SCHULTZ PHILOSOPHY

The following is the philosophy of Charles Schultz, the creator of the "Peanuts" comic strip.

You don't have to actually answer the questions. Just read the e-mail straight through, and you'll get the point.

1. Name the five wealthiest people in the world.

2. Name the last five Heisman trophy winners.

3. Name the last five winners of the Miss America.

4. Name ten people who have won the Nobel or Pulitzer Prize.

5. Name the last half dozen Academy Award winners for best actor and actress.

6. Name the last decade's worth of World Series winners.

How did you do? The point is, none of us remember the headliners of yesterday. These are nosecond-rate achievers. They are the best in their fields. But the applause dies. Awards tarnish. Achievements are forgotten. Accolades and certificates are buried with their owners.

Here's another quiz. See how you do on this one:

1. List a few teachers who aided your journey through school.

2. Name three friends who have helped you through a difficult time.

3. Name five people who have taught you something worthwhile.

4. Think of a few people who have made you feel appreciated and special.

5. Think of five people you enjoy spending time with.

Easier?

Moral

The people who make a difference in your life are not the ones with the most credentials, the most money, or the most awards. They are the ones that care.

"Don't worry about the world coming to an end today. It's already tomorrow in Australia ."

DAD & YOU

At age 8, your dad buys you an ice cream. You thanked him by dripping it all over your lap.

When you were 9 years old, he paid for piano lessons. You thanked him by never even bothering to practice.

When you were 10 years old he drove you all day, from soccer to football to one birthday party after another. You thanked him by jumping out of the car and never looking back.

When you were 11 years old, he took you and your friends to the movies. You thanked him by asking to sit in a different row.

When you were 12 years old, he warned you not to watch certain TV shows. You thanked him by waiting until he left the house.

When you were 13, he suggested a haircut that was becoming. You thanked him by telling him he had no taste.

When you were 14, he paid for a month away at summer camp. You thanked him by forgetting to write a single letter.

When you were 15, he came home from work, looking for a hug. You thanked him by having your bedroom door locked.

When you were 16, he taught you how to drive his car. You thanked him by taking it every chance you could.

When you were 17, he was expecting an important call. You thanked him by being on the phone all night.

When you were 18, he cried at your high school graduation. You thanked him by staying out partying until dawn.

When you were 19, he paid for your college tution, drove you to campus and carried your bags. You thanked him by saying good-bye outside the dorm so you wouldn't be embarrassed in front of your friends.

When you were 25, he helped to pay for your wedding, and he cried and told you how deep he loved you. You thanked him by moving half-way across the country.

When you were 50, he fell ill and needed you to take care of him. You thanked him by reading about the burden parents become to their children.

And then, one day, he quietly died. And everything you never did came crashing down like thunder on YOUR HEART.

HARE & TORTOISE - RACE AGAIN

Once upon a time a Tortoise and a Hare-had an argument about who was faster, “ I'm the fastest runner,” said the Hare. “ That's not true. The fastest runner is me’’ retorted the Tortoise.

They decided to settle the argument with a race. They agreed on a route and started off the race. Hare says, “Ok. Let’s have a race.” “Fine,” the Tortoise replies.

The Hare shot ahead and ran briskly for some time. Seeing that he was far ahead of the Tortoise, he thought he would relax under a tree for some time before continuing the race.

Poor guy! Even if I take a nap, he could not catch up with me, the Hare thought. He sat under the tree and soon fell asleep.

Tortoise plodding on overtook him and soon finished the race, emerging as the undisputed champ.

The Hare woke up and realized that he'd lost the race.

Moral

Slow and steady wins the race.

This is the version of the story that we've all grown up with.

The story continues....

The Hare was disappointed at losing the race. He realized that he'd lost the race only because had been overconfident, careless and lax. If he had not taken things for granted, there is no way the Tortoise could have beaten him.

The Hare challenged the Tortoise to another race. The Tortoise agreed.

This time, the Hare went all out an ran without stopping from start to finish. He won by several miles.

Moral

Fast and consistent will always beat the slow and steady. If you have two people in your organization, one slow, methodical and reliable, and the other fast and still reliable at what he does, the fast and reliable chap will consistently climb the organizational ladder faster than the slow, methodical chap.

It’s good to be slow and steady; but it’s better to be fast and reliable.

But the story doesn’t end there.

The Tortoise did some thinking this time, and realized that there’s no way he can beat the Hare in a race the way it was currently formatted. “How can I win the race?” he thought.

He thought for a while, and then challenged the Hare to another race, but on a slightly different route.

The Hare agreed.

Tortoise: Can we have another race? This time we’ll go through a different route.”

Hare: Sure.

They started off. In keeping with his self made commitment to be consistently fast, the Hare took off and ran at top speed until he came to a broad river. The finishing line was a couple of kilometers on the other side of the river.

