Truth and dare – the organizers of TEDx Udvarhely (Odorheiu Secuiesc) chose a strong motto for the third edition of the event, in 2023. The event, in which Codespring|Softech contributed as a main sponsor, welcomed speakers such as TV presenter Gábor Gundel-Takács, astronaut Dumitru Prunariu, Olympian Anikó Góg, mountaineer Csaba Varga, journalist Lucian Mîndruță and Buddhist monk Ágnes Bara. This year’s 15 speeches drawed different life paths, but the message rang out in unison: let’s not get in our own way when it comes to our own “Everest”.

Codespring|Softech, one of Transylvania’s best-known private software development companies of Hungarian ethnicity, has offices in Cluj-Napoca, Târgu-Mureș and Odorheiu Secuiesc. For our team it’s a priority to contribute to the building and development of the Transylvanian community, so we often embrace initiatives which we can relate to. At this year’s edition of TEDx Udvarhely, we also set up a Codespring stand with fun surprises to be offered to the audience. By supporting the event, we also felt gifted since our team embraced many inspiring ideas and motivating stories.

Codespring Team, Inspired by Amazing Stories

The former black sheep of the class spoke out for students’ rights during the communist era, and decades later he became a decisive player in a minority rights lawsuit. The fragile Szekler girl literally lived in a rickshaw base in London, then founded her own fashion brand. The TV star was demoted and then he made a living out of his own blog. A child wanted to leave the apartment at all costs during the pandemic, and since then, she is still regularly distributing sandwiches to those in need.

“To some extent, everyone likes to perform” – declared TV presenter Gábor Gundel-Takács as a surprising opening statement. In support of his idea, he explained: any occasion we get to express our thoughts or represent ourselves, may be considered “performance”. And since we all want to practice this with the most positive effect in our everyday lives, we should be aware of when we tend to escape from this challenge or to self-deceive, so that we can be mindful and succeed.

The Greatest challenge, The Greatest Resource

The other fourteen speakers of the day, proved this idea to be righteous. Several even admitted that sharing their personal story with a large audience is a greater challenge than the realizations for which they became famous. Each speech showcased the topic of “truth and/or dare” from different points of view, when – as Csaba Varga, high altitude mountaineer pointed it out – someone is about to “conquer his/her own Everest”. By the end of the day, TEDx Udvarhely participants could create their personal “recipe” for it.

We are all familiar with the feeling that we come up with a great idea, then we start talking ourselves out of it, explaining ourselves why it wouldn’t work. Anamaria Hâncu, initiator of the waste collection movement called “Let’s do it, Romania!” mobilizing about 200,000 Romanian volunteers, reflected on this. She shared with the success story of the project imported from Estonia as follows: in order to start, she had to finish her own sabotage (“It can’t be done in Romania anyway”). After that, she found some partners who shared her values, and began to communicate to all doubters: they would regret if they’d miss out on the initiative.

Luck is also an important factor for success. However, it is not purely accidental: it’s the moment when ability meets opportunity, stated fashion designer Jánosi Matilda. Her journey towards fame and success was like a real-life fairy tale. She arrived in London with ten pounds in her pocket, then drove a rickshaw for two years as practically homeless because she didn’t want to give up on her dream. In the end, she made her “luck” in an amazing way: on the verge of exhaustion, a passenger took her to the hospital, and her savior decided to invest in her eco-fashion brand. Today, she manages her own luxury brand and, among others, she had already dressed Elton John on the Savile Row.

Playwright Csaba Székely shed light on how and why we hinder ourselves. According to him, behind the fear of failure lies the fear of getting deprived of love – at least in families where love is considered a reward. But if we accept that we are not perfect and embrace our negative feelings, we can eliminate our self-obstructing mechanism.

This idea was also supported by Bara Ágnes, a Buddhist monk and mental health specialist. The desire to avoid and eliminate pain led her to a monastery in Thailand; then, thanks to many years of hard spiritual work she learned that all of her feelings are meant to be felt. She also became able to embrace her weaknesses and forgive herself.

