Lost in translation . . .

Guest post by PinkM

Well, Pete honored me by asking me to guest post on here. No idea what wisdom is expected, but I’ll do my best to be me.

A couple of days ago, I did this post on giving and uplifting others in all I do, and a couple of comments prompted this post.

See, we have the tendency to use English translations in relationships, and from my observation, they don’t always hold true. For example:

Giving / Receiving – According to the dictionary definition, these two are opposites right? Well, in relationships, they’re not. People have the tendency to believe that one has to be a giver or a receiver; you cannot be a perennial giver, and a receiver. If one is building themselves into being a giver, it’s taken to mean that that person will not receive. That’s not true.
The opposite of giving is not giving. The opposite of receiving is not receiving.

My saying I want to be ever generous means, I want to move from the position of not giving (all the time), to giving (all the time). Receiving comes in another context. Basically, giving and receiving IMO are not mutually exclusive.

Making Others Shine – Again, the opposite of this isn’t dimming my light. It just means that external approval will cease to be so important to me, and instead, I’ll channel that light onto someone who need it more to build their confidence.
Case in point. You have an important project to deliver, but instead of working on it and taking all the glory (which will mean less time, and more efficiency for the company), you help your junior do the work, and let him take the glory.

IMO, in that case, I haven’t dimmed my light one bit. See, I know I can do it and do it well, but the person beside me needs to learn. He needs to build his confidence in whatever task. He’s still growing.
Letting those beside you take the glory is a sign of growth and security in who you are, and as such, outside affirmation doesn’t mean that much (nose in the air self righteousness)

Character vs Personality – I was watching this episode of Desperate  Housewives that they talk about why you should probably love the rude neighbor who will speak their mind, and not trust so much, the polite neighbor, who has nothing but kind words for you, and nothing else (this was in reference to Susan, the rude neighbor and Orson, the ever so polite guy, who was stealing from everyone).

I get this feeling that society is emphasizing so much on people developing perfect personalities, without advocating for fundamental character issues.
We’re taught to say the right thing, the right words and everything to keep the peace.

As long as you’re ‘correct’ you’re accepted. Something is fundamentally wrong with that. Let us work on character development and sincerity, and at the end of the day, we’ll be a better people.

Filed under: Insight, choice, Growth, human nature, Insight, Learning, life, media, Self Discovery, selflessness, Sharing, truth

Forever Young, The Good Old Days

Lately, I’ve had the chance to look back at days gone by, to those cherishable moments that truly add value and epitomize meaning in life.

It was then that I thought, “What if Pete was forever young?”

The following song by Alphaville, is a timeless reminder .  .  . Enjoy!

FOREVER YOUNG

Let’s dance in style, lets dance for a while
Heaven can wait we’re only watching the skies
Hoping for the best but expecting the worst
Are you going to drop the bomb or not?
Let us die young or let us live forever
We don’t have the power but we never say never
Sitting in a sandpit, life is a short trip
The music’s for the sad men
Can you imagine when this race is won
Turn our golden faces into the sun
Praising our leaders we’re getting in tune
The music’s played by the madman

Forever young, i want to be forever young
Do you really want to live forever, forever forever
Forever young, i want to be forever young
Do you really want to live forever
Forever young

Some are like water, some are like the heat
Some are a melody and some are the beat
Sooner or later they all will be gone
Why don’t they stay young
It’s so hard to get old without a cause
I don’t want to perish like a fading horse
Youth is like diamonds in the sun
And diamonds are forever
So many adventures couldn’t happen today
So many songs we forgot to play
So many dreams are swinging out of the blue
We let them come true

Forever young, i want to be forever young
Do you really want to live forever, forever forever
Forever young, i want to be forever young
Do you really want to live forever forever forever
Forever young, i want to be forever young
Do you really want to live forever, forever forever
Forever young, i want to be forever

The above lyrics and artist names are copyrighted to Alphaville. They appear  here for educational and personal use only.

Learn, share and maintain the spirit of youth.

Filed under: Inspiring Music, choice, determination, hope, Inspiration, life, lyrical insight, media, music, Self Discovery, words

Security and insecurity, heroes and warriors: Eve Ensler's TED Talk

Following is a TED Talk by Eve Ensler, founder of the Vagina Monologues.

Be edified:

Learn, share and be safe & secure.

