A new year is a new beginning of a chapter in a book called “Life”. I ponder what the New Year will change for me? There’s not a year that passes that I realize what has helped me grow this particular year. What changed you this year? , What will change you in the year to come? I question myself subconsciously.
Time rapidly goes with every step and breath we take; therefore, before we realize it’s…another year! The beginning is a time to forget the past, and look forward to the future. Each year life gets sweeter and more enchanting to live. Although there will be days where our lives will be unpleasant to remember; days we wish to relive , overcoming the dynamic way of our uncertain today ,yet our blessing tomorrow ,through our wisdom and knowledge of what is unexpected we as individuals can hold our heads high!
A new beginning gives us a chance to change, to grow, and to become a better person; with the mind focused, our hearts opened we can find a new “leash on life”. My perception of a new beginning has broaden my horizon, I realize a new beginning helps me become conscious of past mistakes and lets me gain knowledge from them. It is the motivation that keeps me thriving for more, yet I must confess a new beginning also can be a frightening time in a persons’ life because sometimes moving forward can be very critical, but change is good. Especially when you unexpectedly know how life can open doors for you when you least expect it.
As the beginning of a new year blooms I recognized my growth from the past year , so I made a new year resolution for myself and dedication to my education ,so as I timidly walk the unsteady journey I will accomplish what I believe the year has planned .
However, it is how we approach the new beginning that evolves our ending into a marvelous and complete year, for example if the year begins optimistic it will end likewise ,but only if YOU think and take action on how your year is going to end. Yet the final decision is made on the one who changed! What is your perception of a new beginning? How do you plan to change? Live for today, anticipate tomorrow and take a new chance at life!
Friday, January 25, 2008
Tuesday, January 22, 2008
Without You by Charles Cangé, Jr
Without you
My heart of Poet
Was strolled towards other world,
World of sadness,
Of complex, of idleness
Like the heart of an old mental patient.
Nature is not embellished
With the Clearness of the morning
Again, without you
Life appears to me like a kind of nothing.
Monday, January 21, 2008
Slumber by Professor Marlene Cueto
Where has the forest gone? Months ago, tall trees lined the horizon as I gazed upon Grandfather in the distance. But now the trees are bare, no flowers, no leaves. The majestic mountain sun shines through the naked trees that stand in wait. Where are the birds, the deer and the turkey? Surely they wait only for the forest to awake from its temporary slumber. Wait. Nothing has gone, for all is here, hiding, sleeping, dreaming of the spring.
Sunday, January 20, 2008
Christmas by Frederman Cano
Originally published in January 2007, Reflections Magazine
In a way, for some people Christmas makes them sad because they have lost somebody special, such as a special friend or a family member or because in the past they have lost someone special on that day. For other people Christmas could be happiness because they are with their entire family and they are spending time with each other and having a good time. As for me, Christmas is both happiness and sadness. It’s happiness because I spend it with my family, yet sad because part of my family is far away from me.
Christmas could be a time of year where you reflect what has happened in the past. You also decorate your house with lights and a Christmas tree. Another thing that Christmas means to some people is the time of year where you exchange gifts. In a religious way, Christmas means the birth of Christ and they spend it at church. Christmas is one of the best seasons of the year because it is full of joy and happiness.
As you can see Christmas means a lot of things; it could mean sadness and it could mean happiness. I just want to wish all of you a very Merry Christmas and I hope that all your wishes and dreams come true and may God Bless you.
Have you ever thought what Christmas means to some people and what it means to other people? From past experience I have noticed that Christmas for some people means happiness yet for others it means sadness.
In a way, for some people Christmas makes them sad because they have lost somebody special, such as a special friend or a family member or because in the past they have lost someone special on that day. For other people Christmas could be happiness because they are with their entire family and they are spending time with each other and having a good time. As for me, Christmas is both happiness and sadness. It’s happiness because I spend it with my family, yet sad because part of my family is far away from me.
Christmas could be a time of year where you reflect what has happened in the past. You also decorate your house with lights and a Christmas tree. Another thing that Christmas means to some people is the time of year where you exchange gifts. In a religious way, Christmas means the birth of Christ and they spend it at church. Christmas is one of the best seasons of the year because it is full of joy and happiness.
As you can see Christmas means a lot of things; it could mean sadness and it could mean happiness. I just want to wish all of you a very Merry Christmas and I hope that all your wishes and dreams come true and may God Bless you.
Thursday, January 17, 2008
What will you resolve this year?
Originally published January 2007, Reflections Magazine
At the start of the January semester I often talk to my students about resolutions. Many students make them every December. They also tell me they fail to keep them within one month. To keep a new year’s resolution takes a few simple habits. Below I discuss these habits and I’ll use myself as an example. When I discuss resolutions with my students I ask them a philosophical question. Can people fully control their lives? Most students answer no. They say too many things lie beyond our control. They give the common examples of the weather, taxes, death. After we discuss these things I remind them I asked about life not the weather. Their answers show I need to clarify or perhaps expand the question.
