1
00:00:07,951 --> 00:00:09,348
One year ago,

2
00:00:10,188 --> 00:00:11,742
nearly to the day,

3
00:00:12,995 --> 00:00:16,087
I crossed the border
from Iran into Turkey,

4
00:00:16,665 --> 00:00:18,439
just north of Syria.

5
00:00:19,689 --> 00:00:20,995
On my right,

6
00:00:22,142 --> 00:00:25,568
Mount Ararat's immense silhouette rose up.

7
00:00:26,807 --> 00:00:32,049
The legend says that Noah's ark
ran aground there.

8
00:00:34,202 --> 00:00:38,075
5,167 meters

9
00:00:38,749 --> 00:00:40,454
Such a cone,

10
00:00:40,804 --> 00:00:42,920
for a paraglider like me,

11
00:00:43,833 --> 00:00:45,121
was like ...

12
00:00:45,773 --> 00:00:47,046
a vanilla ice cream cone

13
00:00:47,854 --> 00:00:49,320
on a summer afternoon.

14
00:00:50,188 --> 00:00:51,744
I had three days.

15
00:00:51,912 --> 00:00:55,590
I had very little time on the internet,
but I managed to learn two things.

16
00:00:56,333 --> 00:01:00,349
First, conditions were perfect for flying.

17
00:01:01,377 --> 00:01:04,048
However, guides were
to be avoided at all costs

18
00:01:04,048 --> 00:01:06,910
as they might ask for my access permit,

19
00:01:07,480 --> 00:01:09,431
impossible to get on such short notice.

20
00:01:09,431 --> 00:01:10,439
I didn't have it.

21
00:01:12,628 --> 00:01:14,531
On the second day of our climb,

22
00:01:14,531 --> 00:01:16,692
halfway up the slope, I was sleeping,

23
00:01:16,692 --> 00:01:18,816
rolled up in my paragliding wing.

24
00:01:19,557 --> 00:01:22,559
It was just before dawn.

25
00:01:23,411 --> 00:01:24,592
When suddenly ...

26
00:01:27,192 --> 00:01:30,932
(Plane noise) (Explosion)

27
00:01:31,193 --> 00:01:33,673
Fuck! It's war!

28
00:01:35,673 --> 00:01:37,008
It was just over there.

29
00:01:43,677 --> 00:01:45,202
I will freely admit

30
00:01:45,202 --> 00:01:47,681
that I quickly ducked behind some rocks.

31
00:01:50,427 --> 00:01:51,798
Seven years earlier,

32
00:01:52,405 --> 00:01:55,390
on July 11, 2008 at 9:30 in the morning,

33
00:01:55,690 --> 00:01:59,831
I began a round-the-world trip by bicycle,

34
00:02:01,277 --> 00:02:02,522
an old childhood dream.

35
00:02:03,498 --> 00:02:07,225
Anyone here who thinks the world is small,

36
00:02:07,225 --> 00:02:09,164
believe me: you're wrong.

37
00:02:09,164 --> 00:02:10,488
It's enormous!

38
00:02:11,148 --> 00:02:13,817
I had planned to take four years.

39
00:02:14,598 --> 00:02:15,537
I knew

40
00:02:16,108 --> 00:02:19,527
there would be major
repercussions for my life.

41
00:02:20,709 --> 00:02:24,326
I had a good job; an aeronautical engineer
under permanent contract.

42
00:02:24,656 --> 00:02:26,980
In a way, I killed my career.

43
00:02:28,338 --> 00:02:31,256
I had a partner that I loved ...

44
00:02:31,899 --> 00:02:34,152
my family, friends.

45
00:02:34,458 --> 00:02:35,422
I gave it all up.

46
00:02:36,214 --> 00:02:39,848
It may seem another
irresponsible, stupid decision,

47
00:02:39,848 --> 00:02:43,858
like the one I just described
on Mount Ararat.

48
00:02:44,191 --> 00:02:47,083
But in fact, it was undoubtedly,
and I still think so today,

49
00:02:47,446 --> 00:02:50,888
the most responsible decision of my life.

50
00:02:52,165 --> 00:02:55,394
Basically, what I was looking for,

51
00:02:55,767 --> 00:02:57,071
besides seeing the world,

52
00:02:57,551 --> 00:02:59,430
was to regain control of my life.

53
00:03:01,556 --> 00:03:03,198
I'd lost track of myself a bit.

54
00:03:05,002 --> 00:03:08,199
I'd been on the traditional route,
ruled less by personal choices,

55
00:03:08,199 --> 00:03:11,506
than by choices imposed on me by society:

56
00:03:11,506 --> 00:03:15,006
education, career, family,
material comfort.

57
00:03:15,580 --> 00:03:18,833
I never felt as though
these choices had been mine.

