We are all TRUHOMA - Ana Lukner at TEDxLjubljana
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0:07 - 0:09Everything that I am today,
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0:09 - 0:12and everything that I do,
is based on what I've been through. -
0:12 - 0:15Especially for the last ten years.
Because before that -- -
0:15 - 0:20I am thirty today,
thirty-one in fourteen days -- -
0:20 - 0:20before that,
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0:20 - 0:25the first twenty years of my life
were absolutely wonderful. -
0:25 - 0:27I was raised by wonderful parents,
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0:27 - 0:31who gave me love and taught me
what's important in life. -
0:31 - 0:37I was able to travel a lot,
I was very active, I was playing piano, -
0:37 - 0:39I was very active in sports as well,
playing tennis. -
0:41 - 0:43And all of that opened many doors for me.
-
0:43 - 0:47So right after high school in Ljubljana,
-
0:47 - 0:54I was invited to go study to the United States,
on a full athletic scholarship. -
0:54 - 1:00I came to California when I was eighteen
with a full scholarship, -
1:00 - 1:02everything in front of me,
-
1:02 - 1:07and I was feeling so lucky.
What could even go wrong? -
1:08 - 1:11Everything is perfect,
I'm at the top of my life, -
1:11 - 1:14I'm 18 and I have so much more to give.
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1:14 - 1:20Well, 10 years ago, when I was 20,
all this had a rather scary ending. -
1:21 - 1:26Something happened to me
that was definitely my first turning point in my life, -
1:26 - 1:31and completely changed me,
I can see and feel that very strongly today. -
1:31 - 1:35Since I was so active and involved in everything
-
1:35 - 1:42I didn't have much time for partying,
going out, boys, flirting. -
1:43 - 1:46When I was 20, I got my first boyfriend.
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1:46 - 1:51He was very involved in basketball.
He was on the national team. -
1:51 - 1:56He was my first love, the first guy
I held hands with in Ljubljana. -
1:57 - 2:02We were together even after I went
to the United States, even though I knew -
2:02 - 2:06it was a big challenge, since I was so young.
Was it going to last or not? -
2:06 - 2:08But destiny took it's own way.
-
2:08 - 2:12One day I called my father home,
and said, "How are you, dad?", he said -
2:12 - 2:17"Ana everything is fine --",
we were just having a casual conversation -
2:17 - 2:22but I felt immediately that something was wrong.
Ten minutes later he told me -
2:22 - 2:28that my boyfriend died instantly in a car crash.
We were both 20 at that time. -
2:28 - 2:38I can honestly tell you -- I have to zoom into present now
because today his father passed away -- -
2:38 - 2:46it is really hard, I just found out a few hours ago.
I'm zooming back to past now. -
2:47 - 2:50When my dad told me,
my whole world collapsed. -
2:50 - 2:53Nobody could really understand me,
I was half the world away, -
2:53 - 2:59I was by myself. I had friends there but they didn't really understand me because nobody knew truly who I am.
-
2:59 - 3:05So I got really depressed.
I was down, emotionally completely broken. -
3:06 - 3:13I lost faith in life, which I had so much before
because I thought nothing could happen to me. -
3:14 - 3:20That's when it started. I got really depressed,
I flunked out of college one semester, took a break. -
3:20 - 3:23Playing tennis kept me going.
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3:23 - 3:28Through these couple of months I realized
that this [person] wasn't Ana. -
3:28 - 3:31I couldn't always be like that,
this isn't what I am supposed to be. -
3:31 - 3:38So I somehow stood up, finished college
with very good grades. I came back to Slovenia. -
3:39 - 3:43I still wasn't being myself,
I was still trying to find my way. -
3:43 - 3:48I came here and did my Master's [degree]
in a year and a half, realy easily. -
3:48 - 3:54Every time I put something in my head, I know that it's
only a matter of matter of operative work [to do it]. -
3:54 - 4:00So I finished my Master's with a ten.
