TED2009
Elizabeth Gilbert: Your elusive creative genius
Elizabeth Gilbert sobre conrear la creativitat
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Elizabeth Gilbert reflexiona sobre allò impossible que esperem dels artistes i els genis; i comparteix la radical idea que, en lloc del fet que les persones "siguen" genis, tots nosaltres "tenim" un geni. És una conferència divertida, personal i sorprenentment commovedora.
Elizabeth Gilbert - Writer
The author of 'Eat, Pray, Love,' Elizabeth Gilbert has thought long and hard about some big topics. Her fascinations: genius, creativity and how we get in our own way when it comes to both. Full bio
The author of 'Eat, Pray, Love,' Elizabeth Gilbert has thought long and hard about some big topics. Her fascinations: genius, creativity and how we get in our own way when it comes to both. Full bio
Double-click the English transcript below to play the video.
00:13
I am a writer.
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Sóc escriptora.
00:15
Writing books is my profession but it's more than that, of course.
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Escriure llibres és la meua professió, però és molt més que això, evidentment.
00:19
It is also my great lifelong love and fascination.
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També ha sigut sempre el gran amor de la meua vida i la meua fascinació.
00:23
And I don't expect that that's ever going to change.
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I no espere que això canvie mai.
00:25
But, that said, something kind of peculiar has happened recently
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Però, dit açò, fa poc em va passar una cosa peculiar,
00:30
in my life and in my career,
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en la meua vida i la meua carrera,
00:33
which has caused me to have to recalibrate my whole relationship with this work.
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que m'ha fet recalibrar tota la meua relació amb aquest treball.
00:38
And the peculiar thing is that I recently wrote this book,
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I aquest fet peculiar és que fa poc vaig escriure un llibre,
00:41
this memoir called "Eat, Pray, Love"
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unes memòries anomenades "Menjar, Resar, Estimar",
00:43
which, decidedly unlike any of my previous books,
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les quals, a diferència dels meus llibres anteriors,
00:48
went out in the world for some reason, and became this big,
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ven veure la llum per algun motiu i es van convertir en una obra
00:51
mega-sensation, international bestseller thing.
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que va causar una gran sensació i va ser supervendes internacional.
00:54
The result of which is that everywhere I go now,
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De resultes, allà on vaig
00:57
people treat me like I'm doomed.
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la gent em tracta com si m'hagueren llançat un malefici.
01:00
Seriously -- doomed, doomed!
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De veritat: un malefici!
01:03
Like, they come up to me now, all worried, and they say,
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Se m'acosten, tots preocupats, i em diuen:
01:05
"Aren't you afraid you're never going to be able to top that?
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"No tens por... no tens por de no poder superar-ho mai?
01:10
Aren't you afraid you're going to keep writing for your whole life
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No tens por de seguir escrivint tota la vida
01:13
and you're never again going to create a book
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i no crear mai més un llibre
01:15
that anybody in the world cares about at all,
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que importe a algú, qui siga, ni un poc
01:18
ever again?"
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mai més?
01:20
So that's reassuring, you know.
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És tranquilitzador, us ho imagineu.
01:22
But it would be worse, except for that I happen to remember
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Però podria ser pitjor, resulta que recorde
01:25
that over 20 years ago, when I first started telling people -- when I was a teenager --
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que fa uns 20 anys, quan vaig començar a dir a la gent --quan era una adolescent--
01:29
that I wanted to be a writer,
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que volia ser escriptora,
01:31
I was met with this same kind of, sort of fear-based reaction.
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em trobava amb la mateixa reacció de por.
01:34
And people would say, "Aren't you afraid you're never going to have any success?
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I la gent em deia: "No tens por de no tindre mai èxit?
01:37
Aren't you afraid the humiliation of rejection will kill you?
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No tens por que la humiliació del rebuig t'acabe matant?
01:40
Aren't you afraid that you're going to work your whole life at this craft
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No tens por de treballar tota la vida en aquest art
01:43
and nothing's ever going to come of it
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i que mai no done cap fruit
01:45
and you're going to die on a scrap heap of broken dreams
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i que acabes morint sola en una pila de deixalles de somnis frustrats
01:47
with your mouth filled with bitter ash of failure?"
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amb la boca plena de les amargues cendres del fracàs?
01:51
(Laughter)
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(Riuen)
01:53
Like that, you know.
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Tal qual, ja m'enteneu.
01:55
The answer -- the short answer to all those questions is, "Yes."
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La resposta... la resposta abreviada a totes aquestes preguntes és "Sí".
02:00
Yes, I'm afraid of all those things.
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Sí, tinc por de totes aquestes coses.
02:02
And I always have been.
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Sempre n'he tingut.
02:03
And I'm afraid of many, many more things besides
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I tinc por de moltes, moltes, moltes altres coses
02:06
that people can't even guess at,
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que la gent no podria ni imaginar.
02:08
like seaweed and other things that are scary.
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Com les algues marines i altres coses que fan por.
02:12
But, when it comes to writing,
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Però, quan es tracta d'escriure,
02:14
the thing that I've been sort of thinking about lately, and wondering about lately, is why?
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el que he pensat últimament, i al que he fet voltes últimament, és: per què?
02:18
You know, is it rational?
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Ja sabeu: és racional?
02:20
Is it logical that anybody should be expected
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És lògic que s'espere que algú
02:23
to be afraid of the work that they feel they were put on this Earth to do.
