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A Very Weird & Nice Administration on Love & Marriage

One day, Plato asked his teacher, “What is Love? How can I find it?”
His teacher answered: “There is a vast wheat field in front. Walk forward without turning back, and pick only one stalk. If you find the most magnificent stalk, then you have found Love.”
Plato walked forward, and before long, he returned with empty hands, having picked nothing.
His teacher asked: “Why you did not pick any stalk?”
Plato answered: “Because I could only pick once, and yet I could not turn back. I did find the most magnificent stalk, but did not know if there were any better ones ahead, so I did not pick it. As I walked further, the stalks that I saw were not as good as the earlier one, so I did not pick any in the end.”
His teacher then said: “And that is Love!”


On another day, Plato asked his teacher: What is Marriage? How can I find it?”
His teacher answered: “There is a thriving forest in front. Walk forward without turning back, and chop down only one tree. If you find the tallest tree, then you have found Marriage.”
Plato walked forward, and before long, he returned with a tree. The tree was not thriving, and it was not tall either. It was only an ordinary tree.
His teacher asked: “Why did you chop down such an ordinary tree?”
Plato answered: “Because of my previous experience. I walked halfway through the forest, but returned with empty hands. This time, I saw this tree, and I felt that it was not bad, so I chopped it down and brought it back. I did not want to miss the opportunity.”
His teacher then said: “And that is Marriage!”

Postcard of the Week

The Path to the Sky, to Harissa.

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Food for Thought

... There are moments in life when you really miss someone. And you wish you could just pluck them from your dreams... and just hug them for real. If someone loves you, love him / her back. If someone hurts you, love him / her back unconditionally. The irony is not that love hurts sometimes; it’s the fact that the cut of each is felt equally as deep.


The best kind of friend is the one that you could sit on a porch and swing with, and never say a word... then get up and walk away feeling like it was the best conversation you’ve ever had. It’s also true that you never know what you’ve been missing until something or someone else arrives. It’s true that you never know what you’ve got until you lose it... a careless word may kindle strife. A cruel word usually wrecks a life. Timely words help level stress. But, it’s loving words that heal and bless.


The happiest of people don’t necessarily have the best of everything in life... perhaps they’re just good at making the best of most everything that life brings along their way. Tender moments aren’t really tender at all. They are some of the few times... when things like pride and gender are swallowed and you allow yourself emotional, spiritual, and physical happiness. It hurts to love someone and not be loved in return. It’s even more painful to love someone and... never find the courage to let that person know just how it is you feel.


Never say goodbye if you still want to try. Never give up when there’s hope to go on. Never say you don’t love them... if you know that you’re the one that can’t let go. You’ve experienced true love if: you’ve taken away the feelings, taken away passion, and taken away romance... only to find that after all that, you still care. Giving love is no assurance love will be returned. So don’t expect it. Wait for it to grow in the other’s heart... just in case it doesn’t, be content in knowing that the love was able to grow in yours. 


If you have God in your life, food on your table, a roof over your head, clothes on your back, reasonable income and, love and faith in your heart... be happy and glad. For anything else that life can offer is nothing more than La-La-La...

Book Smarts or Street Smarts Better at Work?

When it comes to succeeding in business, which is more important: book smarts or street smarts?


In a televised social experiment, Donald Trump put this question to the test. During the third season of "The Apprentice," he divided contestants into two teams: those with just a high school diploma and those with college and graduate school degrees.


In the end, though the "street smart" folks made an impressive showing, it was a "book smart" contestant who walked away with the prize.


In real life, it's harder to say who comes out on top.


Take Sarah, a successful investment manager who was competing for a portfolio manager job against a Harvard MBA. Sarah had an excellent track record and had done very well in her interview; still, the other candidate was chosen for the position.


"I went to a community college then finished up at a city branch of a state university," Sarah lamented. "I just couldn't compete with the luster of a Harvard MBA."


But wait -- the story doesn't end there. Four months later, Sarah got a call from the company that had rejected her. The Harvard MBA hadn't worked out after all, and they wanted her to join the firm -- at a salary $10,000 higher than the maximum point of the range they'd initially discussed.


That was five years ago. Today Sarah has advanced up the ranks and earned her MBA at Wharton. A hedge fund director, Sarah now makes numerous hiring decisions herself.


"An MBA from a top-drawer university is great to have and, all things equal, may be a tiebreaker," she says.


"However I don't measure candidates as much by their education or years of experience as by their achievements and results."


To be sure, the world is full of college dropouts who achieved great things.


Dell Computer founder Michael Dell dropped out of the University of Texas; Oracle Computer founder Larry Ellison and Apple Computer founders Steve Wozniak and Steve Jobs (who went on to create neXT and Pixar) also left school to follow their dreams. Even Bill Gates dropped out (well, Harvard, but still he dropped out) to form Microsoft.


And it's not just the techies who eschewed college and made good. Wayne Huizenga, former owner of Waste Management, CEO of Blockbuster Video and owner of the NFL Miami Dolphins, NHL Florida Panthers and Miami's Pro Player Stadium, left Calvin College after just three semesters.


