Failure: the path to success | Kaltoum Lajfari | TEDxUIR

Quick Overview

The speaker recounts her journey from aspiring to study Finance to ultimately pursuing a PhD in a completely different field, emphasizing that failure (failing her first Master's exam) and embracing negative emotions are normal parts of growth, concluding that one must be brave and ready to suffer to achieve what they truly want.

Key Points: The speaker initially dreamed of pursuing a Bachelor's and Master's degree in Economics and Finance, respectively, starting in 2004. Despite graduating from her Bachelor's in 2005 from a modest background, she failed her first Master's exam in Finance horribly. After failing, she worked for a year in a French call center in Rabat, Morocco, earning a very low salary (3,000 Dirham maximum). She returned to academia in 2009/2010 to pursue a PhD in Customs Administration, which she found very hard. She successfully defended her PhD in 2016 while simultaneously working as an inspector at the Customs Administration headquarters. The speaker asserts that failure is normal and natural, and that one must be the 'toughest soldier' and accept suffering to achieve personal desires, contrasting this with being a 'princess'. She concludes by stating that growth hurts, and if her students do not sit with negative emotions, they will be waiting for her (the speaker) on the other side.

Context: This TEDxUIR talk is a personal story delivered by Kaltoum Lajfari, focusing on themes of perseverance, overcoming failure, and self-belief in the pursuit of one's destiny. The speaker contrasts her initial, seemingly safe career path in finance with the difficult but ultimately more fulfilling journey through a PhD and a career shift, highlighting the necessity of embracing difficult emotions like failure and suffering for genuine growth.

Detailed Analysis

Kaltoum Lajfari begins her narrative by establishing her initial educational goal: a Bachelor's degree in Economics (2004) followed by a Master's degree in Finance. She recounts that coming from a very modest background, this degree seemed to promise a better future. However, she failed her first Master's exam badly, which led her to work for a year (2005-2006) in a French call center in Rabat, earning a maximum salary of 3,000 Dirham, feeling disappointed and angry with herself. In 2009/2010, she decided to pursue a PhD, which was also very hard. Surprisingly, she succeeded in getting into the PhD program at Mohammed V University while working full-time as an inspector at the Customs Administration headquarters in Rabat, commuting daily between Rabat and Casablanca. She defended her PhD in 2016. The speaker uses her personal experience to deliver three key lessons. First, failure is normal and natural; one should not feel shame when they fall down while learning to walk, as babies do. Second, one must be the toughest soldier, not a princess, in life, meaning they must be prepared to suffer and work hard to achieve what they truly want. Third, she addresses her students, stating that if they do not sit with and recognize their bad emotions, their better self will be waiting for them on the other side, implying that confronting negative feelings is crucial for advancement.