Sliver of a Clue

Sliver of a Clue

All things equal, the world we live in is never an open book.  Even for a worker in the operations floor where processes are automated via robotics and its technologies, to execute processes, you still need to reference the operations RUN BOOK whether digitally or otherwise.  But the biggest challenge in life are not the documentations but rather things that are UNDOCUMENTED.

Oh, this bland poster hit my nerves stating that incognito is a fabric of life.  Well said, very true indeed and I couldn't agree more. With so many things in life not visible on the surface, it behooves that we need to exert tons of effort in unearthing anything and everything that remains as such.  Why ?  Because missing links do matter.  Because the unknowns do matter.  Because those unseen variables are often crucial pieces of an equation.  Let's paint real-life scenarios.  A couple enduring a strained relationship may not be on 'talking terms' for quite sometime until one day, the spouse started preparing the hubby's meal on the table.  That is a 'SLIVER of a CLUE' 

If you're a newbie either in school or at work, you're totally blind of everything around you.  Not until either a colleague or a schoolmate reaches out to you via a 'SLIVER of a CLUE' that opens up as an opportunity for you to ease up your transition as a newbie.  How that 'SLIVER of a CLUE' surfaces, it is for you to figure things out.

If there's we should never miss out, it is that  'SLIVER of a CLUE' that will remain as such. Where you're facing a floundering relationship, you gotta ACT fast, MOVE fast especially when you do see that 'SLIVER of a CLUE'.  Frankly though, be forewarned that the way you dissect a 'SLIVER of a CLUE' may be off-track [and that's fine because you may end up with a misreading 50% of the time]. BUT that still puts you in good shape because looking at that glass of water as half-full instead of half-empty, it means that 50% of the time you were able to grab those opportunities and leverage on it.  

Hey, even in the technology space, Google does not want to be left out so they also introduced running Google in INCOGNITO mode.  Which is ironical because conventional wisdom dictates that technology should lay on the platter as much data and information as possible.  But hey, we will always go back to that 'SLIVER of a CLUE' where we need to figure things out, especially if those are opportunities to rekindle a relationship, repair a strained interaction, those intangible which will MAKE or BREAK you all because either you did catch or miss on a 'SLIVER of a CLUE'✅✅✅

On The Cusp...

 On The Cusp...

Nope, sorry Senores, this piece is not related to the cosmic world, not even astrology but take it for what it literally means, this is all about CUSP and how being in that CUSP is most crucial to influence and shape the end-result that will happen next.  Come next day, most of us won't be in that CUSP.  Instead, the likelihhod is that, come next day, we could have ended up in a much better shape or things simply worsened with our situation.

In real terms, after we pass through a CUSP, either our umbrella is still standing upright or the umbrella has been blown away.  But instead basking in the light of a success or sulking as an aftermath of a failure, can we step back and do a post-mortem as to what exactly happened during the CUSP ?  How we handled the CUSP decided today's outcome.

So what exactly are these real-life CUSP scenarios ?  In the academe, you could be in that CUSP where in your senior year, you were about to overtake the previous #1 ranked student for you to garner the valedictorian award !  In relationships, you could be in that CUSP where your relationship with your spouse was about to take the next level of robustness.  At work, your career could have been in that CUSP where your trajectory was going upwards ?  If you were an entrepreneur, your business could have reached that CUSP where it was about to take a quantum leap in terms of sales revenues ?

In general terms, in numerous times in our life, we are ON THE CUSP towards achieving SUCCESS and while a good percentile do end up successful, what throws us off the chair is that high mortality of FAILURES despite being ON THE CUSP of SUCCESS. Two common culprits of failures despite being ON THE CUSP:  C & C [over-CONFIDENCE and COMPLACENCY], period.

Nothing fancy in this poster except that this tells us that FAILURE is not an option in life and regardless of your travails in life, it has to be SUCCESS or bust.  And you won't settle on a result even if it s a half-step away from SUCCESS because even a shortfall of about a half-step is still a failure no less.  Lessons here?  Let us NOT miss out grabbing every opportunity if that leads us closer to the very portals of success.  BTW, being ON THE CUSP does not equate to success.  It does not even round off to success.  You gotta hit pay dirt before you declare that you're BEYOND THE CUSP.⏳⏳⏳

Back Up, NOT Back Down !

