Daring to Take Risks - Better yet, Dare to Stand for Something

Wright Brothers

The first time anything new and creative is proposed, it gets labeled. And the label put on these novel things is likely to be "risky." Can't you just hear it?

"Let me get this straight, Orville. You and Wilbur are building a machine that will do what? Heavier-than-air flying machines are the riskiest hoax anybody ever palmed off on two gullible boys like you Wrights. Get a real job!"

Or maybe it was somebody's harebrained idea of talking pictures, black and white children attending the same school, or people walking on the moon. More than one person was berated simply for giving voice to such "silly" ideas.

It turns out that some of the people who dared to propose such outlandish possibilities are now regarded as geniuses - revolutionaries - heroes. And it was only because they dared to question others and to question themselves. They challenged the limitations others were willing to take for granted.

There is something in your profession or business, your family or church that could be done better. A situation could be more productive. A relationship could be healthier. An objective could be clarified. Some lofty ideal to which all in the group give lip service could actually be implemented. But I warn you up front:

Thomas Edison

Like restoring a car or house, it will take twice as long as you thought, cost far more than you anticipated, and strain every important relationship in your life!

Only you can decide if it will be worth it to undertake something so ambitious and costly. There will be false starts. There will be embarrassing mistakes along the way. But the potential outcome could be as important to your personal situation

as the achievements of the Wright brothers, Rosa Parks, and Neil Armstrong were to their time and place.

The problem with our world is not that there are no more frontiers to challenge and conquer. It's that there are too few explorers. There are too few people willing to ask the obvious questions and challenge the traditional wisdom. In a word, too few of us want to take the risks that could make us look stupid.
If you are fortunate enough to have a dream in your heart, be willing to make mistakes in pursuit of it. Be a risk-taker. You just might change the world.

Henry Ford

Memories - Elisabeth Taylor

 

This is the way I will always remember you. 

A Queen, a Goddes, gorgeous Diva, mother of all Divas.

With all my heart...

... and please, say hello to Michael!

 february 27th, 1932 — march 23th,  2011

The Greatest Gift of All - Speech

 There is definitely something to be said for the unspoken word. Those moments when a simple look or touch tells you exactly what the other person is thinking or feeling. Sadly as magical as those "silent" moments may be, over time I think we rely too much on them and those thoughts or feelings we are trying to convey to one another get lost in translation.
 

We forget that the spoken word has some pretty powerful magic of its own. I definately did.
 

We stop saying "I love you" because we assume that it is a well-known fact. We stop complimenting each other, because after a while, we figure "its all been said before, so why say it again". We stop telling our loved ones how much we appreciate the things they do, because those things become the norm, lose their luster and eventually go unnoticed.

I saw an elderly couple in the grocery store the other day. They seemed as though they were still in the "honeymoon phase" of their relationship. He held her hand, kissed her cheek and told her he loved her all in the few moments I was near them. Her response was to pat him on the cheek and say "I love you too handsome".
 

Yes it seemed a little strange of a scene for grocery shopping, but also refreshing to see people who I'm sure have lived through many heartaches, letdowns and broken promises to still be so loving and cherish another human being's affection so much. I found myself wondering. are they new to this relationship or have they been together most of their lives? The answer didn't really matter much to me, but the question was worth thinking about. If they were new to the relationship, they were off to a good start. If they had been together for 30-40 years, well. I'd say we could all learn a lot from them.

Seeing these two made me consider my own life and how I communicate with the people I love. I considered how many times I have looked at my wife or kids and felt an almost breathtaking amount of love, compassion or pride for them and yet I stood and said nothing. I considered how many times I lay next to my wife and wanted nothing more than to be close to her and yet I did not move from my side of the bed. And I wonder why that is. Is it some deep-rooted insecurity or fear of rejection? Probably. But even so, am I not a strong enough person to overcome those fears? I would hope so. Because life is too short not to make the most of every moment you have with the ones you love.
 

