Knowing How To

Life lessons ..

Life is not about what you want in life..
But it's knowing how to reach your dreams..

Life is not about how high you want to rise..
But it's knowing you to take off in the first place..

Life is not about the goal you set..
But it's knowing what you would need to achieve it..

Life is not about where you want to go..
But it's knowing how to get to your destination..

Life is not about imagining what you want to do..
But it's having the knowledge on how to do it..

Life is not about who you want to be,,
But it's about how you become who you are..

Food For Thoughts

Reading what Anthony Robbins wrote on the subject of success always bring a smile to the face. Something for the tired soul..

Success - "knowing the right people," "being in the right place at the
right time," and "using the right tools" -
Your career is not everything; your life is. But then, what is life without a career or a career without a life?
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1. You are always on your own. Even if you work for a big company, you will
always be on your own. Companies aren't people. They're things and they don't have feelings. If you are expecting the company to "take care of you or "do the right thing", you'll be often disappointed. There are no strong bonds in a company. No one cares more about your career than you do. Remember that, and don't expect the company to take care of you.

2. Certain jobs fit certain people best. You do have special gifts that fit you for some, disqualify you for others. Take time to assess your skills, temperament and aptitude in depth.

3. Careers are short-term. Your present job can end anytime, even if you own the company! Therefore, think short term. Don't take your present career for granted. Someone once described a consultant as a person who wakes up every morning unemployed. You should feel the same way. Wake up every morning feeling unemployed so that you'll appreciate your present job more and figure out what you're going to do next. Always have a "Plan B." (No kidding!!)

4. It's more important to be a "people person" than an "achievement-oriented person who always win at the cost of others. People skills are more important than technical skills. Even in technical jobs, you have to deal with someone. The average performer who are easier to get along with last longer in his job.

5. What you accomplish today will be your calling card tomorrow. Your accomplishments will determine your marketability. In marketing yourself, it's the results that count. A soccer forward who scores in every game is easier to market than one who doesn't. So make sure you're contributing something substantial and measurable every day. And make sure you keep a written record of your results, in case you forget!

6. If you lose your job, 80% of your marketing for a new position is already done. That's right. Your reputation, results, accomplishments, people skills, contributions, friendships are all a matter of record. If you've been a contributor, if you've been kind to others and easy-to-work-with, you'll be in better demand. If not, you won't. Nobody can create friendship for you if you haven't created it for yourself.

7. Changing fields, industries, and functional specialties is difficult.
The more difficult it is, the bigger the change will be. Therefore, choose your career path carefully. As management expert Peter Drucker says, "The best way to predict the future is to plan it."

8. If you're fired or laid off, don't sue your former employer. Ask yourself why you didn't see it coming; or if you did see it coming. Ask yourself why you didn't do something about it. Figure out your part in causing the problem. Then set about creating a new, better life for yourself. There is a better life in your future.

9. Don't stay in a job you hate. Hating your job can kill you.

10. Success is difficult. If success were easy, everyone would be successful.

11. There's a special place for everyone. You can create the kind of future you want.

12. The workplace is fun and challenging. It can also be cruel and heartless. It rewards effort and planning, but tends to punish indifference and lack of preparation. Those who don't manage their careers, who just let things happen - often end up in painful, dead-end jobs and lifestyles.

13. You are in full control of your own future. No one can deny you a happy life if you decide to plan it and work for it. No one can stop you from becoming successful, but yourself.

14. It's never too late for a new beginning.

15. Align yourself with winners. Hang around with winners. Success really does rub off from others. "If you keep doing what you have always been doing, you're going to get what you've always gotten"

Every Cloud has a Silver Lining

~ From the Poem, "Don't Quit,"
Author Unknown

When things go wrong as they sometimes will;
When the road you're trudging seems all uphill;
When the funds are low, and the debts are high
And you want to smile, but have to sigh;
When care is pressing you down a bit-
Rest if you must, but do not quit.

Success is failure turned inside out;
The silver tint of the clouds of doubt;
And you can never tell how close you are
It may be near when it seems so far;
So stick to the fight when you're hardest hit-
It's when things go wrong that you must not quit.

P/S : Sometimes it's hard to change your mindset when you are used to someone or are used to doing something the same way most of your life.

You would certainly feel afraid to leave a routine for the unknown..
No one can guarantee you that everything will turn out ok whatever you decided. That is when faith plays a role.

" To let go is not to regret the past, but to let go is to look at the future and learn to live again"

Something to Someone 2

I have finally understood.
In the end, each person belongs to themselves.
And we are lucky that we can be close to someone..even though we cannot be one.
It's impossible to think that someone belongs to us..

Even though I am crying today and may well be crying tomorrow, I am sure that I am strong enough to be able to laugh again the day after.That is good enough. And that is how my life is.

No matter what happens, I will not give up hope. Tomorrow is another day..

