Don't Stop Till Get Enough ...

Hey, can you say, what do the following superstars have in common?

Marilyn Monroe

Sophia Loren

Whoopi Goldberg

Meryl Streep

Julia Roberts

Mallika Sherawat

They all began their film careers at the bottom as extras.

Gran Torino: Sometimes Winning Is About Losing Too

Just saw Gran Torino. Clint Eastwood, who will be 80 next month, is still formidable with his high-caliber imagery.

Just think, when he challenges a group of young boys: "Ever notice how you come across somebody once in a while you shouldn't have f----d with? That's me."

And I’m not complaining. Not because every film is great — though, damn, most of them are.

How does he do it again and again? Though I don’t want him to stop.

What a shame! Why this film wasn't in the official running for a best-picture Oscar last year is a baffling mystery. It should have happened. Just think, a superstar of film working with young Chinese American actors, elevating them, highlighting them. They’re as good as our own little known actors in Slumdog Millionaire.

What a ending (as like most of his films) where he gave his life willingly; just to let a Hmong neighbor family (who previously tried to steal his Gran Torino) can live safely.

Yes, sometimes winning isn’t about just defeating others; sometimes winning is about losing too.

So tenderly your story is

Nothing more than what you see

Or what you've done or will become

Standing strong do you belong

In your skin; just wondering

~ Clint Eastwood (Written by Jamie Cullum)

Crisis: Where Danger Meets With Opportunity

In Chinese, the word crisis stands for weiji, often which has been said to be composed of the characters for “danger” and “opportunity.” That’s why in the popular Chinese culture, a crisis is regarded not merely as a danger but also as an opportunity (some arguments are there).

If you’re looking for an example, I’d suggest to read about C. J. Walker, the woman who was the first born-free member of a slave-family.

At the age of 20, when she was widowed, she started working as a laundress for as little as a dollar and half a day. And most of her earnings were used to educate her daughter. She could save very little for herself—so little that she couldn’t even able to wash her hair daily. As a result, she suffered from severe scalp disease that caused her to go nearly bald.

Rather than making this crisis as a danger, she made it an opportunity. With an innovative idea of hair care products to stop hair loss, she launched her own line of beauty and hair care products.

Within a very short time, her products became so popular that she was flooded with the order and cemented her name in the history being a millionaire.

Yes, C.J. Walker, the first woman self-accomplished millionaire who didn’t cry in crisis rather made it an opportunity.

I got my start by giving myself a start.

C.J. Walker