How about that for milking opportunities, even before people know its coming, they kind of anticipate your need in the not so far future and place the bait a few feet away from you, then they wait… I just love visionaries!

A few of my intellect friends on Facebook were asking a question I hear every time someone comes back from Dubai ,and they are quite a few, especially with all the goodies the city carries and due to its geographical neighborhood. “ What does Dubai have that we Saudi’s don’t?” and the answers came showering in.

If I am correct the answers contain words like; Organization, services, regulations, systems, planning, strategy, optimism, respect for others, hospitality, entertainment, foresight, potential, and pride and a bunch of other stuff.

On the 12th of may 2010 Abu Dhabi entered history books by becoming the first to implement this new gold dispenser, think of it as one of those many faced PEZ candy dispensers, only a bit more expensive due to content.Gold ATM in Abu Dhabi

The recent Gold rush in markets fleeing distressed wallets to safety investments, something that actually has a real value”It’s not like a piece of paper driven by shaky politicians and unstable governments,” said Phil Streible, a senior market strategist with futures broker Lind-Waldock. “I feel a lot more comfortable having gold than the euro currency right now.” These people know what they are doing alright, gold broke its all time high today hitting $1250 we were checking and studying it for a while now, we all know its going further up( personal opinion $2000 an ounce soon), they took the matter to the bank.

The machines are said to handle cash only, soon credit and debit cards, but what an idea coming from Germany! saved some money, need to stash some glitter go for it 24 hours with prices changing every 10 seconds. The location is set at the Emirates palace hotel.

This is a country that has serious debt issues and investors watching them with hawks eyes, this is a place that embraced change and knew there would be rough waters, that’s what you get when you plan and act fast.

I can remember back in the early 90’s I was drawn to see Dubai for its duty free marketing madness. I was expecting disney world proportions, I got mom & pop store size, it was a joke! the magical idea was bigger than that, it was promoting a city as the hub of everything passing over, or near its skies. Stop, chill, relax, press continue.

Then they changed the way the world looks at the desert oil countries forever with their architectural dream come true oasis. The skylines suddenly changed, country like Islands emerged from the gulf waters, skiing in the desert was no longer a joke, as my friend Sami puts it” everything ending with (est) biggest, newest, tallest was there. ARMANI has a hotel there, TRUMP is there, investments include famous english football teams, air carriers brands all over the world, DUBAI is now an official brand all on its own.

Suddenly many Saudi cities started imitating the DUBAI styles and we started seeing nice looking buildings and malls, were moving, slow, but that’s a start. The Titanic can’t be compared to a jet boat, size matters. The mindset has been ignited, now we sit and watch, but everyone should be focused and determined in his own domain to change.

We should always cherish creativity and embrace change in everything we do, but we need to know where we’re heading? the mega projects initiated by the King have set the pace of things to follow, now its everyones chance to make it happen.

Yes we are suffering and we continue to complain on how things are done and the speed they are done in, but I know one thing for sure, we got nowhere, now lets all pitch in and make the change. Being burnt many times I know what it feels like to fail due to surroundings and bureaucratic government agencies, but I was not made to fail, I still move on. Thinking about our children’s future is a great motive, thinking of making history for our country is a main objective too, one step at a time, but faster please.

What do you think it is that we should do that can be done? its not the money, or the minds, nor is it the location, and its not the weather… so what is it? where should we look? how shall we tackle it? who is to blame? should we blame or move forward?

One area where we can hike the productivity levels and speed the rollout of services, products and technology implementation is higher service benchmarks, its the only way to go! we are not a service community, far from it. The other day someone posted a status asking what company or service in Saudi arabia should be mentioned? one company came back as an answer!

A search for talent should be conducted in various sectors, cross selling their expertise and bringing them up to one standard across the board. Really reward the good, so good they will never leave you. Remove the rotten and make them examples of what not to be, seek the weeds and pluck them one by one, reward the finders for their efforts. Reward the great and brave, give them more empowerment and trust, fuel their efforts.

Listen to the customer, do not rely on agencies, do it yourself, its easy, just go down to street level and ask them in the face on different times and occasions, and reward them for their time, respect!

