I Got You - Leona Lewis

A place to crash, I got you
No need to ask, I got you
Just get on the phone, I got you
Come and pick you up if I have to

What's weird about it is we're right at the end
And mad about it, just figured it out in my head
I'm proud to say, I got you

Go ahead and say goodbye, I'll be alright
Go ahead and make me cry, I'll be alright
And when you need a place to run to
For better, for worse, I got you, I got you

Ain't falling apart or bitter, let's be bigger than that
And remember the cooling outdoor when you're all alone
We'll go on surviving, no drama, no need for a show
Just wanna say, I got you

Go ahead and say goodbye, I'll be alright
Go ahead and make me cry, I'll be alright
And when you need a place to run to
For better, for worse, I got you

Go ahead and say goodbye
(Go ahead)
I'll be alright
(Say goodbye)

Go ahead and make me cry
I'll be alright
And when you need a place to run to
For better, for worse, I got you

'Cause this is love and life
And nothing we can both control
And if it don't feel right
You're not losing me by letting me know

Go ahead and say goodbye
(Say goodbye)
I'll be alright

Go ahead and make me cry
I'll be alright
And when you need a place to run to
For better, for worse, I got you

Go ahead and say goodbye
(Go ahead)
I'll be alright
(Say goodbye)

Go ahead and make me cry, I'll be alright
And when you need a place to run to
For better, for worse, I got you

A place to crash, I got you
No need to ask, I got you

~quote of the day~

"Try seeing your world and yourself this way, eyes open to whatever is before you, mind free of dichotomies. Are you good or bad, fragile or tough, wise or foolish? Yes. And so am I." — Martha Beck

everything happens for a reason...

"I don't believe in accidents. I know for sure that everything in life happens to help us live." - Oprah

joy ^_^

“Surely joy is the condition of life.”
— Henry David Thoreau

my favourite quote...

"The happiest of people don't necessarily have the best of everything; They just make the most of everything they have."

quote for the day...

"Reading gives you the ability to reach higher ground."

for today...

"If life teaches you nothing else, know this for sure: When you get the chance, go for it."

the lizard story...

~gemini (May 22 - Jun 21)~

The third sector of the zodiac, Gemini is all about intelligence and communication. You're born under this sign and have a talent for and love of using your minds and expressing yourself fully.

As a Gemini, you are a bower bird, mentally, and take an interest in all sorts of different things. Anything that gets your mind ticking over will grab you. You constantly try to challenge your mental abilities and will make extra efforts to understand anything you put your mind to.

You can抰 understand why other people don抰 feel the same way. To you, this kind of stimulation is your life blood. Anyone who engages you in quick-witted and thoughtful banter will win your heart for sure.

Some great communicators are born under your sign ?actresses Helen Hunt and Marilyn Monroe, for instance. Like them, you take interest in anything that requires a little brain power. Reading and ferreting out information on the internet are a perfect way for you to unwind. Communication would have to be one of your favourite pastimes.

Taking up acting classes wouldn抰 be a bad idea either, even if you don抰 fancy yourself as an Emmy Award winner. Meeting new people and sharing your thoughts and feelings with them is enough of a blast for you.

Not all Geminis have brains on the brain, though. Anna Kournikova, the tennis superstar, proves that ?she puts her focus into physical exercise. She is a superb tennis player which requires physical dexterity and mental agility as well.

Gemini is also on the top of the list of achievers in sport. But the sport you get into will be one that requires a strategic and intellectual approach. If it doesn抰, it won抰 sustain your interest. Tennis, chess, golf and card games like bridge and canasta appeal to you.

If you could be accused of anything, it would be that you spread yourself too thinly, by being interested in too many things. To some people, you seem superficial and flighty. It抯 the 憆olling stone gathering no moss?thing ?doing a bit of this and a bit of that and not getting deeply into any one thing.

You see it differently, of course. To you life is a smorgasbord, and you抮e going to taste everything. Trying just one main course, so to speak, isn抰 your thing. Variety, diversity and experimentation are some of your key words. And you can always say, 慉t least I抣l never be boring!?

The fact that you take on so much also means you risk wearing yourself out and letting your vitality engine slow down. It is not easy for you to pace yourself, but if you can get your self-discipline working on this, you can achieve more than most. Make sure you have enough fuel in your gas tank to get you to where you want to go.

People always love your company ?your adaptability makes you interesting. People are amazed at your versatility, at the way you manage to juggle so many different activities. Is there anything you don抰 try your hand at? They wonder.

Learning will always be one of your passions ?you don抰 believe there抯 ever a good time to limit someone抯 desire to improve their mind.

You have a great love of the written as well as the spoken word, and will often put pen to paper ?or hands to keyboard ?to get your own thoughts down. Sometimes this is just so you can work out what you think about a particular issue or event. Lots of journalists, writers, and advisers are Geminis; their way with words is their best tool for making a lasting impression.

You also have a strong connection to travel and short journeys. You抣l often feel restless, and your itchy feet will set you wandering. These journeys may not be long, but there will be plenty of them ?you抮e always on the go. You are thirsty for new experiences, and even on short journeys or in transit, you抣l throw yourself into meeting new and unusual people.

You抮e fascinated by psychology and the way human relationships work, so you will seek a life partner who is as into communication as you are. You will need this sort of person if you are to achieve emotional fulfilment.

You are the type of person friends and relatives turn to for advice on their love life. This has an upside for you too ?it helps you understand what抯 going on in your own life, romantically speaking.

Geminis seem to grow younger rather than older. Physically, you will maintain a youthful glow, and you will never lose your fun-loving liveliness. You抮e really not into that 'growing old gracefully' thing.

Vitality and constant stimulation are what you are about. A peaceful old age is definitely not your cup of tea (even if you happen to be over 60).

experiences...

"I know for sure that all experiences contribute to who we're meant to be."

LIFE by Chetan Bhagat

obsession with one's thought...

"I realized that if I'm obsessing about my own feelings, I'm not present with the people around me—and am frankly of no use to them. " — Jane Lynch

Happy Birthday DAD!!!

You are a man of few words,
But I happen to be a son, who’s the opposite,
Once you speak, you speak of wisdom,
Although sometimes your words bites,

Spending most of your time on the couch,
Watching & relaxing with the TV and environment,
During your weekend, you love to chill on the couch,
It’s your favourite place to be with enlightenment,

We do have much in common,
Although we hardly talk much except some jokes,
I can sense that you’re always there when I mourn,
Sometimes we share some light laughter without brakes,

DAD... orh... DAD...
Those are the three letters word I used daily,
It reminds me how much I missed you DAD,
Wishing you a great birthday and more to come yearly!!!

Love you always,
Your Son... LSK!

thoughts for today...

Isn't it great to know that you cannot control your world from the outside? To try and control things on the outside feels impossible because it would take so much work, and in fact it is impossible according to the law of attraction.

To change your world all you have to do is manage your thoughts and feelings on the inside of you, and then your whole world changes.

Refreshed... Re-organized... Restart...

I guess it's time to do it all over again... just that this time, it'll be different... it'll be better... it'll be greater... hopefully....

I want to be different, I want to do great things...!!!

...dreams...

"Whatever you can do or dream you can, begin it. Boldness has genius, power and magic in it..." — Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

...thoughts...

It’s been a while since I wrote my last post. I admit I haven’t really been myself lately. There were many situations that I’ve come across and have to learn along the way. Sometimes I just wish life could be as “simple” as that but in reality it’s not. Never felt so defeated or defenceless for some time. Maybe I was just too comfortable in my own comfort zone till I’ve forgotten that there is a big world out there with many more great challenges waiting to be taken on. Me being me will always try to take on those challenges and if possible double them up. But guessed what, sometimes machines do breakdown guessed the same goes for human. I hope by just going for some breaths won’t make me much of less capable and more fragile. Really, still couldn’t believe it that there were so many instances that almost tested me to the core. Perhaps for some, these are just trivial matters. Hmmm... Maybe it’s really time for me to outgrown myself and become the real “man” I’m supposed to be. By facing each problem with great anticipation, wisdom and patient. They said a “real man” is not measured by how much he knows or owns but by how well he could perceived and solved things that presented to him with great minds and considering all the possible consequences and outcomes.

