Why you will fail to have a great career | Larry Smith | TEDxUW 

You can fail at what you don't want, so you might as well take a chance on doing what you love. -Jim Carrey

I am currently driving a school bus. Pay is shit, but the fact is, best job I have ever had. The shift is over before it begins, 4 hours, goes by fast, leaves me plenty of time to continue my education at a self pace. Getting paid to cruise around the city, while being admired by youth is fulfilling. Can't say I love it, but it beats most of the higher paying full time jobs I have held that only left me with a large bank account but in a dead end. At least this job gives me the free time and opportunity to upgrade my skills. Time is more valuable than money.

I love the ending holy fuck. just ends in unless. just gave me tingles he doesn't tell us what to do... because he knows we already know what to do

Watched this 10 years ago when I was at a crossroads in my life. I had been waiting tables for 7 years after graduating high school and felt completely lost. I always wanted to pursue art, but told myself it was impossible because I was too poor to afford school and probably wasn’t smart, or talented enough. This video was what started my journey. I have since graduated from one of the top animation schools in the world, am a published illustrator, worked on various animated projects including a film that won an Oscar, and now teach at multiple universities to inspire young people to do the same. Wild to think it all started here. This video always stuck with me and I can’t thank you enough! (:

To finish off. Unless. Unless you get up and do something about it and follow your passion to the full. Let nothing stop you. If you fail at your passion it's because you were afraid to try again. Keep trying. Get up when you fall. You will never have a great career, unless you are willing to sacrifice a bit of sleep, a bit of safety and security that you currently have. Fuck what society tells you and follow your passion.

This almost had me crying. I'm sitting her at work (at an okay job) listening to him thinking "damn....". I've been mulling over the thought of going to med. school..... This TED talk, along with so many other conversations with peers, have made me make up my mind to go.

This guy's a master storyteller, probably the best and quirkiest of all the ted speakers

I think it's also important to note that passion can die. Take me for example: I followed my dream. I did what I really wanted to do: I studied language and literature and I was really good at it. They offered me a job in research at college which was what I always dreamt of since my senior years in high school. But then... But then... I realised the price you pay for "following your dream/your passion". And I'm not only talking about stress, insecurity concerning the renewal of your contract (at least that's how it works in research in the country I'm from), but also on a much deeper level. Having to produce "results". Seeing oneself forced to "lower the standards of research", because of dead lines etc. Having to agree with positions of superiors even though your research contradicts them and your conscience is not clear while doing so. Notising after a while of working in your field, that research, especially in the humanities is not based on "truth" and "true findings", based on plausibility etc., but rather just a vast collection of simple opinions, ideas and your personal conclusion that you yourself and your whole field are actually not really "productive", but rather simply talking, discussing numerous topics. I really did what I always wanted to do, what I was passionate about. But in the end after all the disappointments concerning the field I was in, the "laws" which structured it and much more, I actually lost my passion. I lost my respect for the field, and subsequently for myself as I was working in that field, as I chose something nobody could really benifit from, something that was just passion and dream and in the end not even that. I know for a fact that there are many people who are at the same point as I am. Even if you succeed, even if you get the job you always dreamt of in the field you were always passionate about... you can still "fail". You can loose your passion due to so many aspects of your "job". For example a teacher: passionate about teaching but confronted with students who are not interested. Don't you think he will loose his passion in the long run? Or even if the students are participating and so on. What about bad working conditions, educational politics which make your job unnecessary hard etc. If you follow your dream - even if you succeed - chances are you're going to not have a great career after all. And the thing is: If you see your job as one part of the equation of life. If you just want it to be okay, to be somewhat secure etc., you'll probably succeed in achieving that and will be contempt. And there will be so much more which make life worth living, so many other factors in your life which add to the contempt in your job; add up to happiness. But if you "only" follow your passion, if you place all your bets on one card, if you're willing to sacrifice a lot for that passion, chances are, even if you succeed, even if you reach the goal you always dreamt of, it won't be the great thing you and your idealistic mind made it out to be and you will struggle with your "fate". Sucessfull actors and actresses, sucessful painters, musicians. Don't they all have a really high rate of suicide and mental ilness amongst them? Even those who weren't famous during their lifetime (Nietzsche (philosopher), Van Gogh etc.)... They had great careers, they followed their passions and succeeded. But still lots of them were unhappy... And isn't that what it's all about? Being happy? The misleading conception a great career would make you happy? Maybe it's time to rethink that concept. Maybe the "great career" is not the "sure ingredient for happiness" people always made and still make it out to be. Jst a thought. :-) PS: Sorry for my English.