Filed under: Insight, choice, hope, human condition, Inspiration, life, media, positivity, Progress, Sharing, TED Talks, words

Until My Change Comes… I'll wait, Renew my Strength and Keep Holding On

The first episode of the fourth season of Grey’s Anatomy is titled ‘A Change is Gonna Come’. Following is an excerpt of the episode transcript:

“In the practice of medicine, change is inevitable. New surgical techniques are created, procedures are updated, levels of expertise increase.
Innovation is everything. Nothing remains the same for long. We either adapt to change…or we get left behind……..”

The above words got me thinking.
Yeah, it’s true that we get inspired and hopeful whenever we envision change. We even get motivated when we encounter new people and situations that effect change and thereby enhance our lives.

But what about that transition period? That period of waiting as change happens? What keeps us going at the time?

I found my answer in a song I first listened to ten years ago – ‘Until My Change Comes’ by Commissioned. It’s from the album ‘Times and Seasons’, which was released in the year 2000.

Consider the following:

UNTIL MY CHANGE COMES
By Commissioned

It’s been a long time coming
But a change is gonna come
When the dark clouds pass away
Feel the warmness of the sun
I know that You love me, oh yeah,
I know that you care
I can’t wait to be by Your side
In the middle of the air.

CHORUS
Until my change comes
Here’s what I’ll do
Renew my strength
Keep holding on
I’ll wait on You.

(REPEAT)

It ain’t gonna be easy
But I’ll be strong. Some say if You
Really cared um,
It’s wouldn’t take so long for You to
Return for me
If with You is where I ought to be
But I’m gonna believe until that day
I will…. until…

CHORUS

BRIDGE

Gotta wait gotta wait on you
That’s what I’m gonna do
I’m gonna stand still
I just wanna be in your will
Just like David and Goliath
I gotta encourage my soul, yeah
Said I’m gonna stand still
Until um…

CHORUS * CHORUS * CHORUS

The above lyrics and artist names are copyrighted to Commissioned. They appear  here for educational and personal use only.

So back to the Grey’s Anatomy transcript…

“Change. we don’t like it, we fear it.
But we can’t stop it from coming.
We either adapt to change, or we get left behind.
It hurts to grow. Anybody who tells you it doesn’t is lying.
But here’s the truth. sometimes the more things change, the more they stay the same.
And sometimes…oh, sometimes change is good.
Sometimes change is…everything.”

Learn, share and be an agent of positive change. Both in your life and those of others.

Filed under: Insight, choice, determination, Growth, human nature, Learning, lyrical insight, media, music, Progress, Self Discovery, the bigger picture, words

Some Birds Aren't Meant to be Caged… The Shawshank Redemption

HOPE is the bridge that connects you to where you want to go.
FAITH assures you that the bridge will hold.
LOVE gives you a reason to cross it.

The Shawshank Redemption is my all time favorite movie. Morgan Freeman’s narration is very convincing and captivating, the plot is both compelling and inspiring and much more…

This movie is based on the Stephen King novella, Rita Hayworth and Shawshank Redemption.
I have watched it time and again, but it never bores me.

Following is one of the deep thoughts you are to find in this movie:

“Some birds aren’t meant to be caged
Their feathers are just too bright
And when they fly away
The part of you that knows
It was a sin to lock them up does rejoice
But still
The place you live in is that much more drab and empty
That they are gone.”
– Ellis Boyd Redding (Morgan Freeman) in ‘The Shawshank Redemption’.

Watching it, you get to realize that while “Fear Can Hold You Prisoner, Hope Can Set You Free”.

To date, it is still listed as number 1 on the IMDb (Internet Movie Database) list of 250 most highly rated films.

I highly recommend that you watch The Shawshank Redemption. It is a story of enduring hope, and good being triumphant in the face of evil and seemingly insurmountable odds.

Let us learn, share and be full of hope. That, will definitely set us free.

Filed under: Movies to Watch, determination, faith, hope, Inspiration, media, positivity

Pray. Deep from your heart, since the world has lost the way

Inspiration comes to us from many places. Nothing however, compares to what happens when we connect with God, in prayer and supplication. The outcome is invariably beyond comprehension.

At a time when countless bad things are happening in our lives, our country and even globally, we need to connect with God in prayer. Now is the time to pray, deep from our hearts.

