An Amazing True Story
This is the most amazing 'amazing' story I've read. All our actions truly create ripples.
(I do not know the author, if you know him/her, please comment here. Thanks.)
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This is a true story that had happened in 1892 at Stanford University . It's moral is still relevant today.
A young, 18 year old student was struggling to pay his fees. He was an orphan, and not knowing where to turn for money, he came up with a bright idea. A friend and he decided to host a musical concert on campus to raise money for their education.
They reached out to the great pianist Ignacy J. Paderewski. His manager demanded a guaranteed fee of $2,000 for the piano recital. A deal was struck. And the boys began to work to make the concert a success.
The big day arrived. Paderewski performed at Stanford. But unfortunately, they had not managed to sell enough tickets. The total collection was only $1,600. Disappointed, they went to Paderewski and explained their plight. They gave him the entire $1,600, plus a cheque for the balance of $400. They promised to honour the cheque soonest possible.
"No." said Paderewski. "This is not acceptable," he tore up the cheque, returned the $1,600 and told the boys "Here's the $1,600. Please deduct whatever expenses you have incurred. Keep the money you need for your fees. And just give me whatever is left." The boys were surprised, and thanked him profusely.
It was a small act of kindness. But it clearly marked out Paderewski as a great human being. Why should he help two people he did not even know? We all come across situations like these in our lives. And most of us only think "If I help them, what would happen to me?"
The truly great people think, "If I don't help them, what will happen to them?" They don't do it expecting something in return. They do it because they feel it's the right thing to do.
Paderewski later went on to become the Prime Minister of Poland. He was a great leader, but unfortunately when the World War began, Poland was ravaged. There were over 1.5 million people starving in his country, and no money to feed them.
Paderewski did not know where to turn for help. He reached out to the US Food and Relief Administration for help.
The head was a man called Herbert Hoover - who later went on to become the US President. Hoover agreed to help and quickly shipped tons of food grains to feed the starving Polish people. A calamity was averted.
Paderewski was relieved. He decided to go across to meet Hoover and personally thank him. When Paderewski began to thank Hoover for his noble gesture, Hoover quickly interjected and said, "You shouldn't be thanking me, Mr. Prime Minister. You may not remember this, but several years ago, you helped two young students go through college in the US . I was one of them."
The world is a wonderful place. What goes around usually comes around.
Facebook highlights Zamboanga Funds for Little Kids’ project
Many thanks to Facebook for featuring the Zamboanga Funds for Little Kids project yesterday. It was truly an honor to be featured on Facebook and their Best of Facebook Stories page too.
I am re-posting it here.
“New Hope”: One Status Helps Build a Boat
For many children in the Philippines, yellow school buses are nothing but TV folklore. It is common for young students throughout the country to walk as many as five miles to school each day. But to the surprise of many Filipinos, some children had no other option but to swim to school.
Last year, when Manila resident Jay Jaboneta first learned that close to 200 elementary school students on the tiny island of Layag-Layag were swimming half a mile to get to school on the mainland, he was shocked. Compelled by the image of these children struggling for the opportunity to learn, Jay knew he had to find a way to help. So, on Oct. 30, 2010, he posted the story as his status on Facebook.
What happened next was beyond anything Jay had imagined. Close friend and marketing expert Josiah Go saw the status and was so touched that he immediately initiated a fundraising campaign for the kids in a status of his own.
“I learned swimming at age 35 and thought these kids may drown anytime,” Josiah said. “I didn’t think twice to raise funds.”
And so the Zamboanga Fund for Little Kids was born. Within one week, the campaign had raised 70,000 pisos ($1,618). With the help of a local humanitarian organization, Jay and Josiah decided that the best way to spend the money was to build a boat so the children could get to school safely each day.
Five months later, on March 27, the bright yellow boat was turned over to the Zamboanga community. The boat, named Bagong Pag-asa, or “New Hope,” gives children free rides to school during the week. Adults and seaweed farmers can also use the boat to take their products into town, but they are charged a small fee that supports boat maintenance.
The Zamboanga Fund for Little Kids began as a project to simply protect the safety of the island’s children. It has now become a full-fledged community resource.
“New media should not just be a website to communicate with the public, it should be something that can empower them,” Jay said.
Since the boat’s launch, the people behind the Zamboanga Fund for Little Kids have formed a Facebook Group to keep track of updates, press coverage and photos.
“The whole project is documented because of our updates on Facebook,” Jay said. “It's so easy to remember people who've helped and the activities we did and challenges we faced.”
The group is now dreaming up more ways to improve the lives of the kids in Zamboanga, but the project has already improved their education, safety and morale.
“I saw in the Zamboanga kids the potential to be someone one day,” Josiah said. “I live far enough [so that the kids] will have to pay forward this good fortune they experience.”
Jay and his community have now raised enough money to build two more boats for the Zamboanga community. Have your Facebook friends helped you start a meaningful project or accomplish a goal? Tell us at http://stories.facebook.com/.
Book Review: Career Renegade
Career Renegade is a bible. It's a bible for everyone out there who's tired of deferring your life plans. In this highly-engaging and a great how-to book, Jonathan Fields tracks down and shares with us the inspiring stories and steps taken by ordinary Joes and Janes who have reached their dreams – doing work that they love.
This is not just a simple how-to book. It is a wonderful collection of some of the world's best risk-takers. They may not be the typical celebrities in a sense but their life stories clearly show that anyone with guts and determination and with the right attitude can monetize his or her passion.
With the advent of books like Tim Ferriss' The Four Hour Workweek, Pamela Slim's Escape from Cubicle Nation and Penelope Trunk's Brazen Careerist, Career Renegade is yet another resource guide that will help YOU chart out a future where your passion and your money work hand in hand. The stories completely blew me away as they are simple yet sometimes you really need to dig deep down inside you to find these creative solutions.
If you're not convinced yet, you can check out his blog at jonathanfields.com and see for yourself. Jonathan Fields has shared with us a wonderful plan of action to make money out of our passion. And I don't see living my life any other way than that. As Sally Hogshead said in the Cherry Bombs manifesto:
“Because when you love your career, others see your best self, and you can become even better.
Because when you love your career, everyone wins: your company, your co-workers, your clients, your community, your loved ones, yourself.
Because if everyone's career satisfaction rose, the level of poverty and drug abuse and domestic violence might go down.
Because when people recognize their innate strengths, they can truly make a difference.
And once that happens, bigger things become possible.”
Thank you John and keep them coming!
Throwing starfish into the ocean
Adapted from The Star Thrower of Loren Eiseley (1907 - 1977)
Once upon a time, there was a wise man who used to go to the ocean to do his writing. He had a habit of walking on the beach before he began his work.
One day, as he was walking along the shore, he looked down the beach and saw a human figure moving like a dancer. He smiled to himself at the thought of someone who would dance to the day, and so, he walked faster to catch up.
As he got closer, he noticed that the figure was that of a young man, and that what he was doing was not dancing at all. The young man was reaching down to the shore, picking up small objects, and throwing them into the ocean.
He came closer still and called out "Good morning! May I ask what it is that you are doing?"
The young man paused, looked up, and replied "Throwing starfish into the ocean."
"I must ask, then, why are you throwing starfish into the ocean?" asked the somewhat startled wise man.
To this, the young man replied, "The sun is up and the tide is going out. If I don't throw them in, they'll die."
Upon hearing this, the wise man commented, "But, young man, do you not realize that there are miles and miles of beach and there are starfish all along every mile? You can't possibly make a difference!"
At this, the young man bent down, picked up yet another starfish, and threw it into the ocean. As it met the water, he said, "It made a difference for that one."
(End of The Starfish Story)
You never know how you can be special in someone else's life. So never stop showing random acts of kindness. Always be generous.
Be true to yourself. Because you might not realize it but you are the world to some people.
Leadership is all about LOVE
PASSION. Appetite for LIFE.
Engagement.
Commitment.
Great causes and the determination to make a difference.
Shared adventures.
Bizarre failures.
Growth.
Insatiable appetite for CHANGE.
(adopted from Tom Peters in Re-Imagine).