Can people fully control their choices? Can we live the way we want or do we sometimes have to do what we don’t want to do? Again most answer no. They say we have to work even when we don’t want to. Some say they have to come to my class even though they don’t want to. I applaud their honesty then I say I disagree with them. No one has to come to my class. Every one of them made a choice. I sound naive to many of them. “If we don’t come to your class we can’t get our degree,” some say.
Interesting. To reach a goal we may sometimes have to do something undesirable. What do you think? Do you agree with my students?
In December 1997 I resolved to take full control of my life. I would no longer do anything I didn’t want to do. I would no longer do those things I found useless, a waste of time, things I didn’t value. I would reject those things that went against my principles. I would do only those things I consider important and that better my life. I broke my resolution before January’s end. I needed to do more than just say I wanted to take control of my life. First I needed to increase my control “I.Q.” I had to learn about and develop the appropriate habits.
To gain more control over my life I had to make the effort. As I mention above I had to learn. I had to read, talk to wise people, find role models. I couldn’t just wish more control into reality. Every time I failed at my goal I tried again. I started fresh. I felt frustration but I said, “If others learned to control their lives so can I.”
To gain control of my life I had to develop a certain attitude. Attitude affects success and failure. I wrote my goals and I read them every week so I wouldn’t forget where I wanted to go and to remind myself that if others got there so could I. I thought about how everything I learned would take me closer to my goal not that I didn’t want to learn anymore. Once I controlled my attitude I could then control my life.
As I made efforts to change my life and worked on my attitude I had to keep focused. I learned that when I lost focus of my specific goals I wasted effort. I discovered the paradox that the fewer things I focused on the more I accomplished. When I concentrated and focused my efforts I eliminated distractions. The more I learned to control my life the more easily I could focus on my resolution. This convinced me of the correlation between focus and control.
I tell my students when we talk about resolutions these three habits work together. It takes effort to develop a good attitude. A good attitude helped keep me focused. Focus helped me reach my goal more easily. It helped me avoid distractions and helped make my efforts more effective. As I developed these three habits I learned to make intelligent choices. I found control came down to the choices I make. When I make intelligent choices I gain more control/freedom. I gain control over my finances, my time, my mind. I used role models both good and bad. From the bad role models I discovered the correlation between bad choices and a loss of control or freedom. From the good role models I learned how to refine what Ernest Hemingway called, “A fail-proof crap detector.” As I learned how to apply the tools of language, logic and history to weigh the choices I faced every day I started to make the right choices to live how I want.
Each year I learned more about how to control my life and I continue to develop my life philosophy. Perhaps I don’t completely control my life but I live mostly the way I want. I do what I value and I reject those things others consider important but I consider wrong, a waste of time, silly, a bad choice, a fad or plain ridiculous.
So what will you resolve this year? If you set a specific goal, write it down and apply these four habits you can achieve what you want and live how you want. I wish you a happy, successful new year.
Copyright Bert Lorenzo, 2007
Every December I make a new year’s resolution. This year marks the tenth anniversary of what I consider my most important resolution ever.
At the start of the January semester I often talk to my students about resolutions. Many students make them every December. They also tell me they fail to keep them within one month. To keep a new year’s resolution takes a few simple habits. Below I discuss these habits and I’ll use myself as an example. When I discuss resolutions with my students I ask them a philosophical question. Can people fully control their lives? Most students answer no. They say too many things lie beyond our control. They give the common examples of the weather, taxes, death. After we discuss these things I remind them I asked about life not the weather. Their answers show I need to clarify or perhaps expand the question.
Can people fully control their choices? Can we live the way we want or do we sometimes have to do what we don’t want to do? Again most answer no. They say we have to work even when we don’t want to. Some say they have to come to my class even though they don’t want to. I applaud their honesty then I say I disagree with them. No one has to come to my class. Every one of them made a choice. I sound naive to many of them. “If we don’t come to your class we can’t get our degree,” some say.
Interesting. To reach a goal we may sometimes have to do something undesirable. What do you think? Do you agree with my students?
I came to the conclusion some years ago we have the intelligence to control our lives-to live how we want.
In December 1997 I resolved to take full control of my life. I would no longer do anything I didn’t want to do. I would no longer do those things I found useless, a waste of time, things I didn’t value. I would reject those things that went against my principles. I would do only those things I consider important and that better my life. I broke my resolution before January’s end. I needed to do more than just say I wanted to take control of my life. First I needed to increase my control “I.Q.” I had to learn about and develop the appropriate habits.
To gain more control over my life I had to make the effort. As I mention above I had to learn. I had to read, talk to wise people, find role models. I couldn’t just wish more control into reality. Every time I failed at my goal I tried again. I started fresh. I felt frustration but I said, “If others learned to control their lives so can I.”
To gain control of my life I had to develop a certain attitude. Attitude affects success and failure. I wrote my goals and I read them every week so I wouldn’t forget where I wanted to go and to remind myself that if others got there so could I. I thought about how everything I learned would take me closer to my goal not that I didn’t want to learn anymore. Once I controlled my attitude I could then control my life.
