tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-75491140804269203452024-03-14T21:42:09.729+08:00Valorous HalcyonNicholas CW Nghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07233449213251402124noreply@blogger.comBlogger238125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7549114080426920345.post-8754463823074197382017-05-23T17:38:00.001+08:002017-05-23T17:42:25.149+08:00Penning Down ThoughtsI never had the habit of journaling, and it was never my thing. You see, I had a hard time polishing my language skills. Having grown up and educated in a Chinese primary school and surrounded by Chinese-speaking community at least two third of my life, I had the tendency to speak and think in Chinese. English was out of my realm of mastery. Mandarin Chinese is my mother tongue after all.<br />
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Ironically I have been widely misunderstood as being a 'banana' - a Chinese who only speaks English. </div>
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It seems I do have a 'banana' look. I have been told that I speak and write English better than my Chinese sentences, which the latter often seems to be awkward and to some extent, trying too hard. Can't really blame me right? I have not been consistently writing Chinese for the past 10 years. But this is blatantly deceiving! My English proficiency has not always been acceptable. Reading back my blog posts even just 5 years ago brought myself to embarrassment. In short, I did not have the habit of writing.<br />
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Only after coming back from the UK, my English has become slightly better. Still I did not write often. Occasionally updating my blog <i>does not count</i> as a tool of penning down my thoughts. What about devotion? Good point! I do not have the habit to write. I will read and read, and ponder about the points. I will pray about those points, but I realised the points will fade away slowly if I failed to find direct relevance to my current circumstance. </div>
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Today is slightly different. When I was doing devotion, I was prompted to write down the lies about beauty and past, which I do not intend to share yet as they are something personal to me. But I have found great clarity by writing them down! Greater clarity on issues allows me to look at a bigger picture, which in turn allows me to focus and meditate on the PRIMARY solution. It can be a single Scripture, a Word from God or an inspiration from the Spirit for Him to speak into the situation. </div>
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I'm glad I am starting to utilise this tool of journaling. Try it yourself too, if you had not already! </div>
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Nicholas CW Nghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07233449213251402124noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7549114080426920345.post-44242924304395001172017-05-04T18:10:00.000+08:002017-06-22T14:31:59.133+08:00What Owning a Turbocharged Car has Taught meIf there is a single word that can sum up what owning a turbocharged car for the past one and a half year has taught me, it will be this<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt;">—</span><b><i><span style="color: red;">humility</span></i></b>. I have quite a number of people telling me my car is cool, fast and what not. But instead of getting all boasted up, I can't help but to be humble at my slow car.<br />
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Slow car? You wondered. For a hot hatch making well above 234 horses on the wheel with 270Nm torque, this Neo turbo boosting 1-bar (14.5 psi) is producing more than double a stock Neo CPS is making. This is certainly not a slow car by any conventional family car standard. But with this comes a hefty price, in terms of time and money. The maintenance cost is not cheap, as it is the case with any other turbocharged car. Turbocharged vehicles are more prone to component failures just simply by the fact that there are a lot more things that can fail within the complex system, as compared to a much simpler naturally aspirated mode. </div>
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I have educated myself with how a turbocharger system works, and it was a steep learning curve for me since I never knew how it works. The only thing I knew was a turbocharged car is scarily fast and it's uber cool! </div>
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Imagine a roller coaster accelerates off, with G-force pressing your body against your seat. </div>
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There are two ways to produce more power, firstly is by increasing engine capacity if you stick to naturally aspirated mode, secondly is by forced induction methods. Turbocharger system is one of these methods. On layman term, turbocharger involves the recycling of exhaust gas. The exhaust gas flow, instead of being eliminated straight from the vehicle, is utilised to spin the turbo hot side housing, which synced with turbo cold side housing. Through extremely fast spinning speed, the cold side housing draws the air into the system. The drawn air will then pass through intercooler and pipings, eventually arrive at intake manifold. </div>
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The key ingredients of power production in the engine are fuel and air. Fuel can be injected accordingly through precise tuning setup, but air that can be drawn into the engine is limited to the engine capacity on naturally aspirated mode. So forced induction methods were invented to increase the power output by forcing higher volume of air into the engine. </div>
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Turbocharged vehicle involves a turbo (duh!), custom exhaust manifold, exhaust system, pipings, intercooler, intake manifold, countless bolts and more pipings! Mechanically this is it, but there are more things to consider. Fuel system comprising higher capacity injectors, aftermarket fuel pump, fuel pressure regulator and so on, is also crucial to enable the car to perform to its greatest potential. To control fuel and ensure the right amount of air-fuel mixture to be ignited within the combustion chamber of the engine, a standalone ECU namely Haltech Sprint 500 has been deployed and tuned by a professional tuner. This tuning setup will influence almost everything about the car from drivability and performance to fuel efficiency. </div>
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Speaking of which, performance and fuel efficiency are almost always trade off with one another. With great performance in terms of horsepower and torque, it means sacrificing fuel efficiency especially when you are boosting the car. A good tuning setup will strive to balance between the greatest performance figures a car is capable of based on its mechanical setup, as well as fuel efficiency for daily driving while cruising. </div>
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These are just basics of turbocharger system, the tips of the iceberg. I can't wait to learn more about it as time passes and experience unfolds. </div>
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The current setup of my Satria Neo Turbo is as follow: </div>
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<b>Engine and exhaust system:</b></div>
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Campro CPS 1.6 with internals fully upgraded to CFE kit (pistons, connecting rod, crankshaft, flywheel) </div>
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Stainless steel gasket 1.5mm </div>
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ACL bearing (main bearing) </div>
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Billet oilpump gear<br />
Velocity intake manifold</div>
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TD04hl turbo (from Subaru Forester) </div>
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HKS SSQV blow off valve<br />
Custom turbo exhaust manifold<br />
J's Racing muffler<br />
Works Engineering manual boost controller<br />
Haltech Sprint 500</div>
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<b>Fuel system: </b></div>
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Aeromotive 340 Stealth fuel pump </div>
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Mitsubitshi Airtrek 450cc Injectors </div>
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Fuel Pressure Regulator </div>
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<b>Drivetrain and braking system: </b></div>
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Ogura Racing Clutch Super Single<br />
Custom made clutch pump </div>
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Evo3 double layer brake servo</div>
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Trestor Advantage Blue performance brake pad </div>
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AR Racing disc rotor </div>
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<b>Wheels and suspension: </b></div>
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Bridgestone Potenza Adrenalin RE003 </div>
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TE37 rims 17 inches, 9jj </div>
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BC Racing Fully Adjustable<br />
Custom made PU bushings (front lower arm and rear trailing arm) </div>
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<i><span style="color: red;"><b>Performance figures: 234 whp, 270Nm @1.0 bar boost. </b></span></i></div>
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Nicholas CW Nghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07233449213251402124noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7549114080426920345.post-33532118922511872432016-02-03T16:10:00.001+08:002016-02-03T16:20:20.548+08:00My Solo Trip to Vietnam v2 (Mui Ne)<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="text-align: center;"><i><u><span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></u></i></b>
<b style="text-align: center;"><i><u><span lang="EN-US">Day 3: Mui Ne, 23<sup>
</sup>December 2015. </span></u></i></b><br />
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</span></u></i></b><span lang="EN-US">I arrived
Mui Ne at 4:10am on Futa Bus. I was promised by the bus company officer that I
will be dropped right in front of my hostel in Mui Ne, so I was expecting it.
As I seen some of the passengers being dropped in front of their respective
hostels, I was pretty confident the bus driver will do the same. But after
about 10 minutes, a few other passengers and I were dropped in front of the
Futa Bus regional office. Almost instantly a guy approached me and asked about
my hostel. <br />
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I remained wishful, hoping the bus driver will somehow remember the promise
made. So I was expecting it, and this guy seemed to be working for the bus
company. Perhaps the bus driver had forgotten to drop me in front of my hostel,
and he asked this guy to fetch me there. At least that was what I thought. The
guy immediately recognized the hostel and said he can bring me there. He asked
me to hop onto his motorbike and we rode off. <br />
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Almost instantly after I hopped onto his bike, I realised he might not be
working for the bus company. My inner mind told me I will need to pay this guy.
Along the way, with his broken English he proceeded to introduce me this sand
dunes tour, repeatedly said: “It’s good x 10,000 times” and “Maybe… we can go
now to the sand dunes for sunrise”. *Check his phone with a bikini girl as the
phone background, showing the time 4:20am* <br />
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“Everybody goes there NOW,” he said. <br />
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Seriously though, his marketing skill was so horrible it immediately rang a
bell in my head. Indeed, when we arrived in front of my hostel after 5 minutes
of riding along the straight long Nguyen Dinh Chieu Street, he was still asking
if we want to go now. I tried my best effort not to laugh. <br />
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He then proceeded to say he is actually working for a motorbike company not the
bus company, and asked if I can pay for his petrol which he has just spent for
the past 5 minutes. GOTCHA! He asked for 60k VND (~RM12) for that short 5
minutes ride but since I only had 50k VND (~RM10) in my wallet, I gave him
that. When he was about to leave, he was still asking if we can go now since I
won’t be able to check in until that afternoon. He could drop me back at my
hostel at 10am. No way will I get squeezed for the second time.<br />
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But it only got better. <br />
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I waited next to the swimming pool in my hostel with a book on my hand for 6
hours until 12:30pm and checked in. Then I joined the famous Sand Dunes tour
booked with my hostel for only USD4. I wouldn’t want to imagine how much the
“it’s good x 10,000 times” guy would have charged me if I followed him gullibly
that morning. <br /><br />
Me, along with a 3 Australian guys and 1 girl, hopped onto a jeep and went to
Fairy Stream, a long walkable stream apparently rumored to have fairies walking
at night. Overall the stream was easy to walk but at some parts there were
little rocks. Still manageable. Then we bumped into this ostrich riding site
and they quoted us 100k VND for a short ride of ostrich riding. Total rip off!
I thought to myself, but one of the Australian tour-mates proceeded anyway. All
of us can’t hold our laughter when we saw him riding the ostrich because it was
too funny! <br />
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<span lang="EN-US">After 45-minute walk along Fairy Streams, we then proceeded to the next stop –
White Sand Dunes! Never in my life had I witnessed such beautiful desert like
sand dunes. I was in awe. Then I met this Chinese guy and he became my
companion for the rest of the tour. We helped each other take pictures. Then I
played Chinese chess with him, and beat him comfortably (haha!) even with my
extremely rusty skills! Little did I know, Vietnamese actually play Chinese
chess quite frequently! Even the jeep driver tried to make his mark on our game
by trying to influence the subsequent moves! And he wasn’t a random chess
player but rather a pretty skillful one. </span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEieelgCPB57_nkpnG1nLTujjbC7U6v0DgGk41ZoKALWTpmzKKO82dtkvocPklFDsc7DG4mIx9yGVuLhoOKLP5MPm5hCrKsJkQkqUyRZS3Yi6UjyAd_EYVXpVz0RPUmwQWFIfPt0mSle7ZBZ/s1600/File+03-02-2016%252C+14+49+51.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEieelgCPB57_nkpnG1nLTujjbC7U6v0DgGk41ZoKALWTpmzKKO82dtkvocPklFDsc7DG4mIx9yGVuLhoOKLP5MPm5hCrKsJkQkqUyRZS3Yi6UjyAd_EYVXpVz0RPUmwQWFIfPt0mSle7ZBZ/s320/File+03-02-2016%252C+14+49+51.jpeg" width="240" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcvsPtXfOHDHj4j6COLxcL9lskSCQJduXrRHXU0BLU5Ho1QKxwAKTcJoreg3P7vQhzEpOft12WPqV9SW_NRSb19-ZUEjGkNgyzdh8Fbn056i2pv-GvajHFS3Ji-St1ZxXPwXl7i4lRUMEx/s1600/File+03-02-2016%252C+14+54+03.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcvsPtXfOHDHj4j6COLxcL9lskSCQJduXrRHXU0BLU5Ho1QKxwAKTcJoreg3P7vQhzEpOft12WPqV9SW_NRSb19-ZUEjGkNgyzdh8Fbn056i2pv-GvajHFS3Ji-St1ZxXPwXl7i4lRUMEx/s320/File+03-02-2016%252C+14+54+03.jpeg" width="240" /></a></div>
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<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuGq7Go3GbRLeC2UFbnHGMEgsprotMiPDk5m6_oPLSKA-gK8hCShzlieYzBerwda62kQz-dnElOIDBrjBwOydj2YDzVBD4GcJ4-LO67U_UhuL1L6OpBxbcUAboyYnZlma3pMii1GaRyOgS/s1600/File+03-02-2016%252C+14+49+14.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; display: inline !important; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="201" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuGq7Go3GbRLeC2UFbnHGMEgsprotMiPDk5m6_oPLSKA-gK8hCShzlieYzBerwda62kQz-dnElOIDBrjBwOydj2YDzVBD4GcJ4-LO67U_UhuL1L6OpBxbcUAboyYnZlma3pMii1GaRyOgS/s640/File+03-02-2016%252C+14+49+14.jpeg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Red Sand Dunes.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<span lang="EN-US">
Finally we ended the tour with a sunset watching at Red Sand Dunes! Yes they
had both White Sand Dunes and Red Sand Dunes, albeit not located next to each
other. Both were equally magnificent and amazing although I personally prefer
the Red Sand Dunes! Coupled with the sunset watching, it was a money well spent.
That night ended with me walking 1.6km away from the hostel just to end up eating
at a mediocre seafood restaurant to try their fried noodles seafood. A little
pricey though. </span><br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-AIumPRDPCrmmWI4afh8SycTO5wg96cledCYm7Xzbo0h4_sAjdh-UfDf0VqNX0SOWds4eNZI_QiyFJdQ_PbDe-F6p5ByYCHf_U78fhyzJ52u27ouZo8zBmU-9odoIgt51NAWsCF2ZcfFh/s1600/File+03-02-2016%252C+14+51+23.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="228" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-AIumPRDPCrmmWI4afh8SycTO5wg96cledCYm7Xzbo0h4_sAjdh-UfDf0VqNX0SOWds4eNZI_QiyFJdQ_PbDe-F6p5ByYCHf_U78fhyzJ52u27ouZo8zBmU-9odoIgt51NAWsCF2ZcfFh/s640/File+03-02-2016%252C+14+51+23.jpeg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sunset in the making @ Red Sand Dunes. </td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span>
<span lang="EN-US"></span><br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEje4vEtXdI3PTNhKy98h_Dd7ETvXvdLR8Hj0JepwlsBNsY8UibYJywiGKZX5NBszayetSk-gt2SHHdHwzFEEZFslFbCaFr0dSiXHMM97_SF2HVC3JQU18DzqJiDY3HAMYn_g-FQA7v75okI/s1600/File+03-02-2016%252C+14+50+11.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEje4vEtXdI3PTNhKy98h_Dd7ETvXvdLR8Hj0JepwlsBNsY8UibYJywiGKZX5NBszayetSk-gt2SHHdHwzFEEZFslFbCaFr0dSiXHMM97_SF2HVC3JQU18DzqJiDY3HAMYn_g-FQA7v75okI/s640/File+03-02-2016%252C+14+50+11.jpeg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Spectacular sunset to further enrich this already awesome travelling experience. </td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvY_tdmrMZFNKf8tvcUGuo9j1qoZgQdc9UhxTffi0CyaH86ybDrGjDPJnqpfriBmc5ZL6Gw0htoJTEIJYesZvMIqPhqoMhdck5wQhkS2597jCKYI9Vs0qd0T9kJFcNgNbllkMYIhgwMc99/s1600/File+03-02-2016%252C+14+50+48.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvY_tdmrMZFNKf8tvcUGuo9j1qoZgQdc9UhxTffi0CyaH86ybDrGjDPJnqpfriBmc5ZL6Gw0htoJTEIJYesZvMIqPhqoMhdck5wQhkS2597jCKYI9Vs0qd0T9kJFcNgNbllkMYIhgwMc99/s400/File+03-02-2016%252C+14+50+48.jpeg" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Fried noodles seafood with Passion Fruit juice. </td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</div>
Nicholas CW Nghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07233449213251402124noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7549114080426920345.post-15399053384824047332016-01-27T10:23:00.000+08:002016-02-03T14:38:36.487+08:00My Solo Trip to Vietnam v1 (Ho Chi Minh)<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span lang="EN-US">I’ve been
back from my Vietnam trip for two weeks now but the memory I had in Vietnam was
still vivid. Each time my friends asked me how was Vietnam, I found it
difficult to put my two-week experiences in words. There are so many things I
have gone through, from overcoming my fear of crossing the bustling streets of
Ho Chi Minh with motorcycles coming from literally all directions, to riding a
crazy taxi in Hanoi rushing back to my hostel to catch my sleeper bus ride to
Sapa rice terrace. I watched my new found Australian mate riding an ostrich in
Mui Ne for VND100k (~RM20), and I myself dived into the freezing water of
Halong Bay twice with a rather less gracious posture compared to my friend
working for a startup at Silicon Valley (my first dives after all). <br />
<br />
The memories put into the back of my mind was simply priceless. I know I will
remember this trip for an extended period of time. <br />
<br />
Over the course of two weeks travelling alone, I had penned down a detailed
record of my adventure and thoughts at some points of travelling. Please bear
with me, of course what I have written down during the trip was rather
unrefined as most of them were written late at night with a tired mode after a
long day of exploring around. But you can be rest assured the following 12-day
adventure that I am about to write would be much better. Because the stories
can be quite lengthy, I’ve decided to separate them into a few series. So, here
comes the first series…</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span lang="EN-US">
<br />
<b><i><u>Day
1: Ho Chi Minh, 21 December 2015. </u></i></b></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span lang="EN-US"><b style="font-family: inherit;"><i><u><br /></u></i></b><span style="font-family: inherit;">
It was pretty chaotic with all the motorcycles roaming the streets from all
directions. With this kind of traffic accidents are pretty common, but I have
yet to witness one. Immediately I was slammed with a challenge I must overcome:
crossing the road. Sound easy? Not as you first thought. We have cars traffic
jam in Malaysia, but in Ho Chi Minh there was motorcycles traffic jam. Having
stood at the road side for 5 minutes and observed how the locals did it
(crossing the roads), I decided to just close one eye and cross anyway. Beep beep!