Happy Mother’s Day

You brought me to this world,
Unknowingly one day I’ll be the man,
You taught me to be bold,
To face all problems like a man,

When I was defeated and down,
You are always there for me,
But it’s time for me to be on my own,
Facing the world without blame,

I know I do have my flaws and mistakes,
Learning them each day without surrender,
Sometimes I do lose myself in the edges,
To find the hard way out and I’ll remember,

Mother your loved and care,
I know I can never return in bare,
But I hope I could there,
For you, anytime, anywhere,

Mother, although you have aged,
But in my heart you’ll always be that loving mother,
One that relentlessly cared and shared,
Let’s us all celebrate our Mother’s Day together,

Mummy, Happy Mother’s Day!!! :)

Love ya always,
LSK

Good Morning! Have a nice day! :)

"There is little difference in people, but that little difference makes a big difference. The little difference is attitude. The big difference is whether it is positive or negative."

Good Morning! Have a nice day! :)

law of attraction?!?!

"To attract something that you want, become as joyful as you think that thing would make you. The joy, not the thing, is the point." — Martha Beck

every cloud has a silver lining?!?! is it true...

Look for the gifts in everything, especially when you are facing what appears to be a negative situation. Everything that we attract causes us to grow, which means that ultimately everything is for our own good.

Adjusting to a new path and a new direction will require new qualities and strengths, and these qualities are always exactly what we need to acquire in order to accomplish the great things ahead in our life.

life...beauty...

“Real beauty isn't about symmetry or weight or makeup; it's about looking life right in the face and seeing all its magnificence reflected in your own.”
— Valerie Monroe

I wish…

I wish I’m rich and healthy,

Always be happy and wealthy,

Nothing to worry or pity,

Like Eddy the Happy-Go-Lucky,

But life is not always that case,

We are constantly burden with stress,

Nothing seems to be working or at ease,

As we continue to think for less,

I wish I’m good temper and caring,

Always in good mood and listening,

Nothing to bother or concerning,

Like Eddy the Happy-Go-Outstanding,

But life is much more than that,

Arguments and debates apart,

Sometimes unwanted thoughts are bombast,

As we continue to live for our part,

I wish I’m thoughtful and humble,

Always be appreciated and stable,

Nothing to dissatisfied or mumble,

Like Eddy the Happy-Go-Able,

But again life is too much to handle,

As these are traits of a noble,

No human being can be so able,

As we continue to seek our capable,

I wish I could stop dreaming,

Always enjoy my life living,

Nothing to be excusing but plenty of hoping,

Like Eddy the Happy-Go-Simplifying!!!

As I continue to wish for my wishes…LIFE will go ON!!!

~quote for today's Monday~

“Nothing in life is to be feared, it is only to be understood.” — Marie Curie

~quote of the day~

“The ultimate in being healthy is to operate at full throttle— physically, emotionally, and spiritually.” — Oprah

This is "ATTITUDE"

IF AN EGG IS BROKEN BY AN OUTSIDE FORCE..A LIFE ENDS. IF AN EGG BREAKS FROM WITHIN...... .LIFE BEGINS. GREAT THINGS ALWAYS BEGIN FROM WITHIN .

IT ' S BETTER TO LOSE YOUR EGO TO THE ONE YOU LOVE. THAN TO LOSE THE ONE YOU LOVE ........ BECAUSE OF EGO

WHY WE HAVE SO MANY TEMPLES , IF GOD IS EVERYWHERE ?
A WISE MAN SAID : AIR IS EVERYWHERE, BUT WE STILL NEED A FAN TO FEEL IT .

WHEN YOU TRUST SOMEONE TRUST HIM COMPLETELY WITHOUTANY DOUBT....... AT THE END YOU WOULD GET ONE OF THE TWO : EITHER A LESSON FOR YOUR LIFE OR A VERY GOOD PERSON

LIFE IS NOT ABOUT THE PEOPLE WHO ACT TRUE TO YOUR FACE .........
IT ' S ABOUT THE PEOPLE WHO REMAIN TRUE BEHIND YOUR BACK

SOLDIER : SIR WE ARE SURROUNDED FROM ALL SIDES BY ENEMIES ,
MAJOR : EXCELLENT ! WE CAN ATTACK IN ANY DIRECTION.

"You never conquer a mountain. You stand on the summit a few moments; then the wind blows your footprints away."-Arlene Blum

“I hear and I forget. I see and I remember. I do and I understand.” Chinese proverb

“The greatest waste in the world is the difference between what we are and what we could become.” Ben Herbste

A.T.T.I.T.U.D.E = 1+20+20+9+20+21+4+5=100%!!!

Free Undelete

Proper Usage Techniques
A deleted file is essentially an area on disk designated as free and ready to accept data (such as contents of some other file). Luckily, unless the area has already been overwritten, it still holds the contents of the deleted file. Due to this fact it is possible to undelete files.
This fact also dictates the following procedure for using FreeUndelete:

1. Stop any activity on the disk you are going to undelete files from! Remember that writing to that disk can damage the contents of the deleted files. Examples of disastrous activity include: copying files to the disk, installing programs there or running programs that use the disk as their swap media.

2. Download and install FreeUndelete. Whenever possible, save the setup executable and install the program to a disk that does not hold files you need to undelete.

3. Run and use FreeUndelete.

Tip: It is common that the only drive user has is C: and this is also the drive from where files need to be undeleted. In that case a good solution is using a USB flash drive as FreeUndelete download and install destination.

Luck meet Opportunity...

"I believe luck is preparation meeting opportunity. If you hadn't been prepared when the opportunity came along, you wouldn't have been 'lucky.'"

~Happiness~

“Happiness is in your ability to love others.”
— Leo Tolstoy

~simple quote yet not so easy to do~

“The most powerful tool we have for changing our environment is our ability to change ourselves.”

— Stephanie Matthews-Simonton

my valentine...

From the day I know you,

Till today you've always been great,

I could not believe how lucky I was to have you,

You are to like my greatest treat,

You never complain how lucky I was,

While there were times I took things for granted,

Only to realised later on how silly I was,

Sure I need to learn, improve & be contented,

You taught me how to be patient, happy & caring,

I do remember your advice and will always keep in mind,

I know sometimes I have my temper during my losing,

But I believe I'm able to change when we bind,

You are kind-hearted, friendly, thoughtful, happy-go-lucky, bubbly & caring,

But you are much more than that to me,

You meant a lot to me especially during our good and bad timing,

Since then I've stopped using "me" or "I" but always "WE",

Although this is our first valentine together,

I do believe there are many more to come,

When we believe & build our trust in it,

Nothing can affect or bother us,

Until the day when we can share, care, understand in our little home sweet home,

Let's continue to build this sweet, happy & meaningful relationship,

I'll continue to treasure, appreciate & be grateful to you,

We should continue to steer clear any obstacles that comes to our ship,

Last but not least, please forgive me of any wrongdoings or misbehave as I don't meant them but only to LOVE YOU MORE... HAPPY VALENTINE FOREVER DEAR!!!

~quote of the day~

"As we witnessed what seems impossible, we began again to believe in miracles. It made us all just want to be better, fly higher, do more." - Oprah

Life... Orh... Life...

