Saturday, January 31, 2009

Is there evil?

During a conference with several academics, a professor at the University of Berlin challenged his students with this question:
'God created everything that exists? "

A student responded with great certainty:
-Yes, he has created!

-God created everything?
Asked the teacher again.

-Yes sir, replied the young.
The teacher asked:

-If God created everything, then God made evil? Because evil exists, and on the precept that our works are a reflection of ourselves, then God is evil?

The student was silent before such a response and the teacher, happily have proved once again that faith was a waste of time.

Another student raised his hand and said:
-Can I ask a question, professor?

-Of course, the answer was the teacher.
He was standing and asked:

-Professor, does cold exist?
What question is this? Of course it does, or by chance haven´t you ever felt cold?

With some imposing tone, the boy replied:
-Indeed, sir, cold does not exist. Under the laws of physics, what we consider cold, in fact, is the absence of heat. Every body or object is susceptible to study when has or transmits energy, heat is so that this body has or transmits energy. The absolute zero is the total and absolute absence of heat, all bodies are inert, incapable of reacting, but the cold does not exist. We have created this definition to describe how we feel if we do not have heat.

-And is there darkness? The student continued.
The teacher replied fearing a continuation of the student: Yes, there is!

The student replied:
Again, another mistake, sir, there is also no darkness. The darkness is, in reality, the absence of light. The light can be studied, not the darkness! There is even a prism of Nichols to break white light into many colors that it is composed, with its waves of different lengths. The darkness does not!

Continued:
-A simple ray of light through the darkness illuminates the surface where the ray of light ends.
How can you know how dark is a determined area? Based on the amount of light in this space, is not? Darkness is a definition that man developed to describe what happens when there is no presence of light.

Finally, the young asked the teacher:
-Lord, does evil exist?
Sure that for this question the student would not have an explanation, the professor replied:
- Of course, it does!. As I said from the beginning, we have rape, crime and violence all around the world, these things are of evil!

With a smile on his face the student replied:
There is no-evil, sir, at least there isn´t for itself. The evil is simply the absence of the good, it is the same as the previous cases, evil is a definition that man has created to describe the absence of God. God did not create evil. It is not as faith or as love that exist as exist heat and light. The evil is the result of humanity not have God presence in their hearts. It is like the cold when there is no heat or the darkness where there is no light.

Around the years 1900, the crowd standed and applauded this young man and the teacher just shaked his head remaining silent ... Immediately the director went to that young man and asked what his name was.

And he replied:
Albert Einstein

Wednesday, January 21, 2009

TEN Happy-Hour Jan 2009 / Thank you!







Dear all,


We took the freedom to bcc you all in respect to your privacy.

1. We would like to thank you all for making TEN Happy-Hour on Jan 15th, 2009 another big hit.

2. Please check photos of all events.

3. We strongly encourage you to join TEN - Top Executives Net in order to continue communicating among yourselves. In addition, kindly register for TEN Rio de Janeiro group in order to make our life much easier for future invitations and reminders.

4. We are pleased to announce our partnership with Mentha for future TEN Happy-Hours. It will happen every 2nd tuesday of the month from now on. Please bring your friends (minimum 1 woman & 1 man) plus business cards along.

5. Next events posted on TEN Rio de Janeiro. Please register now!

STOP
May you wish to know more about our expertise of Business Networks Management & Social Networks, please click on the recommended links of this blog.

Best regards,


Octavio Pitaluga Neto
TEN - Top Executives Net
CNO - Chief Networking Officer

Tuesday, January 13, 2009

TEN Happy-Hours Q1 2009















Based on successful experience we have seen before in Europe, we knew that TEN Happy-Hour should define regular:
  • Place: changing it confuses people.
  • Time: always from 7 to 11PM
  • Day of the week/month: in order to create a tradition. 2nd tuesday
We listened to our audience when they asked us to organize TEN Happy-Hours (photos & videos) in other venues in Rio. With great respect for all of them, we concluded that Mentha scored higher in all main points which are important to both organizers and attendees.

For this reason, we have already defined our schedule there for Q1 2009:
Rule of Thumb: Every 2nd tuesday of month during Q1 2009, TEN Happy-Hour at Mentha is the best choice for executives, entrepreneurs and liberal professionals to exchange their business cards, to share their back-grounds and to meet new and very interesting people.

Looking forward to welcoming you and your peers consistently.

Thanks in advance,


Octavio Pitaluga

Sunday, January 04, 2009

Career change and Business Networks Management

We met Bruno Maia during 1st TEN Happy-Hour dated Oct 09th, 2008. At that time, Bruno had already packed his luggage towards a new professional challenge: new job in the U.S.A. We interviewed Bruno about this experience.


1. Please let us know a bit about your professional background

BM: I have a strong technical professional background based on my undergraduate and MSc in Telecommunication Engineering. Also all my professional life was related with wireless communication, starting with a startup company called WINGS Telecom, which I was partner and afterwards at CLARO, the biggest Mobile Operator from Americas.

During this time at CLARO, due to my human communication skills associated with technical knowledge, led me to technical leadership positions in several projects., which allowed me improving not only my technical background but also my management capabilities.


2. When you realized it was time for a career change?

BM: The world nowadays doens't work locally. All economies, big companies and market trends are connected due to the globalization phenomena. This fact created a high demand for professionals with capabilities to deal with different cultures, high flexibility, communication skills and capacity to understand differences in the corporate enviroment.

In order to reach this new level of knowledge in my professional life, I realized that I had to start an international career, i.e., travelling abroad and exposing myself to different cultures, ways of thinking and situations would lead to develop the necessary skills on this area. I strongly believe that in a couple of months or years, this cicle will be completed and this will lead me to more interesting positions in my area.

Of course this decision has a price. The distance with family and close friends. Family is everything to me. So one has to have a great phsicological condition in order to deal with this high price to access all the offers around the world. But if onercan deal with it, the international career is simple amazing, which makes one feels that the world is small.


3. What have motivated you to look for a position in the USA?

BM: The United States of America is an unique market, very competitive, with high pressure and high demand. It´s an incredible opportunity to start my international career in the most challenging enviroment. Getting my experience in Brazil and US, I can say that I will be prepared for all the global markets due to high flexibility and also after to be exposed to a very challenging enviroment here in the U.S.


4. How have you activated your business network in this regard?

BM: Due to my leadership position in several projects in CLARO I got under my team several international consultants, with whom I have established a very good relationship. These professionals were the key element to make the bridge with the companies outside Brasil.


5. Please share insights about business networks management focused on career development

BM: Since the my initial days on my career I tried to focus and see my "development path" along with my career. This fact permitted me to identify may ways to reach my objectives.

So my tip would be identify this key points and develop the competences needed and also stablish the network necessary to reach it. Do not be affraid to exposed you. Challenging situations always have a good premium. One must stay closer to decision makers. This helps to create an even more efficient network.

The engineers have to understand that nowadays not only technical skills are needed but also an incredible capacity to communicate, to relate and to interact with other non-technical areas. The world demands people with this unique profile and if one doesn't have it, it is not impossible to develop it, just a matter of how many energy will one put into the process.

I honestly believe that if you put yourself in a positive approach, keeping always a good mood and smiling very often, you can work with a lot of intelligent people, develop yourself in any area that you want. Life is simple for those who play well.