Words from Jeff Bezos

Here are some thoughts from Jeff Bezos (founder of Amazon). These were part of a speech he gave to students graduating from Princeton University:

Tomorrow, in a very real sense, your life -- the life you author from scratch on your own -- begins.
How will you use your gifts? What choices will you make?
Will inertia be your guide, or will you follow your passions?
Will you follow dogma, or will you be original?
Will you choose a life of ease, or a life of service and adventure?
Will you wilt under criticism, or will you follow your convictions?
Will you bluff it out when you're wrong, or will you apologize?
Will you guard your heart against rejection, or will you act when you fall in love?
Will you play it safe, or will you be a little bit swashbuckling?
When it's tough, will you give up, or will you be relentless?
Will you be a cynic, or will you be a builder?
Will you be clever at the expense of others, or will you be kind?

Steven Johnson: Where Good Ideas Come From

English@InfoJobs: a quick prezi

English@InfoJobs on Prezi

I'm forgetting the summer! Could you give me a hand?

It's the end of September and my summer travels are beginning to fade from memory. What about you? It would be great to hear about where you went and what you did, and maybe see a photo or two. If you'd like to participate, just email me at coultonv@yahoo.com. This way we can remember what happened and start dreaming for the future!

Let's give him a big hand! (part 3)

To give someone a hand, without "with," means to applaud them! We hear this on TV, especially on contest programs where amateurs are performing. For exmaple, "We gave Victor a big hand after his monologue" means that we applauded him a lot!

Give someone a hand (part 2)

As mentioned in the previous post, to give someone a hand with something is to help him or her. I think this expression comes from "helping hand. " The key to it, though, is with. For example: Could you give me a hand with this translation? Or: Her bags were very heavy but nobody stopped to give her a hand with them. When we understand the context, we can subtract with. I need help here. Can you give me a hand?

Could you give me a hand? (part 1)

To give someone a hand means to help them with something. As in, my bags are really heavy, could you give me a hand? Although the meaning here is often literal (I need an extra hand to help me), it can also be help with something non-physical, like a project, etc.

Video: Making meaning in your company, with Guy Kawasaki

Take up/give up

Take up and give up are two phrasal verbs which are opposites. They both relate to activities and hobbies. To take up surfing is to start doing it. To give up something is to stop doing it. Often, people decide to take up a new habit or activity in September, since this is the time we associate with going back to school or work after the summer. You could take up yoga, for example, or some other kind of physical practice. We generally give up activities because we don't like them or because they're too difficult at the moment. For example, he gave up skiing after the accident. Sometimes we give up habits because we decide they're bad for us, as in I'm going to give up smoking. How about you? Are you taking up anything or giving up anything these days?