As I searched the internet regarding this matter, I learned that the chain mail–like many other chainmails–was another hoax. It turns out that emails that claims to provide charity if you pass them around are hoax, since there is no reliable way to track the emails in the first place.

I was also a bit angry at the people who participated in passing around this chainmail. The picture was of a deformed child. It felt like people were just making fun and taking lightly the condition of the child in the photo. It felt ironic that the last words on the email said something like “If you don’t forward this, then you don’t have a heart”. I think that if you forward that message, then you don’t have a heart either. Whoever that child in the picture is, I hope things will get better for him or her soon.

If you receive such mails, I suggest you don’t send them to other people, as is suggested by the email itself.

Enthusiasm is a really powerful thing to use in business, social, and personal matters. With it, one can work for hours on end without rest,and at the end of it still not feel tired at all. If one does feel tired, it is a tiredness that comes with a smile and with a satisfied feeling in your heart.

This was how I felt with this day. I felt enthusiastic about a thing that I’m preparing for. It’s actually for an event of some sort. Since I’m so enthusiastic about this, then I guess I should be an event planner in the future huh? Haha. Maybe so.

When a person is enthusiastic about something, no matter how difficult a thing is, it doesn’t feel stressful. Of course, it’s not easy to force enthusiasm. There are ways to conjure some enthusiasm, but in many cases, it will just come naturally when you do the things that you love, or, for my case, when you do things for the people you love.

Define enthusiasm?

The word enthusiasm comes from the greek enthousiasmos, meaning, inspiration or possession by a divine afflatus or a god. This definition is interesting because one becomes as if a different person when enthusiastic. Enthusiasm is credited for being one of the important factors for the success of influential people in life, as discussed in Napoleon Hill’s the Laws of Success.

How to be Enthusiastic

Honestly, I’m not so enthusiastic myself. For most areas in life, I feel bored or lethargic. But there are some cases that suddenly make me leap into life. I feel as though I’m a totally different individual, as though my previous limits are null, as though I an indeed possessed by a god–or maybe just a good, powerful spirit.

Body. A sound body is an important factor in ones enthusiasm. Eat well, drink water, get enough sleep and rest. Avoid stressful situations, if you can’t avoid them, then deal with them. Exercise! Walk a few blocks instead of riding the bus.

Mind. The mind is so powerful that even with a frail body, someone with a strong mind can still be enthusiastic, giving them power to affect change in their life. Influence your mind with the right thoughts. Listen to motivational speakers, read inspirational books, think positive! If you think you can do something, then you can do it, but if you think you can’t do it, then that’s also what you will get. The mind is one of the keys to success in life. Not IQ, academic grades, certificates and diploma, but ones mindset! Remember the three words from The Secret, by Rhonda Byrne: Thoughts become things! There is great wisdom in that statement.

Exercise your enthusiasm. Exercise your enthusiasm, and it will grow stronger. The more you practice enthusiasm, the easier it will come to you. It’s like a muscle, if you stop utilizing it, it will atrophy. But if you frequently practice enthusiasm in everything that you do, it will come more easily and naturally to you.

Do the things you love. Do the things you love! If you can’t, for reasons such as work that you need for a living but you’re not really interested in, then do your best to be enthusiastic about that work. There’s a thing called The Law of Increasing Returns. If you show that you are enthusiastic about your work, even if it’s not really what you love to do, then someone is bound to notice it. You’ll be surprised that you’ll get promotions, or find a better job.

Don’t force it. If you really feel down, then feel free to feel down. Don’t force it. Take a break. Release all the tension and stress. That done, it will be easier to be enthusiastic again the next couple of days. If you’re doing something that disturbs you or goes against your core persona, then stop. You don’t have to do it. Find something that you are in harmony with.

In the Philippines, when you go from one place to another, you usually have to ride public jeepneys. Public jeepneys are generally made in a way such that there are two long seats, one on each side. Each side can accommodate a dozen or more people, placed so that each side is facing the other. When a person rides a jeepney, before he can sit, the people already on the jeepney should move aside to provide space. Sometimes, you have to walk further into the jeepney, which can be pretty inconvenient.

