A TED Talk by Nitin Thakur: "Dreams are the most powerful energy"

In an era of distress, all of us require a pinch of motivation. However small and insignificant it might seem initially, it plays with our subconscious mind in unexpected ways. It carves the framework of our emotions and mentality in a fashion which encourages us to keep going. These thoughts were shared by Nitin Thakur during a TED Talk.

A Harvard alumnus with 4 master’s degrees, he is a motivational speaker along with an experience of 18 years in the field of sales. In a TED Talk delivered at SRCC, Nitin motivates students and delivers a talk on “Building your career capital”.

His tips begin with an emphasis on learning with perseverance. Being bad at something is one thing, not working on it, is another. As he started with his MBA, a sudden realization dawned upon him: he wasn’t good with English. But his journey had just begun. He had to write his own story and it couldn’t have glitches.

Nitin made considerable efforts to work on his communication skills. His hard work and perseverance led him to work as a soft skill trainer for a span of 3 years. What exactly was his source of motivation? His girlfriend’s friend and of course, his friends in college who didn’t miss a chance of making fun of him, he specifies.

With his story in the background, Nitin stresses upon the fact that a person should always be willing to learn. This is an essential trait required in people who have dreams and ambitions. In addition, he mentioned the art of adaptability which helps people survive situations where finding like-minded people is a rarity.

Moving ahead with his success formula, he shifts his pivot to another thought which revolved around the power of positive belief. All of us have heard that believing in yourself and your dreams can take you places. Prioritizing this line of thought, he speaks about how his belief made him stand on his feet, quite literally. He shares his story about falling from the 6th floor of the building and losing an eye along with the ability to walk.

He stayed in a state of coma for a month and a half. Despite the physiotherapist’s lack of belief in his recovery, he had a word with his doctor and a last trial and operation on his leg made him stand on his feet again. Nitin says: “It wasn’t about being strong. It was about a belief change”. He didn’t want to work in a government job under the category of handicapped as suggested by his friend’s father. Thus, his motivation to do better and land in a better state brought tremendous changes in his physical state.

Nitin mentions a line from his favourite book: “Life is a printout of your subconscious mind”. With this, he conveys the importance of being optimistic and the power of believing in positivity.

He comes to the last thread of his success formula by mentioning the significance of taking risks and following your true north star. Modifying a quote by Oprah Winfrey, he says: “Align your personality with your purpose and align both with your value system. Nobody can stop you then”. He talks about his story of bike ride from Delhi to Ladakh having only one functional eye. Also, keeping that in consideration in his TED Talk, Nitin Thakur sheds light on how no matter what happens, if we believe in ourself and take risks, we will achieve our goal.

Dreams and goals are the basic amenities to survive happily in the modern scenario. Money and everything else follows if we’re happy. He emphasizes upon this fact and says that following your true north star means following your dreams.

He draws a conclusion from his words and says, “Great power comes with great responsibility”. You must always be considerate towards your friends and family and keep your relations in the loop. Without them, every success goes down the drain, said Nitin.

To sum up, he weaves his thoughts together in a single strand by saying, “Cages are not made up of iron, they are made up of thoughts”.