WEBVTT 00:00:08.304 --> 00:00:09.824 Hello! 00:00:09.824 --> 00:00:12.405 What I am about to tell you is nothing epic, 00:00:12.405 --> 00:00:14.600 not a big project or idea, 00:00:14.600 --> 00:00:17.560 not anything that will break a paradigm in 15 minutes, 00:00:17.560 --> 00:00:20.360 which is the time I'll spend talking to you. 00:00:20.360 --> 00:00:22.760 My talk is much more about a process, 00:00:22.760 --> 00:00:23.750 a discovery. 00:00:23.750 --> 00:00:27.750 Something that, at the same time that has been the object of my research, 00:00:27.750 --> 00:00:30.590 also has been something I've been feeling 00:00:30.590 --> 00:00:32.600 and truly experiencing in my daily basis. 00:00:32.600 --> 00:00:35.200 Everything starts when I, a specialist, 00:00:35.200 --> 00:00:37.970 but also a representative of the Generation Y, 00:00:37.970 --> 00:00:40.560 -- which will manage and take care of the planet 00:00:40.560 --> 00:00:42.330 in a very near future -- 00:00:42.330 --> 00:00:44.150 realized two things: 00:00:44.150 --> 00:00:46.400 first, that I am, that I can, 00:00:46.400 --> 00:00:48.970 and I that I have to be normal. 00:00:48.970 --> 00:00:50.190 And, second: 00:00:50.190 --> 00:00:53.530 to think about a retirement plan means to plan about the past, 00:00:53.530 --> 00:00:56.349 mine and the world's. 00:00:56.349 --> 00:01:01.419 By the time I realized that in theory and practice, 00:01:01.419 --> 00:01:03.829 I noticed, as you also may have, 00:01:03.829 --> 00:01:07.199 that this contradicts three of the main characteristics 00:01:07.199 --> 00:01:10.599 the specialists assign to the Gen-Y. 00:01:10.599 --> 00:01:13.169 Number one: that we think we are special. 00:01:13.169 --> 00:01:16.839 Number two: that we only work and do things that are pleasant to us 00:01:16.839 --> 00:01:18.669 or that we like. 00:01:18.669 --> 00:01:20.859 And, third: that we are consumerists 00:01:20.859 --> 00:01:24.449 and the things we possess already represent who we are. 00:01:24.449 --> 00:01:26.479 And the specialists are correct about it. 00:01:26.479 --> 00:01:30.619 Even more when they say that those three attributes 00:01:30.619 --> 00:01:35.079 are the cause for the constant frustration the Gen-Y feels. 00:01:35.079 --> 00:01:37.689 What I have been discovering, learning, 00:01:37.689 --> 00:01:39.969 is that exactly when we subvert 00:01:39.969 --> 00:01:42.539 each one of those codes, 00:01:42.539 --> 00:01:46.009 when we hack each one of those characteristics, 00:01:46.009 --> 00:01:49.559 that is the moment when we find the real potential of things, projects, 00:01:49.559 --> 00:01:52.069 environments and, maybe, of ourselves. 00:01:52.069 --> 00:01:54.265 So, I invite everyone to be a hacker, 00:01:54.265 --> 00:01:56.781 being a Gen-Y or not, 00:01:56.781 --> 00:02:01.019 to subvert the first code, that is to "feel special". 00:02:01.019 --> 00:02:02.959 When we come off the pedestal, 00:02:02.959 --> 00:02:06.299 we automatically make amends with the world and with ourselves. 00:02:06.299 --> 00:02:07.859 First, because the expectations 00:02:07.859 --> 00:02:12.049 that the world and we have of ourselves disappear. 00:02:12.049 --> 00:02:13.699 That allows us, then, to fail, 00:02:13.699 --> 00:02:16.179 to ask for help, to experiment, 00:02:16.179 --> 00:02:18.059 to say, "I don’t know"... 00:02:18.059 --> 00:02:21.839 The most beautiful thing to me about stepping off the pedestal, 00:02:21.859 --> 00:02:23.379 about making this move, 00:02:23.379 --> 00:02:28.579 is that we stop demanding and expecting recognition from the world. 00:02:28.579 --> 00:02:33.209 We don't expect attention, comfort and readiness from others. 