Author: Manny Kagan

Make It A Happy New Year

I got into the mortgage business in September of 1983. Prior to this, my work experience was in engineering and management, and I had no idea what it takes to sell a product or services. It is probably a perpetual question – how does one learn to sell? Is it a gift or a skill? Since prior to the mortgage business I had ten other occupations, so I decided that I could learn selling as well. My learning tools were How-to books and motivational tapes from the Nightingale-Conant audio programs. One of the teachers from those programs was Dr. Denis Waitley. He tells a story: he was travelling on a plane during the oil crisis of 1979. Sitting next to him was an older man, who, it seemed, had an unconventional point of view on many subjects. When they parted, instead of the traditional “Have a nice day!” the man said to Denis, “Make it a great day!” If you are reading this story on Friday, December 29th, there are still a few days left to prepare your New Year’s resolutions (did you check your list from last year?).

My overall theme of what I want to happen and to accomplish in the year 2018 can be summarized by paraphrasing the man on the plane.

To make it a happy and great year!

But how can I do that? We live in a world where so much depends on outside forces. The first step is to divide the task at hand into groups or categories. Years ago, I learned about the formula FORD from one of my business coaches. It stands for Family, Occupation, Recreation, Dreams. The next step is to make a list of items in each of the categories. And then – list them in priorities. Remember – the emphasis has to be on the tasks which will make you happy. Through the years of sales training, I was taught to set a yearly monetary goal, divide it into months, weeks and calculate how many transactions (in my case, loans) I have to close to achieve my goal. To reach these goals, I had to calculate how many calls I had to make for this to happen. This strategy can definitely work. But today I ask myself a different question. What result of my activity will make me and other people HAPPY? Instead of focusing on the amount of money I’d like to earn, my Occupational goal is to make thirty clients happy by them no longer having mortgage payments as a result of refinancing their existing loan into a reverse mortgage.

A similar approach can work with other categories as well. For example, losing weight or quitting smoking converts into a feeling of happiness from feeling great and enjoying family life; or feeling great because you can fit into your old dress or pants again.

Happiness can come from just being able to accomplish your objectives. Have big dreams, but be sure you can divide them into small components. Thus your happiness can last the whole year.

P.S. The holidays are a time for gift giving. Many people gift flowers. Forbes Magazine reported that at the end of last year, “the winter holidays, Christmas and Hanukkah, accounted for the largest percentage of all holiday flower sales.” My gift to you are four roses that you cannot buy in the stores or online. Their beauty is everlasting. You can see some of these prints in my office. Feel free to stop by any time.

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Make it a Happy New Year!

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Cheers,

How To Bring Light Into Our Lives

Last week I finished my story with a quote from the Prophet Isaiah. Today I want to start with another one of his quotes.
“I the Lord have called unto you in righteousness, and have taken hold of your hand, and submitted you as people’s covenant, as a light into the nations.” (Isaiah 42:6)

In his 2017 UN speech, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu quoted Isaiah stating that the State of Israel is “a light unto the nations, bringing salvation to the end of the earth.” But why should we care or believe the predictions of a prophet who lived in the years 740-681 BCE? Or pay attention to the words of the Israeli Prime Minister, who cannot seem to figure out how to bring the light onto the relationship between Israel and their Palestinian neighbors? And what does it have to do with our lives?

To try to answer those questions, I will go to the beginning. In the Torah, the light was the first act of the creation of our World. And God said, “Let there be light” and there was light. God saw that light was good, and he separated the light from darkness. God called the light “day” and the darkness he called “night.” (Genesis 1:3-5)

For us humans, perhaps it is difficult to fathom how just by saying something it can come to fruition. Since we are God’s creatures, can we do the same? I found an answer in a small book that I always carry with me called, “The Law of Success” by Paramahansa Yogananda.
“Mind is the creator of everything. You should therefore guide it to create only good. If you cling to a certain thought with dynamic will power, it finally assumes a tangible outward form.” Since “light was good”, by focusing on having it in our lives, our life is going to be good.

However light manifests in different forms. Which one should we focus on? For example, photography means, “drawing with the light”. Thus, after finding the correct combination between the light and the darkness, all that is left to the photographer is to press the shutter button. I’ve had to practice a lot to develop a sensitivity, vision, timing, and to be in the right place and time for my final images to be good. I believe that the same principle applies to any of our lives’ endeavors. There is another element to make our vision successful. After we find and capture the light, we have to share it with others. Perhaps this is why I am writing these stories and bringing you my images.