Life is full of ups and downs,
Downs are there to teach us to be strong,
Never to give up on life or frown,
Caused the day will come for us to be “ONG”,

One moment you may have everything,
The next moment you may lose them,
It’s the time spent and the being,
That counts and brings greater meaning to them,

In life, there are no true winners,
Nor there are no true losers,
It’s we, whom live this life without sinner,
That makes this LIFE and us a real gainer,

We should not blame LIFE for downs,
But appreciate them with both hands,
Our luck could be just lurking around to be own,
Regardless, we must continue to strive...with both our hands!

LIFE I will appreciate, learn, care, grow, be contented and love you!!!

~quote of the day~

“...There is no vocabulary for love... love that's lived in but not looked at, love within the light of which all else is seen, the love within which all other love finds speech. This love is silent.”

— T.S. Eliot

~quote of the day~

"Whenever you've been touched by love, a heart-print lingers so that you're always reminded of the feeling of being cared for, knowing that, to someone, you mattered." - Oprah

My love for her....

It’s been 3 months we are together,
Nothing that can come between us,
Sometimes we do have our stuffs to bother,
But it ain’t going to slow us,

There are ups and downs in our relationship,
These are only little challenges to make us stronger,
We should not let ourselves fall from this ship,
As we are in this together and should be wiser,

My love for you will never change,
It will only get deeper and deeper,
I will not allow any short-change,
As we continue to love, care and pamper,

Sometimes I wonder why we are so alike,
Are we a couple made in heaven,
It’s like love at first sight and strike,
Funny it may sound even,

I do miss you every single moment,
Sometimes I just wish I could stop time,
So that we could treasure our little moment,
Missing you much until I lost track of time,

Dear orh dear,
Please forgive me of my little temper,
I vowed to change them in near,
As it would be for our better!


P/S: I LOVE YOU!!!

The Law of the Garbage Truck

One day I hopped into a taxi and we took off for the airport. We were driving in the right lane when suddenly a car jumped out of a parking space right in front of us..

My taxi driver slammed on his breaks, skidded, and missed the other car by just inches! The driver of the other car whipped his head around and started yelling at us.

My taxi driver just smiled and waved at the guy. And I mean he was really friendly.

So I asked, "Why did you just do that? This guy almost ruined your car and sent us to the hospital!"

This is when my taxi driver taught me what I now call "The Law of the Garbage Truck."

He explained that many people are like garbage trucks. They run around full of garbage, full of frustration, full of anger, and full of disappointment.

As their garbage piles up, they need a place to dump it and sometimes they'll dump it on you.

Don't take it personally. Just smile, wave, wish them well, and move on.

Don't take their garbage and spread it to other people at work, at home, or on the street.

The bottom line is that successful people don't let garbage trucks take over their day.

Life's too short to wake up in the morning with regrets, so…

"Love the people who treat you right. Forgive the ones who don't."

Life is ten percent what you make it and ninety percent how you take it! Good Day

Things are to be used, People are to be loved.

Watch your thoughts; they become words.

Watch your words; they become actions.

Watch your actions; they become habits.

Watch your habits; they become character;

Watch your character; it becomes your destiny.

Eggs n Petrol.. Worth Reading..its Economics.....

Good concept!!!! Worth reading.....

A man eats two eggs each morning for breakfast.
When he goes to the grocery store he pays 60 cents a dozen.

Since a dozen eggs won't last a week he normally buys two dozens at a time.

One day while buying eggs he notices that the price has risen to 72 cents. The next time he buys groceries, eggs are 76 cents a dozen.

When asked to explain the price of eggs the store owner says, "The price has gone up and I have to raise my price accordingly".

This store buys 100 dozen eggs a day. He checked around for a better price and all the distributors have raised their prices.

The distributors have begun to buy from the huge egg farms. The small egg farms have been driven out of business.

The huge egg farms sell 100,000 dozen eggs a day to distributors. With no competition, they can set the price as they see fit. The distributors then have to raise their prices to the grocery stores. And on and on and on. As the man kept buying eggs the price kept going up. He saw the big egg trucks delivering 100 dozen eggs each day. Nothing changed there.

He checked out the huge egg farms and found they were selling 100,000 dozen eggs to the distributors daily.

Nothing had changed but the price of eggs.

Then week before Thanksgiving the price of eggs shot up to $1.00 a dozen. Again he asked the grocery owner why and was told, "Cakes and baking for the holiday".

The huge egg farmers know there will be a lot of baking going on and more eggs will be used. Hence, the price of eggs goes up.

Expect the same thing at Christmas and other times when family cooking, baking, etc. happen.

This pattern continues until the price of eggs is 2.00 a dozen. The man says," There must be something we can do about the price of eggs".

He starts talking to all the people in his town and they decide to stop buying eggs. This didn't work because everyone needed eggs.

Finally, the man suggested only buying what you need. He ate 2 eggs a day. On the way home from work he would stop at the grocery and buy two eggs. Everyone in town started buying 2 or 3 eggs a day.

The grocery store owner began complaining that he had too many eggs in his cooler. He told the distributor that he didn't need any eggs. Maybe wouldn't need any all week. The distributor had eggs piling up at his warehouse. He told the huge egg farms that he didn't have any room for eggs would not need any for at least two weeks.

At the egg farm, the chickens just kept on laying eggs. To relieve the pressure, the huge egg farm told the distributor that they could buy the eggs at a lower price.

The distributor said, "I don't have the room for the eggs even if they were free".

The distributor told the grocery store owner that he would lower the price of the eggs if the store would start buying again.

The grocery store owner said, "I don't have room for more eggs. The customers are only buying 2 or 3 eggs at a time".

"Now if you were to drop the price of eggs back down to the original price, the customers would start buying by the dozen again".

The distributors sent that proposal to the huge egg farmers. They liked the price they were getting for their eggs but, those chickens just kept on laying.

Finally, the egg farmers lowered the price of their eggs. But only a few cents.

The customers still bought 2 or 3 eggs at a time.
They said, "When the price of eggs gets down to where it was before, we will start buying by the dozen."

Slowly the price of eggs started dropping. The distributors had to slash their prices to make room for the eggs coming from the egg farmers.

The egg farmers cut their prices because the distributors wouldn't buy at a higher price than they were selling eggs for.

Anyway, they had full warehouses and wouldn't need eggs for quite a while. And those chickens kept on laying.

Eventually, the egg farmers cut their prices because they were throwing away eggs they couldn't sell.

The distributors started buying again because the eggs were priced to where the stores could afford to sell them at the lower price.

And the customers starting buying by the dozen again. Now, transpose this analogy to the gasoline industry.

What if everyone only bought $10.00 worth of gas each time they pulled to the pump? The dealer's tanks would stay semi full all the time. The dealers wouldn't have room for the gas coming from the huge tank farms. The tank farms wouldn't have room for the gas coming from the refining plants. And the refining plants wouldn't have room for the oil being off loaded from the huge tankers coming from the Middle East.

Just $10.00 each time you buy gas. Don't fill it up. You may have to stop for gas twice a week but,the price should come down.

Think about it. As an added note...When I buy $10.00 worth of gas that leaves my tank a little under half full. The way prices are jumping around, you can buy gas for $2.65 a gallon and then the next morning it can be $2.15. If you have your tank full of $2.65 gas you don't have room for the $2.15 gas.

You might not understand the economics of only buying two eggs at a time but, you can't buy cheaper gas if your tank is full of the high priced stuff.

Also, don't buy anything else at the gas station; don't give them any more of your hard earned money than what you spend on gas, until the prices come down..."

Please pass this concept around....reaching out to the mass... the world... the universe!!!!

sales figures...

sharing of my thoughts on the above subjects...

hi dear,

sales figures is just a number,
do not let the number defeat you,
believe in your self that you can achieve it,
no matter how hard/tough, once you have the believe,
eventually the sales will come your way,
you just need to be patient and keep trying,
sometimes you think you have done your best,
but what's your best?!?! your best is to "keep trying and never give up!!!" - that's your best and that's when the sales will start flowing in...

cheers, all the best and take care!!! :D

quote for the start of 2010...