Okay they honked at everyone and anything that moved! But ultimately nothing
happened! I survived, and my first achievement unlocked! </span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></span>
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span lang="EN-US"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEielo9HBEAzgLhquP1o9HBckubH2wAo1ZcFdJHAQS8b5YUk0AqWrGsj9u8fgIpr6uR51XAumYKO6_xMDEWRIdScYTO7Ad6bfK26h-Yzvq0RCnJ4P7kxBfN36-y6J-CjAegEVxHzeJskGTQ8/s1600/File+26-01-2016%252C+19+58+21.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEielo9HBEAzgLhquP1o9HBckubH2wAo1ZcFdJHAQS8b5YUk0AqWrGsj9u8fgIpr6uR51XAumYKO6_xMDEWRIdScYTO7Ad6bfK26h-Yzvq0RCnJ4P7kxBfN36-y6J-CjAegEVxHzeJskGTQ8/s640/File+26-01-2016%252C+19+58+21.jpeg" width="640" /></a></span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span lang="EN-US">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
I walked to the War Remnants Museum and spent VND15k only to discover the
depressing and sorrowful history of Vietnam War including Orange Agent and
Napalm + Chemical war. Downright hideous. My heart ached further when I saw a
picture depicting a girl teaching her younger sister to GIVE THANKS despite all
the unfortunate destructions happening around. They had probably lost their
parents and their lives were at stake. Who am I then to complain over
little petty things when I can give thanks for all the things I have? I was ashamed to admit but </span></span></span><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: inherit;">I could have done better by being extra grateful. </span><br />
</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span lang="EN-US"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1K3udxBxXbkkpDR2veZp5DQbWqakHJUNe-8rZ1spL8MGyy8KQjmtLIlYatlA_2YOgTF4YtRovwUk8zyRhFKaaIkRDKZo_l9Kxkysq1aSQXr7b2Ls0T0iUDWZuFmH1vln1Rzje7QfTn25e/s1600/File+26-01-2016%252C+19+57+59.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1K3udxBxXbkkpDR2veZp5DQbWqakHJUNe-8rZ1spL8MGyy8KQjmtLIlYatlA_2YOgTF4YtRovwUk8zyRhFKaaIkRDKZo_l9Kxkysq1aSQXr7b2Ls0T0iUDWZuFmH1vln1Rzje7QfTn25e/s320/File+26-01-2016%252C+19+57+59.jpeg" width="240" /></a></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span lang="EN-US">
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
Then I went to Cho Ben Thanh market for some Vietnamese food because I had yet
to have my lunch. I had my first bowl of Pho Nga (beef noodles soup) and Che
Thap Cham (a kind of dessert with fantastic mixture of jelly, beans and nuts).
Sweet! After that I went back to my hostel located at the tourist hotspot (Pham
Ngu Lao Street), and I met Doris, a Vietnamese girl working with the hostel who
also loved travelling! She introduced me with loads of Vietnamese food, and I
was really grateful for her sharing. </span><br />
<br /><span style="font-family: inherit;">
Then I decided to get my hands dirty by trying two shots of Vietnamese coffee. I
first went to Highland Coffee, but I felt cheated! “Iced Vietnamese coffee with
milk” here basically means a shot of Vietnamese coffee with a little portion of
condensed milk, then throw in a ton of ice into the cup. That was my first shot
of Vietnamese coffee and I got instantly hitched! So I decided to walk to Trung
Nguyen coffee chain nearby for my second shot of coffee. Pure satisfaction! </span><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjk3Pa0HwVhnrASZ-GpLPHwHd4yW8ALVs6qnYKKjy6m0_S4bgpY8i1bOjqf4X5wO10ZIJdGmpxHIAfALVSNkpmdgPKCKnIWeeIeTPascyTetT6fIyIQrdJRyzhvt6lp1Hx7i5XLsW9USXxc/s1600/File+26-01-2016%252C+19+58+49.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjk3Pa0HwVhnrASZ-GpLPHwHd4yW8ALVs6qnYKKjy6m0_S4bgpY8i1bOjqf4X5wO10ZIJdGmpxHIAfALVSNkpmdgPKCKnIWeeIeTPascyTetT6fIyIQrdJRyzhvt6lp1Hx7i5XLsW9USXxc/s320/File+26-01-2016%252C+19+58+49.jpeg" width="256" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
But I had to bear the consequences that night and had a hard time sleeping. Maybe
it was the coffee effect, or perhaps I was still settling in to the fact that I
was now in a foreign land all by myself. Arsenal beat Manchester City 2-1 that
night, I’m happy. =) </span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span lang="EN-US">
<b><i><u>Day
2: Ho Chi Minh, 22<span style="font-size: 13.3333px;"> </span>December 2015. <br />
<br />
</u></i></b>Today was the day for Mekong Delta tour. Just yesterday night I
wrote I had yet to witness an accident occurring despite the chaotic traffic
condition, and I saw one this morning around a roundabout. Two motorcycles
collided and one fell down. Ouch! On the bus, I met Ray, a Canadian guy around
my dad’s age hailed from Alberta. We talked about many things and inevitably
discussed about several life lessons. Ray was also a Christian so we talked
about God and how God has touched our lives so immensely. Sometimes I can’t
help but ponder how amazing God really is. <br />
<br /> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgos8rP_ruolTWy3oDu0t6Z6ZDKTFp24LeBhIJCp4Wt-zvtMMRLF1yInXw7UIlnNMdIEVoQZ26SCkgvvDpyKLx8j15xeuarQsGmREZ6MHgB_K_XUzD4ATk8TvnFNdJQdfYYAlZnFEKIeiRq/s1600/File+26-01-2016%252C+19+59+21.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; display: inline !important; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgos8rP_ruolTWy3oDu0t6Z6ZDKTFp24LeBhIJCp4Wt-zvtMMRLF1yInXw7UIlnNMdIEVoQZ26SCkgvvDpyKLx8j15xeuarQsGmREZ6MHgB_K_XUzD4ATk8TvnFNdJQdfYYAlZnFEKIeiRq/s320/File+26-01-2016%252C+19+59+21.jpeg" width="320" /></a></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></span>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQiu1mj4zM6P6KZ4LtJ89FOuvzL8iNMedy7PMe5E00btz_d0TKCSbtu0jGs6u1CZI6HZ1nHBCmzjOfjq7q-LDivCnsUgdA4hrm4OGqvegF4943zEoKS_0dIGdZcxGBf1bgnqcGIb1qVbmB/s1600/File+26-01-2016%252C+20+03+46.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; font-family: inherit; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><br /></a><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span lang="EN-US">When I saw Mekong River for the second time in my life, it was still as
humongous as the first time I had seen it almost 12 years ago. About 50% of the
people in the Mekong Delta tour were Koreans, so I was left talking to Ray most
of the time throughout the journey. We hopped onto a boat and went to My Kho,
where there were sellers selling delicate handcrafted souvenirs, some of which
were pretty tempting! We also got to try a freshly baked thin crispy pancake
(like kuih kapit back home) but it was just okay. <br />
<br />
Our lunch included spring rolls, rice paper wrapped with fried fish,
vegetables; plus rice, pork and caramelized clay pot fish. Tasted scrumptious!
One thing about Vietnamese food was that they were always served with an
excessive portion of fresh vegetables! Unlike back home where the vegetables
are normally served in stir fried style. Up to a point where I felt weird when
I don’t eat fresh vegetables. Yes it happened and I myself couldn’t believe it
because I have been pretty much carnivorous my whole life! <br />
<br />
After lunch, we proceed to our next stop – local breed honey. The tour guide
was brave and experienced enough to show us the honey collector filled with
bees. After having a taster of the sweet honey drink, we went back to the boat
and hopped onto gondola sized boat with punter skillfully maneuvering the boat.
Reminded me so much of punters in Cambridge. <br />
<br /> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7e79Q7iJf0QHGt996JlvNv3SCEDR55C68sm_exwzLWIjZw8-ptlFJC7Jh6qwMFL0YGyESco280vDBMGSvgFsdczJ_RLlm0IfpQr7gOsEXPlbypR5wXF-gjiWUfrhgN8gTPVWsNADn5H5b/s1600/File+26-01-2016%252C+19+59+36.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7e79Q7iJf0QHGt996JlvNv3SCEDR55C68sm_exwzLWIjZw8-ptlFJC7Jh6qwMFL0YGyESco280vDBMGSvgFsdczJ_RLlm0IfpQr7gOsEXPlbypR5wXF-gjiWUfrhgN8gTPVWsNADn5H5b/s320/File+26-01-2016%252C+19+59+36.jpeg" width="240" /></a> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQiu1mj4zM6P6KZ4LtJ89FOuvzL8iNMedy7PMe5E00btz_d0TKCSbtu0jGs6u1CZI6HZ1nHBCmzjOfjq7q-LDivCnsUgdA4hrm4OGqvegF4943zEoKS_0dIGdZcxGBf1bgnqcGIb1qVbmB/s1600/File+26-01-2016%252C+20+03+46.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; font-family: inherit; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQiu1mj4zM6P6KZ4LtJ89FOuvzL8iNMedy7PMe5E00btz_d0TKCSbtu0jGs6u1CZI6HZ1nHBCmzjOfjq7q-LDivCnsUgdA4hrm4OGqvegF4943zEoKS_0dIGdZcxGBf1bgnqcGIb1qVbmB/s320/File+26-01-2016%252C+20+03+46.jpeg" width="240" /></a></span></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzdZzrswe1epWvDNmGLC0dyAgy9cFaLgz08qM3e-rUT182zmAsb15n8qkAn2PCygxRoovcRMRF3ztAillCtrNPAfqLC4rty0ZxJCFv9EMCZBkzD740wV9Fpl1pWH8vrUKvmPrRsaPLFBtB/s1600/File+26-01-2016%252C+19+59+59.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzdZzrswe1epWvDNmGLC0dyAgy9cFaLgz08qM3e-rUT182zmAsb15n8qkAn2PCygxRoovcRMRF3ztAillCtrNPAfqLC4rty0ZxJCFv9EMCZBkzD740wV9Fpl1pWH8vrUKvmPrRsaPLFBtB/s320/File+26-01-2016%252C+19+59+59.jpeg" width="240" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span lang="EN-US"><br />
We ended the tour with a short ride on a pony cart and a taster of the local
coconut candies, rice wine and some typical tropical fruits such as papaya,
jackfruit, pineapple and dragon fruits. Our fruit tasting session was
accompanied with a traditional folklore performance with unique Vietnamese
musical instruments being played as the backdrop. <br />
<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkjiaGKStLhmnumg5-y4UACwvTX4Mr6LK5ZnmQauQdi9Gw6X_-n4GSfDwv13ibt9ez-9Eb0PQJxJYvSQDj3WS6R3G23QSyitM0jOAMUHQzuf9DRX6sSvbHBzwVJPNX6wopyVIgntBEmtWW/s1600/File+26-01-2016%252C+20+00+10.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkjiaGKStLhmnumg5-y4UACwvTX4Mr6LK5ZnmQauQdi9Gw6X_-n4GSfDwv13ibt9ez-9Eb0PQJxJYvSQDj3WS6R3G23QSyitM0jOAMUHQzuf9DRX6sSvbHBzwVJPNX6wopyVIgntBEmtWW/s320/File+26-01-2016%252C+20+00+10.jpeg" width="320" /></a> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVrEs33hriF42USaIs3SBXmMGPMw3z4qNi_XoU7BTLAmWIrdTTcOltsnk9G5fsBVNPqMPmnO6MsH2oLNIKkLjL6FYiv0dKe4f6c0lA6HHAcMA0nNls4ZltJhviyaRvxddSvcKKflgW0kZm/s1600/File+26-01-2016%252C+20+01+19.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="font-family: inherit; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVrEs33hriF42USaIs3SBXmMGPMw3z4qNi_XoU7BTLAmWIrdTTcOltsnk9G5fsBVNPqMPmnO6MsH2oLNIKkLjL6FYiv0dKe4f6c0lA6HHAcMA0nNls4ZltJhviyaRvxddSvcKKflgW0kZm/s320/File+26-01-2016%252C+20+01+19.jpeg" width="240" /></a><br /><br /><br />
I went back to my hostel and had my first Bun Cha for dinner at Bun Cha 145
nearby! I wished I had tried this earlier because it was really delicious yet
reasonably cheap! Nevertheless it was not too late and my stomach was happy! I
was glad my visit to Ho Chi Minh ended with such pleasant meal. </span></span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEip6UkHKFs31Y27d4dFV4bico3m5YWtX8IgcPGT8TUHnwMOIGNG9z8X6Th8-uxxdBsXD07AJV2P-EQ1vVU1xPlu7EScI_L_skrQ1eMr5H_ou1qax6tNhyphenhyphensMo251014QX4_KdmElhBfjwIU1/s1600/File+26-01-2016%252C+20+02+24.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEip6UkHKFs31Y27d4dFV4bico3m5YWtX8IgcPGT8TUHnwMOIGNG9z8X6Th8-uxxdBsXD07AJV2P-EQ1vVU1xPlu7EScI_L_skrQ1eMr5H_ou1qax6tNhyphenhyphensMo251014QX4_KdmElhBfjwIU1/s640/File+26-01-2016%252C+20+02+24.jpeg" width="480" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Goodbye Ho Chi Minh! </td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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That night I took Futa Bus (my first ever sleeper bus) from Ho Chi Minh at
11:30pm to Mui Ne. I was amazed by the sleeper bus’s creative and smart design,
where passengers can lie down and sleep fairly comfortably throughout the
journey to other cities. Apparently this design was not new and has been around
for at least 10 years or more. The bus ride was, as I said, fairly comfortable
as long as you are not too tall (perfect for an Asian male of 5 feet 7 inch
like myself), albeit can be a little noisy with honks everywhere<span style="font-size: x-small;"> </span></span><i><span lang="EN-US" style="line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">(Hint: Wear
earplugs and you shall have a good night rest). </span></span></i></span><br />
<br />
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Nicholas CW Nghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07233449213251402124noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7549114080426920345.post-80480019686088203412016-01-11T14:56:00.001+08:002016-01-11T18:11:25.411+08:00Here We Go, 2016! <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span lang="EN-US">One full
month! It’s been a month since my last post so you might be wondering where I
have been.<br />
<br />
Just before the year 2015 ended, I have made the ONE decision that I never
regretted making –booked the flight ticket to Vietnam for my first ever solo
trip. I was having so much dilemma whether I should go out of my comfort zone
and go for some exciting adventure. After two weeks spending time alone in Vietnam,
it’s pretty safe to say there was never a moment I regretted making this bold decision,
but rather I was filled with so much gladness and joy. I will leave that for
the next post. Stay tuned! <br />
<br />
I spent my New Year’s Eve and New Year in Sapa (Vietnam), at one of the local
farmer’s house. And then I remember making wishful New Year resolutions that
most people will forget about after two months entering into the New Year. I
don’t think I had written any New Year resolutions for 2014 and 2015, but along
the way I still developed myself into a different person in relative to myself
in 2013. Thank God, a better me! <br />
<br />
Warren Buffett once said about thinking of 25 things-to-do but only focusing on
the top 5 tasks as main priorities. Similarly, there’s no point writing so many
New Year Resolutions but barely able to follow up on 3 of them by the end of
February. So again I won’t unnecessarily list out 10 or 20 New Year resolutions
but only my top 5 priorities. <br />
<br />
</span><b><span lang="EN-US" style="color: red; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-size: large;">1. Keep changing for betterment! </span><br />
</span></b><span lang="EN-US">This is vague, but
this applies to every area of my life. Never stop improving! Improve 1% every
day! Improvement requires change. The moment I feel I am too comfortable with
something, it’s time to change, to challenge myself to go an unconventional
route, even some radical ones. Improve my relationship with friends and family,
spend more time with them and put them as one of my top priorities. <br />
<br />
Often we are so caught up with our own busy schedule and never realised the
value of quality time spent with our family members and friends, until we lose
it. By then only we start regretting why we never spent enough time with our
family members in the first place, especially parents. It’s always dangerous
when we start taking things or people for granted. Our parents never owed us
anything, so maybe it’s a good idea to cherish every moment left we get to
spend together. <br />
<br />
Being extra thankful should be made a daily mantra. <br />
<br />
</span><b><span lang="EN-US" style="color: red; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-size: large;">2. Take care of my finances. </span></span></b><span lang="EN-US"><br />
If you don’t put much effort into maintaining something, it will fade and
eventually be self-destructive. Again it applies to everything, including
finance. I am glad I have put in efforts in managing my finances. Managing own
finances, especially amidst rising cost of living in Malaysia, is not easy
nowadays but not impossible. Develop a habit of keeping budget and consistently
accurate record of your cash flow will do. <br />
<br />
Making wise financial decisions is also essential, considering the temptations
to buy new flashy gadgets, new cars and new house are ubiquitous. Something we
have to face every day and if we are not careful, might fall into the trap of
buying something we don’t really need. I am currently facing that right now –
buying a second hand performance car. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span lang="EN-US">Yesterday I went for a short test drive of this
car – Proton Satria Neo CPS 1.6, with bolt-on turbo. My friend is buying a new
second hand Golf GTi, which led him to selling this precious gem. Coupled
with low mileage (60k) in 5 years, this car has been maintained pretty well,
except that it has been modified heavily at the same time. About 50% of the car
has been modified and are aftermarket products. So far this car is clocking
228hp @7000rpm and 240Nm @4500rpm, excellent figures for a local made car. RM25k
for this car is a fair value, considering the market price of this car of
similar mileage and year made (according to Mudah.my and Carlist) is about
RM27k. Good buy? <br />
<br />
Which led me to the most fundamental question: Do I need it? No I don’t. So
this is a ‘want’ rather than a ‘need’. If you had known me long enough, you
will know I am a massive fan of turbocharged performance cars! Yesterday was
the first time I got my hand on a turbocharged car and as expected, it was so
much fun (although I got the engine stalled for multiple times because I
haven’t driven a manual car since the day I got my driving license about 6
years ago). I would never be able to justify why I would buy this car, except
for pure pleasure and adrenaline rushing excitement. <br />
<br />
I would like to think I am buying the experience, not a need. There are times
we can pamper ourselves, so I suppose this is mine. Maybe it’s time to save
money and eat bread for the next 6 months. <br /><br /><br />
</span><b><span lang="EN-US" style="color: red; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-size: large;">3. Treat other people better, show genuine kindness! </span></span></b><span lang="EN-US"><br />
A little kindness every day acts as a ripple effect in other people’s life.
When you are being kind to someone, that same person would be inspired to be
kind to people around him/her. People around him/her would in turn be inspired
and act the same way. The world we live in can be a little better if everyone
does this. Not everything has to be motivated by hidden agendas, as we would so
often be led to think. <br />
<br />
Maybe give some food to the homeless will help. Apparently I heard giving money
to them would only encourage them to beg more, so we can perhaps show love via
other mean such as food and unwanted (but still of good condition) clothes.
