January & February 2017 Edition
HAPPY NEW YEAR!
BE HAPPY and STAY HEALTHY are the two most popular greetings and reminders we receive during the New Year. While there are many tools or wristbands that remind us daily on ways to STAY HEALTHY; but BE HAPPY is indeed much harder to do, as HAPPINESS goes very DEEP in our soul.
Indeed, HAPPINESS may mean different things to different people, at different times and in different places. The Eagle has already described on ‘differences between Happiness & Joy’ not so long ago. To bring back ‘Happiness’ this New Year is appropriate and we bring you a nice contribution on this subject by Pope Francis. We pray that this January & February bimonthly edition of The Eagle newsletter shall enable you to soar to new heights in 2017.
Cornerstone International Group’s MISSION is to be the best executive recruiting group worldwide, but our VISION is to be a true mentor and coach, one-on-one, with our clients, candidates and partners locally.
We believe the way to do it is to promote our 3C VALUES of Community, Credibility, and Continuity. We succeed when our partners have achieved Healthier Businesses and Lives. The Cornerstone Eagle is not a sales letter to promote activities of our 60+ offices globally, but a 3C tool to inspire you to maximize your personal and professional potential to be a Better Leader and a Better Person both at h
ome and at business.
We shall be your Faithful Companion / Coach / Mentor on your life and career journey, supporting you to discover yourself and offering good advice regarding the SIX important aspects of your professional Life: Identity, Money, Career Options, Health, Relationships and Your Future (spiritual and your legacy reminders).
Best Wishes,
Simon Wan
Chief Executive
Cornerstone International Group
( Phone No.: +86 21 6474 7064 |*: simon-wan@cornerstone-group.com
MORE MONEY, MORE HAPPY?
Historically, economists have said that happiness is a simple function of income. However, it has been found that once wealth reaches a subsistence level, people with more money are barely different from those with less.
In the Journal of Consumer Psychology, the study is entitled “If Money Doesn’t Make You Happy, Then You Probably Aren’t Spending It Right” and included the following seven general recommendations:
- Spend money on “experiences” rather than goods.
- Donate money to others, including charities, rather than spending it solely on oneself.
- Spend small amounts of money on many small, temporary pleasures rather than less often on larger ones.
- Do not spend money on “extended warranties and other forms of overpriced insurance.”
- Adjust one’s mindset to “pay now, consume later,” instead of “consume now, and pay later.”
- Rather than buying products that provide the “best deal,” make purchases based on what will facilitate well-being.
- Seek out the opinions of other people who have prior experience of a product before purchasing it.
BEING HAPPY
by Pope Francis
“You may have defects, be anxious and sometimes live irritated, but do not forget that your life is the greatest enterprise in the world. Only you can prevent it from going into decadence. There are many that need you, admire you and love you.
I would like to remind you that being happy is not having a sky without storms, or roads without accidents, or work without fatigue, or relationships without disappointments. Being happy is finding strength in forgiveness, hope in one’s battles, security at the stage of fear, love in disagreements.
Being happy is not only to treasure the smile, but that you also reflect on the sadness.
It is not just commemorating the event, but also learning lessons in failures.
It is not just having joy with the applause, but also having joy in anonymity.
Being happy is to recognize that it is worthwhile to live, despite all the challenges, misunderstandings and times of crises.
Being happy is not inevitable fate, but a victory for those who can travel towards it with your own being.
Being happy is t
o stop being a victim of problems but become an actor in history itself.
It is not only to cross the deserts outside of ourselves, but still more, to be able to find an oasis in the recesses of our soul.
It is to thank God every morning for the miracle of life.
Being happy is not being afraid of one’s feelings. It is to know how to talk about ourselves. It is to bear with courage when hearing a “no”.
It is to have the security to receive criticism, even if is unfair.
It is to kiss the children, pamper the parents, have poetic moments with friends, even if they have hurt us.
Being happy means allowing the free, happy and simple child inside each of us to live; having the maturity to say, “I was wrong”; having the audacity to say, “forgive me”.
It is to have sensitivity in expressing, “I need you”; to have the ability of saying, “I love you.”
So that your life becomes a garden full of opportunities for being happy…
In your spring-time, may you become a lover of joy. In your winter, may you become a friend of wisdom.
And when you go wrong along the way, you start all over again. Thus you will be more passionate about life.
And you will find that happiness is not about having a perfect life but about using tears to water tolerance, losses to refine patience, failures to carve serenity, pain to lapidate pleasure, obstacles to open the windows of intelligence.
Never give up …. Never give up on the people you love. Never give up from being happy because life is an incredible show.
And you are a special human being!”
HAPPINESS IS SOMETHING YOU DECIDE
Mr. Jones was a 92-year-old, well dressed, proud man who found himself patiently waiting in the lobby of a nursing home to be escorted to his room. His wife of 70 years had recently passed away and since he was legally blind, it was necessary for him to move into the nursing home.
He smiled sweetly at the young woman who came to help him to his room. As he maneuvered his walker towards the waiting elevator, the young woman provided a visual description of his tiny room, including the eyelet curtains that hung at the window, the color of his bedspread and how the furniture was placed.
“I love it” he stated with all the enthusiasm of an eight year old having just been presented with a new puppy. The woman rep
lied, “Mr. Jones, you haven’t even seen your room yet – just wait.” He immediately replied, “That doesn’t have anything to do with it. Happiness is something you decide on ahead of time.”
“Whether I like my room or not doesn’t depend on how the furniture is arranged … it’s how I arrange my mind. I already decided to love it. It’s a decision I make every morning when I wake up. I know I have a choice. I can spend the day in bed recounting the difficulty I have with the parts of my body that no longer work well, or get out of bed and be thankful for the ones that do. Each day is a gift, and as long as my eyes are open, I’ll focus on the new day and all the happy memories I’ve stored away. Just for this time in my life”
He went on by saying “Old age is like a bank account. You withdraw from what you’ve put into it. So, my advice to you, young lady, is to deposit a lot of happiness daily in the bank account of memories.”
FROM THE BIBLE:
Not only does a happy heart benefit you, but it benefits others as well. Who would you rather hang around with, someone who is always sad or someone who is always happy? Happiness is a very contagious thing and it makes more people happy.
Proverbs 15:13
“A happy heart makes the face cheerful, but heartache crushes the spirit.”
Proverbs 17:22
“A cheerful heart brings good healing, but a crushed spirit dries up the bones.”
What are you feeding your mind? Negative things decrease your happiness as well.
Philippians 4:8-9
“Finally, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, dwell on these things. The things you have learned and received and heard and seen in me, practice these things, and the God of peace will be with you.”
MAY YOUR 2017 NOT ONLY STAY HEALTHY BUT BE HAPPY ALSO!
Our Editor, Nancy Chu at nancy-chu@cornerstone-group.com would love to hear from you if you have special thoughts to share.
About Cornerstone International Group
Cornerstone International Group is a global leader in executive search and the adviser of choice to companies & business owners seeking counsel on senior leadership changes and needs. Our clients partner with us because we deliver better results faster. With 25 plus years of track record across the globe and over 60 offices worldwide including 6 offices in China & 18 across Asia, we know how to attract top leaders you need for your business and we take the time to know your business. Visit us at www.cornerstone-group.com to see how you can ‘Achieve More With Cornerstone’™
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