Principles & Golden Rules:
Help me understand your thinking here.
Treat yourself with gentle compassion; treat others within family and society* as you would like to be treated.
I speak to you with respect, and I expect that back.
Let's keep this ethical and professional.
I am here to be treated this way.
“Success is measured over the course of a lifetime, not at the end of a semester.”
“When the winds of change blow, some people build walls and others build windmills.”–Chinese Proverb
What we've been told success is:
College degree
High paying job
Hustling non stop
Fancy materialistic items
What success really is:
Peace of mind
Loving your job
Staying healthy and strong
Making a positive impact on others
The world taught many of us that success is about status.
A big salary.
Endless hustle.
Luxury possessions.
Looking impressive to people who barely know us.
So people spend years exhausting themselves trying to “make it,” while quietly losing their peace, health, relationships, and joy along the way.
But real success feels very different.
It is waking up without constant anxiety.
It is having a mind that can rest at night.
It is being healthy enough to enjoy your life, not just survive it.
It is doing work that does not destroy your soul.
It is having a few genuine people who truly care about you.
It is being able to look in the mirror and feel proud of the person you became.
Some of the richest people are emotionally empty. And some of the happiest people live very simple lives.
Because success is not measured only by what you own. It is measured by how peacefully you live, how deeply you love, and how positively your existence touches others.
At the end of life, inner peace will matter more than public approval ever did.
*****
What is the purpose of lire?
The wise monk's astonishing answer to the rich man.
A rich man once asked a wise monk:
“I have money, success, comfort, and everything people dream of… yet I still feel empty inside.
What is the true purpose of life?”
The monk smiled gently and asked him:
“If you owned the entire ocean, but could not drink the water, would your thirst disappear?”
The rich man replied, “No.”
The monk nodded softly.
“That is the problem with many people’s lives. They spend years collecting things that impress the eyes… while starving the soul.”
The man became silent.
The monk continued:
“You were taught that life is about achievement, status, money, and becoming ‘successful.’ But no one taught you how to feel peaceful once you finally arrived.”
The rich man lowered his head.
“Then what gives life meaning?” he asked quietly.
The monk pointed toward a tree outside the temple.
“Look at that tree. It does not compete with the trees beside it. It simply grows quietly, gives shade, bears fruit, and exists fully as itself.”
Then he looked back at the man and said:
“The purpose of life is not only to achieve. It is:
To awaken.
To love deeply.
To grow in wisdom.
To reduce suffering around you.
To experience life fully before it disappears.”
The rich man whispered,
“But why do so many people still feel empty?”
The monk replied softly:
“Because they search for fulfillment in things that cannot stay forever.
Money fades.
Beauty changes.
Status disappears.
Even life itself is temporary.”
Then he added:
“In Buddhism, we are taught that peace comes not from having more… but from needing less. A meaningful life is not measured by how much you own, but by how deeply you loved, how peacefully you lived, and how gently you treated others.”
The rich man sat quietly with tears in his eyes.
And the monk smiled one final time:
“The purpose of life is not to become important in the eyes of the world… but to become fully alive in the present moment before your time runs out.”
Source: Buddhism FB
Every difficult situation gives us two paths.
One path leads to growth.
The other keeps suffering repeating.
And the difference begins with one thing:
INTENTION.
Do you truly want truth, healing, and growth? Or
Do you only want comfort, excuses, and avoidance?
RECOGNIZE —
You become aware that your actions, words, or behavior caused harm. Awareness is the first step of awakening.
OWN —
You stop blaming circumstances, trauma, or other people for everything. You take responsibility for your part honestly.
FORGIVE —
Not pretending nothing happened, but allowing yourself and others room to heal instead of staying trapped in shame.
SELF-EXAMINE —
You look within deeply. Why did you react that way? What wound, fear, ego, or insecurity is controlling you?
LEARN —
Pain becomes wisdom. Mistakes become lessons instead of repeated patterns.
TAKE ACTION —
Real accountability is not words. It is changed behavior, effort, boundaries, honesty, therapy, discipline, and growth.
And because of this… the cycle changes.
IGNORE —
Pretend the problem doesn’t exist.
DENY —
Refuse to face the truth because it hurts the ego.
BLAME —
Everyone else becomes responsible. Nothing is ever your fault.
RATIONALIZE —
Excuses replace accountability:
“That’s just how I am.”
“You made me do it.”
“It wasn’t that bad.”
RESIST —
Fight feedback, avoid self-reflection, reject growth.
HIDE —
Hide behavior, emotions, intentions, or consequences instead of facing them honestly.
