Kamis, 28 April 2011

30's reading #5 (To Get Further)


"You will only be able to take a person as far as you have gone yourself". That's the quote I take from the book by Les Parrot, and John C. Maxwell. It was an advice given from Les' lecture to him. It was stated at the beginning of the book.

The point is, we will never be able win people if we don't possess the personality of a winner either. There's no way we can give something we don't have. I'm not talking about money, or authority. I'm talking about giving the benefit to the people and empowering them to create a better world together, I do believe that's what we all want.

If I'm asked to depict what the personality of winner is, maybe I would answer something like warm, gentle, perseverance, determine, clear focus, stable, fun, humble, passionate. Those things could be in your mind either, but I think there's one thing that clearly cut them all, a knowledge of self. Winners know what they values are, what are their strengths and weaknesses, and make the best out of it.

Know ourselves, and do our best!

Kamis, 21 April 2011

30's reading #5 (The Gold of Doubt)


Well, at first, I didn't really understand either what is the meaning of that phrase. Until some book gave me the examples, it means putting our best possible thinking on something we doubt. Let's say, that I broke into your house one day, and went out without anyone noticed at that time. Then one day you noticed it. To mine the gold of doubt means, to think positively about what actually have I done in your house. I could probably cooked something for you, or preparing your birthday party, even though there are probability that I stole something there.

Why do we have to spend our energy and time to something we're not really sure yet? Isn't that just a waste of time? Yes it will be good to anticipate the bad possibility, but hey, risks is everywhere, and we can choose where to focus our lives. Whether we wanna enjoy and keep dreaming, seize the day, or sit back and mourning about something we don't really know yet and do nothing.

One more thing, there is a possibility for people out there and ourselves to benefit from the gold of doubt. We never know what we can do better until we involved in it and do it by ourselves, and sometimes, the idea comes from other people who believe in us. Have you ever seen yourself doing something you never imagine before, just because someone else who believes in you suggested it?

Seeing is believing, think positively!

Jumat, 15 April 2011

30's reading #4 (Sustainability)




Fourteen letters, not four.

Brandon said that, hhaha, ur my favorite vocalist Sir!

He's a surfer, so he saw it from environmentalist point of view. The things that will effect his game, his wave.

Let's see from the psychological point of view. From the personal development.

Is it sustainable to be mad in a daily base? Is it sustainable to ignore others' feeling? Will it develop ourselves to be jealous, hostile, irritated, frustrated, vulnerable, envious? The short answer is no! Well, we need that feelings in a certain amount, to protect ourselves, and we need to keep it in check in balance.

Balance with good emotion: joy, pride, eager, keen, affectionate, loving, warmth, dynamic, secure, comfortable, happy, contented. I save the contented as the last word, since it's not about worldly-pervert word, if u think it's about spiritual achievement, you got it right. However, remember, spiritual aint religious, it has nothing to do with third party, it's the search of deep satisfaction, the full conscious, the calm inside oneself.

How to get there? I think meditation is one way, another way is to surrender oneself in pray, to admit that there's a bigger power that has His hands in the run of this world. The power beyond our understanding.

It doesn't mean that we have to be easily surrender ourselves, hell no! It means we have to give our best, and let His power took its part to determine the result. Yes, there should be some best shot before the surrender, just admit there are things beyond our control, and pray to be given the wisdom to differentiate between those things.

And be happy! :)

Sabtu, 09 April 2011

30's reading #3 (Grief and Failure)

It's about grief and failure.

Grief defined as a negative emotion arises when we are forced to let go something really close in our life, whether it is someone we really love, business venture, or simply our pet, shortly, something or someone deemed to be important in our life. Yes, it is related to failure, something we lost, it is something we cannot reach at some point in life when at the time we're supposed to be there.

Ever felt one? For sure I have, we're all human anyway. It was hurtful, it put us down, it was blurry and I was losing my direction.

Well, see it this way, Thomas Alpha Ed found those things through hundreds of failure, Abe Lincoln went through dozens of failure before he made himself one of the best president in history, and one more, Alex Fleming found penicillin through failures that dozens people before also had.

Human are made to be resilient, and creative. We're not supposed to stuck in our grievance, just reflect, think creatively, and move on. Easier said than done, I know.

The next question, should we put ourselves in failure's shoe? The answer is no, we should strive for excellence in our things, in our strength, to reach out our mission. The problem is, let me warn you now, failures and grievance are layed ahead. It's always in our way, and don't let ourselves be those stones, we're supposed to be the one who get rid of it and move on! Think creatively to check the sidelines!

Senin, 04 April 2011

30's reading #2

Steve Jobs once said that we can't connect the dots forward, it's backwards.

Steve was connecting the dots of himself that was following his calling to enter calligraphy school, after he left the previous education at Reed University.

What am I going to talk here is, was it a drill? That we just do whatever we're supposed to do? or should we follow the sound of our heart? and go through the way that we look as the easiest, fun, and effortless way to bridge us to our dreams, to be something that we see ourselves in the future?

The answer is, I don't know, I don't know where's the front line between a drill, and a junk in my life. Maybe, we have to follow what our destiny has offered us, to be drowned in what our parents, communities, religion and friends say, since maybe later we can connect the dots. However, maybe we also have to just go with our hand on our heart and says, I'm gonna do what I feel like I'm supposed to do. My take is, both ways, commit yourself into it!

There is no point of being half-hearted. Ever heard the story of a carpenter who thought the he was not meant to be one? Here ..."What house are you building?"

My point is, all of us, have the choice on how we're gonna see our past in the future, by doing something we know we would not regret. The time to build the future is a gift to us, that's why it's called a "present".

Jumat, 01 April 2011

30's reading #1

"when the workmen found it was impossible for me to break loose, they cut all the strings that bound me; whereupon i rose up with as melancholy a disposition as ever I had in my life. But the noise and astonishment of the people, at seeing me rise and walk, are not to be expressed. The chains that held my left leg were about two yards long, and gave me not only the liberty of walking backwards and forwards in semicircle, but, being fixed within four inches of the gate, allowed me to creep in, and lie at my full length in the temple"

Gulliver's Travel, Jonathan Swift


We were all born free, correct. And our freedom is limited by others freedom. Our freedom to singing out loud are limited by the need of our roommate to study for exam. See?

Here's another, it's not just all that. We're all tied up by our education system, by our social believe, by norm, by religion. We are tied up by what people want, what we think God wants, and what we think our mind wants?

Until when? Until we follow what our heart says. Sounds hard, true, but all you have to do is listen to the call, the dharma, the Din, listen to the God in your heart. We need to find our true direction!

Then, the how. We simply need to track back our life, and find something when we feel effortless doing it, when we feel we lost our consciousness in doing it, when we feel we're good and divinely satisfied with the result. we don't need to think why, just listen and enjoy!

We dont wanna be tied up, coz it wont bring us to our excellency!