Last Post

My dears, for new posts, refer to http://marcianovo.blogspot.com/ where I will continue writing.
I am not in Kuwait anymore, so let's change blog.

Shokran.

Good bye.

End of a Era.

Happy to end a part of my mission. Sad for letting behind the good people I met in Kuwait.

When I arrived in Bned EL Gar to start my activities as Fitness Manager, I felt it was not going to be easy…

Mentality attached to the 80’s about Fitness technique, customer service mistaken by lack of management directions, and a very clear absence of professionalism in all departments of the company made me re-think for some minutes if it was a corrected choice to leave my country to come to Kuwait. But the challenge of changing minds grabbed me deeply. I was going to face trouble, yes, and I did!

The great lesson I got from all the people I met? People are all the same everywhere: if they have principles and you give them your heart, they will take care of it; otherwise, they will betrayed and abuse you!

After many discussions about labor rights and production; management decisions done without any research or sense of direction, I conclude my mission had ended in Kuwait. They did not need me anymore. When the high management does not trust in the number you show proving instructors are making the difference, it is really time to go! What kind of business man does not believe in statistics but believe in gossip? By the way, interfering and questioning private lives is the favorite sport of the owner. Enough is enough! I always mentioned that  to say “it’s over” is a very hard decision. And it happened to me! Took me long time to decide IT WAS OVER!

So God interfered brilliantly! And after some sudden events (so fast I did not notice it!), I found myself in Cairo, with a ticket back home- one way.

Yes I am going back to Brazil. I am happy and excited about it. Also have no idea whatsoever what I will do there, but I am sure it will be something meaningful and unforgettable!

Thanks for all the gentle, kind and deep personality people I met in Kuwait. You will never be forgotten.

Thanks also for the hopeless cases, empty soul people, and creatures without a mission in life I met. They showed me the road to evolution is long and I had walked some distance already. Also they tried my principles and values, and guess what? I won! It still very clear for me that RIGHT is RIGHT, WRONG is WRONG.

Good friends, that’s the report of part of a life. A life well lived, fully, fearless and happily.

See you around – the World!

HA!

All right, I am doing that again!

Today, after a long time, I reviewed my last 26 years of traveling up and down around this planet. And the feeling was GOOD. Suddenly I felt I am doing the right thing, again!

First time was simultaneously breaking a relationship too cold for me and the curiosity of traveling to Europe. Italy gave me 7 kilos and a new language.

Second time was just to follow the husband (the cold one that promised to be warmer) and practice German.

Third time was a major change: moving to Saudi Arabia (with the husband that was getting better actually) with the daughter on my arms. That was heavy…

Another three times literally around the world. Twice towards East and once West. Amazing experience. Many pictures and one special trip through Europe with my parents. No money can buy their happiness from that time!

Then, a long period of small trips only, inside the country. Moving from Sao Paulo to S Jose do Rio Preto was a very good option. But that one was with another husband… And Rio Preto taught me a new form of love.

Trying to move for good to the Amazon changed my career completely. No return. A changed to Managerial levels, deeply. But did not work, God knows why. Me, no clue. No husbands at that moment.

Back to Sao Paulo, the chance to move again to the Middle East. That time alone and to work on my passion – training instructors. End up that I got married again, a “louco” like me. Two years and eleven months, many short trips (Cairo, Damascus, Khobar), a lot of troubles and many laughter after, I am about to do it again – moving.

So today I had to review all the journey of my life so far. Just to be sure that’s how I am – a gypsy, someone that never stops, always saying YES for opportunities and adventures. I don’t have a car or a flat (I had them, a lot, but I sold, changed, gave, so I don’t have them anymore), but I accomplished other values. Maybe nowadays, people don’t get impressed by my values (intelligence, culture, maturity, respect for people, love for the profession) but certainly they count. I know that because for all the places I passed by, I let seeds of my ideas and principles. And from time to time I have news from far about people following those principles. For me, it counts a lot. To have the courage to change people’s lives requests lack of fear.

And that’s who I am – a fearless person.

And I will do that again!

And again, and again, and again. By there I will be 80 years old and maybe it will be time to stop.

Maybe.

5 Simple Steps To Start Your Day Productively

Article extract from http://www.pickthebrain.com/

I have being using some o f the steps described by Thanh Pham and they do work for better productivity.

Enjoy the reading.

