I am a fan of James Altucher's writing. I got to know him through Lifehacker's How I work series. This is an excellent series and I always look forward to read the latest updates on Lifehacker.
When I read his book -- Choose Yourself! I was going through a crisis. I was alone and lost. During that period, waking up in the morning to face the day requires loads of courage. I am always tired, always distracted and I was angry at everything. I was angry at myself. Angry at my work. No matter what I do, I just do not have any sense of accomplishment. My direct manager was upset at me for not performing in my work and my business is still struggling. Due to my work and business commitment, I hardly had the time for the family. I was burning both ends of the candle with nothing to show for!!! Everyday I would listen to motivation speech on Youtube so that I do not blow my brains out.
I pick up Jame's book while browsing the local bookshop. He made a lot of bold claims about the economy and the corporate world. I do not know whether there are any truth in it but my company is indeed going through a restructuring and I do beleive that the jobs lost will never come back again. What had really helped me was his suggestion on taking care of my four bodies. The physical body. The emotional body. The mental body. The spiritual body.
While I was busy trying to get my work and my business back in order. I have neglected almost everything else in my life. I took pride in going without sleep, rest or exercise. Unfortunately, it came at a great cost and my world just come falling down.
I took up his advice and try to improve the four bodies. Things are slowly improving. Improving as in I am now able to tackle some of the issues heads on. My problems and challenges will never go away. Jame's idea are never meant to help you to get rid of the problems. Rather, his suggestion is just to help you to hang on and tackle life's hardship one moment at a time.
You can find his site here.
Showing posts with label selfhelp. Show all posts
Showing posts with label selfhelp. Show all posts
Monday, June 16, 2014
Friday, May 9, 2014
Never Work In A Job That You Hate To Buy Things That You Dont Need
I know a couple of friends who recently lost their job due to organization restructuring. Most of them has worked in that organization for more than 10 years, one of them was as long as 27 years.
There were a lot of anxiety and self assessment. I asked whether the job that they were in is their dream job? Almost most of them said no. When they graduated and joined the work force, something just changed. Piece by piece of themselves got buried by work, family and commitments. At the same time they grew to resent their job and even their life. I asked why they cannot change? Here are some reasons.
Yes! You could be in a job that you hate, you have commitments to pay. If you are only focusing on the essentials and watch what you spend, you may still have extra resources to built your own dream, to achieve your aspiration. Use the extra resources to invest into your dream, it could be investing in yourself by going back to school or even saving up to built a small business for yourself.
Most people just do a job, raise a family and then die. Is this what you want? You do not want to wait until you are old and tired to figure out that you have lived a life that you do not want.
Start from today, challenge yourself to go deeper whenever you need to splurge on something or spend your time. Is this a need or want? Ask yourself whether you are happy in your job. If you are not happy in your job, what can make you happy? Do you have a plan to achieve that happiness?
Not all of us can work in our dream job but we can manage how long we need to work in a job that we dislike. For a start, manage your wants and slowly built towards your dream. At least, this makes the job that you hate feels a little bit better and you know you are not trapped.
Never work in a job that you hate to buy things that you don't need.
There were a lot of anxiety and self assessment. I asked whether the job that they were in is their dream job? Almost most of them said no. When they graduated and joined the work force, something just changed. Piece by piece of themselves got buried by work, family and commitments. At the same time they grew to resent their job and even their life. I asked why they cannot change? Here are some reasons.
- Student loans
- Housing loans
- Car loans
- Children's education
- Household expenses
- etc...
Yes! You could be in a job that you hate, you have commitments to pay. If you are only focusing on the essentials and watch what you spend, you may still have extra resources to built your own dream, to achieve your aspiration. Use the extra resources to invest into your dream, it could be investing in yourself by going back to school or even saving up to built a small business for yourself.
Most people just do a job, raise a family and then die. Is this what you want? You do not want to wait until you are old and tired to figure out that you have lived a life that you do not want.
Start from today, challenge yourself to go deeper whenever you need to splurge on something or spend your time. Is this a need or want? Ask yourself whether you are happy in your job. If you are not happy in your job, what can make you happy? Do you have a plan to achieve that happiness?
Not all of us can work in our dream job but we can manage how long we need to work in a job that we dislike. For a start, manage your wants and slowly built towards your dream. At least, this makes the job that you hate feels a little bit better and you know you are not trapped.
Never work in a job that you hate to buy things that you don't need.
