A Huge Lesson on Integrity

Today I did something that I felt really good about, all because of the influence of this short little story that I had read from this book "Becoming a Person of Influence" by John C. Maxwell and Jim Dornan.

Here's an excerpt of the story which I have taken from "Chapter 1 - A Person of Influence Has... Integrity with People"...

A couple of days later, we took the long flight out of Heathrow Airport in London to San Francisco International Airport. After we landed, we got in line for the inevitable customs check. When they asked what we had to declare, we told them about the clothes Nancy had bought and the amount we had spent.

“What?” the agent said. “You’re declaring clothes?” He read the figure that we’d written and said, “You’ve got to be kidding!” It’s true that we had spent a little bit of money on them, but we didn’t think it was that big a deal. “What are the clothes made of?” he asked.

That seemed like an odd question. “A bunch of different things,” answered Nancy. “Wool, cotton, silk. Everything’s different. There are dresses, coats, blouses, shoes, belts, accessories. Why?” 

...

The agent said, “See, most people I see every day try to get all kinds of things through customs without paying duty, even stuff they should know better about. But you guys, you’re declaring stuff you could have gotten through with no problem. That’s sure a lot of money you could’ve saved!”

“That may be true,” answered Nancy, “but I can spare the money for customs a lot more than I can spare not having a clear conscience.”

Apart from this huge lesson on integrity, I am also very proud to have been in association with such wonderful people over the past year through books, audios and seminars. Thank you so much for the positive influence all of you had on me.  :)

Diet, Parental Behavior, and Preschool Can Boost Children’s IQ

Here's an article from today's Star2 section which caught my attention:

Title: Diet, Parental Behavior, and Preschool Can Boost Children’s IQ
By: Association for Psychological Science
Source: http://www.healthnewsdigest.com/news/Children_s_Health_200/Diet-Parental-Behavior-and-Preschool-Can-Boost-Children-s-IQ.shtml

Key highlights:

Overall, the results of the meta-analyses indicated that certain dietary and environmental interventions can be effective in raising children's IQ.

Supplementing pregnant women and newborns with long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids, foods rich in Omega-3, were found to boost children's IQ by more than 3.5 points. These essential fatty acids may help raise intelligence by providing the building blocks for nerve cell development that the body cannot produce on its own.

Interventions focused on interactive reading - teaching parents how to engage their children while reading with them - were found to raise children's IQ by over 6 points. These interventions do not seem to have an effect for children over 4 years old, suggesting that the interventions may accelerate language development, which, in turn, boosts IQ.

One word of advice, though. While it's important to raise a child's IQ level to ensure that they can survive the tough competition in school, it's also equally important to raise a child's EQ level to ensure that they can handle their own emotions and feelings amidst the multitude of negativity in the world around them.

I'm sure parents don't just want smart kids, they also want smart and happy kids, right?

Mirror Mirror on the Wall...

Mirror mirror on the wall...who's the fairest of them all?

Who cares.

What's more important when you look into the mirror is, "Are you grateful to the person in the mirror?"

Negative feelings about yourself cause the greatest damage to your life, because they are more powerful than any feelings you have about anything or anyone else. Wherever you go and whatever you do you take those negative feelings with you in every moment, and those feelings taint everything you touch, and they act as a magnet, attracting more dissatisfaction, discontentment, and disappointment with everything you do.

When you are grateful to be you, you will only attract circumstance that make you feel even better about yourself. You have to be rich with good feelings about yourself to bring the riches of life to you. Gratitude for yourself enriches you!

The message couldn't have been any clearer than what's being mentioned in this famous song by Michael Jackson - "Man in the Mirror":

I'm Starting With The Man In The Mirror 

I'm Asking Him To Change His Ways 

And No Message Could Have Been Any Clearer 

If You Wanna Make The World A Better Place 

Take A Look At Yourself 

And Then Make A Change

 

Learn how to be grateful for yourself:

1. Each time you look at yourself in the mirror, say "thank you" and really mean it.
2. While looking in the mirror, say three things you're grateful for about yourself.

When you can see the magic in that person in the mirror, your world will change!

Mistakes Are Blessings in Disguise

Humans do mistakes every day.

As a child, we learned how to walk after a series of painful falls. We learned how to ride a bike after getting some bruises from falling off the bike. We learned how to swim after choking ourselves with water from the pool.

This is how we learn to become better than we were before. We all learn from mistakes. Mistakes make us smarter and wiser.

But as we grew older, with the bout of negativity surrounding us, we started to disown the mistakes that we do, as well as forgetting about the learning that we should do behind every mistake. We often blame external factors for our mistakes rather than seeing in us a need to improve and avoid the same mistakes next time.

For a change, lets start to see every mistake as a blessing in disguise. There are lessons in every mistake that we make, and we can only graps the lessons completely by having a deep gratitude for the mistake that we make.

Here are some simple steps taken from this chapter "Magically Transform Mistakes into Blessings":

1. Choose one significant mistake you make in your life.
2. To help you find blessings, ask yourself these two questions:
• What did I learn from the mistake?
• What are the good things that came out of the mistake?
3. Find a total of ten blessings you're grateful for as a result of making that mistake, and write them down.

Example:

I'm grateful to my engineering career for the wake up call. It makes me realise what I'm really passionate about in life and gives me a clear indication of what I really want to do in future.
 

Stop feeling sorry for your mistakes and indulge in self-pity, and start learning how to capitalise on your mistakes and make them serve you instead.  :)

"Turn you wounds into wisdom." ~ Oprah Winfrey

Ask and You May Get

Principle #15 - Ask! Ask! Ask!

Most successful people are especially good at asking for exactly what they want, which is why they get exactly what they want in the form of success.

"You have got to ask. Asking is, in my opinion, the world's most powerful and neglected secret to success and happiness." ~ Percy Ross

Most average people find themselves having a hard time getting exactly what they want in life. One possible reason is that they are afraid to ask for exactly what they want.

Why are people so afraid to ask? They are afraid of many things such as looking needy, looking foolish, and looking stupid. But mostly they're afraid of experiencing rejection. They are afraid of hearing the word 'no'. 

The sad thing is that they're actually rejecting themselves in advance. They're saying no to themselves before anyone else even has a chance to.

Think of it this way.

Imagine right now you have RM10 in your pocket, but you would like to have RM50 instead. So you go out looking for someone who could give you the RM40 that you need. You asked the person for RM40, and he said no.

At this moment you may feel sad and dejected. But ask yourself this, how much money is left in your pocket now? RM10 right? So, are you any worse off than when you first started asking? No. You're still at the same position as you first started. You have not lost anything, except for some mere feeling of sadness and dejection.

Now, imagine that the person said yes and gave you RM40. Are you a lot better off? Of course! And all it takes is just being willing to ask.