Good job, Ana! Not so proud of that today. -
4:00 - 4:04I'm much more proud of what I feel
and what I do currently. -
4:04 - 4:09I got a job which was very good, for two years,
in a huge pharmaceutical company. -
4:09 - 4:15Very good experience, but after two years
I realized this is not making me happy. -
4:16 - 4:21I was put in a little box, I couldn't think
with my own thoughts and my ideas. -
4:21 - 4:25So I quit. Everybody asked me
if I had a back-up plan. -
4:25 - 4:27"No, I don't know what I'm going to do."
-
4:27 - 4:33I did a few things in between, and then I met
some people from Switzerland and Lichtenstein -
4:33 - 4:40and saw a huge opportunity in solar energy
that was evolving fast in Slovenia in 2009. -
4:42 - 4:46I agreed with them to open
a daughter company in Slovenia, -
4:46 - 4:48develop a huge business development project
-
4:48 - 4:53which would have been the biggest in solar energy
in Europe if it had succeeded. -
4:53 - 5:00I devoted my entire one year in this project,
involving a lot of companies from here, -
5:00 - 5:06Unicredit Bank, lawyers, Ernst&Young,
quality control management team from California, -
5:06 - 5:09from Germany -- it was really huge.
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5:09 - 5:16And after twelve months, the investor, my mother company told me they don't have any money to invest.
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5:16 - 5:19The entire project flopped.
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5:20 - 5:25All the costs that occurred were left on me,
so I paid for everything. -
5:25 - 5:31So because of this project, today I have a loan.
I was really disappointed. -
5:31 - 5:38This was another huge disappointment in my life
because I devoted so much of me, -
5:38 - 5:42and failing one more time left me without words.
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5:42 - 5:45I mean, what else can happen to me?
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5:45 - 5:51When I was going through all of that,
I realized there must be something good about that. -
5:51 - 5:56There must be a way for me to find.
So I stood up again, and again something hit me. -
5:56 - 6:02A couple of months later,
something bad affected our family. -
6:05 - 6:11My mom, 67 at that time, was diagnosed
with a very rare dementia disease. -
6:11 - 6:16It's not Alzheimer's, it's frontotemporal dementia,
and there is no cure for it. -
6:16 - 6:20For the last 3 years, my mom
doesn't really remember who I am. -
6:20 - 6:25Maybe 20 per cent of time she knows
who my father, my sister and I are. -
6:25 - 6:29We've been trying to be very strong
and supportive about that. -
6:29 - 6:34So, many things happened to us.
And all of that evolved and awakened me -
6:39 - 6:46to become who I really am today.
I realized that you have to live a raw life, -
6:46 - 6:53you need to go through a raw life, experience bad things,
and embrace them with open arms -
6:53 - 6:59to fully understand who you are and to really find
your inner morals, value, truth, and honesty. -
7:00 - 7:07What kept me going for the last 10 years,
was a strong feeling I couldn't describe years ago. -
7:07 - 7:12But I could finally put it into words
a year and a half ago. -
7:12 - 7:15I was running and I said,
"This is it. This is who I am." -
7:16 - 7:21It's called TRUHOMA. This is my engine,
my soul, how I survived until today, -
7:21 - 7:23this is what kept me going.
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7:25 - 7:35It's the belief in me, in totally honestly saying to all of you
"This is what you get." -
7:35 - 7:39No hidden motives,
just truly and honestly me. -
7:39 - 7:44I will tell you what TRUHOMA means.
It's a very strong word and statement. -
7:44 - 7:48It's applied to three basic things in life
-- true and honest marketing. -
7:48 - 7:52Today I have two companies,
I'm not dependent on anybody. -
7:52 - 7:57We're very innovative and we've just been starting
for the last three years. -
7:57 - 8:00It's really hard but I'm aiming for the longterm.
