Meeting Paul Rusesabagina

I had the privilege of meeting Paul Rusesabagina today when he made a speech for my college. As an added bonus I was asked to say a few words to thank him for coming and for this I was given a seat beside him before he went on stage so that I could ask him a few questions. Afterwards, a few students and myself got to have lunch with him. The whole occasion was an amazing experience.

I wanted to post the few words I said in my thanks. So here they are:

"On behalf of the students here, as well as Humber College, we would like to thank you very much for joining us today and sharing your story Mr. Rusesabagina. Despite the title of your autobiography you are more than an ‘ordinary man’. You may be uncomfortable with being labeled a hero but what you did was beyond heroic.

In your autobiography you discuss the power of words and their role in the genocide. You say, “words are the most effective weapons of death in man’s arsenal. But they can also be powerful tools of life.” You used your words to save 1,268 people, but maybe just as importantly your sharing your words here today, and the many other speeches you do, will continue to impact the way we live our lives. Your words do have power and I am very honored that you shared them with us here today. Maybe WE can begin to reclaim those two words, “Never” , and, “Again”.

Paul, we here at Humber thank you once again, and might I add that there will always be a metaphorical banana beer here for you if and when you choose to return."

When I get a copy of the question and answer transcripts from the lunch I will post that as well. He was a very interesting man with a story that needs to be heard. "We have not yet learned from our past," he said, "and because of this we can not hope to change our future." It is on us, the people who wish to see a better future, to learn from the mistakes that have been made and do our best to rectify them for the sake of our collective future. Too much is at stake.

Learning to Dream

I have said it before, I am a dreamer. I see nothing wrong with this fact. Somewhere along the way, probably from years of not having dreams come true, we find that dreams are not achievable. As children we dream of being a fire fighter, a movie star, a world famous ballerina, or a cowboy, but as we grow older and it looks less and less likely that it will in fact come true, we give up dreaming. We push it off to the side, or we discount its realness, and we continue on with our days as if nothing is wrong.

The problem is there is something wrong. Deep inside where we forced our dreams to hide, they are waiting to burst out and waiting to be believed in once again. You see, achieving your dreams gives life its purpose. Accomplishing that which is difficult or impossible gives us gratification. It opens up our whole world to a new paradigm in which we see a world for what can be done and not what can't be done.

Dreams are not the result of the thoughts and fantasies of a child. Dreams are your brain telling you what you can accomplish if you believe in yourself enough. There is no impossible in this world. Learn to dream again, let yourself free, open up the flood gates and let yourself out.

Granted dreams take work. The nature of a dream is that it is out there in the distance. It is something that almost seems foreign to us because it has not yet entered our reality. It is still just a thought. This is where most of us give up. We don't take the next steps, we don't take action. Nothing in this world was ever done with out the hard work of someone. Making a dream become reality takes hard work and dedication. Most people are unwilling to commit to putting in the effort because they lack the belief in themselves to make things happen. They see all the obstacles and the hardships and they give up.

Dreams are funny though, despite our giving up on them they don't give up on us. They live on inside us just waiting for the day when you will learn to dream again. They wait deep inside you waiting for you to believe once again, as you did when you were a child. Let go of the inadequacies which you cling to and use as a gate to living the life you want. Open the door, invite your dreams to meet with reality, and if you put in the effort I guarantee the two will merry.

Leading Is About The Small Things

I brought my friend Drew Dudley, who is the Coordinator Leadership Development at U of T Scarborough, in to do a leadership workshop with some of my classmates. I think understanding the different facets of leadership is an important step in growth no matter what field of work or life you aim to enter.

While he put us through an exercise on understanding social styles and the role that plays in how the team dynamic forms and performs, the end of his workshop came to the same point I came to in my studies of leadership: leadership is about being genuine and the best person you can be no matter what your strengths happen to be. You don't need to be the best at directing people, or the best public speaker, or the highest scorer on a team. Leadership happens in the small, more meaningful, encounters that happen every day, all around you.