58
00:03:18,833 --> 00:03:20,678
So, for once,

59
00:03:21,228 --> 00:03:26,528
I dared make a decision that would have
an enormous effect on my life.

60
00:03:27,729 --> 00:03:30,126
But, then, it became imperative

61
00:03:30,126 --> 00:03:33,126
that this decision be
a very responsible one,

62
00:03:33,534 --> 00:03:35,625
that I seriously weigh the consequences

63
00:03:37,782 --> 00:03:38,969
for my life.

64
00:03:39,815 --> 00:03:42,270
But, from such thoughts came others,

65
00:03:42,894 --> 00:03:44,463
about the environmental impact.

66
00:03:44,897 --> 00:03:46,708
So much so that I decided

67
00:03:46,708 --> 00:03:50,432
that my world tour
would be essentially non-motorized.

68
00:03:50,935 --> 00:03:52,323
Zero-carbon travel.

69
00:03:53,057 --> 00:03:55,464
I would cross the continents on a bicycle,

70
00:03:55,464 --> 00:03:58,321
the oceans in a sail boat.

71
00:03:58,321 --> 00:04:00,871
And, for a bit of added fun,

72
00:04:00,871 --> 00:04:04,144
I would take along my paraglider
to view the world from above.

73
00:04:04,194 --> 00:04:05,355
I called this venture,

74
00:04:05,355 --> 00:04:08,679
"On the road with a wing."

75
00:04:10,340 --> 00:04:12,438
I had not chosen the easiest route.

76
00:04:12,882 --> 00:04:16,716
To increase my chances for success,
I had to be well organized.

77
00:04:18,184 --> 00:04:21,732
Yep, I was still an engineer
despite wanting to leave it all behind.

78
00:04:21,999 --> 00:04:24,235
My approach was to make
a real business plan.

79
00:04:24,265 --> 00:04:27,147
For six months,
I contacted the media, sponsors.

80
00:04:27,587 --> 00:04:30,045
I worked on a budget,
the equipment I would need.

81
00:04:30,045 --> 00:04:31,555
In short, a real business plan.


82
00:04:31,555 --> 00:04:32,268
I love Excel.

83
00:04:32,268 --> 00:04:34,145
I had a lot of fun, believe me!

84
00:04:34,145 --> 00:04:35,723
(Laughter)

85
00:04:36,136 --> 00:04:38,019
Then, I looked into visas,

86
00:04:39,193 --> 00:04:41,464
winter in the Andes, in the Himalayas,

87
00:04:41,464 --> 00:04:45,047
war zones, to create
the perfect itinerary.

88
00:04:45,429 --> 00:04:48,753
I knew that if I made a mistake,
I would suffer the consequences.

89
00:04:49,535 --> 00:04:50,995
As an example of my stupidity,

90
00:04:51,247 --> 00:04:52,040
one day,

91
00:04:52,772 --> 00:04:55,078
I was crossing the Pamirs in Central Asia,

92
00:04:56,081 --> 00:05:00,582
and I met a cyclist
just as shaggy and unkempt as me.

93
00:05:00,582 --> 00:05:03,266
At the time, this was 
really something special!

94
00:05:03,306 --> 00:05:06,758
So, we chatted a bit, and then he told me

95
00:05:06,758 --> 00:05:10,016
that he also wanted
to use a sail boat to cross the ocean

96
00:05:10,386 --> 00:05:13,316
from Asia to America ...

97
00:05:15,150 --> 00:05:16,317
Whoa!

98
00:05:16,317 --> 00:05:18,089
My stomach was in knots!

99
00:05:18,905 --> 00:05:22,156
I had to tell him 
that that wasn't really possible.

100
00:05:23,186 --> 00:05:26,166
Sail boats follow the trade winds,

101
00:05:26,166 --> 00:05:28,142
flowing around the world toward the west.

102
00:05:28,460 --> 00:05:30,028
The reverse is very rare.

103
00:05:31,921 --> 00:05:34,429
So, he was going to
find himself at the ocean

104
00:05:34,429 --> 00:05:35,952
forced to take a plane

105
00:05:35,952 --> 00:05:39,396
after he had worked like crazy 
to plan a non-motorized voyage!

106
00:05:40,336 --> 00:05:43,957
I, too, nearly went east.

107
00:05:44,826 --> 00:05:46,050
But, fortunately,

108
00:05:46,775 --> 00:05:50,141
a friend came to see me,
shortly before I left,

109
00:05:50,651 --> 00:05:53,603
and gave me this crucial information,

110
00:05:54,212 --> 00:05:56,457
and I was able to turn around.

111
00:05:58,194 --> 00:06:02,914
The cyclist had made
the exact same mistake.

