Know Your Life Purpose in 5 Minutes

Have you ever figured out what is your life all about?

If you haven't, do take some time to watch this enlightening video.

How to Know Your Life Purpose in 5 Minutes: Adam Leipzig

Use these 5 questions to help you find your life purpose:

• Who you are?
• Refers to your name.

• What you do?
• Refers to what do you love to do. Eg. teach, cook, write, etc. Focus it down by asking yourself this one question - what is the one thing right now that you feel supremely qualified to teach other people?

• Who you do it for?
• Refers to people whom you think will benefit from what you do.

• What those people want or need?
• Refers to what those people want or need that you have, that they come to you so you can give them this thing.

• How they change as a result?
• Refers to how do they change or transform as a result of what you gave them.

This formulation shared by Adam Leipzig is so powerful because of all these 5 things that you need to know, to know what your life purpose is, only 2 of them are about yourself, while the other 3 are about other people. This formulation makes you outward-facing, leads you to think of the people you serve, rather than how you are served yourselves.

"Happy people make it a point to make other people happy and do things that make them feel well taken care of and secure. If you make other people happy, life teaches us we will be taken care of too." ~ Adam Leipzig

Here are some examples of a powerful elevator pitch given by Adam Leipzig that you can use when people ask you "What do you do?":

"I write books for children, so they can fall asleep at night, so they can have awesome dreams."

"I design apparels for men and women who need affordable choices, so they can look and feel their best."

"I train entrepreneurs and creative people to take decisive actions, so they can get their greatest work into the world."

Learn about your life purpose, and start your next day living purposefully  :)

The Power is in the Palm of Your Hands

Before I watched this short video by Allan Pease, I thought that the only "power" that we can harness from our palm is like what Tony Stark a.k.a. Iron Man does best...

After watching the video, only did I realise the significant impact of the positioning of our palms have on our daily communication - whether your palms are faced up, faced down, or clasped in a finger-pointing style.

Watch this and get yourself amused by what you'll learn from the "master of body language" Allan Pease.

Body language, the power is in the palm of your hands: Allan Pease

What we've learned from this short video explains clearly to us why we find Iron Man's...

"I'm dangerous! Don't come near...or I'll blow you off!"

more intimidating and powerful than Spidey's...

"Hey there, here comes your friendly Spiderman!"

It's all in the positioning of the palm of your hands  :)

Compassion, Deep Listening, Mindfulness, Happiness and Suffering, and the Four Mantras

I stumbled upon this inspiring video clip by chance, and was very touched and enlightened by the wisdom displayed by Venerable Thich Nhat Hanh in this interview session by Oprah Winfrey.

Here's a list of wonderful quotes from the interview:

There is a possibility to handle every kind of event and the essential is to keep the peace in yourself.

And we call it the beginner's mind. The deep intention, the deepest desire that one person may have.

I said this is not suicide. Because in a difficult situation like Vietnam, to make your voice heard is difficult. So sometimes we have to burn ourselves alive in order for our voice to be heard around...so that is out of compassion that you do that, the act of love and not of despair. And Jesus Christ died in the same spirit, out of love.

I thought that the American people had produced King. But are not capable of preserving him.

Deep listening is the kind of listening that can help relieve the suffering of the other person. You can call it compassionate listening. You listen with only one purpose, help him or her to empty his heart. And if you remember that you are helping him or her to suffer less, and then even if he says things full of wrong perceptions, full of bitterness, you are still capable to continue to listen with compassion. Because you know that listening like that, with compassion, you give him or her a chance to suffer less. If you want to help him or her to correct his perception, and then you wait for another time. But for the time being, you just listen with compassion, and help him or her to suffer less. And one hour like that can bring transformation and healing.

The fear, the anger and the despair is born on the ground of wrong perception. We have wrong perceptions concerning ourselves and the other person, and that is the foundation for conflict and war and violence.

And we should be able to say like this, "Dear friends, dear people, I know that you suffer a lot. I have not understood enough of your difficulties and suffering. It's not our intention to make you suffer more. It is opposite. So please tell us about your suffering, your difficulties. I'm eager to learn to understand." It has to start like that, loving speech. And if you're honest, if you are true, they will open their heart and tell us. And then we practice compassionate, deep listening. And during the process of deep listening, we can learn so much about our own perception and their perceptions. And that is the best way, the only way, to remove terrorism.

Anger is the energy which people use in order to act. But when you are angry, you are not lucid. And you might do wrong things. That is why compassion is a better energy. And the energy of compassion is very strong.

