I think it is appropriate to make a 'Grand' entry to the world of blogging by introducing a piece of fantastic article, both for the young and the old by Paul Holmes. His argument is very logical, practical and utterly true. Hope we all can learn something from this. KT
Paul Holmes: Right attitude makes own luck
6:00PM Sunday Nov 01, 2009 By
Paul Holmes
A couple of times this year I have been asked to speak to high school students. For what it is worth, here is what I tell them about life as I have found it so far.
Schools are wonderful places of learning and caring and friendships. It doesn't matter how flash or not a school is. What's important is that you love your school. If you love your school, it will love you back.
Of course, I know it's not easy to love your school if you've got other things on your mind; if things aren't good at home, for example, or if no matter how hard you try you just don't seem to be able to pass things too easily. Sadly, for some people, school can seem only to be a place where you do not succeed in the ways you want. Other people, the luckier ones, breeze through school. It is easier for them to love school, because it is a place that rewards them.
But school is where you meet people you will know all your life. And when you look back on your school when you have passed through it, I hope you are able to look back and cherish your school.
I went to a school like this, Karamu High in Hastings. Successful people can come from any school. You don't have to start out wealthy to do well.
Karamu High is down one of the state house ends of Hastings. Our year, nevertheless, produced two Cabinet ministers. It produced a man who for nine years was president of the New Zealand Labour Party. It produced a distinguished scientist. And it produced me, a man who may have done reasonably well in the tricky old world of broadcasting.
I want to tell you some things from what I've learned about life. You can take them or leave them.
I learnt above all, only three things matter. Attitude, attitude and attitude.
How you see the world is how well you'll do. If you are the kind of person who always finds fault in things or people, the world will always find fault in you. If you always complain, if you always think something is wrong, you will not get ahead. No one likes a whinger.
Attitude, attitude, and attitude. Always try to be positive about the world. Always try to be positive about yourself. Always try to be positive about other people.
I know that's not always easy for people your age. You're coming into your teenage years. They're not easy. Teenagers are supposed to be miserable, difficult people a lot of the time. It's just how it is. I would not want to be your age again. But I tell you this, and I want you never to forget it.
Develop a positive attitude, a sunny attitude, and something wonderful happens. People will like you. People will welcome you. Through them, you will meet other people because you'll be pleasant to have around. If you believe, you can achieve. If you can dream it, you can do it.
A great German poet, Goethe, once said. "The moment you definitely commit yourself is the moment providence also moves. All kinds of things occur to help you which would not otherwise happen. A whole stream of advantageous events flow from your decision. They bring you all kinds of unexpected chance meetings and material assistance which no one could have foreseen. Whatever you do, or dream you can do, begin it. Boldness has genius, power and magic in it. To make your dream come true, begin."
There will be times you will have to be bold in order to achieve. There will be times you will have to take a risk with your life's direction. Fortune favours the brave. There will be times when you will have to be brave, even if you feel you can't be.
When
Sir Edmund Hillary lunged over the top of that vertical rocky crevasse forever to be called the Hillary Step to find himself a few metres from the summit of Everest, that was boldness and risk and daring of the highest order.
Peter Blake set out to sail at speed round the world, driving hard at night in ferocious gales in the frigid Southern Ocean - that was real daring, real risk. In taking those risks, both men conquered their worlds.
Don't worry yet if you don't know exactly what you want to do in life. I kind of always wanted to be in radio. I never had much desire for television although later I got a fantastic opportunity to do what became the Holmes programme and I took it and embraced it. However, at the start, although I knew I loved radio and that I had a powerful fascination for it, I didn't really know what I wanted to do in radio. So I travelled the world working on air in countries like the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, Austria and Australia.
I did not really know what I wanted until I was about 35. Then, at 37, I got the challenge of my life with the NewstalkZB breakfast show which I did for nearly 22 years. Taking that programme on was a great risk. I could have failed miserably and for the first year, I did. But I persevered and won the ratings war. Then two years later, the Holmes programme came along. Man, did I work.
People thought it was a glamorous life. Certainly I was paid well. But it was nothing but daily hard work, getting up at 4 in the morning, getting home at 8 at night.
My point is this. People say I've been lucky. And I have been. The time was right for me. I've had and I still have wonderful jobs and they've paid me more than I ever thought possible. But you know what? The harder I worked, the luckier I got.
