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(Bulgarian) Hello.

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I'm here today

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to start a revolution.

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Now before you get up in arms,

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or you break into song,

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or you pick a favorite color,

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I want to define
what I mean by revolution.

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By revolution,

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I mean a drastic and far-reaching change

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in the way we think and behave -

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the way we think and the way we behave.

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Now why, Steve,
why do we need a revolution?

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We need a revolution

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because things aren't working;
they're just not working.

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And that makes me really sad

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because I'm sick and tired
of things not working.

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You know, I'm sick and tired of us
not living up to our potential.

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I'm sick and tired of us being last.

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And we are last place in so many things -

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for example, social factors.

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We're last place in Europe in innovation.

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There we are right at the end,
right at the bottom,

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last place as a culture
that doesn't value innovation.

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We're last place in health care,

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and that's important
for a sense of well-being.

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And there we are,
not just last in the E.U.,

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we're last in Europe, at the very bottom.

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And worst of all,

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it just came out three weeks ago,
many of you have seen it, The Economist.

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We're the saddest place on Earth,

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relative to GDP per capita -

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the saddest place on Earth.

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That's social. Let's look at education.

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Where do we rank three weeks ago

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in another report by the OECD?

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Last in reading, math and science. Last.

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Business:

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The lowest perception in the E.U.

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that entrepreneurs provide
benefits to society.

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Why as a result, what happens?

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The lowest percentage
of entrepreneurs starting businesses.

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And this is despite the fact

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that everybody knows that small business

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is the engine of economies.

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We hire the most people;
we create the most taxes.

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So if our engine's broken, guess what?

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Last in Europe GDP per capita.

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Last.

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So it's no surprise, guys,
that 62 percent of Bulgarians

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are not optimistic about the future.

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We're unhappy, we have bad education,

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and we have the worst businesses.

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And these are facts, guys.

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This isn't story tale;
it's not make-believe.

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It's not.

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It's not a conspiracy I have got
against Bulgaria. These are facts.

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So I think it should be
really, really clear

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that our system is broken.

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The way we think, the way we behave,

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our operating system
of behaving is broken.

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We need a drastic change
in the way we think and behave

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to transform Bulgaria for the better,

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for ourselves, for our friends,

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for our family and for our future.

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Thank you.

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How did this happen?

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Let's be positive now. We're going
to get positive. How did this happen?

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I think we're last because -

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and this is going to be
drastic to some of you -

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because we are handicapping ourselves.

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We're holding ourselves back

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because we don't value play.

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I said "play," all right.

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In case some of you forgot what play is,
this is what play looks like.

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Babies play, kids play,

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adults play.

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We don't value play.

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In fact, we devalue play.

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We're handicapping ourselves.

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And we devalue it in three areas.

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Let's go back to the same three areas.

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Social: 45 years of what?

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Of communism -

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of valuing the society
and the state over the individual

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and squashing, inadvertently,

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creativity, individual
self-expression and innovation.

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And instead, what do we value?

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Because it's shown

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the way we apply, generate
and use knowledge

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is affected by our social
and institutional context,

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which told us what in communism?

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To be serious.

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To be really, really serious.

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It did.

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(Applause)

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Be serious.

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I can't tell you how many times
I've been scolded in the park

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for letting my kids play on the ground.

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Heaven forbid they play
in the dirt, the kal,

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or even worse, lokvi, water
- that will kill them.

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I have been told by babas and dyados

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that we shouldn't let
our kids play so much

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because life is serious

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and we need to train them
for the seriousness of life.

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We have a serious meme running through.

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It's a social gene running through us.

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It's a serious gene.

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It's 45 years of it

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that's created what I call
the "baba factor."

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(Laughter)

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(Applause)

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And here's how it works.

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Step one: woman says, "I want
to have a baby. Iskam baby."

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Step two: we get the baby. Woohoo!

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But then what happens in step three?

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I want to go back to work

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because I need to further my career
or I just want to go have coffees.

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I'm going to give bebko to baba.

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But we need to remember

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that baba's been infected
by the serious meme for 45 years.

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So what happens?

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She passes that virus on to baby,

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and it takes a really, really, really
long time - as the redwood trees -

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for that serious meme

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to get out of our operating system.

