An anime conversation that struck on me...

Was watching Gundam 00 when this quote struck on me

Lockon Stratos : "Making up for the mistakes in the past?"

Setsuna F Seiei : "It's not about the past. It's for the future."

Many a times, we are just too burden down by the past when we forget that it's the future that matters. I think we all need to change our mentality about the past; the past as it is, is passe. Learn from it and leave it there. What matters more is the future and what we are doing NOW for that bright future.

Walking down Shenton Way...

As I was walking down the city street, seeing the wonderful city lightings, the shimmering Singapore river, Marina bay. This song suddenly popped in my mind.

Whenever I am feeling low
I look around me and I know
There's a place that will stay within me
Wherever I may choose to go
I will always recall the city
Know every street and shore
Sail down the river which brings us life
Winding through my Singapore

Indeed, my heart is tightly bound to Singapore, appreciating what our founders and ancestors set out to achieve for this Island nation.

People may say that I might be brain washed by the PAP; which I might be.

Whatever the case, I am glad to be born on this peaceful, serene nation; knowing that I am safe walking down the street, knowing that my family and friends (well, at least most of them) will be around showing care and concern for one another, knowing that deep in my heart, I will live to protect this nation and its ideals and most importantly, this is my home.

Just felt like showing gratitude to the place where I grow up. Merry X-mas Singapore. May 2009 be a better year!

Lessons from homily

Something that was shared today and I thought it makes good sharing.

1. Love is a free choice and we all had that freedom; love cannot be forced.
God has chosen Mary to be the mother of Jesus and Mary chose to accept the Lord's choice. Likewise, despite what actions we took to show our love to that someone; it might not be reciprocate, because the other party also has that freedom of choice to accept or deny that love.

2. Different forms of love.
Expression of love may be different but the quality is the same. A husband might not show his love to the wife by doing the loving things that he used to do; showing affection publicly, giving gifts, etc. He might have shown it through other means, being concern about the family welfare - whether there's enough money for the family, education for the children, etc. Likewise, a wife might show concern by taking good care of the children, keeping the home clean and tidy. Whichever happens, do not think that your partner does not love you. Take the pro active role of showing your love, your appreciation to your spouse.

Gratitude

Listing out some stuff that I am glad about
1. Alive and kicking
2. Free of illness
3. Have 3 meals a day and water from the tap
4. A family who shows their concern for me
5. Know many wonderful friends who taught me many lessons in life
6. To know that I can give even more to the people around me
7. Doing work that I can find satisfaction and enjoyment
8. Experience what I have experience.
9. To be born in such a small yet great country
10. To have live a life.

Setting out for the year to come... GOAL SETTING

It's the end of the year and it's time to take account of the present year achievements and set out new resolutions for the year to come...

By: Brian Tracy
Clarity accounts for probably 80% of success and happiness. Lack of clarity is probably more responsible for frustration and underachievement than any other single factor. That's why we say that "Success is goals, and all else is commentary." People with clear, written goals, accomplish far more in a shorter period of time than people without them could ever imagine. This is true everywhere and under all circumstances.

The Three Keys to High Achievement
You could even say that the three keys to high achievement are, "Clarity, Clarity, Clarity," with regard to your goals. Your success in life will be largely determined by how clear you are about what it is you really, really want.

Write and Rewrite Your Goals
The more you write and rewrite your goals and the more you think about them, the clearer you will become about them. The clearer you are about what you want, the more likely you are to do more and more of the things that are consistent with achieving them. Meanwhile, you will do fewer and fewer of the things that don't help to get the things you really want.

The Seven Step Process for Achieving Goals
Here, once more, is the simple, seven-step process that you can use to achieve your goals faster and easier than ever before.

First, decide exactly what you want in each area of your life. Be specific!

Second, write it down, clearly and in detail;

Third, set a specific deadline. If it is a large goal, break it down into sub-deadlines and write them down in order;

Fourth, make a list of everything you can think of that you are going to have to do to achieve your goal. As you think of new items, add them to your list;

Fifth, organize the items on your list into a plan by placing them in the proper sequence and priority;

Sixth, take action immediately on the most important thing you can do on your plan. This is very important!

Seventh, do something every day that moves you toward the attainment of one or more of your important goals. Maintain the momentum!

Join the Top 3%
Fewer than three percent of adults have written goals and plans that they work on every single day. When you sit down and write out your goals, you move yourself into the top 3% of people in our society. And you will soon start to get the same results that they do.

Review Your Goals Daily
Study and review your goals every day to be sure they are still your most important goals. You will find yourself adding goals to your list as time passes. You will also find yourself deleting goals that are no longer as important as you once thought. Whatever your goals are, plan them out thoroughly, on paper, and work on them every single day. This is the key to peak performance and maximum achievement.

Action Exercises
Here is how you can apply this law immediately:

First, make a list of ten goals that you would like to achieve in the coming year. Write them down in the present tense, as though a year has passed and you have already accomplished them.

Second, from your list of ten goals, ask yourself, "What one goal, if I were to accomplish it, would have the greatest positive impact on my life?" Whatever it is, put a circle around this goal and move it to a separate sheet of paper.

Third, practice the seven-step method described above on this goal. Set a deadline, make a plan, and put it into action and work on it every day. Make this goal your major definite purpose for the weeks and months ahead.

Get ready for some amazing changes in your life.

Giving...

Giving is difficult...

Giving without regrets is even more difficult...

How can I give without expecting anything in return...
I am and still have yet been able to see pass this...

I think I need to do more self reflection...

Let's observe a minute of silence...

May the Lord bless the souls of those who are unfortunately sacrificed in this terror incident; and even more so, may the Lord give strength to those who are affected to stay strong and live a more fulfilled life in place of those who had suffered.

Singaporean killed during Mumbai hostage incident: official

She was identified by her husband, who was accompanied by Singapore's high commissioner. -AFP

Fri, Nov 28, 2008
AFP

SINGAPORE - A Singaporean taken hostage during coordinated attacks across India's commercial capital of Mumbai has been killed, the foreign ministry said Friday.

Lo Hoei Yen, 28, was identified by her husband, who was accompanied by Singapore's high commissioner, Jai Sohan, consular director of the foreign ministry, told reporters at a late-night news conference.

"We were only told, confirmed, at 21:35 hours (1335 GMT) this evening that she had suffered a tragic death," Sohan said.

Her body was found on the 19th floor of the Oberoi/Trident hotel, he said.

At least 93 people, most of them foreigners, were released Friday from the Oberoi/Trident hotel more than 36 hours after armed militants seized the building, police said.

Mumbai's police chief said 24 bodies were found at the hotel after rescue operations concluded.

Article of the day

Saw an interesting article which I wish to share cause it really got me thinking.

Extracted from the ST INTERVIEW, Straits Times, Nov 26, 2008

Now's the time to spend more

Companies able to invest in a recession will gain market share and come out stronger
By Susan Long

THE public backlash that DBS Bank suffered when it slashed 900 jobs was a classic case of 'first mover disadvantage'.

When times are tough, the first to wield the axe gets all the bad press, says Dr Stewart Black, executive director of the Insead business school's Centre for Human Resources in Asia.

Of course, the bombshell announcement, coupled by the fact that DBS is a national icon and still profitable - it declared a third-quarter net profit of $379 million, albeit 38 per cent less than last year - did not help.

But the 49-year-old says: 'It's almost impossible for outsiders to judge whether a company needed to make such a big cut. They likely considered the negative reception of going first but took the decision anyway.

'Often companies struggle with how much to reveal. The more you open the books, the more you satisfy workers. But it can make customers nervous and can give competitors an advantage.

'So did they reveal too much or too little? And was their response proportionate? Often, you can't tell until way after the fact.'

He says it is not always the case that companies should hang on to all their employees. Of late, there have been calls here to revert to the Eastern or Japanese way of viewing the company as an extended family, and sticking together through thick and thin.

But Dr Black, who spent five years working and living in Japan as a consultant and professor and has visited it extensively since 1978, says: 'Family loyalty served Japan well in the roaring 80s but they were very slow to restructure and get rid of uncompetitive assets and excessive employees after the bubble burst in 1991. It cost 17 years of stagnation.

'You have to ask if the cost of a more dramatic response would have been less costly than the response they took which spread the pain out over 17 years. Would a Western response have inflicted less pain?'

The right response, he says, is probably somewhere in between the American way of slash and burn and the familial orientation of Japan, which protects workers as long as possible.

Before companies reach for the axe, he says they should first do a cost-benefit analysis of how much it will cost to recruit, train, develop and get a replacement worker up to speed.

For a blue-collar worker, studies show that it costs roughly about 30 per cent of his annual salary to achieve this. For a white-collar worker, it costs between 50 to 70 per cent of his annual salary.

