Monday, July 31, 2006

Peter's legacy

15:00

Key authors who have influenced my thinking:
Brian Tracy, Edward de Bono, Jose Maria Escriva, Peter Drucker, Lester Thurow, Wayne Dyer, Anthony Robbins, Joseph Campbell, Shoshana Zuboff, Alvin Toffler, Stephen Covey.

Key principles which have helped me in my life:
  1. Little by little, does the trick. - Seneca
  2. Fear knocked on the door. Faith answered. There was no one there.
  3. Fearless minds climb soonest unto crowns. - Shakespeare
  4. Chinese proverb: "The meaning of life is this: your father dies. Then you die. Then your children die." In other words, I stopped philosophizing too much. Our time on Earth is luck. We have all won the lottery already. Let's just enjoy the prize.
Biggest mistakes I made in my life:
  1. Not asking other people for help early enough.
  2. Not realizing, early enough, that every person I meet is suffering from something. Therefore, I was not able to help them at the time they needed me.
  3. Not hugging enough people.
  4. Trying to love her, when in fact, I should have done everything in my power to serve her so that she would say, beaming: "Oh, you really love me!"
  5. Not clarifying with loved ones my rules. Since they don't know my rules (what makes me feel good, what deeply hurts me), they often hurt me without knowing.
  6. Reading too many books, instead of choosing a few key principles and practicing them endlessly until I fully mastered them.
Insights I had that surprised me and seemed true:
The average woman is superior to the average man. The more women I am friends with, the more I grow to become compassionate, balanced, sensitive and nurturing.

Greatest movie I ever saw:
Casablanca. I love the part where Victor Laszlo, the leader of the Resistance, is furious and walks over to the orchestra, ordering them to play La Marseilleise. As he's singing at the top of his lungs, his wife Ilsa looks totally amazed by his courageous spirit. Since I saw that scene, I decided that my career objective is to reach that point: where my wife would look at me with pride and admiration, because I'm doing something courageous for the good of people.

Advice I would give my son:
Love all women and fight for them when you can. And treat YOUR woman like a princess. Without her, life is not worth living.

Advice I would give my daughter:
In all ways, try to think, speak and act like a princess. Because you truly are one. And you deserve absolutely the best in life.