What I learned from 100 days of rejection | Jia Jiang | TED

Prevoditelj: Ivan Stamenković Recezent: Tilen Pigac - EFZG

When I was six years old,

Kada sam imao šest godina,

I received my gifts.

primio sam darove.

My first grade teacher had this brilliant idea.

Moja učiteljica u prvom razredu imala je briljantnu ideju.

She wanted us to experience receiving gifts

Htjela je da iskusimo primanje darova

but also learning the virtue of complimenting each other.

ali i da naučimo vrlinu davanja komplimenata.

So she had all of us come to the front of the classroom,

Tako da smo svi došli ispred razreda,

and she bought all of us gifts and stacked them in the corner.

i kupila nam je darove i složila ih u kutu.

And she said,

I rekla je,

"Why don't we just stand here and compliment each other?

"Zašto ne bismo stajali ovdje i dijelili si komplimente?

If you hear your name called,

Ako čujete svoje ime,

go and pick up your gift and sit down."

idite i uzmite svoj dar i sjednite."

What a wonderful idea, right?

Koja divna ideja, zar ne?

What could go wrong?

Što može poći po krivu?

(Laughter)

(Smijeh)

Well, there were 40 of us to start with,

Pa, za početak, bilo nas je četrdeset,

and every time I heard someone's name called,

i svakog puta kada su nekoga prozvali,

I would give out the heartiest cheer.

glasno sam vikao.

And then there were 20 people left,

I onda je ostalo 20 ljudi,

and 10 people left,

i samo 10 ljudi,

and five left ...

a potom pet...

and three left.

i samo troje.

And I was one of them.

I ja sam bio jedan od njih.

And the compliments stopped.

I komplimenti su stali.

Well, at that moment, I was crying.

Pa, u tom trenutku, plakao sam.

And the teacher was freaking out.

I učiteljica se brinula.

She was like, "Hey, would anyone say anything nice about these people?"

Rekla je: "Hej, hoće li netko reći nešto lijepo o ovim ljudima?"

(Laughter)

(Smijeh)

"No one? OK, why don't you go get your gift and sit down.

"Nitko? OK, zašto ne odeš po svoj dar i sjedneš.

So behave next year --

I dobro se ponašaj sljedeće godine --

someone might say something nice about you."

možda netko kaže nešto lijepo o tebi."

(Laughter)

(Smiijeh)

Well, as I'm describing this you,

Sad dok vam to opisujem,

you probably know I remember this really well.

jasno vam je da se toga dosta dobro sjećam.

(Laughter)

(Smijeh)

But I don't know who felt worse that day.

Ali ne znam kome je bilo gore tog dana.

Was it me or the teacher?

Meni ili učiteljici?

She must have realized that she turned a team-building event

Vjerojatno je shvatila da je izgradnju tima

into a public roast for three six-year-olds.

pretvorila u javno ismijavanje za tri šestogodišnjaka.

And without the humor.

Bez humora.

You know, when you see people get roasted on TV,

Znate, ono kad vidite da se šale s ljudima na TV-u,

it was funny.

to je smiješno.

There was nothing funny about that day.

No ništa nije bilo smiješno toga dana.

So that was one version of me,

To je bila jedna verzija mene,

and I would die to avoid being in that situation again --

i rađe bih umro nego bio ponovno u toj situaciji --

to get rejected in public again.

da me tako odbiju u javnosti.

That's one version.

To je jedna verzija.

Then fast-forward eight years.

Onda ubrzajte osam godina.

Bill Gates came to my hometown --

Bill Gates je došao u moj rodni grad --

Beijing, China --

Peking, Kina --

to speak,

kako bi pričao,

and I saw his message.

i vidio sam njegovu poruku.

I fell in love with that guy.

Zaljubio sam se u tog tipa.

I thought, wow, I know what I want to do now.

Mislio sam: Wow, sad znam što želim raditi.

That night I wrote a letter to my family

Te noći pisao sam obitelji

telling them: "By age 25,

rekavši: "Do 25. godine,

I will build the biggest company in the world,

izgradit ću najveću tvrtku na svijetu,

and that company will buy Microsoft."

i ta tvrtka kupit će Microsoft."

(Laughter)

(Smijeh)

I totally embraced this idea of conquering the world --

Totalno sam prihvatio tu ideju pokoravanja svijeta --

domination, right?

dominacija, zar ne?