'Quite often, companies underestimate this when they reflexively cut people. They are penny-wise, pound-foolish, saving money at the moment only to spend more money in the future.'

Another common mistake firms make is failing to differentiate between high and low performers, and firing en masse. 'Research shows that top performers contribute 40 to 70 per cent more than average performers. It's important to put pressure on low performers but keep your top performers during a recession.'

One way to do that in lean times is through awards and recognition. 'It may be that sales are not as high in a downturn but the company is still doing better than others. In that case, are we celebrating, rewarding, recognising top performers?"

An inexpensive method, he suggests, is an Employee Of The Month competition. The winner gets dinner vouchers, and his picture in the newsletter.

Another way is to offer more flexibility in work hours. 'If you gave employees a choice of working flexible hours or slightly fewer hours, some may take it. They may have childcare or parent-care needs or other things they would be happy to trade 10 hours a week at work for on a temporary basis.

'They won't be able to sustain that in the long term, in terms of income, but it could be welcome flexibility for a while. This will save money, versus forcing everybody to take shorter hours or laying people off.'

Beefing up development opportunities also helps. This can be done through setting up a task force and offering 'temporary assignments', to look at, for example, process improvement, cycle time or customer service. 'This helps employees' development so that when the recovery comes, they have added capabilities and greater opportunities to advance.

'Sometimes taking a step back helps you leap forward. If we take on a new skill, there is a learning curve. A good time to put in that investment is during a recession, so that you're up that learning curve and can gain all the benefits at a time when the economy is recovering. That way, you get acceleration during the recovery, versus a company that waits till the recovery to put in that investment.'

In his past 20 years of researching 50 different companies worldwide, he says over 85 per cent enjoyed a positive return on their investments in marketing, operations and human resources made during recessions.

Now is not the time to cut back but spend more, he urges. 'If companies have strong balance sheets and the liquidity to make investments, there is no better time to gain market share, retool and emerge stronger.

'So far we haven't had a recession last forever. Every recession has been followed by a recovery. If you prepare well for the recovery, you can catch the front of the wave and surf out in front of your competitors.'

Unfortunately, most companies look only at how dire the here-and-now is, and forget that things will get better. So, a bad economy is the best time to hire good talent.

'You can get the best of both worlds by keeping your best people and going out to grab your competitors' best people. Now coming out of the recovery, you're in fantastic shape. You've kept your best people, you've got rid of your worst and you've hired your competitor's best.

'You've made investments so that your learning curve will match the recovery curve. With that, you're firing on all 12 cylinders.'

suelong@sph.com.sg

Additional reporting by Cassandra Chew

About Dr Stewart

DR STEWART Black, 49, is the executive director of the Insead business school's Centre for Human Resources in Asia, which conducts research and serves as a learning hub for senior HR executives from about 30 large multinationals.

The American is the co-author of a bestseller on leading change, It Starts With One, and a leading textbook, Management: Meeting New Challenges, along with 10 other books on leadership, globalisation and strategy.

He was based in Singapore from 2005 till recently as Affiliate Professor of Organisational Behaviour at Insead. He now lives in Colorado, in the United States, where he is in charge of the business school's executive development activities for the Americas region.

Prior to joining Insead in 2005, he was Professor of Business Administration at the University of Michigan. He is married with five children aged six to 24.

Background Stories

Bosses, if you must make cuts, here's what to do
1 AVOID DEATH BY A THOUSAND CUTS

It is better to do your calculations thoroughly and then retrench in one fell swoop, than make multiple cuts as things worsen, says Dr Stewart Black, executive director of the Insead business school's Centre for Human Resources in Asia.

'By the second cut, remaining employees will wonder if they will survive the third or fourth round. The impact is counter-intuitive. Instead of working harder to keep their jobs, they get anxious and lose concentration.'

Because misery loves company, they will spend all their time commiserating in the hallways. Productivity, he warns, will plunge further.

2 BEWARE THE SURVIVOR EFFECT

'Employees are human beings first, economic animals second. If you didn't get cut, but your friend does, it's your friendship heart that kicks in first,' he says.

According to research done on car companies where many were let go in the 1980s, for companies where job cuts were perceived to be fair, productivity did not go down or up. At best, there was a neutral effect.

But where people felt their dearly departed were unfairly targeted or treated, they slowed down their work to 'exact revenge'. He says: 'Even though it was not in their own economic interest to do that, people's hearts obviously won over their heads.'

As such, the 'why' and 'how' of retrenchment becomes paramount. 'Was it because the person was of lower seniority or belonged to a poor performing unit? Was there prior consultation or did they just come in one morning and get escorted out by security?'

If a company is seen to be reasonable, even if not generous, productivity goes back to neutral. 'Quite frankly, neutral is good. In a slowdown, the last thing you can afford is any further drop in productivity.'

3 RALLY THE REMAINING TROOPS

'Like a sports team, you need to inspire the survivors to fight on. When you are losing, many players feel like mentally and emotionally giving up. Once they do, the game is over,' he says.

'However, the rally cry must be based on reality. If you are down by 50 points in basketball with one minute to play, promising the players they can win the game if they try just doesn't ring true.'

In some business cases, the goals need to be more realistic.

'For example, General Motors recently announced that for it, winning would be surviving the next two years. For many companies, winning could be just surviving. In other cases, you can help employees see that the actions being taken now can help the company emerge from the recession even stronger.'

---

ON THE WORST THING COMPANIES CAN DO
'If you've never invested in employees in past downturns, don't pretend to start now. Do it only if you are serious. A while ago, companies seized on participative management. They went around asking employees for opinions but ignored it. They raised expectations, then dashed them. They would have been better off never asking for input rather than asking for it and then ignoring it.'

ON DEFENSIVE MEASURES
'In both good times and bad, companies with strong cultures, like Disney, Shell and BASF, have low staff turnovers. One of the things to think about is how do I enhance my working environment such that even if my employees have portable skills, the benefit of moving to a new employer isn't worth the cost of losing the company-specific culture. Studies show that a 10 to 20 per cent pay differential can be offset with a good company culture. Now, lots of people will leave for a 50 per cent pay raise. But companies are not losing most of their people to 50 per cent more, they're losing them to 10 to 20 per cent salary increases.'

MANY savvy companies have harnessed recessions to their benefit and taken to heart American civil war general William T. Sherman's famous saying 'March when the enemy is sleeping'.

Insead's Dr Stewart Black's favourite examples are:

INTEL: During the 1991 recession, California-based semiconductor company Intel launched its 'Intel Inside' marketing and branding campaign, and emerged a household name.

'Before that, it was an anonymous microprocessor supplier. Now, we think of Intel as a brand and we want an Intel chip inside our computer. Since then, they rarely, if ever, retrench, and consistently make investments during recessions.'

WAL-MART: During the 2000 recession, American discount retailer Wal-Mart pushed its 'Everyday low prices' slogan. This year, it has launched 'Save money, live better'. 'Wal-Mart, known for its low prices, doesn't mind recessions because some people who shop at the higher end tend to come down a little bit, but in the last two recessions, they have taken advantage to position themselves strategically.'

TOYOTA: When the big car companies were busy laying off workers from 2000 to 2003, Toyota expanded operations, and emerged with a higher market share.

During that time, it shut down a plant in Turkey for 10 months but kept all its workers, and trained them. When it restarted again, it went on to have some of the highest productivity and quality ratings at any Toyota plant globally.

This year, Toyota in the US is not going to lay off any of its around 4,500 employees. They have shut down plants for three months and are training workers in new techniques and new models. 'They are also keeping them in shape with exercise, so that when the factories start up again, the workers will be ready to start.'

Thoughs on Discipline and Passion

Just some thoughts that I had and wanted to note them down.

Q. What is discipline?
A. Discipline is doing things without regards to feelings. Whether you like it or not.

Q. Is discipline essential to success?
A. Yes and no. It depends on what your definition is. You can reach the goal if you are discipline but it is not the only way. And without regarding your personal feelings sometimes make the success a hollow one.

Q. So what is more critical?
A. Acting on passion and hope.

Q. Why do I say so?
A. A person with passion will put his mind / heart / soul into what he do, hence has a greater chance of succeeding. Also with passion and hope, one will have true satisfaction on what he has achieve because he achieves what he wants not what other people wants.

Q. How can I benefit from this information?
A. Think of ways that you can align your passion and hope with what you do. Ask yourself what spurs you in your job. Ask yourself what elements in your job gives you the most satisfaction.

It's been a while

Slightly more than a month that I last updated my blog. Mainly because I think I've been spending more time on FaceBook. Haha~ Still, I think there need to be a place to consolidate all my thoughts so that 10 years down the road, I will have something to refer back to.

