"Why you should be a ""straight F"" student | Hayden Lee | TEDxYouth@ElectricAvenue"
The speaker claims that achieving fulfillment requires moving beyond performance anxiety and external rewards by adopting a mindset focused on Purpose, Passion, and Fulfillment (PPF). This is illustrated by the shift from being a student focused only on grades to discovering passions like the saxophone, which allowed for a sense of liberation and purpose. The speaker recommends that young adults identify their "sentence"—the positive impact they wish to have—to guide their life toward intrinsic satisfaction.
## Speakers & Context
- Unnamed speaker; shares personal journey from perceived failure to developing a framework for life success.
- The speaker is a recovering perfectionist, premed dropout, actor, comedian, and academic life coach.
- The speaker relates to historical examples like Clare Booth Luce advising JFK, and drawing parallels to Abraham Lincoln and Franklin Roosevelt's defining "sentences."
## Theses & Positions
- Successful young adults need a concept outside of formal schooling, termed the "PPF degree."
- PPF is a mindset focusing on **Purpose**, **Passion**, and **Fulfillment**.
- **Conditional motivation** (being motivated by external rewards like grades) is limiting; **intrinsic motivation** (doing something because the action itself is the reward) is more lasting and leads to greater fulfillment.
- Purpose is defined as "the reason for which you exist," which can be found by combining natural talents with how those gifts can benefit others.
- The smartest strategy for earning money is to "do what you love and finding ways to get paid for it."
- Fulfillment is achieved when one "do[es] something we believe in, do[es] it well, and do[es] it for a cause greater than ourselves."
- Life should be *enjoyed*, not merely *endured* until retirement.
## Concepts & Definitions
- **PPF Degree:** A self-made concept standing for Purpose, Passion, and Fulfillment; a mindset/perspective for life satisfaction.
- **Conditional Motivation:** Being motivated by an "if then clause" or an external reward (e.g., "If I study, then I'll get an A").
- **Intrinsic Motivation:** Being motivated because "the action itself is the reward" (e.g., "I want to do this because it's fun").
- **Purpose:** Defined as "the reason for which you exist."
- **Sentence:** A personal, guiding statement of impact, summarizing what one aims to achieve in life (e.g., "he preserved the Union and freed the slaves").
## Mechanisms & Processes
- **Shifting motivation:** Moving from the high-stakes environment of seeking perfect grades/scores (conditional motivation) toward activities done for personal enjoyment or mastery (intrinsic motivation).
- **Discovering Passion:** The process of asking oneself, "If you had two weeks completely free, no homework, no chores, no family obligations, what is one thing that you would just have to do?"
- **Identifying the Sentence:** The process of articulating a desired life impact—a clear statement of positive contribution.
## Timeline & Sequence
- **11th grade:** Experience of failing grades (e.g., "F F") leading to feelings of failure and intense stress regarding grades, SAT scores, ACT test, and AP tests.
- **High school period:** Over-participation (15 clubs) for the sake of college applications, masking a lack of genuine interest in most activities.
- **Premed time at UC San Diego:** Initially focused on getting the required credentials, but later incorporating loved activities (theater, improv, working for campus TV station, studying abroad in Paris, France at the Sorban).
- **Post-UC San Diego:** Transitioning to working in the entertainment industry in Los Angeles (production, talent management, casting) while also tutoring for the SAT.
## Named Entities
- **UC San Diego** — University attended for premed studies.
- **Paris, France** — Location where the speaker studied abroad for an entire year at the Sorban.
- **Kalpala Kimona** — A student mentioned who was admitted to computer science major.
- **Daniel H. Pink** — Motivational expert who authored the book *Drive*.
- **Clare Booth Luce** — Woman who served on Congress and advised JFK.
- **John F. Kennedy** — Recipient of advice from Clare Booth Luce.
- **Abraham Lincoln** — Figure whose "sentence" was preserving the Union and freeing the slaves.
- **Franklin Roosevelt** — Figure whose "sentence" was lifting the US from a Great Depression and winning a world war.
## Numbers & Data
- Grade experience: Multiple instances of "F" grades; noted presence of "A minuses."
- Clubs listed in high school: **15** different clubs.
- Student example: The student who preferred playing the saxophone, where one hour felt like **5 minutes**.
- Career transition milestones: From premed dropout to academic life coach.
- Founding date comparison: Abraham Lincoln's sentence structure (past action).
## Examples & Cases
- **The Yearbook Club:** Liking the yearbook because it allowed the speaker to lead peers and put pictures of oneself in it; noted 13 out of 15 clubs were only for the college app.
- **The Saxophone Student:** A student applying for computer science who identified playing the saxophone as a passionate, liberating activity; this passion led to joining the jazz band at Calpali and developing software.
- **The Holocaust Class:** The speaker's moment of realizing they could "have fun with it" and laugh about a difficult topic, which broke the ice and strengthened the relationship with the client.
- **The defining "Sentence":** An example of a simple, personal achievement that can define one's positive contribution, such as making "kinkalicious s'mores that changed the lives of teenagers everywhere."
## Tools, Tech & Products
- **SAT/ACT/AP tests:** Academic assessments central to past pressure and conditional motivation.
- **Computer software program:** A potential tool the student plans to develop for saxophone players.
## References Cited
- *How Rich People Think* — Book authored by Steven Seabolde, featuring an interview titled "21 ways rich people think differently."
- *Drive* — Book by Daniel H. Pink.
## Counterarguments & Caveats
- The concept of Purpose ("the reason for which you exist") can seem "intimidating or daunting or even kind of new age spiritual."
- Parents might resist unconventional paths (e.g., *"majoring in dance or worse yet, a liberal arts degree"*).
- The speaker acknowledges that recognizing this struggle—the tension between external expectations and internal desire—is difficult.
## Conclusions & Recommendations
- To find fulfillment, one must move past conditional motivation toward intrinsic motivation by establishing a clear "sentence."
- Start by asking: "What do you love to do and why do you love doing it?"
- The final goal is to live a life where one is "doing what they love, doing it well, and doing it for a cause greater than themselves."
## Implications & Consequences
- The current educational model prioritizes metrics (A's, test scores) over deep self-knowledge and intrinsic fulfillment.
- Successfully synthesizing purpose and passion allows one to maintain high performance in academic settings (like grades) without sacrificing personal joy or meaning.
## Verbatim Moments
- *"I was a straight F student."*
- *"I'm an Asian F."*
- *"I call it the PPF degree."*
- *"it's not really a degree at all, and it's something I made up."*
- *"Conditional motivation is being motivated to do something for an external reward or benefit, right? There's an if then clause."*
- *"Intrinsic motivation is being motivated to do something because the action itself is the reward."*
- *"Purpose being defined as the reason for which you exist."*
- *"Rich people follow their passions."*
- *"The word passion comes from the Latin word pacio, which means to suffer."*
- *"Sir Ken Robinson had also mentioned the notion of enjoying life versus enduring life."*
- *"When I think about my life in this way, I'm like, 'Wow, it's a gift that I'm here.'"*
- *"Although conditional motivation is important, it is intrinsic motivation that is more longerlasting, more enduring and ultimately leads to more happiness and more fulfillment."*
- *"One way for every single one of you to start orienting your life towards a greater purpose is think about what would your sentence be."*
- *"What's your sentence?"*
- *"And now that I have my PPF degree, the F has taken on a whole new meaning."*