Ants Pants - less serious, more jovial! and things I want to remember!

The Americans wanted to attack Iraq:

Americans: We are going to attack you!
Iraqis: Ok!
Americans: Hey, listen, I said we are going to attack you!
Iraqis: Ok! come!
Americans: You are not afraid? We said we are going to invade Iraq!
Iraqis: You want to invade Iraq? ok! come!
Americans: Are you stupid? We said we are going to attack you, to invade Iraq and to kill you!
Iraqis: You want to kill me? You want to kill me?!?! I kill me! Then I kill you too!

You cannot fight someone who does not fear you!

And this applies also to all day life - stay cool! stay chill! stay relaxed!

Sambata eram la nu-mai-stiu-cata urcare cu telescaunul din Predeal. Urcam singura de data aceasta...ne-am despartit fiindca nu avea tigari. M-am delectat cu poze pe partie, la partie, cu oameni, cu umbre...si m-am hotarat sa mai fac o urcare, fiindca sus privelistea e mai clara si mintea e mai limpede.

Urcam...langa mine doi tipi, skiori si ei, cu echipament destul de rasarit cat sa atraga privirile celorlati, priviri care sa se lase cucerite...Urcam...pilonii treceau, rand pe rand. Cel de langa mine da un telefon. "Ce faci draga? te-ai trezit?...si (continuand pe acelasi ton flegmatic)..ai dormit bine?...da, eu sunt pe partie...vezi daca nu ai vrut sa vii cu mine...eh lasa ca te odihneai..da..am adormit imediat ce am ajuns...tu? ai ajuns bine aseara?...da...sa stii ca e superb aici...pacat ca nu ai vrut sa vii...cine se aude?..ahh..e verisoara ta?...vara ta? da! pai sa ii fac cunostiinta cu un prieten de-al meu..." in timp ce amandoi ascultau convorbirea cu Draga. Au continuat...si eu am continuat gandurile mele...incercam sa deduc ceea ce raspundea Draga, sa aflu cat mai multe despre povestea lor.

Urcam...copacii incarcati treceau pe langa mine, pana s-au terminat. "Am ajuns sus! trebuie sa inchid, ai grija de tine". Observ ca rareori plec urechea la ceea ce discuta strainii din jurul meu - doar atunci cand mi se pare ceva familiar. Semi-conversatia mi-a adus aminte de un prieten...are acelasi ton flegmatic...cand vrea.

Azi am fost la opera. Spectacol aniversar Nicolae Herlea! Toata stima si respectul pentru dl. Herlea - este exceptional. Felicitari pentru intreaga sa cariera si pentru primaverile implinite. De spectacol in sine - nu vreau sa intru in detalii - a fost altceva decat o opera clasica, a fost altceva decat la ce ma asteptam! Fiecare cu parerile lui...

Am intrat in loja - loja de 3 persoane - un batran statea pe al 4lea scaun. Buna seara! nu s-a deranjat. Sunteti singur? DA. Nu s-a deranjat. Nu am avut curajul sa ii spun - stiti loja este de 3 persoane! Aveti bilet in loja 3? Este mai invarsta decat parintii mei, dar mai tanar decat bunica mea! Si totusi, ea este o doamna pe langa el! M-am gandit ca e in varsta....ca e in varsta...ca ar trebui sa il las in pace. Si totusi am continuat sa ma gandesc ca nu am avut curaj sa zic ceva...sunetele melodioasei uverturi m-au relaxat...dar pana la urma..nu trebuie sa ne influenteze varsta persoanelor, nici chiar sexul - nu conteaza daca sunt tinere sau batrane, femei sau barbati, copii sau batrani - conteaza cum ne comportam, ceea ce facem, ce alegem. Pana la urma suntem definiti de deciziile pe care le facem zilnic, ora de ora, minut de minut. Traim intr-o conjuctura, pe care incercam sa o dezvoltam, si din care incercam sa profitam de ocaziile care apar: un dram de noroc, cunostiintele noastre, abilitatile noastre, persoanele potrivite la momentul potrivit, relatiile pe care le facem. Si trebuie sa profitam cat mai mult de ceea ce ni se ofera!

Gather ye rose-buds while ye may;
Old Time is still a-flying;
And this same flower that smiles today,
Tomorrow will be dying.
~Robert Herrick

Sa vedeti afaceristii din ziua de azi....Am fost mai devreme sa imi spal masina..era cam jegoasa...si nu imi mai placea de ea...am mers la o spalatorie pe Fundeni...50mii vechi exteriorul...ieftin...comparabil cu dublul pe la alte spalatorii :) am asteptat sa o clateasca, sa o sapuneasca, sa o clateasca iar..si pe urma sa o stearga de apa....a durat cam 20 minute...cam inghetasem...m-am gandit sa ii dau un mic bacsis..ca asa e frumos..10mii...suficient pentru cat costa spalatul si pentru munca depusa...s-a uitat la ei cu o privire superioara..."mersi...da' nu mai faci nimik cu 10mii in ziua de azi..." eu perplexa ii zic "pai...ehh..se aduna..de ici de colo.."...."mda..nu...mersi...lasati.." Hmmm..astepta oare sa ma simt prost si sa ii dau mai mult? M-am razgandit! Nu i-am dat mai dat nimik in plus...in fond a refuzat banii...intrebarea este....va refuza si munca vreodata? El stie...

