Curbside Stories

We are but a soul sailing the endless sea of thought.  We always seek answers that lead to another  Never ending cycle of questioning our beliefs,  Our morality, the essence of our being.  We are but a dolphin, swimming in the depths of our thoughts,  Occasionally surfacing to release air of emotions  And to breathe again the promises of life that is colorful Wild, and free beneath the recesses of our minds.

An excerpt from the book entitled Presence by Peter Senge and others. 

I am a Paulo Coelho fan. I like his style of writing, he simply puts me into a different world each time I read his book. I went to a bookstore and found this book on the featured rack. I was immediately drawn to take a look and then found myself walking towards the queue at the cashier to make a purchase. I could have bought it on Kindle but holding a real book would be a nice change even for a while. I am currently on page 50 and so far so good. Here is an excerpt from the book that is inspiring. Have a great day everyone!

Corruption is worse than prostitution. The latter might endanger the morals of an individual, the former variably endangers the morals of the entire country. - Karl Kraus Our country is corrupt. Which country is not? Corruption is everywhere. It is a plague. It has a cure.  If a country is to be corruption free and become a nation of beautiful minds, I strongly feel there are three key societal members who can make a difference. They are the father, the mother and the teacher. - Abdul Kalam  There are laws, moral and legal, and only a few favors righteousness over corruption. The duty of the youth is to challenge corruption. - Kurt Cobain We can still do something. We must be the change we want to happen in the world.

If there is something we should not lose, it is faith--faith in God, faith in our country, faith in our loved ones and faith in ourselves. Believe. Have faith. Make it happen. [Photo taken at SM Mall of Asia Bay Walk featuring the MOA Eye]

"I learned that courage was not the absence of fear, but the triumph over it. The brave man is not he who does not feel afraid, but he who conquers that fear." - Nelson Mandela Well, my Managerial Accounting subject is not yet officially over since we still have classes on Saturday and I still have to pass my take home final exam. But, I am pretty sure (my confidence level is at its peak) that I will move on to the next chapter of my MBA... Information Management System. The moment that I learned that I will have an accounting course, butterflies immediately went fluttering into my stomach. It reminded me of the days when my least liked subject was Accounting 101. Looking back to my experience, the frequent basic accounting I meet everyday at work and the cold and clammy feeling I get while reporting process costing and budgeting... I can say that you can never really escape from your fears. Face your fears. Face them more often until you feel you are not afraid an...

How would you like to be remembered? Just got home from the cemetery. It is All Saint's Day here and we (all of my relatives) went to the mausoleum of our departed loved ones. Today is a special day because it is the only time of the year that we get to be with all our loved ones, both living and dead, in one place. This is also true with other families as well. I snapped photos of beautiful flowers in the mausoleum and the sunset with some inspirational quotes.

"Each day is a special gift from God, and while life may not always be fair, you must never allow the pains, hurdles and handicaps of the moment to poison your attitude and plans for yourself and your future. You can never win when you wear the ugly cloak of self-pity and the sour sound of whining will certainly frighten away any opportunity for success." "You will achieve grand dream a day at a time, so set goals for each day, not long and difficult projects, but chores that will take you, step by step, toward your rainbow. Write them down if you must, but limit your list so that you won't have to drag today's undone matters into tomorrow. Remember that you cannot build a pyramid in twenty-four hours. Be patient. Never allow your day to become cluttered that you neglect your most important goal--to do the best you can, enjoys this day, and rest satisfied with what you have accomplished." "Never neglect the little things. Never skimp on the ext...

"Inspire others to inspire others." What I really like about my job is that I get to go to places relatively known to many. The other day, I was given a task to go to Camp Benjamin in Alfonso, Cavite to have an ocular inspection because the Management is eyeing it for our strategic planning on November. Camp Benjamin is a resort/hotel 23 kilometers away from Trece Martires City where the seat of Cavite Provincial Government is located. The 6-hectare property is nestled among luscious trees and flowering plants. It is actually hard to imagine that you can find surreal beauty and amazingly peaceful facility inside. I will not let you take a peek of the amenities inside Camp Benjamin yet. Instead, I will show you the different flowers in bloom inside the resort/hotel that I labeled with some inspiring words. Enjoy!

I was writing my schedule for November and while doing so, I feel so overwhelmed at how busy I will be in the remaining months of 2012. I am glad that my monthly planner has inspirational and motivational quotes to remind me that being busy means more blessings and more opportunities to serve.  And this quote is indeed true: doubters will not achieve any, don't expect skeptics to contribute something and cynics will not create but instead ruin you and your relationship with others.

"The greatest tragedy is that while most managers, supervisors, and colleagues genuinely appreciate the people with whom they work, they often neglect to verbally express that appreciation." "While character traits are not easily observable as specific accomplishments, they are in the long run far more important to an organization." "If words of affirmation are to be most effective, they must be given in the context of a positive, healthy relationship." Source: The 5 Languages of Appreciation in the Workplace by Gary Chapman

I took this photo at Mall of Asia Baywalk. That is the MOA Eye, the highest ferris wheel in the  Philippines.

While trust is the foundation of a relationship, trust is built on character and credibility. Trust is hard to earn but the good news is, it can also be regained. I got this quotation from Stephen R. Covey's book The Speed of Trust and I think everyone should practice humility. I constantly remind my staff to be humble. Whatever achievement our department has earned, it is because we work as a team. Humility is not a sign of weakness but in fact it is the courage to control oneself of gloat and self exaltation. 

"My grandfather once told me that there are two kinds of people: those who do the work and those who take the credit. He told me to be in the first group; there was much less competition." -Indira Gandhi We had a successful business opening today. All the efforts and stress I have been through paid off. But, I know my work doesn't stop here. I still have a lot of polishing to do for the operation and I am hoping to survive it as well.  A co-employee praised me for a job well done. I was deeply humbled by the praise but I can't take all the credits because I didn't do it alone. In fact, I can't do it alone.  And I thank all those who helped and will continue to help. I salute all of them!

Please don't let him know the difference between my teardrops and the raindrops when he sees me crying in the rain. I'd rather drown in my own tears than to know that he can tell the difference and yet he does nothing to wipe them off my face. I am sad. I have never been this sad but surprisingly, I do not have the energy to cry. It seems I have already consumed all my crying energies in the past. If there is one valuable lesson that I have learned, it is to not force happiness. Do not force people to fill that void in your life, they will fill the gap but when they realize it is not the thing that they want and it doesn't make them happy, they will leave an even bigger space that will leave you feeling half alive.

Do everything in God's glory and to always be thankful of our blessings. Don't make promises you cannot keep. Keep your integrity. Be careful of false prophets. You will know them through their actions and their followers. Not be lazy. To not be a worrywart. Remember the old saying, "Yesterday is history, tomorrow is a mystery, today is a gift that's why it is called present." Do not point your fingers at your neighbors. Do not be judgmental. Always see the goodness in others. Give others a chance to prove themselves.