Her Online Bookshelf

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The Happiness Project by Gretchen Rubin ~ FOLLOW ------ The Five People You Meet in Heaven by Mitch Albom ~ FOLLOW

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Archive for June 2011

Eject Rejection: Push that button (Motivational Monday #1)

Have you ever been rejected by someone? How often do you feel rejected? Have you ever stopped asking for something because you have been scared of hearing the two-letter word of rejection--- "NO"? Well, guess what? You're in good company. Whether you were rejected as a child, as a member of an organization, rejected from your dream university, or a marriage proposal, you are not alone. 

I, too, have been rejected in life for countless times. May it be about the events I have proposed within a group, an idea I presented, or about my application to a group where I've always wanted to be a part of... it doesn't matter... The truth of the matter is, everyone rejects and is being rejected. Some may feel a sense of rejection at least sometime in their life. It's not easy to ignore the feeling after being rejected; However, we should face it, or at least reject the negative thoughts caused by it. Always keep in mind that rejection is a natural part of life. I personally believe that everything in life ,may it be good or bad, has great lessons to be learned. Let me share with you a few things I learned after being rejected for countless times....
Everything stays the same after a rejection.  If you submit an application to a company and you don't get in,  here's one fact that I want you to think about... You WERE NEVER in that company before you turned in your application,and you are NOT in that company after you applied. So... Have you lost anything at all? Your life didn't get better and it didn't even get worse.... It stayed the same... The only thing that will make it worse is if you choose to gather all the times when you have been rejected, took everything in general, and let the negative emotions bind it altogether.. 

Rejection has no real meaning, unless injected with thoughts and emotions. I came to realize that rejection is just a concept that we unconsciously design in our mind, and this what makes us think and view everything differently after being rejected. 

Quit assuming! Some people, including me, tend to assume things after being rejected. For instance, friend A asks friend B to hangout one night... Unfortunately, Friend B rejected Friend A's invitation. Now, Friend A feels like Friend B rejected her because she's not fun to hangout with. Who knows? Maybe it's not you that they didn't like... Maybe it was just your proposal, your idea... or better yet, it's possible that the reason is not you at all!

Rejection SHOULD make us better. This can only happen if we take rejection positively. Learn from it, and never let it be the reason of your downfall in life. Use it as a free Learning tool. Never let rejection give you a wrong  definition of who you really are. If it did had the chance to define you, re-define yourself. 
Keep the 3 SWs in mind. Some Will, Some Won't, So What! If a person said yes, then great! If a person said no, SO WHAT! There are a lot more opportunities out there! Somewhere, there are good, better, and even great things that awaits you. Just hang in there, my friend. 
After a rejection, learn from it... move on.. push yourself forward... Keep in mind that it's not the very last opportunity available around the world because there's a lot more around you, and you just have to keep on trying and searching for more... Believe in yourself! There's always a great deal of a value to you. Take an imaginary eject button with you, anywhere you go, and always remember to push it when you have to. 

Behind every rejection are better opportunities. ~ trish <3

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The Journey (How To Live By Faith in an Uncertain World) by Billy Graham

I got this  book as one of my 18 treasures during my Debut Celebration(year 2008). This was given to me by a family friend.

The title of the book, "The Journey",  is apt for someone who has journeyed so far and long with Christ.  I think this is a good book because we can learn so much from a few people in history, like Billy Graham, who have gained so much wisdom on Christianity through their journey in faith. While the book is mostly focused on Christianity, I'd say that it also serves as a reminder for most of us who lose track of what we believe in and live for because we often focus more on our careers that takes up most of our time and attention.. The good part of the book is that there are nuggets that were really interesting and inspiring.

My favorite part is chapter 27... Passing the Baton...

