I realize it was a historical day in the world, I decided to take notes on some unusual occurrences. My entire life I have ever experienced any presidential inauguration like that, I felt so much hope and excitement on the inauguration day. It's almost overwhelming. I can't imagine what other nations are feeling. Considering four former presidents and their family from Jimmy Carter, Bill and Hillary Clinton, to the Bushes were standing next each other at the Obama Inauguration. Anyone else feel this way?
One of my favorite was the flubbed exchange of the Oath of Office by U.S. Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts and President Barack Obama. It was almost as if the cable news shows did not want anything negative to upset such a historic day, so they made a conscious decision to not show Roberts and Obama making a mistake as the Oath was recited.
My fiancé and I watched several hours of the day's events, including the parade and inaugural balls, and not once did we see the mix-up broadcast. We saw Obama recite the words "So help me God" a number of times, and we saw him speaking words while a voice-over by a broadcast journalist was being recited, but we did not see Roberts and Obama struggling to get through the oath in a correct manner.
President-elect Barack Obama has vowed to change Washington and that was just what he did on the inauguration day. He hosted several Inaugural Ball on January 20 at the Washington Convention Center with free or affordable tickets available to everyone. There’s never been anything like it. As President Obama bounced from one inaugural ball to another, something became very clear. He is most at home when surrounded by young people. When Obama and his wife, Michelle, went to the ball attended by 18- to 35-year-olds, the president seemed to ad-lib his speech to those attending. He talked about how that age group was a key component of his election victory and that he could not have achieved the presidency without them. He talked of how he had heard from many families that young people would ask their parents who they were voting for and then without hesitation would add, "You have to vote for Obama." He and Michelle laughed and danced and ended by telling everyone there, "That's old school," describing their music and moves. Everyone in attendance loved them. No wonder. Obama understands the younger crowd. He deserves credit for motivating a new generation of political activists.
One aspect of the younger crowd that I was not impressed with occurred the night before the inauguration. Rappers Young Jeezy and Jay-Z performed a song called "My President," which was derogatory towards then-President Bush. I thought that was in poor taste and unnecessary. One of the lines rapped by Jay-Z included:
"Red, white and blue flag, wave for me baby. I was hot before Barack, so imagine what I'm gonna do ...No more white lies, my president is black."
I can't imagine Obama was happy about having those types of lyrics sung on the eve of his inauguration. In an election that spoke volumes about society's desire and willingness to be color-blind when electing a president, why is color being made an issue in a rap song?
When he gave his inaugural address, Obama seemed more serious than normal. Perhaps the weight of the job facing him and this country convinced him to take a more somber approach when speaking. Maybe his advisers suggested he project a more presidential tone. Or perhaps it was the fact that the entire world was watching his day in the spotlight and he did not want to blow it. Whatever the reason was, he seemed different.
The speech also did not contain one of those phrases that would stand out in a historical way, something I was expecting. Perhaps I was expecting too much. That would be easy to do in his inauguration. But I sincerely want to wish him the best. I don't think he has any idea of what he's stepping into, but I hope he's able to rise to the challenge such as the work of fixing our nation's economy, healthcare, education, dealing with the war in Iraq and other major issues has begun.
Thanks for reading......
Rony Delgarde
Tuesday, January 27, 2009
Tuesday, December 30, 2008
New Year Resolution Tips
Every single time I turned on the TV this past weekend, the BBC World news kept mentioning that the world is heading for a global economic meltdown. For most of us, this is definitely somewhat disconcerting. For the second time in my life, I experienced such economic recession. I think that the natural resolution for most people for next year is to know if hope lies ahead.
As we are trying to make next year our best year ever, personally, I think your time could be spent more effectively. In many ways, the next year may provide the greatest opportunities ever. The recession could be a blessing in disguise. I’ve looked back over my life and looked at how many events which were awful when they happen have lead me to really great things happening in my life.
