DON'T Be An Ink That Smudges & Fades

DON'T Be An Ink That Smudges & Fades

Ink is that good.  Easily visible  And whatever color that ink carries, it does stand out, solid and vibrant.  So, the question is, should we emulate the ink ?  Yes we can as long as we don't replicate those inks that smudges and eventually fades.  Sounds familiar to our ears ?  Yes I can attest that I can do an analogy to quite a number of people who I know on first-hand basis.  They all did standout.  They were visible.  They're recognizable.  They don't get lost in a crowd.  Throw those 'ink folks' in a motley crowd and presto, they stand at least a foot taller than the rest.  What makes them stand out even if you throw them in the middle of a mammoth crowd ?  Hmmm, they have all the attributes of the ink.

Oh yes, enough of the niceties of inks.  Let's dissect it and confront us if we're still that eager-beaver to replicate the bold and vibrant inks ?  Going back memory lane, I had classmates in school who is tireless in raising his hand to volunteer for answers and anything that will raise his stock in school.  I've see newbies at work so gung-ho the first few months.  I've seen owners of business startups never resting in launching their business.

Overnight, that excitement at school, at work, in business and even in new relationships all too quickly fade, fast and quick ?  Is that acceptable for excitement and motivation to dissipate that quickly, sometimes overnight ?  If we dig deep enough, though, we will realize that all those 'fadeaways' didn't happen overnight.  Yes, it may seem to have faded overnight but if you go for a closer scrutiny, things evolved gradually like solid rocks that got chipped and chipped.

Oh, can we blame it to motivation ?  Unfortunately, motivation is our favorite whipping boy.  When we falter, we blame it to lose of motivation.  But hey, motivation is part and parcel of a cycle.  It goes round the full circle.  Today you may be that darn dog [as the NBA superstars are tagged] but come next day, you might be huffing and puffing.  So, while motivation does drive us forward, all things being equal, what drives us to be at least at the cruising speed is DISCIPLINE DISCIPLINE DISCIPLINE.  

Besides discipline, PURPOSE kicks in way faster than we thought.  Only a purposeful life will carry us forward.  And do we still want to personify that ink that smudges and fades ?  YES and NO.  We can emulate its solid and vibrant color as it always does stand out but that's about it.  When it does smudge, when it fades, those are the very last and least attributes we could even have.  DON'T be that lothario swooning heads over heels to his 'FOREVER' only to take another path down the road.  DON'T be that businessman who was so excited the first months of his business but went south thereafter.  DON'T be an INK THAT SMUDGES and FADES.❗❗❗

Keep Your Powder Dry

Keep Your Powder Dry

Let's talk straight here.  To KEEP YOUR POWDER DRY means you are always ready for anything that comes your way, be it a challenge or an opportunity.  From time to time, an opportunity suddenly pops up.  Could be a new business venture you can consider.  Could be an OJT chance for an enrolled student.  Could be an opportunity to reconcile and fix a relationship that's been in limbo.  Could be that opportunity for a project offered for you to manage although it means relocating to another country/location.  Just one too many options.

Why then do you need to KEEP YOUR POWDER DRY?  While this idiomatic expression has evolved [even literally], it still points out to our READINESS to grab an opportunity that was never planned or expected, something that just randomly pops-up  More often, such opportunities do not look enticing on the surface.  It may have been dangled not in the best manner such that the opportunity may appear as a 'step back' instead of a forward-looking step. 

Frankly, being NOT READY anytime won't be acceptable.  Being POTENTIALLY READY maybe acceptable but to me, that is akin to NOT READY because in life, it all boils down to BLACK or WHITE, an AYE or NAY.  I bare witness [on first hand basis] to various lost or missed opportunities of people I know first-hand but they blew up their chances simply because they failed to KEEP their POWDER DRY.  Too bad there's no way to recoup the losses arising from those missed opportunity but in $$$ terms, they were huge losses that even negatively impacted lives.

Yesirreee, life happens even before you're ready. As a first-hand account, I have witnessed various missed chances.  Someone had a job offer with the letter offer sent in black and white.  Why was it missed ?  Because he had to renew his passport and time was running out, phew !  The frustrating part, advices were given way way ahead of time for him to initiate his passport renewal.  And what did that lost opportunity cost him ?  Potentially, it costs and impacted his future no less.

