I dedicated the past two years to understanding
how people achieve1
their dreams. When we think about the dreams we have, and the dent2 we want to leave3 in the
universe, it is striking4
to see how big of an overlap5
there is between the dreams that we have and projects that never happen.
(Laughter) So I'm here to talk to you today about five ways6 how not to follow7 your dreams.
One: Believe in overnight success8. You know the story, right?
The tech9 guy
built a mobile app10
and sold it very fast for a lot of money. You know, the story may seem real11, but
I bet12 it's
incomplete. If you go investigate further13,
the guy has done 30 apps before and he has done a master's on the topic, a
Ph.D. He has been working on the topic for 20 years.
This is really interesting, I myself have a
story in Brazil that people think is an overnight success. I come from a humble14 family, and
two weeks before the deadline15
to apply to16 MIT,
I started the application17
process. And, voila! I got in18.
People may think19
it's an overnight success, but that only worked because for the 17 years prior to that20, I took life and education seriously21.
Your overnight success story is always a result of everything you've done in
your life through22
that moment.
Two: Believe someone else23 has the answers for you.
Constantly, people want to help out, right? All sorts of people24: your family, your friends,
your business partners25,
they all have opinions on which path
you should take26: "And let me tell you, go through this pipe27."
But whenever28 you
go inside, there are other ways you have to pick29 as
well30. And you need to make those decisions yourself. No one else31 has the
perfect answers for your life. And you need to keep picking those decisions32, right? The pipes
are infinite and you're going to bump33
your head, and it's a part of the process.
Three, and it's very subtle34 but very important: Decide to settle35 when growth36 is
guaranteed. So when your life is going great, you have put together37 a great team, and you have growing revenue38,
and everything is set39
-- time to settle. When I launched my first book, I worked really, really hard
to distribute it everywhere in Brazil. With that, over three million people
downloaded it, over 50,000 people bought40
physical copies.When I wrote a sequel41,
some impact was guaranteed42.
Even if43 I did
little, sales would be okay. But okay is never okay. When you're growing towards a peak44, you
need to work harder than ever and find yourself another peak. Maybe if I did
little, a couple45
hundred thousand people would read it, and that's great already. But if I work
harder than ever, I can bring this number up to millions. That's why46 I decided, with my new book, to go
to every single47
state of Brazil. And I can already see a higher peak. There's no time to settle
down.
Fourth tip, and that's really important:
Believe the fault is someone else's48.
I constantly see people saying,"Yes, I had this great idea, but no
investor had the vision to invest." "Oh, I created this great
product, but the market is so bad, the
sales didn't go well49." Or, "I can't find good
talent; my team is so below
expectations50." If you have dreams, it's your
responsibility to make them happen. Yes, it may be51 hard to find talent. Yes, the market may
be bad. But if no one invested in your idea, if no one bought your product, for sure52, there is
something there that is your fault. (Laughter)
Definitely. You need to get your
dreams and make them happen. And no one achieved53
their goals alone. But if you didn't make them happen, it's your fault and no
one else's. Be responsible for your dreams.
And one last tip, and this one is really
important as well54:
Believe that the only things that
matter55 are the dreams themselves. Once I saw an ad56, and it was a
lot of friends, they were going up a mountain, it was a very high mountain, and
it was a lot of work. You could see that they were sweating57 and this was tough58. And they were going up, and they finally
made it to the peak. Of course, they decided to celebrate, right? I'm going to
celebrate, so, "Yes! We made it, we're at the top!" Two seconds
later, one looks at the other and says, "Okay, let's go down."
(Laughter)
Life is never about the goals59 themselves. Life is about the journey60. Yes, you
should enjoy the goals themselves, but people think that you have dreams, and whenever61 you get to reaching62 one
of those dreams, it's a magical place where happiness will be all around. But
achieving a dream is a momentary sensation, and your life is not. The only way
to really achieve all of your dreams is to fully
enjoy every step63 of your journey. That's the best way.
And your journey is simple -- it's made of
steps. Some steps will be right on. Sometimes you will trip64. If it's right on, celebrate, because some
people wait a lot to celebrate. And if you tripped, turn that into something to
learn. If every step becomes something to learn or something to celebrate, you
will for sure enjoy the journey.
So, five tips: Believe in overnight success,
believe someone else has the answers for you, believe that when growth is
guaranteed, you should settle down, believe the fault is someone else's, and
believe that only the goals themselves matter. Believe me, if you do that, you
will destroy your dreams. (Laughter). Thank you.
Vocabulary
1.
Achieve
= alcançar
2.
Dent
= marca
3.
Leave
= dexar
4.
Striking
= impressionante
5.
Overlap
= sobreposição
6.
Ways
= formas, maneiras
7.
Follow
= seguir
8.
overnight success = sucesso de um dia para o
outro
9.
tech
= tecnologia
10.
mobile
app = aplicativo móvel
11.
may
seem real = pode parecer real
12.
bet
= apostar
13.
further
= a fundo
14.
humble
= humilde
15.
deadline
= prazo
16.
apply
to = inscrever-se para
17.
application
= inscrição
18.
I
got in = eu fui aceita
19.
may
think = podem pensar
20. prior to that = anterior a isso
21.
I took life and education seriously = eu levava
a vida e a educação a sério
22.
Through
= até
23.
someone
else = alguma outra pessoa
24.
All sorts of people = todos os tipos de pessoa
25.
business
partners = sócios, parceiros comerciais
26. which path you should take = qual
caminho você deveria seguir
27. go through this pipe = vá através
deste cano
28. whenever = sempre que
29. pick = escolher
30. as well = também
31. No one else = ninguém mais
32. keep picking those decisions =
manter-se tomando estas decisões
33. bump = bater
34. subtle = sutil
35. settle = acomodar-se
36. growth = crescimento
37. put together = reunir
38. growing revenue = receita em
crescimento
39. everything is set = tudo está
estabelecido
40. bought = compraram
41. sequel = sequencia, continuação
42. guaranteed = garantido
43. Even if = mesmo se
44.
towards a peak = em direção a um pico
45.
a couple = cerca de, por volta de
46.
That's
why = é porisso que
47.
every
single = cada um dos
48.
someone else's = de alguma outra pessoa
49. the sales didn't go well = as vendas
não iam bem
50.
so below expectations = tão abaixo das expectations
51.
may
be = pode ser
52.
for
sure = com certeza
53.
achieved
= atingiu, alcançou
54.
as
well = também
55. the only things that matter = as
unicas coisas que importam
56. ad = anuncio
57. sweating = suando
58. tough = duro, dificil
59. goals = objetivos
60. journey = jornada, caminho
61. whenever = sempre que
62. get to reaching = chega a alcançar
63. fully enjoy every step = desfrutar
totalmente de cada passo
64. trip = tropeçar, cometer um deslize