The European Investment Bank (EIB) is providing €50 million to the Autonomous Community of Navarre to strengthen its capacity to respond to the COVID-19 health crisis. The EU bank financing will enable the Spanish region to adapt its healthcare infrastructure to meet the additional costs generated by the pandemic.
The EIB is granting these funds under a specific programme it approved to support healthcare investments in Spain and Portugal. The aim of this €750 million programme is to help bolster healthcare infrastructure and support health sector research and development (R&D) investment in both countries. This financing is also part of the extraordinary measures the EIB has taken to speed up its processes and make its internal policies more flexible in order to – among other things – deploy its support as quickly as possible and finance expenses that it would not normally cover, such as the operating costs of businesses and the extraordinary expenditure of public authorities.
Under this agreement, the Autonomous Community of Navarre will have access to the medium and long-term resources it needs to deal with the pandemic. The EIB funds (provided on favourable terms) will enable it to finance the extraordinary operating expenses caused by the crisis. This covers the purchase of medical supplies, including health equipment and mobile units; the use of hospital and hotel facilities; and additional healthcare personnel costs.
The EIB financing will also help create jobs at a time of crisis, with the Autonomous Community of Navarre estimating that it will need employ at least 375 additional people (both medical and administrative staff) during the implementation phase.
EIB Vice-President Emma Navarro, who is responsible for the EU bank’s operations in Spain, made the following comment on this agreement: “The COVID-19 crisis has placed a great deal of strain on healthcare facilities in Spain. At the EIB, we are taking specific measures to alleviate this pressure by providing funds to adapt healthcare infrastructure and finance extraordinary costs caused by the pandemic. We are pleased to be taking a further step in this direction by supporting the Autonomous Community of Navarre’s health efforts in this crisis. As the EU bank, we will do everything in our power to help Europe to handle the pandemic and to drive the economic recovery.”
Speaking on behalf of the government of Navarre, Minister of the Economy and Finance Elma Saiz highlighted: “The importance of being able to conclude an agreement like this one for a more secure response to some of the consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic. An agreement that also features a favourable interest rate.”
EIB response to COVID-19
The EIB Group is playing a key role in directly combating COVID-19 by supporting EU efforts to halt the spread of the pandemic, find a cure for the illness and develop a vaccine. To this end, the EU bank is prioritising all investments related to the health sector and research and development programmes focusing on this goal. The agreement signed today with the Autonomous Community of Navarre is an example of this support. The operation was approved using an accelerated procedure put in place by the EIB for this emergency situation, which will ensure that the funds can reach Navarre as soon as possible.
The EIB’s current project portfolio for supporting both critical healthcare infrastructure and research and development investments in the EU health sector stands at around €6 billion. The EIB and the World Health Organization also recently signed an agreement to drive cooperation between the two institutions and work together to strengthen healthcare systems in the countries most vulnerable to the pandemic.
To combat the economic impact of this crisis in Europe, and in line with the Eurogroup’s 9 April recommendation, the EIB Board of Directors signalled its support for the creation of a €25 billion European guarantee fund for COVID-19 on 16 April. The fund will make it possible to mobilise up to an estimated €200 billion of additional financing, with a focus on small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).
At the same time, the EIB Group is reorienting its operations to meet the financing needs created by COVID-19 and offer immediate assistance to European businesses. In March, the EIB Group announced a package of measures with this objective in mind. As part of this initial response package, the European Investment Fund (EIF – the EIB Group subsidiary specialising in support for SMEs) is offering specific EU-backed guarantees to financial intermediaries that will help to mobilise up to €8 billion in financing. For its part, the EIB is also adapting its existing financing instruments shared with the European Commission to mobilise up to €20 billion in additional financing for European SMEs and mid-caps.
In a video message, Mr. Guterres highlighted the importance of food systems, and their impact on economies, environment and health, but warned that they are “one of the main reasons we are failing to stay within our planet’s ecological boundaries”.
This year, the coronavirus pandemic has brought the fragility of the world’s food supplies to the fore, with millions going hungry. At the same time, the climate crisis continues to wreak havoc on food security.
To address these issues, the Secretary-General is convening a Food Systems Summit next year to raise global awareness and spur actions to rethink food systems, so that they can play a more positive role in ending hunger, reducing diet-related disease, and help in the fight against climate change.
