August 14th, 2008 Thursday meeting's Topic

Hi All... Topic is uploaded. Have fun.   Scarlett.   --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- It is never too late to be what you might have been Some people my age (62) believe it is too late to follow their dream. You don’t have to be 62 to believe it is too late. In fact, I was only 26 when I felt that way. You see, a friend asked me to join him in going to the university. “But I’m too old.” I said. “Everyone GRADUATES when they’re 22; I’m already 26 and haven’t even started.” However, he said, “In four years, you will be four years older – whether you go to the university or not. Which would you rather be, four years older with a degree, or four years older without one?” Those words changed my life. I suddenly realized you’re never too old to follow your dream. So, I started school. After cramming four years of study into three, I got my degree, then decided to continue and went on to graduate school. See, it’s never too late. Unless you don’t start. Is it really true that you’re never too old to start a new career or make a dramatic change in your life? What if you’re 72, or 82? Isn’t that too old to learn a new language? Not so. Two thousand years ago, the Roman Statesman, Cato, learned Greek at age 80. Can you be creative in old age? How about Goethe? His greatest Work, ‘Faust’ wasn’t completed until he was 80. And Michelangelo was 71 when he painted the Sistine Chapel. More examples? Luigi Cornaro, a Venetian scholar, started writing on geriatrics at the age of 83. His classic treatise ‘The Joys of Old Age’ was written in 1562 when he was 95. In modern times, the great philosopher, mathematician, and pacifist, Bertrand Russell, participated and was arrested in an antinuclear demonstration when he was 89. We mustn’t forget about Grandma Moses, who started painting at 80. Did you know twenty-five percent of her more than 1,500 paintings were done after she was one hundred? When I was a high school student, Henry Little, the president of The Institution for Savings in Newburyport, Massachusetts, decided to retire so a younger man could take over. Mr. Little retired when he was 102. The younger man who took over was 83. Little Lessons What can we learn from the above examples? They were all passionate about what they were doing. Passion is a source of energy and youthfulness, for as Benjamin Franklin wrote, “Those who love deeply never grow old; they may die of old age, but they die young.” Also, they realized it is far better to be 70 years young than 40 years old, so they didn’t let their age stop them from chasing their dream. They understood that it is never too late to do something, and the time for action is now. Unlike King Richard II, they never lamented, “I wasted time, and now doth time waste me.” Another lesson is when opportunities appeared, they took the plunge. Yes, there were risks involved, but why be afraid of life? Death, maybe, but not life. Rita Coolidge appreciated how import!!ant throwing caution to the wind is when she said, “Too often the opportunity knocks, but by the time you push back the chain, push back the bolt, unhook the locks and shut off the burglar alarm, it’s too late.” In my own case, the elixir of youth is my daily dose of new experiences and knowledge. Apparently Henry Ford felt in a similar fashion, for he said, “Anyone who stops learning is old, whether this happens at twenty or eighty. Anyone who keeps on learning not only remains young but becomes constantly more valuable, regardless of physical capacity.” Finally, here is an Arabic saying to mull over, “When you see old people amiable, mild, equable, content, and good-humored, be sure that in their youth they have been just, generous, and forbearing. In their end they do not lament the past, nor dread the future; they are like the evening of a fine day.” Questions. 1. What's your dream? Do you think it's too late to follow your dream? 2. What kind of preparation are you preparing for you dream? 3. Dangers here and there, sometimes they overpower us. Do you think your ambition is more import!!ant than your real life? How about an unadventurous (safe) adventure? 4. Any ideas?  --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Low Wages No. 1 Cause for Quitting Companies   [Excerpted from Korea Times]/ By Park Si-soo/ Staff Reporter <?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" /><o:p> </o:p> More than half of salaried people who have changed jobs have quit their posts owing to low wages, according to a survey released Monday. <o:p> </o:p>Of 1,135 respondents who have experienced changing their careers once or more, 51.8 percent or 588 cited low wages as a key reason behind their quitting jobs.<o:p> </o:p>Low satisfaction with tasks took second place with 44.4 percent, followed by frequent night duty and excessive workload with 35.2 percent and discord with colleagues with 30.9 percent.<o:p> </o:p> The survey was conducted by Job Korea, a recruiting information provider, and Bizmon, a business information Web site, Aug. 9-22. <o:p> </o:p>``Insufficient wages and low job satisfaction have been cited most frequently since 2002 when the survey started,'' an official of Job Korea said. ``But the recent survey shows that employees give more weight to money and job satisfaction to decide their jobs.'' <o:p> </o:p>The survey also found companies' mixed reactions when employees decided to leave companies. <o:p> </o:p>About 40 percent or 457 said that their companies promised to improve what they had been dissatisfied with, trying to keep them from leaving the company. About 27 percent were asked to negotiate salary increases. <o:p> </o:p>In contrast, a third of the respondents said their firms had made no responses. The survey has a margin of error of plus or minus 2.5 percentage points. <o:p> </o:p> pss@koreatimes.co.kr <o:p> </o:p> Questions. <o:p> </o:p> 1. There are a lot of kinds of new employees. Some can get a job which they really want. Some have to get any job to make money. Or some are waiting for the good opportunity. Except first case, which is better? <o:p> </o:p> 2. Changing their job is a kind of trend these days. Do you think it is good or bad? Or if so. What is the best age for moving to another company? <o:p> </o:p> 3. There is another study that shows a lot of job applicants prefer a company gives them a lot of free-time. Which is first?  Working Environment or Money? Why do you think so? <o:p> </o:p> 4. There are a lot of ways to elevate their own price as a employee. Getting a diploma can be one way to raise your price. What’s the best way to make yourself better than now? <o:p> </o:p>