Becoming an Enlager

Dr. John C. Maxwell is a very prolific author. He has written many books on the subject matter of leadership.

So what does Dr. Maxwell have to do with NBA players like Shaq, Olajuwon and Mutombo? A lot.

I would like to share with you his article entitled: “Becoming An Enlarger.”

Dr. Maxwell says:
Before the NBA ever heard of Shaquille O'Neal, Dikembe Mutombo or Tim Duncan; back before anyone knew the name Hakeem Olajuwon; in the days before Kareem Abdul-Jabbar ruled the hardwoods, Wilt Chamberlain and Bill Russell changed the nature of professional basketball with the way they played the center position.

Chamberlain was a great scorer and Russell was known more for his defense, but no matter which end of the court they were on, they played above the rim like no centers before them ever had.

Russell, however, is best known not for his offense or his defense but for something else - winning. His No. 6 jersey was retired by the Boston Celtics in 1972 to honor his contributions as the anchor to teams that won nine consecutive NBA titles. He added two more titles as a player/coach.

That's why it was such an honor to meet him at a recent NBA All-Star game, and that's why I wasn't surprised to hear what he said about great team players: "The most important measure of how good a game I played was how much better I'd made my teammates play."

One of the qualities of a great team player, you see, is that they enlarge others. Bill Russell isn't just a large man; he's a man who enlarged others. He made them better.

Here are five characteristics of people who enlarge others.

1. Enlargers value their teammates.

When you think about your teammates, place a "10" on their heads. If we think of others as 10s, we'll do everything to add value to them. Our behavior is totally different when we think of someone else as a two. Seeing others in the very best light makes the entire team better because usually our level of performance equals the level of value placed on us.

2. Enlargers know and relate to what their teammates value.

Here's how you can tell if you value people: Do you value people who won't benefit you or only those who might contribute in some way to your success? Great team players truly value others as people, and they know and relate to what others value. When I want to know and relate to others, I look for five things. I want to know their dreams, values, skills, attitudes and life questions. We all have questions, by the way. If you can find the pathway to a person's questions, you can always find the pathway to a person's heart.

3. Enlargers add value to their teammates.

Whatever the project, task or situation, enlargers find ways to make others around them better because they approach life as a win/win situation. They realize that making others better isn't just better for others, it's better for everyone. As the old adage goes, a rising tide lifts all boats.

4. Enlargers make themselves more valuable.

You cannot give what you do not have, so self-improvement precedes team improvement. The first step toward improving the team is to improve yourself. I've been teaching leadership for 20 years and I've written twenty-some books. Here's what I know - the only way I can keep leading is to keep growing.

The greatest way that I can add value to my team is to make myself more valuable. If I can become a better player, if I can continually increase my skills, if I can continually become enlarged within myself, then I have the capacity to enlarge others. Too many people are still trying to give what they learned fifteen years ago, and they're in trouble.

5. Enlargers initiate.

Enlargers believe in others before they believe in themselves, serve others before they serve themselves, and add value to others before they add value to themselves. See the common thread? The word "before."

They have the ability to see potential in another person before they even see potential within themselves. They have the ability to start action. They have the ability to start belief. They are initiators.

Initiate. Enlarge. Be a great team player.

Serving others is one way of enlarging others.

For the bible says that he who wants to lead must first serve.

And when we serve we do not only enlarge others, we also enlarge ourselves in a positive way.

Source: Francis Kong

Gas prices keep rising!!!

With the recent prices of oil around the world, most of us here in the philippines particularly in Metro Manila cope up by using mass transportation means such Metro Manila’s mass transit systems or MRT. At fuel average price of Php 60.00 per liter of gasasoline, motorist choose to ditch or leave their car a safe place and choose to ride the MRT.

Photo courtesy of Unlawyer.net

Gas prices increases is inevitable and surely there will be turning back at prices. Crude oil keep rising and you know why? Reason can be found in here http://www.oil-price.net/

In here in the philippines ,average cost of Gasoline in US dollar per gal based on Php 50 per dollar computation will be 3.78 liter/gal*php60.00/liter*$/php 50.00 or $ 4.53 /gallon.
If we compare with the present gas prices around the world, I could wheeew! we are way up high indeed..

• Oslo, Norway $9.85
• London, England $8.96
• Paris, France $9.43
• Rome, Italy $9.03
• Berlin, Germany $8.68
• Tokyo, Japan $6.30
• Montreal, Canada $5.57
• Manila, Philippines $4.53

Hmm? So the price we are paying may not seem so bad. That’s until I look at figures like these:

• Caracas, Venezuela $0.12
• Tehran, Iran $0.41
• Saudi Arabia $0.45
• Kuwait $0.79
• United Arab Emirates $1.40

So all we could do is to cost cut if we prefer to use our car. Here are some tips that may reduce our gas cost and cope up with the rising and rising gas prices.

1. Service your car and check the oil level regularly.
2. Check tire pressure once a month.
3. Take everything that you don’t need out of the trunk and from your back seat.
4. Close your car windows when you are driving fast.
5. Only use the air conditioner when it’s absolutely necessary.
6. Start driving soon after starting the engine and stop the motor if the car is not driving for more than 1 minute.
7. Drive with a reasonable speed and smoothly.
8. When accelerating shift to a faster shift as soon as possible.
9. Try to sense what is going to happen in the traffic before it happens.
10. Share your car with others.

Journey to the Center of the Earth Review

A very spectacular movie i recommend to everyone to watch. Lots of fast-paced fun in this adventure tale, wonderfull if you watch it in Imax theater Mall of Asia. You will feel the excitement and the feeling being part of a movie itself.
What makes this movie to watch for is it`s heart. Very wholesome and surprisingly clean although it is not free of violence, imagine what would happen if Trevor and Sean were bitten by those fish. Horrible it may seem but only in our imagination and the movie shows it is just pure entertainment. What makes this movie unique is the impressive 3D and scene surprises.