How do we ask for what we want? Here are some quick tips to help you get started.

1. Ask as if you expect to get it.
• Ask as if you expect to get a "yes".
2. Assume you can.
• Don't reject yourself before even starting.
3. Ask someone who can give it to you.
• Simple logic. You want money, you look for someone who has it. You want a business partner, you look for someone who is also looking for a business to run.
4. Be clear and specific.
• Don't say "I want a raise."
• Say "I want a raise of RM500 a month".
5. Ask repeatedly.
• Persistence pays off. Ask again and again, the same person might even give you a "yes" when the timing is right.

Kids understand this success principle perhaps better than anyone. They will ask the same person for the same thing over and over again without any hesitation. They eventually wear you down.

You have nothing to lose and everything to gain by asking. Ask, and it shall be given to you!

Life of A Retiree

Peter retired at the age of 53. All his life, he had dedicated his time and effort in becoming the best employee in the company. He rose through the ranks swiftly and stayed at the top for many years, until this fateful day when he was offered an "early retirement package" by his employers, who thought that he was a little bit too old and expensive to keep in the company. 

Having worked hard throughout his life, Peter was enticed with the idea of an "early retirement". So he took the offer, and retired with almost RM1,000,000 in his bank account. He became an instant millionaire overnight. 

With RM1,000,000 in his hands and lots of time available, Peter thought it would be a good idea for him to start enjoying the fruits of his hard work. After all, he had not had any time for vacation all these years because of his commitment to his family and job. Now that he's no longer working, and his kids were all grown up, he thought that it's time for him to catch up with lost times and explore the world while he's still young enough to do so. And so, for the next 3 years, he would go on vacations with his wife, visting places which they both had not been before. 

Before his retirement, Peter was earning a salary of RM12,000 per month. Being someone who always strived to give the best to his family, his expenses and liabilities were quite high. Every month he would spend RM10,000, leaving only RM2,000 balance as savings. 

Even though his kids had started working and being able to provide for themselves, Peter started incurring new expenses in the form of vacations and some rewarding experiences at good restaurants. Therefore his expenses were still high at RM10,000 per month. 

Three years went by. 

One day, 56-year-old Peter woke up to a realisation that he was only left with a balance of RM640,000 in his savings. After three years of self-rewarding experiences, Peter started to ponder on the BIG question, "How long do I expect to live?" By average standards, guys nowadays would get to live up to the age of 71. So he started calculating... 

If he were to continue to live in this self-rewarding lifestyle, this is the amount that he needs: 

71 - 56 = 15 years * 12 = 180 months x RM10,000 = RM 1,800,000 

Time for a "downsizing"? 

Let's say he cut his expenses by half, he would still need RM900,000 to live up to the age of 71. Still kind of a "mission impossible" for him. 

Can he rely on his kids? No way. What his kids earn nowadays were just barely enough to support themselves. In time, they would start their own families and have their own expenses. Moreover, nowadays the salary versus inflation is ridiculously out of proportion. Peter knew it's impossible that his kids would be able to pay for his living.  

Try a defensive approach. Let's see how much he needs per month in order to live up to 71: 

RM640,000 / 15 years = RM42,666.67 / 12 months = RM3,555.55 per month

Lets take a moment and reflect.

How many people have you heard of retiring with RM1,000,000 in their bank accounts? If yes, there  wouldn't be so few millionaires in Malaysia, right?

What if some of us here only get to retire with RM500,000 savings in our bank? That means we could only afford to live on a meagre RM1777.78 per month for the rest of our retirement life. Is this what we work so hard for?

Many people today live to the age of 60 only to realise that their hard earned savings is not enough to sustain their lifestyle post-retirement. Many had been enticed with all sort of creative "get rich quick" schemes only to end up losing all their hard earned savings. It's pathetic, because all we have learned at our jobs is how to work and be a good employee, not how to make money for ourselves and be rich.

Of course not everyone would end up like Peter. But I do hope this story would trigger your thoughts to start looking for a solution prevent this future financial crisis.

As Robert Kiyosaki taught in his books, only people who owns assets which generates passive income would get to enjoy financial freedom. And there're only two ways to own assets:

1. Buy your asset instantly with huge capital.
2. Build your asset using time with lesser capital.

And this applies to all things from properties, stocks, commodities, businesses, etc.

You hold the key to your financial future. Make sure you open the right door.

Fantasized Experiences Appearing Real

Principle #14 - Feel the Fear and Do It Anyway

Millions of years ago, fear was our body's way of signaling us that we were out of our comfort zone. It alerted us to possible danger, and gave us the burst of adrenaline we needed to run away. Unfortunately, though this response was useful in the days when saber-toothed tigers were chasing us, today most of our threats are not all that life-threatening. 

Today, fear is more of a signal that we must stay alert and cautious. We can feel fear, but we can still move forward anyway. Think of your fear as a 2-year-old chold who doesn't want to go grocery shopping with you. You wouldn't let a 2-year-old's mentality run your life. Because you must buy groceries, you'll just have to take the 2-year-old along with you. Fear is no different. In other words, acknowledge that fear exists but don't let it keep you from doing important tasks.

The things that we want in life are outside our comfort zone. Therefore, it is quite normal that you'll get to feel fearful of changes in the beginning of your quest, because your brain is sending signals to remind you to stay alert and cautious. But most people tend to misinterpret those signals as a STOP sign, which is why they would quickly get back into their comfort zone and putting their success  up for bargain instead.

The next time you find yourself immobilized by fear, you may want to try this:

"I want to ..........................., and I scare myself by imagining ..........................."

Example:

I want to ask my friends to look at my new business opportunity, and I scare myself by imagining they will think I am only interested in making money off of them.

From this example, can you see that your "fear" is actually just a "fantasy" that you create in your mind to scare yourself?

F.E.A.R. = Fantasized Experiences Appearing Real

Ready, Fire, Aim!

You have done the best of analyses and plotted the most perfect of plannings to move yourself ahead, yet you still find yourself stuck at where you are. What is still missing?

ACTION.

Here are some important things I learned from this chapter, "Principle #13 - Take Action":

Most people are familiar with the phrase "Ready, aim, fire!" The problem is that too many people spend their whole life aiming and never firing. They are always getting ready, getting it perfect. The quickest way to hit a target is to fire, see where the bullet landed, and then adjust your aim accordingly. 

Planning has its place, but it must be kept in perspective. Some people spend their whole lives waiting for the perfect time to do something. There's rarely a "perfect" time to do anything. What is important is to just get started. Get into the game. Get on the playing field. Once you do, you will start to get feedback that will help you make the correction you need to make to be successful. Once you are in action, you will start learning at a much more rapid rate.

