And last week, here in the Philippines, you can see children learning a similar message. (Youku upload is coming.) The message is moving – WE EACH CAN MAKE A DIFFERENCE. IF.

We’re Gonna Make Things Happen
We begin bright and early
To go to our place
Where you’ll have too special days
We depend on each other
And learn how to listen
In this place, we’re going to make things happen

As we gather here today
We make our pledge
to serve others
to be the best
Let nothing bring us down
Always say, “we can”
Let the whole world know
We’re gonna make things happen

When the future comes around
We’ll turn and see
The promise in the eyes and say
There’s more that can be
We’ll welcome that day
But until then
The future is in our hands
And we’re gonna make things happen

As we gather here today
We make our pledge
to serve others
to be the best
Let nothing bring us down
Always say, “we can”
Let the whole world know
We’re gonna make things happen

As we gather here today
We make our pledge
to serve others
to be the best
Let nothing bring us down
Always say, “we can”
Let the whole world know
We’re gonna make things happen

Let the whole world know
We’re gonna make things happen

Ba-da-da-ba-ba, love ko ‘to (I’m lovin’ it)

I’m currently downloading the video…please check back later to see this completed post.

When I was in fifth grade, I learned this song – The Impossible Dream. The values that it instilled in me are among my most treasured.
…

To dream the impossible dream
To fight the unbeatable foe
To bear with unbearable sorrow
To run where the brave dare not go
To right the unrightable wrong
To love, pure and chaste love from afar
To try when your arms are too weary
To reach the unreachable star
This is my quest
To follow that star
No matter how hopeless
No matter how far
To fight for the right
Without question or pause
To be willing to march into hell
For a heavenly cause
And I know if I’ll only be true
To this glorious quest
That my heart will lie peaceful and calm
When I’m laid to rest
And the world will be better for this
That one man, scorned and covered with scars
Still strove with his last ounce of courage
To reach the unreachable star
This is my quest
To follow that star
No matter how hopeless
No matter how far
To fight for the right
Without question or pause
To be willing to march into hell
For a heavenly cause
And I know if I’ll only be true
To this glorious quest
That my heart will lie peaceful and calm
When I’m laid to rest
And the world will be better for this
That one man, scorned and covered with scars
Still strove with his last ounce of courage
To reach the unreachable star

The acronym SSDD stands for “same shit, different day”, and although it isn’t necessarily polite, it is acceptable amongst friends.

Sometimes I feel like creating a new acronym, SSDC, meaning “same shit, different country”. The truth is, we’re all human, and as such, have many of the same failings.

For example, if I had $1 for every time one of my Chinese students (or friends) told me, “Nash, you’re right, but I can’t do it”, I’d have a lot of money. And although I’ve only been here in the Philippines for less than a couple of months, I’m receiving the same feedback. What a pity.

Knowing what’s right isn’t enough, we then have to DO IT.

So many people confuse the two. Yes, it’s certainly possible to have both (think Mother Teresa), the truth is, many who start out with the desire to achieve greatness get sidetracked by the siren sound of fame.

Another truth is that there are many who labor in greatness and remain anonymous – their acts only known to a few. But that’s fine by them, as their labor isn’t for fame anyway, remember?

They labor for greatness.

Of course, serving the poor is but one way to greatness. There are as many others as there are stars in the sky.

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In my opinion, greatness starts when you begin following your heart (and ignoring the critics/skeptics, et al.)

Certainly most would agree that greatness requires unrelenting FOCUS. If you can name me a ‘great’ person who wasn’t fully focused on their mission, I’d love to hear of him or her – leave me a comment.

You have but one life to live – choose wisely.

If you’d like to learn more about the ’siren sound’ – and you should – then check out this link.

“What I’ve experienced is that I can’t know the future. I can’t know if anything that I do will change what happens tomorrow. I can’t know with certainty, but what I do know is if I do nothing, nothing will change.”

—James Orbinski (1960-); Former President Of Doctors Without Borders

NASH: Or, as Steve Jobs would say, “we can’t ‘connect the dots’ going forward, only in hindsight can we see the picture clearly.” If you haven’t seen his Stanford Commencement Address, please find it on video and watch it. (Surely it’s somewhere on a Chinese video website.)

“Costa Rica was the first country in history to abolish its army and declare world peace.”

It’s hard to believe but that was some 60 years ago. It seems that the rest of us are slow in catching up. What a pity.

Oscar Arias Sanchez, Costa Rica’s current President has written a very interesting letter to Uruguayan President José Alberto Mujica Cordano, suggesting that he follow suit. (Click that link to read it.)