00:02:33.209 --> 00:02:37.579 We stop thinking that our well-being is someone else's job. 00:02:37.579 --> 00:02:40.189 With that, comes responsibility. 00:02:40.189 --> 00:02:43.599 By the time I see myself as common being, 00:02:43.599 --> 00:02:45.759 with that comes a sense of community. 00:02:45.759 --> 00:02:47.689 It means that I belong to a group, 00:02:47.689 --> 00:02:49.659 in which I am free, 00:02:49.659 --> 00:02:52.019 but I'm also very dependent on the others, 00:02:52.019 --> 00:02:55.389 and they are also totally dependent on me. 00:02:55.389 --> 00:02:57.499 The second code to be hacked, 00:02:57.499 --> 00:03:02.279 is about only working on things we like, appreciate and enjoy. 00:03:02.279 --> 00:03:04.999 First of all, that does not exist, 00:03:04.999 --> 00:03:10.459 mainly because, nowadays, it is hard to get in tune with our inner voice. 00:03:10.459 --> 00:03:13.529 There is so much noise, superficialities, 00:03:13.529 --> 00:03:16.189 and expectations surrounding us. 00:03:16.189 --> 00:03:18.279 It's hard to decode what we really want. 00:03:18.279 --> 00:03:20.189 I had an experience in my life, 00:03:20.189 --> 00:03:23.939 when I had been planning for a few years, 00:03:23.939 --> 00:03:26.569 already having a thriving career, 00:03:26.569 --> 00:03:28.909 but I couldn’t help feeling frustrated. 00:03:28.909 --> 00:03:32.429 Neither myself, nor anyone, could find explanation for that. 00:03:32.429 --> 00:03:36.089 In order to understand that, I made a brave move 00:03:36.089 --> 00:03:38.299 and I ejected myself from that system. 00:03:38.299 --> 00:03:43.509 As soon as I did it, though I felt relieved, 00:03:43.509 --> 00:03:46.899 I was quickly taken over by an emptiness feeling. 00:03:46.899 --> 00:03:51.842 It was as though I had found a magic lamp, rubbed it, 00:03:51.842 --> 00:03:55.099 and the genie asked me, "What do you really want now? 00:03:55.099 --> 00:03:56.679 You are free!" 00:03:56.679 --> 00:03:58.799 I didn't know that answer. 00:03:58.799 --> 00:04:00.899 I wish I had the certainty to say, 00:04:00.899 --> 00:04:04.449 "Now I can be a singer, which has always been my dream!" 00:04:04.449 --> 00:04:07.449 "No, I've always wanted to be a biologist and this is the time." 00:04:07.449 --> 00:04:11.039 "I'll learn Mandarin and travel the world because that's what I can do." 00:04:11.039 --> 00:04:14.259 But no... still no answers. 00:04:14.259 --> 00:04:18.509 My biggest learning was: 00:04:18.509 --> 00:04:21.169 we don't solve frustration by denying the system, 00:04:21.169 --> 00:04:23.079 or the things we don’t like. 00:04:23.079 --> 00:04:26.029 It's not departing from one extreme and going to another, 00:04:26.029 --> 00:04:30.219 or leaving a label and finding another that will compensate for the previous one. 00:04:30.219 --> 00:04:32.829 The move is to, generously and bravely, 00:04:32.829 --> 00:04:34.469 accept and penetrate the system, 00:04:34.469 --> 00:04:38.149 into what is common, ordinary, normal… 00:04:38.149 --> 00:04:42.189 By doing that, we learn how it works. 00:04:42.189 --> 00:04:46.159 We get the knowledge to properly break it into pieces and subvert it. 00:04:46.159 --> 00:04:48.979 Once based on our good intentions, 00:04:48.979 --> 00:04:52.119 those pieces from the system that we subvert, 00:04:52.119 --> 00:04:55.529 we are able to rebuild our own microsystem. 00:04:55.529 --> 00:04:59.669 We can change our routine, our way of interacting with other people. 00:04:59.669 --> 00:05:02.899 Since we're part of a big net, in a big engine, 00:05:02.899 --> 00:05:05.679 whenever we deconstruct our little world 00:05:05.679 --> 00:05:08.549 and genuinely start rebuilding it, 00:05:08.549 --> 00:05:15.219 the pieces around us also start organising themselves organically. 