Two weeks ago, my friend whom I knew from one of the earlier French class I attended, invited a group of us for her 10th year anniversary. In my life, I have only heard of such event in movies but never really participated in any. I almost went to a panic mode when a dress code was announced, my wardrobe looks more suitable for going to the market than any of such big event. No wonder I never really like to go to wedding. The dress code scares me!
But she's a very special friend of mine. I call her "ma tante" (means my aunty in French). She doesn't look like any typical aunty though she may shop like one but she looks like a "hot" momma! In our group of 10 ladies who love French things (and some - like me - took it to the extreme by carrying piece of Eiffel everywhere), ma tante has always been the mother figure to everyone. She's selfless and being the Type A personality, always makes sure things are well thought and planned for.
So, when such monumental event was being announced, I seriously wonder deeply what gift would be appropriate? Clueless, really. Not to mention, she has warned a lot of times, not to give her anything as she doesn't need anything in life. Just be there and enjoy the moment. But how can that be possible!
I thought, what else could be better than to find a gift that gives more. So I asked her, will it be okay if I donate to a charity of her choice. She was very supportive to the idea and asked me to check out www.ForJuliana.org, the fiance of one of the most touching story on American Idol 2011 contestant, Chris Medina. If you haven't heard about him, please do. Check out the following videos: - American Idol audition - His single "What Are Words"
In short, Chris and Juliana were supposed to get married but a tragic car accident wrecked their dreams away just 2 months prior to the wedding. However, he chose to stay by her side and mentioned these few precious words that has become the inspiration of his single - “What kind of guy would I be if I walked out when she needed me the most.”
Once hearing my plan, the rest of Les Frenchies girls were on board with me and together we donated through Laurus Foundation and everyone was delighted. Secretly though, I was not that satisfied. Ma tante deserves more than this, I thought. So, I bombarded the email of the Executive Director of the Foundation, Chris Medina's FB and Chris Medina's official website. When you ask, you do receive.
The morning of the event, I received the most wonderful email from Juliana's mom - Janet, who told me that Chris thought it would be more personal to handwrite a letter to ma tante. Thanks to my friend's office printer too, we managed to pull things through and the result is as seen below.
As much as one may see it is a touching and thoughtful gift. But to me personally, the whole experience, has given me the most meaning. Sure, the destination was worth it :) but the journey to get there, the kind souls who have taken the extra miles in making sure ma tante was surprised = Priceless.
I would like to take this opportunity to thank the following kind souls with the equal order of importance and significance:
Jim Dolan, the Executive Director of Laurus Foundation - Thanks for passing the message to Chris. I hope your foundation will be able to reach the goal to help Juliana.
Janet, Juliana's mom - Thanks for taking the time to write to me and making sure it pulls through not only in time but in such a beautiful manner. Wish Juliana a steady recovery. With so much love and prayers from all over the world, it is just about the timing, Juliana will be okay again :)
Chris Medina - Thanks for taking the time to send us the handwritten letter. You are indeed a rare soul who chose to stand by your partner in times of need. Your story will be an inspiration to many people. Wish you all the best in your singing career.
Ma tante - For being such a loving figure. Your selflessness is something that is so rare that not only your family is lucky to have you but we are so privileged to have known you.
M.Y. - For taking the risk to go back to her office to get the letter printed.
Les Frenchies - For supporting me in this idea and put Singapore on the map in supporting Juliana :) You girls are DIAMONDS! (They love their blings too much ...)
The Emcee of the night - For the beautiful suggestion and convincing me to read it out to ma tanteas if Chris was there reading it to her. Though I need lots of drinks before that, but it was a once in a lifetime moment and it was an honour.
Oprah - *WHAT* Haha ... well, so that I'm able to say these words. "So this is how Oprah feels." Through her shows, the most meaningful moment was when people were touched not by the material things but by gifts with thoughts and meaning. This is truly an A-HA moment for me.
Unseen forces of life - For giving me the instinct and inspiration to something that is so meaningful. For bringing me to the people that can make all these happen.
My readers - Thank you for still reading up to this point. :) Your silent attention has been one of the driving force for me to stay creative in all areas of my life.
I have learned through this experience that the true gift in life is not only the joy we see in the eyes of the recipients but also the fulfilling effect to the giver. Giving is the gift that gives to the givers. Hope you will be compelled to give in whatever ways you choose to.
If you would like to support Juliana Recovery Fund, you may do so with the widget at the end of this post. Thank you so much for your time and attention.
I don't give a damn 'bout my reputation You're living in the past it's a new generation A girl can do what she wants to do and that's What I'm gonna do An' I don't give a damn ' bout my bad reputation Oh no not me - Joan Jett, Bad Reputation
Joan Jett, one of the prominent lady in the rock music world. If you haven't heard of her, you have at least heard or chanted one of her famous song - "I Love Rock 'n Roll". She's a legend and even being coined as Queen of Rock.
I have heard of her songs on MTV Classic when I was really little. (I'm still little now, don't remind me!) but I didn't know she is really so COOL until I saw her on Oprah. She's 52 now and still rocking like crazy. Not to mention her physique looks like she's still in her 20s! Face may show "a little" and covered by make-up but the energy that she exudes definitely has the 20s vibe! Even Miley Cyrus is not as cool as her (yet?), though she's still carving her real path besides the Hannah Montana thing. Give her time.
Check out the video below where they both performed in The Oprah Winfrey Show.
Oprah: I know you said that you don't just love rock 'n roll but it's your religion.
Joan Jett: Yes, I take it very seriously and I think that it's important to do what you love and rock 'n roll, when I grew up really had sort of a context and a meaning and so, I felt it's like a religion to me.
I guess that's what being authentic is all about. Being true to yourself. Follow your passion. Loving and living your passion and spread it to the people who appreciate it. It will eventually show in your charisma, your physique, your energy and your being. The next thing you know, it is so contagious that it will breed the next generation of passionate people.
Why I chose the quote from her song - Bad Reputation as the opening line? Because the music video was really her journey to be who she is today. As cheesy as it looked like (well it's the 80s, baby), that was her true story. Being rejected in the beginning by so many music labels, she set up her own label and the rest is history.
You may like or dislike rock 'n roll. You may care a lot of your reputation or not but the lesson to be learned is just make sure you find your "religion"; something you really care and live for. It may not be the traditional ones. Who cares? I am still not sure what is my "religion" as I still can't find things that I take SO SERIOUSLY till it consumes me (bummer!) but I will find one, I'm feeling it (delusionally psyching myself up :p). Just remember, one can do what one wants to do and just do it. Disclaimer: Make sure what you want to do don't harm people lah ....