And I didn't make this up, I did write that letter.

I nisam ovo izmislio, zaista sam napisao to pismo.

And here it is --

I evo ga ovdje --

(Laughter)

(Smijeh)

You don't have to read this through --

Ne morate ovo čitati --

(Laughter)

(Smijeh)

This is also bad handwriting, but I did highlight some key words.

Ovo je također loš rukopis, ali označio sam ključne riječi.

You get the idea.

Shvaćate na što sam ciljao.

(Laughter)

(Smijeh)

So ...

Dakle ...

that was another version of me:

to je druga verzija mene:

one who will conquer the world.

onaj koji će pokoriti svijet.

Well, then two years later,

Dvije godine nakon toga,

I was presented with the opportunity to come to the United States.

pojavila se prilika da dođem u SAD.

I jumped on it,

Skočio sam na nju,

because that was where Bill Gates lived, right?

jer to je mjesto gdje živi Bil Gates, zar ne?

(Laughter)

(Smijeh)

I thought that was the start of my entrepreneur journey.

Pomislio sam da je to početak mog poduzetničkog putovanja.

Then, fast-forward another 14 years.

Ubrzajte 14 godina.

I was 30.

Imao sam 30.

Nope, I didn't build that company.

Ne, nisam izgradio tu tvrtku.

I didn't even start.

Nisam čak ni počeo.

I was actually a marketing manager for a Fortune 500 company.

Bio sam marketing menadžer za Fortune 500 tvrtku.

And I felt I was stuck;

Osjećao sam se kao da sam zapeo;

I was stagnant.

Stagnirao sam.

Why is that?

Zašto je tome tako?

Where is that 14-year-old who wrote that letter?

Gdje je 14 godišnjak koji je napisao to pismo?

It's not because he didn't try.

Ne zato što nije pokušao.

It's because every time I had a new idea,

Već zato što svakog puta kada sam imao novu ideju,

every time I wanted to try something new,

svakog puta kada sam htio probati nešto novo,

even at work --

čak i na poslu --

I wanted to make a proposal,

htio sam dati prijedlog,

I wanted to speak up in front of people in a group --

htio sam progovoriti pred grupom ljudi --

I felt there was this constant battle

osjećao sam tu stalnu borbu

between the 14-year-old and the six-year-old.

između 14-godišnjaka i šestogodišnjaka.

One wanted to conquer the world --

Jedan je htio osvojiti svijet --

make a difference --

promijeniti nešto --

another was afraid of rejection.

drugi se bojao odbijanja.

And every time that six-year-old won.

I svakog puta bi taj šestogodišnjak pobijedio.

And this fear even persisted after I started my own company.

I taj strah je čak ustrajao kad sam pokrenuo vlastitu tvrtku.

I mean, I started my own company when I was 30 --

Mislim, pokrenuo sam tvrtku sa 30 godina --

if you want to be Bill Gates,

ako želite biti Bill Gates,

you've got to start sooner or later, right?

morate početi prije ili kasnije, zar ne?

When I was an entrepreneur,

Kada sam bio poduzetnik,

I was presented with an investment opportunity,

pojavila se prilika za investiranje,

and then I was turned down.

i onda su me odbili.

And that rejection hurt me.

To odbijanje je boljelo.

It hurt me so bad that I wanted to quit right there.

Boljelo je toliko da sam tada htio odustati.

But then I thought,

Ali sam onda pomislio,

hey, would Bill Gates quit after a simple investment rejection?

hej, bi li Bill Gates odustao nakon jednostavnog odbijanja?

Would any successful entrepreneur quit like that?

Bi li ijedan uspješan poduzetnik odustao?

No way.

Nema šanse.

And this is where it clicked for me.

I tu je za mene kliknulo.

OK, I can build a better company.

OK, mogu napraviti bolju tvrtku.

I can build a better team or better product,

Mogu izgraditi bolji tim ili bolji proizvod,

but one thing for sure:

ali jedna stvar je sigurna:

I've got to be a better leader.

moram biti bolji vođa.

I've got to be a better person.

Moram biti bolja osoba.

I cannot let that six-year-old keep dictating my life anymore.

Ne mogu dozvoliti šestogodišnjaku da diktira mojim životom.

I have to put him back in his place.

