I Hate My Job
4,665 views
You hate your job. You’re thinking of quitting.
You are not happy and you find that you have to drag yourself out of bed every morning so you can go to work. If this is your situation then today’s message is for you.
Being Debt Free
1,941 views
There is an unpleasant scene happening as the landlord and its artist tenant were fighting over the rent. It is obvious that the artist has been deep in debt and could not pay the rent and so the following conversation ensued:
The penniless artist was cornered by the landlord, who demanded several months’ back rent. “Just think,” the artist pleaded, “someday tourists will be pointing to this building and say, ‘The great abstract painter Antonio Garcia used to live here.’
Is Compassion Important?
2,065 views
Is compassion important? You bet it is. Without compassion, this story may just as well be true:
A man fell into a pit and couldn't get himself out.
A SUBJECTIVE person came along and said: "I FEEL for you, down there."
An OBJECTIVE person came along and said: “It's logical that someone would fall, down there."
A CHRISTIAN SCIENTIST came along: "You only THINK that you are in a pit."
A PHARISEE said: "Only BAD people fall into a pit."
A MATHEMATICIAN calculated HOW he fell into the pit.
Small Moments in Leadership
1,402 views
An unusual tribute was paid to Abraham Lincoln by Carl Sandburg. The poet wrote, "Not often in the story of mankind does a man arrive on earth who is both steel and velvet, who is as hard as rock and soft as drifting fog, who holds in his heart and mind the paradox of terrible storm and peace unspeakable and perfect."
Lincoln demonstrated then and now how a person can possess both a will of iron and a heart of tenderness. Nothing deterred the president during the American Civil War from his "noble" cause, and few persons have ever endured more criticism and detractors than Lincoln. Yet he was no more a man of steel than one of velvet.
When General Robert E. Lee surrendered his army, Lincoln sent an unexpected message to the enemy commander. "Tell your men they may keep their horses; they'll need them for plowing," said the president. Then this: "Tell your men they may keep their rifles; they'll need them for hunting." When Lee read those words he wept.
This is why Lincoln was a statesman. He was not a mere politician.
A Letter From A Young Man
580 views
I want to share with you one of the letters I received that really blesses my heart.
Here it is:
Hi Sir Francis,
Thanks for speaking at UST last month. It was wonderful and, in terms of content and audience feedback, everyone agreed it was the best seminar in the college of architecture. (And to think you're not even an architect and the topic is not even "architectural.")
It was actually I who persuaded the organizers to invite you because personally you have inspired me a lot especially in writing. I was in grade 6 the first time I read your book Three Little Words and I was so inspired by it I even wrote your quotes on our blackboard. My teacher wasn't exactly thrilled but eventually she learned to like the quotes and even borrowed the book from me. I continued writing in high-school and won several awards for it. I'm now in my fourth year in college and currently editor-in-chief of the country's longest-running architecture magazine. Right now, I enjoy helping younger writers in our college to do better in their craft.
Your inspiration is contagious and may it continue to infect other people. And may they never recover.
Warm Regards,
Adrian
You know what? I am of all people blessed!
Don’t Forget the Musician
1,562 views
Years ago, there was a master violinist in Europe. He would play in concerts, and he had a magnificent Stradivarius violin, extremely expensive. He would play the Stradivarius violin in concert and everyone would whisper in the crowd, "Listen to the beautiful sounds of the Stradivarius."
He would play in churches, and people would say, "Listen to the beautiful sounds of the Stradivarius." He even played before kings and queens, and they, too, would turn to one another and say, "Listen to the beautiful sounds of the Stradivarius." All the glory went to the instrument.
The Story of the Seed
4,367 views
A successful business man was growing old and knew it was time to choose a successor to take over the business. Instead of choosing one of his Directors or his children, he decided to do something different. He called all the young executives in his company together.
He said, 'It is time for me to step down and choose the next CEO. I have decided to choose one of you. 'The young executives were shocked, but the boss continued. 'I am going to give each one of you a SEED today - one very special SEED. I want you to plant the seed, water it, and come back here one year from today with what you have grown from the seed I have given you. I will then judge the plants that you bring, and the one I choose will be the next CEO.'
Between Algebra and Geometry
1,546 views
I remember the battle cry of the 80’s and the 90’s was: “Quality!”
Consultants were busy and excited in bringing out cases after cases of Japanese businesses that modeled quality of which Toyota reigned king!
Even Filipinos and American executives engaged themselves in corporate babble using Japanese words and terminologies of which the word “Kaizen” was chief. Quality was the buzzword. You may be familiar with other words like TQM. Six Sigma. Zero Defect.
Quality rules.
And then something happened. Computers and technology came into the picture. Suddenly all the management programs become commoditized. Companies with money buy the same program which in effect led to consumer’s benefits as products and services improved dramatically. However, quality now no longer becomes cutting edge. Quality now becomes minimum entry requirement in order to survive the highly global competitive world.
Reserve Your Seats Now!
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Anger Can Be Contagious
1,570 views
In his autobiography, Number 1, Billy Martin told about hunting in Texas with Mickey Mantle.
Mickey had a friend who would let them hunt on his ranch. When they reached the ranch, Mickey told Billy to wait in the car while he checked in with his friend. Mantle's friend quickly gave them permission to hunt, but he asked Mickey a favor. He had a pet mule in the barn who was going blind, and he didn't have the heart to put him out of his misery. He asked Mickey to shoot the mule for him.
When Mickey came back to the car, he pretended to be angry. He scowled and slammed the door. Billy asked him what was wrong, and Mickey said his friend wouldn't let them hunt. "I'm so mad at that guy," Mantle said, "I'm going out to his barn and shoot one of his mules!" Mantle drove like a maniac to the barn. Martin protested, "We can't do that!" But Mickey was adamant. "Just watch me," he shouted.
When they got to the barn, Mantle jumped out of the car with his rifle, ran inside, and shot the mule. As he was leaving, though, he heard two shots, and he ran back to the car. He saw that Martin had taken out his rifle, too. "What are you doing, Martin?" he yelled. Martin yelled back, face red with anger, "We'll show that son of a gun! I just killed two of his cows!"
Oh no! Anger can be dangerously contagious.
As Proverbs 22:24-25 puts it, "Do not make friends with a hot-tempered man... or you may learn his ways" (Prov.). [1]