All successful people have one thing in common - they are experts in putting their thoughts to action. What differentiates these people from the rest is their tendency to act, rather than being bogged down by tedious analyses and meticulous planning. Because they have taken more action than most people do, they get to learn more valuable lessons which average people don't get to learn, which is why they are successful.

"You can never learn less; you can only learn more. The reason I know so much is because I have made so many mistakes." ~ Buckminster Fuller

Another common trait of successful people is - they don't wait for chance, they create their own chance. These people do not rely their success on others, because there are simply too many things in life that are out of our control. Therefore, they choose to be in total control of their success.

"If your ship doesn't come in, swim out to meet it." ~ Jonathan Winters

If you want to move ahead in life, you need to MOVE!

If you want to be successful in life, you need to take ACTION!

And the best time to do so is NOW!

Play-Acting to Success

Principle #12 - Act As If

One of the greatest strategies for success is to act as if you are already where you want to be. This means thinking like, talking like, dressing like, acting like, and feeling like the person who has already achieved your goal. Acting as if sends powerful commands to your subconscious mind to find creative ways to achieve your goals. It programs the reticular activating system (RAS) in your brain to start noticing anything that will help you succeed, and it sends strong messages to the universe that this end goal is something you really want. ~ Jack Canfield

This is sort of a continuation from the power of visualization, putting your mental visualization into physical action to intensify its effect in programming the RAS.

I also found this in Wikipedia:

"Fake it till you make it" (also called "act as if") is a common catchphrase that means to imitate confidence so that as the confidence produces success, it will generate real confidence. The purpose is to avoid getting stuck in a self-fulfilling prophecy related to one's fear of not being confident, e.g., by thinking, "I can't ask that girl out because she would sense my lack of confidence." The article How You Too Can Be an Optimist in Prevention points out, "In research at Wake Forest University, for example, scientists asked a group of 50 students to act like extroverts for 15 minutes in a group discussion, even if they didn’t feel like it. The more assertive and energetic the students acted, the happier they were".

In other words...

• If you want to be a successful business owner, you need to start thinking, talking and dressing like one.
• If you want to be a successful motivation speaker, you need to start speaking and behaving like one.
• If you want to be a successful investor, you need to start investing and living like one. 

Behind the Mask

I didn't know until today that, behind "The Mask" that we know, there is such a deep-thinking and spiritual side of Jim Carrey. Here are two of his famous speeches, enjoy!

Jim Carrey on the Power of Intention

 

"Our intention is everything. Nothing happens on this planet without it. Not one single thing has ever been accomplished without intention." ~ Jim Carrey

 

 

Jim Carrey on "Awakening"

"A few months ago after knowing Eckhart Tolle for a while and studying the books I woke up and I suddenly got it. I understood suddenly how thought was just an illusory thing. And how thought is responsible for, if not all, most of the suffering we experience. And then I suddenly felt like I was looking at the thought from another perspective and I wondered who is it that’s aware that I am thinking and suddenly I was thrown into this expansive amazing feeling of freedom from myself from my problems. 

I saw that I was bigger than what I do. I was bigger than my body. I was everything and everyone I was no longer a fragment of the universe. I was the universe and ever sense that day I have been trying to get back there. It comes and it goes, it is like riding a wave sometimes I am on, sometimes I off but at least I know where I want to go and I want to take as many people with me that I possibly can because the feeling is amazing. It is our intention because our intention is everything, nothing happens on this planet without it, not one single thing has ever been accomplished without intention. 

I started thinking about my life and I started thinking about this conference and what we are about and I looked back and I always thought I was two people my whole life. I was in the living room entertaining people, being a monkey you know, doing my thing for the company and trying to relieve my mother who was suffering. She had rheumatoid arthritis and flumitis and everything under the sun was nagging at her and she was depressed. 

I wanted her to be free and I wanted her to realize that her life was worth something because she gave birth to someone who was worth something and then I would go into my room and sit with a legal pad, I was a little kid and I would sit there and I would try to figure out what it meant, what it was all about, why are we here, what is this. 

Then one day I read something from Buddha and it said, “All spirituality is about relieving suffering” and I suddenly realized that is what I am doing in the other room. I am aligned, my purpose is aligned with this so I felt incredibly lucky. I lose sight of that all the time. I get caught up in different concerns and ego concerns. I am so lucky to be apart of this community and to do something that is off value." ~ Jim Carrey

The Power of Visualization

I believe most of us who grew up in the 1990s would definitely know Jim Carrey as one of the best comedians in modern Hollywood cinematography. But how many of us here have got to know about his secret of success?

His secret of success is in utilizing the power of visualization. Here are two separate quotes which he is very well known for:

"I've always believed in magic. When I wasn't doing anything in this town, I'd go up every night, sit on Mulholland Drive, look out at the city, stretch out my arms, and say, 'Everybody wants to work with me. I'm a really good actor. I have all kinds of great movie offers.' I'd just repeat these things over and over, literally convincing myself that I had a couple movies lined up. I'd drive down that hill, ready to take the world on, going, 'Movie offers are out there for me, I just don't hear them yet.' It was like total affirmations, antidotes to the stuff that stems from my family background." ~ Jim Carrey

"I wrote myself a check for ten million dollars for acting services rendered and dated it Thanksgiving 1995. I put it in my wallet and it deteriorated. And then, just before Thanksgiving 1995, I found out I was going to make ten million dollars for Dumb & Dumber. I put that check in the casket with my father because it was our dream together." ~ Jim Carrey

And even Oprah gave her testimonial on the power of visualization in this video clip below:


What Oprah Learned from Jim Carrey

 

"If you can see it, and believe it, it is a lot easier to achieve it." ~ Oprah Winfrey

In "Principle 11 - See What You Want, Get What You See", Jack Canfield says that visualization may be the most underutilized success tool that we possess because it helps create success in three powerful ways:

1. Visualization activates the creative powers of our subconscious mind.
2. Visualization focuses our brain by programming its reticular activating system (RAS) to notice available resources that were always there but were previously unnoticed.
3. Visualization magnetizes and attracts to us the people, resources, and opportunities we need to achieve our goal.

Researchers have found that:

• Our brain uses the same identical processes it would use if we were only vividly visualizing that activity. In other words, our brain sees no difference whatsoever between visualizing something and actually doing it.
• (Harvard University) students who visualized in advanced performed tasks with nearly 100% accuracy, whereas students who didn't visualize achieved only 55% accuracy.

If you're still wondering what else you need in order to help you achieve your dreams and goals, you probably need to apply visualization as Jim Carrey did.

Life of Pi

I have been thinking for quite some time what can I shared about this wonderful story, the Life of Pi, which I loved watching so much. This story has so much to teach us about life, touching almost every aspect from spirituality, mentality to reality. All credits to the author, Yann Martel, for writing this amzing piece of story.

Here are some of the finest quotes taken from the movie, courtesy of this website:
http://www.goodreads.com/work/quotes/1392700-life-of-pi

About self-doubt...

