My Top 2 “MUST-DO” on the 1st Day of the Year, 2012

1. Check your Health.

I did not bother to wait for the new year countdown last night, December 31, opting to sleep at 11PM so I can wake at dawn to take a 5 kilometer road-run. I jog almost daily, except when it rains or I am on travel. But I intend to make this run different because I will try to run it at a grueling pace, just to sort of test my fitness and physical health.

The streets were deserted and dirty due to last night’s midnight revelry. As I drove to the memorial park where I will make the run, I was forced to turn around to get my cap so that rain can’t stop me from finishing, just in case.

It was still quite dark as I started to run the very moderate incline of a half kilometer (from my own reckoning, but I’m going to know for sure once I find my pedometer) stretch. I could clearly see the outline of the beautiful mountain on the far end. This great view plus the cool wind was so refreshing it made me push for speed early in the 10 laps that I intend to do today.

When the 6th lap came, it was downhill. I began to feel cold drizzle on my face, making it more pleasant to run. I noticed to my far right there was now a middle-aged couple standing over a tombstone and paying respects to their dear departed. What a meaningful way to spend their first hour on the first day of the year, I thought to myself, as I admired them silently.

When I turned around for my 7th lap, I was enthralled to see a rainbow so low and so vivid, with the majestic mountain view as backdrop. Although I had not seen a rainbow for what seemed like ages, I am fortunate to have seen 2 in the last 3 days. I had forgotten how many bands of color a rainbow has so I kept counting them. The happy thoughts must have diverted my attention somehow so that when I returned to my senses, I realized I was running at a punishing clip.

I am now down to my last kilometer and it was excruciating. I had wanted to correct my miscalculation by slowing down, but what the heck, this is the first day of a new year, I’ve got the energy, and there’s nothing like running turbo-charged with the wind in your face.

2. Take Time to Reflect.

My heart was pumping in over-drive as I walked briskly to warm-down after that final mad dash to my imaginary finish line. I could now feel the crisp sunlight on my back. Flocks of small brown birds traverse short flight paths in the green wet grass.

There’s this thing I believe about having a positive thought create other positive thoughts. So I used the next half kilometer of my warm-down to sort out the thoughts in my mind and reflect on them. First I said a little prayer for what to me is an extremely satisfying year past, 2011.

Then I decided on what’s urgent and what’s important. It’s important to get in touch with family and friends, for example. Of course it’s important to get a good start on the first day of the year, so I will make a conscious effort today to go to my office table, sort things out, and make a good road map for what I want to do this year.

With that, I went home, took a long refreshing shower, and had a slow breakfast, deliberately tasting every bit of left-over food. It was fantastic. 

Let’s get it on, 2012!

Is there a Heart of Gold? The Beauty of Believing in People

It’s christmas eve, two and a half hours from midnight. It’s a rainy evening, and the kid-carolers on the street are few, allowing me some quiet moments to write this blog. On December 19, two days before my friend George left for the US, we visited his cousin, Joel, a structural engineer, in far-flung San Mateo, Rizal. Joel, our host, turned out to be very engaging, as he entertained us in the spacious 2nd-level patio of his strikingly beautiful home amid some social drinking.

The weather was good and the night skyline of Marikina clearly visible over the horizon. The cool breeze highlighted the tranquility of the night, punctuated only by rambunctious laughter of our small group. Joel was telling me how he is always apprehensive in visiting the US. The first time was when he did it contrary to doctor’s advice, landing him in a hospital where a hole was drilled in his skull to relieve pressure on a clot that he sustained in a fall. 

But this blog is about Joel’s latest sojourn in the US where he took the opportunity to visit his cousin and my friend, George. This time he lost his passport.

Joel reconstructed the chain of events that led to the loss by detailing the circumstances of his travel from Sacramento, where he met his brother, to Camarillo, California, where George lived. At some point in between, they drove into a campsite at Big Sur for some rest and food. While there, he met Jack, whose appearance makes it seem he is either a hobo, a drifter or vagrant bumming around.