Moram mu pokazati gdje mu je mjesto..

So this is where I went online and looked for help.

Ovdje sam otišao online i tražio pomoć.

Google was my friend.

Google je bio moj prijatelj.

(Laughter)

(Smijeh)

I searched, "How do I overcome the fear of rejection?"

Tražio sam, "Kako prevladati strah od odbijanja?"

I came up with a bunch of psychology articles

Dobio sam puno članaka iz psihologije

about where the fear and pain are coming from.

o tome odakle dolaze bol i strah.

Then I came up with a bunch of "rah-rah" inspirational articles

Onda sam pronašao puno "bla bla" inspiracijskih članaka

about "Don't take it personally, just overcome it."

o tome "Kako ne treba uzimati osobno, samo prevladati."

Who doesn't know that?

Tko to ne zna?

(Laughter)

(Smijeh)

But why was I still so scared?

Ali zašto sam se i dalje bojao?

Then I found this website by luck.

Onda sam slučajno naletio na ovu stranicu.

It's called rejectiontherapy.com.

Zove se rejectiontherapy.com (Terapija odbijanja)

(Laughter)

(Smijeh)

"Rejection Therapy" was this game invented by this Canadian entrepreneur.

"Terapija odbijanja" je igra koju je osmislio kanadski poduzetnik.

His name is Jason Comely.

Njegovo ime je Jason Comely.

And basically the idea is for 30 days you go out and look for rejection,

I ideja je da 30 dana morate tražiti odbijanje,

and every day get rejected at something,

i svakog dana vas moraju odbiti za nešto,

and then by the end, you desensitize yourself from the pain.

i na kraju postanete neosjetljivi na tu bol.

And I loved that idea.

Svidjela mi se ta ideja.

(Laughter)

(Smijeh)

I said, "You know what? I'm going to do this.

Rekao sam, "Znaš što? Pokušat ću ovo.

And I'll feel myself getting rejected 100 days."

I osjećat ću odbijanje 100 dana."

And I came up with my own rejection ideas,

I osmislio sam vlastite ideje o odbijanju,

and I made a video blog out of it.

i napravio sam video blog od toga.

And so here's what I did.

I evo što sam učinio.

This is what the blog looked like.

Ovako je blog izgledao.

Day One ...

Dan Prvi ...

(Laughter)

(Smijeh)

Borrow 100 dollars from a stranger.

Posudi 100 dolara od stranca.

So this is where I went to where I was working.

Ovdje sam otišao tamo gdje sam radio,

I came downstairs

sišao niz stube

and I saw this big guy sitting behind a desk.

i vidio tog velikog tipa iza stola.

He looked like a security guard.

Izgledao je kao zaštitar.

So I just approached him.

Prišao sam mu.

And I was just walking

I hodao sam

and that was the longest walk of my life --

a to je bila najduža šetnja mog života --

hair on the back of my neck standing up,

dlake na vratu nakostriješile su se,

I was sweating and my heart was pounding.

znojio sam se i srce mi je tuklo.

And I got there and said,

I došao sam tamo i rekao,

"Hey, sir, can I borrow 100 dollars from you?"

"Hej gospodine, mogu li posuditi 100 dolara od tebe?"

(Laughter)

(Smijeh)

And he looked up, he's like, "No."

I on me pogledao i rekao "Ne."

"Why?"

"Zašto?"

And I just said, "No? I'm sorry."

I onda sam rekao, "Ne? Žao mi je."

Then I turned around, and I just ran.

Okrenuo sam se i pobjegao.

(Laughter)

(Smijeh)

I felt so embarrassed.

Bilo mi je neugodno.

But because I filmed myself --

Ali zato što sam se snimio --

so that night I was watching myself getting rejected,

te večeri gledao sam kako sam bio odbijen,

I just saw how scared I was.

i samo sam vidio koliko me strah.

I looked like this kid in "The Sixth Sense."

Izgledao sam kao klinac iz "Šestog čula."

I saw dead people.

Vidio sam mrtvace.

(Laughter)

(Smijeh)

But then I saw this guy.

A onda sam vidio tog tipa.

You know, he wasn't that menacing.

Nije bio tako strašan.

He was a chubby, loveable guy,

Bio je debeljuškast, simpatičan tip,

and he even asked me, "Why?"

i čak me pitao "Zašto?"

