Mark Bezos: A life lesson from a volunteer firefighter

Translator: Klavdija Cernilogar Reviewer: Matej Divjak

Back in New York, I am the head of development

V New Yorku delam kot vodja razvojnega oddelka

for a non-profit called Robin Hood.

v neprofitni organizaciji z imenom Robin Hood.

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

Ko se ne borim z revščino, se borim s požari

as the assistant captain of a volunteer fire company.

kot pomočnik poveljnika prostovoljnega gasilskega društva.

Now in our town,

V našem kraju

where the volunteers supplement a highly skilled career staff,

prostovoljci pomagajo visoko usposobljenim poklicnim gasilcem

you have to get to the fire scene pretty early

in na prizorišče požara je treba priti dokaj zgodaj,

to get in on any action.

če hočete ujeti vsaj malo akcije.

I remember my first fire.

Spominjam se svojega prvega požara.

I was the second volunteer on the scene,

Na prizorišče sem prispel kot drugi prostovoljec,

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

zato je bila priložnost, da sodelujem, dokaj dobra.

But still it was a real footrace against the other volunteers

Ampak vseeno je šlo za pravo dirko z drugimi prostovoljci,

to get to the captain in charge

da bi prišli do poveljnika

to find out what our assignments would be.

in dobili svoje naloge.

When I found the captain,

Ko sem našel poveljnika,

he was having a very engaging conversation

se je ravno zavzeto pogovarjal

with the homeowner,

z lastnico hiše,

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

za katero je to moral biti eden najhujših dni v življenju.

Here it was, the middle of the night,

Bilo je sredi noči,

she was standing outside in the pouring rain,

stala je zunaj v dežju,

under an umbrella, in her pajamas, barefoot,

z dežnikom, v pižami in bosa,

while her house was in flames.

medtem ko je njena hiša gorela.

The other volunteer who had arrived just before me --

Prostovoljec, ki je prispel ravno pred menoj,

let's call him Lex Luther --

imenujmo ga Lex Luthor...

(Laughter)

(smeh)

got to the captain first

je bil prvi pri poveljniku

and was asked to go inside

in ta ga je prosil, naj gre v hišo

and save the homeowner's dog.

in reši lastničinega psa.

The dog! I was stunned with jealousy.

Pes! Skoraj počil sem od zavisti.

Here was some lawyer or money manager

To je bil gotovo neki pravnik ali finančnik,

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

ki bo vse življenje lahko pripovedoval,

that he went into a burning building

kako je šel v gorečo stavbo

to save a living creature,

in rešil živo bitje,

just because he beat me by five seconds.

samo zato, ker je bil pet sekund hitrejši od mene.

Well, I was next.

No, jaz sem bil naslednji.

The captain waved me over.

Poveljnik me je poklical.

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

Rekel je: "Bezos, iti moraš v hišo.

I need you to go upstairs, past the fire,

Pojdi gor, mimo ognja

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

in prinesi tej ženski par čevljev."

(Laughter)

(smeh)

I swear.

Prisežem.

So, not exactly what I was hoping for,

Ni bilo ravno to, na kar sem upal,

but off I went --

ampak šel sem...

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

gor po stopnicah, preko hodnika, mimo "pravih" gasilcev,

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

ki so bili bolj ali manj pri koncu z gašenjem,

into the master bedroom to get a pair of shoes.

v spalnico, iskat par čevljev.

Now I know what you're thinking,

Vem, kaj mislite,

but I'm no hero.

ampak nisem nikakršen junak.

(Laughter)

(smeh)

I carried my payload back downstairs

Svoj tovor sem nesel dol,

where I met my nemesis

kjer sem pri vhodnih vratih

and the precious dog by the front door.

srečal svojega "sovražnika" in ob njem dragocenega psa.

We took our treasures outside to the homeowner,

Svoja zaklada sva odnesla lastnici hiše,

where, not surprisingly,

kjer je, normalno,

his received much more attention than did mine.

bil njegov deležen večje pozornosti kot moj.

A few weeks later,

Čez nekaj tednov

the department received a letter from the homeowner

je društvo dobilo pismo lastnice hiše

thanking us for the valiant effort displayed

z zahvalo za naš trud

in saving her home.

pri reševanju njenega doma.

The act of kindness she noted above all others:

Posebej je izpostavila tole prijazno gesto:

someone had even gotten her a pair of shoes.

nekdo ji je celo prinesel čevlje.

(Laughter)

(smeh)

In both my vocation at Robin Hood

Tako v svojem poklicu pri Robinu Hoodu

and my avocation as a volunteer firefighter,

kot pri prostovoljnem gasilstvu

I am witness to acts of generosity and kindness

sem priča velikodušnim in dobrosrčnim dejanjem

on a monumental scale,

velikih razsežnosti,

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

sem pa tudi priča lepim in pogumnim dejanjem

on an individual basis.

posameznikov.

And you know what I've learned?

In veste, česa sem se naučil?

They all matter.

Vsa so pomembna.

So as I look around this room

Ko se ozrem po tej sobi

at people who either have achieved,

in vidim ljudi, ki so dosegli,

or are on their way to achieving,

ali še bodo,

remarkable levels of success,

izjemne uspehe,

I would offer this reminder:

vas opominjam:

don't wait.

ne čakajte.

Don't wait until you make your first million

Ne čakajte, dokler ne zaslužite svojega prvega milijona,

to make a difference in somebody's life.

da bi nekomu spremenili življenje.

If you have something to give,

Če imate kaj dati,

give it now.

dajte zdaj.

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

Pomagajte v ljudski kuhinji, očistite park v soseščini,

Be a mentor.

bodite mentor.

Not every day is going to offer us a chance

Nimamo vsak dan priložnosti,

to save somebody's life,

da bi nekomu rešili življenje,

but every day offers us an opportunity to affect one.

a vsak dan lahko vplivamo na življenje nekoga.

So get in the game. Save the shoes.

Pridružite se torej igri; rešite čevlje.

Thank you.

Hvala.

(Applause)

(aplavz)

Bruno Giussani: Mark, Mark, come back.

Mark, Mark, pridi nazaj.

(Applause)

(aplavz)

Mark Bezos: Thank you.

Hvala.