Samer Chidiac's Corporate Blog

Mental Challenge

Samer Chidiac — Tue, 23 Jun 2009 05:25:00 GMT

This is my first Article for the year 2009… I hope you like it…

I have always been amazed by the power of the mind.. You've heard that Scientists says that we, or let's say most people only use 10% of their brain.. Well I think that it's a Myth and that based on several articles I've read we use 100% of our brains (maybe on different activity levels) and it's still 100% even when we sleep… but regardless of whom you believe.. we all agree that what ever that Challenges our brain is noticed by us …

We now live in different times than our parents… I once had a discussion with a friend and we agreed that it's un-real that our fathers used to work as much as we are right now… Everyone is multi-Tasking these days.. And what was once considered as an Exception.. Is now the Rule :o).

Your inner mind, always seeks challenges.. Even if you don't want to.. Or do not feel it..

Have you ever noticed and wondered what was the reason behind people getting addicted to Twitter.. Facebook.. Or any website or service that involves a Mind Challenge… YES A MIND CHALLENGE.. Because those sites are all about People and how they behave socially… and we all agree that Human Behavior is almost impossible to Predict and therefore MOST CHALLENGING to our Mind!

Well It is exactly the same reason people find reading a book more interesting than seeing the movie.. When you read a book, you leave your mind to imagine and interpret the characters in the story and dig into more details… while when you see the movie.. They are all there and there's no more room for imagination (it's Most of the Cases… I know I can't imagine lord of the rings the way the movie was )..

When you read your friends' status on Facebook or Twitter, your inner mind is immediately challenged… reading just one sentence about your friend can trigger a BIG INNER Mental Challenge… and can translate into 100s of lines & sentences that you draw your self…

After lots of experience and research, I discovered that "Mental Challenge" had a bigger Value than I thought… as mental challenge is the essence of "INTEREST"… you don't get interested or excited about someone or something unless it present a Mental Challenge to you.. And what's the opposite of it is the cause of Boredom.. You get bored if a movie is not interesting or doesn't present a mental challenge to you.. And trust me I don't always mean by challenge is that you need to look at it as calculating algebra problems… you can watch a cartoon and get a mental challenge and don't get that while you're in a conversation with someone standing before you...

But what's even more "Interesting" is that… we are all different… especially our Minds … so what may seem challenging for some.. Doesn't seem that much for someone else..

So let's put it in simple words… just like you need a bath everyday… you need motivation to keep you going… and your mind needs Challenge to keep you interested..

So final take away from this article… Be interesting… by being interested… because when you're interested… you get to know the other person's mind.. And when it's your turn… you know how to challenge their mind and become interesting…

Interesting Article right !

Cheers,

Drugs

Samer Chidiac — Sat, 27 Dec 2008 17:22:00 GMT

This is my Last Blog of 2008 (My last of only 2 i know... Must Have been a really busy Year :o) ....)

The title is a little weird… Drugs??? Is Samer smoking something??

Well no I'm not, and the type of the drugs I'm going to talk about has nothing to do with what you already know or what you've seen in movies :o)

This post is about Business Drugs… Emotional Drugs… Life Drugs… just Drugs that we all use maybe not on a daily basis… but I'm sure all of us have used them… just not to realize that they are actual Drugs

Definition:

1. medicinal substance: a natural or artificial substance given to treat or prevent disease or to lessen pain

2. illegal substance: an often illegal and sometimes addictive substance that causes changes in behavior and perception and is taken for the effects

<http://encarta.msn.com/dictionary_1861606713/drug.html>

Well the type of drugs I'm going to talk about… is something like:

I'm on it, give me a minute
I'll talk to her tomorrow
I'll get back to you as soon as possible
Tomorrow I'm starting a DIET
Next year I'm going to start dedicating time to Charity
I Love you
Don't worry I'll take care of that
I'll finish that report Tomorrow at Max..
….