I've watched thousands of TED Talks and this one is still my favorite.

He makes a lot of great points. Just a few additional thoughts: 1) A meaningful life certainly relies on the pursuit of one's passion. BUT this doesn't have to be in the form of a career (e.g. a person could be incredibly passionate about raising children as such and therefore also not be bitter about their children's dreams later on because they DID pursue their own passion by having children). In other words, finding and pursuing one's passion is vital, but the concept of what constitutes "meaning" is more general. It might not always be in the form of what we commonly regard as a "career", although it may well deserve that name in terms of the effort and skill that people put into it. I say this not because one shouldn't pursue the kind of great corporate or artistic career that many might think of when watching this video, but simply to argue that the points of Mr. Smith should not be viewed in a restrictive sense. 2) If you have found your passion, pursue it relentlessly, but don't expect that you will be able to make a) money right away b) a lot of money c) money at all. Pursuing your passion may come at the price of having to work odd jobs until you can monetize your passion or it may involve pursuing your passion (e.g. painting) privately as a hobby if the market currently doesn't value your work a lot. Still, the most depressing thing you can do is to remove your passion from your life completely, just because it doesn't make money or doesn't make money yet. Passions are at the center of a fulfilling life and so they HAVE to be pursued if we want to live a life that we won't regret in the end. But rather than to think that our passions will either a) lead to an amazingly successful career right away or b) lead to nothing, we should focus on how we can incorporate our passion into our life under all circumstances. That way, our lives will always contain that which is most meaningful to us and we still give ourselves the chance for it to grow into something bigger. 3) A "great" career might include high status and wealth, but in the end, it is fulfillment that matters the most. The rest is a bonus. Hence, if a person realizes that they are most passionate about being a kindergarten teacher or gardener or nurse, they might not make the most money or have the highest social status, but they will be able to claim that they followed their passion and that they would not have wanted to choose a different career just because somebody told them that their's wasn't "great". (Of course, if you settle for a job that you don't really want and you simply try to rationalize that "this is really an honorable career, you know!", then you might want to reconsider if there isn't another thing that you would rather like to do, but haven't dared to pursue yet. Also, given the importance of certain jobs, we should certainly reconsider the wages of those who are actually willing to do those important jobs.) 4) In the same sense, a "passion" doesn't have to be an incredibly extroverted affair. A person's greatest passion may be to work as a forest warden, taking care of the local environment etc. Again, if that is fulfilling for this particular person and if that person, in their heart of hearts, would not want to be anywhere else, that would be a "great" career based on the pursuit of personal passion, even if it doesn't look like a spectacular, high-energy thing from the outside. 5) It is very true that fear is probably the greates obstacle in the pursuit of our passions: Fear of disapproval, fear of social isolation, fear of poverty, fear of uncertainty, fear of injury. But, while this is true, we should not think of this issue as a personal failure. Mr. Smith's comment should not be understood as an accusation of weakness, even though that's how many people might hear it (and how some people may actually say it). Instead, we should recognize the obstacle of fear as a neutral fact, because once we have recognized it as an obstacle, we can now work on how to overcome it. We should not think of fear as a thing that successful people just don't have and the rest is unlucky. We should realize that emotional health and the ability to not stand in our own way is a matter of personal fitness & development and that personal development is just another part of striving for a great career (e.g. we would never "accuse" a person, like: "You know why you will never finish a marathon?!?! BECAUSE YOU'RE NOT IN SHAPE!!!". Well...duh! Instead, we would regard it as an obvious fact that anyone who wants to run a marathon has to improve their fitness to a sufficient degree first.) So, instead of treating your current emotional/cognitive configuration as an unchangeable fact, treat it as something that can be developed in such ways as to enable you to pursue what you're passionate about.