So what have I learned from this? Where do I go from here? How do I change my ways?...

When I find myself hesitating to express my affections, I will reflect on what I felt when I saw the elderly couple in the grocery store. I will stop to notice the expressions and actions of those in my life and I will react accordingly. I will appreciate the unspoken moments and look forward to the spoken ones - and I will make an effort to initiate both. I will be a more considerate and confident father, since my wife already left, a more compassionate friend, a more eager and expressive lover (some day) and overall a more expressively honest person. I will notice and appreciate what others do for me and revel in the moment each time a kind word is spoken to me. I will not allow those precious moments to be lost, forgotten or go unnoticed. And last but not least, I will pray that when I reach an elderly (a little more than right now) age, I will still hold all of those moments in such high regard; I will not become complacent in life and that I will still be as surrounded by love as I am today.

And this, I wish for all of us.

Changes - Wether you like it or not

This morning I read this interesting article and I felt like sharing it with you guys. It really has something and, though it speaks about the US, it does apply to so many other countries that are making the same mistakes. I know, I always say that you have to live in the present and leave the past behind, yes, right after you learned the lesson that the past gives us. So once in a while it is good to read in history to avoid mistakes in the future.

Enjoy the reading and, ... learn from the past!

CHANGES ARE COMING ----

Whether these changes are good or bad depends in part on how we adapt to
Them. But, ready or not, here they come :

1.  The Post Office.  Get ready to imagine a world without the post office.
They are so deeply in financial trouble that there is probably no way to
Sustain it long term. Email, Fed Ex, and UPS have just about wiped out the
Minimum revenue needed to keep the post office alive. Most of your mail
Every day is junk mail and bills.

2.  The Check.   Britain is already laying the groundwork to do away with
Checks by 2018. It costs the financial system billions of dollars a year to
Process checks. Plastic cards and online transactions will lead to the
Eventual demise of the check. This plays right into the death of the post
Office. If you never paid your bills by mail and never received them by
Mail, the post office would absolutely go out of business.

3.  The Newspaper.  The younger generation simply doesn't read the
Newspaper. They certainly don't subscribe to a daily delivered print
Edition. That may go the way of the milkman and the laundry man. As for
Reading the paper online, get ready to pay for it. The rise in mobile
Internet devices and e-readers has caused all the newspaper and magazine
Publishers to form an alliance. They have met with Apple, Amazon, and the
Major cell phone companies to develop a model for paid subscription
Services.

4.  The Book.  You say you will never give up the physical book that you
Hold in your hand and turn the literal pages. I said the same thing about
Downloading music fromiTunes. I wanted my hard copy CD. But I quickly
Changed my mind when I discovered that I could get albums for half the price
Without ever leaving home to get the latest music. The same thing will
Happen with books. You can browse a bookstore online and even read a preview
Chapter before you buy. And the price is less than half that of a real book.
And think of the convenience! Once you start flicking your fingers on the
Screen instead of the book, you find that you are lost in the story, can't
Wait to see what happens next, and you forget that you're holding a gadget
Instead of a book.

5.  The Land Line Telephone.  Unless you have a large family and make a lot
Of local calls, you don't need it anymore. Most people keep it simply
Because they've always had it. But you are paying double charges for that
Extra service. All the cell phone companies will let you call customers
Using the same cell provider for no charge against your minutes

6.  Music.  This is one of the saddest parts of the change story. The music
Industry is dying a slow death. Not just because of illegal downloading.
It's the lack of innovative new music being given a chance to get to the
People who would like to hear it. Greed and corruption is the problem. The
Record labels and the radio conglomerates are simply self-destructing. Over
40% of the music purchased today is "catalog items," meaning traditional
Music that the public is familiar with. Older established artists. This is
Also true on the live concert circuit. To explore this fascinating and
Disturbing topic further, check out the book, "Appetite for
Self-Destruction" by Steve Knopper, and the video documentary, "Before the
Music Dies."

