Michele L. Sullivan: Asking for help is a strength, not a weakness
Michele L. Sullivan: Pedir ajuda é sinal de força e não de fraqueza
Michele L. Sullivan is known for her sustainable and collaborative approach to philanthropic investing. Full bio
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that we remember so vividly.
ao longo da nossa vida.
was when I was entering kindergarten.
entrei para o jardim-de-infância.
and by golly, it was my time.
e, por Deus, agora era a minha vez.
que quase fiz chichi nas calças.
with a warm welcome,
boas-vindas calorosas.
little cubbyholes, don't we --
desses pequenos cacifos, não é? —
until class starts."
até a aula começar."
and plopped down like I owned the place,
como se nada fosse.
with blue shorts.
e calções azuis
I didn't think he was talking to me.
Não pensei que era comigo.
Let's just play. We're happy.
Vamos brincar. Estamos felizes.
and about a minute later,
a rapariga ao lado dele,
in a white shirt and a pink skirt,
e uma saia rosa,
why do you look so different?"
Again, let's just play."
Já disse, vamos lá brincar."
all around the circle I was in,
para todos à minha volta.
and they were all looking at me.
de brincar e olhavam para mim.
it would be "OMG" or "WTF."
that I went in with that morning
toda a confiança com que entrei
que a manhã passava
before I went home,
outside of the circle.
mas o significado do gesto
like nobody could see me.
para que ninguém me visse.
another child's curiosity,
a curiosidade de outra criança
that the real world was not built
para alguém com a minha estatura,
both literally or figuratively.
as you can probably tell,
como provavelmente notam
through our lifetime.
ao longo da nossa vida.
with a mental illness,
está a lidar com uma doença mental,
with their gender identity,
com a sua identidade sexual,
— o meu tamanho —
or what I go through.
ou aquilo por que passo.
walk in someone else's shoes,
pôr-nos no lugar de outra pessoa,
a new way of giving of ourselves.
de nos darmos a conhecer.
what it's like to be you
o que é ser como vocês
what it's like to be me.
o que é serem como eu.
or chase your dreams,
nem sonhar vossos sonhos.
fazer isso por mim.
in each other's shoes,
o que é ser-se o outro,
of giving of ourselves.
de nos dar a conhecer.
different than most people,
diferentes das outras pessoas,
I was on equal footing with,
que era igual nalgumas coisas.
I excelled in the classroom.
I discovered as I grew older
que descobri mais tarde
to do a physical job.
de fazer um trabalho físico.
of everyone for employment,
de estar um passo à frente,
precisava de ter um mestrado
an advanced university degree,
What am I going to wear?
Que perguntas?
who I've known all my life
que conheço desde sempre,
the building you're going in has steps."
edifício onde tens de ir tem escadas."
about how am I going to get there?
como ia lá chegar.
and got in and had a great interview.
de cargas, entrei e fui para a entrevista.
for the day and that's OK.
por que passei, mas tudo bem.
challenge that day was the interview,
que o meu maior desafio foi a entrevista
without getting run over.
in certain situations:
em certas situações:
parques de estacionamento,
o mais depressa possível.
I travel quite a bit.
tenho de viajar bastante.
for all of us these days.
é um desafio para todos.
run through security, get to the gate.
segurança e depois porta de embarque.
Did I get my upgrade?
Estarei em 1.ª classe?
I don't run through anything.
ter de passar pela segurança
the personal patdown.
that my parents said I was born with,
dizem que nasci com esse dom —
"By the way, my scooter weighs this much,
da porta de embarque.
tenho a bateria descarregada
to the door of the plane."
the city where I'm traveling to
para a cidade onde ia ficar
in case mine gets broken on the way.
caso a minha avariasse na viagem.
it's a little bit different.
são um pouco diferentes.
to put my bag up, and they graciously do.
à hospedeira para guardar a minha mala.
get up and walk on the plane,
e andar no avião.
it knocked and I answered.
da frente do avião,
e disse-lhe:
I can't reach the lock."
Não chego à fechadura."
and the door flies open.
e a porta abre-se.
that he was sitting right across from me,
estava sentado à minha frente
as much as I am?"
not talking about it publicly, I am.
tão publicamente como eu.
e ficámos a conhecer-nos
our families, sports, work,
os desportos, o trabalho.
someone put your bag up.
guardou a tua mala.
with that embarrassment,
embaraçado,
e das nossas perspetivas diferentes.
in certain ways.
numa cadeira de rodas.
que nem sempre se vê.
I start to talk to the agent.
comecei a falar com o agente.
about their culture and so forth,
sobre a sua cultura, entre outras coisas,
para o embarque.
getting up the steps."
para subir os degraus."
while we waited for the flight,
enquanto esperávamos pelo voo
for both of us that day.
and wished me well,
e desejou-me felicidades
to remember that experience more
lembrar-se mais da experiência em si
and there was a bit of hesitation.
e houve um momento de hesitação.
que recebo muita ajuda.
my friends, my colleagues
os meus amigos, os meus colegas
os dias da minha vida.
that we all have a support system.
tenhamos um sistema de apoio.
ao longo da nossa vida,
of other people's support systems.
de apoio de outras pessoas.
essa maneira de retribuir.
in our own successes,
um papel a desempenhar no nosso sucesso,
in other people's successes,
de desempenhar no sucesso de outros.
every single day.
me ajudam todos os dias,
that we help each other,
que nos ajudemos uns aos outros,
placing people in silos
a colocar as pessoas em compartimentos,
é apenas o que se vê.
that you cannot see.
que não são visíveis.
those experiences together
todas estas experiências
I mentioned earlier in my stories.
nas minhas histórias.
colocar-se no meu...
courage and understanding,
on only what you can see.
ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Michele L. Sullivan - Social innovatorMichele L. Sullivan is known for her sustainable and collaborative approach to philanthropic investing.
Why you should listen
Michele L. Sullivan has held various globally influential leadership positions at Caterpillar during her 29-year career. She currently is Caterpillar's Director of Corporate Social Innovation and President of the Caterpillar Foundation, the philanthropic arm of Caterpillar Inc.
Throughout Sullivan's career, she has dramatically grown the reach, influence and impact of each role. Her time with the Caterpillar Foundation is no different. She has taken the Caterpillar Foundation from a transactional Foundation into a global and strategic Foundation. She has moved the Foundation from Corporate Social Responsibility into Corporate Social Innovation. This strategy places the human need first, not as an afterthought of profit. Sullivan is well known for her global expertise and sustainable and collaborative approach to philanthropic investing.
Sullivan strongly believes monumental and sustainable change in our largest global challenges can only happen through partnerships and collaboration between public, private and non-profit entities. This strategy resulted in the Caterpillar Foundation's transformation into one of the most influential corporate foundations and, ultimately, the launch of the Foundation's collaborative impact platform, Together.Stronger.
Determination and resilience have been present throughout Sullivan;s life. She endured many years of orthopedic surgeries and other challenges. She provided leadership starting in the Little Prairie Chapter of Little People of America as a teenager. She was named by Inside Philanthropy as one of the 50 most powerful women in philanthropy and she served as a US delegate to the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women. She is a member of the ONE board of directors and chairs the Greater Peoria Local Initiatives Support Corporation (LISC) Advisory Board. She earned her MBA from Bradley University, and she is the first woman to be President of the Caterpillar Foundation.
Michele L. Sullivan | Speaker | TED.com