The monk who sold his ferrari

I just finished reading a book entitled, 'The Monk who Sold His Ferrari' by Robin Sharma and would like to share some food for thought with you ka.

Like what my friend said, this is a 'how to' book, helping us to assess our inner selves to determine the meaning of happy existence. As I went through it, I kept thinking of Buddha's teaching ka. After all, Thais are so fortunate to have the Buddha's paths and to see our Nailuang follow suit, leaving to us to be strong and serious to walk along.

Keywords are discipline, giving, life priority, optimism, time, energy, kaizen, living in the present.

Some statements I like are:

'Magic Rule of 21' is the number of days it will take for new behavior to crystalize into a habit.

Pressure can inspire you to achieve great ends.

Get still and focused. Then ask yourself this question: 'What would I do today if today was my last?' (something Steve Jobs held tight to his heart too!)

.....all highly developed, fully actualized people understand the importance of exploring their talents, uncovering their personal purpose and then applying their human gifts in the direction of this calling.

Fear is a conditioned response.....consume your energy, creativity, and spirit if you aren't careful. Do the things you fear!

Most people don't think (and use)  they have willpower. They blame everyone and everything except themselves for this weakness.

....the Mantra to repeat at least 30 times a day: 'I'm more than I appear to be, all the world's strength and power rests inside me.'

When you control your thought, you control your mind. When you control your mind, you control your life. ....in total control of your life, you become the master of your destiny.

Friends add humor, fascination, and beauty to life......keep you humble when you get too self-righteous...make you smile when you are taking yourself too seriously. Good friends are there to help you when life throws one of its little curves at you and things look worse than they seem.

Cheers.

Love of life-long learning

Greetings to you all ka! Hope life isn't too jammed unlike the traffic which seems to be very much so these days na ka.

 

The issue on 'Students First' has been on my mind for long and the more we work on quality systems, the more I feel our focus on 'Students First' is far from common in our Thai context.

 

We still have our top down/ authority-led management on our curriculum development, on students' activities, and exchange programs, ‘guiding students to do what WE think they must/need/should do!

 

One article I read just now made me think of this very issue again ka. The title is, 'The Challenge of Educating the Educated’ by Balasubramanian G.

 

It talks about two sides of learning of the educated. On one end, the author points out that “I know” syndrome can be ‘the greatest inhibitor to further learning and is a reflection of inflexible attitude grounded on a comparative ego.’

 

On the other, “the Learned Helplessness” can cause ‘self-pity, low self-esteem and fear of the unknown’, hindering people’s further development.

 

His statement, which reads “Pseudo-intellectualism is more dangerous than ignorance in a developing organization which is part of the knowledge economy.” ignites more thinking too!

Let me share my own thinking ka:

• The three L’s, Life-long Learning, is forever classic! How could we build in the 4^th L—to read, ‘Love of Life-long Learning’?
• What could we along with the students do for the two groups… the ‘I know’ syndrome and the ‘helplessness’…. to strike the right balance for increased and continuous learning? Whatever we’ve provided them may need to be adjusted to respond better with the types of students we have.
• Such syndromes are also seen among our administrators and faculty, though in our context, it’s likely we don’t reveal our ignorance for fear of losing our face and respect. How could our HR plan be developed for them?
• How could we slowly tear down the ‘authority/seniority-led’ wall in some situations/settings for all to share more freely and comfortably to maximize the level of learning acquisition?