The past 1 month+ has been filled with lots of activities.
- AIESEC in Singapore had the Alumni Dinner in Blooies.
- Watching the F1 in Balaclava, then rushing out to hear the excitement of the cars rushing by.
- KJ dropped by in Singapore and we managed to catch up with her over dinner
- My NTU class gathering which has not happened in quite a while
- Jeffery's wedding which was celebrated with a bang
- Alvin's birthday which was so filled with TouchLight activities as well as catching up with friends
- The annual CHS Alumni Dinner which happens every Oct 13th, not many people from my batch attended but I kindda enjoyed my time chatting with friends and Mdm Teng who had attended.
- Then there was the Makan Trail @ Cumi Bali Indonesian Restaurant, a great place to dine at reasonable rates
- Kelvin and Vida finally started their new phase in life with a Christian / Chinese style wedding.
- Sandy Lam performed in Singapore and I managed to catch the great performance which I really enjoyed.
- Farewell for Fida who returned to Indonesia to help her Dad.
- Rest of the time had been filled with Gym and studies for the CCDA, which I postpone as I fared badly for the mock. =/
And of coz, getting my job done at work; I think more has to be done to get my work process structurized so that I could get them done more efficiently and effectively.

Quite a bit of activities for the end Sept / Oct period. Will be looking to focus more of my time in Nov to study for my Cisco exams, what needs to be done needs to be done...

the FBI Game

I came across this on Sharon's blog (http://sharontan.nomadlife.org/) who in turn saw this on Dey's blog (http://allingreen.blogspot.com/)

This sure sounds like a game whom one is looking to understand himself better would do - though I think I have enough questions on my mind - still, something from external might be something I had not thought of.

The FBI Game ~
You Have 10 Questions.
You Ask One By One And I Answer One By One with TOTAL Honesty.
You don´t have to answer any questions.
Unless you want me to ask you as well after I have answered all yours.
My goal is to get to recognize myself better through my answers to your questions.
And get to know a bit more about your perception of me through your questions.

Now isn't that quite an interesting concept? really forces you to come to terms with who you are... and it's definitely much deeper than spotlight (since that game usually just focuses on relationships)

I think I don't mind playing this... so.. who wants to ask? :)

JumpStarted for 2008

Once again, JumpStart has come quietly and left with a bang. Simple in its mission - to bond all fellow newies @ers of 08/09 so that they can learn and contribute to this wonderful organisation. It has inspired the newies - broaden their pespectives, informed them availability of opportunities, familarized them to the COE (Culture of Excellence).

My takeback for this conference is once again a period of reflection, to see the relavence of @ with my life. Stories by the Chair Radu - about discovering that one must change one's attitude in order to understand the true value of the knowledge that he's gaining. About the stone mason who sees crafting a block of stone as crafting of one's destiny. Also, the sharing of stories from the newies has sort of humbled my learning experience, knowing that each member has a different life experience which we all could learn from - teachers becoming students and students, teachers.

I believe the value of @ is not of impacting one's life externaly, but rather, it seeks to influence others by posing its members questions, questions that help its member to shape their own beliefs, their attitude, such that the changes one can observe in an AIESECer is not outside in but inside out.

And I believe that this short conference has JumpStart the newies' life in @ - a journey in understanding themselves and to take action on becoming what they set out to be.

August flew in a flash...

Time flies like always, yet so little is done. AIESEC welcome tea, interviews, meeting with friends, olympics, army half marathon, bro flying back to Beijing. Each event flew away in a moment. We are always in need of time yet we spent time so carelessly. It's time for internal reflection, to observe how we had made our choices, to reflect how we will make the choices if we are given that time again.

Why the who-haa about time - all thanks to a girl that I used to have a crush on; I'm happy of the good things that had happened to her though.

More-importantly, I had been reading too much of "7 Habits of highly effective-teen", one of my favourite book by Sean Covey (sounds familiar? Cause he's the son of Stephen Covey)

One wonderful peom to share with all - hopefully, it'd strike you to take any action now.

To realize the value of One year,
Ask a student who failed his exams.
To realize the value of One Month
Ask a mother who give birth to a premature baby
To realise the value of One Week
Ask an editor of a weekly magazine
To realise the value of One day
Ask a daily wage labour who has six kids to feed
To realise the value of One Hour
Ask the lovers who are waiting to meet.
To realise the value of One Minute
Ask a person who missed their train
To realise the value of One Second
Ask the person who survived an accident
To realise the value of One Millisecond,
Ask the person who won a silver meda in the Olympics

Singapore team won Silver!

For the past 3 days, the TV has been broadcasting a lot of Table Tennis matches and I'm glad that I managed to catch a few of those. My most memorable to date was actually the final match of women's team between Korea's PARK Mi-Young and FENG Tianwei. I was actually on the bus back to NTU for AIESEC Welcome Tea when I had the luck to actually view the fianl few game plays.

The players are really quite even in terms of skills - MiYoung defensive player while Tianwei is a bit on the agressive side. Each attack beautifully returned, either by a smash or an under-cut. And each hard earned point was fought over a rally of 10 or more strokes - building up the tense atmosphere and supporters of each side tensing up their fists while sweating in the cold while waiting for that precious one point to be gained.

The determination in the players can be seen in the way they are fighting till the last point. Equally skills and being crucial match made the match even more exciting to watch. I really held my breath when each player starts the serve. Within that short ride to NTU, I witness a new page of history made with MiYoung finally gave in to the stress, serving a foul ball and giving Singapore it's first Olympic medal since 1960s. More importantly, it was a good match fought under intense stress yet the players demostrating a superb play.

Memorable in the years to come.

P.S. Singapore received a trashing from China earlier on - Good fight by Singapore players but China is still top leader in the sport.

Inspirational Article for Sharing

Well, just so happened to read something which is what I'm feeling currently. Since sharing is caring, here's the article. ;)

Personal Philosophy is Like the Set of the Sail by Jim Rohn

In the process of living, the winds of circumstances blow on us all in an unending flow that touches each of our lives.

We have all experienced the blowing winds of disappointment, despair and heartbreak. Why, then, would each of us, in our own individual ship of life, all beginning at the same point, with the same intended destination in mind, arrive at such different places at the end of the journey? Have we not all been blown by the winds of circumstances and buffeted by the turbulent storms of discontent?

What guides us to different destinations in life is determined by the way we have chosen to set our sail. The way that each of us thinks makes the major difference in where each of us arrive. The major difference is the set of the sail.

The same circumstances happen to us all. We have disappointments and challenges. We all have reversals and those moments when, in spite of our best plans and efforts, things just seem to fall apart. Challenging circumstances are not events reserved for the poor, the uneducated or the destitute. The rich and the poor have marital problems. The rich and the poor have the same challenges that can lead to financial ruin and personal despair. In the final analysis, it is not what happens that determines the quality of our lives, it is what we choose to do when we have struggled to set the sail and then discover, after all of our efforts, that the wind has changed directions.

When the winds change, we must change. We must struggle to our feet once more and reset the sail in the manner that will steer us toward the destination of our own deliberate choosing. The set of the sail, how we think and how we respond, has a far greater capacity to destroy our lives than any challenges we face. How quickly and responsibly we react to adversity is far more important than the adversity itself. Once we discipline ourselves to understand this, we will finally and willingly conclude that the great challenge of life is to control the process of our thinking.

Learning to reset the sail with the changing winds rather than permitting ourselves to be blown in a direction we did not purposely choose requires the development of a whole new discipline. It involves going to work on establishing a powerful, personal philosophy that will help to influence in a positive way all that we do and that we think and decide. If we can succeed in this worthy endeavor, the result will be a change in the course of our income, lifestyle and relationships, and in how we feel about the things of value as well as the times of challenge. If we can alter the way we perceive, judge and decide upon the main issues of life, then we can dramatically change our lives.

A quick summary for Jul

Well, here's a quick summary to what has happened in July.

1.) I went down-under to Sydney. Why? Obviously not from my own pocket. Was there for work, to meet up the colleagues there to form better work relationship, I even had the chance to attend a service meeting with the Client. Quite neat learning experience.

2.) In my visit down-under, there was this World Youth Day going on. The Pope was there too~ Too bad I didn't register as a pilgrim hence didn't manage to attend the Mass that he ministered. Oh well, it still somehow seemed to be a calling from above for me to stay near to him. Oh, and I did managed to join one major activity which is the pilgrimage walk that starts from North Sydney, I stopped earlier though at Darling Habour to proceed on to traveling Sydney.

3.) Visited some popular tourist attractions in Sydney. Mostly free ones - the church, Hay Market, darling habour, habour bridge, etc. Think I'll post up some photos. They will say more than I could type.

