TEDGlobal 2014
Bel Pesce: 5 ways to kill your dreams
Filmed:
Readability: 2.6
5,370,012 views
All of us want to invent that game-changing product, launch that successful company, write that best-selling book. And yet so few of us actually do it. TED Fellow and Brazilian entrepreneur Bel Pesce breaks down five easy-to-believe myths that ensure your dream projects will never come to fruition.
Bel Pesce - Entrepreneur
Bel Pesce left Brazil to study at MIT. But after a successful stint in Silicon Valley, she returned to inspire others with great ideas in her country to make them a reality. Full bio
Bel Pesce left Brazil to study at MIT. But after a successful stint in Silicon Valley, she returned to inspire others with great ideas in her country to make them a reality. Full bio
Double-click the English transcript below to play the video.
00:12
I dedicated the past two years
to understanding
to understanding
0
898
2335
00:15
how people achieve their dreams.
1
3233
2070
00:17
When we think about the dreams we have,
2
5303
2046
00:19
and the dent we want to leave
in the universe,
in the universe,
3
7349
2642
00:21
it is striking to see how big
of an overlap there is
of an overlap there is
4
9991
3726
00:25
between the dreams that we have
and projects that never happen.
and projects that never happen.
5
13717
3334
00:29
(Laughter)
6
17051
1514
00:30
So I'm here to talk to you today
7
18565
1945
00:32
about five ways how not
to follow your dreams.
to follow your dreams.
8
20510
4403
00:36
One: Believe in overnight success.
9
24913
4443
00:41
You know the story, right?
10
29356
1649
00:43
The tech guy built a mobile app
and sold it very fast for a lot of money.
and sold it very fast for a lot of money.
11
31005
4675
00:48
You know, the story may seem real,
but I bet it's incomplete.
but I bet it's incomplete.
12
36580
3887
00:52
If you go investigate further,
13
40467
2300
00:54
the guy has done 30 apps before
14
42767
2337
00:57
and he has done a master's
on the topic, a Ph.D.
on the topic, a Ph.D.
15
45104
2748
00:59
He has been working
on the topic for 20 years.
on the topic for 20 years.
16
47852
3587
01:03
This is really interesting,
17
51439
1777
01:05
I myself have a story in Brazil
that people think is an overnight success.
that people think is an overnight success.
18
53216
5774
01:10
I come from a humble family,
19
58990
2175
01:13
and two weeks before
the deadline to apply to MIT,
the deadline to apply to MIT,
20
61165
3537
01:16
I started the application process.
21
64702
2210
01:18
And, voila! I got in.
22
66912
3014
01:21
People may think it's
an overnight success,
an overnight success,
23
69926
2840
01:24
but that only worked because
for the 17 years prior to that,
for the 17 years prior to that,
24
72766
4281
01:29
I took life and education seriously.
25
77047
2103
01:31
Your overnight success story
is always a result
is always a result
26
79150
3608
01:34
of everything you've done in your
life through that moment.
life through that moment.
27
82758
3771
01:38
Two: Believe someone else
has the answers for you.
has the answers for you.
28
86529
3700
01:42
Constantly, people want
to help out, right?
to help out, right?
29
90229
2052
01:44
All sorts of people: your family,
your friends, your business partners,
your friends, your business partners,
30
92281
3718
01:47
they all have opinions
on which path you should take:
on which path you should take:
31
95999
3493
01:51
"And let me tell you,
go through this pipe."
go through this pipe."
32
99492
2362
01:53
But whenever you go inside, there are
other ways you have to pick as well.
other ways you have to pick as well.
33
101854
4617
01:58
And you need to make
those decisions yourself.
those decisions yourself.
34
106471
3140
02:01
No one else has the perfect
answers for your life.
answers for your life.
35
109611
3630
02:05
And you need to keep picking
those decisions, right?
those decisions, right?
36
113241
2517
02:07
The pipes are infinite and
you're going to bump your head,
you're going to bump your head,
37
115758
2846
02:10
and it's a part of the process.
38
118604
3376
02:13
Three, and it's very subtle
but very important:
but very important:
39
121980
4181
02:18
Decide to settle when
growth is guaranteed.
growth is guaranteed.
40
126161
2779
02:20
So when your life is going great,
41
128940
1956
02:22
you have put together a great team,
42
130896
2296
02:25
and you have growing revenue,
and everything is set --
and everything is set --
43
133192
3436
02:28
time to settle.
44
136628
1561
02:30
When I launched my first book,
45
138189
1441
02:31
I worked really, really hard to
distribute it everywhere in Brazil.
distribute it everywhere in Brazil.
46
139630
3196
02:34
With that, over three million
people downloaded it,
people downloaded it,
47
142826
2436
02:37
over 50,000 people
bought physical copies.
bought physical copies.
48
145262
2838
02:40
When I wrote a sequel,
some impact was guaranteed.
some impact was guaranteed.
49
148100
4500
02:44
Even if I did little, sales would be okay.
50
152600
3746
02:48
But okay is never okay.
51
156346
1967
02:50
When you're growing towards a peak,
52
158313
2371
02:52
you need to work harder than ever
and find yourself another peak.
and find yourself another peak.
53
160684
4125
02:56
Maybe if I did little, a couple hundred
thousand people would read it,
thousand people would read it,
54
164809
3619
03:00
and that's great already.
55
168428
2165
03:02
But if I work harder than ever,
56
170593
1894
03:04
I can bring this number up to millions.
57
172487
3054
03:07
That's why I decided, with my new book,
to go to every single state of Brazil.
to go to every single state of Brazil.
58
175541
3674
03:11
And I can already see a higher peak.
59
179215
2016
03:13
There's no time to settle down.