“Often we don't listen to who we're meant to be because we're so busy trying to live out someone else's ideas. But other people and their opinions hold no power in defining our destiny.”

— Oprah

2009...2010!!!

As 2010 reigns,
We say goodbye to 2009,
Another new beginnings,
For many good nights,

Wishing you good health,
Looking young always,
Abundant of wealth,
Happiness in many ways,

*****HAPPY NEW YEAR 2010*****

Engineers as Story Tellers

Contributed by: Mr David T.E Lim BE (Civil) 1977 (taken from Melbourne Uni website)

Engineers are story tellers. They may not know this, but they are.

When I landed my first CEO job, I told this story to my staff. Two men are walking in the woods. Suddenly they hear a rustling in the leaves, and see a bear charging at them. One of them stoops to tie his shoelaces. The other, bewildered, tells him he's wasting his time. "You can't outrun the bear", he declared. The other man, having finished tying his shoelace, replies, "I'm not trying to, I'm just going to outrun you!"

I tell this to illustrate what competition in the 'real world' is like. The customer buys one car, one TV, one laptop at a time. If he buys your competitor's product, he doesn't buy yours. We are all trying to outrun the other fellow, and we start our training young. In school, you want to be higher up on the grade curve than the other guy. At work, you want that promotion faster.

But there is another element to this story. It's about the shoelaces. The man who tied his laces was obviously an engineer. First, he defined the problem: the bear wants to eat me. Second, he explores it further: I don't have anything to fight off the bear. And the bear can run faster than me. Third he begins to think of possible solutions. Perhaps they can both fight off the bear - two are better than one. Or they could run in different directions. Fourth: he evaluates the solutions. Even together, they could not possibly win the fight - the bear is too big. And if they run in separate directions, one of them will still get eaten, and it could be him. Neither are good solutions, so he goes back to step three. Are they other possible options? Yes, he can try to outrun the other guy. One of them will get eaten. It's only sensible that he doesn't leave that to luck. Finally, he implements his solution. To outrun the other guy, he's got to make sure he's got an advantage. He notices that their shoelaces have come loose from all the hiking on uneven ground. That presents an opportunity. He stoops to tie his shoelaces. And then he runs like the wind.

All this analysis, and only in a wink of an eye.

But this is what engineers are trained to do. They solve problems in a systematic, calculated way that carefully examines the problem, considers the various alternatives to solve the problem, and picks an option to implement.

Practiced long enough, it becomes second nature. We do it intuitively, in every circumstance, and not just in the field we specialise in. Yes, we figure out how to build longer bridges, taller structures, smaller devices, faster computers, harder plastics, stronger fibres and so on. But beyond all this, we are also good problem solvers in life - solving conflicts in community, providing leadership in social organisation. For the essence of our training is analysis and choice.

My career has taken me away from engineering per se into all kinds of fields - software development, economic development, port operations, shipping, industrial park development, corporate management - even politics! But in every new situation, I found myself stepping through the same paradigm - defining and exploring problems, generating and evaluating solutions, and then taking decisive steps to deal with the matter at hand.

Of course, 'real life' is not just about outrunning the bear. It's not all about competing and winning. In the end, we probably wouldn't have just run off. We might have stayed together to fend off the bear, or run in different directions, or perhaps we might have stayed put to let our friend get away. But you get the idea - we begin with the best of engineering solutions, and then we need to layer that with our values and beliefs. That's what makes us a really good engineer.

a day thinking of you...

thinking of you,
day and night,
missing of you,
without fear or fright,

wish you could be there,
to care and pamper me,
anytime now right here,
to hug and kiss me,

there are up and down,
norm in a relationship,
let not be frown,
as we steer clear our ship,

time is our essence,
as we seek our understanding,
assumption is our menace,
as it caused misunderstanding,

as i ponder,
what life will be without you,
you make me feel wonder,
just another day thinking of you...

Our Attitude Defines Life

Our Attitude Defines Life

Life is Best for those who want to Live it,

Life is Difficult for those who want to Analyze it,

Life is worst for those who want to Criticize it,

Our Attitude Defines Life...

Enjoy Your Life,

Laugh so Hard That even Sorrow Smiles at You,

Live Life so Well That even Death Loves to see you Alive,

Fight so Hard That even Fate accepts its Defeat.....

Our Attitude Defines Life

Our Attitude Defines Life

Life is Best for those who want to Live it,

Life is Difficult for those who want to Analyze it,

Life is worst for those who want to Criticize it,

Our Attitude Defines Life...

Enjoy Your Life,

Laugh so Hard That even Sorrow Smiles at You,

Live Life so Well That even Death Loves to see you Alive,

Fight so Hard That even Fate accepts its Defeat.....

The Mayonnaise Jar

When things in your life seem , almost too much to handle, When 24 Hours in a day is not enough, Remember the mayonnaise jar and 2 cups of coffee.

A professor stood before his philosophy class And had some items in front of him. When the class began, wordlessly, He picked up a very large and empty mayonnaise jar and proceeded to fill it with golf balls.

He then asked the students, if the jar was full. They agreed that it was.
The professor then picked up a box of pebbles and poured them into the jar. He shook the jar lightly. The pebbles rolled into the open Areas between the golf balls.

He then asked the students again if the jar was full. They agreed it was.
The professor next picked up a box of sand and poured it into the jar. Of course, the sand filled up everything else. He asked once more if the jar was full. The students responded with a unanimous 'yes.'

The professor then produced two cups of coffee from under the table and poured the entire contents into the jar, effectively filling the empty space between the sand. The students laughed.

'Now,' said the professor, as the laughter subsided, 'I want you to recognize that this jar represents your life. The golf balls are the important things - family, children, health, Friends, and Favorite passions – Things that if everything else was lost and only they remained, Your life would still be full.

The pebbles are the other things that matter like your job, house, and car.
The sand is everything else --The small stuff.
'If you put the sand into the jar first,' He continued, 'there is no room for the pebbles or the golf balls. The same goes for life.
If you spend all your time and energy on the small stuff, You will never have room for the things that are important to you.

So...

Pay attention to the things that are critical to your happiness. Play With your children. Take time to get medical checkups. Take your partner out to dinner.
There will always be time to clean the house and fix the disposal.
'Take care of the golf balls first -- The things that really matter. Set your priorities. The rest is just sand.'

One of the students raised her hand and inquired what the coffee represented.
The professor smiled. 'I'm glad you asked'.
It just goes to show you that no matter how full your life may seem, there's always room for a couple of cups of coffee with a friend.'