Wow, this man is amazing. This world desperately needs more brutally honest people like him, who will tell it like it is while offering hope at the same time. He pinpoints exactly what holds us back from becoming more than what we currently are. I'm done settling for an "okay job that pays the bills". Yes, we, unfortunately, need to pay for expenses and other things that require monetary compensation. However, if we suppress our individual purpose for this life we're currently living, we'll continue to feel stifled and unfulfilled. Yes, you can do "great" jobs all your life and still be fine, as long as you incorporate your true passion. You'd be surprised how your passion can, in fact, create a nice salary in the long-run. You just need to do the research and learn the ins and outs of your trade. Also, you MUST value yourself. As Larry mentioned, we're socially programmed to not be selfish and to only give ourselves "enough" credit to where it isn't excessive. Because of this conditioning, I'm still struggling to forget all that and be okay with loving myself. It's extremely hard, but only because my brain has been hardwired from a young age to accept limitations and to be "grateful" for the bare minimum. It's only recently that I truly discovered how limitless my potential really is, which ignited my passion even further. However, in order to move forward, I need to appreciate and love myself, flaws and all. Accepting failure has always been something I've never been able to accomplish and I know I'll need professional help with it. Gaining confidence after a life of believing I'm a burden on the world is gonna be a long road, but worth it in the end. Just know that your passion will benefit other people. It's in our nature to help each other, so we feel the most fulfillment when we've done something good for another. Love is greatest when it's shared. I hope that, when I finally find love and peace within myself, I can offer that love to as many people as possible in an even greater abundance. In fact, I share that with you all now. :) You're ALL loved, even if you don't believe it. You deserve happiness, fulfillment, laughter, joy, and above all, love.

Love this one so much. Watched it at the beginning of my art career, taking a total risk. Now it's my full time job, my gallery exhibitions sell out, and I can't even keep up with the demand for my work. Total dream job. It was so scary when I began, I had to white knuckle my way through it. Totally worth the risk.

Very good talk. Bit harsh on the guy who invented velcro though.

This guy should be the next Batman villain. I can picture him now. Trapping Batman, then sitting him tied up in a chair. And walking back and forth telling Batman, how he will never have a great career. And Batman crying saying, "Stop it...Enough!"

This man can even motivate a cat to be the lion.

That last part about picking up relationships as human shields to justify our failures hit my head like a hammer

''I had a dream too, but you were born'' LOVE THIS GUY

I was doing my biographic research and I was asked about my mentors back in 2011/2012. Larry came to mind... this TED specifically... I can remember clearly the day I saw this on TED website... It opened up a journey of self-discovery. I have seen it over and over again. There is something that always hits me... he is going so deep into human awareness and self-esteem that I really don't understand why the crowd laughs during some deep bits. I ask myself if they grasp the raw meaning of what he is sharing/teaching there... to be honest, with 32, two kids, and becoming very good at something I didn't like, I related instantly ... today I come back here to listen and extract the energy to teach other people about it... ... and those awkward laughs still remind me that we still need to foster his message.

I've heard Wim Hof say this: "I do not fear death, I fear not living fully"

I was afraid to persue my dreams, of course. Larry Smith, with this speech, helped to accept my son's dream to became a coach (sports). I was so sad about his dream then I rememberd this speech, I listened one more time and I told the kid to go for it. Thank you, Larry.

This Still hits me hard & gives me courage

The time is now folks. Live your life, without any excuses. Say NO to making excuses in regard to making your own life better. Keep pressing forward. For the young, this video is a wake up call, for the old(er), it's also never too late... UNLESS...

When I watched it for the first time, I was still single and didn't feel deeply. Now that I am a father, it hits my heart even more

This video got me to Hollywood and I’m extremely grateful it helped eject me from my corporate life and onto a wilder, bumpier road. But I feel alive. And I’m safe.

Nice talk - Don't be afraid of your dreams ... don't be afraid to fail ... your fears just make you stay where you are.

It's videos like these that remind me of why I love TED Talks

One of the best things I've heard in life is " WE ARE NOT OUR JOBS"

I followed my passion to be a professional gamble for twenty years and ended up waiting tables. However I learned statistics from gambling and now I'm a university professor. Sometimes following your passion can have positive consequences even when you fail.

What a great message. I need to dig deep and jump start my life. I've been in a rut for a good 5 years and it's not good. My confidence is shot to shit and my anxiety is through the roof. Something needs to change and quickly before it's too late. Great video! It's nice to watch or receive positive reinforcement. We all need a good push from time to time.

Eat, drink and be merry (in a healthy way). If you are destined to do something great, then you will feel it in your bones. You will be driven no matter what. If you don't have it, don't beat yourself up over it and make your life and the lives of the people around you miserable. Be a good person, be open-minded, be happy.

