scootiePuff

i appreciated several quote snippets:
”..things don’t end wrong, they begin wrong!”

”..don’t postpone your purpose.”

“You will eventually ‘miss out’ in the one area where you could have had the greatest impact on the w…orld.”

”..whenever you’re at a cross-road, be sure to make the decision that best supports the overall mission and goal of your life.”

Which Road Should I Take?
http://www.pickthebrain.com/blog/which-road-should-i-take

Posted By Mr.SelfDevelopment On August 24, 2009 @ 8:38 am In self improvement

“Would you tell me which way I ought to go from here?” asked Alice.

“That depends a good deal on where you want to get,” said the Cat.

“I really don’t care where” replied Alice.

“Then it doesn’t much matter which way you go,” said the Cat.

- Quote from the Alice in Wonderland Movie

“My brother called me the other day and asked me for some advice? He was trying to decide between two job offers:

Job 1 – The first job was your typical 40 hour a week “office” job.

Job 2 – The second job was more of a career in the insurance industry, where he would start at the bottom, and after many years and many long hours eventually rise to the top (if he was good). The second job did not pay as well as the first job (initially), but the potential pay-off of the second job was much greater than the first job.

So which job should my brother take? Well the answer is…it depends.

Just like the Cat was trying to tell Alice, which road you take depends a great deal on where you want to end up.

Begin with the End in Mind

I asked my brother what was his life’s purpose. He said his purpose is to “teach,” but he wants to make a lot of money first.

I told my brother to forget about the money, and I advised him to focus on his purpose.

I then asked him which job best supports his end result of “teaching.” He said the first job best supports his goal because he would only have to work 40 hours a week, which would give him spare time to teach.

He continued on to say, but if I take job number two, I can work hard and make more money, then I can retire early and “teach” later in life. I again advised him to “focus” on his purpose, not money.

I cautioned him to think this process through carefully because things don’t end wrong, they begin wrong!

You Can’t Ride Two Horses Well

It would be very difficult to have a successful teaching career while you’re working 70-80 hours a week in the insurance business; no one can ride two horses well. As they say, you can do anything, but not everything.

I recommended to my brother that he dedicate his time to achieving his life’s purpose, and I advised him to get started today by choosing the job that best supports that decision.

Tomorrow Never Comes

My brother was thinking that he could always start teaching later in life, but the reality is, tomorrow never comes.

Unless you decide right now to pursue your passions, they will probably never be fulfilled. They will always be postponed until some nebulous time in the future. You will eventually “miss out” in the one area where you could have had the greatest impact on the world.

You only live once, don’t go to your grave with one regret; don’t postpone your purpose.

The Money Will Come

My brother seemed to be overly concerned with making money. I told him not to be anxious about making money. The fear of not making money is the quickest way not to make it.

You will always have greater money making potential when you’re doing what you love.

In conclusion, whenever you’re at a cross-road, be sure to make the decision that best supports the overall mission and goal of your life. If you do, then you will be well on your way.

What advice would you have given my brother? What are some other cross-roads where this advice would be applicable?

About the author: this guest post was written by Mr. Self Development. For more information please visit Mr. Self Development at mrselfdevelopment.com [1]; Mr. Self Development is a motivational author that offers a practical guide to success and wealth.”

last week, i started attending spanish classes at the local community college. i tried out both spanish 3 and spanish 4. i’m leaning more towards the latter.

it’s been many years since i’ve seriously taken a spanish class (does the one week of intermediate spanish in cusco, peru two years ago count? it’s been 10 (holy cow!!) years since i took spanish 25 (reading and analysis of literary texts) at uc berkeley), but i never seem to completely forget my spanish—i only get rusty. there are several final verb tenses that they will be covering in spanish 3, while spanish 4 more actively uses what you’ve learned in 1-3. i don’t need a whole semester to relearn those tenses, maybe a week. the only other thing i’d be missing out on is the accumulation of vocabulary, but i’ll just have to work on that on my own as i go along.

being in a classroom environment where i can be exposed to the spanish language has been on my mind for many, many years. but there was always something else distracting me (or that i was using as an excuse not to continue pursuing one of my dreams to become fluent in spanish someday). so i’m really glad that i’m doing this. admittedly, i am a bit nervous, but i know that will pass soon enough.

advice from MIIS’ website:
http://translate.miis.edu/print.php?page=/prospective/top_10.html?catid=104

Read extensively, especially in your non-native language(s)

• Read high quality newspapers (e.g. the New York Times, Wall Street Journal)
  EVERYDAY for at least a year
• Read high quality news magazines (e.g. the Economist from cover to cover; really know the material in all working languages, the Scientific American, etc.)
• Read your favorite topics in your non-native language(s)
• Read other well-written material that will help broaden your general knowledge

Watch the TV news and listen to radio news in all working languages

• Don’t just listen to news stories; analyze
• Know current events and issues
• Really know the material in both native and non-native languages.
• Tape the interviews so you can listen to them later.

Strengthen your general knowledge of economics, history, the law, international politics, and scientific concepts and principles, (in that order)

• To meet this goal, take college-level courses, review high school texts, etc.
• It is also a good idea to strengthen your knowledge in a specialized field, (preferably in a technical field, like computers).

Live in a country that speaks your non-native language -
A stay of at least six months to a year is recommended

• Live with and/or frequently interact with native speakers of your non-native language.
• Take content-related courses in your non-native language (not just pure language courses).
• Work in a setting that requires high level use of your non-native language.

Fine-tune your writing and research skills

• Take challenging composition courses (not just “creative writing” courses, but classes in journalism, technical writing, etc.) so that you can “speak” journalese, UNese, legalese, etc.
• Copy (by hand) sections of textbooks and periodicals in your non-native languages.
• Make a note of unfamiliar grammatical points.
• Practice proofreading.

Improve your public speaking skills

• Take rigorous speech courses and/or join Toastmasters.
• Practice writing and making presentations in front of other people in both your native and your foreign language(s). (Have native speakers of your non-native language edit your speeches).

Hone your analytical skills

• Practice listening to speeches and orally summarizing the main points.
• Practice writing summaries of news articles.
• Practice deciphering difficult texts (philosophy, law, etc.).
• Practice explaining complicated concepts understandably.
• Identify resources for background research; library, Internet, etc.

Become computer savvy

• Be familiar and comfortable with word processing in both your native and non-native languages.
• Practice using on-line services for research.

Learn how to take care of yourself -
eat sensibly, exercise regularly, and get enough sleep

• These are the habits required of a good translator/interpreter.

Be prepared for the long haul

• Bringing language skills and analytical skills up to the level required of a professional translator and interpreter is not a task that can be accomplished in a few short years. Only with a lot of patience and sustained hard work can anyone truly succeed in this challenging and exciting field.