"To choose doubt as a philosophy of life is akin to choosing immobility as a means of transportation."

Lesson: Life stops whenever there is self-doubt.

About belief...

"If you stumble about believability, what are you living for? Love is hard to believe, ask any lover. Life is hard to believe, ask any scientist. God is hard to believe, ask any believer. What is your problem with hard to believe?"

Lesson: Life happens only when you start to believe its magic and miracles.

About fear...

"I must say a word about fear. It is life's only true opponent. Only fear can defeat life. It is a clever, treacherous adversary, how well I know. It has no decency, respects no law or convention, shows no mercy. It goes for your weakest spot, which it finds with unnerving ease. It begins in your mind, always ... so you must fight hard to express it. You must fight hard to shine the light of words upon it. Because if you don't, if your fear becomes a wordless darkness that you avoid, perhaps even manage to forget, you open yourself to further attacks of fear because you never truly fought the opponent who defeated you."

Lesson: You have to learn to express your fear, confront it and defeat it, before it attacks you further and defeats you.

 About association...

"It is true that those we meet can change us, sometimes so profoundly that we are not the same afterwards, even unto our names."

Lesson: Associating with the right people brings positive changes to your life.

About family...

"To lose a brother is to lose someone with whom you can share the experience of growing old, who is supposed to bring you a sister-in-law and nieces and nephews, creatures who people the tree of your life and give it new branches. To lose your father is to lose the one whose guidance and help you seek, who supports you like a tree trunk supports its branches. To lose your mother, well, that is like losing the sun above you. It is like losing--I'm sorry, I would rather not go on."

Lesson:  There is more to a family than just blood relation.

 About regrets...

"It's important in life to conclude things properly. Only then can you let go. Otherwise you are left with words you should have said but never did, and your heart is heavy with remorse."

Lesson: Never take things for granted.

 About staying positive...

"You must take life the way it comes at you and make the best of it."

Lesson: Be grateful with what you get in life and make the best of it.

 About perspective...

"The world isn't just the way it is. It is how we understand it, no? And in understanding something, we bring something to it, no? Doesn't that make life a story?"

Lesson: Life is like a story, you choose how you understand it or write it.

 About survival...

"All living things contain a measure of madness that moves them in strange, sometimes inexplicable ways. This madness can be saving; it is part and parcel of the ability to adapt. Without it, no species would survive."

Lesson: Sometimes humans do mad things moving out from their comfort zone in order to adapt and survive.

 About spirituality...

"These people fail to realize that it is on the inside that God must be defended, not on the outside. They should direct their anger at themselves. For evil in the open is but evil from within that has been let out. The main battlefield for good is not the open ground of the public arena but the small clearing of each heart."

Lesson: Spirituality starts from inside your heart, not from the things you do outside.

 About perseverence...

"I was giving up. I would have given up - if a voice hadn't made itself heard in my heart. The voice said "I will not die. I refuse it. I will make it through this nightmare. I will beat the odds, as great as they are. I have survived so far, miraculously. Now I will turn miracle into routine. The amazing will be seen everyday. I will put in all the hard work necessary. Yes, so long as God is with me, I will not die. Amen."

Lesson: When things get tough against you, listen to your inner voice, hold on to your beliefs and persevere, for miracles do happen.
 

Lessons from the Mighty Sequoia

I was very inspired by a sharing which I had heard of today about sequoia trees, in particular, lessons which we can learn from these giant trees. So I went all out to google for something about these giant trees, and found this meaningful article "Lessons from the Mighty Sequoia" written by Dan Dowd.

Link: http://www.ucg.org/science/lessons-mighty-sequoia/

 

Here are the list of impactful lessons I have learned from this article:

• Even the smallest of seeds can produce the tallest of trees
• While the sequoia is massive when fully grown, the cone it produces is only the size of a chicken egg, with seeds smaller than oat flakes.
• Fire is necessary for the sequoia to reproduce
• Fire is a purifying process even in forests. What looks like a trial for the sequoia is in reality the process they need for future growth.
• Fire clears the underbrush so newly germinated seeds can grow
• Since the sequoia can withstand fire that consumes most other trees, it is left standing after the fire is extinguished. As a result, the ground around it is not only cleared for its seeds to germinate, but the ground has also been fertilized with the ashes of those other burned trees and underbrush. The seeds can only grow successfully in full sunlight, free from overshadowing vegetation.
• Faith carries you through the fires of life and helps you grow.
• Sequoias don't die of old age - they die from falling down
• The sequoia is so resistant to pests and fire that their most common cause of death is simply falling down. The roots of sequoias only go 6 to 20 feet into the ground, and a sufficient windstorm can topple them, particularly if there is a buildup of ice and snow on the branches.
• But sequoias don't typically grow alone. They grow in groves. Even though their roots may only grow 20 feet deep, those roots spread out to cover a wide area—intertwining with other sequoias. Combined together, their roots help them to withstand the winds.
• Sequoias can die from fire - if the fire gets through their protective bark
• The mighty sequoias are unique with their fire-resistant bark, but if there is an opening in the bark or if fire is too close to the roots, then the fire can get inside or underneath the bark. Once fire gets past the bark there is nothing to stop it. The fire won't consume the tree immediately, as there are still the tannins that resist fire, but the fire will smolder, essentially slow-burning the tree from the inside out.
• Becoming offended, being offensive or harboring hatred, anger or wrong desire is like a slow-burning fire that can consume us from the inside.

Morale of this sharing: Even if you started life humbly as a small seed, with an adequate amount of challenges and trials, strong faith, association with the right people, and avoiding negativity in your thoughts, you can eventually grow to become a giant tree like the sequoia.

You Can Only See What You Are Searching For

Today I had an interesting discussion with a friend, whom I was supposed to help find a solution to his problem. Every time I proposed a solution, he would shoot it down with scepticism, and re-emphasize that his problem was that easy to solve. In the end, I had to accept his views and agree with him that his problem was indeed very hard to solve. The REAL problem of his problem was that he wasn't actually looking for a solution. He was only looking for more "reasons" to justify his belief that his problem was indeed a problem.

This reminded me of a story that I once heard from a motivational speaker.

There was this man who had a magical hunting dog, which could walk on water.

One day, he brought his magical hunting dog to show off to his friends during a duck hunting trip at a nearby lake. Every time he shot a duck, his magical hunting dog would walk effortlessly across the surface of the water to retrieve the duck, whereas his friends' hunting dogs could only swim slowly to retrieve the ducks.

After a while, this man was surprised that none of his friends had responded to the magical event. So he asked, "Hey guys, didn't you see that my hunting dog can walk on water? Isn't it special?"

One of his friends replied, "Oh really, but why didn't you teach your dog how to swim?"

