at some point in our lives we have all
wished we had a superpower and I’m here
to tell you today that all of us do have
one I used mine when I was really young
but it was not until 20 years later that
I realized the power I possessed when I
was six years old I did not know that
all children my age could not go to
school I was in grade one and my school
asked all students to raise money for
the Health Care Society of India I did
not understand what that meant so I ran
to my mom after school and I asked her
to explain what I was supposed to do and
she told that all children are not
fortunate to even have parents and some
families cannot afford to send their
children to school so nonprofits like
health care help make that possible this
harsh reality deeply affected me and I
remember thinking what is it that I can
do to help them so I took charge for the
next 10 days every day after school I
went door-to-door in my condo building
asking each one of my neighbors to give
10 rupees which is about 20 cents to my
fundraiser and I employed every little
tactic that my young brain knew at that
time like convincing my sister to give
all of her pocket money to me or bribing
your friend with playdates if she could
get money from her mom I think the
hardest one was proving to a neighbor
that this nonprofit was in fact real and
registered and it was difficult in the
time of no internet in the end I had a
successful fundraiser and I got an award
for raising the most funds in my school
but that’s not the important part the
important part is how my small act to
achieve my goal changed the lives of
those around me particularly my parents
because they were able to connect with
me and teach me the core value of
helping others a value which has stayed
at the center of my character over the
years this also allowed my teachers to
teach all the students how to work
towards a goal and how to be tenacious
my friend obviously found
playmate and my building residents were
able to understand some of the realities
that existed in the society they lived
in but most importantly the lives of the
children that was served as a result of
all these experiences changed forever
because they received the lifelong and
the priceless gift of Education and I
believe many of us may be living our
lives like the six-year-old me not
realizing the super power we possess to
influence and change lives throughout my
life’s journey there have been certain
moments that have helped me uncover this
power that we all possess and I would
like to share four of these experiences
with you because I think they also shed
light on some of the reasons we fail to
understand our potential first I want to
share my experience from theory three
years ago when I decided to travel alone
by myself for the first time to live in
volunteer in a girl’s orphanage in Peru
I did a bake sale for raising money to
buy them school uniform and I remember
going with the mindset that you know I’m
doing this and I’m going to make an
impact in these children’s lives but
when I arrived I saw these children live
like one big happy family they did not
need me my uniforms or the chocolates I
got them to make them more happier than
they already were every morning I saw
them join their little hands to pray to
God thanking him for everything they had
food water shelter each other and me I
was a new addition in their list and so
it’s very nice for me to think that I
did anything for them because the impact
each and every child has on me is living
with me every single day these children
taught me the true meaning of compassion
and a finding joy in what we already
have
so the lesson from this is very simple
giving is not a one-way transaction when
we give our time or resources it affects
us as much as the person receiving it
second I want to talk about my
experience from last year when I moved
to Vancouver from the Microsoft
headquarters in Redmond there I used to
be part of well-established community
and outreach programs and I started
missing that when I moved here so I went
to the director of our newly formed
office here in Vancouver and I asked him
hey what’s up what’s in the pipeline
here and he was quite intrigued by my
passion and asked me to start the women
of Microsoft Vancouver group and trust
me this is something I wanted for a long
time yet when he asked me I hesitated
because up until that point I was living
my life thinking I’m going to do certain
things when I’m at a certain age or when
I have certain years of experience but
he smiled and said you don’t have to
wait to be at a certain position to
start making a difference and that one
line left me speechless and it changed
the course of all my actions since that
day and so I would like to encourage all
of you to not think that we need to be
at the ranks of Oprah Ghandi Steve Jobs
to start making an impact
we are already empowered to do so by
being ourselves and channeling our
passions in the right direction
another misconception that I used to
have was thinking that we make our
decisions based on our own thinking and
rationale only like nothing else really
affects us we make our own decisions
like I used to think I chose to go to
Purdue University for my undergraduate
studies because I did all my
calculations it was a top school and I
was making that choice it was my
decision in reality my dad’s photographs
of his time at Purdue did affect me as a
child
where before I found out that Neil
Armstrong was alumni of the program I
was applying to so even if we may think
that whatever we are doing may not
affect someone it way it may be very
well influencing their decisions Jonah
Berger who’s a social expert and a
professor at University of Pennsylvania
in his book invisible influence shows
that our opinions are deeply shaped by
other people’s behaviors people who are
not even connected to us and not just in
the big decisions even in the small ones
lastly I want to share my experience
growing up in New Delhi India me and my
sister had a beautiful childhood and our
parents taught us that if we put our
mind towards something we could achieve
it if we really wanted something there
was nothing that was stopping us they
taught us to dream and they told us that
the world was full of opportunities so I
took that dream and I arrived in the
United States to study engineering but I
was surprised because not a lot of girls
seem to have the same dream as me and I
wanted to find out what were the reasons
for girls not choosing science and
engineering as their majors and once I
did find those reasons like my young
self I wanted to change that so I
started reaching out to local high
schools mentoring girls bringing them
into my classroom and really showing
