by the children playing in the street corner. Siem Reap, Cambodia. Photo by Luisa Go Shah
Point to Ponder: ‘If children grew up according to early indications, we should have nothing but geniuses.' Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
Story Line: During our trip to Siem Reap in 2016, we saw these five little kids playing in a street corner. They had just released the model UC; convertible, all-wheel drive, thread controlled human pull car with the capability of carrying heavy load. Each one of them was taking turns in test driving this new model.
Reflection: The model UC (Unlimited Creativity) was the product of these kids’ imagination and the excellent team work. They had engaged in the creative use of resources (milk bottles, caps, wood sticks, pebbles themselves etc). All materials used in building this product were domestically produced and obtained at no cost from garbage can, trees and river bank.
And they seemed to be very happy enjoying their Made in Cambodia product.
Remembering the words of Great Teacher Tony Robbins: It's not resources but resourcefulness that ultimately makes the difference.
Republished with the comments of readers from the first publication dated July 14, 2016.
We experience it in Pulp industry in Indonesia (or anywhere else). Pulp production produces good and poor quality pulp (off grade). Our Norwagian Pulp mill manager announce there's no off grade in my Mill. Off grade has its uses like using for brown papers, Cartons, paper bags, etc. It has a price.
Imagination, Visualization and Creativity are skills that are all different and some children are allowed to learn them, some learn them on their own and some it is just part of their DNA. Imagination is the faculty or action of forming new ideas, or images or concepts of external objects not present to the senses. Imagination and dreaming can coincide to help people feel something they want to do. Visualization is the formation of mental visual images or actually sting pictures in your mind of what you are want to do, say or build. Some people have a hard time visualizing, some have a difficult time visualizing in color or more than two dimensionally but kids allowed, taught and encourage learn to take what they imagine and put it in mental pictures in three dimensions and /or put it on paper or express it through art. Many adults have lost that skill. Creativity is the ability to transcend traditional ideas, rules, patterns, relationships, or the like, and to create meaningful new ideas, forms, methods, interpretations, etc.; originality, progressiveness, or imagination. Many children and some adults are creative but many are taught to "stay within the lines" or "don't imagine things you can't, shouldn't or don't have the ability to do. Children in the right environments learn all three more easily than adults mostly because they have learned that they "can't."
Anand - I applaud your creativity along with that of these kids. I may have seen a similar scene several times on a trip to India- but I could never have "seen" it in the way you have, much less described it in this way. Fun can be had without high tech fancy gadgets. Its great to see that these kids actually are outdoors- and looking around at the surroundings-( vs. a screen) and creating - without parental interference :) I second the sentiments from @ Jason
I noticed this photo among a set that you shared among a group of friends. I was very impressed but didn't mention it to you. So how nice to see the photo given a spotlight in FridayReflections!
I am reminded of an adage I once heard about parenting, which is attributed to Dear Abby (Abigail van Buren, real name Pauline Phillips): “If you want your children to turn out well, spend twice as much time with them, and half as much money.”
Today, or so it appears to me, time for children is too structured (art, gymnastics, sports, dance, scouts, music, etc. ) and although some of this is needed, there needs to be time for kids to just learn how to entertain themselves doing things like: playing in the creek, climbing trees, breaking glass bottles in an illegal dump, knocking down bees' nests, building tunnels with hay bales in the barn, riding your bike to the fishing hole. As Levi posted above, all these things can be accomplished with little or no money. When I was a kid, when we went fishing, we each bought a can of soda and a big of chips for $.25 to take along with us for the 4+ mile ride.
Point to Ponder: Who knows at what precise moment your status can change, but what's inside of you is what matters.
Story Line: Savaii-Samoa (in video above) is the sixth largest island in the Polynesia- New Zealand, Hawaii and Oahu being the three largest. Savaii is pristine and beautiful. Nature has showered the island with the ocean with intense blue waters, beautiful skies, majestic sunrise and sunsets, lush vegetation with variety of colors, superb blowholes, volcanic rocks, beautiful churches and some of the friendliest people in the world. Upolu is the main island of Samoa and Savaii is the biggest island.