The state of self-sabotage therefore often takes root in childhood. Olympic Games athlete, Góg Anikó highlighted: we do not begin our journey from the same place, and we possess different abilities and talents. Fortunately, our success is not brought about by our state in the moment of departure, but by our willpower and perseverance. It can help a lot if we override the misbeliefs with which we view ourselves.

For this, we can get help also from outside the family. Teacher Cristina Hadâmbu, the savior of the school of Ditrău (Gyergyóditró0 shared success stories about how the biggest challenge of our lives can become our greatest strength. She, for example, as a half-orphan, gained deeper social sensibility from her loss, and she turned that to the benefit of others, becoming a mentor to the youngsters considered to be underdogs. She is convinced that there is a genius hidden in every child, we just have to pay attention to them and find the best motivation for them.

This is how the story of photojournalist Mugur Vărzariu also turned out well. With his strong sense of justice, he was considered a true black sheep as a student in the communist era. He received his most valuable motivational idea from his father: an educated voice cannot be ignored. Thus, the people around him at first began to respect his knowledge, then they elevated him to the role of a “community advocate”, and he has been playing this role ever since. He used the power of publicity several times in cases where the justice system did not function properly – for example in 2019, when his photo report on the Valea Uzului (Úzvölgy) cemetery contributed to the positive outcome of the trial.

Small Steps towards Great Achievements

The eternal validity of the advice was proven by the fact that a child of a much later age, the 11-year-old Csipán Kristóf Csaba told on the same stage what he had learned about the world, people and himself from the 491 (!) books he had read in the last four years. The journey did start abruptly, as he read the first chapters because of the monetary reward offered by his mother. But soon he realized that he came across much more valuable treasures: new worlds, self-knowledge lessons and imaginary journeys that he would not have taken part in otherwise.

However, you don’t have to a be a mentor to help others; sometimes even the slightest attention or a kind word can be a lifesaver. Keszei Anna Luca, a 12 years old volunteer, who has been preparing and handing out sandwiches to homeless people in Budapest every week since the Coronavirus epidemic, conveyed this.

And sometimes we help the most just by listening attentively – pointed out social worker Tóth Erzsébet. Her passion is to contribute to the integration of women who emigrated to Austria, and she also takes her place in academic circles with her kind smile, in pink dresses, with her curly hair.

Attending each of the 15 speeches was a unique and unrepeatable experience. We learned a lot about the importance of self-awareness, self-acceptance, the importance of mapping our own resources and of recognizing the value of our uniqueness. We have to be brave to confront ourselves and don’t embellish the truth, but to change our self-defeating (mis)beliefs – these were the goodbye thoughts of documentary filmmaker Tudor Giurgiu and Olympic athlete Góg Anikó.

For Codespring|Softech team, the additional programs of the event also held valuable theatrical, musical and gastronomic experiences, as well as memorable conversations. We had the opportunity to meet in person with possible future partners and colleagues.

About Codespring in Brief

Codespring|Softech is one of the leading software development companies in Transylvania. Our highly qualified, constantly expanding team has been working on outsourcing projects since 1998. Our customers are global tech companies and business organizations for which we provide full software development life cycle. A key element of our corporate culture is a healthy work-life balance and kindness in the workplace.

With Codespring|Softech team, you can grow your knowledge, and you will get the opportunity to learn and apply the latest technologies. We welcome young talents, therefore you are invited to join our team as a student in the Codespring Mentoring Programme.

Advantages of the Codespring Mentoring Programme:

• High-level software development skills
• Carefully prepared theses and scientific papers
• Participation in academic student conferences
• Publication of scientific papers in internationally recognized journals
• Job opportunities

If we have made you curious about us, go ahead and check our training offers in Cluj-Napoca or Târgu-Mureș, and contact us today!