25: This is really a two-hour presentation I give to high school students,
28: cut down to three minutes.
29: And it all started one day on a plane, on my way to TED,
32: seven years ago.
33: And in the seat next to me was a high school student, a teenager,
38: and she came from a really poor family.
40: And she wanted to make something of her life,
43: and she asked me a simple little question.
45: She said, "What leads to success?"
47: And I felt really badly,
48: because I couldn't give her a good answer.
50: So I get off the plane, and I come to TED.
53: And I think, jeez, I'm in the middle of a room of successful people!
56: So why don't I ask them what helped them succeed,
59: and pass it on to kids?
61: So here we are, seven years, 500 interviews later,
65: and I'm going to tell you what really leads to success
68: and makes TEDsters tick.
70: And the first thing is passion.
72: Freeman Thomas says, "I'm driven by my passion."
75: TEDsters do it for love; they don't do it for money.
78: Carol Coletta says, "I would pay someone to do what I do."
81: And the interesting thing is:
83: if you do it for love, the money comes anyway.
85: Work! Rupert Murdoch said to me, "It's all hard work.
89: Nothing comes easily. But I have a lot of fun."
92: Did he say fun? Rupert? Yes!
95: (Laughter)
96: TEDsters do have fun working. And they work hard.
99: I figured, they're not workaholics. They're workafrolics.
102: (Laughter)
103: Good!
104: (Applause)
105: Alex Garden says, "To be successful, put your nose down in something
109: and get damn good at it."
110: There's no magic; it's practice, practice, practice.
113: And it's focus.
114: Norman Jewison said to me,
116: "I think it all has to do with focusing yourself on one thing."
119: And push!
121: David Gallo says, "Push yourself.
123: Physically, mentally, you've got to push, push, push."
125: You've got to push through shyness and self-doubt.
128: Goldie Hawn says, "I always had self-doubts.
131: I wasn't good enough; I wasn't smart enough.
133: I didn't think I'd make it."
135: Now it's not always easy to push yourself,
137: and that's why they invented mothers.
139: (Laughter)
140: (Applause)
142: Frank Gehry said to me,
145: "My mother pushed me."
146: (Laughter)
147: Serve!
149: Sherwin Nuland says, "It was a privilege to serve as a doctor."
153: A lot of kids want to be millionaires.
155: The first thing I say is:
156: "OK, well you can't serve yourself;
158: you've got to serve others something of value.
160: Because that's the way people really get rich."
164: Ideas!
165: TEDster Bill Gates says, "I had an idea:
168: founding the first micro-computer software company."
171: I'd say it was a pretty good idea.
173: And there's no magic to creativity in coming up with ideas --
176: it's just doing some very simple things.
178: And I give lots of evidence.
180: Persist!
181: Joe Kraus says,
182: "Persistence is the number one reason for our success."
185: You've got to persist through failure. You've got to persist through crap!
189: Which of course means "Criticism, Rejection, Assholes and Pressure."
192: (Laughter)
195: So, the answer to this question is simple:
199: Pay 4,000 bucks and come to TED.
201: (Laughter)
202: Or failing that, do the eight things -- and trust me,
205: these are the big eight things that lead to success.
208: Thank you TEDsters for all your interviews!
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