Excerpts from the movie:

The movie begins with a man with brown curly hair running from a dinosaur when suddenly the earth cracks beneath him, and he begins to fall into the crack…which is filled with molten lava. As he falls, he calls out to “Trevor”. Just then, Trevor (Brendan Fraser) wakes up from a dream, only to stare at a picture of he and his brother, the curly haired man who fell into the crevice.
We quickly learn that Trevor is a professor who is trying to follow his brother’s work, but has quickly run out of money, support, and at seems time. It seems that his brother initially invested in placing several volcanic monitors all over the world, but now only 3 are working . His lab is being converted to a storage room, and he mocked badly by a snobby professor. Trevor teaches a class on volcanic activity…only he has few students in the classroom, and all of them look quite bored.

Trevor arrives home, only to notice his answering machine flashing with 4 messages. All of them are from his sister-in-law, who states that she’s on her way with Sean (Josh Hutcherson), Trevor’s nephew and his brother’s son. We also note that Trevor’s brother has been missing for 10 years now, and that Trevor is quite a sloppy house keeper.

Trevor’s SIL arrives with Sean in tow, and Sean is not happy to be there. And Trevor is not happy to have him. Trevor’s SIL gives him a box before she leaves, and Trevor opens it to find a baseball glove, something he can’t identify as well as a book “Journey To The Center Of The Earth.” In the book, Trevor notices a series of notes that his brother has made and realizes that they all correspond to the 3 remaining volcanic monitors back at his soon to be closed lab. Sean goes with Trevor to the lab, and Trevor starts to explain that each of the volcanic markers noted almost exactly the same volcanic activity…and just as he mentions this, the monitors all change to become EXACTLY what Trevor’s brother notes in the book. Trevor explains that he has 3 volcanic monitors left that his brother set, and Sean attempts to correct him…because he sees 4 on the computer monitor. The 4th monitor is located in Iceland, and Trevor believes that he could find his missing brother there. Trevor wants Sean on a plane back to his mother, but Sean reminds him that Trevor’s brother is his father, and he comes along with Trevor to Iceland.

Once in Iceland, Trevor and Sean get lost but wind up at an old cabin, which is actually a scientific organization that they were searching for anyway. They knock at the “organization” which is actually a rundown cabin, and a lovely blond woman (Anita Briem) named Hannah answers. They ask for the leader of the organization, and quickly find out that the gentleman was Hannah’s father, who has been dead for 3 years. Hannah invites Trevor and Sean inside her cabin, and they find out that Hannah’s father and Trevor’s brother both actually believed that the book, “Journey To The Center Of The Earth” was real, and they attempted to find the center of the earth themselves. Trevor asks Hannah to help him find the way to the 4th volcanic monitor, and she agrees to be their paid guide…for $5000 dollars an hour. They set off for the summit of a mountain, and Sean and Trevor find that Hannah is quite a capable and fit guide. Sean calls “first dibs” on Hannah, and Trevor and Sean argue all the way to the top of the mountain over the fact that Sean is only 13 years old and cannot call first dibs on a woman, because Trevor should be given first dibs. Sean ignores Trevor and follows after Hannah happily.

The 3 reach the summit of the mountain, find the monitor, and an electrical storm erupts around them. Trevor insists on retrieving the 4th monitor because he believes it holds data that could find his brother. Unfortunately, the 4th monitor is also now a lightening rod, and it attracts the storm. Trevor refuses to let it go, and as he runs to escape the storm and enter into the safety of a nearby cave, lightening strikes several times, collapsing the entrance of the cave. This leaves Trevor, Hannah, and Sean trapped in the cave with no way out. Hannah was indeed a prepared guide. She had lights, flares, rope and other provisions, and they now have tools to escape the cave. Hannah leads the group further into the cave, but Trevor takes over…and almost walks into a 20 story straight drop into a deep dark hole. Hannah finds an alternative route, and they decide to start repelling into the hole. In a funny scene, Trevor loses his footing, and Hannah decides to cut him from his rope, which freaks Sean and Trevor out. Trevor falls almost an entire foot, and hits the ground. Hannah knew they were near the bottom the whole time. The 3 travelers wound up in a cave which had obviously been a mine. Hannah noted that the mine was actually a death trap, which killed all but one of the miners years before. Hannah started the generator to the mine, and the 3 of them climbed on mine carts on a railroad and Hannah started them on the railroad trail. The hope was that the railroad line would eventually lead them out. Actually, what followed was one heck of a roller coaster ride full of hills and valleys, twists and turns, and a dead end.

Trevor’s railroad car crashed into a wall, which cracked the wall. Sean quickly climbed in, and Trevor and Hannah followed. The cave was amazing, full of diamonds and rubies and emeralds. Sean got busy gathering all of the diamonds he could get his hand on. Just then, the group heard a cracking noise. Trevor and Hannah looked down, and realized they were standing on a very thin sheet of stone, which would crack under most any pressure. The group almost made it back out of the cave, but Sean dropped one of the diamonds he collected, and the cave floor collapsed, with the 3 of them falling and falling. And when they stopped screaming, Trevor noted that they still hadn’t stopped falling yet. So, more falling and screaming. Finally, Trevor started coming up with theories on how they’d land. They could land on spiked rocks, or hit a type of water slide and fall into a pool of water. Sean and Hannah voted for the water slide scenario, and sure enough that’s just what happened. The three of them swam to shore after falling in the water, and they all noted iridescent blue lights flying above them. What they soon realized was that the lights were actually blue glowing birds. And those birds lead the group out to an opening where they found a tree house of sorts. Trevor found his brother’s writings there, and Hannah soon found the brother’s body. In a touching scene, Trevor buries his brother beside the shore, and reads a touching journal entry to Sean that Sean’s father wrote on Sean’s 3rd birthday. Sean and Trevor hug, and leave Hannah to reflect on the shore.