Serendipity

There's this prologue in the novel "Family Romance" by John Lanchester which best describes family life:

'Happy families aren't especially alike , anymore than unhappy ones are unalike. The falsehood lies in the idea that a family is either happy or unhappy, often intensely so and often at the same time. A sense of safety can be a feeling of trappedness for some, a delight in routine can be suffocating boredom to others. A parent's humor and unpredictability can be a maddeningly misplaced childlikeness. I was both happy and unhappy as a child, just as my parents were both happy and unhappy , and just as almost everyone else is.

All families have secrets. Sometimes they are the sort that a family keeps from outsiders, sometimes they are the sort that a family keeps from itself, sometimes they are a sort whose presence no one consciously admits. But they are almost always there. People have a deep need for secrets. The question is what to do with them and when to let them go. '
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Fictions are not my major.

Telling a story as it goes, as simple as one can, is what this is all about.
A tale based on memories that might be correct and might not be totally correct as memories sometimes have a tendency to alter itself as time goes by..

Looking back in time, our tale is so incredible that it might have been a page taken from one of the fictions.

We who have different interests and came from different worlds.
Never would I have thought, even in my dreams, that one day our paths would cross. We would have the same feelings and the same love for the same things..

The Bomoh Strikes Again

A 'bomoh' can be liken to either a 'magician' or a 'witch doctor' who claims to be able to correspond with the spirits with either good or bad intention. There are genuine bomohs who really uses their gift in order to help people. But there are also others who seems to follow the footsteps of David Copperfield or David Blaine. But in this case, they only do the tricks with money and jewelery. Abracadabra..and presto..your money is gone and that's all for tonight. :)

The first type of bomoh uses strong psychological method to trick people. What they would do is lie in wait at places where the victims would be at their weakest emotional state: outside hospital, banks, market or bus stop. They would talk their victim into confusion so that the victims will not have time to think. Some even uses drugs to spike the victims' drinks and chloroform to make them faint or drowsy.

It is easy for the second type of con artists to use the pretext of magic charms to cheat people because the Malaysian society still has a strong belief in supernatural things. Their weapon: frighten the victim by reading and tapping into the victim's insecurities. The 'bomoh' will undermine the victim's confidence by predicting tragedies happening to the victim's family members. Then the bomoh will offer a suggestion: they will act as a medium for the victim to offer cash or jewellery offerings to make everything alright again.

The worst case would be those who resort to unscrupulous 'bomoh' trading their body and soul in exchange of getting a love potion or to appear always young and beautiful to the public. There are so many stories and examples of what will happen if you make a deal with Satan..but still there are some who still seek help from these mediums. Just watch the TV every Thursday night.. (Malaysian channel that is..) If all those stories still doesn't have any effect on you.. then I give up.

Fasting Mania

The fasting month seems to bring the best and worst in people!

We all wanted to be on our best behavior, to be a better person and have more patience with people around us. Alas, for some, the spirit is willing but the flesh is weak.

This is also the time of the year where co-workers' became supermen and super women as the office clock shows 4.30pm sharp. Gone were those with sleepy eyes and heavy steps.

All of them at the office left early to rush to the 'Bazaar Ramadhan' and try to get back home in time to break fast. The inability to concentrate can be seen as by 4pm all eyes are concentrating at the movement of the office's clock.

Tick tock..tick tock. Productivity is at level 0. Exactly at 5.00pm on the dot, in a flash all were gone.. except for a slow person who is still answering the phone. Total ghost town. Patience, girl, patience. I am just wondering..how they do it. One minute they are there..and you just blink your eyes for a second..blink..it's a ghost town already.

The worst people during this Ramadan are the hard core 'smokers' & coffee lovers. I call them 'The Grumpys'. While normal people like me eat bread, the Grumpys eat cigarettes and brewed coffee instead. Their smile and laughter gets rusty without those 2 items.

Shh,..walk softly. This month is really not a month to tease them. Don't even think of making silly jokes. Their stare is enough to make you wilt and die on the spot.

So, watch what you say and how you say it. :) Especially during lunch hours where small pillows suddenly appear magically on top of the working tables.. and heads falling cozily on them.

As the clock shows 7pm, my turn to start her things up. Time to make a move. The carpark is empty except for a few cars.:) Easy peasy.

Ahh..here comes the worst part. The late hours workers!
Everyone suddenly seem to behave like those F1 drivers. Fast and with 0 tolerance! No signals, no slowing at the corners..just zig zagging between cars. See that big black BMW trying to squeeze itself between my tiny car and at this very small busy lane... Just look at that : My side mirror just inches...from my side mirror.. Oooooo...Can almost imagine the sound of metal against metal. I almost closed my eyes and biting the lips so hard..waiting for the sound to come.

Hmm..my hair will turn all white by the end of the fasting month if this continues..

This is supposed to be a month where everyone should have more tolerance towards his neighbor and cats, isn't it? Plan your journey well ahead like the super people at the office. If you can't, then don't take it out on others. Patience and please do not cut queue while waiting for the traffic light to turn green. :p Have a happy and productive Ramadhan..