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What happens then?

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It goes into education where we have
an antiquated education system

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that has little changed for 100 years,

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that values rote learning,

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memorization and standardization,

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and devalues self-expression,
self-exploration,

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questioning, creativity and play.

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It's a crap system.

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True story: I went looking
for a school for my kid.

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We went to this prestigious little school

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and they say they're going
to study math 10 times a week

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and science eight times a week

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and reading five times
a day and all this stuff.

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And we said, "Well
what about play and recess?"

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And they said, "Ha. There won't be
a single moment in the schedule."

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(Laughter)

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And we said, "He's five."

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What a crime. What a crime.

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And it's a crime

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that our education system is so serious
because education is serious

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that we're creating
mindless, robotic workers

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to put bolts in pre-drilled holes.

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But I'm sorry, the problems of today

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are not the problems
of the Industrial Revolution.

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We need adaptability,

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the ability to learn how to be
creative and innovative.

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We don't need mechanized workers.

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But no, now our meme goes into work
where we don't value play.

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We create robotic workers
that we treat like assets,

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to lever and just throw away.

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What are qualities of a Bulgarian work?

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Autocratic -

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do what I say because I'm the chef.

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I'm the boss and I know better than you.

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Untrusting - you're obviously a criminal,
so I'm going to install cameras.

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(Laughter)

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Controlling -

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you're obviously an idiot,
so I'm going to make

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a zillion little processes
for you to follow

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so you don't step out of the box.

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So they're restrictive -
don't use your mobile phone,

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don't use your laptop,
don't search the Internet,

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don't be on I.M.

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That's somehow unprofessional and bad.

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And at the end of the day,
it's unfulfilling

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because you're controlled,
you're restricted, you're not valued

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and you're not having any fun.

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We, in social, in education
and in our business,

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don't value play.

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And that's why we're last,

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because we don't value play.

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And you can say, "That's ridiculous,
Steve. What a dumb idea.

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It can't be because of play.

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Just play, that's a stupid thing."

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We have the serious meme in us.

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Well I'm going to say no.

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And I will prove it to you
in the next part of the speech -

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that play is the catalyst,
it is the revolution,

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that we can use to transform
Bulgaria for the better.

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Play:

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our brains

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are hardwired for play.

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Evolution has selected,

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over millions and billions of years,

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for play in animals and in humans.

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And you know what?

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Evolution does a really, really good job

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of deselecting traits
that aren't advantageous to us

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and selecting traits
for competitive advantage.

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Nature isn't stupid,
and it selected for play.

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Throughout the animal
kingdom, for example: ants.

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Ants play.

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Maybe you didn't know that.

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But when they're playing,

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they're learning the social
order and dynamics of things.

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Rats play, but what you
might not have known

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is that rats that play more

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have bigger brains

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and they learn tasks better,

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skills.

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Kittens play. We all know kittens play.

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But what you may not know

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is that kittens deprived of play

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are unable to interact socially.

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They can still hunt,
but they can't be social.

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Bears play.

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But what you may not know

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is that bears that play
more survive longer.

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It's not the bears that learn
how to fish better.

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It's the ones that play more.

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And a final really interesting study -

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it's been shown, a correlation

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between play and brain size.

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The more you play, the bigger
the brains there are.

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Dolphins, pretty big brains, play a lot.

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But who do you think

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with the biggest brains
are the biggest players?

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Yours truly: humans.

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Kids play, we play -

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of every nationality, of every race,

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of every color, of every religion.

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It's a universal thing - we play.

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And it's not just kids, it's adults too.

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Really cool term: neoteny -

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the retention of play
and juvenile traits in adults.

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And who are the biggest neotenists?

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Humans. We play sports.

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We do it for fun, or as Olympians,
or as professionals.

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We play musical instruments.

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We dance, we kiss, we sing,

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we just goof around.

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We're designed by nature to play

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from birth to old age.

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We're designed to do that continuously -

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to play and play a lot

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and not stop playing.

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It is a huge benefit.

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Just like there's benefits to animals,

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there's benefits to humans.

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For example, it's been shown

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to stimulate neural
growth in the amygdala,

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in the area where it controls emotions.

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It's been shown to promote
pre-frontal cortex development

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where a lot of cognition is happening.