Yes, this is brutally true.  IF YOU WAIT UNTIL YOU'RE READY, YOU'LL END UP WAITING YOUR ENTIRE LIFE.  Indeed, when we see someone missed an opportunity because he didn't KEEP his POWDER DRY, it's not only pitiful and lamentable, but it leads one's situation to become no less miserable, pathetic and pitiful.  Lesson here:  Always KEEP YOUR POWDER DRY.❗❗❗

LIVE LIFE, period

LIVE LIFE, period.

Irish poet Oscar Wilde couldn't have said it much stronger: 'TO LIVE IS THE RAREST THING IN THE WORLD.  MOST PEOPLE JUST EXIST'. Hmmmm, I couldn't agree more.  It's frustrating but as a first-hand account, I am very much aware of tons of people who should be hard hit by this quote from one of the most respected playwright from Ireland.

As this is a most ambitious let lofty goal, where do we start ?  Start with yourself PLEASE.  Find your passion.  Appreciate yourself.  Fine to be tough but at the end of the day, let's admit that most of us got more positives than negatives.  Only the chronic rotten eggs should be at the precipice of giving up not because they are not capable but because they just DON'T CARE, not even to themselves.  Unfortunately, many of those who DON'T CARE for themselves are not aware of it.

Besides appreciating our own selves, look around [NOT JUST lurk around] and appreciate everything around you, even the flowers and more so nature.  Hell, why are witnessing those unprecented floods NOT JUST in the Third World but even in New York and Singapore ? Simple answer to the puzzle.  Nature has become second fiddle to anything and everything.  Not until we realize the predicament of our planet will we shape up, if I may speculate.

Oh, what does LIFE ON YOUR OWN TERMS really mean ?  Too bad [and it's pitiful] that many of us tend to stretch this term [on a direction that leads them to the abyss].  To many of us, living life ON YOUR OWN TERMS is taken that you can plot any path even if that path will lead  you to nowhere.  Those VICES, booze and the like, a lot of people we know did get hostaged to it.  Question is, HOW ARE THEY NOW ? If I may speculate, at best, they have been stalled in that state of stupor.  At best, things haven't worsened [probably because they are financially secure] but the time they wasted, is a BIG WASTE, to be blunt about it.

Oh, I didn't scribble this as this is from noted American poet Diane Ackerman and this one-liner is a 'bagful' because if till now we are remiss in our life, this should hit us hard.  But for those safely on the bandwagon, this should be the motivation that should trigger us to kick our butts hard enough.  Gaps in relationships ?  FIX IT.  Lost credibility at work.  FIX IT.  Floundering business.  FIX IT.  Petty squabbles, rubbish them out, NOW ! Within the past year and a half of this pandemic, more people died more than at any time this century, with the mortality rate catching up that of the 1914 Spanish Flu.  Only by fixing all these will you be in the pole position to LIVE LIFE✅✅✅

Cut The Crap

Cut The Crap

Life seems so convoluted and complicated, or so it seems.  With all the tricky and tangled labyrinths in life, all along, we always thought that this is what it is and we should accept all these hook, line and sinker.  No sirs, that isn't the case.  I myself, for the longest time, I was resigned to accept that wrong notion that our life is really that complicated.  But after I did stumble a few times, I realized I was wrong.  I realized that we got to CUT THE CRAP.

After a lot of soul searching, I eventually realized that life is simple per se and it's never a pipe dream to think that life is all fine and dandy.  But that point-to-point from leading a complex life to keep it that simple could be the worst maze that can puzzle you no end.  Even for those who realized that life can be cut down to the basic level, it's never been that simple because indeed, on the surface, the complication we face is the outcome of many things in life that leads to chaos no less.  As we all live in a world where change is that constant and disruption is a given, it is just expected if sometimes our lives are turned upside down due to the turn of events, of which, this long-drawn pandemic is a best example.

When things go awry, we tend to have no control and sometimes, our power of choice seems to have been taken away from us.  But rather than surrender in exasperation, it behooves to understand why this is happening to us. By identifying the obstacles we're facing, that will even increase the probability of us to eventually live a life that will be LESS COMPLICATED.

Let me quote this relevant anecdote:  'I ASKED LIFE, WHY ARE YOU SO DIFFICULT?  LIFE SMILED and SAID, YOU PEOPLE NEVER APPRECIATE EASY THINGS'.  But this is putting the cart ahead of the horse because we got to understand those obstacles hindering us to simplify our complex life.  Let's go.

