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“Powerful failures” | Nelson Reyes | TEDxChallengeEarlyCollegeHS


[Applause]
all right guys I’m asked you i’ma start
off with the question so raise your hand
if you know half of these people up here
all right
um give me things that they all have in
common famous rich
I don’t think Tom is rich but you know
what they all have in common they all
have Felton before Steve Jobs was fired
from his own company
Tom can never catch Jerry Michael Jordan
didn’t even make his high school
basketball team so when I was doing this
project about the failures I was like
why do people see failures as a such a
negative way how come the no sees
failure as a motivation or something
they should like overcome so when I was
doing this project I was talking to my
colleagues I was like hey what should I
do for this project and they were like
nothing you should put a piece of paper
and just write the wall of failures and
the individuals write about it and I was
like all right let me do that and every
I just told people to write their
failures or their what they’re going
through right now or what they had
before and it was interesting because
every other day I will go check and
there was four things that they all had
in common
it was either relationships business
communication or academics but today I
have none of those because today imma
show you the failure of preparation and
presentation all right didn’t make my
project today right I forgot so and he
told me I have like 18 minutes but only
plan for 15 so for like the next three
minutes someone just stand just stand
what’s your name you got any plans
tonight
wanna hang up no okay it’s okay I’m
playing guys either actual project let’s
start so I’m gonna start with off with
grabs so this is my alma grafts have
been very very detailed and this is the
amount of people who have failed so you
see in the blue 100 percent of people
have failed right
some people have failed to brush their
teeth tests and things like that and
from a survey that I did my next graph
after being with the best statistician
that I could see our ap statistics
teacher mr. Collins I was like hey can
you help me and he was like yes and this
is almost near perfect because look this
is what I found out the more you fail
the more success you have simple is that
right okay so to continue on so let
start off with business so basically
with business at a young age I was
having this conversation my older
brother so this is how we went out I got
home I walked in my room I said what’s
up bro and he walks back and then I go
back and I’m like hey bro what you’re
doing he’s like and he’s talking about
this amazing thing he’s like oh my god
you know this thing right here this
thing he goes off for like minutes and
I’m like what are you talking about he’s
like I’m talking about the pair of
Jordans and I’m like what what are you
talking about a pair of Jordans and he
was like because these are the best
shoes coming out this week and I was
like okay let me let me do some research
so after I did some research after this
one research 5 minutes later I was up I
was like wow there’s millions of people
that collect sneakers and buy them and
resell them I should probably start
doing this so On January 4 2013 at the
age of 12 I asked my grandma to please
take me to the local mall and how we get
the pair of shoes so basically I went to
the local mall and I was in the first
thing man
simple as that I got there in I was at
6:00 in the morning I had like two hours
to weigh and I was chilling right but
then I got the shoes I was so excited I
was like yes
rats and then I was walking to my
grandma’s car this dog came up to me he
was seven feet tall and at that time I
was like four or five I was 12 and he
was like 37 but it was okay you know
he’s like hey what do you got there and
with my voice I was like and he was like
and then he popped out this cache and he
was like I got $300 if you give I’ll
give you $300 if you sell me this pair
right now and I was like okay so I got
back in line and I was like am I talking
to myself I was like do you know what
you just got into what happens if the
money is fake like I was like so nervous
I was gonna go to the store and be like
hey you’re $100 fake so I was happy
because at the end of the day I got the
pair of shoes and I went to my older
brother I was like you know what you
know what I’m cooler than you cuz I got
them and you didn’t know you had to work
so and then he with these five words he
and now like ever since that day I’ve
been traumatized and I don’t know like
for those for like four five years later
today I have I wish that will hurt you
all right but to continue on when he
still told me the next week shoes are
ready I was like what this is a wicked
thing people actually do this when
there’s one pair shoes I will buy and I
will resell for a hundred percent or
even hundred fifty percent of the profit
and I’ll be so excited but sometimes
that will release like seven pairs a
week and I couldn’t get them all so it
was said that week but then it came back
again it was interesting cuz they’re all
over and during that time I was making
money I made $400 one weekend another
weekend $600 and I was taking I was
mining the best toys at that time I was
wearing the best toys and I was taking
out my family to the best fine dining
places I could afford and it was
interesting I was like yes I’m at the
prime I’m at the top I could be the best
and then when we came and I got this
pair of shoes the Jordan threes they
were sitting one week after the release
and I got a size 12 that was the first
issue the next issue is I lost the
receipt so I couldn’t even return them
and I saw them that day for $100 when
they originally cost $180 so that’s
