Inspiration From Shree Bose

As we begin a new month, I am reminded of Shree Bose, the teenage winner of the “2011 Google Science Fair” in the age 17/18 category, who spoke of her passion for life and inspiration for her ovarian cancer research. I played her video while hosting The Life Course in Liverpool this February to over 45 young people as I inspired them to dream new dreams for their lives.

The words of Shree have a place in my heart because I share her passion for becoming the change you want to see. As she concluded her 5-6 minutes talk to a TED audience (mainly adults), she hit a perfect ending with lines like these:
1. Find your passion
2. Make your own opportunity
3. Inspire yourself
4. Be determined
5. Never give up on learning.

Shree, I believe, is 17 years old (maybe 18 now) but her words make you think otherwise. Let me unpack this briefly, this time, in my own words…

Find your passion: No one can do this for you. Discover your life purpose. Discover what you’re great at – God put it there but you must cultivate, grow and work at it. Unpack your backpack of purpose. Be the best at something!

Make your own opportunity: Life can be uneven and success doesn’t come on a platter of gold. Are you unemployed, broke and have exhausted all strength for job search? Let me ask you – have you considered working for yourself? Have you found out what it would take? Get on it from today!

Inspire yourself: This is very crucial. Our best supporters may not always be there to sing us on. Inspire yourself! Don’t wait for a mentor to come around. They might be busy with others. Become your greatest motivator!

Be determined: What more can I say. This keeps you going when everything seems out of shape. But you must stay on track. Focus on your goal and draw strength from the realisation that every setback is only temporary. Hold tight!

Never give up on learning: Whether it be a university education, or a skill, or a business… learn until you’re good at something! Read great books of people who have walked the path you long to tread and achieved the success you desire. Research areas of interest. Life is a teacher and we are students – and great men and women that went on to change their own lives and others were committed to learning.

Now, let me leave you with Shree’s video. To jump straight to Shree’s part, forward it 5mins, watch her part first to relate best with this blog post and then you can watch the entire video from the start. The entire video is only 11 mins long and you will find the first teenage speaker fascinating too. It’s all about chicken! 🙂

Praying you have a purpose-filled April! Don’t waste your life.

“Award-winning teen-age science in action” http://on.ted.com/BCzN