se7en

Never before in history of mankind, such phenomenon like this happens. It’s just when Lehman was declared bankrupt and Federal Reserve bailed out AIG with taxpayers’ money, more banks are looking to consolidate themselves.

Merrill Lynch is married with Bank of America. Morgan Stanley is looking to get married with Wachovia or another dead institution. Goldman Sachs is probably looking into one. And Citigroup is dying too (not in the news yet).

They are delaying the inevitable. Eventually EVERY SINGLE ONE OF THEM WILL GO DOWN. It is just a question of time.

Bear Stearns collapsed within one day. Lehman Brothers collapsed within one day. AIG collapsed within one day. Soon to follow, they will be Morgan Stanley, Goldman Sachs, Citigroup, and more investment/commercial banks. And finally, the last one to be bankrupt:United States of America. This will happen within overnight. It just takes ONE DAY.

We are living in the MOST EXCITING TIME throughout the history of earth.

Qualifying yourself is ANYTIME when you are trying to look cool or bragging or complimenting yourself.

This used to be a big stumbling block for me. It is not so much now.

And it is EXTREMELY TEMPTING to brag about yourself (i.e. achievements), ESPECIALLY when you are already accomplished.

I have learned the value of brevity.

Less is more.

It came to me intuitively over the past few weeks.

The less you say, the better results you will have.

There’s a scene in Three Kings where George Clooney and the guys were about to have a gun fight with those of Saddam.

One of Clooney’s men was really nervous. Being the sergeant, Clooney noticed the scared shitless of his guy.

And Clooney told him: "The way it works is, you do the thing you’re scared shitless of, and you get the courage AFTER you do it, not before you do it."

..while having dinner .. a few months after their last meet up..

she: you’ve changed a lot..
he: what do you mean?
she: you used to think that you’re always right.
he: and now?
she: you are not that person anymore. there’s a lot of you that changed..
he: *smiles*
she: it’s a good thing. who taught you that?
he: life

I recently watched "Batman Begins". It tells the story of how Bruce Wayne (who becomes Batman) was attacked by bats in his childhood and grew up with a phobia of bats.

The movie also shows him as an adult as he returns to the place where he was attacked and found himself surrounded by the bats again. This time he stood tall, raised his arms, opened up his chest and completely exposed himself as a dark, raging blizzard of thousands of bats flew around him.

What an astonishing image of a man embracing the very thing that he spent his life trying to resist and push away.

A long time ago, a Zen teacher told his student this:

"Resistance to the disturbance is the disturbance."

And he told his student that if he understood this, I mean, really understood this, it would be so gold.

When Bruce Wayne was resisting his fear of bats, the fear had marvelous power over him. It was only when he let go of trying to resist that fear and allowed himself to experience it fully… the fear let go of him.

When someone doesn’t want to stand up for me in the heat of the battle, that’s when I know how much I am worth to that person.

I could be assured that when the tough things come (and believe me, they will), that person won’t be standing there to back me up.

And I have enough self esteem and self respect of not coming back and getting more punishment. I am not glutton for (more) punishment. Enough is enough.

I don’t have victim mentality. I don’t cry foul when bad things happen to me. I don’t complain when things don’t go my way. I stand up and walk straight even if hell breaks loose on me. I am mentally strong enough to get up after failure.

And frankly speaking, I couldn’t care less what other people think. Don’t get me wrong, I can listen to opinions from my family and close friends. Still at the end of the day, I am the one who makes the decisions. It’s my life. I am not living other people’s lives.

I am special. I really am.

the strands in your eyes that color them wonderful stop me and steal my breath..
and emeralds from mountains thrust toward the sky.. never revealing their depth..
tell me that we belong together, dress it up with the trappings of love..
i’ll be captivated, i’ll hang from your lips,
instead of the gallows of heartache that hang from above..

i’ll be your crying shoulder, i’ll be love’s suicide..
i’ll be better when i’m older, i’ll be the greatest fan of your life..

and rain falls angry on the tin roof.. as we lie awake in my bed..
you’re my survival, you’re my living proof..
my love is alive — not dead..
tell me that we belong together.. dress it up with the trappings of love…
i’ll be captivated, i’ll hang from your lips,
instead of the gallows of heartache that hang from above..

i’ll be your crying shoulder, i’ll be love’s suicide..
i’ll be better when i’m older, i’ll be the greatest fan of your life..

and i’ve dropped out, i’ve burned up, i’ve fought my way back from the dead.
i’ve tuned in, turned on, remembered the things that you said..

i’ll be your crying shoulder,
i’ll be love’s suicide
i’ll be better when i’m older,
i’ll be the greatest fan of your…
i’ll be your crying shoulder,
i’ll be love’s suicide
i’ll be better when i’m older,
i’ll be the greatest fan of your life.

the greatest fan of your life..
…greatest fan of your life.

Branding is an art.

Coca Cola is a good brand because it has what we call alliteration and rhymes. This combination creates a phonological loop inside the brain. It means our brain will repeat the name "Coca Cola" several times instead just once.

Palm Pilot was the leader of its industry until the management (MBA smart asses) decided to drop the name "Pilot". So, instead of Palm Pilot, now it is only Palm. And guess who’s overtaking the top position? Black Berry. Another alliterative brand.

…Donald Duck. Mickey Mouse. Jenna Jameson. Marilyn Monroe. Duran Duran….

Branding is an art.

"Lee Tyler can afford to hire any attorney in the world. She’s chosen me. Do you wonder if I’m any good, Miles? Do you really wonder?" — Alan Shore