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

Prevodilac: Milenka Okuka Lektor: Mile Živković

When I was six years old,

Kada mi je bilo šest godina,

I received my gifts.

dobio sam poklone.

My first grade teacher had this brilliant idea.

Moja učiteljica u prvom razredu je imala sjajnu ideju.

She wanted us to experience receiving gifts

Želela je da iskusimo dobijanje poklona,

but also learning the virtue of complimenting each other.

ali i da naučimo vrlinu međusobnog pohvaljivanja.

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

Pa nas je sve izvela ispred table

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

i svima nam je kupila pokolone i nagomilala ih u jedan ugao.

And she said,

Rekla je:

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

"Hajde da svi stojimo ovde i međusobno se poohvaljujemo?

If you hear your name called,

Ako vas prozovu po imenu,

go and pick up your gift and sit down."

otiđite, pokupite svoj poklon i sedite."

What a wonderful idea, right?

Kakva divna ideja, zar ne?

What could go wrong?

Šta je moglo poći po zlu?

(Laughter)

(Smeh)

Well, there were 40 of us to start with,

Pa, na početku nas je bilo četrdesetoro

and every time I heard someone's name called,

i svaki put kad bih čuo da nekoga prozivaju,

I would give out the heartiest cheer.

iz sveg srca bih ga bodrio.

And then there were 20 people left,

A onda je preostalo 20 ljudi,

and 10 people left,

pa 10 ljudi,

and five left ...

pa pet...

and three left.

i ostalo je troje.

And I was one of them.

Ja sam bio jedan od njih.

And the compliments stopped.

I komplimenti su prestali.

Well, at that moment, I was crying.

Pa, u tom trenutku sam plakao.

And the teacher was freaking out.

A učiteljica je bila u panici.

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

Bila je u fazonu: "Hej, zar niko neće da kaže nešto lepo o ovim ljudima?"

(Laughter)

(Smeh)

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

"Niko? U redu, uzmite svoje poklone i sedite.

So behave next year --

Budite dobri dogodine -

someone might say something nice about you."

možda neko kaže nešto lepo o vama."

(Laughter)

(Smeh)

Well, as I'm describing this you,

Pa, kako vam ovo opisujem,

you probably know I remember this really well.

verovatno razumete da sam ovo dobro zapamtio.

(Laughter)

(Smeh)

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

Međutim, ne znam ko se tog dana osećao gore.

Was it me or the teacher?

Ja ili učiteljica?

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

Mora da je shvatila da je pretvorila ekipni događaj nadogradnje

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

u javno izrugivanje tri šestogodišnjaka.

And without the humor.

I to bez humora.

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

Znate, kad vidite kako se rugaju ljudima na TV-u,

it was funny.

to je smešno.

There was nothing funny about that day.

Ništa kod tog dana nije bilo smešno.

So that was one version of me,

Pa, to je jedna verzija mene,

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

i ja bih umro da izbegnem da se ponovo nađem u toj situaciji -

to get rejected in public again.

da me ponovo javno odbiju.

That's one version.

To je jedna verzija.

Then fast-forward eight years.

Zatim ćemo premotati osam godina.

Bill Gates came to my hometown --

Bil Gejts je došao u moj rodni grad -

Beijing, China --

Peking u Kini -

to speak,

da održi govor,

and I saw his message.

i ja sam video njegovu poruku.

I fell in love with that guy.

Zaljubio sam se u tog čoveka.

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

Pomislio sam, aha, sad znam čime želim da se bavim.

That night I wrote a letter to my family

Te noći sam napisao pismo svojima,

telling them: "By age 25,

govoreći im: "Do 25. godine,

I will build the biggest company in the world,

sagradiću najveću firmu na svetu,

and that company will buy Microsoft."

i ta firma će da kupi Majkrosoft."

(Laughter)

(Smeh)

I totally embraced this idea of conquering the world --

Potpuno sam prigrlio ideju osvajanja sveta -

domination, right?

dominacije, je l' da?

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

I ovo nisam izmislio, napisao sam to pismo.

And here it is --

I evo ga -

(Laughter)

(Smeh)

You don't have to read this through --

Ne morate da ga celog čitate -

(Laughter)

(Smeh)

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

Takođe je rukopis loš, ali sam istakao neke ključne reči.

You get the idea.

Kapirate o čemu se radi.

(Laughter)

(Smeh)

So ...