So what can you do in the face of the recession next year? If you can’t still find a job, maybe this will be the opportunity to create your own job or follow your entrepreneurial passions. In our lives we go through inevitable boom and bust cycles. So, maybe it will be time to examine your life and use your interpersonal skills to create your next job. So, here’s my list of potential ideas:
1. Write down 10 ideas for businesses that you could start in a recession
2. Create a survival fund: 6 months of living expenses
3. Create a travel/vacation fund and get to a country that is cheap
4. Eliminate unnecessary expenses: Starbucks, eating out, malls, etc
5. Restart unfinished projects that could generate potential income
6. Write a business plan
7. Keep aware of the job market even when you have a job
8. Keep in touch with your network
9. Start a blog
10. Sell everything you don’t use or need on eBay
Happy New Year
Rony Delgarde
As we are trying to make next year our best year ever, personally, I think your time could be spent more effectively. In many ways, the next year may provide the greatest opportunities ever. The recession could be a blessing in disguise. I’ve looked back over my life and looked at how many events which were awful when they happen have lead me to really great things happening in my life.
So what can you do in the face of the recession next year? If you can’t still find a job, maybe this will be the opportunity to create your own job or follow your entrepreneurial passions. In our lives we go through inevitable boom and bust cycles. So, maybe it will be time to examine your life and use your interpersonal skills to create your next job. So, here’s my list of potential ideas:
1. Write down 10 ideas for businesses that you could start in a recession
2. Create a survival fund: 6 months of living expenses
3. Create a travel/vacation fund and get to a country that is cheap
4. Eliminate unnecessary expenses: Starbucks, eating out, malls, etc
5. Restart unfinished projects that could generate potential income
6. Write a business plan
7. Keep aware of the job market even when you have a job
8. Keep in touch with your network
9. Start a blog
10. Sell everything you don’t use or need on eBay
Happy New Year
Rony Delgarde
Tuesday, December 23, 2008
Some Tips to Speed your Learning Habit!!
I spend a good portion of my time learning and I wish I could learn at a tremendously greater rate because I believe knowledge can be a competitive advantage. Knowledge is power; knowledge allows me to continue to thrive and hope. As a result, over the years I have studied how I can learn faster.
Some tips are:
1) By Repeating: Sometimes some of the things I need to learn are a little bit boring and I found the best way to learn them is through repetition. Space it over a bit of time for even better retention.
2) By Using multiple senses: I learn when I listen to an audio program or a visual object. I learn better when I listen to an audio program or a presentation and make notes.
3) By Taking a speed-reading course: I have found that the greatest source of knowledge is through reading so it only makes sense to use the tool of speed-reading. Some people say they don't want to speed-read because they enjoy reading. Trust me, speed-reading does not take out the enjoyment of reading. If anything, it enhances it because you can read more. Others do not want to speed-read because they feel their comprehension will decrease; however, it won't. Trust me your comprehension will actually increase if you speed-read.
Consider speed-reading to be one of the best long-term investments that you can make.
4) By Practicing learning: I have a belief that we have multiple areas and facets of our mind and we tend to not exercise many parts of it. As a result I tend to do exercises for my mind outside of the area that I normally study. For example, I am not naturally a musical person so if I would try to do something musical, that stretches my mind. For some people, it might be learning a foreign language or taking a new dance course.
5) By Exercising: I have read a lot on how to make a brain better and one of the repeated themes is to be healthy. The simplest of things is to create movement and exercise. This is everything from small passive movements to active engaged exercise. This is something I practice well.
6) By Eating right: Eat nutritious food so that it will fuel your brain.
7)By Sleeping right -- yes, I finally said it. In my college years I often slept less than 5 hours and I didn't mention a full-time job. I have now changed my mind and believe that a lack of sleep causes a lack of learning, lack of memory, lack of retention and it just is not healthy. Because I want to be so involved in the world, it often bothers me that I have to sleep and I am afraid that I will miss things. I am not purposing that people over-sleep and I think seven hours is adequate for most people; but I do believe cutting sleep to less than five or six hours on a consistent basis is a bad idea.
8) By Changing: I find that learning for me tends to max out after I have been absorbed in something for a period of time. The easiest way for me to get around this is to change something else. It doesn't mean that I can't start learning something different but I tend to lose my focus or interest, lose my learning energy after about 4 or 5 hours. (I might be ADD.)