That night, Trevor and Hannah talk about how to get back to the earth’s surface. Sean approaches them, and relates that even though he’s a kid, he believes he should be a part of the conversation. So, they explain that the center of the earth’s temperature is increasing, and they have to get out of the center within the next 48 hours or they’ll die. Trevor’s brother wrote in his journal that he believed he could use the heat from the earth’s core to force water through a shaft in the earth to propel him back to the surface. The 3 of them decide to try his theory, and craft a raft with a sail to float across the other side of the sea in the center of the earth.

Once the group is on the sea, they become bombarded with huge piranha, and use sticks to bat the fish away. Just as they succeed, huge carnivorous water creatures begin to eat the huge piranha fish, and they use the sail to steer away from the activity. But the sail begins to tear away from the raft, and Sean is carried away after he attempts to grab the sail. Hannah and Trevor reach the shore, and Hannah heads to the shaft to away the push of hot steamy water while Trevor searches for Sean. Meanwhile, Sean has made a friend of one of the blue glowing birds, and the bird takes Sean to water, and leads him to a route which will take him to Trevor and the shaft. Sean almost reaches where Trevor is looking for him, but meets up with the dinosaur that more than likely killed his father. Sean runs and gets to a cave with a small entrance, but the T-Rex breaks through and is about to eat Sean, when Trevor breaks through on the other side of the cave and drags Sean out. They run, but the dinosaur is too fast. So, Trevor leads the dinosaur to that thin type of stone which breaks easily, and the dinosaur falls to his death. Trevor and Sean make it to the river, which will soon steam up and take them to the surface, and Hannah meets them with a boat. The boat is the jawbone of a dead T-Rex. They reach the shaft, but there’s no water! Suddenly, Trevor sees magnesium veins in the stone, and lights a flare and throws it at the vein…igniting the shaft, forcing water into the shaft and propelling the group to the surface. The jawbone boat is shot up high into the air above the earth’s surface, and they go on yet another ride down a huge mountain…destroying a vineyard and home in the process. The owner of the home and vineyard goes nuts, shouts at them in Italian, and they realize that they’re in Italy! Sean pulls out a huge diamond [that he kept in his backpack the whole time] and the man asks in English, “You want to ride the mountain again?” and the group all hugs, kisses and laughs. Trevor realizes that Sean has several pounds of diamonds in his possession, and they’re very wealthy now.

Sometime later…

Trevor walks back into his old lab at the university, with the snobbish professor there once again mocking him. Trevor relates that he’s okay with losing his lab…as he’s buying an entire research building because he’s suddenly come into money. And Trevor also relates to the snobby professor that he can read all about his new research in the latest Scientific magazine.

Hannah and Trevor are now together, and Sean and Trevor are quite close now. In fact, Sean is going to come back to visit Trevor and Hannah for Christmas. When Sean prepares to leave with his mother, he stops to feed something hiding in his backpack. It’s the same blue glowing bird that befriended Sean in the center of the earth.

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Arum Risking the Jewels in Top Rank's Crown

Promoter Bob Arum is making tough fights for the three best fighters in his stable of stars.

Make no mistake about it, Miguel Cotto, Kelly Pavlik and Manny Pacquiao are the three shining jewels in the crown of Bob Arum's Top Rank.

And surprisingly, the ageless 76 year-old Arum, not normally known as a risk taker with his meal tickets, has decided to go all in.

First on the roulette wheel is the unbeaten Miguel Cotto who will go in tough against Antonio Margarito on July 26th at the MGM Grand. It’s Cotto’s most serious challenge and there is no certainty that he will come away the winner.

"I promote both of these fighters...They are both terrific fighters," said Arum of Cotto and Margarito. "The one thing I take pleasure in is that the battle of these two guys are in the biggest fight in years and in a fight that is attracting a lot of attention. Bob Arum will be sitting at ringside with the outcome having absolutely no affect on me – that's how I like it."

Rolling the dice next is undefeated middleweight champ Kelly Pavlik who will fight Bernard Hopkins on October 18th at the Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City on HBO Pay-Per View.

Arum admitted the fight against Hopkins was not his first choice and he has criticized Hopkins in the past for hanging around the sport too long and for making boring fights. But with few marquee opponents to choose from and with HBO forcing his hand, Arum claims he was left with no other viable alternatives.

Finally and perhaps most surprising of all, Arum might risk the crown jewel and bet it all on Manny Pacquiao against - stop the presses - none other than "The Golden Boy" himself, Oscar De La Hoya. Were that fight to come to fruition it would be a surety to take place on December 6th also at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas.

The biggest risk is of course Pacquiao, who would be fighting De La Hoya at somewhere in the neighborhood of 147 pounds, though Pacquiao has never officially fought at a weight more than 135 pounds. The risk for Pacquiao is that Oscar is simply a much larger man who once won an alphabet soup title belt at 160 pounds.


Could Pacquiao defeat De La Hoya? The fight may become a reality.

Once the rumors began to emerge that this fight was a realistic possibility and not just some sort of Internet hoax, the idea of pitting two of the sports biggest draws in the ring with each other suddenly began to not seem so preposterous after all.

It especially helped when Freddie Roach, Pacquiao's esteemed trainer and who also trained De La Hoya in his fight against Floyd Mayweather, Jr. said he believes Manny would run right over the top of Oscar.

"Oscar needs someone to fight and my feeling is that 'someone' should be Manny," said Roach, from his Wildcard Gym on Vine Street in West Hollywood. "Manny could take the fight as long as Oscar gets down to 147. I wouldn't tell Manny to take the fight if I didn't think he could win it - but Manny can win it - no question about it."

