Allocate Special Holidays for Yourself

Just came back from a wonderful holiday with three of my best buddies. Mind you, this was done without the wives and children. What a treat!

Three years ago, my friends and I decided that we should have an annual retreat...men only. This was naturally greeted with much derision, skepticism and suspicions from our wives. I don't blame them. But they relented, albeit very, very, very reluctantly.

Phuket was the venue of our first and second `pilgrimages'; Jakarta was our latest `foray'. So, what do four grown men do when they're all alone, away from the scrutinising eyes of our better halves?

We become boys. Lest your mind starts wandering, it was good fun - playing golf, eating and having a few drinks.

Golfing in Indonesia is a refreshing experience - the golf courses are breathtakingly beautiful, the people are so warm, and everyone seems genuinely happy. My only lament was that my golf scores did not do justice to the wonderful conditions that prevailed. But, who cares.

What am I getting at?

Well, your wives and partners are going to hate me for this. But I'm strongly recommending that if it was possible, without you running the risk of getting a divorce letter or being dumped, go for an all guys holiday. It does wonders for your mental health. Deep down, all men are boys, and we need to return to that boyish abandonment that we left behind. We need to touch base once in a while with our `inner self' to unleash our latent creativity and imagination that resides deep within. Having these holidays will do just that.

And am I saying that only the men get it? No, ladies too can be gals again. You too deserve an all ladies holiday, leaving aside everything and having good, clean gal fun. In fact, it would be most ideal if both the guys and gals take turns to have such holidays.

It would do all of us a great deal of good. It could be worth a "fortune".

To Mervyn, Steven and Lincoln - thanks for the wonderful time. Till next year!

The Last Lecture Tells Us Much Of How We Should Live

I have just finished reading the book, The Last Lecture by Randy Pausch. And when I say just finished, I literally mean it; I'm writing this post moments after reading the book, which was in itself done in record time.

Randy Pausch is a university professor who has much to live for - a beautiful wife, two young sons and a lovely daughter. As fate would have it, he's only months to live as a series of cancers wreak havoc on his physical but not his mental health.

For a man staring death in the face, I can only admire his courage, and his humour. My problems are but a speck of dust when compared to the fate that awaits him. In his book, he is exuberant about living, and about living a life that is meaningful. He buys a convertible, goes out on a final holiday with three of his buddies, and continually expresses his love and admiration for his children and for his wife.

As a means of communicating his thoughts as well as imparting insights, Randy conducts a lecture entitled The Last Lecture. It's available on the Internet for those who are unaware - http://www.thelastlecture.com/. For me,the most poignant part of the book was when he unveils a surprise birthday celebration for his wife at the lecture. She hugs him, then tells him "Please don't die."

In delivering the lecture and in writing the book, Randy is telling us all that we should value life more intensely; most of us tend to take it for granted. If you have been doing so,now is the time to reflect and make efforts in ensuring that we live a life we want.

This book has made a profound impact on me; may I therefore recommend that you read it. Just click on the book cover on this site.

Live life!

"We cannot change the cards we are dealt, just how we play the hand." - Randy Pausch

Meditate For Power

Meditation has always been a source of intrigue for me. To be honest, I've always been a skeptic. My impression of meditation hovers between the mystical and the gullible. No way was I going into it.

How wrong could I be!

I read Charles Haanel's book, The Master Key System and he emphasised the need for Mental Housekeeping. Our minds are often cluttered with too much inputs and there is a need to do some housekeeping. This is often an area of major neglect. As our minds get overburdened with too much thoughts, both positive and negative, its efficiency invariably declines. There is a need for some detoxification.

You may be familiar with the Defragmentation tool used for PCs. It's in a sense a housekeeping tool for computers. What it ultimately does is that it makes the computer function more efficiently.

Our minds could do with some defragmentation and I would recommend a tool called meditation. Not of the Yogic, lotus leaf kind.

Here's what you can do:

1. Find a quiet place; it could be your room, the park or the beach.

2. Find a comfortable sitting position, then keep still for 15 minutes.

3. Close your eyes and shut out all thoughts.

Do that 3 times a week and see if it makes you better.

I did. And I now swear by it.

Om.......