Author: alearningaday

Charles Schulze Philosophy

Most of you have probably received this forward via email at some point in your lives. I had too.

But, there’s also a special truth about great learnings – they touch a chord every time we remember them. So, when I received this today, I thought I would share..

—
The following is the philosophy of Charles Schulz, the creator of the ‘Peanuts’ comic strip.

You don’t have to actually answer the questions. Just ponder on them.

1. Name the five wealthiest people in the world.

2. Name the last five Heisman trophy winners.

3. Name the last five winners of the Miss America pageant.

4 Name ten people who have won the Nobel or Pulitzer Prize.

5. Name the last half dozen Academy Award winners for best actor and actress.

6. Name the last decade’s worth of World Series winners.

How did you do?

The point is, none of us remember the headliners of yesterday.

These are not second-rate achievers.

They are the best in their fields.

But the applause dies.

Awards tarnish.

Achievements are forgotten.

Accolades and certificates are buried with their owners.

Here’s another quiz. See how you do on this one:

1. List a few teachers who aided your journey through school.

2. Name three friends who have helped you through a difficult time.

3. Name five people who have taught you something worthwhile.

4. Think of a few people who have made you feel appreciated and special.

5. Think of five people you enjoy spending time with.

Easier? The lesson:

The people who make a difference in your life are not the ones with the most credentials, the most money or the most awards.

They simply are the ones who care the most.

Let’s spend a moment a moment thinking about those who’ve made a difference in our lives. And if you haven’t written to them in a long time, do send them a note.. :)

Oh, and don’t worry about the world coming to an end today. It’s already tomorrow in Australia!

Be Yourself! Everyone Else Is Taken!

The Snail and the Kick

Last night, a few of us had a long post dinner conversation. It was one of those long conversations where we mused about a whole slew of things including the ‘other side’ of Steve Jobs, family vs career prioritizations, work-life balance and how we derive our self worth.

A great discussion. 
We were on our way out when one of us noticed a snail crossing the tiny path we were walking through. 
‘Must take it one year of it’s life to cross this path.’ – He remarked with a smile. 
‘Imagine how great it would be for the snail if we gave it a kick.’ – I mused ‘It may not realize it but we would save it a couple of years at least and it would be see so much more in it’s lifetime..’ 
‘Makes me wonder how often we need such a kick. Might be painful but…’ 
He trailed off, leaving all of us in thought for a few moments.
How often do we such a ‘kick’ that shifts our paradigms, makes us uncomfortable and accelerates our learning and growth? And most importantly, how often do we seek that ‘kick’? 

John Rubedeau: Interview II – RealAcad Mondays

Picking up from last week’s RealAcad Monday, we have an interview with Professor John Rubedeau here thanks to Justin Yiu, a fellow RealAcader from Stanford’11. I was at the camp with Justin, who is now just starting out on his career as an Actuarial Analyst. Justin just graduated from the University of Michigan and is a wonderful presenter, a basketball star, huge Kobe Bryant fan and a great guy.

During our time together, Justin spoke of his admiration for his English Professor, John Rubedeau. He spoke of John as a fantastic teacher who inspired his students to think different. And I am very glad Justin took time off his busy schedule to interview John. I couldn’t help but smile as I read John’s responses to our questions.

I am very excited about this interview for many reasons. This is a first for this blog on many levels and I look forward to your comments, feedback and suggestions for questions for future interviews.



Bio: John Rubadeau is currently a Senior Lecturer at the University of Michigan. Before his teaching career, John was a social worker for the Red Cross in Europe. He obtained his doctorate at Georgia State University and began teaching at the University of Michigan in 1987. Through his inspirational lectures, he hopes to makes students love the English language. John won the Golden Apple in 2005 which is awarded to the faculty member who best inspires and engages his students through the course’s subject material. During his free time he writes books, catches up with students, and plays with his two dogs.

—
1. What inspires/drives you?

What drives me is that I have been fortunate enough to find a career that I love. I so enjoy going to class every day, anticipating my happy interactions with my students. The real joy I get is preparing them to enter the real world where knowledge of written English is paramount to their success. I feel that I have a certain storehouse of knowledge that very few people have, and I take great pleasure in transmitting that knowledge to my students.

As we progress in this technological age and people are getting away from reading books and writing, I see that the skills that I have learned are becoming increasingly more valuable in the marketplace of idea, and I get a great joy out of helping my students progress in their careers.

2. What has been the most defining moment of your life so far?


This is probably not what you’re looking for, but the most defining moments of my life are when I discovered, first through experience and then through voluminous amounts of reading, that there could not be a providential God. Raised as a firm believer in the Roman Catholic Church, one who believed that praying to God would serve as a way to communicate with him, I was, over ten years, made aware that if there is a God who answers one’s prayers, then there must be a God who does not answer one’s prayers.