4.) Met up with some Australian AIESECers. Well, the fun part about this is that I know none of them. It's just so cool to just e-mail some AIESECers on random, meet up and seemed to share endless topics with them. A good experience to remember.

5.) Upon returning from the trip, took MC the following day at work. Got sick during the trip there. Not used to the chilly weather that I experienced there. But when I came back to Singapore, I felt even worst since I was about getting used to the fine weather there.

6.) Well, that somehow ends my experience in the month of Aug. Time to grab some rest. ;-)

OMG! I'm a freaking idot. Turned down interview from HP....

Well, I had the application submitted 3 months ago and 3 months later, when I had a job and trying to do some good work, they called me. My reflex reaction too fast liao, told them I had a job immediately - she said "Okay" and hanged up.

Damn it, I should have taken down the HR contact and call her when I'm more mentally tuned to it. Well, no point crying over spilled milk. Just get myself mentally prepared for the next opportunity that will pounce on me.

Time to focus back on life. ;)

Key notes or month of June

A blink of an eye and it's been almost 2 months at work.

Perhaps a glimpse of what has happened in my life.

1.) My company has been taken over
I have been less than 1 month at work and this news broke out. Interesting right? Well, for me it's business as usual.

2.) Completed my 4th Marathon!
Yeah! I have completed my 4th Marathon - Addidas Sundown Marathon. My time? Look below

Full Marathon (42km) - Men

Total Participants in this Category: 3599

Click on each title to sort by ascending/descending order.

Rank	Bib No.	Name	Gun Time	Chip Time	20KM	30KM
2663	4181	Ong Yuh Shen Nicholas	08:21:05.03	08:15:17.03	03:05:42	05:20:07

Not bad, at least I'm 2663 out of 3599, though I think I could work better on the timing. Looking for achieving a 2:10 timing for the upcoming Army Half Marathon.

Desmond and me

3.) CCDA postponed again!
I haven't been on schedule for this completion. Really need to put some effort into it

4.) AIESEC Makan Trail
Hehe~ My first try on organizing the Makan Trail. So glad that many AIESECers friends turned up for it :)

AIESECers @ Waraku

5.) Primary 6H class gathering
Hmm, haven't progressed in organising this yet. The next item in my to do list. Let's get started!

Educate, not certifcate

I was browsing through the Sunday Times when I saw this interesting article articulating the commonly discussed topic - education.

To what extent should one pursue education and balancing that with the pragmatism of getting a certificate for monetary reasons is often a much discussed subject. Yet no one can really give an answer to this problem since a lot of other factors come into play, for example, his intellect, his aspirations, his environment, his upbringing, his priority. And these factors can led an individual one way or another.

In my scenario, it is no exception. Since young, my parents are wishing that I get a degree so that I could command a higher salary when I start work. Yet, they don't really give me much stress in how I am going to do it. Rather, they let me explore my ways about, allowing me to make my choice of how I would want to pursue my future education - hence, I went to NgeeAnn Polytechnic to study Electronic and Computer Eng. instead of JC, since I'm more hands-on person. And I did enjoy my learning more there than I think I would have had I gone to JC - also I had more fun participating in ECAs and forming long lasting bonds of friendship.

The flexibility of my parents to allow me and my brother to pursue our future education is also something I am glad about. Had they dictated what paths me and my brother should take, perhaps our life might not be what it currently turned out to be. For your info - my brother went to JC and is currently furthering studies in Chinese, a subject which might be deemed less keened by parents due to job prospect as to Engineering which parents seemed to encourage more.

I do hope that when the time comes for me to educate my children, I would also be able to inculcate in them what education should be all about - a process that one should enjoy, a life experience that are of choices that they have thought through, decided and consequences accepted, whatever they may be.

Well, just some food for thought.

Educate, not certificate

In this fortnightly column on life issues, veteran pyschotherapist Anthony Yeo points out the difference between education and qualifications

By Anthony Yeo, Life Lines

When it was time for my sons to enrol in university, I said to them: 'Go get an education. I care less about qualification.' Both were 'normal' students during their difficult secondary school days, despite their intellectual capability. Lucius, the older of the two, had to bear with completing O levels in five years in the 'normal stream', while Eugene managed to sneak into the 'not normal' stream and did it in four. At one time, it seemed both my sons were 'victims' of the education system, with high premium placed on Chinese language, which they were weak in. Eugene suffered when schools decided to drop English literature, when it was deemed too difficult to score in this subject. As I journeyed with them, I decided that I would not stifle their interest in education and began to focus on what it meant to have an education. So, I took them off tuition for Chinese. Lucius then reminded me that I had money leftover for family vacations from the money saved. And so, instead of spending time harassing them about their studies, there was bonding time through trips and things we did together. I decided education was not through books alone, so they learnt more about the world and life skills from experience. I am aware of the agony many parents experience in their preoccupation with academic performance. Somehow they seem rather consumed by anxiety that their children would not get the kind of qualification to get a career that brings in good income. I do wonder if parents are more concerned about qualifications and grades. Perhaps they have been badgered into a sense of paranoia that children will end up as social discards if they are not good in their studies. But not all children are academically inclined. Although intelligent in their own way, they may be underachieving in our education system. It may help for parents to know their children and to discover their abilities, than to force them to conform to some socially prescribed products of the education system. It would also help if parents can learn to focus less on academic achievement and qualification and more on nurturing children to be appropriately educated. I realised that qualification is not equal to experiencing quality of life, or having qualities as a person. One can have education without much of a qualification and vice versa. For me, education is about life and living. It is also about relationships, learning how to manage life with appropriate life skills to take care of self and others. Unfortunately, in the obsessive pursuit of seeking academic excellence and qualification, many families suffer broken relationships with children. My sons' difficulties in school taught me to let them discover for themselves what they can do. It is gratifying that they had lots of education outside of school and in other matters, such as religion, the arts and theatre. In 2004, when Eugene was 24 years old and still in university when many others his age would have graduated and been on course to a career, he wrote me a long e-mail message. Reflecting about life following the loss of his godmother who died after turning 60, he wrote: 'You have taught me so much in my life. You've brought me up to not clamour for materialistic enrichment... but for mental, emotional and spiritual enrichment. Thank you for bringing me up to appreciate life itself.' No blessed sentiments had ever been articulated, just a reminder to value life, relationships and education, not necessarily qualification. E-mail your questions to suntimes@sph.com.sg. Anthony Yeo, a consultant therapist at the Care And Counselling Centre, will answer selected questions.

Article afterthought - The bookends of success

I just read an article by Dr. John Maxwell about success begins with "today".

This is aligned with the theme of my blog and it reinforce my belief that the success of the future depends on the success of each single "today".

Like the story about the tortoise and rabbit. Our goal will not be reached if we started off like the rabbit, got complacent and relax. Only with true discipline and consistency like the tortoise will we start and end the race. Not only win the race, but more importantly win our personal race - to complete what we have set off to achieve - and I think that is the crux of living a fulfilled life.

The Bookends of Success by Dr. John C. Maxwell

NASCAR drivers know the importance of starting in the right place. Before a race even begins, they compete with one another in the hopes of earning the best starting position. At qualifying runs, held the week prior to the official race, each driver speeds around the racetrack in a timed performance. The driver with the fastest time earns pole position - or the right to begin the race in front of the other cars. A driver in pole position doesn't have to be concerned about passing anyone in order to win the race. All he or she must do is hold their position in order to win.

Conversely, a driver who does poorly in the trial run must begin the race in the worst possible position - at the very back of the pack. Stuck behind the other racecars, the disadvantaged driver has virtually no chance of winning. To finish first, he or she would have to pass every other car on the track during the course of the race.

In addition to starting strong, a NASCAR driver understands that his or her performance depends on finishing well. In a 500-mile race, leading for 499 miles is meaningless if a driver isn't in front at the checkered flag. Regardless of a driver's skill maneuvering the car early in the race, if he or she crashes or loses focus toward the end, the driver will forfeit the lead and lose the race. Nobody wins points for their position in the middle of the race; rather, each driver is assigned a place based on how he or she finishes.

THE BOOKENDS OF SUCCESS
Great leaders understand the two bookends of success: starting and finishing. We generally think about them in terms of doing a task or project. However, what's true in our approach to projects is also true in our approach to each day. How we spend our mornings and evenings has a tremendous bearing on the course of our leadership.

I use my morning to set up a game plan for the day. During this time, I allow no interruptions. I never schedule breakfast meetings, and I isolate myself from distractions. I do not permit myself to strategize years down the road or to project my thoughts months into the future. Rather, I narrow my focus to the upcoming 24 hours. I ask myself: "Just for today, how can I be a success?" Viewing life in 24-hour increments, I place a premium on each day. I try to make each one a masterpiece.