For reasons still unknown to me, the memories of Savaii came to my mind while I was recovering from a second dose of Covid vaccine and dreaming of somekind of escape. As for this late reflection, I decided to share this beautiful place with FR community.
Reflection: As I was having chills from the vaccine, one funny memory surfaced. Prior to 2011, Savaii was well advertised as the place in the world where the sun set last for the day. On December 30, 2011, the intenational dateline was moved east of Savaii and Samoa, and Savaii was no longer the place where sunset last. The travel industry lost one advertising gimmick. However, the Sun still set the next evening. Despite losing that arbitrary status, Savaii is still as beautiful as ever and continued to receive more tourists every year.
Don't know why this thought came to mind during my "chilling" hours but it seemed to be worth reflecting.
Wishing a very Happy Lunar New Year and Beautiful Valentine's Day to all friends around the world. Our friendship and love has continued to grow stronger through the years. -- Friday Reflections Team
Story Line: For this special week here are two stories of True Friendship and Unconditional Love. --from my collections through the years
1. I promise to be true to you in good times and in bad, in sickness and in health. I will love you and honor you all days of my life.
A story of true love- I read this story over twenty years ago in a letter from Fort Worth Texas to Ann Landers.
Dear Ann: I am going to tell you about a love story that I witness everytime I go to the nursing home to see my husband, who has Alzheimer's disease. Unfortunatlely, I know firsthand how this terrible illness affects family members, but I would like the world to know what love really is.
I see a man who, I understand, has spent past eight years caring for his wife, who has Alzheimer's. They have been married over 50 years.He cooks and feeds her every bite of food she eats. He has bathed her and dressed her everyday all these years. They have no other family. She lost a baby at birth and they never had any more children. I cannot describe the tenderness and love that man shows for his wife. She is unable to recognize anyone, including him. The only thing she shows interest in are two baby dolls. They are never out of her hands.
I observed him when I parked my car beside his the other day. He sat in his old pickup truck for a few minutes, then he patted down what little hair he had, straightened the thread-bare collar of his shirt and looked in the mirror for the final check before going to see his wife. It was as if he were courting her. They have been partners all these years and seen each other under all kinds of circumstances, yet he carefully groomed himelf before he called on his wife, who wouldn't even know him.
This is an example of true love the world needs today. -- Fort Worth
2. and to hold from this day forward, for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and cherish, till death takes us apart.
A Terminal Cancer Diagnosis Didn't Keep These High School Sweethearts from Getting Married- by Ashley Oerman In
Not all love stories end with a happily-ever-after of growing old together and loads of grandkids—but that doesn't make them any less incredible. That's especially true for Frances Chen and Shalin Shah, who got hitched late last month after Shalin was diagnosed with stage IV synovial sarcoma, a rare cancer that has affected his brain, lungs, and spinal cord, according to an article he wrote for the Huffington Post.
Long before the 22-year-olds said "I do," they were making high school and college memories together. The pair met in 11th-grade Spanish class and began dating their senior year of high school.... More of this touching story of unconditional love and true friendship in the following link.
Reflection: Whenever I have come across inspiring stories like these, I have treasured them, learnt from them and shared them. No matter what field of endeavour one is in; the matters of the heart (emotions, connections, love) have been very important to a person. Andy Grove, a brilliant technologist, highly driven results oriented boss and the legendary CEO, whose microchips changed the world, once said in his speech: Joining Intel was the second best decision I made in life, the first one was marrying the woman who became my wife.
Our Good Fortune or Blessings that so many people we have met in this journey; from childhood, schools, workplaces of last forty years, through Friday Reflections and our travels have maintained friendship through the years. To all of You and new friends to be: Wish You a very Happy Lunar Year and wonderful Valentine's Day.