Its a long story this DUBAI thing, I am sure they will push me to write something in the very near future, let me know what you think…

mamdooh.alradadi envying DUBAI for their success and wishing them more of it!

me@mamdoohalradadi.com

• Something happens in your life that changes your direction and thinking, travel more.
• Someone makes your day with a simple smile, just enough hope to make it through, follow through.
• Some idea sparks you up and ignites your genius, go get em Einstein.
• Some feeling is all it takes to make the switch, like an itch screaming for attention, listen.
• Some tragedy slaps you awake, learn and move on.
• Some hurt breaks you in pieces, your only human, the strong shall survive.
• Some girl betrays you and turns on your self destruct button, turn it off.
• Some little girl in the street catches your attention, do not shoo her away.
• Some fight makes you think about your belief system, is it time for an upgrade?
• Some things seem just that, accept the simple truth.
• Sometimes it seems that all the world is against you, probably is, change your mindset.
• Some foods, drinks, music bring memories, choose your foods, let the good times run.
• Some people know your hot buttons, diffuse them.
• Some actions are side steps and not the real deal, search, then react.
• Some beautiful things pass you by, slow down and admire, it brings wisdom to the wondering eye.
• Somewhere over the mountain, there is that fountain that quenches your thirst, seek it, enjoy.
• Some one told me a secret, it no longer is, she said she only told another.
• Some love affairs never see the light at the end of the tunnel, shine on!
• Some minute you get it, the other you don’t! welcome back to reality.
• Some idea seemed wonderful and doable, then that thing hit the fan, keep your drawing board handy.
• Some lazy afternoon you plan your life, good start.
• Some confusion becomes an illusion and the decision is made, move.
• Someones loss is your gain, and when you lose, someone too will gain, give & take freely.
• Some people are worth your time, how much is your time worth again?
• Some interactions make you wonder why not? some make you ask why?
• Some breakups happen for the right reasons, the other 90% are communication gaps.
• Some faces are remembered for ever, many disappear, let the important ones know it.
• Some one hugs you, do you really feel it, or are you faking it? some things you just can’t.
• Some colors make you smile, paint your days sunny.
• Some folk bring you down, others pick you up. You can never get enough of the good stuff, don’t forget to throw out the garbage.
• Some gossip for gossips sake, others seek truth, and some just get lost between the two, who got married? how could she? the &*(%$ thought I was going to steal him!
• Some artists become famous while living, the other 95% fame came late, a bit too late for them to witness it, passion.
• Some let you down, look up and you don’t need them no more.
• Some excite you, some make you, some love you, some hate you, some envy you, some cherish you, some can’t live without you, some anticipate you, some understand you, some walk with you, some run away from you, some seek you, some hint, some shy away, someone out there is in need for you, some.

Every once in a while you must stop, collaborate & listen. Every once in a while you will lose something in exchange for something, with or without that someone, you need to keep on moving. Every once in a while you need to understand to be understood.

mamdooh.alradadi on some lazy friday afternoon.

me@mamdoohalradadi.com

She waves goodbye as she enters the gulf stream, a wealthy man in the backseat of a Phantom waves back and signals to his driver to move, she sinks in the plush, yet firm seats as the jet taxis off into the jet blue skies, she turns the page, “I do what it takes” was her last thought, the end.

He sits lonely at night after a full day of thinking about the what next chapter in his life and juggles with some lousy time management, trying it all and failing, as the final hours fall upon him, he finds time to think some more about his life in the making, one more time, he figures. Never knew what I was looking for! he states, how come I never knew what it takes?

In Vegas Language, She’s on fire, even though he is her desire, a thing called caution handles her every move, she’s always on the move for her next groove, don’t block her next move, she carries a bunch of traits, that make the wisest of people stop and admire, she suddenly becomes their wildest desire, she pretends its all fake, confusions mixed with illusions, who cares, the truth will surface one day.

He worked it, now he wants to reap it, the opportunities are endless, the pursuit was relentless, it’s time I cash in and kick back he thinks, his ambitions blink back at his foolish desires, you must be joking you old fool, this is no Aprils fool, get back or I’ll slap you with some reality, forget loyalty, it all falls into place, only when you set the right pace, faster the voice inside him screams!

They meet one day after several debates, they like what they see and feel, just like any ordinary couple checking for signs, maybe a vibe, maybe a hype, maybe nothing at all, just a bunch of mixed emotions, maybe some retreat syndrome, maybe an aftershock remedy, bottom line, they look at the options at hand. Different animals, yes, same wild visions and dreams, yes, same crazy out of the box living, yes, each searching for the lost part, yes, will it work? who cares they think.

Total affections, crisp and real hard core fact finding explorations in one another, investigations as if the prize was gold or oil to some scavengers, they dig for the truth, ugly or pretty, who cares. As the truth surfaces, they like and they don’t like what they see, they cover it up and dig some more.

The easiest and most simple things are the ones that eventually work. The more complications, the more options, the more options, the fewer chances of finding the right choice, make it simple, they thought. Her simple was complicated for him, his simple was vivid to her, so they dragged it along as they went about their days, no one changing what they did, complaining it wasn’t working, coming up with ridiculous ideas just for a moment of please, they confused one another till it happened one day..

