Whatever you think,
…think the opposite.
This may never work all the time, because, well, life isn’t a game you’re crafting. But some of the time, following the masses isn’t the most ideal choice you could make. In Paul Arden’s book, I was inspired to not only follow the rule, but to feed on any consequences I may reach afoot. It’s a common fact to not follow any advice you read, not because they wouldn’t work, but because you wouldn’t know how to fix them to work for you. With reading books you ought to be versatile; keep the information for yourself, and broaden your imagination. Don’t be a fool and try out every little bit of information you may think is good, because most of the time you will be disappointed. And believe me, I’ve been there and it’s goddamn awful.
However, when I wanted to step up and do as the book told me to, it wasn’t because I thought it’s cool. I had done it because I thought it was the right thing to do.
Several weeks ago, when we finished our training for the new job, they told us to write a finalized report in which the person should write all that he learned from this extensive training. I began writing as soon as I got home and tried to achieve the zen-like report we all dream of. But then I realized it’s not possible, because I’m writing about things I have lesser experience in than most of the people around. I could copy portions of the internet, but then it wouldn’t be my report.
When I went to work the following day I was literally shocked. My report was only 5 pages with only two images (that I took myself). All of my work-mates had reports that ranges from 20 to 60 (yes, sixty) pages. Numbers, yearly stats, lots of tables —everything you could imagine. Now, I could have turned my Mac and woof, copied the entirety of the internet. But I didn’t, for a sole reason: why in the stinkin’ hell would I need a 40-pages report? I’m just a trainee, my work experience would be so minimal, and so do my report. I cold copy the web, but then what’s the point? It’s our duty to write our own experience, no matter how tiny it may be. That’s the point after all, isn’t it?
The rest is easy to guess. I took the promotion with my 5-pages report, while my buddies are re-doing all that we did for the past months. It’s pretty funny when I look at it in retrospect, because everybody thought I’d be the one who’s gonna redo everything all over again.
What do we learn from this little story, you ask?
Most people are other people. Their thoughts are someone else’s opinions, their lives a mimicry, their passions a quotation. —Oscar Wilde
Have your own thoughts and opinions :-)