9) By Having a learning plan: Like everything I do in life, having a plan helps me to move forward on things. There is no reason not to have a learning plan. What are the things that you want to learn, what are some tricks that will help you learn them?
10) By imitating: One of the easiest ways to learn is to copy what others do and how other people learn. Simply copying how other people do things is often enough to get things done.
Hope the article was a great help to you...
Merry Christmas
Rony Delgarde
Some tips are:
1) By Repeating: Sometimes some of the things I need to learn are a little bit boring and I found the best way to learn them is through repetition. Space it over a bit of time for even better retention.
2) By Using multiple senses: I learn when I listen to an audio program or a visual object. I learn better when I listen to an audio program or a presentation and make notes.
3) By Taking a speed-reading course: I have found that the greatest source of knowledge is through reading so it only makes sense to use the tool of speed-reading. Some people say they don't want to speed-read because they enjoy reading. Trust me, speed-reading does not take out the enjoyment of reading. If anything, it enhances it because you can read more. Others do not want to speed-read because they feel their comprehension will decrease; however, it won't. Trust me your comprehension will actually increase if you speed-read.
Consider speed-reading to be one of the best long-term investments that you can make.
4) By Practicing learning: I have a belief that we have multiple areas and facets of our mind and we tend to not exercise many parts of it. As a result I tend to do exercises for my mind outside of the area that I normally study. For example, I am not naturally a musical person so if I would try to do something musical, that stretches my mind. For some people, it might be learning a foreign language or taking a new dance course.
5) By Exercising: I have read a lot on how to make a brain better and one of the repeated themes is to be healthy. The simplest of things is to create movement and exercise. This is everything from small passive movements to active engaged exercise. This is something I practice well.
6) By Eating right: Eat nutritious food so that it will fuel your brain.
7)By Sleeping right -- yes, I finally said it. In my college years I often slept less than 5 hours and I didn't mention a full-time job. I have now changed my mind and believe that a lack of sleep causes a lack of learning, lack of memory, lack of retention and it just is not healthy. Because I want to be so involved in the world, it often bothers me that I have to sleep and I am afraid that I will miss things. I am not purposing that people over-sleep and I think seven hours is adequate for most people; but I do believe cutting sleep to less than five or six hours on a consistent basis is a bad idea.
8) By Changing: I find that learning for me tends to max out after I have been absorbed in something for a period of time. The easiest way for me to get around this is to change something else. It doesn't mean that I can't start learning something different but I tend to lose my focus or interest, lose my learning energy after about 4 or 5 hours. (I might be ADD.)
9) By Having a learning plan: Like everything I do in life, having a plan helps me to move forward on things. There is no reason not to have a learning plan. What are the things that you want to learn, what are some tricks that will help you learn them?
10) By imitating: One of the easiest ways to learn is to copy what others do and how other people learn. Simply copying how other people do things is often enough to get things done.
Hope the article was a great help to you...
Merry Christmas
Rony Delgarde
Friday, November 28, 2008
Why the Best Leaders Are the Best Leaders
By Rony S Delgarde
From 1996 to 2007, manager Joe Torre led the New York Yankees to the playoffs every year - winning an astounding 17 series in the post-season. Over those same 12 years, the Los Angeles Dodgers did not win a single playoff series. This past season, Torre departed New York to coach the Dodgers. The result? The Dodgers won their first post-season series in 20 years, while the Yankees missed the playoffs altogether.
Ask Yankees and Dodgers fans, and they will tell you that Joe Torre's leadership matters. However, they may not be able to tell you exactly why Joe Torre is an excellent leader. What's true of the fans in New York and Los Angeles is true for many of us. We experience the effects of leadership without understanding the cause.
In this article, I hope to make plain why the best leaders are the best leaders. In a nutshell, remarkable leaders give their best to their people, and get the best from their people. Let's look at how this happens.
The Best Leaders Give Their Best to Their People By...
1) GROWING
People naturally follow leaders they respect as being more advanced than they are. For this reason, personal growth is directly proportional to influence. If you desire to gain followers, then pay the price of getting better.
To give people your best, you have to elevate your leadership capacity. Consider the metaphor of walking up a narrow staircase - you can only go as fast as the person in front of you. When leaders stop growing, they quit climbing and impede the progress of everyone following them. However, when leaders grow, they ascend the stairs and create space for those behind them to climb higher.