In fact, he invited me to explain myself.

Pozvao me da se objasnim.

And I could've said many things.

I mogao sam reći svašta.

I could've explained, I could've negotiated.

Mogao sam objasniti, pregovarati.

I didn't do any of that.

Nisam napravio ništa od toga.

All I did was run.

Samo sam pobjegao.

I felt, wow, this is like a microcosm of my life.

Pomislio sam, wow, ovo je kao mikrosvemir mog života.

Every time I felt the slightest rejection,

Svaki put kad bi osjetio i malo odbijanja,

I would just run as fast as I could.

samo bih pobjegao što brže mogu.

And you know what?

I znate što?

The next day, no matter what happens,

Sljedećeg dana, što god da se dogodi,

I'm not going to run.

neću bježati.

I'll stay engaged.

Ostat ću uključen.

Day Two: Request a "burger refill."

Dan Drugi: Tražiti da mi napune burger.

(Laughter)

(Smijeh)

It's when I went to a burger joint,

Otišao sam u prodavaonicu burgera,

I finished lunch, and I went to the cashier and said,

dovršio sam ručak, došao do blagajnika i rekao,

"Hi, can I get a burger refill?"

"Možete li mi ponovno napuniti burger?"

(Laughter)

(Smijeh)

He was all confused, like, "What's a burger refill?"

Bio je zbunjen, "Što znači napuniti burger?"

(Laughter)

(Smijeh)

I said, "Well, it's just like a drink refill but with a burger."

Rekao sam, "Kao da mi dopunite piće, ali sa burgerom."

And he said, "Sorry, we don't do burger refill, man."

I rekao je, "Oprosti, to ne radimo čovječe."

(Laughter)

(Smijeh)

So this is where rejection happened and I could have run, but I stayed.

I tu se dogodilo odbijanje i mogao sam pobjeći, ali ostao sam.

I said, "Well, I love your burgers,

Rekao sam, "Volim vaše burgere,

I love your joint,

volim vašu prodavaonicu,

and if you guys do a burger refill,

i ako mi dopunite burger,

I will love you guys more."

volit ću vas još više."

(Laughter)

(Smijeh)

And he said, "Well, OK, I'll tell my manager about it,

I on je rekao, "OK, reći ću svom šefu za to,

and maybe we'll do it, but sorry, we can't do this today."

i možda to napravimo, ali ne mogu to danas napraviti."

Then I left.

Onda sam otišao.

And by the way,

I usput,

I don't think they've ever done burger refill.

mislim da to nisu nikad napravili.

(Laughter)

(Smijeh)

I think they're still there.

Mislim da još postoje.

But the life and death feeling I was feeling the first time

Ali osjećaj života i smrti koji sam imao prvi put

was no longer there,

nije više bio ondje,

just because I stayed engaged --

samo zato što sam ostao uključen --

because I didn't run.

što nisam pobjegao.

I said, "Wow, great, I'm already learning things.

I rekao sam, "Wow, super, već učim stvari.

Great."

Odlično."

And then Day Three: Getting Olympic Doughnuts.

I onda Treći Dan: Dobivanje Olimpijskih krafni.

This is where my life was turned upside down.

Tu mi se život okrenuo naglavce.

I went to a Krispy Kreme.

Otišao sam u Krispy Kreme.

It's a doughnut shop

To je trgovina s krafnama

in mainly the Southeastern part of the United States.

u jugoistočnom dijelu SAD-a.

I'm sure they have some here, too.

Sigurno imaju neke i ovdje.

And I went in,

I ušao sam,

I said, "Can you make me doughnuts that look like Olympic symbols?

i rekao, "Možete li mi napraviti krafne koje izgledaju kao Olimpijski simboli?

Basically, you interlink five doughnuts together ... "

Samo povežete pet krafni zajedno .."

I mean there's no way they could say yes, right?

Nema šanse da bi pristali na to, zar ne?

The doughnut maker took me so seriously.

Ali pripravljačica krafni me shvatila ozbiljno.

(Laughter)

(Smijeh)

So she put out paper,

Izvadila je papir,

started jotting down the colors and the rings,

počela pisati boje i prstenje,

and is like, "How can I make this?"

i razmišlja, "Kako mogu to napraviti?"

And then 15 minutes later,

I 15 minuta kasnije,

she came out with a box that looked like Olympic rings.

izašla je s kutijom koja je izgledala kao Olimpijsko prstenje.