It's been another 2 months and I still haven't really written anything significant. There were ideas on my head but by the time I am in front of my computer ... I forgot about them. Yes, apparently iPad is not very useful too for a big procrastinator like I am. However, I am taking this opportunity to share a very important quote that I just captured from watching the latest Oprah's show. Hope all of you readers will benefit from it. Till next time ... when my light bulb is ready to shine again.
If you are with somebody who loves you, that person wants what's best for you, they want you to become all that you could become. And if you're with somebody who's going to restrict you from becoming who you're supposed to be in the world. Then you are with the wrong person. - Oprah Winfrey
I believe it may not be a new news to some of you but I just managed to watch the video today and I think everybody should listen to it. I've embedded the video and just in case you are receiving this as newsletter, you may view the video (duration: 30 minutes) go to my website directly. Here's the link -> www.donnadaritan.com/2008/06/oprahs-keynote-speech-to-standford.html
To sum up this speech, Oprah has 3 important points to share when it comes to life lessons that have helped her the most: 1. Feeling 2. Failure 3. Finding Happiness
Feeling Oprah believes that feeling has helped her in making the best and worst decisions in her life. It's said that feeling is like a GPS system for our life. When things feel right, we should do it. And when it feels wrong or even a tint of doubt lurking around, not only we don't do it, but we be still. Be still till the right things come along before we take an action.
Failure No journey is smooth forever. Sometimes we encounter bumps along the way. And if we do, Oprah advised us to ask the one question to make sure we get the lesson to progress to the next level: "What is this here to teach me?"
Finding Happiness The key to find happiness in life is the following quotes I've taken directly from her speech:
"...be a part of something. Don't live for yourself alone. This is what I know for sure: In order to be truly happy, you must live along with and you have to stand for something larger than yourself. Because life is a reciprocal exchange. To move forward you have to give back. And to me, that is the greatest lesson of life. To be happy, you have to give something back."
I hope everyone has gained something from the speech or at least from the 3 points that have been shared simply by Oprah. Enjoy the video and the full transcript below.
Thank you, President Hennessy, and to the trustees and the faculty, to all of the parents and grandparents, to you, the Stanford graduates. Thank you for letting me share this amazing day with you.
I need to begin by letting everyone in on a little secret. The secret is that Kirby Bumpus, Stanford Class of '08, is my goddaughter. So, I was thrilled when President Hennessy asked me to be your Commencement speaker, because this is the first time I've been allowed on campus since Kirby's been here.
You see, Kirby's a very smart girl. She wants people to get to know her on her own terms, she says. Not in terms of who she knows. So, she never wants anyone who's first meeting her to know that I know her and she knows me. So, when she first came to Stanford for new student orientation with her mom, I hear that they arrived and everybody was so welcoming, and somebody came up to Kirby and they said, "Ohmigod, that's Gayle King!" Because a lot of people know Gayle King as my BFF [best friend forever].
And so somebody comes up to Kirby, and they say, "Ohmigod, is that Gayle King?" And Kirby's like, "Uh-huh. She's my mom."
And so the person says, "Ohmigod, does it mean, like, you know Oprah Winfrey?"
And Kirby says, "Sort of."
I said, "Sort of? You sort of know me?" Well, I have photographic proof. I have pictures which I can e-mail to you all of Kirby riding horsey with me on all fours. So, I more than sort-of know Kirby Bumpus. And I'm so happy to be here, just happy that I finally, after four years, get to see her room. There's really nowhere else I'd rather be, because I'm so proud of Kirby, who graduates today with two degrees, one in human bio and the other in psychology. Love you, Kirby Cakes! That's how well I know her. I can call her Cakes.
And so proud of her mother and father, who helped her get through this time, and her brother, Will. I really had nothing to do with her graduating from Stanford, but every time anybody's asked me in the past couple of weeks what I was doing, I would say, "I'm getting ready to go to Stanford."
I just love saying "Stanford." Because the truth is, I know I would have never gotten my degree at all, 'cause I didn't go to Stanford. I went to Tennessee State University. But I never would have gotten my diploma at all, because I was supposed to graduate back in 1975, but I was short one credit. And I figured, I'm just going to forget it, 'cause, you know, I'm not going to march with my class. Because by that point, I was already on television. I'd been in television since I was 19 and a sophomore. Granted, I was the only television anchor person that had an 11 o'clock curfew doing the 10 o'clock news.
Seriously, my dad was like, "Well, that news is over at 10:30. Be home by 11."
But that didn't matter to me, because I was earning a living. I was on my way. So, I thought, I'm going to let this college thing go and I only had one credit short. But, my father, from that time on and for years after, was always on my case, because I did not graduate. He'd say, "Oprah Gail"—that's my middle name—"I don't know what you're gonna do without that degree." And I'd say, "But, Dad, I have my own television show."
And he'd say, "Well, I still don't know what you're going to do without that degree."
And I'd say, "But, Dad, now I'm a talk show host." He'd say, "I don't know how you're going to get another job without that degree."
So, in 1987, Tennessee State University invited me back to speak at their commencement. By then, I had my own show, was nationally syndicated. I'd made a movie, had been nominated for an Oscar and founded my company, Harpo. But I told them, I cannot come and give a speech unless I can earn one more credit, because my dad's still saying I'm not going to get anywhere without that degree.
So, I finished my coursework, I turned in my final paper and I got the degree.
And my dad was very proud. And I know that, if anything happens, that one credit will be my salvation.
But I also know why my dad was insisting on that diploma, because, as B. B. King put it, "The beautiful thing about learning is that nobody can take that away from you." And learning is really in the broadest sense what I want to talk about today, because your education, of course, isn't ending here. In many ways, it's only just begun.
The world has so many lessons to teach you. I consider the world, this Earth, to be like a school and our life the classrooms. And sometimes here in this Planet Earth school the lessons often come dressed up as detours or roadblocks. And sometimes as full-blown crises. And the secret I've learned to getting ahead is being open to the lessons, lessons from the grandest university of all, that is, the universe itself.
It's being able to walk through life eager and open to self-improvement and that which is going to best help you evolve, 'cause that's really why we're here, to evolve as human beings. To grow into more of ourselves, always moving to the next level of understanding, the next level of compassion and growth.
I think about one of the greatest compliments I've ever received: I interviewed with a reporter when I was first starting out in Chicago. And then many years later, I saw the same reporter. And she said to me, "You know what? You really haven't changed. You've just become more of yourself."
