What book has had the greatest impact on your life philosophy?
As I put More Than Money down, having finished reading it, pondering my life choices past, present, and future I am left with this question: is there a piece of literature that has affected the way that I feel about the world? Oddly enough, and without thinking, I realize that I do have such a book. The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (no really!) has taught me a great many things. My favorite lesson equates to the two words that are printed in a most friendly manner on the back cover, “Don’t Panic.” With all of the travelling I have done, I was able to identify with this book’s story: the plight of the poor Arthur Dent, the quick wit of Ford Prefect, and the many zany characters in which they encounter reducing the galaxy down to a most silly scale. Despite all the loss, there is discovery, not of the meaning of life, which consequently is 42, but that of the journey and the humanoids that consequently accompanies you for it. There is the discovery of love, friendship, and consequence culminating in a friendly lunch at the end of the universe.
This is my life philosophy compacted down into a tiny nutshell if I had to pick one. In a world where nothing else matters but my ability to see it and live it along with my trusty travel towel and hitchhiker’s guide, there is no better way.
"This planet has — or rather had — a problem, which was this: most of the people living on it were unhappy for pretty much all of the time. Many solutions were suggested for this problem, but most of these were largely concerned with the movement of small green pieces of paper, which was odd because on the whole it wasn't the small green pieces of paper that were unhappy."
-Douglas Adams
Tuesday, November 16, 2010
Monday, November 8, 2010
Here and Now vs. There and Later
What would your ideal work community look like?
My ideal workplace would be somewhere that I feel comfortable working freely with dedicated and talented people towards a common goal. This grand place would be somewhere that I could grow as a person and as a businessman perpetuating my personal and professional goals as I am able. This would truly be an ideal place that I could call “work.”
How does the concept of Ubuntu apply to your career and your destiny plan? Give details of three specific instances.
“I am because we are.”
I read this phrase and think I can understand it. Even thinking basically considering this saying, business for me is the study of exchange between people. Providing some service or product from one to another is the basic concept that I am talking about. From this perspective, I cannot fathom a world any other way. As business people, we facilitate this exchange through negotiation and relationships identifying needs and trends in order to maneuver a positive outcome for everyone involved in the transaction.
I believe that without this form of thinking, viewing consumers as cattle or merchants as product pushers, we lose sight of the true purpose of what we are here to be doing. That purpose, of course, is creating a better situation for everyone including the consumer, who needs or wants something, and the merchant who has the resources to provide for that emptiness.
As Taddy Blecher said, “It’s not by looking only after yourself that you work for the good of everybody. It’s by looking after everybody that you ultimately create the basis of wealth for yourself.” By creating positive relationships and community, our study of exchange can evolve through these established networks. This idea combining concepts such as globalization and economies of scale is the first step towards incorporating the world into something more than it is through business but one where goods and services are merely the byproduct of these relationships that enrich us all.
My goals for my career are lofty, proud, and complex. I want to be able to travel and learn about the world through culture and tradition while exploring and observing everything around me. I want to be able to solve problems and troubleshoot conflict in order to create positive outcomes that benefit people. It is through these broad goals that I hope to guide myself through my career and develop meaningful relations along the way. This is how I perceive Ubuntu and its application not only in the “here and now” but also in “there and later.”
My ideal workplace would be somewhere that I feel comfortable working freely with dedicated and talented people towards a common goal. This grand place would be somewhere that I could grow as a person and as a businessman perpetuating my personal and professional goals as I am able. This would truly be an ideal place that I could call “work.”
How does the concept of Ubuntu apply to your career and your destiny plan? Give details of three specific instances.
“I am because we are.”
I read this phrase and think I can understand it. Even thinking basically considering this saying, business for me is the study of exchange between people. Providing some service or product from one to another is the basic concept that I am talking about. From this perspective, I cannot fathom a world any other way. As business people, we facilitate this exchange through negotiation and relationships identifying needs and trends in order to maneuver a positive outcome for everyone involved in the transaction.
I believe that without this form of thinking, viewing consumers as cattle or merchants as product pushers, we lose sight of the true purpose of what we are here to be doing. That purpose, of course, is creating a better situation for everyone including the consumer, who needs or wants something, and the merchant who has the resources to provide for that emptiness.
As Taddy Blecher said, “It’s not by looking only after yourself that you work for the good of everybody. It’s by looking after everybody that you ultimately create the basis of wealth for yourself.” By creating positive relationships and community, our study of exchange can evolve through these established networks. This idea combining concepts such as globalization and economies of scale is the first step towards incorporating the world into something more than it is through business but one where goods and services are merely the byproduct of these relationships that enrich us all.
My goals for my career are lofty, proud, and complex. I want to be able to travel and learn about the world through culture and tradition while exploring and observing everything around me. I want to be able to solve problems and troubleshoot conflict in order to create positive outcomes that benefit people. It is through these broad goals that I hope to guide myself through my career and develop meaningful relations along the way. This is how I perceive Ubuntu and its application not only in the “here and now” but also in “there and later.”
Tuesday, November 2, 2010
Work Focused
Reflect on your daily conversations, primarily at work. What values and life perspectives do they reflect? Are you more of a consumer or citizen?
I don’t usually have conversations at work that reflect anything other than the work at hand. My perspective and my values can be better interpreted through my actions at work in handling sensitive situations and solving problems. I like to think that those events allow me to be more of a citizen than a consumer utilizing my own experiences to benefit the employees and the company.
How do you think about and measure your impact?
As in the book, I would rather choose to have and develop a deeper connection with fewer people than spreading my message too thin over too many people. I like to think that my interactions with the employees at work and my classmates here at school have been meaningful and through those relations, everyone will benefit in the future.
I don’t usually have conversations at work that reflect anything other than the work at hand. My perspective and my values can be better interpreted through my actions at work in handling sensitive situations and solving problems. I like to think that those events allow me to be more of a citizen than a consumer utilizing my own experiences to benefit the employees and the company.
How do you think about and measure your impact?
As in the book, I would rather choose to have and develop a deeper connection with fewer people than spreading my message too thin over too many people. I like to think that my interactions with the employees at work and my classmates here at school have been meaningful and through those relations, everyone will benefit in the future.
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