The Ever Changing Path of Following Your Heart. | Zoe Viccaji | TEDxNUST
The speaker argues that the pressure to define one's life path early is unrealistic, advocating instead that one must "kiss many frogs" through varied experiences to find a meaningful career. He illustrates this by detailing his own pivot from art and documentary filmmaking to a career in music, noting that opportunity only arrives when one puts themselves in its way. The core message is that since the only constant in life is change, one must never settle and always pursue endeavors with their whole heart.
## Theses & Positions
- The question of "what do you want to be" at a young age imposes undue pressure on individuals.
- Following one's heart is not a simple concept; it requires continuous effort and adaptation because feelings and desires constantly change.
- The educational system, with its required choices (Sciences vs. Business, major choices), creates a false sense of finality that doesn't define a person's life trajectory.
- Successful people often change paths, citing college dropouts like Bill Gates, Mark Zuckerberg, and Steve Jobs as examples.
- Opportunity only materializes when an individual proactively puts themselves in the path of that opportunity.
- The central theme is that *the only constant in life is change*, and one must embrace this fluidity rather than fearing change.
## Mechanisms & Processes
- **Career Discovery:** Requires actively trying things ("kissing frogs") rather than relying on early innate knowing.
- **Opportunity Generation:** Occurs when one puts oneself in the way of it, as seen when advertising work led to a chance meeting with Raphael Hayat.
- **Personal Growth Analogy:** Comparing career/life work to a relationship, requiring constant attention and reignition to prevent stagnation.
- **Ludo Analogy:** Life is like a game of Ludo where one must keep moving and rolling the dice, even if some pieces ("goats") go back to the start.
## Named Entities
- **Bill Gates, Mark Zuckerberg, Steve Jobs** — cited successful individuals who were college dropouts.
- **Glasgow School of Art** — place where the speaker studied art for four years.
- **Coke Studio** — program where the speaker performed in his early music career.
- **KSC** — name of the electric company for which the speaker drew an annual review report.
- **Oprah Winfrey** — person quoted regarding the maxim that "no experience is ever wasted."
## Numbers & Data
- **Four years** — duration of study at Glasgow School of Art.
- **Two years** — duration of work in advertising before moving to music.
- **9:00 a.m. to about 6-7 p.m.** — typical working hours during the advertising job.
- **Eight or nine years** — time spent formally doing music.
## Examples & Cases
- **Speaker's Childhood:** Stating an unrealistic desire to "be God" as a child, demonstrating early pressure of choice.
- **Vet Experience:** Initially wanting to be a vet because he loved animals, but realizing during a summer internship that he could not endure the suffering required.
- **Art Studies:** Going to art school in New York upstate NY for four years, only to realize it wasn't what he truly wanted.
- **The Transition to Music:** Working in documentary filmmaking in New York for six months, returning to Pakistan, working in film, and then in advertising for two years before joining music full-time in 2011.
- **The Coke Studio Opportunity:** Being seen performing in a stage musical by Raphael Hayat (who attended with Sanam) during the first two seasons of Coke Studio.
- **The KSC Report:** Drawing up the dry annual review report for KSC electric company, an experience he now values because it taught him diligence ("no experience is ever wasted").
- **Sister's Kite Analogy:** Visualizing the process of finding balance: "you must spread your wings before you can find balance."
## Tools, Tech & Products
- **Google** — used by the speaker to look up the saying that "no experience is ever wasted."
## References Cited
- **Sanam** — actress who performed in the stage musical with the speaker.
- **Tamil Nadu** — (Implied context regarding geographical roots of stories, though not explicitly named for a source).
## Counterarguments & Caveats
- The concept of "following your heart" is complex and not as simple as it seems; the heart/feelings are constantly changing.
- The belief that *“no experience is ever wasted”* was first attributed to his grandmother, not Oprah Winfrey, according to the speaker.
## Methodology
- Interviewing current students to gauge their anxiety about career choices.
- Anecdotal evidence sharing to illustrate professional pivots and the nature of discovery.
## Conclusions & Recommendations
- Do not let the current educational system deadlines dictate life paths.
- The crucial takeaway is that one must keep moving, keep rolling the dice, and never settle in life or career.
- Always pursue what you do with all your heart.
## Implications & Consequences
- The current anxiety surrounding career choice suggests a deep-seated societal pressure point that discourages exploration.
- Continual change is not a deficit but the fundamental condition for continuous growth.
## Verbatim Moments
- *"I want to be God"* (What he said when young).
- *"follow your heart"* (The common advice received).
- *"I realized it was the last thing that I wanted to do"* (After the vet internship).
- *"it's not as simple as following your heart"*
- *"some of the most successful people in life are college dropouts like Bill Gates Mark Zuckerberg Steve Jobs"*
- *"I like to use it use their relationship analogy"*
- *"the only constant in life is change"*
- *"I think it's important never to settle"*
- *"you must spread your wings before you can find balance"*
- *"I do believe in doing something well I believe in not doing juga"*
- *"keep moving that you keep moving keep rolling that dice and you keep moving"*