About nine years ago (guess my age, but that’s not the point here) someone asked me about how I got my name. He asked me whether I knew its origin and its meaning. “Well, here we go again. Do I have to get this each time I introduce myself?” I thought with a little resentment. Of course I know everything about my name. With confidence I told him that I knew the origin of my name (that my dad just picked it up from a dictionary the night I was born because it sounded nice) and that I knew its meaning. I told him that Charlemagne means Charles the Great. Whereupon, he smiled and simply said that one statement that hit me like nothing else, “You should live up to your name.” What he said floored me. It struck me hard that since then I pondered upon it each time I remember those words. No one told me that before. It gets me each time. He sounded like he was commanding me to really “live up” to my name as if my life hinges on my name.
Ever since I can remember I’ve been asked about my name a million times before and have been even asked how to pronounce it. “That’s Shar-le-main, and, no, it’s not a girl’s name.” Darn! Until that time I was so proud of my name. I knew its meaning and even knew its proper pronunciation even before pre-school. But I never consciously knew what it really meant until that instance. But after that incident, I can honestly say that I wish I had a different name like Paul or James or John or any other common name not attributed to or that literally means greatness. Not that I hated my name. I love every letter of it. But I’m just a regular guy and now I’m not sure if I should still have this name. Since then I’ve introduced myself as just Charlie.
Yup, I’m just a regular guy. I’m not hugely successful (although I’ve had a taste of some modest successes). I’m a regular person who spends most of his day slaving away for someone else waiting for the 15th and the 30th, listens to regular pop music, watches regular primetime TV shows and regular movies that everyone else were watching and goes to Church regularly (if you count it as something a regular person does regularly). I’m just a regular person who owns a regular email account. Although it was 10 years ago today that I first used the Internet I remain oblivious to the many changes going on in it (not really). I could easily blend in on any crowd on any given occasion. But mostly, I’m introverted but not perverted. And like most regular guys, I’m someone who’s fascinated about many a great thing that I will accumulate into this single blog which I call Charlemagne’s Main.
So, if I’m just a regular guy, what’s the point of this blog?
I’m not hugely successful. That’s why if there’s anything that I like to talk and read about with awe, passion and enthusiasm, it’s about other people’s successes (and failures and missed opportunities for success). I am forever inspired to read and talk about people who built empires and amassed wealth like Andrew Carnegie, John D. Rockefeller, Warren Buffet, Peter Lynch, Bill Gates, Frank Bettger, Ben Franklin, Robert Kyosaki and, yes, the Trump! And then some who established stellar fame like, John Lennon, Elvis Presley, Michael Jackson, J K Rowling and of course the immortal Fab Four commonly known as The Beatles. These names have become synonymous to legendary success that anyone who is familiar with them can’t help but reflect about these names with both awe and reverence or with hysterical response. Dare to challenge their historical significance and you’ll have to challenge inevitably the mountains of books written about them!
These men and women’s lives and other people’s success stories are the elusive Holy Grail to many people. But just as scores of unfortunate souls including me remain naïve of how these people became successful in their endeavor, thousands upon thousands have already uncovered and picked up their secrets, well on their way or are already enjoying success in all life’s facets. And because of this I am starting this blog to continuously learn more from these people as I read and write about them.
So, why care about my blog and about what I say?
It’s because this is OUR journey together. While I will not be trying to reinvent any wheel here or start a revolution or perhaps try to reform time-honored ideas, I am merely going to discuss about
Ever since I can remember I’ve been asked about my name a million times before and have been even asked how to pronounce it. “That’s Shar-le-main, and, no, it’s not a girl’s name.” Darn! Until that time I was so proud of my name. I knew its meaning and even knew its proper pronunciation even before pre-school. But I never consciously knew what it really meant until that instance. But after that incident, I can honestly say that I wish I had a different name like Paul or James or John or any other common name not attributed to or that literally means greatness. Not that I hated my name. I love every letter of it. But I’m just a regular guy and now I’m not sure if I should still have this name. Since then I’ve introduced myself as just Charlie.
Yup, I’m just a regular guy. I’m not hugely successful (although I’ve had a taste of some modest successes). I’m a regular person who spends most of his day slaving away for someone else waiting for the 15th and the 30th, listens to regular pop music, watches regular primetime TV shows and regular movies that everyone else were watching and goes to Church regularly (if you count it as something a regular person does regularly). I’m just a regular person who owns a regular email account. Although it was 10 years ago today that I first used the Internet I remain oblivious to the many changes going on in it (not really). I could easily blend in on any crowd on any given occasion. But mostly, I’m introverted but not perverted. And like most regular guys, I’m someone who’s fascinated about many a great thing that I will accumulate into this single blog which I call Charlemagne’s Main.
So, if I’m just a regular guy, what’s the point of this blog?
I’m not hugely successful. That’s why if there’s anything that I like to talk and read about with awe, passion and enthusiasm, it’s about other people’s successes (and failures and missed opportunities for success). I am forever inspired to read and talk about people who built empires and amassed wealth like Andrew Carnegie, John D. Rockefeller, Warren Buffet, Peter Lynch, Bill Gates, Frank Bettger, Ben Franklin, Robert Kyosaki and, yes, the Trump! And then some who established stellar fame like, John Lennon, Elvis Presley, Michael Jackson, J K Rowling and of course the immortal Fab Four commonly known as The Beatles. These names have become synonymous to legendary success that anyone who is familiar with them can’t help but reflect about these names with both awe and reverence or with hysterical response. Dare to challenge their historical significance and you’ll have to challenge inevitably the mountains of books written about them!
These men and women’s lives and other people’s success stories are the elusive Holy Grail to many people. But just as scores of unfortunate souls including me remain naïve of how these people became successful in their endeavor, thousands upon thousands have already uncovered and picked up their secrets, well on their way or are already enjoying success in all life’s facets. And because of this I am starting this blog to continuously learn more from these people as I read and write about them.
So, why care about my blog and about what I say?
It’s because this is OUR journey together. While I will not be trying to reinvent any wheel here or start a revolution or perhaps try to reform time-honored ideas, I am merely going to discuss about
- other people’s achievements
- some insights about topics like how to make money and anything about our jobs
- personal success and development
- motivation
- improving inter-personal relationships
- some of my two cents worth mainly based on time-tested success building concepts
- some current events perhaps
A word of caution here, though; don’t listen to me. I do not claim to be a success coach nor do I claim that the ideas and lessons underscored here are original. I may of course include some personal thoughts based on personal experiences and studies. But please, listen to the experts and learn from the stories that I’ll be quoting here! And this is not just about success with money, this is about success in all life’s aspects.
And since this is OUR journey together, I encourage you to participate, comment and share something of value to us and I promise you that we will learn together. I can think of this as my personal journal for reference on how to become successful or to keep abreast with the times OR you can think of this as your own.
To start our journey, in my next post we’ll discuss about the seat of all power. No, we are not going to be religious or sacrilegious about this one. We’ll simply discuss about that one thing to start this all.
Let the journey begin.
1 comments:
we have the same name except mine is "charlmagne" - my mother removed the 'e' after the 'l'. funny because when i'm asked mine, everyone thought that it's a man's name so they always address me as "sir". and everytime i have to correct them, of course!
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