Go Placidly Amid the Noise and the Haste as You Enter The New Year

I have always enjoyed DESIDERATA written by Max Ehrmann.

As the year 2018 draws to a close, and I prepare to enter 2019, I was happy to stumble upon the inspiring words and thoughts in Desiderata this evening. The words written by Max Ehrmann provide me with a thoughtful meditation to help me slip into the New Year in a positive frame of mind. Delightful.

Desiderata by Max Ehrmann

GO PLACIDLY amid the noise and the haste, and remember what peace there may be in silence. As far as possible, without surrender, be on good terms with all persons.

Speak your truth quietly and clearly; and listen to others, even to the dull and the ignorant; they too have their story.

Avoid loud and aggressive persons; they are vexatious to the spirit. If you compare yourself with others, you may become vain or bitter, for always there will be greater and lesser persons than yourself.

Enjoy your achievements as well as your plans. Keep interested in your own career, however humble; it is a real possession in the changing fortunes of time.

Exercise caution in your business affairs, for the world is full of trickery. But let this not blind you to what virtue there is; many persons strive for high ideals, and everywhere life is full of heroism.

Be yourself. Especially do not feign affection. Neither be cynical about love; for in the face of all aridity and disenchantment, it is as perennial as the grass.

Take kindly the counsel of the years, gracefully surrendering the things of youth.

Nurture strength of spirit to shield you in sudden misfortune. But do not distress yourself with dark imaginings. Many fears are born of fatigue and loneliness.

Beyond a wholesome discipline, be gentle with yourself. You are a child of the universe no less than the trees and the stars; you have a right to be here.

And whether or not it is clear to you, no doubt the universe is unfolding as it should. Therefore be at peace with God, whatever you conceive Him to be. And whatever your labors and aspirations, in the noisy confusion of life, keep peace in your soul. With all its sham, drudgery and broken dreams, it is still a beautiful world. Be cheerful. Strive to be happy.

By Max Ehrmann © 1927
Original text

Go placidly amid the noise and haste with Desierata by Max Erhmann with Richard Edward Ward

As we prepare to welcome the New Year reflect on the year that we are leaving

As we prepare to welcome the New Year reflect on the year that we are leaving.

Reflect upon our successes, our disappointments, the people that came into our lives, and the people that left our lives.

As we prepare to welcome the New Year reflect on the year that we are leaving by Richard Edward Ward

Reflect and let go of what has made us unhappy, or left us feeling unfulfilled.

Reflect on the year that is coming, and looking to the future, think about how we would love our coming year to unfold.

Reflecting on how we would like the New Year to feel we can open our hearts and minds

to receive abundance.

Richard Edward Ward
December 30, 2018

Montreal, Quebec Canada

A Dream Written Down With A Date

A dream written down with a date becomes a goal.

A goal broken down into steps becomes a plan.

A plan backed by action makes your dreams come true.

– Greg S. Reid

A dream written down with a date becomes a goal. Greg S. Reid

Follow-up With Candidates After Job Interviews Is a Great Practice

Follow-up with candidates after job interviews is a great practice. As a headhunter in the IT vertical, I made it a practice to follow-up with all the candidates that I had interviewed for a job.

Follow-up with candidates after job interviews is a great practice. Richard E. Ward

Apart from the fact that it is just common courtesy to follow-up with interviewed candidates after a job has been filled, there are 2 very practical reasons an IT headhunter, or any headhunter or recruiter, to do so – namely finding new candidates and being introduced to new clients:

  1. as an IT headhunter I was constantly on the outlook for quality candidates to fill jobs and one of the best ways to find quality people is through referrals;
  2. as an IT headhunter I was constantly looking for new clients who needed help finding a great candidate to fill a job. It is not easy to connect with hiring managers when they are constantly being bombarded with phone calls from headhunters. Referrals are golden. Just because a candidate wasn’t a fit for the job you interviewed for doesn’t mean that they aren’t a quality candidate. My best source of referrals was from candidates that I had follow-up with.

Glassdoor, one of the world’s largest job and recruiting site, says that following up with every candidate who applies to your company–whether you’re going to hire them or not–is a crucial part of your recruitment process. But why? Is it really that important?

Glassdoor provides 5 great reasons in their article “Why it’s important for employers to follow up with candidates after job interviews” that appeared on Fastcompany.com.

  1. candidate follow-up up after an interview closes the loop
  2. replying and responding to candidates after an interview is respectful
  3. it says volumes about your brand
  4. candidates are going to talk
  5. candidate follow-up and responses help drive better talent

Read the article.

A Discount Is Not A Gift

A discount offered to me or you is not a gift it is an incentive to get us to spend our money.

A discount is not a gift. Richard E. Ward

Just as Facebook has perverted the meaning of the word “friend”, corporations – large and small, as well as individual business people are perverting the meaning of the word “gift”.

A gift is something that you receive from someone without a requirement that you first spend your money to receive it.

Today – American Thanksgiving – my inbox is replete with “Thanksgiving Gifts”. And I am happily giving them a gift of not just deleting their message but also unsubscribing from future emails.

See, a true gift from me as it requires nothing in return from them. Not even a thank you. So satisfying to share the gift of giving.

