TED2011
Mark Bezos: A life lesson from a volunteer firefighter
Mark Bezoz: En lektie for livet af en frivillig brandmand
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Den frivillige brandmand Mark Bezos fortæller en historie om en heltegerning, som ikke gik helt som planlagt. Men som lærte ham en stor lektie: Vent ikke på at blive en helt.
Mark Bezos - Activist, volunteer firefighter
Mark Bezos works at Robin Hood, a poverty-fighting charity in New York City, and the assistant captain of a volunteer fire company in suburban New York. Full bio
Mark Bezos works at Robin Hood, a poverty-fighting charity in New York City, and the assistant captain of a volunteer fire company in suburban New York. Full bio
Double-click the English transcript below to play the video.
00:15
Back in New York, I am the head of development
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I New York er jeg leder
00:17
for a non-profit called Robin Hood.
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af en non-profit kaldet Robin Hood.
00:20
When I'm not fighting poverty, I'm fighting fires
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Når jeg ikke bekæmper fattigdom, bekæmper jeg ildebrande
00:22
as the assistant captain of a volunteer fire company.
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som den assisterende brandkaptajn af et frivilligt brandvæsen.
00:25
Now in our town,
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I vores by,
00:27
where the volunteers supplement a highly skilled career staff,
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hvor de frivillige bidrager med et højt kvalificeret beredskab,
00:30
you have to get to the fire scene pretty early
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er du nødt til at nå til ildebranden hurtigt,
00:32
to get in on any action.
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for at tage del i aktionen.
00:34
I remember my first fire.
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Jeg husker min første ildebrand.
00:36
I was the second volunteer on the scene,
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Jeg var den næsthurtigste frivillig på stedet,
00:38
so there was a pretty good chance I was going to get in.
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så der var en ret god chance for, at jeg skulle ind.
00:41
But still it was a real footrace against the other volunteers
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Men alligevel var det et kapløb mod de andre frivillige,
00:43
to get to the captain in charge
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at komme til den ansvarlige kaptajn,
00:45
to find out what our assignments would be.
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for at finde ud af hvad ens opgave ville være.
00:47
When I found the captain,
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Da jeg fandt kaptajnen,
00:49
he was having a very engaging conversation
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havde han en meget engageret samtale
00:51
with the homeowner,
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med boligejeren,
00:53
who was surely having one of the worst days of her life.
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som helt sikkert havde en af de værste dage i hendes liv.
00:57
Here it was, the middle of the night,
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Her midt om natten
00:59
she was standing outside in the pouring rain,
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stod hun udenfor i silende regn,
01:02
under an umbrella, in her pajamas, barefoot,
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under en paraply, i hendes pyjamas, med bare fødder
01:05
while her house was in flames.
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mens hendes hus stod i flammer.
01:08
The other volunteer who had arrived just before me --
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Den anden frivillige som var ankommet lige før mig -
01:10
let's call him Lex Luther --
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lad os kalde ham Lex Luther -
01:13
(Laughter)
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(Latter)
01:15
got to the captain first
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nåede først hen til kaptajnen
01:17
and was asked to go inside
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og blev bedt om at gå indenfor
01:20
and save the homeowner's dog.
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for at redde boligejerens hund.
01:23
The dog! I was stunned with jealousy.
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Hunden! Jeg var fyldt med jalousi.
01:26
Here was some lawyer or money manager
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Her var en eller anden advokat eller penge manager,
01:28
who, for the rest of his life, gets to tell people
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der i resten af sit liv kunne fortælle folk,
01:30
that he went into a burning building
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at han gik ind i en brandende bygning
01:32
to save a living creature,
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for at redde et levende væsen,
01:34
just because he beat me by five seconds.
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bare fordi han slog mig med fem sekunder.
01:37
Well, I was next.
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Nå, jeg var den næste.
01:39
The captain waved me over.
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Kaptajnen vinkede mig over.
01:41
He said, "Bezos, I need you to go into the house.
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Han sagde, "Bezos, jeg har brug for at du går ind i huset.
01:44
I need you to go upstairs, past the fire,
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Jeg har brug for du går ovenpå, forbi branden,
01:47
and I need you to get this woman a pair of shoes."
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og jeg har brug for, at du skaffer denne kvinde et par sko."
01:50
(Laughter)
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(Latter)
01:53
I swear.
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Jeg sværger.