Friday, March 28, 2014
Do Not Let Your Innerlight Snuffed Out
To the frustrated,
You may have difficulty waking up in the morning and wondered what lies ahead. Everything seems bleak and no one in the world seems to care. I know, I have been through it and I am going through it. There are thoughts of regrets, remorse, revenge, self pity and even suicide. You know what? Those feelings are normal.
Take a deep breath and start breathing. Pay attention to your breathing. Fill your lung with air and let it out gently by emptying your lung. You are still alive. Take stock of what you have, write down five things that you are grateful for. Think and thank the people who has helped you in the past.
Are you drinking? Cut those out now. You do not need any form of alcohol. Alcohol affects your thinking and your sleep. You need to think clearly and sleep well. What is over is over. You cannot change the past, you cannot predict the future. Now is the most important time. Think about what is the outcome that you want to achieve. Do not wish. If you wish for something, you are expecting someone else to do the heavy lifting for you. At this point in your life, you have to take charge and figure out what to do. Set a goal, look at the goal and write down your options and action items.
Write down your options. Finished? Write down some more. Finished? Write down even more. Go through the list. Some are down right bad ideas, cross those off. Filter through the ideas and short list the best ones. Is it done? No, not really.
Find a mentor, find someone whom you can trust and give you an honest feedback. Talk to this person, discuss the issues and talk about your ideas. Do not expect the person to give you any action items. No. You have to take ownership of your action items. At best the mentor can only tell you what is their opinion and assign a timeline for your action items.
During this period, make sure you eat well, sleep well, stay active and spending enough time with your love ones. No TV, no idle surfing the net and no gossip. Clinch every moment you have and work on your goal. Review your action items and talk to your mention as you progress.
Will things get better? Of course not! You will encounter more frustrations and set backs as you move towards your goal. Failure is because you have tried. Frustration is because you are doing something different. Keep going and keep moving.
What if you do not have the sufficient knowledge or resource to make things happen? Read and reach out into the internet. Chances are your problems is nothing new, someone must have encountered it. Read and learn as much as possible. People can bring you down and take away your possessions. However, they cannot take away what you know. To be competitive, you just need to know a little bit more than your competitor.
The hard truth about life, all these will come to an end. Nothing stays forever. Sorrow and setback will come to an end, so is happiness too. Hang on there and stay strong.
Kind regards,
Simon.
You may have difficulty waking up in the morning and wondered what lies ahead. Everything seems bleak and no one in the world seems to care. I know, I have been through it and I am going through it. There are thoughts of regrets, remorse, revenge, self pity and even suicide. You know what? Those feelings are normal.
Take a deep breath and start breathing. Pay attention to your breathing. Fill your lung with air and let it out gently by emptying your lung. You are still alive. Take stock of what you have, write down five things that you are grateful for. Think and thank the people who has helped you in the past.
Are you drinking? Cut those out now. You do not need any form of alcohol. Alcohol affects your thinking and your sleep. You need to think clearly and sleep well. What is over is over. You cannot change the past, you cannot predict the future. Now is the most important time. Think about what is the outcome that you want to achieve. Do not wish. If you wish for something, you are expecting someone else to do the heavy lifting for you. At this point in your life, you have to take charge and figure out what to do. Set a goal, look at the goal and write down your options and action items.
Write down your options. Finished? Write down some more. Finished? Write down even more. Go through the list. Some are down right bad ideas, cross those off. Filter through the ideas and short list the best ones. Is it done? No, not really.
Find a mentor, find someone whom you can trust and give you an honest feedback. Talk to this person, discuss the issues and talk about your ideas. Do not expect the person to give you any action items. No. You have to take ownership of your action items. At best the mentor can only tell you what is their opinion and assign a timeline for your action items.
During this period, make sure you eat well, sleep well, stay active and spending enough time with your love ones. No TV, no idle surfing the net and no gossip. Clinch every moment you have and work on your goal. Review your action items and talk to your mention as you progress.
Will things get better? Of course not! You will encounter more frustrations and set backs as you move towards your goal. Failure is because you have tried. Frustration is because you are doing something different. Keep going and keep moving.
What if you do not have the sufficient knowledge or resource to make things happen? Read and reach out into the internet. Chances are your problems is nothing new, someone must have encountered it. Read and learn as much as possible. People can bring you down and take away your possessions. However, they cannot take away what you know. To be competitive, you just need to know a little bit more than your competitor.
The hard truth about life, all these will come to an end. Nothing stays forever. Sorrow and setback will come to an end, so is happiness too. Hang on there and stay strong.
Kind regards,
Simon.