This year, due to the rotation of the Jewish holidays, which are tied to the lunar circle, the Festival of Lights – Hanukkah, was before Christmas. But lights of one event easily moved into the other. Many start their Christmas decorating right after Thanksgiving. Xmas day is immediately followed by the festivities of Kwanzaa (December 26th), a week-long celebration of the West African diaspora in the Americas. During the Kwanzaa holiday, seven candles are lit in a Kinara, which symbolizes the seven principles of Kwanzaa. Do we have to wait to the end of the year to enjoy light? Of course, not. You can bring light into your life any time, just imagining the joy you have from the experience. I recently discovered there is a new movie titled, “Let There Be Light” made by the husband and wife team Kevin and Sam Sorbo.

P.S. A photo camera “sees” light differently than humans do, but it is up to the photographer to make the image more interesting, as you can see from the four images of the holiday lights.

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Happy Holidays!

Do Not Keep Me As A Secret!
Smile And Please SHARE It With A Friend!

Cheers,

Do You Believe In Miracles?

December 15^th, when you might be reading this story is the third day of the Jewish Holiday, Hanukkah. It is known as “The festival of lights”, and commemorates miraculous events that happened in the year 165 BCE.   One of the miracles happened when a small group of Jewish insurgents led by Judah Maccabee revolted against the Syrian occupation of the Holy Land, who turned to impose the forced Hellenization of the Jews. Miraculously, they were able to overcome several Syrian armies, to free Jerusalem and to found an independent Jewish State. They cleaned the Temple from idols that were being used for worship, and in the process of rededicating it; they rekindled the seven-branched menorah light. There was a problem though; in order to do that, there was a need to have pure oil, and only day’s worth of such oil was found. To everyone’s surprise, another miracle happened, and the oil lasted for eight days. The independence of the area lasted until 63 BCE, when it was conquered by Rome. The Romans continued to use the name Judea for their new province and they named the northern region Galilee. For the next two thousand years, the area would be occupied by many different people. During which time it would be commonly called “Palestine” (named after the Jewish enemies in the Torah) in both the English and Arabic languages. In the 20^th century, the name was used by the British to refer to Mandatory Palestine. In 1926, another miracle occurred, when the British Government issued the Balfour Declaration announcing, “His Majesty’s Government view will favour the establishment in Palestine of national home for the Jewish people, and will use their best endeavours to facilitate the achievement of this object.” On May 15, 1948 there was yet another miracle. The British mandate was terminated and the State of Israel was founded. Several hours later, Iraq and the neighboring Arab states, Egypt, Jordan (Transjordan) and Syria invaded the newborn state, and immediately attacked the Jewish settlements.

The young country of Israel, became home for many Jews who survived the Holocaust, was able to hold on. During the forthcoming years it was attacked again and again by much more powerful enemies. Then miracles continued when during the Six-Day War in June 1967 in six days Israel defeated armies of Egypt, Jordan and Syria and finally liberated Jerusalem from Jordan.

The miracles did not stop. A small country with a total population of about 8.5 million, out of which the Jewish share is about 75%, became the world center for the technological developments. Former foes, Egypt and Jordan, established diplomatic relationships with Israel. Israel is still surrounded by enemies who seek its destruction. It will take another miracle to find a two-state solution with the Palestinians, who do not acknowledge Israel’s right to exist.

During Bill Clinton’s Presidency, the 104^th Congress passed a public law of the United States, known as the Jerusalem Embassy Act of 1995. It was passed for the purpose of initiating and funding the relocation of the Embassy of the United States in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, by May 31, 1999.

It took twenty-two years for President Donald Trump to implement this Act last week.

It is a general assumption that miracles appeared only in the Torah and other religious writings.

But how can you explain that over the last 2182 years, when the Jewish people continue to light eight lights year after year since 165 BCE, if not as a miracle?

P.S. To experience the modern miracle, on Tuesday evening, our daughter Alona and I joined a crowd of spectators who came to Union Square to witness lighting the first light on the publicly displayed light holder, called a hanukiyah. The four images attest to the miracle.

In 1975, San Francisco was the first City outside of Israel to celebrate Hanukkah in a public square. Since then, many thousands of hanukiyot are lit in public areas all over the world. Perhaps this is what the prophet Isaiah meant when he proclaimed “And into your light, nations shall walk, and kings unto the brightness of your rising.” (Isaiah 60:3)

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Happy Hanukkah!

Do Not Keep Me As A Secret!
Smile And Please SHARE It With A Friend!

