|
|
      |
| The Lounge | Champions | The Wire | Schedule | Audio | Arcade | The Top Ten | Historical | Email | Video |
|
|
|
| The Lounge | Champions | The Wire | Schedule | Audio | Arcade | The Top Ten | Historical | Email | Video |
 |
7 Great Life Lessons From Tsunami Survivor
As I am writing this article, the world is shaken by the tsunami that hit Asia on 26 December 2004. It is only now that we start understanding the greatness of the tragedy. But it is also at such moments that we can see examples of outstanding people's bravery and courage. And you know, they don't even think about themselves as brave, they simply did what they thought was right. I am referring to the story of Phuket's resident Bill O'Leary, a former Australian, who saved many lives. Just 2 minutes before the first wave hit, he received a phone call from his employee, who was on the beach where the company's office is located, "The shoreline receded 250 meters past the swim platform". O'Leary was in the sea with guests of his cruise company and his 3 children on the board. He knew the news spelled big trouble. The swim platform was anchored 8 meters deep. He also remembered a shake he felt earlier that morning. Not many people in Thailand knew about tsunamis but Bill immediately recognized the warning signs. Without delay, he phoned his offices and major hotels, telling them to remove people off the beach, "A tsunami is coming. Clear the beach and get people to high ground." He also asked other people on the boat to make phone calls to places they knew. Then he headed out to the sea to face the giant wave. Bill was on the other side of the island, further away from the upcoming tsunami He was in open water when he received the call from the same employee that tsunami hit the Phuket's beach. Bill pulled back the engines and waited. Then he saw it. A 5-meter step on the water traveling faster than any wave he'd seen before. He directed the boat right at the step and jumped on. The guests and children were terrified as the boat was riding the wave and everybody was screaming. Bill managed to keep the boat straight until the waves passed. Looking back they could see a wall of water washing off small boats and fish farms ashore. But O'Leary and his crew were safe. And so were many people that got the 2-minute warning from him. They ran to high grounds and survived. One of the hotels on the beach that got the call, the Marriott, did not have anyone died. But there also were people who ran back to their homes to fetch some valuables, and who died holding those valuables. And here are the seven great life lessons we can learn from Bill O'Leary, a tsunami survivor: 1. If you live in the front row, this is where tsunamis hit. Oceanfront homes come with drawbacks. Have an exit plan in case of emergency and learn the warning signs. 2. A tsunami does not come unannounced. There ARE warning signs, always. Keep your feelings alert and you should not miss them. If there is a sudden change, seek an explanation. 3. If you know about a problem, alert others. Don't be afraid to be a Chicken Little. The sky may be really falling. 4. When smell danger, it is wise to run away. When your gut feeling alerts you, don't freeze. Do something. The problem will only get worse if you wait. If you don't know what can be coming, ask others for help. If there is nobody around to help, simply run. Trust your gut feeling. If you feel unsafe, remove yourself from the situation immediately. Stop a date and excuse yourself. Jump off the car on the traffic light. It's better to be silly than dead. 5. If you cannot run away from the danger, face it with courage. Jump on the wave and keep your boat straight. Be totally fearless. Fight, if you have to. 6. No matter what happens, keep your cool. There is no sense in panicking. Don't let your fears or anger overwhelm you. In any situation, the first question you should ask yourself is, "What can I do about it?" Decide on the course of actions and carry on. 7. You are priceless. You life is thousands times more valuable than anything you own. If you smell danger, forget about your purse, cash or a family memorabilia. Even if you have nothing, you will be still the same person you are today. ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Elena Welon is the webmaster of FREE online personals http://www.Match-Seeker.com - a popular meeting place for thousands of singles seeking dating, love and relationships. There is NO charge for posting your profile or writing to members. Come and meet our great members and find your match. Meet somebody special at http://www.Match-Seeker.com today!