Pa...

that was another version of me:

to je još jedna verzija mene:

one who will conquer the world.

ona koja će da osvoji svet.

Well, then two years later,

Pa, dve godine kasnije,

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

pružila mi se prilika da dođem u Sjedinjene Države.

I jumped on it,

Jedva sam je dočekao

because that was where Bill Gates lived, right?

jer tu živi Bil Gejts, je li tako?

(Laughter)

(Smeh)

I thought that was the start of my entrepreneur journey.

Mislio sam da je to početak mog preduzetničkog putovanja.

Then, fast-forward another 14 years.

Potom, premotajmo narednih 14 godina.

I was 30.

Bilo mi je 30 godina.

Nope, I didn't build that company.

Ne, nisam sagradio tu firmu.

I didn't even start.

Nisam čak ni počeo.

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

Zapravo sam bio marketinški menadžer za firmu Fortune 500.

And I felt I was stuck;

I osećao sam da sam u škripcu.

I was stagnant.

Da stagniram.

Why is that?

Zašto je tako?

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

Gde je 14-ogodišnjak koji je napisao to pismo?

It's not because he didn't try.

Nije da nije pokušao.

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

Radi se o tome da svaki put kad bih imao novu ideju,

every time I wanted to try something new,

svaki put kad bih želeo da pokušam nešto novo,

even at work --

čak i na poslu -

I wanted to make a proposal,

kad bih želeo da predložim,

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

kad bih želeo da govorim pred grupom ljudi -

I felt there was this constant battle

osećao sam konstantnu borbu

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

između 14-ogodišnjaka i šestogodišnjaka.

One wanted to conquer the world --

Jedan je želeo da osvoji svet -

make a difference --

da bude značajan -

another was afraid of rejection.

drugi se plašio odbijanja.

And every time that six-year-old won.

I svaki put bi šestogodišnjak pobedio.

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

A ovaj strah je opstao čak i nakon što sam osnovao sopstvenu firmu.

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

Mislim, osnovao sam sopstvenu firmu kad mi je bilo 30 godina -

if you want to be Bill Gates,

želite li da budete Bil Gejts,

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

morate kad tad da počnete, zar ne?

When I was an entrepreneur,

Dok sam bio preduzetnik,

I was presented with an investment opportunity,

ponuđena mi je investiciona prilika,

and then I was turned down.

a potom sam odbijen.

And that rejection hurt me.

A to odbijanje me je povredilo.

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

Toliko me je povredilo da sam odmah poželeo da odustanem.

But then I thought,

Ali onda sam pomislio,

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

hej, da li bi Bil Gejts odustao nakon prostog investiocionog odbijanja?

Would any successful entrepreneur quit like that?

Da li bi ijedan uspešan preduzetnik odustao tek tako?

No way.

Nema šanse.

And this is where it clicked for me.

I tu mi je kvrcnulo.

OK, I can build a better company.

U redu, mogu da izgradim bolju firmu.

I can build a better team or better product,

Mogu da napravim bolju ekipu ili bolji proizvod,

but one thing for sure:

ali jedno je izvesno:

I've got to be a better leader.

moram da budem bolji vođa.

I've got to be a better person.

Moram da budem bolja osoba.

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

Ne mogu da dozvoljavam šestogodišnjaku da upravlja mojim životom.

I have to put him back in his place.

Moram da ga stavim gde mu je mesto.

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

Tad sam krenuo da tražim pomoć na internetu.

Google was my friend.

Gugl mi je bio prijatelj.

(Laughter)

(Smeh)

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

Tražio sam: "Kako da prevaziđem strah od odbijanja?"

I came up with a bunch of psychology articles

Naišao sam na gomilu psiholoških članaka

about where the fear and pain are coming from.

o tome odakle strah i bol potiču.

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

Potom sam naišao na gomilu "bla-bla" inspiracionih članaka

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

u smislu: "Ne primaj to lično, samo to prevaziđi."

Who doesn't know that?

Ko ne zna za to?

(Laughter)

(Smeh)

But why was I still so scared?

Ali zašto me je i dalje bilo strah?

Then I found this website by luck.

Onda sam slučajno otkrio ovaj vebsajt.

It's called rejectiontherapy.com.

Zove se rejectiontherapy.com.

(Laughter)

(Smeh)

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

"Terapija odbijanja" je igra koju je smislio ovaj kanadski preduzetnik.

His name is Jason Comely.

Zove se Džejson Komli.

