From End to Beginning

It may be weird talking about the end to start a blog, but lets see where it goes...

THE END GAME

If you think closing out a chess match with a bishop and a king is tricky, try closing out a long term relationship. So much emotion, so little time to say the right thing, and so little are the amount of right things to be said. You heard it one way, I heard it another. You perceived it one way, I perceived it another. Love one click too much turns to hate. The emotion and passion that fueled the relationship is now the force that destroys it. Emotional instability on the part of both parties is the norm, and only an insane amount of effort and tears can save both parties as they teeter on the brink of self-pitied insanity. But in the end, most people will realize that emotion will overcome intelligence, and regardless of what you might say, all the great intentions will inevitably be misconstrued. All your actions can't really help but be taken as destructive, and the glass will be interpreted as half empty, even if it's three-quarters full.

BUILDING

I never understood the deeper concept of building until about two months ago. I used to be an engineer, and building was always something tangible...like building a pipeline or a water treatment plant. But now i realize that anything great needs to be built. Not just the pyramids, or the Taj Mahal or the Great Wall of China. I realize that everything that happens, happens by design and planning, not by luck. Even the idea of winning the lottery, which most would consider luck, takes planning and dedication to go buy a ticket every week, though that would be considered very little commitment compared to most things, and when most people do win the lottery, the lack of planning and dedication to their money is often what leaves them even worse off in the end as they squander their fortunes, usually within a few short years.

The true idea of building really can't be understood at a deeper level until something you've built falls apart. Like when people build a building and it falls down, or a businessman builds a company that collapses, or when an entrepreneur builds a vision that falters, or a couple builds a future that ends far too soon. It is then that we can understand that anything can work for a short time, but for the long run, building is not an overnight success, and requires many months and years (if not more) of dedication, and probably more mistakes than we'd like to admit. It takes more dedication than most are willing to put in, and the rewards are not guaranteed. That's why there are so few builders in the world today. Building takes a "put it all on the line" mentality that few people are willing to do, and probably the reason that so few people really reach their full potential in life. I have come to realize that being a builder is ultimate position in life because it says that you are willing to give everything for something you believe in. It says that the fear of failing is much less than your will to succeed. It says that when all fails, you refuse to fail. It says that when you get knocked down time and again, you will get back up and fight for something that is more worthy than even our greatest effort. I am a builder, I build my career, I build my life.

WRITING ON THE WALL IN MOTHER TERESA'S HOME FOR CHILDREN IN CALCUTTA:

People are often unreasonable, illogical, and self-centered;
Forgive them anyway.

If you are kind, People may accuse you of selfish, ulterior motives;
Be kind anyway.

If you are successful, you will win some false friends and some true enemies;
Succeed anyway.

If you are honest and frank, People may cheat you;
Be honest and frank anyway.

What you spend years building, someone could destroy overnight;
Build anyway.

If you find serenity and happiness, They may be jealous;
Be happy anyway.

The good you do today, people will often forget tomorrow;
Do good anyway.

Give the world the best you have, and it may never be enough;
Give the world the best you've got anyway.

You see, in the final analysis, it is between you and God;
It was never between you and them anyway.

Mother Teresa