They both woke up to a eureka idea, they managed to have the guts to ask the magic question, that would forever change the way they look at things, feelings and beliefs needs tough decisions and strong standing; Should I walk or stay?

Best of luck to both of them, eventually one will have the guts to step forward and stay or perhaps walk to another Island waiting in vain, cause you see they both know they deserve the best, and the best doesn’t wait forever.

Walking is easy, staying is harder.

mamdooh.alradadi

me@mamdoohalradadi.com

In the Arab world, just like the western world and actually around the globe we notice certain nationalities thriving while others diminish or erode over time.

Survival techniques have been with us since creation & inception of mankind, the further back we go in history the more visible and apparent the subject. From cavemen to Vikings & Pharos, Prophets and World wars, it all boils down to survival of the fittest. Monarchies have vanished, new ones have evolved, species wiped out, new ones introduced or discovered in some distant land, nothing stops.

A man sweet talks a young lady at the corner while taking a smoking break, he appears to be a master of his own game, she smiles and listens with some flirtatious moves every once and a while, he continues with his manipulation, getting closer to his goal. She first blows him off guard by stating she is married, he enjoys the game, continues by asking her where her loving husband is while she smokes alone? suddenly she finishes her ciggy and looks him in the eye and asks” what do you do, your words are that of an actor or some famous intellect?” ” I’m kind of a writer” he boasts. ” Kind of…?” she replies, ” what do you do?” replies the master of deception, ” I’m a hooker” she smiles ” People pay for my services, call me” and walks away laughing. Two masters of their own game collide, each moves on as survival has made them what they are today.

Comfort zones are those areas where we stop to relax and get comfy and forget to move on. Eventually we lose track of our original clever well detailed map in life, we stop and stall till we get rusty and attract like people into our lives. These new additions become the extra baggage you keep adding. They are known to relax, chillax or whatever you may call it until it becomes their destiny. Then there are the others.

When you love something you never feel the pains that others feel while doing the same thing, to you its passion, play if you may, to them it has another word, I think they call it ” work”.

What’s the big picture on survival of the fittest? on a macro level can we see countries that demonstrate hard ambitious survival lifestyles? the answer is yes! only if you simplify the answers without the statistics and economists of the world fiddling with a bunch of national GDP( Gross domestic product) and other economic indicators. Let me elaborate and simplify things here, lets take some man made products and trail them back to their makers.

Cars: Mercedes Benz, BMW, Toyota; Germany & Japan, Top notch engineering and the relentless pursuit of  perfection. When the stakes are high, when the determination and goals are continuous improvement, anticipating consumers next requirements, meeting them and modifying the flaws fast and without the blah blah, you get high survival measures and cultures that lead the world.

Technology: ipod, Google, Facebook; USA… I thought that technology lately came from the east? well it did for a while, then the marketing Gurus of the world today took the reigns of power and leadership, read into peoples natural habits and lazy needs and made it happen. Build it and they will come. Entrepreneurship is at its best in the last two decades, it is much easier and faster to get an idea to market and market to the masses today than the preceding decades, what do you think the creativity levels are in those areas?

A Man. A plan. A Dam- that was the business plan for the Suez canal by the way, that’s it, with 99% determination and dedication.

When I look at the roller coast ride we have in the Middle East on a survival and cultural viewpoint, I can tell you today who the pioneers of Survival fitness are, the number one nationality that has managed to succeed in every corner of the world is the Lebanese people. Why? a bunch of hard facts and internal lifestyle standards makes them my number one choice. They managed to outlive several wars, a scaring diverse populations with a bundle of ethnic backgrounds, a small country neighboring a war zone for the last 50 years or so, toughness in daily lives but they chose LIFE.

Mastering something takes 7 years of doing the same thing based on Brian Tracy, I truly agree with him on that note. What is it we do different than the world that makes us stand out? do we have what it takes or do we need a push for each step of the 1000 mile race?

Ask yourself these questions, or ask it to someone dear in your life;

• What if you woke up in the morning and found everything gone, can you start again?
• What if you were suddenly deported like some illegal immigrant to some undisclosed new location on this planet? can you start living? can you adapt?
• When was the last time you learnt something new?
• Who is your father figure?
• What’s your invisible carrot? do you have one?
• If asked what does your country stand for? do you have an answer? what is it that makes people want to visit your part of the world? when they leave what memories will they take back home?
• Is your culture driving you faster to your goals or taking you to the end of the line?

I am pissed at the levels we have reached in terms of evolving and changing, we are imitating and never innovating, we love the back comfortable back seat and never learned to drive, and if we drive we wouldn’t know what to do when we break down, let’s continue to import the pros, while the pros are defining our future down the road.