And that is really what we're all trying to do, become more of ourselves. And I believe that there's a lesson in almost everything that you do and every experience, and getting the lesson is how you move forward. It's how you enrich your spirit. And, trust me, I know that inner wisdom is more precious than wealth. The more you spend it, the more you gain.
So, today, I just want to share a few lessons—meaning three—that I've learned in my journey so far. And aren't you glad? Don't you hate it when somebody says, "I'm going to share a few," and it's 10 lessons later? And, you're like, "Listen, this is my graduation. This is not about you." So, it's only going to be three.
The three lessons that have had the greatest impact on my life have to do with feelings, with failure and with finding happiness.
A year after I left college, I was given the opportunity to co-anchor the 6 o'clock news in Baltimore, because the whole goal in the media at the time I was coming up was you try to move to larger markets. And Baltimore was a much larger market than Nashville. So, getting the 6 o'clock news co-anchor job at 22 was such a big deal. It felt like the biggest deal in the world at the time.
And I was so proud, because I was finally going to have my chance to be like Barbara Walters, which is who I had been trying to emulate since the start of my TV career. So, I was 22 years old, making $22,000 a year. And it's where I met my best friend, Gayle, who was an intern at the same TV station. And once we became friends, we'd say, "Ohmigod, I can't believe it! You're making $22,000 and you're only 22. Imagine when you're 40 and you're making $40,000!"
When I turned 40, I was so glad that didn't happen.
So, here I am, 22, making $22,000 a year and, yet, it didn't feel right. It didn't feel right. The first sign, as President Hennessy was saying, was when they tried to change my name. The news director said to me at the time, "Nobody's going to remember Oprah. So, we want to change your name. We've come up with a name we think that people will remember and people will like. It's a friendly name: Suzie."
Hi, Suzie. Very friendly. You can't be angry with Suzie. Remember Suzie. But my name wasn't Suzie. And, you know, I'd grown up not really loving my name, because when you're looking for your little name on the lunch boxes and the license plate tags, you're never going to find Oprah.
So, I grew up not loving the name, but once I was asked to change it, I thought, well, it is my name and do I look like a Suzie to you? So, I thought, no, it doesn't feel right. I'm not going to change my name. And if people remember it or not, that's OK.
And then they said they didn't like the way I looked. This was in 1976, when your boss could call you in and say, "I don't like the way you look." Now that would be called a lawsuit, but back then they could just say, "I don't like the way you look." Which, in case some of you in the back, if you can't tell, is nothing like Barbara Walters. So, they sent me to a salon where they gave me a perm, and after a few days all my hair fell out and I had to shave my head. And then they really didn't like the way I looked.
Because now I am black and bald and sitting on TV. Not a pretty picture.
But even worse than being bald, I really hated, hated, hated being sent to report on other people's tragedies as a part of my daily duty, knowing that I was just expected to observe, when everything in my instinct told me that I should be doing something, I should be lending a hand.
So, as President Hennessy said, I'd cover a fire and then I'd go back and I'd try to give the victims blankets. And I wouldn't be able to sleep at night because of all the things I was covering during the day.
And, meanwhile, I was trying to sit gracefully like Barbara and make myself talk like Barbara. And I thought, well, I could make a pretty goofy Barbara. And if I could figure out how to be myself, I could be a pretty good Oprah. I was trying to sound elegant like Barbara. And sometimes I didn't read my copy, because something inside me said, this should be spontaneous. So, I wanted to get the news as I was giving it to the people. So, sometimes, I wouldn't read my copy and it would be, like, six people on a pileup on I-40. Oh, my goodness.
And sometimes I wouldn't read the copy—because I wanted to be spontaneous—and I'd come across a list of words I didn't know and I'd mispronounce. And one day I was reading copy and I called Canada "ca nada." And I decided, this Barbara thing's not going too well. I should try being myself.
But at the same time, my dad was saying, "Oprah Gail, this is an opportunity of a lifetime. You better keep that job." And my boss was saying, "This is the nightly news. You're an anchor, not a social worker. Just do your job."
So, I was juggling these messages of expectation and obligation and feeling really miserable with myself. I'd go home at night and fill up my journals, 'cause I've kept a journal since I was 15—so I now have volumes of journals. So, I'd go home at night and fill up my journals about how miserable I was and frustrated. Then I'd eat my anxiety. That's where I learned that habit.
And after eight months, I lost that job. They said I was too emotional. I was too much. But since they didn't want to pay out the contract, they put me on a talk show in Baltimore. And the moment I sat down on that show, the moment I did, I felt like I'd come home. I realized that TV could be more than just a playground, but a platform for service, for helping other people lift their lives. And the moment I sat down, doing that talk show, it felt like breathing. It felt right. And that's where everything that followed for me began.
And I got that lesson. When you're doing the work you're meant to do, it feels right and every day is a bonus, regardless of what you're getting paid.
It's true. And how do you know when you're doing something right? How do you know that? It feels so. What I know now is that feelings are really your GPS system for life. When you're supposed to do something or not supposed to do something, your emotional guidance system lets you know. The trick is to learn to check your ego at the door and start checking your gut instead. Every right decision I've made—every right decision I've ever made—has come from my gut. And every wrong decision I've ever made was a result of me not listening to the greater voice of myself.
If it doesn't feel right, don't do it. That's the lesson. And that lesson alone will save you, my friends, a lot of grief. Even doubt means don't. This is what I've learned. There are many times when you don't know what to do. When you don't know what to do, get still, get very still, until you do know what to do.
And when you do get still and let your internal motivation be the driver, not only will your personal life improve, but you will gain a competitive edge in the working world as well. Because, as Daniel Pink writes in his best-seller, A Whole New Mind, we're entering a whole new age. And he calls it the Conceptual Age, where traits that set people apart today are going to come from our hearts—right brain—as well as our heads. It's no longer just the logical, linear, rules-based thinking that matters, he says. It's also empathy and joyfulness and purpose, inner traits that have transcendent worth.
These qualities bloom when we're doing what we love, when we're involving the wholeness of ourselves in our work, both our expertise and our emotion.
So, I say to you, forget about the fast lane. If you really want to fly, just harness your power to your passion. Honor your calling. Everybody has one. Trust your heart and success will come to you.
So, how do I define success? Let me tell you, money's pretty nice. I'm not going to stand up here and tell you that it's not about money, 'cause money is very nice. I like money. It's good for buying things.
But having a lot of money does not automatically make you a successful person. What you want is money and meaning. You want your work to be meaningful. Because meaning is what brings the real richness to your life. What you really want is to be surrounded by people you trust and treasure and by people who cherish you. That's when you're really rich.