This talk was the greatest thing I have ever heard. There is no excuses, we either really love and are going to do what we want, or are just not enough, we don't exist.

This video changed my life. I'm back in school and I'm on my way to my PhD because thats what "I" want.

"If only I had...if you ever have that thought ricocheting in your brain, it will hurt a lot." Such wise words. I always believed and still do that the happiest people in the world are those who have nothing to regret

This man is brilliant. All too many times do we as humans give in to our pack mentality, even when it means denying our individuality.

To quote Joe Jackson: "You can't get what you want 'til you know what you want".

I’ve watched this talk about twenty or more times, it still inspires me a lot every time. Thank you for a great inspiration.

I turn to this talk whenever I need someone to wake me up

I had watched this speech so many times since 2014 ,and it always touch my heart. Remind me to pursue what I want and wish.

I just found this talk years later. This made me cry because I have felt so stuck for so long, so frustrated, gave up on dreaming after a failure trying to bridge into a new career. It didn't work out for many reasons, but I have put my passion on hold out of fear. This talk helped me realize, the time is now! I have to dream again, I have to open up my possibilities.

Is Batman aware of this guy?

What does it mean to have a great career anyway? I've heard people say that they want one but I don't know what it means. Does it mean you get paid a lot? Does it mean you get a lot of recognition for your achievements? I just want to be able to have a job where I can come into work everyday and be able to be tired, hungry or stressed but not care because I love what I do. I want a job where I can touch people's hearts and influence them and put out new thoughts and conversations out into the world.

Look at Larry!! How he is engaging the audience !! These guys are gem man!!

I've listened to so many TedX talks, and this is my favorite one. This guy has overwhelming passion that doesn't just bubble over as overwhelming energy. Love it.

This guy has risked comparatively little, and has no problem telling others to risk everything. For those of you who may be curious, he is an economics professor at one of the world's leading technology research institutions, the University of Waterloo - home of Blackberry. He has a comfortable perch in academia, and get to throw money at promising startups he catches wind of. His salary is, in large part, paid for by the government subsidization of post-secondary institutions, which are, in turn, funded by the tax dollars of... you guessed it, working people. I'd like to see this guy roll up his sleeves and start a business of his own.

Sometimes you have to walk a great circle to make an obvious statement. But it did reach me more than just saying the word, you know. What a great speech. I wish i'd stop making excuses and i wish i could stop caring about the opinions of others. Then i'd be invincible.

Unless you make peace with your ego and the world. I'm amazed at the positive response to this. The solution is NOT to sacrifice everything in pursuit of a goal, because whatever the goal is, when you reach it, you will find something else to strive for, and feel unhappy for not having. First let go of your ego. Then you will do whatever flows naturally from you. It will also help you find whatever it is that you do enjoy for its own sake. It will never be a strain. I'm not a good example. There are many people I look up to and want to emulate, in all kinds of directions. So much so that what hurts me is that I am not them. Note that this is markedly different from feeling an urge to do what they are doing. It is simply a convoluted sense of guilt. I need to lose that before I can even contemplate what my passion might be.

Seek failure. Google's philosophy is the best. The sooner you fail, the sooner you'll be free to try something else. Help your children do whatever they wish, really well.

Unless..

This guy is fricking brilliant. Amazing stuff. Love the honesty too.. People are just too soft now..

Wow, this was deep. Every Entrepreneur should watch this, then be prepared too take action. Nothing is worst then living a life full of regrets.

amazing, he's full of passion i can literally feel it

What an amazing talk! Larry's delivery and sharing of his thoughts was amazing and thought provoking. Thanks......and yes...people can use their children and family as shields as they try to be super...everything...Great talk

This guy is fabulous, fear is the thought pattern that is between us and the great career that we would like, our passion, our purpose, our calling can just happen when we consistently ask the question "What can I do right now to keep me happy?" and courageously follow the path of happiness moment by moment. We can let go of the other thought patterns that get in the way, as well as fear there is anger, jealousy, blame, guilt, resentment, sorrow, irritation, frustration, criticism, stress, tension. Live the dream and shine, only you can do this for yourself. I believe in your power to do this, do you?

My utmost respect for Larry Really loved his emotions

This is probably the most kind TEDx talk about careers I've seen. His honesty is far more useful than false promises. I can work with that.

Right now.. I'm SO GLAD AND HAPPY that I'm not too late to watch this talk. This is my favorite talk.