And I was so touched.

Bio sam tako dirnut.

I just couldn't believe it.

Jednostavno nisam mogao vjerovati.

And that video got over five million views on Youtube.

I taj video je pogledalo višeo od 5 milijuna ljudi na Youtubeu.

The world couldn't believe that either.

Ni svijet nije mogao vjerovati.

(Laughter)

(Smijeh)

You know, because of that I was in newspapers,

Znate, zbog toga sam bio u novinama,

in talk shows, in everything.

na tv-u, posvuda.

And I became famous.

I postao sam slavan.

A lot of people started writing emails to me

Puno ljudi mi je počelo slati e-mailove

and saying, "What you're doing is awesome."

i govoriti, "To što radiš je odlično."

But you know, fame and notoriety did not do anything to me.

Ali znate, slava i to što sam poznat nisu utjecali na mene.

What I really wanted to do was learn,

Ja sam samo htio naučiti,

and to change myself.

i promijeniti sebe.

So I turned the rest of my 100 days of rejection

Tako da sam ostatak 100 dana odbijanja

into this playground --

pretvorio u ovo igralište --

into this research project.

u ovaj istraživački projekt.

I wanted to see what I could learn.

Htio sam vidjeti što mogu naučiti.

And then I learned a lot of things.

I onda sam naučio puno stvari.

I discovered so many secrets.

Otkrio sam tako puno tajni.

For example, I found if I just don't run,

Na primjer, ako ne bježim,

if I got rejected,

kada me odbiju,

I could actually turn a "no" into a "yes,"

možda pretvorim "ne" u "da,"

and the magic word is, "why."

i čarobna riječ je "zašto."

So one day I went to a stranger's house, I had this flower in my hand,

Jednog dana sam s cvijetom u ruci otišao u kuću stranca,

knocked on the door and said,

pokucao na vrata i rekao,

"Hey, can I plant this flower in your backyard?"

"Mogu li zasaditi ovaj cvijet u vašem dvorištu?"

(Laughter)

(Smijeh)

And he said, "No."

Rekao je, "Ne."

But before he could leave I said,

Ali prije nego je otišao pitao sam,

"Hey, can I know why?"

"Mogu li znati zašto?"

And he said, "Well, I have this dog

I on je rekao, "Pa imam tog psa

that would dig up anything I put in the backyard.

koji bi iskopao bilo što što stavim u dvorište.

I don't want to waste your flower.

Ne želim da potratiš cvijet.

If you want to do this, go across the street and talk to Connie.

Ako želiš to učiniti idi preko puta i popričaj s Connie,

She loves flowers."

ona obožava cvijeće."

So that's what I did.

I to sam i učinio.

I went across and knocked on Connie's door.

Prešao sam ulicu i pokucao na njena vrata.

And she was so happy to see me.

Bila je tako sretna što me vidi.

(Laughter)

(Smijeh)

And then half an hour later,

I onda pola sata kasnije,

there was this flower in Connie's backyard.

bio je cvijet zasađen u Connienom dvorištu.

I'm sure it looks better now.

Siguran sam da sada izgleda bolje.

(Laughter)

(Smijeh)

But had I left after the initial rejection,

Ali da sam otišao poslije prvotnog odbijanja,

I would've thought,

pomislio bih,

well, it's because the guy didn't trust me,

to je zato što mi tip ne vjeruje,

it's because I was crazy,

zato što sam lud,

because I didn't dress up well, I didn't look good.

jer se nisam dobro obukao ili nisam dobro izgledao.

It was none of those.

Ali nije bilo ništa od toga.

It was because what I offered did not fit what he wanted.

Ponudio sam mu nešto što nije odgovaralo njegovim potrebama.

And he trusted me enough to offer me a referral,

I vjerovao mi je dovoljno da me referira drugom kupcu,

using a sales term.

da koristim termin iz prodaje.

I converted a referral.

I akvizirao sam tog kupca.

Then one day --

Onda jednog dana --

and I also learned that I can actually say certain things

naučio sam i da mogu reći određene stvari

and maximize my chance to get a yes.

i povećati šanse za potvrdan odgovor.