First, FOCUS on the complexity.  That complexity bias is a reason why we lean towards complicating our lives rather than keeping things simple.  Second, STOP that CONSTANT WORRISOME attitude. Constantly worrying about your problems and what lies ahead in the future can drain your energy.  Third, TRY to CONTROL as much as you can in life.  Once you accept that life is all about your navigating your way through it rather than controlling it, you will find your outlook in life to BE MORE POSITIVE.  Fourth, DON'T BASE your happiness on others.  Your life will be FOREVER COMPLICATED and difficult if you hinge your happiness on others.  Lastly, DON'T FEED into the drama of life.  As there are certain types of people who live their life through drama, they chose to respond to life's challenges in a way that is not productive.  So, stay away from them.  Once and for all, let's CUT THE CRAP, please✅✅✅

Run It Up the Flagpole

Run It Up the Flagpole

I'm sorry, this piece is not about the school environs where the flagpole has always been one of the normal sights to see.  But RUNNING IT UP THE FLAGPOLE means many things as translated in our life.  Because in life, that 'FLAGPOLE' translates to numerous success stories that only comes into fruition.  That 'FLAGPOLE' is the culmination of the successes that we achieve down the road.  The $64 question is how can we all reach that elusive flagpole ?  Let's then tackle how can we all really reach the FINISH LINE all the way to that flagpole.

To start with, that 'FLAGPOLE' is no phantom dream because the long road leading to the 'FLAGPOLE' starts at that very point when an IDEA pops up and obviously, the end-result of that IDEA is always the culmination when we're able to translate the IDEA to become a success story coming into fruition.  Too bad that road starting from the 'birth of that IDEA' till it comes into fruition is a long, arduous road where land mines are planted with various points booby trapped and ready to explode right into our face.  Translating that 'IDEA' means we got to grapple with some basic fundamentals.

How do we translate ideas into ACTION ?

• BELIEVE in YOURSELF.  
• ENSURE you have a HELPLINE STRUCTURE
• RISKS should make you comfortable
• STRETCH your PATIENCE to the farthest
• CONNECT the DOTS along the way
  

To believe in yourself is a must-do.  No one else, not even your BFF and not even your partner can be as effective to believe in yourself than yourself.  Reduce your self-confidence, you will be reducing your chances of success.  That HELPLINE STRUCTURE, you would badly need that at some points when you need a lifeline to cling.  RISKS, you can't be averse to it because RISKS does kill our chances so instead, you gotta embrace RISK.  CONNECTING the DOTS, that's piecing things together.  

In summary, what should we DON'T do?

DON'T just dream, make it happen !

DON'T just talk, make your move !

DON'T just wait for time, create time !

DON'T just wait for luck.  Lock it for you

DON'T just think positive.  Act positive !

DON'T just be optimistic.  Spin it now !

In a nutshell, THROW AWAY all these DONT's❗❗❗

When a Silver Bullet Stops the Bleeding

When a Silver Bullet Stops the Bleeding

Apologies, today's piece is NOT about armaments and arsenals.  Instead, we'd like to explore how a silver bullet can be of help for us, as we go through the travails in our life.  Because while the standing notion is that bullets are fatal, which is a given, a little known fact is that there are times when that silver bullet becomes the answer to stop a bleeding that's happening profusely.

As in any emergency, there are very basic ground rules, to wit:  DETERMINE if you can do anything to help.  Even before looking for help elsewhere, it is imperative that you ask yourself if indeed you can help yourself.  Theafter, TAKE TIME TO THINK before acting.  More often, during emergency, our judgment calls even become spotty at best.  Why? It is because during those pressured moments when our cognitive thinking is less than efficient, we tend to be inconclusive and indecisive.

If at all, emergencies lead to bedlam and confusion.  And this is where the 'silver bullet' solution comes into play.  Going by the dictionary, a 'silver bullet' is a 'simple and magical solution to a complicated problem'.  That's it.  In history, it's akin to 'crossing the Rubicon'.  In real life, there are one too many scenarios we can paint.

Yes, this is how exactly who and how we are during those moments when there's that BLEEDING that needs to be stopped.  Both our mind and emotions get commingled so much that things become so blurred, handicapping and crippling us to come up with the logical and informed decision.  This is where we need to find where we can find that 'SILVER BULLET'.

What's more often glossed over is that HOW THE MIND RESPONDS DURING EMERGENCIES because this has been the 'wild card' which throws all the variables of the equation 'out of the window'.  And studies have confirmed that during emergencies when there is 'BLEEDING', each one of us need to stop that and the proven way to stop that 'BLEEDING' is finding that 'SILVER BULLET' that will stop it no less ✅✅✅

The Pandemic Has Changed Almost Everything Except 'ONE'

The Pandemic Has Changed Almost Everything Except 'ONE'

Indeed, this pandemic is unparalleled when we all look back the past century.  Not only where we all thrown off our chairs.  Almost everyone were thrown off their lives in fact.  Let's not even talk about the business conglomerates although 98% of them, save for the pharmaceutical business, have been thrown off as well.  Which means, practically, everything was triggered to change, whatever it means.  Even the academe, even the workplace, we were all thrown off.