And the list goes on… and on…. Drugs in the way I'm going to define it… is something that you use to delay the effect of something… something that gives you the power to stop the time…



Picture this.. You're facing a problem or an issue… you're feeling overwhelmed.. And most probably you feel bad about how you're going to solve it or react to it…

You simply Imagine the solution… "It's OK; I'll Email X later on today… Call Y tomorrow… then Follow up on that… contact XYZ …. etc" and suddenly the solution sounds very good… your mind Is very relieved…. You're feeling much better… and you Day turned out to be not that Bad…

Well as realistic as this may seem… you just gave your self a portion of a Business Drug… you pictured a solution… but still haven't done anything yet… you're relaxed as if the problem is solved… but in reality nothing has even changed!

Regardless if you stick to your plan and it worked like magic… or you didn't… and regardless of the obstacles that you may face.. And the small tasks and solutions you'll figure out… at that time.. You just injected your brain with some sort of an emotional Drug… that took it off to a different location temporary….

So the Time for that issue was stopped… until the effect of the drug is gone… when it is… the solution can either has worked… then the Drug is used as compared to a Medical Substance… and if the solution didn't work and the problem have not been processed… then the drug is used as an Illegal Substance :o)…

Well either types is addictive… I bet you have passed into the same situation or at least heard this conversation before… "I need to start a diet.. I need to work out … I need to take care of my health…. OK this is the Last fancy Meal I'm going to eat.. Starting tomorrow I'll lighten up on the Sweets and I'll go register in a GYM..." and you can figure out what happened later on…

Most of the Time we know it's a Drug and we know it's not going to change a thing or solve the case… but we just hope that the effect last long enough so we are ready to deal with the situation once the effect is gone…



Well Promising is Good… Delivering is Better… Promising with No delivery …. Is Bad…. Over Promising .. Under-Delivering…. Bad….. Under Promising … Over delivery…. Very Good…

So take this question and think about it…

What's the effect of Eating a very Tasty Chocolate when you're Very hungry? And what's the Effect of Eating a Very Tasty Chocolate when you're not too hungry? tast would matter differently... So over promising = VERY Hungry, you were expecting  salad + a Decent Meal + Tasty Chocolate …. Under Delivery = you only get the Tasty Chocolate… so it's not important how tasty it is after the drug huh?…



Just like real Life… Drugs can be very Bad…. If not used properly…

I'm going to start a Video Casts for the Blogs in 2009 ... to save you from reading... or would i ??

Cheers,
SC

Acceptance

Samer Chidiac — Mon, 21 Apr 2008 10:44:00 GMT

This is my First Blog in 2008…

"Do you, X, take Y to be your lawfully wedded husband, to have and to hold, in sickness and in health, for better or for worse, till death do you part?"

"I do"

This is a very touching sentence.. It describes the beginning of one sacrate Journey between two people at their lifetime binding promise to be there for each others for better or worse and form a family..

We hear a lot about the word Accept… "do you accept those terms & conditions" "is that a YES?" "inform me of your acceptance of the offer and let me do the rest"…

Mmmm … well in most of the time … the word accept means agree & is relevant to the word "YES" … so it's that simple.. Why am I bothering my self and writing a Blog to describe what's Obvious… Basically I like to share with other people how I interpret what's OBVIOUS…

Accepting for me is Agreeing on something; but does this mean that the thing I'm agreeing on is Just PERFECT and un-negotiable? Guess again!!

When you accept something, you're actually saying that you acknowledge that it's not perfect and that there are some wrongs in it.. But even though you're OK with it as a whole …

In Life we face many delicate decisions and some cross roads and even some Career Paths & Life Paths that we will have to take… maybe you were offered a Job opportunity; or you've been dating this person and you think things are ready to move to the next level; or simply you're going into this phase of not being sure which way you want to go on a spiritual level..

The trick is that we need to Accept what we decide on, and decide on what we can Accept.. Because at some times choices are easy.. And the "right" decision is obvious.. And some are just not.. You have to think about it, maybe little more than when you're in a fast food restaurant and where the waiter is waiting to take your order while you're sitting with your friends and you're the one left without a clear decision.. So you just say .. "ok I'll go with the Mushroom & Swiss Burger"..

So basically when you accept something … you accept it as a package.. With the high & low .. With the good, the Bad & the UGLY.. And maybe you'll get a clear understanding reading the following examples:

You accept to believe in something and practice a certain religion… but you're not comfortable in doing all the details… because for you some are OK .. And others just "Doesn't Make Sense" or are "ancient".. Or whatever..

