Comments on: Diligence

By: Hue Lieu Huynh

Hue Lieu Huynh — Thu, 13 Sep 2012 01:04:52 +0000

Diligence is often associated with hard work, having a good work ethic. It is fair to say that most people with PhDs are above average in intelligence, but getting a PhD is a good example of diligence because most people who end up with PhDs achieve their academic credentials through diligence — hard work. Not everybody with a PhD is extremely smart, brilliant, or even a genius., and not all brilliant geniuses have PhDs. John Steinbeck dropped out of Stanford, and Jack London dropped out of UC Berkeley. While these two American authors did not complete their formal education, they were industrious in their literary pursuits, and the results are clear in their output. I am not advocating that everybody drop out of college, but diligence is applied to many human pursuits. Some pursuits are more individual while others are more organizational. One of the skills not stressed in many of our schools is cooperation. We teach kids to be competitive because that is how it is out there in the business world — dog eat dog. As Bill Clinton recently said in the 2012 Democratic National Convention, what works in the real world is cooperation. As I said earlier, in any organization, every individual’s work is important. Sadly, in many profit and even non-profit organizations, individuals in the lower echelons of the work chain are made to feel less important than others. Somehow I do not get the feeling that East Meets West Foundation is one of them.

By: admin0

admin0 — Tue, 04 Sep 2012 18:15:43 +0000

Your observations are right on target, and greatly appreciated coming from someone who knows the time and work involved in bringing grants to fruition. The entire EMW staff has contributed to this achievement and deserves to take great pride in it.

On a personal note, my daughter just returned to college for her sophomore year, reminding me how important it is to make the most of the time we have together with our kids!

By: Hue Lieu Huynh

Hue Lieu Huynh — Wed, 29 Aug 2012 01:34:40 +0000

Hello, again. I was in a bit of a hurry this morning. This is my daughter’s last week of summer vacation, and I am spending an extraordinary amount of time with her, to give her the best “finale” week of a summer!

I forgot to formally congratulate everyone at East Meets West Foundation on your recent grant from the Gates Foundation. I have worked in grantwriting and foundations research since 2004, and know intimately how much work is involved in cultivating a relationship with a grantmaker and getting someone at the foundation to commit a huge amount of money to your organization. A monetary commitment shows faith in your organization, your goals, dreams, hard work, diligence. Although “only” a few individuals may be involved in the grantwriting process, EVERYBODY in the organization should feel proud because each and every one of your efforts counts toward the whole of the entity.

Again, congratulations on all your hard work!

By: Hue Lieu Huynh

Hue Lieu Huynh — Tue, 28 Aug 2012 12:26:38 +0000

Dear John and EMWF staff,

So happy to read about the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation $10.9 million grant!

By: admin0

admin0 — Thu, 23 Aug 2012 21:15:31 +0000

Thank you, Quynh Chu, for your favorable comments. Your focus on diligence in developing yourself is admirable. Your modesty will serve you well, too.

By: quynhchu

quynhchu — Tue, 14 Aug 2012 07:04:25 +0000

so great, I like the way you express your idea because it is lively, easy to understand, and specially profound meaning. I am a youth vietnamese, and I usually seek the chances to can develop myself ability. I think that diligence and patience are the most important factor to reach the success. I feel myself like a shallow cup, always need to learn more .
Hope you can express more and more your idea about qualities to succeed.
sincerely
quynhchu