Many boxing fans are still trying to get their head around the prospect of a De La Hoya vs. Pacquiao mega-fight but Arum claims that he and Richard Schaefer, the CEO of Golden Boy Promotions, who are closing the deal for Pavlik vs. Hopkins, have had serious discussions about The Golden Boy vs. the Pac-Man.

“The decision that has to be made by Manny Pacquiao is, number one, if Oscar decides he would like to fight, whether Manny feels that is a winnable fight, because Oscar is bigger. And secondly whether the financial remunerations are appropriate,” Arum told a Filipino radio station on Friday.

“Until I sit with Manny and find out Manny’s financial demands and find out what percentage the revenue we can get from a De La Hoya-Pacquiao fight everything is really premature. The point is that we are not discarding our other options as this whole process goes on.”


Arum and De La Hoya will have to work hard to close the deal for a Pacquiao fight.

One of the other big factors in a potential De La Hoya vs. Pacquiao bout would be Oscar's age and recent level of inactivity. De La Hoya will turn 36 in February, and has been a part-time fighter who has fought a sporadic schedule over the past several years. Pacquiao on the other hand, has been active and has faced the best opposition that has been available. Along the way the little Filipino spitfire has become the most thrilling fighter in the entire sport as well as the name atop most pound-for-pound rankings.

One thing is for sure, an Oscar vs. Manny match-up would become the fight that Oscar wanted for the final fight in his career. De La Hoya told me personally in 2007 that his final fight, "Would have to be a mega event."

A fight with Pacquiao would certainly be that. It's also a risky bet for Arum.

In another surprising turn of events and something that nobody saw coming - Kelly "The Ghost" Pavlik will face 43 year-old Bernard Hopkins in October in a catch-weight fight at 170 pounds.

Once again, it's a fight pitting Arum's Top Rank against De La Hoya's Golden Boy. The only fight for Pavlik that could have been bigger was against Joe Calzaghe, but the Welshman turned that fight down in favor of a September match with Roy Jones, Jr.

When proposed fights for Pavlik against Sergio Mora, Paul Williams, Allan Green and others fell apart for one reason or another, the one holding the Pavlik lottery ticket was the old man from Philadelphia.

At first glance, a Pavlik vs. Hopkins fight seems like a certain win for the youthful Pavlik.

But Hopkins, although he showed some of his age in his recent 12-round close decision loss to Calzaghe, still demonstrated that he is crafty and has much of the guile and moves that could make the night very difficult for the younger, less experienced Pavlik.


From left: HBO shot caller Ross Greenburg, Arum and the middleweight champion of the world, Kelly "The Ghost" Pavlik.

Styles make fights and Hopkins has the type of eclectic mix of power, dexterity and deft movement that will likely throw the less fluid and less imaginative Pavlik off of his power punching game.

As Calzaghe found out in the first round of his fight with Bernard - the old man still has some tricks up his sleeve and he’s also not afraid to put them on full display when he needs them.

Both the De La Hoya vs. Pacquiao and Pavlik vs. Hopkins fights pit youth against age. Boxing is a young man’s game and more often than not, youth is served, but both of these fights have intriguing possibilities and the intangibles are endless.

The best hope for both Pacquiao and Pavlik to win is to use their youth to their advantage and really push the aged De La Hoya and Hopkins to their physical limits. Pacquiao and Pavlik are both aggressive fighters with good power. To win they need to use that youth to their full advantage and make the old guys work. If both guys set a fast pace and don’t fall into traps, they could use speed, quickness and power to finally send De La Hoya and Hopkins out of boxing on losing notes for good.

What is most surprising about this week’s developments concerning Pavlik and Pacquiao is the sudden turn of events.

It looked for all of the world like Arum was going to put Pavlik in against a soft touch or a smaller man who fought their best as a jr. middleweight or welterweight. Pacquiao seemed destined to go in against Humberto Soto in a fight that nobody was looking forward to seeing.

But suddenly and rapidly, like a bettor going for broke, Arum has managed to pull not one - but two- aces from the deck.

Just like that - Miguel Cotto, Kelly Pavlik and now Manny Pacquiao - all three of the jewels in Arum’s crown - and all of them going for broke.



July 2008

Money Took Him Away and Money Might Bring Him Back

The retirement of Floyd "Money" Mayweather, Jr. is now in its 35th day and few in this game they call boxing think it will stick.

Oh sure, Mayweather claims he's close to being a billionaire, but even billionaires can't spend money the way he does and hope to remain solvent for long. Mayweather says he has immediate plans to spend $75 million on two mansions, a private jet to soar in the rarefied air of the super rich, as well as an ornate yacht to sail the high seas. And that's just his spending plans for this month.

Floyd also wants you to know that he has no desire to lace up the gloves and step into the ring ever again. He says that money is no object when it comes to luring him back to fighting and that the only dollar amount that might entice him would be a payday of at least $100 million.

As everyone knows, everything is more expensive these days, especially when you have an image to live up to, and if boxing history is any indication, that could lead to problems down the line for Mayweather.

The sweet science is littered with the tattered checkbooks of champs that once had it all and believed the flood of money could never be stemmed, only to wind up later with nothing but memories and empty pockets.

Both Mike Tyson and Evander Holyfield made more money than Mayweather, Jr. has in his career. Everyone knows that Tyson made somewhere in the neighborhood of $350 million in 20 years, but he is now bankrupt. Tyson owes the Internal Revenue Service millions of dollars and was forced to stand by and watch as his mansions, fleets of vehicles and personal belongings were auctioned off to the highest bidder. "Iron" Mike even lost his white tiger.