MORE RESOURCES:
Motivation - Google News |
|
|
|
RELATED ARTICLES
Your Date with Destiny Destiny. What a powerful word. Ten Sure-Fire Rules To Put Old On Hold By At Least 25 Years Would you like to feel and function like age 40 for an extra 25 years? Would you like to have a ton of energy, able to work at something you enjoy? Would you like to be free of many of the physical and mental problems generally considered age related?You can do it.. Develop Guts to Achieve Glory It is just amazing the amount of people who don't have the courage to go after their dreams.They sit around living a life they are not happy with and still they do nothing about it. Do We Have Free Will? It is being suggested here that we have only one real choice in life:To let go of fear and resistance and be taken by the flow of life, or, to fight, screaming all the way, as the flow of life takes us anyway.Life is. Motivation: 3 Suggestions for Living a Life of Purpose, On Purpose "There's so many roads that seem, To lead down to the sea.I wonder which road, will be the right one for me?"- SeawindI heard these lyrics on an old jazz tape the other day. 3 Clever Ways To Stop Procrastinating Stopping procrastination can be challenging, especially since you can't put it off until tomorrow! Most people who procrastinate did not do so overnight. Like any other bad habit, procrastination starts small and builds itself up. Wisdom Comes to the Inquisitive Mind Throughout my life I have observed many things and I am often amazed (but shouldn't be) at how Wisdom is demonstrated in all ages. It is not reserved just for the elders. What Would You Do If You Knew You Could Not Fail? The next time you find yourself relaxing on the couch, having popped some corn and about to watch the "Sopranos", instead, pose this $1,000,000 lottery question to yourself and see what flows. What would you do if you knew you could not fail? Would you work, not work? If you knew anything you touched or did held the possibility for success - whatever that is, what would you do? If there were no time constraints, no obstacles, no self-doubt, what would you do?Some of you are already saying, "What's the point of this!?" "This will never be real!" "Who's got a million dollars??Not me!" Well, the whole point is to have you dream. Have You Said Thank You Today? 'When it comes to life the critical thing is whether you take things for granted or take them with gratitude.' --G. Dont Get Hysterical About The Historical The tension was palpable in the room as I began the first marital counseling session ever for the couple who had passed their 50th anniversary several years before. After a few pleasantries designed to put them more at ease, I invited, "Tell me about what brought you here. Top 10 Tips For The Best Year of Your Life! We typically think of New Year's as the time to make annual resolutions and start fresh. Unfortunately, we all know that most resolutions are quickly forgotten. Commit To Applying Lessons Learned When growing up as a child, the concept of learning alesson becomes so routine, that many of us just set it asideas unimportant like many other principles that otherwiseshould be heeded.It is so true that all of us are mortal. Prime That Pump! Part 2 In Part 1 of this article, we talked about reaching our goals as largely a matter of following through on desire, vision and action. The difficulty for most of us lies in continuing to believe that our efforts will ever bear fruit when these fruits have not yet begun to materialize. Why are You Living? It was 4,O'Clock in the morning, my regular time to leave my bed and prepare myself for the day's activities. But today, it was special?some thoughts were troubling the peace of my find. Turn your Dreaming into Doing The first of January and September, as well as our birthdays seem to be the times in a year when we focus on the gulf between where we are and where we would like to be. By now, many of you have already given up your New Years Resolutions and settled back into the comfortable routine of last year. Magic In The Leadership Zone! "Discipline is the soul of an army. It makes small numbers formidable, procures success to the weak - and esteem to all. The Art Of Using Effectively A Motivational Quote --Choose a motivational quote related to your goal. Don't have one? Visit http://motivationalcentral. Motivation By Gratitude Whenever you feel lethargic and depressed by your situation in life reflect on how much worse things could be. This solution to depression sounds obvious and simplistic but it works. Being Determined - What Good Will That Do? 'Consider the postage stamp: its usefulness consists in the ability to stick to one thing till it gets there.' -- Josh BillingsOn Sunday, June 19th 2005, I was fortunate enough to see hundreds of cyclists, young and less young, tackle the 13th Scottish Bikeathon in aid of Leukaemia Research. Step Out Living your successful life requires you to step out. I remember as a teenager, right out of high school, learning this valuable lesson.
|
Section Site Map - Submit News - Feedback - Comments - Advertise with Us Copyright © 2006 Luminati Inc. All rights reserved. 
|