00:05:15.219 --> 00:05:17.569 A potential chain reaction. 00:05:17.569 --> 00:05:20.019 When we go to the third code, 00:05:20.019 --> 00:05:22.579 to be hackers and deconstruct it, 00:05:22.579 --> 00:05:24.219 we talk about the consumerism. 00:05:24.219 --> 00:05:26.029 I don’t think it is a bad thing. 00:05:26.029 --> 00:05:28.969 It's only unhealthy when the consuming process 00:05:28.969 --> 00:05:32.809 works as a shield against the world, 00:05:32.809 --> 00:05:36.375 as visual shields, like things I buy and possess 00:05:36.375 --> 00:05:40.319 that tell the world the way I want to be perceived. 00:05:40.319 --> 00:05:42.289 But also emotional shields, 00:05:42.289 --> 00:05:46.359 when exchanging "moneys" for "things" works as a shortcut 00:05:46.359 --> 00:05:51.109 to cover my emotional and vulnerability issues, 00:05:51.109 --> 00:05:53.959 that are so essential for anyone’s personal growth. 00:05:53.959 --> 00:05:57.009 [Some years ago], I also had a great experience 00:05:57.009 --> 00:06:01.009 when I moved from a big city to a small town abroad 00:06:01.009 --> 00:06:05.539 and I thought about my routine, because in that phase of readaptation 00:06:05.539 --> 00:06:09.202 we try to cling to things that are basic for our well-being. 00:06:09.202 --> 00:06:11.849 But soon I realized that many of the things 00:06:11.849 --> 00:06:16.149 I used to spend money with were only to compensate old patterns 00:06:16.149 --> 00:06:19.499 I'd never questioned, but thought were basic. 00:06:19.499 --> 00:06:22.279 How much did I have to pay for an expensive gym 00:06:22.279 --> 00:06:26.539 to compensate ten hours of sitting down in front of a computer, in the office, 00:06:26.539 --> 00:06:27.919 with the AC on? 00:06:27.919 --> 00:06:30.739 Or how much did I have to spend with doctors and medicines 00:06:30.739 --> 00:06:35.469 to treat my gastritis when I was the one not eating well and all stressed out? 00:06:35.469 --> 00:06:40.599 Or how much did I have to pay for clothes because I didn't want to repeat outfits? 00:06:40.599 --> 00:06:43.499 But I was the one who used to go to the same places, 00:06:43.499 --> 00:06:45.679 and meet always the same people! 00:06:45.679 --> 00:06:48.109 Or how much time did I spend and saved money 00:06:48.109 --> 00:06:49.869 to go on amazing vacations 00:06:49.869 --> 00:06:52.839 when I was the one who used to spend 11 months 00:06:52.839 --> 00:06:57.389 working and thinking about projects that were not exciting to me? 00:06:57.389 --> 00:07:01.999 It's very interesting to do this exercise because it is not about cutting costs 00:07:01.999 --> 00:07:05.069 or reducing the budget. That comes as a consequence. 00:07:05.069 --> 00:07:10.899 In fact, that shows us that a mindful, simpler and more minimalistic life 00:07:10.899 --> 00:07:14.339 can be richer, more abundant and efficient. 00:07:14.339 --> 00:07:18.639 When we do that, we get our freedom back, we feel lighter and independent; 00:07:18.639 --> 00:07:26.929 we can easily transit and flow through new projects, experiences, and places. 00:07:26.929 --> 00:07:29.619 In this new model, the currency is different. 00:07:29.619 --> 00:07:32.719 So, when I started realizing 00:07:32.719 --> 00:07:37.219 that I could hack some programming codes about who I was, 00:07:37.219 --> 00:07:42.079 and during those hard moments I was feeling fulfilled, 00:07:42.079 --> 00:07:46.289 I started to perceived a new lifestyle. 00:07:46.289 --> 00:07:48.919 These three codes, in a way, 00:07:48.919 --> 00:07:51.899 I always checked whenever I had to make a decision 00:07:51.899 --> 00:07:54.899 in my everyday life. 00:07:54.899 --> 00:07:58.799 Those same values that helped me to adjust my focus [on the world], 00:07:58.799 --> 00:08:02.389 making me sensitive to recognize, attract and create 00:08:02.389 --> 00:08:04.809 the opportunities I wanted to embrace. 