Ru Zi Ke Jiao

“In the confrontation between the stream and the rock, the stream always wins- not through strength but by perseverance.” H. Jackson Brown, Jr. writer

NASH: Or, as I like to say, “In the game of life, you don’t lose until you quit.”

Hugh is also handy with a hammer. (Translation: He too, nails it.) Here’s his text to go along with his cartoon drawing (above).

“Choosing an easy life sounds good at first,” said my friend, Chris McWilliams, lead guitarist of my favorite local band, The Doodlin’ Hogwallops, “until it starts eating your soul, from the inside out.”

We’ve all been there. We’ve known hacks, have been hacks ourselves, all in the name of the easy dollar.

Think how much easier life would be, if that were enough…but it never is.

NASH: Maybe now you’ll understand why I always say that I want a “hard” life. It’s not that I’m a masochist. It’s that I want to live a meaningful life and achieve great things. And that’s hard.

Once again, Seth nails it. What follows is his short post, to which I can only add one caveat: “If you accept the responsibility, make sure that you demand the authority to achieve your objectives.”

Responsibility and authority

Many people struggle at work because they want more authority.

It turns out you can get a lot done if you just take more responsibility instead. It’s often offered, rarely taken.

(And you can get even more done if you give away credit, relentlessly).

NASH: You all did catch the relationship between the upside-down house and this post, right? It’s that most people view the world from the wrong perspective, wanting the authority, but not the responsibility. That’s backwards, or, if you please, upside-down. Accept the responsibility – and then demand the authority.

Marching Lockstep

Let me paraphrase my best teacher (Seth Godin): “People who are way out of sync with the majority of the moment aren’t always bad followers. They might be great leaders.”

See? I just might be a great leader and not just a crackpot.

I did say ‘might’. Haha

How about you? How ‘out of sync’ are you? Or are you marching lockstep?

Newsweek has an interesting story this week on Chinese women and why they feel they can ‘rule the world’. Knowing as many bright, young Chinese women as I do, I’m inclined to agree. They “can” rule the world. (I’m not so sure if they’re going to, but they certainly have the abilities required. Foremost is ambition.)

To which I say, “Good for them.” Or “good for you!” as the case may be.

Guys, I’m all for you, also. Actually, I’m for anyone and everyone who wants to strive their best to achieve a meaningful life. You know, a life of GREATNESS. And that starts with you (guys or gals) being true to yourselves.

You know, choosing “the road less traveled…“

No doubt one of the reasons that I liked living in China so much is that I take things personally. That is, I care. Many Chinese do also. Unfortunately – and as with nearly everything – there are both good and bad aspects to this. One of the more serious negative consequences is that we tend to make everything “about us”.

Take for example the disaster that was, and really continues to be, the Philippine’s response to last Monday’s hostage taking/killing, etc…by former Senior [police] Insp. Rolando Mendoza.

Living here in the Philippines, I can assure you that there was nothing nefarious about this man-made disaster, at least on the part of the local and national government. Rather, the TOTALLY INEPT response is simply typical of the way things are here. [NOTE: That's just one reason why this capitalistic country remains so poor.]

Are Chinese right to be outraged? Absolutely. But just don’t take it personally. This wasn’t an act of aggression by Filipinos or their government towards China or the Chinese. I’d almost advice you to feel sorry for the Filipinos, they are so trapped by their poverty. It’s almost as if they adopted the VERY WORST parts of their former occupiers (Spain, Britain and America), and neglected to adopt the best parts.

There’s a very good lesson (read warning) for China within this post…

Economics in One Lesson is a book that you should be able to read (and understand) and it is truly a GREAT introduction to Economics. Better still, that link is to a FREE PDF of the book. (Remember to look up the words you don’t understand, it’s good practice and a great way to improve your vocabulary.)

IF YOU CAN FULLY UNDERSTAND THAT BOOK, YOU’LL KNOW MORE THAN 99% OF THE WORLD’S POPULATION ABOUT ECONOMICS.

Lastly, if you’re not interested in economics, feel free to skip this. However, not understanding economics puts you at a real disadvantage, so just be cognizant of that fact, and take other steps to safeguard your wealth.