So, lesson one, follow your feelings. If it feels right, move forward. If it doesn't feel right, don't do it.
Now I want to talk a little bit about failings, because nobody's journey is seamless or smooth. We all stumble. We all have setbacks. If things go wrong, you hit a dead end—as you will—it's just life's way of saying time to change course. So, ask every failure—this is what I do with every failure, every crisis, every difficult time—I say, what is this here to teach me? And as soon as you get the lesson, you get to move on. If you really get the lesson, you pass and you don't have to repeat the class. If you don't get the lesson, it shows up wearing another pair of pants—or skirt—to give you some remedial work.
And what I've found is that difficulties come when you don't pay attention to life's whisper, because life always whispers to you first. And if you ignore the whisper, sooner or later you'll get a scream. Whatever you resist persists. But, if you ask the right question—not why is this happening, but what is this here to teach me?—it puts you in the place and space to get the lesson you need.
My friend Eckhart Tolle, who's written this wonderful book called A New Earth that's all about letting the awareness of who you are stimulate everything that you do, he puts it like this: He says, don't react against a bad situation; merge with that situation instead. And the solution will arise from the challenge. Because surrendering yourself doesn't mean giving up; it means acting with responsibility.
Many of you know that, as President Hennessy said, I started this school in Africa. And I founded the school, where I'm trying to give South African girls a shot at a future like yours—Stanford. And I spent five years making sure that school would be as beautiful as the students. I wanted every girl to feel her worth reflected in her surroundings. So, I checked every blueprint, I picked every pillow. I was looking at the grout in between the bricks. I knew every thread count of the sheets. I chose every girl from the villages, from nine provinces. And yet, last fall, I was faced with a crisis I had never anticipated. I was told that one of the dorm matrons was suspected of sexual abuse.
That was, as you can imagine, devastating news. First, I cried—actually, I sobbed—for about half an hour. And then I said, let's get to it; that's all you get, a half an hour. You need to focus on the now, what you need to do now. So, I contacted a child trauma specialist. I put together a team of investigators. I made sure the girls had counseling and support. And Gayle and I got on a plane and flew to South Africa.
And the whole time I kept asking that question: What is this here to teach me? And, as difficult as that experience has been, I got a lot of lessons. I understand now the mistakes I made, because I had been paying attention to all of the wrong things. I'd built that school from the outside in, when what really mattered was the inside out.
So, it's a lesson that applies to all of our lives as a whole. What matters most is what's inside. What matters most is the sense of integrity, of quality and beauty. I got that lesson. And what I know is that the girls came away with something, too. They have emerged from this more resilient and knowing that their voices have power.
And their resilience and spirit have given me more than I could ever give to them, which leads me to my final lesson—the one about finding happiness—which we could talk about all day, but I know you have other wacky things to do.
Not a small topic this is, finding happiness. But in some ways I think it's the simplest of all. Gwendolyn Brooks wrote a poem for her children. It's called "Speech to the Young : Speech to the Progress-Toward." And she says at the end, "Live not for battles won. / Live not for the-end-of-the-song. / Live in the along." She's saying, like Eckhart Tolle, that you have to live for the present. You have to be in the moment. Whatever has happened to you in your past has no power over this present moment, because life is now.
But I think she's also saying, be a part of something. Don't live for yourself alone. This is what I know for sure: In order to be truly happy, you must live along with and you have to stand for something larger than yourself. Because life is a reciprocal exchange. To move forward you have to give back. And to me, that is the greatest lesson of life. To be happy, you have to give something back.
I know you know that, because that's a lesson that's woven into the very fabric of this university. It's a lesson that Jane and Leland Stanford got and one they've bequeathed to you. Because all of you know the story of how this great school came to be, how the Stanfords lost their only child to typhoid at the age of 15. They had every right and they had every reason to turn their backs against the world at that time, but instead, they channeled their grief and their pain into an act of grace. Within a year of their son's death, they had made the founding grant for this great school, pledging to do for other people's children what they were not able to do for their own boy.
The lesson here is clear, and that is, if you're hurting, you need to help somebody ease their hurt. If you're in pain, help somebody else's pain. And when you're in a mess, you get yourself out of the mess helping somebody out of theirs. And in the process, you get to become a member of what I call the greatest fellowship of all, the sorority of compassion and the fraternity of service.
The Stanfords had suffered the worst thing any mom and dad can ever endure, yet they understood that helping others is the way we help ourselves. And this wisdom is increasingly supported by scientific and sociological research. It's no longer just woo-woo soft-skills talk. There's actually a helper's high, a spiritual surge you gain from serving others. So, if you want to feel good, you have to go out and do some good.
But when you do good, I hope you strive for more than just the good feeling that service provides, because I know this for sure, that doing good actually makes you better. So, whatever field you choose, if you operate from the paradigm of service, I know your life will have more value and you will be happy.
I was always happy doing my talk show, but that happiness reached a depth of fulfillment, of joy, that I really can't describe to you or measure when I stopped just being on TV and looking at TV as a job and decided to use television, to use it and not have it use me, to use it as a platform to serve my viewers. That alone changed the trajectory of my success.
So, I know this—that whether you're an actor, you offer your talent in the way that most inspires art. If you're an anatomist, you look at your gift as knowledge and service to healing. Whether you've been called, as so many of you here today getting doctorates and other degrees, to the professions of business, law, engineering, humanities, science, medicine, if you choose to offer your skills and talent in service, when you choose the paradigm of service, looking at life through that paradigm, it turns everything you do from a job into a gift. And I know you haven't spent all this time at Stanford just to go out and get a job.
You've been enriched in countless ways. There's no better way to make your mark on the world and to share that abundance with others. My constant prayer for myself is to be used in service for the greater good.
So, let me end with one of my favorite quotes from Martin Luther King. Dr. King said, "Not everybody can be famous." And I don't know, but everybody today seems to want to be famous.
But fame is a trip. People follow you to the bathroom, listen to you pee. It's just—try to pee quietly. It doesn't matter, they come out and say, "Ohmigod, it's you. You peed."
That's the fame trip, so I don't know if you want that.
So, Dr. King said, "Not everybody can be famous. But everybody can be great, because greatness is determined by service." Those of you who are history scholars may know the rest of that passage. He said, "You don't have to have a college degree to serve. You don't have to make your subject and verb agree to serve. You don't have to know about Plato or Aristotle to serve. You don't have to know Einstein's theory of relativity to serve. You don't have to know the second theory of thermodynamics in physics to serve. You only need a heart full of grace and a soul generated by love."
