A Special Place. Just For You

I have in the past shared the following poem on this blog. With some accompanying commentary of course.

Today, it is all I will post. It is my hope that in reading it, you'll take from it whatever addresses your current concerns.

SPECIAL

There is a special place in life that needs your humble skill
a certain job you're meant to do, nobody else can fill
The hours are demanding and the pay is not too good
and yet you wouldn't change it for a moment even if you could.


There is a special place in life, a goal you must attain
a dream that you must follow for you wont be back again
There's a mark that you must leave however small it be
a legacy of love for those who follow after you.


There is a special place in life that only you may share
a little path that bears your name, awaiting you somewhere
There is a hand that you must hold, a word that you must say
a smile that you must give, for there are tears to blot away.


There is a special place in life that you were meant to fill
a sunny spot where flowers grow upon a windy hill
There's always a tomorrow and the best is yet to be
and somewhere in this world I know:
That there's a special place JUST FOR YOU!

Have a great afternoon!

In view of the above poem, what's your place in this world?
Enjoy :-)

The Second Take

This past week, I have been taking yet another look at the life and times of Steve Jobs, whose enduring insights and advise we featured in the 'Living' post on January 01, 2010. What strikes me about Steve is that he, in concert with the Apple team [read Jony Ive] were able to make better versions of whatever existed. The net effect of their innovations and reinventions were a simpler, more personal user experience across all iDevices.

In Steve Jobs's personal life, it is worth noting that he managed to successfully do a most unusual thing in returning to Apple. It was a bold act, having witnessed a decade of decline for a company he had co-founded but whose leadership he had been denied.

Following are documentaries on Steve Jobs from which I have drawn the above insights:


Steve Jobs Documentary [Bloomberg Game Changers]



Steve Jobs: One Last Thing [PBS]

 



Steve Jobs: Billion Dollar Hippy [BBC 2]



Life sometimes presents us with a second chance. The second take is rare, but almost always presents a chance to improve. To learn from past mistakes. To avoid blunders. To add value. To right wrongs.

It is unfortunate however that some of us deny ourselves the chance to take advantage of a second chance thanks to fear, desperation and hopelessness.
Today in itself is yet another chance to do whatever it is that you often do. It is another take for you to do it better.

Each day is a new beginning.

Another chance to learn more about ourselves, and to care more about others.

Have a great weekend!

Stop Hoping, Start Dying

Hope and death are diametrically opposite. We often hear of undying hope. And steadfast hope is invariably unrelenting, even to the point of death.

In Shawshank Redemption, Andy Dufresne in his letter to Red had the following to say about hope:

Hope is a good thing, maybe the best of things. And no good thing ever dies.

It is well known that losing hope heralds the beginning of an end which might otherwise have been averted. We can learn enduring lessons from the animal kingdom. The following videos show the interesting relationship lions and elephants do have.




The following emotional video from Beverly and Derek Joubert's TED Talk  The best takeaway is between 06:45 and 08:48.




Derek says:

Many people in fact that death begins in the eyes, not in the heart, not in the lungs. And that is when people give up hope... when any life-form gives up hope.

But by the same token, you can get your hope back again. So just when you think it's all over, something else happens, some spark gets into you. Some sort of will to fight. That iron-will that we all have... everything has that will to survive, to fight, to push through that mental barrier... and to keep going.

Are you at that point in life where you feel like giving up? Check out the videos above, and always remember that we start dying when we stop hoping.