POINT TO PONDER: What concerns me is not the way things are, but rather the way people think things are. --Epictetus
STORYLINE (Sources for this article are books* “A whack on the side of the head” by Roger Von Oech and “Fifth Discipline” by Peter Senge)
Several years ago, Johnny Carson made a joke on his television show that there was a toilet paper shortage in this country. He then went on to describe what some of the consequences of this shortage might be. The implication of this joke was that the viewers had better go out and stock up on toilet paper right away or they would have to face the consequences. The subject made for a good laugh, since there was, in fact, no toilet paper shortage at all. Within days, however, a real shortage did develop. Because people thought there was a shortage, they went out and bought up all of the toilet paper they could find, and, as a result, they disrupted the normal flow of toilet paper distribution.
REFLECTION
This serves as an example of the self-fulfilling prophecy. This is the phenomenon where by a person believes something to be true which may or may not be so, acts on that belief, and by his actions causes the belief to become true. The self fulfilling prophecy is a case where the world of thought overlaps with the world of action. And it happens in all avenues of life. It is also known as the ”Pygmalion effect” after the famous George Bernard Shaw play (later to become My Fair Lady). Shaw in turn had taken his title from Pygmalion, a character in Greek and Roman mythology, who believed so strongly in the beauty of the stature he had carved that it came to life.
Business people are quite familiar with self-fulfilling prophecies. In fact, the whole notion of business confidence is based on them. If a business person thinks that the market is healthy (even though it may not be), he will invest money in it. This raises people’s confidence and pretty soon market will be healthy.
Pygmalion effects have been shown to operate in countless other situations. An example occurs in schools, where a teacher’s opinion of a student influences the behavior and performance of the student. Managers frequently fail to appreciate the extent to which their own expectations influences subordinate performance.
In reinforcing process such as this, a small change builds up on itself. Whatever movement occurs is amplified, producing more movement in the same direction. Thinking a particular thought has tremendous impact on the world of action. When you look in the mirror in the morning, see the face of the person who is going to accomplish wonderful things in personal and professional life. Life is a self-fulfilling prophecy. You get what you expect.
*Highly Recommend Following Books that have positive impact on my life and career.
A Whack on the side of the head by Roger Von Oech
Expect the Unexpected or You won't Find It by Roger Von Oech
Fifth Discipline The art and practice of a learning organization by Peter Senge
This article was published in the Book Friday Reflections with the permission of Roger Von Oech and also in October 2011 weekly FR on the Web.
Points to Ponder: Keep your face to the sunshine and you cannot see a shadow. - Helen Keller
Story Line: The video above contains images shared by friends from many countries and cultures during past 30 days. The photos illustrate their hobbies, travels, and family events on their journeys.
These contributions from friends have filled me with joy and smiles. I thought it might be wonderful to share them with all of you too. I hope you enjoy this video and that it brings some good feeling into your world.
Reflection: The song by The Sherman Brothers- also a very popular ride in Disneyland
It's a world of laughter A world of tears It's a world of hopes And a world of fears There's so much that we share That it's time we're aware It's a small world after all
There is just one moon And one golden sun And a smile means Friendship to ev'ryone Though the mountains divide And the oceans are wide It's a small world after all
It's a small world after all It's a small, small world
Point to Ponder: I remember when I first started working I’ve always said that I didn’t like sales. No sales job I would say. Simply because I felt I can’t do sales. That I’m not good at it. But as I ventured further into my job, I realised we are all saleperson, trying to sell something, to make an impression, to get something out of the work we are doing. - A note from a former work associate from Malaysia- And now an entrepreneur( in response to last week’s Friday Reflection)
Story Line: I came across this video ‘The Lego Story- How it all began’ eight months ago. Since then our grandsons and I have watched it many times; in fact we watch every-time we meet. It’s a fascinating, captivating and educational story that narrates how to build an entire system of endless possibilities for an idea.
Ofcourse, like many stories of successful entrepreneurs, it is the story of personal tragedies, hardships, passion and persistence. But it also shows how Ole Kirk Kristiansen, the founder, used the systems approach In design (creation), product (making) and customer delight (sales).
Only the best is good enough as motto plus innovative solutions and promotion practices, Ole and his successors have created a world without limits for children around the world.