In the 80′s the young men and woman who finished college wanted desks for their first job, irrelevant of experience, to be the boss was all that mattered, that’s why you have an idiot for a boss today, the fundamentals of business were upside down, only to find out 20 years later that we need to start from ground zero and build the foundations then move on up.

Maybe I’m being harsh, but the truth of the matter hurts. When I say I can start from zero I better mean it, we can lose track and get back on track if we new our destination, are you not sick with clueless captains guiding organizations into Titanic waters?

Enough said. Just one thing before I leave, I salute the brave foreign bodies residing in some foreign country making a living, producing wonderful products and services, paving the way for future generations to come, making a better life for their families and indulging in their momentary comfort STOPS, the Zones take too long and make them weak and disillusioned.

p.s. find your survival degree and earn it.

mamdooh.alradadi late for Friday prayers!

me@mamdoohalradadi.com

We all live somewhere, with the parents, in an apartment, a villa, a home of any kind or size anything from a hut to a gigantic palace or palaces scattered across the globe, anything we call home.

When you check into a hotel you kind of get a feeling, depending on your idea and level of stress and all the other life matters and why you are actually checking in. People check in for many reasons; Business, travel, leisure, relaxation, a special occasion, a date, a get away, a must, a break a Kit Kat and so on.

Now thats the customer side or resident side the hospitality people call us the customer, on the other side of the coin you have the receptionists and hotel staff, the receiving end.

Hotel, Motel, Holiday Inn. No, I am not a fan of the Holiday Inn, just a part of the rap culture I guess, anyway, back to the subject at hand the hospitality industry, this fascinating and changing industry that caters to our very basic needs and sometimes exceeds your wildest dreams.

We love great superior service, we love it when they call us by our name and pretend to mean it as if they know you, unless you check in every other week. We love those after eight mint chocolates they place by your pillow at night, god only knows why? but we do.

Why do I love hotels and resorts and luxury/ normal getaways?

• I love friendly faces and informed receptionists.
• I adore smiles and more smiles and a quick laugh at check ins.
• I just love leaving everything as it is and come back after leaving the room in a mess and finding things back to normal, and it kills me when they actually tidy my stuff and sometimes clean the laundry or press the clothes on long stays! and the flowers, the fruit baskets..etc.
• I love amenities that can actually be used and not the cheap made in china stuff that you throw away( no offense China, its a matter of cost sometimes, otherwise you rocked the world).
• I love watching people interactions and communication, both body and spoken word.
• I love to weigh and give the service level a personal grading.
• I love to learn new ways of service practices.
• I enjoy the atmosphere of many hotels, the higher the better.
• I enjoy watching how people that stay in hotels make fools of themselves for silly reasons like an extra charge of a dollar or less, while the bill was over a thousand! hotels spell out peoples real inner selves in many occasions.
• I love watching people fighting over a bill, or the employee/boss relationships on business trips.
• I love upgrades…
• I think I love miles and those tens of membership cards I never seem to carry when I arrive at a destination.

So basically we like Hotels for; Business travel, Escape, Leisure travel and sometimes no particular reason, just like Brad pitt in Oceans 11 after busting several million dollars.

What we like;

• Personal touch, knowing your name is a start, knowing what you like to start yur day with is the extra mile, or that special cereal and candy bar is more plus signs, kill me and have my special razor there when I arrive with my favorite toothpaste, not the one that comes in a small tube and has expired made by someone in Egypt.
• Feels like home treatment and atmosphere including people. Smiles and more smiles, real ones, nice gestures, friendly and prompt answers, good food, not stale and weird dishes.
• Escape, by this I mean leaving me alone, letting me wake up when I want, having late breakfasts, late everything, the good lazy life.
• Different from my home:  meaning latest furniture, different modern artsy fashionable taste and designs, no need to worry about laundry and cleaning or groceries.
• Attention; lots but not too much to the point of disgusting annoyance.
• Freebies; everyone loves free stuff they can use, not mass murder gift items, enough with the pens and coffee mugs, give me stuff I will use like small credit card USB’s, cleaning wipes for my Iphone and laptop..etc.
• Feeling good.
• Exceptional attention to details and service.
• Food & health should be great and refreshing, wow in everything they do, pampering touches and good memories.
• Fresh starting days.

Hotels come in various sizes and levels;

• Super luxury
• Luxury
• Business
• Franchise
• Budget
• Bed & Breakfast
• Shelter
• Tubes like Tokyo

You get what you pay for, and sometimes you don’t fight for it, otherwise let it go and never give them a second chance unless its on their account.