In a few moments, you'll all be officially Stanford's '08.
You have the heart and the smarts to go with it. And it's up to you to decide, really, where will you now use those gifts? You've got the diploma, so go out and get the lessons, 'cause I know great things are sure to come.
You know, I've always believed that everything is better when you share it, so before I go, I wanted to share a graduation gift with you. Underneath your seats you'll find two of my favorite books. Eckhart Tolle's A New Earth is my current book club selection. Our New Earth webcast has been downloaded 30 million times with that book. And Daniel Pink's A Whole New Mind: Why Right-Brainers Will Rule the Future has reassured me I'm in the right direction.
I really wanted to give you cars but I just couldn't pull that off! Congratulations, '08!
Erm ... nope I'm not missing and as much as I know all of you care about me (ehem ehem ... can't I be half delusional for a while?), you do not need to get off your chair or bed or floor to look for me. I'm still pretty much around and available hahaha.
"Finding Donna" -.-" was actually the blog title from one of the blogger's that I met from the "Brief" Briefing. When she saw my blog (yes at the big screen when Mr. Peanut Butter Jelly was grooving), she said it looked familiar but she couldn't recall how she bumped into my blog.
Anyway, today she got it and she blogged about it and hence the title... Finding Donna! I'm so honoured that it sounds like a sequel of Finding Nemo. And seriously, I don't believe there's such things as coincidence anymore. As my "make believe" godmother (Oprah Winfrey) said,"I don't believe in coincidences. You call people into your life".
Now I understand why Vanity Fair always get the best photos amongst all magazine ... they are innovative and most importantly, they have style. Their covers are always interesting. Honestly I've never read any of them ... HAHA ... but since Oprah ... (erm yes. .. Oprah again) mentioned in her show that she's going to be in 2 of the covers this month for Bono's (RED) Africa project, I have been looking out at the magazine stand and Yeah ... they are OUT!!!! And I get 20% discount haha ... GREAT.
So what's this about? Bono has been this month's issue - guest editor of Vanity Fair. He's created a theme to promote Africa's beauty and also the (RED) project, of course. So, together with the Vanity Fair team and renowned photographer - Annie Leibovitz, they have come up with 20 covers with great people. To name a few: Oprah Winfrey, Bill Gates, Warren Buffet, Brad Pitt, George Clooney, Maya Angelou, Iman, Madonna, etc. Each of the pictures are showing one or 2 ppl are trying to pass information to the other party .. chain message. And the message is about Africa.
These are the 20 covers that are available in a snapshot
And ... this is the one that I chose out of the 20 hehe .. guess I don't need to say why. Image courtesy of Vanity Fair - www.vf.com
I'd like to say, great job, Bono! Your passion and dedication for Africa is so great. All the best and hope the (RED) project will keep saving lives through simple means.
To read and view more of this special edition of Vanity Affair, you may check out this slideshow. You'll not regret it. I love the one with Iman too. She looks stunning like Cleopatra or something .... Bbbbbrrr .... And the one with Chris Rock and Warren Buffet. It's so funny. Chris Rock is trying to get some stock tips from Warren Buffet ... I wonder if he really gets some out of it hahaha ...
The title is a quote by a 13 yr old boy - Mattie Stepanek who has passed away in 2004. I thought I've blogged about him but apparently I haven't -.- ... and now I have to. Why? Because this is my "heartsong", that's how Mattie called his poems even before the movie - Happy Feet has popularized that terminology.
In a nutshell, Amazon's bio on Mattie is as follow:
Mattie J. T. Stepanek lived and died a child, but he had the spirit of a giant. Affected by a rare and fatal neuromuscular disease, Mattie lived almost fourteen years but in that time became a poet, best-selling author, peace activist, and a prominent voice for the Muscular Dystrophy Association. Before his death in June 2004, his five volumes of Heartsongs poetry sold more than a million copies.
Pretty amazing eh!!! -.- I first knew him from Oprah's 20th Anniversary DVD Collection (where else haha), together I've discovered Jacqui Saburido and Erin Tierney Kramp. And I seriously thought I have blogged about Mattie Stepanek and can't believe I actually haven't done it. So ... heaven has its funny way of knocking my head ... by introducing a "coincidence" yesterday when I was in the library. (There's no such thing as coincidence, btw ... not in my dictionary, at least). I was looking for books on Oprah and suddenly this book came up. It's called "Heartsongs". At first I ignored it ... as it didn't seem relevant. And actually I ignored it more than 3x ... but guess what ... heaven knocked so hard and made me look the fourth time and I was stunned and quickly went to grab the book after realizing who the author is.
So who's this boy? What's so special about this 13 yr old boy? Well, a little bit of background from his own website, Mattie Stepanek suffered from Dysautonomic Mitochondrial Myopathy which affects Mattie's autonomic, or automatic, functioning (for example, breathing, heart rate, blood pressure, body temperature, digestion, utilization of oxygen...) and that basically are the essence of what our bodies can do. He also knows from the moment when he got this illness, that his days are counting down pretty rapidly. But did he give up? No, to the contrary, he aimed for the stars and the moon. His ambition was to be inspirational speaker, ambassador for peace, writer, and a daddy. An old soul in a young body, indeed.
Here we are complaining about our lives when we are still living and Mattie knowing he's dying and yet he still focused on creating and contributing. You may enjoy his poems from his website. Not all though, as they are copyrighted and need permission to be put on.
I've managed to find a video about him. You'll get to know him better from this clip. He's a dear soul whom had ever existed in this earth. No wonder even Oprah called him "my dearest friend". BTW ... before I forgot .... Mattie's mom has always been on wheelchair ... she had four kids and all 4 of them had the same disease ... and now all of them have passed away too (2 brothers and 1 sister and Mattie). Haiz .... What a strong woman she is and she's been continuing in spreading the words of peace inspired by Mattie.
Anyway ... like Mattie always says - remember to play after every storm ... no matter how tough things are ... remember to take a moment to be happy and find peace.
I know ... I've been absent for a while ... though there are just so many things have been discovered and needs to be shared but .... I've been in such a hibernating mode that my friend called me "Donnuah" .... Nuah because I am super slack ... Nuah ... Nuah ... Nuah ... and that's all I've been doing ... mentally and physically. Euww ... -.-
So, thought of dropping by and leaving a short note and encourage everyone to watch .. Ocean's Thirteen. This is not a movie review post ... and FYI, I didn't have any intention to watch that movie.
Why?
