Your Name

How important is your name?  Where did it come from?  What does it say about you?  Would it be hard to believe your life course may be set by your family surname or by the first decision made for you when you were born?  Research has shown based on your name, you may be predisposed to choose a certain profession.

Our names are held sacred.  Being a person with an alternative spelling for my first name, I am hyper-sensitive to people pronouncing and spelling it correctly.  Additionally, I am overcome with embarrassment if I mispronounce or misspell anyone’s name.  It is something we own and something we are proud of.  It is the first thing we are given and it stays with us wherever we go.

 

Your name can have a significant impact on those you meet even before you open your mouth.  Most often unfairly, you are judged by your name.  Researchers have polled employers on their impressions of potential candidates based solely on their name.  The name “John” for instance, creates the impression of someone who is wholesome and dependable. 

In addition to creating an immediate impression, your name may also indicate your future career choice.  A Wall Street Journal article from June 21, 2011 cites a controversial study conducted by State University of New York in Buffalo which claims people are more likely to choose a profession with names that are similar the their own.  While this may seem preposterous, it is hard to argue with:

Dr. Douglas Hart – cardiologist

Sue Yoo – lawyer

Cory Greathouse – realtor

Patricia Boguslawski – lawyer

Dr. Payne – orthodontist

Even if your name does not have to do with your profession, it may provide you advantages in other ways.  Simply ask Mr. Will Wynn, winner of the Austin, TX mayoral campaign from 2003 through 2009 if you would like additional evidence. 

Where did you get your name?   Based on your name, what would be your ideal profession?  Regardless of name, what do you want to do professionally in the future?

Boston Marathon - One Year Later

April 15^th marks the one year anniversary of the bombings at the Boston Marathon.  It has been a long year of recovery for the city of Boston and the victims of the bombing. 

The Boston Marathon is the oldest large city marathon in the world.  It is held on the third Monday in April each year, which is Patriot’s Day, a Massachusetts state holiday. The day commemorates the Battle of Lexington and Concord, the first battle of the American Revolution.  Since its inception 118 years ago, the marathon has grown in stature and reputation. 

Last year 2 Chechen brothers turned the marathon and the city into a disaster by planting two homemade explosives near the finish line.  At 2:49 pm as runners were approaching the finish line two explosions 12 seconds and 210 yards apart were detonated causing 3 deaths and 264 injuries.  Of the 264 injuries, 14 resulted in amputation.  It was a sad day fo

r Boston and for the United States as we fell victim to another terrorist attack. 

In the days following, the stories of the incredible selflessness of first responders and ordinary citizens running into the chaos to help the injured demonstrated the resiliency of Bostonians.  The city branded itself “Boston Strong” refusing to give in to the terror and fear.  Not only was Boston Strong, but help came from all sorts of places in the form of money and medical assistance. 

The mayor help create the One Fund Boston to provide financial assistance to the victims and their families.  After the first week, crowd funding websites raised over $2 million.  On May 30^th various artists including Aerosmith, Jimmy Buffett, and Jason Aldean played at the Boston Strong Concert with all proceeds going directly to One Fund Boston.  One Fund Boston received $69.8 million to directly aid the victims and their families. 

It is a bitter sweet week in Boston as they prepare for the 2014 Boston Marathon on April 21^st.  While it will be a great sense of pride for the city to push forward with the event, it is also impossible to plan and participate without recalling the horror of the prior year’s event.  The stories have been remember and honored in various special programs.  Below is a clip from an ESPN E60 Program called “Dream On”.

This year the marathon will have 36,000 participants (which is 10,000 more than any previous year).   

What are your ideas about ways to reduce and eliminate terrorism in the world?  If you could, would you run in this year’s marathon? Why or why not?  Is there anything you would like to say to the participants of this year’s marathon?  

Buddha's Birthday

April 8 is commemorated by Buddhists as the birthday of Siddhartha Gautama, the Buddha. 

Siddhartha was born in to a family of wealth in the year 563 BC in present day India.  His father, King Suddhodana was told his princely son would either be a great monarch or a Buddha, a supremely enlightened teacher.  To ensure his son would become the monarch, he kept Siddhartha locked away in the palace away from the human conditions of disease, aging, and death.

After some time, the curiosity of the outside world proved to be too much for Siddhartha and he secretly left the palace gates.  He began to live a life of an ascetic.  An ascetic is one who lives a life of extreme self discipline and denies himself any form of indulgence.  After years as an ascetic, he was still unfulfilled.  He sat under a tree and vowed to remain in this state of meditation until he found enlightenment.

 

He eventually found enlightenment and from this point forward he was the Buddha.  He taught others the foundations of Buddhism which are the four noble truths, which I am paraphrasing…

1.       Life in suffering

2.       Suffering is caused by our desires

3.       There is a way to end suffering, finding nirvana

4.       The way to end suffering requires following the eightfold path of right views, right resolve, right speech, right livelihood, right action, right effort, right mindfulness, and right concentration.

His teachings were spread throughout most of Asia by Buddha and his disciples. 

We often lose sight of our happiness and become too attached to our “things”.  What are you attached to?  What causes you stress?  Is there a way to better manage your stress?  What examples do you see in the world where the idea of attachment has given the wrong ideas about happiness?