It can be a challenge to jumpstart your productivity every day. That certainly was the case for me as I had no consistency at all. Some days I would start off my productive but for the majority I wasn’t. Over the years talking, seeing and living with productive friends (they are all self-help junkies like myself) I’ve noticed they all do similar things in the morning, so I started doing what they do. What one man can do, another man can do too. Right? After doing it myself I’ve come up with tried and tested ways to get yourself in a productive mode every single day. Here are five really simple and easy steps to jumpstart your day for maximum productivity.



1. Stoke the fire.

Before we can get any work done we have to warm ourselves up. After you wake up your body and mind are just warming up so to speak but we want to get them ready before we start working. It is like stoking a fire; you need to warm the coal bit by bit before the fire lights up. Your physical energy is your main source of fuel so we have to make sure to have it stoked before we can use it. This starts with freshening yourself up. Some people prefer to exercise before they start their workday. Others just need to use the bathroom, change their clothes and then start. Find what your routine is for stoking the fire and do that every morning before you start your day. By building a consistency in your routine you will discover that it will get easier and easier to start your day.

2. Upgrade yourself.

After stoking the fire, especially if you have exercised, is a great time to relax and upgrade your skills. Anything that will help you relax, further your education or calm your mind would be good to do. Over time when you upgrade your skills you will get better at your job and the things you do. Your productivity will increase as you learn to do things smarter, more efficient and in less time.



Meditation is a good way to spend your time before you go to the next step. Reading a book, reviewing notes and reading inspirational quotes are one my personal favorite activities. Oftentimes the nuggets you pick up during this time will affect how you get work done that day. Perhaps reading one chapter in a book changes your view on how you should do things or an inspirational quote gets you all excited on your future. We often don’t find time to educate ourselves so doing it in the morning (when there are no distractions) is the best time to do it.



3. Write down what you want to do today.



In order to for you to get work done, you have to be absolutely clear on what you want to achieve with actionable steps. When you don’t know how to achieve your outcome it becomes a lot harder to reach it. It’s like driving a car in foggy weather. Sure you might reach the destination but you will go very slow and with a lot of hesitancy. Instead, when you know what to do exactly in simple steps it’s like driving in sunny weather with a GPS system next to you. You know what to do, when to do it, you’re more motivated and you will reach your destination much faster.



Now that you know the outcome that you want, break it down backwards in actionable steps. Once you have the steps, decide which ones you are going to do first and write them down for you to do today.



4. Visualize the consequences.



One of the most powerful ways to overcome procrastination is by visualizing the consequences of your actions. Anything you do of importance will have (major) consequences for your life, be it positive or negative. By considering the positive consequences you can fabricate motivation for yourself.



Tony Robbins is famous for saying that we either move away from pain or we move towards pleasure. Would you get yourself started if you knew that doing X, Y, and Z would make you a millionaire? You bet you would if a million dollars had positive consequences for you. The reverse is also true where pain can act like your motivator. Would you act on your work if you knew not doing A, B, and C would disappoint your family and friends? I think so!



Before you do anything, take a moment to think and visualize the consequences. See how the consequences can make you get to work. Especially focus on the positive consequences because they will be your mental fuel for motivation.



5. Do it.

If you’ve come this far doing all the previous steps you’re already more productive than most people. However, what separates the best from the rest is execution. At this point you’re way passed the tipping point and now it’s time to get the snowball rolling. You have yourself set up for a productive day, the roadmap is in place, you know what the consequences can be and now the only thing remaining is to take action. So let’s get to work!

Pictures to Touch

 How many times you went to a gallery and wished to touch the pictures? We see it all the time.
The invitation, as u can see, is for blind people.
I did not know what to expect.
But I was curious...

                Invitation coming from the Embassy. I dressed up for it!

 A Table with "raw" material to touch. Some pleasant, other cold, soft seeds caught my atention.

The pictures with description in Braile.

Someone from the organization at the last moment adding written text for us that can see.

All touchable. Wood, plastic, metal, all forming butterflies shapes.

Soft cloth for the bodies of the butterflies. Also rough cloths.
















Paper to unroll and play with, small balls made of soft plastic.

A big "touching sense" all over the place.

The artist was quite busy surrounded by Embassadors, blind teens, photografers, more diplomatic people, one Minister, waiters. No chance for me to talk to her.

Anyway, I let her a note on the guests book,  congratulating for the awareness of the needs of a minority.

And suddenly I realized I don't know any blind person.

