Sunday, June 29, 2008

Love Risk

The only way to guarantee that you get anywhere in life is to take risks. You might get lucky and be handed a million dollars, but more than likely that will never happen. Now if you bought a lottery ticket and won a million dollars, then you won because you took a risk by buying a ticket. By taking a risk you give yourself a chance to win.


It is comfortable not taking any risks. People who don't take risks feel secure where they are in life. It means they aren't losing anything. Risk taking requires that you give something up. You have to sacrifice time, money or both. Sometimes risking something can bring you rewards that make it worth the sacrifice. This is why we take risks. I mean who wouldn't want double, triple or one hundred times the amount that you risked?


Risking is you deciding that you want to get something. Deciding to take chances in life is probably one of the hardest things to do, but the alternative is also the hardest to live with. If you decide not to take a chance then you may stay exactly where you are. Not taking a chance means you don't get what you want. Without a risk your chance of success is zero.


There is no guarantee that you will win but you can increase your chances by using the "shotgun approach." Hunters use shotguns because the bullet is actually in many pieces and there is a chance that one of those pieces will hit the target. This approach can be used in anything that you do in life. If you ask several friends to go to a game with you, the chances are that at least one person will go.


Life is always about risks. You may not be aware of it but you take risks everyday. You take a risk just walking down the street or driving in your car. Anything can happen to you. The thing to keep in mind is to take risks that are in your favor. Try to take risks that improve your situation or provide you with a way to have a better life.

Saturday, June 28, 2008

Ultimate School Classroom


You have probably heard it said that someone went to the “school of hard knocks.” This, of course, means that they may not have had any formal education, but they learned a lot from living their life. Life is, in fact, the best teacher any of us will ever have. Our past is the lesson, our present is the exam, and our future will be the grades we receive.


If we do not learn from the mistakes we have made in the past, we will fail the exam, and our future will be the same as our past. Just like in school, those who do not learn the lessons have to repeat a grade over and over again. It has been said that the definition of insanity is to continue doing the same thing while expecting a different result. If you make a mistake, it can either be the end of your efforts or the fertilizer that will make your dreams grow in the future.


Studying history is as much about where we are going as where we have been. Those who do not learn from history are destined to repeat it. I am a big fan of my fellow Oklahoman Will Rogers. He wrote many extremely timely newspaper columns and editorials during the 1920s and early 1930s. He was one of the most respected minds and voices of his time. But maybe the most significant thing about Will Rogers’ commentaries is that so many of them are still valid and speak to us today. If you look back at any point in history, you will find that people were struggling with the same things that you and I struggle with today. We have a number of new technological advances that make our lives faster and more convenient, but the issues facing humanity remain the same. A wise person learns from their own mistakes. An even wiser person will learn from the mistakes of others without having to go through the experience themselves.


If you watch professional golfers, either on television or in person, you will see that they observe the line and breaks on the green as other golfers are putting. This is known as “going to school” on the other golfers. We need to do this in our own personal and professional lives. Human beings are unique in that we can build on one another’s accomplishments and learn from one another’s mistakes. As you go through your day today, turn mistakes into lessons and lessons into future success.


Today’s the day!

Hero in your ownself

So many of us have heroes. Leaders, artists or entreprenuers that inspire us. People who have made an impact, people who have shown us a better way, people who have overcome outrageous odds. Yet, the interesting insight about heroes is that they have the human imperfections and weaknesses that we do. They have their bad days, they feel despair, they get knocked down (in fact, heroes get knocked down more than the rest of us).

Yet, in spite of their human frailties, heroes find a way to change the world. Here's my challenge to you be your own hero. Ask yourself, what would it take for me to show up in the world like my heroes? You may never discover a life changing medicine, invent a best-in-class product or win the World Cup. But, you can show up every day with discipline, compassion and extraordinary commitment. So, in your journal, go through the following steps and take the hero's journey.

1. List three to five of your heros.

2. For each hero write down the traits that you admire. Is it Steve Nash's selflessness on the court? Is it Martin Luther King's commitment to civil rights? Is it Richard Branson's vison?

3. Then translate these traits into your life. Can you be more selfless at work? Can you make an unshakeable commitment to doing the right thing? Can you create a powerful vision for your life and pursue it?

4. Write these traits down on a card or better yet on a picture of that hero. Remind yourself to act like that hero. This way your hero becomes your mentor even if you'll never meet them.