From the Beatle’s “Imagine”:

“You may say that I’m a dreamer

But I’m not the only one

I hope someday you’ll join us

And the world will be as one …”

http://picasaweb.google.com/ProfessorNash/SZZX20062007Senior2Class20#

I’m dedicating this post to Benny (Cai Li), as a surrogate for all the truly wonderful, unique minds that I had the pleasure of helping to develop at Shenzhen Zhong Xue.

…

…

I’ve just finished reading about another such mind, that of Richard Feynman, Nobel prize winner and thinker extraordinaire. The autobiography, appropriately titled, Surely You’re Joking, Mr. Feynman, is a worthy read. Especially if you’re brilliant.

Mr. Feynman shows, through his own remarkable life, that brilliance when combined with a healthy dose of skepticism, an insatiable curiosity and a zeal for life serve to create a remarkable life – a life worth living.

That’s my review. The reviews on Amazon.com also offer some interesting perspectives.

On April 1st I received a lovely e-mail from one of the Princes of China – a current Shenzhen Zhong Xue student. He wrote:

“Then I have something to say, maybe it’s my luck, that I met you and some teachers who do not only think about our studies but our future,our leadership and so on, I feel that I’m not so common as I was before meeting you. I really felt leadership in my body in some special time,which give me power to lead me and my partners to achieve our goal together.THAT FEELING IS GREAT! And because of that, I believe that I can do something big now. Your thoughts is the most reason why brought me this change, and I think it’s indispensable to say ‘thank you’ to you…”

NASH: Needless to say, I was moved to tears by his remarks. It has always been one of my goals to inspire my students towards GREATNESS. To know that I have succeeded, at least with some of them, well, that is all the reward that I need.

And then, just today, Seth Godin – my best teacher – blogged about this very topic. All of following is from him:

Accepting limits

It’s absurd to look at a three year old toddler and say, “this kid can’t read or do math or even string together a coherent paragraph. He’s a dolt and he’s never going to amount to anything.” No, we don’t say that because we know we can teach and motivate and cajole the typical kid to be able to do all of these things.

Why is it okay, then, to look at a teenager and say, “this kid will never be a leader, never run a significant organization, never save a life, never inspire or create…”

Just because it’s difficult to grade doesn’t mean it shouldn’t be taught.

Never mind a teenager. I think it’s wrong to say that about someone who’s fifty.

Isn’t it absurd to focus so much energy on ‘practical’ skills that prep someone for a life of following instructions but relentlessly avoid the difficult work necessary to push someone to reinvent themselves into becoming someone who makes a difference?

And isn’t it even worse to write off a person or an organization merely because of what they are instead of what they might become?

NASH: Good teachers, nay, GREAT teachers, inspire and enCOURAGE their students to greatness. You can be either a lion – alone, but strong and independent; or a sheep – surrounded by other followers, safe and sound, but weak and dependent.

What you can’t be is both. And you get to choose. Choose wisely.

What a pity. The reverberations of the shuttering of China’s Googleplex will be felt for a long, long time.

The China Daily wrote this regarding Google’s impending exit: “Business is business. But when it involves political tricks, business will come to an end soon.”

The truth is, the Chinese government – aka the Communist Party – has less to fear from the historical truths of Tiananmen than they do of a populace of sheep who follow blindly. Tiananmen is a fact, an ‘ugly’ truth not all that different from other country’s ugly truths. [See America's shameful actions of torture in Abu Ghraib.]

Re: Tiananmen, it’s possible that both sides were right. Most of us regret the loss of life all the while rejoicing that chaos didn’t win the day. Who knows where China would be today had things continued to spiral out of control? Sometimes leaders – here I’m talking about the students – have to make the ultimate sacrifice and trust that their deaths will not have been in vain.

Nobody expects the Chinese government to be perfect. Admitting to imperfection, acknowledging errors, these are the marks of mature men and mature governments.

The cartoon above lampoons the original photo (below) of a brave Chinese patriot standing up to equally honorable soldiers in Tiananmen at the beginning of the summer of nineteen eighty-nine. And here is the original. I remember it like it was yesterday, the entire world was watching it all unfold on live TV.

And that’s not all. There was also the famous Goddess of Liberty that the students had erected (below.)

China's Goddess of Liberty, circa 1989

“Each time a man stands up for an ideal, or acts to improve the lot of others, or strikes out against injustice, he sends forth a tiny ripple of hope… and crossing each other from a million different centers of energy and daring those ripples build a current that can sweep down the mightiest walls of oppression and resistance.”

—Robert F. Kennedy (1925-1968); politician, senator, civil rights activist

NASH: I couldn’t have said it better myself. These are the lofty ideals that I strive to live by. I don’t always achieve them, but I’m always trying. I hope you’ll join me. They’re worth striving for.

