Archive for January, 2007

before you will be somebody

Monday, January 8th, 2007

Inspired so much by Pastor Kong’s preach (founder of City Harvest Church) of ‘culture mandate’, and story behind Oprah Winfrey’s success, I found this article during my lazy moment in office. Check it out, it might be helpful for those lazy people like me..:)

Before They Were Somebody: First Jobs of the Rich, Famous and Powerful

By Meg Donohue, CareerBuilder.com writer

Paris Hilton aside, most celebrities aren’t born filthy rich. Stars generally work their way up the job ladder like professionals in any other field, and it may surprise you to learn just how low the first rung of the ladder to luxury can be. Each of these celebs has tasted his or her share of humble pie — hey, turns out we’ve all got to start somewhere!

Oprah Winfrey

Winfrey was self-helping her way to the top long before the world ever heard of Dr. Phil. Arriving at a radio station to collect a watch she had won through a promotional contest, a 16-year-old Winfrey read for producers and secured herself a spot as an on-air reporter earning $100 per week.

Radio announcer’s current income: $10.64 per hour

Winfrey’s current income: $225 million from June 2005 to June 2006

Steven Spielberg

Sure, Spielberg has three Academy Awards and millions of dollars in the bank now, but back when he was a 16-year-old intern at Universal Studios his paycheck wasn’t anything to "phone home" about.

(Unpaid) intern’s current income: Zero. Nada. Nilch.

Spielberg’s current income: $332 million from June 2005 to June 2006

Teri Hatcher

Looks like Hatcher’s wardrobe included short skirts decades before she made the move to

Wisteria Lane

. Back in 1984, Hatcher was lifting football fans’ spirits as a cheerleader for the

San Francisco

49ers.

Professional cheerleader’s current income: $15-$50 game

Hatcher’s current income: Estimated $285,000 per Desperate Housewives episode

Sean "Diddy" Combs

Diddy’s first job as a paperboy at 12 years old may have been a humble beginning for the hip-hop mogul, but he’s since soared from lowly to loaded.

Newspaper carrier’s current income: Minors delivering newspapers are exempt from federal child labor laws and can be paid less than the minimum wage ($5.15 per hour)

Combs’ current income: $16 million from June 2005 to June 2006

Dan Brown

Prior to papering the world many times over with his best-selling art historical novel, "The Da Vinci Code," Brown sculpted young minds as a high school English teacher.

Teacher’s current income: Median ranges from $41,400 to $45,920

Brown’s current income: $88 million from June 2005 to June 2006

Jennifer Lopez

Long before Jennifer Lopez sang, danced and acted her way to superstardom, she briefly traded in her velour tracksuit for a suit of the pin-striped variety while working at a law office.

Legal assistant’s current income: $39,130

Lopez’s current income: $10 million from June 2005 to June 2006

Irwan Soetikno

Long before he will be an annointed artist (in future) , he was a lousy architect who does not know how to design and has no direction at all about art. Jumped though many small design companies, low paid, and day-dreamer. But one thing makes him success is the one and only ‘little faith’ in ‘big God’.

Irwan’s future income: bigger than what he could have ever imagined!

Cheers :))))

burung gagak dan pohon mangga

Saturday, January 6th, 2007

Burung gagak dan pohon mangga

Akhirnya kutemukan sebuah kamar idaman. Di puncak, lantai empat. Di sudut, menghadap ke pandangan luas. Dua jendela lebar mengundang udara segar.

Di depan salah satu jendela tumbuh sebuah pohon mangga. Puncak ranting2nya persis berakhir di depan jendelaku. Daun2nya yang rimbun menjadi tirai, menghalau panas sinar matahari. Disitulah sang gagak sering bertengger. Riuh berteriak, sangat berisik!

Tengah malam saat tidur, kubiarkan jendela2 itu terbuka lebar. Angin sejuk mengalir. Sinar bulan dan bintang ikut menyusup. Saat itu pula sang gagak bertengger di puncak pohon mangga. Ikut lelap tertidur.

Empat puluh hari aku mendiami kamar ini. Sangat nyaman. Sangat sejuk dan tentram. Dari sini pandanganku melalang ke langit. Udara yang kuhirup; segar, jernih, nyaris tanpa debu. Pendengaranku tak terusik oleh deru kendaraan bermotor ataupun jeritan penduduk kota. Namun kusadari ada sesuatu yang aneh disini. Sesuatu yang hilang pada hidupku.

Setelah 40 hari berlalu, telah 4 kali aku mengunjungi dokter. Dokter umum, spesialis saraf, ahli penyakit dalam, dan terakhir psikolog.

Ada yang salah pada diriku. Dalam 40 hari terkahir, berat badanku berkurang 4kg. Padalah semenjak tinggal di sini, kebiasaan makanku jadi 4 kali sehari. Setiap makan, minimal aku menyantap 4 hidangan lauk dan sayur.

Aneh!

Empat orang dokter pun tak berhasil menemukan penyakit dalam diriku. Sementara dalam seminggu terkakhir ini, berat badanku turun drastis lagi, 4 kg. Lemak dan daging itu lenyap entah kemana.

Seorang temen yang kaget melihat tubuhku yang makin kurus kering mulai menyebut2 soal hal mistik dan mengajakku melihat paranormal.   Aku jelas menolak. Menolak dengan sangat keras.

Daripada mengunjungi peramal, mendingan aku berdoa. Meski tidak saleh, aku memaksakan diri untuk suntuk berdoa.

Mulai dari malam itu hingga saat ini, genap 40 hari aku berdoa. Setiap malam sebelum tidur.

Saat ini berat badanku tinggal 40kg dari 64kg.

Putus asa! Tak tau apa yang terjadi pada diriku!

Tengah malam, sebelum tidur, aku memandang keluar jendela. Di puncak ranting2 pohon mangga itu kini makin banyak bertengger burung gagak. Dan jawaban itu tiba2 menyusup ke dalam pengetahuanku.

Mereka telah mencuri mimpi2 ku! Yah, sejak mendiami kamar ini, aku tidak pernah lagi mengalami mimpi saat tidur! Tidurku menjadi hambar dan gelap gulita. Hidupku menjadi datar tanpa pengharapan dan tujuan. Mereka merampas mimpi2 itu…