This would help them more than you have possibly thought. <i>At the very least, this will put a smile on their faces. </i><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br />
</span></span><span style="font-size: large;"><b><span lang="EN-US" style="color: red; line-height: 107%;">4. Treat MYSELF better!</span></b><span lang="EN-US" style="color: red; line-height: 107%;"> </span></span><span lang="EN-US"><br />
Eat better, sleep better and live better! Treating other people better is
necessary, but first and foremost we must treat ourselves better! Nobody will
take care of you more than yourself. Sometimes we are so caught up with work
and study that we barely give ourselves time to relax and enjoy the many little
things in life. Ultimately this will only lead to stress. <br />
<br />
For me, I hated stress so much that I vow to myself I must emphasise leisure
hours. To strive an optimum balance of leisure hours and working hours. I heard
actuary is one of the few jobs in the world that can attain that. Mentally and
intellectually challenging but stimulating at the same time. It would be more
than sufficient for me to pass at least two papers this year. <br />
<br />
</span><b><span lang="EN-US" style="color: red; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-size: large;">5. Travel more and see more of the world! </span></span></b><span lang="EN-US"><br />
After my exciting two-week solo trip to Vietnam and met more than 20 friends, I
can safely attest I am addicted to travelling! If you are not comfortable with
the notion of travelling alone, you can always get a best friend to travel with
you. See more of the world, look at how the locals live and carry out their
daily life. Listen to exciting stories other travelers got to say. If you
seldom get out of your comfort zone, travelling alone will definitely force you
to do so. Explore yourself and get lost in a foreign land (a map or Google map
will be useful). I guarantee you will not regret. <br />
<br />
My next trip: Siem Reap, Cambodia (June 2016).</span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">What about
you? What is your view of making a list of New Year resolutions? Do you make it
just because everyone else does? What is your plan of following up if you are
not? Let me know at the comment below! =) <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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Nicholas CW Nghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07233449213251402124noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7549114080426920345.post-84624214908281910902015-12-11T12:04:00.002+08:002015-12-11T12:14:13.520+08:00Choose Yourself, Choose Happiness<div class="MsoNormal">
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<span lang="EN-US">Okay I
lied. The first part of the title is not exactly my headline, but a term I
casually adopted from a venerable author James Altucher. He wrote the book <b><i>Choose
Yourself</i></b> and albeit I have yet to get my hand on it, I reckon it’s
going to be mind-blowing. I definitely can’t wait to get one! <br />
<br />
Imagine ourselves lying on the floor, barely able to lift our heads, unsure of
where and when to turn. James has thrived in the past by starting up so many
companies, but hit rock bottom multiple times too. Every year is challenging
for him, but he still continued to live each day clasping his Daily Practices
(reading, writing, doing podcasts and inspiring others with his unique experience
and brutally honest and creative ideas, BEING THANKFUL). <br />
<br />
Just this week alone I have been pondering on the idea of happiness. Even
during Sunday Service in church 5 days ago, my pastor talked about choosing
happiness. How much more coincident can it get because I have been pondering
the same thought for the past few days prior to the service. <br />
<br />
I honestly admit I am not exactly a happy-go-lucky person, in fact I am quite
the opposite. I always find myself struggling in the dark space of depression.
Maybe you will think I am exaggerating. Anyone who knows me personally will
never think this is the case. So you are safe, you are not alone. There were
countless times I thought of ending my life, and it was awfully easy. I
chickened out. Also, I hate seeing people who love me crying, worse still
because of me. <br />
<br />
<i>But how come?! I thought you are a
Christian! You have your God with you and if you do everything He asks you to
do faithfully, you will never find yourself having to struggle with all these,
right? </i>Well yeah, that’s why prayer is important to keep me in sanity. Maybe
you can keep me in prayer. <br />
<br />
In life, everything can pull you down. Jean-Paul Sartre said <i>“Hell is other people”</i>. Imagine you are
having a nice day thus far, then on the way driving home, you find yourself almost
crashing into a reckless insensible motorcyclist. Then you started cursing and
your day is no longer nice. I am 99% sure I am not the only one who get
irritated easily at little things like this, but really if we let others dictate
our day, it’s not surprising our happiness can be robbed from us in a split
second. <br />
<br />
What about people you love and people who love you dearly? They too can bring
us down. When you form a relationship or friendship with someone, you
subconsciously put a price tag on that person. You set an expectation. The
painful truth is that everyone wants something from you, including your
parents. <br />
<br />
The sooner you are able to figure out what is the something that everyone wants
from you, the quicker you are able to realign the expectation set earlier on
and save yourself from unforeseen disappointment risk. It can be love, career
progression, business deal, or plain platonic relationship. <br />
<br />
Maybe this is when we can choose to be happy, meeting optimum expectation
others placed in you and in turn meeting others’ expectation. Now this sounds
like a bad idea, but it’s true! Life is full with meeting expectations. Whether
from parents, bosses, friends, lover, children etc. The key word here is
optimum. Optimum always work the best. <br />
<br />
Firstly, it can prevent ourselves from burning out. Secondly, it can help us
not to be lackluster. <br />
<br />
Even if nobody chooses you, the only person who can choose you is YOU yourself.
Quit your 9-5 job if you failed to find any meaning in your work. You yourself
have the ultimate power and capability to rise up to be the person you want to
be, by exercising your own customized Daily Practices. I am no expert in this
as I am still learning. But you know who to learn it from. <br /><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span><span lang="EN-US" style="line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Choosing
yourself would inevitably bring happiness into your life. That is when you
realised the purpose of your life – why you are doing what you are doing. Doing
what you love, at the same time satisfying your inner desires. <br />
<br />
Maybe you would like to change the world. Maybe you would like to add values to
your network, by connecting people within your network who don’t already know
each other but would immensely blessed by one another had they known one
another. <b><i>Are you giving your dream a chance?</i></b> <br />
<br />
Moving forward one step at a time means you are not stopping and you are on
track on achieving your dreams. </span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Another vital key is to be thankful. Whenever I find myself not happy and have
nothing significant to cheer on, I often forget about being thankful. It’s
easier said than done. But to practice it religiously daily is not a mammoth
task neither. If you have not already been doing this daily, be thankful the
moment you open your eyes can start your day right. <br /><br />
To be honest, every morning when I wake up I will ask myself these few
questions: <br />
<br />
- <b>Did I sleep enough? Am I energized sufficiently?</b> </span><span style="font-size: x-small;"><i><span lang="EN-US" style="line-height: 107%;">(If I didn’t sleep enough, I will
feel like crap the whole day. There goes my day. Can’t even start it right.)</span></i><span lang="EN-US" style="line-height: 107%;"> </span></span><span lang="EN-US"><br />
- <b>Is there anything I can be thankful of?</b> </span><span style="font-size: x-small;"><i><span lang="EN-US" style="line-height: 107%;">(</span></i><i><span lang="EN-US" style="line-height: 107%;">Hint: Of course there are plenty of them. The very fact you are awake
now and reading this are themselves two blessings already.) </span></i></span><i><span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></i><span lang="EN-US">- <b>How’s my schedule
like today? And how can I improve it to make it better? </b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Come out with your own questions. I am pretty sure you can do way better than
me. <br />
<br />
Start your day right and you will be delightedly surprised that happiness comes
knocking your door. <br />
<br />
Lastly, don’t let happiness stand outside your door. Let happiness soak into
your heart chambers. <br />
<br />
Happy people attract more people. It is not always the case that we can become
happy on our own, so being able to happy innately is an enviable gift. </span><br />
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I'm choosing happiness. Are you up for it? </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
Nicholas CW Nghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07233449213251402124noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7549114080426920345.post-69058011819930054412015-12-04T19:42:00.001+08:002015-12-04T22:05:05.550+08:00Why I Think Kepong 5 (UOA) Might NOT Work Out <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAdv03NbEV8S9MIIjzOXIYTPEfy8n6kQtcadLkb2Y2o1edaflPAEtzzfmfVssOSyeRNdlxkpQZJMG663eHEosP1dPL-tFI-N035k01-Fqi6XkDUC5VxCzJ-q2G2Qa-5q-HeAgV-4gi9vl6/s1600/buy_image.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAdv03NbEV8S9MIIjzOXIYTPEfy8n6kQtcadLkb2Y2o1edaflPAEtzzfmfVssOSyeRNdlxkpQZJMG663eHEosP1dPL-tFI-N035k01-Fqi6XkDUC5VxCzJ-q2G2Qa-5q-HeAgV-4gi9vl6/s640/buy_image.jpg" width="640" /></a></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">I almost did it again. Bought into the sweet words of a property agent and book a unit at Kepong
V Residences. I’m glad I did not. As you all know I have been looking
around for a property. My main intention for this purchase is for INVESTMENT. And then this popped up. Kepong 5 / Kepong V / Kepong Square, by UOA. <br />
<br />
Yes UOA! UOA is quite a reputable property developer that has been building
projects after projects even before I was born. So I have no doubt about the quality
of the project. If you haven’t heard of UOA because you are just a newbie like
me or you haven’t been actively looking around for property, the entire Bangsar
South is the masterpiece of UOA. <br />
<br />
So far so good. Now here’s the deal: Currently it is still at the soft launch
period, or pre-launch mode if you like. For a soft launch project initiated by
such a reputable developer, nothing can go wrong, right? Let’s delve into it
further, shall we?<br />
<br />
Here’s the background: The project site is located at Jalan Lang Emas, next to
Taman Segambut Aman. It smacked right in between Kepong and Segambut, and it is
only <b>8 minutes off Mont Kiara and Desa
Park City</b>. There will also be a <b>KTM station</b>
right behind the condo, which is fantastic! In addition, the construction of <b>Duke2 Highway</b> is already on-going,
right in front of the project site. <br />
<br />
The best part of it? It would be a <b>MIXED
DEVELOPMENT</b>, i.e. a shopping mall with Cineplax embedded within, food and
beverages, entertainments etc. Just like Publika, Tropicana, Paradigm, Mid Valley
and so on. You get the idea.<br />
<br />
There are 3 layouts and the one I chose was the middle one with 962 sqf, and
its costs range from RM556k to RM620k, depending on the floor level of your
choice. Through a simple calculation, you will arrive at RM578 per square feet.
Not bad at all, right? Riggghhhttt?! Maybe.. <br />
<br />
</span><b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">OMG WHAT MORE DO YOU WANT?!</span></i></b><span lang="EN-US"> <br />
<br />
I was ready to be sold. Seriously the moment I stepped out from the UOA showroom at Bangsar South last Saturday, I was so convinced this was the best deal I had ever came
across. I was merely a lazy bloke ready to be sweet-talked into making a
6-figure purchase. Costly and foolishly. <br />
<br />
But the thing is this, it is <b><i>just okay</i></b>, nothing too great to
shout about. I’m extremely thankful for my seniors who kept asking me to
reconsider my choice. Which leads me to… <br />
<b><span style="font-size: large;"><br /><br />
</span></b></span><b><u><span lang="EN-US" style="color: red; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-size: large;">5 Reasons NOT to Buy Kepong 5 Residences</span></span></u></b><br />
<b><u><span lang="EN-US" style="color: red; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></u></b>
<span lang="EN-US">
1) <b>Mixed Development</b>. “How can this
even be a reason for you not to buy this property?! I can’t believe you just
said it.” Yes, I just said it. This should have been one of the biggest, if not
the first, reasons why I should not buy into this project. Is there anything
wrong with having a mixed </span>development just below your condo? Let’s see. The
targeted segment was high income earners from Mont Kiara and Desa Park City,
but seriously when you come to think of it, Mont Kiara has their own shopping
malls (1 Mont Kiara and Plaza Damas), while Desa Park City has 1 Utama and The
Curve nearby. Why should they come to your shopping mall then? No reason? So
again, this project would attract mainly middle income group. Think in the
perspective of the potential crime rate.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span lang="EN-US">2) The current state of Kepong and Segambut</span></b><span lang="EN-US">. I may be a little myopic on this, but despite the close proximity to Mont Kiara and Desa Park City, I don’t see the Segambut and Kepong areas growing fast enough to become high-end
locations any time soon. It would take at least a few more decades, if ever, for
Segambut and Kepong areas to be pulled up to the luxury standard. Plus the current residents are mostly middle income people who stay in landed properties. Again this are just my two cents, feel free to take it with a pinch
of salt. <br />
<br />
3) <b>KTM service 100m behind the condo</b>.
This is a good thing right? I mean, seriously?! Not necessarily. If you look at
the existing quality KTM offers, it has not been up to the satisfactory
standard. Not only the timing is awfully inaccurate, the KTM users mainly
comprise low to middle income groups, and even low-skilled foreigners. I’m not
trying to offend anyone here, especially if you are a frequent KTM user. But I
am speaking objectively. Of course there is always a chance of KTM management
to significantly improve their services by say increasing frequency and
improving timing of the train services. Again, this is merely a chance. <br />
<br />
4) <b>Duke2 Highway</b> smacked right in
front of the condo. Great? Maybe not. Think again. Currently the Jalan Lang
Emas is already congested. Would it be a blessing for this Duke2 Highway to come
in at this point of time? Or would it be a curse to the existing traffic? Again,
it remains a possibility for the latter to happen. Imagine the 3-lane Duke2
Highway converging into the small Jalan Lang Emas in future. The sight is not
going to be pretty, isn’t it? Think of yourself enduring this every day for the
next 20-30 years, if you bought it for your own stay. <br />
<br />
5) <b>OXIDATION POND </b>is <b><i><u>just
1km away</u></i></b>. For those who don’t know what an oxidation pond is,
Google is just at your fingertips. Basically it is used for simple secondary
treatment of SEWAGE effluents. Imagine the bacteria that could potentially
spread to your property. </span><br />
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span>
<span lang="EN-US"><br />
So there you go, my reasons for not buying this project. <br />
<br />
And because of this project, it has changed the way I viewed property
investment. The next time similar opportunity arises, I would definitely ask
myself this one golden question: <br />
</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<blockquote class="tr_bq" style="text-align: center;">
<b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: red; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">“Why shouldn’t I buy this
property?” </span></i></b></blockquote>
<span lang="EN-US"></span><br />
<div>
<span lang="EN-US"><span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></span></div>
<span lang="EN-US">
Always make it a point that if you managed to find even one flaw you are not happy about, you shall not proceed. Ignore that flaw and you risk it coming back to haunt you in future. </span><br />
<div>
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span lang="EN-US">Because every agent would want to tell
you only the good things, but not the downsides of it. Always, I mean ALWAYS,
remember that agents would ultimately prioritise self-interest. Their earnings
are based on commission and that would only come through when the deal is sealed, that is when the SPA is signed by you and you paid the 10% downpayment. <o:p></o:p></span><br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq" style="text-align: center;">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span><b><span lang="EN-US" style="color: red; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">NOBODY TAKES CARE OF YOUR MONEY MORE
THAN YOU DO. </span></b></blockquote>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Think
for yourself to avoid making all the costly mistakes! You wouldn't want to regret for the next 30 years just because of your impulsive decision.</span><br />
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
</div>
Nicholas CW Nghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07233449213251402124noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7549114080426920345.post-24230402281687942862015-12-02T12:02:00.001+08:002015-12-02T14:40:40.514+08:00Love Yourself First<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNo38dp7q_bUTR4K83pU52aDwmM_qMmWUSKq-b0uO9BCdgvVwV1-xX7HSNvgUwevdWAeLAQWu3SScThhBmWNArbFSPkOQ2XkjhIEugs3W1d8Q4222itYqzgnVNg96q9l0mMt7aJk2o2QZb/s1600/love-yourself-5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNo38dp7q_bUTR4K83pU52aDwmM_qMmWUSKq-b0uO9BCdgvVwV1-xX7HSNvgUwevdWAeLAQWu3SScThhBmWNArbFSPkOQ2XkjhIEugs3W1d8Q4222itYqzgnVNg96q9l0mMt7aJk2o2QZb/s640/love-yourself-5.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: inherit;">“Hey, how
are you doing?” is one of the most common questions we ask others or people
throw at us, whether we realize it or not. Ironically not many people are
genuinely interested about how you are doing, but rather it serves just as a form
of formality or conversation starter. <br />
<br />
Because we have been asked this question thousands of times, we subconsciously
formed a default answer as well. “I’m fine / I’m doing great. Yourself?”
becomes the default answer even when we don’t feel all that great at that
point of time. <br />
<br />
What happens when we give a genuine answer? In other word, be our true self. For
instance, when I don’t feel all that blissful and positive about life or simply
being dissatisfied at my workplace, I say “<i>It
is okay</i>. I have been feeling tired at <i>…xxx…
</i>and this boss has been squeezing me alive at work.” <br />
<br />
Some friends may be caught by surprises for giving them unconventional
responses and become empathetic at our situations, but the rest would be like
“Oh snap, I wish I had never asked that question…” Have you ever been in that
situation when you regretted asking your friend what is going on in his/her life?
I am ashamed to say, I had. <br />
<br />
So why should you be reading this post anyway? To be honest, no one is without
one’s own problems, and we have a thousand and one decisions to make. A few
decisions may put us in deep troubles, while most will help to improve our general
happiness and contentment on life. <br />
<br />
Speaking of which, behavioral economics has helped me to rationalize my
decision making skills and see it from different perspectives. I strongly recommend
books by <b>Dan Ariely</b>, a behavioral
economist based in Duke University and MIT. Check him out if you like. <br />
<br />
I am pretty sure I am not the only one who don’t feel like listening to others’
problems all the time as I have enough of my own, but most of the times I still
choose to be a good friend. I still listen to others’ life situations and be
empathetic. <b><i>Then I realised not everyone loves himself or herself</i>. <br />
<br />
</b>We, human beings, are strange creatures and sometimes we enjoy tormenting
ourselves with our past experiences particularly those hurtful moments. At
times we will recollect the happy moments and involuntarily smile, but when one
or two particular songs come up on our Spotify playlist, painful moments
immediately gush down the memory lane. <br />
<br />
But that’s what makes us human, human. Without memories, we are just another
aimless moving creatures strolling around making babies. Memories can break us,
but it also possesses an immense capability and strength to mold us. Attributed
to its unique mark in our life, we think and act differently. People may idolize
the adage “Great minds think alike” but everyone went through different life experiences.
