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Markets: Selling, Buying, Profit& Loss, Values, Family, Friends, Cash, Credit, What to do? Where to go? What to say? Who to trust?...
Can the Bastard of Billingsgate teach a thing or two to our MBA students?
Roger Barton, the Bastard of Billingsgate
Photo: broadcastnow.co.uk
Charismatic market trader, Roger Barton, has worked in London's Billingsgate Fish Market for 50 years. Tough-talking and ruthless, he revels in the nickname the Bastard of Billingsgate. After just five weeks off in five decades, he takes the trip of a lifetime, visiting the world's greatest food markets
From The London Markets, we had learned that markets could tell us about the city and its people too. “From the fattest fat cat to the poorest slum dog, markets are a mainline for commerce and culture at every level of society.”
Travelling has made Barton come over all philosophical, “I’ve got the taste for seeing other people and the way they trade,” says Barton, “It made me think about what I’ve done in life, and made me wonder if I’ve been on the right trail? "The pound sign is not the be all and end all."
“In Billingsgate it’s nice to know you can make a few quid (£), and it’s nice to know that, at times, you’re the top man. In the places we visited for the show it didn’t seem to matter. It’s nice to be important, but it’s important to be nice.”
Hands-on learning
At our universities - by and large - students are disciplined to concentrate on one school of thought, focus on a case and stick to their limited academic territory and theories, which may look OK in the class rooms, but, totally irrelevant in the real world.
This is why I firmly believe that the ‘Learning through Practice’ or hands-on learning approach should be embedded in the MBA’s core values. MBA students, if we really wish to give them the best education, should be taught to understand the limitations of theories and tackle the wicked problems and uncertainty of the actual business world. Hands-on learning helps to ask questions such as: What is behind the theories and frameworks one can detect? What are the business’ motivations? Should they change and if so why and how? How markets act and react? These are the type of questions students should be encouraged to ask. Putting theories into practice is not to adjust one for another. Practical approaches to problems may be found by seeing through the lenses of various theories and frameworks, individuals and groups.
And Now Our MBA Marketing Module: A Three-Hour Module on How Markets Function in the Real World!
Billingsgate fish market in London, New York's New Fulton market, Mexico City's Central de Abasto, the largest food market on the planet, and Delhi's Azadpur Mandi, a market so big it provides food for the whole of India.
Following a dream of visiting - and trading in - the world's greatest food markets, Billingsgate trader Roger Barton heads across the Atlantic to New York's New Fulton market, the biggest and roughest fish market in America. Can he compete with its ruthless traders and the worst winter storms in decades to make a profit?
Hour One: Introduction to the series and the Episide 1:New Yourk
BBC Worlds Greatest Food Markets 1of3 New York 720p HDTV x264 AAC MVGroup org - YouTube
Hour Two: Mexico City
Roger travels to Mexico City's Central de Abasto as he pits himself against some of the world's sharpest traders. The food market is the largest of its kind in the world.
BBC Worlds Greatest Food Markets 2of3 Mexico 720p HDTV x264 AAC MVGroup org - YouTube
Hour Three: Delhi and Conclusions
On this trip the Bastard of Billingsgate is off to Delhi
INDIA -World's Greatest Food Markets // Full Documentary 2014 - YouTube
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Give thanks, be grateful, project love, empathy and hope: Values to make you truly human
“The best kind of giving is thanksgiving.”-Chesterton
“Gratitude is not only the greatest of virtues, but the parent of all others.”-Cicero
"Happiness cannot be traveled to, owned, earned, worn or consumed. Happiness is the spiritual experience of living every minute with love, grace, and gratitude.”-Denis Waitley
“The essence of all beautiful art, all great art, is gratitude.”-Nietzsche
Gratitude
"Cultivate the habit of being grateful for every good thing that comes to you, and to give thanks continuously. And because
all things have contributed to your advancement, you should include all things in your gratitude."-Ralph Waldo Emerson
“At times, our light goes out and is rekindled by a spark from another person.” – Albert Schweitzer
'Giving thanks may be the best gift that you can give to others—and to yourself. And, like the best things in life, it’s free.'-
Dr. Robert L. Leahy, clinical professor of psychology at Weill-Cornell Medical School.
'What is Gratitude?
Many of us express gratitude by saying “thank you” to someone who has helped us or given us a gift. From a scientific perspective, however, gratitude is not just an action: it is also a positive emotion that serves a biological purpose.
Positive psychology defines gratitude in a way where scientists can measure its effects, and thus argue that gratitude is more than feeling thankful: it is a deeper appreciation for someone (or something) that produces longer lasting positivity.
Before continuing with that definition, we offer 10 definitions to provide a cultural context for how the word has changed over time...- What is Gratitude and Why Is It So Important?
See also: In Praise of Gratitude
Celebrating the Gift and Miracle of Ageing: Giving Thanks as I Approach 70
Love is Life’s Greatest Gift
'Love is the Bridge between you and Everything.'- Rumi
The symphony of life is all about love and loving, inspiring peace, justice, fairness and the hope for a better life.
All my life I have had the choice of love or hate. I chose love.
When I chose hate, I suffered pain and anguish.
When I chose love, I flourished and found peace and contentment.
