Throughout history and across many cultures, the eagle has been seen as a symbol of strength, higher vision and endurance. Eagles have long been associated with the highest pursuits. Eagles are the masters of the skies. The eagle has the longest life-span of its species. It can live up to 70 years. But to reach this age, the eagle must make a hard decision. In its 40’s, its long and flexible talons can no longer grab prey which serves as food. Its long and sharp beak becomes bent, making it difficult to feed. Its old-aged and heavy wings, due to their thick feathers, become stuck to its chest and make it difficult to fly - what was once a flight of grace and beauty has become clumsy. Thus, the eagle is left with only two options: either die or go through a painful process of change which lasts one hundred and fifty days. 

The process requires strength wherein the eagle flies to a mountaintop and sits on its nest: a place of refuge for trials to come. There the eagle knocks its beak against a rock until it is plucked out. After plucking it out, the eagle will wait for a new beak to grow back. The eagle’s next task will be the agonizing process of ripping away old talons that make it impossible to hunt. When its new talons grow back, the eagle starts plucking its old-aged and greasy feathers that hindered its flight. And after five months, its period of renewal and rebirth, the eagle takes its famous flight again and lives for 30 more years, the second part of its existence.



Why is change needed? Many times, in order to survive we have to start a change process. We sometimes need to get rid of old memories, habits and other past traditions. Only freed from past burdens can we take advantage of the present. We also have to face hard decisions that lead us to the need of a rebirth process. To embrace challenges and changes is never an easy assignment. The transition from one state to another is rarely effortless. Sometimes, it is even very painful. In order to take a new journey ahead, let go of your negative limiting beliefs. Open up your fixed mindset and let yourself fly high again like an eagle.

The social sciences have contributed a variety of procedures to assist managers and leaders . However, rarely have we pulled our weight and gone extra miles to assist in achieving a healthy, decent life for everyone.

The author has realized enormous amounts of experiences and lessons as a scholar of the Young Minds Academy of the Ramon Aboitiz Foundation Inc.

Part of the whole training or ‘self- transformation’ program, as the author likes to call it, is the exposure to the plight of the poorest of the poor in the country, and a view of innocent children living in a place of biohazards whose colors blend with the garbage and the breath of gaseous and dusty winds of a place we call as the dumpsite.

Normally, one who sees such unimaginable existence is filled with regret and easily points a finger to the government.

But instead of feeling the usual, a realization sank in. Stepping up.

Yes, indeed. With a succession of highly dramatic articles, rhetoric, and big discussions on good governance, people constantly talk about doing things and changing things, but nothing really happens. No one wants to objectively measure and evaluate the true impact of all interventions, social, and political change. Thus, it is not a surprise to sense a cynical world.

Considering each individual’s desire for a healthier and decent life, a great demand for ‘change’ exists and better if it stems from each and every citizen.

Conversely, most people, if not all, have enjoyed all that nature has bestowed upon us freely. However, when something fails, like the government, a never-ending whining surfaces.

Fortunately, the author has made some sense out of the experiences and trainings of transformation as a scholar of the Young Minds Academy.

It is stepping up and rolling our sleeves and design the ‘change’ we need.

And no one else can do it but ourselves.

                                     Glenna Lyrad Quilat (YMA 4 – Generation III)

Having cheese makes you happy. The more important your cheese is to you, the more you want to hold on to it. But since this cheese is perishable, the journey in finding new cheese begins! “Who Moved My Cheese?” by Dr. Spencer Johnson features four characters: Sniff and Scurry, who are mice, and Hem and Haw, little people the size of a mouse. They live in a maze, a representation of one's environment, and look for cheese, a symbolism for happiness and success. They then face an unexpected change when they discover their cheese has disappeared. Each adapt to change its maze differently. In fact, one doesn’t adapt at all. This timeless allegory reveals profound truths to individuals and organizations dealing with change.

Metaphorically speaking, change happens because they keep moving the cheese that is why you need to anticipate change to get ready for the cheese to move. Smell the cheese often so you know when it is getting old to monitor the change. Adapt to change quickly because the quicker you let go of old cheese, the sooner you can enjoy your new cheese. And basically, the book is about change, to move along with the cheese. Enjoy the change as you experience it, savor the adventure and enjoy the taste of new cheese! But the cheese is always on the move so be ready to change quickly and enjoy it again and again.

The only thing in life you can be sure of is change and sometimes it will be radical, not incremental. If you do not change, you can become extinct. What would you do if you weren’t afraid of change? When you move beyond your fear, you feel free. Moving in a new direction helps you find new cheese. It is better to search in the maze than remain in a cheeseless situation, the worst case scenario.