The event will be held at UN Headquarters in New York in September, in conjunction with the next UN General Assembly opening session and, said Mr. Guterres, will focus the attention of world leaders on the issue.
“The awarding of this year’s Nobel Peace Prize to the World Food Programme (WFP) highlights the Summit’s timeliness”, he added, underlining the need for global engagement and action for inclusive and sustainable food systems, and calling on everyone to join these conversations.
Refugee chefs in the UK share recipes over Ramadan (file)
Raise ambition, change direction
The Summit will be run by a specially appointed envoy, former Rwandan Minister for Agriculture, Agnes Kalibata. At a press briefing on Monday, she emphasized the need for food systems – which are responsible for trillions of dollars in wasted food, and significant greenhouse gas emissions – to radically change.
The Special Envoy told reporters that the Summit puts food and food systems at the heart of the UN’s Decade of Action, the 10 years left we have left to achieve the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.
Work to make sure the Summit is a success has already begun, she explained, with a scientific group, made up of experts drawn from a range of disciplines, having met over the summer to ensure that the event is based on sound scientific principles.
This November, dialogues will begin at a national level, involving governments and other stakeholders. These discussions, said Ms. Kalibata, will be critical, and will culminate in a meeting in Rome next Summer, at which actions for inclusive and sustainable food systems will be identified, and taken forward as recommendations for the Secretary-General to submit to world leaders at the September Summit.
WFP/Morelia Eróstegui
A World Food Programme (WFP) representative in Bolivia talks to Uru-Murato indigenous women about COVID-19 awareness and healthy nutrition practices.
‘Grow, nourish, sustain. Together’
This Friday, on World Food Day, the Summit team is holding a 24-hour global relay conversation, involving actors, celebrity chefs, and young people, to raise awareness about the unsustainable nature of the global food system, and will also serve as the launch of the Summit dialogues.
The main World Food Day events will begin at 2pm, Central European Time, with an opening ceremony involving key UN officials, Pope Francis, Queen Letizia of Spain and other prominent figures.
Other events include a video mapping show, which will be broadcast live from the Colosseum, and the headquarters of the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) in the Italian capital.
More than half of the loan will back healthcare infrastructure
Financing will also cover transport, social care, education and energy efficiency of public buildings
New partnership will support regional cohesion
The European Investment Bank (EIB) signed a CZK 1.3 billion loan (equivalent to €48 million) with Středočeský kraj, the Region of Central Bohemia in Czech Republic, to improve healthcare, transport, social care and education infrastructures, as well as to increase energy efficiency of public buildings.
EIB loan will cover the construction, modernisation and optimisation of the medical facilities of the region. It will enable the medical infrastructures to achieve higher efficiency, increased service quality, energy savings, as well as improved emergency preparedness, notably to cope with pandemics such as the COVID-19.
Investment in the transport sector will include improvements of the intra-regional connectivity, which will result in safer roads and reduced traffic congestion. The project will also contribute to improve the quality of public services in the sectors of education and culture, thanks to the construction and rehabilitation of dedicated buildings.
EIB Vice-President Lilyana Pavlovasaid: Supporting cohesion so that each European region can achieve its full potential is one of the original raisons d’être of the EIB and is now more than ever one of our priorities. I am very pleased to announce this partnership with the Central Bohemia Region of the Czech Republic during the European Week of Regions and Cities. I am convinced that our joint projects will contribute to build sustainable and resilient infrastructure that will enable the region to cope with current and future health, economic and climate challenges. Together we will enhance the attractiveness of the region and increase economic opportunities and the quality of life of all citizens.”
„In the next four years, the loan will be drawn in the Central Bohemia Region on the basis of individual applications and contracts. The first drawdown should be this year for a total of 52 projects, of which 17 are projects in the field of healthcare (CZK 2 billion), 15 projects in the field of road transport (CZK 449 million), 2 projects in the field of education (CZK 176 million), 4 projects in the field of social affairs (CZK 255 million) and 14 projects in the field of energy savings (CZK 152 million),” specified Gabriel Kovács, Deputy Governor for Finance (ANO 2011).
