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Benjamin Franklin (1706-1790) was an amazingly talented Renaissance man: author, inventor, printer, politician, satirist, scientist, civic activist, statesman, diplomat, and one of the founding fathers of America.
Part of his considerable legacy was to leave us with brilliant thoughts, inspired by his Puritan background. Most of them have found their way to our common sense, but we forget they came from a man who believed in doing good every day: - A man wrapped up in himself makes a very small bundle. - Beware of small expenses. A small leak can sink a great ship. - An investment in knowledge pays the best interest. - Anger is never without a reason but seldom with a good one. - By failing to prepare, you are preparing to fail. - Do good to your friends to keep them, to your enemies to win them. - Half a truth is often a great lie. - He that lives upon hope will die fasting. - He that's secure is not safe. - If you would be loved, love and be lovable. - Tell me and I forget. Teach me and I remember. Involve me and I learn.
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One of my 4 core values is compassion. I believe it is the one value that truly differentiates us from being self-loving, egoistical people. Our caring and grace for others is the one key to make sure our collective future becomes a livable one. Last year, Karen Armstrong, a reknown religious scholar, made a plea at TED for a Charter for Compassion: an initiative to 'to restore the Golden Rule as the central global religious doctrine.' One year later, with the help of TED and 150 000 contributors like you and me from 180 different countries and 4 different languages, Karen's dream is finally becoming a reality. How different would our businesses be if we applied this charter in our commercial transactions ? in our interpersonal relationships ? with people very different from us ? Here are inspiring examples and a way for us to act on it. Enjoy the Charter for Compassion. The principle of compassion lies at the heart of all religious, ethical and spiritual traditions, calling us always to treat all others as we wish to be treated ourselves. Compassion impels us to work tirelessly to alleviate the suffering of our fellow creatures, to dethrone ourselves from the centre of our world and put another there, and to honour the inviolable sanctity of every single human being, treating everybody, without exception, with absolute justice, equity and respect.
It is also necessary in both public and private life to refrain consistently and empathically from inflicting pain. To act or speak violently out of spite, chauvinism, or self-interest, to impoverish, exploit or deny basic rights to anybody, and to incite hatred by denigrating others—even our enemies—is a denial of our common humanity. We acknowledge that we have failed to live compassionately and that some have even increased the sum of human misery in the name of religion. We therefore call upon all men and women ~ to restore compassion to the centre of morality and religion ~ to return to the ancient principle that any interpretation of scripture that breeds violence, hatred or disdain is illegitimate ~ to ensure that youth are given accurate and respectful information about other traditions, religions and cultures ~ to encourage a positive appreciation of cultural and religious diversity ~ to cultivate an informed empathy with the suffering of all human beings—even those regarded as enemies. We urgently need to make compassion a clear, luminous and dynamic force in our polarized world. Rooted in a principled determination to transcend selfishness, compassion can break down political, dogmatic, ideological and religious boundaries. Born of our deep interdependence, compassion is essential to human relationships and to a fulfilled humanity. It is the path to enlightenment, and indispensible to the creation of a just economy and a peaceful global community. Michael Josephson has penned a fantastic poem about purposeful living which became very relevant to me in the last year. I wish I had that perspective when I started my first business, so the best I can do is learn it and pass it along ;)
Enjoy. ------ Ready or not, some day it will all come to an end. There will be no more sunrises, no minutes, hours or days. All the things you collected, whether treasured or forgotten, will pass to someone else. Your wealth, fame and temporal power will shrivel to irrelevance. It will not matter what you owned or what you were owed. Your grudges, resentments, frustrations, and jealousies will finally disappear. So, too, your hopes, ambitions, plans, and to-do lists will expire. The wins and losses that once seemed so important will fade away. It won't matter where you came from, or on what side of the tracks you lived, at the end. It won't matter whether you were beautiful or brilliant. Even your gender and skin color will be irrelevant. So what will matter? How will the value of your days be measured? What will matter is not what you bought, but what you built; not what you got, but what you gave. What will matter is not your success, but your significance. What will matter is not what you learned, but what you taught. What will matter is every act of integrity, compassion, courage or sacrifice that enriched, empowered or encouraged others to emulate your example. What will matter is not your competence, but your character. What will matter is not how many people you knew, but how many will feel a lasting loss when you're gone. What will matter is not your memories, but the memories that live in those who loved you. What will matter is how long you will be remembered, by whom and for what. Living a life that matters doesn't happen by accident. It's not a matter of circumstance but of choice. Choose to live a life that matters. --- Michael Josephson I can't tolerate most self-help books. They all seem say the same thing and few of them focus on others as a means of bettering yourself. That's why this book caught my eye. Sorry for the silence. Life has been a roller-coaster as we are nearing the end of my wife's chemotherapy treatments. Managing the kids, her well-being, my work, the collective emotions and our relationships has stretched my spirituality as well as my time-management skills. I'll blog about all the lessons learnt when it's all over and the dust has settled. In the last months, I've researched and studied quite extensively the phenomenon of personal branding and all that it entails. From high-flying strategies to down-to-earth tactics, with the help of hundreds of books, blog posts and bookmarked pages, I’ve mindmapped and vulgarized the concept. And I've come to one single conclusion: Disclaimer : I know it was a television stunt, but I'm looking at the video as if I was an innocent bystander. I don't usually just post a video in this blog, but once in a while, one comes along that reaches inside, takes a hold and doesn't let go. I saw the 1939 classic movie 'The Wizard of Oz' again over the holidays and it struck me how current the film still is. It was originally meant as a political satire of the time, but it's messages can still be applied in today's society. I think the following quotes are self explanatory about today's distorted views on courage, love, knowledge, belief and beauty. Chrystian Guy (www.cguy.org), a friend of mine and literary artist came up with 4 'hanging approaches' to desperate situations. Impressive how it adequately describes our common reactions, all related to the word 'hang'. |
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