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tinga por del treball que sent que li ha estat destinat?
02:27
And what is it specifically about creative ventures
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Sabeu? Què passa en concret amb les aventures creatives
02:32
that seems to make us really nervous about each other's mental health
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que sembla que ens posen molt nerviosos sobre la salut mental dels altres
02:35
in a way that other careers kind of don't do, you know?
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d'una manera que no passa amb altres professions?
02:38
Like my dad, for example, was a chemical engineer
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Com el meu pare, per exemple; era enginyer químic
02:42
and I don't recall once in his 40 years of chemical engineering
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i no recorde ni una vegada en els seus 40 anys d'enginyeria química
02:45
anybody asking him if he was afraid to be a chemical engineer, you know?
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que ningú li preguntara si tenia por de ser enginyer químic.
02:49
It didn't -- that chemical-engineering block, John, how's it going?
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Ningú li deia: "com portes el bloqueig de l'enginyer químic, John?".
02:55
It just didn't come up like that, you know?
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Simplement, no es donava el cas, sabeu?
02:57
But to be fair, chemical engineers as a group
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Però, la veritat, els enginyers químics, com a grup,
03:01
haven't really earned a reputation over the centuries
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no s'han guanyat al llarg dels segles la fama
03:03
for being alcoholic manic-depressives.
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de ser uns alcohòlics maniac-depressius.
03:06
(Laughter)
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(Riuen)
03:08
We writers, we kind of do have that reputation,
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Els escriptors sí que tenim més o menys aquesta reputació,
03:11
and not just writers, but creative people across all genres,
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i no només els escriptors, sinó que la gent creativa de diversos gèneres
03:14
it seems, have this reputation for being enormously mentally unstable.
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sembla que també tenen la fama de ser d'allò més inestables mentalment.
03:19
And all you have to do is look at the very grim death count
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I tot el que heu de fer és mirar la nefasta llista de morts,
03:23
in the 20th century alone, of really magnificent creative minds
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només en el segle XX, de ments creatives realment magnífiques
03:27
who died young and often at their own hands, you know?
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que van morir joves, sovint a les seues mans.
03:30
And even the ones who didn't literally commit suicide
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I fins i tot aquests que no es van suïcidar literalment
03:33
seem to be really undone by their gifts, you know.
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sembla que estan realment destrossats pel seu do.
03:36
Norman Mailer, just before he died, last interview, he said
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Norman Mailer, just abans de morir, a la seua última entrevista, digué:
03:39
"Every one of my books has killed me a little more."
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"Cadascun dels meus llibres m'ha matat un poc més".
03:43
An extraordinary statement to make about your life's work.
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Una afirmació extraordinària a fer sobre el treball de la teua vida.
03:47
But we don't even blink when we hear somebody say this
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Però ni tan sols ens immutem quan sentim que algú diu açò,
03:50
because we've heard that kind of stuff for so long
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perquè hem sentit aquestes coses des de fa tant de temps
03:53
and somehow we've completely internalized and accepted collectively
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i d'alguna manera hem assumit completament i acceptat col·lectivament
03:57
this notion that creativity and suffering are somehow inherently linked
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la noció que la creativitat i el patiment estan, d'alguna manera, units inherentment
04:01
and that artistry, in the end, will always ultimately lead to anguish.
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i que l'art, al final, ens conduirà en última instància a l'angoixa.
04:06
And the question that I want to ask everybody here today
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I la pregunta que vull fer a tots els presents avui ací
04:08
is are you guys all cool with that idea?
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és: a tots vos sembla bé la idea?
04:11
Are you comfortable with that?
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Hi esteu còmodes...?,
04:14
Because you look at it even from an inch away and, you know ...
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perquè si es mira ni que siga des de poca distància.. ja m'enteneu...
04:17
I'm not at all comfortable with that assumption.
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Jo no estic gens còmoda amb aquest pressupòsit.
04:20
I think it's odious.
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Crec que és detestable.
04:21
And I also think it's dangerous,
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I també pense que és perillós,
04:23
and I don't want to see it perpetuated into the next century.
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i no el vull veure perpetuat en el pròxim segle.
04:26
I think it's better if we encourage our great creative minds to live.
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Crec que és millor si encoratgem les nostres grans ments creatives a viure.
04:30
And I definitely know that, in my case -- in my situation --
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I definitivament sé que, en el meu cas --en la meua situació--
04:36
it would be very dangerous for me to start sort of leaking down that dark path
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seria molt perillós començar a davallar a poc a poc per aquest fosc camí
04:41
of assumption, particularly given the circumstance
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de pressuposicions, sobretot atesa la circumstància
04:44
that I'm in right now in my career.
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en què em trobe ara en la meua carrera.
04:46
Which is -- you know, like check it out,
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Que és --ja sabeu, mireu-me--
04:49
I'm pretty young, I'm only about 40 years old.
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que sóc bastant jove, només tinc uns 40 anys.
04:51
I still have maybe another four decades of work left in me.
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Encara em queden potser unes quatre dècades de treball.
04:54
And it's exceedingly likely that anything I write from this point forward
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I és extremadament probable que qualsevol cosa que escriga a partir d'ara
04:59
is going to be judged by the world as the work that came after
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siga jutjat pel món com l'obra posterior
05:02
the freakish success of my last book, right?
