Being on the other side of the world and a few hours ahead of North America has given me enough time to observe what’s going on around the world with the COVID-19 outbreak and how people are reacting. I’ve had the opportunity to catch up with acquaintances over social media and their stories have given me a glimpse of what most people are going thru.

– several folks that I know have gotten laid off because of business closures

– information workers who are now forced to work from home struggle with their new routine

– single parents struggle to find ways to juggle making ends meet while taking care of their kids since schools are also closed

– full-time employees are worried that they won’t have a job to go back to

– families struggle to stock up on the necessities – food, water, medicines, toilet paper – because supplies are running out

We’re living in unprecedented times. Everything is unpredictable. Global economy is falling. Healthcare providers and hospitals cannot keep up with the demand. Borders are being closed. Financial markets crashing. I can understand why people are fearful and in a state of panic.

It’s even worse here in Manila. The urban poor is severely affected. Most people are contractual workers who don’t get paid if they don’t go to work. With the national government declaring an extended community quarantine, those who need to travel to the nation’s capital to work can no longer do so. Everyone is doing self-quarantine and social distancing. But it’s unclear how people who live in the slum areas will isolate themselves should they become affected, given that there are almost 14 million people in just the capital alone – about 1/3 the population of Canada.

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With all these things happening around us, it’s very easy to go into panic-mode. But that’s not going to help. Sure, we cannot control the things that are happening around us. But we can certainly control these two things – our actions and our emotions. I wanted to take this opportunity to share practical steps that would help you not just survive the COVID-19 outbreak but rather thrive in these uncertain times. I want to support you in any way possible so you can come out as a better person on the other side of this pandemic. As Napoleon Hill said, “Every adversity, every failure, every heartache carries with it the seed of an equal or greater benefit.”

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This may sound so simple. Yet we ignore its simplicity. This daily exercise helped me survive the time when I was in bed for 6 weeks because I broke my right leg. What most consider to be an awful experience – breaking my right leg and being in bed for 6 weeks – ended up being the best thing that ever happened to me 3 years ago. From that day forward, I made it a point to write down at least 3 things I am grateful for – every single day.

It wasn’t easy when I was starting out. It took me about an hour just to write down 3 things. Here are just some of the things I wrote down during those challenging times.

– I’m so thankful for the Canadian healthcare system. I was in-and-out of surgery in no time and all I had to pay for being transformed into partial Iron Man was C$40 for the ambulance, C$10 for my crutches, gauze bandages for dressing my surgical wound, some pain killers that I avoided taking, and a C$20 Uber ride back home from the hospital. I would have paid at least C$10,000 or more had I been somewhere else

– I’m so thankful to be working in the technology industry. Before the surgery, I was on my phone responding to emails from clients. After the surgery, I was delivering my SQL Server Always On Availability Groups training class from my work desk at home. A high-speed internet connection, a powerful laptop, a webcam, and an amazing smile to hide the excruciating pain of my swollen leg are all I need to get work done. It’s the reason I didn’t qualify for disability insurance.

– I’m so thankful for YouTube and my smart phone. I’ve probably watched and listened to hundreds of hours worth of motivational and inspirational messages while lying in bed for 6 weeks. Those motivational and inspirational videos kept me going thru the challenges of feeling helpless and insignificant. It’s very easy to sink into the feeling of self-pity and worthlessness when you’re an overachiever.

I’ve only listed 3. But my Gratitude Journal is filled with so many of these things that I’m grateful for during those times. I saw the benefits of this exercise that I’ve decided to make it a part of my daily routine. Now, I travel with my Gratitude Journal and write down all the things I’m thankful for every single day.

You can do this, too. And you don’t need to think about extraordinary things to be thankful for. Here are just some of the things I’m thankful for while I’m hunkered down because of the lockdown.

– I’m thankful for peace and quiet in Manila. Being one of the most populated city in the world, you can hear the annoying sound of public utility vehicles honking and people shouting. The lockdown has caused the city to take a pause. Very few vehicles and people are on the road which means less noise and…

– I’m thankful for improved air quality. Manila ranks 3rd in the world for air pollution deaths. The air quality here doesn’t even meet the Clean Air Act standards. The main cause of air pollution: vehicular emissions. It’s no wonder most people were already wearing face masks years before the COVID-19 outbreak. The city was prepared for this pandemic. But because of the lockdown, fewer vehicles are on the road. I used to wake up to a thick blanket of smog in the morning that I can barely see the high rise buildings. Now, it’s clear blue sky. And I’m seeing the beautiful mountain terrains of Rizal province from afar for the first time in years. Our beautiful mountains are what made me fall in love with nature in the first place.