7.  Television.  Revenues to the networks are down dramatically. Not just
Because of the economy. People are watching TV and movies streamed from
Their computers. And they're playing games and doing lots of other things
That take up the time that used to be spent watching TV. Prime time shows
Have degenerated down to lower than the lowest common denominator. Cable
Rates are skyrocketing and commercials run about every 4 minutes and 30
Seconds. I say good riddance to most of it. It's time for the cable
Companies to be put out of our misery. Let the people choose what they want
To watch online and through Netflix.

8.  The "Things" That You Own.  Many of the very possessions that we used to
Own are still in our lives, but we may not actually own them in the future.
They may simply reside in "the cloud." Today your computer has a hard drive
And you store your pictures, music, movies, and documents. Your software is
On a CD or DVD, and you can always re-install it if need be. But all of that
is changing. Apple, Microsoft, and Google are all finishing up their latest
"cloud services." That means that when you turn on a computer, the Internet
will be built into the operating system. So, Windows, Google, and the Mac OS
will be tied straight into the Internet. If you click an icon, it will open
something in the Internet cloud. If you save something, it will be saved to
the cloud. And you may pay a monthly subscription fee to the cloud provider.

In this virtual world, you can access your music or your books, or your
whatever from any laptop or handheld device. That's the good news. But, will
you actually own any of this "stuff" or will it all be able to disappear at
any moment in a big "Poof?" Will most of the things in our lives be
disposable and whimsical? It makes you want to run to the closet and pull
out that photo album, grab a book from the shelf, or open up a CD case and
pull out the insert.

9.  Privacy.  If there ever was a concept that we can look back on
nostalgically, it would be privacy. That's gone. It's been gone for a long
time anyway. There are cameras on the street, in most of the buildings, and
even built into your computer and cell phone. But you can be sure that 24/7,
"They" know who you are and where you are, right down to the GPS
coordinates, and the Google Street View. If you buy something, your habit is
put into a zillion profiles, and your ads will change to reflect those
habits. And "They" will try to get you to buy something else. Again and
again.

All we will have that can't be changed are Memories.

19 Facts About The Deindustrialization Of America That Will Blow Your Mind

The United States is rapidly becoming the very first "post-industrial"
nation on the globe.  All great economic empires eventually become fat and
lazy and squander the great wealth that their forefathers have left them,
but the pace at which America is accomplishing this is absolutely amazing.
It was America that was at the forefront of the industrial revolution.  It
was America that showed the world how to mass produce everything from
automobiles to televisions to airplanes.  It was the great American
manufacturing base that crushed Germany and Japan in World War II.

But now we are witnessing the deindustrialization of America .  Tens of
thousands of factories have left the United States in the past decade alone.
Millions upon millions of manufacturing jobs have been lost in the same time
period.  The United States has become a nation that consumes everything in
sight and yet produces increasingly little.  Do you know what our biggest
export is today?  Waste paper.  Yes, trash is the number one thing that we
ship out to the rest of the world as we voraciously blow our money on
whatever the rest of the world wants to sell to us.  The United States has
become bloated and spoiled and our economy is now  just a shadow of what it
once was.  Once upon a time America could literally out produce the rest of
the world combined.  Today that is no longer true, but Americans sure do
consume more than anyone else in the world.  If the deindustrialization of
America continues at this current pace, what possible kind of a future are
we going to be leaving to our children?

Any great nation throughout history has been great at making things.  So if
the United States continues to allow its manufacturing base to erode at a
staggering pace how in the world can the U.S. continue to consider itself to
be a great nation?  We have created the biggest debt bubble in the history
of the world in an effort to maintain a very high standard of living, but
the current state of affairs is not anywhere close to sustainable.  Every
single month America   goes into more debt and every single month America
gets poorer.

So what happens when the debt bubble pops?

The deindustrialization of the United States should be a top concern for
every man, woman and child in the country.  But sadly,  most Americans do
not have any idea what is going on around them .

