lunes, 4 de enero de 2010

An Advice of a Proud Grandfather


An Advice of a Proud Grandfather

USA, January 4, 2010. Every year, I make an inventory what I have done right or wrong in the conduct of business or family affairs. The letter is not aimed at any one; it is based on observations about the business and family experiences. I have been a few years in obscurity, where people treat you like everybody else. The grandchildren are the ones that are going to get the most benefits. There is a paragraph for everyone. I am an exhausted 78 year old man, full of “novacaine.” I have had a regular life that anchored me going into the future. I am not here to discuss the past in a negative way; you always learn from any experience, I'm writing this letter to be positive about the future challenges that you are going to encounter in your life time. I want to make a contribution to your state of readiness to meet those challenges. As a father and grandfather my job is to assist you in succeeding in life and for you to reach higher horizons that I have reached. Never is a bad word.

Philosophy of life

When you accept to work for someone or a corporation, leave your personal problems at home when they come to work. Focus on opportunities rather than problems. Just don't give up trying to do what you really want to do. Where there is love and inspiration, I don't think you can go wrong. A hunch is creativity trying to tell you something. Take away the need, and you will take away the motivation for joining. I just want to share with you a quote from Albert Einstein: “The most beautiful thing we can experience is the mysterious. It is the source of all true art and science. He to whom this emotion is a stranger, who can no longer pause to wonder and stand rapt in awe, is as good as dead: his eyes are closed." The thing always happens that you really believe in; and the belief in a thing makes it happen. To love is to admire with the heart; to admire is to love with the mind. Make sure that your morals are way better than the greed of the other crowd. Always, it is necessary to try to surpass oneself.

A quote from Isaiah Berlin: “Life may be seen through many windows, none of them necessarily clear or opaque, less or more distorting than any of the others.” We make our world significant by the courage of our questions and by the depth of our answers. A good looking woman or man who make a Bishop or a sister forget their prayers. Don't let your worries get the best of you, remember, Moses started out as a “basket case". Many folks want to serve God, but only as advisers. Opportunity may knock once, but temptation bangs on your front door forever. Some minds are like concrete, thoroughly mixed up and permanently set. Peace starts with a smile. Coincidence is when God chooses to remain anonymous. I could either run away, joint the circus or be stuck in the middle of a war not wanting to be there. Self-sacrifice is never entirely unselfish, for the giver never fails to receive. Remember that knowledge is power, the larger the island of knowledge, the longer the shoreline of wonder. You take from your own experiences what’s applicable, and your talent is in your choice. We're at our best when we're given our biggest challenges. You must walk the walk, and talk the talk.

Working for the Government

If you decide to work for the government, an ethical issue of gifts is always on the radar screen: Remember this rule, nothing requires a person to accept a gift-you may always decline. If is up to you to judge the intention of the giver. Do not ever be a quintessential kiss-up, kick down sort of a guy because the subordinates are the ones that make you succeed or fail. Always be straight shooter and don’t compromise the loyalty of your subordinates. Integrity and loyalty are the main ingredients of character and should not be for sale.

Do things for Others

If you want be happy in life, try to brighten the lives of others who have their life in misery. Lay hold of something that will help you, and then use it to help somebody else. We are each of us angels with only one wing, and we can only fly by embracing one another. All of us are here for a spell; get as many good laughs you can. The happiness of a man in this life does consist in the mastery of his passions. Freedom is never letting your fears stop you from following your heart. Thomas Jefferson said: “when the government fears the people, it is tyranny; and when the people fears the government is liberty.” There is a great feeling when you help others in need, be compassionate with the needy.

Dealing Foreigners or Immigrants

When you are dealing with foreigners or immigrants, try to understand their culture, if you don’t, you never will be able to understand the motivation behind their actions. Undergoing a cultural change is somewhat like taking a full bottle of Castor Oil. I have taken risks closes his eyes to danger, may be you shouldn't do that, but I have. When we were in Saudi Arabia provide technical support to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, nine years ago, I was more hurried than I am today. We provided technical services (168 employees) for two years without being paid. Instead of confronting the cultural barriers, we waited for the right opportunity with their blessings, and we got paid. What is appears to be “YES” for them, appears to us as “NO.” Suggest to you, slow down, take it easy and enjoy things you have overlooked. Corinthians 6:3: “Live in such a way that no one blames the rest of us nor finds fault with our work." You cannot do a kindness too soon, for you never know how soon it will be too late. No one has ever become poor by giving. The thing always happens that you really believe in; and the belief in a thing makes it happen.

