Breakdown.

You know, every now and then?

It's ok to have a breakdown.

It doesn't mean you're weak.

Or bad.

Or hopeless.

In fact, it sort of means you're hopeful. Full of hope. That you're not alone in all of this. That a call to arms will mean that it will be answered.

That's all I've got for today. I've had some breakdowns this week; and have been relieved. Now onto the next task.

Missing...

have been trying to put together a power-point fundraising presentation tonight.

which is horrible for someone who is bad (ie. read not experienced) at sales.

but at least it's not like writing an online dating profile. cause it's not about me. it's about the thing that i love.

but it's not easy. and then...i saw this on Tumblr tonight.

Washington, DC Metro Station on a cold January morning in 2007. The man with a violin played six Bach pieces for about 45 minutes. During that time approximately. 2 thousand people went through the station, most of them on their way to work.

4 minutes later:
The violinist received his first dollar: a woman threw the money in the hat and, without stopping, continued to walk.

6 minutes:
A young man leaned against the wall to listen to him, then looked at his watch and started to walk again.

10 minutes:
A 3-year old boy stopped but his mother tugged him along hurriedly. The kid stopped to look at the violinist again, but the mother pushed hard and the child continued to walk, turning his head all the time. This action was repeated by several other children. Every parent, without exception, forced their children to move on quickly.

45 minutes:
The musician played continuously. Only 6 people stopped and listened for a short while. About 20 gave money but continued to walk at their normal pace. The man collected a total of $32.

1 hour:
He finished playing and silence took over. No one noticed. No one applauded, nor was there any recognition.

No one knew this, but the violinist was Joshua Bell, one of the greatest musicians in the world. He played one of the most intricate pieces ever written, with a violin worth $3.5 million dollars. Two days before Joshua Bell sold out a theater in Boston where the seats averaged $100.

This is a true story. Joshua Bell playing incognito in the metro station was organized by the Washington Post as part of a social experiment about perception, taste and people’s priorities.

The questions raised:
*In a common place environment at an inappropriate hour, do we perceive beauty?

*Do we stop to appreciate it?

*Do we recognize talent in an unexpected context?

One possible conclusion reached from this experiment could be this:

If we do not have a moment to stop and listen to one of the best musicians in the world, playing some of the finest music ever written, with one of the most beautiful instruments ever made…

How many other things are we missing?

This is absolutely incredible. And sad. Mostly sad because as a musician, I wonder if I would even recognize what was happening had I passed by.

(Source: Washington Post)

And it reminds me, that we will pay for things that we qualify as having value. so I'm working on creating a presentation that accurately represents the value of a great show produced by one of the greatest theater companies I've ever worked for.

bao = love

This morning I stepped out for brunch with some friends I hadn't seen in about a month. It was a warm wonderful and delicious meal (never eaten at Luna Park? I highly recommend it)

And it was wonderful to hear a friend talk the way she normally doesn't. At length. Excitedly. It was such a blessed relief to just listen. Spending a lot of the week walking people through tasks or explaining methods, my life turns into a lot of talking. So it was nice to give a friend her space, for her to feel comfortable and delighted in having the spotlight.

Also had to go home to pick up my stupid traffic violation fine (San Bruno, you may have had a pipe explode, but your yellow light cameras suck), and when I got home - my parents had picked up an extra chicken bao in Chinatown all for me.

Not because I said I was stopping by. But just because...I said I might.

That's some serious love people. Buying a bao cause your daughter MIGHT stop by.

Went straight home to get a pedicure and now out for a night on the town. It's a good Saturday.

Worth...

Hi Team!

Still out and about and recovering from my company's Annual All-Hands Meetings last week. I have to give myself and my peeps for organizing a delicious meal at Foreign Cinema (which is amazing) and getting through the week without killing anyone.

This article today via Already Pretty: Learning How to Believe You Are Worth It.

Too many of us are walking around in our daily lives pretending and hiding from our inner lights. I'm sure the blogosphere is overrun with the retreads of "Asian culture = humility, modesty and denial of accomplishments" While American culture is rife with self-promotion and bolstering up achievements. Too much self-esteem leads to arrogance and disregard for others, too little leads to a sorry sense of depression. There has to be some sort of medium ground. I believe that all achievements are tempered with gratitude and generosity.

Give thankfully.
Receive thankfully.

To me, the best people are not those that step on others, interrupt conversations or disparage the people around them. The people who use their incentives of "getting ahead" to justify the worst human actions. The best people are the ones that ask questions, that are constantly willing to grow, who are gracious and kind and fair to the people around them.

“ Insensitivity makes arrogance ugly; empathy is what makes humility beautiful."
— Renford Reese, Ph.D

One of the best things I've ever told myself was, "You're not crazy." That revelation was the lead up to just one of the reawakenings I've had in my life. I'm sure a ton of kids with Asian parents can relate. That moment when you decided to stop living their insecurities and started to live your own life. When their opinions became "just" their thoughts, and not your doctrine.

The moment when you decided to be different.
Be different today. If not for yourself, then for your children. Or someone who needs you. Or for the inner peace that you'll attain.

Be. Different.

Block 4: Cooperation

Today's Building Block of the Pyramid of Success : Cooperation
[koh-op-uh-rey-shuhn]

–noun

1.an act or instance of working or acting together for a common purpose or benefit; joint action.

2. more or less active assistance from a person, organization, etc.: We sought the cooperation of various civic leaders.

3. willingness to cooperate: to indicate cooperation.

4. Economics . the combination of persons for purposes of production, purchase, or distribution for their joint benefit: producers' cooperation; consumers' cooperation.