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

I ideja je u suštini da 30 dana tragate za odbijanjem

and every day get rejected at something,

i da vas svaki dan odbiju za nešto,

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

i tako do kraja igre postanete bezosećajni za taj bol.

And I loved that idea.

A ideja me je oduševila.

(Laughter)

(Smeh)

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

Rekao sam: "Znate šta? Uradiću to.

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

I iskusiću kako me odbijaju 100 dana."

And I came up with my own rejection ideas,

Smislio sam sopstvene ideje za odbijanje

and I made a video blog out of it.

i napravio sam video blog o tome.

And so here's what I did.

A evo šta sam radio.

This is what the blog looked like.

Evo kako je blog izgledao.

Day One ...

Prvi dan...

(Laughter)

(Smeh)

Borrow 100 dollars from a stranger.

Pozajmiti 100 dolara od stranca.

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

Dakle, ovde sam krenuo sa mesta na kom sam radio.

I came downstairs

Sišao sam niza stepenice

and I saw this big guy sitting behind a desk.

i video sam krupnog čoveka kako sedi za stolom.

He looked like a security guard.

Izgledao je kao obezbeđenje.

So I just approached him.

Pa sam mu prosto prišao.

And I was just walking

I samo sam hodao

and that was the longest walk of my life --

i to je bio najduži hod u mom životu -

hair on the back of my neck standing up,

kosa mi se podigla na potiljku,

I was sweating and my heart was pounding.

znojio sam se i srce mi je lupalo.

And I got there and said,

I došao sam i upitao:

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

"Hej, gospodine, mogu li od vas da pozajmim 100 dolara?"

(Laughter)

(Smeh)

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

A on je podigao pogled, kao: "Ne".

"Why?"

"Zašto?"

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

A ja sam samo rekao: "Ne? Izvinjavam se."

Then I turned around, and I just ran.

Potom sam se okrenuo i samo pobegao.

(Laughter)

(Smeh)

I felt so embarrassed.

Tako me je bilo sramota.

But because I filmed myself --

No, pošto sam se snimao -

so that night I was watching myself getting rejected,

te noći sam gledao kako me odbijaju,

I just saw how scared I was.

prosto sam video koliko me je bilo strah.

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

Izgledao sam kao onaj klinac iz "Šestog čula".

I saw dead people.

Video sam mrtve ljude.

(Laughter)

(Smeh)

But then I saw this guy.

No onda sam pogledao tog čoveka.

You know, he wasn't that menacing.

Znate, nije bio toliko strašan.

He was a chubby, loveable guy,

Bio je ljupki bucko,

and he even asked me, "Why?"

čak me je i upitao: "Zašto?"

In fact, he invited me to explain myself.

Zapravo me je pozvao da se objasnim.

And I could've said many things.

I mogao sam da kažem štošta.

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

Mogao sam da objasnim, mogao sam da pregovaram.

I didn't do any of that.

Nisam uradio bilo šta od toga.

All I did was run.

Samo sam pobegao.

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

Osetio sam, opa, ovo je poput mog životnog mikrokosmosa.

Every time I felt the slightest rejection,

Svaki put kad bih osetio i najmanje odbijanje,

I would just run as fast as I could.

prosto bih pobegao što je brže moguće.

And you know what?

I znate šta?

The next day, no matter what happens,

Sledećeg dana, šta god da se desi,

I'm not going to run.

neću da pobegnem.

I'll stay engaged.

Ostaću pri svom.

Day Two: Request a "burger refill."

Drugi dan: Zahtevati "dopunu pljeskavice".

(Laughter)

(Smeh)

It's when I went to a burger joint,

Tada sam krenuo u restoran brze hrane,

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

pojeo sam ručak, otišao do kasira i pitao:

"Ćao, možete li da mi dopunite pljeskavicu?"

"Hi, can I get a burger refill?"

(Laughter)

(Smeh)

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

Bio je sav zbunjen, u stilu: "Šta je dopuna pljeskavice?"

(Laughter)

(Smeh)

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

Rekao sam: "Pa, to je poput dosipanja pića, ali s pljeskavicom."

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

A on je rekao: "Izvini, ne dopunjavamo pljeskavice."

(Laughter)

(Smeh)

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

Dakle, ovde sam bio odbijen i mogao sam da pobegnem, ali sam ostao.

