Inspirational Video: The Secret of Success by Karthik Kanagasabapathy


Born in Ohio, but raised in Scarborough, Karthik Kangasabapathy has always had a passion for education. While studying Mathematics at the University of Waterloo, he began to realize that many of the education and career decisions being made by young people were often shaped by external factors as opposed to their own passions, causing them to take paths that led them to unintended destinations.

Throughout his career, he has worked to help students discover what they are truly passionate about. Karthik works for Innovation First International, where he is responsible for exciting young people about STEAM (Science, Technology, Education, Arts & Mathematics) education, via participation in the VEX Robotics Competition. He was a lead author for the award winning Autodesk VEX Curriculum, and has presented seminars across North America on both robotics education and decision making.

Since 2006, he has been designing competition robotics games that have been played by over 20,000 teams of middle and high school students across the globe. He has won numerous awards for his dedication to furthering robotics education, including the prestigious Woodie Flowers Finalist Award for exemplary mentoring and being a positive role model for high school students through the FIRST Robotics Competition. He also serves as the Master of Ceremonies of various international robotics events, having worked with media personalities such Mythbusters’ Grant Imahara and Kari Byron.

0:12hey I’d like to thank you all for being here today

0:15you could be anywhere in the world but you’re here with me I appreciate that

0:19I got a question for our view what does it take to be successful

0:25it’s a loaded question because there’s obviously a lot of factors involved in

0:28this

0:29I’m here today to talk about a few subtle factors Deccan really

0:32make the difference and their key bean excellent and their key to being

0:36successful

0:37song to start off with some quotes because so to speak some wise people

0:41have talked about this long before I Rekha

0:44enthusiasm is one the most powerful engines a success

0:48when you do a thing do with all your might put your whole soul into it

0:52step it with your own personality be active

0:55be energetic be enthusiastic unfaithful and you will accomplish object

1:00nothing great was ever achieved that gives yes

1:03this is a quote I like to live my life by

1:06and if you don’t walk away with anything from today’s talk this is it

1:10this is it right here what is it me simply put

1:14if you want to be excellent in a field if you are right the talk

1:17you have to be enthusiastic about a lot of people make a lot of decisions in our

1:23lives

1:24our people make decisions for us when coming to the question of

1:28what do you study what he did was your career

1:31people make the choice to take safe option where they go for the lucrative

1:35option

1:36as opposed to pursuing their passions they

1:39do this because they think all it’s much more easier

1:43it’s much easier to be successful any lucrative field

1:46is it really is that actually true

1:49consider two people one person

1:54you know is doing a job because hey the parents said this was a good idea

1:58said hey you go become a chartered accountant that’s what you should do has

2:01lost money in that

2:01so they go they do it they get there they go to work nine to five

2:055 o’clock out the door one forget everything they just yet

2:09work is separate from everything else they don’t care about

2:12it is just a job vendors I johnnie enthusiasm giant is the ASM

2:18love the county know yet he loves corner is notebook in adding up numbers or

2:22whatever account still

2:235 o’clock comes johnnie County johnnie enthusiasm goes home

2:29and he’s reading up on account he’s learning different methods he’s studying

2:33for exams

2:34he’s putting extra time into it hugh some days you work late

2:38no one’s asked him to work late free does it because he’s a to z: ask about

2:41it

2:41he’s passionate about it he spends his weekends unless

2:44I want to ask you a question who’s gonna be more successful

2:48the answer is obvious johnnie enthusiasm

2:51its all what you have I much

2:54better chance of being successful anything if you’re in 20 has to go about

2:58it if you care about

2:59so some people say well you know what still the guy who doesn’t really care

3:04he’s an account it’s a big field he’ll be better off

3:07really really consider this

3:12you were almost always going to be better off being in the one percent at

3:16the field that may not be considered a lucrative

3:19as opposed to being average in the lucrative field

3:22and if you’re not enthusiastic about something you were destined to be

3:25average or you’re destined to be bad while

3:29if you are enthusiastic you have a shot to be

3:33the best because you cannot be the best

3:36without enthusiasm it’s a very important lesson

3:41that is often forgotten so as we think about this

3:46when you’re making your decisions don’t let be a hostage

3:50to what people are expecting a few make decisions

3:53follow your passions follow your heart

3:56it’s essential to keep this in mind if you don’t do this

4:00your destined to a life of misery that sells

4:04of or you actually want that the other thing it’s

4:08even if you go to Colby average in that field you

4:11all work yourself to follow your enthusiasm you alright yourself

4:15follow your passion life is too short

4:18to spend forty hours a week doing something you’re not enthusiastic about

4:24please remember that the next thing i wanna talk about

4:36there are two ways to compete in this world you can track your point down

4:40oregon writes about them which is better for society in the long run we’re

4:45talking to competition here

4:47competition has become a dirty word for a lot of people

4:50because they see competition only from 19 Frank they see the way

4:54version for everyone’s tried drag someone down competition means

4:58i win you lose I keep dirt on you well that’s not the only way you can compete

5:04unfortunately because it is negative your competition

 

5:07it’s being discouraged a young age young people are

5:10be put into schools were Scottish isn’t a good thing we don’t keep score in

5:14sports

 

