Let Christmas inspire us to reach beyond our potentials

THE MANILA TIMES Business Times p.B1 Saturday, December 19, 2009   Learning & Innovation By Moje Ramos-Aquino, FPM Let Christmas inspire us to reach beyond our potentials   During Christmas season we are often so full of good thoughts about others.  We think about spending more time with family and friends.  We stretch our budget to buy worthy gifts for them.   Recently I feel fortunate to listen to a very inspiring talk by Kuya Ef (CNN Hero of the Year Efren Peñaflorida to most of you).  He shared with us the four principles behind his achievements.  These are:   • ONE is never too poor to find ways to help others. • ONE is never too young (too old, in some cases) to give back to society. • ONE is never too strong to do things on his own (we need others). • ONE is never too ordinary to be a hero.   Indeed, Kuya Ef is so full of others not only during a specific season, but always.  His saga is now known all over the world.   While we are feeling generous toward others this season, how can you stay and act on this feeling every day of the new year?  This is what I am going to do starting next year.  And I urge you to do this in your own community with your family, friends and colleagues.  This is a good corporate social responsibility project for small and medium enterprises since it does not need a lot of funding.   I have written a note in my Facebook (FB) page and I have added some new insights based on feedback from my FB friends.   So many Filipinos are talented but idle and still very willing to help others (e.g. retirees, unemployed, etc.) and as Kuya Ef would say, rich, poor, educated, uneducated, fat, thin, etc.   I am also inspired by what US President Barack Obama is doing: "It starts with you."  Please go to this link—http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=to5prZgH3No—and know more about it.   President Obama says, "We are at one of those rare moments in history where we've been given the opportunity to change our country for the better. But it's never easy and it never starts in Washington.  It starts with you."   So let's start with us.  First we will organize as a core group.  Basically we will be a group of organizers, trainers and coaches.  Between four to 10 will be a good number for a working group.  Let's start with an assessment of what we have, our strengths, what we could contribute, whatever we have, e.g. talent, skills, money, time, kindness, love, lessons learned from experience, and others.   Then, let's craft our group's vision, mission, values, goals and objectives to enable us to work as a team cohesively and uniformly.  After which, we will identify our pilot community and map out a schedule for subsequent targeted communities.   Let's start with our own communities. If there are existing organizations (neighborhood or homeowners associations), then let's work with them.  If no organization exists, we will organize them.  Again, four to 10 people will be ideal for a team.  They will become our counterpart core group in that community. Strictly NO POLITICS here please.   As we did with our original group, we will assist them by way of helping them assess their own strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats.  Basically they will be a group of organizers, trainers and coaches.   Then we will give them training on planning, organizing, leadership, controlling, training, coaching, basic accounting and others.  If there are already subject experts in their group, then, we will tap them to do the training.  Consequently we will help them to plan and organize and determine their own courses of action to better serve the needs of their community.   Then we shall move on to the next target community and replicate the same process until we reach as many communities as we could.  We will teach them how to fish and won't give them any fish or dole outs, unless we have the resources and there is a gaping need for such.   Those of you out there, who are with us, please raise your hands and be counted.  Please send us an e-mail, or if you are online, write a comment at the bottom of this page.   Let us channel our energies to productive and useful endeavors by helping others.  Let us not just sit and observe, lament, complain and curse the government.  Let us not just be content and comfortable.   It is never too late to be a contributor to the betterment of our world.  It starts with us.   www.learningandinnovation.com, innovationcamp@yahoo.com