lot,
"Trust your struggle." -
4:48 - 4:50And that means
no matter what the hardships -
4:50 - 4:53you're going through in life,
-
4:53 - 4:57have faith that it will all end up being
for the greater good. -
4:57 - 4:59I mentioned that four,
four and half years ago, -
4:59 - 5:01I was working as a receptionist,
-
5:01 - 5:04and I was in a production company
in California. -
5:04 - 5:07And I was a receptionist,
and I really wanted to sort of move up -
5:07 - 5:08within the company.
-
5:08 - 5:11And no matter how hard I worked,
I couldn't get promoted. -
5:11 - 5:15No matter how many times I stayed late
or came in on the weekends -
5:15 - 5:18hoping that my boss
would notice me and promote me, -
5:18 - 5:20it never happened.
-
5:20 - 5:23And in fact, for the position I wanted,
-
5:23 - 5:25they began looking
for external candidates. -
5:25 - 5:28I'm sure anyone who's been through that
knows how that can be. -
5:28 - 5:32And because I was the receptionist,
it was my job to serve water -
5:32 - 5:36to the people who were coming in
to interview for the job that I wanted. -
5:36 - 5:38(Laughter)
I know. It wasn't easy. -
5:38 - 5:42So, I didn't really necessarily
feel good about myself because of that. -
5:42 - 5:44I did some soul-searching
and I asked myself, -
5:44 - 5:46"What do you really want to do in life?
-
5:46 - 5:49Clearly this is probably not meant
for you. What do you want to do?" -
5:49 - 5:52I'd always been passionate
about broadcast jornalism. -
5:52 - 5:55So, I called
a television station in New York, -
5:55 - 5:56a local news station,
-
5:56 - 6:01and I asked them, "What do I need to do
to get a job with you guys?" -
6:01 - 6:04So, unfortunately,
I didn't have any experience. -
6:04 - 6:07They needed about two or three years
previous experience as a reporter, -
6:07 - 6:09and the only experience I really had
-
6:09 - 6:12was answering phones and sending faxes.
-
6:12 - 6:13That's all I really knew how to do.
-
6:13 - 6:15And so, they said no repeatedly to me.
-
6:15 - 6:18And, on top of that,
I had a British accent, -
6:18 - 6:21and in America, if you want
to get into the local news business, -
6:21 - 6:24it's very difficult
if you have a foreign accent. -
6:24 - 6:26It's a lot easier in national news,
-
6:26 - 6:29but certainly in local news
it's a lot harder. -
6:30 - 6:31So, they said no,
-
6:31 - 6:34and I decided I wasn't
going to take no for an answer. -
6:34 - 6:37So, I basically called in sick to work,
-
6:37 - 6:43and I paid my roommate, my housemate,
a few hundred dollars, whatever, -
6:43 - 6:48and they helped film me
around Los Angeles, -
6:48 - 6:52sort of acting like a reporter.
I studied reporters inside out. -
6:52 - 6:54I studied everything
that they did, inside out, -
6:54 - 6:57and I put together various packages,
-
6:57 - 7:00which were sort of voiced-over pieces
that I learned -
7:00 - 7:02basically from studying
various reporters. -
7:02 - 7:06And I sent them to this news station,
hoping that they would give me a chance. -
7:06 - 7:08Unfortunately,
a lot of these news stations -
7:08 - 7:11receive thousands of applications,
thousands of tapes. -
7:11 - 7:14So, it took them several months
to get back to me. -
7:14 - 7:17And during that time,
the recession kicked in and I lost my job. -
7:17 - 7:20So, there I was, no money, no job.
-
7:20 - 7:23So, I decided anyway
that I was going to move to New York -
7:23 - 7:27and just hope that this one station
would get back to me. -
7:27 - 7:30So eventually, after emailing
and pestering constantly, -
7:30 - 7:32they eventually got back to me.
-
7:32 - 7:33They brought me in for an interview,
-
7:33 - 7:36and they were so impressed
that, even though I had no experience, -
7:36 - 7:40that I had put together this tape
by myself, showing what I could do, -
7:40 - 7:43that they hired me on the spot.
-
7:43 - 7:44(Applause)
So, thank you. -
7:44 - 7:48So, that's why I say,
"Trust your struggle." -
7:48 - 7:52The second thing I believe -
and this sort of comes out of left field - -
7:52 - 7:55is I honestly do not believe
in competition. -
7:55 - 7:58The corporate world will tell you
that, if you want to get ahead in life, -
7:58 - 8:02you need to be competitive,
you need to have that drive to succeed -
8:02 - 8:04and compete with one another.
-
8:04 - 8:07But I don't believe
in competing for what I want. -
8:07 - 8:10I believe in creating what I want.
-
8:10 - 8:14Abraham Lincoln once said
that the best way to predict the future -
8:14 - 8:15is to create it.