Holyfield is currently fighting his own losing battle with debt and he had to beat back the bankers from his doorstep in order to rescue his palatial Fairburn, Georgia estate from foreclosure last month. Holyfield earned in excess of a quarter of a billion dollars during his heyday, but now much of it appears to have evaporated as Evander recently claimed that his finances were "just not liquid." This month, 'The Real Deal" was being summoned to court by one of his many baby mamas for being $9,000 behind on child support payments.

Hector "Macho" Camacho, Sr. was once the crown prince (if not the court jester) of boxing and for much of the 80's and 90's he fought the biggest names in the sport and won world titles in three different weight divisions. Camacho earned millions, and during his long career he fought everyone from Julio Cesar Chavez to 'Sugar' Ray Leonard to Oscar De La Hoya to Roberto Duran. But Camacho, like many well know boxers, eventually ran into money problems once the colossal paydays dried up.


Hector Camacho liked to live the high-life, but it came with a big price tag.

In 2004, Camacho was busted for breaking into a small computer repair shop in Gulfport, Mississippi to retrieve a laptop computer that he said was his. When the boys in blue finally got the cuffs on the elusive “Macho Man”, he was holed up in a $35 a night hotel room at the Imperial Palace Hotel and Casino in Biloxi, Mississippi. Keeping him company in the room was a small stash of illegal Ecstasy pills.

Camacho's cautionary tale, and his long fall from the high branches of the money tree, is a poignant example for a young, flamboyant and extravagant personality like Mayweather is now. Camacho has been there and done that - and then some.

"I made good money in my career," says Camacho, who at the age of 46 is embarking on a comeback next week in Houston, Texas against someone named Perry Ballard.

"But I lived large," he continues. "I had houses, I had gyms, I had cars, I had apartments. Now I have monthly bills. But everything you buy has to be maintained. If you buy a house for half a million dollars, there's even more money you have to keep putting into the place to maintain it and pay the taxes. If you don't have good investments, after a while the cash flow goes down the drain and everything starts to get old."

"It's tough to handle," says Camacho. "You only go through the ages of 16, 26, 30 once. Very few people enjoyed themselves the way that I did. I was big time - Rolls Royces, Ferraris, the best hotels and the most beautiful women. Doing all kinds of crazy shit, and most times I came out of it with a smile. Very few people have lived like I have lived. I regret it now that I don't have the money I should have, but I squandered it."

Nobody should begrudge Mayweather for spending his money the way he wants to, or giving it away to charity as he also routinely does. Certainly it's his money, he earned it and he can do whatever he likes with it. But those who know him best see the handwriting on the wall for his forced return to the squared circle.


Mayweather shows off the trappings of fame and fortune - bling, bling, bling.

Shortly after Mayweather won a narrow split decision over Oscar De La Hoya in May 2007 he announced that he was retiring. A month later, Bob Arum, Mayweather's former promoter laughed off the notion that Floyd's retirement would last.

"Right now, he's retired," said Arum at the time. "He'll stay retired as long as it takes him to spend the $25 million he just made."

Within weeks of Arum's statement, Mayweather answered the challenge of Ricky Hatton and his first retirement was soon over.

Even Mayweather's father, the outspoken Floyd, Sr., believes that Junior will be back. He has said that his son will "definitely" return to boxing because he'll "miss the paydays" and that he is nowhere close to being the billionaire that he claims to be.

"How can he tell all the people in Grand Rapids he's a billionaire?" Mayweather Sr. recently asked The Grand Rapids Press newspaper, which is where the Mayweathers have their roots and where Mayweather, Jr. threw himself an elaborate retirement bash over the Independence Day weekend.

"He won't be a billionaire in a billion years," said Mayweather, Sr. "Mark my words, someday he'll be running through the streets of Grand Rapids broke."

Certainly Mayweather's assertions of being a billionaire seem far-fetched, especially in light of the fact that The Wall Street Journal recently described one of his primary business ventures, Mayweather Promotions, as "a $140 million company" - which has yet to promote any stand alone professional boxing card, but has been a co-promoter of Mayweather's own bouts and recent music concerts.

Aside from his profligate spending, Mayweather employs a cadre of dutiful supporters. Primary among them is Leonard Ellerbe, his right hand man and the Chief Executive Officer of Mayweather Promotions. In addition, Mayweather has a phalanx of security guards, as well as personal assistants and coordinators that look after his every whim and manage his social and business calendars. In all, Mayweather employs nearly two dozen people, one of whom has the important responsibility of caring for his fleet of nearly 20 luxury automobiles.


Mayweather poses in front of his cars, while on the cover of a magazine.

Former two-time heavyweight champion George Foreman knows well what can happen when fighters don't make fail safe plans for the future and don't have honest people behind them as he outlined in the pages of his latest book 'God In My Corner'.

"Not many people have taken such a crazy ride through life as I have," wrote Foreman, who eventually filed for bankruptcy years after retiring for the first time in 1977.

"I'm probably one of the few people in the world who has gone from rags to riches to rags and back to riches again. After I became successful, I lived in houses all over the world, ate the finest foods at the nicest restaurants, and drove expensive cars. I earned over $10 million in the first phase of my career. In 1985, I found out that my investors had lost most of my money and a business partner had drained my personal bank account. I had been living under the illusion that I was financially secure for life. I suddenly came to the rude awakening that I was bankrupt."

According to a Las Vegas-based wealth manager, whose clients have included athletes and entertainers, and who wishes to remain anonymous, the most significant threat to the young, super-wealthy is their impulse spending and a failure to recognize that once their careers cool off - or they retire - the cash flow dries up.

"I have had clients call me at three o' clock in the morning," said the Morgan Stanley money manager, who made it clear that he has not worked with Mayweather, Jr.

