About eight months ago, at the beach,
a close friend of mine picked up a Rubik's cube
and began solving in front of me.
It looked pretty easy, the way he was handling it.
So I grabbed it and gave it a shot.
One hour later, I was frustrated and lowered -
my confidence just ... gone.
I wasn't able to solve one side, not one.
About a week after,
a family friend bought me a Rubik's cube as a gift.
Now, with the cube, I could try and solve it,
without anybody there to judge me,
without me feeling stupid or foolish.
And so began a daily challenge to learn how to solve the cube.
Within the first 24 hours, I became obsessed with the cube.
I took it with me everywhere I went:
on the school bus,
at the dinner table,
in bed at night,
and yes, even in class,
where it did get confiscated more than once.
(Laughter)
I threw myself at the cube.
I went on dozens of instructional YouTube videos,
and very quickly, I discovered many key algorithms that could help me.
So first, in order to solve the cube,
first you must solve a cross on any side.
Then fill in the four corners, giving you your first side.
And then solving the first two layers of the cube,
and finally solving the last side, known as PLL,
and orient the last layer.
And with all this practice,
soon I was able to solve one side, then two,
and with all this practice, I was able to solve ...
the whole thing.
(Cheers)
(Applause)
I'd realized solving the cube once or twice
wasn't the main part of the cube addiction.
And, in fact, pushing the challenge further,
learning how to solve the cube with my eyes closed
or attempting to beat my speed record.
And by the time I'd cracked the cube,
I was already interested in other cubes out there,
like the two-by-two, and the three-by-three,
four-by-four, and the five-by-five,
and the pyramid and countless others.
Honestly, the world of cubing is extraordinary.
During this long cubing experience, actually I learned something pretty great.
Tackling the Rubik's challenge one step at a time,
memorizing algorithm sequences and techniques made me realize
us humans are capable of doing anything that we put our minds to.
That may seem impossible, may seem beyond our capacity.
I know.
Now, don't roll your eyes at this neat little cliché,
because there really have been practical results from this, for me.
For instance, before the cubing world entered my life,
when I lost an item, I'd never bother or take my time to search for it,
and I'd just buy a new one.
But now I think of different ways and strategies to search,
and I'll search and search until I find it.
Just another challenge to be cracked.
When I hear about something that catches my eye,
a problem that needs solving,
something I've never heard of,
I immediately go on the Web,
search it up, and try to uncover every single aspect.
For example, do any of you know what sleep paralysis is?
Ask me; I know all about it.
Or how storms are caused,
or about astral projection,
or lucid dreaming, or the most bizarre things you could think of.
Basically, if it grabs my attention,
I'll learn about it until I am fully satisfied.
In short, because of this cube, I've become a "finisher."
Now the reason why -
(Applause)
Now the reason why I think that is because the other day,
a teacher pointed out something really interesting:
Why are kids in other countries more competitive?
Are they naturally smarter?
No.
The secret is - it's in their habits.
Kids that live in Japan, China, India or Iran, where I'm from,
live in a culture of persistence.
That's right.
They persist at things.
They keep on trying and trying until they finally get it right.
However, many of us kids
still live in a generation of immediate gratification,
meaning we want things now.
If we can't have it, solve it, fix it, finish it, complete it
within a short period of time,
we just lose interest,
we just give up.
Because of this cube, this little colorful cube
has opened up a whole new way of thinking in my life
that's really helped me with my school, my work and my own interests.
But I am nowhere as perfect yet as, of course, I would like to be.
Except if I want to do something,
within time, with a lot of practice,
I'll master it, I'll just go for it.
It's all a matter of curiosity,
persistence,
one foot in front of the other,
and best of all, satisfaction.
Try it!
(Cheers)
(Applause)