Monday, July 22, 2013
Cleaning Up The To-Read List
I love reading. The source of materials that I read comes from webpages, books, newspapers, and magazines. Normally I would read digital books and webpages from my Samsung Galaxy Note 2 phone. The screen size is just perfect to carry around and read while waiting. Whenever I come across webpages that I wanted to save for later reading, I would use the Evernote tool to save the webpage for later reading.
One of my biggest challenge is sorting out my reading materials. Around the house and my office desk, I have all kinds of half and to read materials. The same goes to my digital reading materials as well. As I accumulate more reading materials, it has become overwhelming. I see books and magazines everywhere and I would get distracted by some other reading materials as I am just reading through whatever that was in my palm.
I have spend the weekend trying to get myself back in order and free up some space in the house. The first thing that I did was to put all my reading materials into one location in the house. In this case, that would be my study room. I have to fight the temptation to procrastinate the clean up whenever I pick up something that catches my interest at that time. Without any thoughts I just want to pile all the notes, books, magazines and newspaper clipping into one area.
With all the reading materials laying in one central location. I look at my short term and long term goals. The goals will be the basis of how I should sort out the reading materials. For example, I have given up hope on learning how to code. Those programming books goes straight to the donation bin. I am still trying to aim to be certified as a PMP practitioner. Those materials will stay and pile together. For those really long term goals such as learning French, I would put those aside on the "maybe" pile. During the sorting process, I have to be ruthless. Whatever reading materials which I have not touch for more than a year, it is lightly that I will not need it again. Those goes into the donation bin. During clean up, I have found old prints that the ink has stuck the papers together already.
After shredding a bag full of papers and stashed two boxes of books and magazines. My reading list now is more manageable. My short term goal reading materials will be sitting next to my desk, while my long term goal reading materials are kept in the bookshelf. The "maybe" books will be in the storeroom.
The idea is to keep all the books in their respective locations. I will not simply put my books around the house. Whenever I need a break from the book, it has to go back to the same place where I took it. When I finish with the reading materials, I would either consider to be filed, shredded or given away. By doing so, this helps me to keep the house in order as well as making sure I get the necessary reading done and not get distracted.
If I have better ways to manage your reading materials, do share! Remember though, books can only give you knowledge and not wisdom.
One of my biggest challenge is sorting out my reading materials. Around the house and my office desk, I have all kinds of half and to read materials. The same goes to my digital reading materials as well. As I accumulate more reading materials, it has become overwhelming. I see books and magazines everywhere and I would get distracted by some other reading materials as I am just reading through whatever that was in my palm.
I have spend the weekend trying to get myself back in order and free up some space in the house. The first thing that I did was to put all my reading materials into one location in the house. In this case, that would be my study room. I have to fight the temptation to procrastinate the clean up whenever I pick up something that catches my interest at that time. Without any thoughts I just want to pile all the notes, books, magazines and newspaper clipping into one area.
With all the reading materials laying in one central location. I look at my short term and long term goals. The goals will be the basis of how I should sort out the reading materials. For example, I have given up hope on learning how to code. Those programming books goes straight to the donation bin. I am still trying to aim to be certified as a PMP practitioner. Those materials will stay and pile together. For those really long term goals such as learning French, I would put those aside on the "maybe" pile. During the sorting process, I have to be ruthless. Whatever reading materials which I have not touch for more than a year, it is lightly that I will not need it again. Those goes into the donation bin. During clean up, I have found old prints that the ink has stuck the papers together already.
After shredding a bag full of papers and stashed two boxes of books and magazines. My reading list now is more manageable. My short term goal reading materials will be sitting next to my desk, while my long term goal reading materials are kept in the bookshelf. The "maybe" books will be in the storeroom.
The idea is to keep all the books in their respective locations. I will not simply put my books around the house. Whenever I need a break from the book, it has to go back to the same place where I took it. When I finish with the reading materials, I would either consider to be filed, shredded or given away. By doing so, this helps me to keep the house in order as well as making sure I get the necessary reading done and not get distracted.
If I have better ways to manage your reading materials, do share! Remember though, books can only give you knowledge and not wisdom.
Sunday, March 3, 2013
Two Minutes With Sir Richard Branson
Richard Branson one of the richest man on this planet and he cannot stop learning. So you should never stop learning too.
Sunday, January 20, 2013
A Thought on Lance Amstrong Interview
Lance Armstrong the former winner of seven times tour de France had admitted to taking drugs on the interview with Oprah Winfrey. This individual literally went from hero to zero within 24 hours. I fully understand the outrage and disappointment. In fact, I got even suck into reading his book -- It's Not About the Bike.I was touch by his struggled against cancer and it has been inspiring. It came to me as a surprise that he admitted for taking drugs. Through
the book, he has been a strong advocate of against taking any
performance enhancement drugs.
