Name: 【TEDx】Larry Smith: Why you will fail to have a great career
Uploaded: 2013-09-26T09:58:01.000Z
Duration: 15 min
Description: Thousands of YouTube videos with English-Chinese subtitles! Now you can learn to understand native speakers, expand your vocabulary, and improve your pronunciation...

To-infinitive

I want to discuss with you this afternoon

Future simple

why you're going to fail to have a great career. (Laughter)

End of the day, it's ready for dismal remarks.

I only want to talk to those of you who want a great career.

You're going to fail, too — (Laughter) —

because — Goodness, you're all cheery about failing. (Laughter)

Those trying to have good careers are going to fail,

because, really, good jobs are now disappearing.

and then there are the high-workload, high-stress,

bloodsucking, soul-destroying kinds of jobs,

So the people looking for good jobs are going to fail.

I'm going to talk about those looking for great jobs, great

careers, and why you're going to, why you're going to fail.

First reason is that no matter how many times people tell you,

"If you want a great career, you have to pursue your passion,

you have to pursue your dreams, you have to pursue,

you hear it again and again and then you decide

not to do it. It doesn't matter how many times you download

Steven J.'s Stanford commencement address,

you still look at it and decide not to do it.

I'm not quite sure why you decide not to do it.

You're afraid if you look for your passion and don't find it,

you'll feel like you're an idiot, so then you make excuses

about why you're not going to look for your passion.

And they are excuses, ladies and gentlemen.

We're going to go through a whole long list, your creativity,

and thinking of excuses not to do what you really

need to do if you want to have a great career.

So, for example, one of your great excuses is,

"Well, great careers are really and truly, for most people,

just a matter of luck, so I'm going to stand around,

I'm going to try to be lucky, and if I'm lucky,

I'll have a great career. If not, I'll have a good career."

But a good career is an impossibility, so that's not going to work.

Then, your other excuse is, "Yes, there are special people

who pursue their passions, but they are geniuses.

When I was five, I thought I was a genius,

out of my head long since." (Laughter) Mm?

"And now I know I am completely competent."

that would have given you a great career.

But guess what? This is almost 2012, and saying

to the world, "I am totally, completely competent,"

is damning yourself with the faintest of praise.

"Well, I would do this, I would do this, but, but,

Everybody knows that people who pursue their passions

are somewhat obsessive. A little strange? Mm? Mm? Okay?

You know, a fine line between madness and genius.

I'm not weird. I've read Steven J.'s biography.

Oh my goodness. I am not that person. I am nice.

I'm not prepared to pursue my passion, so I know

what I'm going to do, because I have, I have a solution,

It's the one Mommy and Daddy told me about.

Mommy and Daddy told me that if I worked hard,

I'd have a good career. So, if you work hard

and have a good career, if you work really, really, really hard,

you'll have a great career. Doesn't that, like,

But you've managed to talk yourself into that.

You want to work? You want to work really, really, really hard?

You know what? You'll succeed. The world will give you

the opportunity to work really, really, really, really hard,

but are you so sure that that's going to give you

a great career when all the evidence is to the contrary?

So let's assume, let's deal with those of you

You actually understand that you really had better do it,

never mind the excuses. You're trying to find your passion,

You found something you're interested in.

I have an interest! I have an interest! You tell me.

You say, "I have an interest!" I say, "That's wonderful!

And what, what are you trying to tell me? That you — "

And what about the rest of humanity's activities?

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【TEDx】Larry Smith: Why you will fail to have a great career

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