The Simpler, the Better -Shirley's 246th Friendly Greeting -March 21,2010

Hi,Dear Friends

How are you? Have you had a good week? I do hope that everything is doing well with you and you are enjoying your weekend.

Do you know what my biggest gain is this week? I realized that the simpler, the better.

I got this idea from my music lesson.

The first question that my music professor Mr. Meng asked me: "What have you learned from your vocal music lesson in the past several years?鈥� I answered him 1. 2. 3 with many words. Then he required me to sing a song along with his piano.

The interesting thing is that the song was the same one that my second music teacher Ms. Huang asked me to sing first time in 2007, and both of them commented my singing with the same words:

"You have not known how to sing yet."

Oh My God! I have been learning to sing since 2002.

Anyway, the little comfort was Ms. Huang told me that I did not know how to sing because my method was wrong.

Mr. Meng told me that I do not know how to sing because I have made simple things too complex.

Then he taught me to remember few points, to say and to sing just one word "Ha" in my first 3 lessons for about 3 hours. Then I trained myself when I walked or drove every day.

At the end of my third lesson, Mr. Meng told me that "You are very smart. Your voice is promising."

Why I have made progress quickly and got the good comment? Mr. Meng has helped me to make complex things simple. Just keep the upper of my month in the "Excited", "Surprised" and "Mysterious" style; the bottom of my mouth relaxed as much as possible...

This made me think of something I have read:
-- If your web site was too complex, it would be second-rate.
-- Study is just the process to read a book from thin to thick, from thick to thin again.

It also made me think of something opposite in my work:
-- before I went to study in the US, my boss often reminded me never write a work paper or lead a project too complex.
--- After I came back from the study, my work papers have gotten good comments by the president and the top management several times.

Why? I wrote them as simple as possible. I never wrote anything dispensable again.

I am thinking now:
-- Maybe a good manager should be the person who has the ability to make the complex thing to be simple?
-- Maybe one of the duties of a manager is to make the complex business simple?
-- Maybe the simpler, the better is one of the truths no matter in work or in life?

How do you think of my idea? Do you agree with me?

I am just a learner on art of painting, music and English, to work on the web site in my free time. I would really like to do a few things with what I have learned to make this little web site to be an Electronic Bridge of Culture Exchange, Chinese Language Learning & Friendship making. To help the others while to improve myself.

I would like to appreciate your understanding, directions, supports and hope to get your friendly direction and help.

If you have any questions, comments or suggestions, you are welcome to write to shirley@ebridge.cn or shirley004@yahoo.com, or to publish your opinions in the forum.

Shirley Yiping Zhang
Sun.,March 21, 2010