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At the age of 12

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I had to come face to face
with myself for the first time.

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It was the year I got into sports
and changed schools.

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I became a student
at the music school of my city

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and entered adolescence.

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My fellow students were talented kids,
who were into various activities.

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Some played music, others played soccer,

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and some others 
were just better than I was,

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or at least that was how I felt.

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I felt inferior in many areas
compared to other people my age,

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and compared to my idea
of what I was and what I could be.

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I was overweight,
shy and far from popular.

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I believed I deserved
a lot more than that,

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so I was looking for ways
to change my situation.

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My first move was to do a Google search,
like we all do these days,

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on how to become better, smarter,

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how to make a good impression socially,

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and I carried on doing similar searches.

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I started reading books and articles
on self-improvement every day.

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I believed that another great option,
in addition to articles on the internet,

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would be reading a book 
with condensed knowledge.

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So I went to a bookshop.

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I learned self-improvement
techniques and methods

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and tried to apply them.

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I studied body language,
tone of voice, speed of speech,

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and tried to control the style
of every conversation I had.

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So as you can understand,

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it was very difficult to do all that
starting from square one

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and studying all these things
at the same time,

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and it would be utopian to believe
that succeeding was that easy.

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So I came to realize

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that theory and practice were poles apart,

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so I started believing
that I would never achieve my goals

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and grew even more disappointed in myself.

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And then something happened

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that changed my whole theory about life,

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and about many things, at least
as I understood them, about myself.

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It was a simple suggestion
by a teacher at my school:

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to take part in a big
short film competition.

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We took part

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and ranked among the top teams,

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and then I realized
something very important.

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The day after our success,
I asked myself a few questions.

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What was it that made me feel happy,
and relieved after I made it?

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Why did I believe
that I couldn't pursue my dreams?

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Why was I afraid to lose
something I never had,

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and why should fear of failure
overshadow the fear of victory?

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What did I really want out of my life,
and what was my purpose?

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Every day, very strange things
happen around us.

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Millions of people are born
and die at every moment,

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and we have no idea that we coexist,

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or that we coexisted for a certain time.

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Billions of people have totally different
ideas, concepts, and beliefs than ours.

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And there are people
we consider rare and unique,

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and we are happy to have them around.

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But they, and the rest of us, 
we all have something in common.

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The space between birth
and death, which we call Life.

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As we all know,
Life isn't just play, right?

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Wrong!

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Life is play, laughter, crying,
conquering, risking, winning, losing.

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Life, then, is a great game
with many rules and many parameters.

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We know some of these rules at the outset,

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and we learn more parameters and rules
in the course of the game.

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A very important part in games

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is to define your own frame
and rules from the beginning,

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in order to reach your desired outcome.

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So you have a goal
you are trying to reach,

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and you can only do that
if you make the right moves.

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But which is the right path,
leading you to your goal?

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Perhaps there is no right path.

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There is only the path
you carve for yourself.

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And if the path you carve leads you
to your goal, you get your reward.

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Does this scenario sound familiar?

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Something similar happens in life as well.

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Games, you see,

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are inspired by life itself.

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Perhaps our lives should also
be influenced by games.

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Many times, we think

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that this is our last chance to succeed.

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We live on deadlines set by others,

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and that make us fear failure.

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We may make wrong moves,
or even no moves at all.

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Imagine now what our lives would be like
if it were influenced by games.

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For a start, we would not fear failure,

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because, as we all know,

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you always get a second chance in games.

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Even if your lives and your chances
are reduced in the game,

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you are able to replenish them,

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to make them, and the game, last longer.

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Why shouldn't we do the same in real life?

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Every time we fail at something,

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we increase the possibility
to succeed at our next attempt!

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If you think about it, it's fantastic!

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Another important element
we often see in games is time.

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You may have noticed that many games,
instead of becoming harder, become faster.

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This happens in real life as well.

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For example, here, now, I could be making
a better speech than this in my game,

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but TEDx specified
a set time frame for me to speak,

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and as a result my game 
became faster, not harder.

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So since we know that in the game
our time is finite,

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and the hourglass turns but once,

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we can set our own level of difficulty.

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Usually, we either think 
that it's already too hard for us

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or that we can't do it
in the allotted time.

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Think about it.

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We are confined by just one thing:

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thinking that there are
two different things.

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This confusion often leads to inactivity.

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The way to escape is to have
a clear objective in our game

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and, by extension, our life.

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Time is the only resource we have.

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When you turn over the hourglass,

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you immediately feel
the pressure for action.

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This is your key that helps you lock
the door of inactivity.

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And you have to lock it well,

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because it'll find many ways to escape

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in order to confuse you
and lead you astray.

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So if you manage to believe
and see life as a great game,

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then it's very likely
that you will locate your goal.

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You will realize that you are
the protagonist of this game,

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and you will search for the rules
that you have to follow

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and for all your potential enemies.

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And then you will discover a big void.

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There are no rules you must follow

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and usually no enemies
that want to defeat you.

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There is only you, your actions, and time.

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The things that do exist, are:
time, and your actions.

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Even time is a human construct

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that you will never understand,

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and when you understand that,

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you will realize
that you are fighting alone.

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So the onus is on you

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and on your actions.

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In decisions of secondary importance,

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it is useful to examine the pros and cons.

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In vital issues, though, decisions
must come from your heart.

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Success is inside you.

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So hear and feel your heart

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and let it show you
the right strategy for your game.

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Set your heart on a goal and chase it!

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If you succeed, you'll enjoy the result.

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If not, you will have enjoyed the journey.

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In any case, you will discover

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why it's worth taking risks,

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why it's worth conquering,
and why it's worth playing.

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Nietzsche said: "He who has a 'why' 
to live for, can bear almost any 'how.'"

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We are all called upon
to answer that "why."

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The day you find the answer

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will be the most important 
day of your life.

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Look for it deep inside without fear
and you will find it.

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I found it a few years ago
after a simple competition.

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Now it's your turn.

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Thank you.

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(Applause)