Transcriber: Pratik Bose Reviewer: Tarek Mamdouh
Have you ever been this close to death?
Have you ever taken a risk with your own life?
In the spirit of fun and adventure.
Or maybe you've had a close call with something a bit more mundane,
like riding a bike.
Health and safety. We know it's out there.
But do we always want to think about it?
But hang on. You do want your loved ones to think about it, don’t you?
And I bet deep down you’d be glad to know
that somebody was thinking about it for you.
Travel with me now to Indonesia, August 1992.
Because it’s our first morning in Bukit Luang and
Anna, Becky and I are going river tubing. We’re down at the riverbank.
The water level is high. The current’s fast moving, but...
Oh, no, we are not going back now.
In fact, Anna and I are already strapped to our double tube,
and we launch ourselves down that river with screams of excitement.
As for Becky, she is long gone.
But just five minutes in,
exhilaration turns to desperation as Anna and I
are suddenly dragged under the water by the current, sucked into a cave,
spat back out again, gasping and spluttering, and in a panic.
I reach for a branch and it holds, just long enough for Anna and I
to clamber to safety. Dripping wet, but alive.
And then...the realization dawns.
Where's Becky?
We were just three normal 21 year olds backpacking our way around the world
and living our best lives.
We'd instantly fallen in love with
the jungle village of Bukit Luang in Sumatra.
Endless greenery. Exotic bird song. Cheeky Orangutans.
And of course, the chance to go through the jungle
down the river on rubber tubes.
And I remember the night before it had been raining
so hard we thought our huts were going to collapse. But the next morning...
HOO...!
It was like our brains had been wiped.
We heard the screams first and then we see her. It's Becky.
She flies past us down the river, arms and legs flailing, face set with fear.
And when we look down, we see why. Because our tube is in shreds.
We jump up and we race down the river after her shouting,
“Hold on, Becky. We’ll get you out.”
We’re running and running,
but the water's going too fast and soon we're hyperventilating.
With every second, her screams are getting quieter and quieter
and our legs heavier. And heavier.
“Hold on, Becky. We will get you out.”
And that’s when we realize.
That we are no match
for the force of that river.
But just when we think we’ve lost Becky forever.
A miracle happens.
Downstream, we see a group of Indonesian men wind their way into that river
like a human chain and fish Becky out, unharmed.
Reunited a few minutes later.
You can imagine the tears of joy,
Relief,
And Embarrassment.
I mean, what kind of idiots throw themselves
down an unknown river in an unknown country after
the worst rainfall they have ever seen in their lives?
Yes.
This kind of idiot.
In that jungle village of Bukit Luang, I learnt this lesson.
The only thing standing between us and death...was luck.
And if we take in just two minutes,
two minutes to ask ourselves two important questions,
then we'd have greatly reduced the risk we took that day.
What could go wrong here?
And if it did, what would make it all right?
And if we had,
then maybe we’d have decided to do the cheeky orangutans
on day one and left the river tubing to a day when the river was
a little less fierce.
Two minutes. Two questions.
To save a life,
so that you can live your best life.
Fast forward a decade, and we're in a bar in Caracas.
I've been sent there on business. To Caracas, not the bar.
And I'm sat there with my friends, Danny and Maria.
Drinks in our hands, and we are laughing our heads off over absolutely nothing.
It had been a long week.
And it was only Tuesday.
But at that moment, it was like
time had just stood still.
Until we hear the sound of breaking glass behind us.
My head whips round.
Out of the corner of my eye
I see men flying through the air, tables overturned
and my survival instincts kick in. Fight, Flight, Fight, Flight, Fight. Flight.
Flight. I grabbed Danny and Maria by the hand and pulled them with me
so fast that we are first to the exit,
first to the stairs and first out onto the street
where we collapse
on the pavement, our hearts pounding out of our chests.
And then Maria burst out laughing.
“What’s so funny, Maria? We could have died in there.”
“I’m sorry, Karen. We just realized we didn’t pay the bill.”
And then Danny joins in. “Hang on, Karen.
How did you get us out so quickly?”
“Well, Danny, it’s just this thing I do
whenever I go into any unknown situation.”
I take two minutes to ask myself two powerful questions.
What could go wrong here?
And if it did, what would make it all right?
And that’s why, girls, when you thought I was checking out the men
on the way in. Oh, no. I was actually checking out the exits.
Two minutes. Two questions to save a life.
Because we deserve to live our best lives, don't we?
Life Is full of risk.
And having to think about
health and safety can be a pain.
But the secret is to make it a habit.
If you take two minutes to ask yourself two powerful questions,
whenever you go into any unknown situation,
not only will you take the pain away.
But you'll feel able to go into all kinds of unknown situations with confidence
and all while living your best life.
So, the next time
you go into an unknown situation.
Remember to ask yourself this.
What could go wrong here?
And if it did, what would make it all right?
Keep these two questions to hand always.
Because one day,
they could save your life.
And who knows? Maybe even somebody else’s life.
Thank you!
(applause)