This new EIB financing contributes to the Central Bohemia regional plans for development and land-use, which seek to improve the backbone infrastructure of the region and thus boost the economy and improve the quality of public services in the region. The energy efficiency measures included in the project for the rehabilitation and construction of new public buildings are in line with the Central Bohemia Energy Policy. The EIB is also providing technical assistance through its European Local ENergy Assistance (ELENA) for deep energy efficiency renovation projects in buildings of organisations administrated by the Central Bohemia Region. As Cohesion Priority Region, Central Bohemia is also receiving EU support to implement its development plans.
The Central Bohemia Region Development Programme 2014-2020 comprises five development priorities for the Region: entrepreneurship and employment, infrastructure and territorial development, human resources and education, countryside and agriculture and environment.
About the Central Bohemia Region
The Central Bohemia Region is located in the centre of Bohemia. It is the largest region of the Czech Republic in terms of size, number of municipalities and population. Its area is 10,929 km2 and the region represents almost 14% of the territory of the Czech Republic. The region features a high proportion of municipalities with a population of up to two thousand (1,031 municipalities), in which 40.9% of the population lives. As of 30 September 2017, the Central Bohemia Region had a population of 1,348,840 and was the most populous region in the Czech Republic. The population density was 123 people per square kilometer. Economic activity and employment of the population, their average wages and household income have been increasing in the Central Bohemia Region for a long time and the numbers are the second highest in the Czech Republic, with Prague being the first.
Doha: The Center for Law and Development (CLD) at the College of Law (LAWC), Qatar University (QU), has been awarded the European Union (EU) Jean Monnet Module funding to deliver courses on EU law to students and professionals in Qatar.
The ‘Doha Courses on European Union Law’ will be the first Jean Monnet Module in Qatar and the GCC, and the courses will be delivered annually for three years. In a funding competition, the CLD won a competitive grant and was one of 360 awarded applications out of the 1447 eligible funding applications in 2020.
The Module aims to create interest in the European Union and constitute the basis for future European knowledge and research poles in Qatar. The Module will allow the CLD to deliver tailor-made courses on specific European Union law issues relevant to graduates’ professional lives.
The Module will promote research and teaching experience among young researchers, scholars, and practitioners in the EU issues. Further, it seeks to foster the publication and dissemination of academic research in EU law and create interest in the EU amongst Qatar students. This will help Qatar-based lawyers develop skills and knowledge in EU law to equip local businesses and organizations better to trade with EU businesses and deal with EU institutions.
Firstly, the Module components focus on introducing the European Union’s legal history and institutions, and secondly, on legal areas where the European Union plays a leading role. It aims to promote international organisations’ knowledge and integration using the European Union as a model, environmental protection, and human rights, critical pillars of QNV2030. The focus on protecting the environment and human rights represents an essential contribution towards promoting environmental and human rights issues in the Qatari society. Increasing education quality on the above issues will have essential spill-overs on Qatari education and community. Finally, there will be a Research Seminar on Conducting Research on European Union Law.
The Jean Monnet Module and its components will contribute to the strategic objectives of promoting the role of Qatar University as a source of expertise to serve the nation’s needs; strengthening local, regional, and international partnerships in strategic areas and be a catalyst development of Qatar. It also seeks to enhance Qatar’s innovation in collaboration with Qatar’s government, industry, and funding organizations. The project will result in improved competencies in law programs.
QU College of Law Associate Dean for Academic Affairs Dr. Khalid Al Shamari, commented: “This will allow for better job placement of graduates and benefits for the national workforce and institutions. It will have a very positive impact on Qatari companies and institutions, thus contributing to the knowledge-based economy and the diversification of growth.”
Several organizations in Qatar have departments dealing with European affairs. Teaching personnel in the Module activities will improve capacities to develop and teach modern European Union law courses that exhibit state-of-the-art European standards.
Nagoya – Remote working this year saved me from the lengthy explanations that accompany my observance of the Jewish High Holidays, Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, which typically fall in late September and early October.
In Japan, usually saying ユダヤ教の休日です (yudayakyō no kyūjitsu desu, they’re Jewish holidays), gets the job done, or maybe I add 大事な (daijina, important) if necessary.
