The day I won the lottery

Because on TheGreenGrass we believe that taking action is more important than learning lessons, I will start by mentioning my action plan:

• I did not finish ‘The book of Mirdad’, but I did finish an audiobook called “The Like Switch”, by Jack Shaeffer. Ever since I have finished it, I am listening to it over and over again, because the tips it offers are timeless and effortless. Jack explains that by using the friendship formula, so that anyone can become your friend, at least that is what the FBI does to find out any crime’s suscpects.

To get the audio book for free , like our Facebook page and send us the message ‘The Like Switch’ on the page

As for my plans, on the personal, financial and career levels, I have set my goals and started a plan to fulfill them. Moreover, I discovered that hiding my passions and my real person will slow down my progress. I encourage all my readers to follow their passion, even if it is a hobby and you have only 15 free minutes per day, because creative ideas need a free mind to get unleashed(sounds a bit like a hippy’s quote, but It works for me).

Now let’s talk about lottery. Who does not dream about winning the lottery? Not me. I have always wondered how much things I can do for myself and my community if I won a small fortune: I could do many activities, go out more often, and build an open cultural center. But in reality, the biggest amount I have ever won was 20,000 LL ~ 13$, on one of my birthdays in scratch and win tickets(I can expect laughs)

But what about winning 300,000,000 $? What could you do with it? Maybe pay your bills, leave your work and travel for some time… Anything is possible when possessing this tremendous amount of money. Still, it can be counted. What about winning something you cannot even count?

Well, it happened to me last year, it might have happened to you also, maybe you did not recognize it yet. For the past lived about 25 years of my life believing that I am a bad communicator, that I cannot tell a joke or make new friends. But one day, I discovered that we are all born strangers, and that communication skills can be learned, with lessons and practice. So some habits had to be gained(by anyone):

• Reading books about how to make friends, the best being “How to win friends and influence people” by Dale Carnegie, and watch YouTube videos about communication tips. One of the best tips Dale mentions are to “be genuinely interested in other people” and to “make people feel important”.
• Participating in events nearby, whether networking events or conferences, even if they are not related to the field you are in.
• Enrolling in online courses concerning communication and negotiation skills. Thus, winning the lottery is not about matching numbers anymore, because winning people’s trust and minds is much more valuable(on both short and long term).

“He Who Can Do This Has The Whole World With Him. He Who Cannot Walks A Lonely Way”. To read this passage from “How to win friends and influence people”, send “I want to read” by message to our Facebook page.

As for the action plan, below are the steps I should take:

• Waking up at 6am everyday, because the weather is good around this time and the mind is clear.
• …

The second step is left intentionally blank, so feel free to share your action plan in the comments below or on our Facebook page.

Until then, keep up the positive energy and let us know which topic you are interested in

Thank you Nadine El Khoury for your contribution to this article

5 Reasons to smile in Lebanon

This picture is the menu list at ‘Bonheur du Ciel’ Snack and only costs a ‘Thank you’

The action plan comes first, so to sum up:

• I started my facebook page and had more traffic than my blog, because facebook is the bestselling book of all times.
• I started reading Mirdad, but has not finished it yet.

5 advantages we have in Lebanon? It may be hard to list. However, when we see all the smiles that NGO’s and activists are spreading around us on every occasion and every event, we cannot help but smile in return and get a positive energy.

1. The Open Events

Whether it is in the cities of Lebanon or in its villages, a lot of open events are being held by NGO’s to attract as much people as they can. Just to name a few that happened this month: in Hamra, ‘Ahla Fawda’ organized  a festival in Hamra street on June 1st :), and on Tuesday the 21st, ‘L’institut Francais au Liban’ was supporting the worldwide celebration of musique ‘La fete de la musique’ in Downtown :), Tijara street, and both events were awesome. NGO’s and individuals are joining hands to draw a smile on our faces and to keep the positive energy high.

2. The Sale

In every commercial street in Lebanon, every month or at least end of month, we can read ‘Sale’. A lot of shops are sending SMS and reaching every media to let us know they are on sale. I remember that in February, I bought 5 items including one pair of jeans and two blouses made of good fabrics, at a total price below LBP 120,000, and I have been wearing them over and over since.

3. The Fundraising Events

We, as Lebanese, may have the highest density of refugees in the world(200/km2), but we also have one of the highest densities of NGO’s. That is the main reason behind our resistance to the crisis we are facing. Whatever the cause is: Cancer, roads safety, serving the homeless, we are leaders in our charity events. Citing ‘Bonheur du Ciel’ initiative in creating open restaurants 🙂 for everyone, and open hair dressers recently, we can be proud of our sense of Humanity.

4. The Music

Needless to say that music is what makes our country go round, for every time we are in trouble, we turn the radio on and sing along with rough voices sometimes, just to overcome our troubles. We can shift our mood anytime, even at work, by simply playing beats on our desk and singing some tarab or happy songs. That’s what I used to do in college while waiting for the next teacher.

5. The Positive Reaction

How do we react to a hot and irritating weather? And how do we complain about an annoying traffic jam? By spreading jokes on social media! It seems that the only way we take to escape our problems is laughing at them. Eventually a lot of people are working to solve our crisis: the garbage crisis, the traffic crisis and many more, but the majority of the Lebanese population have a natural tendency to laugh at the tragic events so they can overcome their fears and get over their tragedies.