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8:00 - 8:05I believe if we are true and honest at what we do,
we will be the winners in the end. -
8:05 - 8:09This is what I apply in my work,
through true and honest marketing. -
8:09 - 8:15Further, true and honest management
is the second important thing in companies. -
8:15 - 8:21You have to have true and honest people,
and everybody that relates and coexists in the company -
8:21 - 8:25and creates a successful business story.
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8:25 - 8:31But the bottom line of everything I believe we all are,
is true and honest mankind -
8:31 - 8:39which means that we are truly and honestly in sync
with ourselves, and what we do and believe. -
8:39 - 8:45This is what kept me going for the last 10 years
and keeps me going now. -
8:45 - 8:47I will show you a perfect example
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8:53 - 8:57that totally describes true and honest mankind
and the TRUHOMA movement. -
8:57 - 9:01This is my charity that I do,
only in my spare time. -
9:01 - 9:07It's called Anina zvezdica (Anna's little star).
It's whole concept is basically -
9:07 - 9:13to collect unperishable food for people
that are socially disadvantaged. -
9:13 - 9:21First af all, through Anina zvezdica, I and my team
want to prove that you don't need any money -- -
9:24 - 9:26in my example, I am not in the green,
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9:26 - 9:31I have a loan because of my business fiasco
from 2 years ago. -
9:31 - 9:37So you need no money, you need time and devotion,
and it has to be 100 per cent. -
9:37 - 9:40So that's what we are proving
with Anina zvezdica. -
9:40 - 9:46The second very importiant thing
and motive is to help people in need. -
9:49 - 9:54The third and most important motive
is to bring all the people together and show -
9:57 - 10:02if we all have true and honest mind, we can do
something seriously miraculous here on Earth -
10:02 - 10:07and I think this is what has been missing
in the last years. -
10:07 - 10:11Especially since the materialistic phenomena
has been here. -
10:13 - 10:20On the one hand, I'm grateful that we are in crisis now
because it is finally awakening us -
10:20 - 10:23and showing what is truly important in life.
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10:23 - 10:28I think that Anina zvezdica has been proving this
for the last three years. -
10:29 - 10:34It was funny the way it started.
All my life I knew I wanted to help, -
10:34 - 10:36it was just a matter of time when to start
-
10:36 - 10:41because I trust everything has to happen
with a reason and spontaneously. -
10:42 - 10:45In January it will be 3 years
since my first action. -
10:47 - 10:53For my birthday I didn't want presents,
I just wanted my friends to come -
10:53 - 10:55and bring some food.
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10:55 - 10:59I wrote them an invitation saying,
"Come, bring some food from your closets, -
10:59 - 11:05you don't need to buy anything.
We can hang out, chat and see what we can do." -
11:05 - 11:12Everybody loved my idea so much that in the end,
we made 37 happy families. -
11:12 - 11:13It was a great feeling.
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11:13 - 11:17The problem was
I didn't know any of these families. -
11:17 - 11:25So I connected with a social organization in Šiška,
Ljubljana, that helped me find these families. -
11:25 - 11:29I told them I really wanted them to have kids,
and they said no problem. -
11:29 - 11:33Every time I bring food,
I meet them and talk to them. -
11:33 - 11:35It's not like I give them the box
and say bye. -
11:35 - 11:37Why do I want to talk to them?
-
11:37 - 11:41Because the fourth motive od Anina zvezdica
is maybe to change their lives. -
11:41 - 11:45I ask them, "What is your problem,
why are you in this situation? -
11:45 - 11:48What is the solution?
What are you going to do?" -
11:48 - 11:54The most rewarding thing for me is an example
from last year when a family came to get food -
11:55 - 11:59but this year they came and they brought food.
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11:59 - 12:01They changed their life story.
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12:01 - 12:05I want to inspire them and motivate them
to change something for themselves as well. -
12:07 - 12:11The second charity action
took place in April 2011. -
12:16 - 12:21I made a website and told my friends
to please invite their friends. -
12:21 - 12:25We expanded a little and in the end,
we made 105 happy families. -
12:25 - 12:29The feeling was great because at that time
I realized this was a good idea -
12:29 - 12:33because people started to believe
in my organization -
12:33 - 12:35because there was no Euros
transfered to the account. -
12:35 - 12:37Everything was just seen in food.
