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Lee Myung Bak: Orang Miskin yg Akhirnya di Puncak Kesuksesan.

Dia terlahir dari keluarga yg sangat miskin. Sepanjang hari dia mengisi perutnya dgn ampas gandum gratis dan mengganjalnya dgn banyak air.

Di usia remaja, ia menjadi pengasong makanan murahan dan es krim. Lalu menjadi buruh bangunan.

Meski sangat miskin, ia punya tekad kuat untuk menempuh pendidikan tinggi. Ia belajar keras demi memperoleh beasiswa SMA.

Karena prestasinya bagus, dia diterima di Korea University. Untuk biaya kuliah, dia bekerja sebagai tukang sapu jalan.

Karena menjadi anggota dewan mahasiswa yg terlibat aksi demo anti pemerintah, ia dikenai hukuman penjara percobaan di tahun 1964.

Dia lalu bekerja di Hyundai. Kemampuannya mengundang kagum petinggi Hyundai sehingga karirnya terus melesat. Ia berhasil membangun divisi yg dipimpinnya menjadi mesin uang.

Setelah 30 tahun di Hyundai, ia masuk menjadi anggota dewan di tahun 1992.

Di 2002, ia terpilih menjadi Walikota Seoul.

Orang inilah yang akhirnya di 25 Februari 2008 dilantik sebagai Presiden Korea Selatan.

Lee Myung Bak membuktikan bahwa sekalipun berasal dari keluarga sangat miskin, dia bisa mencapai puncak sukses dgn kerja keras dan kesungguhan.

Myung Bak adalah contoh nyata betapa setiap orang bisa mengubah nasibnya. Kemiskinan serta latar belakang yg kurang baik bukanlah alasan untuk tidak bisa sukses.

Dan walaupun begitu, masih banyak orang yang suka menunda tekad dan kerja keras serta kemauan kuatnya untuk merubah nasibnya sendiri..

The Power of Your Actions

One day, when I was a freshman in high school, I saw a kid from my class walking home from school. His name was Kyle. It looked like he was carrying all of his books. I thought to myself, "Why would anyone bring home all his books on a Friday? He must really be a nerd." I had quite a weekend planned (parties and a football game with my friend the following afternoon), so I shrugged my shoulders and went on.

As I was walking, I saw a bunch of kids running toward him. They ran at him, knocking all his books out of his arms and tripping him so he landed in the dirt. His glasses went flying, and I saw them land in the grass about ten feet from him. He looked up and I saw this terrible sadness in his eyes.

My heart went out to him. So, I jogged over to him, and as he crawled around looking for his glasses, I saw a tear in his eye.

I handed him his glasses and said, "Those guys are jerks. They really should get lives.
He looked at me and said, "Hey, thanks!" There was a big smile on his face. It was one of those smiles that showed real gratitude. I helped him pick up his books, and asked him where he lived. It turned out he lived near me, so I asked him why I had never seen him before. He said he had gone to private school before coming to this school.

I would have never hung out with a private school kid before. We talked all the way home, and I carried his books. He turned out to be a pretty cool kid. I asked him if he wanted to play football on Saturday with me and my friends. He said yes. We hung all weekend and the more I got to know Kyle, the more I liked him. And my friends thought the same of him. Monday morning came, and there was Kyle with the huge stack of books again. I stopped him and said, "Damn boy, you are gonna really build some serious muscles with this pile of books everyday!". He just laughed and handed me half the books. Over the next four years, Kyle and I became best friends.

When we were seniors, we began to think about college. Kyle decided on Georgetown, and I was going to Duke. I knew that we would always be friends, that the miles would never be a problem. He was going to be a doctor, and I was going for business on a football scholarship. Kyle was valedictorian of our class.

I teased him all the time about being a nerd. He had to prepare a speech for graduation. I was so glad it wasn't me having to get up there and speak.

Graduation day arrived - I saw Kyle and he looked great. He was one of those guys that really found himself during high school. He filled out and actually looked good in glasses. He had more dates than me and all the girls loved him!

Boy, sometimes I was jealous. Today was one of those days. I could see that he was nervous about his speech. So, I smacked him on the back and said, "Hey, big guy, you'll be great!"