How to say I Love You in 100 Languages

English - I love you

Afrikaans - Ek het jou lief

Albanian - Te dua

Arabic - Ana behibak (to male)

Arabic - Ana behibek (to female)

Armenian - Yes kez sirumem

Bambara - M'bi fe

Bengali - Ami tomake bhalobashi (pronounced: Amee toe-ma-kee bhalo-bashee)

Belarusian - Ya tabe kahayu

Bisaya - Nahigugma ako kanimo

Bulgarian - Obicham te

Cambodian - Soro lahn nhee ah

Catalan - T'estimo

Cherokee - Tsi ge yu i

Cheyenne - Ne mohotatse

Chichewa - Ndimakukonda

Chinese

Cantonese - Ngo oiy ney a

Mandarin - Wo ai ni

Comanche - U kamakutu nu

(pronounced oo----ka-ma-koo-too-----nu) -- Thx Tony

Corsican - Ti tengu caru (to male)

Cree - Kisakihitin

Creol - Mi aime jou

Croatian - Volim te

Czech - Miluji te

Danish - Jeg Elsker Dig

Dutch - Ik hou van jou

Elvish - Amin mela lle (from The Lord of The Rings, by J.R.R. Tolkien)

Esperanto - Mi amas vin

Estonian - Ma armastan sind

Ethiopian - Afgreki'

Faroese - Eg elski teg

Farsi - Doset daram

Filipino - Mahal kita

Finnish - Mina rakastan sinua

French - Je t'aime, Je t'adore

Frisian - Ik hald fan dy

Gaelic - Ta gra agam ort

Georgian - Mikvarhar

German - Ich liebe dich

Greek - S'agapo

Gujarati - Hoo thunay prem karoo choo

Hiligaynon - Palangga ko ikaw

Hawaiian - Aloha Au Ia`oe

Hebrew

To female - "ani ohev otach" (said by male) "ohevet Otach" (said by female)

To male - "ani ohev otcha" (said by male) "Ohevet ot'cha" (said by female)

Hiligaynon - Guina higugma ko ikaw

Hindi - Hum Tumhe Pyar Karte hae

Hmong - Kuv hlub koj

Hopi - Nu' umi unangwa'ta

Hungarian - Szeretlek

Icelandic - Eg elska tig

Ilonggo - Palangga ko ikaw

Indonesian - Saya cinta padamu

Inuit - Negligevapse

Irish - Taim i' ngra leat

Italian - Ti amo

Japanese - Aishiteru or Anata ga daisuki desu

Kannada - Naanu ninna preetisuttene

Kapampangan - Kaluguran daka

Kiswahili - Nakupenda

Konkani - Tu magel moga cho

Korean - Sarang Heyo or Nanun tangshinul sarang hamnida

Latin - Te amo

Latvian - Es tevi miilu

Lebanese - Bahibak

Lithuanian - Tave myliu

Luxembourgeois - Ech hun dech gaer

Macedonian - Te Sakam

Malay - Saya cintakan mu / Aku cinta padamu

Malayalam - Njan Ninne Premikunnu

Maltese - Inhobbok

Marathi - Me tula prem karto

Mohawk - Kanbhik

Moroccan - Ana moajaba bik

Nahuatl - Ni mits neki

Navaho - Ayor anosh'ni

Ndebele - Niyakutanda

Norwegian

Bokmaal - Jeg elsker deg

Nyonrsk - Eg elskar deg

Pandacan - Syota na kita!!

Pangasinan - Inaru Taka

Papiamento - Mi ta stimabo

Persian - Doo-set daaram

Pig Latin - Iay ovlay ouyay

Polish - Kocham Ciebie

Portuguese - Eu te amo

Romanian - Te iubesc

Russian - Ya tebya liubliu

Scot Gaelic - Tha gra\dh agam ort

Serbian - Volim te

Setswana - Ke a go rata

Sign Language - ,\,,/ (represents position of fingers when signing 'I Love You')

Sindhi - Maa tokhe pyar kendo ahyan

Sioux - Techihhila

Slovak - Lu`bim ta

Slovenian - Ljubim te

Spanish - Te quiero / Te amo

Swahili - Ninapenda wewe

Swedish - Jag alskar dig

Swiss-German - Ich lieb Di

Surinam - Mi lobi joe

Tagalog - Mahal kita

Taiwanese - Wa ga ei li

Tahitian - Ua Here Vau Ia Oe

Tamil - Nan unnai kathalikaraen

Telugu - Nenu ninnu premistunnanu

Thai

To female - Phom rak khun

To male - Chan rak khun

Informal - Rak te

Tunisian - Ha eh bak

Turkish - Seni Seviyorum

Ukrainian - Ya tebe kahayu

Urdu - mai aap say pyaar karta hoo

Vietnamese

To female - Anh ye^u em

To male - Em ye^u anh

Welsh - 'Rwy'n dy garu di

Yiddish - Ikh hob dikh

Yoruba - Mo ni fe

Zazi - Ezhele hezdege

Zuni - Tom ho' ichema

I wonder... I Ponder... I'm Relief... I'm Happy...!!!

Sometimes I wonder,

Is it just fate,

As I ponder,

But it's not too late,

Our progress have been well,

Full of interest & anticipation,

As we continue to dwell,

Hoping for more attention,

Is it a pair made in heaven,

With great thoughts & sharing,

Are we meant to be even,

Treating each other with grace & caring,

Days passed by with anticipation,

Carefully carved with great intention,

Together we enjoy with exhilaration,

No doubt this is god greatest creation,

LOVE is what makes us,

CARE is what bonds us,

HONESTY is what treats us,

ETERNITY is what moves us...

Today's Quote of the day...

"The single greatest thing you can do to change your life today would be to start being grateful for what you have right now. And the more grateful you are, the more you get." — Oprah

She’s the one…

Known her from a friend,

She seems kind and happy,

Always laughing and smiling without end,

I guess that’s her stress therapy,

Never know she can be so funny,

Often keeps me engaged with her laughter,

Sometimes I feel that she’s my sunny,

That keeps me warm and happy ever after,

Knowing her for a short period,

It felt like we’ve known for ages,

Being with her it’s like listening to an iPOD,

Notes of happiness that streams without pages,

Every time we meet our bond gets closer,

Through the sharing and caring,

Every time we talk we understand better,

Through the common understanding,

Never seen such a lovely person with an inner beauty,

The more I know her the more I glad I did,

She does have her own uniqueness and beauty,

Hoping she will always remains as she did,

Could this be the path meant for each other?

Something that we’ve been looking all these while,

Hope is what keeps us together,

It’s fate that will define this everlasting mile…

sometimes...

I wonder far for answers,
Coming back with regrets,
Finding myself with blunders,
Disbelief as I remain unrest,

I seek hard for replies,
Only to come back with unknowns,
I told myself it was just another lies,
Another way to make myself known,

Sometimes it’s just that hard,
Nothing comes easy without sweat,
Wishing that they could lower their guard,
Wisdom said I need to put a caveat,

Sometimes something may appear easy,
We should not judge the appearance,
It’s like writing a thousand words essay,
Not the quantity that counts but the remembrance,

I wish there could be an answer,
For everything in LIFE as I stumbled,
I would continue to work hard I swear,
For everything in LIFE as I embraced!

A moment ago...

As I was dreaming,
Comfortably resting without care,
In a rude awakening,
Caught by surprise and unaware,

That LIFE can be so scary,
If we don’t tread carefully,
Sometimes I wish it was merry,
But that’s just a thought merely,

Oh my... oh my... what’s left?
Just a plain nothingness,
Everything good is gone by theft,
I beg to differ with forgiveness,