My friend would usually speak up when people are inconsiderate, moving closer to the exit, but in doing so the person alighting will have more trouble finding a seat. She would call the attention of such inconsiderate people much older than her, especially if the person alighting and having trouble is a senior citizen.

I really appreciate that side of her that can speak up for others.

I’m really lucky that we have money right now so that we can go to the doctor and buy the necessary medicine. I’m thankful that I am able to enjoy the privilege of being healed.

November 14, 2008. Garden Oasis, Davao City. Today, I’m thankful for being able to attend a seminar, for the several things I learned about being an employer, and for being given the opportunity to develop my skills in public communication by presenting to many people. We were invited in this seminar entitled “Conference Forum on Self-Assessment Approach in Order to Create a Culture of Voluntary Compliance and Advocacy on DOLE Integrated Livelihood Program” to speak about opportunities on the internet that can help augment family income, as well as to present the project that we proposed to the Department of Labor and Employment, Region XI.

Sitting at the back–since I came a bit late–I studied my audience, assessing their age, asking the hosts of the seminar regarding who they were, and planning how best to present our topic to them. I realized that I was going to speak to an audience that would be older, and much more experienced than me. Previously, I had several opportunities where I presented the same topics I would be covering now, and yet this was the first time that all of listeners would be older. So I guess, this made me feel a bit nervous.

But I was in a good mood.

Although I felt a bit nervous, I was also excited. To be able to present in this kind of setting was an opportunity I wanted to take. I was also in such a mood, because I was able to wake up so early in the morning–usually, morning is the time that I would be going to sleep.

Ah, I thought to myself, I have successfully restored my biological clock.

The first topics of the seminar covered laws and regulations regarding employment. I was a bit interested in the topic because I wanted to learn a few basic things before we would start putting the employment project we proposed into action. We would be employing people by then, so it was best to listen to some of those laws and regulations now. I wasn’t really the type who would be interested in such, I found the words too formal, but that’s just the way laws are made to sound. But I knew that this knowledge would be useful, so I half-listened.

My mind would shift focus from taking a few mental notes about the topic, and then scanning and reassessing the audience based on their reactions from the topic. For a moment, I imagined myself presenting such a boring topic as laws and regulations, and pondered how, if I had the chance, I could turn it into something that would capture their attention. Quirk them into a more awakened state. A few solutions came to mind.

The first half of the day passed, with my thoughts wandering. I jotted down a few notes for the 8th chapter of a fantasy novel I’m working on. Occassionally I would look up at the powerpoint slides to keep track of what the speaker was talking about.

In the afternoon, we were first in line of the project presentors. I was able to present the topic as I had planned, and I was quite proud of myself for being able to do it. Speak slowly, you will never run out of words or ideas this way. Pause at regular intervals for them to be able to take things in, and use proper stressing of words so you can pull back their focus to you. These were some of the guidelines I followed, some things that I learned from listening to audio seminars. No matter how good your ideas are, people in general never listened if you spoke too fast. Speaking without stress and good tonality would bore the audience. And finally, never read from the powerpoint presentation unless you have to. Something I learned from a teacher in college. That teacher said, “It’s so easy to read. A 6 year old can do it.”

Instead of reading, a more intelligent way would be to just use the powerpoint presentation as a guide. Place the heading of the topic, one slide each. Then discuss. It’s pretty much a waste of time to have someone present and just read right off from the presentation. Unless you’re quoting something long, or presenting some facts–like laws and regulations.

Our presentation ended well. The seminar proceeded to a topic that I found quite of interest.

The speaker talked of the advantages and disadvantages of growing rubber trees. I was interested in the way this man presented his topics. He followed the guidelines I mentioned beforehand. The facts he presented were also quite interesting. By the end of his lecture, I was convinced I would buy a few hectares of land and plant rubber trees in it, if I had the capital.