DON"T LIVE YOUR LIFE IN ONE DAY - OUT NOW IN STORES!

Well, my book has finally been officially launched. It's out in the bookstores, both in Singapore and Malaysia.

What do I seek to achieve? Well, the book contains truisms that hopefully, will inspire and motivate those who delve into its contents. More than anything, I hope that people will refer to it time and time again to reflect on its messages and more importantly, see how they are actually living their lives.

It's just 232 pages, broken down into 10 major areas. These are:

Mind Management

Developing Your Potential

Success

The Finer Things in Life

Overcoming the Odds

Relationship Development

Career Pointers

Leading A Balanced Life

Power Strategies

All Other Things That Matter

After 20 years in the making, the book that I always wanted to write has finally arrived. And it is my earnest hope that it will benefit those who are keen on embarking on the messages that are unveiled.

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.......

The Longer The Night Lasts, The Longer Our Dreams Will Be

What this ancient Chinese proverb is saying is that the longer we stay in a disadvantageous position, the more risks we'll take. So, is that good or bad?

Well, there are always two sides to a coin.

As far as possible, we'll always want to be in an advantageous position. That's human. But then again, that advantageous position may be far from being an advantage. Let me explain.

We can always opt for a safer decisions to be in our comfort zone. But that results in us always being in our comfort zone, which may not be the ideal or maximum zone that we truly can thrive in. But, we are comfortable.

We could be earning a relatively reasonable income, with minimal effort and stress. Or we could be doing a job that barely uses our capabilities. In short, we are under-acheiving.

Most successful people arrived at their stations in life by pushing themselves out of their comfort zones i.e. from their advantageous positions, to be in a less advantageous position. These people could have been well paid employees who ventured out to be their own bosses. In moving from theses zones, they were forced to take risks. And in most cases, they were rewarded.

Am I advocating a risk taking perspective from now on? No, but maybe you should look at where you are now and see if it's truly what you want. Success does not necessarily mean riches and fame. To me, success is doing what you want and being what you want.

It is what we are, not what we have.

And may I end by saying that `You can't catch a cub without going into the lion's den'. In trying anything new, there will always be risks. You can't succeed without risks.

Underwear Sells!

Just read an article about the richest sports personalities and the money they are raking in. Tiger Woods, quite naturally, tops the list at US$128 million last year. Guess many will not grudge that as golf is an extremely difficult game to master and Woods has already stamped his mark on the golfing scene despite being in his youthful 30s.

But what about David Beckham?

He tops the list for non Americans at about US$50 million. What gives?

I'm not in anyway inferring that soccer, a game which Beckham earns his keeps from, is a lesser sport than golf. In fact, it's the sport with the largest following in the world. However, David is not exactly a legend in terms of soccer skills, not when you compare the prowess demonstrated by Woods who is already a golfing legend by all accounts.

So what is it about David Beckham?

He's a brand. And a carefully crafted one at that.

He's got the looks and he's always presented in the best possible light - sometimes in underwear, not indecent at all, sometimes with milk and sometimes with soft drinks. He's associated with Pepsi, Gillette. He has an image, and that image sells. His brand value is estimated to be almost worth US$400 million. Now, that's an obscene amount.

What am I getting at?

In this day and age, it's all about image. Get the right image and present that in the right marketing vehicles, and you'll be rolling in cash.

Whatever your station in life, take a look at the image you're projecting. If you exude certain qualities, capitalise on it. If it's commercially viable, better still. Not in a David Beckham manner, but in ways that enhances your persona and how people perceive you. It applies to whatever circumstance you're in, be it as an employee or as an entrepreneur (remember Richard Branson?).

It's all about perception, and the right perception sells. David Beckham is living proof.

The Man Who Removes a Mountain Begins By Carrying Away Small Stones

All of us face situations which seem insurmountable and gargantuan. That ambition, that goal appears in our mind as a mountain. It's imposing, almost impossible to scale. Add that to the chorus of naysayers who almost always seem to be great prophets of doom, the goal or problem seems like a hopeless cause. All perspectives to the achievement of the goal or resolution of the problem appear as 90 degree precipices.

But is it?

Jacob Riis ( 1849 - 1914) was a journalist and social reformer who, in the lates 1800s, did much to improve the lot of the poor in New York City. He shared an unusual approach in overcoming discouragement. Whenever he felt he needed a morale boost, he would visit a stonecutter. There, Riis would watch the stone cutter hammer away at a boulder. He would strike the stone for a 100 times with no results.

However, at the 101st attempt, the stone would crack. Riis reasoned that it wasn't the 101st blow that did the trick, but rather, the cumulative attempts at cracking the boulder was the fundamental reason for the resultant crack.

And so it is with life. There will be many a time when our efforts seem futile, almost as if we're on a lost cause with nothing to account for despite our most valiant efforts. That's when we must never give up but plod on.

We all will have our boulders and mountains to conquer, but every strike at that boulder and every pebble that we cart away will result in the unthinkable; the boulder will crack and the mountain will disappear.