I am really lucky to have managed to stay at almost any kind of level you can imagine. I have stayed in the famous Park Hyatt Tokyo and I have stayed in the barely sleep shelters of London long ago, I have had toilets that do everything, I mean everything even drying up, and I have had toilet paper disappear while being used!

Some service providers made me want to hire them, others I wanted to use my LAZOR on them at very close range. Food was impeccable at many locations, others I could challenge with my lousy tuna sandwich. Beds were in rare occasions back breakers, and in other cases I tried to sneak out with me in my luggage but was caught!

So you see in the end, its a wonderful world this Hotel life, when you know what to expect, lower your standards a bit to get the most out of your stay, I guess I will be on the lookout for more in the years to come, happy hoteling people.

mamdooh.alradadi at some Intecon hotel in Saudi Arabia

me@mamdoohalradadi.com

In any business organization we have the doers and the blamers. The doers push and shove till they get it done. The blamers sit on the sidelines pointing fingers to attributes that the doers posses like they are rude, they are show offs, they think they know it all and so on. We have all been part of both sides at some point in our lives, by coincidence or by default.

If you are like most people you were placed there for survival reasons, you manage to survive your first 3 months, first year, then the real you emerges from all the ashes of the formation that made you a wiser worker.

When you are placed in the front line and need to swim or sink, you should swim unless you’re a chronic habitual complainer that needs to ship out or sink by force, as with most business ventures and organizations, the good the bad and ugly all work together under one roof, some uglier and some better, but yes, all together.

When the sh** hits the fan and the organization makes less profit, loses money, discovers a fraudulent case the stronger good workers take the reigns of power from the bad and evil ones, or simply the dumb ones that have had the chance to be someone, but chose to be better idiots, blinded by their near zero smart meters.

These good workers/managers know the mistakes were taking place all along, they had no heart or guts or were not ready to take action against the older so called management crowd, but when they were instructed to blow their horns and start cleaning they moved, we need to have a more powerful and initiative like behavior in the Arab world to make sure we stop falling prey to idiots on the loose.

Taking a macro look at the world economy over the past few years, you will be blind not to know that a global economic melt down took place and destroyed Billions of hard earned dollars like a Tsunami combined with a domino effect hurricane chain taking everything in its way and undermining anything hidden in weird investments cooked up by bad investment bankers hungry for year end bonuses.

So did every business and bank fail to meet its objectives? did they melt down and get drifted away into the wilderness of the global shake up? did every viable business go under? here’s a series of questions to answer in a split second;

• Did your favorite coffee shop stop serving you a freshly brewed cup in the morning?
• Does your fast-food joint still serve you those big burgers?
• Did your favorite auto brand disappear?
• Did the malls shut down?
• Did the famous luxury brands close shop?
• What about your clothes, they still there?
• How about the apple store? I heard it was doing fine?
• What about travel, is your airline still flying you places?
• Hotels. motels, holiday inns?
• Disney world? cameras? pens? real estate? they still deliver, I guess.

Its a matter of perspective, if you can’t change what you see is wrong, move out before the ship sinks, and you are nothing more than a statistic. They say that the law does not protect idiots, that should be your rule in life, keep learning and stay awake, at least when you work, don’t get drifted away by the crowds, in many times your true YOU is all you need for wisdom, following the herd is dangerous and a high risk to the many, good to a few.

Chain reactions take place in industries and depending on which side of the chain you are on, you will feel it sooner or later, ask anyone invested in the stock market for clues, also mortgage backed securities, or any kind of investment. But wait a second, why am I talking about investments? because an investment is your extension to an idea that you thought was viable and should make profits, thats the reason why you invest, not for any other reason.

Investments come in all flavors and appetites, high risk high reward seems to be the only one we remember, what about the flip side to that? so if any investment is an extension to a living business producing goods or services, you being employed or making money belong to any one of those industries, how well are you doing? how well is your organization doing? are you on the “DO” side of things or the “BLAME” side, choose the winning side and move on.

My special request to anyone in a chain of business in any form or size should consider actually loving what he does, staying focused on two important areas to succeed : Bottom line results, amazing customer service( external & internal), the rest of the puzzle falls in place by hook or crook once these two babies are handled with care & love.

Do you want to be able to pick the best & worst organizations in less than one minute? I guess its a yes.

Go to ground zero at any company. Ground zero are the troops, the salesmen, the account opening clerks & tellers at banks, the service reps that answer your inquiries and solve your problems at telephone companies, you know what I mean.

