Reflections on Success through Soft Power vs. Hard Power

And the thoughts flood my head again...... am I the only one that contemplates on the future of my success to this degree.... should I just let things be and worry about being happy in the moment and give up my old ways?

I read an article in the HBR discussing the positive and negative impacts of soft power and hard power on success. Power has been sought through centuries encapsulating the history of villages, regions, countries and continents, bringing us to the world delineated as we see today.

In this modern era, we reflect on power being the ability to influence a group people to pursue an effort that is in our interest. Whether it is to getting a team to work on the next merger and acquisition deal in our flailing unstable economy or getting a group of children to help finish chores before dinner is served, seeking power is built into our genes of curiosity.

HBR defines soft power as the set of tools influencing people behind the scenes, contrary to hard power which is through coercion. Soft power would be utilizing one's charisma, vision, and communication assets to affect a group of people whereas hard power employs payment, enforcement and intimidation. Take for example the use of a celebrity's image to stimulate voting amongst generation X and Y; in comparison with thievery, where a robber points a gun at one's face requesting money.

Leaders possessing both control over soft and hard power have become the most successful in this competitive and fierce global economy. Experience and analysis leads to understanding of how soft and hard power can be combined in context to provide a desired outcome. Teddy Roosevelt is prime example of this mastery in his crucial negotiation of the Portsmouth Treaty of 1905, ending the Sino-Russian war.

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Where do I fall in this mess. Am I a novice to both awaiting guidance to show me how to utilize these tools that suddenly appear in my red toolbox? Or has it already been decided by my personality that I am solely a soft power individual that has no ability for confrontation much like the Dalai Lama.

These past few days I have been trying to figure out what are the things generate the smiles and the laughs in life and what are the things that cause me to squint and turn my head in dismay. I need to figure things out in my head before I can focus on working ahead to being successful.

So Close, yet so aloof

I can't describe this feeling of indifference. An internal feeling of apathy for nothing, stifling my drive to be somebody I have yet to defined. Aloof, apart from the rest, and drifting distantly in the directionless wind. Help, help me find my way back to the directed path that I used to yearn for so much. Give me faith that dreams can come to fruition and life isn't a pessimistic world turmoil.

Eye of the beholder

I make this comment each and every time I put forth effort to collectively compile my thoughts into a couple of lines. I only feel the need to form prose when I feel slightly distant from the world, where the feeling of one in a million standing in crowd is closely felt at heart. A series of enjoyable events this weekend has caused another chemical imbalance in my brain to spew these emotions on to an online blog.

Boston, a wonderful city, where nature and a metropolis filled with some of the nation's most outstanding and renowned universities coexist beautifully. Traveling and spending a few days there, in the center for research, medical, and artistic national excellence has inspired a new story of desire and insight into the potential life of "success."

Tucked away in the foothills of the adirondacks, we are shielded from the dramatic and chaotic citylife, far away from the materialistic luxuries that wealth brings those lucky enough to bring home the green gold. Boston brought back the realization of how hard I need to work to achieve the materialistic status and fancies I dream of having. I cannot simply hope that the puzzles in my life will miraculously piece together a solution to bring about the future I envisioned. And such a simple statement may seem obvious to some. But sometimes we are ever so caught up in the daily routine of our monotonous work life that we have a tendency to displace our lofty goals with the minute details which bring ephemeral satisfaction. I will be the first to confess, I have succumbed to the indolence of the daily humdrum, coming home from a long day of work to sit back in my chair and glaze over facebook or into the charismatic TV set for hours.

And how do we present a solution to falling in the tempting pit of monotony and stagnation. Firstly, answering the question of how did becoming lazy suffice for an excuse of living life. I believe it is those around us that support us in giving us motivation to strive for what is beyond our visual horizon, to provoke the undertaking of unfeasible obstacles never dreamt of tackling. I feel the transition from college to work has resulted in a void that has supported us for so long. And although this emptiness can be reformed wherever we end up in life, there is always that duration in time that we will not have completely filled that gap.

On the last note, has anyone read Flowers for Algernon? The book was a required grade school novel way back when, sneak peaking into the life of a character as had an operation that gave him intelligence for a short period in time, depicting the correlation between human intelligence and happiness. Sometimes I wonder if we reamined in our childhood fantasy, oblivious to the complexities of life how content and stressfree we would be.

"One of the indictments of civilizations is that happiness and intelligence are so rarely found in the same person." - William Feather

A break from reality

The first week of work is almost finished and there are so many emotions running through my mind it is unbelievable. Scared: because of my insecurity of the confidence I have to complete the role. Inspired: because my manager is one of the best in the business and has a lot of advice and enthusiasm to share. Elated: because I finally have the opportunity to put my character and intelligence to the test. Curious: because the new pathway from the fork in the road has begun to etch away revealing something more chromatic.

I don't know what to think. But it is definitely a bit premature to say how I will perform in this new fast-paced setting that will unfold opportunities in my career. It has afterall, only been a week, and I haven't even sat in the position independently to make a worthwhile decision if 1 ) I like this line of work 2) will I be able to exceed the expectations of my managers. I have been placed in an Energy Services Inventory Leader role. And for six months I will prove to deliver my goals and objectives being mainly to execute inventory reduction schemes generating cash for the business and to drive on-time request & promise fulfillment for products in GE Power Generation (Steam Turbines and Generators). This week has been challenging, trying to get up to speed on operations and the business unit terminology, helping to wrap up the quarter, and learn the names of people I will be working with in order to make fruition happen.