 

The morale of this story: No matter how hard you try to convince people with the right facts and information, if the people are sceptical, they will still respond to you with scepticism.

If your focus is on the problem, what you'll find are more problems.

If your focus is on the solution, what you'll find are more solutions.

Therefore, if you find yourself still trapped in status quo after some time, you probably need to re-examine your thoughts and ask yourself this:

"What am I focus on?"

The Story of an Eagle

Here's an inspiring clip shared by our department head during our monthly meeting yesterday.

The Story of an Eagle

I never knew that...

• An eagle can live up to 70 years (not all, but only a few can make it up to that age).
• An eagle would also face a "midlife-crisis" in its 40th year.
• An eagle's talons, though looking impressively long and flexible, can no longer grab prey in its 40th year.
• An eagle's beak, though looking fearsomely long and sharp, would bend so much in its 40th year that it becomes so difficult to feed.
• An eagle's feathers, though looking majestically thick, would become so old and heavy in its 40th year that it becomes difficult to fly.

In order to live up to 70 years, an eagle has to decide to go though a painful process of change...

• It has to fly its way through the harshest of environments to reach its nest at the top of a mountain.
• It has to endure a series of long painful physical changes and rebirth.

Not all eagles would make it up to 70 years, because...

• Some would decide to gradually end its life from its 40th year onwards.
• Some would give up half way through the process of rebirth.

Therefore, only the very few with the strongest of will and determination would live up to 70 years.

It's the same for us humans. Many have lived physically up to 70 years or more, but only a few have actually lived a purposeful life up to 70 years or more.

Majority of us humans would give up hope of living a purposeful life after 40, because they refuse to undergo the painful process of change.

• On the surface, some would appear to be impressively knowledgeable, but deep inside they know that they can no longer "catch their prey" as well as they once did.
• On the surface, some would appear fearsomely in authority, but deep inside their courage has bent so much that they no longer endure failure.
• On the surface, some would appear majestically respectable, but deep inside they have become so insecure that they can no longer soar to greater heights.

There are so many lessons we can learn from the story of an eagle. But it's all down to our choice to...

SOAR like an EAGLE...

Or

being SLAUGHTERED like a CHICKEN...

LISTEN LISTEN LISTEN LISTEN...Don't Be as Dumb as an Elephant!

Principle #10 - Release the Brakes

Have you ever been driving your car and suddenly realized you had left the emergency brake on? Did you push down harder on the gas to overcome the drag of the brake? No, of course not. You simply released the brake...and with no extra effort you started to go faster.

Do you drive through life with your psychological emergency brake on?

When you try to achieve your goals, do you always allow negative images and preprogrammed comfort zones cancel out your good intentions?

Isn't it easier to "release the brakes" by letting go of and replacing your limiting self-beliefs and changing your self image?

A baby elephant is trained at birth to be confined to a very small space. Its trainer will tie its leg with a rope to a wooden post planted deep in the ground. This confines the baby elephant to an area determined by the length of the rope - the elephant's comfort zone. Though the baby elephant will initially try to break the rope, the rope is too strong, and so the baby elephant learns that it can't break the rope. It learns that it has to stay in the area defined by the length of the rope.

When the elephant grows up into a 5-ton colossus that could easily break the same rope, it doesn't even try because it learned as a baby that it couldn't break the rope. In this way, the largest elephant can be confined by the puniest little rope.

Perhaps this also describes you - still trapped in a comfort zone by something as puny as the small rope and stake that controls the elephant, except your rope is made up of the limiting beliefs and images that you received and took on when you were young. If this describes you, the good news is that you can change your comfort zone.

One way is to start using affirmations and positive self talk. First, create a simple sentence such as this:

I am enjoying living in my own beautiful RM600,000 property in Penang or somewhere better on May 2014.

How to use affirmation?

1. Read your affirmation every day.
2. Close your eyes and visualize yourself as being described.
3. Focus on what you see, what you hear, and what you feel in your visualization.
4. Say your affirmation again.
5. Repeat the process with the next affirmation.

LISTEN, LISTEN, LISTEN, LISTEN...

Don't be as dumb as an elephant. Try this. What if it works?  :)

Looking for Clues?

Principle #9 - Success Leaves Clues

For virtually everything you want to do, there are books and courses on how to do it. Better yet, just a phone call away are people who've already successfully done what you want to do and who are available as teachers, facilitators, mentors, advisors, coaches, and consultants.

Life is simply a connect-the-dots game, and all the dots have already been identified and organized by somebody else. All you have to do is follow the blueprint, use the system, or work the program that they provide.

Here are 3 ways you can begin to seek out clues:

1. Get a teacher, coach or mentor.
2. Interview someone who has already done what you want to do on how you should best proceed.
3. Shadow someone for a day and watch them work.

But first, do understand that...

• Asking others for advice puts you in the risk of getting rejected.
• Connecting the dots in a new way would mean a change, and change is ALWAYS uncomfortable.
• Connecting the dots means hard work, and most people DON'T want to work hard.

It's simple, but not easy. It takes work and a leap of faith to listen, trust and follow.

An Expert’s Perspective

I have been taking health supplements since the age of 10, mainly because my mother has forced me to. I took it by faith for many years, until I have come into contact with a series of health scares involving myself and the people around me, and I started to be more mindful of reading up articles on health.

Last Sunday, I happened to have come across this interesting article in the Star's Fit4Life column, titled "An exper's perspective on vitamins". I managed to find the original full article at the following link:
http://oregonstate.edu/ua/ncs/archives/2010/aug/vitamin-and-supplement-intake-%E2%80%93-expert%E2%80%99s-perspective

Here are some key excerpts from the article:

Frei is the head of an internationally recognized research and educational institute that focuses on the use of vitamins and micronutrients in addressing disease issues and promoting optimal health. He is 51 years old, normal weight, eats a proper diet, exercises regularly and doesn’t smoke. He’s quick to point out that vitamins are supplements, not substitutes, for a healthful diet and lifestyle.

And part of what stands out about his personal vitamin use is that it’s not very exotic, complicated or expensive. But it also goes beyond the old mantra that “you get all the nutrients you need from a balanced diet” – a concept he doesn’t believe is generally true.

“Millions of people in the U.S. don’t get enough vitamin D, vitamin E or vitamin C,” Frei pointed out. “And I have pretty good health habits, but I can’t say that I get the recommended nine servings of fruits and vegetables every single day.

“Hardly anyone eats an absolutely perfect diet,” he added, “and many are a lot, lot less than perfect.”

So to start with, Frei takes a good quality multivitamin/mineral – a lifelong health practice he recommends for virtually everyone.

“A multivitamin on one level is good health insurance, a guarantee that you’re not missing out on some vitamin or trace mineral that’s important but not always covered in your diet,” Frei said. “I believe everyone should take a multivitamin, all of their life.”

