It’s a question I encounter at the end of every seminar: What Now? Where do we go from here? How do we start? Where do we start? What do we do? Most seminars end with people praising the principles learned but then hardly applying them in real life. Why is it so hard to applyContinue reading “What Now?”
Category Archives: Aha!
Insights from Writing Essays
Ann Handley, the best-selling author of Everybody Writes, didn’t have much to say about essays except: ‘There is no one way to write—just as there is no one way to parent a child or roast a turkey.’ Essays are written pieces that promote the positions of their writers. But they’re not articles like what weContinue reading “Insights from Writing Essays”
People Aren’t Changing, We Are
The late reverend Fr. Rafael Cortina(†), S.J., the counsellor for my senior high school class in 1980, said it a few times: people aren’t changing; you are. Fr. Cortina’s context was as we young people grow up, we encounter changes in our environment. We think it’s the people around us who are changing but inContinue reading “People Aren’t Changing, We Are”
Sometimes It’s the Smallest of Things that Cause Big Problems
It can take three (3) hours to travel to the hot spring pools of Los Baños, Laguna in the Philippines. Authorities have invested millions of dollars in improving the highway’s infrastructure but motorists still complain about the long travel time. At one intersection of the highway leading into the town, a lone traffic cop stopsContinue reading “Sometimes It’s the Smallest of Things that Cause Big Problems”
Many People Don’t Use Toilet Paper
We all have comfort zones
Tools are Just as Important as Talent
A mechanic once advised a trucking owner that his job is only as good as the tools he has. The trucking owner agreed and bought all the tools & supplies the mechanic needed. The owner was rewarded with trucks that hardly had breakdowns. If there were, the mechanic would immediately have the broken-down truck repairedContinue reading “Tools are Just as Important as Talent”
I Hate It When People Rush Me
I don’t play golf. It’s not only because I’m a lousy player (although that has a lot to do with it). It’s also because I hate it when people rush me at the golf course. When I used to play golf, the caddies would tell me to hurry up because there were other players whoContinue reading “I Hate It When People Rush Me”
Why There are No Patron Saints for Modern Business
The Jesuit priest in his homily for the Catholic mass service I was attending with fellow high school students many years ago declared there were no Catholic patron saints for business people. At least there weren’t any who could be a model for those who led corporations and enterprises. In the Roman Catholic Church, patronContinue reading “Why There are No Patron Saints for Modern Business”
What Is Stupidity?
We don’t like being called stupid. It’s insulting and the one who says it obviously has bad intentions against the person he’s labelling as stupid. But what does stupid mean, anyway? It is not the opposite of smart. Smart describes cleverness, ingenuity, intelligence, and innovation. Ignorant would be the best antonym of smart asContinue reading “What Is Stupidity?”
The Importance of Education in a World of Word-of-Mouth
Many graduating high school students apply to colleges and universities. Many turn to rankings to find out what college or university would be best to apply to, given whatever interests the graduating high school students may have. US News and World Report’s Best Colleges list, for instance, relies on ranking factors that are based onContinue reading “The Importance of Education in a World of Word-of-Mouth”
Ellery's Essays 