I think it would be even better if "great career" is replaced by "meaningful work". It's like we've gotten so use to the western way of life, we don't even notice this anymore. Most people are so self-centered, they now think that having a great career is the ultimate end game. How about if you just try to be the best at what you do and eventually career opportunities will open up. And if you are one of those people who can't figure out your passion, like me, or your passions simply change too fast, than you can always find ways to help other people. Believe me, that's one of the most satisfying things you can do with your life - serving a greater cause than yourself.

Right, but what if you just say, "Screw the career, I am going to make my relationships number one." Then you proceed to do so, and you're happy. Because the career really wasn't your goal. I think the underlying message here is not to follow your passion at work, but to do so in life. Figure out what you want to do with yourself, and do it.

Thank you Larry Smith for your spreading your words. Thank you TED for publishing the video. I will keep listening to this video on a daily base 🙏

BEST TED TALK EVER. I HOPE ALL OF YOU LIVE A BEAUTIFUL AND ABUNDANT LIFE.

This was the best of all the speech's given. Loved it, great man!

I love this speech. easily one of my favorite Ted talks to this day! It's a kick in the ass. It's a fiery rant on a serious subject. Self fulfillment is something that everyone talks about. They go on and on about finding passion and developing skills and finding direction and that it's the best thing ever, but no one talks about the nagging fear inside. Mr.Smith wanted to bring that fact to light. He wanted to make excuses and fear (even rational ones like crappy job markets and daunting competition) part of a public conversation. It was honest. It was terrifying. It was awesome.

I'm just 6 minutes into the video and couldn't stop myself from writing that this is one of the best ted talks i have ever watched. That guy just rocked the stage.

This is one of my favorite Ted talks! It verbalizes something I have felt for yearsl, but never had words for. I had my children of watch this with me Father's Day this year.As a small business owner living my dream, I wanted them to learn something about success and hopefully understand me a little better.

This is definitely one of my favorites. Such a powerful message

One of the best short talks. Most of us fail due to the fear of failure and thinking about future consequences which itself is uncertain! The key is to have a versatile career and a passionate heart! Yes we fail and we rise!

This is now my favorite TED talk just because of the oration!!!

Brilliant...Captivating..this speech has the power to change the mindset & lives of millions ov people out there....##big fan Sir Larry Smith...

He's saying to not give up on your dreams in order to have a family. First focus on achievement, and then when your satisfied, look for a partner. Because if you spent your youth on pursuing your passion and your career, you will have more potential partners to choose from. And when your kids one day want to pursue a risky dream, you won't look at them as the premature dream-destroyer that stopped you from satisfying your passion. Stop taking the path of parent so early, and take some damn risks for once in your lives!!

He's brilliant, insightful, very truthful and most importantly funny!

OMG this brought me to tears I had a dream as a child to be an actor, script writer, they told me I'd fail its sad because the very same university I went to there was a girl in my class who is now in Hollywood acting. What if my parents had motivated me where would I be now. I really want to persue all the other dreams I have while I still can. I hope to be discovered one day. I hope someone will give me my change to shine.

To me this is a hell of a lot more motivating than someone saying "You can do it!"

Bloody brilliant!! I hope he changes just ONE persons life and it will be so worthwhile!!!

I feel like this guy formulated a great point for a very small group of people...like he hasn't interacted with enough real people or something to actually apply a general idea.

MARVELOUS!! THIS MAN GAVE WE THE MOST IMPORTANT MESSAGE IN OUR LIFES!! I AM REALLY GRATEFUL WITH HE BECAUSE HE HAS TOLD ME THE CORRECT WORDS IN THIS MOMENT OF MY LIFE!!

He is an amazing personality, great start up advisor

What if I don't know what my greatest passion in life is?? Like till in high school I thought Engineering was my greatest passion but when I joined college and discovered the actual detail working it does not fascinate me anymore, like right now I have a job in IT, and feel that journalism might be my passion but what if it turns out the same way it did with engineering?Plus like a job in journalism is that of much more struggle and low pay than than that of IT. Thinking that these factors are giving me second thoughts, it is really not that much of a passion for me but a mere interest.

From what I understood, he ended with "unless" which same as saying "unless I do something". Notice that he didn't continue with "if only I had". It's the same as saying "No excuses".

This is probably the most Energising TedX Talk so far. . Wonderful! Truly made me sit back in my seat and go through the whole talk again in my head.

ted talks most inspirational ever i seen. thank you TED.

