ENGLISH SPEECH | PRIYANKA CHOPRA: Be Fearless (English Subtitles) — Transcript

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1. 0:01Thank you.
2. 0:02Thank you.
3. 0:04So, my father used to always tell me something which I want to share with you, that why do
4. 0:10you want to fit inside a glass slipper?
5. 0:13You know, like we were told, like Cinderella did, why do you want to fit inside a glass
6. 0:18slipper when you can shatter the glass ceiling?
7. 0:22I want to tell you a little secret.
8. 0:25I'm not very fond of this phrase, breaking the glass ceiling.
9. 0:30Why does it annoy me?
10. 0:31Because it takes the context of everything that I have done.
11. 0:34All my achievements, all my hard work and puts it into a box as if my ambition was that
12. 0:41I want to find a glass ceiling and break it.
13. 0:43Not at all.
14. 0:45To be really honest, I was never on a mission to break, to shatter anything.
15. 0:50All I wanted was to chase my dreams, my ambitions.
16. 0:56I wanted to evolve.
17. 0:57I wanted to become the best version of me, that I could be.
18. 1:02And of course, in Priyanka Chopra style, along the way, I wanted to smash and break every
19. 1:05obstacle that came my way, which I did.
20. 1:09But that does not mean that the glass ceiling doesn't exist.
21. 1:12Of course, it exists.
22. 1:14And countless of women and men, mostly women run into it in their professional and personal
23. 1:21lives.
24. 1:22And I'm sure a lot of you can vouch for that right now.
25. 1:25The Oxford dictionary definition of the glass ceiling is an unacknowledged barrier to advancement
26. 1:33in a profession, especially affecting women and members of minorities from rising beyond
27. 1:40a certain level in a hierarchy.
28. 1:43And this metaphor was first coined by feminists in reference to barriers in the careers of
29. 1:48high achieving women.
30. 1:51So, why did I choose it as my topic for today if I hated it so much?
31. 1:57Because I hope through my experiences, I can present to you the tools to live your dream
32. 2:04and to not make that glass ceiling that is defined by society, largely patriarchal, as
33. 2:12your goal.
34. 2:13I want you to aim higher, because you know you can, and it's honestly all I did.
35. 2:20Every step of the way, all I did was set a higher standard.
36. 2:24How did I get here?
37. 2:26By being fierce, by being fearless, and by being flawed, completely and utterly flawed.
38. 2:36I'm not perfect.
39. 2:38Like, none of us are.
40. 2:39So, tonight I'm going to try and break it down for you a little bit in a slightly different
41. 2:43way.
42. 2:44I present the twelve sure shot, sure fireways of becoming Priyanka Chopra.
43. 2:50Would you like that?
44. 2:52Sorry, I was just kidding.
45. 2:55Because as millennials, we don't like to be told what to do.
46. 2:59So, this is a gentle nudge in the right direction.
47. 3:03Presenting PCs twelve rules of becoming the best version of yourself.
48. 3:07So, here are a few of my favorites from my list.
49. 3:10There's only one you, okay, because there's no one like you.
50. 3:15And I don't mean the superfluous, superficial parts.
51. 3:19I'm talking about the core of you, who you are inside.
52. 3:21Your values, your beliefs, your flaws.
53. 3:24And once you understand who really that person is, you would have taken the first step in
54. 3:31finding your unique self.
55. 3:33And that is the best version of you.
56. 3:34Who am I really?
57. 3:37Most often, we don't allow ourselves the ability to dream beyond our imagination.
58. 3:41We don't allow ourselves to think about the future because we are afraid of change.
59. 3:46We are afraid to move away from what is familiar.
60. 3:49Either that, or sometimes, you know, we are too rigid to let our dreams evolve.
61. 3:54Loosen up, you know, shake it off a little bit.
62. 3:58Change is the only constant thing in life, and you are never too old or never too experienced
63. 4:04to learn something new.
64. 4:06Believe that you have everything already as your Brahmāstra in your will, to be able
65. 4:12to be and achieve your dreams.
66. 4:14Be fearless.
67. 4:15I know I wanted to become an aeronautical engineer.
68. 4:18What am I today?
69. 4:20I'm an actor.
70. 4:21I'm a singer.
71. 4:22I'm an author.
72. 4:24I'm a producer.
73. 4:25I'm an artist.
74. 4:26How did I go from becoming an engineer to all of these things?
75. 4:29I made choices, the choices that I wanted for myself.
76. 4:33So, that is my rule number two, let your dreams fly.
77. 4:39Give them wings, be who you want to be just by being fearless.
78. 4:44Now, opportunities, that's another important part of being fearless.
79. 4:48They are very funny thing, these opportunities, they don't come very often.
80. 4:52They come far and few in between.
81. 4:55But when they do, do we recognize them?
82. 4:58Our job is to recognize them and make the most of them.
83. 5:02I look back on all the things that I've done, and I marvel at the opportunities that came
84. 5:07my way.
85. 5:08Miss India, Miss World.
86. 5:10When I was in Bareli in army school, my first film offer, my first music single, the first
87. 5:17film I actually produced, there was never a plan ever, more like the universe sort of
88. 5:24guiding me towards these opportunities.