What a disaster. And that is the right word for it. Some might call it a tragedy, but not I. What’s the difference? Well, a tragedy is an event with horrible consequences, whereas a disaster is, well, the same thing. But when man is involved, and the results are directly – and negatively affected – by his actions, then that is a disaster. Sometimes we say a “man-made” disaster. The word tragedy doesn’t really allow for sufficient blame to be placed on the responsible persons. It sort of excuses the culpable of their responsibility.

And make no mistake about it, the police (PNP – Philippine National Police), made plenty. [Note: In the Philippines, there are NO "local" police departments. ALL police in the Philippines are PNP. This fact, however, has little bearing on this disaster.]

If you don’t have a clue as to what I’m talking about, then Baidu “Philippine” “Bus” “hong kong” “hostage” and read the story. At least 8 people – mostly or all Chinese – have paid with their lives, in large part because of the mistakes that were made.

Governments have consequences. ALL ACTIONS HAVE CONSEQUENCES.

About half-way down this linked page, there are 7 creative (and therefore, interesting) ideas on how we can make positive changes in our world’s climates.

About the only thing I see wrong with this is that some of these ideas have been around FOR DECADES, such as solar energy panels in space (photoshopped above). As usual, what a pity that we simply don’t have enough LEADERS to get things done.

“Never lose sight of the fact that the most important yardstick of your success will be how you treat other people – your family, friends, and coworkers, and even strangers you meet along the way. ”

Barbara Bush (born 1925); Wife of the 41st President of the United States; mother of the 43rd. (She is on the far left of this picture. Laura Bush, wife of President George W. Bush, is on the far right.)

NASH: I strongly agree with Mrs. Bush. The essence of what she is saying is this: It’s WHAT we do that really counts. That is what determines WHO we really are.

China’s “ivy league” schools (Tsinghua and Peking universities) are no place for peasants. Read the link, it’s a Newsweek article and it reveals important information about China’s development. And this development WILL affect all of us.

Or is it?

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

Here’s the thing, the “environmentalists” who I know, all say that things are DESPERATE. And yet, THEIR ACTIONS simply don’t conform to their words.

Still, anyone with half a brain realizes that we simply can’t continue down the same road – it leads to ruin.

So, our problem, once again, is the same as always: a lack of LEADERS.

Will you LEAD? NOW?

“In the United States, nearly all net job creation since 1980 has been generated by firms operating for fewer than five years—and that number is only likely to rise as more multinationals send their new jobs to countries with cheaper labor. “Any economist will tell you, the job creation [we] need to fuel any kind of middle class is not going to come from corporations, it’s going to come from small businesses,” says Harvard business professor Nancy Koehn. “With that in mind, what we need to start thinking about is how we capitalize on this [vast network] of women entrepreneurs. How do we nurture them? How do we fund them? How do we use [this] national asset?”

NASH: The focus of the article is that Women will rule the world, a very good thing. However, my point in introducing it to you today is to emphasize the importance of the entrepreneur. This includes, street vendors and anyone else who works for themselves “unofficially”. This is the group that the Chinese government – every government – really needs to look after.

Here’s another snippet: “…in Brazil, India, China, and the UAE, at least 75 percent of women aspire to hold a top job (compare these figures with the mere 36 percent of U.S. women who consider themselves very ambitious). Certainly, the need for greater economic parity drives some of this (in poor countries, the gender wage gap is still quite large). But experts also believe the legacy of communism may have provided a surprisingly beneficial lesson to today’s capitalists: as one Chinese HR leader told researchers, “communism has always emphasized that women can and should do whatever men can do…We often find female candidates to be as competitive, if not more so, than their male counterparts.”

Don’t know if you care or not, but I find it interesting. According to this tracking service – that I installed on my blog – I’ve had 1,678 visitors during the past 30 days. Each represented by a dot on this map.

UNFORTUNATELY, China is underrepresented. I miss my students terribly. Apparently, they don’t miss me nearly as much.

Such is life – full of unrequited love.

Looking on the bright side, many of the American hits are my Chinese students who have successfully matriculated – escaped? – to America.

I say escaped because we’ll see how many return to China when all is said and done. (I don’t expect the number to be higher than 25%.)