I think we can learn, can always learn from our suffering. In the ash of suffering, a phoenix can be born. And that is why mindfulness helps us to look deeply into the difficulty, the suffering we have. And many positives will come out of that. It depends on our way of responding to the event. There are ways that can bring more suffering. Then, there are ways that can bring relief right away and hope. It depends on our mind. And that is why mindfulness and concentration can help tremendously in bringing insight.

Don't worry about tomorrow, tomorrow will take care of itself.

And if we know how to handle the present moment, we don't have to worry much about the future.

If the present moment has peace and joy and happiness, and then the future will have also.

Happiness and suffering, they support each other. They "inter-are". To be is to "inter-be". It is like the left and the right. If the left is not there, the right cannot be there. So the same thing is true with suffering and happiness. Good and evil, they "inter-are" also. In everyone of us, there are good seeds and there are bad seeds.

There is the lotus that grows out of the mud. We need the mud in order to make the lotus. You cannot grow lotus on marble. You have to grow it on the mud. So suffering is the kind of mud that we must be able to use, in order to grow the flower of understanding and love.

The first mantra is: "Darling, I'm here for you." When you love someone, the best thing you can offer him or her is your presence. How can you love if you are not there? And you look into his eyes and say, "Darling, you know something? I'm here for you." You offer him or her your presence, and your true presence. You are not preoccupied with the past or the future, your project. You are for your beloved one.

The second mantra is: "Darling, I know you are there and I am so happy because you are truly there." You recognize the presence of your beloved one as something very precious. And you use your mindfulness to recognize that, embrace your beloved one with mindfulness and she will bloom like a flower. To be loved means to be recognized as existing.

The third mantra is what you practice when your beloved one suffers. "Darling, I know you suffer...that is why I am here for you." Before you do something to help her, to help him, your presence already can bring some relief.

And the fourth mantra is a little bit more difficult. That is when you suffer. And you believe your suffering has been caused by your beloved one, so you suffer so deeply. And you prefer to go to your room and close the door and suffer alone. You get hurt. And you want to punish him or her for having made you suffer. And the mantra is to overcome that. The mantra is: "Darling, I suffer. I am trying my best to practice. Please help me." You go to him. You go to her. And practice that. And if you can bring yourself to say that mantra, you suffer less right away.

Thank you thank you thank you, dear Oprah Winfrey, for setting the stage for this interview to happen.

Thank you thank you thank you, dear Venerable Thich Nhat Hanh, for the enlightening and liberating wisdom.

The Common Denominator of Success by Albert E.N. Gray

Title: The Common Denominator of Success
By: Albert E.N. Gray
Full article: http://www.amnesta.net/mba/thecommondenominatorofsuccess-albertengray.pdf

Excerpt from the full article:

"The common denominator of success --- the secret of success of every man who has ever been successful --- lies in the fact that he formed the habit of doing things that failures don't like to do."

Several years ago I was brought face to face with the very disturbing realization that I was trying to supervise and direct the efforts of a large number of men who were trying to achieve success, without knowing myself what the secret of success really was. And that, naturally, brought me face to face with the further realization that regardless of what other knowledge I might have brought to my job, I was definitely lacking in the most important knowledge of all.

Of course, like most of us, I had been brought up on the popular belief that the secret of success is hard work, but I had seen so many men work hard without succeeding and so many men succeed without working hard that I had become convinced that hard work was not the real secret even though in most cases it might be one of the requirements.

And so I set out on a voyage of discovery which carried me through biographies and autobiographies and all sorts of dissertations on success and the lives of successful men until I finally reached a point at which I realized that the secret I was trying to discover lay not only in what men did, but also in what made them do it.

I realized further that the secret for which I was searching must not only apply to every definition of success, but since it must apply to everyone to whom it was offered, it must also apply to everyone who had ever been successful. In short, I was looking for the common denominator of success. And because that is exactly what I was looking for, that is exactly what I found. But this common denominator of success is so big, so powerful, and so vitally important to your future and mine that I'm not going to make a speech about it. I'm just going to "lay it on the line" in words of one syllable, so simple that everyone can understand them.

The common denominator of success --- the secret of success of every man who has ever been successful --- lies in the fact that he formed the habit of doing things that failures don't like to do.

It's just as true as it sounds and it's just as simple as it seems. You can hold it up to the light, you can put it to the acid test, and you can kick it around until it's worn out, but when you are all through with it, it will still be the common denominator of success, whether you like it or not.

It will still explain why men have come into this business of ours with every apparent qualification for success and given us our most disappointing failures, while others have come in and achieved outstanding success in spite of many obvious and discouraging handicaps. And since it will also explain your future, it would seem to be a mighty good idea for you to use it in determining just what sort of a future you are going to have. In other words, let's take this big, all-embracing secret and boil it down to fit the individual you.