"They want to gain access to fifty, sixty, seventy....a hundred thousand dollars cash. They want it to gamble, or buy a new car, or charter a private jet to the Riviera. It's difficult to talk them out of it or talk them into reconsidering....I mean, it's their money. I try to say, well, instead of the Mercedes for $250,000, why not buy the one for $120,000 without all the bells and whistles? But they have a certain image to live up to and that image doesn't include living on the cheap. The most significant threat to their financial future is themselves. We live in a society that has an insatiable appetite for immediate self-gratification and sports stars and entertainers are at the top of that food chain."

It's impossible to predict what Mayweather's financial future may hold or whether he will eventually return to boxing. However, there is some evidence to suggest that he has a tendency to throw his money away - literally.

Several weeks ago, Mayweather was in fine form and living up to his nickname "Money" inside the Hard Rock Cafe at Times Square in New York City.

Wearing a diamond festooned wristwatch the size of a pie plate, while laughing and smiling gleefully, Mayweather threw wads of $100 bills into the air while a frenzied crowd grabbed for the bills in a real life dive for dollars. It's called "making it rain." It was a bizarre occasion, especially in these challenging economic times, but the absurdity of the scene was seemingly lost on Mayweather.

Perhaps it was the small army of bodyguards, that flanked him like a Secret Service detail, which insulated him from the true cost of his actions.


July 2008

Only in America

Independence Day - He calls himself the “world’s greatest promoter” and you won’t get any argument from this corner on that one. Love him or hate him - there's only one Don King. He’s patriotic, he's flamboyant, he’s comical, and when he’s not around anymore there will be nobody that can take his place.

For nearly 40 years he’s been as much a part of boxing as anyone alive. He’s promoted the biggest fights this planet has known and along the way he’s been there for everything from “The Rumble in the Jungle” to "The Thrilla in Manila" to "The Pride and the Glory" to “The Sound and the Fury”.

He’s 76-years old now, and we don’t see him around the big events as much as many of us would like. But Don King is still here. He still teases his electrified hair, still wears his diamond pinky ring, still smokes big cigars and is most comfortable in his fraying, sequined jean jacket. Don King is still promoting, still magnanimous, still a huckstering fast-talker, and still larger than life.

So on this July 4th, in our nation’s 232nd year, Don King has a few things he wants you to know about. Most of all, Don King wants you to know that he loves America.

“Come together, black and white alike, and enjoy sports as sports should be, in harmony,” is Don’s wish for American boxing fans on our country’s birthday.

“America is where all the friction and the fraction and the ultimate satisfaction will be derived," and he's positively infectious when he says it.

"We didn’t forget 9-11, we didn’t forget those who are the fallen but not forgotten. We didn’t forget that the terrorists are still out there. We’re going to continue to work together with a unified effort - with unity, solidarity and togetherness to prevail. And to demonstrate again that America is number one in the world and that we are proud to be Americans and we don‘t take it sittin‘ down!”

Certainly Don King has every reason to love America. After all, it’s not in every country that a man can go from running numbers on the streets of Cleveland, Ohio to state prison to promoting the world’s biggest events to zipping around the globe on a private jet. King has dined with kings and campaigned with presidents.



Don King doesn’t take America for granted and, he says, neither should you.

“All roads lead to freedom! Freedom and liberty are words that cry out in your heart for everybody to be there, you know what I mean? I can’t find the words to describe nor depict my dedication and commitment to the betterment of this country!” bellows King.

“I had an opportunity to go to Kennebunkport with our President,” said Don, who is currently in Buenos Aires, Argentina.

“But I couldn’t make it. Nobody would believe the opportunity that I have to be with presidents, big guys, and statesmen all over the world. My schedule just don’t permit me to do that. Other people would die for it. But I’d die for America, you know what I mean?”

It’s no secret that King has been a big supporter of our current President, George W. Bush, a man that many in the country will be happy to see leave the White House in January. But that doesn’t mean that Don can’t switch allegiances from Republican to Democrat and from Bush to Barack Obama.

You must understand that Don King is always with the winner (remember he stepped into the Jamaican ring with Joe Frazier and left with George Foreman) and he proudly proclaims that he’ll go with whoever can keep America strong.

“We hold these truths to be self evident, that all men are created equal. Endowed by their creator with certain inalienable rights which are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness! That’s the dedication and commitment for me. And whoever is there to fulfill that prophecy - that’s who I’m with!” he says of his choice for the next President of the United States.



But more importantly for boxing fans, what does Don King think about the serious lack of Americans in the heavyweight division? After all, King built his kingdom by promoting Ali, Frazier, Foreman, Holmes, Tyson and Holyfield. Now, however, there is barely a U.S. born heavyweight ranked in the top 10.

Here is that problem broken down, at least as far as King sees it: “The Russians are coming, you know what I mean?” he asks rhetorically, alluding to the fact that a division once dominated by Americans is now flush with Russians and those from the former Soviet Empire.

“It’s important to me not as a promoter, but as an American, to see an American rise up,” he explains. “It has to be done by the American himself, to do this, to make guys rise up. That is the spirit of people like Martin Luther King, Jr. and Jesse Jackson who were trying to instill in the youth. You gotta’ be able to deal, you know?”

But on this July 4th - King’s message is not about boxing, it's about America and freedom and education.

“When you are fighting for the struggle here, we are continuing to move," he says. "The struggle is contagious and addictive all around the world. When I went to Poland, they were talking about the black movement. When I went to France, they were talking about the black movement. All of these different things that was moving, looking for freedom because it was all synonymous. They was all looking for the same thing - Freedom! This is what William Wallace was doin’ over there in Scotland - Freedom!”

“So the idea of it is, to get that, you got to be educated enough and enlightened enough to know what it means. And when you know what it means, other than just the shackles and the fetters, you understand what it means. Education and enlightenment and upward mobility and stature and esteem and being able to consider your fellow man like you consider yourself. Then - that’s what education does to us!”



