Julien Gelas

 French pianist and drama director

Everyone is a little part of a community. This community can be our country or in a more expansive way to think, the entire world. Especially with the advent of the globalization, we are more and more aware of the links and the common essence of humanity. We need to realize ourselves in life, individually, that's the basis, the starting point of another state of mind, which should be more generous, and which can be the desire to be useful, and more than that, the desire to help people in a way that they can pursue happiness and can be what they want to be. We need to focus on one important point: there is not true happiness without altruism, selflessness. But this altruism should not suppress our individuality.

Whatever the country, I say "do politics". It doesn't mean only to encourage people to get the power or to become a politician, it means also to care about the environment, about the society, to think larger, not only about ourselves. So we need to care also about others. We cannot like or love everyone, but sometimes we need to open our eyes, and to find a way to express our love, whatever the means we use for it. But the most important thing to make the society a better place, is to provide a good education.

Is it better to help society in a humble or flamboyant way? First of all, a humble way can be very flamboyant and vice versa. However you express yourself, you can help in different ways. As I said, no matter what the meaning are, the most important thing is to keep your integrity and individuality, and to give to it a good direction. That would be summed up by: "Be yourself, to others".

It's not bad to be rewarded but the honour is not the most important. When I do something I do not focus on the honour or the reward, I try to enjoy the process of the action. The sincerity is not motivated by a reward, it doesn't need the approval of others. I think that a great man or woman acts without thinking of what he can obtain, that he or she likes what he is doing. That's all.