Choose your target, enter the store or call the center, what do you feel? true, real, respect for your visit or call? or fake, disgusted, disrespectful arrogant vibes? the latter one will cause a quick chain reaction that will trickle all the way through the cashier( less), finance, business units, management, share holders bottom line, losses, sacrifices, fire fighting, no focus reactions all the way back to the loose, useless soldiers and in your face!

Here’s the funny part, this person that did not give a damn twitch for your presence or importance is the same one that gathers in the smoking room/water cooler and complains and blames, the winners are busy working and saving the company from a guided bankruptcy path.

On either side of the coin in business, have your say, make way for a positive and profitable day, remove obstacles including whiners and complainers and most of all the “ Blame it on the rain people”.

Blame is just a lazy person’s way of making sense of chaos. Doug Coupland.

I used to laugh at my dad when he was working, pointing out the fact that I would never end up a book worm like him, he simply laughed. He never forced, argued, stuffed into my mind the importance of reading, he had a plan.

He noticed how fascinated I was with two things; airplanes & cartoons. So he gave me more of the good stuff, more cartoons and more information on airplanes. On the first side, cartoons, he noticed I loved comics, so he made sure I get every copy of a certain weekly comic and on the other hand subscribed to a long forgotten magazine called airplane, I had every single issue for 7 years, and I should have been a pilot with all the aeronautical information I knew.

Living as a kid in the west in the late 70’s was OK for TV & other forms of communication, but in Saudi Arabia technology and communications were years behind. My early command of the english language was a wonderful head start in the right direction. I had hundreds of english publications in front of me, and suddenly non! all programs and tv shows were in english, and suddenly a few every week.

My father was wise enough to know that the seed was planted, long before the land( me in this case) even felt it. He knew that once you ride the literature world in any form or way, you are a prisoner forever. He only needed to maintain and irrigate the farm from time to time to make sure it was a good harvest.

That fine seed that came in the form of a comic called Battle( a world war 2 comic) was all it took to grow a whole forest, and that forest is connected to another forest, and somehow the forests connect with jungles and landscapes of never ending fountains of information and knowledge pouring on me till this day.

What I know now, is not what I knew then, or even yesterday, you have to make sure you grow daily, intake, keep the flows of information coming, do not block them, make way for ideas, creativity, different views, side views, birds eye view, macro, micro, opposite sex ideology, even different life form communication skills if ever there was a need.

Like a domino effect, things fall in perspective. My father told me many years ago,that sometimes a book will pay you back 100 times its cost in future earnings when he saw my book addiction, the way I shock book stores with my enormous pile of different subjects ranging from business to child psychology and the many communication and networking books. I managed to ease the crazy book shopping on my travels after a guy called Jeff bezos opened a little shop called Amazon, I know I’m big there cause I have a little title that spells Prime .

I still don’t know what I want? what I like? its all good in my view, all really good, to know, to understand, to listen, to examine, to be amazed by the planet that we live in and all the things it holds in it. Everything that man ever thought of and brought to life has a trail, I love to follow trails, sometimes its great to follow a trail that brings you back to where you already are, makes you wonder, is there a shorter path? keep looking, keep digging, keep reading.

My message is to all the young people out there, and this time all the older people out there too, plant the seeds, and take care of your harvest, you would only know the power of the internet today if you lived in the back then era!

I am proud and amazed at the young people of today. They bring light to this life with the level of understanding and broad spectrum they posses. The technology has brought to us today a whole new life form of intellects and we the elder should act accordingly and with responsibility.

Here are my 10 requests from anyone reading this:

1. Plant the seeds in your youngsters as early as possible and with love and care and a whole lot of understanding of their like and dislikes.
2. Look deeper into your surroundings, does it spell information or history, update your systems faster than you did 3 years ago. What you know today is totally obsolete in 2.5 years, keep learning in your area and outside it constantly.
3. Never force information in, let it take its natural form, by desire to learn.
4. Follow your heart and read what you want, when you want, as long as you want, set your own parameters and make sure that trespassers will be shot.
5. Take a broad view of things and how they relate, look outside your box, ask more questions, more and more people love it when you ask them, don’t take it from bullies, take it from the people who love to give.
6. Ask more questions, debate anything, do your homework and investigate before you ask, it will give you better answers and faster responses.
7. Do not waste time with the blabber mouths, the know it alls, the one way communicators, the “hear my story” every time people, the ones that just want to talk, you know the ones that start to answer before you finish the question kind,
8. Find your reading style, find your book preferences( do you like them small, big, spaced out and white?) find your best digestion time, carry books and magazines with you.
9. Manage your reading, cut newspaper & magazine articles and carry them with you, find out if you like it soft copy( on the computer) or hard copy?read opposite sex magazines, read outside your field, check out comics for instant stress relief, read fitness magazines, read beyond headlines in newspapers.
10. Take your reading seriously. In the end you will be judged by what comes out of your mouth when asked a question, you will be categorized wether you like it or not, you will be able to  express yourself clearer and win more communication battles with knowledge, you can relate things better, you can be more creative, you can manage change faster and easier, knowledge is power for the seekers.