I’ve often said that “Leaders do”.

These are the things that they do: Stand up for ideals; Act to improve other’s lives; Strike out against injustice; and Send forth ripples of hope.

The idea of “servant Leadership” fits in nicely. It is often characterized by the story of Jesus washing his disciples feet. Understand that 2,000 years ago, there was no daily bath, nor paved roads, nor Nikes. People had really nasty feet. I’ve washed some feet like that myself and it is indeed humbling. And that’s just what we need for our leaders – a good dose of humility to accompany their egos. I know that I need it.

“Safe water is the under-recognized — and perhaps most solvable — global humanitarian crisis of immense proportion. One child dies every 15 seconds, every single day, from water-related illnesses. Almost a billion people do not have access to safe water and 2.5 billion lack basic sanitation. At any one time, half of the world’s hospital beds are occupied by patients suffering from water-borne diseases. It kills more people than malaria, AIDS, and TB combined with a catastrophic result: 2 million, mostly preventable deaths, every year. Yes, preventable. It is a solvable problem….”

Yesterday, Monday the 22nd, was World Water Day. You’ve heard it from me often: WE NEED MORE LEADERS. It’s as plain and simple as that. All of the above IS preventable and solvable. IF WE HAVE THE LEADERS. Once again, I’m talking about you. That’s why you’re here, isn’t it?

Having invested 6+ years of my life trying to build bridges between China and America, it’s more than a little distressing to hear prominent members from both countries talking of war, even if it is ‘just’ a trade war.

If you’re interested in the latest salvos, you can start here. Or just use your favorite search engine and type in America China War.

It doesn’t have to be this way. But unless OUR future leaders – and by this, I mean YOU! – stand up now, it’s probably going to be an ugly epoch.

At the dawn of this new millennium, (the year 2,000), China was 27+% desert: “Few people think of China as a desert nation, yet it is among the world’s largest. More than 27%…of the country comprises useless sand (just 7% of Chinese land feeds about a quarter of the world’s population).”

And just 10 years later: “China’s expanding deserts now cover one-third of the country because of overgrazing, deforestation, urban sprawl and drought.”

NASH: You might be asking yourself just what does this have to do with my blog’s topics of Life, Leadership and Love? The answer: EVERYTHING. Every year tens of thousands of Chinese children die from smoke inhalation. (The total is some 4 million in developing countries worldwide.) Poor peasants collect whatever wood they can find and use it as fuel for their cooking – this is the primary cause of deforestation in China. (Firewood collection (32.4%) is a key cause of desertification in northern China, according to a study by Chinese researcher Ning Datong and published by the University of Toronto.)

It’s simply not enough for people to ‘get rich’ – the first part of Deng Xiaoping’s plan. We need to follow-up on the second part – helping the poor to catch up. This is going to take LEADERSHIP and SACRIFICE. It won’t be easy. And time is running out. Greatness is calling you.

Click here for more insight into China’s peasants. There are any number of HUGE problems waiting to be tackled. Ignoring them only makes them worse. And the biggest pity of all is that we already have the solutions and the resources that we need. All we’re missing is the LEADERS to DO IT.

I’ve continually written about this as it – Leadership – is a life and death issue. Way back in 2003, I predicted, with more than a thousand of my students witnessing it, that China would be number 1 by 2020. “I still hold to my 2020 prediction. HOWEVER, that prediction was ALWAYS based on the next generation of Chinese – I’m talking about people like you, the students of SZZX – standing up and leading their country. [LEAD = SACRIFICE = LOVE] Unfortunately for China, far too many (most?) of my former students aren’t interested in sacrificing for a better China. They would rather flee the country and take care of themselves and their families first. That is their right, and there is nothing inherently wrong with that. But thank God that Deng Xiaoping didn’t have that attitude, because if he did, then the students today wouldn’t have that option. They wouldn’t have ANY options.”

One of my many objectives while working in China was to strengthen the bonds of friendship between China and the West. I understand – and am quite sympathetic – towards China and Chinese history vis-a-vis the West.

Nevertheless, in order for OUR world to make the progress that we all say that we want, then we MUST learn to work together.

The Washington Post has an article entitled Newly powerful China defies Western nations. It begins:

“China’s government has embraced an increasingly anti-Western tone in recent months and is adopting policies across a wide spectrum that reflect a heightened fear of foreign influence.”

NASH: Of course, China isn’t alone in stirring the pot. Many politicians in America find China to be an easy and convenient scapegoat for America’s problems.

We’ve simply too many important issues to tackle TOGETHER to waste our time fighting each other.

