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Sunday, September 30, 2007

Hot Dog Hazard



It was mentioned to me by a friend a long time ago that eating hotdogs are hazardous to one's health. I did not believe her until Dr. David C. Paik of Columbia University issued these findings Eating cured meats such as hot dogs, smoked fish, bacon or salami may double your risk of lung disease. People who ate cured meats more than 14 times a month were almost twice as likely to have pulomonary disorders, chronic bronchitis and emphysema than those who don't. The hot dogs got nitrite (SEE THEIR LABELS!!!!) which causes our lungs to age.
Eaters beware!

The Zagorsky Truth


A professor of mine was so brutal that he once said in our Finance class that intelligence and wealth are not linked. He convinced each one of us who claimed that we excel academically that we should rethink our position. He ended up saying that high intelligence is not a complete advantage. Just look at the car of bright professors, he said, they are old low value vehicles. The lesson is simple as the Zagorsky truth "Your IQ has really no relationship to your wealth. And being very smart does not protect you from getting into financial difficulty,”
Zagorsky is the famous Jay Zagorsky, Ph.D. of Ohio State University who is one of the top researcher in America.
He confirmed that when it came to total wealth and the likelihood of financial difficulties, people of below average and average intelligence did just fine when compared with the super-intelligent.How come because, Zagorsky found out that high-IQ people are not saving as much as others.
So for those below average and average students don't be despair you too have a chance to be wealthy just like the high-IQ people provided you know when to save and when to splurge.

Tuesday, September 18, 2007

Thank you Mother Teresa


A new book " Mother teresa: Come be my Light" was launched last month. It consist primarily of correspondence between Teresa and her confessors and superiors for a period of 66 years. It was dark indeed because the book reveals her doubt about God's existence. That she did not find Jesus in her heart or in the eucharist.
Why I am thanking the saint?. It's because all people experienced some doubt about his or her faith, about Jesus and about God. Especially when we are bombarded with problems that we felt the absence of God. It is only natural for us to experience this "dark night" and we need the help of other people to regain our spiritual equilibrium. Mother Teresa had one by the help of Rev. Joseph Neuner who counseled her resulting to tremendous sense of release.
This is what we need when we are confronted with a spiritual vacuum somebody who can tell us that there is no human remedy for doubt; that to have a proof that Jesus is present by having a craving to His graces and that experiencing doubt happens to everybody.
Now we know that as fellow travellers of this world it is not shameful to doubt our faith but rather see it as a tool to help the needy even we believe less.

ALC

Parable of the Pigeon


In the pigeon kingdom the King called for a meeting. There is trouble in the wersel forest and we need somebody to take care of it, said the King. So the pigeons started debating to one another and before sunset arrives they voted for the gray pigeon to head the wersel forest. Obedient as he is, the gray pigeon began transforming the troubled wersel forest. He wake up early and sleep late. For 24 months he never tires flying with the pigeons of wersel forests. He even teached them some tricks of flying. The gray pigeon made the wersel forest pigeons believe in themselves. The gray pigeon love it because he feels that they look at him as a pigeon who can fly wherever he like.
Then one day the gray pigeon was called by the King and entrusted a new job. He tried to reason out to the king that he still need to attend the wersel forest. He said that there is trouble in yako forest and he need my expertise. How can you say no to an insisting King?. So the gray pigeon work in the yako forest without explaining to the pigeons of worsel. While the gray pigeon is flying in the dark forest he met a sickly old hawk. She's begging for food but the gray pigeon said that the food is owned by the wersel pigeons and he need to give it to them. The plea of the sickly hawk melted the heart of the gray pigeon and gave her the food without realizing the consequences of it.
So the gray pigeon returned to wersel forests and brought no food. The wersel pigeons began to feel betrayed that after a long time of absence he brought them nothing. Many of them refused to fly with the gray pigeon. Some of them even gave an angry look.
After several days, the gray pigeon made stories that the food fell to the ground while flying. Who would believe anyway that the food for pigeons were given to a hawk? They would not even understand why a hawk and not a pigeon.
So for several sunset and sunrise the gray pigeon was disturbed. Sleep refuses to visit him. For him there was no reason staying at the worsel forest because no one accompany him to fly.
So one night the gray pigeon bravely apologized and told the truth to the wersel pigeons. There was complete silence, question and hesitation.Who can blame them? The gray pigeon flew in the dark forest without informing them. As tears fell from the cheek of the gray pigeon he realized their disappointment, his failure and ask for their forgiveness.
Is the gray pigeon forgiven? Will the gray pigeon be the same again? Will he sit on the same branch or look for a different nest? As the gray pigeon look in the sunset he can not find the answer. Maybe tomorrow it will come.

Tuesday, September 04, 2007

Paretto Principle


One of the best learning I got from the Ateneo was learning the Paretto Principle. Our Operation Management professor shared the Paretto Principle or the 80-20 rule very simple but with a lot of passion that after the class we were became believers.
What is this Paretto Principle?
The Pareto principle is also known as the 80-20 rule. Is the law of the vital few and the principle of factor sparsity which states that, for many events, 80% of the effects comes from 20% of the causes. Simple?.
Business management thinker Joseph M. Juran suggested the principle and named it after Italian economist Vilfredo Paretto, who observed that 80% of income in Italy went to 20% of the population.
It is a common rule of thumb in business that "80% of your sales comes from 20% of your clients.
How do experience this principle in our lives:
1. we wear our 20% most favoured clothes about 80% of the time.
2. we spend 80% of the time with 20% of our acquaintances.
3. 80% of a country's wealth was owned by 20% of the population.
4. Relationship: 20% of the people you know (friends, colleagues, family) provide
you with 80 percent of nurturing support and satisfaction.
5. Business: Twenty percent of customers will account for 80 percent of profit.
6. Productivity: Twenty percent of your activities will account for 80 percent
of your success.

How can we put the 80-20 principle to good use?
The Pareto principle is great to increase focus. Don't try to do more. Just do more of the right things. For example, out of our many maladaptive behaviors, twenty percent of it will contribute to 80 percent of all our hardship and misery. So working on just these 20 percent can greatly contribute to our personal growth. Time management is another area where the rule can be very effective. If you have a lot of work to do, break it down to specific activities and figure out what twenty percent of the tasks listed contributes to eighty percent of the results you seek. Second, give your maximum concentration to those 20 percent tasks.
Thanks to Joseph M. Juran, you created followers beyond your dreams!.

alc