So, you don't need to panic about your life. Some people find out what they want early, some find out later. And if you are struggling at school, don't worry either. New Zealand's richest man left school at 15. Work hard at your schoolwork, but if you're struggling, don't let it get you down.
You know something? I never met a dumb person. I believe that. Everyone has a unique and valid view of the world. We are simply, all of us, different. Some of us get there sooner than others. And we are all good at something. It is simply a matter of finding out what it is. Work hard at whatever you do and life itself will guide you. Just follow the signs.
I learnt in my work, dealing with people round the world and round New Zealand, that intelligence is not a vertical thing. Intelligence is much more subtle. Some people are brilliant academically but they might be terribly boring and hopeless with other people and they may not have good attitudes to life. It is not just intelligence that will get you ahead. More important is what you've got in your guts and your heart.
There is another important thing. You get nothing that is worthwhile free in life. You have to do the work. There is nothing romantic about hard work. It's lonely. It can be a drag. But when you get a break at something, a chance to do something you love, then go for it and work hard. Work harder than everyone else around you.
And if you work hard, something else happens. You will get even greater opportunities. And when opportunity comes along, take it, because opportunity plus hard work equals even further opportunities and luck.
By luck, I mean that which you make yourself. I mean the luck that comes from hard work and a good attitude. If you work hard, you will be lucky and you will succeed.
Life is not easy. It isn't now for you, possibly. It is not easy for the grown-ups, either. There are always obstacles in our way. We all have stuff in our lives that sadden us or disappoint us. We all have things in our hearts that weigh upon us. We all have secrets. We've all tried to do things we couldn't make work. We've all loved people who didn't love us back.
But it is not the bad luck or the negatives in our lives that define us. What defines us is how we cope with them. I have found that every problem is lessened when you turn to face it. If you put it off, or run away from it, it will get bigger or at least seem to. Face your problems, talk about them, share them with a friend. You'll be amazed how, when you do so, your burden lifts.
Friends. In the end, people are all we have. Treasure your friends. Look after your mates.
People are everything. Don't dismiss people because they're different from you.
Find out what makes them tick, and you'll be amazed at how much you learn and how much they give back. Understanding other people is one of the keys to success.
Knowing what people want and why they want things and want to do things will help you towards your dream. Help other people with their dreams and they will help you with yours.
Be interested in other people. Every single person on Earth is fascinating. Each has their own story and their own strengths. When you are interested in others, they will be interested in you.
That will lead to opportunity, opportunity to luck. Again, it's attitude.
There is another thing. Be kind to other people. Try not to hurt people. Be generous. Being kind and generous is far more powerful than hurting. The more you give, the more you'll get back.
If a person makes a mistake against you, forgive them. Don't keep it in your heart. Your resentment will become bitterness and bitterness is a bad attitude. If a person falls, help them up.
I was at the Food Show recently, selling my Paul Holmes Extra Virgin Olive Oil. Now that's hard work, standing behind a stall at the Food Show for four days. But, you know, I love it. Hard work, yes, but it's about people. I meet people. I find out stuff. I talk to them. I find out what they're thinking.
A man and his wife approached me. "Mr Holmes," he said, "I have always wanted to meet you and thank you."
"For what?" I asked. "What did I do?"
He said that over 20 years ago I helped them greatly. His wife is Kuwaiti, he told me. Her parents had just won permission to come and live in New Zealand when Saddam Hussein invaded Kuwait but there was no way he or his wife could contact them to say they could come.
"Yes," said the wife. "I knew you would help us, Mr Holmes. So I rang you and somehow got hold of you at TVNZ. I explained the situation to you. And you said you would phone the office of Don McKinnon, the Foreign Minister, to see if he could help. And you did," she said.
"And they made a swap or something and my parents were able to come to New Zealand. They have both died, but they lived many happy years here."
Now, it was only a phone call made a long time ago which I had quite forgotten about. But what a difference that call made to those people's lives. Over 20 years on, they thanked me. No kindness to good people is ever forgotten.
Remember this. Love always wins. It might take longer than evil and hatred, resentment and envy, but love always wins. Always trust love. Remember, water can cut through iron.
Find out who you are. Know who you are. Know your strengths and weaknesses. Be proud of your strengths and laugh at your weaknesses. Be brave even if you are frightened. Value yourself. There is only one of you. Don't worry if you feel different from everyone else. We're all different.
Good luck to you all. But make your own luck. If you can dream it, begin it.
Life is shorter than you think.
- HERALD ON SUNDAY
