Just Play It

When the Cultural Center of the Philippines gave the composer, conductor, performer and music professor Ryan Cayabyab an award for the arts, he gave the following acceptance speech:

Things I Learned Till Yesterday as a Composer of Music

1) Nothing will happen if you’ll just stare out of the window waiting for inspiration. Most of the time it doesn’t come.

2) If you have started something, finish it.

3) If somebody notices your work, you just need to do two things. First, if it's praised, smile. Second, if it’s criticized, laugh. Don’t lose your self-control. Be grateful that it was noticed at all.

4) Keep on creating. Just stop when you’re dead. Of course.

5) Don’t belittle your work. Sometimes it has a power of its own over which you have no control.

6) On the other hand, don’t be boastful. There are many others who are better than you. If not today, then maybe tomorrow.

7) You do not own your works. You were just the instrument used to express the circumstances of your history and environment.

8) Give thanks to the people who showed you the way.

9) Give thanks to the country you grew up in.

10) Give thanks to God that you’re alive and that you’re a servant of the arts.

And one more thing: If it’s possible, stop yakking and just play it.

(Thanks to Luisa Mueller for passing this on to me. The above is freely translated from the original Tagalog by Maria-Fe Ortner.)

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Ang mga Natutunan Ko Hanggang Kahapon Bilang Isang Manunulat ng Musika

(Talumpati ni Ryan Cayabyab sa kanyang pagtanggap sa gantimpalang ipinagkaloob ng Sentrong Pangkultura ng Pilipinas)

1) Walang mangyayari kung nakatitig ka lang sa labas ng bintana habang naghihintay ng inspirasyon. Malimit na ito ay hindi dumarating.

2) Kapag mayroon ka nang naumpisahan, tapusin mo.

3) Kapag may pumansin sa nilikha mo dalawang bagay lang ang gagawin mo: una, kung ito ay pinuri, ngumiti ka; pangalawa, pag ito'y binatikos, humalakhak ka.Huwag mong pakawalan
ang iyong bait. Mabuti nga't napansin ang likha mo.

4) Lumikha ka lang ng lumikha. Tumigil ka lang pag patay ka na. Siyempre.

5) Huwag mong liliitin ang mga nilikha mo. Minsan ito ay may kapangyarihan na hindi mo matalos.

6) Sa kabilang dako naman, huwag ka nang magmalaki. Maraming mas magaling kaysa sa iyo, kung hindi ngayon, sa mga darating pang panahon.

7) Hindi sa iyo ang mga nilikha mo. Ginamit ka lang na isang daan upang maisalarawan mo ang kalagayan ng iyong kapanahunan at kapaligiran.

8) Magpasalamat ka sa mga taong nagpakita sa iyo ng daan.

9) Magpasalamat ka sa bayan mo na iyong kinalakhan.

10) Magpasalamat ka sa Diyos dahil ikaw ay humihinga at ikaw ay isang alagad ng sining!

May pahabol pang isa: Hangga't maaari, huwag ka nang dumakdak ng dumakdak, tugtugin mo na lang.

Authentic Leadership

Some people don't find networking easy. Talking about yourself, what you do and where you come from, often gets us so tongue-tied, we end up not saying anything at all - a frustrating experience. But last week at the Women's International Networking Conference in Geneva, I'm happy to say that there was magic at work. After my initial discomfiture, I find out quickly that so many other women there were first-timers like me.

In her opening speech, Kristin Engvig, founder and director of W.I.N., set down the networking ground rules : 1) tell people who you are, what you do, and where you live; 2) never let anyone stand alone; 3) open up yourself; 4) be generous and ready to help others; 5) be yourself; 6) be ready with your business cards, and 7) above all, enjoy the experience.

Over three and a half days, some sixty speakers did presentations and workshops for about five hundred participants - women as well as a handful of men - on the theme “Connecting for Results: Authentic Leadership in Action”. The key words here are connect, lead, act - and they're all verbs.

My first real activity was in JoAnne Freeman's working group on “Marketing the Brand Called Me”. She asked us to analyze ourselves: When you introduce yourself to a stranger, what do you want to be remembered for? It's not whom you know that counts, she said, but rather who know you!

This exercise was just a warm-up for the real thing: “Hello, my name is Maria-Fe Ortner, and I'm a writer. I'm writing an article about this year's W.I.N. conference. You can read my writings at http://salzburgviews/blogspot.com”.

And that's how I introduced myself for the next three days whenever I met someone new. At my hotel, during mealtimes, at the plenary session hall, in the workshop groups, during coffee breaks, in the queue at the ladies' room, in the hotel lobby, in the shuttle bus, during the open forum, at the gala dinner, et cetera et cetera. Practice makes perfect.

To be a leader, I must act, and whatever action I take must bring me results. To be an authentic leader, I should focus on what I do best. If writing is what I do best, I should stop hiding my light and just let my writing shine. Hence my marketing spiel.

Took me a long time to get comfortable saying that. And when I finally said it out loud, it only took a minute.

Hey, networking at W.I.N. really works!

Indian Summer

When warm, southwesterly winds blow in early October, you get a spell of mild, sunny autumn days - Indian Summer! Time to make the most of it - hang out your laundry, sit at an outdoor cafe, mow the lawn, or just enjoy the sun - because tomorrow it'll be over, and winter will come soon enough.

I like Indian Summer, when the trees start turning from green to gold. There aren't too many leaves on the ground yet, but still I kick and toss the ones at my feet. And I wonder: is there a scientific explanation why there is something so eminently satisfying and fun about jumping in a pile of leaves? I feel like a kid again.

In German they have a peculiar term for Indian Summer. They call it "Altweibersommer". Freely translated, it means "old maid's summer". Some would find this politically incorrect, discriminating and sexist. I'd prefer to say that this term literally comes from another era. Take it as you like it.

Sometime after midnight tonight, I'll be on the night train to Geneva. Tomorrow until Saturday I'll be at the Women's International Networking Conference. Founded by Norwegian enterpreneur Kristin Engvig, the W.I.N. Conference has been called the "Davos for women" by a Swiss newspaper, in reference to the village where the World Economic Forum holds its annual gathering of business leaders. W.I.N.'s mission is simple and clear: "powerful networking for women creating change."

Compelling words from a women's group that aims to be the change it wants to see in the world. Not a bad thought on this "Altweibersommer" day.

(For more information about the Women's International Networking Conference, check out their website: www.winconference.net)