Challenge limiting beliefs
Do uncomfortable things
Try new things
Get comfortable being different
Embrace others to do so
"I am..." leads to what you do...
THE INFINITIVE SUCCESS AND FULFILLMENT
When everyone succeeds, we have bigger success and happiness.
(from The Power of Nice book”)
"Tony Hassini recalls the day he received a phone call from a then-unknown magician named Doug Henning. Hassini, a magician himself, possessed the blueprints for some of the
world’s most stunning illusions. “Henning had called several times before we were able to speak. When we did talk, I knew he was a magician who possibly might compete with me. My initial reaction was to be nice to him but not share any well-guarded secrets. I had spent ten years and a great deal of money to gather these blueprints, and I wasn’t about to give them to anyone,” says Hassini.
But he maintained a friendly phone relationship with Henning. “I gave him some information (nothing major) and some ideas, just to keep good relations between us,” says Hassini.
It wasn’t until the fifth or sixth conversation they had that Henning explained that he was working on a very different kind of magic show, a musical that would have a very intense storyline around magic and—most important—would do away with the old “top hat and tails” image.
Instead, Henning would have long hair and wear brightly colored clothes. “The more I listened to him, the more I thought he had a chance of succeeding,” said Hassini.
So Hassini sent Henning fourteen blueprints. “I could have charged him a good deal of money for these well-kept secrets and for my consultation. But I decided that I’d gain more from our relationship if the show was a success,” says Hassini.
Of course, Hassini’s gamble paid off. Henning’s show opened in Toronto and broke box-office ticket records in that city. The show then moved to Broadway, where it ran for four and a half years, eventually becoming the basis for a series of phenomenally successful television specials.
Henning happily shared the pie with Hassini, offering him lucrative consulting contracts and helping him promote Tony’s organization, the International Magicians Society.
The collaboration did not just enrich Henning and Hassini—it raised the profile of all magicians. Before Henning, the stereotype of the magician was a man in tuxedo and white gloves, pulling a rabbit out of a hat. Now magic was hip—which meant magicians everywhere were getting more work.
Life is not a zero-sum game: If the other person wins, I lose, or vice versa. There’s no need to squabble over Bake a Bigger Pie who gets the biggest piece of pie—we just have to bake a bigger pie.
WHEN EVERYONE SUCCEEDS, OUR SUCCESS IS BIGGER.
(Page 17, The Power of Nice)
What i know for sure
WHAT YOU KNOW FOR SURE?
What I know for sure
- when you are vulnerable, true to yourself, you become more free and stronger; when you are grateful, you have it all.
One day, a friend asked me "what is special to me today?"
What I know for sure was the answer.
That morning, I listened to Oprah's book in which she told her story of being shame for a decade because of being sexually abused at her early age. She kept that shameless within her thinking others would judge her. And when she revealed it, she became totally free and everyone still love her as they have done - because they love what she stands for - empowering others through her work.
I looked back at what I felt shame for to share with u ...Maybe you can think of what made you feel shameful for?
When I was a kid, people told me I was ugly but then there were someone trying to take advantage of me. I couldn't remember clearly how was that but it also hindered how I reacted in my relationship later on. I told my boyfriend at that time and he said sorry to hear that, it didn't change how much he loved and appreciated me.
When I was studying in the UK, I got some difficult time regarding finance that I had to go to find more work. But my visa was almost running out of so it was difficult to be accepted. And even people told me I was more qualified than the job I applied (e.g., working in a restaurant).
I remember after one week consistently looking for more work, I walked past by an Arabic restaurant, I saw a recruitment sign.
I walked inside and saw a tall smart guy making pizza. I asked him to help him.
He said "sure".
And he told me to come to another day where he could teach me make falafel and if I could then he would like to have me working there.
I learned fast making falafel, pizza and helping to manage the restaurant.
He was really strict to me. He required me clean every little thing carefully, put each thing carefully nicely and he also taught me all of his recipe for making better dishes.
Sometimes I was thinking to the comfort moments of my engineering life before, being in luxury hotels when traveling and working in modern buildings - I felt a bit bitter with my own situation when choosing my new career of writing and training. I was shameful to tell my coaching clients or people who came to my seminar about my part time job at the restaurant. I kept it for myself.
