Sunday, November 30, 2008

almost a fiction


Glenn has been a good student of his older co-workers and employee of his first two companies. The third company where he worked is in GlaxoSmithKline as an Engineering Staff in the Facilities department. He has been the same until he learned a lot, lot more than he already knew before coming to Glaxo. At that time, he became Mr. Technical (a man who knows lots of technical stuff) and also became a mean green fighting machine. He would crush some people, even managers, whenever they are wrong thru email or show other people that they have done mistakes. He is very happy whenever he proves himself to be correct. He won lots of battle and with it, he also won enemies.<>

One day he had his biggest problem in the plant. The problem caused almost the whole factory to shutdown for 3 days. It’s like every finger of every employee has their fingers pointed to him. Though not totally his fault, everybody was blaming him. He is the only regular employee in the Maintenance of facilities division and the Engineering manager that time just resigned so there is nobody to help him. In that point of time, he saw who his true friends are and this is also the time where his enemies thought of giving him disciplinary action and possible suspension. He had a friend that attends management meeting so he knew about the plot. He looked for alibis but was too sad to think of any. The problem was solved after 3 more days but the commotion continued.

Mr. Technical became weary and much stressed for weeks. Good thing his wife, Joecy was there all along to ease some of his burdens. Time passed and no adverse thing was heard from the top management. He just thought that if they suspend him, nobody will be looking after the Facilities department. More time passed and the issue subsided.

There are many things that Glenn learned from that event. One of which is to be kind to other co-workers even if they make mistakes because time can come for them to have their revenge. He was just lucky then that they cannot suspend him. After the incident, he made all other staff his friend. He regained his confidence gradually. This event made him the good person he was but a lot stronger emotionally.
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Friday, November 28, 2008

the console


I loved playing video games since the time of famicom or family computer made by Nintendo. Today, what I have is a black slim PSP. I just finished a game which has a title: “Final Fantasy VII Crisis Core.” The scenes are amazing and I really adore the animation. The game is about Zack, a 2nd class soldier who wanted to be 1st class and he got it early on. The main issue that story wants to disseminate is embracing dreams and protecting honor. It was stated a hundred times by Zack and his mentor, Angeal. Unfortunately, he died but his dream came true – to become a hero.<>

Playing the game, Zack battles enemies, levels up and had to finish lot of stages. The story is a long and complex one (I finished it in about a week at least 4 hours a day.) In it is an option that is called missions. There are certain areas only where you can play them. This option is a training ground where the character can also level up, gain some points and get other things he can use as well. With them, when he goes back to the flow of the main story, he will be stronger and more armed to face the enemies. I would finish some missions whenever I can so no monster can be big enough to stop me inside the main phase. Sacrificing some time for those missions, I knew I would finish the game easily.

Compared to my own flow of story, reading books and talking to experienced people are some of the options I am taking so that there would be no monsters such as problems that will be big enough to stop me from achieving my goals. These are things that I do to make me more armed to face the real world. What are your missions?
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Wednesday, November 26, 2008

i go, you go


Jahn, 4 years old, is just more than a year younger than Gio. Whenever we are together, he would usually be at my side. Coming back to PNG last November 15, 2008, my wife and my two kids accompanied me to the airport. Jahn insisted for us to stay home as he knows where we are heading to and he doesn’t want me to leave. I had no problem with Gio as we have great plans when I come back – buying his favorite toys.<> Jahn was left with no choice when he saw that all of us are already in the car. As he can do nothing for me to go, what he did is just tell us that he wants to come with me all the way to PNG. I and Joecy tried to make excuses so that Jahn would let me go willingly and one of them is telling him that he cannot go because his passport is at home. We thought that he would surrender with that but Jahn told us that we should go back (while at the expressway) to get his passport. Jahn has a cute voice which makes the scene funnier. More excuses from us again. After half an hour or so, he got tired of his excuses and settled down for a while. When Jahn recovered, the struggle continued until I hit the right button. I mentioned that I don’t want to go anymore and he can go by himself. Surprised of what I said, he said “Bakit ako? Bata pa ko! Ikaw na lang!” (Why me? I’m still very young! go by yourself!) I then looked at Joecy, with eyes that says “gotcha!”. After that we just repeated to Jahn that I really really don’t want to go anymore, and he should go. He then made all the excuses he can generate for him not to go to PNG alone until they dropped me at the departure area.
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Monday, November 24, 2008

problem

One of my friends told me he has a problem with his board member in his small organization. He said that the person always comes late during their meetings and that he causes delay because he has an important data which should be presented early in the meeting. He is a bit angry already to his fellow. Surprisingly, he asked me how to handle a person like him. Surprising, because he is 10 years older than me. Hearing this I got excited as I will be giving advice just like the leaders I am following.<> Fortunately, the answer came in an instant as I have read issues like this on the previous books that I finished reading. Confidently, the exact phrase I told him was: “tirahin mo yung problema at ‘wag yung tao” (Focus on the problem and not the person.) He asked for an elaboration. In a very calm way, like a teacher to a student, I told him that he should not take things personally. I continued and told him that if he will tell the person that he is wrong for what he is doing, he would probably just defend himself and create an argument. I told him that in my opinion, the better approach is to tell him that being late is wrong because he is needed to come early so that the data will be presented on the right time. I also added for him to tell the lad that if he comes on time, then the meeting can also be adjourned on time. I have to leave the company then that is why I did not know what happened during their next meetings.

