Impact now! | Linda Laatikainen | TEDxYouth@Kamppi
-
0:14 - 0:19Every single one of you
will have an impact on society. -
0:20 - 0:22The reason I've agreed
to speak to you today -
0:22 - 0:24is because I want to inspire you
-
0:24 - 0:29to make that impact as positive
and as meaningful as possible. -
0:30 - 0:35This might sound pretty abstract
or far away in the future for you, -
0:36 - 0:41but I hope that the story of how
I've had an impact at such a young age -
0:41 - 0:44will show you that
it's not rocket science, -
0:44 - 0:48you have no excuses,
and you can start now. -
0:50 - 0:54So, what kind of impact have I had?
-
0:55 - 0:59I finished my PhD in Psychiatry
at Oxford University at 23, -
1:00 - 1:04and by that point, I've already had
an impact on the pool of knowledge -
1:04 - 1:06in the field of neuroscience.
-
1:06 - 1:11I've also contributed to several
mental health programs, -
1:11 - 1:14and things related to substance abuse
-
1:14 - 1:17while I was working
at the World Health Organization. -
1:19 - 1:23I've also worked for several of
the world's largest public health programs -
1:23 - 1:26which have impacted
hundreds of millions of people, -
1:26 - 1:28and I've also volunteered
-
1:28 - 1:31to help disadvantaged children
and disadvantaged families. -
1:32 - 1:36More interesting than what
I've actually done is how I have done it. -
1:36 - 1:40And I will concentrate,
in particular, on high school time, -
1:40 - 1:43to make it as tangible
as possible for you. -
1:44 - 1:48So the first thing you need is direction.
-
1:50 - 1:52Just choose a direction.
-
1:52 - 1:57It can be a goal, it can be a dream
-
1:57 - 1:59or it can be a vague idea.
-
2:01 - 2:04My godmother told me I could become
an international researcher, -
2:04 - 2:07and I thought it was a good one,
so I took it as one of my ideas. -
2:09 - 2:13The second goal I had
was getting to win a Nobel Prize. -
2:14 - 2:16If you put your aim high enough,
-
2:16 - 2:19you're going to come up with
some cool things on the way. -
2:19 - 2:20It wasn't a real goal,
-
2:20 - 2:24it was just something to get me started
and move towards a good direction. -
2:26 - 2:29And the third thing I had
as a goal when I was your age -
2:31 - 2:35was actually going to a top university.
-
2:36 - 2:40And this might sound obvious to you,
but when I think about it in hindsight, -
2:40 - 2:42my motivation for it
wasn't entirely selfless, -
2:42 - 2:47I wanted to show the people who bullied me
at school that I can make it somewhere. -
2:47 - 2:51And so, what I've just told you,
is that you can choose any direction, -
2:51 - 2:55it doesn't have to be your own,
it doesn't have to be your real goal, -
2:55 - 2:58and it doesn't have to be
out of selfless motivation. -
2:58 - 3:02The perfect example of it
not having to be a selfless motivation -
3:02 - 3:06is Marc Burnett, the producer
of the MTV Music Awards. -
3:06 - 3:08He once gave a talk and said
-
3:08 - 3:13that he wanted to become
a producer because chicks like it. -
3:15 - 3:18And it doesn't matter, that's
absolutely fine as a motivation, -
3:18 - 3:21he's had a great impact on our world.
-
3:21 - 3:24The other thing is, also
when you choose that direction, -
3:24 - 3:26your starting point doesn't matter.
-
3:26 - 3:30A dear friend of mine found himself
in jail in the Ukrainian countryside -
3:30 - 3:33and he still decided at that point
-
3:33 - 3:35he's going to take
a more positive direction. -
3:35 - 3:37And he made it into
Harvard Business School, -
3:37 - 3:40and he's been doing similar work
like me around the world. -
3:43 - 3:49The second need is
say yes to opportunities. -
3:50 - 3:55I always say yes to any opportunity
along that direction I've chosen, -
3:55 - 3:57without overthinking it.
-
3:57 - 4:01So one of the goals I told you about
was going to a top university. -
4:01 - 4:02So what did I do?