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As a result, what happens?

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We develop more emotional maturity
if we play more.

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We develop better decision-making ability

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if we play more.

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These, guys, are facts.

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It's not fiction, it's not story tales,
it's not make-believe;

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it's cold, hard science.

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These are the benefits to play.

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It is a genetic birthright that we have,

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like walking or speaking or seeing.

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And if we handicap ourselves with play,

261
00:10:30,090 --> 00:10:31,680
we handicap ourselves

262
00:10:31,701 --> 00:10:34,302
as if we would with any other
birthright that we have.

263
00:10:34,302 --> 00:10:36,664
We hold ourselves back.

264
00:10:38,021 --> 00:10:40,020
Little exercise just for a second:

265
00:10:40,041 --> 00:10:41,331
close your eyes

266
00:10:41,352 --> 00:10:43,839
and try to imagine a world without play.

267
00:10:43,980 --> 00:10:47,775
Imagine a world without theater,
without the arts,

268
00:10:47,796 --> 00:10:50,212
without song, without dancing,

269
00:10:50,233 --> 00:10:52,609
without soccer, without football,

270
00:10:52,630 --> 00:10:54,629
without laughter.

271
00:10:54,727 --> 00:10:56,726
What does this world look like?

272
00:10:57,274 --> 00:10:58,902
It's pretty bleak.

273
00:10:58,923 --> 00:11:00,545
It's pretty glum.

274
00:11:00,566 --> 00:11:02,565
Now imagine your workplace.

275
00:11:02,686 --> 00:11:04,685
Is it fun? Is it playful?

276
00:11:04,706 --> 00:11:08,011
Or maybe the workplace of your friends
- here we're forward thinking.

277
00:11:08,011 --> 00:11:09,420
Is it fun? Is it playful?

278
00:11:09,420 --> 00:11:12,160
Or is it crap?
Is it autocratic, controlling,

279
00:11:12,181 --> 00:11:15,402
restrictive and untrusting
and unfulfilling?

280
00:11:17,496 --> 00:11:19,283
We have this concept

281
00:11:19,304 --> 00:11:22,303
that the opposite of play is work.

282
00:11:22,782 --> 00:11:25,781
We even feel guilty if we're seen
playing at work.

283
00:11:25,802 --> 00:11:28,952
"Oh, my colleagues see me laughing.
I must not have enough work,"

284
00:11:28,952 --> 00:11:31,863
or, "Oh, I've got to hide
because my boss might see me.

285
00:11:31,884 --> 00:11:34,132
He's going to think I'm not working hard."

286
00:11:34,352 --> 00:11:36,982
But I have news for you:
our thinking is backwards.

287
00:11:37,003 --> 00:11:39,243
The opposite of play

288
00:11:39,782 --> 00:11:41,148
is not work.

289
00:11:41,169 --> 00:11:44,069
The opposite of play is depression.

290
00:11:45,521 --> 00:11:46,997
It's depression.

291
00:11:47,018 --> 00:11:48,037
In fact,

292
00:11:48,058 --> 00:11:50,251
play improves our work.

293
00:11:50,272 --> 00:11:52,885
Just like there's benefits
for humans and animals,

294
00:11:52,906 --> 00:11:54,905
there's benefits for play at work.

295
00:11:55,141 --> 00:11:58,141
For example, it stimulates creativity.

296
00:11:58,393 --> 00:12:01,392
It increases our openness to change.

297
00:12:01,974 --> 00:12:04,490
It lets us learn better.

298
00:12:04,580 --> 00:12:06,579
It improves our ability to learn.

299
00:12:06,600 --> 00:12:09,299
It provides a sense
of purpose and mastery -

300
00:12:09,343 --> 00:12:11,179
two key motivational things

301
00:12:11,200 --> 00:12:13,199
that increase productivity,

302
00:12:13,200 --> 00:12:14,800
through play.

303
00:12:15,200 --> 00:12:18,199
So before you start thinking
of play as just not serious,

304
00:12:18,200 --> 00:12:20,199
play doesn't mean frivolous.

305
00:12:20,600 --> 00:12:23,124
You know, the professional athlete
that loves skiing,

306
00:12:23,144 --> 00:12:25,599
he's serious about it, but he loves it.