them a glimpse of the future and the
most important part from all of this is
noticing that my parents were just
raising two daughters to the best of
their capabilities but little did they
know that they were influencing
daughters all over the world so even men
influence is invisible like I’ve shared
in these examples it is so strong that
it can travel thousands of miles and
affects countless hearts what is going
to happen if we start mindfully
utilizing this power are some things
I have three pointers first this can
actually make us happier
our emotions turn out are contagious to
be precise if you are lonely people
directly connected to you are 52 percent
more likely to be lonely but if you’re
happy you’re close friends are 15
percent more likely to be happy your
friends friends are 10 percent more
likely to be happy and your friends
friends friends are 6 percent more
likely to be happy it’s called the
happiness effect which travels through 3
degrees of influence Gustav Limbaugh a
French psychologist years ago showed
this in his social contagion theory as
well that as human beings we are
actually wired to mimic emotions of
those around us and that’s the reason
people in a certain group behave a
certain way or a leaders mode affects
people working around him or as simply
as me smiling at you is going to make
you smile back at me this can also help
us reach our goals which is the second
benefit of it
research by three psychologists hang
cards Peter Goldman son and Ron haseen
shows that just by watching or reading
someone strive towards a goal can make
you drop that goal as well
in one study for example they showed
that people who read a story about
someone trying to make more money were
more likely to put an effort in trying
to make more money than people who read
a story which was not related to making
money third this can also make us better
decision-makers and our cities richer
which is very interesting if your
pattern of interaction is diverse and
inclusive you and everyone in your
community end up making better decisions
and cities with people who are
continuously reaching out in their
social networks who are doing social
exploration end up with higher GDP so
that’s my case going forward I suggest
we all do three very simple things first
we need to understand that we all have
the super power
influence and change lives it’s like
we’re all a candle we all have the same
ability to light another candle we just
need to know that we can second we need
to understand what our uniqueness is and
strengths are what is it that people say
that we are good at and once we know
that we have to use it we have to echo
it out in everything we do
third we need to watch for our influence
traveling through others see how when
you say something or do something how
does it affect people around you does it
to have a ripple effect and once you
start noticing these things it’s going
to inspire you to do more of it I will
end with a very profound quote by Scott
Adams you don’t have to be a person of
influence to be influential in fact the
most influential people in my life are
not even aware of the things they have
taught me our influence is our
superpower and each and every one of you
have it I hope when you go home today
you think how you will use yours to
change the world thank you
[Applause]
you
wished we had a superpower and I’m here
to tell you today that all of us do have
one I used mine when I was really young
but it was not until 20 years later that
I realized the power I possessed when I
was six years old I did not know that
all children my age could not go to
school I was in grade one and my school
asked all students to raise money for
the Health Care Society of India I did
not understand what that meant so I ran
to my mom after school and I asked her
to explain what I was supposed to do and
she told that all children are not
fortunate to even have parents and some
families cannot afford to send their
children to school so nonprofits like
health care help make that possible this
harsh reality deeply affected me and I
remember thinking what is it that I can
do to help them so I took charge for the
next 10 days every day after school I
went door-to-door in my condo building
asking each one of my neighbors to give
10 rupees which is about 20 cents to my
fundraiser and I employed every little
tactic that my young brain knew at that
time like convincing my sister to give
all of her pocket money to me or bribing
your friend with playdates if she could
get money from her mom I think the
hardest one was proving to a neighbor
that this nonprofit was in fact real and
registered and it was difficult in the
time of no internet in the end I had a
successful fundraiser and I got an award
for raising the most funds in my school
but that’s not the important part the
important part is how my small act to
achieve my goal changed the lives of
those around me particularly my parents
because they were able to connect with
me and teach me the core value of
helping others a value which has stayed
at the center of my character over the
years this also allowed my teachers to
teach all the students how to work
towards a goal and how to be tenacious
my friend obviously found
playmate and my building residents were
able to understand some of the realities
that existed in the society they lived
in but most importantly the lives of the
children that was served as a result of
all these experiences changed forever
because they received the lifelong and
the priceless gift of Education and I
believe many of us may be living our
lives like the six-year-old me not
realizing the super power we possess to
influence and change lives throughout my
life’s journey there have been certain
moments that have helped me uncover this
power that we all possess and I would
like to share four of these experiences
with you because I think they also shed
light on some of the reasons we fail to
understand our potential first I want to
share my experience from theory three
years ago when I decided to travel alone
by myself for the first time to live in
volunteer in a girl’s orphanage in Peru
I did a bake sale for raising money to
buy them school uniform and I remember
going with the mindset that you know I’m
doing this and I’m going to make an
impact in these children’s lives but
when I arrived I saw these children live
like one big happy family they did not
need me my uniforms or the chocolates I
got them to make them more happier than
they already were every morning I saw
them join their little hands to pray to
God thanking him for everything they had
food water shelter each other and me I
was a new addition in their list and so