If the secret of success lies in forming the habit of doing things that failures don't like to do, let's start the boiling-down process by determining what are the things that failures don't like to do. The things that failures don't like to do are the very things that you and I and other human beings, including successful men, naturally don't like to do. In other words, we've got to realize right from the start that success is something which is achieved by the minority of men, and is therefore unnatural and not to be achieved by following our natural likes and dislikes nor by being guided by our natural preferences and prejudices.

The things that failures don't like to do, in general, are too obvious for us to discuss them here, and so, since our success is to be achieved in the sale of life insurance, let us move on to a discussion of the things that we as life insurance men don't like to do. Here, too, the things we don't like to do are too many to permit specific discussion, but I think they can all be disposed of by saying that they all emanate from one basic dislike peculiar to our type of selling. We don't like to call on people who don't want to see us and talk to them about something they don't want to talk about. Any reluctance to follow a definite prospecting program, to use prepared sales talks, to organize time and to organize effort are all caused by this one basic dislike. 

Perhaps you have wondered what is behind this peculiar lack of welcome on the part of our prospective buyers. Isn't it due to the fact that our prospects are human too? And isn't it true that the average human being is not big enough to buy life insurance of his own accord and is therefore prone to escape our efforts to make him bigger or persuade him to do something he doesn't want to do by striking at the most important weakness we possess: namely, our desire to be appreciated? Perhaps you have been discouraged by a feeling that you were born subject to certain dislikes peculiar to you, with which the successful men in our business are not afflicted. 

Perhaps you have wondered why it is that our biggest producers seem to like to do the things that you don't like to do. 

They don't! And I think this is the most encouraging statement I have ever offered to a group of life insurance salesmen. 

But if they don't like to do these things, then why do they do them? Because by doing the things they don't like to do, they can accomplish the things they want to accomplish. Successful men are influenced by the desire for pleasing results. Failures are influenced by the desire for pleasing methods and are inclined to be satisfied with such results as can be obtained by doing things they like to do. 

Why are successful men able to do things they don't like to do while failures are not? Because successful men have a purpose strong enough to make them form the habit of doing things they don't like to do in order to accomplish the purpose they want to accomplish. 

Sometimes even our best producers get into a slump. When a man goes into a slump, it simply means that he has reached a point at which, for the time being, the things he doesn't like to do have become more important than his reasons for doing them. And may I pause to suggest to you managers and general agents that when one of your good producers goes into a slump, the less you talk about his production and the more you talk about his purpose, the sooner you will pull him out of his slump? 

Many men with whom I have discussed this common denominator of success have said at this point, "But I have a family to support and I have to have a living for my family and myself. Isn't that enough of a purpose?" 

No, it isn't. It isn't a sufficiently strong purpose to make you form the habit of doing the things you don't like to do for the very simple reasons that it is easier to adjust ourselves to the hardships of a poor living than it is to adjust ourselves to the hardships of making a better one. If you doubt me, just think of all the things you are willing to go without in order to avoid doing the things you don't like to do. All of which seems to prove that the strength which holds you to your purpose is not your own strength but the strength of the purpose itself.

ABCDE for Your Health

Today I read this article from the Star which talks about a subject very important for our health. So I searched for its original article from the website.

Title: Vitamins and Supplements: What You Need to Know
Link: http://www.healthnewsdigest.com/news/Supplements_340/Vitamins-and-Supplements-What-You-Need-to-Know.shtml

One of the most important takeaway from this article is that the author offered a very easy way to remember what do we need to do when it comes to choosing the right vitamins and supplements for our diet.

A - Analyse (Why do you take it)

B - Beware (Interaction and side effects)

C - Check (Label or packaging for seal of approval)

D - Dose (Proper dosage)

E - Expiration date

Do click on the link above to read through the rest of the article for more information on the use of Vitamins A, B, C, D and E.

How to Achieve Anything that You Want in Life

Today I heard a funny but meaningful joke from a very successful entrepreneur from Indonesia. It went something like this:

There was a man whose son was still a bachelor. Wanting to secure his son a good future, one day, he went to see his son.

Man: Son, I have a good candidate for you as a wife.

Son: Thanks Dad, but I don't need that. I can settle my own future.

Man: But Son, this lady is the daughter of Bill Gates.

Son: Well, in that case, it's okay.

The next day, the man went to see Bill Gates.

Man: Hi Mr. Bill Gates, I have a good candidate for you as a son-in-law.