“But it can also be more than that,” he said. “More than 90 percent of Americans, for instance, don’t get enough vitamin E, and if you have a low-fat diet it’s almost impossible to get the recommended dietary allowance of it, because it’s found mostly in fats and oils. We get more of it from fat and desserts than any other source.”

Frei also noted that all of the vitamins and supplements he takes are either essential nutrients, those found in healthful foods, or produced naturally by the body – which can’t be said for the much broader range of herbal supplements and other compounds. Most of these supplements/compounds available in health food stores have been less scientifically studied; some can even be toxic or harmful. And while some of these products may have value, none should be used by consumers without thoroughly researching them first, he said.

Most importantly, this article is published by a credible source - the Oregon State University; and not from someone less credible from the neighbourhood who goes by the "Listen, listen, listen, listen" mantra.

I hope this information can make a difference in your life.  :)

Getting Started

Principle #8 - Chunk It Down

"The secret of getting ahead is getting started. The secret of getting started is breaking your complex, overwhelming tasks into small manageable tasks, and then starting on the first one." ~ Mark Twain

Most of the times, after we have set our biggest life goals which seem so overwhelming, we would get so paralysed that we don't know where to start. Thus, it helps a lot if we could chunk it down into a series of small, achievable tasks, and accomplishing them one at a time until we reach the ultimate goal eventually.

In this chapter, Jack Canfield shared a powerful tool known as "Mind Mapping" - a simple but powerful process for creating a detailed to-do list  for achieving our goal.

1. Center circle:
• In the center circle, write down your stated goal.
2. Outside circles:
• Divide the goal into the major categories of tasks.
3. Spokes:
• For each spoke radiating outward from each mini-circle, write down every single step you'll need to take.

Once you've complete the mind map, convert all the to-do items into daily action items, and set a completion date for each one.

It helps to also plan your day the night before, because:

1. If you plan your day the night before, your subconscious mind will work on these tasks all night long. It will find creative ways to solve the problem, and send out waves of energy to attract the right people and resources to you.
2. By creating your to-do list the night before, you can immediately start your day running instead of wasting our time with planning.

Hope these tips work wonders for you.  :)

Goal Setting

At our workplace, it has been a common practice for most of us to set performance goals at the beginning of the year. We have also learned to set our performance goals in the form of S.M.A.R.T. goals, i.e. goals which are:

• Specific (what?)
• Measurable (how much?)
• Attainable (possible?)
• Realistic (makes sense?)
• Time-bound (by when?)

But, has it been a common practice for us to set goals for our PERSONAL life?

"If you want to be happy, set a goal that commands your thoughts, liberates your energy, and inspires your hopes." ~ Andrew Carnegie

"Experts on science of success know the brain is a goal-seeking organism. Whatever goal you give to your subconscious mind, it will work night and day to achieve." ~ Jack Canfield

In other words, if you want to get from where you are to where you want to be, you must apply Principle #7 - Unleash the Power of Goal-Setting.

First, you need to know the difference between a GOAL and a GOOD IDEA:

• Example of a good idea:
• I would like to own a nice home.
• Example of a goal:
• I will own a 4,000sf house by the beach at Port Dickson, by noon, May 31, 2014.

Once you have identified your goal, you need to write it out in detail, as if you're writing specifications for a work order. Be as specific, as detailed, and as vivid as you can. Once you've written down your goal, reread your goals 3 times a day, so that your subconscious mind will know what to work on.

"You want to set a goal that is big enough that in the process of achieving it you become someone worth becoming." ~ Jim Rohn

In goal setting, it is important to create breakthrough goals which:

• Stretch you and require you to grow in order to achieve them.
• Change your life and bring you new opportunities.

If you have set a stretch or breakthrough goal, it's also important to understand that 3 things are definitely going to emerge to put you to the test:

• Considerations
• These are thoughts of why you shouldn't attempt the goal, why it is impossible.
• Fears
• Feelings of rejection, failure and hurt.
• Roadblocks
• External circumstances which you need to deal with in order to move forward.

Most people somehow tend to see these 3 things - considerations, fears, and roadblocks - as a stop sign. Therefore, it is very crucial for you to accept and remind yourself that they are supposed to appear. If they don't, it means you haven't set a goal that's big enough to stretch you and grow you. And most of the time, these are the things which have been holding you back in life.

Here's a tip. I have learned from my mentor that it helps to add these 2 elements to your SMART goals to transform them into SMARTER goals:

• Exciting (motivates you)
• Rewarding (enhances your physical/mental wellbeing)

Example: I will weigh 68kg by 11pm, February 6, 2013, so that I will feel healthy and look fit physically.

Start writing your SMARTER goals now!

Every Cloud Has A Silver Lining

When things go bad, do you always feel that the whole world is out to get you?

Having this thought doesn't really help you to get out of a bad situation. Instead, it makes you feel worse and keeps you trapped in an endless loop of self pity.

Are you tired of feeling sick and tired for being sick and tired?

For a change, you may want to try what successful people normally do to get themselves out of the trap of self pity.

Principle #6 - Become an Inverse Paranoid

"My earliest mentor, W. Clement Stone, was once described as an inverse paranoid. Instead of believing the world was plotting to do him harm, he chose to believe the world was plotting to do him good. Instead of seeing every difficult or challenging event as negative, he saw it for what it could be - something that was meant to enrich him, empower him, or advance his causes." ~ Jack Canfield

After reading this chapter, I started to realise that every setback that I face is a reminder that I haven't learned enough of the lessons necessary to help me achieve my goals and dreams in life. It was because I had not mastered by own thinking and emotions that I was denied success. It was because I had not learned enough about humility that I was denied glory. Rather than blaming every setback on unfairness or bad luck, I have learned to outgrow these challenges to become a better person, and so deserve success.

"Every negative event contains within it the seed of an equal or greater benefit." ~ Napoleon Hill

"When life hands you a lemon, squeeze it and make lemonade." ~ W. Clement Stone

I believe the world is plotting to do me good today. I can't wait to see what it is.  :)

The Youngest (Unknown) Billionaire in Malaysia

This is the success story of the youngest (unknown) billionaire in Malaysia.

Kent was born into a middle income family. His father was an engineer, while his mother was a teacher. He had an elder brother and a younger sister. Life was comfortable.

In school, Kent was a lazy student. He studied only during classes, while the rest of the times he would be hanging out with his friends at the football field. Despite his lackasaidal attitude, somehow he managed to score straight A's in SPM. Because of that, he was offered a scholarship to study overseas.

In university, Kent was also a lazy student. He studied only during classes, while the rest of the times he would be hanging out with his friends at the rugby field. Despite his lackasaidal attitude, somehow he still managed to obtain first class honours for his engineering Bachelor's degree. After graduation, he decided to return to Malaysia to live an easy lifestyle.

