Motivation and Motive -- Part I

I must say, I'm beginning to like putting my (creative/philosophical/etc.) thoughts down on... well, not paper. I haven't been a faithful journaler (so I made up a word!) in the last 2 decades but the personal stuff still makes it there from time to time. However, there are so many thoughts and ideas and other stuff that I just never get round to writing them out somewhere. Then comes this plunge into blogging...

Now I'm not a writer, nor am I inclined to become one. (As you can tell, I digress way too much...) I had a lot of trouble writing papers in college. Papers took me almost forever to write and it wasn't until my Junior year that I rushed through writing one of my papers, which incidentally earned my highest paper grade ever, and learned that the art of writing papers was a creative blast, full of BS. Apparently my points go through in some sort of an organized way though.

Anyway, it was almost a sad day when I realized that I type much faster than I write. The notes I took at the last business seminar I attended were not in my usual "short-hand" on paper but completely electronically on this laptop. These notes were longer since I couldn't quite condense them the way I do with paper notes, yet I was still rather impressed at how much information my humble little fingers managed to squeeze in. (Perhaps even a little more than if I had hand-written them?)

So what's my motivation for using the laptop and producing electronic notes? For one, like I said, I type faster than I write nowadays. (Probably won't help with the arthritic-prone hands...) For another, I don't have to re-copy my notes for them to be reproduced legibly and already deciphered.

What's my motive? So that I can pass these notes down to people we train/mentor in business. So that I can go back to these notes later and remember what I learned (and re-learn them!).

There's a bigger question than my motivation or motive for doing something like that: What's the difference between Motivation and Motive?

I'm afraid I'm going to have to let you chew on that one for a couple of days before I address it. And I will likely launch off into a dozen tangents along the way... My "creative" time's up for today, so A bientot!

Technology and Life

I remember back in 10th or 11th grade (or something like that), we had a discussion about whether we were slaves to technology. My family wasn't exactly part of the middle class and we had just gotten a microwave/convection oven, which was a really big deal for us. I loved how convenient it made life for us (even though Mom made us unplug it whenever we were done using it) and needless to say, I was on the side of technology being slaves of us.

Fast forward a few years (okay, so it’s more than a few...) and here in the 21st Century, I constantly ask myself if everything we have is everything we need. I love my cell phone since I can make calls anywhere. (Though at times it does feel like an electronic leash…) I love the beautiful car I drive, the digital camera we have, etc.

I love my our laptop (Sorry Hon!) and how portable it is. It is packed with power and *blush* some status. Seriously, it’s absolutely fantastic for our business. Our Flash presentations include so much more information than our paper presentations that I can’t imagine going back to sharing our business on paper. Don’t get me wrong, our business is often built by people with no computers at all. However I can’t deny that technology is indeed a wonderful servant, making life easier for us. We can show our business model to someone in Hawaii while sitting comfortably in bed thousands of miles away, or we can run our business in the United States while spending time in Singapore.

Yet, we’ve spent a good part of the last month trying to deal with technological and trust issues since a Trojan virus snuck in through an Adobe update. We’ve tried various virus/spyware/cleaning programs to remove it and the rogue cleaner that was used. We used a real pain-in-the-tushy program that picked up everything, including the connection to our printer! Finally, we have decided to sacrifice the remaining month on our protection program subscription. As I am blogging, I’m in the process of installing Norton 360 on both computers.

So I think about the numerous hours spent on trying to get the computers back up to speed (literally too since one was bogged down by phantom processes), about whether our various transactions and other sensitive information have been safe, and again wonder: Is technology really freeing us or making slaves of us?

Can I live without technology? Probably not. (Even if I thought I could, it probably wouldn’t be for long…) Does this stop me from using it? Of course not. It is a very useful tool. As we know in our business, people are the most important. All our presentations, technological tools and other hi-tech stuff will never compare to the people. And that is where Life is: relationships.

Brand New Day

Here's my first blog... ever. Sounds like I just emerged from the Dark Ages. There's always something new to learn, something new to try. Afterall, that's what spices up life, right?

So, what led me here? What compels a woman such as I (who is comfortable using software but afraid of everything else in the "technological thing" category) to embark on something such as this? My husband and I are in the business of Life, at least regaining it. What better place to spread that than on the web? So here's my opening toast:

To my first readers,

We begin a new journey here. As you learn of the (edited, of course) happenings in my life, through all my technological fumbles in blogging, I hope to inspire you to Life. It is more than just some number of years, or the events within it. Life is not defined by status or wealth (though it helps in achieving Life) but by relationships and personal impact. Here is my opportunity to add to the legacy I will leave behind some day... a legacy of wealth, service, heart for others and lasting impact on the legacy of many other families. Welcome to Future Unlimited!

Cheers to you!