I do not follow any cycling sports nor his career in any way. All I knew he was someone who beat cancer and went on to dominate an era of sports. With the recent confessions, he has lost his winning results, his sponsorships and his legion of fans. The question now for him is, what next?
Apologize. Besides just being coming clean with his actions, he would need to spent the rest of life apologizing to the world. If I am were him, he has to wear the badge of shame and reach out to the younger generation about the danger of drugs. Spent time at hospitals talking to cancer patient on how he has messed up and wanting to make a change. I understand the whole wold refuses to forgive Lance Armstrong, but I also willing to see the fact that he has done a lot for the cancer community. He still has an able healthy body, for many that's already a blessing. Lance should use that to reach out and touch everyone's heart that he is indeed sorry. Could this also be a potential reality TV series?
During the interview with Oprah, Lance has mentioned that he want to compete again. I do not think that is something that he should pursue in both short and medium term. This is not what he should be doing as his brand is in tatters. Whether he wins or loses, it is still a lost to him as a brand. Why? There are lack of trust.
Speaking of brand. The brand of Lance Armstrong will never be the same again. Nonetheless, it still catches attention for both right and wrong reasons. From now, his brand should be someone who is fighting an uphill battle to gain trust, to come clean and to live an honest life. This brand may not come with wealth and fame, but it will still reaches the hearts of many for doing what is right. If Lance Amstrong can play his cards right, his brand can be bigger and more relevant than just cancer survivor and former touch de France champion.
If he is sincere about turning a new leaf and willing to reach out to the masses face to face about how he was driven by greed; I am willing to stand inline to support him.
I do not follow any cycling sports nor his career in any way. All I knew he was someone who beat cancer and went on to dominate an era of sports. With the recent confessions, he has lost his winning results, his sponsorships and his legion of fans. The question now for him is, what next?
Apologize. Besides just being coming clean with his actions, he would need to spent the rest of life apologizing to the world. If I am were him, he has to wear the badge of shame and reach out to the younger generation about the danger of drugs. Spent time at hospitals talking to cancer patient on how he has messed up and wanting to make a change. I understand the whole wold refuses to forgive Lance Armstrong, but I also willing to see the fact that he has done a lot for the cancer community. He still has an able healthy body, for many that's already a blessing. Lance should use that to reach out and touch everyone's heart that he is indeed sorry. Could this also be a potential reality TV series?
During the interview with Oprah, Lance has mentioned that he want to compete again. I do not think that is something that he should pursue in both short and medium term. This is not what he should be doing as his brand is in tatters. Whether he wins or loses, it is still a lost to him as a brand. Why? There are lack of trust.
Speaking of brand. The brand of Lance Armstrong will never be the same again. Nonetheless, it still catches attention for both right and wrong reasons. From now, his brand should be someone who is fighting an uphill battle to gain trust, to come clean and to live an honest life. This brand may not come with wealth and fame, but it will still reaches the hearts of many for doing what is right. If Lance Amstrong can play his cards right, his brand can be bigger and more relevant than just cancer survivor and former touch de France champion.
If he is sincere about turning a new leaf and willing to reach out to the masses face to face about how he was driven by greed; I am willing to stand inline to support him.
Sunday, January 13, 2013
Saturday, November 3, 2012
Return the Call!
Many times, I have heard people telling me their business is bad, not achieving the desire sales target, not getting invited for events etc. The complains of misery and missed opportunities seems go on and on.
Sometimes, these people can only fault themselves for all their miseries. Two weeks ago, I wrote an e-mail to make an inquiry for a product. Waited for two days. No reply. I call the shop, the shop person promised me that their sales person will call me back in two days time. That call was six days ago and no one has called me. Now, I have decided not to buy the item that I wanted anymore.
Whether is in business, in a office or a social circle, if you bother to return a miss call or make a call back, I am sure there are a lot of opportunities that can you explore. Furthermore, you are also sending a message to the other party that you are a reliable and responsible person.
Whenever I receive e-mails, I would open it and decide what I can do with it. If I can respond within five minutes, I would reply immediately. If it takes longer time to respond, I either put it away for later or reply back and promise the person when they can expect a full reply from me.
If I receive a miss calls on my mobile phone, I will either call back immediately if possible. Otherwise, I would schedule a later time to call. The mobile apps that I used is called Astrid, it reminds me when I need to return a call.
Returning a call or replying an e-mail will not take you too much time, but opportunity could be on the other side of the line or e-mail.