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a l'inusual èxit del meu últim llibre, no?
05:05
I should just put it bluntly, because we're all sort of friends here now --
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Ho hauria de dir sense embuts, perquè ara ja som tots amics ací:
05:09
it's exceedingly likely that my greatest success is behind me.
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el més probable és que el meu èxit més gran ja haja passat.
05:13
So Jesus, what a thought!
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Déu meu, quina idea!
05:16
That's the kind of thought that could lead a person
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És la classe d'idea que podria fer que algú
05:18
to start drinking gin at nine o'clock in the morning,
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començara a beure ginebra a les nou del matí,
05:21
and I don't want to go there.
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i no vull anar per aquest camí.
05:24
(Laughter)
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(Riuen)
05:25
I would prefer to keep doing this work that I love.
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Preferiria seguir fent aquest treball que estime.
05:27
And so, the question becomes, how?
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Llavors, la pregunta és: com?
05:31
And so, it seems to me, upon a lot of reflection,
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I llavors, em sembla, després de reflexionar-hi molt,
05:33
that the way that I have to work now, in order to continue writing,
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que la manera en què he de treballar ara, per a poder seguir escrivint,
05:37
is that I have to create some sort of protective psychological construct, right?
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és que he de crear alguna espècie de constructe psicològic protector, veritat?
05:41
I have to sort of find some way to have a safe distance
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He de trobar alguna manera de tenir una distància de seguretat
05:44
between me, as I am writing, and my very natural anxiety
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entre mi, mentre escric, i la meua angoixa, tan natural,
05:49
about what the reaction to that writing is going to be, from now on.
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sobre quina serà la reacció sobre el que escric a partir d'ara.
05:53
And, as I've been looking over the last year for models for how to do that
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I, mentre he buscat durant l'últim any models per com fer-ho,
05:57
I've been sort of looking across time,
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d'alguna manera he mirat al llarg del temps
05:59
and I've been trying to find other societies
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i he intentat trobar altres societats
06:01
to see if they might have had better and saner ideas than we have
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per a veure si ells tenien idees millors i més assenyades que les nostres
06:05
about how to help creative people, sort of manage
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sobre com ajudar la gent creativa a controlar
06:08
the inherent emotional risks of creativity.
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els riscos emocionals inherents de la creativitat.
06:11
And that search has led me to ancient Greece and ancient Rome.
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I aquesta recerca m'ha portat a la Grècia antiga i a la Roma antiga.
06:16
So stay with me, because it does circle around and back.
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Quedeu-vos amb mi, perquè aquesta idea és circular i tornarem a aquest punt.
06:19
But, ancient Greece and ancient Rome --
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A la Grècia antiga i a la Roma antiga,
06:21
people did not happen to believe that creativity
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la gent no pensava que la creativitat
06:24
came from human beings back then, O.K.?
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vinguera dels éssers humans en aquella època, d'acord?
06:26
People believed that creativity was this divine attendant spirit
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La gent pensava que la creativitat era un esperit guardià diví
06:30
that came to human beings from some distant and unknowable source,
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que venia als humans des d'algun origen llunyà i desconegut,
06:34
for distant and unknowable reasons.
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per motius llunyans i desconeguts.
06:37
The Greeks famously called these divine attendant spirits of creativity "daemons."
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Se sap que els grecs anomenaven aquests esperits guardians de la creativitat "dimonis".
06:42
Socrates, famously, believed that he had a daemon
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És també conegut que Sòcrates pensava que tenia un dimoni
06:45
who spoke wisdom to him from afar.
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que li transmetia paraules de saviesa des de la distància.
06:48
The Romans had the same idea,
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Els romans teníen la mateixa idea,
06:49
but they called that sort of disembodied creative spirit a genius.
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però anomenaven aquesta espècie d'esperit creatiu incorpori "geni".
06:54
Which is great, because the Romans did not actually think
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El que és genial, perquè els romans, de fet, no pensaven
06:57
that a genius was a particularly clever individual.
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que un geni fóra un individu esspecialment intel·ligent.
06:59
They believed that a genius was this, sort of magical divine entity,
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Pensaven que un geni era aquesta espècie d'entitat divina màgica,
07:03
who was believed to literally live in the walls
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que es pensava que literalment vivia entre les parets
07:07
of an artist's studio, kind of like Dobby the house elf,
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de l'estudi d'un artista, una espècie de Dobby, l'elf domèstic de Harry Potter,
07:11
and who would come out and sort of invisibly assist the artist with their work
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i que apareixeria i, de manera invisible, ajudaria l'artista amb el seu treball.
07:15
and would shape the outcome of that work.
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i donaria forma al resultat d'aquest treball.
07:18
So brilliant -- there it is, right there, that distance that I'm talking about --
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Brillant, ací ho teniu, justament açò, aquesta distància de què parlava,
07:21
that psychological construct to protect you from the results of your work.
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aquesta construcció psicològica per a protegir-vos dels resultats del vostre treball.
07:26
And everyone knew that this is how it functioned, right?
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I tots sabien com funcionava, veritat?
07:29
So the ancient artist was protected from certain things,
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De manera que els artistes clàssics estaven protegits de determinades coses,
07:32
like, for example, too much narcissism, right?
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com, per exemple, el narcicisme excessiu, veritat?