Cheers,

The Art of Seeing

One of our discoveries on our trip to Oslo, Norway was the Edvard Munch Museum, which I wrote about last week. Right by the entrance, there were three copies of Munch’s paintings (which looked very real to me) screwed into the wall. This by itself was very unusual, but then I read the description of what it was – “Touch the Art of Edvard Munch.” A new printing technology developed by Canon, along with the Munch Museum and the Norwegian Association of the Blind and Partially Sighted made it possible for people to have a sensual experience of art. The images are printed in a way that it can be touched; allowing people to sense the image rather than seeing it with the eyes.

I do not know what it really means, but this reminds me a story of when a group of blind people were asked to describe an elephant by touching different parts of the animal’s body. To paraphrase the Russian adage, “The walker cannot comprehend the rider” – the seeing person cannot comprehend what the blind sense. Nevertheless, the new technological development breaks the boundaries of our perceptions and possibilities. Meanwhile, I personally had my own limitation. To paraphrase another saying, “A shoemaker without shoes”, for a short time I became a photographer without a camera. As I wrote a few weeks, my cellphone died, and then on the second day in Oslo after visiting the Munch Museum, so did both of my two photo cameras. For my cameras, one solution was to simply go back to the hotel and charge the batteries, and to have a spare battery with me. I realized however, what was left to use what many of us take for granted – my eyes. When I walk with a camera, my reaction is very fast, I notice something interesting and immediately click to take a photo. Now I had the time to see.

We visited a local tourist attraction – the Oslo Opera house, which is the home of The Norwegian National Opera and Ballet. The building has a slanted roof, which people can climb up onto. I saw a lot of people clustered in groups, a boy riding a bike while texting, another one riding uphill, children eating colorful cotton candy, a woman with bright green reflective glasses in a white frame holding a glass of wine, a sailing boat with balloons attached to the mast, three men with yellow turbans, reflections on the building and the water, and much more. After a while of observing, the photographer in me found an immediate solution – to borrow my wife’s camera; her cellphone was still working, so she also had the option to use it to take photos.

P.S. Do we take our ability to see art for granted? After all, modern technology still cannot help blind people to see the beauty in our world; the beauty in everyday encounters with other people and our surroundings. These four images and this story is the last one from our trip to Norway.

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Cheers,

What It Takes
To Be A Great Artist

Shortly before leaving on our anniversary trip to Norway, we visited the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art (SFMOMA) to view the global debut of the “Edvard Munch: Between the Clock and the Bed” exhibition. I was not familiar with the works of the great Norwegian artist, except for his famous painting called Scream, an image that I find quite disturbing. At the exhibit, we saw about forty-five images on display, including many self-portraits that represented a dark period of his life and they did indeed look quite gloomy.

Since we were on the cusp of our trip to Norway, we were looking forward to seeing his work here. The final destination of our cruise through the Norwegian Fjords was to the second largest city in Norway – Bergen (I wrote about it a few weeks ago). There, we visited one of the art museums, and discovered a completely different Edvard Munch. Our new appreciation of this great artist’s work continued in Oslo, after visiting the museum dedicated to his work. He was born in 1863 and during the 81 years of his life, he created 1750 paintings, 18000 prints, 4500 watercolors, sculptures, graphic art, theater and film design. He himself equated his work with the greats like Van Gogh, Gauguin and Picasso. His art reflected his personal life experiences through love, death, sickness, psychological turmoil (he suffered from paranoia) and mortality. Though his career spanned 60 years, his best work was created after he was fifty years old. In the museum in Oslo, a large room contains many paintings that look like un-finished work. One of the commentators pointed out that it looks like Munch wanted the viewer to complete them in their own imagination.

On the wall there were also four quotes from Karl Ove Knausgård, a Norwegian author, known for six autobiographical novels. “Art is just as much about searching as it is about creating. But if that is so, searching for what? For ways of entering reality, of entering into the world.” And another one, “The art of painting is to perceive, and then to make the distance between what is perceived and what is painted as small as possible. Munch’s great talent lay in his ability to paint not only what the gaze perceived, but also what lay behind that gaze”.

In my perception, to be a great artist one needs to have talent, to work hard, not to compromise, to constantly explore, to learn from others, and to share their work with the world.

P.S. In the Oslo National Gallery, I was finally able to see the “Scream” painting. Though the image of the screaming person was reproduced in different forms, and is mimicked by the visitors, as you can see in these four images, besides anguish, I saw a painting of a beautiful sunset, which is eternal.

Do Not Keep Me As A Secret!
Smile And Please SHARE It With A Friend!

Cheers,