Sometimes, these people can only fault themselves for all their miseries. Two weeks ago, I wrote an e-mail to make an inquiry for a product. Waited for two days. No reply. I call the shop, the shop person promised me that their sales person will call me back in two days time. That call was six days ago and no one has called me. Now, I have decided not to buy the item that I wanted anymore.
Whether is in business, in a office or a social circle, if you bother to return a miss call or make a call back, I am sure there are a lot of opportunities that can you explore. Furthermore, you are also sending a message to the other party that you are a reliable and responsible person.
Whenever I receive e-mails, I would open it and decide what I can do with it. If I can respond within five minutes, I would reply immediately. If it takes longer time to respond, I either put it away for later or reply back and promise the person when they can expect a full reply from me.
If I receive a miss calls on my mobile phone, I will either call back immediately if possible. Otherwise, I would schedule a later time to call. The mobile apps that I used is called Astrid, it reminds me when I need to return a call.
Returning a call or replying an e-mail will not take you too much time, but opportunity could be on the other side of the line or e-mail.
Sunday, January 15, 2012
It is Your Problem
I have met many friends who aspire to become a business person. Many have tried and failed. While some did not even started. One of the biggest difference between running your own business and working are the magnitude of the problems that you would face.
If you are running your own business, the survival of the organization is your problem. This may ranges from employee engagement to the cleanliness of the toilet. In work, you only need to worry about issues that revolve around your area of job.
Therefore, besides only having passion. Are you willing to handle whatever issues that are thrown at you, regardless of its sizes and magnitude? In your own business, there is no such thing as a small problem. If is not resolve, it will come back and may get bigger. Even if you have a team to support your business, you would still need to direct resources and have the right vision to solve the problem.
If you are already in business. Ask yourself, what are the problems that business is facing? How can you solve it? You better start to think about it now, as it will not go away and you will have to solve it. It is your problem. You have to own it.
If you are running your own business, the survival of the organization is your problem. This may ranges from employee engagement to the cleanliness of the toilet. In work, you only need to worry about issues that revolve around your area of job.
Therefore, besides only having passion. Are you willing to handle whatever issues that are thrown at you, regardless of its sizes and magnitude? In your own business, there is no such thing as a small problem. If is not resolve, it will come back and may get bigger. Even if you have a team to support your business, you would still need to direct resources and have the right vision to solve the problem.
If you are already in business. Ask yourself, what are the problems that business is facing? How can you solve it? You better start to think about it now, as it will not go away and you will have to solve it. It is your problem. You have to own it.
Friday, December 30, 2011
It Does Not Matter Where You Are From...
I have been a big advocate about not giving up. Whether is starting a business or going through life's setback. It is important to dig deep in your heart and know what you want. Never get anchored down by your past experience.
Wednesday, November 30, 2011
Never Say No Onbehalf of the Other Person
Have you ever experienced this? Whenever you wanted to approach someone asking for something, you would always say "No" on the person's behalf? I bet many of you did that. I do that too. Whenever I wanted to ask for help, I would think of a million things that would have that person to say "No" to me.
Now, what I want to tell you is to stop doing that. You have already defeated yourself before you even start. The rights of saying "No" belongs to the other person. It has nothing to do with you. If you already know that the person would reject your approach, you have think further on the true reason behind the rejection. This helps you to plan and make your approach.
This is especially relevant to many things in life from closing the sales to getting a date. There was a time that I worked in a project that requires a whole new set of equipment for a short term training. However, the company was under going a series of cost cutting initiative. Asking for new expenditure is like asking for the moon. Worst, a career suicide move. I have no choice, and I was worried that the financial controller would tear me into pieces. I prepared my case carefully and consider all possible options. I spend 10 minutes explaining it to him. When I finish, all I heard was a grunt. The controller broke into a smile and tell me that he will approve the expenditure. The reason is that many of the existing machines are reaching the end of its life cycle. No matter what it has to be changed. With the training around the corner, there are more reasons to buy the equipment. Once the training is over, the machines will be transferred for other use.
Honestly, I never thought that the request would be approved so easily. Why? I was too busy thinking about how I will get rejected. If I have done my homework more carefully, I would have found out about the soon to-be expire machines.
Your take away? Never say no other behalf of the other person.
Now, what I want to tell you is to stop doing that. You have already defeated yourself before you even start. The rights of saying "No" belongs to the other person. It has nothing to do with you. If you already know that the person would reject your approach, you have think further on the true reason behind the rejection. This helps you to plan and make your approach.