We Can’t Deal With Anything Until Your Sleep Apnea is Addressed

It was my first meeting with my family physician in Montreal. After reviewing my previous medical info and asking me about my concerns he said:

We can’t deal with anything until your Sleep Apnea is addressed.

After digesting his words, getting an appointment to see his colleague who specialized in Sleep Apnea, I began to do a little research and I have come to understand that Sleep Apnea can be a life destroyer.

How can any of us live to our full potential if we are starving our brains and bodies of oxygen?

Following is a brief look at what I learned, and the steps that I have taken to deal with my Sleep Apnea.

Sleep apnea can be a life destroyer

A Little Background ABout Me & My Health

It is 2018 and I am 70 years old. I am a TBI (Traumatic Brain Injury) Survivor (2000) as well as a heart attack survivor (2004).

I was first diagnosed with Sleep Apnea so 30 years ago. After deciding not to have surgery on my throat my Sleep Apnea issues were never addressed by any of my doctors, or by me, over the past 30 years. Hmmmm.

That is until the leading Cardio Surgeon in Halifax in 2015 identified Sleep Apnea as the cause of my health issues. This was after she began testing me for the heart-related issues she was convinced I had. Man, was she thorough.

What is Sleep Apnea?

Sleep apnea is a serious sleep disorder that occurs when a person’s breathing is interrupted during sleep.

The following video “Understanding Obstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA)” is very informative.

People with untreated sleep apnea stop breathing repeatedly during their sleep, sometimes hundreds of times.

This means the brain — and the rest of the body — may not get enough oxygen.

There are two types of sleep apnea:

  1. Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA): The more common of the two forms of apnea, it is caused by a blockage of the airway, usually when the soft tissue in the back of the throat collapses during sleep.
  2. Central sleep apnea: Unlike OSA, the airway is not blocked, but the brain fails to signal the muscles to breathe, due to instability in the respiratory control center.

What Are the Effects of Sleep Apnea?

As normal sleep is disrupted by Sleep Apnea people affected may experience sleepiness or feel tired during the day. Your productive may go down the drain.

Untreated sleep apnea may be responsible for poor performance in everyday activities, such as at work and school, motor vehicle crashes, and academic underachievement in children and adolescents.

If left untreated, sleep apnea can increase the risk of health problems, including:

  1. cognitive impairment
  2. Diabetes
  3. Depression
  4. Headaches
  5. Heart failure, irregular heart beats, and heart attacks
  6. High blood pressure
  7. Memory loss
  8. Stroke
  9. Weight gain and difficulty losing weight
  10. Worsening of ADHD

Getting Tested for Sleep Apnea is Easy

The test for sleep apnea is easy and can be done at home.

The test involves wearing a small machine strapped around your chest with an small tube that sits in your nostrils for one night.

Sleep apnea home test machine

Treatment

The treatment for me is quite standard and involves using a CPAP (Continuous Positive Airway Pressure) machine when I am sleeping.

Continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) is a form of positive airway pressure ventilator, which applies mild air pressure on a continuous basis to keep the airways continuously open.

CPAP machine
By PruebasBMA – Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=18885672

The idea of wearing a mask over my face while sleeping was a little unnerving, but after a few nights of wearing the mask I got used to it.

The Steps I Took

If you can relate to any of the above it may be worth speaking to your family doctor.

My doctor referred me to a specialist.

The specialist referred me for a test.

After the test, the specialist recommended that I use a CPAP (Continuous Positive Airway Pressure) Machine.

Good luck with improving your sleep and improving the quality of your life.

Nothing Changes in Life Until a Daily Routine is Changed

Nothing changes in life until a daily routine is changed.

Nothing changes in life until a daily routine is changed. - Rock Thomas

The purpose of your morning and evening rituals is to set and reset your internal vibration higher to attract its equivalent, to put you into a beautiful state of mind, and increase your energy level, allowing you to experience the best day possible.

Do these things and you’ll have a physical, mental, and emotional edge on your competition.

You’ll hit the day running, full of energy and determination.

– Rock Thomas

Remembrance Day – In Flanders Fields – Leonard Cohen

Tomorrow is November 11. It is Remembrance Day in Canada.

Leonard Cohen recites “In Flanders Fields” by John McCrae

In Flanders Fields

“In Flanders Fields” is a war poem written during the First World War by Canadian physician Lieutenant-Colonel John McCrae. He was inspired to write it on May 3, 1915, after presiding over the funeral of friend and fellow soldier Lieutenant Alexis Helmer, who died in the Second Battle of Ypres.

In Flanders fields the poppies blow
Between the crosses, row on row,
That mark our place, and in the sky,
The larks, still bravely singing, fly,
Scarce heard amid the guns below.

We are the dead; short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved and were loved, and now we lie
In Flanders fields.

Take up our quarrel with the foe!
To you from failing hands we throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high!
If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
In Flanders fields.

John McCrae, 1872 – 1918

A moment of silence is held at 11:11 on the 11th.

Remembrance Day is a memorial day observed in Commonwealth of Nations member states since the end of the First World War to remember the members of their armed forces who have died in the line of duty.