Just put yourself into the shoes of the guy who comes in late, would you like to hear your leader tell you that you’re wrong because you’re always late? Or would you rather hear him tell you that being late is wrong?
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Friday, November 21, 2008

record

“Make your own Bible. Select and collect all the words and sentences that in your reading have been like the blast of triumph out of Shakespeare, Seneca, Moses, John and Paul.”
-Ralph Waldo Emerson

I have been writing things that I have learned from books, articles and also inspirational quotes in a blue notebook of mine.<> In there, I also have listed down my goals and check them once in a while and add new goals whenever there are things that come into my mind. Some of them are already done and looking at the unfinished ones gives me motivation to achieve them. I jot down daily activities that I have done that add value to my life (in another file.) Robin Sharma mentioned in his books and Anthony Robbins said, “A life worth living is a life worth recording.” These are the inspiring words that influenced me to do this. I may be a nobody today, but who knows where all my learnings can bring me?

When my wife, Joecy, sees me writing things down she would always smile and tell me that I am writing on my diary again. Most leaders call it a journal and one thing that they would usually recommend for their students and followers to have.

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book #1: The Monk Who Sold his Ferrari

I will impart with you the books that transformed me into whatever creature I have become. Hope you would read them also and hope it will be of help to you as it is with me. This will be the first of a series.

I will start with the first self-help book that I have read which is The Monk who sold his Ferrari by Robin Sharma. It is a fable about a lawyer who is exceptional on his job. Through this, he became rich and famous, but is empty deep inside. The turning point is when he collapsed in the courtroom. After some time, he then sold everything he has and searched for the true happiness in life. He sought for the sages in India who hold the secrets of happy and fulfilling life (which are the main parts of the story). He found them and became their student. He shared his experiences and gained knowledge as he had promised.

I am fortunate to have read such a good and interesting book as a start. Being an enlightened person, I have followed the wisdom I have learned from the fable and have searched for more since then.
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Tuesday, November 18, 2008

practice

In a previous company of mine, I had mechanical technicians who asked me if I can teach them electrical stuffs. I merrily said yes since I dreamt of being a teacher. It took me some days to prepare materials to start with, and had a bit of practice as I want it to be a good one. The day came when I was ready and called all the technicians that were present on that day. There were only 3 of them as we have to put others on night shift. And when I was about to start the lecture, suddenly, my fight or flight mechanism was triggered, and no words came out of my mouth. I tried to talk and made it but cannot complete a sentence without blunder in uttering words. My personnel laughed at what they saw and heard. After the event, I smiled and told myself that it is probably because I am not exposed to giving lectures and that it’s my first try. I never got halfhearted and continued lecturing. I still had problems speaking especially when all 6 of them are present but made progress in every session we had. I am very happy that after the lectures that I have given them, they learned new things. With them, my ways of speaking improved, and same with my confidence in doing it in front of a quite bigger crowd.
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Monday, November 17, 2008

success vs failure

My son Gio has been doing well in his class and usually on top of his class in competitions. But one day, in a game, the teacher gave some instructions to prevent them from being eliminated. So he practiced the steps and got hooked up in it not realizing that the teacher is giving additional steps. And it happened… He is the first one to be eliminated. He went to her mother crying and promised her that he will not join any contests ever again. What I told Gio was to just learn from his mistake and that next time, be attentive to the one who gives instructions. I also added that in a game, or in other activities, all you have to do is give your best and accept what the outcome will be. Many of us are like Gio in that instance; we often escape an event where we already failed in instead of trying again. Failure and mistakes should make us stronger and wiser, not weaker. Nowadays, whenever I fail, I always look for the new things I can learn and the opportunity in it.
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Thursday, November 13, 2008

don't go home

When I was a kid, I got hooked up in collecting and trading NBA basketball cards in Manila where it is a hit back then. After some time, I learned that there is not one store that sells them in our province, so I thought of selling them in Bulacan. I built up my stocks of cards (by saving money from my school allowance) and placed them in a nice black ring binder. Soon, I piled up my cards, and got ready to sell them in our mini store in Atlag. From our house going to the store, I saw my uncle who is an influencial person in our place and is known in the field of basketball. I told him merrily that I am going to sell cards, then he uttered, "hindi ka makakabenta dito n'yan!". As a very very shy person, my heart was pounded with his "brutal words". I just smiled at him and pretended I heard nothing and continued walking. After few strides, I stopped and thought twice - should I bring the items to the store or go home. My heart was still beating very fast, and after a while, I told my self "I'll sell cards". From then, I earned good sum of money and sold items until competition came. This event, is still very fresh in my mind and serves as an inspiration whenever people tell me I cannot do things. As I see it now, the money I earned is worthless compared from what I learned from it. I've seen a lot of people stop, think twice then go home (comfort zone) whenever other people tell them they cannot do it, even if they know they can and there is nothing to loose.
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Wednesday, November 12, 2008

wiseman

I was a very technical person, so to speak, and I have read and practiced electrical, mechanical, chemical and other stuffs that are related to my job and and things that I thought would make me "wiser". I got married, had kids and made lots of friend, then I realized that the readings I have done were not enough in making me a "wiseman". I can get thru problems encountered at work, but personally, there are lots of problem that I can't sort out. Being aware of this difficulty I was in, I have changed my repertoire into many sorts of things, as I looked for the answers to my questions and quest to being a "wiseman". Since then, I have been into books that are based on leadership, relationship, religion and health. For years now, I have been practicing what the great ones have done to be a better person and with them I now know that I am on my way.
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