HOW DOES YOUR VOICE HELP YOU?

Recently I have taken an interest in Theranos and it's rise and fall.

Theranos was established in 2003 by 19 year old Elizabeth Holmes. Theranos' USP was that they were able to take a small amount of blood and then use that to do a large number of tests.

Many high-profile people from the United States of America made investments in Theranos and over a ten year period they raised almost a billion US dollars. At one stage Theranos was valued at about US$9 billion while Elizabeth Holmes' net worth was valued at about half that at US$4.5 billion.

In 2015, an exposé by a writer from the Wall Street Journal questioned Theranos' technology and it all went down from there.

Both Holmes and the company president Sunny Balwani were charged with fraud and I heard that the trial will go ahead in August 2020.

This whole story has many angles. There is the scientific/technology angle. There is the financial angle and also the sociological angle.

Judging from what I have read and what I have watched in documentaries and news articles, I don't believe that Elizabeth Holmes went out to defraud investors of their money and hence become rich because of it. I believe that she really believed in her technology and in her idea and even down to the last minute she still believed that she could turn it around and that it could be on every street corner. Also, apparently she didn't profit in a huge way from 15 years of operations.

One of the interesting aspects of this story for a lot of people was Holmes's voice. She had a very deep voice that may or may not have been put on or not her actual, real voice. Personally, I find this aspect of the story very, very interesting.

My friend and I were discussing this the other day, our voice plays a big role in how people perceive us in society. For men, if you have a small or even feminine voice, it can be a problem for you in the future. Of course if you have a loud voice, that can create irritation throughout the groups of people that you interact with as well

Personally, my voice around people who I don't know can be quite low. I know here in Japan that people at places like convenience stores have to ask me again to say something. When I say that I don't need a plastic bag or chopsticks, sometimes I have to repeat myself or the shop assistant will give me those because:

a. they didn't hear me
b. they heard me but didn't understand it
c. they heard me, understood me but didn't believe that I had said anything.

There is a lot of resources on the Internet about how to increase the strength of your voice and how to project it better. I would suggest you check them out.

Deepening your voice can make you seem more authoritative. If you are a guy, a deep voice can make you seem more sexy and masculine to women and overall it just makes you seem more trustworthy and strong.

Personally, I think that a good strong voice is part of the trifecta:

1. Good posture

2. Good eye contact

3. Deep, strong voice

Work on these and you should start to feel confident, you may even start to feel better generally. Lets work on these things together and see how it goes.

It can't hurt, right?

TREAT THE JANITOR WITH THE SAME RESPECT AS YOU WOULD THE CEO

Never look down on anyone thinking you are superior. NEVER! What is that meme I've seen a lot:

"Treat the janitor with the same respect as you would the CEO." Apparently this quote is from Tom Hardy, a British actor.

We are all the same. That is why I got extremely annoyed at the library where I am writing this a couple of years ago. I was walking to the toilet as I usually do multiple times of day. The library shares a toilet with an event space. As it turned out on that particular day there was a "VIP" there. (I still have no idea who that was.) Anyway, I was told to go to the 1st floor toilet. I was on the 37th floor. WTF?

I don't understand how a person like that should have precedence over me. I'm here every day. They are there once every ten years. Surely you should look after your regulars more than the irregulars.

My friend told me a story of a time when he was at a pizza place that he had frequented on numerous occasions. He had asked for something that wasn't on the menu but he had had it before. Because the server was not trained to do that, he had said no. My friend was not happy and proceeded to give the place a 1 star rating. The owner contacted my friend afterwards and asked why. My friend told him the reason. He asked the server and the server said because the guy was a regular he didn't think he needed to do it. The server was told because my friend was a regular that is double the reason why you should look after him.

Look after the people who are regulars. They will always be there and they will bring in other people. The one-off people are good and they should be treated nicely but the regulars should be looked after. Treat them like a CEO even if they are a janitor.

Anyway, what does the title have to do with it anyway. Why do we have to give everyone titles? Who cares? We all end up under the ground anyway.

"Treat the janitor with the same respect as you would the CEO." - Tom Hardy. 

FOLLOW YOUR OWN PATH

Here is a quote from Jane Austen, the English novelist from the late 18th to early 19th century.:

"I wish, as well as everybody else, to be perfectly happy; but like everybody else, it must be in my own way."

This is a great quote and for a very simple reason. How can you be happy if you are living the life that every person around you expects you to live?

Live life on your terms, not anyone else's because if you do I assure you, you are going to regret it and even resent the people around you and that can never be good.

Follow your own path. That is the best advice I can give you today.

WHY? WHY? WHY?

I seem to be on a bit of a rant recently but I'm getting me really annoyed with a lot of the BS that is going on in the world today.

I was on the elevator coming up to the place where I am writing this post and I saw a news article in Japanese saying that there had been a mosque shooting in Oslo, Norway. Fortunately it seems that no one was killed which is great news but the fact that this incident happened is not a good thing at all.

I would like to know what goes on in people's heads that they feel the need to go and shoot innocent people while they are praying at their place of worship. Are we all taken in by the news media over-glamourising the 0.001% of that particular faith that think that other faiths should be consigned to hell? Or do they think that they are doing the world a favour by ridding it of these people?

I'm going on a airplane next week and I was thinking that I would take a 2 litre bottle of water on the plane so that I can sip on it from time to time during the flight as those cabins can get quite dry. Then I realised that you can't take onto a plane any liquids over 100mls.

All I have to say about that to those idiots is thank you very much (sarcasm). I suppose it is like the time at school when one idiot ruined it for everyone. I kind of wish knowing what I know now, that I asked the teacher if I could smack that perpetrator. It would be interesting to see what the teacher would have said. I'm sure in 2019 the parents would have made a complaint at the vigilante justice given out.

