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Thoughts on humanity, fame and love | Shah Rukh Khan | TED
@ TED
05/11/17
Takeaways
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Shah Rukh Khan
05/11/17
@ TED
I sell dreams and peddle love to millions of people in India who think I'm the best lover in the world.
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Shah Rukh Khan
05/11/17
@ TED
I believe humanity is a lot like me, grappling with newness and trying to keep shining regardless of challenges.
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Shah Rukh Khan
05/11/17
@ TED
I was born in a refugee colony in New Delhi, and my father was a freedom fighter while my mother was a fighter like all mothers.
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Shah Rukh Khan
05/11/17
@ TED
In my early 20s, I lost both my parents, which taught me the crude tools of survival, much like humanity in its adolescence.
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Shah Rukh Khan
05/11/17
@ TED
The framework of life was simple: you ate what you got and did what you were told, with definitions of life being straightforward and clear.
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Shah Rukh Khan
05/11/17
@ TED
When I moved to Mumbai in my late 20s, my understanding of life began to change as I encountered diverse people and ideas.
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Shah Rukh Khan
05/11/17
@ TED
I experienced the miracle of human innovation and cooperation, which propelled me into superstardom and made me feel like I had arrived.
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Shah Rukh Khan
05/11/17
@ TED
By the time I was 40, I had done 50 films and 200 songs, and I received honors from various countries, including a title from France I still can't pronounce. I sell dreams and peddle love to millions of people.
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Shah Rukh Khan
05/11/17
@ TED
The internet changed everything, and I started tweeting, thinking people would admire my life as a miracle.
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Shah Rukh Khan
05/11/17
@ TED
We expected an expansion of ideas with enhanced connectivity, but instead faced a village-like enclosure of thought and judgment.
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Shah Rukh Khan
05/11/17
@ TED
Everything I said and did was open for the world to comment on and judge, including what I didn't say or do.
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Shah Rukh Khan
05/11/17
@ TED
My family was disturbed by false claims about my third child, which affected us deeply.
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Shah Rukh Khan
05/11/17
@ TED
In this new world, reality became virtual and I felt I couldn't be who I wanted to be or express my true thoughts.
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Shah Rukh Khan
05/11/17
@ TED
I felt humanity and I were both going through a midlife crisis, becoming overexposed.
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Shah Rukh Khan
05/11/17
@ TED
I tried to reinvent myself, even attempting to wear a superhero suit, but I failed miserably.
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Shah Rukh Khan
05/11/17
@ TED
I accidentally invented a new dance form called the Lungi dance, which became a rage.
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Shah Rukh Khan
05/11/17
@ TED
I tried to reconstruct my identity on social media, but received confusing responses to my philosophical tweets.
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Shah Rukh Khan
05/11/17
@ TED
Now, at 51 years old, I believe this is a momentous time for humanity because the present you is brave, hopeful, and innovative.
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Shah Rukh Khan
05/11/17
@ TED
I realized I was beginning to look like a wax statue of myself, prompting me to question if I need to fix my face.
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Shah Rukh Khan
05/11/17
@ TED
The land I come from, India, is the source of inexplicable but very simple spirituality, and I, the Muslim son of a broke freedom fighter, accidentally ventured into the business of selling dreams and became the king of romance, the "Badhshah of Bollywood."
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Shah Rukh Khan
05/11/17
@ TED
The people of this ancient land embraced me in their limitless love, teaching me that neither power nor poverty can make life more magical or less tortuous.
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Shah Rukh Khan
05/11/17
@ TED
I've learned that the dignity of a life, a human being, a culture, a religion, or a country resides in its ability for grace and compassion.
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Shah Rukh Khan
05/11/17
@ TED
Whatever moves you to create, to build, or helps you survive is perhaps the oldest and simplest emotion known to mankind: love.
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Shah Rukh Khan
05/11/17
@ TED
All the knowledge you might read and impart through innovation and technology will not enlighten mankind about its future unless it is coupled with love and compassion for fellow beings.
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Shah Rukh Khan
05/11/17
@ TED
If you understand and practice love, that itself is enough to enlighten mankind.
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Shah Rukh Khan
05/11/17
@ TED
The future "you" has to be a you that loves; otherwise, it will cease to flourish and perish in self-absorption.
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Shah Rukh Khan
05/11/17
@ TED
You can use your power to build walls and keep people outside, or to break barriers and welcome them in.
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Shah Rukh Khan
05/11/17
@ TED
You can use your energy to build nuclear bombs and spread destruction, or to spread joy and light to millions.
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Shah Rukh Khan
05/11/17
@ TED
My country has taught me that the capacity for a human being to love is akin to godliness, shining forth in a world that civilization has tampered with too much.
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Shah Rukh Khan
05/11/17
@ TED
The quest to cultivate our capacity for love and compassion must assert itself equally alongside our achievements in innovation and technology.
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Shah Rukh Khan
05/11/17
@ TED
The future "you" is an infinite you, perceiving time and space differently, understanding both your unimaginable importance and your complete unimportance in the universe.
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Shah Rukh Khan
05/11/17
@ TED
The future "you" must return to the original innocence of humanity, loving from the purity of heart and dreaming from the clarity of an untampered mind.
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Shah Rukh Khan
05/11/17
@ TED
The future "you" should create a world that is its own best lover, wholly in love with itself.