Persistence of vision | Chada El-Islam Benmahcene | TEDxAudinSquareWomen

Chada Spoke about persistence in vision and how setting a vision is important before engaging in any path toward success.

Implicated on so many levels, Chada is an outstanding active learner. As a student she was the top of her junior class at the American University in Cairo (AUC) before she was granted the opportunity to study at the University of Colorado Boulder where she published a research paper in addition to being particularly involved. With a strong belief that personal growth will never be meaningful, unless it leads to a durable local impact; Chada served in several local initiatives to fulfill this vision. Not mention her volunteerism in humanitarian convoys to Gaza, India, and Lebanon’s Syrian refugee camps.

This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at http://ted.com/tedx

Good morning everyone.

First of all, I would like to thank you
all for being here with us today,

celebrating Algerian women,

celebrating the Algerian youth,

celebrating the Algerian
society as a whole.

Which actually women are still a very
effective part and partial of it.

Well, today my talk is

It could be actually universal.

It's for everyone in this planet,

and but I will actually make it
specific to the Algerian youth,

and also more specific to
the Algerian women as well.

Well, you can actually like
still consider with that (Laughter).

or with me, no problem.

But let me ask this question.

First of all, this way,

Do I look cool?

(Laughter)

Okay.

Now , actually we are at the end of
the period of exams and all of that.

Let's ask the question

of who had the opportunity
to watch a movie last week?

Okay, okay.

So, who was luckier and had
the opportunity to go to the cinema

to watch a movie?

Oh my god! Seems like you have
some workaholic people in here.

No one watches movies (Laughter).

Okay, so seeing as actually some
people are not really into movies,

today we are going to talk about something
which is really important,

and it's actually this concept originated
from movies and cinemas and all of that.

It's called the persistence of vision.

Persistence of vision will
go to take you today

and project it on actually
the level of life,

not only in the cinemas and the seat
of cinemas and seat of movies,

but actually let's see how
persistence of vision

can actually take us to a whole new level.

So, since this concept comes from
the cinema and the movie,

let's see what is it at the first place?

So, people say, or let's say
experts actually,

experts defined to be the after image

that our eyes keep after
just seeing one frame,

and then the having that this fact that
actually you will have an afterimage,

it will afterimage another
afterimage, another afterimage,

and this is going to be perceived
as the motion

or what we have at the end
of the day, movies.

So, we know that actually our eyes

keeps this afterimage for
one over sixteen second,

However, in fact, if you come
to actual reality,

our brains are more capable of actually
keeping a vision for a whole life,

and not only for one over 16 second,

but for whole life.

How is that you may be wondering?

Well, coming from "Ouargla",

where actually, we have a lot
of these palms and all of that,

my father used to take us
every single weekend to our oasis

and we used to help him actually
around with crop and all of that,

and collecting the dates and all of that,

I should have brought some of
Deglet Nour, I know (Laughter).

And one day, I remember I was like
12 years old or something,

and I told my dad,

"Dad, I don't want to just like
collect the dates,

you know the ones actually on the ground.

I want to get up there and get
the dates from the palm date".

And he was like:
"Okay, why not? Let's go".

I owe him a lot for this, he didn't say,
"You are a woman, you can't do that."

He said : "Okay, Chada just like you did
your bicycle the very first time,

you remember how actually
like you ran your bicycle?

Put one feet here, put the other there,
and keep your head up,

Just see the date palm you want to get,

and don't look anywhere else.

You may see around if there is
a thorn or something,

if there is actually thorn that
you want to keep away,

but keep your vision fixed
on that date, over there.

I did so, and yes in half a day I learned
how actually to get the dates,

not just from the ground, but from
the date palm over there.

How is that ?

By actually having my vision
fixed in there.

Well, this actually one example,

and we all know Jim Carrey,
who is the very famous actor

or maybe since you don't want
to watch movies,

I don't know if you know him
or not (Laughter).

Do you?

So, we know that actually the famous
Jim Carrey, one day,

and before he became actually
this famous actor,

One day what did he do?

He just wrote a check to himslef,
dated it five days later,

five years later, sorry.

and then, he wrote the amount of money
he wants to have five years from now,

What happened at the end?