Even great minds did, so they are not exactly identical. <br />
<br />
Just last week alone I have heard of two cases where my friends’ boyfriends
cheated on them. One was a distant story, about 2 years ago. Another one was
just two weeks ago. Coincidentally, both cases occurred when their relationships
turned into long distance relationships (LDR). I may never find out what was
playing in the guys’ minds because of my devoid of relevant experiences, but I
would never commit such shamefully distressing act. <br /><br />
Just because you are alone feeling lonely when you are abroad, it doesn’t give
you the permission to flirt with another girl and worse still, sleep with her.
Unless you don’t mind being labelled as an <i><s>asshole</s></i>
<i>douchebag.</i> Even so, your act is outright despicable. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Few weeks
ago when I went to watch movie with my sister at Tropicana Mall, my sister told
me there was this guy looking at her even when he was walking next to a hot
girlfriend. Seriously, what’s wrong with guys? Of course I am stereotyping
here, but it’s undeniable that guys are, mostly if not all, visual creatures. <br />
<br />
So guys, when you already have a girlfriend, please treat her like a jewel
because if you don’t, someone else will. Just like salt put onto a wound, it
would never be the same for the girls who got cheated. They never deserved such
treatment, definitely not from one of the most trusted persons they have poured
out their hearts to. <br />
<br />
Unfortunately shit happens. </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: inherit;">There are two types of losers in a relationship:</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="text-indent: -18pt;"><span style="font-stretch: normal;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span lang="EN-US" style="text-indent: -18pt;"><span style="font-stretch: normal;">1) </span><span style="font-stretch: normal;"> </span></span><span lang="EN-US" style="text-indent: -18pt;">Those
who don’t think they deserve someone better, and hang on to the current bad
apple.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="text-indent: -18pt;">2) Those who think they are not good enough to deserve someone as excellent
as </span><i style="text-indent: -18pt;">[insert your dream guy/girl], </i><span style="text-indent: -18pt;">and
thereby not confident enough of themselves.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br />
These two types apply to both guys and girls alike. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: inherit;">For the
first type, of course it is difficult. It is never an easy task to save
yourself, to bring yourself out of your comfort zone. Someone you have been so
familiar with for the past xx months/years. But enough is enough. Love
yourself. Save yourself time and energy. Get yourself out of the mess. When you
sense something is not going right in your relationship and you find yourself
having to struggle through days and nights worrying about it, disaster is
looming. <br />
<br />
As for the second type, you need to buck up. I’m not sure if you know this, but
YOU ARE UNIQUE. The sooner you realize there is only one you in this world, the
faster you will start to appreciate your self-worth. I used to be a Type II
loser, until one day I realised I may not be too bad. I may not have found my <i>soulmate</i> yet, I know she is somewhere
out there. I can only pray for her. <br /><br />
<i>To my future wife / best friend /
soulmate, <br />
<br />
I know you are out there somewhere. Maybe working, or still studying. Until you
walk into my life, I pray that you will always live your life joyfully and
thankfully. Seek God and praise God when you are happy or even sad. If you are in
a relationship right now, I pray you will find happiness and deeper meaning in
the relationship. Guard your heart, love yourself first before anyone else. Everything
happens for reasons, every relationship will teach you something valuable. <o:p></o:p></i></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i><br /></i></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i><span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: inherit;">I pray that you will be more compassionate and
empathetic towards friends and strangers, and find peace in all the little
things around you. Slow down and listen to your little voice. I pray that you
will be receptive of Holy Spirit’s voice, and follow Him. If you ever feel lonely and no one else understands you, please remember there is this guy right here who never ceases praying for your well being. You are never alone. But till then, please hang on tight. The storm will be over soon.<br />
<!--[if !supportLineBreakNewLine]--><br />
<!--[endif]--><o:p></o:p></span></span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i><span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Till then, I promise you I will do my part. I
will strive to improve myself in all areas, including my relationship with God,
friendships with other people and family, as well as my health and finances. I
am working hard now to provide a decent life for our future family. I will pass
all the actuarial professional papers to further secure my career stability, at
the same time not putting my savings and investments on the backseat. <o:p></o:p></span></span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i><span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i><span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: inherit;">I will take care of myself for you, and I hope
you will take care of yourself for me too. <br />
<br />
With all my heart and soul I love you, <o:p></o:p></span></span></i></div>
<i><span lang="EN-US" style="line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></i>
<i><span lang="EN-US" style="line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Nicholas </span></span></i>Nicholas CW Nghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07233449213251402124noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7549114080426920345.post-17986604967529904802015-11-26T16:48:00.001+08:002015-11-26T18:07:12.255+08:00The Sweetest Sound of All Time <div class="MsoNormal">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgz4NIaLv9nGH9XHAiML4Ri6BCxDH4OqkEtwm_bCAXbaxlIFXqEXb0dYcQMd88SLNJ9QecYxRL_E-XB6S7Yer9YcVOozKlgNsspWk7uj5rsKr18j2nec_JeC7cv8axmDUnuktT7gUkUtgqi/s1600/Most_Popular_Names.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="390" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgz4NIaLv9nGH9XHAiML4Ri6BCxDH4OqkEtwm_bCAXbaxlIFXqEXb0dYcQMd88SLNJ9QecYxRL_E-XB6S7Yer9YcVOozKlgNsspWk7uj5rsKr18j2nec_JeC7cv8axmDUnuktT7gUkUtgqi/s640/Most_Popular_Names.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<span lang="EN-US" style="line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span>
<span lang="EN-US" style="line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span>
<span lang="EN-US" style="line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">As I walked towards the gate of my office after work, I saw this guy
also walking towards the same direction with his friend. He’s my friend but his
name seemed to vanish from my mind for a temporal moment, so for one whole
minute I walked behind their back quietly. I hoped he never spotted me because
I was ashamed of my wonky memory. When I finally managed to recall his name, he spotted me walking
behind him and his friend. I couldn’t call out his name on time, so I just
addressed him as “bro”. Hey Bro! How’s it going? The rest remain history. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">I believe I am not alone in this. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">I KNOW! I know. It sounds trivial. Not remembering other people’s names
is a small matter and everyone does it, right? To be honest, yes it is. But if
you come to think about it from a larger picture, this seemingly trivial matter
has the capability to trickle into larger issues, and could be the one mammoth
factor in determining one’s success in everything. Many business leaders and
politicians knew this golden key and it helps them to manage people. It weaved its
magic in the past, and will continue to do so in future. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">After one week of barely reading a proper book (I read mostly random
articles from websites and blogs), I resumed the book “How to Win Friends and
Influence People” by Dale Carnegie. Again the insight I’ve gained was proved to
be extremely relevant and practically real. Yes I know you are pretty good at
guessing, and you guessed it right. It is <b><i><span style="font-size: large;">remembering names</span>. <o:p></o:p></i></b></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="line-height: 107%;"><b><i><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></i></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">I have to admit, I was (am) not very good at remembering other people’s names.
In fact, this is one of my weaknesses I have been trying to work on. Where are
the places and events you will get to meet a lot of new people? Networking
events, church, conferences and during transitional periods. When you meet new
people in church after service and during prayer meeting. When you just started
working, you have hundreds of names to remember but everyone else has only one
name to add into their mind. Unfair right?! We will get there. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<i style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="color: red;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">"Remember that a person's name is, to that person,
the sweetest and most important sound in any language." </span></span></i><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>– Dale Carnegie</b></span><br />
</blockquote>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Consider this
one CEO working in a company with the same group of employees, but under two
very different scenarios. In Scenario A, this CEO can only recall the names of
the top 10 names working closest to him. As you might have guessed correctly
(again!), they are other top executives, heads of various functions and the
general manager. On top of that, no one else. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Then in
Scenario B, the same CEO acts very differently. He knows everyone by names,
from the cleaners to the cafeteria workers, from junior executives up to the
Board of Directors. Who do you think will be able to perform better, leading
the company to the right direction and achieve targets within the shortest period of time? You knew
the answer again, don’t you? Smarty pant. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Now that we
know it’s important to remember names and just by doing this can have an
immense impact in getting others to put us more favourably against everyone else, what
can we do to remember names? It’s not really of our intention to forget their
names though! Blame our short term memory and for some people, like me, our brains just work this way! Maybe there are some little tricks to
remember? <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>Repeat. Repeat. REPEAT.</b> One thing about our brain is when we
say out a name repetitively, we tend to remember it easier and better. You won’t
notice it, but your brain knows what it is doing. By repeating something, you
are emitting signal to your brain saying this is important, MUST REMEMBER! The
magic works this way. If you tell your brain to remember this, it will.
Conversely, when you don’t value this person highly enough, you are essentially
saying “This is a waste of time! Can I go home now?” and then by the time you
ended the conversation with the person, you don’t even remember his/her name. Chances
are, he/she will be extremely glad to know you still remember his/her name the next time you
guys meet each other.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>Keywords</b> also work wonders in helping you to
remember names. It is critical to link their hobbies, careers and anything else
you can think of to the person’s name and voila! You are well on your way to remember
him for eternity. I’m joking, you don’t have to remember his name for eternity
if you don’t want to. But in case you WANT, remembering keywords is going
to help. I tend to categorise people I know into few categories. Previously,
based on what they study; now based on their departments/companies or what they
do for a living. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Because I am
feeling good today, here is one personal tip for you – <b>SOCIAL MEDIA</b>! We all know how much
social media has transformed the world, making it a more well-connected
community. Through Facebook, Twitter or Instagram, you will remember someone’s
name almost instantly. I don’t know about you, but it works for me. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">That’s why
when I meet new people anywhere I go, I will tend to search them up on Facebook
or LinkedIn (for professional contacts) and add them right away, otherwise I
will forget them by the next morning. So folks, don’t freak out when I suddenly
add you on Facebook. I just want to be your friend and it helps me to remember
you also. Unless of course, you don’t want me to remember you, then it’s fine. =/
<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Let’s
practice this new skill today – try to remember as many names as possible. It
will help you develop your vivid lifelong impression in other people’s minds. </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";"><br /></span></div>
Nicholas CW Nghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07233449213251402124noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7549114080426920345.post-73706773857750747682015-11-23T18:02:00.002+08:002015-11-24T09:11:27.661+08:00Target Driven Life<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEid8UtCgbPHRjNZydsz9dp46FlxByRWMUhzgGfC31RwpEYVPzZ6NzC7aMAbUpiNw4by0e6eVGVPCR1ZkLWLbOugvuT_puGPQNXTjv3HBiYtDXTuQPX2lki6EdIWWkS8HrOi5GIsALXiLv_C/s1600/target.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="345" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEid8UtCgbPHRjNZydsz9dp46FlxByRWMUhzgGfC31RwpEYVPzZ6NzC7aMAbUpiNw4by0e6eVGVPCR1ZkLWLbOugvuT_puGPQNXTjv3HBiYtDXTuQPX2lki6EdIWWkS8HrOi5GIsALXiLv_C/s400/target.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
</div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: inherit;">The past weekend has been physically exacting for me,
because I was <s>irrational</s> bold enough to join the Sports Day organized by
my employer Bank Negara, knowing I was/am not much fitter than the majority
population. Still I challenged myself. I knew the chance for me to win anything
was extremely slim – close to 0%. I took the first step and stepped out of my
comfort zone. I made an impulsive decision to sign up for 800m and 4x400m even
before I had time to regret over my decision. I took the risk of embarrassing myself.
<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: inherit;">The result? I managed to clock 2 minutes 47 seconds
for my 800m run, attaining fourth place out of 6 runners. The runner who got
third was not too far ahead of me, yet I had ran out of energy to sprint in my
last 100m. Even more encouragingly, the other two runners in 5<sup>th</sup> and
6<sup>th</sup> places were physically fitter than me. For the first time in my
life, I did not book the last spot in an athletic competition. It was a
personal victory for me. I was extremely thankful, and definitely delighted. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: inherit;">As a consolation prize, I managed to get third place
in an impromptu event I joined that day itself. I participated in the Tug of
War event due to my slightly fine physique, and despite my team lost to the champion,
we still got a medal. It was probably the first medal I have ever attained
despite not winning the match LOL! But because there were only three houses in
the Bank (Sasana, Tunas and Lanai), only three teams were sent, thus the medals
– gold, silver and bronze. For some reason my team got a bronze, despite never
get beaten by the first runner-up. I reckon we could have beaten them, but a
medal is still a medal. I’m glad! <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: inherit;">What’s next? I have been receiving a number of
comments stating I am still young, so I have a lot more opportunities to join various
sports events. I concur. Participating in this annual athletic event organized by
my employer was just the first step. I am currently controlling my diet and
taking my weight seriously. I have been weighing 80kg for a few months now and
I don’t feel comfortable about it despite my general fitness level shows
otherwise. I am feeling better than ever and I have no plan on backing down. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Last week I spoke to a senior colleague who has been
fairly active in running especially in the recent past two years. He has been
participating in various marathons and ran half marathons a few times. Half marathon
covers 21km, in case you don’t know. I didn’t know, thinking it was just 10km. He
gave me some advices on running. Apparently running is not all but just the
first step. Knee injuries are real and will eventually come as one progresses
further in running. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: inherit;">It is not surprising that many footballers tend to
encounter knee injuries once in a while as they compete weekly league fixtures
throughout their entire career. Is there any way to prevent knee injuries? Fret
not, of course there are! There are plenty of exercises to strengthen the hips,
adductors and core muscles. Strong relevant muscles will help absorb the impact
rather than it going straight down to the knees. Even the running techniques
matter, all to protect our athletic knees. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Setting realistic targets is not easy as it requires
courage and strength to pull through every temptation not to keep up to the
target. We have every reason to be lazy and let the passion die off gradually,
but persistence will keep us afloat. I am not someone who will settle for
things, because once I start settling in, I will start being complacent. I hope
you will keep on improving every area of your life too, setting seemingly
unattainable targets to push yourself to the next level. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Above was only my target on my physical health. One
major issue about setting target though is the fear of failure. If you can
overcome this fear, you are bound to achieve success in areas you wish to see
breakthroughs. Opportunities are limitless, so one failure should and would never
determine your fate and destiny. Giving up upon encountering one failure only
shows our weakness on our desperation to succeed. </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Of course the magnitude of
failures varies, so it will be foolish of me to deny its emotional impacts on
each person. But the underlying principle behind every failure is always the same,
regardless of its magnitude. Never ever stop to give it another try, because
the next try may be the key to getting the qualification. Key to your dream job.
Key to your dream relationship. </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: inherit;">My personal career progress currently revolves around actuarial
professional papers. The most commonly taken Specialist Technical papers are
Life Insurance (ST2) and Corporate Finance (ST5). Whenever I heard of someone
taking Enterprise Risk Management (ST9), I will be utterly impressed because
insofar I have yet to hear any success story regarding this paper. My dream of
taking ST9 paper was recently revived all thanks to my senior colleague who has
passed ST9 paper, thereby proving it is not impossible to pass this paper. Thanks
HS! </span></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Indeed, setting targets not only sprinkles more
flavors into your life, but also propels you forward as you hit those targets
one at a time. Try it! I promise it’s going to be fun! You will discover a
different side of you, something I reckon you would never regret. </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
Nicholas CW Nghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07233449213251402124noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7549114080426920345.post-41794697576533988872015-11-20T18:08:00.002+08:002015-11-20T18:11:10.147+08:00Why Procrastination Kills and Four Ways to Avoid It <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnIh02nP8TfqwidaPZkDm4U9bSSeFqjOxSXmBPOB2m2R872dG0m41iW5qKQqQ2Z4gDwyH63qyh5MkF8JggtwDIeG0g9y-r9khgoRP8SrYXYpqwd8MP8Gxt6Dhswjf7dNebiJ3vEyr8S0_8/s1600/procrastinate.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="424" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnIh02nP8TfqwidaPZkDm4U9bSSeFqjOxSXmBPOB2m2R872dG0m41iW5qKQqQ2Z4gDwyH63qyh5MkF8JggtwDIeG0g9y-r9khgoRP8SrYXYpqwd8MP8Gxt6Dhswjf7dNebiJ3vEyr8S0_8/s640/procrastinate.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Each time I
thought of a great idea, it would daunt on me that the next challenging thing
to do is starting the first step. Because starting first step is always the
hardest, the urge to procrastinate kicks in. So there is this Rational Decision
Maker who is extremely energetic and keen to start doing the work and complete
the task on time, driven by dogged determination and passion, living within
everyone. He is downright boring, but he as a perfectionist gets things done
rather efficiently. But there is another partner in crime, an Instant
Gratification Monkey. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: inherit;">This
Instant Gratification (IG) Monkey is directly opposite of the Rational Decision
Maker. He loves all the fun and at all costs avoids challenging problems. He
indulges in instant gratifications (as his name suggested) and persuade the
Rational Decision Maker to doing the same. On a normal occasion, the Rational
Decision Maker will steer the direction of what I will be doing and the course
of my actions for the day, but there is a problem. The Rational Decision Maker
tends to be tempted by the cuteness and carefree attitude of the Pet Monkey,
and <s>always</s> sometimes gets carried away by his pet monkey to join in the
fun. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Come to
think of it, the Rational Decision Maker is in a pretty messed up position. He
couldn’t control what the IG Monkey is doing, yet he is enticed by the monkey’s
uninspiring ideology of fun and convenient mediocrity. Thankfully there is this
Panic Monster who will appear and shriek at both Rational Decision Maker and
monkey, and the monkey will always be the first to run up the tree in horror.
Sometimes the Rational Thinker gets scared and escapes together with the IG Monkey
up the tree, but most of the times he will start doing what he was supposed to
do a millennium ago. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Whilst the
task would eventually get completed on time all credit to the appearance of Panic
Monster, the result will be of subpar standard. That is how we always manage to
complete 3-month worth of project in the span of burning one midnight oil, but
never failed to complain at the mediocre result we obtained thereafter. Bosses
publicly berate procrastinators and sometimes the paychecks they rely heavily
on vanish into the thin air. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Why though?