07:34
If your work was brilliant you couldn't take all the credit for it,
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Si la teua obra era brillant, no podies penjar-te'n totes les medalles,
07:37
everybody knew that you had this disembodied genius who had helped you.
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tots sabien que tenies aquest geni incorpori que t'havia ajudat.
07:41
If your work bombed, not entirely your fault, you know?
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Si el teu treball fracassava, no era completament culpa teua, m'enteneu?
07:45
Everyone knew your genius was kind of lame.
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Tothom sabia que el teu geni no era una llumenera.
07:48
And this is how people thought about creativity in the West for a really long time.
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I així va veure la gent la creativitat a Occident durant molt de temps.
07:53
And then the Renaissance came and everything changed,
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I llavors arribà el Renaixement i tot va canviar,
07:55
and we had this big idea, and the big idea was
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i tinguérem una idea genial, i la idea genial fou:
07:57
let's put the individual human being at the center of the universe
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posem l'ésser humà al centre de l'univers
08:01
above all gods and mysteries, and there's no more room
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per damunt de tots els déus i misteris, i no hi ha més lloc
08:03
for mystical creatures who take dictation from the divine.
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per a les criatures místiques que rebien els dictats divins.
08:06
And it's the beginning of rational humanism,
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I aquest és el principi de l'humanisme racional,
08:09
and people started to believe that creativity
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i la gent començà a creure que la creativitat
08:11
came completely from the self of the individual.
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provenia completament del mateix individu.
08:13
And for the first time in history,
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Per primera vegada en la història,
08:16
you start to hear people referring to this or that artist as being a genius
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es va sentir a la gent referir-se a aquest o aquell artista com que era un geni
08:21
rather than having a genius.
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en lloc de dir que tenia un geni.
08:22
And I got to tell you, I think that was a huge error.
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I us he de dir que crec que fou un enorme error.
08:26
You know, I think that allowing somebody, one mere person
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Deixar que algú, una simple persona
08:30
to believe that he or she is like, the vessel,
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pense que ell o ella és el receptacle,
08:33
you know, like the font and the essence and the source
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la font i l'essència i l'origen
08:35
of all divine, creative, unknowable, eternal mystery
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de tot els misteris divins, creatius, que no es poden conéixer, i eterns
08:39
is just a smidge too much responsibility to put on one fragile, human psyche.
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és massa responsabilitat per a posar sobre una fràgil psique humana.
08:45
It's like asking somebody to swallow the sun.
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És com demanar a algú que es menge el sol.
08:48
It just completely warps and distorts egos,
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Simplement perverteix i distorsiona els egos,
08:51
and it creates all these unmanageable expectations about performance.
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i crea totes aquestes expectatives incontrolables sobre el rendiment.
08:55
And I think the pressure of that
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I crec que aquesta pressió
08:57
has been killing off our artists for the last 500 years.
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ha matat els nostres artistes els últims 500 anys.
09:00
And, if this is true,
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I, si açò és cert,
09:02
and I think it is true,
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i crec que ho és,
09:04
the question becomes, what now?
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la pregunta és: i ara què?
09:07
Can we do this differently?
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Ho podem fer d'una altra manera?
09:09
Maybe go back to some more ancient understanding
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Potser, tornar a un enteniment més clàssic
09:12
about the relationship between humans and the creative mystery.
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sobre la relació entre els humans i el misteri creatiu.
09:17
Maybe not.
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Potser no.
09:18
Maybe we can't just erase 500 years of rational humanistic thought
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Potser no podem esborrar 500 anys de pensament humanístic racional
09:22
in one 18 minute speech.
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en una conferència de 18 minuts.
09:24
And there's probably people in this audience
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I potser hi ha gent entre el públic present
09:27
who would raise really legitimate scientific suspicions
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que plantejaria recels científics molt vàlids
09:31
about the notion of, basically fairies
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sobre la noció, bàsicament, que hi ha fades
09:33
who follow people around rubbing fairy juice on their projects and stuff.
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que segueixen la gent i apliquen poció de fada a tots els seus projectes i materials.
09:38
I'm not, probably, going to bring you all along with me on this.
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Probablement, no us convenceré d'açò.
09:43
But the question that I kind of want to pose is --
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Però la pregunta que vull plantejar és:
09:45
you know, why not?
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per què no?
09:48
Why not think about it this way?
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Per què no veure-ho així?
09:49
Because it makes as much sense as anything else I have ever heard
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Perquè té molt més sentit que cap altra cosa que haja sentit mai
09:54
in terms of explaining the utter maddening capriciousness
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per a explicar la naturalesa tan tremendament capriciosa
09:58
of the creative process.
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del procés creatiu.
09:59
A process which, as anybody who has ever tried to make something --
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Un procés que, com sabrà qualsevol que haja intentat mai fer alguna cosa
10:02
which is to say basically everyone here ---
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--que sou bàsicament tots els presents--
10:04
knows does not always behave rationally.
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no sempre funciona de manera racional.
10:07
And, in fact, can sometimes feel downright paranormal.
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I, de fet, de vegades pot paréixer francament paranormal.
