Listen through your heart.......

By coincidence I met Omprakash today on the street. I hadn't seen him for quite awhile, a handsome young man of 27 I admired. Looking at his eyes, I could see he wasn't at ease and I strongly believe something must be disturbing him. Though he was on the run then, he was quick to seek my opinion for a problem that was in his mind.

He is working with a current company for 5 years, and he intends to quit because a business venture is waiting for him. He wasn't sure when to submit his resignation, today, end of the month or later!! He asked for my suggestion.

This was what I told him... Work with your heart. The heart could always tell  what you like. Is only the mind that disturb the emotion all the time. The heart says 'yes' but the surrounding and the friends gave you different thoughts and ideas, which in turn might influence your mind. If the heart tells what you love and like to do, don't listen to others. Follow your heart because the heart is always pure and sincere, whereas the mind could be corrupted. Once you have decided what your passion is, be brave to make the decision and work on it. To be successful, one has to be brave and courageous, including making prompt decisions. Is not wrong to make a wrong decision but not making any decision is wrong. After all no one could be prefect, but if you allow yourself to be brave and follow your heart to make those rightful decisions, you would eventually be successful in life. If you love that business venture, be brave to make up your mind today. 

Omprakash was enlightened. He said, "Thank you Robert. I will gave my resignation today. You are almost like A God sent messenger." 

Yes! Angel comes in many form. 

Food for thought - "You have to master not only the art of listening to your head, you must also master listening to your heart and listening to your gut" - Carly Fiorina quotes

Mother has the secret weapon........

To think back my younger days, I remember as father to my three children, I was the most wanted in the family. I was the master of the home because I was the bread winner. I captured more attention than their mother. For whatever they wanted as children, as a responsible dad I didn't fail not to give to the kids. When they were little kids, I bought them toys. I took them to holidays and pampered them with gifts and clothing. When they were schooling, all their fees and pocket money were well taken care by me. They took me as a Santa Claus right up to their oversea studies. I had a lot of value those days, because they needed money from me. 

What about now? A bit sad because they no longer take me as a great Santa Claus any more. All my children are working and in turn they have to take care of their families. Whereas today, their mother steals the limelight and attraction from me. You know why? Because she knows the taste bugs of all her children, including those grand little brothers and sister too. Though she has no money to be given, but she understands and knows exactly what food and meals to be served and cooked for them. So even the children could be working far, they are always too eager to be with the mother. They know mother's food is always the best. And for me, I had nothing to offer to them now. So the best way to stay connected with my children is be their friends. 

A warning to the younger mothers of today. Please learn to cook as a mother. Otherwise later in life, you might have no secret weapon to hold the family together. I have two daughters in law who are professionals who do not know how to cook. I wonder what would be the outcome in another 15 years from today, when all their children have grown up. Well! That's not my responsibility any more. 

Specially for all mothers - "Mothers hold their children's hands for a short while, but their hearts forever."

The Back Pew .....................

Sunday Joke

A pastor's wife was expecting a baby, so he stood before the congregation and asked for a raise.

After much discussion, they passed a rule that whenever the pastor's family expanded; so would his paycheck.

        After 6 children, this started to get expensive

and the congregation decided to hold another meeting to discuss the pastor's expanding salary.

        A great deal of yelling and inner bickering ensued, as to how much the pastor's additional children

were costing the church, and how much more it could potentially cost.

        After listening to them for about an hour, the pastor rose from his chair and spoke,

        "Children are a gift from God, and we will take as many gifts as He gives us."

        Silence fell over the congregation.

        In the back pew, a little old lady struggled to stand, and finally said in her frail voice,

"Rain is also a gift from God, but when we get too much of it, we wear rubbers."

        The entire congregation said, "Amen."

        Gotta love those senior citizens

I follow my dreams too.......

A dream I fulfilled...

I was in the third year in my insurance career, when I had qualified for my full fledged member of the Million Dollar Round Table (MDRT)  from The States. I was the first agent of my company to have qualified for this international membership. Those days we had to qualify for two consecutive years to make it as full qualifying member. Within a short time, I became the pet of the CEO then.

One day the CEO was talking to me. I remembered he said, "No successful agent can be selling too long in the business. One day when you have ran out of prospects or friends, you may find it difficult to secure sales. The better way is to recruit and train others to sell for you."

My answer to him was, "No boss! My first aim is to be a Life Time Qualifying Member of MDRT. The requirement is to qualify six consecutive years in the business. I had done 2 and I need another 4 years." Boss was laughing, "No one has done it here Robert."

In my mind I said, "Let me prove to you I can. Not only 6 years qualifications but a life time qualifying until my last breath." At that time I was only 37 years young. 

Later in my 7 years in the business, my boss sent me a big congratulatory message with a few words added, "Robert! I salute to you. U had certainly proved me wrong."

Today, I had qualified the MDRT for 30 years repeatedly without fail and still enjoy every moment of my career. My dream was to sell life insurance to every corner of my country where there are people who need to listen and to understand what's life insurance is all about. I have accumulated thousand of clients who are my friends now and they too enjoy my bonding as agent to them. 

