Have you tried to do nothing for a few hours?

Not even think but just stare at an object with no agenda or intention.

It's very hard. It's very frightening to some.

Emptying the mind is a challenge. There's too much thinking, mindless and intentional.

How can we tame it into total submission?

I found that the way to do that is to DISRUPT it. 

Speak something and that thought pattern is cut off immediately.

You can clear the mind when you also do something else constructively and that you will enjoy.

We call it quiet time or restful time, away from distractions and mundane.

Just pacifying thoughts and refocusing to positivity, blessings and great things.

Open your mind to the possibilities every waking hour.

Let go of anything from the day that takes away your joy. It wasn't meant to be.

Maximize an abundant mind. 

There is a level of entitlement that has totally gone berserk.

The radicals are demanding that you change your beliefs and values so that the world will be better.

Some people are demanding that you forsake any reason, logic, or common sense for a practice that is not rationale, logical, or based on humanity's sense.

Some are demanding that they get your attention because they believe that their story is better than yours, hence, the attention. 

Students are demanding that they get into the honor roll just for showing up.

Parents are demanding that their kids get to enrol in prestigious institutions and will readily bribe officials just to get entry.

Politicians are seeking the truth when they themselves are complicit of using science, research, and global consensus to mask what's going on with the pandemic for example. 

Non-profits are feeling entitled to use their volunteers in order to skimp on organizational support and development and avoid getting the funding for the latter. 

The social media is full of hypocritical beings who are posers but not real doers, advocates of something that when push comes to shove, not very willing to forgo their convenience, lifestyle, ways of life, and the status quo.

How to deal with and navigate around these entitled individuals, organizations, and entities:

1. Reverse their argument. How they would feel if the other person or target group or beneficiaries or constituencies would demand the same?

2. Who benefits from these demands? What actors and groups and causes they are promoting and against? What are the stakes here? 

3. Think systemically. How this course of action can lead to more negative impacts down the line? Is this going to be another palliative or flavor-of-the-month solution?  Where is that movement is this leading to? Is this resolving an issue or using another group or issue to cover-up or devalue the persistent long-term ones?

4. Some demands and suppositions are downright illegal, unethical, and pie-in-the-sky. Learn to discern and debate well.

IMHO- Netflix should be boycotted for enabling two spoiled brats and narcissists hogged the mediapshere with their lies, half-truths, and unproven claims and allegations. Total victimhood without consequences whatsoever for their actions is horrible to watch.

IMHO-The flipflop on the vaccine gets really interesting. I know a fellow who had 5 shots of the vaccine and given that it is now 'presumably limited in its utility to combat newer variants', the call for stricter rules is logically indefensible.

IMHO-The climate energy policies of many governments are cited as one of the reasons for this skyrocketing inflation that in the UK, it boils down to "heat the house or eat." It's called killing the present generation for the future state that is green and carbon-zero. Who wants to live in that utopian fantasy?

IMHO-Digital revolution seems like the code name for 'laying off human workers.' There is no such thing as quiet quitting, this malign quiet action have employees being forced out of the workplace through automation and digitalization. Check this out in your own organization.

IMHO-When scandal hits a major organization or a corporation, what happens is a series of lockdowns on information, cover-ups, and deafening silence. The sense of culpability is almost nil. Unless the investigators are outsiders and have no conflict of interest in the case, these investigations are at best, an act to say 'we are doing something about it' or a delaying tactic to get themselves or their colleagues out of the mess.

IMHO-Where is Karma when you need it? Some of those guilty of heinous crimes of corruption, malfeasance, and other ethical abuse of power while working on public organizations are still on their jobs with a minor 'slap in the hand' reprimands. Who are we kidding here? 

IMHO- Racism and Anti-semitism are on the rise. But tell me, if everything about you is a race equation, you better look yourself up in the mirror? Life is not all about you, your race, and your skin color. There are things that are more important: character, spirituality, connectedness, service, and excellence. 