Also realized I am very unaware of my touching sense... There was a picture covered by a cloth and one sleeve to introduce the hand and "read it" by touching. I tried, and tried, and tried again, and could not visualize the picture. Completely "touching" ignorant. While the teens were laughing on discovering the misterious picture.

Being deprived of one sense, enhance the others - that's what specialists say.

What I realized is that, having all senses functioning well make them all very superficial and slow.

The question that remains: having all senses at half potencial or lose one or two and become a X-Men?

...

Lately the world is ...

Studying human behavior we figure out we lie, we cheat, we manipulate and do all necessary unethical things to get what we want.
It has being like this for centuries...
Men lie to achieve his goals and disregard other people's rights and feelings.
All religions, trying to correct their bad attitude, set rules and more rules of interaction among the population.
It has being more than 10000 years of known history of humans on the Planet.
Apparently no solution for us, isn't it?

Suddenly the Arabs started complaining about dictatorship and corruption...
They firmly request their leaders to leave power...
They die in order to reach their demands...

They cry on TV telling how tired they are with the poverty of their lives...

They destroy the cities...

They wash the streets after the revolution...





Leaders still resisting, attached to the old, easy, full of lies lives they lived before.

But the time has come.



All books talking about a better world, with equality and honesty is now becoming true through the people's hands. Simple people that realized "enough is enough".

We cannot take fake leaders anymore.

Our lives HAVE to be guided to the best. And "the best" does not exclude anyone, we need to "include" all souls in this journey.

 

Surprised by the times I am living (I read in many books it will happen, I just did not know when...) I state I am for the first time in my life happy to be human! :) 







And we are always learning, isn't it?

This constant habit I got -"out of comfort zone" - makes me crazy sometimes. But I cannot help! I want to change into a better person everyday.
My lovely husband was reading the article below and I asked him to forward it to me. While I was reading, I felt like reading a "sutra" or part of  Al Coran,  when basic behavior is spread to the population  for a better social environment. 
Knowing the art of listening is quite a gift. But the impossible does not exist, sah?
Let's try...

“To listen well, is as powerful a means of influence as to talk well, and it is as essential to all true conversation.” ~ Chinese Proverb

Listening is the most important part of a true connection in conversation. When we listen, we gain knowledge and understanding about people and circumstances. Everyone wants to feel heard, but most times people prefer to talk rather than listen.
Active listening requires empathy, affirmation and the ability to process and respond without taking over a conversation. When you listen to the world you will know more, build trust and increase your popularity with friends.

Slave To The Cell Phone. How many times have you put a person on hold so that you could answer your cell phone or text a message during a conversation? Not only is this blatantly rude, but you have officially disconnected from the speaker. This behavior makes the speaker feel unimportant and shows you are not committed to the moment. It is disheartening to a speaker to feel like a conversation on the cell phone is more important than a face to face moment. Turn off your cell phone or put it on vibrate answering only in case of an emergency.

80/20. Are you speaking 80% of the time or listening 80% of the time? A good listener will speak 20% of the time and listen 80% of the time. When listening, parrot back what you have heard to show you are paying attention and ask open ended questions so that the speaker will go into further detail about the topic. This kind of affirmation makes people feel heard and you will feel like a hero.

Bad Body Language. If you are visually distracted and darting your eyes around the room, the listener is likely to feel unsupported and will feel your attention is somewhere else. A good listener stands tall or sits up straight, leans into the speaker and makes eye contact. Focusing your eyes on the speaker makes him feel like the center of the universe and validates the conversation.

Enough About Me, Let’s Talk About Me. Don’t be a ball hog in a conversation by taking over with idol chatter about yourself. Sometimes in an effort to show you understand what is being said you may make a connection and inadvertently change the topic or divert attention to yourself. If you feel the need to express a connection with a personal experience, keep it short and simple and allow the speaker to continue leading the conversation until it is your turn.

Overly Critical and Judgmental. If you interrupt the person in the first sentence of the a conversation to pass judgment you have immediately lost the ability to establish a rapport. Looking for errors, being overly critical, and jumping to conclusions by passing judgment are quick ways to disengage from the speaker and leave you solo in the conversation.

Actively listening is a bonus attribute in every relationship. It requires an investment of time and effort to connect with the speaker by being present in the moment and lending your ears completely. This important skill will build rapport, enrich work environments, and ease tension in personal relationships. Give your eyes, ears and heart to another person and reap the reward of making another person feel validated and heard.

Cindy Platt