So, with an alcoholic father, a mother who spent the last five years of her life as a vegetable at a public welfare hospital, as a father who lost his first and third sons at eight and a half months, and a man whose wife died when she was thirty, I lost my faith. And this loss of faith has changed my life, surprisingly, I think, in a much better way. I suppose frequent death between the ages of twenty and thirty would affect any person’s view of life.

3. What advice would you have for future leaders?

I’ve never aspired to be a leader, so I feel ill-prepared to offer anyone advice about leadership. I do not have a high opinion of those who would lead others. I think it’s a character flaw. I’m always reminded of the great English axiom, “Politicians (substitute here the name of any person in any profession) are like soap in the tub; the scum always rises to the top.”

John on teaching for over a quarter of a century at the University of Michigan
 I reflected on my life and come to the conclusion that I could not have designed a better life for me than the life I’ve lived.
 
—
I would like to be able to say that at the end of my career as well. :)
—
More on RealAcad Mondays

On Popcorn and Situations

This week’s learning draws inspiration from ‘Switch’ by Dan and Chip Heath-

On a Saturday afternoon in the year 2000, movie goers had settled in their seats for the movie ‘Payback’. They were given soft drink and popcorn.
There was something unusual with the popcorn though – it was wretched! It had been popped 5 days earlier and was stale.

Half got a medium size bucket while the remaining got a large size. Both buckets were so big that no one could finish either. At the end of the movie, researchers measured the amount of popcorn that was eaten. The results were stunning – People with large buckets ate 53% more i.e. 21 extra hand dips and 173 extra calories.

Imagine someone gave you the popcorn study results without mentioning the bucket sizes. You would see that some ate a little, some ate a lot while some seemed to be testing the limits of the human stomach! Armed with a data set like that, you could easily jump to the conclusion that there are some gluttons that need serious motivation to adopt a healthier lifestyle.

But, wait a minute. What you realize from the story is that you don’t need to worry about people’s attitudes and motivations. If you want people to eat less popcorn, just give them smaller buckets!

What looks like a people problem is often a situation problem..

What looks like a people problem is often a situation problem. Simple. And Profound.
I am finding Chip and Dan Heath’s book to be a gold mine. Many more stories to come in the coming weeks..

Here’s to tweaking situations to change behavior this week!

Broken Promises

I was having a discussion about politics with a friend. We were comparing various political systems and their merits.

I was naturally speaking of my admiration for the Singapore system where there is 0 (or close to 0) corruption, an anomaly for Asian political systems. He rightly pointed out that while Singapore’s system meant  very high salaries for politicians, (The Singapore group is among the best paid in the world) Scandinavia had an even more impressive record. No corruption despite the normal levels of income for politicians. It was just a part of life where he came from – corruption was not built into the system. Broken promises were not the norm.

That moment, I was caught wondering what growing up in a place with no corruption, no broken promises would be like? I don’t take the approach of blaming India’s politicians and leaders – they are, after all, a reflection of it’s people.

I just wondering when we will learn that these un-corrupt systems make for better and richer systems and in many cases, more happier. However, it requires everyone to sign up to doing their bit for a greater good. And it requires us to build circumstances/situations that will encourage such behavior.

For I don’t worry about whether the Indian/Asian people are up to the task. As I am learning from Switch (a great book by Dan and Chip Heath on change), what looks like a people problem is often a situation problem. Besides, I have seen the same Indian who litters habitually in India staying absolutely clean abroad.

I think the trick will be creating an environment where they can be the best version of themselves. And until Asia can do that, I guess a big part of me will still remain skeptical about Asia being the next super power. There may be a shift in the balance of cash and financial power, sure, but it won’t count for much if the people aren’t ready for the responsibility that goes with it. 

Advice

Advice can be a beautiful thing if it comes when asked. When asked is probably the most crucial part. I learnt this over time as I doled out lots of well intention-ed free advice in the past. It was often listened to, never acted upon. (I used to be shocked then..)

And it is when I thought of myself in the place of the receiver that my perspective changed. The teacher can teach only when the student is ready after all.

I think I do that less now.

So, every once in a while, when I speak to a much wiser friend, I try and make it a point to ask for his point of view and advice on situations.(I realized he too must have gone through a similar learning curve many years ago as he never doles out any advice unless pushed.)

And when I was at a crossroads the other day and needed his point of view, I got this gem. I am still trying to figure out a way to add this to my Desktop Wallpaper as I found it incredibly inspiring…

‘You’ve got to keep doing what you think is right. And then keep pushing. 

Isn’t that what life is about? 

On some days, it’s painful. Sure…

 But that doesn’t mean you stop doing what you think is right.

All you have to do is remember that no situation you face is beyond you.

You will get past whatever life throws at you.

That’s just how it is.’ 