00:08:04.809 --> 00:08:08.389 And these were the values that helped understand 00:08:08.389 --> 00:08:12.599 the new metrics and indicators for: what makes someone successful? 00:08:12.599 --> 00:08:15.189 What makes a process successful? 00:08:15.189 --> 00:08:20.549 And also a new definition for "wealth": what does it mean to be "rich"? 00:08:20.549 --> 00:08:26.839 When I realized that a new lifestyle was getting into shape in front of me, 00:08:26.839 --> 00:08:31.219 it was also turning me into a more ethical, aesthetical, 00:08:31.219 --> 00:08:35.409 processual and ecological human being, but not because it was trendy, 00:08:35.409 --> 00:08:40.355 or based on an ideology, a ready-made label. 00:08:40.355 --> 00:08:43.129 The reason is: that's the way the game works. 00:08:43.129 --> 00:08:45.469 It's a requirement and a consequence. 00:08:45.469 --> 00:08:49.419 The moment I start living by those values, I become more ethic, 00:08:49.419 --> 00:08:54.349 because I am aware of the autonomy and dependence on all elements. 00:08:54.349 --> 00:08:57.565 Even if the people surrounding me are not in the same game, 00:08:57.565 --> 00:09:01.285 the moment I understand that I have to be transparent and responsible, 00:09:01.285 --> 00:09:03.585 that I should think and not try to compensate, 00:09:03.585 --> 00:09:08.555 I realize that things become much easier and more gratifying. 00:09:08.555 --> 00:09:12.945 Trying to play smart in this system means wasting energy and time. 00:09:12.945 --> 00:09:16.975 One minute I'll be confabulating about the best way to take advantage of others, 00:09:16.975 --> 00:09:19.665 and the next, I'll be defensive and suspicious, 00:09:19.665 --> 00:09:22.315 because someone will be taking advantage of me. 00:09:22.315 --> 00:09:25.185 I become mindful about aesthetics and processes, 00:09:25.185 --> 00:09:28.685 because more than valuing a single final product or an accomplishment, 00:09:28.685 --> 00:09:31.875 we begin to appreciate the beauty of the process itself. 00:09:31.875 --> 00:09:37.045 We add a fourth dimension to each word spoken and heard, 00:09:37.045 --> 00:09:40.425 to each project [we do], each journey... 00:09:40.425 --> 00:09:44.415 This fourth dimension is the time and not its speed, 00:09:44.415 --> 00:09:47.065 but the time as a process, a story. 00:09:47.065 --> 00:09:50.575 When we observe each thing and try to understand its meaning, 00:09:50.575 --> 00:09:52.695 and how it got there, 00:09:52.695 --> 00:09:57.815 we open a way to innovation, to creativity and collaboration. 00:09:57.815 --> 00:10:00.365 We become more connected to nature. 00:10:00.365 --> 00:10:03.225 Nowadays, we go straight to Google when we have a question, 00:10:03.225 --> 00:10:05.615 but nature is the most advanced technology. 00:10:05.615 --> 00:10:08.395 It has been 4.5 billion years of success and failure, 00:10:08.395 --> 00:10:10.075 trial and error. 00:10:10.075 --> 00:10:14.075 Nature is the most advanced technology, it's a library! 00:10:14.075 --> 00:10:17.735 If we are talking about nature, transformation and evolution, 00:10:17.735 --> 00:10:19.285 nature itself teaches us: 00:10:19.285 --> 00:10:22.991 it is the environment that determines who will survive. 00:10:22.991 --> 00:10:28.327 And though I'm still young, this is maybe the tip I want to give to you, 00:10:28.327 --> 00:10:31.415 because that's what my story has been teaching me. 00:10:31.415 --> 00:10:33.695 If we really want to make any kind of change, 00:10:33.695 --> 00:10:35.415 or trace new paths, 00:10:35.415 --> 00:10:38.355 we ought to put ourselves in environments 00:10:38.355 --> 00:10:43.345 that will be constantly inspiring us and putting us up to the test. 00:10:43.345 --> 00:10:46.665 As a Gen-Yer, it hurts to admit that those environments 00:10:46.665 --> 00:10:48.855 must not be comfort zones. 