112
00:06:03,183 --> 00:06:05,614
When I was behind the rock
on Mount Ararat,

113
00:06:05,614 --> 00:06:07,393
being shot at by F-16s,

114
00:06:09,115 --> 00:06:10,601
after the explosions ended,

115
00:06:11,507 --> 00:06:15,655
I thought it had been a military exercise,

116
00:06:15,692 --> 00:06:17,523
I continued toward the summit,

117
00:06:17,723 --> 00:06:19,836
where I launched
the next day to fly clear

118
00:06:19,836 --> 00:06:21,752
of the prior day's gunfire zone.

119
00:06:21,963 --> 00:06:26,604
I landed safe and sound
and retrieved my bicycle

120
00:06:26,604 --> 00:06:29,934
and made it to the first town
where I finally found someone

121
00:06:30,136 --> 00:06:31,505
who spoke English.

122
00:06:31,685 --> 00:06:33,545
He explained to me

123
00:06:33,545 --> 00:06:36,135
that the mountain closed
three months ago,

124
00:06:36,710 --> 00:06:38,555
that it was full of PKK rebels,

125
00:06:38,616 --> 00:06:41,846
and that the army was shooting on sight
anything that moved.

126
00:06:42,390 --> 00:06:44,460
(Laughter)

127
00:06:44,797 --> 00:06:48,617
(Applause)

128
00:06:52,983 --> 00:06:55,558
I had put my life in serious danger

129
00:06:55,903 --> 00:06:58,013
because of ignorance.

130
00:06:58,558 --> 00:07:01,611
If I had only been a bit more informed,

131
00:07:01,611 --> 00:07:05,788
I would never have made 
such irresponsible choices.

132
00:07:07,091 --> 00:07:08,483
Because, yes,

133
00:07:08,842 --> 00:07:13,179
a lack of information leads 
to irresponsible choices

134
00:07:13,519 --> 00:07:15,706
and, sometimes, even disasters.

135
00:07:15,999 --> 00:07:17,795
However,

136
00:07:18,265 --> 00:07:22,641
having made, for the most part,
choices that were informed

137
00:07:23,978 --> 00:07:24,990
and responsible,

138
00:07:25,320 --> 00:07:27,187
conscious of the consequences,

139
00:07:27,187 --> 00:07:31,962
I was able to make my dream a reality
and go even further.

140
00:07:31,986 --> 00:07:34,571
Four months later, on December 29, 2015,

141
00:07:34,571 --> 00:07:37,832
I crossed the finish line
after 2,723 days,

142
00:07:37,832 --> 00:07:41,125
Seven and a half years on the road,
rather than the anticipated four.

143
00:07:41,322 --> 00:07:44,702
I'd travelled 105,000 km
through some incredible places.

144
00:07:44,702 --> 00:07:46,893
I'd met all kinds of people.

145
00:07:46,893 --> 00:07:48,829
I'd been able to see marvellous things.

146
00:07:48,829 --> 00:07:51,464
I was happy, and I'd achieved my goal.

147
00:07:56,692 --> 00:07:58,942
That's how it went for me.

148
00:08:00,661 --> 00:08:02,366
But, what would happen

149
00:08:03,364 --> 00:08:06,407
if it was like that
for each and everyone of us?

150
00:08:10,515 --> 00:08:12,073
And what would happen

151
00:08:12,848 --> 00:08:14,343
if it was like that

152
00:08:14,743 --> 00:08:18,393
for everyone in our country
or on the planet?

153
00:08:19,513 --> 00:08:23,957
Can we not imagine a society 
that was more conscious,

154
00:08:24,896 --> 00:08:26,676
and, therefore, more responsible,

155
00:08:27,449 --> 00:08:29,315
and more liberated?

156
00:08:31,470 --> 00:08:36,423
Because a world tour,
a lifetime project, or a social plan

157
00:08:37,607 --> 00:08:39,365
is like paragliding.

158
00:08:40,095 --> 00:08:43,615
They're all full of limitations and risks
that we've chosen ourselves.

159
00:08:43,615 --> 00:08:46,817
We do everything we can
to control the consequences.

160
00:08:47,415 --> 00:08:50,523
An inaccurate reading of the wind
could mean death or paralysis.

161
00:08:51,647 --> 00:08:52,656
But, the take-off

162
00:08:53,816 --> 00:08:55,287
is the ultimate instant,

163
00:08:56,236 --> 00:08:58,058
the moment of truth,

164
00:08:58,672 --> 00:09:01,457
when your choices become
truly accountable,

165
00:09:02,681 --> 00:09:05,261
and hugely freeing.

166
00:09:05,261 --> 00:09:06,987
So ...

167
00:09:08,559 --> 00:09:09,738
ready to fly?

168
00:09:10,788 --> 00:09:13,499
Thank you.

169
00:09:12,201 --> 00:09:16,201
(Applause)