IT IS BOOK WEEK

IF you have not been reading for some time, it is best to get back to it. 

Reading gives you a lot of ideas about things and helps in a lot of ways. Readers are leaders ... and readers can become the most creative people with almost anything. 

 Photo: A few of the books that I still have to complete.

When you love reading, you can learn a lot more ... People have written many books on the many subjects that you may be interested in.

If you can read – and love reading – all you need to do is pick up the right book and read.

People who cannot read – or do not love reading – do not have that privilege.

I have also found that reading daily helps keep you mentally active – including getting your mind to work fast.  

All the best for Book Week celebrations! Cheers.

INVITED TO GIVE BOOK WEEK TALK

I WAS contacted at midday today by a school requesting me to give a talk next week, during their Book Week celebration (August 5-9). 

It will be a privilege.

I will keep you people updated.

When I am done with the talk, I will post the “talk” in a format (possibly a PDF file) that anybody can copy and use.

I am mentally going through the speech/talk now – which should include the basics of what books were to me, as well as some of the most creative people in the world.

I will put pen to paper over the weekend to ink those sketches.

SELF-CONSCIOUSNESS STALLS PROGRESS

HOW many of you are self-conscious? How many of you are self-confident?

This topic has been on my mind for years now … and a book has to be written by a Papua New Guinean/Pacific Islander to help other islanders.

But for now, let me just say that we are all self-conscious (or shy or feel insecure) about certain things in life – to a certain extent. Many western writers mention this.

I am quite self-conscious too – but not as when I was a teenager. That “thing” trapped me and stalled my progress in life in many ways.

I have overcome it in many ways but I know that it is also a problem with many people.

How do I know this?

Simple.

If you were in your classroom or workplace and someone new walked in and looked lost, would you approach him or her – regardless of whether she or he is of the same race as you, ugly or beautiful, etc?

Many people would not comfortably approach such a person unless that person asked for help. I have seen it in many schools and offices – and that is not good.

How does one overcome self-conscious? That has been the subject of many books by westerners. But we need one in PNG – that is my view.

I will continue with this topic a bit later … possibly next week.

When I post about “coming out of your comfort zones” or “being bold”, I am trying to help you come out of your self-consciousness also.

I will continue later.

Hey, be bold and come out of the state of being self-conscious. Reach out and help others.

Cheers.  

SOCIAL MEDIA ACCOUNTABILITY: DO NOTE

Big topic on CNN right now … If you are being bullied on Facebook, Twitter, or others, just get out.

People, especially young people, are hurt – some very badly – on the social media.

Just take note.

Look out for such in groups you are part of.  

IT DID NOT WORK OUT WHEN YOU WHERE YOUNGER: LIFE TIP

YESTERDAY, before coming to work, I had a chat with mother and the others at home.

The mother (pictured below) was talking about the need to take care of sick people and said “if my father did not stop me, I would have continued on to university to study medicine and become a doctor”.

The mother left school at Grade 10 and went back to the village (in Port Moresby) where she took care of the house and other family members.

I told the mother, who is almost 60, that since leaving school, she has learned many things – how to take care of people, how to talk to people, how to live with others – skills that the highly educated often lacked despite their knowledge. 

I also said that it is not too late for her to study to obtain a degree. It all depends on her – if she really wants to, she can go back to school. (But I advised her not to study medicine but something else – like humanities/social science.)

Sometime ago she told me about an Australian man she knew, who went to “after-hours” school to complete secondary school and obtained his certificate - something he wished he had done when he was younger. 

That is an achievement – a big achievement for the man. He does not need that for a job. It is just a goal that he felt he should achieve.  

In life, due to circumstances, we may not accomplish everything we want to when we are young.

But if YOU WALK WISELY, you just might accomplish all the big things you wished for before you leave this life.

I have to help the mother too … upgrade her education. That is a challenge for me.