-
8:15 - 8:17In order for me to be successful,
-
8:17 - 8:20I don't believe that I need to take
anything away from anyone else. -
8:20 - 8:23Now, of course, you know,
there are some advantages -
8:23 - 8:27to looking at your peers
for inspiration, definitely. -
8:27 - 8:29But I think that having
a competitive spirit, -
8:29 - 8:31having that need for one-upmanship
-
8:31 - 8:34and comparing yourself
to other people again and again -
8:34 - 8:36can actually bring out fears
and insecurities -
8:36 - 8:38that end up holding you back.
-
8:38 - 8:43So, when I was interviewing
for another position in CNN, -
8:43 - 8:45the anchor job,
-
8:45 - 8:50I was sort of sat next to a girl who I was
competing for the same job with, -
8:50 - 8:53and rather than sort of not wish her well,
-
8:53 - 8:56I sat with her for hours,
and I helped her, -
8:56 - 8:58I showed her what she could improve upon,
-
8:58 - 9:01so she had just as good of a chance
of getting the job as I did. -
9:01 - 9:04I went in for the screen test first,
I came out, -
9:04 - 9:08and I told her everything they asked me
and how she should prepare. -
9:08 - 9:11So, I don't believe in competition.
I believe in creating what I want. -
9:11 - 9:15I don't believe in competing
for what's already been created. -
9:15 - 9:18The third thing
I honestly believe is to give, -
9:18 - 9:22because it has become
abundantly clear to me in life -
9:22 - 9:26that the more you give,
the more you receive. -
9:26 - 9:29I learned this lesson
from a woman named Kat Cole, -
9:29 - 9:31who I interviewed for a story for CNN.
-
9:31 - 9:34She's a corporate CEO,
-
9:34 - 9:37and she started her career
as a waitress at Hooters. -
9:37 - 9:38Now, I don't know -
-
9:38 - 9:42(Laughter) You guys laugh, but I'm
not sure if people know what Hooters - -
9:42 - 9:44I don't know
if you have Hooters in England, -
9:44 - 9:46but it's a restaurant chain in America,
-
9:46 - 9:48where the waitresses
are very scantily clad. -
9:48 - 9:50That's how she started off.
-
9:50 - 9:52And I was curious about the transition
-
9:52 - 9:56from going from that kind of environment -
especially because she grew up poor, -
9:56 - 9:59and her mother saved
ten dollars a week for food - -
9:59 - 10:01to now being a CEO.
-
10:01 - 10:05And especially financially I wanted
to know what that was like for her. -
10:05 - 10:08She said she didn't really know
what that felt like to have money, -
10:08 - 10:10even though she was being well paid,
-
10:10 - 10:13because she still gives
most of her money away, till this day, -
10:13 - 10:17because it was clear to her that the more
you give in life, the more you receive. -
10:17 - 10:19So, this had a pretty deep impact on me,
-
10:19 - 10:21because I've interviewed
a lot of CEOs for CNN, -
10:21 - 10:24and I've interviewed
a lot of founders for tech start-ups, -
10:24 - 10:28some of whom have made millions,
if not hundreds of millions of dollars. -
10:28 - 10:29Usually, what they say is,
-
10:29 - 10:32"If you want to be successful,
you need to network, have a brand, -
10:32 - 10:34study your competition."
-
10:34 - 10:36And she had
some practical advice as well, -
10:36 - 10:38but suddenly, the moral of her story
-
10:38 - 10:40was that the more you give,
the more you receive. -
10:40 - 10:43And I can tell you
that I've tried it, I've tested it -
10:43 - 10:47and I don't necessarily believe
in giving just to receive, -
10:47 - 10:52but she is right: the more you give,
the more you receive. -
10:52 - 10:53And the last thing I'm going to say
-
10:53 - 10:56is loosely related to hard work.
-
10:56 - 10:59And when I first heard this phrase,
I thought it was such a cliché, -
10:59 - 11:01I'd heard it so many times growing up,
-
11:01 - 11:05and that is, "Success comes
when opportunity meets preparation." -
11:05 - 11:08I'd heard that so many times,
I thought it was a cliché, -
11:08 - 11:10and never really paid attention to it.
-
11:10 - 11:14Only now do I realize how true
that really is. I'll give you an example. -
11:14 - 11:17So, when I was in local news in New York,
-
11:17 - 11:20I really wanted to work my way up
to get international news. -
11:20 - 11:23I'd always wanted to work for CNN
since I was a teenager. -
11:23 - 11:27And I realized, after studying
different reporters and how they made it, -
11:27 - 11:30I realized that it was crucial
for me to have a specialty, -
11:30 - 11:31some sort of expertise,
-
11:31 - 11:36something that I could do
better than others, I guess. -
11:36 - 11:39And so, that could be anything,
from being a sports reporter, -
11:39 - 11:42to being a political reporter,
or a business reporter. -
11:42 - 11:45And I was very passionate
about business news. -
11:45 - 11:47So, while I was working in local news,
-
11:47 - 11:51I decided to study
and teach myself business news, -
11:51 - 11:54not necessarily because there was
an opportunity coming my way, -
11:54 - 11:57or there was an interview
that was preparing for, -
11:57 - 12:00but because I trusted that, one day,
an opportunity would come -
12:00 - 12:02and I needed to be ready.