Reflection: The Lego Story was in the backlog list for ‘Future Friday Reflections‘ for a while. The note from the young entrepreneur from Penang is the catalyst for bringing it on the top of the list. There are many valuable tips in this story for every age group, every job function and for the people venturing into their own business. It can also help us in creating a system to build and enhance our own personal brand. Something to ponder...
Points to Ponder: “If you change the way you look at things, things you look at change.” Dr. Wayne Dryer
Story Line:
Coming to think of it, who is the most important salesperson of it all? (This FR was originally published on June 23rd 2005. Good to refresh the basics once in a while)
One of the best salespersons I have known once told me, “In sales, getting inside the customer’s door is half the job.” Businesses spend sizable amount of money (hundreds of millions for large corporations) on marketing, advertising, promotion, events and travel to get inside the customer’s door. Only after that can they talk about the merits of their products or services, make a sale, and deliver performance that can eventually establish their brand image. (Good Will)
Now think about the situation where many (hundreds on some days) potential customers are knocking on and walking through your door every day, without you having to spend the money. For a business, this sounds like a field of dreams. (“Wait, He is on to something.”)
That is exactly what happens when suppliers, job applicants and many other visitors come to your company’s door. Even though they come knocking on your door for an opportunity to get your business or get a job, you in turn have a golden opportunity to make the lasting impression about your brand. Negotiate hard, interview tough but how you treat them as people, how you carry yourself as the representative of your brand (company’s and personal) makes all the difference in winning the hearts and minds of hundreds of potential customers every day, and establishes long term relationships.
Now a sales person would say, “This is what the dreams are made of. Is this heaven?”
In a nut shell:
Cup of Coffee and Doughnuts $2.00 Common Courtesy A Smile and a warm hand shake Good Will Priceless For Everything else?? (Nope, I am not talking about the master card) See the next Line
You can fool all the people some of the time and some of the people all the time, but you cannot fool all the people all the time.- Abraham Lincoln
Point to Ponder: When I despair, I remember that all through history the way of truth and love have always won. There have been tyrants and murderers, and for a time, they can seem invincible, but in the end, they always fall. Think of it--always. -Mahatma Gandhi
Khalil Gibran memorial across Boston Public library. Photo By Luisa Shah
Point to Ponder: You give but little when you give of your possessions. It is when you give of yourself that you truly give. - Khalil Gibran
Story Line: I accepted an offer from Intel Corporation in March of 1984. Soon after joining the Arizona Campus, I had my first meeting with the new hire integration program manager. She informed me that as part of their new hire integration program, I would be assigned a buddy, veteran employee, to help my smooth integration into the unique culture of the company. To that, I requested Jon Slusser as my buddy, the very person who had convinced me to join the company.
She politely explained that it was not possible because Jon Slusser, a senior manager, was a very busy man and the normal process involved the company assigning a buddy depending on the level of the new hire. New hires typically did not get to select their buddy. I asked if she might consider my request. She called later and happily informed me that Jon had said, “I would be glad to.”
From what I heard later, she brought up my request, more in jest, during the executive staff meeting. As mentioned, Jon ended up accepting and thus began my relationship with Jon Slusser. Jon not only helped me integrate into the company but also continued to be a mentor and a friend even long after I had left the company.
Initially, during our 1:1 meetings we discussed many subjects. A few of the many things I learned from him were; establishing proper systems and structure to prevent problems down the road, essence of constructive confrontation, in certain situations how to ‘agree to disagree’ but not make it personal and go and have a beer with the other person, how to extract positive learnings from seemingly negative situations, even people who are higher up or seem very successful have also fallen flat on their …. And how they got up and rose again, accepting feedback and extracting improvement opportunities from performance reviews and how to energize and enlist people for your vision.
But what I found most amazing was the way he answered my questions. He would share personal experiences of success and failures from his career and in some cases from life outside work. He was very candid and at times would say things that one wouldn’t expect to hear from people; especially ones in the upper echelons of the corporate hierarchy. He was very open in sharing his failures, mistakes, and their consequences. In the competitive world, people are advised not to expose their weaknesses, air out their dirty laundry to outsiders, and open up about their vulnerabilities. I came out of those meetings feeling energized and reaffirmed- realizing that I was not the only one having similar problems- as Jon, such senior level person, had also been through such challenges and shared how he had overcome them.