Joel approached Jack’s table and greeted him warmly. “Good afternoon. What’s that, man?” “Oh, this one here is jade. I’m putting a hole on it so I can make it to a pendant which I sell for 20 bucks”, said Jack.

Joel’s wife Gemma shouted to Joel from their own table: “Pabayaan mo yan!” (“Leave him alone!”). But Joel’s interest was aroused by Jack’s skill as he drilled holes to several flat stones he carried, manually and rigorously scratching them with other stones. The two men made good conversation. “Hey, Jack, what’s the best way to get to Camarillo?” “If I were you, I’d take the Pacific Coast Highway One. I’ve been a driver a long time, I use it always coz it’s more scenic, you’ll enjoy the ride, believe me", Jack answered back.

Then it was time to travel, and as Joel made his way back to their car, he took a last glimpse of Jack, and, pointing at him with a finger as if a pistol, affectionately ended their short meeting with these warm words: “Thanks, man. I believe you. Good Luck on your business.”

After another six hours of driving, they arrived on the doorstep of George’s home around 10PM. George greeted them a warm welcome with these ominous words: “Pasok kayo. Wala ba kayong nalimutan?” (“Come in. Did you not forget anything?”)

Joel gave this small talk little thought and began unloading his stuff from the car. Suddenly he stood stupefied, albeit momentarily, after realizing he cannot find his laptop bag. In it was his passport. Then it dawned on him that he had brought it out to Jack’s table back at the campsite in Big Sur to check quickly on his emails.

Wasting no time, Joel made a decision to travel back to the campsite immediately. While they drove another six hours, he recreated mental images of what had transpired that day just to be sure. As he did so, he got a steadily increasing sense of portentous things to come in the eventuality that he does not recover his passport. How long will it take to process a lost passport? Will he stay here the whole time? What about his resources? He is on leave and his work cannot afford a long absence.

Joel regained his balance however when he found an old tune running in the trove of his memory. Perhaps he saw himself so helpless that he found meaning in a Neil Young song – ‘Heart of Gold’ so he quietly sang it in his mind: “I've been to Hollywood, I've been to Redwood. I crossed the ocean for a heart of gold.” Perhaps Joel was hoping against hope that his salvation can come in the form of an honest man with a heart of gold.  This place by the coast is an ocean detached from what he calls home in San Mateo, Rizal.

They pulled at the campsite at 4AM. It was still dark so they had to pass a few anxious minutes waiting inside the car. At daybreak, the first people they met were park rangers whom they apprised of the situation. The rangers made a few calls of inquiry but all returned negative. Joel asked about Jack. The rangers knew him as the guy who visited the campsite from time to time and lived by selling stuff. Joel told them he didn’t care for his laptop, he just wanted his passport back. Although the situation appeared to turn more desperate, it was only 6AM and they were asked to wait till the office opened at 8AM.

After what seemed an eternity, the door of the office opened. Joel rushed in to tell his story to the person in-charge, who then made more inquiries while Joel stepped out to wait. 

Shortly thereafter, the guy at the office came out and stated in a matter-of-factly but congenial voice: “We got it!”

Joel couldn’t believe what he was hearing for the first time so he was tentative. When he was finally ushered inside the office and handed the laptop bag, he instinctively reached out for the side pocket and found everything intact, including his passport. The next few minutes made Joel busy, filling out forms prior to release. Then every excruciating moment prior to this point turned into a blur as he stepped out into the fresh, cool morning air.

Yes, it was Jack who returned the bag.

When they said their ‘good-byes’ Joel volunteered to leave 200 bucks at the office for Jack, in case he ever came back to the campsite. The voice of the guy in charge was firm: “Sorry, we can’t do that.”

As they drove away, Joel reflected on the “what-ifs”. What if he had not gone out of his way to accord some civility to Jack when they met? Yes, it definitely pays to Believe in people.

