Malda Alami

Dare to fail

Presented October 21, 2009

In the movie The Pursuit of Happyness, the father, Chris Gardner, has trouble with his wife Linda because he isn’t selling these bone-density X-ray machines and isn’t making money, and she leaves him. He refuses to let her take their son, Christopher, because they both know Linda won’t be able to take care of him. He would do anything for his son; he doesn’t have money or a wife so he steps up and tries for a stockbroker internship position at Dean Witter. He works for six months training without getting paid, he competes with 19 others, and only one of them will be chosen. In these six months of hard work, he goes through many difficulties like being homeless and dealing with the IRS. When he first started working as a stockbroker, he told his son “Hey, don’t let ever somebody tell you that you can’t do something, not even me, alright? You got a dream, you gotta protect it. People can’t do something themselves they wanna tell you that you can’t do it. You want something, you go get it. Period.”

My message here is that success comes from experience. If you’ve never failed in life it means you’ve never lived. Learn from your mistakes. To go places in this united world, you first get an education. Don’t convince yourself that you’re unable to do what you want. If you believe in something that seems impossible, you will be able to do it.

Many celebrities and famous people have had failures. Example, Michael Jordan was cut from his high school basketball team. He went home, locked himself in his room and cried. He failed again and again in life and that’s what made him succeed. Don’t be afraid to step up and do what you want. We as humans have the ability to lead and inspire others. Start with small steps and don’t let anyone in your way, walk your own path. Some people may laugh at you, but hey, so what! You’ll see how many will follow. Don’t ever give up. Face your fears if you have to. Life is game, so get off the stands, go on the court and play it. Life is a risk. Always be positive, because what you think is who you become. If any of you guys have dreams, you should feel it, believe in it, and you will achieve it, and it doesn’t matter what your dreams are, go for it. By doing this, you will inspire others.

Collin Powell once said, “There are no secrets to success. It is the result of preparation, hard work, and learning from failure.”

Jessie Owens also said, “We all have dreams. But in order to make dreams come into reality, it takes an awful lot of determination, dedication, self discipline, and effort.”

Malda's video pick: The Pursuit of Happyness

  << Back to "Leadership" page.