Things get stickier for my Japanese if I have to actually explain what the holidays are. Rosh Hashanah is simply the 新年 (shinnen, new year), so that’s easy, but Yom Kippur is tougher. 去年の罪が神に許されるかどうかの判断の日 (Kyonen no tsumi ga kami ni yurusareru ka dō ka no handan no hi, The day where God decides whether or not you are forgiven for your sins over the past year). 断食をし、朝から夕方までお祈りをしたりする (Danjiki o shi, asa kara yūgata made o-inari o shitari suru, One refrains from eating and prays from morning until dusk).
したりする is helpful in expressing that you do various things besides whatever verb precedes the structure, like how on Rosh Hashanah, 林檎や蜂蜜などの甘いものを食べたりする (ringo ya hachimitsu nado no amai mono o tabetari suru, you eat sweet things, such as apples and honey and so on).
宗教 (shūkyō, religion) and 礼拝 (reihai, religious worship) are certainly different in Japan. While the explanations about my Judaism can be more frustrating to say in Japanese, the distinct religious context of Japanese society is in some ways a relief. At least from the U.S., where 宗教は政治に関わってしまう (shūkyō wa seiji ni kakawatte-shimau, religion ends up getting completely involved with politics). Attaching しまう (shimau) to the te-form of a verb conveys the idea that an undesirable result “ends up” happening: 安息日を忘れてしまう (ansokubi o wasurete-shimau, to end up forgetting the Sabbath). I’ve also seen it translated as to “totally” do something to convey the nuance, like “I totally forgot the Sabbath.”
Japan is one of the least religious countries in the world. Surveys have shown that over 50% of Japanese say they are not 宗教的 (shūkyōteki, religious). About a third consider themselves 仏教 (bukkyō, Buddhist), somewhere between 10 and 30% are 神道 (shintō, Shinto), and less than 10% are キリスト教 (kiristokyō, Christian). The popularity of Christian weddings in Japan also reflects religious variance in Japan, キリスト教の結婚式が一番人気がある (kirisutokyō no kekkonshiki ga ichi-ban ninki ga aru, since Christian weddings are the most popular). Meanwhile just 10% of Japanese say that religion is important to their 日常生活 (nichijō seikatsu, daily life).
And while relatively few Japanese consider themselves 仏教 or 神道, these two religions dominate Japan’s landscape with their お寺 (o-tera, temples) and 神社 (jinja, shrines), and rule the calendar year with 祭り (matsuri, festival). Shinto and Buddhism have coexisted in Japan for over 1,000 years, and have even fused together.「神仏習合」という合同の信仰もある (“Shinbutsu shūgō” to iu gōdō no shinkō mo aru, There is also a combined belief system called “Shinbutsu-shūgō”).
Long story short, whatever your religious beliefs may be, they likely differ drastically from that of Japanese people, and will be met with simple curiosity in conversation. For Japanese practice, feel free to ask and describe your 信仰 (shinkō, faith), as in 神を信じているとまでは言わない (kami o shinjite-iru to made wa iwanai, I wouldn’t go so far as to say that I believe in God).
とまでは言わない (To made wa iwanai) is a useful expression for saying that you can’t quite say that something is true, like 信心深いとまでは言わない (shinjinbukai to made wa iwanai, I wouldn’t call myself devout). Some other handy religious terms include 宗教行事 (shūkyō gyōji, religious events), 日曜学校 (nichiyō gakkō, Sunday school), and 聖書 (seisho, bible), in the trend of the oh-so-common, かつては日曜学校で聖書を勉強していたけれど、今はもう宗教的な生活はしていない (katsute wa nichiyō gakkō de seisho o benkyō shiteita keredo, ima wa mō shūkyōtekina seikatsu wa shite-inai, at one time, I used to study the bible at Sunday School, but I no longer have such a religious lifestyle).
Personally, I’ve felt that without any high-stakes politics pegged so closely to the topic of religion in Japan — at least compared to many of our home countries — speaking about it can lead to interesting and curious discussions. 怖がるトピックではない (Kowagaru topikku dewa nai, It’s not a topic to be scared of). 逆に、話してみたら？ (Gyaku ni, hanashite-mitara? On the contrary, why don’t you try talking about it?)
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Rapper Kanye West on Monday released his first official campaign video in his long-shot bid to be elected U.S. president on Nov. 3, focusing on religion and families.
“A member of the public was inadvertently allowed to enter … after advising they had a booking at the facility,” the spokeswoman said.
STUFF
National leader Judith Collins reacts to news only a fraction of MIQ stays have been paid for.