00:10:48.855 --> 00:10:52.938 To get out of those zones doesn't mean to make the decision and talk about it, 00:10:52.938 --> 00:10:57.608 and it will vanish in a second and a new life appears in front of us. 00:10:57.608 --> 00:11:01.738 It's a trade, actually, of a frustration feeling, 00:11:01.738 --> 00:11:04.258 combined with predictability and comfort, 00:11:04.258 --> 00:11:08.478 for a new combo of feelings of dedication, vulnerability, 00:11:08.478 --> 00:11:11.538 responsibility, but lots of achievements. 00:11:11.538 --> 00:11:16.748 In practice, changing jobs or cities won’t be enough to force that decision. 00:11:16.748 --> 00:11:19.378 It needs to be felt, encouraged 00:11:19.378 --> 00:11:22.718 every single day, maybe while you brush your teeth. 00:11:22.718 --> 00:11:25.706 Moving from São Paulo to Miami, 00:11:25.706 --> 00:11:29.516 or moving from Los Angeles to a small town in the rural area of Brazil, 00:11:29.516 --> 00:11:32.586 in an Art Museum is just part of a big choice. 00:11:32.586 --> 00:11:37.176 What's relevant is our decision about what sort of stimulus, people 00:11:37.176 --> 00:11:41.006 and experiences we are willing to face in that specific moment [of our lives]. 00:11:41.006 --> 00:11:45.446 Then, to love that decision, because the moment we love our decisions, 00:11:45.446 --> 00:11:50.326 we instantly get a package filled with pleasures and problems. 00:11:50.326 --> 00:11:54.466 The moment we love that package of our eventual experiences, 00:11:54.466 --> 00:11:57.276 we carry it as a backpack throughout our new paths, 00:11:57.276 --> 00:12:00.706 and those things lose their good or bad connotations. 00:12:00.706 --> 00:12:05.676 They start to be seen as opportunities so we can interact, learn, teach, 00:12:05.676 --> 00:12:09.996 have new stories to tell, and make new friends. 00:12:09.996 --> 00:12:14.026 By loving the pleasures and problems of our choices, 00:12:14.026 --> 00:12:16.146 we allow ourselves to be constantly modified 00:12:16.146 --> 00:12:19.016 as well as to modify the places 00:12:19.016 --> 00:12:22.926 and the people we interact with along the way. 00:12:22.926 --> 00:12:27.086 That's why planning my retirement doesn't make much sense to me. 00:12:27.086 --> 00:12:31.076 Why investing the resources and energy I have now 00:12:31.076 --> 00:12:33.246 in a package of problems and pleasures 00:12:33.246 --> 00:12:36.696 that will I only experience in a few decades from now? 00:12:36.696 --> 00:12:39.406 In fact, the concern is about not the retirement itself, 00:12:39.406 --> 00:12:43.436 but about that gap between what I plan and envision now, 00:12:43.436 --> 00:12:46.246 and the moment I will actually experience it. 00:12:46.246 --> 00:12:51.726 It was after that hard realization, that I started designing and truly 00:12:51.726 --> 00:12:54.406 living my retirement plan, 00:12:54.406 --> 00:13:00.166 which means, letting go of some patterns to genuinely find my well-being. 00:13:00.166 --> 00:13:03.176 I believe that by embracing that perspective 00:13:03.176 --> 00:13:06.426 I, automatically, reverberate that to those next to me, 00:13:06.426 --> 00:13:08.496 and demanding it from them. 00:13:08.496 --> 00:13:11.296 This is will be a transformation for you, for others 00:13:11.296 --> 00:13:14.946 and, as a result, we can achieve the common good. 00:13:14.946 --> 00:13:16.598 Thank you very much. 00:13:16.598 --> 00:13:19.423 (Applause)