-
12:37 - 12:43And for the third charity action, a lot of companies
said they want to be part of it, too. -
12:45 - 12:50There were two channels
of co-operation with companies. -
12:50 - 12:53One was that companies,
which produce food, donated it. -
12:53 - 12:59The other one was to involve employees
who started gathering food in their company -
13:02 - 13:04and then they brought it to me.
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13:06 - 13:12Furthermore, kindergartens, elementary schools,
highschools, faculties joined me. -
13:12 - 13:15When I see little kids aware of what is going
on in their lives -- -
13:17 - 13:22that there is poverty and hungry kids around them,
it's like education for them. -
13:23 - 13:26It's very important that they know what's happening,
at their young age. -
13:27 - 13:33Last year we made 523 happy families.
It was just great. -
13:33 - 13:37Many people say I have such great PR,
but I don't have any. -
13:38 - 13:41All the media are contacting me by themselves.
-
13:41 - 13:45Why do they do that? Because they believe
in the story as well, they want to be a part. -
13:46 - 13:49Media are tired of only talking about bad things.
-
13:49 - 13:54They want to share the good things, finally.
So it's awakening for them as well. -
13:54 - 13:59This year in April, we made another progress.
We made 700 happy families. -
13:59 - 14:04This was an even bigger logistic
and organizational project. -
14:06 - 14:11More volunteers, my little stars,
joined my project and we are all fully devoted. -
14:13 - 14:16Now, my fifth action is just finishing.
-
14:17 - 14:20Not yet, I still have a lot of work.
-
14:20 - 14:25In two months, today is my first day off.
Before, I was working all the time. -
14:25 - 14:28I have my job in the morning
-- I'm also a speaker -- -
14:28 - 14:32and in my free time, which is totally devoted
to Anina zvezdica, -
14:32 - 14:35this is what I do,
because this is what I love. -
14:35 - 14:38And along with my little stars,
this is what we achieved. -
14:38 - 14:41We have more than a hundred people
involved that helped. -
14:41 - 14:45We have more than 50
educational institutions that took part, -
14:45 - 14:49we have more than 90
Slovenian companies that took part, -
14:49 - 14:53and most of all -
I don't even know if this figure is all right - -
14:53 - 14:58because I think
it's more than 40 tonnes [of food]. -
14:58 - 15:02We will make more than 2500 happy families
before New Year. -
15:02 - 15:07My goal is to share the food with them
by December 28th, and I hope to do that. -
15:10 - 15:13(Applause)
Thank you. -
15:23 - 15:26Many people ask me why I do so many things.
-
15:29 - 15:32They just end up in such a beautiful mosaic,
-
15:32 - 15:35all of them together, and I learn from myself.
-
15:36 - 15:40It's something so beautiful
and I want to share it with everybody. -
15:40 - 15:44Today I know why I am here --
I want to inspire everybody to change the world, -
15:44 - 15:48to make it better, and most of all,
I want to connect people. -
15:48 - 15:54I think with Anina zvezdica I've proven this.
I want to share it on other fields as well. -
15:54 - 15:59Why do I want to do this?
Because I strongly and unconditionally believe -
15:59 - 16:05that everybody in this world
is true and honest mankind. -
16:05 - 16:07We're all TRUHOMA.
-
16:07 - 16:09Thank you.
(Applause)
- Title:
- We are all TRUHOMA - Ana Lukner at TEDxLjubljana
- Description:
-
Ana Lukner is the founder of Anina zvezdica (Anna's little star), a charity which collects unperishable food and gives it to people in need. She explains her experience and the principle her life and work are based on - TRUHOMA, true and honest marketing.
- Video Language:
- English
- Team:
- closed TED
- Project:
- TEDxTalks
- Duration:
- 16:12
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