These are three of the many reasons:</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span lang="EN-US" style="text-indent: -18pt;">1)<span style="font-size: xx-small;"> </span></span><span lang="EN-US" style="text-indent: -18pt;">It’s
challenging and too complex to begin with, daunting to even think of.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraph" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span lang="EN-US"><span style="text-indent: -18pt;">2) </span></span><span lang="EN-US" style="text-indent: -18pt;">Underestimated
time commitments, by thinking this particular task can be done in one week when
in actual it requires two, leading to delay.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span lang="EN-US" style="text-indent: -18pt;">3) </span><span lang="EN-US" style="text-indent: -18pt;">Plain
laziness. </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="text-indent: -18pt;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span lang="EN-US" style="text-indent: -18pt;"></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: inherit;">What can we
do to obliterate procrastination once and for all? Come to think of it,
I am not the most qualified person to advise you and my suggestions may even be
flawed in some ways I couldn’t think of at the moment, but I will give my best
shot!</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><b><span lang="EN-US" style="color: red; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">A) Start Breaking Big Complicated
Projects Into Multiple Little Parts <br />
</span></b><span lang="EN-US">Most projects are
complicated in a glance, but when you start breaking the big picture into many
smaller parts, you will realize it is actually pretty manageable. This is uncannily
similar to the definition of simplicity. You may give each of these little
tasks an individual deadline too to make it more fun. The feeling of seeing one
by one items being crossed off is profoundly satisfying too. <b><span style="color: red;"><o:p></o:p></span></b></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraph">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><b><span lang="EN-US" style="color: red; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">B) Celebrate every little victory <br />
</span></b><span lang="EN-US">I love this one!
Every little feat we have achieved shall be rewarded with a celebration.<b> </b>Never short change yourself by being
awfully frugal, because you deserve every bit of it. Give yourself a nice
holiday, or dine at a nice restaurant. The “nice” here means an exquisitely
posh restaurant with 5-star Michelin rating of some sorts. Even crazier rewards
can involve skydiving, scuba diving, bungee jumping and many other extreme
adventures. It is essential that our brains are incentivized before starting a
project. <b><span style="color: red;"><o:p></o:p></span></b></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><b><span lang="EN-US" style="color: red; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"> </span></b><b><span lang="EN-US" style="color: red; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"> </span></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><b><span lang="EN-US" style="color: red; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">C) Sleep with your To-Do’s list ready
for the next day<br />
</span></b><span lang="EN-US">Preparing a list is
what I have been doing for the past two or three years and I found it extremely
effective in improving my productivity level, at the same time helped me to
remember things I need to remember. Because our brain memory is limited. I like
to resemble my brain power with a pen-drive with limited space capacity,
although the truth is our human brain is one of the most powerful weapons we
can utilize on. But better be safe than sorry! <b><span style="color: red;"><o:p></o:p></span></b></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraph">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Also, your
To-Do’s items should never be too long to the extent of making your list
intimidating, and it should be arranged according to their respective
deadlines. I personally use a Google extension called <b><i>Momentum</i></b> to write my To-Do
list. Whenever I click to open a new tab on Google Chrome, Momentum page will
appear with its scenic background refreshed every day. And it’s nice to have a
little quote at the bottom to inspire me daily. Today’s quote is “It’s time to
start living the life you’ve only imagined.”<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><b><span lang="EN-US" style="color: red; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">D) Partner with a “Procrastinating Buddy”</span></b><b><span lang="EN-US"> <span style="color: red;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></b></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: inherit;">If you
started thinking “where is this person?” chances are they are everywhere.
He/she can be your close friend who have the same goals. Maybe your wife. Maybe
your colleague. Maybe your study buddy. Show each other the To-Do’s list and
start holding each other accountable. At least this will give you a little push
to get things done. Imagine you are having an appointment with your buddy to
exercise in the gym every morning, you wouldn’t want to miss the appointment,
lest you seem like a jerk. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
Nicholas CW Nghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07233449213251402124noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7549114080426920345.post-12854703846917209982015-11-17T12:01:00.001+08:002015-11-17T18:26:14.823+08:00The Vicious Trap Of Complacency<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiL1I_jsAs7vv_hZK9d1YdBUlcfVGDq8C91Lemr-X7I1vTfX8tsJqwzjqj-RSMApy5H8pHNDYdscA0mQwlHegwif-69_tZnkUj0DT17f9uhhpKfCDIr1xni7jgzTXjJX8o9_nf9X5jVjMGw/s1600/Why-Being-Complacent-Will-Ruin-Your-Life_1.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="326" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiL1I_jsAs7vv_hZK9d1YdBUlcfVGDq8C91Lemr-X7I1vTfX8tsJqwzjqj-RSMApy5H8pHNDYdscA0mQwlHegwif-69_tZnkUj0DT17f9uhhpKfCDIr1xni7jgzTXjJX8o9_nf9X5jVjMGw/s640/Why-Being-Complacent-Will-Ruin-Your-Life_1.png" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: inherit;">If you are
a regular visitor of this blog, you may have noticed the reduced frequency of my
post entries. Let me clarify, I have been writing an entry every weekday for
the past 2.5 months, and it is my joy and privilege every time I write. But
just last week, I realised this is not sustainable. I have a full time job but
because I was still new and my team was pretty busy with their year-end project,
I ended up having nothing much to do. Now work started to pile up and you can
see where I might be heading next.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Not only my
time allocated for blogging will be significantly reduced, my one big concern
is writer’s block. My friends have asked me how did I managed to get inspiration
daily, to update a blog entry every weekday. My only answer is to spend about 2
hours to read, daily. Read books, blogs and email subscriptions. Read 200
books, 50 books is equivalent to having one mentor. Check out the books that
can take your breaths away. Read books that can keep your attention span for
the longest period of time. 1 hour. 10 hours. 3 days. One week. Then write. Now
I have cut down my weekly posts to 2-3 posts, in hope that I will come out with
better quality posts. It is more viably sustainable this way. </span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Could this
be a vicious trap of complacency for me? A few weeks back I wrote about my fears,
one of which is the fear of complacency. I am afraid once I get
comfortable with something, complacency will start creeping in and eat me
alive. Are you being comfortable with your finance at the moment? Are you
living a carefree and enjoyable life, not having to worry about where is the
next meal going to come from, OR you are worrying about not having enough money
to pay your bills by the end of this month?</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Not
actively managing one’s financial health is the biggest mistake one can possibly fall
into, sprung from the trap of complacency. One may be thinking one’s salary is
sufficient enough to pay for everything, until one gets oneself into deep hole
of debt, most commonly credit card and hire purchase. Many people opt to spend
on short term gratifications than saving and investing. We buy things we don’t
need to impress people we don’t like. It doesn’t make much sense but it’s true
for many of us. Now I don’t know about you, but being complacent with my
finance is the last position I will want to place myself in. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: inherit;">What about
your job if you are working? Are you getting comfortable settling into your
workplace, and start thinking what’s next? Is your job giving you the highest
level of satisfaction, if not what can be done to boost the satisfaction level?
A change of job perhaps? Maybe a shift to other department of the same
company you are working at? If we start getting complacent of where we are, we
risk setting ourselves into a stagnant mode. Nothing in your workplace will be
more interesting than waiting for the arrival of this upcoming weekend. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Recently I
read about one way to increase productivity in everything you do, at the same
time keep your motivation and satisfaction level at the peak. Perhaps, this could be the key to combat the trap of complacency. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<b><span lang="EN-US" style="color: red; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: large;"><i>Overpromise over-deliver</i></span><o:p></o:p></span></span></b></div>
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<b><span lang="EN-US" style="color: red; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></b></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: inherit;">When we
overpromise something, we tend to set the bar one notch higher than what we
would have set on an ordinary basis. Many people (me)
tend to be afraid in setting difficult goals and overpromise things simply
because of fear of failures. Failures that will lead to public embarrassment
and put our venerable reputation at stake. Admit it, we loathe public humiliation. Nobody is dumb enough to step out of their shell to do that, which may explain the reason behind most members of top management level and leaders being a conversative bunch of people. </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Most people
who have built their careers from the scratch would do everything to preserve
their career empires, but only a few would be bold enough to come out with
radical ideas and overpromise things. As we climb up the golden ladder of
success, our capacity to dream somehow shrinks. However when we overpromise things,
we position ourselves in an uncomfortable state of mind, and it is this exact
state of mind that will lead us to over-delivering. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Last
weekend I went to this property showroom and the agent told me the completion
period of this project is early 2019. When we asked why, the agent told us the
project will most likely be completed by mid-2018, but because they do not want
to overpromise the customers, they added a buffer period of 6 months which may seem perfectly plausible. But it reminded me that overpromise things is not
necessarily a bad thing, if we can deliver the final result way earlier than
the expected time without compromising the work quality.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">What if we
can’t deliver on time? Not likely, simply because our reputation will be at
stake. It takes one or two decades to establish our name, but only one day is
enough to obliterate our reputation. <b><i><span style="color: red;">By overpromising and over-delivering, we leave no room for complacency.</span></i></b> </span><br />
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span>
<span lang="EN-US">Napolean Hill’s Thought For The Day was
sent to my email 5 days ago and it stated this: </span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKuQFNpXG_mr56_Ca52YTFEJMklXWmJyPUoW26ixzquCbchgrkCpi2RHdcoSJoKANMCeQN-W8FoTIWDF60exntgk-WRJQMIA85OF1vQetKgLRk5aGxTxoopRClEfVeLXm8zG1LUffnW4Py/s1600/napolean+hill.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="484" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKuQFNpXG_mr56_Ca52YTFEJMklXWmJyPUoW26ixzquCbchgrkCpi2RHdcoSJoKANMCeQN-W8FoTIWDF60exntgk-WRJQMIA85OF1vQetKgLRk5aGxTxoopRClEfVeLXm8zG1LUffnW4Py/s640/napolean+hill.png" width="640" /> </a></div>
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Nicholas CW Nghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07233449213251402124noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7549114080426920345.post-53460199950214581292015-11-13T12:21:00.000+08:002015-11-13T15:43:12.313+08:00The Power of Leverage<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeEJZb65rjHSJsIt4RJEaF-MyhPecyqjGkRIlhgtf6tBtBy5HAXEkTYrRBnzclFGEkx20Cg0xxpD1IoYg-Wwk3AC0Jl11WsQTSvAytZadtkpQAB0OrdL9vrJr1cVNJubTkRZaY8yGYit9J/s1600/leverage.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="374" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeEJZb65rjHSJsIt4RJEaF-MyhPecyqjGkRIlhgtf6tBtBy5HAXEkTYrRBnzclFGEkx20Cg0xxpD1IoYg-Wwk3AC0Jl11WsQTSvAytZadtkpQAB0OrdL9vrJr1cVNJubTkRZaY8yGYit9J/s640/leverage.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Motivational quotes are ubiquitous. Whilst I
myself am an avid reader of motivational quotes, they may not be sufficient to
pull someone back on track, assuming the person has access to it. Many people
are not that fortunate. Imagine someone so dreadful of life or fell so deeply
in financial debt, waiting for time to pass. No purpose of life whatsoever,
time is just ticking before that person drifts into extreme depression and
eventually jumps off the window of a city skyline, or one of the cliffs in Zermatt. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Why such pessimism? People who really need to be
heard can't be heard, people who need help can't get one. The sad truth is
they may not even have access to such motivational edification as they are
engulfed by the horrendous reality of life, day in day out. People around them
are too obsessed with themselves and barely able to notice their peculiar
behaviour. Perhaps if we could practice a little more empathy, things could
have been turned out differently. Lives could have been saved and transformed
for the better. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Introspectively I am privileged to have gained
easy access to the motivational sources as I am sure many of us do, and
whenever someone comes to me with his/her problems faced in life, I will always
try my best to listen and encourage. But I am weak myself. My voice is meagre. That’s why I chose to write blog post. Not for myself but to serve
others. To encourage others. To brighten up someone’s life a little amidst all
the looming negativity. My end goal has always been and will always be to help others, add values into
people’s life. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">To me, blogging is a form of leverage, but is not
the only way. It is just one of many ways I personally embarked on simply
because of its convenience. Perhaps you have your personal touch of encouraging
others. Be kind to people, even strangers. One thing I realised about kindness
is it would naturally be reciprocated to touch more people’s day, just like water
ripple effect. Why not give it a try today? Even a simple smile would brighten
someone’s life. It is contagious anyway, and people would generally be drawn to
the person who smile rather than the one pulling a long face. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">What is the form of leverage that can improve
our life tremendously? Reading. Most successful people and world leaders, if
not all, are avid readers. I dreaded of reading when I was much younger and I
never failed to fall asleep if I were to be shoved a book right on my face. I was
never able to appreciate the magic this reading habit can do in my life. It
changes life! It certainly has changed mine ever since I started picking up a
book of my personal interest and delve into the world of author’s dreamland and
thoughts, coupled with his/her rich experiences. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">I don’t think I would ever regret picking up reading habit. If there was one single thing I am thankful of this year, it is
myself having picked up reading as my hobby. It allows myself to detach from callous reality. Not that reality has been harsh on me because everything has been
falling in place for me conveniently and I am thankful for that. This is
certainly not the case for many people. Reading is probably the one and only
reality simulator, providing access to millenniums of events and human history. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">That was probably one of the reasons I enjoyed
reading history books even back in high school, when most of my peers loathe reading
them but were forced to. There is an adage “History repeats itself”, so if I am
able to leverage on the knowledge of past events, I would be able to stand on
the shoulder of a giant. History is my giant. I will stand a higher chance of
surviving today with a smile, and brace myself for a tougher battle tomorrow.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">One of my favourite authors, James Altucher, can’t
emphasise enough how reading has impacted his life tremendously. He is probably
the staunchest reader I have ever come to know. His reason for such dedication?
<i>“I read because it lets me re-live the
lives of all of the authors, curated by them into a compact form so I can
re-live that life in days instead of decades. Reading has saved my life more
than once. It’s taught me to rob banks, it’s taught me to love better. It’s
taught me how to be good and competent at things.”</i><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Needless to say, reading is currently my
ultimate leveraged weapon. It is one of the best and cheapest avenues for me to
equip myself with an arsenal of knowledge I yearn for, be it property,
financial, economics, motivational and personal development. Nothing by far even
comes close to it. Take away my time off reading and you are taking away my life. <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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Nicholas CW Nghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07233449213251402124noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7549114080426920345.post-19150690023185974782015-11-11T12:37:00.000+08:002015-11-12T10:32:29.207+08:00Why Not Me? <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyileYG0qezTxny_i5kdnY5FWoG0s7xW9M6u4v_7nVNtJZz_I6ptXP9KH_f3bX9EIwTLx_yGdgwJdhgvdaZI8M8x6CpJeh2qi9x2xdRXKya6zVVKmoRSBwIMuaVD_PboTzVDLCCp8WOTRL/s1600/38233_1336263770277_1341575729_30809651_1366811_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyileYG0qezTxny_i5kdnY5FWoG0s7xW9M6u4v_7nVNtJZz_I6ptXP9KH_f3bX9EIwTLx_yGdgwJdhgvdaZI8M8x6CpJeh2qi9x2xdRXKya6zVVKmoRSBwIMuaVD_PboTzVDLCCp8WOTRL/s640/38233_1336263770277_1341575729_30809651_1366811_n.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">When I was relatively younger, I used to doubt myself. I had poor self-esteem purely out of the thought of myself being untalented. I was raw and inexperienced in whatever came my way. In everything I encountered at school, I stood by the sideline and watched the high flyers performed to their best abilities and won tournaments, one after another. Then I would envy them. I wished I could be just a little bit like them, being outstanding in fields of their choices. </span><br />
<div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">And I bumped into this quote out of the blue, saying: "If others can do it, why can't I?" I paused. If others can do it, why can't you? There are so many people who have made histories, success stories are everywhere if you bother to look around. So many people have succeeded, why not myself? Many excellent students had attained straight A1's, what is stopping me from achieving the similar feat? What a powerful revelation! From that moment onwards, I started to gain courage, aim higher and strive for the best I could possibly achieve. </span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">That led me to the field of actuarial science, a field traditionally deemed as one of the toughest any sane homosapien can pursue in the world, because of its long grueling series of professional papers one has to endure in order to be qualified. I dared to challenge myself mentally, albeit having heard many failures occured in both past and present. There is no easy path, each professional paper exacts several hundred hours of discipline efforts allocated on revisions. Am I ready for it, both physically and mentally? At least at the end of the day, I can say I have attempted. </span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">These past two weeks I have been looking actively at properties, then I realised I have so much more to learn. I am just an inexperienced newbie. One thing I am extremely thankful of is the number of seniors available at my disposal to share with me their personal tips and opinions on property investing. As a starter, I need to make a few major decisions myself such as: </span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">i) What is my investment goal and the purpose of buying property (for own stay or passive income)? </span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">ii) Do I want a positive (sub-sale completed old building) or negative cash flow (new project)? </span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">iii) If negative cash flow, am I ready for such a huge financial obligation (which can be seen as a massive hurdle in times to come, bearing in mind I would have increasing commitments)? </span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">It may seem daunting at first as it did to me, but as long as I keep my mind open, I will be able to master it one day. Not only helpful seniors are everywhere within my reach, there are property blogs and websites that are freely available too. Only if you are willing and take your own initiative to spend some time on doing adequate research before committing yourself to huge financial obligation, you will improve over time. So far I am willing and hopeful to keep this level of enthusiasm high. I am still learning and will persist on equipping myself with knowledge. </span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">As soon as we are comfortable with our level of understanding on a certain topic, there is where the danger comes. Why do I say that? Because we feel complacent and thought we knew everything. We deluded ourselves into thinking we were on top of summit when we were barely at the base. We thought we had nothing else to fear. It is all innately entrenched in our mind and it is inevitable at one point we will feel this way. Maybe if we keep ourselves open to new ideas and always think we are just beginners, we shall never settle for ourselves, and we will keep moving forward! </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Another important point
is we dare not step out beyond our comfort zones because of our fear of
failures. As human beings it is natural for us to be afraid of uncertainty. Any
venture demanding the stretch of our mental capacity and technical prowess daunts
us back to our caves. It requires extra time and efforts, which means less time
for something else – opportunity cost. There will be a complete shift in our priority
list. But it has got to start somewhere. Perhaps this is a good beginning. </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Maybe we should just
stop doubting ourselves, depriving ourselves of true potentials. When our
minds and mental capacities are tough, nothing external can truly hurt us.