I hope the people in Oslo are OK. I also hope that people learn to live together as one and to learn that people who are different to you should be embraced and that you learn from them as opposed to feared and hated. Wouldn't that be nice? Or am I being a bleeding heart liberal? If so, so be it.

WHAT HAVE WE COME TO?

I read this article today. I was absolutely shocked by it all, especially hard on the heels of my post from a few days ago.

My only question is WHY? Why do these idiots feel a need to abuse someone because:

a. they don't have the same colour skin as them.

b. they come from a different country

c. they may not worship the same god as them.

I assure you, we are not born bigoted or prejudiced. We learn these habits growing up from our parents, our environment, even our schools. It makes you wonder why schools and religious organisations  are teaching this ridiculous stuff to the students. I don't get it.

Anyway, I can't say much more. I'll let the following guy say and he says very well. I wish that he didn't say it but unfortunately he has to. No, I'm not talking about Cristiano Ronaldo.

SOME QUOTES FOR INTROVERTS

Today, lets look at some quotes about introverts.

1. "I wish, as well as everybody else, to be perfectly happy; but like everybody else, it must be in my own way." - Jane Austen

Jane Austen, she of Pride and Prejudice and Sense and Sensibility fame. Yes, I agree. You definitely want to be happy but it has to be in your own way. What is the point of being happy for two days a week while being absolutely miserable for five days a week? It just doesn't work that way.


2. "I restore myself when I'm alone." - Marilyn Monroe

This is the ultimate definition of an introvert. Recharging when they are alone. I can relate very easily.


3. "We can't underestimate the value of silence. We need to create ourselves, need to send time alone. If you don't, you risk not knowing yourself and not realising your dreams." - Jewel

Yes, I agree. You need to spend time on your own to realise what you want in life. Whether that be in meditation, in journaling, maybe just even writing your goals out again and again.

4. "The greatest art is to sit, wait and let it come." - Yogi Bhajan


5. "Don't think of introversion as something that needs to be cured... Spend your free time the way you like, not the way you think you're supposed to." - Susan Cain

Ah, the patron saint of Introversion. When Susan Cain speaks, you listen. I agree 100000000% with this. There are many people who think that a Friday night means going out drinking  and raging at a nightclub. You should know how you recharge and you should know that this is best for YOU. Not anyone else.

WHY ARE YOU SO QUIET?

WHY ARE YOU SO QUIET?

Hands up if you have ever heard that. One or two of you. I have on numerous occasions. I remember a cricket team mate of mine would say "SHUT UP" to me when I was standing in the group not really making much noise. It threw me off the first couple of times he said it but I came up with a few replies that you can use to really change the mood of the whole occasion. Tell me how it works if you use them:

1. Does my silence bother you?

2. I'm very economical with my words

3. There wasn't an opportunity to get a word in.

4. Am I making you nervous?

5. I'm judging you.

6. I'm saving myself for the important things in life.

7. I've used up my word count for the day.

8. I don't want to spoil the moment so I left it to you.

My thoughts on the Israel Folau saga

I'm a rugby union fan. I grew up in New Zealand.

QUESTION: Did I have a choice about being a rugby fan?

ANSWER: Of course I did.

And that word, choice, is the basis of what I would like to talk about today.

I'm not going to bore you with the details about Israel Folau's situation. Lets just say he is in court at the moment contesting his contract with the Australian Rugby Union been torn up.

In April of 2019, Israel Folau posted on his Instagram the following:

When this came out (no pun intended) I was really annoyed with it all but I have changed my tune a little and I would like to explain my thoughts.

I don't have a problem with religion. I don't have a problem with free speech. I'm really happy that we live in a society in which we can speak our truth and say what is on our mind without fear of been put in jail. I feel proud that we live in a society in which people are free to worship whatever god they choose and (in most cases) not get persecuted because of it. Unlike the guy and his country below:

                               Image by Виктория Бородинова from Pixabay 

This brings me to the word CHOICE again.

People have a CHOICE to follow a religion or to believe in a particular god.

People have a CHOICE to have an alcoholic drink.

People have a CHOICE to cheat on their spouse.

People have a CHOICE to tell lies again and again.

People have a CHOICE to have sex outside of marriage.

People have a CHOICE to steal possessions from another person.

People have a CHOICE to not believe in a god if they so desire.

People have a CHOICE to worship an idol. (To be fair, I don't really understand what an Idolater is.)

However, people do not have a CHOICE about what their sexuality will be. Attraction is not a CHOICE. I'll repeat that, Attraction is not a CHOICE.

I didn't wake up one morning and decide that "today I'm going to want to have sex with women." It is  a natural thing that we develop as we grow up.

Whether Israel Folau deserved to lose his job or not is for the court to decide in the next few weeks.

As a rugby union fan I would like to see Israel Folau play in the Rugby World Cup this year because he is a good player, maybe even great and a strong Wallabies team is good for world rugby and the World Cup.

Israel Folau should be allowed to continued to post whatever he wants on Instagram because that is his basic human right. No argument from me, but I would say that he thinks a little bit more before posting anything in the future.

What if Cristiano Ronaldo posts on his Instagram the following?:

Hell Awaits:

Adulterers
Fornicators
Liars
Thieves
Drunks
Atheists
Tongan Australians
Idolaters

There would be similar outcry to his post in April and rightly so.

People who say that the drunk community didn't say anything about the post are trivialising the whole thing.

The court proceedings at the moment are to do with breach of contract, something which Israel Folau chose to do. Nothing to do with religious rights or freedom of speech. People should remember that.

Lets get back to what we should really be talking about: