There Are Garbage Cans All Around

I couldn't help. When I saw this guy threw a water bottle on the train track, I shouted, "That's the train track. Garbage can is on the other side." He turned around trying to find who was yelling at him. He had no clue, and was so embarrassed when he realized everyone on the platform was looking at him. As soon as he turned his back on me, I shouted again, "Trash on track will catch fire when the train run on it." Now, everybody looked at me shockingly. What? They didn't know that. I didn't mind their puzzled look. I kept starring at the guy. He was seeking for a hole to hide himself. Luckily, a train came and he jumped in.

There was another time another guy "accidentally" dropped his empty pizza box on the platform. I picked it up and asked him, "Do you need my help to garbage it?" He was stunned and speechless. I walked 15 feet to the nearest trashcan, put the box in and walked back to the guy. "The garbage can is right there. You probably did not see it." The guy in his power suit thanked me. He was extremely embarrassed in front of his friends.

I was in the playground the other day, two boys took turn spitting on the floor. I starred at them silently. They stopped, looked at each other, and apologized to me.

I could go on and on. You may say I am ridiculous; I think those embarrassed were. I am not a cop or a teacher. I know I could not change the world. But I can't help. I live in the same world as these guys. I have the right to tell them they are damaging it. Don't I?

Don't Burn The Bridges

I was in a seminar on networking today. One of the speakers reminded the attendees not to burn any budges. You never know who is going to be your boss or client. Even if you are absolutely sure that someone will never be in any important position, she could become an assistant to your client, or worse, his wife.

Indeed it is a small world and you never know. Today I’ve just found out one of my colleagues and I actually bumped into each other more than 10 years ago and had many manual friends. I had an old client came to me soliciting business after he worked in media. I also had countless colleagues become clients, competitors and vendors.

Seriously, don't burn any bridges.

Don’t Feel Guilty About Taking Breaks

Due to some technical problem, I had no internet access at home for more than a week. When I told people about that, most said, "How could you survive?" Oh well, I am still alive in one piece. No doubts it was not convenient. But hey, it was a good excuse for me to stop writing but reading. To me, it was like a vacation.

People need breaks to recharge themselves. It is the best and perhaps the only way to stay creative and productive. In one of my favorite books "The Power of Full Engagement", Jim Loehr and Tony Schwartz stated that full engagement requires periodic strategic recovery. They explained the energy that serves full engagement is renewed and stored during periods of strategic recovery (disengagement). Such oscillation cycle helps us to raise our bars.

The same concept applies in sport. Loehr and Schwartz wrote "Interval training is a means by which to build more energy capacity and to tolerate more stress, but also to teach the body to recover more efficiently." Top athletics have interval training. So should we. Don't feel guilty about taking breaks, but be proud of taking the step to engage yourself.

My Princess Made Herself Pregnant

My youngest Princess has been asking about having a baby almost since she could talk. I thought it was natural – the youngest wants to have someone younger to take care of. Recently, I realized she actually wanted a baby herself. She wanted to be a mom. She was so desperate that she made herself pregnant.

Every night in the past two months, my three-year-old Princess put soft dolls and stuff animals under her pajama. When she woke up, she gently take the babies out, put them under blanket and lectured them, "Mom is now going to work. You must be good staying at home."

Little Princess had a tough belly. Sometimes she had single babies, but most of the time she had twins or triplets. She was hiding her pregnancy from her sisters all this time. She probably thought other Princesses would laugh at her. It is a secret between her and Mom.

Is it cute, sweet and innocent? But for whatever reasons – maybe I "mentioned" too much about the hardship of being a mom from time to time – little Princess stop having babies at night last week.

I don't know if she would resume pregnancy any time soon. But I though I should write the story down and put it in my treasure box.

I'm The CEO

I attended a seminar about reenergizing oneself today. The presenter reminds people that they are the CEO of their careers. If I add to that, I would say, we are the CEO of our lives.

No more blaming opportunities never knock, others not supportive, media not on their side, market not going up… You are totally responsible for who you are and where you are. Ok, there may be some tragic situations that make some exceptions. But that's rare. In general, you are the CEO and there should not be any excuse. Wake up, plan and act. Don't just wait, think and complain.

There are three Es that would help: Education, Exposure and Experience. Get the training needed, network with people within and outside the company, learn from experiencing various projects. Meanwhile, don't forget to set the goals, evaluate and redefine. Make sure you have the right attitude.

I know where I want to go. I have pretty good idea how to get there. I am working damn hard to prepare myself on the way. I have a strong desire to achieve more. I hope my Princesses would do the same. Hope I could be their good role model. Raising my Princesses is my most important business; I could afford to fail everything else but this.

April Fool

Today is supposed to be a day people could joke around. But I guess Leslie Cheung's death changed it five years ago -- at least for those in my generation. Miss you and your music, GeGe.

Quote of the day in my company's intranet today is "Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me." It is a Chinese proverb that tells people it is ok to be tricked; just make sure you learn the lesson and don't make the same mistake. I need to share this line at dinner with my Princesses today.