I watched a very bad quality Ocean's 11 ... and didn't have the mood to watch Ocean's 12. But oh boy .... I'm glad I didn't miss Ocean's 13!!!! Not a single blood cell of mine ... Was intrigued by the preview because George Clooney was tearing up and Brad Pitt was teasing him ... Clooney was trying to hide his embarrassing activity that caused him to tear up but Pitt discovered it and oh well, it's Oprah that caused Clooney to have teary eyes. So, that's what I saw in the preview but I didn't expect anything more than that short simple scene.
Who knows, surprise came in such a nice package :-) And for me, Oprah's fan, it made hell of my day. I was high till the next day ... my friends couldn't stand me ... still.
:-)
So, dropping a note to share that hehe ... will pop by when my "nuah" mode has gone ... hopefully soon. Thank you for still having your eyes here once in a while. It means a lot to me. :-)
Yay .... my godmother (I wish) tops the chart for being generous and giving!!
Check out the news from ABS-CBN Interactive: http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/storypage.aspx?StoryId=76758 It says "Oprah Winfrey has come top of a new survey to find the most generous celebrity philanthropists, donating more than $50 million of her fortune to charity last year."
Something I hope that I can follow suit one day. Keep on giving, momma! HAHAHA -.-
Have you heard of cellphone that saves lives? I did. Through Sheryl Crow's advertisement below:
But, the real kick was when I watched Oprah and Bono went shopping. So, I got myself into shopping mode too and I remembered Sheryl Crow in the process and voila, MotoRAZR Red is mine now. :p
Oprah & Bono Went Shopping:
The (RED) Campaign was originated by Bono (U2) and Bobby Shriver. What a brilliant concept where people can spend and save at the same time. I'm so so sold. Together they have created the (RED) campaign that supports The Global Fund and up to date they have achieved the following in less than 4 years:
· 770,000 people with treatment for HIV and AIDS · nearly 9 million people with voluntary HIV testing · more than 1 million orphans with care and support · 2 million people with treatment for tuberculosis · more than 22 million people treated for malaria · nearly 18 million families with insecticide-treated mosquito nets
So, after being so sold by Sheryl Crow & Oprah (who else...), I went to get my own MotoRAZR V3M RED to support this noble cause. Not that I need another phone. I've never fancied any other phone than Nokia. But, since it's my long time fetish to own a flip phone and since this flip phone will buy so many pills for the AIDS victims in Africa. Why not?
And on top of that, I have great friends who are supporting this cause in our own unique way. We get a new spoke person to promote the MotoRAZR RED and that is our beloved Doraemon (whom Miss Cooking Pot said the shape of his head is the same as the shape of his buttock -.-) and Doraemon is doing the same ad as Sheryl Crow (well, last part of it) and we are doing it in 4 different languages (except Japanese, unfortunately, none of us know how to translate that :p). So we started off with English, Bahasa Indonesia, Cantonese and finally Hok Kien.
Since we are amateurs, we did mistake for the first time round, here's our NG (No Good) shot due to Miss Cooking Pot who forgot her line -.-.
Hope you'll be inspired and continue to support the (RED) Project. :-) You can find out more at www.joinred.com.
I am also sharing more videos by other celebrities but nobody has made an impact like Sheryl Crow did.
Chester Bennington (Linkin Park):
Chris Rock:
Kanye West:
For the complete list of other artists who are promoting the Motorola Red, you can check out this link. You may find others like Rick Rubin, Molly Sims and Shaun White. They are all awesome.
After knowing David the funeral director who was featured in Oprah show has a way in naming his days, e.g. Marvelous Monday, Terrific Tuesday, etc. I wanna be a copycat! So here are mine.
Hhmmm ... hopefully I can memorize all :p. If not, I guess I'll keep it simple like this theme song (first heard when Daniel Ong was still active in Perfect 10 radio - he played it every weekend, Friday if I'm not mistaken) and I've loved the song ever since. What did the song say? Check it out ...
Lyrics:
"Happy Days" by Norman Gimbel and Charles Fox
Sunday, Monday, Happy Days. Tuesday, Wednesday, Happy Days. Thursday, Friday, Happy Days. Saturday, What a day, Groovin' all week with you.
These days are all, Happy and Free. (Those Happy Days) These days are all, Share them with me. (oh baby) Goodbye grey sky, hello blue. There's nothing can hold me when I hold you. Feels so right, it can't be wrong. Rockin' and rollin' all week long.
These days are all, Share them with me. (Those Happy Days) These days are all, Happy and Free. These Happy Days are your's and mine, Happy Days.
So, how happy are you? Can you guess which of these people are the happiest? I got it right (one of them only), let's try it yourself.
The information and image below are taken from www.oprah.com.
Peggy is a 44-year-old married mother of two teenage boys who works as the bookkeeper of the family business. Last year, both her father and her sister died, and her mother has been diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease.
Noreen is a 52-year-old divorced mother of two college kids. She's an avid swimmer and works in the operations department of a major airline.
Lachelle is 27 years old, married and has no children. She works two jobs and has two dogs. Last year, four of her friends and two of her family members died within six months of each other.
David is 53 years old, and he's been a funeral director for 30 years. He is married and has two sons.
Lorrie has been married for 15 years and has six children. She works in retail and also serves as the vice president of her PTA (Parent-Teacher Association).
So, have you made your pick? Which one did you guess? But first of all, what kind of benchmark are they using in finding out who's the happiest? You can take the test too and I'm going to lay all the questions here. (Also courtesy of www.oprah.com)
Satisfaction with Life Scale How satisfied are you? To find out, read the following five statements. Then, use the 1–7 scale to rate your level of agreement and add your answers together.
1 = Not at all true 4 = Moderately True 7 = Absolutely True So, what did you get? Mine was 26. (Yeah, honest). How about the people we were supposed to guess earlier on? Who do you think get the highest score? My guess was #4 - David (the funeral director), because I thought by seeing dead people everyday, he definitely must have captured the meaning of life well and he must have lived his life to the best. And I was right. But there are 2 other souls that are happy with their lives too and they are #1 - Peggy and #3 - Lachelle. Why? Check the next one out.
Peggy, David and Lachelle scored the highest on the satisfaction scale, while Noreen and Lorrie scored the lowest.
Satisfaction for Peggy is achieved by surrounding herself with happiness. The most important thing? Her husband. "He is there for me. He doesn't only love me, he appreciates me and makes me feel good," Peggy says. Happiness doesn't depend on money, she says. It's about enjoying the simple things. "Every morning I have a ritual. After the boys have left, [my husband and I] get in the hot tub, and it's our time. We talk about what is going on for the rest of the day. It is just our quality time just to stay connected."