This is especially relevant to many things in life from closing the sales to getting a date. There was a time that I worked in a project that requires a whole new set of equipment for a short term training. However, the company was under going a series of cost cutting initiative. Asking for new expenditure is like asking for the moon. Worst, a career suicide move. I have no choice, and I was worried that the financial controller would tear me into pieces. I prepared my case carefully and consider all possible options. I spend 10 minutes explaining it to him. When I finish, all I heard was a grunt. The controller broke into a smile and tell me that he will approve the expenditure. The reason is that many of the existing machines are reaching the end of its life cycle. No matter what it has to be changed. With the training around the corner, there are more reasons to buy the equipment. Once the training is over, the machines will be transferred for other use.
Honestly, I never thought that the request would be approved so easily. Why? I was too busy thinking about how I will get rejected. If I have done my homework more carefully, I would have found out about the soon to-be expire machines.
Your take away? Never say no other behalf of the other person.
Friday, November 25, 2011
Do You Know Your Cost of Making Money?
Everything has a cost. We read a lot about the need of making sacrifice to start a business and making money. Before you nod your head saying that you already know that. Ask yourself this question, how much are you willing to spent on making money? When will it reach a level where you think it just cost too much to make money?
The cost itself may not only be time, health but also your social well being. Being busy making a business work, your family life, health condition may take certain amount of beating. So you must know where is your limit. If you go beyond your limit, the money that you made may not necessary be worth your while.
For example, you have an important contract to negotiate but it is also your kid's school performance. Do you try to re-schedule the negotiation and risk the deal or you miss the performance and take the deal? Both comes at a price. Whatever decision that you made, there should be no regrets on your part.
Know your limits. It actually cost you something to make money. Be sure to know how much you are willing to "spent" on making money.
The cost itself may not only be time, health but also your social well being. Being busy making a business work, your family life, health condition may take certain amount of beating. So you must know where is your limit. If you go beyond your limit, the money that you made may not necessary be worth your while.
For example, you have an important contract to negotiate but it is also your kid's school performance. Do you try to re-schedule the negotiation and risk the deal or you miss the performance and take the deal? Both comes at a price. Whatever decision that you made, there should be no regrets on your part.
Know your limits. It actually cost you something to make money. Be sure to know how much you are willing to "spent" on making money.
Sunday, November 20, 2011
The 110% Percent
I am a racing F1 fan. I do not have a specific team that I support but many times I would watch out for certain drivers, especially from the mid field teams and the bottom teams. In those teams, I see passion in some of these drivers. They may be driving a car which is not as good as the front runners but they tend to get certain recognition. Why? They are able to push the car beyond its design capabilities and able to finish the race! Many times these kind of drivers, would go and do great things such as the two times world champion -- Fernando Alonso.
The same principles should applies to life, especially in business. All of us wish that our tools is the latest and greatest in helping to get the task at hand done. In reality, not many of us has the privilege to have the best tools. This does not mean we cannot get the work done! With some creativity and passion, I am certain we can get many things done.
This PC that I am using now is four years old. It may not be the latest model nor has the latest graphic engine. Nonetheless, it has help me to create my websites, host my pictures and even to write this blog. Instead of keep upgrading the hardware to chase after the latest technology trend, I try to stay with proven technology. The very least, I have saved on technology cost over the last four years.
No doubt, faster machines and more user friendly OS has been released in the last few years. But I must think about the money spend and the benefit that I can extract from it. In this case, whatever that I am doing now is more than suffice than to upgrade my machines.
I am not asking you to get stingy and not upgrade. Rather, by pushing your existing equipment for that 10% more, it means you get more bang for your investment and run your operations as efficient as possible. Just being efficient, you would be ahead of your competitor in terms of price and quality.
Before you spent money on upgrades. Think about efficiency and cost savings. If you can push your existing equipments further, maybe you should hold back your investment a little longer. After all, the cost of technology will only come down. Good luck with that 10%.
The same principles should applies to life, especially in business. All of us wish that our tools is the latest and greatest in helping to get the task at hand done. In reality, not many of us has the privilege to have the best tools. This does not mean we cannot get the work done! With some creativity and passion, I am certain we can get many things done.
This PC that I am using now is four years old. It may not be the latest model nor has the latest graphic engine. Nonetheless, it has help me to create my websites, host my pictures and even to write this blog. Instead of keep upgrading the hardware to chase after the latest technology trend, I try to stay with proven technology. The very least, I have saved on technology cost over the last four years.
No doubt, faster machines and more user friendly OS has been released in the last few years. But I must think about the money spend and the benefit that I can extract from it. In this case, whatever that I am doing now is more than suffice than to upgrade my machines.