“That’s why I really like Laura Bush because she’s an advocate of education,” he continues without taking a breath.

“And with ‘No Child Left Behind’ certainly you can find the critics with Bush’s program. But at least it’s a program inclusive of all people. So let us work with whatever the glitch is, rather than condemn the program because we don’t like the man.”

“This is what I’m saying, and when you fight for those type of things you’re gonna’ get ‘em. And it disseminates throughout all sports and all of life. It ain’t just about sports. Sports has been a great catalyst to bring people together, you know what I mean? To enable us to go side-by-side with the Jackie Robinsons breaking the color barrier in baseball. There really never shoulda’ been a color barrier. That’s what you gotta’ go to. The cause - not the reason!”

Don King is a flag-waving, patriot promoter, a tireless supporter of our troops and a man that believes in the American Dream. On this July 4th he’s still here, still living the dream.

And he still talks fast, too.


Independence Day, July 4, 2008

Dealing with Criticism

A wife was making a breakfast of fried eggs for her husband. Suddenly, her husband burst into the kitchen.

"Careful," he said, "CAREFUL! Put in some more butter! Oh no! You're cooking too many at once. TOO MANY! Turn them! TURN THEM NOW! We need more butter. Oh no! WHERE are we going to get MORE BUTTER? They're going to STICK! Careful. CAREFUL! I said be CAREFUL! You NEVER listen to me when you're cooking! Never! Turn them! Hurry up! Are you CRAZY? Have you LOST your mind? Don't forget to salt them. You know you always forget to salt them. Use the salt. USE THE SALT! THE SALT!"

The wife stared at him. "What in the world is wrong with you? You think I don't know how to fry a couple of eggs?" The husband calmly replied, "I just wanted to show you what it feels like when I'm driving."

You know what this is. It's Criticism. We've all experienced it. Nobody wants to be criticized yet it is so easy for us to criticize others.

Sometimes criticism is justified, sometimes it is not. But none of us like it. No one enjoys being told they are doing something wrong.

It is always an unpleasant experience. Yet criticism is necessary.

Guy Woods has written, "Inasmuch as criticism is inevitable, we must, in order to be happy, acquire an ability to rise above it. He who is overly sensitive to the opinions of others is at the mercy of every gossiper of his acquaintance. Some folks purr like a kitten when stroked by praise; but when criticized, they become resentful, discouraged, and quit. It is highly essential that everyone discover a technique for dealing with the adverse opinions of others, and use it regularly and effectively."

Albert Einstein wasn't always acclaimed for his scientific breakthroughs, notes physicist Stephen Hawking in his book A Brief History of Time (Bantam Books). "His theories came under attack; an anti-Einstein organization was even set up." But Einstein remained unconcerned about these critics, Hawking writes. "When a book was published entitled 100 Authors Against Einstein, he retorted, 'If I were wrong, then one would have been enough!"

How do you deal with criticism?”

Here are a couple of ideas that may help you when you are criticized.

1. Your number of critics is directly proportional to the quality of your performance.

The world is full of critics and so expect criticism. The more productive you are the more criticism you will receive. If you want to play it safe, then say nothing, do nothing, accomplish nothing, dream nothing and you will be a successful nothing. Then there is nothing to criticize. But then your critics will say “You are a nothing.” Then that turns out to be another criticism. Who are the people who are receiving the blunt of criticism? They are the ones out there with their sleeves rolled up busy producing. And the beautiful thing about this is that the productive people are happy despite what their critics say.

2. Let the legitimate criticisms teach and transform you.

Some criticisms serve a useful purpose. Learn from it. Do not be too onion skinned. You will smell. Recognize that some criticisms are certainly deserved. Even when critics are unkind always remember this. They may be right!

Even when they exaggerate your failures, there may still be some truth in what they say. So look at the situation honestly and ask these questions: Is it true? If so, how can I overcome the condition that caused it? How can I avoid future criticism of the same kind?

If I made a mistake then it should serve as a learning mistake. But if I failed to learn from it then I will be committing a stupid mistake. This will confirm what the critics say. Scripture says: “The ear that hears the reproof of life will abide among the wise. He who disdains instructions despises his own soul, but he who heeds reproof gets understanding.”

3. Eat ice cream. Chill. Move on and forget it.

And when the criticisms are unfair and unjust, just chill and prove your critics wrong by your consistency in doing things right and doing the right things. This may not shut up their mouths but it sure can diminish their credibility. The more you attempt to answer criticism, the worse the criticism becomes. For one who is not interested in the truth, the more you explain the more material your critics can use against you.

4. Be a good critic yourself.

And if you need to criticize someone, remember “THE FOUR-TO-ONE RULE:” FOR EVERY criticism you make of someone's job performance, make sure you give the person four compliments.

Do not belittle people. To belittle is to be little.

Somebody says: “Before you criticize someone, walk a mile in his shoes. Then when you do criticize that person, you'll be a mile away and have his shoes.” Just kidding, but you know what I mean.

Source: Francis Kong

More thanks to Mr. Francis Kong for giving me permission to post his writings in my blog. Godbless Sir!!!

The Ants and the BIble

The Ants

Do you know that, according to the Bible, the ants have a superior intelligence, which is almost second to man’s? Proverbs 30:24-28 says--

“There are four things which are little upon the earth but they are exceeding wise: The ants are a people not strong, yet they prepare their meat in the summer; The conies are but a feeble folk, yet make they their houses in the rocks; The locusts have no king, yet go they forth all of them by bands; The spider taketh hold with her hands, and is in kings’ palaces.”