Hearing a foreigner praising our country always cheers us up, so below is a fast interview with Tom Fletcher, the ex-ambassador of the UK in Lebanon, about an intiative called ‘Positive Lebanon’

 

Talking about Lebanese challenges: ‘Unless we really hold on to the positive things in this country, we let the negatives crowd them out’

My Action Plan for next time is as follows:

• Finish ‘The Book of Mirdad‘ by Mikhael Neaime in a week from now.
• Stick to my priorities on the personal plan, the financial plan and the career plan.

Until then, keep the positive energy high and search for your own real grass, your own treasure land.

No one replied…

To start with, as I promised in my last post’s action plan:

• I will deliver my blog in Arabic, but not now.
• I have read a part of ‘Rich Dad, Poor Dad’ and got the gist of it, since the main story is the same but the lessons are different, that one is hardly called Rich when he is still working for the money, and not making his money work for him. For a better picture, you can read the book or check it on YouTube 🙂
• I can start podcasts once a base of a hundred readers are enjoying my posts and are giving me feedback.

I also counted a bit the amount of time I am losing on chronometer (my time management tool), and it was 30min-1hr/day on the 1st week, which is pretty good.

Now back to our subject, no one replied…to what? To your email, message or phone call. Even for a small request such as help: no one have sent you anything.

So what to do? You give up? No, you can’t. Here’s a concrete situation: you have sent hundreds of emails -job requests- to hundreds of companies, and you are still waiting for their answer. So what do you do next? You don’t have connections to help you in these companies, you only have courage and patience to actually find a job.

It’s so common: a lot of salesmen and job seekers face your situation everyday, every time they send an email. What does the job seeker do? Some call the company, following the email they have sent to them, some just give up and send other emails ‘To maximize their potential employers’. The good salesman definitely calls. He does the ‘FOLLOW UP’. He calls, make sure that his email has reached the key person, and if he gets no clear answer, he shows up to the person he is seeking 1-2 days later. The salesmen have no choice: it is either Selling and Getting Paid, or Going Back Home with no Paycheck. To be honest, I have been behind the screen sending emails for training/job requests and just following up witha call to make sure the email was eell received. That was four years ago, in March 2012. When I look back now I see that I could have done better just by going to the place I wanted to work at and talking directly to the key person I needed(HR Manager or Head of Department-HOD). And if I was told the classic message by the secretary ‘The Manager “X” is busy, you may leave a message’ I would have waited until lunch break or even his leaving around 5-6pm to meet him and introduce myself as I should.

To get a clearer idea of what I said above, below is a link for follow-ups (customers can be employers/leads):

Why it’s important to Follow up

And the awaited action plan for next time is:

• Launching a Facebook page for The Green Grass, where I will be waiting for your replies and suggestions, and maybe sharing your action plans. Link:

The Green Grass

• Reading a book, Mirdad by Mikhail Neaimeh, suggested by a friend (obviously books are always in my action plan).
• And finally, working on whatever you will suggest and always being there for tips 🙂

Until we meet- I am available for coffee meetings. And until next post, keep a smile on your face, since it is the best free and fast tool to win anyone’s heart 🙂

Action

That word we hear in film-making sounds familiar…

3,2,1… Action!

In movies, we have action, in problems, we have action. What about our life?

That is why I decided to take action on my blog: in every article there will be 3 main parts:

• Summary of last posts’ actions-to-take, if done or not yet.
• The main subject of the post.
• New actions to take from now until next post, and more!

Every time we offer a free service or product, a smiley 🙂 will follow, to easily notice them.

So, in the last post I have talked about networking and chose four actions to take, I accomplished them all! Think and Grow Rich has helped me making affirmations to myself and work hard. In this way, I can acquire more Riches, and grab opportunity when it comes my way.

Here are links to Napoleon Hill’s book – English عربي و, and a link to his audio book:

Think and Grow Rich – Librairie Antoine, فكِِر و اغتنِ – Alkutub.de, Think and Grow Rich Audio – Audible, free 30-day trial period 🙂

My action plan – in action verbs – for the next post is:

• Deliver this current blog in Arabic language for Arab readers – بالعربي
• Read Rich Dad Poor dad, then give my review on this blog.
• Start a Podcast about my blog posts.

I will also keep a track of my wasted time daily, in hours (number of hours wasted/day). More in the next post about TIME management – how to stop wasting TIME.

Until then, check below link

Time Management Tips – Entrepreneur 🙂

Networking Conference

On the 16th, I have attended a conference on Networking at Loyac, Sanayeh with Andre Abi Awad, founder of Entreprenergy, and that changed my attitude and actions that will enhance my career.

I have met a lot of students and teachers, and on top of it, I decided to take action:

• Network more, and most of all, follow-up.
• Make an email signature on my gmail.
• Create and print a business card.
• Read ‘Think and Grow Rich’ by Napoleon Hill.

I must be thankful to Andre and to my friend who introduced me to Andre, Elias Zaidan, and to Loyac.

More in the next post about my journey to the Green Grass.

Until then, you can check  Entreprenergy if you have a passion and a dream in life, even if it is not for Entrepreneurship.