– I’m thankful for the people who risk their lives everyday to help contain the COVID-19 virus – the law enforcement personnel who man the checkpoints, the healthcare professionals who risk their lives to save others, the supermarket staff who need to come to work instead of isolating themselves to assist us with stockpiling of basic supplies, and everyone else who are working to help us make it thru these challenging times. I try my best to give them a word of encouragement to let them know how much I appreciate what they do. A slice of cake for snack definitely brightens up their day.

Come up with your own list. You can write down 3 things you’re thankful for before you start your day and add 3 more before going to bed. If you look hard enough, you will never run out of things to be thankful for.

Now it’s your turn. ???? ??? ??? ???????? ??? ??????

Have you ever tried using your left hand to write if you’re right-handed? Or maybe tried driving on the right side of the road? Recall the first time you’ve tried riding a bicycle or learned how to skate (I have to admit that I still don’t know how.) How did that feel? Here’s what’s worse. You’re trying a totally different approach related to your area of expertise. Like the accountant learning how to use TurboTax for the first time.  He knows the spreadsheet in-and-out but just couldn’t get the software’s user interface. This reminded me of how users reacted to Microsoft Office 2007 when it first came out. And because change is constant and inevitable, we’ll always feel like a noob. ALWAYS. And it feels awkward. ALWAYS.

But just like learning how to ride a bicycle, we get used to it. The awkward feeling starts to go away and we start feeling confident. When you’re riding your bicycle without holding the handle bars, you never think about how many times you’ve fallen off or the number of scratches you got. You probably couldn’t even remember. You went from being a noob to being an expert and riding the bicycle no longer feels awkward. You now feel great about it. But it definitely took a lot of trying it out and getting used to it. The path from being a noob to becoming an expert is never an easy one. That, in fact, was the thesis of Malcolm Gladwell’s book Outliers and the idea behind the 10,000 hours road to expertise. With the right investment of time and effort, anyone can move past the feeling of awkwardness fairly quickly.

But I think it’s more than the awkward feeling of being a noob. Behind all of that is the feeling of PRIDE. Admitting that you have to throw away all of your efforts and investments does feel a bit awkward. And that feeling where you suddenly have to slide down the ranks from up top all the way back to the bottom. When experts feel that they’re back to being a noob. And because they’ve gotten used to the feeling of being an expert, they no longer want to go back and re-experience how it all started – the fear, anxiety, and frustration that comes with it.

Didn’t I say that change is constant and inevitable? This means we have to get used to being a noob because we will always have to learn something new. But we need to put our pride aside or we’ll never get past this awkward feeling.

Now, go ahead and ride that bicycle.

This is the second in a series of blog posts that talk about success. I had the opportunity to ask the registered attendees for SQLSaturday Philippines to vote for a particular topic that they like best. Since I usually talk about professional development for IT Professionals at the PASS Summit, I provided a list of topics from presentation skills to landing your dream job. This was the one that got the most number of votes: What Your College Education Didn’t Teach You About Success. 

Planes have attitude indicators. Yes, I myself was surprised when I first heard about it. Also known as the gyro horizon, it’s an instrument that informs the pilot of the plane’s orientation relative to the earth’s horizon. When the plane is climbing, the nose of the plane is pointing above the horizon. When it is diving, the nose is pointed below the horizon. Most pilots will say that the performance  of the plane is dictated by its attitude. In order to change the performance of the plane, pilots need to change its attitude.

This was the second slide in my presentation about what our education doesn’t teach us about success: ATTITUDE DETERMINES ALTITUDE. Unfortunately, our education system is more concerned about test scores and IQ than emotional intelligence (EQ) or even attitude development. I bet that if you ask a lot of successful entrepreneurs, leaders and business people, they will tell you that their attitude has been a major contributor in their success. Our attitude is the only thing that we get to control 100% of the time. While we don’t have any control of our circumstances, we have full control of our attitude. It’s a matter of choosing which attitude we carry around with us that will determine how successful we will be.

