What's with Hello Kitty?

"What's with Hello Kitty?  Isn't it for kids only?".  That's how my friends would always react everytime they see me with my hello kitty collections.  What they don’t realize is that hello Kitty is just almost my age. In fact, she is a year older than me. Hello Kitty was born on November 1, 1974, in suburban London, England.

I started to love her when I discovered what’s behind her character. I should say that we are so alike in so many ways. She is very energetic and loves to play outdoors, in the park or forest, but you can also find her happily practicing on the piano or baking a cake too. She is Very happy and cheerful, she loves to meet new people and make new friends.

Like Hello Kitty, I am an outgoing person too, an "anyway the wind blows" type of girl! Never get tired of discovering new places, chose to be one with nature at times, can easily get along well with different types of people in different walks of life. And of course! Cooking and Baking has always been part of my existence.

Hello Kitty lives in London, England with her mother, Mary, dad, George, and twin sister Mimmy. Kitty is curious whereas Mimmy is shy. Hello Kitty symbolizes generosity, innocence, kindness and most importantly... friendship. Her friends are Cathy, Tippy, Joey, Jodie, Fifi, Tracy, Tiny Chum, Rory, Mory, Tim and Tommy. Both Hello Kitty and Mimi have many friends at school and, together, they share many adventures. When school's out Hello Kitty travels the world making new friends. Her generosity and kindness endear her to everyone she meets. Her favorite thing is do tea parties and her hobbies include music, reading, eating the cookies her mother bakes, and best of all making new friends. Like she says "You can never have too many friends."

Funny sometimes, when my friends join me in shopping hello kitty stuff, and the moment they saw any hello kitty toys, they will immediately give it to me and I will say, “nah! That’s not hello kitty, that’s Mimi, her twin”, with astonishment in their faces, they ask, “How did you know? They look exactly the same!” Well, MIMMY - Kitty's twin sister always wears a ribbon on her right ear, while kitty wears ribbon on her left ear, so people can tell her and Kitty apart.

Now meet the other members of hello Kitty’s family: GEORGE - Kitty's Papa. He has a fabulous sense of humor and loves to make his family laugh. George works for a trading company. He is always hardworking and dependable, but sometimes a little absent-minded. MARY - Kitty's Mama. She is very kind and loving. Mary loves cooking and taking care of the house. Her apple pie is famous. ANTHONY - Kittys Grandpa. He knows lots of neat stuff, and can tell great tales. Also he loves to paint. MARGARET - Kitty's Grandma. She is a master pudding maker. And she loves doing embroidery in her rocking-chair.

Today, as I re-visit all my hello Kitty collections, I realized that I have been collecting them for more than a decade now.  Thanks to my mom who consistently give me hello kitty stuff in every occasion of my life, to my sisters who always buy me Hello kitty when they have extra money, and to all my friends who always get out of their ways to look for a new hello kitty stuff that they can add to my collections.

Are Leaders Born or Made?!

Most research that I encountered stated that leaders are 50/50 born and made. But in my own opinion, Leaders are sort of born and they're always made.

It seems like there's only one thing that a person needs to actually be born with in order to be a leader later in life. That's intelligence. A leader needs to be smart enough. Though effective leaders aren't necessarily the smartest people on the team, they just have to be smart enough to do the job assigned to them.

When I was younger, back in my school days time, I used to be so quite and shy. I hate oral reporting and reading in front of the class. My teachers wouldn’t spot any leadership skills in me back then. I never expected that someday I will lead a team or a group of people whom I need to help grow, develop and achieve results.

I must say that I am not a born leader, I would like to believe that I am more of a made leader. As I grow older after I finished college, I was given a chance to develop my leadership abilities through the job assigned to me. From then, my focus has always been handling the responsibility of achieving objectives and results.

Because of my relevant experience, I learned to make decisions. Lots of people wake up every day and let the world happen to them. But leaders must be able and willing to make decisions that affect themselves and others.

By the time a person becomes an adult we can tell if they have the basic qualities that we expect leaders to have. We can determine if they're smart enough to do the job. We can tell if they are willing to help others to achieve results as a group. And we can tell if they will make decisions.

No matter how they measure up on the key essentials, no one emerges from the womb or from adolescence with all the skills in place to be an effective leader. Everybody has to learn the job. That's why leaders are always made.

I learned 80% of my craft on the job. I learned from watching other leaders and emulating their behavior. I choose role models and seek out mentors. I ask other leaders about how to handle situations. For me, Leadership learning is a lifetime activity. You're never done because there's always more to learn. There are always skills you need to improve.

This is to share with you a touch of my own learning so far in relation to how I was made to be a leader. My solid grounding in the practicalities of life; along with my self-assuredness and my willingness to appreciate new things develop my leadership skills. My confidence gives me the potential to take my general awareness and channel it into leadership. Currently, my job requires me to take the lead role in selling our products/services to prospective consumer market along with managing and mentoring my Sales Team’s daily door-to-door selling activity within my assigned geographical area. I am also responsible to head the sales process from initial point of contact (lead generation), presentations, proposals, through contract negotiations and execution. Make sure my Sales Team meets/exceeds minimum monthly and annual sales objectives. Engage, equip, and direct my Sales Team with appropriate training, tools, and strategy development for our products/services.

My leadership style is another strength that I considered present within me;

• I encourage every member of my team to be a part of the decision making.
• I see to it to keep my team informed about everything that affects their work and shares decision making and problem solving responsibilities.
• Though I am always on top of everything and always have the final say, I gather information from my team members before making a decision.
• Typically, it is my imperative to develop plans to help members of my team evaluate their own performance.
• Allows members to establish goals;
• Encourages members to grow on the job and be promoted;
• Recognizes and encourages achievement;
• Supports Team Building and Participation.