In this chapter, he talks about families...  According to Billy, parents shouldn't just be a provider of any physical needs as necessities for their children. They must also be prepared to help their children develop mentally and emotionally...For without this, children will enter adulthood ill prepared and doomed to failure... Let your children grow freely, knowing that they will make mistakes along the way, don't hammer it too hard on them as it will only break their confidence in giving themselves a chance to move on and make the best out of it. Make them realize that with mistakes, comes valuable lessons. Mental and emotional development doesn't just happen in a snap... It takes deliberate effort and positive support on both parties. He also reminds his readers that being wise parents, we must accept the fact that every child is different... every family is different... and every day is different.. As a future parent to my children, I think this is what most of us should keep in mind.

I recommend this book to everyone, especially to those who are starting out in faith in Christ or anyone who is seeking a devotional book that will remind them of the basics of Christianity.

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The Five People You Meet in Heaven by Mitch Albom

After a productive activity I had with my Psychology friends at NIU, we toured around Evanston and visited a few stores.... We found a small book store that sells books by pound and at a good price. As I was searching for books, I found the book "The Five People You Meet in Heaven". I briefly scanned the book and have found it really interesting....

The Five People You Meet in Heaven is a novel written by Mitch Albom. It secrenates both the life and death of a simple yet dignified old man, Eddie. After dying in a tragic accident, Eddie finds himself in heaven where he encounters five people who have significantly affected his life. Each of which grants a share of wisdom unto him, instilling a deeper comprehension regarding the most intimate facets of life.

Eddie meets the "Blue Man", or Joseph Corvelzchik. He is a member of a carnival freak show at Ruby Pier. Joseph Corvelzchik attained his status by using silver nitrate treatment for his nerves as a child, resulting in argyria. At first, Eddie was afraid that Joseph might seek for revenge against him after causing his death. However, it was not the case. Joseph didn't do anything to harm Eddie, but instilled one valuable lesson that all of us should always put into consideration.... "Everything we do may affect others."

The Second Person Eddie meets in heaven is the Captain, from whom he learns about sacrifice.  In this chapter, the Captain tells Eddie how he died. Not only that he had stepped on a land mine while trying to get Eddie back to safety, but also, he did this to save most of his fellow comrades from the explosion. Also, the captain reveals who fired a shot to Eddie's leg during a mission, not to harm him, but to save his life... 

The Third Person Eddie Meets in Heaven is Ruby, the wife of a wealthy man who built Ruby Pier many years ago. In the midst of their conversation, she shares her innermost secret.... her wish that the pier was never built... Ruby’s story reflects the idea that events before we are born still affect our lives, as do the people before us. Through sharing the story of her father, Ruby stresses the importance of forgiveness.We cannot remain angry at one other for things in the past. Although we may be under the impression that we can damage someone by upholding hatred for them, the reality is that we are harming ourselves even more than the ones we hate. 

After another touching conversation with Ruby, Eddie then meets the fourth person in heaven.... his wife Marguerite. Eddie discloses everything Marguerite missed over the final 40 years of his life. Not long after, it led up to the discussion about her death. From there, Marguerite reveals another lesson to Eddie....
It is never easy to deal with the loss of a loved one, and nearly impossible to cope with the premature death of a spouse. Although life is finite, love is eternal. Marguerite explains to Eddie that even after a loved one dies, the feeling of love lives on. In the absence of a physical connection, another emotion grows stronger than before.. It will forever be stored, filled with emotions, will always be shown in a highly defined projection, sealed with the bond created by every meaningful moments.... memory. 

Lastly, Eddie meets a young filipina girl, Tala, where it turns out that she was the shadow he saw in the burning hut. Eddie explains to her that he was sad because he feels as if he didn’t do anything meaningful with his life, and that he feels guilty that he wasn't able to save the girl. To this, Tala responds by sharing with him his purpose on earth. “Children. You keep them safe. You make good for me. Is where you were supposed to be...” (p. 191).

This is the first book of Mitch Albom's that I've read and I thoroughly enjoyed it. It made me think about things in a different way. It was well-written, graceful, and just an all-around good book. Such a wonderful piece of literature!

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Who Moved My Cheese? by Spencer Johnson M.D.

As I was browsing the books we have in the basement, I took this book out from the pile and just went through the whole book briefly. I saw the photos, and looking back at the title itself, it seemed like it was just a childish book... but when I started reading the book, the 12th page of the book caught my attention...