During his first job interview, the company was so impressed with his first class honours that they hired him with a permanent job as an engineer, unlike other candidates who were mostly hired on contract basis. At work, Kent was also a lazy employee. He worked only half of the time in office, while spending the other half of his time clicking on his investments on Bursa and chatting with friends on Facebook.

Somehow, Kent was quite blessed with luck in investments. All the stocks which he traded on would bring him an average profit margin of 50% within 3-5 days. As such, within the 1 year, he had earned himself enough money to quit his job.

At home, he spent more time looking at his stocks trading in front of the TV, while teasing his friends on Facebook. And somehow, his luck in stocks trading got better, and his average profit margin increased to a stunning 80% within 2-3 days. As such, within 1 year, he had earned himself enough money to buy his first piece of land.

Again, luck shone on him. The land which he bought appreciated 20 folds in value within 1 year and was sold for an undisclosed staggering price to a major property developer in Malaysia. At the age of 28, together with the profits that he continues to enjoy from his stocks trading and other investments, it is estimated that his personal networth is at RM 1.4 billion!

When interviewed, Kent credited his success to an unbelievable streak of good luck, and thanked God for blessing him with good luck throughout his life. He encouraged people to believe in miracles and do not stop trying their luck in whatever they invest in.

We know that success stories are meant to inspire people, but do you find this story inspiring?
I can bet your answer is NO.

We know that success stories are meant to make people believe in possibilities, but do you believe in this story?
I can bet your answer is also NO.

So, what are the elements missing from this story which caused you to answer NO for both questions above?

• Challenges and fear
• Hope and inspiration
• Hard work and victory

These are the vital elements typically found in a captivating success story, don't you agree?

Therefore, imagine if you were to write your own success story, what sort of elements would you find in your story?

Whatever you do, stop fantasizing that success is going to be casual and easy. It's not going to be a smooth rosy path towards success.

The path towards success is always filled with pitfalls, tears and heartbreaks. It is because of these that we learn how to get ourselves back up, learn how to smile on with courage, and learn how to rebuild faith and inspiration. It is because of these that we grow to become a better person day by day.

So...back to the story. Is it real?

Of course it's not, I created the story on purpose. There is no such thing as easy success.  :)

Brotherhood and Loyalty

Jack and Clement were at the doorstep leaving a party, when the host, Nelson, was calling out, "Hey Clement, don't you want to stay back for the next exciting session?" Jack stood by the side, neglected.

The hostess Sally noticed Jack and waved for him to stay back. At that moment, memories flashed through Jack's mind.

Jack remembered the days in the past when Nelson used to hang out with him so often. After every party, Nelson would make sure that Jack stayed back for the "exciting next session". Jack was always part of Nelson's inner circle. Nelson had always spoken highly of Jack. They were both epitome of brotherhood and loyalty.

Then one day, something happened to Jack. He had some personal issues and was bogged down by emotions. Nelson found Jack to be annoying, as Jack slowly faded off his inner circle. For a while, there was no contact between the two of them.

Few months passed by. Jack was back on his feet, and started to throng the parties like he used to do. Whenever he bumped into Nelson at the parties, he would hope that they could make up for the lost times. But every time, Nelson would just casually greet him, with minimal eye contact. It was from then that Jack knew things had changed.

Many times, Jack wondered. Were those words, which Nelson had spoken highly of him during their good times, genuine? Or was it merely because he still belong to Nelson's inner circle back then? What happened to their epitome of brotherhood and loyalty?

Back to reality. Jack waved back at Sally, signalling that he won't be staying back. In his heart, Jack had wanted to stay back. But he was hurt. He understood that it wasn't appropriate for him to stay back. Most importantly, he didn't feel welcome. And so Jack bade Sally goodbye, as Nelson continues to focus on his new buddy Clement.

True brotherhood and loyalty thrive not only during good times, but bad times as well.

Choose your association wisely.

Believe in Yourself

Principle #5 - Believe in Yourself

Have you ever wondered why we used to learn and achieve things faster as a toddler?

Your brain is designed to solve any problem and reach any goal that you give it. The words you think and say actually affect your body. We see that in toddlers. When you were a toddler, there was no stopping you. You thought you could climb up on anything. No barrier was too big for you to attempt to overcome. But little by little, your sense of invincibility is conditioned out of you by the emotional and physical abuse that you receive from your family, friends, and teachers, until you no longer believe you can.

When we were toddlers, all that we used to think in our minds were:

• "I want to get up!"
• "I want to start walking!"
• "I want to start running!"
• "I want to start cycling like my brothers!"

And at the same time, the people around us used to also be more encouraging to us when we were toddlers. They would say things to motivate and encourage us, such as:

• "You can do it!"
• "Clever boy!"
• "Try again!"
• "Take your next step!"

But as we grew up, expectations change and people around us would become less encouraging towards us and start applying their own self-limiting beliefs on us:

• "Are you sure you can do it?"
• "Don't be silly!"
• "You better don't repeat this again! Or else..."
• "Watch your next step!"

Which eventually lead us into doubting our own capabilities:

• "Can I really succeed?"

If you want to move ahead in life, something needs to change, and the one thing you need to change is YOU.

"You have to believe in yourself when no one else does. That's what makes you a winner." ~ Venus Williams

You also have to add to your thinking that "What others think about you is none of your business". Quit worrying about what people think about you and follow your heart.

Dr Daniel Amen's 18/40/60 Rule: When you're 18, you worry about what everybody is thinking of you; when you're 40, you don't give a darn what anybody thinks of you; when you're 60, you realize nobody's been thinking about you at all.

The truth is that everyone else is just as busy as you, thinking and worrying about their own lives. And if they happen to think about you at all, most likely they are also wondering what you are thinking about them. Think about all the time wasted here in worrying. Wouldn't it be good to convert this energy to good use instead?

Believe Your Way to Success

"Whatever the mind can conceive and believe, it can achieve." ~ Napoleon Hill

It is really an intriguing idea to think that your mind can deliver literally anything and everything you want, as long as you BELIEVE that what you want is possible.

Here's an excerpt from "Principle #4 - Believe It's Possible":

Scientist used to believe that humans responded to information flowing into the brain from the outside world. But today, they're learning instead that we respond to what the brain, on the basis of previous experience, expects to happen next.

Why does the brain work this way? Neuropsychologists who study expectancy theory say it's because we spend our whole lives becoming conditioned. Throughout a lifetime's worth of events, our brain actually learns what to expect next - whether it eventually happens that way or not. And because our brain expects something will happen a certain way, we often achieve exactly what we anticipate.

This is why it's so important to hold positive expectations in your mind. When you replace old negative expectations with more positive ones - when you begin to believe what you want is possible - your brain will actually take over the job of accomplishing that possibility for you. Better than that, your brain will actually expect to achieve that outcome.