David, the funeral director, says he's developed phrases that help him keep a positive outlook. "I will say, 'It's a marvelous Monday. It's a terrific Tuesday,'" he says. Although he deals with death daily, David says his job is anything but depressing. "Most people look upon funeral service as a sad profession. I look upon it as a profession where I'm helping people at a very difficult time in their lives," he says. "Being successful in life is not what really matters. Being significant in life is really the core root of what matters."
Lachelle says she lives by the philosophy, "Negative out, positive in." She says she believes happiness is a conscious effort. "It's about claiming what's yours. If you want a positive life, you need to think positively and act positively," she says. "I do my best not to compare myself with others. I've always felt that what one person has may not be destined for me." - Courtesy of www.oprah.com
If you pay attention to the stories above, happiness is not something external. It's not about what you do, what you have, who you are with, etc. It's about a choice and something internal. You can have thousands of bad day and still be happy with your life or you can have everything in this world and yet depressed over what you've not accomplished. It's a choice. Heck what others say, heck what others do, ultimately, happiness is for you to uncover and let it blossom.
To sum it, I'll let the expert on the subject of happiness to wrap up this segment.
Dr. Holden says the key to being happy is overcoming "destination addiction," which he defines as "living in the not-now." "It's always about tomorrow, so you're chasing 'more,' 'next' and 'there,'" he says. "You promise yourself that when you get there, you'll be happy. And I promise you, you won't, because you'll always set another destination to go for."
Instead, Dr. Holden says if you are unhappy with your life or looking to improve your score on the satisfaction test, there are two things you can do. "We have to learn to let go of our past, we have to give up all hopes for a perfect past. Let the past go, it's gone." After that, he says, "Take a vow of kindness. Be kinder to yourself and to others. "It's never too late to be happy," he says.
The key of getting anything you ever want in life. Anything. Yupe. I've been anticipating to write this post for months and now finally I have the kick for it. I'm not sure why. Call it divine timing or simply procrastination. :p Bleh ....
"The Secret" has taken the world by storm, if you are not aware of it yet, now you definitely are. ;-) It's such a hit in Australia, US, and many more countries. I first heard of it and watched it in December 2006 and few months later (in February, to be exact) "The Secret" was so HOT that it's being featured in so many interviews such as Ellen Degeneres Show, Larry King and even my greatest "god-mom" OPRAH!!
As you know, anything that's being featured in Oprah, will definitely take the next hike upwards be it in terms of business, influence or simply awareness of it. So, since Oprah has featured it, it's my turn now to compile what I've found and learned and share it with you here.
Actually there's nothing so secretive about it. Everyone has been subconsciously using it and just not aware of it. Yes, you too know "The Secret" but you are just not aware of it. Because our whole lives have been based on it. It's just like playing any game ... whether you are still at level 1 or level 10 ... that's the difference. But everyone is already playing it.
"The Secret" that was being shared is actually "Law of Attraction". What does it mean? You must have heard a few quotes from famous people such as:
Napoleon Hill: Whatever the mind of man can conceive and believe, it can achieve.
Henry Ford: If you think you can do a thing or think you can't do a thing, you're right.
Winston Churchill: You create your own universe as you go along
Jesus Christ: Ask, and it will be given you; Seek, and you will find; Knock, and it will be opened to you.
Buddha: All that we are is a result of what we have thought
Albert Einstein: Imagination is everything. It is the preview of life's coming attractions.
Enough quotes from the wise people and now let's get back to our own lives. So what does Law of Attraction really means? It is very very simple indeed. Whatever your thought is, good or bad, you will eventually get what you think.
E.g. When you think - "She's such a bitch" You will get - she's forever a bitch to you
When you think - "I want to be out of debt" You will get - more debts
When you think - "My job sucks" You will get - more sucky job every day
But when you think - "I am a problem solver" You will get - more solutions to any challenges that may come
When you think - "Money comes to me easily" You will get - a penny on the floor (still money and it's easy)
The bottom line is, you get what you are thinking of. Just imagine the whole universe is a genie, whatever you put in your mind, coupled with your emotional level .. you'll attract it.
There are GOOD and BAD feelings. The good ones are: - Love - Gratitude - Joy - Passion - Happiness / Excitement - Joyful Expectation - Hope - Satisfaction
The bad ones are: - Boredom - Annoyance - Worry - Criticism / Blame - Anger - Revenge - Hate - Resentment - Guilt - Depression - Fear
So, even though your mind keeps saying "I am a problem solver" but by actual fact your feeling is at the level of "fear", your wish will not be fulfilled by the "genie" of the universe.
Your mind (thoughts) and your heart (feelings) must match in order to receive the abundance from the universe. Trust me, it works. I've been there and done that.
After watching "The Secret", I was pretty hyped up (as usual :p how long does the steam last ... that I'll need to do self-check). And I completely was at the state of Happiness & Excitement all the time. Then a few mini miracles started to flow in to my life that made me at awe:
One of the recommended activity in "The Secret" is to keep a vision board. For me I created a vision folder where I put anything that I am attracted to. Including a photo of the newest plane from SIA (I think it's the Boeing). When I cut that picture out, my friend was laughing at me and said,"that also you want???". I said why not, it looks so good. And guess what, the next day when I was coming back to Singapore from Hong Kong. I was on that new plane. Don't believe me? Here are the pictures. I was so excited like someone just came out from the village that I took photo even the screen & remote control of it -.-.
Few months before I watched "The Secret", when I was so active in gym-ing (till my elbow gets cranky) I told my friend that if I am able to choose one item to bring home from the gym, I'll buy a gym bench as that's where I spend most of my time when I'm in the gym. 3-4 months later, guess what, my friend (who's an active body sculptor :p ... he's pretty hunky, you know. Fine ass too :p ... Oopps .. hope he's not reading this) was trying to discard his gym bench. He said he has no room to put it anymore and asked me whether I'm interested. I just need to settle for the transport. What do you think my answer was? The rest is history
My last sharing is related to money ... I don't want to brag too much about it. Basically, I have a few surprises here and there. Really surprising ones ler ... -.- no kidding.
Lastly, I keep telling myself I'm surrounded by positive people and would like to know and be part of positive people. And if you've read a few of my previous posts, I'm just grateful that I not only found 1 or 2 great people but more than 5 all at once. Happy to the core.
So, that's my story. I really hope it will inspire you to take charge for your life and start creating what you want. And do you think I'm going to leave you hanging like this without showing you some videos related to "The Secret"? Hell no! ;-) Check out some links that I've found and I hope you enjoy it.
