When one door of happiness closes, another opens ...

Last week a friend in Penang sent a message:

"I have a suggestion for the upcoming article: sharing of your past Friday Reflections  – I can see this as a very motivating approach, and people will benefit a lot from the learning, wisdom and experience [and] apply it to daily life, especially at this difficult time. I don’t mind reading or listening to the repeat topics because it triggers new ideas and thinking that helps to improve my daily life."
 
Here you go my friends: some old articles that are relevant in these times:

 

Points to Ponder:

"There is no such thing as can't, only won't. If you're qualified, all it takes is a burning desire to accomplish, to make a change. Go forward, go backward. Whatever it takes! But you can't blame other people or society in general. It all comes from your mind. When we do the impossible we realize we are special people." - Jan Ashford

"Never be bullied into silence.  Never allow yourself to be made a victim.  Accept no one’s definition of your life; define yourself." - Harvey Fierstein

Story Line: 

"When one door of happiness closes, another opens; but often we look so long at the closed door that we do not see the one which has been opened for us." - Helen Keller

1.  "I have said many times that the difference between successful people and unsuccessful people is that successful people do a lot of the things that unsuccessful people don't want to do. Like when the door is slammed in your face ten times, you go on to door number eleven with just as much enthusiasm.” - John Paul Dejoria. The person who was laid off in his first two jobs and never gave up trying and became a very successful businessman and a philanthropist: http://fridayreflections.typepad.com/weblog/2007/11/persistence-pay.html
    
2. Persistence Pays Part 2: Silicon Valley's Midas: Nothing in the world can take the place of persistence. Talent will not; nothing is more common than unsuccessful men with talent. Genius will ... http://fridayreflections.typepad.com/weblog/2007/05/persistence-pay.html
    
3. Persistence Pays Part 1: But there is suffering in life, and there are defeats. No one can avoid them. But it’s better to lose some of the battles in the struggles for ... http://fridayreflections.typepad.com/weblog/2007/03/persistence-pay.html
    
4. You never know unless you try! During my college days in the 1970s, I met this fellow who was studying for a degree in Pharmaceutical Engineering. After graduating, I left for the USA and he stayed home and started a business. The first product he introduced was an insect repellent cream. Irony of fate or what, but the formula he used created an opposite effect: i.e. instead of repelling insects it was attracting them. This young entrepreneur became the laughing stock of the town ... http://fridayreflections.typepad.com/weblog/2007/09/you-never-know-.html
    
5. Consider the case of a young woman who became a news anchor only to be subsequently demoted because management did not think she is right for that kind of job. TV producers of that station in Baltimore concluded that her delivery was just too emotional for hard news stories. So they relegated her to a morning talk show, “People are Talking”. The new opportunity that looked like a demotion helped her unlock her potential and her show even beat out Donahue. This woman moved to Chicago to host another talk show, AM Chicago and it was so popular that they named it, “The Oprah Winfrey Show”.  (That show is one of the highest rated shows in USA and Oprah is one of the wealthiest women in the world)

Reflection: Your sense of empowerment comes from how you view yourself, and your view of yourself must not be dictated by others.

Comments

[J Zhao (china)]

True: Your sense of empowerment comes from how you view yourself, and your view of yourself must not be dictated by others.

[J. Chen]

Relevant. Friend from Shanghai

[Gayathri]

Very True. This is my second dose of inspiration for the day. The one thing that motivates me every day is this statement I've put up on my wall; "I have responsibilities to fulfill today and I am important. My job is to choose what kind of day I am going to have. I am the scuptor who gets to do the shaping. What today will be like is up to me. I get to choose what kind of day I will have".

[Lan]

"Sucessful" is better to define "things": projects, games....than to define a person. One with plenty of money, happy life and good career could possibly lose all of those some day. You can not define him or her as loser or winner just because of one of his/her status.

So forget about these words. In this period, it's better to remind ourselves: things are moving forward, and it's not the end yet. Hope is eternal.

[Wen]

John Paul Dejoria's story bring tears to my eyes. What a persistence? Never give up.

[Phil M]

Seems to me everyone right now is very scared and in a "survival" mindset: hunker down, lower your expectations, don't rock the boat.

The only way we will dig ourselves out of this collective hole is if we, as companies and societies, get that "burning desire" you mentioned going again- to strive, invent, innovate and achieve.

(... hopefully not just in ways to slash costs or inflate asset values or "game" the system)

[Omar J.]

Very appropriate reflections in this tough times. It boost up my spirit.

[Jordan 1]

ah i loved reading that post! sounds gorgeous, can't wait until tomorrow!