So, let's drill down on what has NOT changed, if at all.  Let me volunteer.  Most of our ATTITUDES have hardly changed.  True, we seem to be more health-conscious but in life, how far has our attitude changed ?  The laid back guy is likely still laid back today.  Those lazy ones, surely, their laziness remains their trump card.  The free-loaders ?  They're just waiting for the bandwagon they can ride on.

That's the thing.  No amount of pandemic can change one's attitude.  WHY ?  Because attitudinal change can never be triggered by any external factor.  The trigger has to come from within, from ourselves.  Unless we initiate that ATTITUDINAL CHANGE, a lazy dog will be a lazy dog [regardless of this pandemic].  A sub-par worker will go far from being a sub-par at work.  

Oh, there's this big debate that while ATTITUDE is that important, a lot of us claim that ATTITUDE is NOT everything ?  Now, to put things in the right perspective, unless your ATTITUDE is at the right place, you will go nowhere in life.  You can even get stalled and stacked where you are now.  So, I'd be most vociferous to argue that ATTITUDE is EVERYTHING.  You can have all the variables in life but if your attitude is languishing at the level of the sewerage, you're toast, you're done.

Yes folks, this is the most simple yet most powerful equation in life.  YOUR LIFE is the sum of YOUR ATTITUDE + YOUR CHOICES.  Choices here refers to your decisions you make in life.  So, both attitude and choices are akin to the Siamese Twins.  They go hand in hand.  So pandemic or not, let us see how far can we improve our ATTITUDE at least by a notch ✅✅✅

When You 'SMELL THE BARN'

When You 'SMELL THE BARN'

But of course, barns are non-existent if we live in the metro area but figuratively, barns are always part of the equations.  It is for us to be 'razor-sharp' and no less being 'needle-pointed' for you to be capable to 'SMELL THE BARN'.  What do barns offer us anyway ?  A lot.  Opportunities.  Headways.  Potential breakthroughs. Apertures and openings leading towards opportunities.  A lot in fact, so these are the 'not to be missed' at all.

Visualize a barn.  It's normally a wide expanse of open field anchored by the barn at the backdrop.  Picture yourself coming from the city and trekking back to the countryside for a holiday break.  That's when things become quite interesting because you will stand lurking around, ready to detect and unravel opportunities for your taking.  So, is this an issue worth discussing now ? Yesireeee, we got to tackle this because in life, everyone of us would have had numerous missed opportunities.

So, it's UNLOCKING opportunities that is really our challenge in life.  I myself I did miss out a couple of opportunities and by the time I woke up, that realization of the missed opportunity has evaporated in thin air.  What follows next ?  Regrets.  Remorse.  Coupled with disappointment, one can feel so dejected for missing the boat, failing to 'SMELL THE BARN'.  The crux of the matter is for us to identify or even attract opportunities before they slip through our fingers like quicksilver.

First, let the relevant be aware that you're LOOKING for opportunities.  Second, bid ADIEU to your comfort zone.  Third, show and share what you got, what you have, your credentials and capabilities.  Fourth, NEVER LOSE TRACK of your accomplishments because sooner or later, you will need to share that, if relevant to opportunities.  Fifth, never stop COMMENDING others.  Lastly, identify your IMPROVEMENT AREAS.

Unfortunately, let me set the record straight.  To 'SMELL THE BARN' doesn't imply that those opportunities are right there IN THE BARN.  More often than not, you got to create such opportunities.  How ? 

• Understand WHO YOU ARE, your capabilities, among others
• Believe in yourself.  You're the BEST SALESMAN for yourself
• Get out of your comfort zone.  Being comfy is not comfy.
• Keep your options open.  DON'T SHUT the DOORS off.
• Create GOOD KARMA.  Help/Guide others in a sincere way.
• Be FIRM and DECISIVE.  Never dilly-dally and be tentative.  I have seen numerous people whom I know first hand.  They lost BY DEFAULT numerous times because they dragged their feet far too long, waiting for a better option and another much better one UNTIL THEY RAN OUT of OPTIONS.  Guess what, they didn't 'SMELL THE BARN'❗

You Miss 1,000% of the Shots You DON'T Take

You Miss 1,000% of the Shots You DON'T Take

If you attempt to shoot the ball five times and five times you fail to shoot it, your FAILURE RATE is one hundred percent, period.  Having said that, if you DON'T ever attempt to shoot that ball at all, do we know what's your FAILURE RATE ?  That's one thousand percent NO LESS.  Why ? It's simply because you lost ten times more simply by wasting and defaulting to lose those opportunities to shoot the ball.  The gravity of all those LOST OPPORTUNITIES get compounded by your sheer INACTION.