where I learned that failure is okay
because from that moment I learned that
if I haven’t felt at that moment I
wouldn’t be the same person I am today
ever since then I have made more money
then I would ever lose so to continue on
to my next story about academics so darn
it’s raised your hand if you ever fell
the quiz a test online or anything like
that region if you have your hand down
your line all right so let’s start off
so one day I was I was going to class
and my teacher was like all oh yeah
we have a test after lunch so come back
we’ll be ready to take the test over
like Hawaii she said this she told that
she said this yesterday none of us
remember and during lunch we were like
hey bro you study and things wasn’t like
there but that day I saw the most
creative type of cheating I saw like
three different types of cheating when
we discussed – because I did them I mean
my friends did them
okay so the first one was this so during
my test our teacher watch was watching
us like a hawk so from this point on I’m
a car mrs. hawk she would like go around
creep like this go down look around like
that she was down on the table look over
and things like that and my friend had
this bright idea he was like let me take
two paper balls he was like let me take
these two paper balls one with the
answers and one without it and his plan
was to send it to student B and guys I’m
sorry if you don’t understand this this
might be a little bit confusing but this
is how they worked it out in lunch I’m
sorry if you don’t understand but
basically he’s gonna go from student
name just doing beat with two paper
balls he’s gonna give him what he’s
gonna throw away the other one all right
so this one the teacher was like all
right I don’t see nothing wrong but then
he got caught because he did it three
more times they got caught they both got
zeroes and then this is the one that I
did I mean my friends did he was that he
was they were writing for him they were
like bro I don’t know the answers
question he was like I got a great idea
and then they told they whispered idea
and they were like wow so this is what
that basically happened they’re like
whoops
they dropped both of their papers simple
is it and then they were like and they
were like oh let me pick it up but they
grabbed the other prisoners test and
they were like oh I picked up your test
my bad
minutes and you know what happened at
the end we all got our tests back and we
all passed except for those two guys
right that’s amazing I’m just playing
guys we offer we all failed but we
learned that from that time we should
start painting class study and focus so
the next one I almost want to talk about
is the failure of communication so I was
talking to my mom the other day and she
was like man I went to this
drive-through and he ruined my order I
asked for a chicken strips with french
fries suicide the gravy you know what
happened you thought they forgot the
gravy right the extra gravy no they
forgot the whole chicken strip and she
was like man I got home I was waiting I
worked all day and things like that and
she was like I don’t know what you can
do now so she ordered a pizza that day
so the next one was so you know prom
season and graduation and anyone wants
to look good for the camera so I was
getting these printed new haircuts and
they were like let me wait for four
hours in line to get this fresh hair cut
and the barber and they usually
something goes like this at the end
they’ll be like you like your haircut
and you’ll be like yes but then you have
that little thought in behind your head
be like paying for this it’s such a bad
haircut like what am I paying $40 for
this haircut why am I even paying $40
for a haircut
and things like that starts to go on now
let me start on failure and
relationships so basically there’s two
types of failure relationships either
girlfriend boyfriend or family oh yeah
friendship or family so let me show you
a little checklist just between me and
my little brother so it start off like
this this was last year and that texting
happy national sibling day and then he
it’s not like oh man what did I do wrong
and then the next day I’m like hey can
you give me a glass of water or a cup of
water or anything I was right because I
was like what did I do to him to make
him rich at this point what how much
damage have I caused to this kid so next
you came around and I texted him this
and he said this this is a huge
improvement guys at least he
acknowledged that I was a sibling right
it was great I was happy and then I
and I good day it was I was so happy I
was like yes our bond is finally back
together but then I was looking at my
phone the other day and I saw these text
message I mean my friend sent me these
text messages they’re not mine
all right so basically he was like a
nurse and I need hope with this girl cuz
I have a crush on her and I’m like okay
okay let me help you
he sends her this message and he got
that back he was so hurt and I’m like
bro just let her go you deserve better
champ but he went back and with a pickup
line and I told to cut it out cut it out
roll it stop and then she blocks on was
number and I don’t don’t talk back and
then he and I totally stopped start
texting and then this went on for like a
couple of days and he didn’t get the
message and then I went for a couple of
weeks surprisingly and went for a month
until he finally got the message a year
I feel so sorry for him I hope he’s
doing good so what I want you to get off
from this is don’t let failure be an
obstacle or a barrier to your dreams let
it be a catalyst because every time you
have a fail that’s having anything even
the smallest things hoping that you
learn from it to reach their dreams of
yours thank you [Applause]
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