Early in the morning I came downstairs to work on my computer where I found one of our dogs sleeping alone on the couch; it was chilly so I grabbed a blanket and covered her before sitting next to her. Puchi, the dog, immediately moved closer to me, made some contentment sounds and went back to sleep.
_Gabriel, our son, while playing with a big dog accidently stepped on his paw, the dog got scared and protected himself by grabbing my son’s face with his mouth. His face got a couple of scratches, nothing serious; the animal did not try to hurt him, it was just caught off guard. At the time our son was 3 years old and smaller than the beast. After the incident, I watched how he behaved around dogs and saw that he was not the same again, always keeping his distance; Gabriel began to build a fear of dogs. Watching this behavior for a couple of weeks, I took charge and made an 'executive decision': without saying anything to my 'boss', my wife, I left home and drove for hours around the county in search for a dog, the right one for our family. Thinking: “If we do not take care of this fear now, it will grow and forever become a part of Gabriel.” When I arrived home, with the beautiful pup, Nesrin, my wife almost had a heart attack. “What are you thinking? I don’t like dogs, who is going to take care of it?” "Too late," I thought to myself. Meanwhile, our 3 toddlers were running away from the dog, the tiny dog was excited, “woof, woof, woof” trying to play with them, yet all 3 were on top of the couch not knowing how to react to her. That was 14 years ago, today at home we have 5 dogs. Nesrin, the one who was opposed the most to having a dog in our house now has a favorite, Pesto, the one who is allowed to sleep in our bed. Daniela has Lola and Isabela always gets Puchi, Chupa and Lupe before Gabriel snatches one before going to bed. _At home our dogs have been crucial in teaching all of us, especially to our children about understanding, awareness and compassion; about empathy! While caring for our pets all three kids have developed the ability to read nonverbal cues: body language, signals and sounds. They know when a dog runs to the door they better hurry up; it needs to use the bathroom. When a dog cries they know that it is because she is hungry or lonely; it is a cry for attention. A dog wags a tail to show content and lies down next to you to show loyalty, unconditional love. While caring for our pets they became less self-absorbed about themselves; understanding others feelings and having an increased sense of responsibility for providing for the needs of others. _As our kids grow up caring for our dogs they have learned empathy and compassion, loyalty and responsibility; values that they will hold onto forever. They have become upright individuals that know their deeds are a representation of them and a portrayal of their soul.
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Since when did we become more important than the reason why we came to this country?
This morning I asked someone who was he going to vote for and I was shocked by his response: “I am a Republican, I don’t like Trump, so there is no reason to vote,” he said. “Are you out of your mind” I replied “Can’t you see how important this election is?” “Well, I have been here for 40 years and I always voted Republican, and I don’t feel right voting for Hillary… neither deserve my vote!” He said. “Do you understand, not voting is giving the vote to Trump, it is accepting his bigotry, you as an immigrant should know better! I want to see your ‘I Voted’ sticker on the 8th,” I responded. _Anyway, I do have a thought: When people believe that no one is good enough for them, believing that their vote is far too precious to give to any candidate is when we have a problem. A vote is an instrument not a formality; it is a tool used to ensure that we get the government we prefer or the one we dislike the least. A vote is the only opportunity to have a voice. A vote is not about you, but about the good of the country and the people. It is our obligation to the freedoms bestowed upon us by living in a democratic country that gives us this fundamental right to vote. Always remember before wasting your vote: A vote is a right and today there are millions of people around the world who would be willing to risk their lives to have the right to vote so don’t diminish this right! A thought for me and the leadership of our company: Multi-task less and focus on just getting one task done at a time. We wrongly believe that multi-tasking is the way to move quickly, to accomplish things swifter; undertaking two, three, four tasks at once, we feel that we are accomplishing a lot, when in reality we are not doing much at all. Multitasking makes it more difficult to organize our thoughts; it harms our concentration and reduces the efficiency and quality of our work. So to the leadership, focus on getting just one thing done at a time; do it right and as promptly as possible. Keep in mind: Multitasking is not a skill, but rather a bad habit that we must put a stop to; multitasking is an excuse to procrastinate! If you want people to listen to you, share your knowledge.
If you want friends and family to care about you, treasure them. If you want to grow your business, help those around you grow theirs. If you feel stuck, go follow your passion and build your dream. If you feel confused, stop over analyzing; life should be simple to understand This is your life and you only have few decades… Do not waste it with ifs, ands, or buts! |
Who I am today as a person is largely due to my failures! Archives
January 2024
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