Some moguls even left college involuntarily. David Geffen (founder of Geffen Records and Dreamworks SKG) flunked out of both the University of Texas and Brooklyn College, and media mogul Ted Turner was reportedly kicked out of school.


Others such as Sir Richard Branson, founder of Virgin Records and Atlantic Airways, never bothered to go at all.


Anecdotal evidence shows a solid foundation of street smarts (personal drive, people skills and the ability to communicate and sell) is essential for any successful business person. Add to that experience and education, and you have a recipe for success.


"Neither book smarts nor street smarts is as helpful as a rich relative," jokes Tim Knox who decided to forgo college and today is the founder and president of four successful technology companies.


"An advanced degree -- especially from a prestigious university will definitely open doors, but in the end, it really doesn't matter how much education, experience, talent, luck or money you have. It's what you do with it that matters."

10 Tips for Making Better Presentations

Making better presentations is an evolving skill. These 10 presentation tips might assist you in creating presentations that have more impact on your targeted audience.


1. What is the Purpose of this Presentation?
Is this presentation to sell a product?  Are you teaching a concept?  Are you presenting an argument for a cause?
Many presenters make the mistake of trying to incorporate too many ideas or a variety of topics into one presentation. This only serves to confuse an audience. You need to clearly define the primary reason for this presentation, and there should only be one key message, a message that is important to the audience.


2. Who is Your Audience?
This step works in conjunction with the purpose of the presentation.  Do you know the level of the audience's expertise on this topic? Are they the "doers" in a company or are they the primary decision makers? Perhaps there will be competitors seeing what you have to offer.
Do your homework and research any information you can gain about your prospective audience. Tailor your content with all of these factors in mind.


3. Make it Simple
Compose your presentation with "Threes" in mind. Break it into three sections.
- Beginning: Tell them what you are going to tell them. A brief overview of what today is all about.
- Middle: Tell them. The middle section is the most detailed. You should break this into three sections as well. Three points about your topic and expand further with three items about each of those points.
- Conclusion: Tell them what you told them. Summarize your content.


4. Edit, Edit, Edit
Be brutal when you edit your content. Although you know everything there is to know about this topic, you do not want to demonstrate all this knowledge. Remember that you are focusing on one key point or area. Think of ways to keep the audience interested.
- Use photographs that have an impact.
- Use simple charts that explain your point. Pictographs are very effective.
- Keep your language simple. Avoid "techno-speak".


5. Learn Keyboard Shortcuts
If you plan to use PowerPoint in your presentation, it is a good idea to learn pertinent keyboard shortcuts to quickly navigate to specific slides if necessary. With a few quick clicks you can access the information you want with ease and avoid fumbling around trying to locate the information.


6. How Do You Sound as a Presenter?
Do the ultimate test for yourself before the big day. Record your voice while you run through your whole presentation. Then play it back to hear how you would sound to the audience. You might be surprised.


Note - There are many free sound recording software titles available to use for this task. If you are using PowerPoint as an aid in your presentation, you can simply use the record feature as a test and delete the recording once you are happy with the result.


7. Rehearsals Are Not Just for Broadway
It is surprising how many people fail to properly rehearse their presentation. They might go through it once or twice and think all is well.  Keep in mind that you are not your best critic. You know your topic and it all seems clear to you, so that is not a proper test.
A good practice is to rehearse in front of a few colleagues or friends who have limited knowledge of your topic. Be willing to accept their constructive criticism, as they are the best audience to tell you whether your material is clear, and interesting.


8. Equipment Check
If using a projector is part of your game plan, check all the equipment and rehearse your presentation, using this projector and computer long before your time to present. Make sure the necessary software is installed on the computer you will be using. Carry an extra projector bulb.


9. Check Out the Room
If possible, check the lighting in the room you will be presenting in, prior to your time in the limelight. Make sure you know how to dim the lights if the room is too bright.


10. Always Have a "Plan B"
What if your projector dies? Or the computer crashes? Or the CD drive doesn’t work? Or your CD gets stepped on?
For the first two scenarios, you may have no choice but to go with an AV free presentation, so have a printed copy of your notes with you.
Carry a backup of your presentation on a USB flash drive or email yourself a copy, or better yet, do both.

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A Basic Guide to Conducting Effective Meetings

Meeting management tends to be a set of skills often overlooked by leaders and managers. The following information is a rather "Cadillac" version of meeting management suggestions. Keep in mind that meetings are very expensive activities when one considers the cost of labor for the meeting and how much can or cannot get done in them. So take meeting management very seriously.


The process used in a meeting depends on the kind of meeting you plan to have, e.g., staff meeting, planning meeting, problem solving meeting, etc. However, there are certain basics that are common to various types of meetings. These basics are described below.


(Note that there may seem to be a lot of suggestions listed below for something as apparently simple as having a meeting. However, any important activity would include a long list of suggestions. The list seems to become much smaller once you master how to conduct the activity.)