89. 5:26All I had to do was recognize them and make sure I worked so hard that I squeezed every
90. 5:32drop out of these opportunities.
91. 5:34This, ladies and gentlemen is called drive.
92. 5:37It's called ambition.
93. 5:38So, no matter where you are in life, rule number three is you have never arrived enough
94. 5:44to explore new opportunities.
95. 5:49And there's nothing wrong with being ambitious.
96. 5:51Ladies, listen to me.
97. 5:58Now for all of you guys who like everything in life, I don't think there's anything wrong
98. 6:04with wanting to have the whole cake and eat it too, nothing wrong.
99. 6:09I want everything, I want everything.
100. 6:11And there's nothing wrong with that.
101. 6:13As long as you're not harming someone or doing something wrong, don't be scared to want more
102. 6:18for yourself than you ever thought you could.
103. 6:21I'll give you a small example.
104. 6:24A few years ago, I was shooting a film called Don 2, you have heard of that, right?
105. 6:31So, it was chosen to be shown at the Berlin Film Festival, Berlinale and my entire team
106. 6:36was flying for the premiere.
107. 6:38And it was very exciting time.
108. 6:39But at the same time, I was invited for the first time to attend the Grammy Awards in
109. 6:44LA.
110. 6:45So, now when I was doing music, it was this big choice, both the events were literally
111. 6:51taking place one day apart in completely different time zones, Berlin and LA.
112. 6:57My team and everyone around me told me, no, it can never happen.
113. 7:01You have to choose what is your priority?
114. 7:02And you know what I did, I made some insane connections, Mumbai to London, London to Berlin,
115. 7:09Berlin to Amsterdam, Amsterdam to LA, LA to Mumbai in three days.
116. 7:13And I made it happen.
117. 7:19I went to both events and I looked great at both events.
118. 7:24Even though I hadn't slept, it took a little bit of extra makeup, but I was fine.
119. 7:28And that's not the only time I've done it.
120. 7:30I've done it so many times over and over again.
121. 7:33Why?
122. 7:34Because I don't want anyone to tell me I can't have everything.
123. 7:38I want to dream of everything, and I'll have everything.
124. 7:40So, rule number four, be greedy.
125. 7:44Be greedy for your ambitions.
126. 7:45Be hungry for it.
127. 7:48Don't live on someone else's benchmarks.
128. 7:52We are told so many times in our life: ‘No girl should do this, or you are elder boy
129. 7:57in house, your responsibility is this, this is who you should be.’
130. 8:02Who can tell you who you should be?
131. 8:05Don't let anyone or any situation dictate to you who you are and who you can be.
132. 8:10I know it's very much easier said than done.
133. 8:13I know that because I've done it but fight for your dreams because no one else is going
134. 8:17to fight for your dreams, except you.
135. 8:20I've turned down so many roles, opportunities because they did not fit into what I thought
136. 8:25at that time was the right thing for me.
137. 8:28So, today my path is just my own.
138. 8:31It belongs to no one.
139. 8:33My failures, my successes, all of it, mine, my journey, all of it is mine.
140. 8:38So, rule number five, do not compromise.
141. 8:42Do not settle on your dreams.
142. 8:46Now who likes to fail?
143. 8:48What, what, at least 15 people raised their hands, I'm really confused with this audience
144. 8:56right now.
145. 8:57And you like to fail, well I'm not talking to you guys then.
146. 9:00I'm talking to those guys who hate to fail because I hate to fail.
147. 9:05It's really as simple as that, it takes tubs and tubs of ice cream, lots of tissues, lots
148. 9:10of tears, lots of dramebazi, my mother, my best friends, my family, everybody making
149. 9:15me feel better about it.
150. 9:17But the one thing that is as certain as night and day, ladies and gentlemen, is that you
151. 9:22will fail.
152. 9:25It's just how it is.
153. 9:27And there's nothing that you can do to stop that.
154. 9:32It's what you do after that will define where you go.
155. 9:37When something I've invested...
156. 9:39Thank you, thank you.
157. 9:45When something I've invested in my heart and my soul, which I do with everything that I
158. 9:49actually put my mind to, if that fails, I don't just wallow in self-pity.
159. 9:57I roll myself in it.
160. 9:59I roll around in it.
161. 10:00I wrap myself in it, head to toe, self-pity, self-pity, self-pity, it's not a pretty sight,
162. 10:07I can tell you that.
163. 10:08My mother who's sitting right here has witnessed it many times.
164. 10:11But then I get up, cry a little, dust myself off and dive straight back into life.
165. 10:18Because the only way to push failure aside is to move ahead, not ignore it, analyze it
166. 10:27and learn from it.
167. 10:28Always remember, you will never truly enjoy success until you have tasted failure.
168. 10:35And trust me when I tell you, it tastes like shit, really does.
169. 10:40So, rule number six, fail, fail, fail again, and then rise like a Phoenix.
170. 10:47Now what is life without a little bit of a risk, right?
171. 10:49No, I'm not an adrenaline junkie.
172. 10:51I'm not telling you to go off roller coasters or anything.