So for example, one day I went to a Starbucks,

Na primjer, otišao sam u Starbucks,

and asked the manager, "Hey, can I be a Starbucks greeter?"

i rekao sam upravitelju, "Hej, mogu li ja biti Starbucks pozdravljač?"

He was like, "What's a Starbucks greeter?"

On je pitao, "Što je to?"

I said, "Do you know those Walmart greeters?

Rekao sam, "Znate one pozdravljače u Walmartu?

You know, those people who say 'hi' to you before you walk in the store,

Ljudi koji vas pozdrave prije nego uđete,

and make sure you don't steal stuff, basically?

i paze da ne kradete?

I want to give a Walmart experience to Starbucks customers."

Želim dati iskustvo Walmarta Starbucks kupcu."

(Laughter)

(Smijeh)

Well, I'm not sure that's a good thing, actually --

Pa, nisam siguran da je to dobra stvar --

Actually, I'm pretty sure it's a bad thing.

Zapravo, poprilično sam siguran da je to loše.

And he was like, "Oh" --

I on je bio kao, "Oh" --

yeah, this is how he looked, his name is Eric --

tako je izgledao, ime mu je Eric --

and he was like, "I'm not sure."

i on je rekao: "Nisam siguran."

This is how he was hearing me. "Not sure."

Ovako me čuo. "Nisam siguran."

Then I ask him, "Is that weird?"

Onda ga upitam, "Da li je to čudno?"

He's like, "Yeah, it's really weird, man."

On kaže, "Da, stvarno je čudno čovječe."

But as soon as he said that, his whole demeanor changed.

Ali čim je to rekao, njegovo držanje se promijenilo.

It's as if he's putting all the doubt on the floor.

Kao da je stavio svu sumnju na pod.

And he said, "Yeah, you can do this,

I rekao je, "Da, možeš to raditi,

just don't get too weird."

samo nemoj da bude prečudno."

(Laughter)

(Smijeh)

So for the next hour I was the Starbucks greeter.

Sljedećih sat vremena bio sam Starbucks pozdravljač.

I said "hi" to every customer that walked in,

Pozdravio sam svakog kupca koji je ušao,

and gave them holiday cheers.

i dao sam im blagdanski pozdrav.

By the way, I don't know what your career trajectory is,

Usput, ne znam kakva vam je karijera,

don't be a greeter.

ali nemojte biti pozdravljač.

(Laughter)

(Smijeh)

It was really boring.

Bilo je zaista dosadno.

But then I found I could do this because I mentioned, "Is that weird?"

Ali onda sam otkrio da to mogu jer sam pitao "Je li to čudno?"

I mentioned the doubt that he was having.

Spomenuo sam sumnju koju je on imao.

And because I mentioned, "Is that weird?", that means I wasn't weird.

I zato što sam spomenuo "Je li to čudno?", to znači da to nije bilo čudno.

That means I was actually thinking just like him,

To znači da sam razmišljao točno kao i on,

seeing this as a weird thing.

vidjevši da je to čudna stvar.

And again, and again,

I ponovno, i ponovno,

I learned that if I mention some doubt people might have

naučio sam da ako spomenem sumnju koju ljudi možda imaju

before I ask the question,

prije nego postavim pitanje,

I gained their trust.

zadobit ću njihovo povjerenje.

People were more likely to say yes to me.

Bilo je izglednije da će mi ljudi reći da.

And then I learned I could fulfill my life dream ...

I onda sam naučio da mogu ispuniti svoj san...

by asking.

pitajući.

You know, I came from four generations of teachers,

Znate, potječem od četiri generacije učitelja,

and my grandma has always told me,

i moja baka mi je uvijek govorila,

"Hey Jia, you can do anything you want,

"Hej Jia, možeš raditi što god želiš,

but it'd be great if you became a teacher."

ali bilo bi super da budeš učitelj."

(Laughter)

(Smijeh)

But I wanted to be an entrepreneur, so I didn't.

Ali htio sam biti poduzetnik, pa nisam.

But it has always been my dream to actually teach something.

Ali uvijek je bio moj san da zaista nešto podučavam.

So I said, "What if I just ask

Pa sam rekao, "Što ako samo pitam

and teach a college class?"

i držim predavanje na fakultetu?"

I lived in Austin at the time,

Živio sam u Austinu u to vrijeme,

so I went to University of Texas at Austin

pa sam otišao na Sveučilište u Texasu,

and knocked on professors' doors and said, "Can I teach your class?"

pokucao na vrata profesora i pitao "Mogu li držati vaše predavanje?"