I am not asking you to get stingy and not upgrade. Rather, by pushing your existing equipment for that 10% more, it means you get more bang for your investment and run your operations as efficient as possible. Just being efficient, you would be ahead of your competitor in terms of price and quality.
Before you spent money on upgrades. Think about efficiency and cost savings. If you can push your existing equipments further, maybe you should hold back your investment a little longer. After all, the cost of technology will only come down. Good luck with that 10%.
Wednesday, October 19, 2011
The DropBox Story
I am a huge fan of DropBox.I have been using it for a few months. The great thing about this application is that I get to carry my files everywhere I go. Furthermore, I can sync the files with any computer or mobile devices that I own. Best of all, the first 2 GB is free!!
Whoever is already using DropBox should check its story in Forbes. For those who does not see a need for DropBox, in my opinion it is still worth while reading. Basically, the founder of a DropBox founded this company because of a problem. So, do not be afraid of problems. The solution may make you a fortune in the future.
Whoever is already using DropBox should check its story in Forbes. For those who does not see a need for DropBox, in my opinion it is still worth while reading. Basically, the founder of a DropBox founded this company because of a problem. So, do not be afraid of problems. The solution may make you a fortune in the future.
Wednesday, October 5, 2011
TED: 8 secrets of success
This is a short video from TED on the 8 Secrets of Success. If you only have three minutes to improve yourself. Then, you should click on the video below and spent that three minutes.
Here are the 8 Secrets.
Here are the 8 Secrets.
- Persists
- Serve
- Passion
- Work
- Focus
- Do Good
- Push
- Ideas
Saturday, October 1, 2011
Doing What is Not Comfortable
Doing something new or something that are not familiar is not exactly comfortable or exciting. This is why we do not usually try a lot of new things. However, without trying anything new we may not achieve new breakthrough.
Since I have started this blog and the online business -- Better Dining. I have done many first. I have learned about Search Engine Optimization, product photography, Adsense, HTML, CSS and affiliation program. Today, I have added one more first, which is videography.
Never in my life, I have thought of creating my very own video. The barrier is really more about my own assumption that it is difficult and expensive equipments. After making my first video, I was party right and wrong. Making video is difficult but not necessary need expensive equipment. The video capture is from a Samsung Galaxy mobile phone and the video editing software is called OpenShot Video Editor on a four years old Linux machine! By making my own first video, I know I have one more blunt tool to help me with my journey in business.
Does all these actually bring value or revenue to my business? After all, this blog is really about building business. The answer is NO. I have not made any money nor have any great success. What I have gained are experience and knowledge. Success does not come overnight, but a continuous effort of action. All I have done are just accumulated effort that one day I can be successful.
We tend to get excited about the latest gadget, movies or and music. Why don't you expand that excitement into something more, like a new skill or experience? Who knows, you may actually like it. Go and try something new.
Since I have started this blog and the online business -- Better Dining. I have done many first. I have learned about Search Engine Optimization, product photography, Adsense, HTML, CSS and affiliation program. Today, I have added one more first, which is videography.
Never in my life, I have thought of creating my very own video. The barrier is really more about my own assumption that it is difficult and expensive equipments. After making my first video, I was party right and wrong. Making video is difficult but not necessary need expensive equipment. The video capture is from a Samsung Galaxy mobile phone and the video editing software is called OpenShot Video Editor on a four years old Linux machine! By making my own first video, I know I have one more blunt tool to help me with my journey in business.
Does all these actually bring value or revenue to my business? After all, this blog is really about building business. The answer is NO. I have not made any money nor have any great success. What I have gained are experience and knowledge. Success does not come overnight, but a continuous effort of action. All I have done are just accumulated effort that one day I can be successful.
We tend to get excited about the latest gadget, movies or and music. Why don't you expand that excitement into something more, like a new skill or experience? Who knows, you may actually like it. Go and try something new.
Friday, September 30, 2011
When Dreams Can Be Nightmare. Nightmare can be Dreams Too.
My car is 26 years old. This car is older than some of my colleagues. I got this car second hand, and have been driving it for five years. Being an old car, it had its fair share of tantrums which includes three road side breakdowns during my first two years of ownership.
Ever since the first breakdown, I have been dreaming and eying for a brand new car. Having tested numerous cars and reading countless advertisements, I can never find the right car at the right price. The whole experience wore me down. Every-time I see a new car on the road, I look at with envy and wonder when I can own a similar car.