I said, "Well, I love your burgers,

Rekao sam: "Pa, volim vaše pljeskavice,

I love your joint,

volim vaš restoran

and if you guys do a burger refill,

i ako biste dopunjavali pljeskavice,

I will love you guys more."

još više bih vas voleo."

(Laughter)

(Smeh)

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

A on je rekao: "Pa, u redu, reći ću menadžeru za to,

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

možda ćemo to i da uradimo, ali žao mi je, danas ne možemo."

Then I left.

Potom sam otišao.

And by the way,

I, usput,

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

mislim da nikad nisu dopunjavali pljeskavice.

(Laughter)

(Smeh)

I think they're still there.

Mislim da i dalje postoje.

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

Ali osećanje života i smrti koje sam osetio prvog puta

was no longer there,

više nije bilo prisutno,

just because I stayed engaged --

samo zato što sam ostao pri svom -

because I didn't run.

jer nisam pobegao.

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

Rekao sam: "Aha, sjajno, već učim ponešto.

Great."

Sjajno."

And then Day Three: Getting Olympic Doughnuts.

A onda treći dan: nabaviti olimpijske krofne.

This is where my life was turned upside down.

Tad se moj život preokrenuo.

I went to a Krispy Kreme.

Otišao sam u Krispy Kreme.

It's a doughnut shop

To je radnja s krofnama,

in mainly the Southeastern part of the United States.

uglavnom su u jugoistočnom delu Sjedinjenih Država.

I'm sure they have some here, too.

Siguran sam da imaju radnje i ovde.

And I went in,

I ušao sam, rekavši:

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

"Možete li da mi napravite krofne koje izgledaju kao olimpijski simboli?

Basically, you interlink five doughnuts together ... "

U suštini upletete pet krofni zajedno..."

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

Mislim, nema šanse da bi pristali, zar ne?

The doughnut maker took me so seriously.

Kuvarica krofni me je baš ozbiljno shvatila.

(Laughter)

(Smeh)

So she put out paper,

Pa je izvadila papir,

started jotting down the colors and the rings,

počela je da pravi skicu boja i krugova,

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

i sva je u stilu: "Kako da ovo napravim?"

And then 15 minutes later,

A onda, 15 minuta kasnije,

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

izašla je s kutijom koja je izgledala poput olimpijskih krugova.

And I was so touched.

I bio sam toliko dirnut.

I just couldn't believe it.

Prosto nisam mogao da verujem.

And that video got over five million views on Youtube.

A taj snimak je imao preko pet miliona pregleda na Jutjubu.

The world couldn't believe that either.

Svet takođe nije mogao da veruje.

(Laughter)

(Smeh)

You know, because of that I was in newspapers,

Znate, zbog toga sam bio u novinama,

in talk shows, in everything.

tok šouovima, svuda.

And I became famous.

Postao sam poznat.

A lot of people started writing emails to me

Mnogo ljudi mi je pisalo mejlove

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

i govorili su: "To što radiš je sjajno."

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

Ali znate, slava i prepoznatljivost me nisu dotakli.

What I really wanted to do was learn,

Ja sam zaista samo želeo da učim

and to change myself.

i da se promenim.

So I turned the rest of my 100 days of rejection

Pa sam pretvorio ostatak mojih 100 dana odbijanja

into this playground --

u ovo igralište -

into this research project.

u ovaj istraživački projekat.

I wanted to see what I could learn.

Želeo sam da vidim šta mogu da naučim.

And then I learned a lot of things.

I onda sam naučio svašta.

I discovered so many secrets.

Otkrio sam toliko tajni.

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

Na primer, otkrio sam da samo ako ne pobegnem,

if I got rejected,

kad me odbiju,

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

da mogu zapravo "ne" da pretvorim u "da",

and the magic word is, "why."

a magična reč je: "Zašto".

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

Pa sam jednog dana pošao do kuće stranca, imao sam neki cvet u ruci,

knocked on the door and said,

pokucao sam na vrata i pitao:

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

"Hej, mogu li da posadim ovaj cvet u vaše dvorište?"

(Laughter)

(Smeh)

And he said, "No."

I on je rekao: "Ne."

But before he could leave I said,

No pre nego što je otišao, pitao sam:

"Hey, can I know why?"

"Hej, mogu li da znam zašto?"

And he said, "Well, I have this dog

A on je rekao: "Pa, imam psa

that would dig up anything I put in the backyard.

koji iskopa sve što posadim u dvorištu.

I don't want to waste your flower.

