The 'Never Say Die' Attitude

i simply love reading The Sunday Times.. somehow it's less stressful, more entertaining and at times, learned a couple of new things! ;-) Today, under the CATS Recruit section, the 'Pick yourself up' article is fantastic! especially the example on Abraham Lincoln.. Let me note down his 8 major setbacks before he became the US president!

1. In 1832, defeated for state legislature. Elected in 1834.
2. In 1838, defeated for speaker of the state house.
3. In 1840, defeated for elector.
4. In 1843, defeated for Congress. Elected in 1846.
   
5. In 1849, lost in re-election.
6. In 1855, defeated United States Senate.
7. In 1856, defeated for Vice-President.
8. In 1858, run for US Senate & lost again.
9. In 1860, elected president for US!
   

Lesson learned - STAY RESILIENT!!

One technique: When faced with a problem, give yourself 30 seconds to think of any 5 answers! Be creative.. include crazy ideas! The concept is to challenge yourself on problems the hands-on way, with can-do attitude, rather than running away from it..

Article from Dr Tony Alessandra, president of Online Assessments and co-founder of Mentor.com, an online e-learning company. For more info, visit www.alessandra.com.

I Like It (music video)

It’s a warm Sunday afternoon
A lazy day
Took my guitar Grab a drink
Lay me down on my sofa
I dream on

Watch my love beside me
She’s working on
A little gift made of paper (origami)
And if you think
it’s kind of silly
To waste a good day doing nothing at all

Chorus:
I like it x 4

Got a friend who always ask me
Why don’t i
Buy Apple (Mac) Not Orange Not Pear
I guess it doesn’t matter
So long I get my job done ya..

So if he ever asks me
Ever again
What should I tell him
To get him off my back
Guess I’ll speak the truth
And how I feel about it ya..

[repeat Chorus] x2

Note: This song is meant to be naughty, crappy with an attitude, and it’s inspired by Koh Beng Liang who always asked us to buy an Apple MacBook. The song was written on 17 Feb 2007 but it took almost a year later before i found time to record & video it.. ;-)

How did it happen?
The inspiration began when Beng Liang keeps asking questions why i do this & why i do tat.. so i told him tat in most cases i've a reason for doing things.. in other cases, i just like it lor.. no particular reason. Then as we were walking he suddenly swing his file hitting my back! i asked him why he do tat for? He said "I like it!" Ha ha.. tat's how the song came to be.. ;P

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dependent-arising

this is probably the most profound wisdom i've learned this year.. though the year just begun.. ;-)

While reading 'How to see yourself as you really are' by His Holiness the Dalai Lama, i discovered the dependent-arising concept - chapter 4.

i never knew i could find a way to better understand & determine realism, the true and the untrue. Simply apply dependent-arising concept in your meditative reflection practises. In dependent-arising, you will consider all aspects of causes that brings to live the object of your focus. This method helps you to realise or reflect the level of realism or truth. For example, looking at a plate of vegetables, you see the causes involved in cooking up a plate of vegetables.. u see the farmer who planted the vegetables, the wet market vege seller who buys from farmer and sells the vegetables to the food stall, and finally the cook who cooks it..

Armed with these understanding, you will appreciate this plate of vegetables better. Stretching this example, it means you will understand life, truth better.. all things in this universe! ;-)

note: the above words & understanding is my own and not from the book. So, as a junior lay buddhist, dont believe what i write but to reflect and consider it carefully before applying it in your daily life.

the beginning..

this is my first blog of the year. but didnt begin well coz my new car's backside got banged! ;-(
Fortunately, no one was hurted.. except for my car's dent.. However, i was surprised that i didnt get very upset or angry.. Mmm.. instead i spoke to the other car driver in a cool manner.. ;-)
Thanks to Buddhist teachings.. i've managed to keep calm and detached..

Anther incident,.. was at a coffee shop.. my wife bought beef noodle for lunch. the beef was like chewing gum.. 'un-eatable'! when she went back to the stall for a replacement, the China women manning the stall said loudly that it's like that and once cooked NO REPLACEMENT. That really drive my wife to the roof.. when she walked back to our table with the 'un-eatable' noodle, i purposely took out my mobile phone-camera and aimed at the stall to take some pictures! i make sure she noticed me taking pictures... true enough, a few moments later she came to our table to explain rather loudly that the beef noodle is like that and they have been selling it for 8 years! i let her speak as much as she liked.. i didnt say much.. in the end she repay us the noodle's cost.

well,.. not all things are bad for the past few days though.. ;-)
I've happy moments too! got to meet a couple of interesting people.. met Yuliana and cant wait to meet her again in Feb 2008! Lawrence who also have great dreams which i wish him all the best! Daphane who's working on the designs..