I have to admit that choosing the right attitude is not easy. I wasn’t all that positive in the past. I complained about almost everything, saw myself as way better off than anybody else I knew and blamed others for the misfortunes that I experienced. It took me a while to realize how my attitude is affecting my career and, eventually, my future.  My drive to be excellent at everything I do compensated for my bad attitude but it wasn’t long until the bad attitude finally caught up. As I was in the middle of my failed startup, my wife gave me a wake up  call. She told me that unless I start changing my attitude, things will only be heading further south. I had to make a choice. The process was painful. It was like unlearning all of the stuff that I’ve learned throughout the years. But I was determined to go thru it. Years later, I was trying to figure out how I managed to go thru the process so that I can share it with others. It’s not that I was smart enough to learn about a process I followed that helped me overcome a bad attitude. I was clueless back then. But here are three things that I did to help me develop a positive attitude:

1. WRITE. I wrote down the things that I don’t like about myself. Now, this is a tough exercise. You need to be very honest about yourself  – what you like and don’t like. I knew I was complaining about almost everything so I wrote that on top of my list. I was determined to revert that bad attitude into a positive one. I also knew that I was blaming others for my misfortune. I had that item next in the list. I didn’t resolve all of my attitude problems at the same time (it’s probably the reason why some of them still show up every once in a while.) I just wanted to resolve the ones that I think are that bad. As I wrote them down, I thought of an alternative attitude that would replace the bad ones. The bad ones have to be replaced by good attitudes. I wrote those down as well. You could also type it on your mobile device or tablet if you prefer that.
2. SAY. I believe in the power of confession. There’s a reason why the Bible talks about the power of our words. Successful sales people understand this concept in that they constantly speak positive words to themselves especially when trying to close a major deal. I practiced the power of confession daily by telling myself the good attitudes that I need to replace the old ones with. It may feel uncomfortable at first but you’ll get used to it. But what’s good about it is that you are now starting to reinforce your belief with your words.
3. ACT.  I needed to put my belief into action. I needed to practice what I wrote down and told myself. They say actions speak louder than words. I have to act according to my belief. I used to complain about almost everything. I replaced that with gratitude. I felt uncomfortable at first, like the time when I was saying positive confessions to myself. I became grateful even with the smallest things. I thanked people around me. I thanked those who contributed to my success. I still do. Every once in a while, I check my LinkedIn, Facebook (yes, I have a Facebook profile now),  Twitter accounts, email archives, etc. to find opportunities to thank others for what they have done for me. I’m not saying I no longer complain. However, gratitude is now my dominant attitude as compared to 15 years ago.

Having a great attitude is key to success. It’s so important that Dr. John C. Maxwell, America’s leadership expert, wrote an entire book about it – The Winning Attitude. But it doesn’t come easily. I still have to work hard at it every day, choosing to start my day with a right attitude. Now, I’m one of those who claim that having a great attitude has contributed a lot to where I am right now.

You might also want to read:

• Self-Discipline Series: Taming Your Thoughts
  
• It’s all about perspective: An amazing result of the power of positive thinking

Question: What one attitude that you want to change today to become a better person tomorrow? You can leave a comment below.

University of the Philippines Oblation by randyg

“With rights come responsibilities. If we aren’t willing to take responsibilities, how dare we claim the rights.” 

I’m rarely vocal about my political views for “fear” of being branded as a leftist (I used the word fear because leaders are not immune to the feeling: they just know how to deal with it.) When I was in the university, I was almost always associated with the leftist primarily because of what I wear and who I hang out with. Most people know me as somebody who’s passionate about my country – the Philippines – even when I was still a kid. And I consider myself as an “unofficial Philippine ambassador.”

Last Friday, I noticed several media personnel in the University of the Philippines (UP) (Manila campus.) I wasn’t aware of any issues surrounding the premiere state university in the country because I try to avoid reading the news. I was intrigued. When I got back home, the first thing that I did was check the news. It turns out that there was a freshman university student who committed suicide because she was forced to take a leave of absence for failure to pay tuition fees. This became instant news, especially with the upcoming senatorial elections in May of this year. A friend of mine posted a very intriguing question on Facebook regarding the incident: is the University of the Philippines for (a) Poor Pinoy students, (b) Academically Excellent Pinoy students or (c) Academically Excellent Poor Pinoy students? I responded. Not because I wanted to defend my alma mater. I wanted others to understand that there was a much deeper issue that had to be dealt with. It was an issue of the heart. An issue of entitlement. It’s sad to hear about the loss of a loved one. More sad to realize that people are blaming the system without first looking for answers from within. Some say the student was killed by the system. Others say she was a victim of  a repressive policy that wasn’t in favor of education as a right. A characteristic of true leadership is taking responsibilities for any actions done. Below was my response to the question. 