You accept to be a Manager… but somehow you hate to do the paperwork… or don't like to be accountable when things go wrong…

You Accept to marry someone.. But don't like their parents.. Or try to take your partner away from his / her environment because you're not comfortable with that..

Well my advise to you is the following… when you accept something .. You accept it 360 Degree.. You don't substitute any detail.. You don't say I only want to do the Cool stuff in this job.. And someone else can do the boring things.. Or I want to exercise the best out of this but omit the things that I feel are not right….

Don't hide behind a thin line of denial… if you don't like her parents or found her traditions just too odd.. Always keep in mind that those are details that makes her what she is.. And changing them will simply change her.. And if you want to be the guy who wants to boss around and not to work.. Then you're not a real manager.. And that if your religion oblige you to go to Church every Sunday or pray 5 times / day and not do anything bad etc.. Don't take the easy way and say I'm doing things half way… and that's it's better than nothing…

Because after all… Accepting half of the deal.. Is like sex without the payoff or Like eating the SMELL of Food.. Is like STARTING Something and Not Finishing it.. You'll be satisfied that you did something.. But that something is actually .. Nothing… you'll be comforting yourself that you did something instead of doing nothing..

So in my Book… there's no half way… there's no Half-Acceptance.. You either accept the full terms, the full package… OR Simply Stop Bragging about it!!

Cheers,

Expectations

Samer Chidiac — Sat, 24 Nov 2007 12:22:00 GMT

This time I also set a Note on my Mobile to write a new Corporate Blog Entry… I had lots of ideas to talk about … but the one that ringed in my mind… was actually regarding Expectations…

What do we mean by expectations?

To expect something is somehow equivalent to waiting for it to happen.. It involves both certainty and time..

Let me illustrate the difference:

I'm expecting the Bus to be here at 6
I'm waiting for the Bus to arrive

The first phrase shows a doubt about the bus showing up.. But is certain about the time

The second phrase shows a certainty that the bus is coming but not sure about the time

So mainly when we Wait for something to happen.. most of the time we're sure that it WILL happen.. But not sure WHEN.. While when we Expect something to happen… We know WHEN it should happen however we're not sure if it will Actually HAPPEN…

Therefore Expectations is something that we can raise it up and lower it down because it is not based on certainty…

Which lead me to the next term that is named after the word Expectation… which is disappointment..

You can't get disappointed unless you had an expectation that didn't realize …

I didn't understand how funny and important this thing is until recently.. Expectation is actually the way we measure everything… so expectations and disappointments are simply the way we measure how good we're doing in our life, how successful, how far we've reached or how bad we're behind...

The key from knowing the meaning of the word Expectation is useful in several ways:

To avoid disappointment you need to set lower expectations
To Achieve more you need to set high expectations
To plan well it is essential to set some expectations

Finally here's my advice to you:

There are 2 Elements in life that you can't Control nor expect their behavior… "People" and "Events"

People Change

Events Happen

You're not the same person you were in your childhood.. People Change

Your Best Friend in school may no longer be your best friend anymore… People Change

Even if you wake up everyday at 7:00 AM and take the same path to work… you may not always get there in the exact same time… maybe because you had someone blocking your way out.. Maybe it's raining… maybe the car didn't start.. Events Happen..

So all you need to do is know that deep within your heart there's a Difference between Hoping and Expecting…

So SET High Expectations from your Self and Try to accomplish them and set LOW Expectations from Others and from Events… because most probably they will Dissapoint you

And always remember... Events Happen... What matters is how you deal with them !!!

(That's an Endless Advice i always used to give to my all my friends and used it a LOT with my Employees)

Cheers,

Choices

Samer Chidiac — Tue, 07 Aug 2007 05:25:00 GMT

Couple of weeks ago.. I placed a Note on my Mobile .. That I need to write a new Corporate Blog with the Title.. Choices..

I just knew what to write and what to say… there are also few of things that happened that made me change the content of that blog before publishing it.. Which were a Quote from the Number 23 Movie & and a Blog entry from Scott Adams ( also known for drawing the funny Tech Guy DILBERT )…

Choices… what are choices? I can define a choice by being one thing that you CAN do… and not something that you HAVE to do.. Or even that you MUST do…

I never thought that this particular WORD would be soo important… CHOICE! … but believe me it is…

You're crossing the street.. One driver stopped to allow you to cross safely… you smile .. Thank him with a gesture… and continue… saying deep inside of you.. "Nice guy :o)" … However would this be the case if this driver HAD to stop because of the Red Light ? Or because of traffic?