307
00:12:25,600 --> 00:12:28,599
He's having fun, he's in the groove,
he's in the flow.

308
00:12:29,200 --> 00:12:31,199
A doctor might be serious,

309
00:12:31,200 --> 00:12:33,460
but laughter's still a great medicine.

310
00:12:34,438 --> 00:12:36,437
Our thinking is backwards.

311
00:12:36,458 --> 00:12:38,118
We shouldn't be feeling guilty.

312
00:12:38,139 --> 00:12:40,468
We should be celebrating play.

313
00:12:41,065 --> 00:12:42,999
Quick example from the corporate world.

314
00:12:42,999 --> 00:12:45,422
FedEx, easy motto:
people, service, profit.

315
00:12:45,443 --> 00:12:48,811
If you treat your people like people,
if you treat them great,

316
00:12:48,832 --> 00:12:52,521
they're happier, they're fulfilled,
they have a sense of mastery and purpose.

317
00:12:52,521 --> 00:12:54,653
What happens? They give better service -

318
00:12:54,653 --> 00:12:55,870
not worse, but better.

319
00:12:55,891 --> 00:12:57,689
And when customers call for service

320
00:12:57,689 --> 00:13:01,475
and they're dealing with happy people
that can make decisions and are fulfilled,

321
00:13:01,475 --> 00:13:03,598
how do the customers feel?
They feel great.

322
00:13:03,598 --> 00:13:06,313
And what do great customers do,
great-feeling customers?

323
00:13:06,313 --> 00:13:09,419
They buy more of your service
and they tell more of their friends,

324
00:13:09,419 --> 00:13:10,723
which leads to more profit.

325
00:13:10,723 --> 00:13:12,014
People, service, profit.

326
00:13:12,014 --> 00:13:14,544
Play increases productivity,
not decreases.

327
00:13:14,671 --> 00:13:16,321
And you're going to say,

328
00:13:16,342 --> 00:13:19,202
"Gee, that can work for FedEx
out there in the United States,

329
00:13:19,234 --> 00:13:21,233
but it can't work in Bulgaria.

330
00:13:21,254 --> 00:13:23,253
No way. We're different."

331
00:13:23,774 --> 00:13:26,126
It does work in Bulgaria, you guys.
Two reasons.

332
00:13:26,126 --> 00:13:27,383
One, play is universal.

333
00:13:27,404 --> 00:13:30,166
There's nothing weird
about Bulgarians that we can't play,

334
00:13:30,166 --> 00:13:32,558
besides the serious meme
that we have to kick out.

335
00:13:32,558 --> 00:13:35,047
Two, I've tried it. I've tried at Sciant.

336
00:13:35,068 --> 00:13:37,243
When I got there,
we had zero happy customers.

337
00:13:37,243 --> 00:13:39,375
Not one customer would refer us.

338
00:13:39,600 --> 00:13:41,359
I asked them all.

339
00:13:41,380 --> 00:13:43,379
We had marginal profit - I did.

340
00:13:43,600 --> 00:13:45,113
We had marginal profits,

341
00:13:45,134 --> 00:13:47,133
and we had unhappy stakeholders.

342
00:13:47,314 --> 00:13:49,111
Through some basic change,

343
00:13:49,132 --> 00:13:52,131
change like improving transparency,

344
00:13:52,449 --> 00:13:54,559
change like promoting self-direction

345
00:13:54,580 --> 00:13:57,579
and collaboration,
encouraging collaboration,

346
00:13:57,600 --> 00:13:58,990
not autocracy,

347
00:13:59,011 --> 00:14:01,010
the things like having a results-focus.

348
00:14:01,031 --> 00:14:04,148
I don't care when you get in
in the morning, or when you leave.

349
00:14:04,169 --> 00:14:06,783
I care that your customer
and your team is happy

350
00:14:06,804 --> 00:14:08,283
and you're organized with that.

351
00:14:08,304 --> 00:14:10,400
Why do I care if you get in
at nine o'clock?

352
00:14:10,973 --> 00:14:12,599
Basically promoting fun.

