Expanding Your World

The following pictures are from a recent trip to Brussels. I feel privileged to have the opportunity to travel in my job function. I have seen so much of the world yet so little of it.

In every location that I go, there is a bit of it that I try to experience and bring back with me to share. It is my hope that my children will be able to personally see the places I have been. To experience the wonder of what this world has to offer.

If you can not travel, you can travel on the internet to far off places and see what different cultures and environments are like. You can expand your world by looking. Our time and technology have given us the ability to see things that older generations could only see in more limited formats.

The ability to move about and around the world are easier. There is a great landscape of discovery for each of us to grab hold of. It is said that the only great undiscovered area are the oceans. But not for you or me...we have a whole world that we have not seen.

Find new ways to search out this world, the landscape, the architecture and the people. You'll find so much to see, so much to enjoy when you expand your world of vision.

Voices Of The Fallen

You consider your life and the troubles you may have. You wonder why things are always happening to you, why your life is so tough. There are so many things that can trouble us in our daily life.

But each of us see the news each day concerning the war in Iraq. It can seem like a distant event occurring so far away from our daily lives. But each of those American service men and women are just like you and me. They are fighting many different radical groups among Iraqi people that simply want to have a life at all.

Due to this distance, we don't see the connections beyond the politics of war and the thirty second sound bites or even commentary from the experts. Yet a recent issue of Newsweek Magazine called Voices Of The Fallen gives you another view on what is happening half a world away. The emails and letters from soldiers that eventually died reveal pieces of the war that a news story simply can not.

You find all levels of opinion and commentary just as you would walking down the street talking to people. I am proud of what these individuals, the soldiers along aside their Iraqi Military counterparts - trying to provide a more stable and brighter future for the Iraqi people. And when I think about how tough my day was, I can stop and remember what a tougher day these others have had.

Stop yourself and consider what you have in life. Think about others that do have it so much worse. Think about where you are on that scale to place it into perspective. Be thankful for what you do have and then work towards a better future, a better life.

Influence Upon Others

"Your life can and is an influence upon those who need it most." - Joseph Primm

Yes, that is me quoting myself above. I've quoted many a person in my writings and have always felt a privilege to learn from those small bits of wisdom. There have been many times that I have written saying you need to step out in faith.

There will be those times when you simply can not see tomorrow clearly. You have prepared and done things to set yourself up for success. But tomorrow has what I've read is a certain amount of randomness to it. You can only try to prepare yourself to be in as good of a position (economically, socially, physically) to overcome - or take advantage - of what tomorrow brings.

The rest becomes faith in what will happen. Your faith is derived from what ever your philosophical or theological teachings have given you. You believe in yourself and move forward with your own wisdom. I believe my life as is your life can and is an influence upon others. We step out each day knowing that we can contribute to others.

It does not mean that we should force upon others that which we believe. We simply provide influence and example to others. The act of doing will help others to better their own lives should they choose to make a change. Remember that even the most successful among us are not the happiest, nor the poorest the saddest.

Only you can decide what the definition of a 'better life' is for you. And to understand where you are in life, you study the example of others. You learn what ways of living can improve those areas of life that you want to change. So for others, providing example and influence upon others will help get people where they want to be.

The influence you have upon others works in reverse as well. Others have influence upon you as well. The good, the bad - each can push us towards either direction. Exact the good parts of your life around others, learn from the good of others all in a manner that will better your life.

So I've gotten a bit deep and probably not extremely clear in the idea. Simply put, that which you do has influence upon others. Be a good influence to others. Those that need it the most will be enriched the most.

Live A Long Life

A fellow employee where I work sent me the following. I share it as good advice and hope when it comes to his type or any type of sickness. Think long term folks, we are not invincible...so take care of yourselves and live a long life.
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Please allow me to take a few moments of your time.

As another year has gone by, I feel it is time to once again speak up in regards to my bout with cancer some 28 years ago.

The story starts at a bowling alley of all places. I had a passion for this activity in my earlier years, bowling in multiple leagues several nights per week (not much else to do on the frozen tundra of Iowa in the winter months). On this particular evening as I released the ball I felt a pain in my groin but only passed it off as "a pinch".

I noticed some swelling over the next couple of days and as a result I made an appointment with my local physician. Little did I know at the time it was the single most important thing I could have done at that point in my first 33 years. The doctor immediately referred me to a urologist specialist, Marvin Jungling. During the first appointment the doctor looked me directly in the eye, after a short exam, and said "95% chance it is malignant and you have a 90% chance to survive because you came to see me".

I shall never forget those few words and the profound affect they had on me and my family. I was sent home to "prepare" over the weekend. On March 25, 1979 I went to surgery. The result was the removal of my right testicle; it was malignant as tested at the University Of Iowa Hospitals. I spent the next couple of days looking at the family as they came and went through blurry eyes brimming with tears at the thoughts of the possible outcome. I thought about my 4 children ages 11,8,4 & 3 and thinking what if I don’t get to see them grow up???

On the third day I said to the doctor that I would beat this thing or die trying. Marve looked at me and said; "you just beat it" the first step is the will power to fight. Over the next 8 days I started my recuperation only to find concern that the cancer could have spread to the lymph system. This put us back in surgery with what is referred to as a lumpectomy.

The doctor removed 31 lymph nodes in an 8 and one half hour surgery. The results were 3 nodes with some microscopic spots, not good news, but not as bad as your mind always thinks of. As a result after 17 days in the hospital, I went into a chemotherapy program as a precautionary procedure. I had five days of chemo the first week of the month; the plan was for this to last approximately a year.

At this point I have to say this was the low point of the whole experience. I was never so sick, or felt so helpless against a liquid that could just knock me down and render me almost helpless to the constant nausea that came along with the 15 minute IV drip.

A couple of months later a third exploratory surgery was performed on the right side. My first good news came in the form of a "no problems found". This truly signaled the turning of the corner in my quest to regain my health. First it was the "cat scan" at the 3 months, then 6 months followed by each year for the next five years. At the end of the 5 years a doctor down in Virginia looked at me and said I did not need to bother coming back for the tests anymore.

WHAT a relief, I did go back at the ten year point just for a sanity check.

Well it is now 28 years later, and I share this with all of you because; I made a promise to myself that if I could be spared I would continue to tell my story and provide any assistance I can to anyone who is going through this situation. Please, if you do not have yearly check ups and physicals make the appointment and do so starting today.

The single most important message is SELF DIAGNOSIS. If you are not familiar with how or where you should check, ask a doctor. The internet has some very good articles on how to perform these examinations, but I would ask that this be done in preparation for your visit to a physician.

I offer any assistance I can provide. If you are going through it, or know someone who maybe just needs an understanding person to talk to, do not hesitate to get them in touch with me. I will always make myself available. I want my experience and outcome to offer hope to those that may be facing some hard decisions.

Please feel free to distribute to any person or organization that can benefit from this message.
Thank you for your time

Bill Callen
EMC Corporation
Senior Manager / Symmetrix Technical Support, Level 2, US