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  • Let me tell you a little bit about my personal journey

  • to Silicon valley from India, 22 years ago.

  • Growing up in India, like many of you, I got my first telephone when I was 12.

  • In my case it turned out be a rotary phone,

  • so it wasn't that great for selfies.

  • But I still loved to call my friends, play with it

  • and sometimes take it apart.

  • That telephone cemented my fascination with technology.

  • I remember in my parents house in Chennai,

  • reading about the invention of the transistor at Bell labs.

  • Of course, that initial invention helped found what became known as Silicon Valley

  • and out of that

  • came companies like Fairchild semiconductor and Intel

  • and all the computers and software,

  • that we all use today.

  • You can draw a direct line from that invention to the technology,

  • that powers your Twitter feed or your WeChat messages today.

  • A lot of times when I was younger,

  • you know people would say, you know this person didn't get into this college or

  • something and that is the end of the road.

  • I mean life is so different from that,

  • and so I think it is important to you know, keep your hopes,

  • keep your dreams and try to follow them

  • and you know I think, most of how life plays out is up to you,

  • not up to what happens outside of you.

  • I think its important to keep that in mind and take the long term view.

  • I still vividly remember as a teenager,

  • jumping on to a crowded train.

  • At Chennai and traveling for 24 hours,

  • to attend my school at IIT Kharagpur

  • and that opportunity changed the course of my life.

  • You want to aim high enough that you fail,

  • you know few times.. I think it is the natural part of the process.

  • In fact, Larry used to say if you work on really difficult things,

  • you are better off because you have no competition,

  • others aren't working on that difficult a problem.

  • And even if you fail, you end up doing something great in the process.

  • I think you know, working the real world I

  • would say, it is important to be well rounded,

  • it is important to try different things,

  • or you know take some risks,

  • you know, I would encourage people to follow their passions a little bit more.

  • To follow set lanes throughout your career.

  • Getting into an elite institution doesn't guarantee success,

  • it matters a lot but it doesn't guarantee success.

  • And I think it is important to keep that perspective in life

  • and life is a long road,

  • and you know, you want to take it at the right pace

  • and enjoy what you are doing.

  • I know how much hard work it takes to pursue your dream

  • of building a business.

  • The long hours, time away from family,

  • the ideas you know are brilliant,

  • that just don't seem to catch on.

  • I remember reading about that and thinking,

  • it's the idea that matters.

  • It didn't matter where you come from

  • or what your background is.

  • One revolutionary idea, one brilliant invention

  • can unleash other entrepreneurs

  • to revolutionize, industries and ways

  • you could never predict.

Let me tell you a little bit about my personal journey

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