Last month I missed Lance E.Lee’s seminar – I really missed it specially after reading the seminar summary. This month is the revenge.
Her life is full of variety – probably one of the most I have ever heard. Japanese classical dance, marketing at cosmetic industry, opening a gallery in Ginza.. She currently still holds multiple positions simultaneously.
Question: “How can you manage your schedule?”
Answer: “Prioritize your job, and learn to delegate to other person. If you choose the right one, then you can really hold more than one job simulteneously”
Easy to say, but hard to do….so the unspoken question must had come, but everybody knew the answer by then.
Hypothetical question: “Yes you are right, but how can you go through them?”
Hypothecical answer: “Passion.”
Her life is colored by the concept “passion”. When you persue your career, start up your own company, and of course try to prioritize your job, passion always work wonder at last. Then another hypothetical question comes in.
Hypothetical question: “How can you find your passion?”
Not Hypothetical(real) answer: “Trust your inner feeling”
These days I think a lot about what motivates me, or what doesn’t motivate me. The thinking always come back to a place: So what do I want to do? – And I get stuck. Partly because I really don’t know, partly because I fear. And here is another word from her:
“Take 100% responsibility of your life – then you will be able to eliminate your fear. Be the master of your own life”
Oh yes, THAT is what is missing from the daily ponder – the key to escape from the infinite loop thinking.

One of her current activity is to encourage female workers for management positions – one problem she pointed out is that there are still not many women who want to take the management role – it is regarded as time consuming and less rewarding. She is trying to motivate them because management IS rewarding, and how can you expect female CEOs or female board directors emerging when there are a few numbers of them who actually experienced management? Population parameter does work.

Throughout this seminar, the general impression was similar to what I experienced in Caroline Pover’s take. Although they have a very different style in apperance and their story differs in a great amount, a majority of their stories were told in a more subjective manner compared to the male speakers. What challenges they have experienced, how they appreciate their lives, most of those stories were explained “as they were” without too much abstraction and it was up to the listeners what lessons can be learned from them.
On the other hand, when male speakers told their stories, although they start with their real experience, most of the time they put some short messages, some lessons they learned at the end of each episode. Is this something of a gender difference like men came from Mars, women from Venus? Need to check more.
If I were to speak (that’s very, very assuming), I would also seek for lessons to add – try to be like the male speakers. In my case, I cannot imagine myself just describing my life to others – is there anything that deserves to be told? – So I will think of something additional to offer. But as a listener I know I am not there to hear a tired old formula – I need a life story that will cheer me up and shed some light on the seemingly complex decision I am facing. The solution is – I need to struggle more with my life so that at last there will be something that can be heard ;-).