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mejorar este planeta y dejar tu huella en la memoria de los demás

English translation: improving this planet and leaving your mark

GLOSSARY ENTRY (DERIVED FROM QUESTION BELOW)
Spanish term or phrase:mejorar este planeta y dejar tu huella en la memoria de los demás
English translation:improving this planet and leaving your mark
Entered by: James A. Walsh

09:48 May 10, 2009
Spanish to English translations [PRO]
Social Sciences - Environment & Ecology / Magazine Interview
Spanish term or phrase: mejorar este planeta y dejar tu huella en la memoria de los demás
This is the transcript of an interview with a former high-flying business executive turned environmental-activist/academic. It is to be published in a glossy magazine. They are discussing the reasons she left the business world to pursue the environmental/academic path. Here's some context:
...
[INTERVIEWEE] Me fui porque no quería malgastar mi vida acumulando méritos de funcionaria.
[INTERVIEWER] Tenía usted prisa.
[INTERVIEWEE] Quería notar que servía. Es sentido común.
[INTERVIEWER] Tal vez tenga sentido, pero no común.
[INTERVIEWEE] Más de lo que cree. Mis mejores alumnos de la XXXX Business School y la universidad de XXXXX lo tienen: no quieren malgastar sus vidas intentado acumular bonus en una consultoría o en cualquier banco de inversión...
[INTERVIEWER] Si es que queda alguno.
[INTERVIEWEE] ... haciendo un trabajo absurdo. Y yo a esos alumnos, los mejores, les digo la verdad: “Chicos, tenéis que ser egoístas como fui yo”.
[INTERVIEWER] ¿...?
[INTERVIEWEE] Sí, egoístas, porque la mayor forma de egoísmo es **mejorar este planeta y dejar tu huella en la memoria de los demás**; al hacerlo, notarás que tu vida tiene sentido.

I'm having problems with the flow of this sentence based on this section of it. Any suggestions appreciated.

Many thanks in advance.
James A. Walsh
Spain
Local time: 10:44
improving this planet and leaving your mark
Explanation:
I think "leaving your mark" is clear enough - translating the rest would be guilding the lily.

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Note added at 10 mins (2009-05-10 09:59:15 GMT)
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34,000 references for "leaving your mark" - and they don't appear to be further qualified. It's clear by itself. Examples:

Leaving Your Mark. By Becky Kavanagh. The Chinese have a saying, “Every child is a piece of paper and every person leaves a mark.” What kind of ...
www.tcpnannies.org/docs/Leaving_Your_Mark.pdf

Apr 21, 2009 ... Leaving your mark. How deep is your faith? Take a look at these remarkable pictures of the impact that a Buddhist monk has had on his small ...
deacbench.blogspot.com/2009/04/leaving-your-mark.html

Leaving Your Mark, Inspirational Words of Wisdom
A Positive Thought For The Day by Steve Goodier Did you know... That Joan of Arc was only seventeen when she was riding at the head of the army that ...
www.wow4u.com/mark/index.html


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Note added at 1 hr (2009-05-10 11:07:45 GMT)
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Guys - I do know better. It was just a silly lapse.
Selected response from:

Muriel Vasconcellos
United States
Local time: 01:44
Grading comment
Thanks Muriel, your answer seemed most fitting in the end, based on the way I worded the sentence. I didn't want to "gild the lily" too much ;)

Thanks everyone else too! :)
4 KudoZ points were awarded for this answer



Summary of answers provided
5Improving the planet and making your mark for future generations
Christopher Fitzsimons
4improving this planet and leaving your mark
Muriel Vasconcellos
4making this planet a better place and thus leaving your mark for posterity
Lydia De Jorge
3to be remembered ... for having improved this/our planet
polyglot45
3to make this planet a better place to live, and leave others something to remember you by
Bubo Coroman (X)


  

Answers


29 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 3/5Answerer confidence 3/5
to be remembered ... for having improved this/our planet


Explanation:
another take

polyglot45
Meets criteria
Native speaker of: Native in EnglishEnglish, Native in FrenchFrench
Login to enter a peer comment (or grade)

7 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5
improving this planet and leaving your mark


Explanation:
I think "leaving your mark" is clear enough - translating the rest would be guilding the lily.

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 10 mins (2009-05-10 09:59:15 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

34,000 references for "leaving your mark" - and they don't appear to be further qualified. It's clear by itself. Examples:

Leaving Your Mark. By Becky Kavanagh. The Chinese have a saying, “Every child is a piece of paper and every person leaves a mark.” What kind of ...
www.tcpnannies.org/docs/Leaving_Your_Mark.pdf

Apr 21, 2009 ... Leaving your mark. How deep is your faith? Take a look at these remarkable pictures of the impact that a Buddhist monk has had on his small ...
deacbench.blogspot.com/2009/04/leaving-your-mark.html

Leaving Your Mark, Inspirational Words of Wisdom
A Positive Thought For The Day by Steve Goodier Did you know... That Joan of Arc was only seventeen when she was riding at the head of the army that ...
www.wow4u.com/mark/index.html


--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 1 hr (2009-05-10 11:07:45 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

Guys - I do know better. It was just a silly lapse.

Muriel Vasconcellos
United States
Local time: 01:44
Meets criteria
Specializes in field
Native speaker of: Native in EnglishEnglish
PRO pts in category: 182
Grading comment
Thanks Muriel, your answer seemed most fitting in the end, based on the way I worded the sentence. I didn't want to "gild the lily" too much ;)

Thanks everyone else too! :)
Notes to answerer
Asker: Thanks Muriel - "guilding the lily", what a great expression! Just made me laugh out loud! :)


Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
neutral  polyglot45: it is actually GILDING the lily - gold plating it - or overegging the cake// happens to all of us but I couldn't let it slip through for fear of further confusing the already (permanently) confused
19 mins
  -> You're so right about gilding - in fact, I wrote it correctly a few hours earlier.
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3 hrs   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5
making this planet a better place and thus leaving your mark for posterity


Explanation:
.

Lydia De Jorge
United States
Local time: 03:44
Meets criteria
Works in field
Native speaker of: Native in SpanishSpanish, Native in EnglishEnglish
PRO pts in category: 4
Login to enter a peer comment (or grade)

5 hrs   confidence: Answerer confidence 5/5
Improving the planet and making your mark for future generations


Explanation:
una sugerencia. espero que te sirva para algo. suerte.

Christopher Fitzsimons
Switzerland
Local time: 10:44
Meets criteria
Works in field
Native speaker of: Native in EnglishEnglish
Login to enter a peer comment (or grade)

5 hrs   confidence: Answerer confidence 3/5Answerer confidence 3/5
to make this planet a better place to live, and leave others something to remember you by


Explanation:


Bubo Coroman (X)
Meets criteria
Specializes in field
Native speaker of: Native in EnglishEnglish
PRO pts in category: 145
Login to enter a peer comment (or grade)



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