It is amazing what you can find on Internet. It is an open book, and open encyclopedia. You want to know more about one person, one subject, one story,..., well the slang goes to "google it". And why, because Google is one of the most used search engines. But let's not make advertising out of it.

And when you think that not so many many years ago people were skeptical about it! Now is part of our lives, and many will say they cannot live without it.

You can find anything on Internet. And when I say anything, I mean it! Good or bad, nice or ugly, sad or happy, it doesn't matter. It is there! You already know this!

The question goes like this: "are you sure you want to find out more? can you handle it?"

I admire people that from the emotional point of view are on top of the situation no matter what. Of course, I admire those that are always prepared to new and unforseen cases, and adapt to them. Nowadays, in this fast-forward life, you have to adapt to changes every day. And...the best way to adapt is to be the change! (but let's not get into detail right now).

Today was the last day of Catalina Dodu - Director of Product Management in BitDefender. She has been working for more than 7 years in BD - it was an experience and life for her. We made her a surprise party - buying cookies, flowers and a goodbye gift. She didn't knew about it at all and was invited in the meeting room. We were all there - people with whom Catalina worked. Of course, it was a big surprise for Catalina and she managed to keep her calm all the way. She gave a very nice speech, thanking and kissing everybody. Still, looking at her eyes I could see how emotional she was on the inside. Somebody else would have probably cried in tears for the surprise :)

I believe it is a proof a great EQ to remain calm in demanding situations and not loose yourself to emotions, not being able to think at all. I admire Catalina!

“Being an artist means ceasing to take seriously that very serious person we are when we are not an artist.” Jose Ortega y Gasset

We should all be artists...at least once in while. Is fun!

Last week I've been to the BizDays event, here in Bucharest - one day of conferences on marketing and sales subjects. Very interesting presentations from which you can get some ideas abouth what others are doing in terms of business. Apart from being a learning event, it is also a socializing event.

But this is not what I want to say here. What draw my attention is that at one of the conferences one of the presenters started to call names to a previous presenter. As I understood, those two companies were actually competing, on the same market, but this doen't give the right to call names in public, especially if like this you are trying to promote your company and yourself! Seen from the audience it actually looked very ugly. And the most important, it doesn't look professionally at all!

About two weeks ago, my colleagues (and friends) and I went to a two-day conference and training session with Jim Bagnola. Famous in this area, Jim is an ispiration to all of us, and we have many things to learn from. He pointed out a couple of things I already knew, others that I knew them but didn't know I actually knew them, and some new things to remember later :)

So..I want to share them as sharing is everything. Below you can find some key ideas that first came into my mind. I have also added the key ideas Denisa and Diana remebered first, as we should improve ourselfs together.

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Personally, I remember most the window-mirror message, upon which Jim commented upon: look through the window to share the success with your team and look at yourself in the mirror to learn from your mistakes. Also, another thing I like very much is practice your public speaking and don’t be afraid to do something if is different and nobody else is doing that. But, none of these are relevant for us, no matter if we have the knowledge to do them, unless we understand their meaning and put them into action. With the risk of looking stupid, but not beeing one, I must not be afraid to ask questions.

Another interesting idea is the "eggs and ham" storry: the ckichen is providing the egs, therefore is just involved, while the pig is committed in this action, by providing the ham.

Here is what Denisa says:

A couple of ideas that I most enjoyed hearing and which I will help develop along in my life and career:
- If you want to change the world, change yourself. To put it in other words, change the way you look at things and the things you look at change.
- The definition of Leader – “a professional human being” who inspires and motivates people around him, a person who gives his followers the power, the freedom to realize their potential.
- And definitely I enjoyed very much all the interactive fun exercises and test which were more than just a game, very educative which hopefully we can “play” all together here as well.


And here is what Diana says:

For the past two days I received confirmations. No reaction can be neutral, no one is purely objective, but the objects. People can only be led, only things can be managed.
All of these confirmations make a difference; all the questions asked create the bigger picture, the adaptability of the information received in everyday life.
I had the honour to breathe the same air with people who breathe visions into gigantic masses of followers.
35.000 books on leadership should be enough source of information to anyone...and a confusing experience. Walking the talk with Jim Bagnola and the crew can, and will spare me some years of trial and failure on my way to the future...
I left that room with more than 10 ideas that I will use, and I will share them soon with you.
First thing that has sprung to my mind, after a two days’ time of metabolizing this huge amount of information, is that I would like to find a way to obtain that appreciation in my work that gives one the impression that one is earning a living, not a dying.

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Now, we all should take them into consideration, and learn from them, and every day we should learn something new! So that one day we can became leaders in the true sense of the word.

Everyone can be a leader, and this 'job' is tough not born with it! And, every area is of interest no matter what, and we have to find the one in which we have most skills to be leaders! A mother can be a leader for her kids, a coach can be a leader for his athleets; it doesn't matter what you do, it matters that you do it right! it matters that you like it, and it matters that when leading, you lead not manage!

If you would like to find out more about leadership in Romania, you can visit: http://www.leadershipcenter.ro/lmvlr/