And one day, a client walked past by the restaurant, he came to me smiling cheerfully, excited to see I could make falafel. At that moment, I realized there was nothing to be shameful of but my own thinking. I realized I learned so much about patience and food^^.
I then asked all people I used to feel scared of if they would know me to come and try falafel i made. It was a JOY.
The shame became a JOY.
Shame is just a delusion of our own self that we think less of ourselves. Our true values are what matter!
WHAT I KNOW FOR SURE is what I stand for - empowering others - the rest is just secondary.
WHAT I KNOW FOR SURE for you is that you have values that if you value them, they matter to others. And that is the only thing matter, not your past, your current situation.
What I know for sure is you are great! Don't let anything happening before limit you!
Love you!
"Plant" a great day
7 habits for your great week
Change can start with a question to understand "why..."
YOU &
CREATIVITY
“We all create our lives every day…Some express creativity more than others but we are all creative.
Maybe some people believe that you must be an artist to be creative but it is just one of the forms of creativity..." We can exercise our creativity in every corner of life. We can choose to be creative in creating our thoughts; our behaviour; our bank accounts; how we talk to others… ( Louise L.Hay)
These words of Louise Hay in her book, "I can do it" made me see creativity in a simple and inspiring way that we all can do as well in our own ways.
Changing our foundation belief about creativity is the starting point to find ways to embrace it in our daily life. When we see creativity, it is something we all have within us although some express it more than others.
- We can be creative in how we start our day.
- We can be creative in how we write an email.
- We can be creative in how we do exercise.
...
What else? I am thankful for discovering more from these creative great human beings in this event.
A great day's menu
"A GREAT DAY'S MENU"
A GREAT WEEK is created by different great days
A GREAT DAY is created by different EMPOWERING HABITs.
Make a great week my friends.
Take the difficult choice
EXPERIENCE ANOTHER GREAT DIMENSION OF YOURSELF AND YOUR LIFE = MAKING A DIFFICULT CHOICE.
To say thanks and to wish many happy returns to Mohammed Qahtani, I re-share this recap that we did after a conversation with him - the world champion of public speaking in 2015. Today is his birthday.
The quality of our lives comes from the difficult decisions we make - doing things that are challenging, but we know that we will grow as a result of them...
What will be the difficult choices that you make next week to experience a new great dimension of yourself and your life?
Beauty
BEAUTY of life...is in every corner...my neighbour on the right side
Each morning when I woke up, I went for a run (when I was not in lockdown). My neighbour on the right side of my house – a skinny lady at the age of 70 - woke up and did some stretching.
She looked at me, I looked at her as we both often went out of house at the same time. Her serious face persuaded me not to smile at her although it was my very nature to do so…
Time went by, I even forgot about it – to smile and say hi, I just focused on going for a run. It became normal for us to not greet each other when seeing each other.
We went into lockdown in recent time, for more than 1 month in Vietnam. I only could do exercise inside my house. I opened the door each day to welcome the fresh air for my in-house exercise, and she also opened her door to stretch in the morning.
One day, she walked by my door and smiled, ”In-house exercise can also be good,” she said, to my surprise.
We started smiling and saying hi to each other since that day. Each morning, I opened the door, I smiled and said hi to her. Each day, she opened the door, she smiled and said hi to me. Sometimes we just simply smiled.
It is my beautiful neighbour on the right side of my house.
It is our human nature, wanting to connect and willing to connect despite situations. Beauty happens in every corner of life, can start with a smile…to a stranger next door…
Empower the action: Replace "and" for "but", embrace "yet" then I will
Express better to connect better
#Express better to connect better by discovering more ways of expressing each day #jencoaching #happyhighperformancehabits
Power our Silence
FALLING in love with life...
FALLING in love with life
I choose to fall in love with the beauty of life - through every single person I meet. Do you?
The guard at the building entrance never forgets to give me a big smile as he opens the door whenever he sees me with the bicycle, “Have a nice day and a nice journey.”
The lady in the small shop always gives me extra things whenever I buy anything.
The guard in the office never forgets to give me a high-five with a big smile whenever I pass by the gate.
The cleaner in the office never stops joking with me whenever she sees me walking around and brushing my teeth after lunch.
The housemate never forgets to share news about his table tennis training and competitions every single day after leaving work.
The gentlemen in the speaking club never forget to give nice encouraging feedback whenever I finish my speech.
My friends never forget to share all events and learning material related to my passion…
And many people, keep sharing the positive vibe - the other side we can learn through an unexpected time.