LIFE is much larger and more,
That we should not give up but believe,
That LIFE is like a huge galore,
With many goodness to give,

~~~~~~~~~~~*ring!!!*~~~~~~~~~~~~

Awaken I was by the alarm,
On my pure comfy bed,
Realising that it was just another dream,
Oh LIFE! As I stumbled...

My lovely parents…

You brought me to this world,

As I first saw the beautiful you,

You never complaint a single word,

As I cry day and night for you,

You saw me cry,

As I first learned to talk,

You saw me as a little boy,

As I first learned to walk,

You nurtured me well with love and care,

As I was growing up to be a man,

You taught me how to be right and dare,

As I stands on my own to be a good man,

After 30 years of my life,

I started to realize that you’ve aged,

Although I could see the wrinkles of life,

You will always remain close to my heart’s cage,

Mum and dad I couldn’t express more,
But to continue to love you unconditionally,

Both of you are the best,I couldn’t have ask for more,

Please forgive me for the harsh attitude occasionally,

As I promise to continue to do well,

To be what you’ve taught me all this while,

Never to let you down as I quell,

Seeking and going for that extra mile... Love you Mum & Dad!!!

An 18-Minute Plan for Managing Your Day

it's been a while since i last post hence decided to post something useful for sharing or to remind myself... =)

(from the Author...)

Yesterday started with the best of intentions. I walked into my office in the morning with a vague sense of what I wanted to accomplish. Then I sat down, turned on my computer, and checked my email. Two hours later, after fighting several fires, solving other people's problems, and dealing with whatever happened to be thrown at me through my computer and phone, I could hardly remember what I had set out to accomplish when I first turned on my computer. I'd been ambushed. And I know better.

When I teach time management, I always start with the same question: How many of you have too much time and not enough to do in it? In ten years, no one has ever raised a hand.

That means we start every day knowing we're not going to get it all done. So how we spend our time is a key strategic decision. That's why it's a good idea to create a to do list and an ignore list. The hardest attention to focus is our own.

But even with those lists, the challenge, as always, is execution. How can you stick to a plan when so many things threaten to derail it? How can you focus on a few important things when so many things require your attention?

We need a trick.

Jack LaLanne, the fitness guru, knows all about tricks; he's famous for handcuffing himself and then swimming a mile or more while towing large boats filled with people. But he's more than just a showman. He invented several exercise machines including the ones with pulleys and weight selectors in health clubs throughout the world. And his show, The Jack LaLanne Show, was the longest running television fitness program, on the air for 34 years.

But none of that is what impresses me. He has one trick that I believe is his real secret power.

Ritual.

At the age of 94, he still spends the first two hours of his day exercising. Ninety minutes lifting weights and 30 minutes swimming or walking. Every morning. He needs to do so to achieve his goals: on his 95th birthday he plans to swim from the coast of California to Santa Catalina Island, a distance of 20 miles. Also, as he is fond of saying, "I cannot afford to die. It will ruin my image."

So he works, consistently and deliberately, toward his goals. He does the same things day in and day out. He cares about his fitness and he's built it into his schedule.

Managing our time needs to become a ritual too. Not simply a list or a vague sense of our priorities. That's not consistent or deliberate. It needs to be an ongoing process we follow no matter what to keep us focused on our priorities throughout the day.

I think we can do it in three steps that take less than 18 minutes over an eight-hour workday.

STEP 1 (5 Minutes) Set Plan for Day. Before turning on your computer, sit down with a blank piece of paper and decide what will make this day highly successful. What can you realistically accomplish that will further your goals and allow you to leave at the end of the day feeling like you've been productive and successful? Write those things down.

Now, most importantly, take your calendar and schedule those things into time slots, placing the hardest and most important items at the beginning of the day. And by the beginning of the day I mean, if possible, before even checking your email. If your entire list does not fit into your calendar, reprioritize your list. There is tremendous power in deciding when and where you are going to do something.

In their book The Power of Full Engagement, Jim Loehr and Tony Schwartz describe a study in which a group of women agreed to do a breast self-exam during a period of 30 days. 100% of those who said where and when they were going to do it completed the exam. Only 53% of the others did.

In another study, drug addicts in withdrawal (can you find a more stressed-out population?) agreed to write an essay before 5 p.m. on a certain day. 80% of those who said when and where they would write the essay completed it. None of the others did.

If you want to get something done, decide when and where you're going to do it. Otherwise, take it off your list.

STEP 2 (1 minute every hour) Refocus. Set your watch, phone, or computer to ring every hour. When it rings, take a deep breath, look at your list and ask yourself if you spent your last hour productively. Then look at your calendar and deliberately recommit to how you are going to use the next hour. Manage your day hour by hour. Don't let the hours manage you.

STEP 3 (5 minutes) Review. Shut off your computer and review your day. What worked? Where did you focus? Where did you get distracted? What did you learn that will help you be more productive tomorrow?

The power of rituals is their predictability. You do the same thing in the same way over and over again. And so the outcome of a ritual is predictable too. If you choose your focus deliberately and wisely and consistently remind yourself of that focus, you will stay focused. It's simple.

This particular ritual may not help you swim the English Channel while towing a cruise ship with your hands tied together. But it may just help you leave the office feeling productive and successful.

And, at the end of the day, isn't that a higher priority?

…feelings…

It’s so fragile at times,
When things go wrong,
It worth nothing but a dime,
Although nothing can last long,

Sometimes you are near,
Other times you are far,
Far or near I can’t hear,
Wrong feelings make a liar,

Feelings you my worry,
You are also my glory,
Mix feelings can be scary,
True feelings know no boundary,

You can make a person glow,
When the right feelings follow,
But you can also make a person low,
When it’s nothing but hollow,

I could never understand,
Even if I grabbed you with both hands,
You could still swing without stand,
You will always remain in the no man lands.

Misses his grandma… may she rest in peace….

It’s been a while since,
She left us for a better afterlife,
But we’ll never forget her being nice,
And I still missed her once in a while,

Known her since my first day,
She taught me a few old tricks,
Being a better person by day,
Didn’t get much time spent to click,

Although I didn’t get to know her well,
But her memories will always remained,
As part of me as I learned to spell,
For each and every steps as I embraced,

I can tell from my dad’s expression,
How much he loved her by lots,
Even myself can feel its intention,
My beloved Grandma, we miss you alot!!!

MAY YOU BE WELL AND HAPPY ALWAYS!!! :D

timely message...

"Hard work: All hard work brings profit; but mere talk leads only to poverty.

Earnings: Never depend on a single source of income.
Spending: If you buy things you don’t need, you’ll soon sell things you need.
Savings: Don’t save what is left after spending; Spend what is left after saving.
Borrowings: The borrower becomes the lender’s slave.
Accounting: It’s no use carrying an umbrella, if your shoes are leaking.
Auditing: Beware of little expenses; a small leak can sink a large ship.
Risk-taking: Never test the depth of the river with both feet.
Investment: Don’t put all your eggs in one basket."

Happiness (from The Wise Old Man)

A man of 92 years, short, very well-presented, who takes great care in his appearance, is moving into an old people’s home today.

His wife of 70 has recently died, and he is obliged to leave his home.

After waiting several hours in the retirement home lobby, he gently smiles as he is told that his room is ready.

As he slowly walks to the elevator, using his cane, I describe his small room to him, including the sheet hung at the window which serves as a curtain.

"I like it very much", he says, with the enthusiasm of an 8 year old boy who has just been given a new puppy.

"Sir, you haven’t even seen the room yet, hang on a moment, we are almost there."

" That has nothing to do with it ", he replies.

" Happiness is something I choose in advance. Whether or not I like the room does not depend on the furniture, or the decor – rather it depends on how I decide to see it. "

" It is already decided in my mind that I like my room. It is a decision I take every morning when I wake up. "

" I can choose. I can spend my day in bed enumerating all the difficulties that I have with the parts of my body that no longer work very well, or I can get up and give thanks to heaven for those parts that are still in working order. "

" Every day is a gift, and as long as I can open my eyes, I will focus on the new day, and all the happy memories that I have built up during my life. "

" Old age is like a bank account. You withdraw in later life what you have deposited along the way. "

So, my advice to you is to deposit all the happiness you can in your bank account of memories.

Thank you for your part in filling my account with happy memories, which I am still continuing to fill...