10:12
I had this encounter recently where I met the extraordinary American poet Ruth Stone,
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Fa poc, vaig conéixer l'extraordinària poetessa americana Ruth stone,
10:18
who's now in her 90s, but she's been a poet her entire life
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que té ara una 90 anys, però que ha sigut poetessa tota la vida,
10:20
and she told me that when she was growing up in rural Virginia,
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i em va dir que, quan va créixer a la Virgínia rural,
10:24
she would be out working in the fields,
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treballava al camp,
10:25
and she said she would feel and hear a poem
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i deia que podia tocar i sentir un poema
10:28
coming at her from over the landscape.
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2007
que venia cap a ella des del paisatge.
10:30
And she said it was like a thunderous train of air.
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I digué que era com un tren d'aire ensordidor.
10:34
And it would come barreling down at her over the landscape.
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I que baixava a gran velocitat cap a ella pel paisatge.
10:36
And she felt it coming, because it would shake the earth under her feet.
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I que el sentia acostar-se, perquè sacsejava la terra sota els peus.
10:39
She knew that she had only one thing to do at that point,
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Ella sabia que només podia fer una cosa arribat aquell punt,
10:43
and that was to, in her words, "run like hell."
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que, en les seues paraules, era "córrer com una boja".
10:45
And she would run like hell to the house
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I corria com una boja cap a casa
10:46
and she would be getting chased by this poem,
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i la perseguia el poema,
10:48
and the whole deal was that she had to get to a piece of paper and a pencil
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i ella havia d'afagar un paper i un bolígraf
10:51
fast enough so that when it thundered through her, she could collect it
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prou ràpid perquè quan el poema la travessara amb gran enrenou, l'agafara
10:54
and grab it on the page.
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i l'atrapara en el paper.
10:56
And other times she wouldn't be fast enough,
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I altres vegades no era bastant ràpida,
10:58
so she'd be running and running and running, and she wouldn't get to the house
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de manera que corria i corria i corria, i no arribava a la casa
11:01
and the poem would barrel through her and she would miss it
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i el poema la travessava ràpidament i se li escapava
11:04
and she said it would continue on across the landscape,
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i diu que el poema continuava pel paisatge
11:06
looking, as she put it "for another poet."
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buscant, com deia ella, "un atre poeta".
11:09
And then there were these times --
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I també hi havia vegades
11:12
this is the piece I never forgot --
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--mai no oblidaré aquesta part--,
11:14
she said that there were moments where she would almost miss it, right?
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hi havia vegades que quasi el perdia.
11:17
So, she's running to the house and she's looking for the paper
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De manera que, corria cap a la casa i buscava un paper
11:20
and the poem passes through her,
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i el poema la travessava
11:22
and she grabs a pencil just as it's going through her,
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i agafava un bolígraf just quan l'estava travessant
11:25
and then she said, it was like she would reach out with her other hand
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i diu que llavors allargava l'altre braç
11:27
and she would catch it.
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i l'atrapava.
11:29
She would catch the poem by its tail,
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Agafava el poema per la cua
11:31
and she would pull it backwards into her body
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i l'estirava cap arrere novament cap al seu cos
11:34
as she was transcribing on the page.
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mentre transcrivia en la pàgina.
11:36
And in these instances, the poem would come up on the page perfect and intact
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I en aquests moments, el poema apareixia en la pàgina perfecte i intacte,
11:41
but backwards, from the last word to the first.
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però a la inversa, des de l'última paraula fins a la primera.
11:44
(Laughter)
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(Riuen)
11:46
So when I heard that I was like -- that's uncanny,
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I quan vaig sentir açò, vaig pensar: que estrany,
11:50
that's exactly what my creative process is like.
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el meu procés creatiu és exactament igual.
11:53
(Laughter)
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(Riuen)
11:57
That's not at all what my creative process is -- I'm not the pipeline!
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No s'assembla en absolut al meu procés creatiu, no sóc cap canonada!
12:00
I'm a mule, and the way that I have to work
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Sóc com les mules i la meua manera de treballar
12:01
is that I have to get up at the same time every day,
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és alçar-me cada dia a la mateixa hora,
12:03
and sweat and labor and barrel through it really awkwardly.
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i suar i esforçar-me i esforçar-m'hi com puc.
12:06
But even I, in my mulishness,
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3000
Però, fins i tot jo, en la meua tossuderia de mula,
12:09
even I have brushed up against that thing, at times.
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fins i tot jo he lluitat contra això, de vegades.
12:13
And I would imagine that a lot of you have too.
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I imagine que molts de vosaltres també.
12:15
You know, even I have had work or ideas come through me from a source
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Ja sabeu, fins i tot jo he tingut obres o idees que m'han vingut d'una font
12:18
that I honestly cannot identify.
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que, sincerament, no puc identificar.
12:21
And what is that thing?
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I què és aquesta cosa?
12:22
And how are we to relate to it in a way that will not make us lose our minds,
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I com ens hi entendrem de manera que no perdem el cap
12:26
but, in fact, might actually keep us sane?
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sinó que, de fet, ens ajude a no perdre el seny?
12:29
And for me, the best contemporary example that I have of how to do that
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I, per a mi, el millor exemple contemporani que tinc de com fer-ho
12:33
is the musician Tom Waits,
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és el músic Tom Waits,
12:35
who I got to interview several years ago on a magazine assignment.
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a qui vaig entrevistar fa uns anys per una encomanda d'una revista.
