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About eight months ago, at the beach,

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a close friend of mine
picked up a Rubik's cube

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and began solving in front of me.

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It looked pretty easy,
the way he was handling it.

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So I grabbed it and gave it a shot.

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One hour later, I was
frustrated and lowered -

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my confidence just ... gone.

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I wasn't able to solve one side, not one.

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About a week after,

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a family friend bought me
a Rubik's cube as a gift.

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Now, with the cube,
I could try and solve it,

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without anybody there to judge me,

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without me feeling stupid or foolish.

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And so began a daily challenge
to learn how to solve the cube.

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Within the first 24 hours,
I became obsessed with the cube.

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I took it with me everywhere I went:

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on the school bus,

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at the dinner table,

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in bed at night,

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and yes, even in class,

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where it did get confiscated
more than once.

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(Laughter)

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I threw myself at the cube.

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I went on dozens
of instructional YouTube videos,

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and very quickly, I discovered
many key algorithms that could help me.

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So first, in order to solve the cube,

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first you must solve a cross on any side.

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Then fill in the four corners,
giving you your first side.

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And then solving the first
two layers of the cube,

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and finally solving
the last side, known as PLL,

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and orient the last layer.

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And with all this practice,

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soon I was able to solve
one side, then two,

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and with all this practice,
I was able to solve ...

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the whole thing.

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(Cheers)

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(Applause)

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I'd realized solving
the cube once or twice

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wasn't the main part
of the cube addiction.

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And, in fact, pushing
the challenge further,

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learning how to solve the cube
with my eyes closed

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or attempting to beat my speed record.

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And by the time I'd cracked the cube,

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I was already interested
in other cubes out there,

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like the two-by-two,
and the three-by-three,

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four-by-four, and the five-by-five,

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and the pyramid and countless others.

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Honestly, the world of cubing
is extraordinary.

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During this long cubing experience,
actually I learned something pretty great.

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Tackling the Rubik's challenge
one step at a time,

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memorizing algorithm sequences
and techniques made me realize

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us humans are capable of doing
anything that we put our minds to.

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That may seem impossible,
may seem beyond our capacity.

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I know.

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Now, don't roll your eyes
at this neat little cliché,

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because there really have been
practical results from this, for me.

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For instance, before the cubing
world entered my life,

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when I lost an item, I'd never bother
or take my time to search for it,

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and I'd just buy a new one.

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But now I think of different ways
and strategies to search,

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and I'll search and search
until I find it.

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Just another challenge to be cracked.

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When I hear about something
that catches my eye,

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a problem that needs solving,

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something I've never heard of,

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I immediately go on the Web,

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search it up, and try to uncover
every single aspect.

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For example, do any of you know
what sleep paralysis is?

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Ask me; I know all about it.

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Or how storms are caused,

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or about astral projection,

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or lucid dreaming, or the most bizarre
things you could think of.

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Basically, if it grabs my attention,

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I'll learn about it
until I am fully satisfied.

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In short, because of this cube,
I've become a "finisher."

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Now the reason why -

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(Applause)

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Now the reason why I think that
is because the other day,

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a teacher pointed out
something really interesting:

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Why are kids in other countries
more competitive?

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Are they naturally smarter?

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No.

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The secret is - it's in their habits.

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Kids that live in Japan, China,
India or Iran, where I'm from,

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live in a culture of persistence.

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That's right.

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They persist at things.

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They keep on trying and trying
until they finally get it right.

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However, many of us kids

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still live in a generation
of immediate gratification,

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meaning we want things now.

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If we can't have it, solve it,
fix it, finish it, complete it

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within a short period of time,

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we just lose interest,

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we just give up.

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Because of this cube,
this little colorful cube

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has opened up a whole new way
of thinking in my life

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that's really helped me with my school,
my work and my own interests.

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But I am nowhere as perfect yet
as, of course, I would like to be.

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Except if I want to do something,

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within time, with a lot of practice,

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I'll master it, I'll just go for it.

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It's all a matter of curiosity,

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persistence,

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one foot in front of the other,

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and best of all, satisfaction.

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Try it!

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(Cheers)

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(Applause)