True, goals seem so lofty and so far out to reach but that's the way things are laid out in life. You can't go to the online portal and ADD TO CART the goal you want to achieve.  It's never that easy.  On the other hand, you need to work your butt damn hard and grind the hardest for you to even have a china man's chance to ever succeed.  I remember someone was asked, 'WHAT ARE YOUR PLANS' ?  His curt response:  I'm waiting for my friend, period.

Thing is, what is demanded from each of us is to give his BEST SHOT and no less than that.  So, what does DOING the BEST really mean ?  Doing your best is synonymous with living out each and every moment to its fullest.  And this potential does exists in every situation.  All that is required of us is NOT to fight whatever life throws in our way.

Doing our best is NOT about meeting expectations.  It ISN'T about success or failure.  It is about putting all your energy into whatever life situation you are now in.  And it's about time we RETHINK our definition of FAILURE.  Every moment you think you failed was supposed to happen exactly as it happened and no other way.  It is often those moments that as we label as failures that teach us the most about ourselves.

Let's tackle simple ways to transform our perspective.  Firstly, TAKE ANY OPPORTUNITY IN LIFE as a new adventure.  Even if it is something that you have done a thousand times, experience it to its fullest from an open-minded perspective.  Secondly, DO THINGS TO DO THEM, not Thirdly, TURN INTENTION INTO ACTION.  Intentions are great , but they will only get you so far.  That phrase 'FAKE IT TILL YOU MAKE IT' fundamentally means acting even if the motivation isn't there. JUST BECAUSE YOU THINK YOU CAN'T DO SOMETHING DOESN'T MEAN YOU CAN'T.❗❗❗

Your Own 'BATTLE SCARS'

 Your Own 'BATTLE SCARS'

Who doesn't have 'BATTLE SCARS' ?  Truth of the matter, everyone of us has his/her own fair share of 'BATTLE SCARS', not literally those battles from the Middle East or Afghanistan but rather even 'BATTLE SCARS' from conflict, quarrels, fiascos and crisis we have encountered at various points in our life.  Those 'BATTLE SCARS' are the hard lessons we learned along the way, those lessons which we should have picked up, else we cannot tag them as lessons.  Studies show however, that at least fifty percent of lessons either are not detected or picked up.  Either, we are just too oblivious by ignoring it or we're just shrugging it off.

Question is, which LESSONS do you learn most in life ?  LESSONS from school ?  LESSONS from the training at work ?  Or LESSONS you extract by running Google Search ?  The clear answer is NONE of the ABOVE.  Because while it's true that you can pick up LESSONS from there, nothing beats the LESSONS you learn from your mistakes in life, from your blunders, from your faux pas.  Too bad, however, there can't be spoon feeding of those lessons.

Why are those lessons from our past conflicts, failures and fiascos the best ones to pick ?  It's because those are real-life scenarios that did happen in your life, so there remains that probability that that same scenario[s] will recur.  BTW, how do you detect a lesson ?  Find the very root cause that caused that precipitated that mistake leading to that failure,  Let's run a WHAT IF.  WHAT IF you just ignore and shrug off those lessons ?  Then, they don't become lessons.

This is the hardest part of lessons though.  You could have acknowledged that 'BATTLE SCARS", those lessons in life BUT until and unless you learn from those lessons, those same lessons will just go for naught.  And I just can't agree more with this black & white poster stating that such LESSONS in LIFE will continue to be repeated until they are learned.  If in your relationship with your partner/spouse, there were rough patches that eventually got smoothened but until and unless you learn those lessons deep within yourself, those rough patches are likely BOUND to HAPPEN in the future.  Why?  Such is life, it repeats itself unless you learn.

What else do we need to do ?  Yes please, DO THE WORK, period.  How ?  Learn your lessons the hard way.  RECTIFY your mistakes.  FIX your frailties.  IDENTIFY your improvement area[s].  Paramount of all, come up with your concrete IMPROVEMENT PLAN.  Define it with SPECIFICS, for you to MEASURE yourself.  Make the most of YOUR OWN BATTLE SCARS✅✅✅