I have a dream

Check out this link (HERE). Its a speech by Martin Luther King entitled "I have a dream".

I read about his autobiography quite recently and was very much overwhelmed by it.

Just a week ago, again I came across his most famous speech "I Have A Dream" and could not help but thinking, racism still happening around the world even now, here?

When I read the full text of the speech, I was totally awed. It was the most moving speech I have ever heard/read.

When other people were thinking about revolting to gain a better stand socially, he was different and it was evident in his speech.It contained only love and encouragement to keep hoping for a better future without resorting to violence. How wonderful!.

Just to share his wonderful speech, I posted it here.

A little excerpt from the link above"

" I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal."

I have a dream that one day on the red hills of Georgia, the sons of former slaves and the sons of former slave owners will be able to sit down together at the table of brotherhood.

I have a dream that one day even the state of Mississippi, a state sweltering with the heat of injustice, sweltering with the heat of oppression, will be transformed into an oasis of freedom and justice.

I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character."


Liked it a lot.

:)

Being Happy vs Smart

Check on the link below:-

ParenThots - Brain Rules author tells parents why they want happy, not smart, kids

There were two things that I found interesting from the above article. The first one was, that if you are happy, you will be ensuring more access to whatever intelligence your DNA allows. The second one was the part about how parents should show not only the fighting but also the reconciliation in front of the children. I think these are the most basic things on how to develop a child to become a healthy and happy human being.

Loved it.

credits to The Star newspaper.

Vanishing On 7th Street

what do I think about this movie?

I feel so empty watching this movie, as empty as the street in the movie. The story was very simple, too simple I just ended up shaking my head for the simpleness that probably put me in a dilemma and a question mark "so what?"

It went something like this, one night the electricity suddenly went out and tadaaa..people went missing leaving only their clothes behind. The only people left were people who used flashlights or used other methods (aka solar, battery, generator) to keep the lights on. Then, there were these 4 or 5 people only who tried anything to stay alive until the next sunrise. But sadly only two of them who survived. The miracle was the girl who had a solar flashlight, who did not want to get close to anybody (very selfish indeed) was the one who might saved them all because she knew how to keep the lights on. What I did not understand was why the little girl was wiser than the rest of the crew and why the character was written in such a way that she just let everyone else vanish???.

I felt wronged watching something where the people were clueless of what they were fighting against and only to be told "once upon a time, an entire village vanished leaving its home and livestock and a mysterious "CROATOAN" word painted on the gate at the village". In other words, the history just repeated itself in 7th street and nothing should happen to stop it.People just vanished and that was it.

*sigh...

Not liking it.

Yes Man

Although I don't fancy Jim Carrey nor his character in this movie, I loved the story well enough to watch it.

Its a story about a man who did not do much in his life except living his life day to day as a routine. Basically he was a No man. He tried to live isolated from everything else and just went through life living by himself. He was a selfish brat until one day an opportunity knock on his door after a friend gave him a pamphlet about "Yes a new word for No". It was a pamphlet of a seminar gathering people to encourage them living a life fully as in saying yes to every opportunity presenting itself at the moment.

The speaker challenged "Carl - Jim carrey character in the movie" to start saying yes and even dared him to make a covenant with him. He was to promise that from that moment onwards he must say YES to everything or else the moment he said NO, things will start to go wrongly. Carl determined to keep on the covenant and started to say yes to "everything" but realized soon that his yes was only because he "had" to and not because he "wanted" to in his "heart".

He tried to break the covenant by seeking for the speaker who once made the covenant with him but unfortunately caused them both a car accident. Surprisingly, the speaker told him that there never was a covenant. What he made him do was only to urge him to start over with his new motto seriously. Only then,after Karl felt released from the spell he once put on himself did he found the right thing to think for himself which was the one he lost for being a yes man; his girlfriend.

What I found interesting about this movie was that, I am more of a "yes man" than a "No man" that it is actually hard to be true to myself. I have yet to learn to say no to plenty of things. Actually contrary to the movie, I feel saying No is much more difficult than saying yes especially if you are dealing with a very manipulative individual and all you want to do is to keep peace and please everyone.

Watching this movie just gave me a new perspective of "yes, man". Maybe half of it was true such as, good things will follow when you accept something that comes your way.

Just get ready to say yes and think wise enough to say no. :)

I can speak well.

I had a very stressful day today. There were nonstop problems to solve and I was totally exhausted. In short, it was a hard day.

I was questioning my ability to speak and ask question coherently because I really did not communicate well today. It was as if I had a speech impairment. I was lost for words? I could not connect sentences nicely, so I ended up confusing people??? ^__^

So I went home, feeling totally helpless thinking to myself, when will this "confident issue will go away". There are so many things I need to solve by talking. You agree its the most important thing isn't? Its not like I am mute.