Following is a very inspiring song by Celine Dion. Be uplifted:

PRAYER
By Celine Dion

Can we touch the soul of heaven
Can we unite a sacred lesson
Every child creates a skylight of beauty
Can you hear cathedrals falling
All the universe is calling
Cry a single cello from your heart
Since the world has lost her way
Loneliness journey endlessly
Yet the promised chance remains
Gifts of what could be

So let the children remember the sun
Let them dance let them soar
For their lives have begun
Let the children engender the rain
As the river runs through fields
Forever subsiding their pain
Prayer

Every voice along the shoreline
Standing still within time
Spinning unresolved the walking
As each season passes
Through wonderland and looking glasses
The secret garden shires beckons you
Gentle flower, don’t fade away
Sweet innocent still harbors thee
In the faith of golden dreams
Where one love lives eternally

Let the children remember the sun
Let them dance let them soar
For their lives have begun
Let the children engender the rain
As the river runs through fields
Forever subsiding their pain

Prayer
Prayer
Prayer

Bless the children for they are the light
They are the truth of spirit in flight
Yes the children engender the rain
As the river runs through life
Healing their pain
If you could trust with your heart but for time
Sweet angels, conceive you have
Forever and always believed Prayer

Prayer
Prayer
Prayer

The above lyrics and artist names are copyrighted to Celine Dion. They appear  here for educational and personal use only.

Let us learn, share and stand in the gap to seek God’s grace in overcoming the odds that are stacked against us.

Filed under: Inspiring Music, faith, hope, Insight, Inspiration, lyrical insight, media, music, prayer, selflessness, words

Talent: Practice Doing What You Love, and Loving Your Work

“Your work is going to fill a large part of your life and the only way to be truly satisfied is to do what you believe is great work.
The only way to do great work is to love what you do.”
– Steve Jobs (addressing Stanford University students in 2005)

For a long time, there has been raging debate on the roles of both talent and practice in success. The ScienCentral Archive has a lengthy article that seeks to answer the question: Is talent something you’re born with or can practice really make you perfect? You can read the entire article on Talent vs Practice here. Consider the following excerpt:

“Experts on expertise – who’ve studied the minds of experts in fields from sports to medicine – have the answer… that anyone with the right kind of practice will be able to dramatically improve their performance and it looks like they would be able to become experts with sufficient practice. “

In an article on expert performance and deliberate practice, K. Anders Ericsson underscores the notion that a high level of improvement can be achieved by deliberate practice. Experts are therefore able to find areas for improvement and focus their time and effort practising and improving those areas. That is what sets them apart form ordinary average persons. He writes,

“A lot of people like to do things that they’re already good at, but what deliberate practice says is that you need to find those things that you are weak at, since there’s room for improvement. That’s the activity you should focus on…”

As we seek to make ourselves better, brighter, faster, stronger, happier, healthier and smarter; we need to realize that the difference between ordinary and extra-ordinary is that little ‘extra’. We can rise above our apparent limitations by practising.

One of the adverts I find inspiring focuses on ‘the source of talent’. Following is the video and entire copy of the Wesbank TV ad.

WESBANK (The Source of Talent) TV ad

A recent study asked,
“Where does talent come from?”
Is it programmed at birth into a select few
Or is it something,
that can be drawn from you inch by inch?
Does it show itself a little more
Every time you challenge yourself?
What the study found was,
“Practice makes perfect”

Let us purpose to make the most of our talents. For those who find themselves in jobs that seemingly suck, learn how to love your work. That is the only way to doing great work.
We should always remember what Steve Jobs told students at Stanford University…

“…The only way to do great work is to love what you do.”

Let us learn, share and become better at doing what we love.

Filed under: Insight, choice, Insight, Inspiration, Learning, life, love, media, practice, Progress, talent, work

Overcoming Fear and Rediscovering our Inner Potential

“Don’t waste life in doubts and fears; spend yourself on the work before you, well assured that the right performance of this hour’s duties will be the best preparation for the hours and ages that will follow it.”
– Ralph Waldo Emerson

Fear is one of the greatest hindrances to achievement and progress. The fact that you fear somebody, some consequencies or situations prevents you from taking action. Fear results in missed opportunities and untold regret. Fear is a great demotivator. Fear heralds failure.

Great ideas do not amount to anything if they are not acted upon. The main reason people take no action on their thoughts and ideas is fear. Fear clouds our judgment. Fear diminishes capacity. Fear can make you feel lonely and miserable.

A very surprising thing about fear is that many are overwhelmed by a crippling fear of the unknown. In this case, a person is afraid of things they have not yet experienced. They are afraid of what might just happen – whether they do something or they don’t. Days, weeks, even months pass by before doing anything with their lives.

In her book ‘A Return to Love: Reflections on the Principles of “A Course in Miracles”‘, Marianne Williamson wrote some wonderful words on our deepest fear. These words have changed the lives of thousands, if not millions.

