TED2011
Ric Elias: 3 things I learned while my plane crashed
Ric Elias: 3 ting jeg lærte mens flyet mitt styrtet
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Ric Elias hadde sete på første rad på Flight 1549, flyet som krasjlandet på Hudson-elven i New York i januar 2009. Hva gikk gjennom hodet hans da det fortapte flyet gikk ned? På TED forteller han sin historie for første gang offentlig.
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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Forestill deg en stor eksplosjon
00:18
as you climb through 3,000 ft.
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mens du stiger forbi 1000 meters høyde.
00:21
Imagine a plane full of smoke.
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Forestill deg et fly fullt av røyk.
00:25
Imagine an engine going clack, clack, clack,
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Forestill deg en motor som går klakk, klakk, klakk,
00:27
clack, clack, clack, clack.
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klakk, klakk, klakk, klakk, klakk.
00:29
It sounds scary.
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Det høres skummelt ut.
00:31
Well I had a unique seat that day. I was sitting in 1D.
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Vel, jeg hadde et unikt sete den dagen. Jeg satt i sete 1D.
00:34
I was the only one who could talk to the flight attendants.
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Jeg var den eneste som kunne prate med kabinpersonalet.
00:37
So I looked at them right away,
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Så jeg så på dem med det samme,
00:39
and they said, "No problem. We probably hit some birds."
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og de sa, "Ikke noe problem. Vi har sikkert truffet noen fugler."
00:42
The pilot had already turned the plane around,
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Piloten hadde allerede snudd flyet rundt,
00:44
and we weren't that far.
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og vi hadde ikke kommet langt.
00:46
You could see Manhattan.
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Du kunne se Manhatten.
00:48
Two minutes later,
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To minutter senere,
00:50
three things happened at the same time.
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skjedde tre ting på én gang.
00:53
The pilot lines up the plane with the Hudson River.
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Piloten rettet opp flyet på linje med Hudson elva.
00:57
That's usually not the route.
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Det er vanligvis ikke veien.
00:59
(Laughter)
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(Latter)
01:01
He turns off the engines.
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Han skrur av motorene.
01:04
Now imagine being in a plane with no sound.
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Forestill deg så at du er i et fly uten lyd.
01:07
And then he says three words --
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Og så sier han tre ord --
01:09
the most unemotional three words I've ever heard.
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de mest følelsesløse tre ord jeg noen gang har hørt.
01:12
He says, "Brace for impact."
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Han sier: "Forbered på sammenstøt."
01:16
I didn't have to talk to the flight attendant anymore.
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Jeg trengte ikke prate med kabinpersonalet lenger.
01:18
(Laughter)
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(Latter)
01:21
I could see in her eyes,
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Jeg kunne se det i øynene hennes,
01:23
it was terror. Life was over.
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det var ren frykt. Livet var slutt.
01:26
Now I want to share with you three things I learned about myself that day.
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Jeg vil dele med dere tre ting som jeg lærte om meg selv den dagen.
01:31
I learned that it all changes in an instant.
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Jeg lærte at alt forandrer seg momentant.
01:34
We have this bucket list,
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Vi har en liste med ting vi skal gjøre før vi dør,
01:36
we have these things we want to do in life,
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vi har visse ting vi vil gjøre her i livet,
01:38
and I thought about all the people I wanted to reach out to that I didn't,
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og jeg tenkte på alle folkene jeg ville strekke ut en hånd til, som jeg ikke hadde gjort,
01:41
all the fences I wanted to mend,
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alle konfliktene jeg ville løse,
01:44
all the experiences I wanted to have and I never did.
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alle opplevelsene jeg ville erfare men aldri gjorde.
01:47
As I thought about that later on,
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Ettersom jeg tenkte på det senere,
01:50
I came up with a saying,
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laget jeg et uttrykk,
01:52
which is, "I collect bad wines."
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som er "jeg samler på dårlige viner."
01:55
Because if the wine is ready and the person is there, I'm opening it.
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Fordi om vinen er klar, og personen er her, så åpner jeg den.
01:58
I no longer want to postpone anything in life.
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Jeg vil ikke lenger utsette noe i livet.
02:01
And that urgency, that purpose,
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Og den viktigheten, det formålet
02:03
has really changed my life.
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har virkelig forandret livet mitt.
02:06
The second thing I learned that day --
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Den andre tingen jeg lærte den dagen --
02:08
and this is as we clear the George Washington Bridge,
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og dette var idet vi klarerte George Washington Broen,
02:11
which was by not a lot --
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med svært liten margin --
02:14
I thought about, wow,
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Jeg tenkte at, wow,
02:16
I really feel one real regret.
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det er egentlig bare én ting jeg angrer på.
02:18
I've lived a good life.
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Jeg har hatt et godt liv.
02:20
In my own humanity and mistakes,
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I min egen menneskelighet og feilbarhet,
02:22
I've tried to get better at everything I tried.
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har jeg prøvd å bli bedre i alt jeg har prøvd.