Remember these simple guidelines for happiness:

1) Free your heart from hate

2) Free your mind from worry

3) Live Simple

4) Give More

5) Expect Less

Every day is a new day!

It's been a while since i last wrote a piece but here goes... just thought of penning it down since it's still fresh in my mind...

When things are down,

We should not bow,

Instead find ways to rebound,

Beating the odds with our how,

Soon clear skies will revive,

Nothing is lose but everything to gain,

Making our life worth to live,

Every single day is a new beginning!

Guess this is also another way how I motivate myself to think and be a better person overall... cheers and let's strive to be better!!!

Oprah Winfrey's Commencement Address at Duke 2009

Below is a transcript of Oprah Winfrey's May 10, 2009 commencement address to Duke graduates at Wallace Wade Stadium.

Oh, yes, I’m going have everyone call me Doctor now. Thank you, President Brodhead. Ladies and gentlemen and graduates, and especially to all the mothers here – will all the mothers stand so we can say Happy Mother’s Day? Happy Mother’s Day to you. What a great day to celebrate mothers. You love me still, even though I’m a doctor now?

Well, I wanted to just say, first of all, thank you for the doctorate degree, and I’m so happy to be here, and I’m here because someone I love is graduating today, my godson, William Bumpus, the son of Will Bumpus and my best friend, Gayle. You know, William never wants people to know that he knows me, and his sister, Kirby, never did either. I’m like the crazy aunt they keep in the attic, and they let me out to do commencements, so here I am. I just want to say I knew William before he was born. I saw the sonogram, and he was smiling even then. So those of you who know him know he has such a gorgeous smile.

I know you all have memories of graduates flooding through your minds today as we celebrate this milestone graduation, Class of 2009. One of my fondest memories of William, one time when he was a little boy, he was at my house, and I used to collect these antique museum quality Shaker boxes, and I walked into the room and William has my one of a kind Shaker boxes and he’s stacking them up like Bric A Blocs and knocking them down and going, “Vroom.” And I yelled, just – I just started – I said, “No, William, stop!” I think I stunned the boy, cause he wasn’t used to anybody yelling at him, and he stopped, he put the boxes back on the shelf and he found where he found them and he did not say a word to me. He didn’t even cry. And a little later on, he goes up to his mom and he says, “Mom, Auntie O is mean. Can we go home?”

Well, William, Auntie O has some news for you. You’re getting those scratched-up boxes for your graduation gift. You can knock them down all you want. Seriously, I don’t know a better young man in the world than William Bumpus, and thank you, Duke, for making him an even greater young man. And I have to say that he is so kind and so generous of spirit. William, you’re the son I wish I’d had, and so I’m thrilled to be here for you. Love you, Willzer.

I’ve been doing my show now for almost 25 years. Feels like 125, but almost 25 years. And my greatest lessons have come from my work; talking to murderers, doing makeovers, learning about flesh-eating diseases, have all been great growing tools for me, because I look at life every day from the experience of what can I grow from this. Actually, the show is why I never needed therapy. Well, I might have needed therapy, but I never went to therapy, because I have learned so many lessons from our show and the people I’ve met. And the miracle for me is that almost 25 years later, I get to go to work every day and I am still learning.

I just finished taping a show this week with so many powerful lessons that I wanted to weep, and I want to share some of those lessons with you today. As a matter of fact, there were so many lessons in the show that I taped just last week, that’s going to air next week, you’ll see it, I did weep. It was about some tough guys in prison for murder, for manslaughter, armed robbery, guys full of anger and violence. And they’re involved in this program where dogs, little puppies, are taken from shelters and the eight-week-old puppies are given to the prisoners, eight-week-old puppies that would have otherwise been euthanized. The puppies live right in the prison cells with the prisoners 24 hours a day. And I forgot to ask them … how they housebreak them, because it’s not like you can say, “I need to take the dog out.”

But the prisoners train these puppies to then be service dogs to help our soldiers in Iraq who come back with traumatic brain injuries and post-traumatic stress, and then send them to the veterans from Iraq. Some of these inmates had never known love or responsibility. They’d never taken care of anybody, nor knew what it felt like to have somebody love you back when you take care of them.

But one of the things they teach the dogs is how to kiss the soldier’s face. A lot of the soldiers come back with post-traumatic stress and have terrible experiences, and if the soldier is starting to go to a bad place in his mind, the dogs lick and kiss the soldier’s face to bring him back to reality. So this means that the prisoners themselves also had to get the kisses from the puppies they were training. It’s clear the kisses were also bringing the prisoners back from a hard, cold place, and to see these criminals, who had never, many of them, experienced love themselves, cry on camera, in front of each other, cry in redemption, their voices quivering as they talk about the chance to do something good, to do something kind and unselfish, by helping the wounded soldiers in Iraq and teaching the dogs, was so moving.

And when the severely injured soldier – what we did was we went and found one of the soldiers who had received a dog and brought him back to the prison so that he could meet the prisoner who – who trained the dog. And when they met, I tell you, the audience and I were a puddle of tears. And what I learned from that I want to share with you, graduates. If you can find a way to give back just as these felons are giving from behind bars, you will be a huge success, because for sure one of the things I’ve learned is that the best way to enhance your own life is to contribute to somebody else’s.

Now, last year we did a story on a woman named Monica George, and people often ask, you know, “Who’s your favorite guest, who’s your favorite guest,” and they always expect me to name some movie star. Well, if it’s a movie star, it would be Hugh Jackman. He’s one of my favorite guests, and you can imagine why.

But my favorite guests are, for the most part, not celebrities and not people who’ve done famous or infamous things. My most favorite guests are ordinary people who’ve accomplished extraordinary triumphs in their life, and Monica George is one of those people I will never forget. She and her husband, Tony, were overjoyed at the C-section birth of a healthy baby girl that they named Sophie, and Sophie was their second daughter. This was just last year.

But within hours, and while she was still in the hospital, Monica developed a fever and pain caused by a fast-moving, flesh-eating bacteria. She was dying, so they took some organs to save her, but the bacteria had spread, so the doctors came in and said to her, “We think, as a matter of fact, we know we’re going to have to amputate. We’re going to have to take both your arms and both your legs.” And this woman said, “Get on with it. I want you to do it and do it as fast as you can, because I have to get home to take care of my girls.”

So imagine going into the hospital to have a baby, you have the healthy baby and you expect to be coming home with this tiny little pink bundle of joy, with pink little arms and legs, and instead you go home without your arms and legs. The arms that were going to hold this child and legs that were going to walk with her in the park. Monica had 37 operations in two months, but she’s now home with her girls, home without a trace of self-pity, home with a smile on her face and a peace in her heart. And when I talked to her, she said, sure, sometimes it hurts that she’s not able to paint Sophie’s nails and toenails and do the things that mothers and daughters do, but she also said, “What good are you to your children if you’re miserable?”

There’s so many lessons in this, because at some point, something in life is going to eat you inside. It could be anger, it could be guilt, it could be past hurts or some other strain of soul eating bacteria. But graduates, I want you to know that if you can summon the courage of Monica George in the face of your own life’s hardships, and you will have them, and if you can remember what good are you to anyone if you’re miserable, I know for sure you’ll be a huge success, because you are responsible for your happiness and you are responsible for the energy you bring to everything.

One of my other favorite guests was a woman named Dr. Jill Bolte Taylor, who’s a brain scientist, who had a stroke in the left hemisphere of her brain. She wrote a book called “My Stroke of Insight.” And so only the right hemisphere was working, and when she was in the hospital as a patient, she said she could sense through her right brain when a nurse would come into the room and meant her well, or when the nurse was thinking about what time she was going to be off that day. She could sense the energy that was brought into the room. And after a while, she put up a sign in the room that said to everyone who came in the room, you are responsible for the energy that you bring. I love that moment, because we are responsible for the energy that we bring to everything we do in life.

One thing that gets a huge response on the show is makeovers. You know, we did a makeover on Coretta Scott King, the late Coretta Scott King, wife of Dr. Martin Luther King, and this was like going to Mount Rushmore and giving George Washington a new ’do, because she hadn’t changed her ’do since 1954. But we’ve done a lot of makeovers. One woman hadn’t changed her hair in 37 years. She had this big old hair thing going on. Another young woman worked in a chicken house, and after we got all the feathers off, she was stunning. Another woman had worn her hair in a bun for 25 years and put on makeup to go to bed at night, because she said if she died in her sleep, she wanted to be ready.