“The unending qualities of life constantly surround us with natural beauty of unbelievable proportions. The wind plays upon the waves of water while the rose releases its fragrance of joy. As the rain splashes, a wondrous rainbow appears upon the sky while the ground anchors the living monument of a mighty tree which in turn, transforms energy so that we may breathe oxygen. All these natural experiences abound in limitless expression everywhere upon this globe. How many times do we stop and take notice?
Each moment of life we use physical objects and resources to provide nourishment, comfort, and convenience for our lives. We bathe, feed, and clothe our bodies with the treasures of this planet. We adorn ourselves in the minerals and metals of the earth. Our physical homes, places of employment, and means of conveyance all come from the physical riches of this world. All four elements provide the life sustaining qualities we require to move our bodies about and experience this corporeal reality.
Besides the physical relationship with this grand school, there are the metaphysical or transcendent qualities that go beyond the physical sensory capacity. This is our spiritual connection to life and the Universe, and this life force energy provides us with intelligence, imagination, wisdom, and love. More importantly, without this direct line of life-giving energy, we cease to exist as a physical being. Our Higher Self is our conscious link to all potential, including our ability to exist and function upon this planet.
The dimensions and possibilities of life astound the normal capacity of human thinking. We dream, feel, think, imagine, and experience our reality in a totally individual and unique way. No other being can see and experience life the same way we do. We have the full creative power to mold and evolve energy to manifest a reality that blesses and uplifts all. This amazing power stands quiescent within our world until we acknowledge, unfold and use its potential.
The only thing the universe ever asks for in return is love. Within this love is the quality of gratitude. All energy comes to us unqualified and without limit. We are the ones that stipulate and clothe it with either beauty or limitation. In every thought, condition, feeling, or experience, there is an opportunity to express gratitude to life for the bounty made available.
Each moment we breathe we use energy. Every drop of water, meal we ingest, and physical movement we take, comes from this incredible energy. The things we use for convenience, comfort, and work, also find expression from this power source. Our lives are simply on loan to us. It all comes to us naturally with just our love in return as caretakers of the physical forms in our reality.
Life is this simple. We, as limited human beings, make it hard and difficult. We place judgments, opinions, and criticism where there is no need. We hate, become angry, and suffer pain unnecessarily. The limited personality/ego constantly hoards and wastes this energy. In its wisdom, the universe never identifies with our suffering, instead it points the way to graceful perfection and allows us to accept and claim this potential.
Gratitude is a wonderful way to experience this world through peace, freedom, and joy. When we recognize the limitless good contained in every moment, we begin to know the grace that flows through life. Acknowledging all experiences as being helpful in some way, does immeasurable good to correcting wayward thoughts and feelings. Thankfulness helps release our hold upon old energy that limits and binds us.
Awareness in life expands when we embrace the fact that everything happens for a reason and we admit responsibility for our part. In every condition, event, situation, and problem, there is a true and underlying cause. The outer world is only a reflection of energy set into motion. When we gratefully welcome responsibility for the role we play, the correction and solution automatically come forth. Then it is up to us to insure that we do not repeat this activity. ...
The process of gratitude includes accepting and honoring our self. The power we use is available to us because of our magnificent ability as spiritual beings. We learn this through our efforts of conscious expansion. We are angels playing in the field of all physical and nonphysical possibilities. When we are grateful to ourselves for our personal efforts, strength, perseverance, and courage, we automatically share this with the rest of creation. ...
Honor the people, places, and things in your life. Observe the many intricate aspects that comprise the physical experiences we have. Realize that the earth nourishes your body and provides for your material existence while the sun provides the possibilities. As a self conscious being, you get to influence this action by loving it with all of your heart. When you do, gratitude will be your tribute to this marvelous existence.
Take loving care of everyone and everything and you will live like an angel. Graciously accept the good that permeates your reality. Let your angel friends help you share in this experience. Thank your Higher Self and all of Creation for the opportunity to be here. Once you feel this in your heart, you will fly free forever. “-Harold W. Becker, Founder and President, The Love Foundation
(Excerpted from Unconditional Love - An Unlimited Way of Being)
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May you find joy in the simple pleasures of life and may the light of the holiday season fill your heart with the hope for a better world
“…there is nothing better for people than to be happy and to do good while they live.” —Ecclesiastes 3:12
We are very much looking forward to Christmas and the New Year when we will all conitinue our common good journey and share a common belief in the potential of each one of us to become self-directed, empowered, and active in defining this time in the world as opportunity for positive change and healing and for the true formation of a culture of peace by giving thanks, spreading joy, sharing love, seeing miracles, discovering goodness, embracing kindness, practicing patience, teaching moderation, encouraging laughter, celebrating diversity, showing compassion, turning from hatred, practicing forgiveness, peacefully resolving conflicts, communicating non-violently, choosing happiness and enjoying life.
Photo: trans4mind.com
In this season of light and hope, we wish to give thanks for the best of the gifts life has to offer, which is: The Gift of Friendship. Thank you for being a part of our global family and embodying the vision of what it means to be for the common good with us. Thank you for who you are, thank you for what you do.
Watch the Video: God Only Knows - BBC Music - YouTube
Have a wonderful Holidays