I didn't get anywhere the first couple of times.

Nisam dospio daleko prvih par puta.

But because I didn't run -- I kept doing it --

Ali zato što nisam bježao -- nastavio sam to činiti --

and on the third try the professor was very impressed.

i treći put profesor je bio impresioniran.

He was like, "No one has done this before."

Rekao je, "Nitko to do sada nije napravio."

And I came in prepared with powerpoints and my lesson.

I došao sam spreman sa prezentacijom i mojom lekcijom.

He said, "Wow, I can use this.

Rekao je, "Wow, mogu to koristiti.

Why don't you come back in two months? I'll fit you in my curriculum."

Zašto se ne vratiš za dva mjeseca? Uvrstit ću te u moj raspored."

And two months later I was teaching a class.

I dva mjeseca kasnije držao sam predavanje.

This is me -- you probably can't see, this is a bad picture.

Ovo sam ja -- ne vidite vjerojatno, jer je loša slika.

You know, sometimes you get rejected by lighting, you know?

Znate, nekad vas odbije munja?

(Laughter)

(Smijeh)

But wow --

Ali wow --

when I finished teaching that class, I walked out crying,

kad sam završio s predavanjem, izašao sam plačući,

because I thought

jer sam mislio

I could fulfill my life dream just by simply asking.

da mogu ispuniti životni san samo postavljanjem pitanja.

I used to think I have to accomplish all these things --

Nekad sam mislio da to sve moram postići --

have to be a great entrepreneur, or get a PhD to teach --

da moram biti veliki poduzetnik, imati doktorat da podučavam --

but no, I just asked,

ali ne, samo sam pitao,

and I could teach.

i mogao sam podučavati.

And in that picture, which you can't see,

I na toj slici koju ne vidite,

I quoted Martin Luther King, Jr.

citirao sam Martina Luthera Kinga Jr.

Why? Because in my research I found that people who really change the world,

Zašto? Jer u mom istraživanju otkrio sam da ljudi koji zaista mijenjaju svijet,

who change the way we live and the way we think,

koji mije,njaju način na koji živimo i mislimo

are the people who were met with initial and often violent rejections.

su oni ljudi koje je dočekalo žestoko i često nasilno odbijanje.

People like Martin Luther King, Jr.,

Ljudi kao Martin Luther King Jr.,

like Mahatma Gandhi, Nelson Mandela,

kao Mahatma Gandhi, Nelson Mandela,

or even Jesus Christ.

ili čak Isus Krist.

These people did not let rejection define them.

Ti ljudi nisu dozvolili da ih definira odbijanje.

They let their own reaction after rejection define themselves.

Oni su dozvolili vlastitim reakcijama nakon odbijanja da ih definiraju.

And they embraced rejection.

I prihvatili su odbijanje.

And we don't have to be those people to learn about rejection,

I ne moramo biti ti ljudi da bi naučili o odbijanju,

and in my case,

i u mom slučaju,

rejection was my curse,

odbijanje je bilo moje prokletstvo,

was my boogeyman.

moja babaroga.

It has bothered me my whole life because I was running away from it.

Mučilo me cijeli život jer sam od toga bježao.

Then I started embracing it.

Onda sam to prigrlio.

I turned that into the biggest gift in my life.

To sam pretvorio u najveći dar u mom životu.

I started teaching people how to turn rejections into opportunities.

Počeo sam učiti ljude kako da odbijanje pretvore u prilike.

I use my blog, I use my talk,

Koristim blog, moj govor,

I use the book I just published,

koristim knjigu koju sam objavio,

and I'm even building technology to help people overcome their fear of rejection.

i čak gradim tehnologiju koja će pomoći ljudima da prevladaju strah od odbijanja.

When you get rejected in life,

Kada vas odbiju u životu,

when you are facing the next obstacle

kada ste suočeni sa sljedećom preprekom

or next failure,

ili sljedećim neuspjehom,

consider the possibilities.

razmislite o mogućnostima.

Don't run.

Nemojte bježati.

If you just embrace them,

Ako ih samo prigrlite,

they might become your gifts as well.

možda postanu i vaši darovi.

Thank you.

Hvala vam.

(Applause)

(Pljesak)