5. Then go into your days and live like the hero you are.

Wednesday, June 25, 2008

Royal Selangor Club Memories




picture with Regional Head, Mr Francis Tan

standing with AD John Kiu, RH Mr Teng, of course me, RH Francis Tan and AD Mr Chow

received token of appreciation from RH Francis Tan


May it will inspire me to achieve more in my career, never easy but will seize that one moment in life to make it happen for myself and beloved family members. Thanks once again to Manulife to allow me to share some thoughts with the rest Manulifers and will never ever let each one of you down. Take care, GAMBATEH! Wish all of you enjoy your career and make it happen, don't blame the world for oil prices increase BUT we ourselves adapt to the increases and continue to close more sales, remember blaming aren't take you anyway except throw out the frustration, instead you must believe that you can make a change for oyu and for your family by taking the first step, then take each step from there.

Always Believe in yourself and Live with Passion - yeoh william

Sunday, June 22, 2008

Human Imperfection

We all say it: "I'm only human," and yet we continually get down on ourselves for making mistakes. So what exactly is human perfection and why are we both comforted by it and constantly trying to make it disappear?


Is human imperfection simply the number of mistakes made, size of the mistake or is it really the lesson that's important? As children we learn by making mistakes. We touch a hot stove and remember not to do it again or we go through experiences with different people and learn from those mistakes how to react in certain situations.


The size of the mistake or impact on our life tends to leave different impressions on each of us that cause us to react or think in a certain way whenever we encounter these situations again. It can be as simple as looking both ways before crossing to being terrified every time you cross the street, depending on the experiences or mistakes each of us have gone through and learned from. The mistakes we've made have a profound effect on each of us, but do we have to live our lives as if we are defined by our mistakes?


Of course not, but people do it everyday. They blame themselves for things they have no control over and are their own jury and executioner when deciding who's to blame for the mistakes in life. How we learn from our mistakes is what's really important and is the real lesson behind our human imperfection. Human imperfection may ruin our idealized image we have of ourselves, but that's the beauty of each lesson we learn in life. Our mistakes are what make each of us a more complete individual as long as we take the time to learn from our mistakes. No matter how unfair the lesson may seem, we all can become stronger individuals who are more confident and know the importance of self love by embracing our human imperfection instead of beating ourselves down all the time.


Accepting our fault's involves not only learning the lesson but also making an effort to become a better person by acting on your thoughts of bettering oneself once the lesson has been learned. It's one thing to say you'll change and quite another to actually follow through, but as long as you are making an honest effort and doing your best you really have nothing to feel guilty about when mistakes happen. It also helps to remember that our mistakes and how we handle them also has an effect on others around us, both our close friends and family and people we may not know that well. Being compassionate to others is just as important as self love and respect towards our own selves during times of trial.


Another important part of going through life where mistakes are bound to happen is learning to listen to your inner voice. It will help guide you through life's lessons and tough times while you are evolving into the beautiful person you are meant to become. Listen closely and try different techniques to quiet the constant chatter in your mind. For example: going for a walk, exercising, yoga, meditation, even a quiet bath at home can be considered time to ease your mind and find the answers you need to help solve a problem or fix a mistake.


You can always count on mistakes being made as we are always learning something new and continually evolving throughout our lifetimes. This is one of the few constants we will experience during our lives. Why spend it tormenting yourself over mistakes that are bound to happen anyways? So try embracing your human imperfection and realize that it is also what makes all of us unique individuals. Most importantly remember to be gentle with yourself and remember you're only human after all :-)

Fire inside your heart

What gets you out of bed everyday? Do you spring up as soon as the alarm clock (or opportunity clock as Zig Ziglar calls it) goes off? Do you lie there for 10 minutes dreading the day ahead and wishing you were still asleep? Or do you hit snooze button, fall back asleep and grab as long as you can?


I believe you can tell a lot about a person and their habits by what they do first thing in the morning. I also believe that this can determine your chance of success when embarking on a fat loss regime.


The key to self motivation is something I like to call "the fire inside". If you get up straight away, with enthusiasm, and without hesitating, the chances are you're already on the road to being where you want to be.


If you are in the right frame of mind first thing in the morning as soon as you get up, the day seems to sail along a lot more smoother than it otherwise would have if you doze in and crumble about everything you have to do on that particular day.


Starting off the day in the right frame of mind is one of the things that will shape your positive mindset. Self Motivation will be something that will become natural for you each day.
The fire inside starts with doing the little things right. Once achieved, you cross them off your list and then turning them into bigger things along the way.