Reflection: The most profound lesson I learned from Jon is that sharing our failures is not a weakness. It is a strength when we learn from failures and when they motivate others to persevere. For stories of success we often look to famous people's stories but often the stories that truly stick originate from someone who is directly in our sphere of work and life.
Having adopted this philosophy in my life, and candidly sharing my triumphs and tragedies with friends, coworkers and family through the years has been enlightening. One cannot change his/her past but if it can help change someone's future, then the, “Things that are given away are never lost.”
Point to Ponder: Sometimes life hits you in the head with a brick. Don’t lose faith. I’m convinced that only thing that kept me going was that I loved what I did – Steve Jobs
Story Line: July 10, 1979, Oakland Coliseum. It was the very first concert in my life; courtesy of my wife who had introduced me to western music since the first time we met. The performers were Bee Gees, three brothers who composed, produced and recorded the songs. In the previous three years they had six consecutive #1 singles on the Hot 100 charts; Saturday Night Fever and Spirits Having Flown being the last two of those six.
They entertained the packed audience with many of their famous songs and also introduced their youngest brother (4th) Andy who also participated and enchanted the audience with his beautiful voice. Not one person in the coliseum that night could have known how an event two days later in Comiskey Park in Chicago will impact Bee Gees and alter the course of their career.
Yesterday while watching the newly released documentary about Bee Gees, I leaned details about that event.
Disco Demolition Night: A Bend in the road….
**In the late 1970s, dance-oriented disco was the most popular music genre in the United States, particularly after being featured in hit films such as Saturday Night Fever (1977). However, disco sparked a major backlash from rock music fans—an opposition prominent enough that the White Sox, seeking to fill seats at Comiskey Park during a lackluster season, engaged Chicago shock jock and anti-disco campaigner Steve Dahl for the promotion at the July 12 doubleheader. Admission was discounted to 98 cents for attendees who turned in a disco record; between games. White Sox officials had hoped for a crowd of 20,000, about 5,000 more than usual. Instead, at least 50,000—including tens of thousands of Dahl's adherents—packed the stadium, and thousands more continued to sneak in after gates were closed. Dahl blew up the collected records.**
Additionally, some conservative groups disliked that Disco fans were pushing for agendas for gender equality, civil rights and gay rights. They vehemently opposed and preached against Disco culture and performers. That resulted in major backlash, many radio stations dropped Bee Gees from their playlists, death threats followed and fallout in their career.
….and taking turn
Music is what Bee Gees loved since childhood. They wrote their own songs. Performing on stage was a vehicle to bring their feelings to the audiences. With the stage career declining, but their love and passion still burning strong, they decided to write songs for other known artists. The songs and albums they created for Barbra Streisand, Dionne Warwick, Dolly Parton and Kenny Rogers, Diana Ross and other artists became top hits; and Bee Gees stayed true to the theme of their famous song Staying Alive.
Not the end of the road - Comeback.
In 1987, Bee Gees released their first album in six years- E.S.P.-which sold over 3 million copies. That was a resurgence of their career. For the next 16 years, they kept performing until the brother Maurice died unexpectedly due to surgery complication. For six decades they entertained people around the world with their songs.
Reflection: I was introduced to Bee Gees songs in 1978 by my childhood pen-friend then and now my wife. Through the years I have enjoyed their songs. But I did not know much about their life until I saw the recently released HBO documentary The Bee Gees: How Can You Mend A Broken Heart.
Bee Gees had many up and downs in their career. What kept them going was their love for music and flexibility to take an appropriate turn. The title of the documentary is very fitting in the sense that the song How Can You Mend A Broken Heart was written at another inflexion point in their career. After phenomenal success throughout 1960s, they had split up in 1969 because of disagreements. But their love for each other was stronger than the differences and they couldn’t stay apart too long. They reunited and created songs that represented their time away: Lonely Days and How Can You Mend A Broken Heart which reached top in the charts in 1971.
