my search for John Galt …
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be careful of the man who looks like a terrorist?
I want to state from the very beginning that this post is not about religion.
Since I am an American who lives and works in the Middle East for 10+ years — I have friends who are Muslim from what America/West consider to be “dodgy” countries – I like to share my experience from time to time.A good friend from Lebanon is in Dubai, and he stopped by my office to say hello.
This friend is a very successful Lebanese businessman in his early 30’s. I frequently tease him because he looks exactly like the beautifully crafted Hollywood version of what the West considers to be a “terrorist.”Throughout the time, I have known this Hollywood version of a “terrorist” looking young man, he has proven over and over again to be a brilliant, generous — true friend.
I introduced him to another close friend of mine who was leaving my office when he arrived.
My handsome, faithful “Christian” friend called me later in the evening about something unrelated, but he ended the call by telling me: “ be careful, your friend doesn’t look like someone you can trust…”On my drive to meet this Christian friend with a pretty face for coffee this morning, I thought about what he said last night about me needing to be careful because my terrorist-looking friend doesn’t have a “trustworthy” face…
As I drove… I reflected over all the “trustworthy-looking” people (esp. Christians) who have stolen from me; betrayed me; cheated me, or simply just let me down (I can’t count that high) ….
Then comparatively, I thought of all the Muslim’s I have experienced as friends, staff, clients, etc … and yes, I have been let down by several, but only one was discovered to have cheated/stolen from me for many years — ironically, he was very handsome with a trustworthy face from India who worked for me for 10+ years.
To be fair, most of the people who have let me down/stole/cheated me, etc… they looked and acted like people to be considered trustworthy …
even some of the the most handsome or beautiful of them, unfortunately …. proved not to be worthy of trust.So this morning, I called my good looking Christian friend … and I challenged (both of us) to reflect on his “judgmental” comment.
We got into a great discussion on the concept of “appearance” vs “deeds” vs “words” vs “actions.”Let’s be frank — it is too easy to talk and look trustworthy.
In the end, it comes down to one’s deeds and actions … regardless of how good looking we might be.
I am a Christian.
And, I frequently challenge all my Christian friends to reflect on whether their deeds match their passionate words; are we leading our lives in the same passionate words or is it just spoken words said with the prettiest faces possible?
I challenge the reader to reflect on whether your deeds live up to your words and your pretty face.
…
“……..I shall be telling this with a sigh… somewhere ages and ages hence: two roads diverged in a wood, and I — I took the one less traveled by, and that has made all the difference.”
Robert Frost
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The main purpose of this blog is to communicate with my employees, leaders at naseba, future employees, my clients, and future clients– at the same time helping me stay focused on my climb.
The photo gallery includes pictures of my different travels and adventures — this section will be updated with more pictures and videos as I travel.
I am posting the pictures of myself in exotic locations to show the readers, esp. the readers in America that the world is much different to what we see on CNN.
Pictures of my travels throughout the Middle East and Africa will hopefully inspire the reader to not let the misinformation in the media prevent you from experiencing the world.
We want the blog to become more interactive, however, we will not post comments which add no value to the discussion, even if the comment is very positive about the blog or me personally.
Please give your input or comment to the discussions, but ensure your comment adds something to the discussion.
Unlike other CEO blogs where the communications or marketing team writes the blog entries for the CEO, I write each entry myself. I travel often so sometimes there might be a few days between entries.
I write only when I have something to add to the discussion.
To keep the blog as focused as possible, I do not discuss or post blogs and pictures about my family.
Lastly, the main purpose of my blog is to manage myself.
If I am going to blog about staying positive – I must stay positive myself.
If I am going to blog about making life happen – I must make my life happen.
However, as loyal readers have noticed, I am also fighting against dishonesty, misinformation, mediocrity, and negativity, all which seem to be sweeping across the world like an uncontrollable virus.
I guess you can say….
I am searching for John Galt.
C. Scott Ragsdale,
Chairman
Scott Ragsdale was born in 1971 and grew up in Omaha, Nebraska attended high school at The Bolles School in Jacksonville, Florida and graduated from the University of California at Berkeley with BA in Political Science in 1995.
At the University of California in 1994, Scott was elected President of the Berkeley College Republicans. During his Presidency the club grew to the 2nd largest College Republican club in America.
Prior to co-founding naseba in 2002, he worked as a General Manager for a global business information company in seven different international cities: Tokyo, Sydney, Shanghai, Hong Kong, Monaco, Barcelona and London.
Scott has 15+ years of international management experience and has developed, managed and trained employees from more than 50 nationalities.
He lived in Fukuoka, Osaka, and Tokyo, Japan for 5 years and passed the highest level on the Japanese proficiency exam (1 kyu).
Scott is a two-time Ironman finisher, has run more than 20 marathons, climbed Mt. Kilimanjaro, and successfully completed Marathon des Sables – a 7 day race across the Sahara desert in Morocco, considered to be the most difficult foot race in the world.
In 2010, Scott swam across the English Channel.
In 2011, he completed naseba7, 7 Ironman triathlons in 7 consecutive days across the 7 Emirates of the UAE.
He is an avid collector of Cuban cigars and boasts one of the largest personal collections in the world.
Scott has lived outside of America since 1994; living for significant periods of time in 9 countries; has travelled to more than 100 countries and speaks French and Japanese.
He currently lives with his family in Dubai.