I try to avoid telling others that I went to University of the Philippines (Diliman campus) primarily because (a) I failed “17 courses” in my undergraduate program and (b) nobody wanted to hire me because of the former  Now, when the UP system was founded back in 1908, the ultimate goal was to provide a high quality of education to the Filipino people. Nowhere in the original goal did it mention that it was for “anybody poor.” The system has evolved into what it is today primarily because it was partly subsidized by the government. With the economic journey of the Philippines after World War II, where it used to be a first-world country in Southeast Asia, most people in the government took advantage of the UP system as a means to advance their political career. Because there was an increase in the population of those living below the poverty line, the UP STFAP was born. The UP STFAP program was conceived in the late 80s, following the People Power revolution. This was the time where there was an increasing gap between the rich and the poor. This created an ever increasing “entitlement mindset” among those who are poor-yet-deserving students to go to the UP system. The very reason why tuition in the UP system is way higher than the other state universities is because they subsidize other state universities. So, to answer your question, the UP system is for the academically excellent Filipino students, regardless of economic status. For those who feel that they deserve to go to UP, go ahead and prove that they indeed deserve to go there. I couldn’t afford a UP education because it was relatively expensive for me. I had a choice between not pursuing a university degree (cheaper,) going to other state universities (a little more costly,) going to other private institutions (most expensive) or going to UP (bordering between cheap and expensive.) I chose to go to UP. I fought to stay in UP. I sacrificed a lot to go to UP. Now, do I deserve to go to UP because I was poor? Absolutely not! But I made a choice to go there, stay there and earn my university degree for there no matter what. I knew how it felt like to go from UP STFAP’s bracket E1 to bracket A (during my time, the UP STFAP used a numeric system for the brackets.) I knew how it felt like to scour for funds to finish my degree regardless of what my STFAP’s status was. Education, I believe, should be a right. 

With rights come responsibilities.If we aren’t willing to take responsibilities,how dare we claim the rights.
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– Dr. Bill Gould –

I had the opportunity to spent the last Christmas and New Year in my home country, the Philippines. And every time I do get the chance to go home, I try to create memorable events for both me and my family. I blogged about my community activity with my son before the turn of the new year and it was quite an experience. However, there was one experience that really moved me, one that I didn’t have to create.

I was on my way home after delivering a presentation on SQL Server Failover Clustering to a healthcare company in Manila. As always, I try to take the public transport as much as I can when I’m in Manila.  As I got off the light rail transit, waiting for the next jeepney ride that would take me home, something caught the corner of my eye. There it was, a signage very familiar to me and my wife almost 12 years ago. It was that of a pawnshop. Within a few seconds, it was as if I was taken back in time and my past being replayed right before me.  I couldn’t help but get teary-eyed within that short span of time.

Now, you might be wondering why.

You see, that pawnshop has seen us more times than we could remember. I remember having to pawn several of my and my wife’s jewelries just so we have something to eat for the next couple of days, not knowing if we will ever see them again.  I remember arguing with my wife to not take her valuable possessions to the pawnshop. She, on the other hand, would always reassure me that everything’s going to be alright and that our marriage was more important than those valuables. A few blocks away from the pawnshop was where we started our family, the place that I was talking about in a previous blog post – the place where we slept in a small-sized bed with barely enough cushion to soften our backs and the buzzing sound of mosquitoes that kept us awake when we didn’t have electricity. I remember feeling a sense of self-pity about not even having any means to support my family despite having a degree from a prestigious university.  And, as supportive as she can be, my wife would always tell me that the time will come when all of our experiences will simply be stories worth telling others.

And in a span of a few minutes, I was brought back into my new reality as a jeepney stopped right before me, waiting for me to hop in.

Every time I have an opportunity to do so, I tell people about our stories and our journey as a family. It’s my way of encouraging others that no matter what situation they are in, there will always be a brighter future if we simply look forward to it. More important than telling the story, I take time to revisit my past to remind myself of where I came from. The reminder keeps me grounded that even though my wife and I can now afford to have dinner at a fancy restaurant or travel anywhere we want, we must never forget our humble beginnings. It is those tough experiences that led us to where we are right now. The Holy Book talks about persevering under challenging circumstances and those who do so will receive the promises of God. In our experiences, that proved to be something very real and tangible. We’ve not only received what we believed God has promised us, we’ve also had the wonderful opportunity to share out stories with others.

Having gone into the first few days of 2013, let’s take stock of our past year (or even years) and revisit our experiences. Are we using those experiences to help us shape a better future?