Peggy Noonan has a great article out on how technology is changing us, for better and for worse. Interestingly enough, she forcefully posits that there really is nothing new under the sun and that these changes are really just history repeating itself. And she invokes one of history’s greatest philosophers – Lucius Annaeus Seneca – to make her points.

“Seneca, at the center of it all, struggled with the information glut, and with something else. He became acutely conscious of “the danger of allowing others—not just friends and colleagues but the masses—to exert too much influence on one’s thinking.” The more connected a society becomes, the greater the chance an individual can become a creature, or even slave, of that connectedness.

“You ask me what you should consider it particularly important to avoid,” one of Seneca’s letters begins. “My answer is this: a mass crowd. It is something to which you cannot entrust yourself without risk. . . . I never come back home with quite the same moral character I went out with; something or other becomes unsettled where I had achieved internal peace.”

Seneca’s advice: Cultivate self-sufficiency and autonomy. Trust your own instincts and ideas. You can thrive in the crowd if you are not dependent on it.

NASH: Read the entire article, it’s definitely worth your time.

One last gem: “Measure your life,” advises Seneca, “it just does not have room for so much.”

NASH (again): Choose wisely.

“It takes generosity to discover the whole through others. If you realize you are only a violin, you can open yourself up to the world by playing your role in the concert.”

—Jacques Cousteau (1910-1997); marine biologist, diver, explorer

NASH: Proof, as if we needed it, that WE NEED EVERYBODY. And we need them to be, WHO THEY ARE, not somebody, or something else. Imagine if the violin player were to go through life imitating the drummer. What a waste.

Be who you are. And then, live your life to the fullest. Sage advice.

Kulula is an Airline with head office situated in Johannesburg, South Africa.

Kulula airline attendants make an effort to make the in-flight “safety lecture” and announcements a bit more entertaining. Here are some real examples that have been heard or reported:
——————————————————————–
On a Kulula flight, (there is no assigned seating, you just sit where
you want) passengers were apparently having a hard time choosing,
when a flight attendant announced, “People, people we’re not picking out
furniture here, find a seat and get in it!”
—o0o—
On another flight with a very “senior” flight attendant crew, the pilot said,
“Ladies and gentlemen, we’ve reached cruising altitude and will be turning
down the cabin lights. This is for your comfort and to enhance the appearance
of your flight attendants.”
—-o0o—
On landing, the stewardess said, “Please be sure to take all of your belongings.
If you’re going to leave anything, please make sure it’s something we’d like to
have.”
—-o0o—

“There may be 50 ways to leave your lover, but there are only 4 ways out of
this airplane.”
—o0o—
“Thank you for flying Kulula. We hope you enjoyed giving us the business as
much as we enjoyed taking you for a ride.”
—o0o—
As the plane landed and was coming to a stop at Durban Airport , a lone
voice came over the loudspeaker: “Whoa, big fella. WHOA!”
—o0o—
After a particularly rough landing during thunderstorms in the Karoo , a
flight attendant on a flight announced, “Please take care when opening
the overhead compartments because, after a landing like that, sure as
hell everything has shifted.”
—o0o—
From a Kulula employee: ” Welcome aboard Kulula 271 to Port Elizabeth.
To operate your seat belt, insert the metal tab into the buckle, and pull tight.
It works just like every other seat belt; and, if you don’t know how to operate
one, you probably shouldn’t be out in public unsupervised.”
—o0o—
“In the event of a sudden loss of cabin pressure, masks will descend
from the ceiling. Stop screaming, grab the mask, and pull it over your
face. If you have a small child travelling with you, secure your mask
before assisting with theirs. If you are travelling with more than one
small child, pick your favourite.”
—o0o—
Weather at our destination is 50 degrees with some broken clouds, but
we’ll try to have them fixed before we arrive. Thank you, and remember,
nobody loves you, or your money, more than Kulula Airlines.”
—-o0o—
“Your seats cushions can be used for flotation; and in the event of an
emergency water landing, please paddle to shore and take them with our
compliments.”
—o0o—