For people like that, take this article and print it out and hand it to
them.  Perhaps what they will read below will shock them badly enough to
awaken them from their slumber.

The following are 19 facts about the deindustrialization of America that
will blow your mind....

#1 The United States has lost approximately 42,400 factories since 2001.
About 75 percent of those factories employed over 500 people when they were
still in operation.

#2 Dell Inc., one of America 's largest manufacturers of computers, has
announced plans to dramatically expand its operations in China with an
investment of over $100 billion over the next decade.

#3 Dell has announced that it will be closing its last large U.S.
manufacturing facility in Winston-Salem , North Carolina in November.
Approximately 900 jobs will be lost.

#4 In 2008, 1.2 billion cell phones were sold worldwide.  So how many of
them were manufactured inside the United States ?  Zero.

#5 According to a new study conducted by the Economic Policy Institute, if
the U.S. trade deficit with China continues to increase at its current rate,
the U.S. economy will lose over half a million jobs this year alone.

#6 As of the end of July, the U.S. trade deficit with China had risen 18
percent compared to the same time period a year ago.

#7 The United States has lost a total of about 5.5 million manufacturing
jobs since October 2000.

#8 According to Tax Notes, between 1999 and 2008 employment at the foreign
affiliates of U.S. parent companies increased an astounding 30 percent to
10.1 million. During that exact same time period, U.S. employment at
American multinational corporations declined 8 percent to 21.1 million.

#9 In 1959, manufacturing represented 28 percent of U.S. economic output.
In 2008, it represented 11.5 percent.

#10 Ford Motor Company recently announced the closure of a factory that
produces the Ford Ranger in St. Paul , Minnesota . Approximately 750 good
paying middle class jobs are going to be lost because making Ford Rangers in
Minnesota does not fit in with Ford's new "global" manufacturing strategy.

#11 As of the end of 2009, less than 12 million Americans worked in
manufacturing.  The last time less than 12 million Americans were employed
in manufacturing was in 1941.

#12 In the United States today, consumption accounts for 70 percent of GDP.
Of this 70 percent, over half is spent on services.

#13 The United States has lost a whopping 32 percent of its manufacturing
jobs since the year 2000.

#14 In 2001, the United States ranked fourth in the world in per capita
broadband Internet use.  Today it ranks 15th.

#15 Manufacturing employment in the U.S. computer industry is actually lower
in 2010 than it was in 1975.

#16 Printed circuit boards are used in tens of thousands of different
products.   Asia now produces 84 percent of them worldwide.

#17 The United States spends approximately $3.90 on Chinese goods for every
$1 that the Chinese spend on goods from the United States .

#18 One prominent economist is projecting that the Chinese economy will be
three times larger than the U.S. economy by the year 2040.

#19 The U.S. Census Bureau says that 43.6 million Americans are now living
in poverty and according to them that is the highest number of poor
Americans in the 51 years that records have been kept.

So how many tens of thousands more factories do we need to lose before we do
something about it?

How many millions more Americans are going to become unemployed before we
all admit that we have a very, very serious problem on our hands?

How many more trillions of dollars are going to leave the country before we
realize that we are losing wealth at a pace that is killing our economy?

How many once great manufacturing cities are going to become rotting war
zones like Detroit before we understand that we are committing national
economic suicide?

The deindustrialization of America is a national crisis.  It needs to be
treated like one.

If you disagree with this article, Here's a direct challenge for you.  If
anyone can explain how a deindustrialized America has any kind of viable
economic future, please do so.

America is in deep, deep trouble folks.  It is time to wake up!

By:  J. Sam Bell

The Next Step

The first step needs action to start it,
The last requires patience to end,
So we question, which one's most important,
When we realize our dreams' our best friend.
Well, the answer is neither, they're equal,
But the one that will help you win through
And connect what you start to the finish,
Is the next step that's waiting for you.