Rosie the Riveter is a cultural icon of the United States, representing the American women who worked in factories during World War II.

From Seth Godin’s post today:

“Too often, it seems, this attitude is missing from teams, organizations or the community.”

“It’s missing because people are quick to opt out of the ‘we’ part. “What do you mean, we?” they ask. It’s so easy to not be part of we, so easy to make it someone else’s problem, so easy to not to take responsibility as a member of whatever tribe you’re part of.”

NASH: I’ve taken on the responsibility to change the world. Of course, the degree to which I have success is DIRECTLY PROPORTIONAL to the degree that others – I mean YOU! – help me.

I know that WE can do it, because, I’ve already done it. And by myself at that. (Although that certainly wasn’t my choice. I literally begged for help and couldn’t find anyone interested.) Still, I persist. That’s because it’s not about me, it’s about them.

In fact, I’m still asking for help. PLEASE HELP ME, help the poor.

I’ll let Seth close:
“Just about everything worth doing is worth doing because it’s important and because the odds are against you. If they weren’t, then anyone could do it, so don’t bother.”

“It isn’t easy to acknowledge the truth of our power.”

“Too often we fear our own greatness.”

“We pretend to be powerless, mistakenly thinking that this somehow frees us from the responsibility of power.”

- Steve Pavlina

(His website’s subtitle is: Personal Development for Smart People, you might be interested.)

“You have greatness inside of you.”

– Dean A. Nash (that’s me!)

NASH: I’ve said it so many times, to so many of my Shenzhen Zhong Xue students, and they still don’t get it. Perhaps Mr. Pavlina has explained why.

IF someone has greatness, then they also have the responsibility to use that greatness. And yes, if you were one of my SZZX students, then I am referring to you. That includes you, Platotle. I can hear some of you thinking, “But Nash, it’s not possible for all of your students to have greatness.” To which I answer, “Oh yes it is. That’s because Shenzhong isn’t a ‘regular’ school. The students there aren’t a cross-section of society, they’re a specially selected group.”

We need for you to STAND UP. “Pretending” that you have no special powers does NOT absolve you of your responsibilities. Remember:

little courage = little life

BIG COURAGE = BIG LIFE

And you get to decide. Choose wisely.

Are you a heretic? Unless you’re planning on leading people into the past, you’d best learn to be. At least a little. Because the future belongs to the heretics. Always has. Always will. Don’t trust me, THINK!

You can choose to add subtitles in any of 16 languages – just click the “View Subtitles” writing immediately to the right of the play arrow. (It’s on the bottom left-hand side of the video box.)
Please let me know (via comments) if the video isn’t shown in China and I’ll do my best to upload it to YouKu.

The blue one, or the red one?

If you’re interested in Business or Leadership, then I recommend that you read Blue Ocean Strategy. Apparently I’m not the only Chinese who thinks it’s a great book. The following comes from Blue Ocean Strategy’s website (www.blueoceanstrategy.com):
“Blue Ocean Strategy named most influential book in China (in Chinese) – China Book Business Report, December 31, 2009
China’s leading book review journal ‘China Book Business Report’ reports that Blue Ocean Strategy has been selected for two prominent national book lists. – The 600 Most Influential Books in the History of the People’s Republic of China 1949-2009 & The 300 Most Influential Books in the three Decades of China’s Reform and Opening to the Outside World 1979-2009 in the category of ‘Economics and Finance’…”

NASH: I’ve read this book and whole-heartedly endorse it. Read it in either Chinese or English, but read it.

It was the sagacious Edmund Burke (1729 – 1797) – an Irish statesman, author, orator, political theorist, and philosopher – who first said: “The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing.”

There are poor people – poor because they are ignorant – in China who will remain that way because I am unallowed to help them. See above quote.

Public Service Ads are commonly referred to by their acronym, PSA’s. Wherever they run, be they “on the air” (television & radio) or in print (newspapers, billboards, etc…) they usually occupy space that is donated – because they have traditionally been for the public good. However, as time progresses, they have become politicized. The following is but one example. Underneath the video, you’ll find my analysis of some useful lessons that this videos demonstrate.

Useful Lessons

First, using celebrities to advance your cause. Second, in most of the world, INCLUDING China, government leaders are influenced by public opinion. PSA’s of this sort are a proactive means of influencing both (public opinion and government leaders). Third, note the way the ad calls for DIRECT ACTION – no beating around the bush here. They basically say “DO THIS!” And finally, they’re running an integrated viral campaign. Note their website: www.ThisIsOurMoment.org and their appeal for social networking of their idea. As Seth Godin says, Ideas that spread, win.