Law of Learning

Law of learning requires that you perform any task four times to attain eighty percent proficiency. Don’t criticize others for failing the first time, have mercy on them. Give them the opportunity to improve themselves by allowing them to learn by making mistakes, as long as they don’t make the same mistake in the same category. Offer sympathy, how do you like that someone give you a book and instruct you to cook a Polish meal. Probably, it would be a failure, this is no difference that you asking a Continental to cook a Puerto Rican dinner without having any cultural knowledge of the cuisine. Don’t ask others to do something beyond their expectations where you will not be able to do if you were in their shoes.

Stay Away from the Despondent

Keep a distance with the despondent, always with negative attitude, for them, all big things in this world are done by people who are naïve and have an idea that is obviously impossible to do anything in life. Mark Twain said: “Keep away from people who try to belittle your ambitions. Small people always do that, but the really great make you feel that you, too, can become great.” You are going to meet individuals in your life time that is like sharing a banana with a monkey: "Take a little bite of it, and he will throw his own feces at you." Be on the alert of these individuals. Do not follow Donald Trump remarks in his book, “How to get Rich”: "Show me someone without an ego, and I'll show you a loser". He suffers from pleonasm like Hubert Humphrey, former VP under LBJ Administration. No one has ever become poor by giving. Some enemies, indeed, are almost perfectly asymmetric -- not only in technique, but also in motivation. They value not what we value; they fear not what we fear. Our brain's decision-making center is directly connected to emotions, then to logic, we decide with emotion and justify by fooling ourselves with logic. Carl Sagan said: "The brain is like a muscle. When it is in use we feel very good. Understanding is joyous." This is what people who were closed friends of LBJ have said: "When he pulled his earlobe or scratches his chin, he is telling the truth"; when he begins to move his lip-he is lying," then you know that LBJ was telling the truth.”

Do the Things you Love

David frost said: “Don't aim for success if you want it; just do what you love and believe, and it will come naturally. Humans are itching to know the unknowable, and nothing is more unknowable than what will happen tomorrow. Humans have viewed the future, ranges from shining utopia to space-age paradise to darker forecasts. All the technology in the world will never replace a positive attitude. It is not the goal of the talks to have talks; it is the goal of the talks to have progress. Experience is not what happens to a man; it is what a man does with what happens to him. It is the heart that makes a man rich. He is rich according to what he is, not according to what he has. Happiness is not a station you arrive at, but a manner of traveling. Isaac Newton said: “If I have ever made any valuable discoveries, it has been owed more to patient attention, than to any other talent.” Creativity comes from trust. Trust your instincts. And never hope more than you work. We have only two modes - complacency and panic. Your knee is like a tire, there is only so much life to the thread. In an argument, you have to learn to control your emotions. The other person is the revolver, but you are the trigger. The revolver won't hurt you as long as the trigger isn't pulled. Success consists of getting up just one more time than you fall. To reach a port we must sail, sometimes with the wind and sometimes against it. But we must not drift or lie at anchor. If you think education is expensive, try ignorance. Reading is to the mind what exercise is to the body. Carl Jung said: “Your vision will become clear only when you look into your heart. Who looks outside, dreams. Who looks inside, awakens.”

Nothing is predestined: The obstacles of your past can become the gateways that lead to new beginnings. Leaders are not born, they are made. And they are made just like anything else, through hard work. What distinguishes winners from losers is that winners concentrate at all times on what they can do, not on what they can't do. Creativity is 99% perspiration and 1% inspiration. Be familiar with the "Pygmalion Effect": It is very real and very potent. Pygmalion effect is where people meet the expectations of those around them, good or bad.

Summary

In closing, I hope that you have outlined your mission statement for the next five years and decide what career you are going to pursue. Being in the Dean list will aid you to acquire a good first job. A degree will get you through the gate but it is to you to keep yourself in a competitive posture through the job interview and search for a job. There are some government agencies that will not extend an invitation to any student unless they have a minimum of 3.5 GPA average, be focused and do your best.

By: A Proud Grandfather