-
4:02 - 4:06Without overthinking it, I've found
a list of top universities, -
4:06 - 4:09chose Cambridge and MIT on the list,
printed out the application papers -
4:09 - 4:11filled them out,
ticked every possible box, -
4:11 - 4:14including all the scholarships
that I had no clue about, -
4:14 - 4:18turned up at the interviews
and, for example, at Cambridge -
4:18 - 4:21I just went to the bar
and watched "Life of Brian" -
4:21 - 4:23and then I went to my exams
the next morning. -
4:23 - 4:26The others had actually
been studying the night before. -
4:26 - 4:29But I did get in,
I even got that scholarship. -
4:29 - 4:31So you didn't have to overthink it
-
4:31 - 4:35or prepare in a very serious manner
for that direction or having said yes. -
4:35 - 4:41Same with MIT, the night before
the SATs, the university examinations, -
4:42 - 4:46I actually sat with my friend Cathrine
and we were thinking: -
4:47 - 4:50"Yeah, so we've filled in
those applications, -
4:50 - 4:54but we haven't actually signed up
for the entrance exams," -
4:54 - 4:57so we've realised:
"OK, tomorrow's the entrance exam, -
4:57 - 4:59we'll have to go
and we'll sign up on the day." -
4:59 - 5:03That's what we did, and we realised
also it's maths and English exam, -
5:03 - 5:05neither of us was
a native English speaker, -
5:05 - 5:08so we went and got
the dictionary out that night, -
5:08 - 5:10- it was maybe 11 o'clock at night -
-
5:10 - 5:14and she opened the first page
and the first word: quinquagenarian. -
5:15 - 5:17Anybody know what that is?
-
5:17 - 5:19We were like, "Oh, dear Lord..."
-
5:19 - 5:23It's somebody who's between
the age of 50 and 59, inclusive. -
5:23 - 5:27We decided, "Fine, that's enough.
We're just going to go the cinema." -
5:27 - 5:29But, I did get into MIT.
-
5:31 - 5:34I'm not very proud of how
I got into these universities, -
5:34 - 5:37I actually got into
12 top universities in the end, -
5:37 - 5:39and I did it without overthinking it.
-
5:39 - 5:40What would it be to say:
-
5:40 - 5:43"No, I won't print out
those applications forms -
5:43 - 5:45and fill them out,"
and I'm very happy I did -
5:45 - 5:48because I didn't come up with the excuse:
-
5:48 - 5:51"Oh, I'm not good enough
for any of that;" my teachers did, though. -
5:51 - 5:54They told me:
"You're never going to get into MIT." -
5:54 - 5:58But I was like: "Well, what am I going
to lose from filling out this application? -
5:58 - 6:02How are you going to know
if you're good enough, if you don't try? -
6:02 - 6:04And it's often something
you've done way before, -
6:04 - 6:06that's going to help you
in that situation. -
6:06 - 6:08So maybe I didn't study for my SATs,
-
6:08 - 6:11maybe I didn't study for
my Cambridge entrance exam, -
6:11 - 6:15but I had earlier listened at school,
I have done my homework, -
6:15 - 6:17and I even had extracurricular activities.
-
6:17 - 6:20At school they offered Latin or maths.
-
6:20 - 6:23My parents said Latin is a dead language,
-
6:23 - 6:26so I was: "OK, I'll just go
to the math club then." -
6:26 - 6:31And I went every singe week
to the math club as the only student. -
6:32 - 6:35Nobody else went. It wasn't
a particularly cool thing to do. -
6:35 - 6:38But that probably helped me
later on in life. -
6:40 - 6:44So, third thing you need
is figuring out your character, -
6:45 - 6:47and what are your character's strengths.
-
6:47 - 6:49So you should do a test and find out,
-
6:50 - 6:52and use those wisely.
-
6:52 - 6:56One of my character strengths is bravery.
-
6:56 - 6:59So as I told you, if you have a direction,
-
6:59 - 7:03you say yes to any opportunity
that is along that way. -
7:04 - 7:08I also say yes to that direction
and any opportunity along that way -
7:08 - 7:09because I'm brave.
-
7:09 - 7:11So, for example, politics
is not one of those things -
7:11 - 7:13I've been planning to do,
-
7:13 - 7:15but when I was 15 years old
-
7:15 - 7:18I saw a newspaper article
about an EU politics event, -
7:19 - 7:20and I signed up.
-
7:21 - 7:25And I turned up and little did I know
the event was for only about 50 people, -
7:25 - 7:29and all of them were
top politicians in Frankfurt. -
7:29 - 7:30So I was in the lift,
-
7:30 - 7:34chit-chatting to the mayor
of Frankfurt, Petra Roth, at the time. -
7:35 - 7:37And it all went fine,
-
7:37 - 7:40and when they asked me
who was I representing, I said, -
7:40 - 7:44International Institute in Oberursel,
read the Frankfurt International School. -
7:45 - 7:46But it all went fine.