Some may ask "it seems like a fantasy life, where is the other side of it?" Yes, it has different sides. We can choose which side to focus on and amplify on. I choose the side that sparks the possibility and action to move forward a beautiful future. And you?"
The beauty of life is truly found in people, in you.
A Conversation to walk you out your comfort zone
A CONVERSATION
FOR ANYONE WHO THINKS YOU ARE IN YOUR COMFORT ZONE
H: I felt I had been in a comfort zone for so long. Today it is raining, I was despairing about when the Covid would end, when I could live up to my dreams and desires.
J: How long have you felt like that?
H: 3 years ago, when I had just got married, when I got into being busy with my children and family, I felt I was living in my comfort zone, leaving my ambitions behind.
J: How do you know you are in a comfort zone? If you are not in there…where would you be?
H: I observe that I have a stable job, I have the same routines, I don’t develop my skills or maybe try something new…
J: What would be the skills or the “something”…?
H: It would be like speaking, connecting, doing business… but when I thought about that, I was afraid it would have an influence on my family…
J: Have you ever done it and how did you know it would affect your family?
H: I did it - for example, going to learn skills and I found I couldn’t spend time with my children in the evening as I had previously …
(“We”…. Is the royal “we”? – But I think you mean “I” ?)
J: I have one “mother”, this one is pursuing her dreams and she still spends time with her children maybe not so many hours – but with quality and great energy.
And the other “mother” – who is always struggling, thinking that I am not yet working on my dreams, thinking that she is stuck with her family.
What do you think your children want to be in order to improve their lives?
H: For sure, the first one.
J: What would be the time of day when you could protect to work on your skills and share with your children about it? You all pursue your dreams, you pursue your dreams, your children do too…
H: Morning time…
I messed up. You messed up sometimes? It is ok. Stand up
I mess up. It is ok. Stand up...
SUNDAY REFLECTION - GRATITUDE
I messed up in keeping appointments which I wanted to, I put different important things on my plate at the same time...
Thanks to all my team&friends who are supportive and caring to stand by my side...I get back on track, step by step.
Do you mess up things sometimes? It is OK. But it is NOT ok to stay there for so long. You fail. It is ok, but it is not ok to stay there for long. One step at a time, we can get back on track.
And we have patience with our loved ones if sometimes they mess up just because they need sometimes to re-order things in life. Our kindness will support them to be back.
Discipline is not only about being able to do as you say every min, every day...
but it is more about having a min or a day that you are out of track; and the next min, the next day you get back on track.
Thanks to all my team&friends who have been patient and supportive to me and others. And don't forget to do it to yourself too, especially Sunday is with us...
"It is ok to be quite"
You can succeed whether you are an introvert or extrovert…
You can lead whether you are an introvert or extrovert…We have seen introvert mega-successful entrepreneurs: Larry Page co-founded Google alongside Sergey Brin; he served as Google’s CEO until 2001 and then re-assumed the position in 2011; Bill Gates - the founder of Microsoft. Gates started out as a solitary introvert; Warren Buffet, the founder and CEO of Berkshire Hathaway, a prominent figure in investing; Mark Zuckerberg - Facebook founder, a considered shy person.
All of these people are considered introverts based on social standards while keeping positions that require different outgoing activities. But they all succeed and be the best at what they do.
Key takeaways if you are an introvert are:
If you don’t speak much, you can still lead
If you are quiet, you can still inspire others by your being and your presence
Even you are categorized as an introvert, you can still speak well when it is important enough
Introvert or extrovert both have their own advantages, the most important thing is you know how to maximize them and surround yourself with people can compensate what you are not great at
Don’t make being introvert a reason to not pursue what important to you, maximize the use of it and surround yourself with people can work on your weaknesses with you.
Let’s discover a great story of a world champion of public speaking - a considered introvert person on this coming Tues podcast.
https://www.facebook.com/events/956203801901338
DEDICATION took to go from an INTROVERT to WORLD CHAMPION SPEAKER
DEDICATION took to go from an INTROVERT to WORLD CHAMPION SPEAKER Aaron W. Beverly
You can inspire others whether you are an introvert or extrovert.
You can inspire others whether you are at a world-class level or if you have just started your journey.
With that mind-set of giving enough effort, dedication and values at world-class level, you get to the world-class level one day.