People love makeovers, because the physical results are always so astonishing. But I like doing them because of the possibility of transforming more than the way people look. You want to change the way people feel about themselves. One man, a guy we’d just seen walking down the street, with a beard that was almost to the ground, it looked like he was hiding behind all of that beard. And after we got rid of all that hair and he could actually see himself, he said, “I feel alive again.” The makeover allowed him to see himself in a way that he’d forgotten was there. You know, we all need makeovers from time to time in our lives, and graduates, I know this, that if you can see the possibility of changing your life, of seeing what you can become and not just what you are, you will be a huge success.

One of my life heroes is Nelson Mandela, and I had the great honor of spending some time with Nelson Mandela, 10 days and 29 meals at his house, and I was so worried about what I was going to talk about or what we would say at the dinner table. And Stedman said to me, “Why don’t you try listening?” Thank you, Stedman. That worked.

So I had the benefit of sitting at his table for 29 meals and listened a lot, listened to the stories of how he spent 27 years in a South African prison, and talked to him about how he was able to come out of that with a sense of forgiveness, to bind the wounds of South Africa and saving it from a mean and violent civil war. So I asked him to come on our show, and I was – although I’d sat at his table and was very comfortable in his presence, I was really nervous having him come on the show, and I rarely, rarely, rarely get nervous. And for me, his warmth just filled our studio with a glow, and one of the things I will always remember him saying is how terrible it was to spend the best years of his life in that prison, but he said if he’d not been in prison, he would have not been able to achieve the most difficult task in his life, and that was to begin the change of himself.

But this is so – this tells the story of who he really is. He arrives at the studio and everybody’s so excited and nervous and it’s Nelson Mandela, and Nelson Mandela walks into the green room and says to the producers, “And what is the show about?” “Uh, you. The show’s about you, sir.” Nelson Mandela was so humbled that being on the show for a whole hour was not something he expected. “How can such a great man be so humble,” I thought. Graduates, if you can proceed through life with just a portion of Nelson Mandela’s humility, you will be a huge success.

When I was eight years old, I was at church one day … and a man named John J. Hooker was running for governor at the time, and he had come to our church to campaign. And afterwards, outside as we were leaving the church, his wife, who was then a stranger, her name was Tish Hooker, a beautiful woman with blonde hair, classic cheekbones, flawless skin, saw me standing there. And you have to understand at the time I was a little black girl, but we didn’t call ourselves black then. Actually, back then we were colored and Negro, but whatever. I was a little girl who didn’t think much of herself, but Tish Hooker walked right up to me, as if she knew I needed to hear what she had to say. And she said it only as a Southern woman can. She said, “You know, you’re just as pretty as a speckled pup.” Now, I didn’t know what a speckled pup was, but she then said, “And you have the most beautiful bee-stung lips.”

Well, I knew I had big lips. I didn’t know what bee-stung lips were. But she said it with such warmth and such kindness that I remember going home from church and staring at myself in the mirror, because Tish Hooker had said that I was pretty, and she was the first person that ever looked at me and had the courage to speak the words, “You’re pretty.”

I’d never felt pretty. I knew I was smart, but this stranger, this woman who just came out of nowhere it seemed, was the first person to ever say it to me. And it made me see myself differently from that day forward, Tish Hooker saying, “You have such beautiful bee-stung lips,” and I’ve remembered that my whole life. You never know what kindness you offer today to someone, how that might live with them forever. So, graduates, if you can be generous enough to say kind, affirming words to those who may long to hear them, you will be a huge success.

And finally, let me just tell you a story about my success. I had a charity sale, because I have clothes in every size, eight, 10, 12, 14, elastic. Sometimes it gets crowded in my closet. So I had a charity sale awhile back to get rid of all that stuff, and a woman named Joanie Jacks didn’t have much money, because she didn’t have a job at the time, and the least expensive thing she could find was a pair of black shoes.

Now, she wore a size seven and I’m a 10½ on a good day, 11 with humidity. So she bought a pair of my shoes and kept them in her bedroom, and she said that when she got depressed, when things weren’t going well, she would take out the shoes and she would stand in my shoes. And she said she wanted to stand in the shoes until she’d be able to stand on her own, and she used the shoes as a sense of inspiration to herself. At age 50, she went back to college and got herself a degree, and today she’s standing in her own shoes.

That is what makes me feel successful. Of all the wonderful things that have happened, including getting a doctorate, an honorary doctorate from Duke, what really makes me feel successful is being able to use my life in service to someone else’s. And I will have to say, it is a wonderful thing to have a beautiful home, or homes, a wonderful thing to have a beautiful home which just escaped the fire in Santa Barbara. And it is really fantastic to have your own jet, and anybody who says it isn’t is lying to you. That jet thing is really good.

But you really haven’t completed the circle of success unless you can help somebody else move forward. That’s the truth. Move to higher ground. That’s the real goal. How do you get someone else to move to higher ground.

So I spend my life doing that, thinking about how can I help somebody else move to higher ground. How can I help somebody else get to a stronger and better place, because that is success. That’s it. That’s why we’re all alive, to use ourselves, our lives, for something bigger than ourselves.

So, graduates, in closing, each of us has to stand in our own shoes, and the real question is how will you stand in your own? Will you stand in them with humility and compassion and integrity and courage? Well, I’m here to tell you, every day and every experience of your life will give you a chance to make that choice. It still happens to me, every day, all the time.

Most recently, I was faced with a big decision as to whether or not – we had done this wonderful show, informative show, on Columbine, with an author of the book who had written this really fascinating, intriguing book on Columbine. And we finished taping the show, and I went upstairs and I said to the producers, who were all excited because he was doing his first interview with us, and they get really excited, “It’s exclusive and it’s wonderful, it’s great.” And I said, “Yes, but something about that bothered me. I’m not quite sure what it was, but something didn’t feel right.” I said, “But I have to – I have to take a look at it, I have to take some time to look at it, because in the moment, I really can’t tell. I just have a feeling that something’s off with that show.”

So I said, “I want to take a chance to review the tape,” and as my life would have it, I didn’t get a chance to review the tape. This was on a Thursday. The show was going to air on a Monday. Saturday, I’m sitting in Santa Barbara alone, quiet for a moment, and it occurred to me what’s wrong with that show. There’s something wrong with the energy that I brought to that show. And I called the producer and I said, “I know what’s wrong with the show. I think the show focuses too much attention on the killers and it presents darkness, the energy of darkness, in a way that I really don’t want to be responsible for.”

And the producer said, “But the promos have gone out. It’s already airing all over the country. We’ve told all the stations that it’s airing and they have it in their lineup.” And I said, “I am responsible for the energy that goes out over the air, so we’re going to have to pull it, regardless of what we’ve told the stations, and they’ll have to understand.” So we pulled the show, because I felt that at the end of the day, if one person watching that show saw or heard something that made them feel inspired to go out and bring more darkness into the world, I didn’t want that on me.

So it still happens every single day, decisions – decisions come my way that require me to decide who am I really, what am I really doing this for? Decisions that allow me to make a decision as to whether or not I will do the right thing or will I do the popular thing. So for every experience in life, you get a chance to know whether or not right or whether or not you’ll follow the opinions of everyone else.

For me, it’s all about following your gut. I am who I am because I trust my gut more than anyone else’s opinion, and that is my best advice to you. You know what is right, and when everyone around you is telling you what you should do, what you shouldn’t do, and when you … have to ask anyone other than yourself, it is your instinct, your higher self’s way of saying, “Get still until you do know the answer, because your gut will never lead you wrong.” Trust your gut to help you stand proudly in your own shoes, as you help others stand in theirs, and I know you will be a huge success. You have my warmest best wishes and my most heartfelt congratulations.