Simple. And Profound.
—
Speaking of simple and profound,  Godin had another masterpiece his blog today on Roads not taken.

We Are All Weird

I think Seth Godin is spot on with the title of his new book. We are all weird. We all have our own unique set of habits, insecurities, beliefs – a combined set that is one without any duplicates. And this is thanks to the fact that all these are influenced by the people we meet and connect with – our parents, close friends, mentors, spouses etc.

This is pretty incredible given there are more than 6 billion of us. All originals. And all weird, in our own sweet way.

I think it takes a lot of time to accept this fact – it was for me, atleast. As a close friend remarked yesterday, it’s been over 5 years since I left home. And these 5 years have been an incredible experience – applying principles learnt at home, assimilating from the ‘real’ world and meeting and spending time with many fantastic people. The best way I’ve understood this over time is by thinking of those I consider my own ‘Board of Directors’ –  these are some great folks who I go to for mentorship and advice. It’s amazing how different and diverse they are in their approaches. A couple of examples come to mind – while one doesn’t believe in the importance of birthdays, another would swear by them and similarly, while one swears by the importance of motivational/self-help books, another doesn’t believe in self help books at all.

Over time, I’ve learnt to appreciate their differences as I realize it is that diversity that contributes to my learning and understanding of the fact that we are all weird. And it is this diversity that has gradually led me to accept myself as I am (It’s still an ongoing process). Over time, I’ve learnt to understand and appreciate the differences between principles and approaches because I realize that while their approaches may be different, it’s their principles that I respect – incredible levels of integrity, commitment to family and relationships and a spirit of lifelong learning.

The reason I say this is because, like many many others, I felt that tinge of sadness when I read about Steve Jobs’ death. And I found myself reflecting on this whole concept of principles and approaches in relation to him.

I had just recently read ‘The Second Coming of Steve Jobs’ by Alan Deutschman – a book that gave brilliant insight into the man. His was the typical story of a young man caught in the media’s eye and struggling with what it meant for him and what to do about it. The book details tales of his often fearsome personality and it made me wonder if I would have wanted to work with him IF I had a chance.

And, after reading the book, I remember thinking there would be no way I would have done so. He seemed like quite a crazy personality.

That knee-jerk reaction came back to me as I was thinking of Principles and Approaches the other day. And I realized that what I was reacting to was his ‘Approach’ i.e. his often unpredictable personality. And it was when I reflected on his principles – of excellence, of continuous improvement, of a relentless search for perfection, of minimalism – that I realized that my thinking needed a different perspective.

(Of course, there are a lot of big assumptions here in this hypothetical situation. But, well, what are we without our imagination? ;))

He once said – ‘My job is to not be easy on people. My job is to make them better.’ 


I think that said it all.

Thanks Steve, for being weird. And changing the world, for the better. You will be missed. 

Expanding the Circle of Missed – Seth Godin

Of all blogs I follow and get inspired by, Seth Godin’s blog has to be right up there. He almost never fails to dazzle. And it is no wonder that he is such a successful writer.

And, after a statue day yesterday, I was on the lookout for some inspiration and I opened up my blogroll this morning to read..
—
Expanding the circle of ‘missed’ by Seth Godin

Would they miss you if you didn’t show up? Would they miss your brand or your writing or your leadership?

If you work at the local fast food joint or the local library and you don’t show up for work, do they consider shutting the place down? If you’re on the team at the ER and you have a bad day, would someone die?

Everyone is capable of being missed. Most of us would be missed by our family if we secretly moved to Perth in the middle of the night. The question, then, is not whether or not you’re capable of being missed. The question is whether you will choose to be missed by a wider circle of people.

It’s a risk, of course. You have to extend yourself. You must make promises (and then keep them.) More pressure than it might be worth.

Except when it is.
—
It spoke to me.

We live, we do, occasionally we succeed, other times we don’t, we learn, we live..
Thanks Seth, for the inspiration.

The Stonehenge and Arrogance

I was at the Stonehenge the other day with friends on a road trip. We got lucky with the weather and thanks to a close friend being a brilliant photographer, we got some really nice pictures as well.

This second picture was tweaked of course and paints a really ethereal, almost mysterious picture. And that got me thinking..
Here lay a pile of huge stones, deliberately built for some purpose, that have lasted for centuries. Yet, we don’t know what they were put together for. 
We have guesses – thousands of them. But we don’t know. 
And that, for me, is simply magical. 
The biggest issue for our race as we progress is that we are at a danger of loss of fantasy in debate. I remember growing up and having heated debates on topics for hours that were never resolved. These days, such debates end in 5 minutes with a ‘Let’s google it’ line. 
We can find anything we want. Debates are not necessary. Thank You. 
Our race is understandably arrogant. We have made tremendous progress and we are getting closer and closer to truly unraveling how the world works. Science is killing religious myths by establishing hard facts and theories that make intuitive sense. And of course, Google and Wikipedia have answers to everything, all available at a fingertip near you.
And that’s precisely why I love to see our failure to understand the Stonehenge. I revel in it. Failure gives us perspective. Failure triumphs arrogance.
And most importantly, it is this failure that permits us to dream and to not constrain ourselves by the world of logic and hard facts for a little while. Maybe this small dream would give way to bigger dreams. In the age of information overload, the difference maker may just lie in our ability to dream.
The realm of success and achievement aside, quite simply and rather vitally, what would we be without our dreams?