Bill Gates: I don't think my daughter needs that. She can settle her own future.

Man: But, this man is the Vice President of the World Bank.

Bill Gates: Well, in that case, it's okay.

Subsequently, the man went to see the President of the World Bank.

Man: Mr. President, I have a good candidate for your organization as a Vice President.

President: We already have a few Vice Presidents in our organization. I don't think we need another one.

Man: But Mr. President, this man is the son-in-law of Bill Gates.

President: Well, in that case, it's okay.

This joke may be as funny as it is, but it does shed a light on the 4 simple steps for achieving anything that we want in life.

Step 1 - Identify what we want.

Step 2 - Identify the people who can give us what we want.

Step 3 - Identify what are the things that we have, that can be offered for exchange with the people who can give us what we want.

Step 4 - Work out the deal.

Here's an example to help you understand better.

In the context of getting a job, first you identify the kind of job that you're looking for. Then, you search through advertisements looking for a company which is offering such a job position. Next, you prepare your resume listing down all the things that you can offer to the company. Finally, you go for an interview to work out the deal.

As simple as it sounds, but truly this is what it takes to achieve anything that we want life. Try it. All the best!

Time is the Best Teacher in Life

Why do I say so?

Because, time...

Teaches us the meaning of life.

Helps us to find out the purpose of our existence.

Helps us to discover the values that we represent as a person.

Helps us understand our priorities in life.

Shows us who are the real friends and associates who care for us.

Shows us who are the "friends" who just merely want something from us.

Shows us what works and what doesn't.

Shows us the difference between importance and urgency.

Reveals to us what is genuine and what is fake.

Reveals to us who are the real contenders and who are the wannabe's.

And many more.

Learn from Time, don't just allow it to pass by.

It Pays to be Ignorant

I recently did some research and found the following good reads on Direct Selling and Pyramid Schemes:

Link: http://www.directselling411.com/about-this-site/
Description: DirectSelling411.com – your one-stop resource for information about direct selling.

Link: http://www.directselling411.com/forms/CompanyFormPublicMembers/search?action=find
Description: A complete list of all legitimate DSA members.

Link: http://www.directselling411.com/for-sellers/who-can-help/the-dsa-code-of-ethics/
Description: DSA Code of Ethics and what it means.


Some information which you may want to take note of:

• Not every country has regulation which requires a company to have a license to run a direct selling model.
• Example: In the UK, there is no requirement for a company or an individual to have a license to operate a direct selling business. (Source: http://dsa.org.uk/about/legislation)
• What it means if a company is not a member of DSA?
• It means association with the company is totally "at your own risk", as the company does not have an obligation to abide by DSA's Code of Ethics.

Here's a case study on a company which has recently made quite some furore in our local market.

This company is no where to be found within the list of DSA members even though:

• They "made a commitment to being the most-trusted name in the direct-selling industry through our transparent business processes and open management philosophy." Link
• They originated in the US (Plano, Texas). Link
• They started way back in Dec 2005. Link
• They just recently obtained a 2-year license to operate in Malaysia (Don't ask me. It beats me. Malaysia Boleh!). Link 

Other interesting things that I have found about this company's operation in Singapore:

• They were not listed in DSAS's list of companies. Link
• They claim that even a famous celebrity is IN! Don't pray pray! (I guess when there's nothing much of a happening in the entertainment scene, even the celebrities would have to find alternative source of income.) Link

So what?

What it means if a company is not a member of DSA? It means association with the company is totally "at your own risk", as the company does not have an obligation to abide by DSA's Code of Ethics.

Other good reads:

Link: http://www.directselling411.com/for-sellers/myths-facts/#myth6
Description: Top 10 Myths & Facts About Direct Selling.

Link: http://dsas.org.sg/about-us/faqs/
Description: FAQs from DSAS website.


It pays to be ignorant. Get the right information.

Everything Happens for A Reason

Nelson Mandela, or affectionately known as "Madiba" by the people of South Africa, was a heroic symbol for peace, diversity, equality, and forgiveness. One of the highlights of his life is his imprisonment for over 27 years prior to being released and eventually becoming the President of South Africa.

Question: Would Nelson Mandela be the legend that he is today if he were to escape the 27 years of imprisonment?

Answer: Probably no. Without his continuous fighting for peace and equality while being in prison for 27 years, there's nothing much he could teach the world about forgiveness and reconciliation.

Steve Jobs was a charismatic symbol for revolution and innovation in the computers and smartphones industry. One of the highlights in his life is his sacking from Apple in 1985 after a boardroom tussle, which led him to Pixar, and eventually returning to Apple to introduce the iconic series of "i" gadgets to the whole wide world.