Five years later,
he surpassed that amount.

You see how actually it's really
fundamental and imperative

to have something at the end of your road,

something that shows you
what path to take.

Something that actually can tell you:
"Yes, you are going the right way,

or no, you are not going".

So, we may persist in our vision,

we may have the vision clear
and all of that,

But how do we really achieve it?

that's way I cal it, the cat way,

Anyone here likes cats?

(Laughter)

Oh my god, you are not fans
for anything? Come on guys.

So the CAT way is something, just
three letters as you see "CAT".

"C" the first is celebrating
your achievements.

You remember how my father told me.

"Chada just the same way
you did your bicycle,

you can do this is well".

So, the first step and to actually
getting that vision really fulfilled,

is to celebrate your achievements,

at another actually you did great,

and you just like the same way you did
that before, you can do it again as well,

This is "C".

"A" is acknowledging your weaknesses.

Acknowledging your weaknesses
because that's the only way

that's actually you can make sure,
you're overcoming them,

and you're aware and conscious
of what you did before,

and you can do it later on.

Again, when we actually were actually
trying to have the thorns before, away,

when he told me just like, you know,

"Sometimes you may look behind,
if there's a thorn in the way,

that was a part of acknowledging
the weaknesses".

And the last part is "T", which is
taking a step forward.

The most important thing in your vision.

If you have your vision fixed
at the end of the road,

yet you are staying here, where I am,

just like Nassim said : "Stay in
this red carpet".

and you aren't doing anything,

will we achieve actually something?

Never, we won't.

Unless you take a step forward,
that vision will not be fulfilled.

And then taking step forward,
it might smell something.

Thank you, whoever brought that.

Actually, this remembers me of something,
which is taking a step forward.

just few days ago, when I was in Cairo,

I have met Omar Samra,

I don't know if some of you who
are familiar with him or not.

But he is one of the very few Arab
and Egyptians

who actually were able to climb
the summit, Everest.

And believe it or not, he was asthmatic,

Oh yes, he is asthmatic when
he was 16 years old,

He dreamed that he want to get
into Everest summit

and he made it a challenge for himself

He trained and trained and trained hard,

Until actually, he started
with just like hiking,

He started with the very low mountains,

and then after all he is now coming back
from actually North Pole and South Pole,

after finishing the long journey
of Everest summit,

and that's a person who had an asthma.

Again , actually taking an action,

and celebrating achievements,

and acknowledging our weaknesses,
while on the middle of the road,

Persisting in our vision this remind us,

that a vision after a vision,
after a vision,

will give us the motion of our life.

Just like the same way we have it
in the movies and videos,

while experts in movies
tell us that actually

the persistence of vision is a theory
to apply with movies,

we tell them that we can
apply it in life as well,

We can apply it in life the way that
actually we have a vision after vision.

We achieve it and we actually
have that motion going on,

Yes, we can achieve it.

Last thing I remember also
and actually have it related to this,

is when I was in the third year
of my high school.

While having the baccalaureate
exam at the end -

by the way we wish all the luck to all
our baccalaureate candidates -

I worked really hard, really really hard,

and then, I had actually just wanted
to get that score of 18,

no matter what, and I was actually
waking up early and all of that,

and even I used to dream with it,

I used to dream that actually,
I'm taking that score of 18.

At the end of the day, I didn't get 18.

So what? Do we just actually say that
yes we're persistent within anything?

Yet actually we didn't reach what
we want and then we go back?

No, it's not the end.

That's why from the very beginning,
I said the persistence of vision

are not the persistence of goals,
because goals may be flexible.

We can actually get from a goal
to another, but the vision is set.

I had the vision of being a person who is
actually impactful in the local society

and has an impact and I think
that actually I'm there,

with that goal or with another.

But at the end of the day, all what we
want to say is the vision is there

and the vision is all what clear
clarifies the path to you.

Set your vision right.

Set your vision right and persist on it,

Not only one over sixteenth of a second,
but for an entire life.

Just like our Excellency,
our ambassador said.

She said, "Be the champion".

I will say "Set your vision and be
the champion woman".

(Applause).