The Written World: Four siblings on taking risks

Monday, March 13, 2006

Four siblings on taking risks

My brothers and I are risk takers, there’s no doubt about that. But just how much risk we are willing to take and the manner we take them differ greatly.

In any endeavor:

I always calculate the benefits against the risks. Only when I see that the chances of success is greater than that of failure, and that I can afford the loss I’d incur should I fail, do I take a leap.

Mans always calculates the benefits against the risks and makes sure he wouldn’t lose anything (at least break even) before he takes a leap.

Ogie always employs Mans and I to calculate the benefits against the risks and waits for our recommendations before he takes a leap.

Ryan takes a leap first. Only when he had landed roughly does he realize that there had been risk. Ouch!

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MY SHORT LINERS

Dreams don't soar in our sleep. It is only when we are wide awake that we are able to give them wings, and it is when our courage learns to fly that we able to crash our fears. //seb;01April2008

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Life is a continuous process of winnowing; of separating the grains from the chaffs. Sometimes, though, we throw away the grains; not the pebbles, not the chaffs. And then we spend the rest of our lives staring at the empty husks of our choices, wondering where the grains went, chasing after them, and finding it hard to see them amid the mountains of chaffs we have surrounded ourselves. //seb 04January2009
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We are but actors in an untitled play, acting out parts of a plot unbeknownst to us, under the tutelage of an unseen director.//seb2005

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Pride is a two-faced coin: one beautiful; and the other, repulsive. Like the pillar that keeps an edifice erect, pride is that which makes an individual stand tall. When twisted, however, pride becomes an ugly face that reeks of arrogance and conceit. //seb2007
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There is such a thing as 'coming clean.' And no, it does not mean washing your hands. It means owning up to your mistake. //seb2012

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The taste of defeat isn't bitter. It is actually sweet. The trick is to swallow not while you are going through it, but when you have gone past it. //seb 16August2013;11:27pm
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We really cannot be anybody’s mirror. Our reaction to other people’s actions/deeds is not a reflection of these people, but of our interpretation to their actions. We reflect not them, but ourselves. //seb15July2013
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Success is not just about arriving; it is more about moving, however slowly. And however tough. So is change. //seb28July2013; 8:51am

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They ring the loudest, the voices we forbid to speak. //seb2011
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The truth is a whole story. //seb07January2013

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I always wondered why we are so fond of putting people we highly regard on a pedestal, when we can see the true measure of a man not by how tall he stands on a pedestal, but how firmly his feet are rooted on the ground. //seb04December 2012; 5:50pm
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Potential and opportunity are two of my favorite power words. They both lead to becoming, to advancement and improvement. And they both require action. To be truly meaningful, opportunity must be seized; and potential, honed and realized. Like dreams and ideas, their best is not their present state, but what they become after they have been acted upon. //seb; 02June 2011; 10:35pm

MORE ABOUT ME

Strong-willed and self-reliant are the words that are always affixed to my name. Shrewd is my nickname, stubborn is my middle name, and straightforward is my pseudonym. Sugar-coated speech isn’t my specialty, and flattery is nowhere in my vocabulary. The weak hate me, and the ridiculous detest me.

I have a penchant for winning, an insatiable thirst for learning, and an unexplainable affinity towards the unexplained.

I am often drawn to unexplored territories and untested waters. Defying the odds is my favorite sports, challenging authority is my favorite pastime, and taking risks and jumping off different cliffs are among my hobbies.

I have a steady love affair with logic and a regular rendezvous with creativity. For the former, I am a word slayer; but for the latter, I am she who puts form and persona to the abstract, and mystic to the tangible.

In some ways I am both yin and yang. I can be calm as the sunset, and fiery as the noontime sun. I can be both reckless and careful, passionate and disinterested, simple and complicated.

Excellence and elegance are my trademarks. I work not just with my hand, but also with my heart and mind. Over big and minuscule details I slave, until the two qualities I so admire — unique and outstanding — are embodied in my creation.

My family and the love that I have are my greatest treasures; whereas my biggest assets are the contents of my heart — the love that flows out of it, the warmth that emanates from it, and the peace that resides in it.

My greatest aspiration is to live a life that’s full and with very few regrets. Meaningless schemes and pathetic pursuits have no place in my daily itinerary. What's in it are making this journey I have started as meaningful as it can be, never stepping onto other people’s toes, and encouraging others to pursue their dreams.

I believe that there is a Great Being that guides us through every step of the way, although the decision about whether we take a step or not, and which direction to take is left to us. I hope — and believe — that the direction I have chosen to trudge will lead me to that place where I can look back to my life, and say, “well done!”