Life's dreamers are great Goal Achievers!
Their faith and persistence just blends
Into one awesome cocktail of knowledge,
That whatever they want they can get.
You see, they never visualize failure,
It's success that they see shining through.
It's essential to start and to finish,
But the next step is what you must do.
(from Alison Wilson - check her out)

Rejections - Give me a break

Rejection takes many forms. You didn't make the team. The college you want to attend turns you down. The woman you asked out said no. You didn't get the job. You were passed over for a promotion. Your wife/husband left you.

Whatever form it takes, being rejected stinks. It is a blow to your ego and challenges your ability to cope. It makes you question yourself. It makes you angry. In its most extreme and painful forms, it generates self-destructive thoughts and behaviors - ranging from rage to drinking binges to suicide.

The tricky thing about rejection, though, is not to avoid it - you can't anyway -  but to choose a positive way of reacting to it. After all, everybody suffers rejection. That is not meant to minimize anyone's pain at being let go or turned down; it is simply to say that you aren't alone. Others have lived through similar - or worse - things. The only way to avoid the risk of rejection is to fail to live - to be more specific: not to live at all -, dream, or dare! And that is a far worse thing than being courageous enough to apply for the position, to accept a leadership challenge, or to invest your heart and getting turned down.

In a not so recent interview reported in the Wall Street Journal, Warren Buffett spoke of his rejection by Harvard Business School at 19. "The truth is, everything that has happened in my life . . . that I thought was a crushing event at the time, has turned out for the better," he said. He continued, life's setbacks teach "lessons that carry you along. You learn that a temporary defeat is not a permanent one. In the end it can be an opportunity." 

In Buffett's case, a second-choice application to Columbia put him under the tutelage of two professor-mentors who taught him the essentials he has used in a successful investment career. More important still, the disappointment he thought his father would feel over his failure turned into a positive expression of "unconditional love" and "unconditional belief in me."

Rejection is the challenge to find a new way, a better path. Rather than curse the job you didn't get or the person who didn't hire you, rethink your skills and find another venue for their use. Instead of hiding from life because a relationship has ended and your heart is broken, learn something about yourself from what has happened and know there is someone who needs what you have to give. Temporary setbacks become permanent defeats only if you allow it.

It isn't rejection that determines the outcome. It is your reaction to it.

Great day!

Is Happiness Around The Corner?

Yes, I haven't been posting lately. Maybe because I was busy doing other things, maybe because I didn't know what to say. Second one is more probably though my ex wife would say that this is impossible. Well. The thing is, I cought myself being busy finding reasons not to be happy. I was bitching and complaning about everything and missed precious moments I otherwise would have enjoyed. Stupid me! How could I forget the most valuable principle I live by every single day? Maybe it's becouse I am human to.

For lots of people, happiness is just around the corner. They just need to get their degree, a particular job, a promotion, or a raise. Maybe they're waiting to get married or have a child. Perhaps they will be happy when they retire.

Alfred D' Souza said, "For a long time it seemed to me that life was about to begin. But there was always some obstacle in the way, something to be gotten through first, some unfinished business, time still to be served, or a debt to be paid. Then life would begin. At last it dawned on me that these obstacles were my life." John Lennon put it another way, "Life is what happens while you are making other plans."

The point is our lives are happening now. If we are to get the satisfaction and fulfillment we want, we have to learn to draw pleasure and joy from everything that happens to us and around us because these experiences are the very essence of our life. The more conscious we are that life consists of the journey, not the destination, the more likely we are to get the most out of it.

So, if there are things you want to do, begin to fit them in now or accept the fact that you can be happy whether or not you do them.

Happiness isn't just around the corner. It's now or it's never.

The good news is you have everything you need to be happy. Philosophers, poets, and scientists all agree it can't be attained through money, prestige, or power. Happiness is not a fact, it's a mindset. All you need is optimism and gratitude.

So, back in track, today I will enjoy every single moment I am allowed - to be.

Have a great weekend and ...

be happy!