Imagine all the peoples brains we walk in and out of daily? hope you enjoyed walking in my mind today, I did say no running around didn’t I? have a great day

mamdooh.alradadi

me@mamdoohalradadi.com

What if you were passing an old lady crossing the street you actually never stopped to let her pass, what kind of impression would you leave on the poor old ladies soul? now imagine you did stop.

• What if when your child is talking to you you are thinking about your busy schedule and other life matters, is that what really matters when these moments will be lost forever, now imagine you did give them your full attention, the kind of attention you give your lousy boss or president.
• What if you bump into an old friend and you only comment on how awful they look after all these years, did you think you left a positive impact only because they were nice and laughed at your comment, what if you complimented the nicer things in them or the special occasion of meeting after all these years?
• What if someone was crying their heart out to you and you slightly showed no interest, instead of giving them the support they once gave you?you must be special for them to come to you, think about that.
• What if you slowed down a bit and looked at the beauty that surrounds you, what if you actually took a nice long breather and inhaled those roses, tried to figure out the kind of coffee you sip, thanked the waiter by his name, and when you return remember his name and compliment them, sometimes its all they need to get through the week.
• What if someone passed you suddenly in their car and you gave them a finger or two, how would that make the matter better? now imagine you smiled, then I can imagine you a happy person who caught two birds with one stone, you made him confused, and you were still in a happy mood.
• What if your parents were all rough and tough on you when you were a child, what if they never learned how to raise a child and you hate them for it till this day, did you forget the mere fact that what goes around comes around, and you soon will be a mother, and I guess you will just smile when you are treated bad. Forgiving people is the way to live, you can never know if you have a second chance when you come to your senses.
• What if a young junior at work comes to you for help and you shoo him off complaining about your priorities, how long do you think it will be when he will never come to you for help when in need? Helping people when you are up will really help you on your slips down one day.
• What if on a plane you see a couple sitting in front of you with three children and one of them will not stop crying, you know that annoying cry, not the continuous one, and you get up and tel them to sush the baby its a 6 hour flight to London, how do you think they will feel towards you? now imagine you considered its only 6 hours from your life, you can manage with an ipod, an ear plug, a mental block and leave them alone with their crying baby.
• What if your maid made a mistake and broke a plate and you verbally abused her, deducted the plate cost from her low salary and sent her to her room, how would she feel towards you? now imagine what a nice talk about the issue would be like in her mind, just because you pay her salary doesn’t mean you can treat her bad and think the universe will not pay you back sooner or later.
• What is you take peoples feelings lightly and hurt them, instead of be yourself and either make it happen or move on? Now imagine your heart being broken by a serial dating machine in the name of love.
• What if all the people you meet today and tomorrow feel better because of your wonderful cheerful smiles you send their way, how would they feel when you either look away when you have eye contact, or totally ignore them, or even give them that old western cowboy “ Whatcyou lookin at stranger?” smile.
• What if the what ifs are answered and not put on hold, they only add up, take action and look your what ifs in the face and ace the test of time, everytime, for a better time

• mamdooh.alradadi

me@mamdoohalradadi.com

The noise, the movement, the speed, the survival, the routines, the must do’s, the must not’s, the action, the competition, the money, the greed, the need, the faces, the fakes, the nosey, the brilliant, the magnificent, the dull, the wonderful, the sexy, the challenges, the race, the heat, the shivers down your spine, the pollution.

Press mute.

Love it, feel and breath that in. Its called silence, nothing but you and the surround system in your head. The little voices, the peace, the smooth slow motion action, its soothing and comforting, just like southern fried chicken. Relax those overworked sensors all over you, take a break, take a pause, silence.

Its good every once in a while to get away into your own contained world, when you do this, you get the chance to go back and forth to see what and where you stand in the today. People will not let you practice this amazing mute button we have, force it. Imagine your on a beach and are slowly getting further from shore into the skies above with a half hour parasailing joy ride. As you rise, the volume goes lower.

Nothing but the sound of distant seagulls and wind, silence.

We deprive ourselves of the simplest pleasures and rejuvenating experiences we can have anytime and wait till vacation time. You can do it now, silence. There are many additions to this mute button once you get used to it. You can start to mute the thoughts and ideas in your head, let the fun ones at the beach or on holiday rule your thinking cap for a few moments. Nice smile you got there! Hold it, and every once in a while, silence.

