by admin | Feb 21, 2012 | My Point, Soft Skills
While waiting to pick up a friend at the airport in Portland, Oregon, I had one of those life-changing experiences that you hear other people talk about -the kind that sneaks up on you unexpectedly. This one occurred a mere two feet away from me.
Straining to locate my friend among the passengers deplaning through the jetway, I noticed a man coming toward me carrying two light bags. He stopped right next to me to greet his family.
First he motioned to his youngest son (maybe six years old) as he laid down his bags. They gave each other a long, loving hug. As they separated enough to look in each other’s face, I heard the father say, “It’s so good to see you, son. I missed you so much!” His son smiled somewhat shyly, averted his eyes and replied softly, “Me, too, Dad!”
Then the man stood up, gazed in the eyes of his oldest son (maybe nine or ten) and while cupping his son’s face in his hands said, “You’re already quite the young man. I love you very much, Zach!” They too hugged a most loving, tender hug.
While this was happening, a baby girl (perhaps one or one-and-a-half) was squirming excitedly in her mother’s arms, never once taking her little eyes off the wonderful sight of her returning father. The man said, “Hi, baby girl!” as he gently took the child from her mother. He quickly kissed her face all over and then held her close to his chest while rocking her from side to side. The little girl instantly relaxed and simply laid her head on his shoulder, motionless in pure contentment.
After several moments, he handed his daughter to his oldest son and declared, “I’ve saved the best for last!” and proceeded to give his wife the longest, most passionate kiss I ever remember seeing. He gazed into her eyes for several seconds and then silently mouthed. “I love you so much!” They stared at each other’s eyes, beaming big smiles at one another, while holding both hands.
For an instant they reminded me of newlyweds, but I knew by the age of their kids that they couldn’t possibly be. I puzzled about it for a moment then realized how totally engrossed I was in the wonderful display of unconditional love not more than an arm’s length away from me.
I suddenly felt uncomfortable, as if I was invading something sacred, but was amazed to hear my own voice nervously ask, “Wow! How long have you two been married?” “Been together fourteen years total, married twelve of those.” he replied, without breaking his gaze from his lovely wife’s face. “Well then, how long have you been away?” I asked the man finally turned and looked at me, still beaming his joyous smile.”Two whole days!” Two days? I was stunned.
By the intensity of the greeting, I had assumed he’d been gone for at least several weeks – if not months. I know my expression betrayed me, I said almost offhandedly, hoping to end my intrusion with some semblance of grace (and to get back to searching for my friend), “I hope my marriage is still that passionate after twelve years!” The man suddenly stopped smiling.
He looked me straight in the eye, and with forcefulness that burned right into my soul, he told me something that left me a different person. He told me, “Don’t hope, friend… decide!” Then he flashed me his wonderful smile again, shook my hand and said, “God bless!”
With that, he and his family turned and strode away together. I was still watching that exceptional man and his special family walk just out of sight when my friend came up to me and asked, “What’cha looking at?” Without hesitating, and with a curious sense of certainty, I replied, “My future!”
by admin | Oct 31, 2011 | Motivational, Stories
Baby giraffes never go to school but they learn a very important lesson rather early in life. A lesson that all of us would do well to remember.
The birth of a baby giraffe is quite an earth- shaking event. The baby falls from its mother’s womb, some eight feet above the ground. It shrivels up and lies still, too weak to move.
The mother giraffe lovingly lowers her neck to smooch the baby giraffe.
And then something incredible happens. She lifts her long leg and kicks the baby giraffe, sending it flying up in the air and tumbling down on the ground. As the baby lies curled up, the mother kicks the baby again.
And again.
Until the baby giraffe, still trembling and tired, pushes its limbs and for the first time learns to stand on its feet.
Happy to see the baby standing on its own feet, the mother giraffe comes over and gives it yet another kick.
The baby giraffe falls one more time, but now quickly recovers and stands up.
Mama Giraffe is delighted.
She knows that her baby has learnt an important lesson:
Never mind how hard you fall, always remember to pick yourself up and get back on your feet.