So 2008 will be a balanced year! just like walking the middle path! cheers! ;-)

My new year's resolution 2008

1. Enlightenment, Wisdom & Ego-less.

2. Good Health.

3. Child.

4. Mulist & BakinCow dream to reality.

5. Good relationship with love ones, family & friends.

childhood memories

dont ask me why.. but i can only remember things from ten years old onwards.. anything before is a blank! perhaps something serious or major happened to me.. perhaps not.. ;P

but i do remember 3 key things when i was ten. ;-)

1. Ng Su San. She was a classmate from another class. She's a sweet and kind hearted gal. I liked her sunshine smile and her soft, warmth & friendly voice. Over the span of 25 over years we have contacted & lost contact many times over.. But this time we really lost contact.. somehow i couldnt reach her using her mobile no, home and all.. btw, she's married with 2 pretty & handsome kids (one gal & one boy). Also, we once make a pact to stay in touch till we grow old & die.. i miss my friend and wish we will meet again one day.

2. 'Ah Suay' aka small bro. i remember when i was ten, i had an enemy (cant remember why - just cant see eye to eye i guess).. we fought or almost.. coz my small bro would come with flying kicks and beat him off.. so i didnt need to raise a fist! ;-) He was my saviour. My hero! We lost contact when we went to secondary school.. however, as we live in the same neighbourhood, we sometimes knock into each other, and we would chat for a while.. that's good enough for me since we have different lifestyle now. Then, i moved.. and then one day on a bus i met another old school gal.. she told me small bro met an accident in JB months ago.. her galfriend was the driver.. lost control and crashed. He died in that accident. Makes me realised that life is so fragile. Must treasure life indeed! His death motivated me to live a fulfilling life.

3. Programming. When i was ten, my elder bro bought the world first 1k RAM computer with the screen using the TV.. that's how old.. He was using basic language and hit a bug which he couldnt resolve. i, a little ten years old boy, sitting there, never touch a computer before, was watching my elder bro trying to solve the bug in vain. Then, i called out to him "Brother, your line xx is incorrect.." The last thing i remember is my brother scolding me! ;-( He must be jealous - for a ten years old to tell him, a sixteen years old, how to do programming.. In the end, he did what i pointed out to him and it worked!! That was a defining moment for me - coz since then i aimed to be a software guru when i grow up. Well,.. i waited for 17 years before i actually held the title of programmer! But that programmer lifespan was short lived.. i was top in class when it comes to programming.. the sad thing is that as a hobby it was fun.. not so when it's your job. no more fun. stressful instead. and my eyes hurt when i stared on the screen too long.. still, no regrets.. my interest shifted into business. now i can leverage on IT knowledge to grow the biz.

Good service: it's all in the attitude

Was reading the Today newspaper 24 Dec 2007 and found the article on Good Service interesting..

Here're the key points:

1. We do not eat somewhere just because service is good but we may avoid a restaurant if the service is bad.

2. Good service is about knowledge and care-based. While we dont expect every service staff to know all products and in depth, we do expect certain level of assistance.. the extent of that knowledge can make or break the customers' experience.

3. Care is an attitude to a customer. It can be explained but cannot be trained. Corporate culture may play a role in customer care attitude but it's still up to the individual to exhibit that passion in serving..

4. You will know good service when you see it.. but you will definitely know when you dont.. ;-)

Christmas gifts

i dont really celebrate Christmas but it seems to be more of a tradition to buy gifts for some of my closest friends.. i still send Christmas cards though eGreeting cards are so common and cheap (free!) these days..

Still, i'm happy to buy gifts for people whom i think will appreciate them.. i dont buy for the sake of buying though some times u cant avoid it.. i enjoy most in buying gifts that he or she has been looking for it.. actually i like to give surprises.. ;-)

Strawberry Jelly Tofu Cheesecake

Have you tried Strawberry Jelly Cheesecake before? If yes, you may like to try the Tofu Cheesecake version. It's less 'filling' and you will definitely like to eat a few more pieces.. If no, you wont wanna miss this tasty cake.. Kids love it.. Adults too.. ;-)

BakinCow is devoted to creating more healthier and interesting 'home-made home-bake' cakes. Lots of love and care have been put in for each cake so that every mouthful has significant contribution to your favorable taste buds experience..