Take yourself on a long drive in a top down ride on any open highway. Let the wind and the sounds of the long road ahead wipe out all that tension building up, relax, breath it all in, close your eyes, its ok the car is on auto drive, to relieve your drive. You wish sometimes to place your finger on that chatter boxes mouth and go “shhhhh” don’t bring what your partner threw on you round here friend. Silence.

Soft music playing in the background, a mix of waves and a spanish guitar would brush away the mighty pollution we live in, people tend to go into pollute overdrive if you give them a chance. it comes in 3 sizes: Small, Medium and extremely heavy doses of social blah blah. Silence.

I seem to be taken as a person on the rude side of manners in some areas. Those areas include personal space and me time, call me selfish, guilty as jack the Ripper, silence.

Being able to read people is an art, you can’t expect to excel and thrive in a world of rising competition and changing attitudes while staying illiterate. You need to speak the lingo to be understood and accepted, silence is a good start. People should be polite to the polite, what happens is politeness is greeted with more aggressive space invasions and reckless manners. Oh how I sometimes miss silence.

You don’t have to travel to the furthest tropical paradise to find peace. You can find it in your living room, your car, your shower, your space, your time.

And now its time to place a finger on my fingers and go”shhhhh” Good night everyone.

mamdooh.alradadi/ me@mamdohalradadi.com

My inner fight between my child & man has been the longest in my history. Ever since I said goodbye to 18 I felt my ships anchors setting this date as our final destination in numbers and underlying meanings and powers. I did luckily move one to older years, yet each decade I was reminded of my center of gravity year, 18.

We tend to grow up on the outside and keep what we like over the years intact. So if you liked to laugh and just hang out at malls, you keep that throughout the years. If you liked your crazy dress code, you also seem to keep that when you are in new worlds, far away from your day to day shell.Why not make things easy? stay as you are, but make sure your not looking to teenage like, cause its a kind of ugly sight.

Let your spirit guide you into your comfortable lifestyle irrelevant of your age group and what they think. There are many schools in life, some go by the book, some deviate, some make their own rules as they go along, interesting.

I like 18. Think about that age, and if your 18 now, ENJOY! every minute of it. You see your not a kid anymore, not a teen either, and not even man enough, you think you are, but sorry not yet. A girl is not her daddy’s girl to the point, not a teen, a more sophisticated teen adult you can say, she is more clever and wiser than the male counterpart at this age. Both sexes enjoy unlimited possibilities and overview’s its a start for a whole new life!

Everything can be done, I have the time and energy levels they say. I can play, fail, try and make mistakes and get away with it, I have so much space to do whatever without those adult responsibilities and double standards they live. So what can we learn from this?

I know what i want to do, do and act like an 18 year old as much as I can stretch it. I mean what’s the use of acting like an 18 year old when pulled over by the police for speeding? might as well utilize my white hairs and serious looks( when needed only), it always works, and I love it when the police man calls me Mr.,Uncle or Sir or ustaz mamdooh, it so funny you see to an 18 year old! it is, really.

I have come to a level where if I go down any lower in age attitude I could be stamped  with “ MAD COW DISEASE PATIENT”. But you know what? where’s the beauty of not testing yourself?

I would love to do the following things and see the looks on the senior peoples faces:

• In the middle of a serious meeting where a decision can’t be made, I jump on the table and belly dance for 3 minutes and then change and then sit down and put some heavy beats from jamaica and pretend they don’t exist and sway my head from side to side bob marley style.
• When in an interview I would ask the interviewer some wicked questions like” do you like lollypops? cherry or strawberry? come on you can tell me?” or “ do you mind if I have my lunch now, Im running late and need the nourishment, besides, its only a KFC chicken bucket, want some?”
• Take a flight from Jeddah to London first class in drop down butt revealing jeans, a tank top with holes in it to show that i don’t care, some old dirty puma’s, a back pack full of laptops and music gear, and take out a MCDONALDS meal and place it in front of me and ask for extra ketchup. I think I already do that ?
• In an Economic forum I would love to walk on stage in front of the people ask a question to one of the lecturers and then moonwalk off the stage!

All these and much more examples show you that being young all the time ensures a heavy doses of good old giggles and laughs. Young ones don’t complicate things, they go for it. Young ones laugh for no reason at all, adults find time to laugh.The wild ones party by nature, adults try to perfect the scene, and always end up not satisfied.

Adults are getting us further and further away from our real self. We miss our old times for a reason, we were young at heart, so here’s my message to you: Stay young at heart.

“My inner fight between my child & man continues as the child refuses to let go! I guess that’s the best way to die young”- mamdooh.alradadi

me@mamdoohalradadi.com