-
7:46 - 7:50If I had wanted to become a politician,
maybe that was the one opportunity -
7:50 - 7:52that would have changed
my direction in life. -
7:54 - 7:56So, on top of direction,
-
7:57 - 8:01chance and character,
you also need investment. -
8:03 - 8:06What comes to mind
when I say investment? -
8:07 - 8:08Maybe angel investors?
-
8:08 - 8:10Maybe the stock market?
-
8:12 - 8:15You certainly don't think of somebody
sitting in a dusty library -
8:15 - 8:18reading books in the middle of the night.
-
8:19 - 8:22I have read books,
but I really don't like it. -
8:22 - 8:24And it's not what got me
through high school, -
8:24 - 8:26it's not what got me through university,
-
8:26 - 8:29it's not what got me
through my job interviews, -
8:29 - 8:32and it's certainly not what
has got me through life so far. -
8:33 - 8:38What my investments
have been is that one, I listened. -
8:38 - 8:40At university I only ever
missed two lectures, -
8:41 - 8:43and those were also
for a very good reason. -
8:43 - 8:45So I always went and listened.
-
8:45 - 8:50Number two, I drew.
All my lectures notes are pretty pictures. -
8:50 - 8:53And my revision notes are very,
very pretty and memorable pictures, -
8:53 - 8:57I can even remember now
and helped me get through my life. -
8:58 - 9:02Number three, I slept.
Mostly 8.5 hours, every night. -
9:04 - 9:06And number four, I said yes.
-
9:07 - 9:10And that is an investment,
you have no idea how hard it is -
9:10 - 9:14to say yes to every party
and every dinner party, and every concert, -
9:14 - 9:17and every meeting there is,
if you can possibly make it. -
9:17 - 9:21But, if you say yes to all of those,
you might say yes to ten events -
9:21 - 9:24and one of those is the one
where you will realise: -
9:24 - 9:26"Yes, this is actually
where I want to go," -
9:26 - 9:28and you can shift
your direction in that case. -
9:30 - 9:32Last and least.
-
9:33 - 9:36Least, you need talent.
-
9:39 - 9:42The one thing
I'm really not talented at is sport. -
9:42 - 9:46I remember sitting underneath
a tree when I was about six years old -
9:46 - 9:48and feeling really embarrassed
about myself. -
9:48 - 9:53I was a chubby girl
and I was so bad at sport, but I thought: -
9:54 - 9:58"If I ever become a sportsman,
I'm going to give a speech and tell people -
9:58 - 10:01that even if you're a chubby kid
at six, you can make it. -
10:02 - 10:04I'm not a sportsman,
sorry to disappoint you. -
10:04 - 10:08But, I did decide that I want the top mark
-
10:11 - 10:13at my upper secondary school diploma,
-
10:13 - 10:16is what I think
you call it here in Finland. -
10:16 - 10:19And I did get that mark, it was
the toughest mark to get though. -
10:19 - 10:22I had to swim a heck of a lot
to get to that top mark. -
10:22 - 10:26It was much more difficult
than any of my other grades that I got. -
10:27 - 10:30I've also got
the Varsity Cross Country Running prize. -
10:31 - 10:33And I even got a silver medal
-
10:33 - 10:36in the national running championships
this year. -
10:36 - 10:39So even though I don't have talent,
you can get pretty far. -
10:41 - 10:43I always liked to be honest, though.
-
10:43 - 10:47And, there is about 1% of things
that even I can't do. -
10:48 - 10:51And there's going to be
1% of things that even you can't do. -
10:51 - 10:54And you have to accept that,
and that's where you need the talent, -
10:54 - 10:58and appreciation of your talent
for that one last percent. -
11:00 - 11:03Don't be daunted by the fact that
I've told you to choose the direction now, -
11:03 - 11:07it doesn't have to be
your ultimate direction -
11:07 - 11:09because you can't choose that now.
-
11:09 - 11:12The last ingredient
that you need for deciding -
11:12 - 11:15where you are going to go
when having that impact, -
11:15 - 11:17are your own values and they change.
-
11:18 - 11:22These were the values
that I had about ten years ago. -
11:24 - 11:28It was adventure, it was excellence,
and it was achievement. -
11:31 - 11:33I got the adventure that I wanted.