And lastly, my favourite of all - "The Secret" Interview in Oprah Winfrey Show (Apparently I can't really embed it in my blog, so go to the links to watch them)
Remember my post about the African Girls whom Oprah discovered? Their stories have moved me and I've decided to bring them around wherever I go, in my wallet. I'm proud to have sisters who are upbeat, positive, intelligent and most importantly always grateful with whatever they have in life. So introducing my sisters in my wallet:
Thando: She recites poetry very well and her dream is to be an actress.
Lesego: Her mom left her when she was very young and hence the very tough personality's running all over her. She did say something profound to her class which was - Don't blend in. Blend out. I wonder how many people at such age even understand what that means when they only focus on being accepted among their peers.
Zodwa: Her passion for school and the love of learning are so strong that she woke up every morning at 4AM, walked through the dangerous path of the city just to get to the bus stop that will eventually bring her to school. My goodness .... When I was 3 - 14 yrs old, my school was just 3 houses apart and I was so reluctant to go every morning. -.-
Megan & Sade: Ultimate forgiving souls who only remember the good things and not the bad!
Mahlatse: She wears specs. Me too. Since 3 yrs old. :-) Though she's ultra shy and quiet, she tops the class easily every time though she studies only with one candle light.
They are my sisters, my friends and inspiration. One day, hope to meet them personally and give them a very big hug for their courage and humility.
It's the first time in my life that I've ever cried and consumed 6 tissues after watching a video. And it's not even some sad story, it's the other way round.
Some of you may have known that I'm a big fan of Oprah Winfrey. And this post is again related to one of her show - "Building a Dream: The Oprah Winfrey Leadership Academy". But before you turn your back around and be biased after hearing her name for whatever preconceived ideas you may have about her such as, she can do things because she's rich, she appeals only to auntie auntie's group, etc. I am begging you to just continue reading and discover that it's not really about how much she has and what she's doing with the money ... it's about 152 girls that may just change the way you look at life and most importantly, the way you look at yourself.
Brief Introduction In 2001, Oprah told Nelson Mandela (former South Africa president), that she'd like to build a school for girl leaders. She'll commit US$10 million. And on the 6th of December 2002, she started to build her promise and that project has consumed $40 million instead on 52 acres of land. The rest is history. Out of 3000 applicants, only 152 were chosen. Their lives will never ever be the same again.
For the CNN coverage on this you can check out this link on Youtube..
Enough about her and her project. She's great. And believe most people know that.
What I'd like to touch on are a few of the girls whom have "spoken" to me and touched my heart the moment I laid my eyes on them.
Who Are The Chosen 152?
They are few of the brightest girls from South Africa who not only posses leadership potential but also great academic result. Most of them stays at very terrible neighbourhood. (That's one of the criteria to receive the scholarship to the Leadership Academy. The girls must be under privileged.)
So it'll not be surprising if you hear the following comments from them about their background:
There are 30 families in this neighbourhood and we only have 1 toilet
When I walk back from school everyday I pray to God that I will not be raped and abused in this dangerous neighbourhood
There's no in-house plumbing, so we have to carry big pail of water on our head every day (Oprah tried half of the pail and couldn't do it. She couldn't even fake it. She felt like she's going to break her neck!)
My parents are dead because of HIV/AIDS
I'm sharing a room with mom, dad, etc and I've to sleep on the hard cold floor
What's So Special About Them? After understanding a bit of their background, and how they normally live their life, I'd like to invite you to what they say when they are being interviewed:
Lesego: The book I'm reading right now is Charles Dickens' The Great Expectations. I love that book it's really fantastic. It's got the edge to it. I love mathematics. Not knowing the answer just turns me on.
Thando: I want to be an actress. I see myself living the life that I've always dream. I want to work hard and be the best that I can be
Zodwa: I wanna be a leader. I believe in girl power. I believe that girls can do whatever boys can do. I believe in myself.
Sade (12 yrs old): I want to find the cure for AIDS because most of the people in my community are affected by HIV.
Megan & Sade (sisters, whose mom was shot by their dad and then dad shot himself in front of them when they are 6 & 5 yrs old respectively). This is what they've got to say - Megan: if we get picked in, we will work hard and succeed in life. Sade: Don't say if we get picked in, I know I'm in and both of us are in. I'm not angry with father because I know God has a reason. Just remember the good times not the bad.
I guess I don't even need to end this story as you all should have known that those girls are among the 152. They are embarking to a world that they used to dream of and now it's their reality.
The point is this ... how can you not be amazed by their attitude towards life and especially towards themselves. What they have gone through are not even on par with what we are going through. It's tougher and more humanly unimaginable. But yet they still have high hopes. Big dreams. Unlimited gratitude and humility. Confidence and sincerity.
My wish for all of you who are reading this is to stand in front of the mirror and tell yourself that you are great and that all dreams are still possible. And nothing in this world is tough unless you label it as tough.
Videos
If you'd like to see personally the interviews of some of the chosen girls, you can go to this link. You'll meet all the girls I mentioned above plus additional - Mahlatse - the only girl that wears specs (I can relate to that when I was 3 years old) due to no electricity in the house and she loves to read with only one candle lit. (MAN!!)
If you are counting the 10 key words I've given you in the email and wondering where's keywords #9: Mariah Carey, Chris Rock & Mary J. Blige. You'll be able to see them with your own eyes on this video below.
Enjoy! And always live your greatest life every second. No compromise! Like the girls.
It's been quite a while ya ... since I blogged ...
Tons of contents to be used but yet the holiday mood just sank in to me ... I'd better wake up asap.
Anyway, grabbed the latest copy of O Magazine (yeah ... I only flipped through it and never really read it ... and I really need to remind myself I'm just not a magazine reader!!!) ... and found the theme for this month is very interesting.
Authenticity
They have a checklist that you can put in front of your mirror that says:
Identity Check Hair? Combed. Lipstic? Still on. True self? Hello?
It's funny how we always remember to put on all the exterior things but forget that the most important thing of all is to put on our true self.
I wonder whether I've had mine on today ...
"To let oneself be carried on passively is unthinkable." - Virginia Woolf
"Let the world know you as you are, not as you think you should be, because sooner or later, if you are posing, you will forget the pose, and then where are you?" - Fanny Brice
"One of the greatest feelings in life is the conviction that you have lived the life you wanted to live - with the rough and the smooth, the good and the bad - but yours, shaped by your own choices, and not someone else's." - Michael Ignatieff