Question: Would Steve Jobs be the legend that he is today if he were to escape the sacking from Apple in 1985?

Answer: Probably no.Without his continuous search and innovation in different fields of technology, there's nothing much he could bring together in terms of experience to form the ideas for the iconic "i" gadgets.

These are just two of the many role models in our life, whose life stories had inspired many people around the world. These stories all have common themes which teach us about the important principles of success. Among them are:

Belief
A belief that we are born into this world for a special purpose to serve the world we live in.

Adversity
All golden opportunities and defining lessons in life often come to us in the form of long and arduous adversities.

Perseverance
It is only through perseverance and having a positive mental attitude that we can survive the adversities in life to be able to learn the important principles of success, see the golden opportunities that come in disguise, and realize our special purpose to serve the world we live in.


Everything happens for a reason, and it serves us well.

What Do You Know About Our Drinking Water?

The current floods in Kuantan got me thinking about one thing - where can people get clean source of water during such times. My search got me stumbled upon a very informative article which, I think, gives a thorough education on the water that we consume.

Article: WATER FOR HEALTH AND LONGEVITY
Link: http://www.drlwilson.com/articles/water.htm

P/S: There are tons of articles available online, but why do I recommend this one? Because it's written in a very scientific and fact-based manner, and most importantly, appears to be objective and unbiased as it presented both the good and bad sides of the picture.

If you don't have the time to read through every detail, this is probably the only part which you must not miss:

(Excerpt from the article)

SUMMARY OF WATERS TO AVOID

Please avoid: 

Trinity Water, as it is much too high in fluoride. 

All “drinking water” and “purified water” including Aqua Fina and Dasani. Do not be fooled by fancy sounding names or fancy bottling. These are just filtered tap water or water produced by reverse osmosis. 

Alkaline waters of all kinds. 

Distilled water, except perhaps during a toxic elimination or healing reaction. Too much distilled water will demineralize the body. 

Water from water machines found at supermarkets, for example. 

Water from water stores. This is always made with reverse osmosis, in my experience. 

Well water, in many cases. 

Tap water, unless filtered with carbon only. Tap water is not ideal, but it often will hydrate the body. If it is all you can afford, preferably at least use a Britta or other simple carbon filter and change the filter about once a month. 

Multiple stage filters in most cases. Beware that some multi-stage home and industrial water filters use reverse osmosis or other types of filtering methods that damage the water severely. Carbon is safe, however. 

Other “designer” waters. These include Penta Water, Vitamin Water, Smart Water and others.

On a side note, don't be fooled by advertiser's claim. Whenever in doubt, check the following websites:
http://www.nsf.org/certified-products-systems (look at "Drinking Water Treatment Units")
http://info.nsf.org/Certified/DWTU/ (certification to verify claims)
http://www.wqa.org/goldseal/goldsealSearch.cfm (certification to verify claims)


Water is good for you, if it's only good water.

Sour Grapes

Sometimes human nature is such that when we achieve something good, we want people to be there to cheer and congratulate us for our effort and achievement; whereas, when we achieve nothing good, we then shy away from lending our cheer and acknowledgement towards other people's achievement.

I remember back in school, at the end of the year during the school's annual prize giving ceremony, students who were supposed to receive their prizes would turn up for the event, whereas others would be absent.

I had been on both sides.

Whenever I was expecting to receive an award, I would hope that most of my friends and schoolmates would be there to witness my glorious moment; but when I was not expecting to receive any award, I would not even care to attend the event, thinking that the whole ceremony was just some form of "wayang" for people to showoff.

Such a loser I was.

And I'm sure many of you have been in the same circumstance before.

Why is it that we just want to taste "sweet grapes" and despise the taste of "sour grapes"?
It could be due to feelings of envy, inferiority, or resentment.

Whatever it is, I have learnt to accept and make the best of out the "sour grapes". Many things in life behave in a reciprocal manner. If we want people to treat us well, we need to first learn how to treat people well. If we want people to feel happy for us, we need to first learn how to feel happy for others. If we want others to acknowledge our good work, we need to first learn how to acknowledge other people's good work.

Apart from that, being able to take the taste of "sour grapes", in a way, would make us acknowledge our own mistakes and shortcomings, and trigger us to strive to be better in our next attempt.

Meanwhile, resenting the taste of "sour grapes" would only keep us at where we are and living in denial, because resenting out mistakes and shortcomings is akin to not acknowledging the need to improve.

Therefore, if you want to succeed in life, you must first learn how to accept the taste of "sour grapes". The more you taste, the more close you'll move towards a better you.