You have to learn everywhere

Salman Khan of Bangladeshi descent was born in 1986 in New Orleans, USA. Salman was recently named one of Time Magazine's 100 Most Influential People in the World.

He gave this speech at the convocation of Rice University on 10 May 2012.

- Translation from English: Anjali Sarkar

It is a great honor for me to be able to speak here today.

I'm pretty sure the 35-year-old looks a lot older than you do standing here!

But it seems to me that I have come to tell my younger siblings something.

Today I want to share some thoughts with you. Something that I dreamed about, dreamed of and still dreamed of.

In a moment you are going to get a big degree.

Undoubtedly this is a very important honor.

This honor will greatly advance your life.

You have to think about how you can use this achievement to increase the overall development of the world, to make the world a little more beautiful.

When I started Khan Academy in 2009, I was in the middle of a tidy, secure future.

People from all over the world used to write thank you letters after watching my videos.

But the job on the one hand and the Khan Academy on the other, it was almost impossible to manage the two together.

I then sat down with my wife to calculate how much money we had.

I explained to him how the Khan Academy could radically change the way people learn by challenging the conventional style of education.

How people around the world can learn at home at no cost, how easily civilization can be advanced.

And once people realize this possibility, there will be no shortage of investment in this great work.

I quit my job after explaining a lot of things like that!

And I got completely involved in Khan Academy.

Slowly nine months passed, I tried to do a lot, talked to a lot of people, had meetings.

But nothing happened as I thought.

Honestly, today when people hear that I studied at Harvard, MIT, they think how easy it is for me to start making videos and build Khan Academy overnight.

But only I know how difficult those times were. My back was almost against the wall.

I was then 32 years old, had a son, had to pay a down payment of 30-40 thousand dollars to buy a house কেন a lot of problems surrounded me then.

At that time, if anyone saw me, they would say that I was insane.

I was leading a very beautiful life with my family and I ruined everything with my own hands.

The only thing that gave me a glimmer of hope at that time was a letter full of love from countless people.

But even after that, not being able to run at one stage anymore, I reached the ultimate limit of frustration.

When I was about to give up, I received a পুরস্কার 10,000 prize in the name of Khan Academy.

Before that most people sent five or 10 dollars.

That was the largest amount of money ever received.

It was sent by Ann Doer, a 1985 batch student at Rice University.

I e-mailed him thanking him. He lived nearby, and one afternoon we were talking at a restaurant.

Ann asked me what my future plans were.

I said, like now I want to make a video for the rest of my life!

I was going to say how much I dream about it, how much I want to do something.

How Khan Academy can change the education system around the world! He said, ‘I understand your big plan!

But how are you doing on your own? ’I then probably said a little louder,‘ I’m not doing it! ’

Anyway, he nodded seriously at me, we said goodbye.

When I got close to home, I got a message from Ann.

It says, "You have to go your own way, so I'm raising the amount to one million dollars."

I was going to hit the car straight to the garage a little more!

At that moment, Anne's deep confidence in the potential of Khan Academy helped more than the amount of money.

Today, many will say that Ann had a lot of money, so she was able to help.

I don't have enough money to donate a million dollars to anyone.

This is my disagreement. I spoke to at least 50 people whose financial situation was much better than Ann's.

But they did not come forward!

One thing I would say very emphatically, if you are ever in a position where a little help from you can be of great benefit to others,

But never ignore him. What I always try to do and tell others to do,

That is, if you ever see someone doing or trying to do something extraordinary, don't sit back and keep quiet.

Praise him, thank him, help him get recognition for his work.

Let her boss know what the potential is.

Let his family know how much work he is doing.

You can't imagine how your small step, a compliment can change a person's life.

With your encouragement, someone may change the purpose of his life.

A person with positive thinking can change the lives of countless people around him, so think positive all the time.

And the important thing is, if you want to make your dream come true, always try to learn from everything.

I can't explain how important it is to always be ready to learn something new.

Invest in learning the time that is waiting for you.

Since I am with Khan Academy, I have witnessed very well how people change their lives by learning.

I received a letter in 2008 from a patient with incurable cancer. Then his life span was only two months.

If there is a positive attitude, a dying person can write, ‘I had a hobby for many days, learning calculus, now Khan Academy has given me that opportunity.

Hopefully in the last two months of my life I will be able to learn calculus! ’What an extraordinary mental strength, what an intense desire to learn.

After seeing that letter, I decided that as long as I lived, I would never stop learning.

When I graduated like you in 1996, an article about some of my work was published in a computer magazine.

I was very proud of that. But I had no such goal.

I had no idea what I really wanted to do.

Within two months of starting a job, I got another job at a higher salary, and moved on.

During the first three days, the boss explained to me very well how incompetent I was in his eyes. Think about it!

At just 23 years old, I discovered at night about the best university degrees, the accolades printed in magazines, everything, I was sitting in a hotel room crying.

I had no idea what I really wanted to do with my life.

That night the world seemed to shake before my eyes, everything seemed meaningless.

But even after that I woke up the next morning, worked, felt a little better than last night.

After a week I was able to adjust a little more, in two months I started working in a new place again!

When success comes, enjoy it, but also make sure you are on the right track.

No matter how big you get, remember that everything has an end.

Even the brightest star will one day be extinguished.

So celebrate success from being ready for failure.

Do not neglect small happy things, do not give up even if you stumble once or twice.

10-15 years from now, maybe you will laugh at these things, thinking that I was not a child!

Look at life, the present, as a unique opportunity.

No matter how much you chase after success, don't forget these humane things. Open your heart and smile.

Give your loved ones time, tell them how much you love them.

Do something for the people around you. Remember, this is the second life brought back from your imagination.

This life is not for regret.