The Reason They Are the Poorest… and How You Should Not Be!

I watched a segment of Fox News several days ago called ‘Freeloader’. It was the first time I had seen this show because it was several wrong clicks away from ‘History Channel’, the cable tv I regularly watched if I can afford the time. The man on the show made a compelling statement. He said the Sioux, a group among the Native American Indians, is the poorest ethic group in the US. They live in reservations that receive a lot of federal financial assistance. He was interviewing this lady-lawyer who said the Sioux was a neglected community and she advocated for a strong lobby to force government to provide more.

However, for each argument the lady-lawyer made, the host would show a small video clip of a successful Sioux individual of the community who made it big in business. And there were several of them. What they said was startlingly consistent: they attained success by not depending on the dole-outs to the reservation. They scratched and scrimped to buy their own lands and set up their own businesses, and resisted freebees of government. 

One guy owned a big, thriving farm in a plush area. His neighbor had a decrepit, unproductive farm in another part of the reservation. He said the difference comes from the confidence in investing money and labor to what is truly your own. And most importantly - knowing that you cannot and should not be dependent (on dole-outs) for your survival.

I have been president of the association of private tertiary-level schools in my province for several years now. I have witnessed through the years some member-schools fold up and close shop. This made me take a hard, cold look at what ails our industry. 

You could say things were bright for them at the onset. They were established by wealthy families. They had the right connections. But they started with one intrinsic, fatal defect: they believed that their endeavor would succeed because they could depend on this state subsidy or that state grant due to the fact that they had the right government connection here and there at one time or the other. Wrong.

Well, this leads me to try and coin the wisdom of these events, not in the most eloquent of terms but in the most dramatic, the better for all of us to remember: “Survivor’s Law: Do not be dependent on others if your survival is at stake.” I know you can improve on this concoction to suit your own taste and experience. Let me know.

Perry's Apothegm no.106: For Those Who Would Be Kings.

This past week was really hectic. I am involved in a foundation, the SCL (Speed Center for Leadership) that helps send kids to school, and we were designing tour and training packages. This is our IGP (income generating program) for the summer that is fast approaching. We wanted to help fund the foundation in a creative way.

So I made it a point to come to work really early for one week.  This is my contribution to our foundation's effort, knowing that as a private, non-governmental organization, we don't and cannot depend on any  state assistance. We don't have the time to dwell on the things that we cannot change. We can only be thankful for the many others who have given their time, ideas and energy to our advocacy.

But last Wednesday I was late.

I was gearing up for an early jog when I saw "Prince of Persia" playing on cable TV. It gave me the material for Perry's Apothegm no.106 "A good king always seeks counsel; but always listens to his heart."

The Power of Thinking Impossible Thoughts

Perry's Apothegm no.105: 

"If you can think impossible thoughts, you can do impossible things." by Yoram (Jerry) Wind

This is a powerful thought and it can teach you how to think more effectively. It comes from a book I'm reading, "The Power of Impossible Thinking" by Yoram (Jerry) Wind, he is The Lauder Professor; Professor of Marketing; and Founding Director of the Wharton Fellows Program and the SEI Center for Advanced Studies in Management at The Wharton School.

It came with a CD and if I can find the time, I'll try to get some great thoughts in bits of audio that i can send to friends. Listen and learn.

 

Of Dogs and Firemen - Heroes All

I have to write this to pay tribute to my dog, Kiko for saving property and possibly, lives. It was all quiet and the whole village was fast asleep when Kiko, my Chinese Shar-pei went berserk, barking endlessly, jumping up and down. This frenzy was enough to wake up Noel, my relative who is quartered in a house I own just across the street. I awoke on the sound of a steel gate opening, in addition to the hysteria that Kiko had kicked up, thinking a burglar had broken in.

As I gleaned through my front glass window, I could see a strange orange glow reflect on the wall of the small one-story structure across the street which I use as on office occasionally. When I went to check it out, I met an animated Noel at my front garage frantically motioning to the house immediately next to our right side. 