Dont believe me? A kid ever told me that just by looking at the pictures already cause him to salivate.. ;P

Apart from cheesecake, BakinCow also make American Carrot cakes.

How to Improve Search Engine Ranking

4-step approach:

Step 1 - Find keywords that are not too competitive
Step 2 - Subdivide keywords into theme groups
Step 3 - Create website with good content and theme-focused linking
Step 4 - Gather inbound links to your theme pages

That really is the extent of it, and it really does work. When you set out to improve search engine ranking, the most important thing is that you get started. Plan your strategy according to the four steps we discussed here, but then get started. It takes a bit of time before the search engines index your site, but when they do you'll be delighted with the steady flow of free traffic to your website.

Article Source: http://www.ArticlesAlley.com/

Happy Birthday Miko!

This is really me talking to u.. ;P

8 different types of personalities

The art of persuasion and selling.. extracted from Nido Qubein article.

1. The Baulkers. Indecisive people. Cant make up their mind. Takes lots of patience to deal with such people. Squeezed, you will be forced to ask "What would keep you from signing the agreement letter today?"

2. The Talkers. Control and pull them back by asking questions to which they can answer Yes or No.

3. The Clams. Keep the conversation with questions to make them talk. Ask for advice or for their opinions.

4. The Sceptics. With cynics, use lots of raw data. Show proof statements and documentation. Keep getting agreements as u go along.

5. The Sarcastic Souls. Sometimes they are hard to take, but keep yr cool. Find out what's behind those sarcasms. Just laugh them off..

6. The Egotists. Resist temptation to tell them off. Feed their egos by asking their opinions and giving them compliments. Win them over by giving in on all minor issues.

7. The Bullies. They get their way by acting tough. Be nice but stand firm your ground. Dont run. Dont fight. Just stand.

8. The Timid Ones. Take it nice. Dont rush them. Concentrate on building their confidence.

Final words: Clients always do things for their own reasons - not yours. U need to give your client a strong benefit for acting promptly. Dont simply give discounts to get yr client to sign on. On contrary, yr client may think otherwise regarding yr abilities to deliver.. So, be professional and focus on fulfilling yr client needs, yr client's key benefit for buying immediately.

Lastly, someone said "Show people what they want most, and they will move heaven and earth to get it."

a new beginning..

i felt born again.. am tired but content, at ease, at peace. a recent report says that Singaporean lives till around 70 years old on average. guess i've lived half my life aledi.. must make full use of my remaining half to do good and achieve happiness. Buddha happiness. ;-)

Heroes

I'm now addicted to the TV series Heroes.. started renting from my nearby DVD store.. The show really brings me back to my childhood imagination where ordinary folks acquired superpower.. and save the world! ;-)

The cast were great and i liked the fact that different races, cultures and places were featured. A true reflection of present times.

One very big downside though is that it keeps repeating the earlier parts of the show in the beginning of each episode.. and it's quite long.. and thus rather irritating to wait or have to fast forward it.. Am i paying for that and the show is shortened due to that? Mmm.. i think that would not be wise of them..

Anyway, cant wait to rent the 3rd DVD.. ;-)

Is this magic?

This is really interesting! Must try! ;-)

http://www.learnenglish.org.uk/games/magic-gopher-central.swf

money, greed & good

i cant help but feeling a little down after talking to friends about the future.. everyone is busy creating a future which they think will make them happy. most talk about financial freedom, early retirement,.. most schemes required the participation of more friends to join in order to make you rich.. and i can see the changes in people after they embarked on this wealth journey..

must say that not all are bad.. though majority are still driven by greed.. worst, usually they think their way is the only way and expect u to follow them.. and their attitude change if u think otherwise..

i had to remind myself too. not to be stuck into this whirlpool. happiness is not about money. it's about contentment, love and passion. but money is good if u know how to use it wisely. and earn it wisely too.

i shall keep Buddha's words at heart while i walk the unchartered waters..

At the Museum - really funny!

BakinCow packaging..

we finally firmed up the packaging.. guess most of it was her idea.. yup,.. she is talented. i agree. i love her the way she is.. ;-)