IMHO-In this upcoming festive season, consumers are belt-tightening. Spend more time with loved ones rather than spend your dollars on temporal things that will break, disconnect, and be obsolete in two years!

\While majority of the people will whine and complain about the daily woes and struggles they face, some people know how to rationalize their experience for positivity. The famous TEDX talk on happiness by Prof. Dan Gilbert emphasizes that no matter how difficult a person's situation is, it is how they rationalize that creates their own sense of happiness and contentment. If a bankrupt person who lost his family, his finances, his business over a bad deal, noted that it could have been his health that suffered, was grateful for the experience and took the opportunity to spend more time with his family and take on businesses that respect that. Or the recent politician who upon losing in the elections noted that it was time for him to 'spend more time with family, focus on his hobbies, and enjoy the little pleasures of semi-retirement.' That's synthesizing happiness. 

The truth of the matter is that happiness is what we make out of any situation. Of course, there are other incidents where we would prefer something better than known tragedies. But even that you might be saying to yourself, 'it could have been worse, compared to something way nastier.' Given that comparative perspective, your brain will simply identify to the lesser evil that you have and feeling like your one lucky person to evade that scenario. 

With the freedom to choose, according to Prof. Gilbert is one of the most difficult dilemmas facing humans. He said that, 'if our choices are bounded, we are more conscientious, thoughtful, and calibrated in our actions. I definitely agree. 

For some of you, this skill is not well exercised, but for others, it comes naturally, as a sort of way of saying, 'I have decided to be grateful even I had difficulties or am currently having difficulties. It's what you get away with and get from these that could help you move forward more resiliently. It's a choice after all. 

A few years ago, I met the Executive Director of a non-profit organization and upon sitting down after being ushered into the room, he told me that he has to leave after 15 minutes. I waited for the meeting for 5 minutes before I can meet him. Apparently, there was a family issue that he needed to attend to.

I asked, "Why did you even book this meeting in the first place?" He answered that he just wanted to meet and maybe ask a few questions.

It turned out that he just wanted to know what I specialize on and how much do I charge which were issues for advanced stage of the conversation. I found out this organization was heavily reliant on a pro bono consultancy that will probably continue in this way as long as possible. Why pay when you can get it for free.

I was out of there in 15 minutes which saved me time and energy to devote to better prospects.

The vast majority of the population is sleep walking through opportunities. 

The rest is hustling without ceasing. They can't simply be bothered. 

While this is the case, you can begin to do WOW!

Working while waiting for the right opportunity to come along.

WOW assumes that you're open-minded and adaptive to changes.

You can quickly pivot and adjust your course without incurring so much time and effort.

Your system should be ruthlessly aware. It should tell you when and where to go next and when to slow down and breathe new air.

Opportunities should not be chased. Be still. Learn to read the times and see that everywhere there are many micro-opportunities waiting to be revealed.

Are you working while waiting (WOW)? Are you opportunity-ready? 

You practically have three months to go before the year ends.

Look back at your 2022 Major Goals and Plans and ask yourself:

1. Did I accomplish what I planned to do? 
2. Where am I in the spectrum of not done versus ongoing or complete?
3. What has been the major success factors in achieving these this year?
4. What are the major obstacles for completion?
5. What or with whom should I be communicating my progress?
6. THE MOST IMPORTANT: How can I use the last remaining three months to get me closer to my larger goals. What success habits can I repeat?

If you're winning every time, chances you don't need this reminder.

But in on-purpose world and beyond, reality sucks. High inflation, flattened economy, supply chain woes, decreasing donations and charitable giving, higher donor standards, compliance issues impact the sector. There are many persistent issues to deal with than what meets the eye. 

At the start of 2022, you started the year with such hopefulness and gung-ho attitude, it's time to use that same level of energy to win the race. 

Last year, I went to our community library and found stacks of books for sale, almost for nothing. I paid $ 50 cents for two books. The first book was a classic and timeless read, The Long Road to Freedom by Nelson Mandela. I thought that I was a few decades late on this and had to quickly brush up on gems found in his life, political career, struggles, and experiences in prison and beyond. What struck me was the clear and unassuming way he wrote down his some of his poignant thoughts.
 
