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Have you experienced failure lately?

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No one likes to fail at anything.

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Maybe because I have been[br]pushing the envelope

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for the past 12 years as a sprinter,

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I love to challenge myself[br]with something new and difficult.

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I love the exciting and exhilarating[br]feelings that I get from such experiences,

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and I do love knowing[br]that I am doing my best.

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That is why I have been making[br]many mistakes in that process.

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For instance,

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when I heard that there[br]was a unicorn in Laos,

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I traveled to Laos by myself.

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Not only could I not find a unicorn,

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I got hosed by the guy[br]running the hotel.

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On top of that,

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while exploring a new territory[br]trying to expand my running course,

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I got lost and injured my knee.

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"Why has it turned out like this?"[br]is what I oftentimes wonder.

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Well, I would like to talk about

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how I have been[br]overcoming such mistakes.

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I am sure that how I handle my mistakes[br]is the key to overcoming them.

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That key is:

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Whenever I make a mistake,

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I praise myself.

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When you make a mistake or fail

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is precisely the time[br]for praising yourself.

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There was one incident[br]that made me realize this.

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When I was an exchange student[br]in Bangkok, Thailand, two years ago,

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I was full of ambition and energy,[br]to be globally successful in the future.

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However, what I found there[br]was that I was the only Asian student,

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and all other classmates were speaking[br]fluent English at a rapid pace

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just like native English speakers.

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In that kind of situation,[br]I was too afraid of making mistakes

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in speaking English[br]to talk with my classmates.

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Even if I talked to them,

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I blamed myself for my small pronunciation[br]or grammatical errors each time I spoke.

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That made me self-conscious[br]and even more taciturn;

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I couldn't get out of the vicious cycle.

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One day,

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when I was listening to my classmates

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talking about the party[br]to be held on that night,

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I noticed one thing[br]in their lively conversation.

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I thought that they had been speaking[br]perfect English before,

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but they were actually making[br]a lot of grammatical errors.

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Some of them were using present tense

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to talk about what happened yesterday.

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Nevertheless, without hesitation,

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they were saying whatever[br]they wanted to say,

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and they were enjoying[br]their lively conversation.

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While watching my classmates,[br]I said to myself,

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"I see. It doesn't matter[br]if we make a mistake,

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because English is[br]a foreign language to us after all.

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In this kind of situation[br]in a foreign country,

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it is a matter of course for us to make[br]a lot of mistakes in speaking English.

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So, those who make mistakes should[br]be praised for their challenging spirit,

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rather than criticized for their mistakes.

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Using a foreign language[br]in a foreign country

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is not anything we are used to;

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it is something we are challenged with.

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Since we all make mistakes all the time[br]in this kind of situation,

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our efforts to do our best[br]and our challenging spirit

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should be praised[br]instead of being criticized for mistakes."

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That is what I thought.

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Then, to my surprise,

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I began to be less self-conscious[br]about making mistakes in speaking English.

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Even when I made a mistake,[br]I said to myself,

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"Okay, I made a mistake.

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But I have learned one thing here,

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and I can keep improving[br]my English skills like this."

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With talking to myself like this,[br]I quit worrying about making mistakes.

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I started having this new attitude[br]to change gear and learn something

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from making mistakes.

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One specific method is

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taking a quick note right at the spot[br]whenever I made a mistake

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so as not to forget[br]what the mistake was,

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and checking them again later[br]before going to bed or on a break.

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Repeating this cycle made me confident[br]and also led me to making more friends.

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Soon I found myself engaging[br]with people around me,

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to plan an international[br]exchange party.

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"Shota, you have really changed[br]for the past half year!"

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"You have impressed me!"

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When I received these comments[br]from my classmates,

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I was really happy.

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Of course, my challenging journey[br]didn't end there.

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What I would like to do in the future is:

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I want to start a new type[br]of organization for education

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and run it as my business.

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My hope is to make[br]a student-teacher-community triad system

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where all of three parties[br]would be benefited

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from the educational model,

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and I would like to circulate it[br]throughout the world.

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I might not be able to avoid making[br]a lot of mistakes and failures

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in the process,

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but I won't take them negatively,

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because each failure and mistake[br]would be just one of the steps

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towards success[br]that you need to go through.

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Therefore,

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instead of fretting over[br]every little mistake and failure,

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I would rather value[br]the challenging spirit

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and then realize my big dream someday.

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The theme of this TEDx conference[br]is "First Story."

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I am sure that many people in this room

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are challenging themselves[br]with something new.

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When you stumble on something[br]and feel like you can't go any further,

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don't blame yourself.

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Praise yourself instead first.

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If you think it is impossible to do it,

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then consciously try[br]to put a smile on your face.

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Everyone, let's try it right now.

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You can keep seating.

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Lift the corners of your mouth[br]as much as possible

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and make a smiling face.

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Cheese!

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(Laughter)

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Not relaxed yet?

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Are you still a little tense?

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This time, when you make a smiling face,[br]

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please slightly throw out your chest[br]and tilt your head back a little.

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That is good! Thank you very much.

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How do you feel?

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Don't you think you feel like[br]you are getting more positive?

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By making a positive posture,[br]you can make yourself feel more positive.

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I think that if you keep doing this,

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your thought process[br]will gradually change.

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As a result,

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it will lead to a more positive attitude[br]towards the next challenge.

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So, please do what[br]we have just done right now

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when you feel like you have failed.

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Everybody is afraid[br]of failing, including me.

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But failure is the unmistakable evidence[br]of that you have made efforts.

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Not failing is not the important part.

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Learning from it and how to use[br]what you learn from it

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to use for your next step is important.

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When you fail or make mistakes,

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please praise yourself[br]all the more for that reason.

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As for myself, after[br]being back in the waiting room,

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I will praise myself[br]and look forward to the next challenge.

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Thank you.

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(Applause)