Leadership is about being a beacon for being yourself and being comfortable and confident in that fact. People will follow you where you lead them if they can trust you, and trust is built from being true to yourself and true to others. We are not all born with the gifts of a Ghandi, or Martin Luther King Jr., or Bill Clinton, or any other famous leader that comes to your mind. In Drews estimation only about 1% of the entire world is born with that ability, in my estimation is probably far less than even that. However, that does not mean you can not be a leader, it just may mean that you wont be leading entire nations or droves of people.

Leadership happens most often, and within most of our realms of control, in the one-on-one encounters that happen everyday. We can be a leader to our friends, our family, our colleagues - this is where impact happens. We all dream of being the face of the biggest movement or the best business, but these instances will not happen if we can't first learn to lead from within our immediate environments. We must be a beacon.

Drew had one last point, which was this: If after years of being out of someones presence the mere mention of your name brings a smile to their face, a story to mind, or good laugh, and they have nothing but good things to say, then you made an impact - you were a leader. That is the point of real leadership and a lesson we all must come to terms with. We will not likely change the world for millions or billions of people, but we can change the world for the few people we come in contact with everyday. That is where you start. That is where you need to be.

Paul Rusesabagina

On Monday my college will be welcoming Mr. Paul Rusesabagina, the inspiration for the movie Hotel Rwanda, where he will do a speech about his experience. I have the pleasure of thanking him for coming and imparting his story of heroism upon us. After Monday I will post what I have to say, as I have been thinking about it quite diligently. It is a real honor to be able to meet him and listen to his tragic story. His story, unfortunately, is one that continues to have significance around the world, as similar conflicts are carried out all over. I also get the opportunity to have lunch with him and a select few other students where I have a few questions for him. Hopefully I will be able to post them as well as his answers afterwards.

If you want to learn more about Paul he has an autobiography out called An Ordinary Man that is available at all your major book retailers. I am about 50 pages in and I have already made mental notes of many things he says that I think are of significance. I am very excited for this opportunity.

A World Of Peace

This might become a regular post if Tyler can keep coming up with these great poems. This one is titled A World of Peace by Tyler Herman.

A World Of Peace

A world of peace comes when we each shed the light,
fueled by love as a weapon, no longer a need to fight

The bombs can stop dropping, but for that unity must exist,
without global unity, war and strife wont fail to persist.

Its fueled by greed, with competition, hatred and fear,
drop the mass consumerism and there's enough resources for everyone here.

When did the value of one life become more important then another?
testing new pharmaceuticals on africans when we all share the same eternal mother?

Our priorities are out of line, instead of making change, we're digging our graves,
A Modern world, with laws shaping equality, yet there still exists slaves?

Polluting mother nature, reaping her of her bountiful grace,
even with us as the protestors, our own foolish actions are the authorities mase.

We're blinded, not by the truthful light, but by the veil that covers our eyes,
the false fabrication of life in this system, it only contributes to our demise.

What's needed now is for us all to open our eyes and see the guiding light,
To always be consciously aware and make the truthful choice in what's wrong and right.

To view our own lives and choices from an outsiders lens,
to share peace, spread love, give generously, and make amends.

if you don't believe in religion or God, know that the true religion of God is love,
With love as the true compass of your life, all your trials and tribulations can be risen above.

let that love foster, reach unimaginable heights and spread it in humble ways,
Let it bright light to any darkness, bring beauty to all of your days.

Now sit back and think about peace, and ask yourself how you can contribute to the path,
Peace is inevitable, add a bunch of positives to a negative;you do the math.

So go now, shed the light, and spread the peaceful way,
peace is coming in the future, but we must start building peace today.

International Development Week

I wanted to just briefly mention that this coming week is International Development Week all around the world. Check it out online and see what events are being held in your area to commemorate the occasion. At Humber we are holding a different event every day of the week to highlight different areas of need. Monday is Feast for Famine, Tuesday is refugee awareness day which includes the screening of a movie, Wednesday is HIV/AIDS day which includes a guest speaker, Thursday is Fair Trade Day where Ten Thousand Villages will be on hand to sell some of their products, and Friday will be Environment/Conservation day which includes some carbon footprint games and activities. Now would be the perfect time to learn more about an issue around the world that you have an interest in.

Yes We Can

Great new YouTube video by Will I Am of the Black Eyed Peas. Based on Barack Obama's speech this star studded video is awesome. Inspiration for a better world is all around us, we just need to be open to it.

Check it out