It also helps if you indulge yourself in the right self talk in front of the mirror, thinking of the one thing that you really want to achieve while saying this to yourself:

"No matter how bad it is, and how bad it gets, I'm going to make it!"

One of the Biggest Brainwashing in Modern History

From the day we were born, our minds have always been a subject of programming and re-programming (or so called "brainwash"). We were taught how to do things following a set of pre-conditioned norms and rules. For instance, in some Chinese customs, if a little child starts holding pencils and spoons with his left hand, his parents would adamantly try to force him into using his right hand instead.

Everything that we do today is a result of programming and re-programming. When the outcome is perceived as being positive in accordance to social norms, we call it "education and training". When the outcome is perceived as being negative in accordance to social norms, we call it "brainwashing".

For the rest of this topic that I'm going to talk about here, I will be using the word "brainwash" because that's how I perceive this matter. You may have your own perception, and it's okay. There's no right or wrong here.  :)

Over the past year of research, I have learned that one of the biggest brainwashing in modern history is the idea of RETIREMENT.

"Retirement is the point where a person stops employment completely." ~ Wikipedia

Let me ask you this, what is the minimum age of retirement in Malaysia?

If your answer is "55 years old", please read my question again clearly.

If your answer is "60 years old", please read my question again clearly.

If your answer is "I don't know", please get more information.

If your answer is "Depends", you clearly know something that the 3 categories of people above don't know yet.

If your answer is "There's no such thing as a minimum retirement age", you're probably already on track towards your retirement or financial freedom.

Yes. What I have learned is, there is no such thing as a minimum retirement age in Malaysia. You can retire any time you want, as long as you have the means to do so. If you consider yourself to be in employment for your entire career, then yes, there is indeed a minimum retirement age for EMPLOYEES in Malaysia, which is 60 years old coming July 1 this year.

P/S: I purposely remove the word "employees" from the question to show you the so called "brainwashing" that has taken place in our innocent minds.

Some people have always been in "retirement" because of the huge stream of passive income coming into their pockets from the huge businesses they have inheritted from their ancestors.

Some people have retired at the age of 30 because they have built or acquired enough assets to provide them sufficient passive income to sustain their living.

Some people choose not to retire from their jobs even though they have enough passive income from their assets to sustain their living. Call it semi-retirement.

Some people have been forced into retirement at the age of 55 years old because companies would no longer want to prolong their employment in the company.

Some people have not even retired at the age of 70 because they still have to look for contract jobs to earn money to pay for their expenses and liabilities.

If you're financially savvy, you don't have to adhere to this retirement rule set by the government. If you're financially intelligent, you won't even succumb to the brainwashing of this retirement age thingy.

You can retire any time you want, as long as you have the means to do so.

Retirement

What is the age for retirement in Malaysia?

If you answer is 55 years old, you need to update yourself :)

If your answer is 60 years old, please read on till the very end.

Coming July 1, the official retirement age for employees will be revised to 60 years old:
http://www.themalaysianinsider.com/malaysia/article/minimum-retirement-age-act-will-be-implemented-from-july-1

Whether this is a good news or a bad news, it depends on your perspective.

If you're an employee and a subordinate in a company, it means:

• You can look forward to a longer career path.
• You can expect to pay more taxes over your life.
• You can expect your boss to be staying around for 5 years longer.
• You can expect your promotion to be delayed for 5 years longer because your boss will only be leaving by then.
• You can expect to only get to withdraw your hard-earned EPF savings 5 years later.

If you're an employee and taking a management role in a company, it means:

• You can look forward to retire 5 years later than your initial plan.
• You can expect to enjoy authoritative power for 5 years longer.
• You can expect to feel the competitive threat from your next level subordinate to replace your for 5 years longer.
• You can expect to have the need to reinvent yourself for 5 more years.
• You can expect to only get to withdraw your hard-earned EPF savings 5 years later than your initial plan.

If you're an employer and owner of a company, it means:

• You can look forward to having a bigger pool of manpower to hire into your workforce.
• You can look forward to getting better bargains in hiring employees because supply would greatly exceed demand.
• You can look forward to having lesser headache because there will be lesser turnover in your company as employees grab more tightly to their jobs because competition in the job market gets more intensed.
• You can expect to contribute more to EPF.
• You can expect to face more and more dinosaurs in your company that you try to get rid.

If you're a retail shop or restaurant owner, it means:

• You can look forward to having more sales revenues because people are going to enjoy 5 years of extended buying power.

If you're the owner of a bank, it means:

• You can expect having lesser worries of people failing to pay up their loans and mortgage.

If you're the government, it means:

• You can look forward to more people paying taxes.
• You can look forward to more people contributing to EPF.
• You can look forward to business owners paying more taxes as their revenue increases.
• You can look forward to having lesser headache in taking care of the elderly people's welfare because they can take care of themselves for 5 years longer.
• You can look forward to having a better package to offer to offshore investors in terms of workforce because the salary demands have gone down due to supply exceeding demand.

Who's the real winner?

Is this a good news or a bad news? Depends on your perspective.  :)

Trust, Believe and Empowerment

Something happened today and reminded me of a Chinese idiom:

用人不疑， 疑人不用

What this idiom directly translates into is:

When you use someone, don't doubt; when you doubt someone, don't use.

This idiom originated from ancient China, where kings had applied (or failed to apply) this philosophy when it comes to managing his country and administration. A wise king would understand that in order for him to bring peace, glory and prosperity to his country, he would first need to learn how to trust the people in his administration and army (i.e. trust in their capability and genuine intentions) to run and protect his country. As history has shown, kings who managed to apply this philosophy had enjoyed longevity because of the genuine respect and loyalty they had gained from their subjects; meanwhile, kings who failed to do so had short-lived glory because of the distrust and betrayal from their subjects.

Human nature is still indeed human nature, it never changes with respect to time.

Thus, this idiom also applies in modern day leadership:

• Do you feel good when your boss believes in your capability and does not micro-manage your work activities?
• Do you feel good when your team leader assigns an important task to you without even questioning your confidence in delivering it?
• Do you feel good when your friend entrusts you with the responsibility of safeguarding his house and car while he's away on a long holiday without even doubting your trustworthiness?

I'm sure most of us would feel good in these scenarios above. In fact, we would feel even more motivated to deliver the tasks to our best abilities, because deep inside we feel appreciated, we feel the sense of responsibility and conviction in not wanting to let our boss, team leader or friend down. We would want to honour their trust and believe in us. Right?

In my own words:
Learn not to doubt the person whom you seek help from. Otherwise, you might as well not seek help from the person that you doubt.

Trust and believe lead to empowerment.

By empowering the people around you, you bring out the best in them, and gain respect and loyalty in return.