PS.

To Jack, please know that we created a slogan in your honor and it goes this way: (with finger pointing as if a pistol) “I believe you!”

This slogan was heard repeatedly throughout the evening of December 19 when I met Joel and the solace it brought erased my doubts in the universal goodness of man. Jack, you are our “The Anonymous Heart of Gold for 2011” awardee. 

Merry Christmas.

Being Rich and Being Good Are Not Diametrically Opposed: Top 5 Lessons from the Life of David G. Bradley

I came across this man when my Facebook friend and childhood chum Marden Iglesias posted an article of Cheche V. Moral, (Philippine Daily Inquirer, Sunday, December 4, 2011) titled "Enjoyment is by Heart. The Purpose is by Will."

This article is very refreshing to read because it contained many novel ideas. I decided to make a blog on My Top 5 Lessons from this man’s life:

1. Being Rich and Being Good Are Not Diametrically Opposed. Atlantic Media Company (of which he is chairman), had a recent year-to-date revenue of $80 million. David G. Bradley is a 58-year-old philanthropist who graduated from Harvard Business School and made it big in business. In Washington, he is described as “a force in the entrepreneurial world of new era business” and the “most civilized man in Washington,” for his generosity of spirit and elegance. Yet his 3 kids have, at different times, visited the slum areas of Tondo, Manila. With his wealth, he ventured into anti-poverty programs in the Philippines to provide shelter, health and psychological care and legal protection to abused street children.
   
   
2. Dare to be the voice in the wilderness. Bradley says: “While there are 100 fantastic causes, CPN (Child Protection Network) is the one where no one was watching when we started.”
   
   I think far too many of our business leaders are engrossed trying to make themselves good managers. They forget that what propel private enterprise forward in this country are good leaders with vision and passion, with little help or encouragement from government, if any.
   
   Another way of 'daring to be the voice in the wilderness' is to say that a leader must be able to 'stand against a crowd'. It is normal for any novel idea to encounter inertia at the start. But you have to stay the course if you believe in it. As I have quoted in Perry's Apothegm no.19: “History, though, shows us that the people who end up changing the world... are always nuts, until they’re right, and then they’re geniuses.” Dr. John Eliot said so in his book 'Overachievement'.
   
   
3. Try to hire the best and brightest if you can. One of Bradley's company’s core values is “force of the intellect”. He went to great lengths to get the best people to work for him. However, he looks for a person with first-tier intelligence and an ego under control. He said the latter cannot always be found in star executives in media (Bradley owns several media ventures). In fact, he found only one in 80 candidates while scouting for a president of a magazine division in one of his ventures.
   
   
4. Develop generosity. Another of Bradley’s company’s core values is nurturing a spirit of generosity. He says: “If you can create a culture that’s largely selfless, thoughtful, generous, it is a powerful magnet for attracting and retaining talent.” This one caught me by surprise, perhaps because we have been so jaded by too many success strategies articulating the best way to have an edge in this highly competitive world is by being a step or two ahead of everyone.
   
   
5. Pursue your passion relentlessly. Bradley says: “The Philippines is much too special a place for me to just enjoy it. I want to be serious about something here”. This became his purpose. And he pursued it with passion from the time he first set foot in the country in 1977 as a Fullbright scholar. He established, and for the past 34 years has been helping anti-poverty programs in the Philippines, like the Child Protection Network (CPN), an organization that cares for abused street children, providing them shelter, health care, psychological care and legal protection.

Finally, the article pointed out that Bradley and his family ‘were amazed at the Filipino spirit.’ I’d like to say that if other people could love us for who we are, then it’s high time we start loving our selves. 

Let us show our appreciation by being proud of our own. 

Enough of the Pinoy crab (“pull-everyone-down”) mentality. 

Only then can we take our rightful place in the ranks of respectable nations. Standing shoulder-to-shoulder with the best of them. Better now than later.