Then I tried to find Mr.Hubby...maybe in order to tell him how I feel about my "Impairment speech" problem. unfortunately, the line was bad. Even the "line" was not on my side. So I ended up texting him "Its nothing, just want to practise speaking" since I rarely talk to him when he was out of town..neither do I speak much at home or at work. Geezzz... I had a feeling the speech neuron in my brain is actively disconnecting due to my lack of using it. What do you think?

To console myself, of course I write it down here to share my burden with fellow bloggers who might understand my "impairment".

Tonight, I am thinking of practicing my "line" before calling up someone important to solve a very big"work related" problem.

Yup..I am summoning up all my courage.

I am blessed indeed

Practical Ways to start cultivating your genius today

by David McNally

1. LOOK FOR PATTERNS IN YOUR LIFE - Although you may have not truly valued your gifts and talents, they have surfaced from time to time throughout your life. As you review the events of your life, look for the threads of continuity running throughout. What have you consistently enjoyed throughout your life? What talents have you been praised for? What accomplishments are you most proud of? Answering these questions will put you on the right path.

2. PLAY GAMES - Your natural gifts and talents are more visible when you are feeling relaxed, spontaneous, and the most yourself. Giving yourself the opportunity to let go, to play, opens the door to discovering new creativity and new passions.

3. TRY SOMETHING NEW - Break out of established patterns of doing things. What have you assumed you're not good at but would love to try? Do at least one new thing every month. Think of something you've always wanted to do and do it. If you fail, make a mistake, get laughed at, feel embarrassed, so what! Fears like these keep people mired in mediocrity.

4. BE HONEST ABOUT WHAT YOU LOVE - What do you feel passionate about, what do you have fun doing? I believe that what you love is what you were made to do and what you were made to do is what you have an aptitude to do. Have the courage to admit what you love and your genius will burst through.

5. SHINE YOUR LIGHT - Once you identify your genius, find a comfortable way to let other people know who you are and what you do exceptionally well so that they can call on your gifts and talents. If you don't belong to a professional association, join one. Ask some question at a meeting or volunteer to sit on a committee or demonstrate your expertise by writing an article for your employee newsletter.

6. DEVELOP IDEAS - Get in the habit of spending fifteen minutes a day listing ideas on how to improve your personal and professional life. At first your mind may be blank, but with time insights will begin to appear Until, if you are disciplined in this process, a flood of ideas will present themselves. Don't censor the ideas because they seem too large or small, impractical or unreasonable. Remember, George Bernard Shaw said; "All progress depends on the unreasonable man."

8 different intelligences

by Prof.Howard Gardner of Harvard University

1. LINGUISTIC INTELLIGENCE - Allows individuals to communicate through language

2. LOGICAL INTELLIGENCE - Enables individuals to use and appreciate abstract relationship (eg: Albert Einstein)

3. MUSICAL INTELLIGENCE - Allows people to create and understand meanings made out of sounds (

4. SPATIAL INTELLIGENCE - Makes it possible for people to perceive images, transform them, and re-create them from memory (eg: Pablo Picasso)

5. KINESTHETIC INTELLIGENCE - Allows individuals to use all or part of their bodies in highly skilled ways

6. INTRAPERSONAL INTELLIGENCE - Helps individuals distinguish among feelings and build accurate mental models of themselves.

7. INTERPERSONAL INTELLIGENCE - Enables individuals to recognize and distinguish among others' feelings and intentions.

8. NATURALIST INTELLIGENCE - Allows people to distinguis among, classify and use features of the environment (eg:Charles Darwin - Naturalist)

Note;

with this knowledge, we must accept that everyone is equal in intelligence. The only difference is the type of intelligence they fall into. ^_^

We are blessed indeed.

Learning as a way of life

by David McNally


1. CULTIVATE CURIOSITY - All of us enter the world as curious, natural learners. A child's world is fresh and new, and they use their senses to gain direct knowledge of their surroundings. For children, learning is joyful, playful. Adults who are forever learning are more able to be spontaneous and intuitive. They combine what they know from direct experience with conceptual thought and imagination to gain self-knowledge and awareness. When it comes to learning your curiosity quotient is at least as important as your intelligence quotient.

2. PAY ATTENTION - Open your eyes and ears to what is going on around you. Make effort to truly listen to others. Take the time to really hear what another person is saying and to ask questions. Understanding another point of view is one of the most valuable ways people have to learn. "Today work is about conversation; talking and listening are how knowledge workers learn, how they discover what they know, share it with their colleagues and in the process create new knowledge for the organization," wrote Allan Webber.

3. EXCERCISE YOUR MIND - Accelerate your learning process by taking a class at a local community center, college or university in something that you've always wanted to learn. It might be another language, a musical instrument, or a new software program. Thanks to modern media technology, there are many ways to absorb new information.

4. BUILD SELF-ESTEEM - Studies repeatedly have shown that people who feel good about themselves are better able to learn than those who do not. When you like yourself, you are more open, receptive and relaxed, which are qualities or conditions that are necessary to take in and absorb new information. In short, find creative ways to be good to yourself.