Personal growth involves challenging yourself, and pushing beyond the realm of comfort. When is the last time you did something for the first time? How long has it been since you felt in over your head?
2) SERVING
"Only a life lived for others is a life worthwhile."
~ Albert Einstein
Serving others is an attitude issue. Unfortunately, many leaders operate under a king-of-the-hill mentality. They attempt to pull down anyone above them in order to secure the top spot for themselves. In doing so, they clutch at power, grapple for control of company resources, and strive to dominate others. Seeing relationships as win-lose propositions, they ultimately burn bridges and isolate themselves.
The best leaders take an entirely different approach. Rather than dragging down anyone who threatens their position, they extend a hand to lift the performance of teammates and coworkers. They function with a mindset of abundance as opposed to an attitude of scarcity, and they wield their influence to prop others up rather than to elevate themselves. Over time, they are honored for the contributions they have made to the lives around them.
All leaders serve. Sadly, some serve only themselves. Serving is a motives issue, and the crux of the matter boils down to a simple question: "Who?" Does a politician serve the public or his pocketbook? Does a CEO serve to benefit her shareholders or to support her lifestyle? The best leaders set a tone by serving and prove they are deserving of being out in front.
3) MODELING
Growing leaders have something to share; serving leaders have something to give; modeling leaders have something to show. As V.J. Featherstone said, "Leaders tell, but never teach, until they practice what they preach." The best leaders embody their values. Their passion exudes from every pore and demands respect.
The Best Leaders Get the Best from Their People By...
1) LISTENING
The smartest leaders realize the limitations of their wisdom, and they listen to their people in order to capture invaluable insights. However, leaders don't just listen to gain knowledge, they also listen to give their people permission: permission to challenge the process, permission to test assumptions; and permission to take risks. Nothing turns off an up-and-coming leader like the deaf ear of a superior. The best leaders don't simply listen to incoming ideas; they proactively draw them out of their people. They listen actively, not passively.
2) RELATING
Leaders touch a heart before they ask for a hand. To touch a heart, a leader has to be open to disclosing his or her identity by sharing personal stories and owning up to professional weaknesses. Mysterious or aloof leaders may be successful decision-makers, but they won't get the heartfelt loyalty that comes from authentic relationships.
As simple as it sounds, making a person feel known correlates powerfully to their job satisfaction. In fact, Patrick Lencioni lists anonymity as one of the top indicators of a miserable job. Leaders dignify their people by studying their interests, learning about their families, and finding out their hobbies. Conscious of the power of connection, the best leaders refuse to be barricaded inside of an office, and they take responsibility for relating with others on a regular basis.
3) TEACHING
Gifted teachers have a way of making students out of disinterested bystanders. The best leaders have an infectious thirst for knowledge, and they take pride in cultivating knowledge of their craft and awareness of their industry. A leader's teaching ability depends upon ongoing personal growth. As Howard Hendricks said, "If you stop growing today, you stop teaching tomorrow."
4) DEVELOPING
The best leaders understand the differences between training people for tasks and developing people to be better leaders.
| Training | Developing |
| Focus is on the job | Focus is on the person |
The best leaders view their people as appreciable assets and prioritize investing in the talent on their teams.
5) MOTIVATING
After one of my presentations, an audience member approached me who was visibly indignant about my speech. "Why is motivation last on the list?" he demanded. "Well," I replied, "because if you listen, relate, teach, and develop your people, then they will be motivated!"
Sustained motivation comes by creating the right environment for your people and by doing the right things consistently to nurture them. Consider a flower. It cannot grow in the Arctic; it requires a climate conducive to growth. Yet, even in the right environment, the flower must be planted in hospitable soil, exposed to sunlight, watered, and freed of weeds.
REVIEW
The Best Leaders Give Their Best to Their People by...
1. Growing 2. Serving 3. Modeling
The Best Leaders Get the Best From Their People by...
1. Listening 2. Relating 3. Teaching 4. Developing 5. Motivating
Good Luck everyone and Thanks for reading my Blog
Rony Delgarde
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