Failures? Sure. Rejections? Bring it on! Not that I am already immune to all these, I
know the sure-fire ways to climb back up stronger. After all, what doesn’t kill
you makes you stronger. </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
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Nicholas CW Nghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07233449213251402124noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7549114080426920345.post-11095074499860895232015-11-10T19:21:00.001+08:002015-11-10T20:47:00.777+08:00Where to Find Motivation? <div class="MsoNormal">
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Is there a day you just don’t feel like doing anything, but to lie on your bed staring at the ceiling and do nothing? Skipping everything you told yourself you will do every day and find yourself lack of motivation to continue doing it? That’s me right now, but I’m glad I have finally written my first three sentences to kick start my writing mood. I am demotivated. I have missed my gym session today, but I had an intensive badminton session yesterday evening. Excuse. </span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Where do we find motivation anyway? I am curious if you would let me know your source of motivation, I will try to tell you mine. If you don’t have one, please read on. What drives you to do everything you are doing? Is it genuine passion and your love for the job keeping you where you are? Or is it financial security? Indeed one of the biggest challenges is to achieve breakthrough in your workplace. Quitting your job you don’t enjoy is one of them. </span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Today my motivation was nowhere to be found. I woke up being frustrated, instead of spending 10 minutes being grateful. With frustration engulfing me, it was not easy to be thankful. I missed my morning gym session and I was grumpy the whole morning. Good breakfast didn't make up much. Frustration converted itself into demotivation. But why am I being frustrated? I am devoid of patience and being restless about many areas of my life. </span><o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span><span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: inherit;">"I thought you were supposed to be all motivated and positive about everything in life that you every day write to encourage others?", you asked. It's true, but I'm still a human anyway. Full of flaws and negative traits I'm trying to improve 1% on every day. There are days I feel depressed and all negative. Today is probably one of them. I just don't feel like improving 1% today. Maybe I have been too harsh on myself. Trying to meet my own expectations but when I can't, I get frustrated. </span></span><br />
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span>
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Perhaps I was being frustrated for having fallen into a trap I don't know where about the end is. At 23, I am no longer a kid nor am I matured enough to take up huge responsibilities. If I act like a kid, I will be deemed childish but no one takes a 23-year-old fresh graduate seriously neither. I am smack right in the middle of this awkward group of young and ambitious people but often get disillusioned with their idealistic mindsets. </span></span><br />
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Maybe that guy was right. About two months ago there was this certified financial planner trying to promote a term assurance product. He warned me over email that I will be frustrated over many things if I don't realign my expectations with reality. Maybe not. </div>
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<span style="font-family: "uictfonttextstylebody"; font-size: 16px;"><i>"I sincerely hope your deduction will come through in the near future, else, you have to see the reality of the world, the sooner the better, or <b>if there is too much a divergence from what you hope and what is real, you will live a frustrated life.</b>"</i></span></div>
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This is not to be construed with living an idealistic life. I do aware of everything going on around us, nationwide and globally. I share the same sentiment with every Malaysian citizen, paying GST and pumping standard RON95, but I can choose not to be carried away by all these external disruptions. A victoriously positive mindset helps us not to complain so much (our typical Malaysian trait) but to steadfastly build our internal strength. </div>
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But our golden question - where to find motivation? It can come from incentives and satisfaction derived from doing what you're doing. Perhaps my incentive and satisfaction is slowly fading off, but it's not the end. There are several ways to recharge your motivation: </div>
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1)<b> Go Back to Basics</b> </div>
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Reviewing our goals and objectives is fundamental to ensure us moving forward with revitalised purposes. Writing down a mission statement is necessary to provide greater clarity on our goals, and help us to realign our strategies in achieving our goals. </div>
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2)<b> Lift Your Foot Off Pedal </b></div>
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It can be tiring going through the same things over and over again, everyday. Perhaps taking one or two days off would propel you even further when you resume your activities, with renewed strength and inspiration. Just don't think about it at all, do something else that is non-related to your daily activities. You will find yourself more motivated at the end of the day. </div>
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3)<b> Keep the Synchronisation in Harmony </b></div>
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When I am lack of motivation to do things I am committed to do, more often than not I have not done something else properly. My daily blog writing hinges heavily with my habit of reading and exercising. I have been exercising frequently, but I haven't been reading books of different genres. I'm currently reading book on housing loan, nothing about personal development. I am running out of ideas. Or perhaps I am just a lazy bloke. </div>
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4) <b>Mingle with your Social Circle </b></div>
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I find this extremely helpful to reflect on what I have been doing. After a while I may lose motivation on doing my daily works, but every now and then my friends would pick me up at the right time, encourage me to go on! Even dropping one or two kind comments makes my day! I have been really blessed and fortunate to be surrounded by nice people. We are social beings after all, being surrounded by warm and nice friends helps to edify us in times of emotional downfall. </div>
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5) <b>Reward System</b> </div>
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This does not have to be linked with scrumptious food but if that was what makes you tick, by all means go ahead. Say if you manage to pass an exam, go all out to celebrate with friends and family for one day, then return to your room to prepare for the next battle. Every small victory worths a celebration! If we only celebrate our huge victories, we may as well wait a century. Every single celebration, no matter how small in magnitude, encourages us to leap further. </div>
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I don't know about you, but these five ways worked for me. Perhaps you can give them a try when you lose motivation in your daily work. </div>
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Nicholas CW Nghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07233449213251402124noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7549114080426920345.post-76424132244034508932015-11-06T18:28:00.001+08:002015-11-06T18:28:25.461+08:00Riding on Momentum<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkq9NHtqyefHodGRPTRDz2lqy3XPX4qXLwI6rNojWYWo_qKM1z4_oTpXqNFiCBCaFArJZLm8NnBviXgXLEqzDiaDw0faGRF3yHmwBONrouM1b251Eu2mu-uIG_TqUI-yCrzFqYXsNst2jG/s1600/Momentum+%25281%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="350" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkq9NHtqyefHodGRPTRDz2lqy3XPX4qXLwI6rNojWYWo_qKM1z4_oTpXqNFiCBCaFArJZLm8NnBviXgXLEqzDiaDw0faGRF3yHmwBONrouM1b251Eu2mu-uIG_TqUI-yCrzFqYXsNst2jG/s640/Momentum+%25281%2529.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Many years
ago I used to write New Year resolutions at the beginning of the year but only
to regrettably see the excitement gradually being subsided by the end of February. At the end of the year, I may even be worse off compared to the start of the year. I believe most of us have encountered this at least once in our life. Because all the cool kids do it. Adults, growing teenagers, kids. Everyone does
it, so we must follow! But let’s take a step back and ask ourselves, why bother
making a New Year resolutions list if we never intended to follow it through?</span></div>
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Lack of
discipline is one thing. Deep inside we want to be one of the cool kids, and
cool kids normally have all the bragging rights, and they are generally well
accepted in our communities. At least we wanted to <i>feel </i>like we are accepted. But this is not my main point. This may
not be your reason. Maybe you wholeheartedly wanted to do things differently as
the New Year approaches, to improve every aspect of your life. Then you started
to religiously carry out the task.</div>
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After one
month doing it, we get lazy. The things we thought they would be fun to follow
religiously are no longer fun and exciting. They are getting boring. Firstly,
it can be due to the nature of the task. It may indeed be very boring, for that
even I won’t be able to follow through. Or secondly, our laziness kicks in. We
allow ourselves to be lazy and let the momentum fades off itself. We then console
ourselves, saying “It’s okay, just missing one day won’t do much harm.”</div>
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But how it actually
works is this: When you miss one day doing something that you vowed to do every
day, there will be second day missing. Then third. And fourth. By the end of the
month, you will totally be comfortable with the notion of not doing it at all.
This can be discouraging, but it’s the truth. More exciting things appear and
the New Year resolutions become less exciting. This is still fine though, but it
gets even worse when we just sit there and do nothing, when we were supposed to
be doing something.</div>
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So what can
we do to hack this weakness?</div>
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We can
improve ourselves not only on New Year day, but every single day we are alive!
Yes even today! 1% improvement on every area of our lives is the first key.
What’s the second? <b><i>Riding on momentum</i></b>. We can have a good start for the first
three weeks since inception, but if we failed to follow it through until we see
the results, if we allow laziness and complacency to kick in, the <i>new habit</i> would eventually falter and
become just a past history.</div>
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See what I did
there? New habits! If we can convert the “new year resolutions” into habits, it
will become second nature to us. I am certain you can easily name many habits
you have formed since the day you were born. Many habits are good, some may be
bad. The formula here is to increase the number of good habits and reduce the bad
habits as much as we could. Doing this would immediately improve our
desirability and acceptability, as well as our self-esteem and confidence
level.</div>
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<span lang="EN-US">How can
habits become second nature to us? Whether we realise it or not, we were riding
on momentum. The momentum of kicking off a new conviction and sticking to it
through thick and thin. </span>It will
only get easier over time, not the other way round. For instance, I have vowed
to myself not to drink any carbonated drink since June this year, and I have
been doing pretty well at refraining myself from consuming it. Any desire to
drink even a sip? Nope, not at all.</div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Another
thing is we tend to write New Year resolutions of mammoth difficulty level,
which explains why we tend to fail most of the times. Why not start small? A
small change can be easily executed, and once you get fairly comfortable with
the change, the change will grow bigger and bigger. This is by far a more
effective way than tuning our mentality to face a giant. When we are faced with
huge challenge, we withdraw ourselves because we don’t know how to approach the
problem. But if we work towards the small change by stages, slowly but surely
we will overcome the mammoth challenge in the end. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Starting
something is always difficult, but maintaining it demands a whole new level of commitment.
It requires a different set of rules and discipline. If only we can consistently
do it and never to skip it once, it will be converted into our habit and cumulatively, our
lifestyle. Maybe we can start thinking ways to improve our life mentally,
emotionally, physically, spiritually and financially. And we can start changing
our lifestyle through little baby steps today, and ride on the momentum to
convert these baby steps into a habit. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Start
taking action today! Today is the day! <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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Nicholas CW Nghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07233449213251402124noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7549114080426920345.post-25203228019851221372015-11-05T16:35:00.001+08:002015-11-05T23:38:57.135+08:00A Blank Page<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0DkAIt8Y_ShRX2LI82fzoosLfap_9cJkF87Vaj8ZtkRSdOchrhwLS4XNOXC7-j4TOCNCVY8WQbYKaJUpWbkbnQgJpUh08Vhdss3G4UjFFhHxndI_p9dV6Q3k9YmImAPKiiu7Hx6tOjNqF/s1600/o-BLANK-PAGE-facebook.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0DkAIt8Y_ShRX2LI82fzoosLfap_9cJkF87Vaj8ZtkRSdOchrhwLS4XNOXC7-j4TOCNCVY8WQbYKaJUpWbkbnQgJpUh08Vhdss3G4UjFFhHxndI_p9dV6Q3k9YmImAPKiiu7Hx6tOjNqF/s640/o-BLANK-PAGE-facebook.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Every day
when I log on to Blogger and click on “Create a New Post”, a blank page
appears. It is up to me how I want to smear it. Fresh page, white as snow, ready to be painted. I may not have anything particularly productive to write, but I can write. So I
keep writing. I may be writing craps, which I am right now, but I still write.
I have set this my personal conviction to write a post every weekday, so far I
have been disciplined enough to cling on to this conviction. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Your
conviction may be on something else. Maybe you had promised yourself you will
go exercise every evening. Or every morning. But you have been procrastinating.
Don’t worry me too, many times. Then I realised I don’t have to dwell in the sense
of guilt. I may have missed today’s gym session, but I can go tomorrow. There’s
always a second chance. There’s always tomorrow. A better tomorrow. Don’t miss
it! <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Everyone
deserves a second chance. You deserve a second chance. But the problem with us
is we tend to take this privilege of having a second chance for granted. Today you
have missed your daughter’s ballet performance at school. You thought to
yourself there’s always next year. Come next year and you are working on a huge
project you can’t take leave to attend her ballet performance. The next thing you
know is your daughter is a young woman now and she no longer participates in
ballet performance. Her parents won’t attend anyway. No one at home is appreciating
her talent. You have missed the ch</span></span><span style="font-family: inherit;">ance. </span></div>
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Maybe there
was something someone has done to you in the past that hurt you deeply. Your
loved one cheated on you and was caught flirting with the opposite sex. You
were no longer his/her priority. Even worse, your loved one had slept with the
opposite sex when he/she was still in a relationship with you. Your whole world
fell apart. You no longer feel hope in love. You felt betrayed. You wanted to
die. A second chance for him/her? Maybe a second chance for you. A second
chance for you to open up your heart again. To learn to trust someone again. You
deserve a better person. It will take time, but you have all the time you need. </div>
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Maybe you
have done something wrong and embarrassing. You argued with your loved ones over petty things because you were too egoistic. I argued with my dad many times
over petty things and it somehow never failed to escalate to something more
serious. You know it was petty, but the simple message somehow did not manage
to get across. It turned out to be a disastrous argument. You hurl insults at each
other, trying to pull each other down. Broken relationships. Cracked and scarred. Give him/her
a second chance. Give yourself a second chance. </div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Even a
murderer deserves a second chance. There was this guy named Kenny whom son has
been murdered by a guy named CY. You would have thought all the hatred and sense
of revenge Kenny has for his son’s killer. But the next thing would shock you.
Kenny shared this emotional message for the man who killed his son:</span><br />
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<span lang="EN-US"><i>“He was God’s
son. You are God’s son. Get on your knees and ask God to forgive you. And you
know what? Maybe I’ll see you someday, and I’ll be able to forgive you face to
face, because you’ve got the mercy of your Father who’s also mine.” </i><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">WOW! Such a
deep and radical mercy from Kenny for CY! <o:p></o:p></span><span style="line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">How
is that possible? Kenny has done that with the blessing of forgiveness from
God. Maybe we can start forgiving people who have wronged us. People who have
accused us of something we were not aware of. People who have backstabbed us.
People who have talked behind our back. People who have taken advantage on us. </span></span><span lang="EN-US" style="line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Comparing
our case with the example above, ours are most likely to be trivial. I know we
can do this. </span></span><br />
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When we
forgive, we feel liberated. There is no point holding on the grudges and the
hurtful past. Think of it this way, when we refuse to forgive the person who
has wronged us, that same person is probably living life to the fullest. But
you are still here, stagnated at the past. Hard to move on. Of course it is
difficult, but only when we forgive, we can drop the past bondage. We can give
all sorts of excuses, but really, give it a try! Try it now if you have any! You
will instantly feel relieved and much happier! </div>
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Maybe this is how freedom taste like. </div>
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Nicholas CW Nghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07233449213251402124noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7549114080426920345.post-57492446926695902642015-11-04T16:53:00.002+08:002015-11-05T00:05:21.337+08:00Fun Robbing Flexibility<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEia7DLStLNEw4K4ihJQf_PhfFSmOxxE24H2TsUEHQ-aeOPPwLr6d5RA-_l6GY-VUKF-n74-FJ2-DEdkuoGbT4v1Cd4y8TcFHn34zjwhDGW6qUuedO5uALyPuMiOJjQlqi91_7STdjnE2dIn/s1600/o-FLEXIBILITY-facebook.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEia7DLStLNEw4K4ihJQf_PhfFSmOxxE24H2TsUEHQ-aeOPPwLr6d5RA-_l6GY-VUKF-n74-FJ2-DEdkuoGbT4v1Cd4y8TcFHn34zjwhDGW6qUuedO5uALyPuMiOJjQlqi91_7STdjnE2dIn/s400/o-FLEXIBILITY-facebook.jpg" width="321" /></a></div>
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Yesterday an unfortunate event happened in my family. My mom crashed her 7 year-old City unto a tall divider near her office and the front bumper dropped off! The steering wheel went out of alignment, so you can imagine how devastating the magnitude was. Fortunately nothing bad happened to her, and thanks to the help of some kind-hearted passerbys and two police officers, she managed to drive back home. The car isn't pretty anymore. Apparently her reason (or excuse) was the new divider was built too high up and she couldn't see it.<br />
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Of course not only the car was in a bad shape, I bet her emotion was in paranoia state too. I would never be able to comprehend because I had never gotten myself into an accident. But how does that affect me? Remember in the previous post I wrote about my excitement to join my colleagues for futsal later today after work, and I was supposed to drive the Myvi to work this morning. It would have been more convenient this way because then I can drive back home at night after futsal session. But yesterday everything was different. Everything has changed!<br />
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My mom needed to use the Myvi this morning for various purposes such as go to make police report and many other things I can barely recall now. My dad wouldn't want to follow her because he said it would have been a waste of time. Of course for my mom to drive the new City was out of question. She just crashed the old City, no way my dad would give her the permission to crash another one. For me, I wouldn't be able to go to futsal later. My plan was shattered last minute!<br />
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I wanted to go! I have been waiting to this day for more than one week and finally the day is here! And you are telling me now I can't go. As quite a rigid person, I couldn't accept. I wanted to go! Some people may not understand this, but playing futsal is more than just an ordinary sport to me. Futsal is more like my newly found hobby but has not been given much attention to, thus my exuberance. To some people, it may just be another sport and can be substituted easily with other sports such as basketball, badminton and gym. Not me.<br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">There are not many things that I WANT, playing futsal is
definitely one of them. So I was initially reluctant. I even argued with
my dad (again?)</span><span style="font-family: inherit;"> and it turned out badly. I blurted out
some hurtful words and I immediately felt remorseful. I regretted my action
taken purely out of anger and frustration. I was so ashamed and embarrassed I
tried to hide inside my room, and eventually fell asleep. I was not flexible at
all. I was giving all sorts of reasons to justify why this futsal session is
not cancellable. I was being selfish. </span><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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I felt saddened my plan was changed abruptly. Maybe you will feel the same way too. This is not the first time and definitely won't be the last. <span style="line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">I bet you would have encountered the
similar situation before. You have planned something so meticulously one month
before and when the time comes, it turned out to be something entirely
different. Worse still, the plan got cancelled! If this is you, your feeling
probably won’t deviate too much from mine.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">So what do you do? You have multiple alternatives you can
undertake. Of course you can choose to ignore the change and proceed with your
initial plan. But continuing your way would instantly make you the most selfish and
arrogant prick on Earth. You wouldn’t want that. I have learnt it the hard way so I hope
you won’t be like me. Or perhaps, you can choose a more diplomatic solution. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Flexibility.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">I know I don’t feel comfortable to changes at all. But changes
mould one into a better person. I wrote about changes all the time, yet I still
feel uncomfortable with changes. I don’t think anyone does. But this is one of
the ingredients to success. If you are comfortable with something, you won’t
feel the need to stretch yourself any further, then your growth will be
stagnant. Of course I’m not talking about physical growth, but personality
growth. Character growth! <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Nobody can breed success from within comfort zone. Entrepreneurs
often have to step out of their comfort zones, march into uncharted territories
and build their empires out of thin air. </span><o:p></o:p><span style="line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Only by exploring in the uncharted territories your character will grow to
weather ever increasing challenges. It is definitely not fun (unless you can make it fun, which is not entirely impossible), but your sacrifices and patience would eventually bear fruits. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">So what did I do? I decided to leave the Myvi to my mom, and I
proceeded to work in the morning with LRT. Initially I thought I won’t be able
to attend the futsal session later with my colleagues, but after a little
discussion, my colleague is nice enough to offer me a ride to the nearest LRT from the
futsal court in Setapak, KL. So yes, I will be playing futsal later! Woohoo! </span><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Here’s the takeaway: <b>To get
to Point C, one does not necessarily need to go through Point B from Point A.</b>
There are a myriad of alternatives we can opt to achieve the same result. But
our flexibility to make adjustments and go with the flow would not only make an impact in our likeability, but also our productivity and efficiency level.