And even then, you never forget where you came from, you are still learning and giving as you did when you first got started.
I am excited to unfold a real-life example journey of a person who has practiced the above principles - the world champion of public speaking Aaron W. Beverly in this coming "Grow with Jen" podcast.
In this episode, we will have a conversation with Aaron on how he made his journey from being considered introvert to being a world public speaking champion:
- How did Aaron overcome the fear of speaking in public while being considered an introvert?
- What differences are there between a speaker and a world-class speaker; a valuable person and a world-class valuable person?
- What habits does a person need to adopt in order to achieve that world-class level?
- Do we all need to be a world-class valuable person? Why and why not, what is next for us.
Cannot wait to see you there with Aaron!
Register to join our zoom chat at: https://jenvuhuong.com/joywithjen
Live at: https://www.facebook.com/jenvuhuong
=========
About: Aaron W. Beverly
2019 World Champion of Public Speaking
Storyteller | Keynote Speaker | Trainer | World Traveler
In August 2019, Aaron Beverly emerged as the winner of the Toastmasters International Speech Contest, an annual public speaking competition that includes over 30,000 competitors worldwide. Performing the speech entitled “An Unbelievable Story,” Aaron provided a humorous take on the heavy subject of race and the importance of “acceptance despite difference.” That speech won him the prestigious title of World Champion of Public Speaking.
An accomplished speaker prior to the 2019 championship, Aaron also earned 2nd place in the International Speech Contest in 2016. Giving a speech that has come to be known simply as the “57-Word Title Speech,” Aaron spoke about the power of using a few words in world that believes “more is better.” Beverly is also, a five-time speech contest semifinalist, and a Moth Story Slam winner.
Oddly enough, Aaron considers himself to be “one of the most introverted people you can meet.” Public speaking and storytelling were extroverted activities he never thought he’d pursue. However, with hard work, dedication and a team of invaluable supporters,
Aaron has become proficient in both skills and has learned to balance his innate introversion with flashes of extroversion.
Storytelling and public speaking have not only led Aaron to engage audiences at Fortune 100 companies such as Vanguard, J.P. Morgan Chase and Wells Fargo; notable Universities such as Temple, Drexel and the University of Pennsylvania; but they have also allowed
Aaron to travel to countries around the world including: Taiwan, Malaysia, India, and the extremely foreign land known as Canada.
Aaron is living proof, that the art communication can have a profoundly positive effect on the advancement of your professional career and the fulfillment of your life.
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About Jen Vuhuong, Love Live Give
GRATITUDE to uncertainty
GRATITUDE to uncertainty...
As we get stronger, we experience:
We try a new thing, we feel fearful, doubtful, uncertain; we hesitate, then we still keep moving forward as what we do is important.
We step one more step, we still feel fearful, doubtful, uncertain; we realize "ah, fears and doubts inform us that we are getting out of our comfort zone", we take one more step.
As we step one more step, we look for bigger fear, doubts, and uncertainty because they will make us stronger.
As we keep stepping forward, we say "thanks" and smile as doubts and fear become the great friends of our growth and joy.
You got this, overcoming fears, doubts and uncertainty and you will continue.
I am grateful for you. Happy Saturday my friends. Dream big, start with one step, thankful for difficulties.
THERE IS A STRONG REASON, THERE IS A WAY...
Rob had to attend a training event where 500 people were waiting for him. The event was in Washington DC so Rob had to take a flight from New York.
At that time, the city was suffering heavy snow. However, three days before the flight, there was no information about flight cancellations from the airline. two days, one day before the flight, there was still no information.
It seemed that the flight would still be going. But the night before the flight, Rob got a call informing him the flight had been cancelled. He asked the airline to find another flight not only because for his sake but because of the 500 people waiting for him. They found one flight for him at 6am and he had to be at the conference at 6pm that day.
To catch up with the sudden change in the flight, he had to drive to the airport from 11pm that night but he felt still lucky. He reached the airport after 6 hours 30 minutes in the heavy snow (normally it would take only 3 hours). He was about to enter the check-in counter when he discovered that the flight was delayed till the following day.
Now his only alternative was to drive all the way by car to the event. And he did it.
The 500 people cried when they heard the story told by the man who did enough to deal with whatever it took!
If you create a strong reason to do something you will always find a way! When something is important enough, we create a compelling reason for doing it...