This is when he enjoyed gardening in prison: “In some ways, I saw the garden as a metaphor for certain aspects of my life.  A leader must tend to his garden; he, too, plants seeds, and then watches, cultivates, and harvests the results. Like the gardener, the leader must take responsibility for what he cultivates; he must mind his work; try to repel enemies, preserve what can be preserved, and eliminate what cannot succeed.”

One time, his cell was moved to cell 18, the farthest from the entrance where visitors come. The authorities wanted him not to be able to talk to visitors to voice out their concerns. For the sake of unity, everyone agreed that visitors should talk to cell 18 for their complaints, when asked. 

As a leader in your home, workspaces, networks,  groups, and communities, tend to your garden and diligently bring it up to the level of competence. Watch it grow and increase. When things fail and you have done everything in your power to grow it, let it go. Take care of what you can preserve and move forward. 

The lessons of Mandela are evergreen. Note that Mandela represents the thousands of people who sacrificed and fought apartheid for decades in South Africa and in other places. Mandela is the icon, not the individual. Mandela's win is the win for the 21st century.

Do you always get a notice in the mail for your next car maintenance works?  I do. Engine tune-up, wheel adjustment, tire pressure test, change oil, battery check, air filter, to name just a few. Depending on the vehicle, its age, and the uses, other more comprehensive checks are needed every year. 

Ordinary people will not complain about this: they want to ensure that the car usage is extended, safety issues are addressed, and of course, avoiding paying for exorbitant repair costs when these issues are ignored.

This is the same as your organization. You might be cruising along fine. You might be  focusing on some areas and delaying or ignoring other issues that beset your staff, your stakeholders, your financial health, and overall effectiveness in delivering your services. Most of the time, changes in policies, rules, and regulations, how the 'game is played' change drastically.  Newer forms of public engagement, research, evaluation, policy advocacy, cross-sectoral work are now unfolding. Are you leading these change or are you playing a catch-up? 

We are leaving the pandemic era in a much slower phase while considering that stronger infrastructures and systems must be put in place in organizations, communities, and systems to benefit from stress, shocks, and pressures. In reality, the on-purpose sector seems to be lagging behind in #beyondresilience.

For those who are hugely successful during the pandemic, one thing stands out. They never let a good crisis cripple them. It made them stronger and more robust. It kept them on their toes. They continue to improve and push the envelope when it comes to impact without ceasing. Regular tuning up is not an obligation but a necessary exercise to achieve excellence without breaking your wallet. 

I have been following the unfolding Philippine electoral events, with the former President's son, Ferdinand 'Bongbong' Marcos unassailable victory as President and his running mate, Sarah Duterte, the incumbent President Rodrigo Duterte's daughter, as Vice-President.

Sad to say, after the Marcos's ouster by the 1986 EDSA People Power Revolution, the majority of Filipinos elected the Marcoses back is a case of collective amnesia. With the post-truth machinery in full throttle, the democracy of the country is now in the brink of massive collapse on many fronts.

For someone who was born, raised, and educated in the Philippines and now based in Canada, I simply can't understand this phenomenon when in fact that there are many qualified, honest, competent people who can become president. We have great people who can lead. But winning is another thing.

In a island country where the elites rule and politicos rule until they drop dead, the Marcos campaign was well-oiled, in the digital and ground-level landscapes. Instead of the guns, goons, and gold, now it was the trolls, the disinformation, and the total censorship. The |"no talk, no mistake" policy proved beneficial in the long run.

As with millions of observers, we have yet to see a no-platform-of-government incoming President wing it and make social progress, economic development happen for 90+ million Filipinos and the diaspora workers scattered all over the world. 

This is a grand example of post-truth democracy- all the trappings of a democratic exercise rigged by the unmediated, brazen, corrupt use of digital politics to the fullest measure allowed by societal standards and norms of political engagement. The winner obviously takes it all. 
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It's the best and worst of our digital age.

We are watching.