Sometime ago, a friend showed me his brand new car which was also his dream car. He has been talking about this car for years. I was very happy him, and we would discuss the car whenever we hangout. A disturbing trend become apparent, the conversation went from praises to the car to complains and stress that my friend was going through. The dream car was giving him nightmare! Whenever he needs to park his car, he has to pick spots that are isolated so no one would bang or scratch his car. He has been chronically late for his appointments because he was too busy looking for the perfect parking spot. Furthermore, he has to install dual security system to deter any attempted car theft. Besides the nine year loan and the huge interest that he has to pay, the car only takes high grade fuel which is not exactly cheap to pump. He became a slave to his car!
How many times in life, we always tell ourself that “After I got this, I will be happy!”. We literally wishing our life away because we are never happy at the present moment. I may not own my dream car, but I do not suffer from the stress that my friend was going through. The stress of repair is not as bad as worries about theft, scratch marks and financial burden which all can be long term. In short, I am free from those burden. Happiness was right in front of me but I was too busy looking at what I do not have.
The more we believe certain material object would determine our happiness, the tighter we would hold on to that object. The tighter we hold, the less happiness there will be. Everyone has their own “dream” object to acquire whether is a car, a house or a holiday. It is perfectly fine to go after your dreams, but do not let the dream become your nightmare. Enjoy the happiness of the present moment, whether or not you have achieve that dream. Of course, there are also times where we have to learn on letting go of that dream.
I am still chasing my dream car. But I have stop to envy other car owners for I am no more slave to that dream and enjoy freedom that many has yet to taste. After two years of extensive repairs, my current car runs well with minimal cost and I have learn much about car engineering. Who knows, I may not even want to buy that dream car when I am financially ready. The freedom is too precious to give up.
Wednesday, September 21, 2011
Success Through Failure
The Financial Times has a great article about gaining success through failure. It is really about being resilient, passion and optimism. It never talks about intelligence, college results, and know how. Basically, to built a business or to be successful in anything, it is really about the human character.
One more point that I may add, as long as we do not learn from the mistake. The journey to success will remain distant as the same mistake will happen again until we learn it.
One more point that I may add, as long as we do not learn from the mistake. The journey to success will remain distant as the same mistake will happen again until we learn it.
Monday, September 19, 2011
CNBC Explains
Knowledge is always power. Like it or not, financial news affect us in many ways. Therefore, it is important to have reasonable understanding of the economy and the financial news.
With the internet, you do not need to go to school to learn about financial and economic terms. The news site, CNBC explains it all. I strongly recommend it.
Link: CNBC Explains.
With the internet, you do not need to go to school to learn about financial and economic terms. The news site, CNBC explains it all. I strongly recommend it.
Link: CNBC Explains.
Wednesday, July 13, 2011
Prioritization
I have a full time job and a two kids to take care. The process of balancing family life, career and the on-line business has been a challenge. The only time that I have to work on the on-line business is after ten pm, when my kids has gone to bed. This leaves me around an hour to 90 minutes which lets me work on the online business.
When you are short of time, you would quickly learn about prioritization. The first thing that I would normally do is to read the local papers or magazines about news on food or dining etiquette. I would take note or cut out whatever information which I think it could be useful for the site. Once done, I would see how I can incorporate the information onto the site. My site better-dining is all about food knowledge and dining etiquette. Therefore, information and content is the thing that I spend most of my time on. Layout and link building is secondary importance. In fact, I do not even have a stragety to built traffic to my site. In my opinion, if I have the information and content that people needs, the traffic will eventually come.
For those who are working on your own business. You have to constantly ask yourself what drives your company's growth. If you know what is that, do whatever you can to work on it. Sometimes it is too easy to stray off track because something else is a easier to do. Ask yourself this question "What I am doing now, will it bring any long term benefit to my business?" You have to be realistic with your answers.
Good luck!
When you are short of time, you would quickly learn about prioritization. The first thing that I would normally do is to read the local papers or magazines about news on food or dining etiquette. I would take note or cut out whatever information which I think it could be useful for the site. Once done, I would see how I can incorporate the information onto the site. My site better-dining is all about food knowledge and dining etiquette. Therefore, information and content is the thing that I spend most of my time on. Layout and link building is secondary importance. In fact, I do not even have a stragety to built traffic to my site. In my opinion, if I have the information and content that people needs, the traffic will eventually come.
For those who are working on your own business. You have to constantly ask yourself what drives your company's growth. If you know what is that, do whatever you can to work on it. Sometimes it is too easy to stray off track because something else is a easier to do. Ask yourself this question "What I am doing now, will it bring any long term benefit to my business?" You have to be realistic with your answers.
Good luck!
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