Yesterday in the annual Leadership Summit (more on that in another post later), Bill Hybels advised us that in order to stay inspired, we must emerge ourselves with inspiring stories. And this morning, I was watching the second half of the Liverpool vs. Aston Villa game. Man, was I inspired...
After the goal-keeper having a "super-save", Kuyt, understanding the role of a forward is more than shooting, hussled down the goal-line and saved the ball back in play, and it resulted in an own-goal by a Villa player. 1-0 Liverpool. Lesson: Give your best effort to the team, even if it leads to no credit on the stat sheet.
13 minutes to go in the match, Carragher, who's been magnificen up to this point, got careless and committed a hand-ball in the box. Penalty converted. 1-1. The race to the much-converted league championship seems to have a dent on the start. The lesson: focus to the end, especially if you've been performing well.
2 minutes later, Gerrard, the inspirational captain, was waving for the ball. You could see he wanted it, and he was not gonna wait for someone to make it happen. He got the ball, he made his move, and he drew a spot kick just outside the box. While the Villa players were positioning the wall, there were three Liverpool players behind the ball. But at this crucial time, we all knew who was gonna take it. The erractic long shots from minutes ago would not dissuade the captain to avoid the risk of embarrassing himself in front of the Villa home crowd... The ball left his foot, ascended well above the bar and outside of the post, and then it raced toward the top left corner of the net. Neither the well-positioned goal keeper nor the well set-up wall could have prevented the determined captain from saving his team. 2-1 Liverpool. The captain led his troop to victory again (video) . The lesson? Be a self starter in a team. Don't wait for things to happen. Make things happen for the good of the team.
I can't wait for next week to be inspired again ;) Until then, I need to convert this inspiration to productive results.
Yesterday, we started a chain of emails on how we were doing on the Old Cake HK Commercial Test (now you know I'm in college for real). And it led me to this classic commercial...
The Americans have Coke, the Japanese have Nissin Noodles, the French have... well... snails. We from HK can proudly say we have Vitasoy!!! Somehow, this drink will bring you back memories of your childhood. You remember drinking it cold with your friends during summer and drinking it hot with your family during Chinese New Year. Somehow, you feel loved when you drink it up. Now you've grown up and when you drink it, you want to cry either because you're having such a good time with your friends in front of you or you're desperately missing family from home. The packaging is far from fancy. In fact, I don't think it has changed since at least the 70's. Yet, sometimes good things never change and they don't need to. After watching this commercial, featuring a foreign student who left his family and went to San Francisco to study, I finally understood why I paid 2 dollars for a carton of Vitasoy in the school cafe between classes last quarter.
This afternoon, I found a pleasant surprise in watching this movie, which recounts the story of how one homeless but responsible dad fought his way through homelessness to become an influential stock broker. Several scenes made a lasting impression:
During interview, Chris Gardner (played by Will Smith) had to convince the board to accept him as an intern. "If I don't know the answer, I'll flat out admit I don't know. But I do know how to find the answers and I WILL find the answer!" This quote is probably gonna be my motto for my graduate school career. It sounds so simple but his determination and level of intensity is a deliberate decision on his part. Successes don't come by accidents.
In the shelter, as Chris was trying to get his son Christopher (played by Jaden Smith, son of Will Smith) to bed. Little Christopher was so frightened by the strange surrounding and confusion over the things happening around him. Instead of trying to explain what a 5 year-old wouldn't completely understand, Chris simply asked his son to trust him. And he did. In return, he gave daddy a kiss and his promise to trust. Chris was delighted. This scene just reminds me of the relationship between our heavenly father and us. Like Chris, we sometimes find ourselves in strange situations or tough times. Many times God doesn't explain everything, instead simply asks us to trust Him. And like Chris, our heavenly father never fails us and has promised he'd never forsake us. This personal relationship between the Creator and His creation is the essence of Christianity.
While trying to make ends meet by selling dense bone image machines during the day, Chris studied Security Analysis in the middle of the night. Lack of lights from the shelter did not become the perfect excuse for him to get the much-needed rest. He had a sense of urgency, and he had a drive for success. His story reminds me how privildeged I am to be a student in such an ideal academic setting. The lack of deadline and 70 degree days can get my eyes off the goal at times. But after watching this movie, I can't take it for granted anymore. It has given me a renewed determination to strive for nothing but excellence, in response to the opportunities my heavenly father has given and entrusted me.
One of the best and most inspiring movies I've wtached. Highly recommended.