Ne želim da vam proćerdam cvet.

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

Ako želite to da uradite, pođite preko puta i razgovarajte s Koni.

She loves flowers."

Ona voli cveće."

So that's what I did.

Pa sam to i uradio.

I went across and knocked on Connie's door.

Pošao sam preko puta i pokucao na Konina vrata.

And she was so happy to see me.

A njoj je bilo baš drago što me vidi.

(Laughter)

(Smeh)

And then half an hour later,

A onda je pola sata kasnije

there was this flower in Connie's backyard.

ovaj cvet bio u Koninom dvorištu.

I'm sure it looks better now.

Sigurno danas lepše izgleda.

(Laughter)

(Smeh)

But had I left after the initial rejection,

Ali da sam otišao nakon prvobitnog odbijanja,

I would've thought,

pomislio bih,

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

pa, to je zato što mi čovek nije verovao,

it's because I was crazy,

to je zato što sam lud,

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

jer se nisam dobro obukao, nisam izgledao dobro.

It was none of those.

Nije bilo ništa od toga.

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

To je zato što moja ponuda nije bila nešto što mu treba.

And he trusted me enough to offer me a referral,

A verovao mi je dovoljno da me uputi dalje,

using a sales term.

da koristim trgovački termin.

I converted a referral.

Preobratio sam uput.

Then one day --

Jednog dana -

and I also learned that I can actually say certain things

i takođe sam naučio da mogu da kažem određene stvari

and maximize my chance to get a yes.

i da uvećam svoje šanse za pozitivan odgovor.

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

Na primer, jednog dana sam otišao u Starbaks

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

i upitao menadžera: "Hej, mogu li da budem Starbaksova hostesa?"

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

Bio je u fazonu: "Šta je Starbaksova hostesa?"

I said, "Do you know those Walmart greeters?

Rekao sam: "Znate one hostese u Volmartu?

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

Znate, oni ljudi koji vam kažu "zdravo" pre ulaska u radnju,

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

i u suštini se staraju da ne kradete stvari?

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

Želim Starbaksovim mušterijama da pružim iskustvo iz Volmarta."

(Laughter)

(Smeh)

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

Pa, nisam siguran da je to zapravo dobra ideja -

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

Zapravo, prilično sam siguran da je to nešto loše.

And he was like, "Oh" --

I bio je u fazonu: "Ah" -

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

da, ovako je izgledao, zove se Erik -

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

a bio je u stilu, "Nisam siguran."

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

Ovako me je čuo. "Nisam siguran."

Then I ask him, "Is that weird?"

Onda sam upitao: "Je li to čudno?"

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

A on će: "Da, zaista je čudno, čoveče."

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

Ali čim je to rekao, celokupno ponašanje mu se promenilo.

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

Kao da je sve sumnje odložio na pod.

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

I rekao je: "Da, možeš to da uradiš,

just don't get too weird."

samo ne budi suviše čudan."

(Laughter)

(Smeh)

So for the next hour I was the Starbucks greeter.

Narednih sat vremena sam bio Starbaksova hostesa.

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

Rekao sam "zdravo" svakoj mušteriji koja je ušla

and gave them holiday cheers.

i pružio im praznične pozdrave.

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

Usput, ne znam kako vam se odvija karijera,

don't be a greeter.

nemojte da budete hostesa.

(Laughter)

(Smeh)

It was really boring.

Bilo je zaista dosadno.

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

Ali sam tad otkrio da mogu ovo da uradim jer sam pomenuo: "Da li je to čudno?"

I mentioned the doubt that he was having.

Spomenuo sam sumnju koju je imao.

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

A zato što sam spomenuo: "Da li je to čudno?" značilo je da nisam čudan.

That means I was actually thinking just like him,

Značilo je da zapravo mislim baš što i on,

seeing this as a weird thing.

da uviđam kako je to nešto čudno.

And again, and again,

I iznova i iznova,

I learned that if I mention some doubt people might have

naučio sam da ako pomenem neku sumnju koju ljudi možda imaju

before I ask the question,

pre nego postavim pitanje,

I gained their trust.

zadobiću njihovo poverenje.

People were more likely to say yes to me.

Ljudi su bili skloniji da mi kažu da.

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

I onda sam shvatio da mogu da ostvarim životni san...

by asking.

pitajući.