5. FIND A MENTOR - Many people will tell you that they wouldn't have achieved anything like their present level of success if a mentor or teacher had not cultivated their growth and development. The opportunity to observe and learn from a mentor gives one a deeper appreciation and respect for the discipline, commitment, and skill required to achieve excellence in any field. The awareness of new possibilities and higher standards inspires us to perfect and hone our skills.

6. BE OPEN - Learning is about giving yourself more options, more choices. This requires learning from the unexpected, being willing to and desirous of embracing the strange or unknown. When we're open, we're teachable - we are not afraid to entertain new thoughts, ideas, dreams, values, or beliefs. Every encounter, every interaction and insight becomes an opportunity to be more fully engaged in our dynamic world.

Your Children by Kahlil Gibran

by Kahlil Gibran's, The Prophet

Your children are not your children

They are the sons and daughters of life's longing for itself.

They come through you but not from you,

And though they are with you yet they belong not to you.

You may give them your love but not your thought,

For they have their own thoughts.

You may house their bodies but not their souls,

For theirs souls dwell in the house of tomorrow, which you

cannot visit, not even in your dreams.

You may strive to be like them, but seek not to make them like you.

For life goes not backward nor tarries with yesterday.

Thriver: Taking responsibility by David McNally

by David McNally

One crisp autumn afternoon, a husband and wife decided to go for a drive. It was a magnificent day, the sun was shining, the air clean and fresh, and winter seemed weeks away. As the couple drove along the country roads that surrounded their home, they marveled at the splash of stunning colors on both sided of the road: brilliant oranges and reds, deep maroons, and rich golds.

Suddenly, with no warning, two leather-jacketed motorcyclists came barreling out from a quiet and almost hidden lane. The bikers, after barely missing the couple's car, were gone in a flash. Shocked and shaken, the man pulled over to the side of the road and stopped. It seemed only seconds, however, before and explosion in the distance startled them even more.

The man immediately spun the car around in the direction from which the sound came. They drove just a few hundred feet before seeing what had happened; The cyclist had crashed through a guardrail, and dropped down the hillside, with one of the bikes exploding on impact. The man moved to climb down the hillside when his wife quickly grabbed his arm and said;
"What are you doing?"
"I've got to go down there and see if anyone else needs help," he said.
"Wait a minute!" his wife cautioned. "It might not be safe. How do you know there won't be another explosion?"

The man stopped as thoughts raced through his mind. What should he do? Unwittingly he was being confronted with one of those moments that can define a life. He didn't ask for it, didn't desire it, yet there it was staring him straight in the face. Whatever he decided could have a dramatic impact on his own life, his family's, and any possible survivors down below.

He stepped over the twisted guardrail and carefully and cautiously climbed down the steep embankment. He found the bikers still alive. Suddenly remembering his cellular phone, he scrambled back to his car, called an ambulance, and soon two lucky young men were rushed to a hospital. Did the man make the "right" decision? Perhaps. The bikers fully recovered. Then again, his wife's concern was justified. If the other bike had exploded, all three might have been killed. Like many of the most important decisions in our lives, the answer is rarely obvious.

To live is to make choices continually that shape the very essence of who we are. Every day is filled with defining moments, opportunities for our courage to be demonstrated and our characters to be built. Taking a responsibility for themselves and their role in the world is, unquestionable, a key characteristic of thrivers.

Excercises To Get In Top Playing Condition;

by David McNally

1. DESIGN A CONTRIBUTION PLAN - Instead of thinking in terms of how far you want to advance in an organization, a traditional way of doing career planning,instead think in terms of what you want to contribute now, three, five or even ten years from now. How can you influence your workplace to become more productive, enjoyable, and rewarding for yourself, coworkers, clients, and customers? In what new, imaginative ways can you contribute to your family and friends?

2. DEVELOP A PURPOSE STATEMENT FOR YOUR LIFE - Many people have spent literally hundreds of hours working on mission statements for their corporations, yet few have taken any serious time to discover a truly meaningful reason for why they get up in the morning. Take some time to decide what you want your life to be about. What legacy do you want to leave?

3. ASK FOR FEEDBACK - This is a powerful and courageous way to enhance the value of your contribution. It takes guts to ask people to evaluate your contribution, but people are impressed by those who do. People who continually strive to meet the needs of their employers, customers, and clients will thrive in the new world of work.

4. NOURISH YOUR POTENTIAL - Spend some time with books that enhance your sense of what is possible for your life. Sign up for a community education class that nudges you toward where you want to go. The great contributors in life often start with just a glimmer of what they might accomplish. But, through consistent action, they fan the flame, celebrating even the smallest of victories along the way.

5. LOOK FOR NEEDS TO FILL - This secret of success never fails those who practice it. What needs in your home, workplace, and community can you fill? Once you've found a need, do something about it. Volunteer a couple of hours a month to help others.