How so? <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Sticking to our original plan and not willing to make changes when
things turn out differently will not only make you unfavourable in others’
eyes, but the seemingly best result will no longer be the best anymore. Now, we tend
to anchor to the original plan because we had made the decision based on earlier
judgement of circumstances and it was supposed to be the best decision, but when situation changes, we ought to change
accordingly as well. </span><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Most of the things are uncertain and will never be 100% certain,
so it is appropriate if we realign our actions when more information is
received, to achieve the best result based on our goals and objectives. It may not be fun and comfortable, but it will work well in the long run. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br />Nicholas CW Nghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07233449213251402124noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7549114080426920345.post-20497218502388446042015-11-03T18:18:00.000+08:002015-11-04T09:30:54.809+08:00Who Say Cannot?! <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEji3yGJAh4pGmOPBKIFbpfnQ65u7Vxdn6LUDpk-SapQ3OWy-XY57aRhzhQdP4Kq-KL4wGn8Uj6CTlM-l08y2kdWO_slwYB4-HUS83y1OvfXl6p_lFxWrBsrjUBXhrV0NP6ZewQfBXXDIm20/s1600/challenge_04.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="334" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEji3yGJAh4pGmOPBKIFbpfnQ65u7Vxdn6LUDpk-SapQ3OWy-XY57aRhzhQdP4Kq-KL4wGn8Uj6CTlM-l08y2kdWO_slwYB4-HUS83y1OvfXl6p_lFxWrBsrjUBXhrV0NP6ZewQfBXXDIm20/s640/challenge_04.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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This morning I was playing badminton with my friends and we randomly talked about the upcoming BNM badminton closed tournament. To say I am good in playing badminton is definitely an overstatement. I am not that good, but I can play. I may not be as good as the state level players (and there are quite a number of them working in the Bank, Bank is indeed the hub for many excellent sportsmen/sportswomen), but I know I am not too far behind.<br />
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So we randomly talked about it, and they immediately dismissed the thought of even joining the tournament. I was keeping a positive and optimistic attitude about it the whole time we were talking. It would be a little too wishful and idealistic if I were to say I can win, but I don't think I will fare terribly to the extent of getting trashed and humiliated in front of hundreds of people. So I kept on saying it's possible. Indeed, it is possible.<br />
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It just depends on whether I have the strong desire to work on my weaknesses and turn them into strengths. Last week we were asked to volunteer for BNM Sports Day, and I was skeptical of my own ability. Despite having broke my old 5km run record of 28 minutes 55 seconds with a new record of 27 minutes 15 seconds on last Wednesday, I still doubted myself. Can I at least participate to perhaps contribute some points for my sports house in the Bank? I decided to sign up for 800m run and 4 x 400m run. Really, I plucked the courage out of thin air.<br />
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If you had asked me to join a running event about 5 years ago, I won't even respond to you. There's no way I can run 100m. I was fat and I had the lowest stamina you can ever imagine. Think of an extremely obese person running and that was how I felt. I knew how embarrassing it was when I never failed to end up at the last position in a race (even if it was just 200m), and there will always be <strike>this joker</strike> a kind Samaritan who will run next to me just to<i> encourage</i> me at the final 50m. Please, not only were you not encouraging me, you were further adding on to my public humiliation. Grr! <br />
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Now, what is happening here? It is really <b><i>your own mindset </i></b>that first determines your outcome of the battle. If you keep saying "cannot" even before starting the battle, you have already lost half the battle. But if you are confident and you know how to improve yourself, it doesn't matter how incompetent you are right now, you have won half the battle. What if you can't even drag yourself to join the competition? Put down your name quickly and sign up for it before the sense of regret catches up with you, like what I did. Now there's no turning back, I have to participate.<br />
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What's next?! Aligning your mindset is only the first step, what comes next is an equally important task <span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 107%;">–</span> <b><i>preparation</i></b>. If you fail to plan, you plan to fail. Planning your strategy and be persistent in sticking to your system is indispensable to ensure sufficient preparation. You may not have 10,000 hours to hone your skills to perfect mastery, <b><i>consistency</i></b> is the next best bet you can position yourself on. I am glad to say I have been very consistent these few days on attending gym every morning during weekdays.<br />
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Sometimes it is yourself that you need to convince. You are the one who say "CANNOT!", nobody else does! Sound familiar? Many times! I used to doubt myself a lot, until one day I had a paradigm shift when someone told me: "Only you can pull yourself down. Nobody else can and should!" You are the first obstacle to yourself, overcome this and you will have the biggest blockage removed. Maybe it was due to a heartache or disappointing failure. I have failed numerous times in my entire life, but I have two choices. Either to let failure devour me alive, or to come back stronger! Come back with a more resilient plan! A wiser plan. I am pretty sure you know which path I chose.<br />
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But even if you managed to climb back up, there will always be a myriad of different challenges awaiting you. They can be challenges at work, challenges at your relationship, with your family, health, or personal finance! It is by no mean an exhaustive list, but the underlying motivation is always the same: Pick yourself up. Talk to a hundred people if you need to. Do whatever you want, as long as you don't allow yourself to dwell in the past of failures.<br />
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I still remember there was once I joined an inter-school badminton tournament back in high school. I was thrashed badly. I knew I was not even an average player but way below average. But I was awfully stubborn and arrogant to ask for guidance from better players. Retrospectively speaking, there were many badminton players who were humble and nice enough to teach only if I am willing to ask. I was too proudful. I thought whoever asks for help first is the loser.<br />
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I was the loser. A well deserved one.<br />
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Tomorrow I will be joining my colleagues to play futsal after work, and I am extremely excited about it. Not that I am already good at playing futsal, but I would finally have a chance to practice playing futsal! I have been missing futsal ever since the last time I played more than a month ago. I know I am just a beginner and far below average in this game, but with passion and enthusiasm I hope I can go far. History has been proven again and again that only people who are passionate enough will succeed in their selected areas. I know I can make history!<br />
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Can I at least encourage you to challenge yourself to do something beyond your comfort zone today, do something different today? Take a different route, force yourself to talk to a seemingly unfriendly colleague or friend, anything! Chances are you will come out from the experience as a different person.<br />
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<br />Nicholas CW Nghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07233449213251402124noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7549114080426920345.post-22307491161913599822015-11-02T17:07:00.000+08:002015-11-02T17:07:11.202+08:00A Little Crossroad <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Every day we are faced with many little crossroads whether we realise it or not. Some are small decisions we can make instantaneously with little impacts on our general happiness, while some can be so significant it would punch a hole on our wallet for some extended period of time if we were not careful enough, and thus our general happiness.<br />
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For instance, changing a job, buying a house or car, getting involved in a joint venture deal with a business partner and maybe planning a trip to some exotic destinations. All these are crossroads that would determine your future paths and financial situation.<br />
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I was quite risk averse but over the years in the UK, I have become more and more risk tolerant, thanks to the endless opportunities to invest in the UK. I was younger and I was more than willing to absorb a slightly higher risk for a greater return. I had invested a fair amount of about £4,000 in Funding Circle, a P2P lending platform to SMEs in the UK, but withdrew most of it when I returned back to Malaysia.<br />
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Now I am facing yet another crossroad: whether I should buy a property now. As you would have noticed (come on, it's everywhere on the news so if you haven't heard anything about it, you should really start reading some news), the economy hasn't been performing well in recent quarters due to the Ringgit depreciation, coupled with some internal and external factors. GST has been introduced for more than a year, crude oil price fell and import prices shot up.<br />
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I know I should have been more reserved and conservative on making financial decisions, after all I have just started working for 3 months. Even if I am able to afford a condominium unit doesn't mean I should commit myself so hastily to a huge financial obligation. Everyone I spoke to advised me to wait, and they are mostly right. I should wait a little while before digging myself a hole to jump in. I am still young, and I have more than sufficient time to research through everything I need to know.<br />
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The project I have found is called Oasis 1, located at Mutiara Height, Kajang. KAJANG?! Everyone said it's far, but upon calculation it is still within 25km from the city centre. I know it is about 26km away from my workplace, so it is approximately the same distance with my parents' house. There is a proposed MRT located just 3km away from the condominium. I was quoted RM450k for a unit of 1246 square feet, averaging RM361 per square feet. Where to find such a good deal in Klang Valley and Selangor?!<br />
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I am seriously tempted.<br />
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But here's the catch: Despite being surrounded by 5 highways (PLUS, LEKAS, SKVE, Silk and Saga Cheras), it meant one thing - TOLLS! There are so many tolls. Just last Saturday I went to the TLS Group showroom and I had to drive pass a few tolls. Just recently the toll rates were raised for a range of 60 sen to RM3 in various expressways in Klang Valley. This is madness! The only thing I can rely on is the newly proposed MRT Saujana Impian due to be completed in 2018.<br />
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Upon speaking to a number of seniors,<b><i> it is a general consensus the property market is slowing down </i></b>and there will be an oversupply of condominiums in the next couple of years. But whether the prices of condominiums will decrease remains an uncertainty. The property prices are likely to fall in hotspots such as Bukit Jalil and Kuchai Lama, as well as their rental yields. If the property bubble bursts, the properties where there are amenities, banks, schools, LRTs/MRTs stations will be the first to recover from the downturn.<br />
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There are two aspects a property investor can look at when considering a project: <b>capital appreciation</b> and <b>rental income. </b>So how does Oasis 1 perform in these two aspects? From the capital appreciation perspective, Oasis 1 seems promising. Kajang is growing and it will only continue to grow. It is still within 30km proximity from the city centre anyway. There is a reason why many big boys developers have started looking into Kajang areas for future projects. TLS Group has been here for ages which explains how they claimed their first share of land. Plus there are MRTs coming up, so the transports link to city centre will only get easier over time.<br />
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On rental income though, there is no guarantee. Properties located at the hotspots, due to an oversupply of condominiums, may have their rental prices compressed. However, Bukit Jalil area won't seem to be affected too much though, due to the existing Bukit Jalil and Sri Petaling LRT stations, as well as upcoming Technology Park Malaysia (TPM) MRT station. What about Kajang? Again it will heavily depend on the MRT. Oasis 1 is not within the walking distance from the nearest proposed MRT station (about 7 minutes drive), so rental market won't be too appealing.<br />
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<b><span style="color: red;">Verdict:</span></b> It is up to my purpose of buying the property. If I wish to buy for own stay, maybe it is a good investment. Even if for own stay, whether I am willing to travel this distance every day to office remains another question (maybe not?). But if I want to rely on the rental income to finance my monthly instalment, I may not be able to demand a full coverage and there is a high chance I will need to topup.<br />
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Maybe I will just wait and do more research. Also considering Park Hill Residence in Bukit Jalil and LakeVille (Mah Sing project) in Jalan Ipoh. Hope to get somewhere closer within Kuala Lumpur, with fair price and wide accessibility to public transport (LRT/MRT). I definitely have a lot more to learn. I wouldn't want to regret making a wrong financial decision.<br />
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<br />Nicholas CW Nghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07233449213251402124noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7549114080426920345.post-64447234779712826862015-10-30T18:00:00.000+08:002015-10-30T18:11:04.866+08:00Selective Speaking <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
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This coming Saturday, my mom is going to this talk to find out more about the job offer she found out recently from God-knows-where. This job offer seems quite promising, attractive and enticing (imagine five figure monthly salary around 40+k by just managing a newly set up company by a local tycoon). The problem is it's too good to be true. Whenever there is an offer you think it is too good to be true, it probably is. RUN THE OTHER WAY, don't walk!<br />
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The hard truth with this world is this is an extremely realistic world we live in. Everyone tries to take advantage on everyone else, where only the strongest (read: trickiest and most cunning) people thrive with the most greedy blokes being the easiest victims.<br />
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But my mom would beg to differ. This is weird but for some reasons women are easier to fall prey to unscrupulous conmen with a myriad of cunning yet intricate scams, all for the sake of easy money. She has fallen into a trap before, forcing her to be financially stretched for a certain period. She was greedy and she had to pay for the consequences but I don't blame her. Who isn't? To a certain degree all of us possess greed, but our ability (or rather, inability) to control our greed would ultimately determine our financial decisions and thus, financial position.<br />
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She has not learnt the lesson. Or perhaps she has learnt the lesson and is a little smarter now, but still the fact that she decided to attend this talk shows the direct opposite. To me, it is a waste of time. It is just too good to be true, there's no free lunch in this world. People can promise the whole world as the reward if you decided to join in, but you really ought to discern whether it is realistic. Again, there's never a free lunch in this world.<br />
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Yesterday night when my dad was warning my mom not to make any foolish decision, the situation was not pleasant. She said "I'm going there just to check out, nothing more! I want to check out what's the catch!" In my mind I was saying: "But really, if you are smart enough, you will never consider wasting your two to three hours travelling all the way to KL and listen to such superfluous nonsense." And indeed if the reward was so rich, they wouldn't use such naive approach to hire the management. Multiple interviews of systematic approach would have been carried out to hire the best candidates.<br />
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As much as I hate to admit, I was rather tempted to blast out all the reasons why she shouldn't waste her three hours time and unnecessary expenses on petrol. I thought it was doltish! But what would have happened? You see, everyone has pride and no one in this world is happy to see one's pride being smashed on the ground. Whenever one is met with harsh feedback and critics in front of the whole world, it is not a nice scene to behold. Even a conversation between two people, this rule still holds true.<br />
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So I was in the car with my mom this morning. Again we spoke about this topic, but I decided not to hurt her pride. She probably has had enough of those from my dad. Hurtful and embarrasing remarks. Had I not managed my words properly, it would have not only hurt her pride but it may also inflict unintended consequences on her thinking. This may result in this: <i>"Now he is all grown up and he doesn't need me anymore. He has full grown wings now that he is ready to fly!".</i> She would have felt disappointed and betrayed.<br />
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That is the last thing I want her to feel. Over time, I have learnt that whenever I yelled at her with my utmost honest opinions, even if they make every perfect sense, they would be rebuked with total revulsion. So what I did was I chose my words very meticulously. I said to her <b><i>with a nice tone</i></b>, "You may have become smarter after the last incident, but you must be very careful with this ad. It doesn't sound right and most likely it is not going to be true". The way I spoke to her changed her reaction. <br />
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So here's the key, the only suitable way to get my message across and ensure she <b><i>accepts</i></b> the message is through <span style="color: red; font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">selective speaking with soft tone. </span>It is not uncommon that the way you speak would be reciprocated, and that was what happened. I just hope she would finally understand our underlying concern, the reasons why all of us (my family members) are sending such strong signal to her, hope that she won't fall prey to the cunning and deceitful people again.<br />
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Where else can you practice selective speaking? Everywhere, really. Say, if your colleague has just received a bad scolding from his boss, would you go forward and say something sensitive to him? I hope you wouldn't. Rather, practice selective speaking and speak words of encouragement into his life. I promise you will instantly get a lifelong friend. Words of encouragement are getting scarce nowadays, speak more of these will help you to be more emphathetic.<br />
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So remember, whenever you are tempted to criticise someone, think of all possible consequences. Weighing the pros and cons before speaking are far more effective than saying it blatantly and yield negative returns and repugnance. And always practice selective speaking with soft tone. It wins the conversation.<br />
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<br />Nicholas CW Nghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07233449213251402124noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7549114080426920345.post-2065825375696867772015-10-29T12:15:00.000+08:002015-10-29T21:38:32.204+08:00The Intertwining of Two Greatest Desires <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
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This morning I read about something that saddened me deeply: a recent American horror story on Elisa Lam's death in Cecil Hotel (L.A.) which had spurred multiple conspiracy theories. It began as one of the greatest mysteries because the story was so perplexing with incomplete information. The infamous history of Cecil Hotel definitely made the case worse. You may find the full story <a href="https://medium.com/matter/haunted-947d642a6d59#.mqu4fglao">here</a>. It eventually turned out to be a doleful tragedy that hit me.<br />
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She was a young 21 year old Canadian of Chinese descent hailed from Vancouver who suffered from depression, but her depression and fear eventually took over. She was so paranoid and wanted to hide from the callous world, and she had found the perfect place in the hotel: water tank. There you can imagine how the story ended: She was drowned and only to be found naked at the bottom of the water tank after missing for 2 weeks. Elisa's death has many uncanny and eerie similarities with the movie Dark Water, a Japanese horror film released in year 2005. </div>
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I remember that movie. That was one of very few horror movies I have watched throughout my entire lifetime simply because I am not a big fan of horror movies. And because I am scared. But Jesus told me He will be walking with me every day, so I eventually thought those horror movies were ridiculous. </div>
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But Elisa's death struck me in two ways: <b>she only wanted <i style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="color: red;">to be loved</span></i><span style="font-size: large;">, </span>AND<span style="font-size: large;"> </span><i style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="color: red;">to be understood</span></i><span style="font-size: large;">. </span></b><br />
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Indeed these two things are the greatest desires every human being yearns for, on top of our basic necessities and needs. We all want to be loved and to be understood. That's why we are living in a community. That's why we have friends and family members. If you do not have a friend, find one! If you can't find, I am here for you. Because so often even your own family members do not really understand you due to lack of communication and busyness. </div>
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More often than not, your family members love you, but they may not understand you truly. Shallow conversation may be the dominating component in your family communicative sphere. What truly breaks the cold relationship is heart-to-heart pillow talk. Okay it doesn't have to be pillow talk but a sincere and open discussion will do as well. I am personally having a hard time at home. I don't get the privilege to talk heart-to-heart with my parents, because I was not confident I would be able to seek wise advices. I would rather seek advices from some other friends. </div>
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But I was sometimes proven wrong. </div>
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Only when I am willing to open my heart and discuss about an issue whether to parents or trustable friends, I am able to discern the advices given. Although many of the advices may not be wise and appropriate, I have the liberty to choose carefully whether to follow. But many people are not able to open up their heart and share their issues with friends and family. What if the person does not trust others enough? What if he/she was facing depression, just like Elisa?<br />
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If you can do this one key, it would almost immediately make you multiple times more likeable: <span style="color: red;"><b><i><span style="font-size: large;">Get genuinely interested in other people. </span></i></b></span>Many people don't. We are selfish creatures who only care about our own well-being and happiness. Maybe today is the day we can start changing. The best antidote to solving anything that we have no power to control over is by changing ourselves. Adapting ourselves to an evolving environment requires immence efforts, offering ourselves to genuinely care for one another doesn't. </div>