When asked how the woman got through security, the spokeswoman said a security guard at the fence line recorded her details, then prompted her to reception to talk about it with hotel staff.
The woman was wearing a face mask, sanitised and did not come into contact with guests or touch any surfaces, MIQ said.
“It was quickly established that the individual had a booking in the system which had been booked through a third party,” the spokesperson said.
“The hotel had previously cancelled the booking, however, the individual advised that they hadn’t been informed.”
The Auckland Regional Public Health Service deemed the incident a low public health risk, however the individual has been advised to monitor their health for 14 days as a precaution, MIQ said.
“An investigation is underway following the incident and corrective action is currently being taken to prevent this type of incident occurring again,” the MIQ spokeswoman said.
Butterfly Creek general manager John Dowsett said he’d been told by the Ministry of Health there was no health risk to any of his staff or the attendees of the conference on Tuesday morning.
Emily Ford/Stuff
Butterfly Creek general manager John Dowsett.
Dowsett saidhe was “bloody angry” there’d been another slip-up as his business had already been “hammered” by the lockdowns.
Who runs the facilities?
Managed Isolation and Quarantine (MIQ) is part of the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE). It is jointly led by deputy chief executive Megan Main and Air Commodore Darryn Webb, who is MIQ head.
Among the staff inside the MIQs are police officers, NZ Defence Force and Aviation Security Service personnel, together with hotel workers and some private security.
On August 19, the Government announced 500 extra Defence Force personnel would be deployed to managed isolation facilities, and soldiers now guard the perimeter of the facilities.
The cover of Corona Virus Came to Town, a new children’s book by Pam Stradeski of LaSalle.Photo by Pam Stradeski /Windsor Star
“This situation, it’s not been terrible to the little ones,” said Stradeski, who has worked in child care for more than 25 years.
“As much as it affects parents, children are probably just finding they are getting more family time. Their mummies and daddies might be home more and not as busy.”
The kids in the book laugh, dance, and play — while the green creature spies on them.
As the book is geared for children still learning to read, the words don’t mention any of the science or politics of COVID-19.
However, Stradeski made sure to include a page acknowledging health care providers, emergency responders, and essential workers such as truck drivers and grocery store employees.
Feedback for the book has been overwhelmingly positive, Stradeski said. “Whenever I put something out, I never know how popular it’s going to be.”
More On This Topic
A page from the children’s book Corona Virus Came to Town, by Pam Stradeski of LaSalle.Photo by Pam Stradeski /Windsor Star
Corona Virus Came to Town is Stradeski’s fourth self-published children’s book.
The illustrations in the book are by her niece, Key Howe.
“She’s in London now,” Stradeski said. “She does the drawings for all my books. I love her dearly.”
The book is being sold for $6. The first print-run was just 100 copies.
“I’m not a chain store. I’m just a granny at home who stays with children,” Stradeski said. “Writing for kids is just a passion of mine.”
LaSalle’s Pam Stradeski holds up two of her self-published children’s books: My Special Blanket and Corona Virus Came to Town. Photographed Oct. 11, 2020.Photo by Nick Brancaccio /Windsor Star
The Bulgarian Book Association is to participate in the digital edition of the 72nd Frankfurt Book Fair, the association has announced.
The event will take place in the period October 14 to 18th with the participation of book publishers, booksellers and literary agents from 85 countries, including many European countries, China, Taiwan, Argentina, Colombia, Kazakhstan, USA, Canada, BTA has reported.
The program provides 70 hours of online events, conferences, interviews with world-renowned guests. Bulgaria aims to promote its literature in the West and to find opportunities for selling rights on the international market. The participation is funded by the Ministry of Culture.
Dale Carnegie, writer of “How to Win Friends and Influence People” had quoted that ” Most of the important things in the world have been accomplished by people who have kept on trying when there seemed to no hope at all”. This is a forthright statement about resilient people.
Do you want to become a person who doesn’t give up when the situation seems impossible to win? If the answer is yes, you can strengthen up yourself internally by reading a book titled “Tough Times never last but tough people do”. It is written by Robert H. Schuller.
