By Francis J. Kong
(The Philippine Star) Updated January 28, 2012
You cannot upgrade yourself unless you update yourself. Without new information, change will never happen.
You know the worst kind of employees? Those who are not bad enough
to fire, yet not good enough to keep – they are the worst kind.
Some wounds are self-inflicted. You cannot put a gun to your head,
fire, and then press charges. You may not be able to go back and make a
new beginning, but you can certainly go forward and make a new ending.
We made reports when we were younger; we should make decisions now that we’re older. Choose to update and upgrade yourself.
Some people never update themselves.
You know why pres-chool chairs and tables are so small? Because
they’re for tiny tots, not grown-ups. Yet many who have grown old
insist on staying there. You cannot expect to increase your price
unless you increase your value. Take for example cars. They come with
all sorts of options. The more options a car has, the greater the price
it can command. It’s the same thing with people. The more you know, the
more value you can contribute to your organization, the more you can
raise your price.
Updating and upgrading are keys to pursuing success in life.
I took up a business course
in college and graduated at the top of my class. But had I applied what
I learned in business school to my businesses, my ventures would have
closed down a long time ago. Because everything changes continuously.
Thus, information needs regular updating, skills need frequent
upgrading, and we need constant training. We should never stop learning!
These days, you don’t walk around wearing your “bell bottoms” from
the 60s. You would simply look ridiculous. Yet there are many people
today who still walk around with their 60s to 90s mindset. They are not
a pretty sight.
But people who continue learning – who update and upgrade themselves – do not grow old. They are always relevant.
We should always update and upgrade ourselves. Because anything can happen.
I was speaking in front of 250 doctors in a beautiful hotel. The room temperature was perfect; the sound system,
great. I waxed eloquently for almost an hour. At the conclusion of my
talk, I gave a most dramatic presentation. It held every single doctor
captive. Every eye was on me. Some of the lady doctors held back tears;
others could no longer keep theirs from falling. But no one spoke. You
could hear a pin drop in that place. I knew I had them.
And just before I gave the final sentence that would awe my
audience, the clear, unrestrained, recognizable sound “schzzzzzz” of
snoring stole the moment! One of the technical guys was sleeping behind
the stage, and the microphone picked up his snoring!
You never know what to expect. You and I have absolutely no idea
what is going to happen in the world this year. But what we know is
that we should do what we ought to and can do to make ourselves better.
I want to be the best I can ever be. Not that I may be better than
others, but because I do not want to waste God’s purpose for my life.
My philosophy in life
is very simple. Every good thing comes from God. And when He opens a
crack, I barge in and pursue what He wants me to do. If He presents an
opportunity, it is my responsibility to be a good steward of that
opportunity, to give it the best I’ve got.
Perhaps you have been blessed with immense talent, and you’ve
developed it into a great skill. That talent and skill of yours is not
meant to be kept to yourself. You are supposed to be a channel of
blessing to others as well. As you upgrade and update yourself, make
sure you are becoming more selfless as you are becoming more
successful. This is your purpose in life. Live it well.
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