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Shah Rukh Khan: Courage, determination,
and a single-minded vision.
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These are the qualities
the biggest achievers have in common.
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These are those brave hearts
for whom failure is not an option.
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What looks to us an unconquerable sea,
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to our next speaker
is an irresistible stage
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she was born to perform on.
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So let's dive straight
into the story of our fearless speaker,
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Bhakti Sharma,
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who's making waves in the world
of long-distance swimming.
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Bhakti Sharma.
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(Applause)
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Bhakti Sharma: Imagine,
in the scorching Rajasthan heat,
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on a hot summer afternoon,
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a two-and-a-half-year-old
riding on a moped behind her mom,
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not knowing where they were headed.
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And 20 minutes later,
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that two-and-a-half-year-old finds herself
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completely submerged in water.
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Before I knew it,
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I would be kicking, splashing, screaming,
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gulping down water,
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holding onto my mom for my dear life.
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That's how I learned how to swim.
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I started pool-swimming
when I was two and a half,
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and open-water swimming
when I was 14 years old.
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And so I have given
over 25 years of my life to this sport,
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during which I have swum
in all five oceans of the world,
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crossed the English Channel --
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which is also known
as the Mount Everest of swimming --
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and set a world record
in the freezing Antarctic ocean.
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(Applause)
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When you spend so much time with a sport,
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it ceases to be just that,
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and becomes a mirror.
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And that shows who you really are.
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You see that your mettle as an athlete
is not only tested on race day,
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but every single day,
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when the sport demands that you get up
at four thirty in the morning,
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swim for two hours,
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go to school, come back,
swim for three hours,
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go home, eat and sleep.
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When you win a medal
or set a world record,
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this mirror shows the happiness
that you and your loved ones feel,
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but also reflects the tears that you shed
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all by yourself, alone in the water.
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Open-water swimming
is a very lonely sport.
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I have spent hours
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looking into the infinite,
seemingly bottomless ocean underneath me,
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with nothing to keep me company
but my own thoughts.
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And so, I have not only
been tested as a swimmer,
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but also as a thinking, feeling,
imaginative human being.
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Be it my first test as a marathon swimmer,
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when I decided to swim for 12 hours
non-stop in a swimming pool,
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or crossing the English Channel
in 13 hours and 55 minutes.
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When you're swimming, you don't talk,
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you don't hear very well,
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and your vision is restricted
to what's right in front of you
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or underneath you.
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This isolation has been
my sport's biggest gift to me.
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Through open-water swimming,
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I have come to know myself in ways
that I could have never expected to.
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I remember, at the age of 14,
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when I jumped into an ocean
for the first time for a swim,
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and throughout this swim,
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the waves were picking me up
and throwing me down,
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I saw the child in me,
who enjoys such adventures.
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While crossing the English Channel,
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after already having swam for 10 hours,
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when I got stuck in one place
for one and a half hour
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because of the currents,
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I saw the strong
and dedicated athlete in me,
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who did not want to disappoint
her parents or her country.
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In an open-water marathon
held in Switzerland,
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when I won my first
gold medal for India --
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(Applause)
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I witnessed a proud Indian in me.
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While crossing the English Channel again,
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this time in a relay with my mother,
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not knowing that we were creating history,
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I saw the protective daughter in me,
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who just wanted to see her mom
fulfill her own dreams.
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And four years ago,
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when I jumped into the Antarctic Ocean,
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wearing nothing but a swimsuit,
cap and goggles,
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with an unwavering spirit of just doing,
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I saw a fighter in me.
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When I jumped into that
zero-to-one-degree-Celsius water,
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I realized that I had prepared
my body and mind for the cold,
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but what I wasn't prepared for
was the density of the water.
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Every stroke felt
like pulling through oil.
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And in the first five minutes,
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I had that paralyzing thought
of just giving up.
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How nice it would be
to just forget about all this,
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get on the boat,
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stand underneath the hot shower
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or wrap myself in a warm blanket?
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But with that thought,
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also came a stronger,
a more willful voice from deep within.
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"You know you have it in you
to just take one more stroke."
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So I lifted my arm and took a stroke.
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"Now one more."
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So I took a second and a third stroke.
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By the fourth one,
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I saw a penguin swimming
underneath my stomach.
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It came up to my left
and started swimming with me.
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"See? A penguin is cheering you on,"
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said that voice within.
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(Applause and cheers)
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I looked up to my people on the boat.
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They had the same smile on their faces
that I had on mine.