You know, I came from four generations of teachers,

Znate, potičem iz četiri generacije nastavnika,

and my grandma has always told me,

i baka mi je uvek govorila:

"Hey Jia, you can do anything you want,

"Hej, Đija, možeš da se baviš čime god želiš,

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

ali bi bilo divno kad bi postao nastavnik."

(Laughter)

(Smeh)

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

No, ja sam želeo da budem preduzetnik, te nisam.

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

Ali mi je oduvek bio san da nešto zapravo predajem.

So I said, "What if I just ask

Pa sam rekao: "Šta ako bih prosto pitao

and teach a college class?"

da predajem čas na fakultetu?"

I lived in Austin at the time,

Tada sam živeo u Ostinu,

so I went to University of Texas at Austin

pa sam pošao do Univerziteta Teksas u Ostinu

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

i pokucao sam na vrata profesoru i pitao: "Mogu li da održim vaš čas?"

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

Nigde nisam stigao prvih nekoliko puta.

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

No kako nisam pobegao - nastavio sam s tim -

and on the third try the professor was very impressed.

i trećeg puta profesor je bio veoma impresioniran.

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

Bio je u stilu: "Niko to pre nije uradio."

And I came in prepared with powerpoints and my lesson.

A ja sam došao spreman sa prezentacijom u Power point-u i lekcijom.

He said, "Wow, I can use this.

Rekao je: "Opa, ovo bi mi bilo korisno.

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

Dođi za dva meseca. Ubaciću te u plan rada."

And two months later I was teaching a class.

A dva meseca kasnije, držao sam predavanje.

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

Ovo sam ja - verovatno ne možete da vidite, ovo je loša slika.

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

Znate, nekad vas rasveta odbije.

(Laughter)

(Smeh)

But wow --

Ali, alal vera -

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

kad sam završio predavanje, izašao sam plačući

because I thought

jer sam pomislio

I could fulfill my life dream just by simply asking.

da sam mogao da ostvarim životni san prosto pitajući.

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

Nekad sam mislio da moram da postignem sve te stvari -

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

moram da budem sjajan preduzetnik, ili da dobijem doktorat da bih predavao -

but no, I just asked,

ali ne, samo sam pitao

and I could teach.

i mogao sam da predajem.

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

A na toj slici, to ne možete da vidite,

I quoted Martin Luther King, Jr.

citirao sam Martina Lutera Kinga mlađeg.

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

Zašto? Jer sam u svom istraživanju otkrio da ljudi koji zaista menjaju svet,

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

koji menjaju način na koji živimo i način na koji mislimo

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

su ljudi koji su u početku dočekani sa često snažnim odbijanjem.

People like Martin Luther King, Jr.,

Ljudi, poput Martina Lutera Kinga mlađeg,

like Mahatma Gandhi, Nelson Mandela,

poput Mahatme Gandija, Nelsona Mandele,

or even Jesus Christ.

pa čak i Isusa Hrista.

These people did not let rejection define them.

Ti ljudi nisu dopustili da ih odbijanje definiše.

They let their own reaction after rejection define themselves.

Dozvolili su sopstvenim reakcijama nakon odbijanja da ih definišu.

And they embraced rejection.

I prigrlili su odbijanje.

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

I ne moramo da budemo ti ljudi da bismo naučili o odbijanju,

and in my case,

a u mom slučaju,

rejection was my curse,

odbijanje je bilo moja kletva,

was my boogeyman.

moja babaroga.

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

Mučilo me je čitav moj život jer sam bežao od njega.

Then I started embracing it.

Onda sam počeo da ga prihvatam.

I turned that into the biggest gift in my life.

Preokrenuo sam to u najveći poklon u mom životu.

I started teaching people how to turn rejections into opportunities.

Počeo sam da podučavam ljude kako da preobrate odbijanja u šanse.

I use my blog, I use my talk,

Koristim svoj blog, koristim moj govor,

I use the book I just published,

koristim knjigu koju sam upravo objavio

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

čak i pravim tehnologiju da pomognem ljudima da prevaziđu strah od odbijanja.

When you get rejected in life,

Kada vas odbiju u životu,

when you are facing the next obstacle

kada ste suočeni s novom preprekom

or next failure,

ili novim neuspehom,

consider the possibilities.

razmotrite mogućnosti.

Don't run.

Ne bežite.

If you just embrace them,

Ako ih samo prigrlite,

they might become your gifts as well.

mogle bi da postanu takođe vaši darovi.

Thank you.

Hvala vam.

(Applause)

(Aplauz)