William Wu Personal Blog

Just recovered from my new year break and feel recharged to face whatever challenges in 2009. 

Here is a short Zen story to start my rambling for the new year:

“A rich man asked a Zen master to write something down that could encourage the prosperity of his family for years to come.  It would be something that the family could cherish for generations.  On a large piece of paper, the master wrote, “Father dies, son dies, grandson dies.”

The rich man became angry when he saw the master’s work.  “I asked you to write something down that could bring happiness and prosperity to my family.  Why do you give me something depressing like this?”

“If your son should die before you, “ the master answered, “this would bring unbearable grief to your family.  If your grandson should die before your son, this also would bring great sorrow.  If your family , generation after generation, disappears in the order I have described, it will be the natural course of life.  This is true happiness and prosperity.”

This story tells us that sometimes the best thing is to allow things to happen in its natural course.  The law of harvest tells us to plant a seed in spring; to water, weed and fertile it during summer so we can harvest it in the fall.  With this state in mind, here come a few thoughts on personal leadership for starting a new year. 

• Count your blessing. The famous Japanese proverb says, “He is poor who does not feel content.” Lao-Tzu says the same, “He who is content is rich.” It is easy for us to forget how much we own at a tough time and the grass always feels greener on the other side.  But the reality is that we own a lot more than we sometimes realize.  Think about it.  The fact that you are reading this blog means that you have access to internet and information that most people in the world won’t even have the choice having.  Suffering is a state of mind and it is all relative.  Be satisfied with what you own is often the best counter to the present world where relentless pursuit of more becomes the society norm.  Inventory what you have gotten and be willing to make the best use of them.  
• Be willing to let go.  “The only way to make yourself indispensable is to make yourself dispensable.” As pointed out by Dr. John Maxwell in The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership: “A weak leader worries that if he helps subordinates, he will become dispensable,  But the truth is that the only way to make yourself indispensable is to make yourself dispensable.” Take the principle behind Bruce Lee’s Tao of Jeet Kune Do, “Empty your cup so that it may be filled; become devoid to gain totality.”
• Be true to yourself.  To quote Edward R. Murrow, “To be persuasive, we must be believable. To be believable, we must be credible. To be credible, we must be truthful.“  Steve Jobs in his widely circulated speech to Standford University graduates: “Your time is limited, so don’t waste it living someone else’s life. Don’t be trapped by dogma — which is living with the results of other people’s thinking. Don’t let the noise of others’ opinions drown out your own inner voice. And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. You somehow already know what you truly want to become. Everything else is secondary.”
• Invest and believe in yourself.  Who you are dictates what you see, so get to know yourself better and then bring your unique strengths out, the things you like doing and are good at, to bear on the work in hand. You need to build on your strengths that strengthen others. Personal leadership is all about have a clear vision of where you want to be and have discipline to take meaningful actions to realize the vision. As a Japanese proverb put it, “Vision without action is a daydream.  Action without vision is a nightmare.”  A Buddhist proverb also tells us, “You, youself, must make the effort.  The buddhas are only teachers.”
• Seize the moment.  “The Precious Present” by Spencer Johnson, one of the popular books, uses a simple story to teach people how precious the present moment is.  Mark Twain once said, “I was seldom able to see an opportunity until it had ceased to be one.” So make the best out of every situation and you can find beauty everywhere around you. Understand the Chinese saying, “When you have only two pennies left, buy a loaf of bread with one and a lily with the other.” To seize the moment is to practice what Bill Fitzpatrick, a Shaolin master, describes in his book 100 Action Principles of the Shaolin,
   “If you feel happy, smile.
  If you feel daring, act.
  If you receive good service, compliment.
  If you feel energetic, do something positive.
  If you know a good joke, tell it.
  If you feel generous, give.
  If you are interested in getting wealthy, save and invest.
  If someone needs help, leann them your strong hands or soft voices.
  If you give your word, keep it.
  If you can say something nice, say it.
  If you can stand up for the weak, do it.”

One of the best things that a new year has given us is new hopes.  The new hopes that things will improve and all the hard work in the past will pay off and all the dots will somehow be connected to form the best roadmap ahead. As you kick into the high gear to ramp up for this year, remember to allow the natural order to happen in its course.  Perhaps Lao-Tzu’s words can be used as a reminder:

“Softness triumphs over hardness. 
Feebleness over strength. 
What is more malleable is always superior over that which is immoveable. 
This is the principle of controlling things by going along with them, of mastery through adaptation.”