As I made efforts to change my life and worked on my attitude I had to keep focused. I learned that when I lost focus of my specific goals I wasted effort. I discovered the paradox that the fewer things I focused on the more I accomplished. When I concentrated and focused my efforts I eliminated distractions. The more I learned to control my life the more easily I could focus on my resolution. This convinced me of the correlation between focus and control.
I tell my students when we talk about resolutions these three habits work together. It takes effort to develop a good attitude. A good attitude helped keep me focused. Focus helped me reach my goal more easily. It helped me avoid distractions and helped make my efforts more effective. As I developed these three habits I learned to make intelligent choices. I found control came down to the choices I make. When I make intelligent choices I gain more control/freedom. I gain control over my finances, my time, my mind. I used role models both good and bad. From the bad role models I discovered the correlation between bad choices and a loss of control or freedom. From the good role models I learned how to refine what Ernest Hemingway called, “A fail-proof crap detector.” As I learned how to apply the tools of language, logic and history to weigh the choices I faced every day I started to make the right choices to live how I want.
Each year I learned more about how to control my life and I continue to develop my life philosophy. Perhaps I don’t completely control my life but I live mostly the way I want. I do what I value and I reject those things others consider important but I consider wrong, a waste of time, silly, a bad choice, a fad or plain ridiculous.
So what will you resolve this year? If you set a specific goal, write it down and apply these four habits you can achieve what you want and live how you want. I wish you a happy, successful new year.
Copyright Bert Lorenzo, 2007
Tuesday, January 15, 2008
Solve A Problem And Make Millions by Professor Bert Lorenzo
Welcome to a new year and a new semester. Have you decided on a resolution or have you set a goal for yourself yet? If you haven’t done so yet please allow me a suggestion. Why not solve a problem? I don’t mean a personal problem or goal either like lose weight or exercise more. I mean tackle a major problem like child abuse, animal cruelty, illiteracy or the potable water shortage. In the process you could make millions.
Last semester my students and I worked on a composition project. After we studied and discussed the internet video Shift Happens by Karl Fisch we brainstormed and made several lists of problems humans face. We ended with a master list of almost 50 problems. Students then wrote about solutions to some of the problems. I read some very creative and thoughtful compositions.
Some of the students viewed the video with shock at all the predictions about rapid change and the problems that might result. I see the video differently and shared some of my thoughts with my students. I agree with Winston Churchill who said, “The optimist sees opportunity in chaos.”
Many self-made millionaires have one thing in common. Where others saw problems and complained they saw problems and said, “There’s got to be a better way.” Then they looked for solutions, solved a problem and made money.
Late last year I read A Contract with the Earth by Newt Gingrich and Terry Maple. They outline multiple ways we can do our part to help clean the planet, reduce global warming, etc. In some cases those who dedicate themselves to one of the ideas outlined in the book can make millions of dollars. I consider this a very American approach to a problem-innovate, fix something or make it better and make lots of money in return. Others have done it so why can’t you? In her book The Shock Doctrine: the Rise of Disaster Capitalism Naomi Klein gives dozens of examples of companies and individuals who have made money from misery.
Vice President Al Gore has made millions of dollars in the global warming business. He’s done his part to make it front and center as one of the most important problems on the planet. He created a new concept called green consciousness through his lectures, documentary and books Earth in the Balance and An Inconvenient Truth and has made lots of money at the same time. President Bill Clinton made nearly ten million dollars last year as he did good work in the A.I.D.S. business. Carmakers receive millions of taxpayer and private donor dollars to build more fuel-efficient cars and to find alternative fuel technologies. They stand to make billions with their new cars and technologies.
In one school of thought they argue we build colleges and universities to prepare leaders in all professions to go out after graduation and solve problems in their chosen fields. Have you decided what you will do with your education? What problem or problems would you like to solve or at least make better in your profession? All professions face problems and as each field progresses new problems arise. With progress come problems.
Maybe you can’t end world hunger but you could do something to alleviate the problem and reap a reward in return. Maybe you don’t have to fix such a humungous problem. You could work on something smaller. You could find a cure for the cold, a better way to keep newspapers dry during rainy season, an easier way to clean windows or a safe way to fight mildew or termites.
Just keep your eyes open and your brain engaged as you move about your day and you’ll find manifold problems, inconveniences and exasperations. Watch Donny Deutsch’s The Big Idea weeknights on CNBC. His guests will inspire you. Every night Deutsch interviews inventors, innovators and entrepreneurs who have made millions of dollars or soon will with their products or services. They talk about what motivated them to solve a problem or to find a better way to do something, the obstacles they overcame and the steps they took to succeed. Many of the guests have certain qualities in common. I won’t tell you what. Watch the show and figure it out for yourself.
This year will pass us by quickly so will your time in college. Before long you’ll enter your chosen field. What will you contribute to make the world a better place? I tell my students we owe a lot to a lot of people who’ve made our lives more bearable. We owe a debt to scientists, inventors, doctors, engineers, architects, teachers, nurses, soldiers, entrepreneurs and farmers. They’ve given us a lifestyle kings wouldn’t have imagined 100 years ago. Solve a problem. You could make millions and make the world a better place.
Copyright Bert Lorenzo, 2008
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