Be edified:

OUR DEEPEST FEAR

Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate.
Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure.
It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us.
We ask ourselves, Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous?
Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God.
Your playing small does not serve the world.
There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won’t feel insecure around you.
We are all meant to shine, as children do.
We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us.
It is not just in some of us; it is in everyone.
And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same.
As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others.

– Marianne Williamson in A Return to Love: Reflections on the Principles of “A Course in Miracles”

From now on, take a step of faith to overcome your fear. Stop staring at the steps. Instead, step up the stairs. Purpose to live without fear.

Let us learn, share and overcome fear.

Filed under: Self Discovery, determination, hope, Inspiration, life, media, positivity, Self Discovery, words

Still in Repair? …Are you Ready? …Or are you Getting There?

I have always loved music by John Mayer, since my college days.
The other day, I decided to increase my John Mayer music collection, and added over 50 tracks to the dozen songs I already had.

And boy, some of the tracks are simply mind-blowing.

A clear favorite is ‘In Repair’, from John Mayer’s third album ‘Continuum’, which won two of the three Grammy awards it was nominated for in 2007.
This is what John Mayer had to say about the Continuum album, “With any trilogy, the third in the series blows it open.” And if you listen to the music, you will agree to that.

Following are the lyrics to ‘In Repair’ by John Mayer.

IN REPAIR

Too many shadows in my room
Too many hours in this midnight
Too many corners in my mind
So much to do to set my heart right

Oh, it’s taken so long
I could be wrong, I could be ready
Oh, but if I take my heart’s advice
I should assume it’s still unsteady
I am in repair
I am in repair

Stood on the corner for a while
To wait for the wind to blow down on me
Hoping it takes with it my old ways
And brings some brand new luck upon me

Oh, it’s taken so long
I could be wrong, I could be ready
Oh, but if I take my heart’s advice
I should assume it’s still unsteady
I am in repair
I am in repair

And now I’m walking in the park
And all of the birds, they dance below me
Maybe when things turn green again
It will be good to say you know me

Oh, it’s taken so long
I could be wrong, I could be ready
Oh, but if I take my heart’s advice
I should assume it’s still unsteady
Oh yeah, I’m never really ready, yeah
Oh yeah, I’m never really ready, yeah
I’m in repair
I’m not together but I’m getting there (x6)

The above lyrics and artist names are copyrighted to John Mayer. They appear  here for educational and personal use only.

So, are you still in repair, or are you ready?
But then again, you may not be together yet, but let’s hope you are getting there.

P.S: This post was initially posted on February 27 as a Facebook Note. Read other readers’ thoughts and comments here.

Let us learn, share and continue rocking!

Filed under: Inspiring Music, determination, faith, hope, Inspiration, life, lyrical insight, media, music, positivity, Progress, rock music, words

The Essence of Giving Power to good Designers who are Inspired, Visionary and Determined

I have just watched Jacek Utko’s TED talk, where he sought to answer the question: “Can Design save the newspaper?”

Jacek Utko

Jacek Utko is a polish designer who suggests that it’s time for a fresh, top-to-bottom rethink of the newspaper. In his work, he’s proved that good design can help readers reconnect with newspapers.
Despite being a little-known newspaper designer, his redesigns not only win awards, but increase circulation by up to 100%. In the following TED talk, Jacek says in no uncertain terms:

“you can live in a small poor country, you can work for a small company, in a boring branch, you can have no budgets, no people, but still you can put your work to the highest possible level. And everybody can do it. You just need inspiration, vision and determination. And you need to remember that to be good, is not enough.”

You can watch this talk, read reviews and download the video on the TED web site.

On the day the Daily Metro (a publication of Nation Media Group), gets retired, the following insights from Jacek Utko’s web site are worth thinking about:

7 Steps to (Design) Success

1. Strategy and goal
   What do you want to achieve? Increase sales? Attract new readers? Change image?
2. Newspaper content
   Is the change of content necessary? Is the paper structure clear? What are the reader’s needs?
3. Design
   Is design coherent with strategy and content?
4. Focus Groups
   Will readers accept it?
5. Organization and planning
   How to improve workflow and planning?
6. Marketing
   How to self-promote our content?
7. Implementation
   Presentation and training, style book, supervision

This post will be especially  helpful to those in the creative, publishing and marketing services industry. In a broader perspective however, the above design insights and TED talk are useful to anyone who is in the business of adding value.

That undoubtedly includes everyone, with no exceptions whatsoever.

Let us learn, share and purpose to add value both in our lives and those of others.

Filed under: Insight, creativity, design, determination, Insight, Inspiration, Learning, media, Progress, TED Talks, vision