“As you exit the plane, make sure to gather all of your belongings.
Anything left behind will be distributed evenly among the flight
attendants. Please do not leave children or spouses..”
—o0o—
And from the pilot during his welcome message: “Kulula Airlines is
pleased to announce that we have some of the best flight attendants in
the industry. Unfortunately, none of them are on this flight!”
—o0o—
Heard on Kulula 255 just after a very hard landing in Cape Town : The
flight attendant came on the intercom and said, “That was quite a bump
and I know what y’all are thinking. I’m here to tell you it wasn’t the
airline’s fault, it wasn’t the pilot’s fault, it wasn’t the flight attendant’s fault,
it was the asphalt.”
—o0o—
Overheard on a Kulula flight into Cape Town , on a particularly windy and
bumpy day: During the final approach, the Captain really had to fight
it. After an extremely hard landing, the Flight Attendant said, “Ladies and
Gentlemen, welcome to The Mother City. Please remain in your seats
with your seat belts fastened while the Captain taxis what’s left of our
airplane to the gate!”
—o0o—
Another flight attendant’s comment on a less than perfect landing: “We ask
you to please remain seated as Captain Kangaroo bounces us to the terminal.”
—o0o—
An airline pilot wrote that on this particular flight he had hammered his ship
into the runway really hard. The airline had a policy which required the first
officer to stand at the door while the passengers exited, smile, and give them
a “Thanks for flying our airline. He said that, in light of his bad landing, he had
a hard time looking the passengers in the eye, thinking that someone would have
a smart comment.
Finally everyone had gotten off except for a little old lady walking with a cane.
She said, “Sir, do you mind if I ask you a question? Did we land, or were we shot
down?”
—o0o—
After a real crusher of a landing in Johannesburg , the attendant came on
with, “Ladies and Gentlemen, please remain in your seats until Captain
Crash and the Crew have brought the aircraft to a screeching halt against
the gate. And, once the tire smoke has cleared and the warning bells are
silenced, we will open the door and you can pick your way through the
wreckage to the terminal.”
—o0o—
Part of a flight attendant’s arrival announcement: “We’d like to thank you
folks for flying with us today.. And, the next time you get the insane urge
to go blasting through the skies in a pressurized metal tube, we hope you’ll
think of Kulula Airways.”

—o0o—

Heard on a Kulula flight. “Ladies and gentlemen, if you wish to smoke,
the smoking section on this airplane is on the wing. If you can light ‘em,
you can smoke ‘em.”
—o0o—
A plane was taking off from Durban Airport . After it reached a comfortable
cruising altitude, the captain made an announcement over the intercom, “Ladies
and gentlemen, this is your captain speaking. Welcome to Flight Number 293,
non-stop from Durban to Cape Town , The weather ahead is good and, therefore,
we should have a smooth and uneventful flight. Now sit back and relax…OH, MY
GOODNESS!” Silence followed, and after a few minutes, the captain came back
on the intercom and said, “Ladies and Gentlemen, I am so sorry if I scared you earlier.
While I was talking to you, the flight attendant accidentally spilled a cup of hot coffee
in my lap. You should see the front of my pants!”

A passenger then yelled, “That’s nothing. You should see the back of mine!”

Hugh MacLeod continues to impress me with his ability to concisely size up an issue. Such as this gem:

“Wanting adventure, being able to have adventures, being able to see life as an adventure, is not luck. It’s a choice.”

“And the ones who fail to make that choice; invariably make something else instead: Excuses.”

NASH: To which I might add but two words: “Choose wisely!”

Well, it’s finally official. China is now the world’s number 2 economy. Read this article for interesting details, including the fact that America’s economy is still three times as large as China’s. You do understand that, right? If America were to wake up tomorrow with HALF of her wealth destroyed, she’d still be the richest country on earth. It’s as if, in a marathon, America has lapped China and everyone else, not just once, but twice!

Still, I hold to my prediction – made 5 years earlier – that China will be number one by 2020. That’s because I know that America isn’t willing to make the hard sacrifices that the current situation requires. If she were, then she would have already done so – ten, twenty years ago – and wouldn’t be in this situation right now.

I lifted that headline, verbatim, from the www.msnbc.com website. It says EVERYTHING you need to know about a “loving God”. As in, NOT!

If I were God, I would give the poor, struggling people a break. I mean, really. How hard can that be? Not that I’m campaigning or anything.