Would someone be considered as "Nice", because he offered his seat for an old lady in a Bus 20 minutes after she was standing and 20 seconds before he reach his destination?

I guess not…

The credibility of an act or an attitude… Strongly Comes with a Choice… you're considered Loyal because you could betray or Cheat … but you choose not to.. You're considered Decent because you could've Steal & lie .. But you choose not to…

I learned from my Ex Girlfriend one thing.. A new definition of a Term which is "Believer"… A higher Status from a Muslim or a Christian or any other religious belonging.. Sometimes you're just born Christian or Muslim.. That doesn't "really" make you one if you don't "Believe"… So a Believer is someone who knows that there are many options out there.. But he Chooses to Believe..

Very simple.. One of the Most common romantic phrase I heard was … "I can be anywhere in the world with anyone I want, but I choose to be here with you…"

So choice is a very important aspect that very few realize how important it is in our life…

When I watched the Movie "The Number 23" I got caught with a quote… "There is no such thing as destiny. There are only different choices. Some choices are easy and some are not."

I Do believe in Destiny… but I also think it's true about the choices.. I mean in my religion.. I learned that you can take bad choices and do bad things.. And can take good choices and do good things.. But in the end it's the Choices you took that will define what will happen to you in the After life :o).

Why I mentioned Scott Adams… a friend of mind sent me a link of his blog to read.. In brief, he was talking about how Possibilities can differ depending on how important the subject is … ( he was saying that he believe that God Doesn't exist .. But let's not go into details here… and focus on what interested me in his Blog)

I'll rephrase and explain to you what I got inspired from his post & the series of replies he got..

1 + 1 = 2 … that's a Fact… that's 100% sure..
Does Heaven & Hell Exist? Are there angels & demons ? Do vampire Exists… etc …. You can't be scientifically sure about that.. So you can either believe it or not…

In the NON - Facts.. You can't be 100% sure… let's say you can be 99.999% sure :o) … so this 0.0001% Doubt is there… can you really take that chance sometimes?

Will 20% chance that tomorrow it will be rainy and we can all cancel going to the beach be considered as serious as when you say there's 20% chance there would be a Civil War tomorrow?

I guess not!!

So the 0.0001% of being wrong for a NON-Believer means an eternity in HELL!!

Which brings me to answer one common question.. Which is "why am I soo great in solving other people's problems and I can't seem to solve mine" or "why am I soo good in giving advices and I don't believe they would work for me " or "I can Freely and Confidently Talk to 100s of Girls for hours… but I can't make it work when I have a Crush on someone"…. Etc

The answer is that 0.0001% …. You Take that percentage More serious than the others… because it's about YOU.. So you're lost in many choices… that all include that 0.0001% or more.. Which makes you confused.. And not being able to decide...

But once you took that Choice... The Choice of Believing in God... The choice of being Good.. The Choice of Not Lying... etc... you Just Eliminated that 0.0001% and upgraded your thought to 100% :o) (@ Least that's the way i think of it)

Long Blog I know… but I enjoyed writing it… Leave me Comments!

Cheers,
SC

How to Succeed: Consistency is the Key!

Samer Chidiac — Wed, 27 Jun 2007 05:59:00 GMT

Sometimes i just wonder how can you define success? or how can you spot a successful person? or How can you Become a Successful person?

Well the First thing you need to do is actually know the Taste of Success.. Distinguish the FLAVOR of Success..

Everyone of us tasted Success in a phase of his/her life.. maybe the first time you walked.. the First time you talked... Your first Diploma... or your First Multi-Million $ Deal :o) ... it doesn't matter how small the event was.. or how old were you when it happened.. but you will still remember the Feel of it.. The Eyes of Pride Glowed near you.. and most important of all.. this Wonderful Feeling of Independance and Confidence...