12:40
And we were talking about this,
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I vam parlar d'açò,
12:41
and you know, Tom, for most of his life he was pretty much the embodiment
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3713
i ja sabeu, Tom, la major part de la seua vida ha estat la personificació
12:45
of the tormented contemporary modern artist,
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1924
de l'artista turmentat contemporani modern,
12:47
trying to control and manage and dominate
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que intenta controlar i dominar
12:50
these sort of uncontrollable creative impulses
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aquesta espècie d'impulsos creatius incontrolables
12:52
that were totally internalized.
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que tenia totalment interioritzats.
12:54
But then he got older, he got calmer,
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Però es va fer major, es va calmar,
12:56
and one day he was driving down the freeway in Los Angeles he told me,
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i un dia conduïa per l'autopista de Los Angeles, em va dir,
12:59
and this is when it all changed for him.
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i fou quan tot canvià per a ell.
13:01
And he's speeding along, and all of a sudden
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1991
I anava a gran velocitat, i, de sobte,
13:03
he hears this little fragment of melody,
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3741
sent part d'una melodia
13:06
that comes into his head as inspiration often comes, elusive and tantalizing,
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que li ve al cap com ve sovint la inspiració, difícil d'atrapar, temptadora,
13:10
and he wants it, you know, it's gorgeous,
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i la vol, i és preciosa,
13:13
and he longs for it, but he has no way to get it.
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i la desitja, però no té manera d'aconseguir-la.
13:15
He doesn't have a piece of paper, he doesn't have a pencil,
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No té paper, no té bolígraf,
13:17
he doesn't have a tape recorder.
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no té una gravadora.
13:18
So he starts to feel all of that old anxiety start to rise in him
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Comença a sentir aquella ansietat de sempre que li creix a dins
13:21
like, "I'm going to lose this thing,
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1991
de l'estil de "Perdré aquesta cançó,
13:23
and then I'm going to be haunted by this song forever.
260
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1920
i em perseguirà tota la vida.
13:25
I'm not good enough, and I can't do it."
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No sóc suficientment bo, no ho puc fer".
13:27
And instead of panicking, he just stopped.
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I, en lloc de deixar-se envair pel pànic, es va aturar.
13:29
He just stopped that whole mental process
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Va parar aquell procés mental™
13:31
and he did something completely novel.
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i va fer una cosa completament novedosa.
13:33
He just looked up at the sky, and he said,
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Va mirar el cel i va dir:
13:36
"Excuse me, can you not see that I'm driving?"
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"Perdona, que no veus que estic conduint?".
13:39
(Laughter)
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(Riuen)
13:42
"Do I look like I can write down a song right now?
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"Et sembla que puc escriure una cançó ara mateix?
13:45
If you really want to exist, come back at a more opportune moment
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Si de veritat vols existir, torna en un moment més oportú,
13:49
when I can take care of you.
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quan puga ocupar-me de tu.
13:51
Otherwise, go bother somebody else today.
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Si no, vés a destorbar algú altre hui.
13:54
Go bother Leonard Cohen."
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Vés a destorbar Leonard Cohen".
13:57
And his whole work process changed after that.
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I el seu mètode de treball canvià completament després d'allò.
14:00
Not the work, the work was still oftentimes as dark as ever.
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No les obres, les obres encara eren sovint tan fosques com sempre.
14:04
But the process, and the heavy anxiety around it
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Però el procés, la intensa ansietat que l'envoltava
14:07
was released when he took the genie, the genius out of him
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es va alliberar quan es va traure el geni de dins,
14:10
where it was causing nothing but trouble, and released it kind of back where it came from,
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on només causava problemes, i el va alliberar i el va tornar al lloc d'on provenia,
14:13
and realized that this didn't have to be this internalized, tormented thing.
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i es va adonar que no havia de ser aquella cosa turmentada, interioritzada.
14:17
It could be this peculiar, wondrous, bizarre collaboration
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Podia ser una col·laboració estranya, meravellosa, estrambòtica;
14:20
kind of conversation between Tom and the strange, external thing
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una espècie de conversa entre Tom i aquella cosa estranya i externa
14:25
that was not quite Tom.
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que no era ben bé Tom.
14:27
So when I heard that story it started to shift a little bit
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De manera que quan vaig sentir la història, vaig començar a canviar un poc
14:30
the way that I worked too, and it already saved me once.
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2629
la meua manera de treballar, i aquest fet ja m'ha salvat una vegada.
14:32
This idea, it saved me when I was in the middle of writing "Eat, Pray, Love,"
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3331
Aquesta idea em va salvar quan estava escrivint "Menjar, resar, estimar"
14:36
and I fell into one of those, sort of pits of despair
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i vaig caure en un d'aquells pous de desesperació
14:38
that we all fall into when we're working on something and it's not coming
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3341
en què solem caure quan treballem en una cosa i no resulta
14:42
and you start to think this is going to be a disaster,
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2242
i comencem a pensar que serà un desastre,
14:44
this is going to be the worst book ever written.
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1761
aquest serà el pitjor llibre que s'ha escrit mai.
14:46
Not just bad, but the worst book ever written.
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2147
No simplement dolent, sinó el pitjor llibre que s'ha escrit mai.
14:48
And I started to think I should just dump this project.
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3962
I vaig començar a pensar que hauria d'abandonar aquest projecte.
14:52
But then I remembered Tom talking to the open air
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3075
Però, llavors, vaig recordar Tom parlant al cel
14:55
and I tried it.
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2048
i ho vaig intentar.