During the evening, I reflect on my day. By reflecting, I translate my day's experiences into learning opportunities. This process solidifies in my mind the lessons I've discovered or bits of knowledge I've uncovered. Reflecting also gives me the space to assess my progress on the goals I made during the morning.

Relaxation is another important part of my evening routine. I make a point to put my leisure time into activities that replenish me by refueling my energy. For me, such activities include spending quality time with my wife, reading a book, or studying Scriptures. Relaxation puts me in a good emotional state, lifts my spirits, and reminds me of the joys of life.

When I neglect to carve out time in the morning to plan my day, I notice adverse effects. First, I don't live my day on purpose. Instead of choosing where to invest my time, I cede control of my schedule to whatever circumstances happen to arise. Second, I squander my energy. Since I don't outline clear goals for my day, I float from one activity to another without getting anything done. Finally, when I skip my morning planning time, I feel overwhelmed. Since I'm ambitious, I have a propensity to bite off more than I can chew. If I don't focus my attention, the weight of my numerous involvements begins to drag me down.

When I am not intentional about setting aside evening time for relaxation, I encounter negative symptoms, too. First, I get uptight. My times of reflection and relaxation act like valves that release stress from my life. If I don't guard those times, I get tense, my thoughts are more negative, and my health suffers. Second, I lose passion. My leisure times fuel me. If I am not intentional about putting time into my favorite activities, then life loses its luster. Third, I miss chances to grow. When I don't reflect on the meaningful moments from each day, I rob myself of the benefits of experience.

SUMMARY
Yesterday is gone, and tomorrow is out of reach. That's why today matters. Leaders who value each day know the importance of starting well and finishing strong. In the mornings, they focus their energies on key tasks, and in the evenings, they replenish themselves. By mastering the bookends of success, leaders position themselves to make an impact every day.

Time flies...

Time flies. Work is fast pace and more importantly, Evolve conference has been over for almost a week. Still there's more to AIESEC than conferences, the Alumni/Interns just had a gathering last Wednesday at Serangoon Garden where we dine in the wonderful local delights such fried carrot cake, oyster egg, sugar cane juice, etc.

I met Titah who's been the Faci at Evolve as well as a DT for the BEADS project; she was there for a last gathering before leaving back to Indonesia the next day where she's going to start a career as a trainer; quite a cool job - something which I hope to go into perhaps 2 years later.

Then there were the other Alumni - David who's still enjoying the training work he's doing and June who's doing her Master's in Human Factor Eng. got to also know more about Amy's life back in New Zealand which sounds so different from the Singapore.

Supposed to have a class gathering tomorrow, but it's canceled since not much of response. Though they are thinking of going for the Durian trip by NTU Alumni Club. I'm considering though.

Lastly, my plans for the CCDA has been postpone to July. So dear friends, I will be staying mostly at home for the next couple of week to work on my 九阳神功.

Time to sleep, still have a presentation on Sun for AIESEC in NTU. Be teaching them some basics administering Joomla - I see a long day ahead~

Starting the working life...

2 Weeks since work started and now I'm in my 3rd week of work.

How am I doing? To be frank, I'm not very sure.

Since this role I'm in is a newly created position, there isn't any benchmark for me to gauge to. Hmm, before I continue perhaps I should say what I'm doing.

I'm in this company called V****. It's the first company that does Virtual Network Operation; what that meant is that a company with global operations or at least regional operations just have to approach us to get their global network linked and managed. In one sense we are the 3rd party which liaise with the Telco in various countries (eg SingTel in Singapore, Optus in Australia, Verizon in USA, etc) to get the internet lines to the companies. Other than getting he lines, we also manage them - meaning that the IT staff in the companies just have to focus one their internal operations and leave the troubleshooting, if any, management and optimizations to the group of professionals in the company. In a sense, it's a win-win situation for both Vanco and it's clients.

Well, so what I do there? I'm doing a Account Support role, supporting the Account Manager (Client Manager) and the Technical Consultant - in a sense, I'm supposed to reduce the tedious tasking that they have on hand so that they could provide better quality service to the customers. Hmm... I sort of glamorising this position but no one can deny the fact that each role in a company is vital for a company growth. At the end of the day, a company's survival is all about teamwork. Like what they say, a missing brick could be all that's needed for the fall of a skyscraper.

Enough of digressing. Anyway, I have been learning how to generate reports for the past 2 weeks, I think I have much to learn and more to think how I could simplify the process so that I could take on more responsibilities. Why more responsibilities you'd say. Well, I'm think I should force myself to be on the move every single day so that I could develop myself as well as add value to the company. And when I look back 2 years later, I could say how much I had contributed to the growth of the company and go on to another new role.


Well, time to sleep. I'll continue next round.

Evolve Conference

Hmm what can I type about Evolve Conference.....

Not much actually since I'm only there at night to join in the fun.

They had great Global Village, a fabulous Gala Dinner, a wonderful night out in Singapore, exciting @ Party as well as a good closing. What more can you ask for?

I'm sure the delegates, facis as well as OCs sure had a memorable time during this conference, more of learning than networking but it's should be a worthwhile experience in their @ journey.

Me? I enjoyed being spotted by Derek, my friend from Taiwan, who saw me on the phone while on my journey home. Enjoyed being dragged to have dinner with Derek and the rest who are having dinner in Lau Pat Sat. Enjoyed attending the global village, revisiting some of the countries culture, games and eating Tai Yang Bin from Taiwan. Enjoyed wearing a tie for the Gala dinner, sitting with friends whom I haven't seen for almost a year for dinner. Enjoyed bringing friends around Singapore, specifically Little India, and having a carbo fest at an Indian Restaurant. Enjoyed dancing @ dances which never seem out of trend. Enjoyed writing sugar cubes for friends. Enjoyed bringing them to Sentosa for post-conference trip looking at the wonderful show there. Enjoyed self entertaining ourselves with @ jokes, performance till late night.

So many enjoyments.

I guess that what @ does. Bringing friends around the world together to enjoy themselves. To form bonds, fellowship and to work towards a brighter future.

Cheers AIESEC, for all the endless joy and ironically, all the endless trials.

Dress Codes - What to wear?

Saw this article and thought it will be useful for all who are just as blur as I am when encounter these terms. Enjoy.

Quoted from http://jobs.st701.com/articles/Dress-up-right.html

Dress up right
The invitation card says 'black tie' - Getting it right will save you from embarrassment

Cats Recruit in The Straits Times - April 20, 2008
..................................................................................................
DEALING with dress codes can be daunting for those who have to attend events, networking sessions and parties, for social or business reasons.

Wearing something appropriate means you are respecting the host and other guests. Banish those pre-party jitters by decoding various common dress codes and be the centre of attraction!

White tie
A white-tie event is an ultra-formal event that requires gentlemen to wear tailcoats with a white shirt, waistcoat and tie.

A white-tie tailcoat is traditionally black with a peak lapel but can be worn with a notch or shawl lapel. A white shirt and waistcoat and black tuxedo trousers with side stripes complete the ensemble. Shoes are of black patent leather. Appropriate accessories include white cotton pique bow tie, mother-of-pearl studs and cufflinks.

Ladies are required to wear evening gowns. Knee-length cocktail dresses are not acceptable at these functions. Here is a chance for you to go for all-out glamour.

Select a gown in silk, satin, lace or velvet, or choose a design that has stunning embroidery or beading. Rhinestones and metallic materials like lam� are also perfect for formal attire. Make sure your shoes and evening bag match the style of your gown.

Black tie
A black-tie affair is a very formal event which requires men to wear a tuxedo, wing-tip collar shirt, cummerbund and bow tie.

A tuxedo is different from a normal jacket suit as it has satin lapels, with satin side stripes running down the trousers.

A cummerbund is a broad waist sash with pleats running the length of it. The cummerbund should be worn with the pleats facing up.

There is a historical reason for this: In the past, ticket stubs were stashed away in cummerbunds.

For a black-tie party, women should wear evening gowns. Black is a popular choice but it is not necessary. Deep reds and plums, crisp pastels, and silver and gold can all look equally stunning, matched with classy accessories.

Black-tie optional
A black-tie optional gives men and women the choice of wearing tuxedos or long evening gowns, or the alternative of a dark suit for men and a long dress or formal evening separates for women.

Creative black tie
Creative black tie leaves room for trendy interpretations. Men can go more modern with tuxedos, worn with a shirt and no bowtie. Ladies can wear long or short dresses or evening separates.

Formal
Not as glamorous as a white-tie or black-tie affair, the formal event still requires men to wear suits, long-sleeved shirts and ties, and women to wear dresses or separates, which should not be shorter than knee-length.

