Roadturn

Featuring The DEEP and How to LIVE

The Faith of a Child

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It’s been a tough few days for me, kicked off by a run-in with my direct supervisor at work. I’ve been putting most of my energy and focus into a project that I thought I was clear on. Turns out, though, that her vision is a whole lot different than mine. How did that happen? After thinking about it for awhile, it appears that my desire for the work was so strong that I couldn’t hear or believe anyone who wanted something else. The whole fiasco has pretty well kicked the wind out of me, so I’m back to square one–analysis and planning–but, the truth is that I’ve lost most of my heart for the work.

An article in the New Straits Times (Malaysia) gave me a boost, though. It may do the same for you. You gotta love these kids. They know what they want and how to get there. Oh, to have the gift of a child’s faith. Here they are, finishing the thought, “If I were an entrepreneur…”

“I would make sure that the products I sell bring benefits to my customers. The products would be personally invented by me. My customers are guaranteed to get excellent service from me. I would get their feedback on my products and do my best to improve the quality of my products to fit their requests.” – Nur Afiqah Azizan, 11, Bangi

“I would like to set up an entreprenuer school specifically for unfortunate children, students who come from poor families and the physically impaired. This would help them gain knowledge and exposure to be an entrepreneur so they would have a better future. In addition, I would like to promote Malaysia as an ideal country that offers good products and a full range of local cuisine for tourists to try and enjoy. This initiative would also further promote the 1Malaysia spirit.” – Siti Zainal Sabihah Roslan, 14, Bangi

“I would have a chain of boutiques. I would also love to start my own magazine since I love to write.” – Manpreet Kaur Sandhu, 14, Kuala Lumpur

“I would develop a new awesome Web site for social networking like Facebook, MySpace or Friendster. Maybe I would be like Bill Gates who was an entrepreneur and generated computer software ideas. I would even love to manage a business, even though there’s considerable risks.”
– David Kang Zheng Hoong, 16, Bandar Tasik Selatan

“I would like to boost the economy by doing business and helping my family!” – Puteri Alia Halid, 12, Petaling Jaya

“I would invent a custom-fitted shoe line consisting of only hand-painted shoes for all my customers so as not to discriminate against those with really small or big feet.” – Elsheba K. Abraham, 16, Subang Jaya

Fresh Air and Clear Vision

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RoadTurn is always happy to help get the word out about the Fresh Air Fund –“an independent, not-for-profit agency, that has provided free summer vacations to more than 1.7 million New York City children from low-income communities since 1877.”

Here is some Fresh Air news from the summer of 2009:

One out of four school children in the U.S. has vision problems, and 86% do not get their vision checked before age 12.

Many Fresh Air children do not have access to affordable vision care. Glasses break, are too expensive to replace, or are never prescribed in the first place. And often as a result, children’s performance in academics, sports and activities suffers.

For the fifth summer in a row, OneSight offered to bring their traveling optical clinic to all five Fresh Air Fund camp.

New Beginnings

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Woodrow On the First of November, 20 years ago, my father passed on. I was at his bedside when he left, and that evening is forever etched in my mind. He did not go gently. His departure was accompanied by an audible “slap”, as if his spirit broke the sound barrier when it released. My brother cried. I went to the tavern.

It wasn’t long before I discovered that my father’s death meant a new life for me . It was strange without him. It still is. Yet, I could not be who I am today, if he had lived. There was a torch-passing of sorts, that went on between us. Surely, the death of one’s father is a primary rite of passage. It was a roadturn. A big one.

On this night, this all-hallowed eve, I am inclined to wonder a bit, to speculate. Can we gain significant change by simply realizing something of importance? Can we take advantage of our ability to imagine, to think, to reason, to decide–and call forth a turn-around event for ourselves? Can I use such a process to make changes that need to occur in my life, without waiting for severity of consequence or situation to force me into them? Of course, I can. And so can you.

Change takes guts, though, and it takes focus. Watching the World Series tonight, I was impressed by the intensity exhibited by the players when they were up to bat, or pitching, or catching. There was total immersion in the moment. The game of life is being played out every day, you know. And this is our own World Series event. If I can bring my desire up to the same level, to the same degree of focus, nothing will keep me from excellence. It’s my choice. No one can stop me, but me…

Roadturn Returns

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This blog began as an ongoing commentary about life and life changes. Paul Potts was the inspiration at first, other stories arose, but Roadturn isn’t about anyone in particular. It’s not even about me. That’s a lesson I need to remember. The story is bigger than any of us; it concerns that amazing, mysterious path that is before us. It concerns our choices, our results, and our observations along the way.

My initial excitement about the Paul Potts story–a guy who went from despair to success, almost overnight–provided me the fuel to keep going during an especially difficult time in my life. Like Paul, my health had faltered, my dreams were flickering, and I was all but bankrupt in every measurable way. I hoped to emulate him, to see my situation miraculously reverse. But it did not. At least not in the same way.

I have certainly seen changes in the more than two years since Roadturn began. My life now is much different than it was then, but it is also still the same. I have yet to realize my own Roadturn–that point where one choice makes all the difference. Or maybe, the choice was made a long time ago, and I have yet to follow through. We’ll see. One thing for sure; I can’t give up. I tried to do that. I tried to snuff this blog and go on. My hopes were smashed one too many times. I almost resigned myself to give up the dream and embrace the status quo. But I can not.

So RoadTurn is back. This site is for you and me to reflect on the journey and encourage one another along the way. Your comments and ideas are welcome. I wish you and yours the very best.

Don