Mark Bezos: A life lesson from a volunteer firefighter

Translator: Lars Juul Madsen Reviewer: Anne-Sofie Thomsen

Back in New York, I am the head of development

I New York er jeg leder

for a non-profit called Robin Hood.

af en non-profit kaldet Robin Hood.

When I'm not fighting poverty, I'm fighting fires

Når jeg ikke bekæmper fattigdom, bekæmper jeg ildebrande

as the assistant captain of a volunteer fire company.

som den assisterende brandkaptajn af et frivilligt brandvæsen.

Now in our town,

I vores by,

where the volunteers supplement a highly skilled career staff,

hvor de frivillige bidrager med et højt kvalificeret beredskab,

you have to get to the fire scene pretty early

er du nødt til at nå til ildebranden hurtigt,

to get in on any action.

for at tage del i aktionen.

I remember my first fire.

Jeg husker min første ildebrand.

I was the second volunteer on the scene,

Jeg var den næsthurtigste frivillig på stedet,

so there was a pretty good chance I was going to get in.

så der var en ret god chance for, at jeg skulle ind.

But still it was a real footrace against the other volunteers

Men alligevel var det et kapløb mod de andre frivillige,

to get to the captain in charge

at komme til den ansvarlige kaptajn,

to find out what our assignments would be.

for at finde ud af hvad ens opgave ville være.

When I found the captain,

Da jeg fandt kaptajnen,

he was having a very engaging conversation

havde han en meget engageret samtale

with the homeowner,

med boligejeren,

who was surely having one of the worst days of her life.

som helt sikkert havde en af de værste dage i hendes liv.

Here it was, the middle of the night,

Her midt om natten

she was standing outside in the pouring rain,

stod hun udenfor i silende regn,

under an umbrella, in her pajamas, barefoot,

under en paraply, i hendes pyjamas, med bare fødder

while her house was in flames.

mens hendes hus stod i flammer.

The other volunteer who had arrived just before me --

Den anden frivillige som var ankommet lige før mig -

let's call him Lex Luther --

lad os kalde ham Lex Luther -

(Laughter)

(Latter)

got to the captain first

nåede først hen til kaptajnen

and was asked to go inside

og blev bedt om at gå indenfor

and save the homeowner's dog.

for at redde boligejerens hund.

The dog! I was stunned with jealousy.

Hunden! Jeg var fyldt med jalousi.

Here was some lawyer or money manager

Her var en eller anden advokat eller penge manager,

who, for the rest of his life, gets to tell people

der i resten af sit liv kunne fortælle folk,

that he went into a burning building

at han gik ind i en brandende bygning

to save a living creature,

for at redde et levende væsen,

just because he beat me by five seconds.

bare fordi han slog mig med fem sekunder.

Well, I was next.

Nå, jeg var den næste.

The captain waved me over.

Kaptajnen vinkede mig over.

He said, "Bezos, I need you to go into the house.

Han sagde, "Bezos, jeg har brug for at du går ind i huset.

I need you to go upstairs, past the fire,

Jeg har brug for du går ovenpå, forbi branden,

and I need you to get this woman a pair of shoes."

og jeg har brug for, at du skaffer denne kvinde et par sko."

(Laughter)

(Latter)

I swear.

Jeg sværger.

So, not exactly what I was hoping for,

Nå, ikke lige hvad jeg havde håbet,

but off I went --

men ind gik jeg -

up the stairs, down the hall, past the 'real' firefighters,

op af trapperne, ned af gangen, forbi de "rigtige" brandmænd,

who were pretty much done putting out the fire at this point,

som mere eller mindre havde slukket branden på dette tidspunkt,

into the master bedroom to get a pair of shoes.

ind i soveværelset for at skaffe et par sko.

Now I know what you're thinking,

Jeg ved, hvad I tænker,

but I'm no hero.

men jeg er ingen helt.

(Laughter)

(Latter)

I carried my payload back downstairs

Jeg bar min last tilbage ned af trapperne,

where I met my nemesis

hvor jeg mødte min nemesis

and the precious dog by the front door.

og den dyrebare hund ved frontdøren.

We took our treasures outside to the homeowner,

Vi tog vores skatte med udenfor til boligejeren,

where, not surprisingly,

hvor, ikke overraskende,

his received much more attention than did mine.

hans modtog meget mere opmærksomhed end min.

A few weeks later,

Nogle uger efter

the department received a letter from the homeowner

modtog afdelingen et brev fra boligejeren,

thanking us for the valiant effort displayed

som takkede os for den tapre indsats, vi viste,

in saving her home.

da vi reddede hendes hjem.

The act of kindness she noted above all others:

Den venlighed hun listede over alt andet:

someone had even gotten her a pair of shoes.

nogen havde endda hentet hende en par sko.

(Laughter)

(Latter)

In both my vocation at Robin Hood

Både i mit kald hos Robin Hood

and my avocation as a volunteer firefighter,

og min fritidsbeskæftigelse som frivillig brandmand

I am witness to acts of generosity and kindness

er jeg vidne til handlinger af gavmildhed og venlighed

on a monumental scale,

på en storslået skale,

but I'm also witness to acts of grace and courage

men jeg er også vidne til handlinger af nåde og mod

on an individual basis.

på et personligt plan.

And you know what I've learned?

Og ved I, hvad jeg har lært?

They all matter.

Det hele betyder noget.

So as I look around this room

Så når jeg kigger rundt i dette rum

at people who either have achieved,

på mennesker, der enten har opnået,

or are on their way to achieving,

eller er på vej til at opnå

remarkable levels of success,

bemærkelsesværdig grad af succes,

I would offer this reminder:

vil jeg gerne tilbyde denne påmindelse:

don't wait.

lad vær at vente.

Don't wait until you make your first million

Lad vær at vente indtil du har lavet din første million

to make a difference in somebody's life.

før du gør en forskel i en andens liv.

If you have something to give,

Hvis du har noget at give,

give it now.

giv det nu.

Serve food at a soup kitchen. Clean up a neighborhood park.

Server mad hos et center for hjemløse, ryd op i en nærliggende park,

Be a mentor.

vær en mentor.

Not every day is going to offer us a chance

Det er ikke hver dag, der giver os chancen

to save somebody's life,

for at redde en andens liv,

but every day offers us an opportunity to affect one.

men hver dag giver os muligheden for at påvirke et.

So get in the game. Save the shoes.

Så kom ind i kampen; red skoene.

Thank you.

Tak skal I have,

(Applause)

(Bifald)

Bruno Giussani: Mark, Mark, come back.

Bruno Giussani: Mark, Mark, kom tilbage.

(Applause)

(Bifald)

Mark Bezos: Thank you.

Mark Bezos: Tak skal I have.