Back Up, NOT Back Down !

Good grief.  Guess we're all in the same boat, that boat that struggles through the rough seas, sometimes causing it to capsize and just evaporate in thin air.  And it is indeed saddening that if we survey our population, at the very least, approximately 30% did back down and simply gave up when faced with those debacles and struggles where any weaker soul will simply give up.

We can't blame many of us especially when all the odds are stacked against you, when your back is against the wall, people thought that the only option left was to raise your hand and simply give up.  Obviously, man's weakest link are these fronts:  HEALTH and FINANCIALS.  When we get hit with issues either with HEALTH or FINANCIALS, that will be the ultimate litmus test one has to hurdle.

And we're not even talking about force majeure because that leads us into a world way beyond us to grapple its unpredictability.  So what exactly should we do in the face of these HEALTH or FINANCIAL challenges ?  Hmmm, you gotta deal with it.  How do you deal with such nerve-wracking challenges ?  Face it head-on.  And DIG DEEP into your arsenal and draw out all the ammunitions and strength you can retrieve because there's no other way but to slay that dragon even if you're like David [and not Goliath].

Battling health and/or financial challenges should be akin to crossing the Rubicon because that can dictate one's success or failure.  Hurdling your health and financial challenges should remove your one foot in the hole because by them, you can feel you're back into the mainstream.  And what's our ultimate goal ?  It is your MENTAL HEALTH, no less than that.

Numbers-wise, statistics have proven that eventually, the good things and blessings in life will eventually prevail regardless of the volume and severity of your challenges.  Eventually, the waves will taper off, the floods will dry up, the incessant pressures in life will eventually give way to the blessings in life.  Wonder when those blessings will come into your life ?  Sweat it out first dude, kick your ass damn hard.  You gotta grind damn hard before you're back in track.✅✅✅

Going Off The Charts

Going Off The Charts

Being 'OFF THE CHARTS' can be either good tidings or good riddance, depending on which side of the fence you are now seated on but generally, when we claim that we're 'OFF THE CHARTS', it usually means good tidings because you are on the path to achieve unprecedented results that would likely surpass and exceed your pre-set goals by going 'OFF THE CHARTS'.

But if going 'OFF THE CHARTS' pertains to your health, it would be the last news we want to hear, when your health goes down on a tailspin.  But even then, our state of health doesn't take a 180-degree turn from good to bad simply overnight.  Be conscious of manifestations and behavioral symptoms that may be creeping and threatening your state of health.  I did witness in the past when a person who used to be in the pink of health through the decade suddenly gets warded in the hospital for a serious illness.  Simply put, DON'T IGNORE the slightest manifestations.

A subtle threat in our life which shouldn't go 'OFF THE CHARTS' as well is our stress level.  Probably, you're driving and stuck in a traffic gridlock [that was prior to this pandemic], late for a client meeting, watching the minutes tick away.  Your hypothalamus, a 'tiny control tower' in your brain, decides to send out the order: 'SEND IN THE STRESS HORMONES'.  Those stress hormones are the same ones that trigger your body's 'FIGHT or FLIGHT' response.  So, do check out your stress levels.

Now, let's be positive inside-out.  In school, let's aim for the A+ final marks.  At work, let's be the top performer.  In business, let's see your revenues gallop for the coming years.  And in your personal relationships, let's ensure that our relationship with our partner/spouse be at the maximum optimal level of robustness no less.  If conflicts may arise within the family circles, as long as you're on the right path, stick it out with your partner/spouse, get glued and stand by each other come hell or high water.

Whichever side you are in now, that PAYBACK TIME should always be our bottom-line.  Reaching our FINISH LINE where we could savor the fruits of all frustrations and fears thrown in our way.  Who wants to succeed without realizing that it's PAYBACK TIME ?  A word of caution though.  When's the time for that PAYBACK TIME ?  It is very much dependent on how hard you grind in life.  Grind less and it could take you forever.⏳⏳⏳ 

ABCD [Above and Beyond the Call of Duty]

ABCD [Above and Beyond the Call of Duty]

So sorry for the confusion.  This piece is not intended for the Pre-School toddlers as this ABCD is a discourse for ABOVE and BEYOND the CALL of DUTY.  And this is not about the military environment but more about us, how do we go about in our deliverables, whether at home, in school, at work or even in your own business.