And then?
The same suffering repeats again and again. In Buddhist understanding, awareness breaks cycles. Ego repeats them.
The awakened mind says: “I must look within.”
The unconscious mind says: “The world is the problem.”
One path leads to peace.
The other leads to endless repetition.
And every day, through every choice, we decide which loop we live in.
It is my honor to be your teacher. As teacher and student, we are not perfect. However, I promise you that I will always be in one of three places:
1) In front of you.
To guide, teach, lead, and cheer you on.
2) Beside you.
So that you'll not walk alone, I can catch you should you stumble.
3) Behind you.
To give you a gentle push in the right direction, knowing that I've got your back.
I anticipate and truly appreciate your kind participation, cooperation, perseverance and endless effort for your success, a clearer and brighter future both personally and professionally. Always remember, you are braver than you believe, stronger than you seem, and smarter than you think. I fail and make mistakes sometimes. I will help you but sometimes I'll need help from you. The grass is always greener on the other side.
Please feel free to look around the specified syllabi, this website and familiarize yourself with 5 Pills of Ethics, Golden Rules, STARR, Outcome-Based Education, and Formative and Summative Assessment.
I am looking forward to seeing you all and having a wonderful years together!
Being wrong isn’t failure—it’s an opportunity to learn, question, and grow.
Richard Feynman reminds us that curiosity begins when we’re willing to admit, “I might be wrong.”
The smartest people aren’t those who always have the answers—they’re the ones who never stop learning.
“There is nothing outside of yourself that can ever enable you to get better, stronger, richer, quicker, or smarter. Everything is within. Everything exists. Seek nothing outside of yourself.”–Miyamoto Musashi
The four types of wealth worth tracking.
↳ Money. The easiest one to measure, and the one most people optimise for at the expense of the rest.
🤝 Social wealth
↳ Your relationships, reputation, and community. Slow to build, fast to damage, especially when you're chasing money too hard.
⏳ Time wealth
↳ Freedom over your hours. The scarcest resource for any founder, and the one you don't miss until it's gone.
💪 Physical wealth
↳ Your health. Everything else depends on this one, yet it's the first thing neglected when life gets busy.
“It is better to conquer yourself than to win a thousand battles. Then the victory is yours. It cannot be taken from you, not by angels or by demons, heaven or hell.”–Buddha
“We cannot solve our problems with the same thinking we used when we created them.”–Albert Einstein
“We are all born ignorant, but one must work hard to remain stupid.”–Benjamin Franklin
“An investment in knowledge pays the best interest.”–Benjamin Franklin
“Knowledge is not free. You have to pay attention.”–Richard P. Feynman
As New Year is arrived, we would like to steal only a moment of your time to wish you happy & successful year ahead!
“Lots of honest smiles, joyful moments, challenging work projects and, of course, excellent results for any goal you set out to reach!”
On this auspicious time we are bringing you 18 things mentally strong people do that will help you to move more professional and keep your eyes on the future.
“They move on” They don’t waste time feeling sorry for themselves.
“They keep control” They don’t give away their power.
“They embrace change” They welcome challenges.
“They stay happy” They don’t complain. They don’t waste energy on things they can’t control.
“They are kind” fair, and unafraid to speak up. They don’t worry about pleasing other people.
“They are willing to take risks.” They weigh the risks and benefits before taking action.
“They invest their energy in the present” They don’t dwell on the past.
“They accept full responsibility for their past behavior” They don’t make the same mistake over and over.
“They celebrate other people’s success” They don’t resent that success.
“They are willing to fail” They don’t give up after failing. They see every failure as a chance to improve.
“They enjoy their time alone” They don’t fear being alone.
“They are prepared to work and succeed on their own merits” They don’t feel the world owes them anything.
“They have staying power” They don’t expect immediate results.
“They evaluate their core beliefs” – and modify as needed
“They expend their mental energy wisely” They don’t spend time on unproductive thoughts.
“They think productively” They replace negative thoughts with productive thoughts.
“They tolerate discomfort” They accept their feelings without being controlled by them.
“They reflect on their progress every day” They take time to consider what they’ve achieved and where they’re going.
“Anyone who stops learning is old, whether at twenty or eighty. Anyone who keeps learning stays young.” — Henry Ford
"Too many people buy things they don't need, with money they don't have, to impress people they don't like." — Anonymous
“Thinking well is wise; planning well, wiser; but doing well is the wisest and best of all.” — Persian Proverb
Nothing is certain except death and taxes. — Benjamin Franklin