02:24
But in my humanity,
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Men i min egen menneskelighet,
02:26
I also allow my ego to get in.
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har jeg også latt egoet mit komme i veien.
02:28
And I regretted the time I wasted
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Og jeg angret på tiden jeg har kastet bort
02:31
on things that did not matter
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på ting som ikke betyr noe
02:33
with people that matter.
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med folk som betyr noe.
02:35
And I thought about my relationship with my wife,
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Og jeg tenkte på forholdet mitt til kona mi,
02:38
with my friends, with people.
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til vennene mine, til folk.
02:40
And after, as I reflected on that,
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Og etterpå, da jeg tenkte på det,
02:42
I decided to eliminate negative energy from my life.
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bestemte jeg meg for å eliminere negativ energi fra livet mitt.
02:45
It's not perfect, but it's a lot better.
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Jeg er ikke perfekt, men jeg er mye bedre.
02:47
I've not had a fight with my wife in two years.
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Jeg har ikke kranglet med kona på to år.
02:49
It feels great.
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Det føles fantastisk.
02:51
I no longer try to be right;
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Jeg prøver ikke lenger å ha rett,
02:53
I choose to be happy.
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jeg velger å være lykkelig.
02:56
The third thing I learned --
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Den tredje tingen jeg lærte --
02:58
and this is as your mental clock
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og dette er når den mentale klokka
03:00
starts going, "15, 14, 13."
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begynner "15, 14, 13."
03:02
You can see the water coming.
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Du kan se vannet komme.
03:04
I'm saying, "Please blow up."
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Jeg sier "Vær så snill og eksploder."
03:06
I don't want this thing to break in 20 pieces
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Jeg vil ikke at hele greia skal brytes opp i 20 biter
03:08
like you've seen in those documentaries.
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som du ser i dokumentarer.
03:11
And as we're coming down,
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Og etter hvert som vi kommer lavere,
03:13
I had a sense of, wow,
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hadde jeg en følelse av, wow,
03:15
dying is not scary.
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å dø er ikke skummelt.
03:18
It's almost like we've been preparing for it our whole lives.
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Det er nesten som om vi har forberedt oss på det hele livet.
03:21
But it was very sad.
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Men det var veldig trist.
03:23
I didn't want to go; I love my life.
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Jeg ville ikke gå, jeg elsker livet mitt.
03:26
And that sadness
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Og den tristheten
03:28
really framed in one thought,
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samlet seg til en bestemt tanke,
03:30
which is, I only wish for one thing.
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som var at jeg ønsket meg bare én ting.
03:33
I only wish I could see my kids grow up.
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Jeg ønsket at jeg kunne se barna mine vokse opp.
03:37
About a month later, I was at a performance by my daughter --
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Omtrent en måned senere var jeg på en forestilling med min dattet --
03:40
first-grader, not much artistic talent ...
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førsteklassing, ikke så mye kunsterisk talent...
03:43
... yet.
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...ennå.
03:45
(Laughter)
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(Latter)
03:47
And I'm bawling, I'm crying,
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Og jeg griner, jeg gråter
03:49
like a little kid.
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som en liten unge.
03:52
And it made all the sense in the world to me.
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Og alt ga plutselig mening.
03:55
I realized at that point,
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Jeg innså akkurat da,
03:57
by connecting those two dots,
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ved å forbinde de to punktene,
03:59
that the only thing that matters in my life
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at den eneste tingen som betyr noe i livet mitt
04:01
is being a great dad.
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er å være en flott far.
04:03
Above all, above all,
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Over alt annet, over alt annet,
04:06
the only goal I have in life
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er det eneste målet jeg har i livet
04:08
is to be a good dad.
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å være en flott far.
04:10
I was given the gift of a miracle,
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Jeg ble gitt gaven av et mirakel,
04:12
of not dying that day.
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av å ikke dø den dagen.
04:14
I was given another gift,
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Jeg ble gitt en annen gave,
04:16
which was to be able to see into the future
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som var å se inn i fremtiden
04:18
and come back
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og komme tilbake
04:20
and live differently.
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og leve forskjellig.
04:22
I challenge you guys that are flying today,
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Jeg vil utfordre dere som skal fly i dag,
04:25
imagine the same thing happens on your plane --
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til å forestille dere at det samme skjer med deres fly --
04:28
and please don't --
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og det håper jeg virkelig ikke --
04:30
but imagine, and how would you change?
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men forestill dere, og hvordan ville dere forandret dere?
04:32
What would you get done that you're waiting to get done
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Hva ville du gjort som di går å venter på å gjøre
04:35
because you think you'll be here forever?
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fordi du tror du kommer til å være her for alltid?
04:37
How would you change your relationships
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Hvordan ville du forandret forholdene dine
04:39
and the negative energy in them?
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og den negative energien i dem?
04:41
And more than anything, are you being the best parent you can?
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Og over alt annet, er du den beste foreldrepersonen du kan være?
04:44
Thank you.
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Takk.
04:46
(Applause)
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(Applaus)
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