I’ve been waiting to blog about this for a while now. I posted this on Twitter a few weeks back and wanted it to serve as a personal reminder.

I’ve been an advocate of continuous self-improvement and have constantly advised professionals to read books, attend trainings, listen to podcasts and watch video tutorials. However, it’s not always easy to follow that advise because continuous self-improvement comes at a price. Last year, I have decided to attend a SQL Server training offered by SQLSkills in Bellevue, WA. But in order to do so, I will have to raise a certain amount of budget for training cost, hotel accommodation, airfare and food expenses.  It took me more than a year to raise that amount and have decided to go to one of their training sessions scheduled this year.

While preparing to attend the training, I learned about SQLSentry’s contest and decided to submit an entry. Now, I’ve known about this contest from the previous years and have read the submissions from those who have attempted to join. In fact, as early as last year, I’ve already started to plan about what my submission would look like should I get the opportunity to do so. I knew that it would take a certain level of creativity and thinking outside of the box to be chosen as a winner. In my mind’s eye, I’ve started to walk myself thru the experience of submitting my entry and receiving an email from SQLSentry telling me that I was chosen as the winner of the contest. And, so when the contest was announced, I was ready. To remind myself, I posted a status update on Twitter before I started working on my entry (I did say $3,000 in my Twitter post but you get the point.) I’ve framed my mind on what I was doing, changed my perspective and decided to create a $3,500 slide deck.

It wasn’t easy. I was in New York City in a small, cramped apartment, sitting in a chair that hurt my back badly and felt like giving up. It took me a week to finish the slide deck since I was working on it after office hours. But every time I wanted to give up, I reviewed my Twitter post. I reminded myself that I was building a $3,500-worth slide deck. And, then, I would replay all of the images I’ve stored in my mind a few months back about getting an email from SQLSentry announcing me as the winner of the contest. That kept me going. I sure would not want to throw away a $3,500-worth slide deck, would you? The slide deck I was working on was so valuable to me that the thought of giving up slowly disappeared.

A week after submitting my entry, I got the email that I have been waiting for.

And it all started with having the right perspective.

Are you facing difficult challenges in your life? Maybe you need a new perspective. I told a woman I sat beside the train last year that giving up her lucrative career as a corporate lawyer to be a stay-at-home mom meant she is raising up the next generation of leaders. When I felt like giving up on a high profile project I was working on early this year, I changed my perspective and searched for a higher purpose in what I was doing. And, when I felt like giving up on the slide deck I was working on, I reminded myself to focus on my perspective. That made a whole lot of difference. I guess by now you know why this slide deck is worth $3,500.

In case you’re wondering about the winning entry, check out the slide deck I did on SlideShare.

As I watch my kids unwrap their Christmas presents, I can’t help but be emotional about the experience.

There’s really something special about a family gathered under the Christmas tree. This happens to be our very first Christmas here in Canada ever since we moved here back in 2008.

The Christmas tree, however, has now been gracing our living room on it’s second year.

But I can still remember setting it up last year because my kids were asking why I was crying while setting it up.

You see, it was our very first Christmas tree.

While most people won’t be as emotional as I am setting up their very first Christmas tree, this one is different. It happens to be our very first Christmas tree after 9 years of being married.

I remember setting up our Christmas tree when I was a kid.

I did not come from a well-off family but my mom made sure we had everything we needed growing up.

When my wife and I got married back in 2001, we’ve made a conscious choice to stick it out no matter what. We didn’t have anything when we started but were very happy we had each other.

But it was really hard back then.

I remember sleeping beside my wife in a bed that’s just a bit larger than a single bed, with a cushion that’s roughly 2 inches thick, while my eldest slept in the stroller.

I remember the sleepless nights caused by buzzing mosquitoes and a temperature of 37 C (98 F) coupled with very high humidity, the 20-cent meals that my wife and I shared, and the long walks we needed to take because we didn’t even have enough change to take the bus.

We didn’t even think about Christmas trees back then.

But we definitely shared good laughs and dreams of having at least a comfortable life.

We talked about how we wanted to have a house we can call our home, a car to take the kids to and from school and the opportunity to share our blessings to others. They have been dreams seasoned with faith and hoping that, one day, will come to pass.

I think one of the most difficult thing to do for all of us is to wait.

The advances in technology has given us the ability to get everything fast – NOW.

From the instant coffee to the burger at the McDonald’s drive-thru, the single-click option at Amazon and everything else we can think of.