Mom: Interview I – RealAcad Mondays

Starting this week, we have a new feature coming up on this blog – RealAcad Mondays.As many of the regulars in this little community know, I am an active and proud RealAcader and have blogged about it a few times (There’s a video here that may help for those who have no idea what RealAcad is about). And over the past couple of months, we have been considering launching a feature called Learning from the ‘Real’ Leaders – wherein we would interview all those wonderful people who inspire us. And I am pleased to bring this feature to you right here on this blog!

Over the next many weeks, months and years, I hope to continue this feature with an interview every fortnight (or even weekly if we can manage it!) from people who inspire me/other RealAcaders/you (if you are up for it!). I think it would make for a phenomenal learning experience understanding what drives people who inspire us.

To get the ball rolling, I have here an interview with Mrs.Swapna Nair (better known on this blog as ‘Mom’).

An Introduction:

Of all the people who have inspired me in my life, my mom has ‘tenure’ of sorts. Aside from the tiny detail that she’s the first person I ‘met’ on this planet and the other tiny detail that she got me started on my journey here, she has been a source of continuing inspiration.

She has always taken what she has done to a whole new level. As a teacher, she was consistently chosen as among the city’s, the state’s and the nation’s leading teachers giving her opportunities to visit the United States and Singapore on various programs. In fact, it was after her 1st program thanks to which she spent a month in California that she decided that I should study make it a point to study abroad and get exposed. And, thanks to her push, I did.

Aside from being a teaching superstar, she is, in my mind atleast, the true traveler. There may be many who have traveled to many more new lands, but few I know match her curiosity, openness to culture, love of history and love of new cuisine. The biggest lesson I’ve learnt from my Mom is her openness. The adage ‘The purpose of education is to replace an empty mind with an open one’ is one she epitomizes. Forever open to trying new things and new technology, she is now at home with an Android phone (soon to be converted to iOS :)), an iPad and has her own blog as well. Probably most importantly, she has always been comfortable around people who know more than her because she is the ideal student in many ways – always eager to absorb and forever humble. It’s that quality that makes her the outstanding teacher that she is.

An amazing storyteller, a great poet, a very passionate person with a great sense of humor, she has been adding joy and learning to the lives of her students for 22 years now. And all the while, she has been a fantastic mother who lead our family through some very dark moments and also been an extremely cool Mom and friend to all my close friends as well. Quite a person, quite a story.

I feel it is fitting that we begin this interview with a teacher – for it is a profession that truly deserves the highest respect.

And like everything else, her answers to my 3 questions touched me. Thanks Mom, for..everything.
—
1. What energizes/inspires you?

Each day as I enter the school I work in, I am energized. The eager faces of my students, the challenges awaiting me boost my energy levels. Each day is different. The experience of teaching the same subject to different groups is amazingly different and varied. The challenge of accepting each child as he or she is adrenaline to me. Each mind is an enigma. Each little heart holds abundant treasure. I feel so magical when I am in their presence.

2. Looking back, what has been the most defining experience in your life?

The most defining moment in my life is definitely the birth of my son. When I held him first a new vein of life surged through me. I was born again, in a new role,. The role of a lifetime, being a mother! Every moment has been a poetic journey so far. The roles have reversed. Today he is my mentor. I am once again in a new role, his disciple.

3. What is your advice to leaders who will be reading this?

My passion is teaching and every waking moment I decide to be the most inspiring teacher. Each day I learn something new. This excites me. I have realized that to ‘learn’ we must be like a sponge ready to absorb. Some may be positive while some maybe negative, nevertheless it is ‘learning’. Learning can come from anybody. It may be from a child, a colleague, the the elevator guy, a vendor….

Somewhere, sometime the learning will come of use.

Leadership is also often about delegation of work. This builds the team. If every leader can nurture and train future leaders, it is the sign of positive leadership.

A doctor cures, an engineer builds, a trainer trains, a teacher teaches while a leader inspires!!!
—

Looking forward to your thoughts and feedback on the first edition of ‘RealAcad Mondays’ in the comments. I am hopeful these will become 5-10 minute video clips in the future. One step at a time, though. :)
—
More on RealAcad Mondays