But Hitting the Bulls-Eye from the first Dart... doesnt make you a Professional Dart Player.. Nor succeeding once or twice makes you a Successful person... You need to eliminate doupt that you "Got Lucky"... and be CONSISTENT in it..

You have to be Consistent in what you do.. You have to be consistent in your Success Stories.. a Confident Speaker is a Person who Speaks with Confidence toward any Audience... ANYTIME.. A Brilliant writer can write MANY MANY novels or songs and always be Inovative..

But my Advice to you is the following..

First you must Identify the Flavor of Success..
You Must know what is it you are mainly good at, and PERFECT IT
You must toil... Day after day, working & training
Pushing your self beyond Boundries... Holding your self accountable for not only your success... but your failures as well

And Know in your heart that you are a WINNER..

because once you get the taste of that.. you will realise your potential.. you will SUCCEED

and you will then be... SECOND TO NONE...

Cheers,
SC

Pride!

Samer Chidiac — Fri, 23 Mar 2007 18:26:00 GMT

Many times i used to ask my self this question... "For Whom?" ... i mean everything you actually do has to have a meaning and has to have someone whom you should be dedicating this thing to...

Let me explain:

Practically Everything a person does, needs a "Confirmation of Reception" :o) ...

If you talk: you hear your self Talking...
If you write: you see your handwriting
If you tell a Joke: you hear people laughing ( if you're funny of course )
You Go Somewhere:: Destination -> Work :: you Reach Work :: Bingo!

So the reason a person do anything is to get this "Confirmation of Reception".. Weither it's a small one or a Big one... simple or sophisticated... you just know ....

Now Why am i blogging about this NonSense :o) and wasting your time... Well i'm Not... Keep Reading

I've Achieved a Lot in my life (Thank God!)... and i've been many places and done several things... I Many times say to my self "To Whom?" "For Whom Am I Doing all this"... and the Answer just Pop up in my Mind... FOR ME :o)

There's Noone who can be more proud of you ... than Your Self... There's noone that you should respect first.. But yourself.. if you want to do something ... do it for YOURSELF...

If you're To Fear ... Fear GOD...
If you're To Gain Respect... Gain your Self Respect..

Then i knew that everything i do.. every Challenge i go through .. was with myself.. I Challenge my self to Defeat me and become a better person.. if i'm to take a decision .. i need to keep in mind that i'm doing this for ME.

That's it ...

You can't afford the responsibility of other's Decisions... because you're doing them eventually..

Keep that in Mind...

Make You Proud :o) ... And Respect Your Self... And everyone Will...

Cheers,
SC

Whom to take Advice From

Samer Chidiac — Sun, 21 Jan 2007 11:37:00 GMT

One of the things i learned is that you should stop taking advices from people unless they are doing better that you..

I mean how on earth can someone Broke gives you an advice on how to make 1 Million $.. once i went to a seminar with the subject "How to make Money More than you can spend" by following a certain marketing strategy :o) .. (That was years ago .. i don't fall for that now).. however this charizmatic speaker kept on telling the audience about this amazing technique.. And there's a "Must" in any good presentation to give a personal experience to make people more confident about the subject.. so he was telling us about how Networking with people pays ... and that he was going to fly somewhere and he didn't find any places in the Economy and how he couldn't afford Business Class so he ran into someone who helped him find a place .. bla bla bla.... but HELLO!! the presentation was about Making Money!! and MORE MONEY .. so how can i listen to someone who was just telling the audience that this technique works .. however he couldn't afford couple hundred dollars to upgrade to Business class..

This advice works anywhere... Relationships.. Business.. Life.. However this doesn't mean that you shouldn't "Listen" to people.. i mean you can listen and get Inspired by their life experience.. but always think that if their advice works... it would've worked for them.. and sometimes you hear a Stupid Advice but Works... so don't under estimate an advice.. because if it's Stupid and Works... Then it ain't Stupid :o).

Cheers,
SC

Welcome to My Blog

Samer Chidiac — Fri, 12 Jan 2007 17:18:00 GMT

Nowadays it's essential to have a website, moreover it's essential to have a Blog.. therefore i created this little place on the web where i can publish my professional thoughts.

My Blog will be around advices and thoughts but it would be Nothing personal.. feel free to comment on anything and everything ..

Cheers,
SC