The story I posted yesterday really helped me 30 years ago. I was highly inspired and motivated by Monty Roberts desire to fulfill his personal dream. As what he concluded, "Don't let anyone steal your dreams. Follow your heart, no matter what."

Follow your dream.......................

In most of my motivating talks, I always like to share this story which I gathered more than 30 years ago. Let me share it with you today....

Follow Your Dream by Jack Canfield.

I have a friend named Monty Roberts who owns a horse ranch in San Ysidro. He has let me use his house to put on fund raising events to raise money for youth at risk programmes. The last time I was there he introduced me by saying, "I want to tell you why I let Jack use my house. It all goes back to a story about a young man who was the son of an itinerant horse trainer who would go for stable to stable, race track to race track, farm to farm and ranch to ranch, training horses. As a result, the boy's high school career was continually interrupted. When he was a senior, he was asked to write a paper about what he wanted to be and do when he grew up.

That night he wrote a seven page paper describing his goal of somebody owning a horse ranch. He wrote about his dream in great details and he even drew a diagram of a 200-acre ranch, showing the location of all the building, the stables and the track. Then he drew a detailed floor plan for a 4,000 square foot house that would sit on the 200-acre dream ranch.

He put a great deal of his heart into the project and the next day he handed it in to his teacher. Two days later he received his paper back. On the front page was a large red F with a note that read, "See me after class."

The boy with the dream went to see the teacher after class and asked, "Why did I receive an F?" The teacher said, "This is an unrealistic dream for a young boy like you. You come from an itinerant family. You have no resources. Owning a horse ranch requires a lot of money. You have to buy the land. You have to pay for the original breeding stock and later you'll have to pay large stud fees. There's no way you could ever do it." Then the teacher added, "If you will rewrite this paper with a more realistic goal, I will reconsider your grade."

The boy went home and thought about it long and hard. He asked his father what he should do. His father said, "Look son, you have to make up your own mind on this. However, I think it is a very important decision for you."

Finally, after sitting with it for a week, the boy turned in the same paper, making no changes at all. He stated, "You can keep the F and I'll keep my dream." Monty then turned to the assembled group and said, "I tell you this story because you are sitting in my 4,000 square foot house in the middle of my 200 acre horse ranch. I still have the school paper framed over the fireplace." When the teacher was leaving, he said, "Look, Monty, I can tell you this now. When I was your teacher, I was something of a dream stealer. During those years I stole a lot of kid's dreams. Fortunately you had enough gumption not to give up on yours."

Don't let anyone steal your dreams. Follow your heart, no matter what.

How to learn to be smart.....

What's the difference between intelligence and smartness?

Intelligence is the ability to learn and smartness is the ability to apply what you have learned. Intelligence is easier than being smart because to be intelligent you just have to stored all you have learned in your mind. However to be smart, one has to learn as well as to apply what he has learned. You can be constantly learning and acquiring knowledge to be intelligent, but never take the initiative and interest to apply what have been taught or learned, you won't be be much smarter. 

An idea has been taught to you, and if you could apply it within the next 24 hours, that idea will become yours for life. Otherwise after the next 24 hours, the idea could just be stored into the inner brain. The more ideas you apply the more effective would be those ideas you have learned. With constant usage and applying, ideas become habits of one's character in life. End result will be termed as smartness of oneself.

So the next time, when you see something interesting or good, don't just put them in your mind, try to apply them immediately. Now you are at the first step to learn how to be smart. Not forgetting, the smart people are usually more successful and richer than those who are merely intelligent.  

Food for thought - “That’s what learning is. You suddenly understand something you understood all your life, but in a new way.” - Doris Lessing 

The manner of issuing a cheque justifies your sincerity...

In our country is a practice to issue post dated cheques in most business transactions. 

For example, a 30 or 60 days term bill is due and the shopkeeper has to make payment for it. A good boss might issue a current cheque to settle the bill immediately but a more smarter boss would issue a post dated cheque for another week or month. To the smart boss, he has considered that payment is made though cash hasn't be transferred yet. The delay of the post payment allows the business man to roll over his stocks and sales. Smart ah? However if you happened to meet another smart and cunning boss, the post dated cheques are always post dated on a Friday. Friday looks like a week day but it would take another 2 working days before the transfer is realised. So the receiver has to wait until next Tuesday to utilise the cash. 

In business is bearable to receive post dated cheques, for at least you have a cheque to hold your customers.   To me, when a friend is borrowing from you and he issues his personal cheque to honour his debts. Please look at the date he writes on them. From Monday to Thursday is considered as sincere that your friend is willing to repay his borrowing. But if the date is a Friday or the day is the eve of a holiday, it indicates that he still not willing to pay. Merely he just wants to delay further of his debts. It took me years to realise the behaviour of cheque issuing. 

Food for thought - "A friend should be one in whose understanding and virtue we can equally confide, and whose opinion we can value at once for its justness and its sincerity" - Robert Hall