a wise woman's 'precious stone'

A wise woman who was traveling in the mountains found a precious stone in a stream. The next day she met another traveler who was hungry, and the wise woman opened her bag to share her food. The hungry traveler saw the precious stone and asked the woman to give it to him. She did so without hesitation. The traveler left, rejoicing in his good fortune. He knew the stone was worth enough to give him security for a lifetime. But a few days later he came back to return the stone to the wise woman.

'I've been thinking,' he said, 'I know how valuable the stone is, but I give it back in the hope that you can give me something even more precious. Give me what you have within you that enabled you to give me the stone.

~from an unknown but highly appreciated source :)

stateside

Focusing your life solely on making a buck shows a certain poverty of ambition. It asks too little of yourself. Because it's only when you hitch your wagon to something larger than yourself that you realize your true potential.

~U.S. President Barack Obama

memo to MEMO :)

The Best Student Organization :)

The miracle of hard work... of not giving up... though we all know we could have done better... it is wonderful to be acknowledged... suddenly, the big shoes got one size bigger... but I am confident MEMO will only get better... for the present have a past to be proud of :)

Let's continue to build... to get better.

To those who have been part of the journey who are no longer or has taken a leave from Mapua, your presence, no matter how insignificant you think it was, was a part... a step... a contribution to what was acknowledged this afternoon :)

I am proud of all of you.

Now, let's continue to plug along. Who knows, we might make a yearly habit of this "acknowledgement" thing :)

Game?

"... why think like mere men?"

a glib on fear :)

"All fears are unreasonable. Don't reason with it..."

difficulty's reason

"All things are difficult before they get easy..."
~ Dr. Thomas Fuller

beauty's intent

Beauty's effect is not limited to inspiration. It is more than that. It points us towards eternity. It is a reminder, a glimpse of a certainty of what shall we become :)

the miseducation of lauryn hill

How will you win when you are not right from within?
How will you win when you are not right from within?

being a legend

It happens when your first name is accepted around the world as an adjective :)

on invented and innovation

Senge says,

Engineers say that a new idea has been "invented" when it is proven to work in the laboratory. The idea becomes an "innovation" only when it can replicated reliably on a meaningful scale at practical costs.

from Ms Zara :)

Ang mga BABAE parang si BARBIE. Pwede mong paglaruan, hubaran, at kung nagsawa kana pwede mong ipamigay. Pero tandaan: ANG TUNAY NA LALAKE, HINDI NAGLALARO NG BARBIE. :D

the itch :)

I am actually 'uniquely' excited to facilitate a learning session this coming term and I do not know why. I am up and it's 12:58am says the PC clock.

Maybe I finally understand what it means to facilitate :-)

Or maybe, if we are to believe Malcolm Gladwell who wrote Outliers, the 10,000 hours effect is already manifesting.

But what does it mean for the students?

They may had professors who were still in their 5,000th hour. Maybe some were in their 30,000th hour that they can perform a lecture asleep :-)

Well, I have been described as demanding but what will the "itch" do for the students? :-)

Let's just see at the end of the term.

But for now, I am at peace that I am uniquely excited to facilitate :)

"... why think like mere men?"

beauty's invisible trap

A part of my professional life is involved and engaged in looking after a boutique talent agency.

I'd like to say that we "discover and develop" talent. But after doing the job for awhile now, it would be more apt to say that we really simply help focus, magnify and channel for the individual, the people we call "the talent", what is inherent in them. And then we emphatically add, "... but you have to continuously work at it, too."

To be born with physical beauty, irregardless whether they are male or female, is a gift. And like any other gifts, it comes with responsibilities.

And it is here in the responsibility side and the lack of it that their journey begins.

Maybe because they have been given the face that most people would give a second or even a third look that they start to think that that's the only thing necessary for life. But who can blame them in embracing this world view when people have made life easier for them :- )

But what happens when time takes all that beauty and youth away? And the people they unconsciously rely on moves on?

To be appreciated and to receive appreciation is not a sin.

But "how" did one receive the appreciation when it led to being lazy about life itself? For not performing in school? To not finishing college when you are already in your mid-20s? Worse, not even high school?

Who erred when this happens?

Does being born with a beautiful or handsome face a talent?

Seriously. A talent?

People in our position, people who man talent agencies, is faced with this very unique challenge - how can we help these individuals adjust to the reality that life will throw challenges at them. That beauty, not handle properly, is a trap in its own.

We earn our dues because it takes sincerity to make people, who were made to believed that the whole world revolves around them, realize that they have to work in order for their dreams to be realized. Simply showing up does not cut it.

It takes mad creativity to make people, who were made to believed that the whole world revolves around them, realize that they are now competing with other people who were also made to believed that the whole world revolves around them too :- )

It takes awhile for most to understand that competition dynamic.

For those who get it, they become better and far more influential.

For those who do not get it, they fall into beauty's invisible trap and their confusion... painful... education begins :-)

"... why think like mere men?"