it’s very nice for me to think that I
did anything for them because the impact
each and every child has on me is living
with me every single day these children
taught me the true meaning of compassion
and a finding joy in what we already
have
so the lesson from this is very simple
giving is not a one-way transaction when
we give our time or resources it affects
us as much as the person receiving it
second I want to talk about my
experience from last year when I moved
to Vancouver from the Microsoft
headquarters in Redmond there I used to
be part of well-established community
and outreach programs and I started
missing that when I moved here so I went
to the director of our newly formed
office here in Vancouver and I asked him
hey what’s up what’s in the pipeline
here and he was quite intrigued by my
passion and asked me to start the women
of Microsoft Vancouver group and trust
me this is something I wanted for a long
time yet when he asked me I hesitated
because up until that point I was living
my life thinking I’m going to do certain
things when I’m at a certain age or when
I have certain years of experience but
he smiled and said you don’t have to
wait to be at a certain position to
start making a difference and that one
line left me speechless and it changed
the course of all my actions since that
day and so I would like to encourage all
of you to not think that we need to be
at the ranks of Oprah Ghandi Steve Jobs
to start making an impact
we are already empowered to do so by
being ourselves and channeling our
passions in the right direction
another misconception that I used to
have was thinking that we make our
decisions based on our own thinking and
rationale only like nothing else really
affects us we make our own decisions
like I used to think I chose to go to
Purdue University for my undergraduate
studies because I did all my
calculations it was a top school and I
was making that choice it was my
decision in reality my dad’s photographs
of his time at Purdue did affect me as a
child
where before I found out that Neil
Armstrong was alumni of the program I
was applying to so even if we may think
that whatever we are doing may not
affect someone it way it may be very
well influencing their decisions Jonah
Berger who’s a social expert and a
professor at University of Pennsylvania
in his book invisible influence shows
that our opinions are deeply shaped by
other people’s behaviors people who are
not even connected to us and not just in
the big decisions even in the small ones
lastly I want to share my experience
growing up in New Delhi India me and my
sister had a beautiful childhood and our
parents taught us that if we put our
mind towards something we could achieve
it if we really wanted something there
was nothing that was stopping us they
taught us to dream and they told us that
the world was full of opportunities so I
took that dream and I arrived in the
United States to study engineering but I
was surprised because not a lot of girls
seem to have the same dream as me and I
wanted to find out what were the reasons
for girls not choosing science and
engineering as their majors and once I
did find those reasons like my young
self I wanted to change that so I
started reaching out to local high
schools mentoring girls bringing them
into my classroom and really showing
them a glimpse of the future and the
most important part from all of this is
noticing that my parents were just
raising two daughters to the best of
their capabilities but little did they
know that they were influencing
daughters all over the world so even men
influence is invisible like I’ve shared
in these examples it is so strong that
it can travel thousands of miles and
affects countless hearts what is going
to happen if we start mindfully
utilizing this power are some things
I have three pointers first this can
actually make us happier
our emotions turn out are contagious to
be precise if you are lonely people
directly connected to you are 52 percent
more likely to be lonely but if you’re
happy you’re close friends are 15
percent more likely to be happy your
friends friends are 10 percent more
likely to be happy and your friends
friends friends are 6 percent more
likely to be happy it’s called the
happiness effect which travels through 3
degrees of influence Gustav Limbaugh a
French psychologist years ago showed
this in his social contagion theory as
well that as human beings we are
actually wired to mimic emotions of
those around us and that’s the reason
people in a certain group behave a
certain way or a leaders mode affects
people working around him or as simply
as me smiling at you is going to make
you smile back at me this can also help
us reach our goals which is the second
benefit of it
research by three psychologists hang
cards Peter Goldman son and Ron haseen
shows that just by watching or reading
someone strive towards a goal can make
you drop that goal as well
in one study for example they showed
that people who read a story about
someone trying to make more money were
more likely to put an effort in trying
to make more money than people who read
a story which was not related to making
money third this can also make us better
decision-makers and our cities richer
which is very interesting if your
pattern of interaction is diverse and
inclusive you and everyone in your
community end up making better decisions
and cities with people who are
continuously reaching out in their
social networks who are doing social
exploration end up with higher GDP so
that’s my case going forward I suggest
we all do three very simple things first
we need to understand that we all have
the super power
influence and change lives it’s like
we’re all a candle we all have the same
ability to light another candle we just
need to know that we can second we need
to understand what our uniqueness is and
strengths are what is it that people say
that we are good at and once we know
that we have to use it we have to echo
it out in everything we do
third we need to watch for our influence
traveling through others see how when
you say something or do something how
does it affect people around you does it
to have a ripple effect and once you
start noticing these things it’s going
to inspire you to do more of it I will
end with a very profound quote by Scott
Adams you don’t have to be a person of
influence to be influential in fact the
most influential people in my life are
not even aware of the things they have
taught me our influence is our
superpower and each and every one of you
have it I hope when you go home today
you think how you will use yours to
change the world thank you
[Applause]
you
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