IF by Rudyard Kipling
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Gone are the days when good and great poems were taught and appreciated.
“I think that I shall never see a poem lovely as a tree...” This seems to be the only piece that is familiar to a lot of motorists as they travel through the highways. I used to write poetry. And the day I started my role as news editor for my college paper I stopped doing it. While there seems to be a slight surge in poetry in certain circles how I still hope that more people would take it seriously.
It’s not easy to write poetry and it’s not easy to understand it.
What Is In Your Short List
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I’ve heard people say, “Having too much of anything is not good for you.”
And then some people would say. “Not having enough is bad so you must have a little extra on the side.”
So which one is which? Here is the key.
You can have just about anything you want in life, but one of the most difficult things to achieve is balance.
I see this happening all the time. There are clients who tell me business is good, but they're not taking care of their health. Or, another example--they're making money, but their personal finances are a mess. Or, how about those people with a wonderful home and family, but no time to enjoy them?
Build or Bust Your Career in 2009, Part 2
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Herman Malonzo, his lovely wife Angie and their talented daughter Mariah are good friends of mine. They have a beautiful house and Herman’s got a very stable job. As he took me and my family along the Las Vegas strip during our annual family vacation he shook his head slowly and said, “My friends from the casinos tell me that there have been massive layoffs. And this comes at a time when home mortgages and college loans have to be paid. This will be tragic to many of my Filipino friends who never had a life plan.” Herman’s house is practically paid off, his daughter has straight A’s in school and is working on her musical talent with the Las Vegas Junior Philharmonic Orchestra. Herman looked at me and said, “God has been good to us all these years.”
Today is the continuation of our 2 part material and idea number 6 in our study on building and securing our career is:
6. MAKE SURE YOU HAVE A LIFE PLAN
Every successful person I know has a well-defined life plan. They know what they want and they set all effort to get it. Forget all those empty promises of so-called “motivational speakers,” forget all those stupid mystical books that promises success without having to work for it. At the end of the day, it is the person with a goal who works hard for it who will get ahead of the dreamers who merely dream great dreams without waking up and doing some work. You and I need to have a life plan. Without a plan, we leave our success in the hands of others who may or may not have time to look after other people's successes.
Build or Bust Your Career in 2009, Part 1
1,128 views
What is the more frightful horror movie or story you recall?
The Night of The Living Dead? The Zombies? Frankenstein Meets Godzilla? These stories and movies are nothing compared to the latest horror flick that is sending chills up the spine of corporate characters. And the title is: “You Are Redundant!” A double feature offered is entitled: “You’re Fired!”
The economic crunch is upon us all and if you belong to the blessed ones who still have a job, you might want to take heed of the following ideas that can build and not bust your career.
What a Pleasant Flight
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"There will be a brief stop for re-fueling in Guam and then we will be on our way to Manila." This was the announcement given when my family and I took PR105 from San Francisco to Manila on January 2 in San Francisco. I had the opportunity to meet Sir Norman, the very kindly and friendly manager of Philippine Airlines and we had a brief chat. I wish I could spend more time with him for he is such a pleasant person but we would be boarding in a few minutes. So we shook hands I wished him well and he quickly turned his attention to other passengers in need of his assistance. He is very hands-0n.
We had a pleasant flight. Not because the plane was new, it was functional but I would have liked a total make-over of that craft. We had a pleasant flight not because the line was short, it was quite long actually. Not because the travel time would be short, it was in fact going to be long but we had a pleasant flight because the crew made it pleasant.
Joe Explains what Black Friday Is
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Joe sends his comments about Black Friday and this is a good learning experience for me:
Joe says: "Actually the term "Black Friday" is the start of the gift buying madness here and its not the day after Christmas but the Day after Thanks Giving, And since Thanks Giving is the last Thursday of November and its a 4 day weekend and that's why they called it Black Friday when 75% of the people here got nothing to do but shop, And since Christmas this year is on a Thursday that's why they had "Black Friday II because of the BAD economy retailer need to dispose of their left over merchandises."
Thanks for the information and I stand corrected. The family did our last minute this afternoon and the malls were quite busy though they closed early understandably. Only a few stores featured an additional 30% off on top of already marked down items but this special offer will only cover January 1-4 and that's all there is. With the limited budget and a limited allowance the kids had, (having an Ilocana for a mother at that...) they were not able to buy a lot of stuff. And the big... big bargain event expected on January 1 did not happen... at least not in this part of California. I had a great time. Bought a lot of books, spent hours in the bookstores and can't wait to share the information and the learning to our people back home. Yes... home.
J. H. Payne says: "Be it ever so humble, there's no place like home. " It's a funny feeling after all. Having the family with me here in California, enjoying their company, I would not trade this for anything in the world but somehow until we get home... the lack is still there. George Moore says it correctly: "A man travels the world over in search of what he needs and returns home to find it." And I can't wait to be back home.
Bailout, Credit Crunch and Black Friday?
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There are terms popularized by the economic meltdown happening in America and likewise in many parts of the world. Bailout. Credit Crunch. Meltdown. Inflation-deflation, implosion-explosion, currency devaluation etc. but the word that my children like seems to be Black Friday. These words do not refer to the Friday of Holy Week. But it does refer to retail stores clearing their inventories the day after Christmas and once more today on the first day of the New Year. Our family stayed 3 days in Vegas and they witnessed what a Black Friday was. "Remove another 20% on top of already cleared items..." We had just purchased some items earlier this morning but I found out that right after midnight, discounted items will still be discounted once stores open around 11 in the morning.
What a Year!
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To say that year 2008 has been a good year for me is an understatement. Year 2008 has been a Great Year! Gave more talks, (the most in my life so far) met new friends (all of them nice and exciting), learned new things. And when you have given a total of 376 talks in a year you can’t help but learn from the people you meet. Oh yes God has been gracious.
My son’s career is blooming, my daughter’s business is flourishing and my youngest daughter is entering college. We enjoy each other’s company. The Ilocana continues to support me and our many years of marriage has grown stronger so what else can a man ask for? What a year!
And then there were the challenges.
What Inspires You?
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What magnificent event happened in your life that inspired you to become a better person? I am genuinely interested in knowing you and your story.
Tell me all about it in not more than 500 words. Winning entries will get a book of mine for free. Just make sure your story is authentic, honest and real and I just might publish it in my column of the Philippine Star with your permission of course. Tell me about it so I can use your story to inspire others.
Send your stories to franciskong{at}businessmatters{dot}org with the subject line:
"My Story: Your Name".
The Crunch and the Moral Implications
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From the October 2 issue of Reuters comes this article entitled: “A Moral Reason Behind The Crunch” so I want you to listen to this.
Evangelicals see moral decline in Wall St. woes, says Ed Stoddard.
Conservative U.S. Christians say their culture has gone wrong and has taken the economy and Wall Street down with it. It is a view which outsiders may find puzzling but has wide resonance in the U.S. heartland: the notion that moral decay and a lost sense of responsibility has brought on the worst banking and credit crisis since the Great Depression.