173. 10:54I've always believed that you have to take risks, calculated, educated risks to evolve.
174. 11:01Because if you've not truly explored the full extent of your possibilities, you'll always
175. 11:05remain stagnant.
176. 11:08People have written me off several times in my career.
177. 11:12Sometimes they didn't agree with my choices.
178. 11:15When I played a negative character in my film Aitraaz, very early in my career, I was told
179. 11:20I'll be a vamp and no one will cast me as a heroine.
180. 11:22When I took on a female centric film called Fashion, again, very early on in my career,
181. 11:29I was told that was not norm.
182. 11:31When I signed a US TV show at the height of my film career in India, each time the risks
183. 11:38were huge, the stakes were high and the repercussions could have been, to say not the least, career
184. 11:46ending.
185. 11:47Thank God they weren't and I'm still standing in front of you.
186. 11:50I really appreciate God.
187. 11:53I don't know what will happen going forward.
188. 11:54But as of now, I can say that my risks and the gamble was worth it.
189. 11:59You know why?
190. 12:01Because I backed up those risks with my hundred percent.
191. 12:05So, rule number seven, be bold and take these risks.
192. 12:11Now, friends, family, the people you work with, the people around us are our greatest
193. 12:19influences in your journey to success.
194. 12:22So, you have to choose very wisely.
195. 12:24Rule number eight, surround yourself with the right people, who do not stab you in the
196. 12:30back.
197. 12:33Now who's into Social Media.
198. 12:34Who's on social media.
199. 12:35Raise your hands.
200. 12:37Yeah, we like it.
201. 12:39I like it.
202. 12:40We can raise our hands.
203. 12:41Alright, it's almost everyone.
204. 12:43Now keep your hands raised if you have ever been upset by like a bad comment that you
205. 12:48may have read on a photograph or like on Facebook or when you have posted something.
206. 12:52And sometimes, you know, you are just like, why do people have to be mean?
207. 12:55Yeah.
208. 12:56So, there's a lot of you, right.
209. 12:58Guys, please let me just tell you this.
210. 13:01No matter what you do, someone will always be unhappy.
211. 13:12Always.
212. 13:13Especially in this age of social media, it's so easy for us to be confused between the
213. 13:18voices that actually matter, and the opinions of faceless people writing behind the anonymity
214. 13:24of what the web offers.
215. 13:26They don't matter.
216. 13:29So, rule number nine, you can never please everyone all the time.
217. 13:37And the biggest favour that you will all do to yourselves will be to laugh, at yourself,
218. 13:44at situations.
219. 13:46Find a moment to appreciate every single day, this funny thing called life.
220. 13:52And that's my most important rule number ten, don't take yourself too seriously.
221. 13:57We're not making rockets.
222. 13:58Alright, calm down, have fun.
223. 14:01And just enjoy this beautiful journey that we've been put on.
224. 14:05I do that.
225. 14:09In the meanwhile, hi.
226. 14:11I am here, not going anywhere, two rules are still left.
227. 14:16It's really not that hard in my experience to be kind, to be compassionate, to be human.
228. 14:27You will never know someone else's full story.
229. 14:29So, don't be quick to judge.
230. 14:31My mother who's here tonight with the rest of my family, this entire front row is very
231. 14:36Chopra and Akhori right now.
232. 14:42She taught me when I was very, very young, that there is always someone who will be less
233. 14:48fortunate than you, always.
234. 14:51So, give back wherever you can.
235. 14:57There's a huge reason I started my foundation, I lend my voice to UNICEF, Girl Up and causes
236. 15:03that I'm associated with, because we have one world and it's ours and we need to heal
237. 15:10it.
238. 15:11And that starts with us.
239. 15:15So, that is my rule number eleven, give back.
240. 15:22And finally, the most important one, always remember where you came from.
241. 15:28It's truly what defines you.
242. 15:29So, I'm a proud Indian and army's daughter.
243. 15:35Daughter of two doctors with a middle-class upbringing and ginormous families, who I love
244. 15:44on both sides.
245. 15:47We've seen good times; we've seen bad times.
246. 15:50We've seen hardships, we've seen pain, laughter, sadness, but that is what has made me who
247. 15:55I am.
248. 15:56And I wear that with pride every day and everywhere that I go.
249. 15:59So, last and definitely not the least, rule number twelve, don't ever forget your roots
250. 16:04and where you came from.
251. 16:12I hope you take some of what I have shared with you today and go into the new year with
252. 16:16maybe a different perspective on life and start 2018 with being fierce, fearless, and
253. 16:25flawed.
254. 16:26Yeah, that's it.
255. 16:27That's it.
256. 16:29I read this somewhere and it kind of stuck with me and I hope it will stick with you.
257. 16:33Life's journey is not to arrive at your grave site safely, in a well-preserved body, but
258. 16:40rather to skid in sideways, completely worn out and say, holy shit, that was a ride.
259. 16:47That is how I want to go.
260. 16:50So, to sum up this incredible journey that I have been on, I stand before you today,
261. 16:57weathered by life, but happy and raring to do so much more.
262. 17:03I'll see you on the other side.
263. 17:05Namaste.