Tep Livina, 25, is studying for a master of arts at the Institute of Foreign Language with the aim of teaching English to students of other languages.

He’s also an entrepreneur, running a company called EdNiCHE Educational Services of Cambodia.

Last Saturday, Livina was a guest speaker at the TEDx   talkfest at Phnom Penh’s Zaman University. The topic of his address was “The power of self-confidence”.

Livina told his audience he had selected this subject  because of his own interesting background.

He turned from an aimless gang member to being an outstanding university student, then the owner of a company.

Livina encapsulates his life experience when he says the biggest challenge was overcoming the lack of confidence people had in him.

“It’s really hard to deal with people who don’t trust you. To cope with that, I just moved forward by having faith in myself,” he says.

“My 10-year ambition is to create a school that provides a quality learning experience to students who can’t afford to pay very much for education.”

Livina says TEDx Phnom Penh is a really interesting talkfest program, even though it is organised by foreigners.

“This program can help people talk about, and share, their experiences, and thus gain self-confidence,’’ he says. Asked why he selected “The power of self-confidence” as the topic of his address, Livina says without hesitation:  

“If one has a strong belief in himself or herself, they will overcome those obstacles easily.”

He adds that there are many obstacles and naysayers in life, and these can obstruct one from pushing forwards to succeed.

On being an entrepreneur and an education professional, Livina says: “The big problem with Cambodian young people  nowadays is their lack of goals in life.”

To solve this problem, he says, they should begin studying  themselves: “They should set a goal and work hard towards it.”