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The same smile that we all have
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when we are stuck in a difficult situation
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and we see a ray of hope.
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We take it as a sign from destiny,
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and we just keep pushing forward.
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Just as I did,
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and 41 minutes later,
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set the world record
for swimming the longest distance
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in the Antarctic Ocean.
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(Applause)
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Imagine, it doesn't even
snow in Rajasthan.
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(Laughter)
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That voice, which has accompanied me
through all my difficult situations
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throughout my swims,
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would have never shown itself
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if I had not spent so much time alone,
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had not paid attention
to every single thought
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that crossed my mind.
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When you find yourself alone
in an ocean, with your thoughts,
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the dangers that you face
are not just external,
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like whales, sharks, jellyfish,
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or even demotivating people.
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But the more dangerous demons you face
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are the fear and negativity inside you
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that tell you, "You're not good enough.
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You will never reach the other shore.
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You haven't trained enough.
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What if you fail, what will people think?
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I'm sure everybody is thinking
right now how slow you are."
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We all have our own
internal demons, don't we?
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In a day-to-day life,
you can hide from them,
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behind your work
or many other distractions.
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But like I said,
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in the middle of the ocean,
there is nowhere to hide.
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I have to face my internal demons,
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just as much as I have to taste
the salt in the sea,
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feel the chafing on my skin,
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and acknowledge the whales
swimming beside me.
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I hate it, and I love it.
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I hate it because this sport
shows me the side of myself
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that I don't want to believe exists.
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The side of me that is human
and not perfect.
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Like the part of me
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that can't get out of bed in the morning
and make it to practice.
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The side of me that gets
so burned out, so tired,
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that just wants to quit swimming.
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But I also love it,
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because this sport has given me
moments that I can look back on
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when I feel unmotivated.
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And they bring me to my knees,
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because I feel so grateful.
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Many of you may not
spend hours swimming non-stop.
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But who do you spend
the most amount of your time with?
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You may share your external space
with many others,
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but there is one constant companion
that you all have.
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You.
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And yet, most of us may never come
to knowing who we really are.
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I'm a daughter, an Indian,
a swimmer, a student.
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But I am so much more.
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If you are not investing in yourself,
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not setting a path
that brings you closer to you,
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no amount of "success" in life
can bring you lasting joy or satisfaction.
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Even today,
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when I can't find motivation
or joy in what I'm doing,
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all I ask myself is,
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"Is this the best I can do right now?"
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And the meaning of my "best" changes.
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On some days, it means not giving up,
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continuing to swim in freezing water
and setting a world record.
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But on many other days,
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it means getting over
my depressing thoughts,
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stepping out of the house
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and being able to do the daily chores.
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What does not change is that voice within.
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That internal compass
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which guides me
to a better self every day.
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And I believe
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that a truly successful life
is the one which is spent in the pursuit
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of becoming the best possible
version of yourself
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when you take that last breath.
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Thank you.
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(Applause)
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SRK: [unclear] like the only sport
I can't do is swim --
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I sink like a rock.
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So standing next to
the world's best swimmer
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makes me kind of feel --
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if you can excuse my pun --
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kind of at sea.
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But --
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BS: (Laughs) No pun intended, of course.
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SRK: But what is your next
goal as a swimmer?
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BS: I have a major fear of competition,
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so what better goal to set
than aiming for the Olympics?
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Because open-water swimming
is an Olympic sport now.
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(Applause)
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Even saying it out loud gives me shivers,
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because it's such a huge goal
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that I don't want to accept
that I have set that goal,
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but that's the thrill of it,
that's the part of it.
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And my idea is that if I make it
to the Olympics or I don't make it,
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that doesn't matter,
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but in the process of training for it,
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I will have become a better swimmer
and a better person.
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SRK: Inshallah, you will make it
to the Olympics.
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And I want to tell you
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a lot of people who are watching
this show at home,
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there's lots of people, all of whom
are thinking only positively for you,
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so when you go for the Olympics,
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imagine all of us will be wearing
our penguin suits and swimming with you,
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and saying, "Go on,
go on, Bhakti, go on, go on."
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BS: Can you be my personal penguin?
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SRK: I am your penguin now.
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It would have been cooler
if you said, like, a shark and all,
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but penguin --
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BS: Orcas are my spirit animal,
but you can be my orca.
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(Applause)
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SRK: Ladies and gentleman, Bhakti.
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BS: Thank you.
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(Applause)