Tag: light from many lamps

This in response to the post by Tim DeHaan about AJ Cronin from Light From Many Lamps

A.J. Cronin – LFML – BP2

In addition to the very valuable life lesson about perseverance, this story also bring to light another very important lesson. Sometimes inspiration can strike in the form of the simplest of interactions, from the unlikeliest of sources. In this story, Cronin ( Watson, 1988, p. 148-149) was shaken out of his desolation by a humble farmer’s practical wisdom. What is amazing to me is that despite his sense of hopelessness , Kronin was receptive to this simple life lesson from someone who was not an intellectual equal. This is to me is also an example of a leader’s humility serving them well.

Reference

Watson, L. E. (1988). Light from many lamps. New York: Simon & Schuster

Light from many lamps week 4

As I have mentioned before, this anthology is a treasure trove of life and leadership lessons. The one I would like to talk about today is by Arnold Bennett, from the book Light from many lamps (Watson, 1951) p.142-147, in the ‘Confidence and achievement’ section. This is about his book ‘How to Live on Twenty-Four Hours a Day’

Arnold Bennett realized very early in in his career that time was his “most precious commodity”. Unfortunately it takes some people most of their lives to appreciate the value of time. We have heard many a complaint about “where is the time?” I admit that I have been guilty of lamenting about the lack of time in my day many a times. What really struck a chord with me was the assertion by Bennett that everyone’s allocation of 24 hours a day “is unstealable”, “there is no punishment” for waste , and that this supply is renewed everyday. I believe in this sense time is a great equalizer; it does not discriminate based on wealth or educational level.

I agree with Bennett that budgeting of time is necessary to be able to maintain work-life balance. Between the demands of work, family, studies and personal well-being, I have a quasi-budgeting approach (with some flexibility for the unexpected). I have realized that the day is a lot less frustrating and chaotic if you adopt this approach. This was reinforced recently during my research for the Critical thinking assignment. In Criticalthinking.org, Paul and Elder (2001) gave a list of 9 strategies to develop in a thinker. One of them is  ‘use wasted time’. They say that we all waste time that can be used in more productive ways.

I am inspired to read the above book by Arnold Bennett, to learn tips and strategies on how to manage my 24 hours a day more efficiently.

References

Paul, R. & Elder, L. (2001). Modified from the book by Paul, R. & Elder, L. (2001). Critical Thinking: Tools for Taking Charge of Your Learning and Your Life

http://www.criticalthinking.org/pages/critical-thinking-in-everyday-life-9-strategies/512

Watson, L.E. (1951) . Light from Many Lamps. New York: Simon and Schuster.

Light from many lamps , W. Beran Wolfe

        From my readings of the anthology Light from Many Lamps so far,  I have learnt many valuable life lessons which I will bear in mind during my pursuit of education in leadership.  I , as a student of leadership, don’t know yet what my final style of leadership is going to be ; maybe it will be a mix of different models that I hope to develop and evolve along the way , or maybe it will be variable depending on situations  .  What I do know is that I will always be someone who will seek to work for a bigger good.

To this end I found W. Beran Wolfe’s story very inspiring. First of all , I found it very easy to identify with him in his role as healer, and leader. I fully agree with Dr Wolfe when he states that ‘ no one can be happy in work which is centered entirely about his own person, and deals exclusively with the satisfaction of his own immediate needs’ , and ‘ to find happiness we must seek for it in a focus outside ourselves’. This goes very well along with the model of servant leadership as I understand it in my readings so far . As per Greenleaf ( 1977)  “ a servant leader is someone who ”entrusts his/her authority to staff and helps them achieve a shared vision by developing their full potential “ . I believe for a leader to be successful in leading and influencing, they need to be committed to not just their own work and development , but also to the growth of the organization and the people they work with . Quoting Dr Wolfe again “ for those who seek the larger happiness and the greater effectiveness open to human beings there can be but one philosophy of life, the philosophy of constructive altruism “ .

Since starting my study of leadership , I have learnt and reflected on some very exciting ideas about leadership. I have started extrapolating them to myself and other leaders and followers I come across in my work and personal life. What I do know so far is that altruism is and will be a very important part of my repertoire as a human being , leader and follower. I already practice it at a small scale in my daily work as a physician ; there have been many a times where I have foregone lunch because a patient was late ,  gone back to see a patient at the nursing home at the end of my work day, or called family members in the evening during my off duty hours.  I hope to carry on this spirit in any future roles I take up, and to be able to  inspire my team members to do the same . I hereby close with another quote from Dr Wolfe , “we must seek happiness not as if it were a pot of gold at the end of the rainbow , but among human beings who are living richly and fully the good life” .

References

Greenleaf ,R. ( 1977) . Servant Leadership: A journey into the nature of legitimate power and greatness. New York. NY : Paulist Press .

Watson, L.E. ( 1951 ) . Light from Many Lamps . New York: Simon and Schuster.