If the function is in Asia, is more of a social nature, with no business involved, gentlemen can wear long-sleeved batik shirts or shirts with an orchid motif. Ladies can wear their national traditional costumes, like cheongsams, saris and baju kurong.

Lounge suit
This dress code indicates a semi-formal function. A man must wear a dark-coloured suit, a long-sleeved shirt and tie.

Ladies should wear cocktail dresses, ranging in length from just above the knee to about two inches above the ankle. Popular materials include silk, satin and chiffon.

Business attire
Men can skip the jacket but a long-sleeved shirt and tie is still necessary. Women can choose jacket suits, with matching skirts or trousers. Jackets with shoulder pads are formal jackets; those without are informal.

Smart casual
Smart casual does not mean jeans or denims. Men can opt for collared shirts and polo tees with collars and smart trousers, dockers or chinos.

Women can wear chemises with cardigans. Avoid halter necks, tube tops and spaghetti straps, unless they are worn underneath informal jackets or cardigans. To look smart, wear coordinated skirts or trousers.

Casual
This usually means you can turn up in anything you like, but do ensure that what you wear is in good taste. Know your "audience" and dress accordingly.

Office wear
Check with your company's HR department about the dress code if you are not sure how to dress for work. What some of your new colleagues are wearing may not be a good indication, as they may not have adhered to the office dress code.

Even if the company has a Casual Friday dress code, do not assume that jeans are allowed on that day. If you need to meet a customer on Friday, do wear appropriate business attire.

Keep these sartorial guidelines in mind when you are preparing for a function and you will relax and enjoy yourself.

If the invitation card states some other type of dress code not discussed above, and you are not sure what to wear, it is best to call the host and check. That way, you won't make any style mistakes and stand out like a sore thumb.


Article by Elaine Heng, a style consultant/image trainer. For more information, call 8268-8308, e-mail elaine@elaineheng.com or visit www.elaineheng.com.

A third of the year coming to a close

As April is soon coming to a close, I had been doing some deep thinking of what I had accomplish in the past four months. Recalling back, other than completing my national service in the army, I haven't been really pro-active in deciding my future, surrendering my life to the needs and wants to others. I had made many bad decisions - letting people determining my fate, didn't heed other people advice, complacency and many more.

I really need to think back hard through these bad decisions, making them part of my reservoir of experience and ensuring that they will not be repeated in any form in the future.

Many trials and challengers awaits me in the remaining 2 thirds of the year and I deeply believe that I can make a positive impact in making positive changes in my destiny.

For now, I think it's back to the drawing board with Jim Rohn's advice on making goals.

Making Your Goals Count in 2008by Jim Rohn (Excerpted from Week 7 of the Jim Rohn One-Year Success Plan - S.M.A.R.T. Goals by Jim Rohn)

Reproduced with permission from the Jim Rohn Weekly E-zine - http://www.jimrohn.com

As we enter into this New Year we all tend to have a heightened sense of the opportunities and possibilities that 2008 can bring. The need for goal-setting becomes more obvious and clear. And the great thing about goal-setting is you can keep it as simple or get as elaborate as you would like. In fact, we have dedicated one month in the One-Year Success Plan solely to the subject of goal-setting and have over 125-pages in the One-Year Plan workbook of exercises on this subject. Space and time won't allow that here, but below are some abbreviated points on goal-setting for the New Year.

I've often said the major reason for setting a goal is for what it makes of you to accomplish it. What it makes of you will always be the far greater value than what you get. That is why goals are so powerful - they are part of the fabric that makes up our lives. And goal-setting is where we create our goals.

Goal-setting is powerful, partly because it provides focus. It shapes our dreams. It gives us the ability to hone in on the exact actions we need to perform to achieve everything we desire in life. Goals are GREAT because they cause us to stretch and grow in ways that we never have before. In order to reach our goals we must become better. We must change and grow.

Also, goals provide long-term vision in our lives. We all need lots of powerful, long-range goals to help us get past short-term obstacles. Life is designed in such a way that we look long-term and live short-term. We dream for the future and live in the present. Unfortunately, the present can produce many difficult obstacles. But fortunately, the more powerful our goals (because they are inspiring and believable) the more we will be able to act on them in the short-term and guarantee that they will actually come to pass!

So, let's take a closer look at the topic of goal-setting and see how we can make it forceful as well as practical. What are the key aspects to learn and remember when studying and writing our goals?

1. Evaluation and Reflection. The only way we can reasonably decide what we want in the future and how we will get there is to first know where we are right now and what our level of satisfaction is for where we are in life. So first take some time and think through and write down your current situation, then ask this question on each key point - is that okay?

The purpose of evaluation is two-fold. First, it gives you an objective way to look at your accomplishments and your pursuit of the vision you have for your life. Secondly, it is to show you where you are so you can determine where you need to go. In other words, it gives you a baseline from which to work.

I would strongly encourage you to take a couple of hours this week to evaluate and reflect. At the beginning of this month we encourage you to see where you are and write it down so that as the months progress and you continue a regular time of evaluation and reflection, you will see just how much ground you will be gaining - and that will be exciting!

2. What are Your Dreams and Goals? These are the dreams and goals that are born out of your own heart and mind. These are the goals that are unique to you and come from who you were created to be and gifted to become. So second, make a list of all the things you desire for the future.

One of the amazing things we have been given as humans is the unquenchable desire to have dreams of a better life, and the ability to establish goals to live out those dreams. Think of it: We can look deep within our hearts and dream of a better situation for ourselves and our families; dream of better financial lives and better emotional or physical lives; certainly dream of better spiritual lives. But what makes this even more powerful is that we have also been given the ability to not only dream but to pursue those dreams and not just pursue them, but the cognitive ability to actually lay out a plan and strategies (setting goals) to achieve those dreams. Powerful!

What are your dreams and goals? This isn't what you already have or what you have done, but what you want. Have you ever really sat down and thought through your life values and decided what you really want? Have you ever taken the time to truly reflect, to listen quietly to your heart, to see what dreams live within you? Your dreams are there. Everyone has them. They may live right on the surface, or they may be buried deep from years of others telling you they were foolish, but they are there.

So how do we know what our dreams are? This is an interesting process and it relates primarily to the art of listening. This is not listening to others; it is listening to yourself. If we listen to others, we hear their plans and dreams (and many will try to put their plans and dreams on us). If we listen to others, we can never be fulfilled. We will only chase elusive dreams that are not rooted deep within us. No, we must listen to our own hearts.

Here are some practical steps/thoughts on hearing from our hearts on what our dreams are:

Take time to be quiet. This is something that we don't do enough in this busy world of ours. We rush, rush, rush, and we are constantly listening to noise all around us. The human heart was meant for times of quiet, to peer deep within. It is when we do this that our hearts are set free to soar and take flight on the wings of our own dreams! Schedule some quiet "dream time" this week. No other people. No cell phone. No computer. Just you, a pad, a pen, and your thoughts.

Think about what really thrills you. When you are quiet, think about those things that really get your blood moving. What would you LOVE to do, either for fun or for a living? What would you love to accomplish? What would you try if you were guaranteed to succeed? What big thoughts move your heart into a state of excitement and joy? When you answer these questions you will feel GREAT and you will be in the "dream zone." It is only when we get to this point that we experience what OUR dreams are!

Write down all of your dreams as you have them. Don't think of any as too outlandish or foolish - remember, you're dreaming! Let the thoughts fly and take careful record.

Now, prioritize those dreams. Which are most important? Which are most feasible? Which would you love to do the most? Put them in the order in which you will actually try to attain them. Remember, we are always moving toward action, not just dreaming.

3. S.M.A.R.T. Goals. S.M.A.R.T. means Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic, and Time-sensitive.

I really like this acronym S.M.A.R.T., because we want to be smart when we set our goals. We want to intelligently decide what our goals will be so that we can actually accomplish them. We want to set the goals that our heart conceives, our minds believe and that our bodies will carry out. Let's take a closer look at each of the components of S.M.A.R.T. goals:

Specific: Goals are no place to waffle. They are no place to be vague. Ambiguous goals produce ambiguous results. Incomplete goals produce incomplete futures.

Measurable: Always set goals that are measurable. I would say "specifically measurable" to take into account our principle of being specific as well.

Attainable: One of the detrimental things that many people do - and they do it with good intentions - is to set goals that are so high they are unattainable.

Realistic: The root word of realistic is "real." A goal has to be something that we can reasonably make "real" or a "reality" in our lives. There are some goals that simply are not realistic. You have to be able to say, even if it is a tremendously stretching goal, that yes, indeed, it is entirely realistic -- that you could make it. You may even have to say that it will take x, y, and z to do it, but if those happen, then it can be done. This is in no way to say it shouldn't be a big goal, but it must be realistic.