Robert H. Schuller was an American Television Evangelist, pastor, motivational speaker and author. He was renowned for the weekly television programmes “Hour of Power”. He has authored many other inspirational books like
o Way to the Good Life (1963)
o Your Future is Your Friend (1964),
o Move Ahead With Possibility Thinking (1967)
o Self-Love (1975)
o You Can Be the Person You Want to Be (1976)
o Toughminded Faith for Tenderhearted People (1979),
o Self-Esteem: The New Reformation (1982)
o The Power of Being Debt Free (1985);
o Living Positively One Day at a Time (1986)
o Success Is Never Ending, Failure Is Never Final (1990)
o Life’s Not Fair, But God Is Good (1991)
o Possibility Thinking (1993)
o Prayer: My Soul’s Adventure with God (1995),
o My Journey: From an Iowa Farm to a Cathedral of Dreams (2001)
o Hours of Power (2004)
o Don’t Throw Away Tomorrow (2005)
The book “Tough Times Never last, but Tough people do!” is an inspirational and motivational book. It was published in the year 1983. Although the book was printed in the early 1980s, still it is one of the most relevant books in this time of pandemic and economic turmoil because of closure of economic activity.
The reason for the relevancy of the book is it toughened up ourselves internally as we read the book. If we are tough inside we can faced any challenged in our life. As Knute Rockne, the American Football player had quoted “When the going gets tough the tough gets going”. And definitely this book will certainly fortify you internally.
The book is divided three sections:-
Section 1. Tough Times Never last, but Tough people do
Section 2. Here how you can be tough too!
Section 3. Beginning is half done. This section is one of the most inspiring section of the book.
The book begins with the story of some of the famous and not so famous personalities who have struggled and overcome the difficulties in their lives. The author narrates the spirit lifting tales of how he built up the Crystal cathedral with its many problems, roadblocks and obstacles. The authors also lay bare his tough early childhood. He had described it so vividly and so perceptibly that you will feel the troubles and pain in his childhood period as if it had happened in your life. These you can find in Section 1 of the book.
Section 2 begins with the autopsy and analysis of problem. The special characteristic of problem is that “Nobody is free from problem. A problem free life is an illusion a mirage in the desert. It is a dangerously deceptive perception, which can mislead, blind and distract. To pursue a problem free life is to run after an elusive fantasy; it is a waste of mental and physical energies”.
Further, how to manage and overpower problems in a positive way has also been discussed in this book. What is leadership and Ten commandment of possibility thinking has also been discussed in this section. The last section i.e. Section no. 3 is the most important and inspiring part of the book.
Here you will find that the 26 letters of the English Alphabet being turn into action words so that you may have the inspiration to take action on your current problem and come out a winner on the other side.
This is the brief summary of the book.
Now the reasons why you should read this book are discussed below:-
It help you look at your problems in proper perspectives:-
The author has listed some of the way to looked at your problem so that it doesn’t overwhelm you. He listed some of the eternal truth of your Problem.
Some of the immutable truth of your problems are as follows:-
A. Everybody has problem. A person with no problem can be found only in the graveyard.
B. Every problem has a limited time span. Most of the problem doesn’t last more than a month or a year.
C. Every problem has positive possibilities. As there is a saying that every cloud has silver lining. There is always something we can learn from problems that can make our life better.
D. You can choose what your problem can do to you. You have the power to run away and hide from the problem. Or you can choose to be brave and meet problems head on.
The 12 Principles of managing problem positively:- The author has listed principles of managing and overcoming the problem of our life positively. Here some of the important principles are discussed.
a. Don’t underestimate: Most of the problems in our life never get solves because we tend to underestimate the seriousness of the problem. Further, we tend to underrate our potential to solve the problem. Thus, we need not to underestimate a problem or our power to cope with it.
b. Don’t exaggerate:- Further there are people who are inclined to amplify their problem. We don’t need it to exaggerate but we need to look at it in a proper perspectives.
c. Don’t wait, start acting. :- If we have a problem we need to take action to solves the problem at hand as soon as possible. The sooner you take action the earlier the problem will be solved.
d. Don’t aggravate:- We have the power to make any problem better or worse. We do this by acting positively or negatively. Remember “Nobody is defeated until he starts blaming somebody else”.
e. Illuminate:- Illuminate your mind by learning new things. Get smart and get smarter by asking these questions:-
i. Has any other person faced my problem and how he overcome it?
ii. What really is my problem?
f. Sublimate: The author has written that every problem is loaded with possibilities. When you can’t eliminate the problem, channelize your problem into something useful. This is very important because there are problems for which there are no solution.
g. Insulate : You need to insulate yourself from negative thought and bad habits. We need to change our habits into a positive habit.