I love the way he speaks!

"Don't use your children as a shield." I'm going to start living by these words.

I always watch this in moments of weakness. Thank you.

SO. ADORABLE. I love the talk, I love the message and I love the messenger! Great job!

This is a very inspiring video. I have trouble deciding between 3 things as my career. Military & RU-vid/Twitch & A counselor. I have a long story of my life I'll save towards the end but I will admit I'm full of excuses. I'm afraid to fail, I'm afraid to be laughed at, I'm afraid of hard work, I'm lazy, and more importantly I'm afraid to try. If I come up with an excuse I just replace it with another. I'm an open minded person who sucks at common sense but is good at thinking outside the box. I love the feeling of helping people through giving advice and gaming was my excape through the hard times at school and home. Being depressed and growing a fear and hatred for selfish and people who are dicks, with limited thinking and only seeing what's in front of me.. started developing these depressed and very depressed thoughts. I've even debated suicide but once I think about leaving those who might love me and hurting others.. I stopped thinking it as much. eventually I thought well.. it's harder to live then die and it's only selfish to deny me that option. my life is full of passion killers and people who would laugh at me. My dad's an alcoholic and afraid to deal with my mom and my mom's just unexplainable. emotionally and physically abused me by throwing me against walls as a child and smacking me to me opening up to her for my problems and she laughing at me and saying I have problems while my dad stays quiet crying in his chair from what i said. never believing in me and comparing me to my successful brother. talking badly about my family to her friends and other family members. The pain she brings to my dad always saying she will leave him and already 2 times but there still together. gaming really helps me cope with this and my parents being so negative all the time gives me the perspective of how awful life is. even tho we are middle classed. I found a girl I really love and want to spend the rest of my life with but it'll take a lot of money so more than ever I have tried to get a job now. now I'm passionate about life. but with all the passion and motivation, I still have days I just feel so lazy and unmotivated and i sont understand why. I feel haunted by my past and currently this family problems still happen. well, apart from my dad drinking as much he still does, and any physical attacks. And I've grown to hate wanting money because how I see the world and how much I hate people only grows by living with them. from being so closed off as a child, I'm 19 and opening up to anyone who can give me any advice or anything honestly. idk what to do with myself. I want to live a happy life and help others. I want military for a good job that pays well to support a family even tho I'm not too happy about joining, or RU-vid/twitch laughing and having a good time playing games with my friends I made online.

This is genuinely, shockingly terrible advice and I hope none of the kids here followed it. Full disclosure: I took an economics course with Larry at UW before he retired and I have the utmost respect for the guy. But the recommendation that you always follow your greatest passion is completely irrational. Why? Because your greatest passion probably isn't bankable. Remember the 99% movement. There are millions of students who pursued their passion in the "arts" who are now stuck flipping burgers with a mountain of student debt they will never escape. Do those kids look happy to you? Or perhaps you really love hockey. But only 1 in 100,000 are realistically capable of making a worthy career out of it, and we all know the guy who failed and now cuts your lawn for a living. It's not enough to really, really love something. A) you have to be really good at it, B) other people must value your career enough to actually pay you and C) you must make a rational decision about risk reward (i.e are you willing to accept the risk that you will be one of the 99,999 that fails in light of what you get paid if you succeed).

he keeps you listening to the end with his humor, and gives concepts to build on

The storytelling skill of this guy!! It was beautiful!

Any career can be a great career, it all depends on the way you think of it. And if you are able to change the way you think about what you doing, you'll be more passionate about it.

This was the most energetic person i have ever seen. Age doesn't matter anyway!

Thank you Mr Smith, that was truly amazing.

This is probably the best speech ever! Thank you

This video changed my life a few years ago.

Larry is so amazing and he's funny

This was the best inspirational speech i've heard in a long time!

what a powerful speaker for such a powerful subject. one of my favourite talks

one of the best TED talks.

One of the most real, most honest discussions about career. He may scare some people because the real world isn't all Disney endings and ambition-based meteoric rise to success. Personally, I've lived long enough on this earth and seen enough to know that most of the self-help and career books are just rubbish. Young folks will hate/fear this guy. Older, smarter folks will know exactly what he is saying. The fact is, we've all been lied to.

its 2022 now and I feel like I've failed to get to my most desired university, but I think after this talk I could manage a little

My professor had us watch this for a Personal Health and Wellness class. Best class ever.