353
00:14:12,600 --> 00:14:15,353
Through promoting fun
and a great environment,

354
00:14:15,374 --> 00:14:17,290
we were able to transform Sciant

355
00:14:17,311 --> 00:14:19,004
and, in just three short years -

356
00:14:19,025 --> 00:14:21,216
sounds like a long time,
but change is slow -

357
00:14:21,237 --> 00:14:24,025
every customer,
from zero to every customer referring us,

358
00:14:24,345 --> 00:14:26,566
above average profits for the industry

359
00:14:26,600 --> 00:14:28,320
and happy stakeholders.

360
00:14:28,341 --> 00:14:30,970
And you can say, "Well how do
you know they're happy?"

361
00:14:30,970 --> 00:14:33,097
Well we did win, every year
that we entered,

362
00:14:33,097 --> 00:14:35,824
one of the rankings for best
employer for small business.

363
00:14:35,824 --> 00:14:38,019
Independent analysis
from anonymous employees

364
00:14:38,019 --> 00:14:39,133
on their surveys.

365
00:14:39,133 --> 00:14:41,445
It does, and it can, work in Bulgaria.

366
00:14:41,466 --> 00:14:43,289
There's nothing holding us back,

367
00:14:43,289 --> 00:14:45,989
except our own mentality about play.

368
00:14:47,600 --> 00:14:50,599
So some steps that we can
take - to finish up -

369
00:14:50,600 --> 00:14:52,599
how to make this revolution through play.

370
00:14:52,600 --> 00:14:54,599
First of all, you have to believe me.

371
00:14:54,600 --> 00:14:56,389
If you don't believe me,

372
00:14:56,410 --> 00:14:59,265
well just go home and think about it
some more or something.

373
00:14:59,265 --> 00:15:02,154
Second of all, if you don't have
the feeling of play in you,

374
00:15:02,154 --> 00:15:03,889
you need to rediscover play.

375
00:15:03,910 --> 00:15:06,174
Whatever it was that as a kid
you used to enjoy,

376
00:15:06,200 --> 00:15:08,199
that you enjoyed only six months ago,

377
00:15:08,200 --> 00:15:10,779
but now that you've got
that promotion you can't enjoy,

378
00:15:10,800 --> 00:15:12,998
because you feel like
you have to be serious,

379
00:15:12,998 --> 00:15:14,030
rediscover it.

380
00:15:14,030 --> 00:15:17,488
I don't care if it's mountain biking
or reading a book or playing a game.

381
00:15:17,488 --> 00:15:18,324
Rediscover that

382
00:15:18,324 --> 00:15:19,655
because you're the leaders,

383
00:15:19,655 --> 00:15:21,855
the innovation leaders,
the thought leaders.

384
00:15:21,876 --> 00:15:24,257
You're the ones that have
to go back to the office

385
00:15:24,278 --> 00:15:25,779
or talk to your friends

386
00:15:25,800 --> 00:15:28,799
and ignite the fire of change
in the play revolution.

387
00:15:28,820 --> 00:15:31,179
You guys have to,
and if you're not feeling it,

388
00:15:31,200 --> 00:15:33,940
your colleagues, your employees,
aren't going to feel it.

389
00:15:33,961 --> 00:15:36,933
You've got to go back and say,
"Hey, I'm going to trust you."

390
00:15:36,933 --> 00:15:39,662
Weird concept: I hired you;
I should trust you.

391
00:15:39,683 --> 00:15:42,682
I'm going to let you make decisions.
I'm going to empower you,

392
00:15:42,687 --> 00:15:44,209
Borrowing a page from Demi,

393
00:15:44,209 --> 00:15:47,390
and I'm going to delegate
to the lowest level, rather than the top.

394
00:15:47,390 --> 00:15:50,188
I'm going to encourage
constructive criticism.

395
00:15:50,300 --> 00:15:52,299
I'm going to let you challenge authority.

396
00:15:52,300 --> 00:15:55,110
Because it's by challenging
the way things are always done

397
00:15:55,110 --> 00:15:58,369
is that we are able to break out
of the rut that we're in

398
00:15:58,400 --> 00:15:59,877
and create innovative solutions

399
00:15:59,898 --> 00:16:01,897
to problems of today.

400
00:16:01,918 --> 00:16:03,917
We're not always right as leaders.