5. Sociology . activity shared for mutual benefit.

6. Ecology . mutually beneficial interaction among organisms living in a limited area.

Ever notice how easy things are when you have a friend? And how easy it is to complete tasks or reach goals when you work together? Selfishness, while touted and hailed by objectivists and business people alike, doesn't work in the grand scheme of things. Sure you have the most toys, and then what? Webster's also quotes "cooperation" as mutually beneficial interaction. You never have to view cooperation as only benefiting one party. So when you're helping someone, think of all the different ways you could be helping yourself. Only small minded people who don't take sight of the larger goal reap the benefits of pure selfishness.

Wooden's quote: "Have utmost concern for what's right rather than who's right."

Do you ever realize how much your personal feelings about someone will affect your reaction to their decisions? Even though that decision could be one that is highly appropriate or effective considering the situation?

This week's challenge. Listen honestly and as objectively as possible to the people around you, especially the people you don't generally like, respect or answer to.

Emotion is your enemy.

2011...get better.

HAPPY NEW YEAR! (Be back soon, just going to the copy store... (the below via unicornology)

"We need hard working people with excellent work ethics. I’m not sure I’m aware of a group of people who work harder than design students. We need individuals comfortable with ambiguity. We need people who can simplify complex ideas, without watering them down, and transform intimidating data to approachable information. We need people who can tell a good story to soften hardened ears. We need individuals who have a knack for stepping back from everything and recognizing patterns in the big picture. The best designers do all of these every day, and these are the skills you’ve been polishing (hopefully) in school.

The tools of creation are widely available: they’re out there for almost everyone. If you figure out what better is, you don’t have to wait for someone to enable you. You can make it yourself, or with the help of like-minded people. Better is about more than typefaces, composition and color. It’s about planning action and moving. Better is about change and recognizing potential. This world can be better. And we can make it that way. The world is not yet done."

Getting Better by Frank Chimero

Block 3: Loyalty

Loyalty: "Be true to yourself. Be true to those you lead."

loy·al·ty
   /ˈlɔɪəlti/ Show Spelled[loi-uhl-tee] Show IPA
–noun, plural -ties.
1.the state or quality of being loyal; faithfulness to commitments or obligations.
2.faithful adherence to a sovereign, government, leader, cause, etc.
3.an example or instance of faithfulness, adherence, or the like: a man with fierce loyalties.

In these quickly changing times, we've shown little to no deference or care for others. Look around you, do you see yourself or the masses taking consideration for others? Haste makes waste, and in this culture of bigger, better, FASTER taking the lead in the name of competition - we often forget and disregard the people who can't keep up.

And for what?

To have more time.

But time to do what? Spend more hours surfing the internet, watching television or shopping?

Loyalty to a cause, whether it be a team, family, business or network of friends is worthy of your time. We tend to drop people or jobs or spouses at at every opportune moment. We call in sick or show up late, because the culture of big business has shown us that they'll abuse every opportunity. But think about the businesses that have made it big.

Loyalty, to some, shows a lack of killer instinct. Outdated. Ancient. I say that it is a long-forgotten, respectful trait that shows more about the character of a person, friend, employee or lover than quite possibly anything else. While not often pointed out, that friend that you can always count on in the middle of the night means more to me than any flash in the pan with money or false friends. Someone you can count on, rely on to support you in any instance - someone that can give you the opportunity to pursue something else because they've got your back? Priceless.

Let's look at Facebook for example. Four years ago, in 2006 - Yahoo made a bid to merge with Facebook. They wanted to add the popular social network to their properties, and in doing so gaining a ton of users, ISP addresses and value to their already huge network. But founder and CEO, Mark Zuckerberg refused. Call it foresight, or call it greed, but today Facebook is an enormous machine and Zuckerberg is a billionaire.

All because he believed in a product and an idea.

From personal experience, the Facebook team has some of the most stringent and tight security around personal identity. Few applications ever earn the Facebook stamp of approval and their team works constantly to close loopholes and limit public information used by advertising. All in the name of customer loyalty. Zuckerberg and the other Facebook investors could have taken the easy road; accepted the cash and ran to private Caribbean islands. But they didn't. They know that the only reason their social networking site has survived the Friendster/MySpace/Bebo counter culure crash because it realized its core customer, the average user, had to come before big business and before advertising dollars. Making Facebook the Ivory Tower Business model of the Millenium Interwebs.

Tons of stories have emerged in the recent year about Zuckerberg. He is not a "nice" man. He is a defensive man. Probably arrogant, definitely intelligent. Doesn't blink during interviews. And yet, he has had the same girlfriend since college. Wears the same grey hoodie day in and day out. Could care less about the worldly trappings his money could afford him than the lack of distrations he possesses. His life, is pretty much the small circle he keeps around him whom he trusts implicitly and then his work.

And did you know it's impossible to block Zuckerberg from your friends list? True story.

3. Call Yourself a Teacher

What do you call yourself on a regular basis? Daughter? Friend? Co-worker?

When you call yourself a teacher, what does that mean to you?

• Accountability: you are now responsible for someone else's education. You have the charge of guiding someone without knowledge into a field or study where they will learn what you know.
• Humility: you will learn things that you don't know through your students whom you think do not know
• Responsibility: you will have to learn to reap the consequences of what you will teach your students
• Confidence: in order to teach, you must feel secure in your skills and knowledge
• Diligence: you cannot submit to teaching a lesson once. As a wise person once said, "A teacher is someone who says one thing, many times."
• Wisdom: not just knowledge but the insight to read others, to know when is the right time to learn and how your students learn best. Some by study, some by experience.