01:55
So, not exactly what I was hoping for,
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Nå, ikke lige hvad jeg havde håbet,
01:58
but off I went --
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men ind gik jeg -
02:00
up the stairs, down the hall, past the 'real' firefighters,
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op af trapperne, ned af gangen, forbi de "rigtige" brandmænd,
02:03
who were pretty much done putting out the fire at this point,
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som mere eller mindre havde slukket branden på dette tidspunkt,
02:06
into the master bedroom to get a pair of shoes.
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ind i soveværelset for at skaffe et par sko.
02:09
Now I know what you're thinking,
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Jeg ved, hvad I tænker,
02:12
but I'm no hero.
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men jeg er ingen helt.
02:14
(Laughter)
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(Latter)
02:19
I carried my payload back downstairs
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Jeg bar min last tilbage ned af trapperne,
02:22
where I met my nemesis
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hvor jeg mødte min nemesis
02:24
and the precious dog by the front door.
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og den dyrebare hund ved frontdøren.
02:26
We took our treasures outside to the homeowner,
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Vi tog vores skatte med udenfor til boligejeren,
02:29
where, not surprisingly,
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hvor, ikke overraskende,
02:31
his received much more attention than did mine.
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hans modtog meget mere opmærksomhed end min.
02:34
A few weeks later,
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Nogle uger efter
02:36
the department received a letter from the homeowner
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modtog afdelingen et brev fra boligejeren,
02:38
thanking us for the valiant effort displayed
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som takkede os for den tapre indsats, vi viste,
02:40
in saving her home.
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da vi reddede hendes hjem.
02:42
The act of kindness she noted above all others:
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Den venlighed hun listede over alt andet:
02:45
someone had even gotten her a pair of shoes.
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nogen havde endda hentet hende en par sko.
02:48
(Laughter)
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(Latter)
02:50
In both my vocation at Robin Hood
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Både i mit kald hos Robin Hood
02:52
and my avocation as a volunteer firefighter,
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og min fritidsbeskæftigelse som frivillig brandmand
02:54
I am witness to acts of generosity and kindness
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er jeg vidne til handlinger af gavmildhed og venlighed
02:57
on a monumental scale,
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på en storslået skale,
02:59
but I'm also witness to acts of grace and courage
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men jeg er også vidne til handlinger af nåde og mod
03:01
on an individual basis.
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på et personligt plan.
03:03
And you know what I've learned?
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Og ved I, hvad jeg har lært?
03:05
They all matter.
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Det hele betyder noget.
03:07
So as I look around this room
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Så når jeg kigger rundt i dette rum
03:09
at people who either have achieved,
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på mennesker, der enten har opnået,
03:11
or are on their way to achieving,
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eller er på vej til at opnå
03:13
remarkable levels of success,
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bemærkelsesværdig grad af succes,
03:15
I would offer this reminder:
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vil jeg gerne tilbyde denne påmindelse:
03:17
don't wait.
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lad vær at vente.
03:19
Don't wait until you make your first million
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Lad vær at vente indtil du har lavet din første million
03:21
to make a difference in somebody's life.
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før du gør en forskel i en andens liv.
03:23
If you have something to give,
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Hvis du har noget at give,
03:25
give it now.
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giv det nu.
03:27
Serve food at a soup kitchen. Clean up a neighborhood park.
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Server mad hos et center for hjemløse, ryd op i en nærliggende park,
03:30
Be a mentor.
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vær en mentor.
03:32
Not every day is going to offer us a chance
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Det er ikke hver dag, der giver os chancen
03:34
to save somebody's life,
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for at redde en andens liv,
03:36
but every day offers us an opportunity to affect one.
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men hver dag giver os muligheden for at påvirke et.
03:39
So get in the game. Save the shoes.
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Så kom ind i kampen; red skoene.
03:42
Thank you.
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Tak skal I have,
03:44
(Applause)
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(Bifald)
03:49
Bruno Giussani: Mark, Mark, come back.
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Bruno Giussani: Mark, Mark, kom tilbage.
03:51
(Applause)
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(Bifald)
03:58
Mark Bezos: Thank you.
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Mark Bezos: Tak skal I have.
ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Mark Bezos - Activist, volunteer firefighterMark Bezos works at Robin Hood, a poverty-fighting charity in New York City, and the assistant captain of a volunteer fire company in suburban New York.
Why you should listen
Mark Bezos is the SVP, Development, Communications & Events at Robin Hood, the leading poverty-fighting charity in New York City. Bezos joined Robin Hood following the sale of his advertising agency, excited to have found a way to use his powers of persuasion for good.
Bezos is the Assistant Captain of a volunteer fire company in Westchester County, New York, where he lives with his wife and four children. He is continuously amazed and motivated by the everyday acts of heroism--big and small--that surround him.
Mark Bezos | Speaker | TED.com