While Proverbs 6:6-8 says--

“Go to the ant, thou sluggard, consider her ways, and be wise; Which having no guide, overseer, or ruler, Provideth her meat in the summer, and gathereth her food in the harvest.”

We have to remember that it is the Bible itself that considers the ants as wise. And in their being wise, they no longer need any ruler, or leader, for them to enjoy a sophisticated way of life.

Do you know that the ants’ dwelling place is even air-conditioned? They are storing food for the entire duration of the rainy season. They have their own knowledge in agriculture. They collect organic matters, which serve as their food during the lengthy rainy season.

Do you know that the ants that we see everyday are mostly female? They live in a colony that is made up of more than one million members, workers, and soldiers that are all females. The male ants die after the queen ant fertilizes. The queen ant’s only duty is to lay about 50,000 to 100,000 eggs a day.

According to studies conducted by zoologists, there about 12 million to 14 million kinds of ants in our planet. And like humans, they are found in almost all habitable places, except in mountains that are covered with ice, and in the polar region. Based on studies, the ants have unusual physical features. Their head is made of a special sensor that easily identifies chemical and visual signs. In addition, they have about half a million nerve cells in their brain. They have a keen vision and a sensitive hair that responds to anything attached to it. Their teeth are as sharp as a carving tool. They have strong muscles that allow their six legs to move. When needed, they are able to secrete liquid from their special glands that warn their companions in case of an impeding danger. Out of their poison glands, they are able to discharge formic acid and other poisons, which they use against their enemies. Their antenna functions as their nose and fingers.

Within 24 hours, they are able to build their houses. And this lasts for more than a month, and this is where their queen lay eggs. There is another colony of ants, which is called “army ants,” that build their houses neither on the ground nor on trees. Their bodies linked together serve as a shelter for their queen. About 200,000 to 750,000 ants link their bodies together in order to cover the queen and her young. But when morning comes, the separate. Other ants, however, live underground.

According to reports, the ants are able to dig about 40 tons of soil in order to build their gigantic home. A colony of ants can maintain 150 houses, and they are able to patrol 1,600 square metes. The territory of ants is one of the biggest in the world of insects. The soldier ants stay only on the sides of their house in order to guard it from attacks of enemies. Should enemies come, they send a signal that could be smelled by their comrades so that they could be given reinforcement. They surround their enemies and spit on them formic acid. And when they are killed, they bring them to their camp to be eaten.

Do you know that ants are able to communicate and send messages to their colleagues by means of a liquid called “pheromone”? This is the reason why when an ant discovers food deposits, it could easily call on its companions who would gather them.

Another remarkable trait of ants is their industry. One can never see a sleeping ant. Have you seen one? That is why an ant is being used as a paragon of industry. As written in Proverbs 6:6-10--

“Go to the ant, thou sluggard, consider her ways, and be wise; Which having no guide, overseer, or ruler, Provideth, her meat in the summer, and gathereth her food in the harvest. How long wilt thou sleep, O sluggard? When will thou arise out of thy sleep? Yet a little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to sleep.”

Let us not be lazy; let us not be sluggards. It is not good to be one.

Gasoline Fill Up Tips

Got this email last week..

Tips on Filling your Vehicles...

This is a Message received from a friend from india:

I don't know what you guys are paying for petrol... but here in Durban, we are also paying higher, up to 47.35 per litre. But my line of work is in petroleum for about 31 years now, so here are some tricks to get more of your money's worth for every litre.

Here at the Marian Hill Pipeline, where I work in Durban, we deliver about 4 million litres in a 24-hour period thru the pipeline.

One day is diesel; the next day is jet fuel, and petrol, LRP and Unleaded. We have 34-storage tanks here with a total capacity of 16,800,000 litres.

ONLY BUY OR FILL UP YOUR CAR OR BIKKIE IN THE EARLY MORNING WHEN THE GROUND TEMPERATURE IS STILL COLD. Remember that all service stations have their storage tanks buried below ground. The colder the ground, the denser the fuel, when it gets warmer petrol expands, so buying in the afternoon or in the evening.... your litre is not exactly a litre.

In the petroleum business, the specific gravity and the temperature of the petrol, diesel and jet fuel, ethanol and other petroleum products play an important role. A 1degree rise in temperature is a big deal for this business. But the service stations do not have temperature compensation at the pumps.

WHEN YOU'RE FILLING UP, DO NOT SQUEEZE THE TRIGGER OF THE NOZZLE TO A FAST MODE. If you look, you will see that the trigger has three (3) stages: low, middle, and high. In slow mode, you should be pumping on low speed, thereby minimizing the vapours that are created, while you are pumping. All hoses at the pump have a vapour return. If you are pumping on the fast rate, some of the liquid that goes to your tank becomes vapour. Those vapours are being sucked up and back into the underground storage tank so you're getting less worth for your money.

ONE OF THE MOST IMPORTANT TIPS IS TO FILL UP WHEN YOUR TANK IS HALF FULL. The reason for this is, the more fuel you have in your tank, the less air occupying its empty space. Petrol evaporates faster than you can imagine. Petroleum storage tanks have an internal floating roof. This roof serves as zero clearance between the petrol and the atmosphere, so it minimizes the evaporation.

Unlike service stations, here where I work, every truck that we load is temperature compensated, so that every litre is actually the exact amount.

ANOTHER REMINDER, IF THERE IS A FUEL TRUCK PUMPING INTO THE STORAGE TANKS, WHEN YOU STOP TO BUY, DO NOT FILL UP - most likely the petrol/diesel is being stirred up as the fuel is being delivered, and you might pick up some of the dirt that normally settles on the bottom.

Hope, this will help you get the maximum value for your money.

DO SHARE THESE TIPS WITH OTHERS! LET’S SHARE INFORMATION AND BENEFIT ALL, FOR THE BETTER OF MANKIND.