Selecting Participants
- The decision about who is to attend depends on what you want to accomplish in the meeting. This may seem too obvious to state, but it's surprising how many meetings occur without the right people there
- Don't depend on your own judgment about who should come. Ask several other people for their opinion as well
- If possible, call each person to tell them about the meeting, it's overall purpose and why their attendance is important
- Follow-up your call with a meeting notice, including the purpose of the meeting, where it will be held and when, the list of participants and whom to contact if they have questions.
- Send out a copy of the proposed agenda along with the meeting notice
- Have someone designated to record important actions, assignments and due dates during the meeting. This person should ensure that this information is distributed to all participants shortly after the meeting.


Developing Agendas
- Develop the agenda together with key participants in the meeting. Think of what overall outcome you want from the meeting and what activities need to occur to reach that outcome. The agenda should be organized so that these activities are conducted during the meeting. In the agenda, state the overall outcome that you want from the meeting
- Design the agenda so that participants get involved early by having something for them to do right away and so they come on time
- Next to each major topic, include the type of action needed, the type of output expected (decision, vote, action assigned to someone), and time estimates for addressing each topic
- Ask participants if they'll commit to the agenda
- Keep the agenda posted at all times
- Don't overly design meetings; be willing to adapt the meeting agenda if members are making progress in the planning process
- Think about how you label an event, so people come in with that mindset; it may pay to have a short dialogue around the label to develop a common mindset among attendees, particularly if they include representatives from various cultures.


Opening Meetings
- Always start on time; this respects those who showed up on time and reminds late-comers that the scheduling is serious
- Welcome attendees and thank them for their time
- Review the agenda at the beginning of each meeting, giving participants a chance to understand all proposed major topics, change them and accept them
- Note that a meeting recorder if used will take minutes and provide them back to each participant shortly after the meeting
- Model the kind of energy and participant needed by meeting participants
- Clarify your role(s) in the meeting.


Establishing Ground Rules for Meetings
You don't need to develop new ground rules each time you have a meeting, surely. However, it pays to have a few basic ground rules that can be used for most of your meetings. These ground rules cultivate the basic ingredients needed for a successful meeting
- Four powerful ground rules are: participate, get focus, maintain momentum and reach closure. (You may want a ground rule about confidentiality)
- List your primary ground rules on the agenda
- If you have new attendees who are not used to your meetings, you might review each ground rule
- Keep the ground rules posted at all times.


Time Management
- One of the most difficult facilitation tasks is time management -- time seems to run out before tasks are completed. Therefore, the biggest challenge is keeping momentum to keep the process moving
- You might ask attendees to help you keep track of the time
- If the planned time on the agenda is getting out of hand, present it to the group and ask for their input as to a resolution.


Evaluations of Meeting Process
- It's amazing how often people will complain about a meeting being a complete waste of time -- but they only say so after the meeting. Get their feedback during the meeting when you can improve the meeting process right away. Evaluating a meeting only at the end of the meeting is usually too late to do anything about participants' feedback
- Every couple of hours, conduct 5-10 minutes "satisfaction checks"
- In a round-table approach, quickly have each participant indicate how they think the meeting is going.


Evaluating the Overall Meeting
- Leave 5-10 minutes at the end of the meeting to evaluate the meeting; don't skip this portion of the meeting
- Have each member rank the meeting from 1-5, with 5 as the highest, and have each member explain their ranking
- Have the chief executive rank the meeting last.


Closing Meetings
- Always end meetings on time and attempt to end on a positive note
- At the end of a meeting, review actions and assignments, and set the time for the next meeting and ask each person if they can make it or not (to get their commitment)
- Clarify that meeting minutes and/or actions will be reported back to members in at most a week (this helps to keep momentum going).

Deir Mimas

Deir Mimas is a picturesque town 88 km southeast of Beirut in Lebanon. Named in honor of Saint Mamas, the town overlooks the Litani River and the medieval Beaufort Castle to the west and the snow-capped summits of Mount Hermon to the east.


Agriculture
In addition to the cultivation of grapes and figs, Deir Mimas continues to be a major producer of olives and olive oil.


Demography
The inhabitants of Deir Mimas are mostly followers of the Eastern Orthodox and Greek Catholic churches. One of the priests that served most of his entire life is buried at the back of the church in Mar Mama. His name was the servant of God Gerges Chammas. The location is behind the church to the east side. He devoted his life to serve Christ and his followers.


Etymology
Deir is derivative from the Semitic, meaning house or convent. Mimas refers to Saint Mamas, the third century shepherd who preached Christianity and had a lion as a protector. Saint Mamas became martyr after his examination in the persecutions of Aurelian. In the Middle Ages, a convent was built in honor of Saint Mamas on top of a hill surrounded by olive groves. A village grew around the convent, and it was eventually named in honor of the Convent of Saint Mamas. Therefore, Deir Mimas means "Convent of Saint Mamas."


Holidays
In addition to Christmas and Easter, the town celebrates the feast of Saint Mamas on September 15. Grand festivities are organized each year to honor the town's patron saint.


Highest Elevation 650 m
Lowest Elevation 550 m