5:15everyone’s a winner unfortunately

5:19that’s not true there are winners there are losers

5:22competition is something that’s very important and can not be marginalized

5:26there’s been numerous studies on this but it’s been discovered

5:30that high school students who engage in competitive rounds

5:34typically high school sports you know some cool kids to High School Robotics

5:37but

5:37we all can’t be that awesome the ones who do these sports

5:43end up being more successful in university going forward

5:46why is that was a lot of factors that come into play they learn about teamwork

5:50they learn some people skills

5:52but they learned one very valuable skill that is not taught most places


5:56baylon how to compete competition is

6:01actually a skill because when you learn how to compete

6:04you were learning about expending maximal effort

6:08rising above your opponent and doing whatever it takes to termination in

6:13iteration never giving up why is competition important your lives

6:18consider this you’re all competing

6:21all the time remember when you were in high school

6:25you want to I get to the best schools limiting our spots

6:29you were competing going for a job

6:33there was an article that came up on Twitter today from NPR 50 percent

6:37over fifty percent of american university graduates are working in

6:40fields such as

6:41waiting tables janitorial or other unskilled jobs

6:45only have we’re getting jobs that they wanted

6:48in their field how do you get those jobs you are competing for them and those

6:53kids who

6:54learned how to compete in the right way by rising above

6:59their competition and not go stooping down to those levels

7:02they’re the ones that are excelling they’re the ones that are getting those

7:05jobs

7:06cell let’s talk about this copying the right way competing the wrong way

7:10there’s two types of people in this world

7:14there’s some people who were inspired by excellence

7:17and there are other people who are simply put off by it take a look at

7:22example

7:23everyone to use you know you’ve been to school you remember what it was like

7:27there was that one girl with the highest marks you don’t you understand how she

7:31got those marks she

7:32always had no highest average in whatever how do your friends Twitter

7:36how did you traitor maybe there are some people like

7:39wow I wanna be like that but most people probably like Mac

7:42I don’t you have any friends the she ever go out

7:46she ever gonna find a boyfriend this is the way that we treat excellence

7:52that is the absolute wrong way think mister charming mister popular

7:57are you probably Dom look at this

8:02the people who are going to be successful are the ones who want to

8:06compete

8:06and say hey look at johnnie popular look at Murray a brain

8:11look at them I wanna be like her I wanna be even like him

8:15I wanna find out how they do it I wanna work with them

8:19to be like that its almost even better than that

8:23is I want to excel past them I don’t necessarily want to just copy the past

8:28I want to be better than the best in the words of Ric Flair

8:32to be the man you have to beat the man I never thought I would be doing a speech

8:37on positive competition and bring in the world the wrestling but hey

8:41when you bring in Ric Flair you just got it

8:44ok

8:49seriously though there’s a right way to compete and there’s a wrong way to

8:52compete in grid computing the right way

8:54you can rise a bob always try and be better

8:59don’t track someone down and this doesn’t apply to individuals

9:02all this applies to companies this applies to corporations

9:06I think the smartphone industry could learn a thing or two instead of suing

9:09each other

9:10over stupid and pointless things they could be working together to spread the

9:14market to grow the market

9:17John able to quell he’s the art founder Boston Scientific you pharmaceutical

9:21company

9:22and he gave the speech at a corporate retreat worries talking to people about

9:26at the core and cooperative competition within the world the business and how it

9:30makes our society better

9:37the final thing I wanna talk about settlement

9:40we’re going to relentlessly chase perfection knowing full well we will not

9:44catch

9:45because nothing is perfect but we’re gonna relentlessly chaser

9:48because in the process we will be catch exports I am NOT

9:52remotely interested in just beam good

9:56perfectionism is a dangerous concept a lotta people fall victim to perfection

10:01as

10:02why perfection does not exist

10:06chasing perfection in some ways can be like chasing a unicorn

10:10you are not going to find it however if you go on a journey across the world to

10:15try and find a unicorn

10:17you gonna find a lot of other freakin awesome thanks

10:22but not your car

10:25if you chase perfection you will catch

10:28excellence along the way you always need to

10:32a team-high you always need to take pic big goals

10:35in big dreams too often people see limits that are defined for them

10:40and they don’t go after things but unless you are trying to be the best

10:44you will have no shot at being excellent

10:47so how do you get to that point

10:51how do you get to that point we but on your journey to perfection the find

10:54excellence

10:55well you’ll be motivated by the enthusiasm you have for your passion

11:00you will complete at berkeley rising above the best in your field

11:05always striving to top them and you will consist constantly

11:09chase perfection knowing well that if you do it

11:12you will catch excellence along the way the final quote

11:17from the greatest of all time limits

11:20like fears are often just an illusion

11:23every day your life

11:27people are telling you what you cannot do the reconstructive

11:31false limits around you you become afraid of those but those limits

11:36are not been but an allusion UK hes not fall victim to them

11:41you should not listen to the person who says you should do this because this is

11:45what everyone else like you does

11:46be your own person follow your passion

11:50complete ethically and chase perfection knowing your catch

11:54excellence I what they call view full

11:57listening today and remember one thing

12:00excellence can happen

12:03it’s with in you thank you

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