TED2011
Ric Elias: 3 things I learned while my plane crashed
Ric Elias: 3 cosas que aprendí mientras mi avión se estrellaba
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Ric Elias tenía un asiento en primera fila en el vuelo 1549, el avión que hizo un aterrizaje forzoso en el río Hudson en Nueva York en enero de 2009. ¿Qué pasó por su mente mientras el siniestrado avión caía? En TED, nos cuenta por primera vez en público su historia.
Ric Elias - Entrepreneur
Ric Elias is the CEO of Red Ventures, a marketing services company that grew out of Elias' long experience in business. Full bio
Ric Elias is the CEO of Red Ventures, a marketing services company that grew out of Elias' long experience in business. Full bio
Double-click the English transcript below to play the video.
00:15
Imagine a big explosion
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Imaginen una gran explosión
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as you climb through 3,000 ft.
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cuando estás a 900 mts de altura
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Imagine a plane full of smoke.
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Imaginen un avión lleno de humo.
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Imagine an engine going clack, clack, clack,
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Imaginen un motor haciendo clac, clac, clac,
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clack, clack, clack, clack.
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clac, clac, clac, clac.
00:29
It sounds scary.
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Suena aterrador.
00:31
Well I had a unique seat that day. I was sitting in 1D.
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Bien, yo tenía un asiento único ese día. Estaba sentado en el 1D.
00:34
I was the only one who could talk to the flight attendants.
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Era el único que podía hablar con los asistentes de vuelo.
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So I looked at them right away,
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Así que de inmediato los miré,
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and they said, "No problem. We probably hit some birds."
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y dijeron: "No hay problema. Probablemente golpeamos algunas aves".
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The pilot had already turned the plane around,
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El piloto ya había virado el avión,
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and we weren't that far.
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y no estábamos tan lejos.
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You could see Manhattan.
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Se podía ver Manhattan.
00:48
Two minutes later,
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Dos minutos después,
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three things happened at the same time.
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3 cosas sucedieron al mismo tiempo.
00:53
The pilot lines up the plane with the Hudson River.
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El piloto alineó el avión con el río Hudson.
00:57
That's usually not the route.
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Generalmente esa no es la ruta.
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(Laughter)
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(Risas)
01:01
He turns off the engines.
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Apagó los motores.
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Now imagine being in a plane with no sound.
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Imaginen estar en un avión y sin ruidos.
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And then he says three words --
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Y luego dijo 3 palabras --
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the most unemotional three words I've ever heard.
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las 3 palabras más desapasionadas que haya escuchado.
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He says, "Brace for impact."
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Dijo, "Prepararse para el impacto".
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I didn't have to talk to the flight attendant anymore.
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No tuve que hablar más con la asistente de vuelo.
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(Laughter)
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(Risas)
01:21
I could see in her eyes,
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Pude verlo en sus ojos,
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it was terror. Life was over.
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era terror. La vida se terminaba.
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Now I want to share with you three things I learned about myself that day.
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Quiero compartir con ustedes 3 cosas que aprendí sobre mí mismo ese día.
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I learned that it all changes in an instant.
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Aprendí que todo cambia en un instante.
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We have this bucket list,
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Tenemos esta lista de cosas para hacer antes de morir,
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we have these things we want to do in life,
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estas cosas que queremos hacer en vida,
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and I thought about all the people I wanted to reach out to that I didn't,
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y pensé en toda la gente a las que quería llegar y no lo hice,
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all the fences I wanted to mend,
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todas las cercas que quería reparar,
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all the experiences I wanted to have and I never did.
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todas las experiencias que he querido tener y nunca tuve.
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As I thought about that later on,
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Mientras pensaba en eso más adelante,
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I came up with a saying,
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Me vino una frase,
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which is, "I collect bad wines."
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que es, "Colecciono vinos malos".
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Because if the wine is ready and the person is there, I'm opening it.
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Porque si el vino está listo y la persona está ahí, lo voy a abrir.
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I no longer want to postpone anything in life.
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Ya no quiero aplazar nada en la vida.
02:01
And that urgency, that purpose,
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Y esa urgencia, ese propósito,
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has really changed my life.
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realmente ha cambiado mi vida.
02:06
The second thing I learned that day --
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Lo segundo que aprendí ese día --
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and this is as we clear the George Washington Bridge,
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y esto es mientras evitábamos el puente George Washington,
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which was by not a lot --
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que no fué por mucho --
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I thought about, wow,
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Pensé sobre, wow,
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I really feel one real regret.
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Realmente siento un gran pesar.
02:18
I've lived a good life.
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He vivido una buena vida.
02:20
In my own humanity and mistakes,
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En mi humanidad y con mis errores
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I've tried to get better at everything I tried.
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He tratado de mejorar en todo lo que hice.
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But in my humanity,
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Pero en mi humanidad
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I also allow my ego to get in.
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también dí lugar a mi ego.
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And I regretted the time I wasted
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Y lamento el tiempo que desperdicié
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on things that did not matter
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en cosas que no importaban
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with people that matter.