The Hare sat there wondering what to do. In the meantime the Tortoise trundled along, got into the river, swam to the opposite bank, continued walking and finished the race.

Moral

First identify your core competency and then change the playing field to suit your core competency.

In an organization, if you are a good speaker, make sure you create opportunities to give presentations that enable the senior management to notice you.

If your strength is analysis, make sure you do some sort of research, make a report and send it upstairs.

Working to your strengths will not only get you noticed, but will also cerate opportunities for growth and advancement.

The story still hasn’t ended.

The Hare and the Tortoise, by this time, had become pretty good friends and they did some thinking together. Both realized that the last race could have been run much better.

So they decided to do the last race again, but to run as a team this time.

Hare: Hi, buddy how about doing our last race again?

Tortoise: Great ! I think we could do it much better, if we two help each other.

They started off, and this time the Hare carried the Tortoise till the rivebank. There, the Tortoise took over and swam across with the Hare on his back.

On the opposite Bank, the Hare again carried the Tortoise and they reached the finishing line together. They both felt a greater sense of satisfaction than they had felt earlier.

Moral

It is good to be individually brilliant and to have strong core competencies; but unless you are able to work in a team and harness each other’s core competencies, you will ways perform below par because there will always be situations in which you will do poorly, and someone else does well. Teamwork is mainly about situational leadership, letting the person with the relevant core competency for a situation take leadership.

Lessons to learn

There are more lessons to be learnt from this story. Note that neither the Hare nor the Tortoise gave up after failures. The Hare decided to work harder and put in more effort after his failure. The Tortoise changed his strategy because he was already working as hard as he could.

In life, when faced with failure, sometimes it is appropriate to work harder and put in more effort. Sometimes it is appropriate to change strategy and try something different. And sometimes it is appropriate to do both.

The Hare and the Tortoise also learnt another vital lesson. When we stop competing against a rival and instead start competing against the situation, we perform far better.

To sum up, the story of the Hare and Tortoise teaches us many things

Never give up when faced with failure.

Fast and consistent will ways beat slow and steady.

Work to your competencies.

Compete against the situation, not against a rival.

Pooling resources and working as a team will always beat individual performers.

Let’s go and build stronger teams!

GROWING UP IS OPTIONAL

The first day of school our professor introduced us to get to know someone we didn’t already know. I stood up to look around when a gentle hand touched my shoulder.

I turned round to find a wrinkled, little old lady beaming up at me with a smile that lit up her entire being. She said, “Hi handsome. My name is Rose. I’m eighty-seven years old. Can I give you a hug?” I laughed and enthusiastically responded, “ Of course you may!” and she gave me a giant squeeze.

“Why are you in college at such a young, innocent age?” I asked. She jokingly replied, “I’m here to meet a rich husband, get married, and have a couple of kids.”

“No seriously,” I asked. I was curious what may have motivated her to be taking on this challenge at her age.

“ I always dreamt of having a college education and now I’m getting one!” she told me.

After class we walked to student union building and shared a chocolate milkshake. We become instant friends. Every day for the next three months, we would leave class together and talk non-stop. I was always mesmerized listening to this time machine as she shared her wisdom and experience with me.

Over the course of the year, Rose become a campus icon and she easily made friends wherever she went. She loved to dress up and she revelled in the attention bestowed upon her from the other students. She was living it up. At the end of the semester we invited Rose to speak at our football banquet. I”II never forget what she taught us. She was introduced and stepped up to the podium. As she began to deliver her prepared speech, she dropped her three by five cards on the floor.

Frustrated and a little embarrassed she leaned into the microphone and simply said, “I’m sorry I’m so jittery. I gave up beer for Lent and this whiskey is killing me! I’II never get my speech back in order so let me just tell you what I know.”

As we laughed she cleared her throat and begin, “We do not stop playing because we are old; we grow old because we stop playing. There are only four secrets to staying young, being happy and achieving success: You have to laugh and find humour every day. You’ve got to have a dream. When you lose your dreams, you die.

We have so many people walking around who are dead and don’t even know it! There is a huge difference between growing older and growing up. If you are nineteen years old and lie in bed for one full year and don’t do one productive thing, you will turn twenty years old. If I am eighty-seven years old and stay in bed for a year and never do anything I will turn eighty-eight.

Anybody can grow older. That doesn’t take any talent or ability. The idea is to grow up by always finding opportunity in change. Have no regrets. The elderly usually don’t have regrets for what we did, but rather for things we did not do. The only people who fear death are those with regrets.”

She concluded her speech and challenged each of us to ponder over what she had said and to live these thoughts out in our daily lives. At the year’s end Rose finished the college degree she had begun all those years ago.

One week after graduation, Rose died peacefully in her sleep. Over two thousand college students attended her funeral in tribute to the wonderful woman who taught by example that it is never too late to be a all you can possibly be.

Moral

Growing older is mandatory; growing up is optional.