Time: Every goal should have a time frame attached to it. I think that life itself is much more productive if there is a time frame connected to it. Could you imagine how much procrastination there would be on earth if people never died? We would never get "around to it." We could always put it off. One of the powerful aspects of a great goal is that it has an end, a time in which you are shooting to accomplish it. You start working on it because you know there is an end. As time goes by you work on it because you don't want to get behind. As it approaches, you work diligently because you want to meet the deadline. You may even have to break down a big goal into different parts of measurement and time frames. That is okay. Set smaller goals and work them out in their own time. A S.M.A.R.T. goal has a timeline.

4. Accountability (A contract with yourself or someone else). When someone knows what your goals are, they hold you accountable by asking you to "give an account" of where you are in the process of achieving that goal. Accountability puts some teeth into the process. If a goal is set and only one person knows it, does it really have any power? Many times, no. At the very least, it isn't as powerful as if you have one or more other people who can hold you accountable to your goal.

So: Evaluate/Reflect; Decide What You Want; Be S.M.A.R.T.; Have Accountability. When you put these 4 key pieces together, you are putting yourself in a position of power that will catapult you toward achieving your goals.

Same mistakes made twice...

Mistakes, we all make them from time to time, but more importantly, have you learned from the mistakes to avoid them a second time. I think I haven't, hence am paying a substantial price for it.

Perhaps an illustration of what sort of situation is it. Last Sat, I was out for some event and returned at quite a late hour, hence taking the Night Rider bus back to my home in Bishan. Since it was quite a while of traveling, I took an eye shut but by the time I woke up, I was somewhere in Ang Mo Kio, near, yet some distance away from where I stayed. I hesitated in getting off the bus thinking that the bus might do a loop service; in the end I ended up in Yishun, much further away with no service going back to Bishan since it is around 4am in the morning. The lesson learned is this, had I assessed the situation well (listing the benefits and disadvantages in a quick manner), made a prompt decision to get off the bus and waited for the bus in the other direction to come, I might have made back home earlier.

Likewise, in the second situation which I don't really think I want elaborate here. Had I made a consistent effort to list the pros and cons instead of going with the flow, I would have ended up with a better decision and not suffer the penalty that the decision brought along.

A lesson learn that I keep in minds for the years to come.

Information overload...

I have been spending this week packing up my room. Improvements have been made but more work need to be done on a daily basis. From the accumulated pile of papers and books, I sorted out piles of source codes, self-improvement materials, tutorials and lab sheets. Many to be recycled or throw away due to the fact that I have new priorities for my learning and not because I had completely mastered them.

I have also piled up a stack of publications that I had ranging from IT Publications such as PC Mag, Hardware Mag to Industry Publications such as Network World Asia and TelecomAsia to Investment Mag such as Fundsupermart. Now that a whole load of publications in addition to my regular online subscriptions as well as daily newspapers.

Indeed, in this era of Information age where knowledge is power, everyone has the tendency to want to sift through every single article. However, I think that it had been a 10 times or even a 100 times harder than a century ago due to the exponential growing amount of information that the world is producing each day.

What I had really done is to filter down the information according to my priority. An example of that would be skimming through a newspaper reading more relevant articles instead of reading word for word, or sitting through a condensed news broadcast. This would cut down required reading to half, not much, but sure adds up to a bit over the long run.

Definitely, more thoughts are required to address this issue as there are no universal solutions for this ever growing problem.

Just some food for thought. Anyway, if you have a useful strategy, do share with me.

March update.

It's been more than a month since my last post, wasn't busy but just plain lazy.

Basically some highlight of this period.

Flu
Finally recovered from the flu - all thanks to the weather change; it has gotten a whole lot hotter this season and that somehow aid my recovery.

Military Shows
Watched an interesting documentary called "Surviving West Point" - somehow that made me regret the fact that I missed the chance to go SISPEC / OCS as I failed my IPPT back then in BMT. Well, it's going to be a regret that I will be carrying with me till the day I step in the grave. c'est la vie.

SingTel also offered me a month long of FREE Video-On-Demand. (Think it's a scheme to get me distracted after I ORDed. Anyway, I made used of it to watch "Honor and Passion" / 保家卫国 - an SAF sponsored local Chinese drama. "What for?" you might ask, I guess I missed the good "old" days in the army and want to be reminded of it. Also, Felicia Chin is in it, so is Dawn Yeoh. Oh, and a good dose of touching romance. =)


Job interviews / tasking.

Vanco
Went for a round of interview back at Vanco, there still is a hiring freeze till perhaps next week (7th Apr)? If I were to go back, would most likely do Network Service Management, optimizing the network connectivity of the clients' networks. Well, any case, too early to say anything.

NCS
Having a job interview at NCS upcoming Monday too, there'll be a Cisco Test prior the interview, meaning I might have to do a bit of reading up and IOS practice, sure is rusty after that long while. Oh, and I'm also required to bring my transcript down too, it sure made me regret for not studying a whole lot harder back in the Uni. That is certainly a motivational issue that I need to address and get sorted out.

Singapore-Russia Business Conference
Well, I got a cool S$100 as a IT support engineer at the conference, making sure that the organising crew and speakers are able use the desktops and printer that they rented at the site. Easy money but definitely boring, not much chance of networking too since I'm cooped in a conference room and whomever inside will always be busy doing something.

Thoughts of the week

Just some of this week event that I'd like to jolt down.

Still having persistent coughing after 2 weeks
Yeah, I think I fall ill from too much good food as well as the chill in Hong Kong / Macau. As well as being a glutton during the Chinese New Year.

I'm getting into a discipline approach of eating, but I think will take me another week to fully recover and start training for SunDown Marathon.

Brother left for studies back in Beijing
Well, dear old bro left last Sunday for Beijing to continue his studies in Beijing University. Sure had a fun time going on a family trip to Hong Kong during his vacation, also had a great time exploring HKU with him and his friend. Took lots of shots, and chatted a bit more. Still, I'm kindda ashame that I didn't know him as well as I should. Well, he'll be returning soon this June to intern in a school, so I think I talk to him more then. His absence sure is felt after his departure.

Feifei (Lydia Sum) passed away
Well, I think my mom is more upset than I am. She was greatly influenced by her character, hence my mom too had a cheerful character. Kind of sad to know that this once great star which often appears in the movies that I watched when I was younger had departed us for the other world. I do hope that there would be another star which has her charisma and bring joy and laughter to the entertainment scene.

Singapore get to host the 1st ever Youth Olympics
GREAT NEWS! Singapore will be the 1st City to be hosting the Youth Olympics in 2010. Damn proud that Singapore, a small city country had the chance to host such a major sports event. Singapore will definitely prove its mantle to the international community and make this a successful event. I sure hope that I could get tickets for Table-tennis then.

And the Best Solider for Jan goes to.... ME!

Haha~ Yeap, something to boast about =P I was awarded the best solider for the month of Jan. That means an additional Day Off for me. Hehe~

On a serious note, I do appreciate the nomination for this award, it does to a certain note recognise my contribution back in army and I do hope that I had made an impact to the people around me. When I return to NS Life, I had thought to myself that this is a time to learn to start from ground zero, to learn to humble myself and to stretch my limits - physically and mentally. I do hope that I had performed to my best and utmost. I am aware that physically I haven't been doing very well, falling sick time and again hence I had to stop training too excessively. This sure is something that I have to address in the days to come in order to be fitter.

Just a look back to 2001, the army sure has progressed much since back then. Training was much more regimental, just a slight mistake and you could have seen the whole company (meaning specialists and enlistees) running back and forth doing change parade - meaning you go up bunk change to number 4 within a certain timing, report back, not satisfactory, go up bunk again, change to Admin Kit which is T-shirt and shorts, report back, not satisfactory, maybe go back bunk, come down in full battle order. However, it's usually things like this that leaves a lasting impression on one and make one aware the spirit of camaraderie.

Nowadays, the army is still tough on training, but it doesn't deal these sort of unreasonable punishment on the enlistees. Also don't need lah, youngsters are more educated nowadays to know how to follow orders, not like back in those days when there are some who like to test the laws.

Well, 21 more days to go before my NS life comes to an end. Meanwhile, waiting for my offer letter. If no letter then have to reassess situation again :-/

EPRD - a year later with me being the interviewer this round...

Well, was looking at my post a year ago on the AIESEC internship interviews. Time flies and this year, i'm on the other end, yet not as relax as I could have been. Why? Cause I find out that it is equally difficult to assess whether a candidate is suitable. Maybe it is my first time or maybe it's because of my happy-go-lucky attitude thats going against me.