Three younger brothers (Andy, Maurice and Robin) have passed away longtime ago . At the end of the movie Barry talks about how much he misses them. He says that he would trade all the hit songs for them to be here now.
Bee Gees singing How can you mend a broken heart after Reunion:
Recycle, Reuse, Reduce.
Posted by: Save our Planet | July 14, 2016 at 08:28 PM
Don't let this Benchmarks get to our management.
Soon they will replace us all, last of the survivors, with Cambodian kids.
Posted by: Wortied | July 14, 2016 at 10:05 PM
We experience it in Pulp industry in Indonesia (or anywhere else). Pulp production produces good and poor quality pulp (off grade). Our Norwagian Pulp mill manager announce there's no off grade in my Mill. Off grade has its uses like using for brown papers, Cartons, paper bags, etc. It has a price.
Posted by: Suresh Shah | July 15, 2016 at 02:41 AM
Make Cambodia Great Again initiative? 😂
Posted by: Rajan | July 15, 2016 at 07:14 AM
Imagination, Visualization and Creativity are skills that are all different and some children are allowed to learn them, some learn them on their own and some it is just part of their DNA.
Imagination is the faculty or action of forming new ideas, or images or concepts of external objects not present to the senses. Imagination and dreaming can coincide to help people feel something they want to do. Visualization is the formation of mental visual images or actually sting pictures in your mind of what you are want to do, say or build. Some people have a hard time visualizing, some have a difficult time visualizing in color or more than two dimensionally but kids allowed, taught and encourage learn to take what they imagine and put it in mental pictures in three dimensions and /or put it on paper or express it through art. Many adults have lost that skill. Creativity is the ability to transcend traditional ideas, rules, patterns, relationships, or the like, and to create meaningful new ideas, forms, methods, interpretations, etc.; originality, progressiveness, or imagination. Many children and some adults are creative but many are taught to "stay within the lines" or "don't imagine things you can't, shouldn't or don't have the ability to do. Children in the right environments learn all three more easily than adults mostly because they have learned that they "can't."
Posted by: Lonnie Hurst | July 15, 2016 at 07:19 AM
For you every encounter is a learning experience.
Thanks for continuing to share your experiences.
Posted by: Jason | July 15, 2016 at 07:51 AM
Anand - I applaud your creativity along with that of these kids. I may have seen a similar scene several times on a trip to India- but I could never have "seen" it in the way you have, much less described it in this way.
Fun can be had without high tech fancy gadgets. Its great to see that these kids actually are outdoors- and looking around at the surroundings-( vs. a screen) and creating - without parental interference :)
I second the sentiments from @ Jason
Posted by: Madhuri | July 15, 2016 at 09:21 AM
This is such a great reminder/lesson… we spoil our kids when we don’t need to and we ruin their natural imaginative powers.
Take care
Posted by: BHSC | July 15, 2016 at 10:15 AM
I noticed this photo among a set that you shared among a group of friends. I was very impressed but didn't mention it to you. So how nice to see the photo given a spotlight in FridayReflections!
I am reminded of an adage I once heard about parenting, which is attributed to Dear Abby (Abigail van Buren, real name Pauline Phillips):
“If you want your children to turn out well, spend twice as much time with them, and half as much money.”
Posted by: Levi's | July 15, 2016 at 04:01 PM
Pardon me but the model in above picture seems two wheel drive.
Still a great idea and superb reflection. Thanks
Posted by: Auto Fan since childhoodh | July 15, 2016 at 05:04 PM
Today, or so it appears to me, time for children is too structured (art, gymnastics, sports, dance, scouts, music, etc. ) and although some of this is needed, there needs to be time for kids to just learn how to entertain themselves doing things like: playing in the creek, climbing trees, breaking glass bottles in an illegal dump, knocking down bees' nests, building tunnels with hay bales in the barn, riding your bike to the fishing hole. As Levi posted above, all these things can be accomplished with little or no money. When I was a kid, when we went fishing, we each bought a can of soda and a big of chips for $.25 to take along with us for the 4+ mile ride.
Posted by: Mark Dennen | July 16, 2016 at 04:30 AM