The object of his concern was not visible to me at the time because my house has a frontage of about 12 meters with a setback of about 3 meters from the perimeter wall on both sides. It happened that the perimeter wall I had with the house on the right side is some kind of a fire wall because it adjoins a den of my house that opens to my garage. At the back of this den is an enclosed garden that can be accessed from my living room through a glass door. The perimeter wall on this living room garden is only 6 feet high with simulated bamboo made of 2” diameter PVC pipes painted green.

I ran to the street to get a clear view of the house immediately on our right and the reason for Noel’s panic was immediately apparent: the house was on fire and the residents were not there. Since the fire was in the early stages, my instinct was to rush in and put it out. But I knew I had to resort to other means after several kicks i made on the steel & cyclone wire gate did not budge it.

We had decided that as I try to call the fire station, Noel would take the car to drive down to it about 3 to 4 kms away. As usually happens in extreme situations Murphy's law kicked in. This is an adage that says: "Anything that can go wrong, will go wrong". We cannot find the Fire’s phone number. This was easy – call the Police’s number.

The next few moments passed in excruciatingly slow-motion. But it could not have been much more than 10 minutes from my reckoning that flashing lights and wailing sirens broke the eerie state of trance that seemed to have enveloped the few spectators that began milling around the area. An Emergency Response vehicle arrived followed by a lone fire-truck. 

One can judge that the fire crew of less than 10 men are professionals of the highest caliber. They went down quietly from the truck, set-up their equipment, and proceeded to do a job. A fireman approached us and in a calm and quiet demeanor asked if we knew of people inside. He then went in to challenge the conflagration which by now had reached the roof. A few moments later, there was a request for us to call the local electric utility to disconnect the power. A fireman sustained an electric shock as he water-hosed the house. He shook it off with a strong jerk of the hand.

Devoid of any media fanfare which accompanies every fire situation in Manila, watching these firemen in the dead of night do their job is like watching commandos and other elite units of the great armed services of the world like the Israelis, the British and the Americans.

Everything was over in 30 minutes. Noel had told me later that as he approached the fire station, the fire truck was on its way out and driver had shouted to him that they already knew. The call we made to the Police station had in fact been acted upon responsibly.

Talk of public servants. Are these Sorsoganons the stereo-type government employees that media never fail to bash? Or are they more the exception to the rule? I can only say that they are Filipinos in the truest sense. I can imagine what could have happened if they had delayed 5 minutes. Fire could have crossed through the perimeter wall of my garden, which was not a fire wall. There was a big tree in that spot. Or it could have crossed to the house on the other side of the burning house. It only had a 4-foot high masonry fence and its residents had already abandoned their house, seeking shelter in my garage.

Talk of heroes. There is hope for the Filipino.

The Importance of Connecting the Dots in your Life

Perry's Apothegm no.104:

"...of course it was impossible to connect the dots looking forward when I was in college but it was very very clear looking backwards 10 years later;

 Again, you can't connect the dots looking forward you can only connect them looking backwards;

So you have to trust that the dots will somehow connect in your future;


You have to trust in something - your gut, destiny, life, karma; whatever, because believing that the dots will connect down the road will give you the confidence to follow your heart even when it leads you off the well-worn path;


and that will make all the difference..."


Steve Jobs, in his graduation address  to the graduates of Stanford University

How to Unlock your iPhone4 and iPhone 3G/3GS

Here are the few steps to unlock (openline) your iPhone; remember, this is the 2nd of a 2-step process;

the first step is to have your device Jailbroke (i have the steps in my prior blog); if it is, you will find an apps named Cydia; this is the unlock tool developed by Dev Team compatible with iPhone4 baseband 01.59.00 and iPhone 3G/3GS basebands 04.26.08; 05.11.07; 05.12.01; and 05.13.04

1.  go to Cydia apps
2.  type in "Ultrasnow";
3.  click install
4.  click confirm;
5.  you will see 'configuring Ultrasnow'
6.  you will see 'reloading data'
7.  click Restart "Springboard"
8.  Apple Logo will appear

congrats! you have just unlocked your device.

An Irish Friendship Wish

May there always be work for your hands to do; 

May your purse always hold a coin or two; 

May the sun always shine on your windowpane; 

May a rainbow be certain to follow each rain; 

May the hand of a friend always be near you; 

May God fill your heart with gladness to cheer you.