Each day seems like a wonder, to me – I’m amazed by what people create, say, do.

I’m grateful and amazed by healthy and tasty food, I’m surprised that people are so good (as humans, in day-to-day life, but also as professionals), I read amazing things, watch great movies, and listen to superb music.

Each day is a miracle, in its way.

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Once, I played a football game, and one player in the opposite team made a remark – “when trying to score a penalty kick, some players hit the ball hard and try very hard to score. A much better strategy is to be relaxed, to focus on aiming well, not hitting the ball hard, you have a better success rate”.

I think he was right.

Once, I was in a theater play. I had just 3 lines to remember. But prior to entering the stage, I focused on helping some colleagues do some things, and when I entered the stage I wasn’t prepared. While I knew the lines by heart, the sudden change in the scenery (focus on solving an issue vs. focus on the audience) scared me, and I didn’t say the 3 lines correctly.

Sure, you can even be too little stressed. There is a level of stress which is necessary. You can’t say silly things, do irrelevant things, and only focus on laughing and expect success.

Some people prepare a presentation, put a lot of effort into writing things down on the presentation, read it word by word, and although they spent a great amount of time in preparation, the audience isn’t focused.

Other people write just the main ideas on the slides, use huge photos and large photos, and speak most of the presentation about the title of the slides. Sure, some things are rehearsed, but it’s not like they remember the whole presentation by heart. And the audience pays more attention to the presentation, despite being less prepared.

Stress is a good thing. Don’t overdo it, though, and also don’t have too little of it. Find the sweet spot.

You need stress to keep things focused. But you need to find the right amount. Laugh a little, put some pressure. The middle path is the best.

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Gabriel Liiceanu (Humanitas), in a podcast (Omul, o istorie a violenței? – #IGDLCC​​ E097) said something like this (approximate quote):

“I’m becoming smarter, as with age people forget lots of things, and it’s easier to connect ideas.”.

I liked this, as I find myself in a similar position, I have some memory issues myself.

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I think we do need people to succeed – Arnold Schwarzenegger is right (There’s no such thing: self-made man, motivational video).

On another hand, I don’t agree when people claim “Look, I made you do X, it’s due to me, you need to thank me for this”. I have some memories with people telling me: “Look, Olivian did this due to me”. I don’t think that’s fair.

So, it goes both ways:

• You need people in order to succeed.
• People, when they influence you, only do this to a degree: if you take an action, you do so only to a degree influenced by others, you have some influence yourself.

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There’s a bit of debate in Romania whether people should contribute to the finances of a school.

We have a thing in Romania called  “fondul clasei” (classroom fund), which is funded by parent’s money and helps with minor improvements in education.

There are two big arguments:

• This money should be permitted, as some people want to help the school.
• This money should not be allowed, as it forces poor students to contribute, and, when they can’t do so, bad things happen.

My view on this is that the first argument is a false one – you don’t need everyone in a classroom to contribute with money. If you are doing OK with money, and wish that your child has a good education, no one stops you from writing a check which would help.

On another hand, poor students might have issues with paying for school. Do this in the long run with big numbers, and some pupils will leave school due to this reason, or, much more likely, they’ll have a poor experience in school.

In my opinion, if education should be universal, then, in that case, you shouldn’t force people to pay for it.

There are lots of dilemmas like “Is the current school education system the best one?” or “Should school be mandatory and free?”, but they’re for another talk.

For the current talk, I think that people shouldn’t be forced to pay for school education.

I have some memories from my own education with such contributions, and none of them are nice. I would prefer they wouldn’t exist.

The question has a wrong answer – “people want to help the school!”. Well, nobody stops you. On another hand, paying for school makes some people skip education, and I don’t think that’s right.

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