I think the most interesting thought I have had this week pertains to realizing what a well meditated decision I have made in working this company. We all can mutter, "money, it isn't worth anything without happiness." But in actuality, we all inherently know the bread we eat, the clothes we wear, the things we do for fun provides us with that appreciation for green paper. Chemical engineers can get paid almost 40k to 50k more than the national average coming out of college. And we earn it. But being able to strategically plan ahead, ahead for the future of what weighs more: the experience gathered from working for a fortune 500 company that notably spits out leaders or the compensatory money for working in a lucrative industry in another fortune 500 that has our economy in a tight grip. What cracked the bubble and made me realize the weight and intensity of my decision was on the 1st day after work during dinner. I sat close to the HR for Global Supply Chain and adjacent to older OMLP participants and new ones. The most outstanding conversations I heard and participated in were during that dinner. The ambience of thirst and curiosity for success and challenging life-learning experiences was the highest I have ever felt. I knew then I was in the right place with the right people, going in the right direction of my career.

A little cheesey but true..... I think my monotony maybe developing into something more chromatic.

not a fledgling

It is quite ironic that during the times where I am most busy, I find time and effort to apply to write something in this blogspot. I suppose it is because with the multiple stresses on my mind, I need to express my feelings on some wavelength even if nobody reads this blog.

The cycle of life never ceases to amaze me with its complexities. Starting with day we took our first breath of air and cried out in fear frightened by the new environment around us seeming so estranged so aloof. Besides the bright surgical light piercing into our first images of being, our parents are the first to take us into their arms cushioning us from the malicious encounters with the outside world. The timeless hours spent spoon feeding us, changing our diapers, accompanying us on our first day of school is just the beginning of the sweat and hours invested in the happiness and success of our future. Still in the nest, we always want to take that first flight by ourselves, not fully grasping the totality and superficiality of our decisions. When that day arrives, we jump off in hopes of flying, but realize the ground is closer than we envisioned and food isn't so easy to find. Limitations by our trained abilities and talents nurtured in school and bank account numbers provided by our parents appear to be just a fraction of the obstacles that lie ahead.

Graduation day is finally here and I can only imagine the experiences I will face taking flight from the branch..............

Chugging Along

Woohoo ... I finally got one comment.  I suppose it truly is something to be able to appreciate writing for yourself and less writing for an audience to lament and share your woes of life's intricacies. But in any case, there is somebody that reads. Switching from xanga to blogspot seems like a great choice to voice my opinions in a more intrinsic and natural manner.

Much has gone through my mind these past few weeks since I last wrote in this blog. I found a nice coffee shop that isn't crowded, has great chai, and presents a brightly lit atmosphere. I think this will be my new hangout spot to contemplate, think, and most importantly study. haha. 

Still caught up in the reflection of emotions and memories of this past year, I have come to realize the characteristic that I most admire in the people around me is their quality of being proactive. The way we live our daily lives reflect a great deal on the individual we are inside; what we desire, what we think and care about, and what is more important to us. Those that passionately pursue their desires and hopes through pre-meditated efforts are the ones that inspire me. I have only met a few that narrate their lofty dreams and then continue to motivate, detailing the actions they have completed to see the fruition of their aspirations. Then, to see the smile on their faces as they glare into nothingness, thinking about how great it feels to have grasped that vision. It is amazing and makes me contemplate, "I want that same feeling". But not surprisingly, I more frequently encounter those that blather about how sincerely they want to attempt something, how much money they want to make, and what their goals will be. In the end, their motivation dissipates into the wisps of the morning cold air; seasons changing without being one step closer on the ladder to reaching the top. 

I fall somewhere in between, where some periods of the month, I ride the tidal wave down into the ground to next coastal city, actively pursuing my dreams. And during the rest of the time, my cyclic lows drive me to a point where I'm feeling inundated with more stress about not achieving these goals.

Tomorrow is the first leg of my journey trying to attempt a half marathon. Tomorrow's the Krispy Kreme Challenge. Run 2 miles from the bell tower to the donut factory, eat 12 donuts, then run 2 miles back.   http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q3ZbrpH4e9k .  A definite jovial yet exhaustive feat, but one that will prepare me for the perils ahead. Training for even a half marathon is a lot more energy and time intensive then I imagined, especially after a full day's work as a engineering student.

New goals for the rest of this semester entail delving into the riches of investment and being more acquainted with business literature and readings.  

"The person who makes a success of living is the one who see his goal steadily and aims for it unswervingly. That is dedication."

Cecil B. DeMille
US movie producer (1881 - 1959)

Lacking in so many ways

The happiness of a man in this life does not consist in the absence but in the mastery of his passions. - Alfred Lord Tennyson

I have been thinking a lot over break, mostly because it is the end of the year, a time for making reflections and a time where class work and other academic stresses are nonexistent. A good majority of the contemplating concerns the future and its overwhelming and vast pathways available. Tennyson places happiness in the right context of it being about 'the mastery of one's passions' . I think my greatest passion is to be successful in everything I partake in. Unfortunately, I have not observed that level of success in my efforts and am frequently disappointed. In verisimilitude to the phases of the visible moon from Earth, my struggle's outcome are never clearly seen but once in a blue moon.