-
12:02 - 12:04So, every weekend, I went to the library:
-
12:04 - 12:06one weekend, I'd study stocks;
-
12:06 - 12:09the next weekend, I'd study bonds;
the next weekend, derivatives; -
12:09 - 12:12the next weekend,
merges and acquisitions, teaching myself. -
12:12 - 12:16And in fact, the librarians
on 33rd with Madison, in New York, -
12:16 - 12:18got to know me very well,
because often times, -
12:18 - 12:21I'd be the last person to leave.
-
12:21 - 12:23So, after doing that for a few years,
-
12:23 - 12:27eventually, by pure chance,
I happened to meet an executive at CNN, -
12:27 - 12:30and I asked him
which department he worked in. -
12:30 - 12:34He said he ran the business news unit
and he was looking for a reporter. -
12:34 - 12:37So, when I met him,
he gave me about two weeks -
12:37 - 12:43to come in for a screen test and also
for a financial news test as well. -
12:43 - 12:45So, in his mind, he felt guilty
-
12:45 - 12:47because he only had given me
two weeks to prepare, -
12:47 - 12:53but in my mind, I knew in my heart
I had been preparing for years. -
12:53 - 12:57So, this is a lesson as well
that I had learned from my older brother. -
12:57 - 12:59Some of you have already
approached me about him, -
12:59 - 13:01but my older brother is an actor,
-
13:01 - 13:04and he stared in a movie
that came out this time last year, -
13:04 - 13:06called "Twelve Years a Slave."
-
13:06 - 13:08He was nominated
for an Oscar for best actor, -
13:08 - 13:10and I'd learned this lesson from him.
-
13:10 - 13:12He is a master preparer.
-
13:12 - 13:16When he was thirteen years old,
he would lock himself in his room -
13:16 - 13:18and write Shakespeare on the walls,
-
13:18 - 13:22and he would study
and memorize various plays, -
13:22 - 13:26from "Measure for Measure,"
"Twelfth Night," "Richard III," -
13:26 - 13:29not because he had an audition coming up,
-
13:29 - 13:33but just in case, in a few years,
an audition came his way, -
13:33 - 13:34he wanted to be ready.
-
13:34 - 13:37It didn't matter
how many times he had to do it; -
13:37 - 13:42he did it again, and again, and again,
until he got it right. -
13:42 - 13:46Most people wait until they get the call
for a job interview, -
13:46 - 13:48before they begin to prepare;
-
13:48 - 13:51or they wait until they get
the call for an audition, -
13:51 - 13:53before they begin to rehearse.
-
13:53 - 13:57But my brother taught me to prepare
well before you get that call. -
13:57 - 14:02So, to sum up, I truly believe
in trusting your struggle, -
14:02 - 14:05knowing that the hardships you go through
-
14:05 - 14:08will somehow end up being
for your own benefit. -
14:08 - 14:13I also believe in turning
a blind eye to competition, -
14:13 - 14:18I believe in giving,
and I believe in trusting and knowing -
14:18 - 14:20that your opportunity will, one day, come.
-
14:20 - 14:22You just have to be ready.
-
14:22 - 14:23Thank you.
-
14:23 - 14:25(Applause)
- Title:
- Trust your struggle | Zain Asher | TEDxEuston
- Description:
-
This talk was given at a local TEDx event, produced independently of the TED Conferences.
Zain Asher was born and raised in London. She graduated from Oxford University. Asher is a national business and personal finance correspondent for CNN, where she appears across platforms covering the latest news on money and the economy. In this inspiring talk, she explains why she believes that, the more you give in life, the more you receive, and why she believes in creating what you want, instead of competing for what you want with others.
- Video Language:
- English
- Team:
- closed TED
- Project:
- TEDxTalks
- Duration:
- 14:39
Leonardo Silva approved English subtitles for Trust your struggle | Zain Asher | TEDxEuston | ||
Leonardo Silva edited English subtitles for Trust your struggle | Zain Asher | TEDxEuston | ||
Leonardo Silva edited English subtitles for Trust your struggle | Zain Asher | TEDxEuston | ||
Leonardo Silva edited English subtitles for Trust your struggle | Zain Asher | TEDxEuston | ||
Reiko Bovee accepted English subtitles for Trust your struggle | Zain Asher | TEDxEuston | ||
Reiko Bovee edited English subtitles for Trust your struggle | Zain Asher | TEDxEuston | ||
Reiko Bovee edited English subtitles for Trust your struggle | Zain Asher | TEDxEuston | ||
Reiko Bovee edited English subtitles for Trust your struggle | Zain Asher | TEDxEuston |