401
00:16:04,800 --> 00:16:06,624
We're going to eradicate fear.

402
00:16:06,645 --> 00:16:09,458
Fear is the enemy of play.

403
00:16:09,479 --> 00:16:11,061
And we're going to do things

404
00:16:11,082 --> 00:16:14,093
like eliminate restrictions.

405
00:16:15,000 --> 00:16:17,191
You know what, let them use
their mobile phone

406
00:16:17,211 --> 00:16:19,775
for personal calls - heaven forbid.

407
00:16:19,796 --> 00:16:21,795
Let them be on the Internet.

408
00:16:22,000 --> 00:16:24,999
Let them be on instant messengers.

409
00:16:25,000 --> 00:16:28,000
Let them take long lunches.

410
00:16:28,809 --> 00:16:30,969
Lunch is like the recess for work.

411
00:16:31,000 --> 00:16:32,831
It's when you go out in the world

412
00:16:32,852 --> 00:16:35,428
and you recharge your brain,
you meet your friends,

413
00:16:35,449 --> 00:16:37,999
you have a beer,
you have some food, you talk,

414
00:16:38,000 --> 00:16:39,999
you get some synergy of ideas

415
00:16:40,000 --> 00:16:41,999
that maybe you wouldn't have had before.

416
00:16:42,000 --> 00:16:43,800
Let them do it.

417
00:16:43,800 --> 00:16:46,520
Give them some freedom,
and in general, let them play.

418
00:16:46,520 --> 00:16:48,381
Let them have fun at the workplace.

419
00:16:48,402 --> 00:16:50,999
We spend so much of our lives
at the workplace,

420
00:16:51,000 --> 00:16:53,334
and it's supposed to be,
what, a miserable grind,

421
00:16:53,335 --> 00:16:56,334
so that 20 years from now,
we wake up and say, "Was this it?

422
00:16:56,835 --> 00:16:58,499
Is that all there was?"

423
00:16:58,500 --> 00:17:00,499
Unacceptable. Nepriemlivo.

424
00:17:00,500 --> 00:17:02,500
(Laughter)

425
00:17:02,920 --> 00:17:04,919
So in summary,

426
00:17:04,940 --> 00:17:06,806
we need a drastic change

427
00:17:06,827 --> 00:17:08,826
in the way we think and behave,

428
00:17:09,500 --> 00:17:11,499
but we don't need

429
00:17:11,500 --> 00:17:13,758
a workers' revolution.

430
00:17:13,779 --> 00:17:15,778
We don't need a workers' revolution.

431
00:17:16,500 --> 00:17:17,813
What we need

432
00:17:17,834 --> 00:17:20,020
is a players' uprising.

433
00:17:20,040 --> 00:17:23,479
What we need is a players' uprising.

434
00:17:23,500 --> 00:17:25,499
What we need is a players' uprising.

435
00:17:25,500 --> 00:17:27,242
Seriously, we need to band together.

436
00:17:27,263 --> 00:17:28,990
Today is the start of the uprising.

437
00:17:29,011 --> 00:17:30,616
But what you need to do

438
00:17:30,637 --> 00:17:32,926
is fan the flames of the revolution.

439
00:17:32,947 --> 00:17:36,239
You need to go and share your ideas
and your success stories

440
00:17:36,260 --> 00:17:37,699
of what worked

441
00:17:37,720 --> 00:17:41,271
about reinvigorating
our lives, our schools,

442
00:17:41,292 --> 00:17:43,291
and our work with play;

443
00:17:43,755 --> 00:17:45,499
about how play promotes

444
00:17:45,500 --> 00:17:48,499
a sense of promise and self-fulfillment;

445
00:17:49,479 --> 00:17:53,274
of how play promotes
innovation and productivity,

446
00:17:53,479 --> 00:17:56,615
and, ultimately, how play creates meaning.

447
00:17:57,400 --> 00:18:00,241
Because we can't do it alone.
We have to do it together,

448
00:18:00,262 --> 00:18:03,261
and together, if we do this
and share these ideas on play,

449
00:18:03,282 --> 00:18:06,797
we can transform Bulgaria for the better.

450
00:18:07,765 --> 00:18:09,399
Thank you.

451
00:18:09,400 --> 00:18:10,541
(Applause)