Rules in life

[Guest]

The Wise Old Man

May the wisdom inspires us to ‘age’ gracefully and hopefully - writing of
Musique-L’Amour rêve (André Gagnon), translated by Penny Harvey

Wise old man
A man of 92 years, short, very well-presented, who takes great care in his
appearance, is moving into an old people’s home today.His wife of 70 has
recently died, and he is obliged to leave his home.After waiting several
hours in the retirement home lobby, he gently smiles as he is told that his
room is ready.

As he slowly walks to the elevator, using his cane, I describe his small
room to him, including the sheet hung at the window which serves as a
curtain. ”I like it very much”, he says, with the enthusiasm of an 8 year
old boy who has just been given a new puppy.“M. Gagné, you haven’t
even seen the room yet, hang on a moment, we are almost there. “

” That has nothing to do with it “, he replies.

“Happiness is something I choose in advance. Whether or not I like the
room does not depend on the furniture, or the decor – rather it depends
on how I decide to see it.”

“It is already decided in my mind that I like my room. It is a decision I
take every morning when I wake up.”

“I can choose. I can spend my day in bed enumerating all the difficulties
that I have with the parts of my body that no longer work very well, or I
can get up and give thanks to heaven for those parts that are still in
working order.”“Every day is a gift, and as long as I can open my eyes, I
will focus on the new day, and all the happy memories that I have built up
during my life. “

“Old age is like a bank account. You withdraw in later life what you have
deposited along the way. “

So, my advice to you is to deposit all the happiness you can in your bank
account of memories.

Thank you for your part in filling my account with happy memories, which
I am still continuing to fill…

Remember these simple guidelines for happiness.

1. Free your heart from hate.
2. Free your mind from worry.
3. Live simply.
4. Give more.
5. Expect less.

http://sharelife.wordpress.com/2007/02/01/the-wise-old-man/

[Guest]

MY MIND IS A GARDEN
MY THOUGHTS ARE SEEDS
MY HARVEST WILL BE EITHER FLOWER OR WEEDS

[Guest]

http://blogs.harvardbusiness.org/bregman/2009/04/susan-boyle-a-lesson-in-talent.html

Susan Boyle: A Lesson in Talent Management

Susan Boyle, who recently performed on the UK television show Britain's
Got Talent, has captured the world's attention. And it's a good lesson for
managers the world over.

In case you've missed it: she's a 47-year-old unemployed charity worker
who lives with her cat in a small village in Scotland. As soon as she walked
on stage the audience began to snicker and roll their eyes. Simon Cowell,
the show's host, asked her some pre-performance questions in his
famously condescending style and, to the audience's enjoyment, she
answered awkwardly.

She was painfully ordinary and everyone was prepared, looking forward
even, to see her fail.

By now, if you don't know the story, you could guess it, right? She more
than wowed them. She opened her mouth to sing and, as one of the three
judges Pierce Morgan later said, she had "the voice of an angel."

She wasn't painfully ordinary; she was extraordinary. The audience
immediately jumped to their feet in a standing ovation and stayed there for
the entire song. The YouTube video of Susan's performance has, so far,
received nearly 100 million views.

We are riveted — and a recent article in USA Today does a good job of
cataloguing all the reasons. We prejudged her by her looks and were fooled.
We experienced the full gamut of emotions in a few short moments: guilt,
shame, vindication, hope. She's a modern Cinderella and these days it's a
wonderful distraction and inspiration to witness the triumph of the human
spirit.

But there's something else Susan Boyle awakens in us as we watch her
come out of her shell. Our own selves. Who among us doesn't move
through life with the hidden sense, maybe even quiet desperation, that we
are destined for more? That underneath our ordinary exterior lies an
extraordinary talent? That given the right opportunity, the right stage, the
right audience, we could shine as the stars we truly are?

We all have that sense to one degree or another. And it's a great
opportunity for managers. How we handle that opportunity is what
distinguishes the great managers from the merely good ones.

Good managers help their employees succeed in whatever role they happen
to be in. Great managers see the unique talents of each employee, and
then create the role that's a perfect vehicle for those talents. Great
managers remove the obstacles that prevent their employees from
unleashing their talent. And they make sure each employee has the right
opportunities, the right stage, the right audience, to be fully appreciated.

While Susan Boyle became an overnight sensation, hers was not an
overnight transformation. She's been practicing singing since she was 12.
In her case, overnight lasted 35 years.

And she didn't do it alone. Susan Boyle had a voice coach, Fred O'Neil, who
worked with her for years. And she had her mother. "She was the one who
said I should enter Britain's Got Talent. We used to watch it together," she
told the UK paper The Times, speaking about her mother who died in 2007,
"She thought I would win . . . I am doing it as a tribute to my mum and I
think she would be very proud."

In a study by two graduates of the University of Pennsylvania's Applied
Positive Psychology Program, managers who provided frequent recognition
and encouragement were rewarded with an increase in productivity of 31%.
As a manager, your greatest tool is recognizing each employee's talents
and encouraging that employee to use those talents.

"There is grace," a friend recently wrote to me, "in being molded by your
own gifts."

To allow yourself to be molded by your gifts takes courage. By recognizing
and encouraging the particular gifts of their employees, great managers
increase the chance that those employees will be willing to stand there,
exposed and authentic, while their audience rolls their eyes and sneers,
expecting failure.

And then, when their talented employees fail (which they inevitably will at
some point), after they laugh or cry at their failure, great managers hold
them up, keep them focused, help them refine their talent and keep going,
until one day the audience stops laughing and starts clapping.

With her mother gone, Susan still has O'Neil. And recently he told The
Telegraph he was worried about all the attention on Susan. "I am concerned
about her being surrounded by all these PR people," he said, "that she will
not be given the time to sing." That's the voice of a great manager.

Susan Boyle is a phenomenal person to keep in mind as you manage your
employees. In all her awkward ordinariness and amazing extraordinariness.
She is talent discovered. Can you uncover the Susan in each one of your
employees? Can you draw her out? Can you support her fully? Put her on
the right stage? In front of the right audience? Can you keep her focused on
her talent?

If so, then be prepared to be wowed.