Mr China - great book to read!

Mr. China by Tim Clissold is really a great read! You can enjoy it as novel but sadly it's a true story. Investing in China can really be a nightmare if u are a strong believer of law, order and justice. i already knew China aint an easy place to do business. And i've been to China to visit a friend and manage to chat with some businessmen there.. However, i can never imagine the challenges faced by Tim & his colleagues. Really, there're many valuable lessons to be learned from Mr. China. (Photo of Tim Clissold below)

Btw, i was introduced to this book by a friend Ho Yait. He told me that his company expects all the managers to read the book. i was curious and more curious abt doing business in China.. So i bought it. And i got stuck with it.. eager to complete it.. eager to read how the events unfold with one challenges after another.. some in parallel.. Happy that Tim survived.. and China continues to strive! ;-)

Read Asian Review of the book

Perception is reality.. Perception is relative..

Over the years, in my working life, one of the key things i've learned is that perception is reality. Well,.. the boss said so, so many times that it slowly etched in my mind..

Now for a while, i believed it wholeheartedly. Lately, however, after further thoughts i discovered that perception is really relative - reality in each individual mind is different! It depends on their upbringing, life experiences, beliefs and more..

So, these days, i'm more careful - dont believe everything u see, hear & even yr own beliefs. Sometimes they're right. Sometimes they're not. Always keep an open mind. Always ponder what was said and the unsaid - expressions, unspoken words can be more telling..

Like Indian food? Goto East Coast..

Good Indian seafood at East Coast (Singapore... i mean..).. checkout the website which i designed a few years ago!! ;-)

Wedding outdoor shots

These were taken at Sentosa.. we had to 'jump' over drain, 'climb' over fence & still smile under the hot sun.. but it's all worthwhile.. ;-)

My beloved wife..

I love my wife Shini.. ;-)
She's so pretty, adorable, interesting, caring, smart,..

One of my favourite shots..

My very good friend, Eileen.

Isnt she pretty?

Wee Seng & Kheng Hui's beloved babygal born on 1 Dec 2005 @2.9kg.

Before & After..

Some haircut & makeup does wonders to my godsis.. ;-)

Change & pain..

"Change or no change is still pain.

The only difference, which is worth the pain."

- Kenneth W.

note: Came up with the above quote many years ago while trying to give an advice to a close friend.. It has been on my mind all these years! And a constant reminder to myself about change! Hey, not often one can dream up a memorable quote and useful ya.. ;-)

Life simple solutions:: Fact or Problem

People always worry themselves to death with problems they cant solve or at least they think they cant.. and there are others who worry so much even though it can be solved! So where do we go from here? How do we get round this problem once and for all?

I'm also one of them - the worrier.. And a few years ago, i read somewhere.. think it's a small book that enlightened me.. By looking at the issue and simply ask yourself this simple question - Is it a fact or a problem? If it's a fact, there's nothing u can do to change it.. so u just have to acknowledge it and move on. If it's a problem, then just focus on finding the solution to resolve it! That simple.

The trick is, how do we differentiate if it's a fact or problem? Well, u have to be honest with yourself.. and mind you, it's a mind game.. Understand yr strengths & weaknesses will help improve yr judgement..

Armed with this, it has made my life less worrying.. Hope it works for u too..

The power of focus and passion!

I first noticed the power of focus & passion when i read Andrew Matthews's book on Being Happy. It was a light-hearted book to read but the message was strong and impression deep.. especially the portion on invisible magnet - u attract what u focus on..

My first taste with tis phenomena was in composing music which was & still is my passion. i wondered how i could get into the music composing world. True enough, when i focus so much on my passion, opportunities opened up itself.. why? coz i was so into it tat i talked about it whenever and wherever i met up with people.. finally one day someone heard abt it and told me tat she has a contact with a recording company!! And that's how i sent my tape to the music studio..

So till this day, i always remind myself about Staying FOCUS and Live with PASSION. The two of the key ingredients to a more fulfilling life! Cheers!

Today, two of my dreams came true..

Yes! Today two of my dreams came true!! Cant reveal now.. just wanna keep it here for the record..

It's one of the happiest day of my life! Getting ready for another adventure!! In fact two! ;-)

May Buddha blessings be with me. BuddhaHa.. ;-)

Free Photo.. heehee..

Very funny Korean singing pair..

The Present..

Some time ago, I read a book titled The Present by Spencer Johnson . It was an enlightening experience! ;-)
Here, i would like to share some of the key points, and explain how the past, present & future are related!!

Be in the present

When you want to be happy & successful

Focus on what is right now.

Use your purpose to respond

to what is important now.

Learn from the past

When you want to make the present better than the past

Look at what happened in the past.

Learn something valuable from it.

Do things differently in the Present.

Plan for the future

When you want to make the future better than the present

See what a wonderful future would look like.

Make plans to help it happen.

Put your plans into action in the Present.

What is life? What is the meaning of life?

Click here to read on..

What is true love?

Click here to read on..

Innovation, Invention, Creativity & Ideas

So, for the past few years, the buzz word was (and still is) Innovation! As always, it came from the West.. i became interested since one of my passion is processes & wanna know the-how, what's involved to keep it sustainable.. Well, i think i found some answers after months of searhing & re-searching..

But first, let me write down my understanding of ideas, innovation, invention & creativity. Definitely, they are not mutually exclusive. They need one another to succeed. I see creativity as a key ingredient in the minds for invention & innovation to occur. And i see invention as the key ingredient in the actions that produced the first new 'material' that the world had yet seen. And i see innovation as using these 'materials' - old or new - to create useful products & services for the world to consume.

'Material' - can be any form that can be used. e.g. technology, concept, chemical,..

Ideas are the outputs that spring from the minds due to creativity that could trigger off an invention or innovation - which is the outcome we want that are still notions in the minds.

For innovation to succeed, it cant be based on a few brilliant people in the organisation. It may do well in the short term but long term wise, it's unwise. Research has shown that it's the innovation processes, which is the key! Not simply the people involved.. Yes, it's true! Processes are the assurance to a continued success for highly innovative companies. People come and people go. Ideas can come from anyone. Therefore, innovative firms just keep learning, re-learning & improving their innovation processes in managing & generating ideas. For example, few people realised that recruitment process, talent mgmt or human capital mgmt is strongly linked to innovation. Innovative firms consciously focused their energy in hiring the best people & developing them so that they can work at their peak & produced those innovation! And they are doing just that consistently to assure their eternal success - not just based on one batch of brillant folks! That's the differentiating factor!

An elderly determination to keep fit!

I'm really inspired by this old lady.. actually we spotted many elderly in Switzerland doing tracking.. Wish i will exercise right into my golden years..

My wedding studio & outdoor photos..