14:57
So I just lifted my face up from the manuscript
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2492
De manera que vaig alçar el cap del manuscrit
14:59
and I directed my comments to an empty corner of the room.
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i vaig adreçar els meus comentaris a un racó buit de l'habitació.
15:02
And I said aloud, "Listen you, thing,
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3578
I vaig dir en veu alta: "Escolta, cosa,
15:06
you and I both know that if this book isn't brilliant
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3198
tu i jo sabem que si aquest llibre no és brillant
15:09
that is not entirely my fault, right?
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1801
no és del tot culpa meua, veritat?
15:11
Because you can see that I am putting everything I have into this,
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Perquè veus que hi estic posant tot el que tinc,
15:14
I don't have any more than this.
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1368
no tinc més que açò.
15:15
So if you want it to be better, then you've got to show up and do your part of the deal.
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3226
De manera que, si vols que siga millor, has d'aparéixer i fer la teua part del tracte.
15:19
O.K. But if you don't do that, you know what, the hell with it.
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D'acord. Però si no ho fas, saps què?, tant fa.
15:22
I'm going to keep writing anyway because that's my job.
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Pense seguir escrivint igualment perquè és el meu treball.
15:25
And I would please like the record to reflect today
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1899
I, per favor, m'agradaria que constara en acta que hui
15:26
that I showed up for my part of the job."
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2300
jo m'he presentat per a fer la meua part del treball.
15:29
(Laughter)
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3698
(Riuen)
15:32
Because --
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2087
Perquè...
15:35
(Applause)
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2074
(Aplaudeixen)
15:37
in the end it's like this, O.K. --
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2172
al cap i a la fi és així, oi?
15:39
centuries ago in the deserts of North Africa,
309
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2401
fa segles, en els deserts de l'Àfrica del Nord,
15:41
people used to gather for these moonlight dances of sacred dance and music
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4667
la gent solia reunir-se a la llum de la lluna per a fer danses sagrades i música
15:46
that would go on for hours and hours, until dawn.
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2704
que duraven hores i hores fins que es feia de dia.
15:49
And they were always magnificent, because the dancers were professionals
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3027
I sempre eren magnífiques, perquè els ballarins eren professionals
15:52
and they were terrific, right?
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1174
i eren genials, veritat?
15:53
But every once in a while, very rarely, something would happen,
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3818
Però, de tant en tant, molt poques vegades, passava alguna cosa,
15:57
and one of these performers would actually become transcendent.
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3512
i un d'aquests artistes esdevenia transcendent.
16:00
And I know you know what I'm talking about,
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2284
I sé que sabeu de què parle,
16:02
because I know you've all seen, at some point in your life, a performance like this.
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3954
perquè sé que tots heu vist, en algun moment de la vostra vida, una actuació així.
16:06
It was like time would stop,
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2095
Com si el temps es detinguera,
16:08
and the dancer would sort of step through some kind of portal
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2375
i el ballarí d'alguna manera travessara una espècie de portal
16:11
and he wasn't doing anything different than he had ever done, 1,000 nights before,
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4491
i no estiguera fent res diferent del que ha fet anteriorment, 1.000 nits abans,
16:15
but everything would align.
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1751
però tot s'alineara.
16:17
And all of a sudden, he would no longer appear to be merely human.
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3032
I, de sobte, deixava de semblar merament humà.
16:20
He would be lit from within, and lit from below
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2534
S'il·luminava des de l'interior, i des de baix
16:23
and all lit up on fire with divinity.
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3790
i tot s'encenia com un foc amb divinitat.
16:26
And when this happened, back then,
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2145
I quan açò passava, en aquells temps,
16:29
people knew it for what it was, you know, they called it by its name.
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4216
la gent sabia per què era, tenien un nom per anomenar-ho,
16:33
They would put their hands together and they would start to chant,
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ajuntaven les mans i començaven a cantar:
16:35
"Allah, Allah, Allah, God, God, God."
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4100
"Al·là, Al·là, Al·là, Déu, Déu, Déu".
16:40
That's God, you know.
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Això és Déu.
16:43
Curious historical footnote --
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Un apunt històric curiós:
16:45
when the Moors invaded southern Spain, they took this custom with them
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quan els àrabs envaïren el sud d'Espanya, importaren aquest costum
16:50
and the pronunciation changed over the centuries
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i la pronunciació canvià al llarg dels segles
16:52
from "Allah, Allah, Allah," to "Olé, olé, olé,"
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d'"Al·là, Al·là, Al·là" a "Olé, olé, olé",
16:55
which you still hear in bullfights and in flamenco dances.
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que encara se sent en les corregudes de bous i en els balls flamencs.
16:58
In Spain, when a performer has done something impossible and magic,
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A Espanya, quan un artista ha fet alguna cosa impossible i màgica, li diuen
17:02
"Allah, olé, olé, Allah, magnificent, bravo,"
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"Al·là, olé, olé, magnífic, bravo",
17:05
incomprehensible, there it is -- a glimpse of God.
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incomprensible, ahí ho teniu: una fugaç visió de Déu.
17:09
Which is great, because we need that.
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La qual cosa és genial, perquè ho necessitem.
17:11
But, the tricky bit comes the next morning,
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Però la part delicada ve al matí següent,
17:15
for the dancer himself, when he wakes up
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per al propi ballarí, quan es desperta
17:18
and discovers that it's Tuesday at 11 a.m., and he's no longer a glimpse of God.
