Posted on Tuesday, March 21, 2023

How committed are you?

Why simple goals just make sense!

Since 2018, my personal and professional life is committed to deliberate goal-setting. Before that, I would create a detailed matrix that quickly overwhelmed me due to its complexity.

The overwhelm became apparent at the end of every year. About half of my intended activities were not done! In trying to look smart, I had over-complicated things for myself.

That is why I decided to shift to a one-page goal template in 2018. I narrowed my goals down to four critical categories: Spiritual, Work, Health and Community. In total, I am committed to a maximum of twenty goals for the year.

Posted on Tuesday, January 18, 2022

Wing-it or Strategy? [Part 1/2]

Lessons From Uncertain Times

Eight years ago, I left my well-paying job. It was out of necessity rather than choice. I was stressed, unhappy and physically unwell.

It was a nightmare to serve under my boss. At the time, I just thought he was a nasty guy. But now I know the actual term that describes his character and behavior. He was a narcissist; a person who thinks very highly of self, needing admiration, believing others are inferior and lacking empathy for others.

Posted on Monday, April 12, 2021

The masks we wear

Dealing with uncomfortable situations

“You look familiar!” In 2020, this became the silent message I read in people’s eyes when I was out and about. Considering the look in their eyes, I seemed to convey a similar message back to them. Then it clicked!

Since the COVID-19 broad-sided us, facial masks took over our faces. Our smiles are obscured, voices muffled and frowns protected. I had to add more meaning to words to verbalize what my facial expressions couldn’t communicate.

As I strive to protect myself from the deadly virus, this experience has helped me uncover another virus affecting me.

Posted on Saturday, June 13, 2020

Towards re-kindling moral courage

Getting back on track in a broken world

A deaf heart has invaded us. This deafness so numbing that we can hear each other no more. Its cold grip blurs right from wrong that it becomes difficult to differentiate one from the other.

Where common sense comes along with an aura of shame. A shame that has become a roadblock for us to stop, listen to and understand each other.

There was a season where our moral compass remained strong and steady guiding us to our destination. Now we rely on compromised moral GPS screaming of modernity but dead to the reality of humanity. Our world filled with hate, aching in pain and ravaged by disease.

Where did we go wrong? It has been overwhelmingly difficult to process all that is going on around me at the moment. The COVID-19 isolation and worldwide uproar of racial tension has pushed me into deep reflection.

Posted on Saturday, March 10, 2018

What Is an Open, Honest Question?

Most of us would acknowledge the value of asking questions as part of a trustworthy and productive conversation, but asking open, honest questions is an art.

It requires the listener to set aside preconceptions and instead tap into a deep and generous care for the other person. In fact, the primary characteristic of a well-crafted open, honest question is that you couldn’t possibly predict the answer. You ask because you genuinely want to know and because you are trying to engage others in order to gain understanding and demonstrate real listening.

An open question leads us to what Einstein referred to as a “holy curiosity.”—Dawna Markova

Posted on Friday, August 4, 2017

No More Excuses!

A few weeks ago, I broke my bicycle’s gear shifters half-way into an 88 kilometer ride. Needless to say, the ride home wasn’t a walk in the park. By the time I got home, my right arm was tingling from fatigue.

In the weeks that followed, my excuse to go riding was that my gears were broken. In all honesty, that was just a cop-out. Then, in a moment of deep introspection, I realized I was sinking fast! The habit that has become my aid to reflect, meditate and pray was broken. It is like a very dark shroud fell over me.

The last couple years haven’t been easy on my family. It’s been day after day of hustling to build our business. At first, it felt like I was going to lose my mind… Literally!

Posted on Friday, June 9, 2017

Overcome Regret, Discover True Living

Regret is a disappointment that stifles my progress. It is that I-should-have feeling that makes me feel like a caged animal. I can see the freedom I should be enjoying.

But all I have is my wish gone up in smoke. As I write this article, I am working hard to get out of a crazy cycle. The first regret is compromising my focus on of consistent content development for my readers. Then, there is a regret of thinking I can do everything by myself while dropping the ball in some critical areas. My third regret is not seeking help earlier than I thought I needed it.

Then I remembered of an event that won over regret. I had always wished to have birds visit our backyard. Their beautiful chirping is soothing and the rhythm of their wings energizing. It gives me a sense of peace and connection with nature. But for about five years, that was all it was. A wish.

Posted on Thursday, May 4, 2017

Customer Service Defines Brands

Abhorring! This is the one word that describes United Airlines’ treatment of a paying customer. Shocking is the only way to describe video of a traveler being dragged off a flight. His crime? He has refused to give up his seat on an overbooked flight.

As horrid as this was, it brought back a pleasant memory from a podcast on Creating World Class Service. Horst Schulze, Chairman & CEO of Capella Hotel Group, talks of what it takes to empower teams. In his previous stint as CEO of the Ritz-Carlton, Mr. Schulze notes that every employee could spend up to $2,000 to fix anything in the hotel that would jeopardize customer experience and loyalty.

Customers want people to be nice to them and provide caring service. This is the strongest, most important expectation driving customer satisfaction,” says Horst Schulze.

In essence, keeping a valuable customer is more important than making profit in the short-term. This is a business that not only embraces customer service.

Back to United Airlines.

Posted on Tuesday, February 9, 2016

“I Face My Guilt!” – Economic Hit Man

Owning up takes more than courage

I am privileged to bring guest post by John Perkins. He was Chief Economist at a major international consulting firm where he advised the World Bank, United Nations, the IMF, U.S. Treasury Department, Fortune 500 corporations, and governments in Africa, Asia, Latin America, and the Middle East. Since then, his books have sold more than 1 million copies and been printed in over 30 languages. His new book, The New Confessions of an Economic Hit Man, is on Amazon.

It has been nearly twelve years since the release of Confessions of an Economic Hit Man.

The New Confessions of an Economic Hit Man

People have wondered how the publication of that book has affected me and what I am doing to redeem myself and change the EHM system. They have also questioned what they can do to help turn the system around. The New Confessions of an Economic Hit Man is my answer.

After the release of Confessions of an Economic Hit Man, I still wrestled with my guilt, with all the things I had done that had helped promote the corporatocracy and their march toward world domination.

I knew of U.S. led conspiracies – in Venezuela, in Iraq, and all throughout the Middle East and Africa. When I was forced to consider my mortality and reflect upon my life, I began to accept what I had done and why I had done it. I hope you enjoy this short glimpse into chapter 34 of the book and the events that became my confessions.

Posted on Saturday, December 19, 2015

What Is Life?

Finding perspective in slow motion

It is 7:20 AM. I have just cleared a climb and shifted my gears. As I gather speed, my bike chain hums. The 50 km ride ahead of me has my heart singing. Then… “Ka-thump!”

I lie across a bonnet [hood] staring at a windshield. My feet still entangled in the pedal straps, I instinctively make an inventory of my body parts.

There is no pain and in an instant, I am back on my feet. I am angry! “Why did you have to join the road so carelessly?” I ask the driver when she finally rolls down her window.

“I am so sorry,” she says. “Are you hurt?” She keeps on asking me.