Instead, it's all about doing things ABOVE and BEYOND.  In school, do you just prepare for the lectures taught ?  At work, do you just perform a task based on your roles and responsibilities ?  In business, did you just deliver the ordered foods on the table nary anything else, not even a 'bon appetit' ?  And that brings us to a sensitive touchpoint, when we tend to do things JUST ENOUGH and NOT ABOVE and BEYOND ?  Do we realize that by doing and delivering things JUST ENOUGH translates to LOST OPPORTUNITIES which we could have grabbed and leveraged on ?  Too bad, many of us would miss that point by just doing things JUST ENOUGH.

Back in our relationships. are all the breakups and divorces still news fodder? Me thinks it's not anymore.  breakups and divorces seem as trivial as the air we breath but hey, all researches about divorces have confirmed that the #1 culprit is conflict that doesn't get resolved because either party does NOT GO ABOVE and BEYOND but instead, they remain nested in their cocoon.

At work, surely at some point in time, you worked ABOVE and BEYOND but here's the BUT.  Either your boss told you so OR you had no option but to do things that way OR force majeure came into play such that things were beyond your control ?  I just hope I'm wrong with these speculations BUT in real life, this is the harsh truth though.

Why can't be that "OA", that "OVER ACHIEVER" ?  What do we lose by being "OA" ?  Probably you would have exerted some extra joules in terms of the energy spent for that undertaking.  Anything you lost for being "OA" ?  Probably that Xtra push and pressure on yourself to deliver things ABOVE and BEYOND but otherwise, effectively you don't materially lose anything else.  Truth is, by doing things ABOVE and BEYOND THE CALL OF DUTY, you are paving the road leading to newer opportunities for you to uncork down the road⏳⏳⏳

The BEST THING Out of this Pandemic

 The BEST THING Out of this Pandemic

Of all threads and topics, I'm sure that the pandemic as a thread has flooded across our global community BUT here's the BUT.  I still want to bat for pandemic as a thread at least for this thread because despite all the destruction and defacement we all have endured for about a year and a half now.  With too much negative impact to our lives, we cannot deny how much this pandemic has wrought havoc on us.

Instead, not to blame each of us as we've been through the worse yet, we're not sure if the worst is yet to come.  But as we are as helpless as we can be, it just makes sense we look around and ask ourselves what is the BEST THING OUT of this pandemic ?  And without sugar-coating, I'd like to harp on that BEST THING OUT of this pandemic.  And to magnify things, where it not for this pandemic, we would not have benefited and experienced this BEST THING OUT.

Now, I'll let it out of the bag and let you know what is that BEST THING OUT of this pandemic.  And this is supported by a global study which has confirmed that these months of uncertainty gave us the huge opportunity to SAVOR & APPRECIATE the small things in life which in the past were not recognizable at all.  Those mugs of coffee, we used to gulp it fast before but this pandemic, its a different story.

As UNCERTAINTY is stressful and perhaps even harmful to our health, researches suggest that it could drive us to cling to our social groups to the exclusion of others.  But a most recent study has uncovered a surprising UPSIDE to feeiing UNCERTAIN:  it might drive us to appreciate the little things n life.  In one experiment, researchers stationed on a sidewalk handed out flyers that said one of two things:  

"LIFE IS UNPREDICTABLE:  STOP and SMELL THE ROSES" or "LIFE is CONSTANT:  STOP and SMELL THE ROSES".  A short distance away was a table with a dozen red roses on it and a sign matching the flyer they've just received.  The research assistants then hid behind the bushes to see who stopped and who didn't - and it was the people who read that LIFE is UNPREDICTABLE who buried their noses in those fragrant flowers. two times more often than the others.  