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i troba que és dimarts a les 11 del matí, i que ja no és una fugaç visió de Déu.
17:22
He's just an aging mortal with really bad knees,
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Que simplement és un mortal envellit amb molt de mal de genolls,
17:25
and maybe he's never going to ascend to that height again.
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i que potser no tornarà a arribar tan alt mai més.
17:29
And maybe nobody will ever chant God's name again as he spins,
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I potser mai ningú no tornarà a cantar el nom de Déu mentre ell fa voltes,
17:33
and what is he then to do with the rest of his life?
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i, llavors, què ha de fer ell la resta de la seua vida?
17:36
This is hard.
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És dur.
17:37
This is one of the most painful reconciliations to make
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És una de les reconciliacions més doloroses que s'han de fer
17:40
in a creative life.
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en la vida creativa.
17:42
But maybe it doesn't have to be quite so full of anguish
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Però potser no ha d'estar tan ple d'angoixa
17:45
if you never happened to believe, in the first place,
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si no creus mai, en primer lloc,
17:49
that the most extraordinary aspects of your being came from you.
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que els aspectes més extraordinaris del teu ésser vénen de tu mateix.
17:53
But maybe if you just believed that they were on loan to you
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Sinó, potser, si simplement creus que te'ls havia prestat
17:56
from some unimaginable source for some exquisite portion of your life
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una font inimaginable per a una exquisida part de la teua vida
17:59
to be passed along when you're finished, with somebody else.
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per a passar-la, quan hi acabes, a algú altre.
18:03
And, you know, if we think about it this way it starts to change everything.
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I, ja sabeu, si ho veiem d'aquesta manera, tot comença a canviar.
18:08
This is how I've started to think,
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Jo he començat a pensar així,
18:10
and this is certainly how I've been thinking in the last few months
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i certament és com he pensat els últims mesos
18:13
as I've been working on the book that will soon be published,
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mentre he treballat en el llibre que es publicarà prompte,
18:16
as the dangerously, frighteningly over-anticipated follow up
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el que serà la continuació tan espantosament esperada
18:20
to my freakish success.
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del meu èxit fora mida.
18:22
And what I have to, sort of keep telling myself
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I el que he de dir-me a mi mateixa
18:25
when I get really psyched out about that,
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quan m'obsessione aquest tema
18:27
is, don't be afraid.
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és: no tingues por.
18:29
Don't be daunted.
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No et sentes intimidada.
18:31
Just do your job.
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Limita't a fer el teu treball.
18:33
Continue to show up for your piece of it, whatever that might be.
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Continua presentant-te per a la teua part del treball, siga quin siga.
18:36
If your job is to dance, do your dance.
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Si el teu treball és ballar, balla.
18:39
If the divine, cockeyed genius assigned to your case
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Si el geni diví i malgirbat que han assignat al teu cas
18:43
decides to let some sort of wonderment be glimpsed, for just one moment
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decideix deixar que es puga entreveure un cert astorament un instant
18:48
through your efforts, then "Olé!"
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gràcies als teus esforços, llavors "Olé!".
18:50
And if not, do your dance anyhow.
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I si no, tu balla igualment.
18:53
And "Olé!" to you, nonetheless.
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I "Olé" per a tu, igualment.
18:55
I believe this and I feel that we must teach it.
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Ho crec i sent que ho hem d'ensenyar.
18:57
"Olé!" to you, nonetheless,
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"Olé!" per a tots vosaltres, igualment,
18:59
just for having the sheer human love and stubbornness
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simplement per tenir l'amor humà i la simple tenacitat
19:02
to keep showing up.
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per a seguir presentant-vos al treball.
19:04
Thank you.
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Gràcies.
19:06
(Applause)
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(Aplaudeixen)
19:08
Thank you.
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Gràcies.
19:09
(Applause)
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(Aplaudeixen)
19:12
June Cohen: Olé!
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June Cohen: Olé!
19:14
(Applause)
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(Aplaudeixen)
ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Elizabeth Gilbert - WriterThe author of 'Eat, Pray, Love,' Elizabeth Gilbert has thought long and hard about some big topics. Her fascinations: genius, creativity and how we get in our own way when it comes to both.
Why you should listen
Elizabeth Gilbert faced down a premidlife crisis by doing what we all secretly dream of -- running off for a year. Her travels through Italy, India and Indonesia resulted in the megabestselling and deeply beloved memoir Eat, Pray, Love, about her process of finding herself by leaving home.
She's a longtime magazine writer -- covering music and politics for Spin and GQ -- as well as a novelist and short-story writer. Her books include the story collection Pilgrims, the novel Stern Men (about lobster fishermen in Maine) and a biography of the woodsman Eustace Conway, called The Last American Man. Her work has been the basis for two movies so far (Coyote Ugly, based on her own tale of working at the famously raunchy bar in New York City), and Eat, Pray, Love, with the part of Gilbert played by Julia Roberts. Not bad for a year off.
In 2010, Elizabeth published Committed, a memoir exploring her ambivalent feelings about the institution of marriage. And her 2013 novel, The Signature of All Things, is "a sprawling tale of 19th century botanical exploration."
Gilbert also owns and runs the import shop Two Buttons in Frenchtown, New Jersey.
Elizabeth Gilbert | Speaker | TED.com