None the less, it sure has been a learning experience - that what I LOVE about AIESEC, there's always something new to learn and to reflect upon. This time, my key take-aways are I need to improve my note-taking skills; this has been an area that I had been weak in and do require some immediate attention to improve myself professionally.

Back to the EPRD, personally, I'd try to pass as many candidates as possible if I do see any positive side of the candidate or rather no significant weaknesses. And thankfully to the system, that not quite possible as it requires all 3 panel interviews to unanimously agree to that conclusion, one who doesn't agree and out goes the candidate.

Basically, there isn't really much of a issue with the candidates that we have the chance to interview, they are all bright, ambitious and do know what they are after or wanting to make use of the opportunity that AIESEC offers to clarify what they are after. Some of the common faults they do make is they didn't really present how they could be ideal representatives of AIESEC as well as representatives of Singapore; others include what i consider extreme behavior of workaholic, some really didn't really have the complete picture of what AIESEC exchange is all about, some is the possibilities of not able to find suitable internships for the short duration that they indicated.

Maybe because for all the interviewees that we had do not have relevant @XP, they don't really understand the @ culture as well as the @ values, hence they are not really as @ly prepared as @ers would be. I do hope that they would be added to mailing list for @ public events so as to know more about @

Kit Chan - An idol in memory

I saw Kit Chan on S-Pop today. She performed a selection of songs, most of which are my favourites including “天冷就回来”，“担心”，“心痛”，“拔河”，“家”，"There's no place I'd rather be".

Really missed watching her performing on stage. It has always been an enjoyment just to sit in front of the TV and listen to her performing, her live concert was equally fantastic. Tonight, I get to re-live listening her performing once again =)

Well, I blogged so much about Kit was because she was the first few artists I knew and through her living of life; persuing her passion in the field of art; has greatly influenced me. Aside that many songs that she had performed are touching as well as well written.

Retired from the entertainment scene, her contributions to the Singapore musical industry and her pursue of dreams will definitely leave a lasting impression on people of my generation.

Kit Chan, my idol that will always be in my memories.

Another good article to share...

Another good article from Scott Young website on managing task. Useful tools :)

Feeling Overwhelmed?

How can you do it all? Running a marathon, setting up a successful business, getting organized and achieving your dreams aren’t easy to do. Even after you take the important step of deciding what you want out of life, it is hard not to be overwhelmed by the size of everything you want to accomplish.

A method I’ve been using for years to tackle this problem is with short-term projects. This approach helps form a bridge between end results and right now. Best of all, I’ve found that creating short-term projects you see work as a game instead of a sacrifice towards something bigger.

What is a Short-Term Project?

Short-term projects are a very specific type of goal. While a goal can range anywhere from what you want to accomplish over the next year to what you want to do this afternoon, short-term projects have a few qualities that make them easier to stick with and more motivating to approach.

Here are just a few of the conditions that make up a short-term project:

1. Time is from 1-12 months.
2. The focus is on building, not achieving.
3. Only one project at a time.

I’ll discuss why these three major conditions are important and how you can use short-term projects to work smarter.

Deadline is Between One Month and One Year

Goals can range from daily activities to decade-long milestones. A project differs by being restricted within one month and a year. Although these restrictions are somewhat arbitrary, there are valid reasons for making sure your projects stick somewhere within this range.

Projects that are too short won’t accomplish much. A well-written article might offer a few new ideas. But a well-written book can organize hundreds. Longer projects have the advantage of concentrating your effort to build something meaningful.

Projects that are too long are risky. If I wanted to spend the next five years writing a book, I’m making many assumptions when I start. Lengthy projects may need so many alterations that they begin to look like Joan Rivers by the time you finish. Keeping projects in a shorter time-span ensures you can maintain a direction the entire time.

The Focus is on Building, Not Achieving

The focus of a goal is achieving something you desire. Losing 20 lbs is a definite achievement that isn’t directly connected with any work. A project, however, is based on building. Building the habit of going to the gym is directly connected with work. There is considerable grey area between these two extremes, but projects emphasize enjoying while you build instead of reaching an outside benchmark.

Currently I have an annual income goal for this website and a project for releasing my next e-book. The income goal is a benchmark that isn’t directly associated with any work. The e-book is entirely based on the effort I put into it, whether it sells any copies or not.

It’s easy to get discouraged or frustrated when trying to achieve a goal. Often the results don’t match up with the effort or ideas you put into it. But in building you can stay motivated because your efforts are usually matched by completing more of the project.

One Project at a Time

Too many objectives will defeat the entire purpose of setting goals in the first place. If you have a goal to focus your energies, then having six or seven different goals is no better than setting zero. Short-term projects are only useful if you only commit to one of them at a time. Since a project can be fairly short, it’s easier to focus on one completely.

What’s the Difference Between Goals and Projects

Here are a few example goals and potential projects you could use towards reaching them:

1. Goal - Lose weight. Project - Set up the habit of exercising.
2. Goal - Earn more business income. Project - Create a new product.
3. Goal - Learn computer programming. Project - Make a small application.
4. Goal - Save more money. Project - Complete a 3-month budgeting trial to see how low you can bring down your expenses.
5. Goal - Become more productive. Project - Commit to following GTD for a month.
6. Goal - Set up a successful freelancing business. Project - Design your personal website.

Projects lie somewhere between tasks and goals. They are larger than short tasks. But their focus on building, rather than achieving contrasts them from goals. This difference makes projects great for working on long-term goals. While you may experience set-backs in progress and motivation with achievement, you can always keep building towards your project.

Keeping Projects Aligned With Goals

Projects are great for staying motivated because they can provide a constant stream of reward for effort. But it is important to monitor your projects to make sure they stay aligned with your goals and that they don’t start to expand.

The best way to ensure your projects stay aligned with your goals is that you regularly review the entire project and that you keep them small. If you waste four months on a project that didn’t help your goal (a failed product, bad habit trial, etc.) then you haven’t lost too much time. But if a two year project fails, you’ve wasted a lot of time and energy.

Do a semi-weekly review of your big projects to ensure that they aren’t growing too large and that they are still relevant to the goals you have. If your goals change, you may have to give up projects. I spent over a year working on a computer program before my goals changed and I decided to start this website. Giving up projects can be hard, but if your interests switch, you need to pull the plug.

Amazing bird!

This bird would definitely brighten up anyone's day =)

Just for laugh

Saw this on the facebook's Daily Humor App. Found it quite interesting, so I decided to reproduced it here

The Money Theorem

Dilbert's Theorem on Salary states that engineers and scientists can never earn as much salary as business executives and sales people. This theorem can now be supported by a mathematical equation based on the following two postulates:

Postulate 1: Knowledge is Power.
Postulate 2: Time is Money.

As every engineer knows : Power = Work / Time

Since Knowledge = Power, and Time = Money, we have:
Knowledge = Work / Money

Solving for Money, we get:
Money = Work / Knowledge

Thus, as Knowledge approaches zero, Money approaches infinity, regardless of the amount of Work done.

Conclusion: The Less you Know, the More you Earn.

There's always these sort of weird humor coming from purposeful mis-interpretation of commonly known formulas. It kind of amazed me on how the brain of these inventors work. In any case, I do not think that being a business executive or sales person is an easy tasks - it requires a totally different skillset. As an engineer, however, I'd think that it'd be easier for us to develop inter-personal skills rather than for a sales person to pick up engineer related skills.

In conclusion, being an engineer still rocks. And being an engineer / business executive is even more cool. =)

Some self-reflections and random thoughts...

There was this small dinner gathering with Dominic (@er from HKU), Alison (@er from McMaster) and a few other @ers from NTU at the Canteen 2. Had a great time conversing with them as well as the @ers from NTU. Thereafter, they had a conversation with Dominic; which I sat in uninvitedly :P ; had a great learning opportunity learning from Dominic's experience in HKU. The way that they worked are quite different from us and there are definitely areas that NTU-LC can adopt. E.g. having this Leadership Development Series as a recruitment method which thereafter, there will be a post-interview for those who are still interested in joining AIESEC as a member.

On my way home back from NTU, I was scrolling through my phone handbook and noted that I had a lot of contact numbers, many which I had not been in contact with in a while - I think one goal I should set for myself is to meet all of them at least on a bi-yearly basis, meeting someone every 6 months shouldn't be a difficult tasks, though organising a gathering that all will attend is.

Then back at home, I was scanning through my bank statements and discovered that there are some credit bills that are unpaid; though those are not charged interests since my mom normally pays for the bill (it's a supplementary card), then I pay her back. Reminds me to set a day aside every month for some financial dust cleaning so as to ensure that I'm in control of my expenses, I'm afraid that I exceeded it for last month :P

Well, there ends my random thoughts that I wanted to blog to remind myself of what I need to improve upon. :)