He looked at me with one of those looks (the really grateful one) and smiled. "Thanks," he said. As he started his speech, he cleared his throat, and began. "Graduation is a time to thank those who helped you make it through those tough years. Your parents, your teachers, your siblings, maybe a coach... but mostly your friends. I am here to tell all of you that being a friend to someone is the best gift you can give them. I am going to tell you a story."

I stared at my friend in disbelief as he told the story of the first day we met. He had planned to kill himself over the weekend. He talked of how he had cleaned out his locker so his Mom wouldn't have to do it later and was carrying his stuff home. He looked hard at me and gave me a little smile. "Thankfully, I was saved. My friend saved me from doing the unspeakable."

I heard the gasp go through the crowd as this handsome, popular boy told us all about his weakest moment. I saw his Mom and dad looking at me and smiling that same grateful smile. Not until that moment did I realize its depth.

Never underestimate the power of your actions. With one small gesture you can change a person's life. For better or for worse. God puts us all in each other's lives to impact one another in some way. Look for God in others.

"Friends are angels who lift us to our feet when our wings have trouble remembering how to fly."

Renungan dari Beethoven

Pada tanggal 30 Oktober 1826, Beethoven merampungkan String Quartet-nya yang terakhir, Op. 135. Ia telah menciptakan banyak sekali karya agung seperti ini di dalam kehidupannya yang jarang bahagia. Ia kesepian, karena ia tetap membujang (sekalipun bukan pilihannya). Beethoven pernah melamar beberapa wanita, yang semuanya mengagumi kejeniusannya tetapi jelas menganggap bahwa kepribadiannya yang meledak-ledak akan menjadikannya seorang suami yang pemarah.

Memang tingkah lakunya yang tak dapat dijinakkan memberi kita banyak kisah yang menggelikan. Sekali waktu di puncak ketenarannya, ia tengah berjalan-jalan keluar kota Baden. Tetapi seorang pejabat polisi salah duga, ia mengira bahwa Beethoven adalah seorang gelandangan. Setelah menahannya, pejabat polisi itu tentu agak kesal dan tak percaya menerima protes keras Beethoven, yang dengan amarah yang menyala-nyala menyatakan identitasnya. Ia hampir saja harus melewati sepanjang malam itu di penjara, tetapi seorang musikus setempat datang untuk menyelamatkannya, memperkenalkan pengembara yang rambutnya tak disisir itu sebagai Beethoven yang besar.

Komponis ini mungkin telah disalahpahami oleh dunia, tetapi ia tahu bahwa ia dimengerti oleh penciptanya. Suatu kali ia menulis, "aku tak memiliki teman; aku harus hidup sendiri. Namun aku tahu bahwa Allah lebih dekat denganku daripada orang lain. Aku bisa datang kepadaNya tanpa rasa takut; aku terus menerus mengenal dan memahami Dia." Kepada rekannya, the Grand Duke Rudolf, Beethoven menulis, "tidak ada yang lebih tinggi daripada menghampiri Allah, kemudian dari situ menjadi kepanjangan kemuliaanNya diantara umat manusia."

Beethoven juga tahu bagaimana harus berdoa, dan hubungannya dengan Allah sangatlah dalam dan pribadi: "Dengan cara bagaimanapun, biarlah aku berpaling kepadaMu dan menghasilkan banyak buah dalam pekerjaan-pekerjaan yang baik." Ditengah-tengah rasa frustasi dan kecil hati, Ludwig van Beethoven berpaling kepada Allah untuk memahami ketidakadilan dalam kehidupan: "oleh itu, aku akan menundukkan diriku pada semua ketidakkonsistenan dan akan menempatkan seluruh keyakinanku di dalam kebaikanMu yang kekal, ya Allah! Jiwaku akan bersukacita di dalam Engkau, zat yang abadi. Jadilah gunung batuku, terangku, kepercayaanku selama-lamanya!"

Jika suatu kali anda merasa kesepian, dengarkanlah karya Beethoven, string quartet, op. 135, dan renungkanlah komentar Beethoven bahwa "Allah lebih dekat kepadaku daripada orang-orang lain." Mintalah agar Allah dekat dengan anda dan melegakan anda dari rasa kesepian.

Kavanaugh, P., dan Kavanaugh, B. (2000). 365 renungan dari dunia musik (trans. Badudu, 2010). Bandung : Satu-satu.