People have different reasons for their fitness regimes. Ranging from anything to fat loss, stress relief, sports performance to being the best parent they can possibly be. There has to be a reason to drive you to put in the hard work.


Whatever the goal, the one thing every successful person has is a piece of paper with their goals firmly written down.


The fire inside, or self motivation, will not let them just amble through life without one. It would be like driving in an unfamiliar town without a map. You would be wasting precious time.
How can anybody hope to achieve some vague goal when there is no concrete plan? It just simply will not happen.


So, what should you do? First step is to grab a pen and write down what you want to achieve.
It is okay to have 3-5 goals but you need to prioritise them so you have direction. Start with the most important thing to you and work your way down the list.


Your next step is to put the list somewhere prominent so that you can see it numerous times everyday.


You need to read and re-read this over and over again, so your subconscious mind knows exactly what your main focus is.


Finally, go ahead and put the steps into place to make it happen. Write down 3 of your goals now. Make 1 a short term goal and make 1 a long term goal. The other is up to you to decide.


Now you have to work out how am I going to make these goals happen? Write down your how to steps for each of your above goals.


The simple formula to make all this happen is the following three words.


See. Believe. Achieve

Wednesday, June 18, 2008

Fulfilling Experience

I was invited as guest speaker for MANULIFE at Royal Selangor Club located at Jalan Raja, Kuala Lumpur. I had butterfly in the stomach for whole day until 7.40pm where i will be sharing with more than 130 invitees collegues. It was a challenge for me because honestly, i still think i'm not up to the standard to become a speaker.

Anyway i accepted the challenge and i begin my talk on how i get into MANULIFE, during the entire talk, i shared my experience, with powerpoint slides, jokes, a short motivation video clip that i downloaded from youtube and also end with word of wisdom from Marc Victor Hansen-author of Chicken Soup.

I still think that i have alot of area to improve but i thoroughly enjoy the first time experience. I was inspired and will continue to work hard every single until the day i can become a good motivational speaker and able to share my experience in every part of the world. That my ultimate vision.

The company snap some photos and i hope i able to get it by this week and share with you all.
I'm tired and would like to go to bed now. Thanks.

Friday, June 13, 2008

The expensive abandonment

Little people talk about things
Medium people talk about people
Big people talk about ideas
Legend never talks
There just isn’t time to do all you want to do and all that you need do. It is easy for us to teach abandonment to others, but the leader knows the price of abandonment, beginning with his own thought processes.




What do you think about? Let’s go a step further, what do you talk about? Someone once said that little people talk about things, medium sized people talk about people, and big people talk about ideas. Which kind of people do you like to be around?




How are your reading habits; how many books have you read this year, how many are you reading now, how many of the ideas you’ve received from the books have you shared? The power of a single book at the right time in a life is unlimited.




The leader leads the way, showing that leaders are readers. You should not only keep a flow of books for yourself, but give them away. Paperbacks are inexpensive and popular. I share a book list that points out the books that have been the most influential of my life.




The leader is constantly learning to abandon the things that come naturally, like DISCOURAGEMENT. Discouragement is, without a doubt, the most expensive luxury we can afford. When I become wealthy, I plan to get discouraged for a week at a time, but I can’t afford but a few minutes a day right now.

Monday, June 9, 2008

Stand UP! Can you hear me

Never be bullied into silence. Never allow yourself to be made a victim. Accept no ones definition of your life. Define yourself.~Harvey Fierstein ~


Do have a sign on your forehead that gives people permission to talk to you in that unacceptable manner? If not, then why do you allow people to talk to you like that?


I am reminded of a conversation I had with a friend of mine who constantly complained about her boss from hell! She told me that her boss never passed up the chance to talk down to her and criticize her in full view of her co-workers. The feelings of shame that overcame her after those episodes made her feel so “small” and belittled to the point where she felt completely helpless.Trips to the Human Resource department had proved fruitless and only led to more trouble with the boss.


The situation with her boss had eroded her self-esteem and left her feeling terribly frustrated and unhappy. Her life at work had become a nightmare and that nightmare had begun to affect her relationships and her life at home.She knew she had to put a stop to this madness but could not muster the courage to deal with the situation. So she let it “eat away” at her, deprive her of sleep, stress her out and totally throw her life out of balance.


For some reason, she just could not stand up for herself.