60
181231
2196
03:15
Fourth tip, and that's really important:
61
183427
3270
03:18
Believe the fault is someone else's.
62
186697
2956
03:21
I constantly see people saying,
63
189653
2346
03:23
"Yes, I had this great idea,
but no investor had the vision to invest."
but no investor had the vision to invest."
64
191999
3872
03:27
"Oh, I created this great product,
65
195871
1962
03:29
but the market is so bad,
the sales didn't go well."
the sales didn't go well."
66
197833
4272
03:34
Or, "I can't find good talent; my team
is so below expectations."
is so below expectations."
67
202105
4750
03:38
If you have dreams,
68
206855
1384
03:40
it's your responsibility
to make them happen.
to make them happen.
69
208239
2514
03:43
Yes, it may be hard to find talent.
70
211663
2736
03:46
Yes, the market may be bad.
71
214399
2170
03:48
But if no one invested in your idea,
72
216569
2021
03:50
if no one bought your product,
73
218590
1921
03:52
for sure, there is something
there that is your fault.
there that is your fault.
74
220511
3040
03:55
(Laughter)
75
223551
2037
03:57
Definitely.
76
225588
1694
03:59
You need to get your dreams
and make them happen.
and make them happen.
77
227282
2931
04:02
And no one achieved their goals alone.
78
230213
3192
04:05
But if you didn't make them happen,
it's your fault and no one else's.
it's your fault and no one else's.
79
233405
4211
04:09
Be responsible for your dreams.
80
237616
1975
04:12
And one last tip, and this one is
really important as well:
really important as well:
81
240891
4359
04:18
Believe that the only things that matter
are the dreams themselves.
are the dreams themselves.
82
246160
4995
04:23
Once I saw an ad,
and it was a lot of friends,
and it was a lot of friends,
83
251155
2971
04:26
they were going up a mountain,
it was a very high mountain,
it was a very high mountain,
84
254126
3065
04:29
and it was a lot of work.
85
257191
1291
04:30
You could see that they
were sweating and this was tough.
were sweating and this was tough.
86
258482
3114
04:33
And they were going up,
and they finally made it to the peak.
and they finally made it to the peak.
87
261596
3126
04:36
Of course, they decided
to celebrate, right?
to celebrate, right?
88
264722
2187
04:38
I'm going to celebrate, so,
89
266909
1366
04:40
"Yes! We made it, we're at the top!"
90
268275
2504
04:42
Two seconds later, one looks
at the other and says,
at the other and says,
91
270779
2909
04:45
"Okay, let's go down."
92
273688
2017
04:47
(Laughter)
93
275705
1160
04:48
Life is never about the goals themselves.
94
276865
2460
04:51
Life is about the journey.
95
279325
2791
04:54
Yes, you should enjoy
the goals themselves,
the goals themselves,
96
282116
2261
04:56
but people think that you have dreams,
97
284377
2946
04:59
and whenever you get to reaching
one of those dreams,
one of those dreams,
98
287323
2538
05:01
it's a magical place where
happiness will be all around.
happiness will be all around.
99
289861
3859
05:05
But achieving a dream
is a momentary sensation,
is a momentary sensation,
100
293720
3231
05:08
and your life is not.
101
296951
2444
05:11
The only way to really achieve
all of your dreams
all of your dreams
102
299395
3322
05:14
is to fully enjoy every step
of your journey.
of your journey.
103
302717
3402
05:18
That's the best way.
104
306119
1394
05:19
And your journey is simple --
it's made of steps.
it's made of steps.
105
307513
2318
05:21
Some steps will be right on.
106
309831
2296
05:24
Sometimes you will trip.
107
312127
1981
05:26
If it's right on, celebrate, because
some people wait a lot to celebrate.
some people wait a lot to celebrate.
108
314108
4891
05:30
And if you tripped, turn that
into something to learn.
into something to learn.
109
318999
3206
05:34
If every step becomes something
to learn or something to celebrate,
to learn or something to celebrate,
110
322205
5507
05:39
you will for sure enjoy the journey.
111
327712
2549
05:42
So, five tips:
112
330261
1753
05:44
Believe in overnight success,
113
332014
2118
05:46
believe someone else
has the answers for you,
has the answers for you,
114
334132
2618
05:48
believe that when growth is guaranteed,
you should settle down,
you should settle down,
115
336750
3126
05:51
believe the fault is someone else's,
116
339876
2328
05:54
and believe that only
the goals themselves matter.
the goals themselves matter.
117
342204
3418
05:57
Believe me, if you do that,
you will destroy your dreams.
you will destroy your dreams.
118
345622
2932
06:00
(Laughter)
119
348554
997
06:01
(Applause)
120
349551
1303
06:02
Thank you.
121
350854
2521
ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Bel Pesce - EntrepreneurBel Pesce left Brazil to study at MIT. But after a successful stint in Silicon Valley, she returned to inspire others with great ideas in her country to make them a reality.
Why you should listen
Bel Pesce has worked at big technology companies — in at internship at Microsoft, she led the team for Microsoft Touchless and, as an intern at Google, she worked to improve the Google Translate system. She has also worked in finance, at Deutsche Bank, and helped launch several startups — most notably, the video platform Ooyala and Lemon Wallet, an app that replicates the contents of your wallet on your phone. But for her latest venture, Pesce is looking to inspire. She has opened a school, FazINOVA, which is dedicated to helping students — both in live courses in Sao Paulo, Brazil, and online — persevere toward their dreams. The school has grown tremendously since its establishment in 2013.
Pesce, a TED Fellow, is also the author of three books: The Brazilian Girl from Silicon Valley, Superheroes: WANTED and The Girl from Silicon Valley 2. She has been named one of the "100 most influential people of Brazil" by Época Magazine.
Bel Pesce | Speaker | TED.com