Why ?  Savoring and appreciating the small things in life may be a coping response that our minds activate when we feel overwhelmed by the ambiguity of it all.  Savoring pulls us out of fears and worries about a fuzzy future and into the clear, pleasurable sensations right now.  So, let us all bring out the BEST THING OUT of this pandemic.⌛⌛⌛

If You're Not FIRST, You're LAST

If You're Not FIRST, You're LAST

Would you agree that if You're Not FIRST, You're LAST ?  Of course, most of us will beg to disagree as that seems a convoluted thought process.  BUT, here's the BUT.  Think about it though.  In case you're not the FIRST, are you likely playing second fiddle ?  Likely NOT, right ?  It is even more likely that at best, you're in the 'middle pack' and worse, you're one of the laggards in the rat race.  This thread could open the floodgates for arguments for and against and I won't mince words that I'm ready to stand my ground as I remain vociferous that to aim for the TOP PLUM should always be the given although in reality, the probability of us bagging it would be quite low versus aiming for a lower result.

We might be challenged if indeed everyone is entitled to aim for the TOP PLUM ?  But of course, because we have a level playing field.  Why do millionaires become multi-mills? Why do billionaires become multi-bill's ?  Plain and simple.  They NEVER STOP aiming to be the FIRST [and not even a second fiddle].  In school, why do we see some students to be so bemedalled such that during the awards ceremony, tons of medals get heaped on them !  In professional sports,  why do we see runaway winners of multiple championships ?  Last month, Kyle Lowry, a top-tier NBA player was asked last week as to why he left the Toronto Raptors ballclub where he helped it win its first-ever championship in 2019 ?  He gave a pointed reply:  IF YOU'RE NOT PLAYING FOR THE CHAMPIONSHIP, WHAT ARE YOU PLAYING FOR ?

The late Pat Summitt, one of America's most successful basketball coach, blurted a mouthful "WINNING IS FUN...BUT WINNING IS NOT THE POINT.  WANTING TO WIN IS THE POINT.  NOT GIVING UP IS THE POINT. NEVER LETTING UP IS THE POINT.  NEVER BEING SATISFIED WITH WHAT YOU'VE DONE IS THE POINT".  Oh my, indeed, this is a mouthful but to me, it's the best motivational 'hurrahhh' I ever came across.  It accentuates the fact that we should never settle for less than the TOP PLUM because anything less than that is unacceptable, plain and simple.

What's our message here ?  DON'T just be a part of the crowd. Be apart from the crowd.  STAND OUT.  How ?  Figure it out. ASK YOURSELF what's your unique differentiator ?  CHALLENGE YOURSELF why can't you AIM for the TOP PLUM ?  QUESTION YOURSELF, what is it others are now capable which you are not capable to HONE and LEARN ?

Now, how important is the STARTING LINE ?  Of course it is that important but nothing can be more important than the FINISH LINE where the final results matter.  In track and field, tracksters would literally throw their body just to be the first to hit the FINISH LINE.  What better way to motivate ourselves if we can keep reminding ourselves that IF YOU'RE NOT THE FIRST, YOU'RE THE LAST.✅✅✅

When The Chicken is in the Pot, 'COOK IT'

When The Chicken is in the Pot, 'COOK IT'

Sorry to confuse my readership, this piece is not related to the culinary arts.  Instead, we'd like to look at that 'CHICKEN IN THE POT' as those opportunities and blessings which we have had in our lives, whether blessings we worked hard for or blessings we received pro bono courtesy of the kindness of our spouse/partner, loved ones and even our bosses at work.  And regardless whose life we will randomly pick as a sample, I'm sure that everyone had tons and tons of opportunities and blessings till to date.

So, I hope we can all proclaim in unison that all of us were fortunate enough to have those opportunities and blessings in life.  BUT here's the tough question: HOW OFTEN DID WE WASTE opportunities and blessings that were right there for us ? And BTW, opportunities come in multifarious ways and forms as not all opportunities are tangible and concrete enough.

More often, opportunities in life don't even come by calling.  Instead, they are there handed to you on a silver platter for your taking.  The best example of that 'CHICKEN IN THE POT' opportunities are our relationships with our loved ones, our spouse/partner.  How far and how much did we value it to the point when we fully and wholly treasured it ?

Similar travails we will hear if we have our life either in the academe or in a work environment.  At work, there you are given tons and tons of opportunities.  UNFORTUNATELY though, such opportunities are NOT tagged as opportunities but instead as work responsibilities.  What's the common refrain we hear around ?  THAT'S NOT IN MY JOB SCOPE, I DON'T HAVE THE BANDWIDTH and tons of similar reaction.  If you were the boss, will he still take care of you the way you shoved away those opportunities DISGUISED AS WORK ?