-
11:33 - 11:37In DR Congo I just escaped
the ebola outbreak -
11:37 - 11:40by going through the border
five minutes just before it closed, -
11:40 - 11:44I got onto a speedboat, wearing
my Bond-girl, see-through outfit, -
11:44 - 11:48- I've lost my luggage and I was
wearing a local trend outfit, -
11:49 - 11:51which was see-through -
-
11:51 - 11:53only to get to the other side,
-
11:53 - 11:55get to Nigeria, and realise,
-
11:55 - 11:58there was a bomb threat
and an arm attack ahead of me. -
11:59 - 12:04It was thrilling, I must admit,
but I was there mainly to save the world. -
12:07 - 12:09I'm still saving the world,
-
12:10 - 12:13now I'm doing it
through a gene risk project -
12:13 - 12:17which starts next year and aims
to use genetic information -
12:17 - 12:21to improve our health
and wealthfare here in Finland. -
12:23 - 12:27But I'm also trying to save myself,
and do good things to myself. -
12:30 - 12:33This started all about a year ago,
when I was at the training programme, -
12:33 - 12:36and I was given a stack of cards,
very similar to these ones. -
12:37 - 12:40And I had to choose my top three values,
-
12:41 - 12:44and the ones I chose were these:
-
12:44 - 12:48happiness, kindness, and health.
-
12:50 - 12:52I compared them to the guy next to me,
-
12:52 - 12:56and he had power, and money,
and all those kinds of things, -
12:56 - 12:58and I had happiness, kindness, and health.
-
12:58 - 13:00And I compared them to what I was doing,
-
13:00 - 13:03and realised, I'm going
to change my life now. -
13:03 - 13:04And that's what I did.
-
13:06 - 13:08Because I believe
that society doesn't work -
13:08 - 13:12unless each and everyone
of us are feeling happy, -
13:12 - 13:15healthy, and we're kind to each other.
-
13:16 - 13:20Ten years from now,
my values might look like this. -
13:21 - 13:24And hopefully, by then I'll learn
to balance even better -
13:24 - 13:30my impact on society, my impact on me,
and my impact on my friends and family. -
13:32 - 13:37Oy, you! I know
you haven't been listening so far, -
13:37 - 13:40but it really is worth it now,
last minute to go. -
13:40 - 13:43I've got a top secret recipe for you.
-
13:43 - 13:46It's my recipe
of how you can have an impact. -
13:46 - 13:49Number one, keep moving.
-
13:49 - 13:53Number two, leverage
your character strengths. -
13:53 - 13:57Number three, say yes to opportunities.
-
13:58 - 14:01Number four, invest wisely.
-
14:02 - 14:06And number five, do not let
lack of talent be an excuse -
14:07 - 14:11unless it's that 1% of things
that you literally just cannot do. -
14:14 - 14:19Now I've given you my top secret recipe,
you have no more excuses, -
14:19 - 14:23you know it's not rocket
science, so start now! -
14:25 - 14:27(Applause)
- Title:
- Impact now! | Linda Laatikainen | TEDxYouth@Kamppi
- Description:
-
This talk was given at a local TEDx event, produced independently of the TED conferences.
Linda Laatikainen, in this talk, gives some serious advice on how we all can have an impact on the world around us. It all comes down to how you manage your own life and career in a simple five-step plan! - Video Language:
- English
- Team:
- closed TED
- Project:
- TEDxTalks
- Duration:
- 14:34
Denise RQ edited English subtitles for Impact now! | Linda Laatikainen | TEDxYouth@Kamppi | ||
Denise RQ commented on English subtitles for Impact now! | Linda Laatikainen | TEDxYouth@Kamppi | ||
Denise RQ approved English subtitles for Impact now! | Linda Laatikainen | TEDxYouth@Kamppi | ||
Denise RQ accepted English subtitles for Impact now! | Linda Laatikainen | TEDxYouth@Kamppi | ||
Denise RQ edited English subtitles for Impact now! | Linda Laatikainen | TEDxYouth@Kamppi | ||
Denise RQ edited English subtitles for Impact now! | Linda Laatikainen | TEDxYouth@Kamppi | ||
Denise RQ edited English subtitles for Impact now! | Linda Laatikainen | TEDxYouth@Kamppi | ||
Denise RQ edited English subtitles for Impact now! | Linda Laatikainen | TEDxYouth@Kamppi |
Denise RQ
Credits for the transcript belong to Katarzyna http://www.amara.org/en/profiles/profile/244817/