Why does the mother giraffe do this?
She knows that lions and leopards love giraffe meat.
So unless the baby giraffe quickly learns to stand and run with the pack – it will have no chance of survival.
Most of us though are not quite as lucky as baby giraffes. No one teaches us to stand up every time we fall. When we fail, when we are down, we just give up. No one kicks us out of our comfort zone to remind us that to survive and succeed, we need to learn to get back on our feet.
If you study the lives of successful people though, you will see a recurring pattern. Were they always successful in all they did?
No.
Did success come to them quick and easy?
No, No!
You will find that the common streak running through their lives is their ability to stand up every time they fall. The ability of the baby giraffe!
by admin | Oct 30, 2011 | Self Development, Soft Skills
There was once a boy who wanted to seek the secret of success. One day he approached a wise man living up in the mountain. When he found the wise man at the hut, he asked, “Wise man, can you tell me the secret to becoming successful in life?” The wise man was silent for a while. After a moment of silence, the wise man led the young lad to a nearby river. They kept walking into the river until the boy’s head was fully submerged in the water. The boy struggled to keep his head above the water. To his astonishment, the wise man did not help him. Instead, the wise man held the boy’s head in the water.
After a few minutes the wise man pulled the boy out of the water and they proceeded to walk back to the hut. At the hut the wise man asked the young boy what he desired most when his head was submerged in water. To this the young boy quickly responded, “Of course, I wanted to breathe, you old fool!” To which the wise man replied, “Son, if you desire success as much as you wanted to breathe, then you would have found the true secret of success.”
– Richard Quek
SUCCESS PRINCIPLES
Success is a matter of choice. If we have enough strong reasons, there is nothing that we cannot do. Once we have the reasons to do something, we will surely find the ways to do it. A mere wish would not make things
happen. It is a burning desire, turned into an obsession that will generate the energy to bring you to achieve any goal that you may desire.
by admin | Oct 27, 2011 | Management, Soft Skills
From a guidance perspective, no one escapes human relationship in the school setting and in the community where the school head is posted. Its effects are both personal and professional, and they affect effectiveness in terms of assisting and guiding learners. The school head must be realistic on this matter by sticking with educational issues. Henson (1993) says:
The existence of good human relationships or of long-cherished human bonds of favorable interactions between a school head and the teacher could be a good beginning. It could provide new appreciation for the “sacredness” of human relationships, a fire which burns into the nights of humanity. With it, changes wrought about by technology have profound meanings and consequences for the school and its teachers as well as for the welfare of the pupils.
Dam (1993) likewise, says:
One cannot understand the management of a school without understanding that human relations exist between the teachers and their pupils. The demands of the school and its clienteles are often mutually conflicting. Nowhere is it more possible to miss the forest for the trees than in the school setting. Too often, teachers just think of themselves, forgetting that they are part of a complex system. Likewise, teachers place themselves on a high pedestal, forgetting too that their pupils are human beings needing attention and recognition.
A school head should understand the demands of his profession in his life and he should know how favorable human interactions might be presented and resolved. It should make him realize that only through concerted efforts, solidarity, and cooperation in the school system can one achieve his goals.
The school head’s attitudes, outlook, and the ability to do what needs to be done are the measurement of human relations. Certain qualities that distinguish a principal as a true leader can be tested on how skillful and competent he is in the exercise of human relations.
by admin | Oct 16, 2011 | Excel, Programming Notes
Scenario (Applies to MS Excel)
When you type an entry in your worksheet that begins with any of the following prefixes, Microsoft Excel automatically creates a hyperlink:
• http:// • www. • ftp:// • mailto: • file:// • news: • \\
Excel also creates a hyperlink when you type an e-mail address in the following format: user name@company name.com
Task
Remove the hyperlinks of the data in a range in Excel. E.g. A1:A200
Approach
Use this VBA code to remove the hyperlinks:
Sub RemoveHyperlinks()
Range(“A1:A200”).Hyperlinks.Delete
End Sub