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con gente que sí importan.
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And I thought about my relationship with my wife,
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Y pensé en mi relación con mi esposa,
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with my friends, with people.
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con mis amigos, con la gente.
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And after, as I reflected on that,
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Y después, como medité en eso,
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I decided to eliminate negative energy from my life.
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Decidí eliminar la energía negativa de mi vida.
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It's not perfect, but it's a lot better.
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No es perfecta, pero es mucho mejor.
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I've not had a fight with my wife in two years.
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En 2 años no he tenido una pelea con mi esposa.
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It feels great.
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Se siente de maravillas.
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I no longer try to be right;
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Ya no trato de tener razón;
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I choose to be happy.
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Elijo ser felíz.
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The third thing I learned --
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Lo tercero que aprendí --
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and this is as your mental clock
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y esto es como que tu reloj mental
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starts going, "15, 14, 13."
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va descontando, "15, 14, 13".
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You can see the water coming.
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Ves el agua aproximarse.
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I'm saying, "Please blow up."
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Estoy diciendo, "Por favor vuela".
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I don't want this thing to break in 20 pieces
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No quiero que esto se rompa en 20 piezas
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like you've seen in those documentaries.
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como se ven en esos documentales.
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And as we're coming down,
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Y mientras bajábamos,
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I had a sense of, wow,
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tuve la sensación de, wow,
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dying is not scary.
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morir no da miedo.
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It's almost like we've been preparing for it our whole lives.
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Es casi como que hemos estado preparandonos para ello toda nuestra vida.
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But it was very sad.
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Pero fue muy triste.
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I didn't want to go; I love my life.
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No me quería ir; amo mi vida.
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And that sadness
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Y esa tristeza
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really framed in one thought,
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se enmarcó en un único pensamiento,
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which is, I only wish for one thing.
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que es, sólo deseo una cosa.
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I only wish I could see my kids grow up.
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Ojalá pudiera ver a mis hijos crecer.
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About a month later, I was at a performance by my daughter --
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Un mes más tarde, estaba en una actuación de mi hija -
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first-grader, not much artistic talent ...
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primer grado, no mucho talento artístico ...
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... yet.
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...todavía.
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(Laughter)
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(Risas)
03:47
And I'm bawling, I'm crying,
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Y grito, lloro,
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like a little kid.
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como un pequeño.
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And it made all the sense in the world to me.
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Y para mí, esa era toda la razón de ser del mundo.
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I realized at that point,
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En ese punto comprendí,
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by connecting those two dots,
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al conectar esos dos puntos,
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that the only thing that matters in my life
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que lo único que importa en mi vida
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is being a great dad.
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es ser un gran padre.
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Above all, above all,
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Por sobre todo,
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the only goal I have in life
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la única meta que tengo en la vida
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is to be a good dad.
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es ser un buen padre.
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I was given the gift of a miracle,
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Se me concedió un milagro,
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of not dying that day.
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de no morir ese día.
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I was given another gift,
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Y se me concedió otro regalo,
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which was to be able to see into the future
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que fue la posibilidad de mirar el futuro
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and come back
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y volver
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and live differently.
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y vivir de otra forma.
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I challenge you guys that are flying today,
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A ustedes que están volando hoy, los desafío a
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imagine the same thing happens on your plane --
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que imaginen que lo mismo les pasa en su avión --
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and please don't --
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y por favor que no sea así --
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but imagine, and how would you change?
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pero imaginen, ¿y cómo cambiarían?
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What would you get done that you're waiting to get done
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¿Qué es lo que harían, que aún esperan hacer
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because you think you'll be here forever?
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porque piensan que van a vivir por siempre?
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How would you change your relationships
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¿Cómo cambiarían sus relaciones
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and the negative energy in them?
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y la energía negativa en ellas?
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And more than anything, are you being the best parent you can?
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Y lo más importante, ¿están siendo los mejores padres que pueden?
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Thank you.
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Gracias.
04:46
(Applause)
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(Aplausos)
ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Ric Elias - EntrepreneurRic Elias is the CEO of Red Ventures, a marketing services company that grew out of Elias' long experience in business.
Why you should listen
Born in Puerto Rico, Ric Elias came to the United States for college knowing little English, as he writes in his online bio . So what did he do? "I adjusted my schedule and took only classes that dealt with numbers my entire first year," he says. "I'd always been decent at math, and things like calculus and accounting were non-lingual. I was able to buy some time to improve my English skills." His facility with numbers has led to a wide-ranging career in business and finance.
Elias is the CEO and co-founder of Red Ventures, a firm that helps large service companies acquire new customers online. He began his career in General Electric Co.'s Aerospace Division, then worked at the marketing services company CUC International (later known as Cendant). Prior to founding Red Ventures, Ric served as president of Spark Network Services, a promotion and data company held by Cendant.
"I'm a frustrated athlete," says Elias. "To me, business is the Olympics for non-athletes. It comes down to loving competition; figuring out whom we should compete against and how to beat them."
Ric Elias | Speaker | TED.com