Leadership: If we want to manage our problem successfully, we need to take a chance, charge and control. And how do we take control? We need to practice leadership. Leadership is the force that selects our dreams and our goals.
Leadership can be practice in the following way:-
a. Don’t surrender leadership to outside forces:- Never surrender leadership to forces such as lack of fund, property or location. If you need more money, or relocate your business take charge and take control. The author has quoted “Money flows to good ideas: good ideas spawn other good ideas; dreams inspire creativity in money management.
b. Don’t surrender leadership to fences: Fences are the limiting concept like I don’t have required education, I lack the required fund. It causes us to lower our goals, with the result that we strive for and achieve less than our capabilities. We need to believe in our ability.
c. Don’t surrender leadership to your fantasies: We have a brilliant idea to solve our problems and soon we reject it due to our negative fantasies. If you are one of these persons. Remember “If your dreams are bigger than most, if your ideas are more creative. There will be criticism”
d. Surrender your leadership to God :- let faith in God be in control of every decision and every action. Surrender yourself to God. When you are look at your life and where it’s headed, ask yourself these questions:- Who am I?, Why am I here? Where am I headed?
Ten commandment of Possibility thinking. In this part the authors has defined Management as “Management is the control of a resource in order to minimize waste and maximize the development of latent possibilities”. Further in this chapter the writer has given the ways to manage an idea through 10 Commandment of Possibility Thinking. Some of the Commandments are given below:-
a. Never reject a possibility because you see something wrong with it:- There is something wrong with every good idea. Isolate and neutralize the negative from the possibilities. And start working on that idea.
b. Never reject an idea or a possibility because you won’t get the credit:- you need not worry about who gets the credit. Decisions must never be made on ego need. They must be made on human need and market pressures. Decide today: Would you rather satisfy your ego or enjoy the fruit of success.
c. Never reject an idea because you don’t have the money, manpower, muscles or months to achieve it. If you don’t have them, you can get them. Spend enough time, use enough energy, develop enough human resources, acquire enough financial capital and you can do almost anything.
Here we need to remember that “Nothing is more difficult than to keep waiting, working, plodding & maintaining patience through dark time. But we must”.
For the marvellous piece of philosophy entitled “Anyway”:- the philosophy read as
People are unreasonable, illogical and self centered,
Love them anyway
If you do good, people will accuse you of selfish ulterior motives
Do good anyway
If you are successful, you will win false friends and true enemies
Succeed anyway
Honesty and frankness make you vulnerable
Be honest and frank anyway
The good you do today will be forgotten tomorrow
Do good anyway
The biggest people with the biggest ideas can be shot down by the smallest people with the smallest minds.
Think big anyway
People favour underdogs but follow only top dogs
Fight for some underdogs anyway
What you spent years building may be destroyed overnight.
Build anyway.
Give the world the best you have and you’ll get kicked in the teeth.
Give the world the best you’ve got anyway.
Alphabet for action:- The people at the top of the ladder work harder than anybody else. Because they have gotten into the habit of working hard. To really succeed in life, all you have to do is
a. Get started
b. Never quit. Here in this chapter all the 26 letters of English Alphabets are transformed into action words such as
i. A is for affirm:- Affirm that you can do.
ii. B is for believe that somehow, sometime, somewhere through someone’s help you can achieve your heart’s highest goals.
iii. C for Commit. Commit yourself to a dream
iv. D Dare to try, to love.
v. E is for Educate. Educate yourself.
vi. F Find the talent, the possibilities, the time, the money and the way.
vii. G for Give. A giving attitude is the secret to successful living.
viii. H for Hope. Hope is holding on, praying on expectantly.
Similarly the remaining letters are transformed into action words.
So this book is a must read for all the people who are facing problems in this times of turmoil. Just read it, Most of your problem will be solved by acting on the Principles given in this book. Just read it and enjoy your life.
* Nongmaithem Rakesh Singh wrote this article for e-pao.net
The writer can be contacted at rakeshnon(AT)gmail(DOT)com