Written by Dr. Spencer Johnson, it deals with 4 fictional characters... 

The two mice: are the creatures to be admired, as unlike men they are not lazy and constantly on a move. They are sharp, perceptive and always ready to move.
Sniff - Who sniffs out change early
Scurry - Who scurries into action

The two little people: 
Hem - who denies and resists change as he fears it will lead to something worse
Haw  - who learns to adapt in time when e sees changing can lead to something better.

The story shows how these four imaginary characters face change in their lives & how each one of them deals with it differently. The moral of the story supposedly, is that change is a part of life and in order to survive it is necessary to be constantly on high alert and be innovative enough to deal with it.

The cheese is symbolic for power and money that is in the hands of the those who mold our world into a maze where we, like the four imaginary characters, cannot see what's beyond the tall solid walls. We, as average people, have left the right of molding and creating cheese in the hands of a few powerful people, who control and manipulate us in some shape or form. On a more serious note, the book is symbolic of the tragedy of modern life. We live in a world in which we somewhat have a few limits here and there when we are to consider the entire world we're stepping on for which also has control over our lives. The world appears like a confusing maze, surrounded with tall walls where we spend our entire lives running around them, trying to find the cheese.

This book somewhat serves as a reminder that change is a part of life and in order to survive it is necessary to be constantly on high alert and be innovative enough to deal with it. Our roles change,  situations change, people change, we change jobs& careers, we change places, not only the physical part of it but also the way/culture of living, in this fast moving world of technological development, everything is changing and changing at such a fast pace!


I think it's a good book! It only took me about two hours to finish it... I recommend it! :)


Side note: I can't help but think.... that if we only keep on convincing people to accept life as it is without at least  trying and taking actions that could somehow help them deal with each situation, changing with the conditions, instead of changing the conditions that create such conditions, I doubt that people will still come up with a question that may help them deal with changes and difficult circumstances.... A question I came up with after reading the entire book ---“Why can’t I make my own cheese? Better yet, can I make my own cheese? How can I make my own cheese without being too dependent on changes? ” 





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Seven Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen Covey



I must say that this Stephen Covey’s best-selling book is definitely a good package to invest your money on. It is a good combination of a not-your-ordinary business book slash self-development book with a few management tips included, on many organizations around the world.


Covey believes that the foundation of organizational excellence is personal excellence. And in order to make it possible to reach this excellence, he profoundly shared his list of Seven Habits. When you first look at the word 'habits', you may think that you do not really have to spend so much time to really think about it, and that all it takes is common sense. However, as what Stephen Covey said, "common sense is not always common practice."

  •     Be Proactive: take responsibility for everything you do and never blame anyone or anything
  •     Begin with the End in Mind: always think of what you want to achieve before doing anything
  •     Put First thing First: finish the most important and most urgent task first
  •     Think Win/Win
  •     Seek First to Understand, then to be Understood
  •     Synergize
  •     Sharpen the Saw
These seven habits are so important in the world of business, and most importantly, in life. They can be applied in nearly every situation, and if successfully practiced, will help us improve our lives at home, work and play. However, the effectiveness of these habits will depend on a person's willingness to face himself honestly and courageously, and the dedication to apply and practice the seven habits daily, in order to become more effective. 


I loved the fact that Stephen Covey used the phrase "highly effective people" rather than "successful people", because it is about achieving what you want in life that makes you feel satisfied and successful, and not about meeting the standards of what others' consider as success...

As a business student and an ordinary person, I highly recommend this book!

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Another feature of this site is the "Featured/Spotlight" section. This will contain any of the following:

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Launch of "Her Online Bookshelf"



Join me as I travel through pages...

"Her Online Bookshelf" is not like any other book blogs. Considering the fact that I am not a professional reviewer, I will create my own type of post for book reviews. You won't see the series posts that you find everywhere else, nor will there be a weekly contest. This is a place for book lovers to come and discuss the literary world,whether it's reading or writing. or both!

I will start posting book reviews by the 9th of July, 2011.


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