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It can be as simple as asking a genuine "How are you doing today?", or as troublesome as sacrificing your time and effort to understand and listen to other people. The Golden Rule is a famous maxim stating "One should treat others as one would like others to treat oneself." Imagine if you genuinely care about someone. While you are not supposed to expect the same return, more often than not the same amount of kindness would be reciprocated to you manifold. </div>
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What if you can't exhibit the same level of warmth and get genuinely interested in other people? You may be telling me, "I have enough problems of my own and I don't even have time for myself. What more other people?!" Maybe you need to start downsizing your responsibility portfolio and realign your priorities. If you do not have the time for other people, it is not going to be sustainable in the long run. We are emotional beings and we need supports in times of crisis. </div>
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What if you are just as moody as I often get and don't feel like asking other people on how are they doing? I don't know about you, but I am pretty sure I had this thought before: <i>"I am getting more and more depressed by days, and I can't see the light at the end of tunnel. It's all dark and gloomy. Everything that seems so easy to other people seems 1000 times harder to me. People can make friends so easily, laugh and live as if it was their second nature. I can't. I am an utter failure I wish I could sleep myself to death. I hate myself. " </i></div>
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Maybe it is about time you join a community. I am glad I have found a community that truly and genuinely care about me, and in turn it nudged me to bless other members within the community too. It is really not a rocket science. My community is where I call my second home. My church community. My cell group community. We are all binded by the common core values and belief with Jesus being the centre of it all. </div>
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It is not difficult to find a community. When I just finished my high school national examination, I joined ReCom (a student forum served as a platform for information exchange) and I found a community of like minded young people who were just like me. Maybe you can form a work community at your workplace as well. Or if there is already one that suits you, even better! Join them! You will never regret joining a community because of potential unlimited upside. More true friends. We are emotional beings after all, no matter how logical you may think you are. </div>
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I'm glad I have found mine. Have you? </div>
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Nicholas CW Nghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07233449213251402124noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7549114080426920345.post-55241927449177494622015-10-28T14:19:00.000+08:002015-10-28T22:43:10.355+08:00Changes Start Today! Is there anything in life you want to take action, only to find yourself keep procrastinating? Or maybe you really want to do that one thing but has been giving yourself tonnes of excuses? Out of plain laziness or maybe fear and lack of confidence? Maybe you haven't been liking your job for years and you still stuck with the same old boring job? On a lighter note, maybe you have been telling yourself to go exercise but you always get bogged down by last minute <i>"unexpected events". </i>Then the sense of guilt crawls in.<br />
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The thing is, if we don't start doing it now, we will never start. It's true that the first step is always the hardest, but if only you take the leap of faith and take the first baby step, you will start seeing breakthroughs. The key here is <b>TAKE ACTION</b>!<br />
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The change does not have to be significant, in fact many changes have a humble start, aligned with my <a href="http://nicholasng925.blogspot.my/2015/10/1-of-everything.html">1% improvement</a> every day. I have been telling myself to eat more heathily, but I have been giving myself excuses! I still love eating the cholesterol-rich nasi lemak (coconut rice) for breakfast, or Mocha ice blended after lunch meal. I have been telling myself to start preparing my own lunch, because the food sold in my workplace's cafetaria are not that healthy.<br />
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But what happened? I still continued to eat half rice with a portion of meat (usually lamb) and another portion of vegetables (long beans or spinach), for lunch. I still continue to indulge in Nescafe Milo drink (instead of a more expensive Mocha ice blended). For breakfast, I still continued to eat fried rice or fried mihun, and an egg or scrambled eggs. Rich in carbs and proteins, but oily.<br />
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Just yesterday there was a number of health booths set up to offer the Bank staffs free checkup on blood glucose level, blood pressure, cholesterol level, fat percentage, BMI and so on. I went and checked up, and here're the results!<br />
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Thank God my cholesterol level, blood pressure and blood glucose level are all normal. But I'm still fat. Average muscle mass but above average fat level. Maybe the machine was faulty. I tried to give myself one thousand excuses. I even tried to argue with the girl who interpreted the figure, saying the possibility of the muscles being mistaken as fats. Eventually I concurred. There's no point feeling bad about it because this is the fact. Feeling discouraged doesn't help, taking action does!<br />
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One comforting thing about the result was that my fitness level scored 72%, 2% above the benchmark. If one's score is above 70%, one is considered fit. This didn't come as a surprise to me because I have been frequenting gym for the past two months. So what is the change I can start implementing to improve my fitness level even more?<br />
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Reducing weight is definitely one way! Controlling what I eat and reduce the portion of food intake. In fact, if you use a small plate/bowl for meals, you will eat lesser. This morning, I ate differently. Instead of fried rice/fried mihun I normally eat, I ate scrambled eggs together with baked beans. Result: I did not feel as bloated as I would have had I eaten fried rice. Maybe I should try eating oats instead tomorrow, or congee.<br />
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Maybe it is your personal finance you need take control on. You may not have created balance sheet to track every expense, and your money seems to go missing by the end of month. You know you should create a balance sheet, but you keep procrastinating. A small change here is this: <b>JUST DO </b><b>IT!</b><br />
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Create a balance sheet doesn't take you more than 10 minutes. You can start by writing what you have spent on this week alone, and start keeping track of your cash outflow today! By the end of the month you will have more clarity on where you spend most of your money on, and from there trim down your unnecessary expenses. One way to start having savings is by paying yourself first. Set aside the amount of saving from your paycheck first and never to touch it.<br />
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Maybe you have been having an issue with your relationship matters. Relationship with your friends and family may be deteriorating as you get busy with work or life in general. Why not take some quality family time to bond with each other? Or why not catch up with a dear friend whom you have not been keeping in touch for some time? Meet up with them and have a coffee. You will be glad you do all these at the end of the day, to know how are your friends doing or issues bothering your family members.<br />
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Maybe you have been feeling very stressful these days due to workloads that can't seem to stop piling up, and you don't know what you can do to alleviate stress. But it doesn't have to be that way. How you start your day would define the rest of your day, sounds familiar? If you start your day right, you will have sufficient energy to complete the tasks of the day.<br />
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Here are three keys I personally practice every day when I wake up, and I hope you will be able to benefit from it:<br />
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<b><span style="color: red;">1. Feeling Thankful </span></b><br />
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Instead of thinking how much more work awaiting you in the office, take 5 minutes off from the moment you open your eyes to be grateful! Of your loved ones, family, job, your ability to wake up and live another day, your warfree nation and everything you can think of. Just spend 5 minutes to think of things to be thankful of, and you will have a very different start of the day. You will appreciate things more, than taking them for granted.<br />
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<b><span style="color: red;">2. Read Quotes of Encouragement </span></b><br />
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Feeling depressed when you wake up? Don't worry, I do too! I am not the kind of person who wake<br />
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<b><span style="color: red;">3. Reflect </span></b><br />
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Reflect on your goals and motivations. Reflect on why you are doing what you are doing, and what initially motivated you to do so. This would realign your goals and pull you back from possible deviations to the right track. You can be driving to work or commuting via different means of transport, and reflect on things you don't normally take time to ponder on. Reflect on the purpose of life, for instance. Let your reflections run wild! You wouldn't know what are the things your mind will subsconciously tell you in reflection.<br />
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<br />Nicholas CW Nghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07233449213251402124noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7549114080426920345.post-29442291937034624522015-10-27T11:57:00.000+08:002015-10-27T18:20:25.725+08:00Mastering Our FearsI don't even know where to start. If I were to list out things I fear, events or objects or people who I fear, I simply have no clue on the numbers. I have lost count. But I, along with other cell members, were asked this question by our cell leader yesterday during my church's cell group meeting. I kept quiet the whole time, didn't know what to say because I have too many fears. But I have been thinking.<br />
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Fears can be categorised into a four main types: <i><b><span style="color: red;">controllable and uncontrollable external, controllable and uncontrollable internal</span></b></i>. But even fears that were controllable would seem uncontrollable in times of encountering it. For instance, I feared of lizard and I would have only one thought in mind: RUN! Some people are afraid of cockroaches, especially ladies. I used to be scared of cockroaches but after a few times of killing roaches operations with smashing skill acquired from playing badminton, I've learned to overcome it. These are the examples of<i> <b>controllable external fears</b></i><b>. </b></div>
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<i><b>Controllable internal fear</b></i> is the one fear currently engulfing me. I am fearful of my own tendency to fall into the trap of complacency, which will lead to me living a life of mediocrity. I do not want to live a mediocrity life, and the only way not to live a mediocrity life is consistently stretch out beyond my comfort zone. At the moment I have settled in pretty well in my workplace. I have finally been assigned to a team. The job may not sound very exciting and it is more than ideal to pull me into the state of complacency, I know it is entirely up to me if I want to be complacent. I can settle for this, or I can take this opportunity to learn even more things, not necessarily from work but personal development such as external skills. </div>
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<i><b>Uncontrollable external fears</b> </i>comprises much wider areas of our life simply because we have no control over so many things. Every time we come out from our safe haven at home, we risk getting into accidents. Every time we board on a flight, we risk losing our dear lives due to plane crash. When we cross the roads or even walking by the side of the roads, we risk being knocked down by a reckless rules-breaking car driver. We are afraid of the harmful effects from the haze that has been engulfing our Malaysian air at this time of writing. Most of us get worried over things we have no control on. </div>
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It may not be fear of our own safety, but other people's. We may be worried of our family members and loved ones' safety. Or maybe our parents who are getting older and older by days, who will depart from the world any time soon. Maybe the fear of finance is currently engulfing you. Maybe you are living paycheck to paycheck, not having anything left for savings. Maybe you are fearful of your own deteriorating health. The risk of getting diagnosed with cancer seems to increase over time, and there is no minimum age of getting diagnosed with cancer. In short, <b>uncontrollable external fear is the fear of uncertainty</b>. </div>
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I don't think I am the only one facing these fears daily, everyone does. Not even insurance policies can cover you from the risk of death. What about our career in future? Nobody can guarantee our jobs to be retained in the next 10-20 years because retrenchments seem rife these days. Think you are shielded from retrenchment as you climb up the corperation ladder? Think again. You are being paid fat bonuses and high salary. In times of crisis, you may be the first one to be retrenched as your company struggles to cut cost; unless you are a specialist and the company's business operation relies heavily on your expertise. </div>
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But what can we do with the fear of uncertainty? The truth is this: everything is uncertain. I only listed a few examples and there are plenteous more. <b>Only one thing is constant in our lives: GOD. </b>God has been here, from the beginning until now, and will always be here until the end of the days. Only God has seen through everything that is happening and about to happen, He knows our future because He is the Creator, the Planner and the Provider. He calls each one of us by names and He knew our destinies. He has gone through that and we are currently going through what He has planned in advance. </div>
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<b>Luke 12:22-34</b> encourages us not to be fearful and anxious because God is in control of everything. Seek God's Kingdom first and everything shall be added unto you. Ever wondering why there are people who are so successful yet they are not believers? Not all good things are God's things. They can get very successful but they find it difficult to live a happy life and they are dissatisfied. They can have billions in their bank accounts, but still miserly enough to argue over RM1 accidentally charged extra by a food hawker. </div>
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<b><i><span style="color: red; font-size: large;">For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.</span></i></b><b><i><span style="color: red; font-size: large;"> </span></i></b> </blockquote>
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This particular verse (Luke 12:34) triggered my alarm. Where is my treasure? Where I build my treasures depends on my decisions on places to put my time and efforts in. Are my decisions being influenced by fears or faith? I am ashamed. I knew for all this while, many of my decisions were made out of fear. If you were fearful of failure, you are seeking success. </div>
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Fear of not having enough money for retirement. Fear of not having enough money to impress people I don't even care about. Fear of being homeless. Fear of taking up responsibility. Fear of growing up. Fear of losing. Fear of death. Fear of not being approved by my community. Fear of being rejected. Fear of trusting people. Fear of being judged. Fear of being backstabbed by unsuspicious "friends". Fear of what other people have been talking behind my back. Fear of insecurity. Fear of being alone going into my 30s, 40s, 50s and old age. So much fears and to a certain extent each of these has led me astray from living God's true purpose and calling in my life. </div>
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This is not to be construed with not having fear at all. Having a healthy dose of fear is good because it helps us to prepare with our best knowledge and capability. Because of all these fears listed above, I did what I did, saving for the rainy days and focus on growing my wealth through investments. But optimum balance must be striked so that we would not focus all our energy on preparing for the uncontrollable fears, leaving no space for God to wave His magic wand. Without faith, it is impossible to please God. </div>
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<b>1 John 4:18</b> says <span style="color: red;"><b><i>perfect love casts out fear</i></b></span>. Really, by focusing on adding values into people's lives and caring for people around you (even strangers) can be thousand times more satisfying than material possessions. I am a simple man, and a simple smile from someone I care for can make my day. </div>
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Which brings me to the last category of fear: <b><i>uncontrollable internal fear</i>.</b> And it is the hardest fear to be comprehended. Uncontrollable internal fear speaks about fear capable enough to draw me away from God's calling in my life. Fear I have no control over but only incessant prayer and intimate relationship with God can help to overcome. Fear that my sinful nature would prevail if not because of the good work of the Holy Spirit in my life, giving me self control and wisdom. </div>
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There is always an inner voice that speaks to us, whether we realise it or not, that will determine our thoughts, actions and behaviours. Without God, this inner voice would be either my soul or Devil. My soul is sinful by nature, I was sly and selfish. Devil is evil. He is here only to steal, kill and destroy. If God has not worked in my life, my life would have been engulfed entirely by Devil or my own soul.</div>
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I thank God for His wisdom and guidance over my life. </div>
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Nicholas CW Nghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07233449213251402124noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7549114080426920345.post-3530941263830056042015-10-26T11:09:00.000+08:002015-10-26T18:10:27.178+08:00Running is Addictive! <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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I hated running. I'm sure you know I was fat and every run was dreadful to me. Ask my younger self to run even 500 metres and I will be complaining. But I was challenged to improve 1% every day, in one area of my liking. I was challenged by myself.<br />
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So I decided to change a little on my usual routine last Wednesday. Instead of playing badminton in the evening after work (there was a volleyball match going on at the same venue), I decided to do something similar - running. Just like badminton, running is a type of cardio but was deemed as a more boring type of cardio, so I thought. But I was proved wrong later. </div>
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What I normally do with my workout session is to run for 10 minutes then proceed to free weight training. Last Wednesday I decided to push myself and try to run my first ever quarter marathon (5km). Big deal, because I don't even do 2km on a usual basis, more like 1.5km. So the first time I touched 5km line, I clocked 33 minutes 45 seconds. I was on top of the world. I thought I was invincible for a moment. Then I realised later that night, I was actually quite slow. You would have thought I will be discouraged. Some people will. </div>
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But here's the thing: <b><i>Time was not my main concern. I just wanted to finish the race. I just wanted to touch 5km mark. </i></b></div>
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Now I knew 5km is doable, I decided to push myself a little bit more. This morning I pushed myself for a shorter time. And I assure you I had never felt so good before. I SUCCEEDED to clock <b>28 minutes 55 seconds</b>, 1 minute 5 seconds below the 30 minutes benchmark. Here's a great opening to a journey I won't regret myself embarking. I know I will push myself even more and I won't settle. When there is a first time, there will be second and third time, only if it makes you feel good. </div>
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I am then reminded this quote from <i>Initial D</i> movie many years back casted by Jay Chou: “你不需要与别人比较,要赢的是你自己。” which directly translated into: </div>
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<b><span style="color: red; font-size: large;"><i>You don't have to beat anyone else, but only yourself. </i></span></b></blockquote>
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So true. I just have to beat my own record, over and over again. Set a new personal record, and celebrate for a moment. But never settle for that. Always push myself for much better record. Because it would be pointless if you compare yourself with anyone else. There will always be people better than you. <i><b>You just have to run your own race, not other people's. Beating your own record is always more addictive and encouraging than trying to beat someone else's record. </b></i></div>
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Same thing goes to every other areas in life. Some people took 2 years to qualify as a certified professional, some people 3 or 4 years. Some people have been doing it for 8 years and they are still attempting. Many extreme cases go up to over 20 years. You just have to settle for the fact that everyone is different. Everyone has different priorities and commitments. But you will eventually get there if you never give up. Do the right thing, persist on and you will reach the destination! You will eventually succeed! Don't give up! Ever. </div>
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I somehow think running is like drinking coffee. Drinking coffee the first time may give you a repulsive feeling. Your heartbeat runs faster and you feel like your heart is pumping too much. You can't contain its excitement. You feel like you are going to have heart attack anytime soon. You vow to never ever try it again. But something pulls you back in and the next thing you know, you are drinking coffee again. It is getting more and more addictive. You start to enjoy the aroma of the fresh percolated coffee, every sip excites you. You are energised and pumped up, ready to take on all challenges the world is to throw at you. </div>
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Same thing goes to running. </div>
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Every drip of my sweat is a testament of victory over myself. I managed to beat myself but I know this is just a short term victory. I will only keep improving, trying to beat my own record every time I run. This feeling is not entirely new though. Just like playing Flappy Bird about a year ago. Everyone was so hyped up about Flappy Bird, because of its difficulty to thrive in the game. It seemed so easy, yet it was challenging. But one thing is for sure, <b><i><span style="color: red; font-size: large;">everything challenging can beat you unless you decided to beat yourself first. Then you will forever be in front of the pack. </span></i></b></div>
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In last Friday's Homes (my church's cell group) we were asked to write down our greatest fear and our greatest dream. My greatest fear was: <i>To be complacent and stagnant in life. To do nothing more than a routine and settle for mediocrity. </i>I hope I will never ever settle for mediocrity in life. I want to emerge victorious in all areas of my life, and I reckon it is only possible if God is in the picture. Not to be confused with ungratefulness, not settling for mediocrity is indeed a way to receive God's best. Only then God can pour out more and more even bigger blessings into your life. </div>
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I hope you will never settle for mediocrity too. Always push harder to beat yourself and you will find yourself on top of the world. I found myself on top of the world. </div>
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Nicholas CW Nghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07233449213251402124noreply@blogger.com0