Gurmeet Singh Gurcharan Singh: 2nd place winner, 2026 World Championship of Public Speaking transcript

[applause] >> Gurmeet Singh Gurcharan Singh good for nothing good for nothing Gurmeet Singh Gurcharan Singh >> [cheering] [applause] >> Thank you, contest chair. >> You're welcome. >> It was Monday morning. My high school teacher, Mrs. Lim, stood in front of me. In her hands, my test scores. She looked at it, looked at me, and said, "Gurmeet, you have failed again. And you're the only one in this class to fail." For a moment, nobody spoke.

And then my best friend, Sam, broke the silence and said, "Teacher, teacher, you are wrong. Gurmeet was not the only one to fail. I also failed." Raise your hands if you have a friend who does not know when to keep their mouth shut. Thanks to Sam, our teacher marched us to detention after class. But before she closed the door on us, she looked at us and said, "Both of you are good for nothing." Detention I could take, but those words, oh, they really hurt.

And you know what? After that day, whenever our teacher saw us, she used to always say, "And here come the two good for nothings." And I started believing her eventually. But do you know what's the worst part? School was not the only area I heard those words. Because fast forward a few years later, I heard those words again. And this time, in the area of love. You see, at the age of 22, I finally got a girlfriend. In the beginning, everything was perfect.

We called each other every night. We held hands everywhere we went, even when crossing the road. Why? Because if a car were to knock us down, at least we go to heaven together. But 1 year later, I caught her holding another guy's hand. I confronted her. "Who's this new guy? Why are you with him? What's wrong with me?" She said, "Well, Gurmit, he puts in effort into my relationship. He buys me flowers. He bakes me cakes.

He even remembers my mother's name. You, you are good for nothing." I went back thinking, she's right. Flowers, too expensive. Cakes, never baked one. Her mother's name, seriously, what is her mother's name? But seriously, though, I started believing her that I was good for nothing in learning, in love, even in life. And then the third time I heard those words was a little bit different. Because I said those words to my grandfather, the man who raised me up when my dad passed away when I was just 5 years old.

You see, as a good-for-nothing 24-year-old, I had been skipping my college classes, and my grandfather found out and he confronted me. And in that argument, I told him, "Do not tell me what to do. You're not my dad. You're good- for-nothing." The moment those words left my lips, I regretted them. But my ego told me, "Gurmit, never apologize." He just looked at me. Not of disappointment, but of hurt. But do you know what he did?

He never let those words define his worth as a person, because he kept showing up as that father figure I needed in my life up until the day he passed away. Now, I can't apologize to him. I never will. But what I can do is to share with you what I've learned from him, which is no one can tell us we are good-for-nothing because we have always been good for someone. For example, my teacher looked at my grade and decided I'm good-for-nothing.

But do you know what? I became best friends with Sam. And do you know why we are best friends? Because we spent so much quality time in detention together. And if my grandfather was here today, he would tell me, "Grumit, that makes you good for someone. And that someone is my best friend, Sam. My ex-girlfriend looked at flowers, cakes, and names, and decided I was good for nothing. But my wife would tell you that I put in a lot of effort into our relationship.

For example, I know where the nearest flower shop is. I can bake a decent cake today. And I remember her mother's name, Ling Kwok Ping. I hope I said that correctly. And if my grandfather was here today, he would tell me, "That makes you good for someone. And that someone is my wife. And the reason why I am who I am today is because the man that I called good for nothing, my grandfather, still treated me like I was everything.

Because he knew he was good for someone. And that someone was me. So, standing before you today, my friends, we need to realize that we have a lot of voices in our lives. Voices that are quick to tell us that we are good for nothing. And sometimes it's easy to believe them. But let me tell you what my grandfather would have told us if he was here today. That is, our worth is more important than a grade. Our value is more important than a mistake.

And our lives are more important than anyone else's opinions of us. No one can tell us we good for nothing because we have always been good for someone. Contest chair. >> [applause] [music]