Why was she putting up with it? She gave me a long list of valid and invalid reasons about why she could not just quit her job including the fact that the economy was in bad shape and that she had bills to pay! I totally understood her position because sometimes you really can’t afford to just pack up and leave. You have to weigh the situation, make informed choices and then make the right decisions for you. You can’t keep running away all the time either, so you have to learn to deal with the situation.


Sometimes people get caught between a rock and a hard place and need to build an extra muscle to help them survive the situation while waiting for better opportunities to come along. I call it the “stand up for yourself muscle.”This muscle is your voice. It allows you to speak up for yourself and express your opinion in a manner that doesn’t infringe on others while still making your position clearly known. It represents your truth and allows you to be in integrity with yourself.


When you speak up for yourself in this manner, you are being assertive and you are standing up for yourself.


One day, I received a phone call from my friend in the scenario above. She told me that one afternoon, during an “episode” at work; she asked her boss in a firm but polite tone “could we please have this conversation in private?” Her boss was taken aback but nonetheless agreed to her request. Fortunately that was the beginning of a new phase in my friend’s life. She had just developed her “stand up for yourself muscle!”


Just like my friend, you too must be the first flicker of hope in your life and the engine of change in your situation. The change must begin with how you perceive yourself. It requires courage and self-love.


Speaking up for yourself doesn’t necessarily mean being confrontational. You can learn to deal with conflict without being aggressive. One simple step you can take to help you find your voice and build your assertive muscle is to learn how to say NO! Let people know when something is unacceptable and when your rights are being violated. Don’t feel guilty or explain why you said NO because you have a right to say NO.Don’t lose your sanity, find your voice, speak up, stand up for yourself and enjoy your life today!


The soul that is within me no man can degrade.~Fredrick Douglas~

Friday, June 6, 2008

Start to Balance Your Day

In the field of human performance and psychology, there has been a lot of new information surrounding life balance.



With the increasing number of personal and professional commitments, people are struggling to find a proper balance for their life. Unfortunately, too often we put off the important things in deference to the immediate things.




Everyone agrees we should spend more time with our family and loved ones, but this is often the first area in the schedule to suffer if there is a crisis at work.




It is easy to tell ourselves that we will make up for this imbalance later in the week, the month, or the year.




Unfortunately, spending quality time with your friends and family in a two-week vacation next year cannot make up for daily contact.




Experts tell us that we should drink eight glasses of water each day. This means all of us should be consuming 64 ounces, or a half gallon of water, daily.




If we manage our water consumption the way many of us try to manage our lives, we would drink nothing throughout the month and then try to consume a little over 15 gallons of water on the last day.




This is laughable when we contemplate drinking water, but unfortunately it is how many of us manage our family life, our health, our recreation, our exercise, and personal development.

In order to be truly successful, we must achieve a daily balance of the things that are important to us with respect to our life priorities.




Whether it’s exercise, study, diet, or family time, it is much more critical what you do on a daily basis than how you structure your month or your year.




If you and I were to list our life priorities on a single sheet of paper, a stranger observing us should be able to identify our priorities in a matter of a few days.




The only thing we must do to have a successful life is to have a series of successful decades. Successful decades come from consistently having successful years. A successful year is made up of 12 successful months which are each comprised of four successful weeks. But when it’s all said and done, it all boils down to one day at a time.




For almost a decade, I have been endeavoring to write one of these columns each week, submitting some thought or principle I believe to be important.




At the end of each of these columns, including this one, I conclude with the critical phrase, “Today’s the Day!” This is significant because no matter what we are considering, we must make it a part of our daily routine, or it might never become a part of our life.




As you go through your day today, remember: All of your goals and your life itself boil down to how you live today.

Thursday, June 5, 2008

Paralyzed Man Walk Again

How would it feel to walk for the first time in 30 years? One severely paralyzed Japanese man, courtesy of a team of Japanese scientists.




In an experiment taking place at Japan's Keio University heralded as a world first, the man donned headgear which sensed brainwaves relating to his arms and legs. Just by imagining he was moving his limbs again, he was able to "walk" a character around Second Life, a popular virtual world.




Sound a little gimmicky? Not so fast. Although it'll never replace the mouse and keyboard for able-bodied folks, the team hopes to use the system to help stave off depression in immobilized patients -- no doubt a common problem.




Next up for the Japanese team is a system to allow patients to create text messages by mentally selecting letters. Cellphones may never be the same again.