In a nutshell, our life is peppered with opportunity zones.  It's for our picking and if you shy away from it, who will pull you back into the loop when you have lost those opportunities by default.  If you're into business, be sharp enough to leverage on the smallest opening leading to an opportunity [and just DONT BUNGLE those opportunities].  I have witnessed a burgeoning startup business ready to lord it over within its target market.  The sad part, while the CHICKEN WAS IN THE POT, the owner didn't bother to COOK it the way it should have been 📌📌📌 

Watch Like a HAWK

Watch Like a HAWK

Hawks may not be one of those ordinary species we see around anytime but why are they much revered to the extent we often here sage advices that we better 'WATCH LIKE A HAWK'.  Not to misread our intentions though because we're not inciting folks to live their life like the birds of prey in hawks.  Instead, it is their stinging and cutting edge eye for detail which we want to replicate across us.  From 100 feet up, they can nosedive in a 120 mph speed to simply catch their prey.

What's the fuss then with binocular vision ?  It is because this gives that visual focus on an object with the pair of eyes creating a single visual image.  Without that binocular vision, we will experience that distortion in depth perception.  And that's where we envy the hawk because they have this capability that even exceeds what we humans are capable of.

Much as we want to match the hawk's visual capabilities, translating that capability in real life becomes much more daunting because in life, to 'WATCH LIKE A HAWK' needs to be translated from various dimensions in our life.  The expectation is that we just don't see things literally but having that innate ability to visualize something that does not literally show up is what we need most in our life.

And that exactly what we want to instill within us, LOOKING BEYOND OBVIOUS, seeing things from vantage points with multifarious dimensions.  Unfortunately in life, we do have numerous misses [and I can attest that I myself, I had numerous misses in life from way back].  And what does it cost us when we have those misses ?

Quite often, we miss things that are already staring right in our face.  Remember when in a frayed relationship, one of the parties was subtly reaching out but we missed that ?  Or in business, our revenues were about to spike if only we ramped up our raw materials ? Or at work, we would have gone up the corporate ladder had we read that cue ?  So, it's never late for us to 'WATCH LIKE A HAWH' because as the cliche goes, OPPORTUNITY KNOCKS ONLY ONCE.  This can never be farther from the truth❗❗❗

DON'T Rub Salt on the Wound

DON'T Rub Salt on the Wound

How often do we get into conflicts in life ?  Surely, we all went through various forms and severity of conflicts in life so we know how it is to get inflicted with wounds which may be taken either literally or figuratively.  And it's not to be ashamed if at various points, indeed we were licking those wounds.  The pain we had to endure with those wounds may be superficial or deep-seated but what matters more in this piece is that when those inflicted wounds seemed to have exacerbated and worsened not because of the wounds itself but when either of the protagonists may have rubbed salt on the wound with actions that could not help improve the conflict.

Common trigger of salt getting rubbed to the wounds, it is our emotions, when we get controlled by it instead of us controlling our emotions.  Studies have shown that 98% of personal conflicts went from bad to worse all because the emotional layers of us humans lorded it all over the conflict.  And this has been proven 99% of the times.  Emotions are hardly a help to fix conflicts.

Conflicts 101 does tell us go through this:

• Get a DIFFERENT PERSPECTIVE
• Get a SECOND OPINION
• Get hold of your EMOTIONS
• DON'T see yourself as the VICTIM outright
• DON'T blame or shame others
• TALK IT OUT

From the long list of DOs and DONTs, you're right, the last trick does the trick.  TALKING IT OUT devoid of all the emotions will be the first concrete step back towards having a constructive and positive approach in a conflict that will otherwise circle back to you.  Have we experienced that ?  When you may seem blameless yet after all the hullabaloo, fingers end up pointing back to you ?

Yes, all is well when things end well but that's the end result of a long ordeal both protagonists need to grapple with.  Worse is, the situation will turn from bad to worse before it improves even by an inch.  And where an intervention may be of help, seek it out because in a fierce deadlock of a conflict when neither party would budge, it's the intervening help of a NEUTRAL PARTY that will pave around.  Do note that that party has to be NEUTRAL, else that worse situation will just spiral to be the WORST❗❗❗