The wait becomes a bit more challenging when we can’t see the horizon and the future looks a bit dark.

That’s why it is important to keep the faith.

Faith, as the Holy Book defines, is the evidence of things not seen.

We humans are visual creations that’s why it’s easy to appreciate things that we see with our eyes.

But faith requires us to close our eyes and see beyond what are visuals can perceive.

It means looking beyond our current situation – whether good or bad – and see what lies ahead.

When you don’t know where to get food for your next meal or the next job that you need to take after getting laid off, faith lights a small fire of hope.

Fan the flame and don’t let anything blow it out.

The wait may be a struggle, I know it has been for me.

But don’t let faith and hope die out on you. It could spell the difference between life and death.

This Christmas, I encourage you to keep the faith and continue to hope.

The wait could be just a few days, a few months, 9 years like mine, or even longer.

The Prince of Egypt, Joseph, spent 13 years both in Potiphar’s house and in prison before becoming second-in-command next to Pharaoh.

I bet it wasn’t a pleasant waiting experience. But he waited, nonetheless.

Because he kept the faith and never lost hope.

So, while you open the last box under your Christmas tree, take a few moments to pause and reflect.

Give yourself the gift of faith and hope for the coming year.

Now, open the box. It could have been what you’ve been waiting for all these time.

And keep a box of Kleenex handy.

Merry Christmas.

Santa on a Christmas tree, by bassplayerdoc on Flickr

1 Thessalonians 5:18 (New Living Translation)

Today, and every second Monday of October, Canada is celebrating Thanksgiving Day. Wikipedia traces the roots of Thanksgiving to the celebration to give thanks for a good harvest. Most of us find it easy to be thankful when good things happen – getting that job promotion, receiving a gift you’ve always wanted, or even as simple as being treated out to a sumptuous dinner at a fancy restaurant. But what about when things didn’t go as planned? Or when you feel like the world is against you? Would you even think about being thankful?

That proved to be a powerful thought for me these past few days. About three and a half months ago, I blogged about the opportunity to speak at the 2011 PASS Community Summit. As I do a lot of technical presentations and speaking throughout the year, the PASS Community Summit happens to be the highlight of them all. This event has a special place in my heart as it has taught me to dream big and accomplish the seemingly impossible. It’s why I make it a point to attend the annual event and, if selected, deliver a technical presentation. Being selected to deliver a presentation is, in itself, an honour and an accomplishment. Imagine being picked from a hundred of potential speakers that are definitely a lot better and smarter than I am; it’s like making it in the NFL Draft. After receiving confirmation that I will be speaking at the conference, I immediately started preparing for my presentation – preparing a storyline, creating an outline and  preparing my slide deck. This preparation has helped me a lot in delivering the webcast equivalent last month at the 24 Hours of PASS Fall 2011 event. I’m all hyped up and ready to go. To top it all up, the much awaited SQL Server MVP Deep Dives Volume 2 book will be launched with schedules for author book signing. I didn’t make it to the book launch of Volume 1 so I was really excited to make it this time around.

That was until I knew I couldn’t.  Not being a Canadian citizen, I would need to have the proper immigration documents when travelling to and from Canada. I can go to Seattle to attend the conference but that would mean not being able to legally come back. And that is something that I simply can’t risk. Imagine how it felt like for the past two weeks for me – calling the immigration office to inquire about the status of my application, corresponding with the conference organizers telling them about my situation, and checking my mailbox every day to see if my immigration documents are already in. I was (and still am) hopeful that I can make it in time for my presentation schedule. But knowing how tight the timing was and that the long weekend could affect the mail delivery, I’ve finally made up my mind not to go. Those who knew about my situation were very positive and hopeful that I can still make it. But as far as I’m concerned, none of these things matter anymore. What matters now is how I look at the events that happened and how I can be grateful even when things didn’t happen as I wanted them to.  You see, the true meaning of Thanksgiving is when you know you’re thankful even when it’s hard to be thankful – being fired from your job, losing a loved one or missing out on an opportunity. It wasn’t easy for me and I’m sure it wouldn’t be for you. But we can always make that choice to be thankful “in all circumstances,” good or bad. What’s really amazing is that, years after those things have happened, I look back and really have a genuine feeling of gratitude for what happened. Do I miss being at the PASS Community Summit this year? Oh, I definitely do. But I sure do look forward to that day when I can look back at what happened and utter a sincere prayer of thanksgiving.

To all our Canadian friends, wherever you are, Happy Thanksgiving!