“.. Århus, Denmark. June. Rain was pouring cats and dogs and I was sitting alone in the breakfast hall of Danhostel sipping my black coffee just before leaving for the conference center. Right at that moment a familiar face from one of the Nordic JCI countries approached my table with his cup of coffee in his hand then said: “ I have a car and will go to the conference center soon. Need a ride?” That was the bestest of offers I could hear with that sort of rain outside.
Summer greetings!
How wonderful a JCI month it was..
Fellow JCI Cosmopolis Members, Supporters and Friends,
Greetings from a beautiful sunny day in Finland!
Spring finally made its way to the Nordic lands. The nature is waking up. Trees are budding, birds are chirping day and night..
In JCI Cosmopolis, we also got some tremendous energy from the change of the season and kicked off our many upbeat activities.
During April, we had an absolutely fantastic Personal Development Day with two interesting sessions in one of which we identified how we can turn our life vision into action and in the other we dived into the abyss of how our brain really works and how we can get the most out of it. Thanks to the event organizers and the invaluable presenters of the sessions. We did not only have fun during the event but also widened our personal horizons. Again during April, we had another Wednesday Club with the participation of many new faces. As some of may already know JCI Cosmopolis are running the Women's 10 km fun run and during April we also started off the first Running School of JCI Cosmopolis. During a series of 5 different theory and practice run sessions, we will learn more about the joy of running and put it into practice with jolly good company. The running school will continue through May.
And now we are getting ready for the Vappu Party to be held on April 30th and the Vappu Picnic on May 1st.
In June, we will be going to Aarhus Denmark for the JCI European Conference where we will also meet our fellow European International Chapters from Denmark, The Netherlands, Hungary, Turkey and London.
I am looking forward to a wonderful Spring and Summer with loads of sunshine which we all have been longing for.
See you at Vappu Party and at the Vappu Picnic.
Make it a great spring and summer!
/Pinar
I am writing this post in Istanbul where I just arrived last night to spend the weekend. It was such a good timing that this morning I had the chance to observe the storks arriving. Seeing the storks arriving always meant a lot to me. It's been the harbinger of the beautiful spring coming and at the same time a year of traveling if one sees the storks high up in the sky.
As days chase days life in JCI Cosmopolis becomes more and more exciting. Our annual calendar is crystallizing and we are drawing our path to walk till year end. This path is currently being crafted and will soon be made available to our members on March 24th when will have our annual meeting where we are expecting to see many of our members. Annual Meetings are serious milestones for JCI chapters as we in simplified terms get our members'' consent for our last year performance and also report to our members the new budget and annual plan of activities.
Fellow JCI Cosmopolis members, this is your chance to come and make an impact on how we shape this chapter. I am looking forward to seeing many of you at the annual meeting on March 24th.
Having informed you of the annual meeting, let me share with you some of my reflections about life in general. I have had enough time for reflections this weekend as I was nailed to bed due to a pretty nasty flu.
I once again realized that we human beings take so many things for granted in life. Funny enough every time I have the slightest health problem I reflect on my priorities and I recall the following anecdote told by a famous businessman and here I am quoting his words:
"Once I was having some quality time with my youngest son full of ambitions for his life. I started giving him a piece of advice. I told him:
- Son, take a piece of paper and write 1 in number. This 1 stands for your health.
Then I told him:
- Add a zero (0) on the right side of this 1 for your high school diploma. Then add another 0 for your university diploma. Then another zero for finishing your military service, then another zero for your first job, then another zero for your next good job.
I kept asking him to add zeros after every success in life. The number was growing and my son happily said:
- Dad this is a huge number. Don''t even know what this number is.
Then I told him:
- Son, this is the value of your life. But do not get carried way by how big the value of this number is. Now take out the initial 1 for health from the number. Does it have a value?
My son said:
- Dad but ... It is only zero now.
Then I told him:
- Right son. It is zero. It does not have any value. Always remember that as long as you have your health, you can score the zeros. Remember that health is the most valuable asset you have in life."
I would like to leave you thinking: what are your priorities in life? what did you do today for keeping that 1 in that big number scoring your life value? what would be the first immediate action you would take for bettering your health?
Until next time ...
/Pinar
How refreshing it is to start the first blog of the year on such a special day. I am proud to let you all know that our beloved chapter is a toddler officially. In 2009 February 6th, JCI Cosmopolis was endorsed as a chapter in JCI Finland. And since then we have come a long long way. The way was full of uplifting experiences, sometimes tiny or big challenges, small and big success stories, loads of laughter and joy thanks to the amazing fellowship of JCI spirit. Just imagine that this all happened in our infancy. Now we are a toddler so we will have the speed in our moves. A fantastic year is ahead!
Earlier this year, we set certain strategic goals for ourselves in JCI Cosmopolis. It is all in line with our initial strategy we laid while founding the chapter. We would like to become a well-known organization in leadership practices, individual development activities, social responsibility as active citizens in an international environment. This year''s strategic goals will take us closer and closer to our ambitious goal of becoming the best-in-class JCI chapter with committed young professionals and entrepreneurs every day entertaining ideas in how to create positive change.
Main strategic goal of 2010 for JCI Cosmopolis is partnerships. As a toddler we are now more mobile. We will get closer to possible partner organizations and leverage the existing energy of like-minded organizations. This is synergy and organic growth! Other JCI chapters in JCI Finland are certainly our main partners, contributors. In JCI Cosmopolis, we strongly believe that team work is the only way to create positive change. We will carry on via well-functioning teams to offer individual development possibilities through company visits, book reviews, seminars, conferences. Furthermore, we will actualize our goal to become real active citizens via socially responsible events. The foundation of our strategy is definitely committed, positive, open-minded people. And people are the main asset of this beautiful organization. So our main goal remains constant all along: grow the individual member!
Having given you a zest of our strategy at high level, I would like to invite you to some of our upcoming activities:
- Wednesday Club on February 10th
- Book of the Month on February 10th - following Wednesday Club
- Company visit and monthly meeting on February 25th - UPM Kymmene visit
- Public Speaking Training on February 27th
Many more activities are along the way ... Keep following us.
I''d like to end my post on a positive note:
Believe in yourself and your individual powers. Your contribution always counts. As Thomas Jefferson said: "One person with courage is a majority."
Make it a great week!
/Pinar