Onboard Singapore Flyer

Visited Singapore Flyer ... finally ...

View from the top

Looking down

Different colours

Can see the F1 track starting grid

The cabin and the compass inside

Ah meng replacement??

Going home ... taking the shuttle bus

The Equation of Life

I came across this email from Adam Khoo. In case you do not know who he is, you can read more about him here.

Failures are bad, Success is good .... but before you can succeed, you must fail, right? So, don't be disheartened by failure.

Read on for Adam Khoo's philosophy on the EQUATION OF LIFE ... and hope it will set you thinking.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

As many of us are feeling the repercussions of one of the worst recessions in recent history, I would like to share with you my philosophy on the EQUATION OF LIFE. If you studied Math, Chemistry, Economics, Accounts or any one of these mathematical topics before, you would understand that equations have to balance.

For every good, there must be a bad. For every positive, there must first be a negative. For light to exist, there must first be darkness. For every market boom, there must first be a crash. For you to experience happiness, you must first experience sadness. For you to experience pride and inspiration, you must first have experienced disappointment and adversity. The greater the initial failure and disappointment, the sweeter will be the pride of success.

I remember watching the show 'The Pursuit of Happyness' where it was based on the true story of Chris Gardner who went through a very difficult period of his life. His wife left him, he was broke, evicted from his home, slept in public toilets and in homeless shelter, jailed for unpaid parking tickets and went through a series of unfortunate incidents.

However, he persevered where ordinary men would have given up. Finally, when he got selected to become a stockbroker in one of the most prestigious companies on Wall Street after competing against 20 other candidates, he broke down and shed tears of intense pride and happiness.

The fighting spirit that the tough situations built within him was what gave him the drive to build a multi-million dollar stock broking firm himself. If he did not first go through those heartbreaking setbacks, he would not have become a millionaire.

For there to be God, there must be the devil (I know some religious people will want to kill me for saying this). Think about it, if not for pain, suffering and evil, will people turn to God for salvation? It is during hard times like these that people pray and go to places of worship more.

If you watched the matrix, the 'architect' mentions that the equation has to balance for the matrix to exist. In order for Neo (the Hero) to exist, there must be his opposite (i.e. Agent Smith who was the super bad guy).

This applies to every aspect of life. If George Bush did not screw up the US economy and damage the US's reputation so badly, Barack Obama would not have become the first African American President today.

If Al Gore would have won, he would probably have done an OK job and the US would have voted in another white guy. At the same time, if Al Gore had become the US President 8 years ago, he would not have made such a positive impact on global warming issues, won an academy award for his documentary and won the Nobel Peace Prize. Again, 'failure' led to the the birth of success.

If I did not get kicked out of Primary school (Primary 3) and get rejected from 6 secondary schools after my PSLE exams, I would never have been sent by my parents to learn about NLP.

If I did not learn about NLP at the age of 13, I would not have been able to inspire thousands of students through my first book 'I Am Gifted, So Are You!' and achieve all the success that I have today. I would just have been another average Singaporean stuck in an average job.

So, how does this apply to your life? Well, instead of fearing and feeling lousy because of the bad stuff that happens in your life, get optimistic and know that there lies a great opportunity that always goes along with it.

To your success,
Adam

Future MRT system in Singapore

Productivity At Work - Quality VS Quantity

Wow ... Time files ... February is coming to an end and tomorrow is 1 March 2009 already.
And this is my 1st post for February!? .... Shucks ... too damn busy with work.

Anyway, here's something about being productive at work ... I like the last part!! :D



QUALITY vs quantity, UX process
Check email ONLY:

* 10AM
* 1PM
* 4PM

Send any time
Set email to check every 3 hours
NO email on evenings
NO email on weekends
EMERGENCY? = Use phone

FOCUS 1-3 Activities max/day
LOG 1-3 Succinct status bullets every day on team wiki

MINIMIZE chat
MAXIMIZE single-tasking

OUT by 5:30PM
~No excuses~


Credits to Caterina

Quotes about Life

Our attitude toward life determines life's attitude towards us.

Earl Nightingale

The miracle is not to fly in the air, or to walk on the water, but to walk on the earth.

Chinese Proverb

The Best Things in Life are Free.

B.G. DeSylva, Lew Brown, and Ray Henderson

Life is what happens to you while you're busy making other plans.

John Lennon

We make a living by what we get, we make a life by what we give.

Winston Churchill

Live dangerously and you live right.

Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

Life is like a coin. You can spend it any way you wish, but you only spend it once.

Lillian Dickson

A successful life is one that is lived through understanding and pursuing one's own path, not chasing after the dreams of others.

Chin Ning Chu

Don't go around saying the world owes you a living. The world owes you nothing. It was here first.

Mark Twain

Do not dwell in the past, do not dream of the future, concentrate the mind on the present moment.

Buddha

People know you for what you've done, not for what you plan to do.

Unknown Author

Desire

An old prospector wandered into a small town where he was accosted by a loud, obnoxious and quite drunken cowboy. The cowboy pointed his six-shooters in the old miner's direction and asked, "Old man, do you know how to dance?"

"Nope," the prospector replied.

"Maybe you'd better learn," said the cowpuncher. Hot lead kicked up dust around the old man's feet and he began to dance.

Soon, however, the guns were empty. Now the old prospector reached into his saddlebag and pulled out a sawed-off shotgun.

"Son," he said, "you ever kissed a mule?"

Looking first at the shotgun, then at the spot where the mule's tail is attached to its body, the young cowboy got the message. "Nope," he answered, "I never kissed a mule. But I always wanted to!"

Desire is another word for wanting to do something. And in real life, desire is not something that can be given by anyone else. If there is something you want to do, it is probably not because somebody is holding a gun to your head. You just want to do it. Your desire comes from the inside.

If you decide you want to improve, if you want a meaningful relationship or more fulfilling work, if you want a rich spiritual life or a healthier body, then the desire must come from your own heart. Nobody can make you want those things. They can support you and even inspire you, but only you can make it happen.

There may be a hundred reasons we think we can't be the people we want to be. But there is really only one. We don't want it badly enough.

It was George Washington Carver, an African American who probably did have a hundred reasons not to change his circumstances, who a century ago said, "Most people search high and wide for the keys to success. If they only knew, the key to their dreams lies within."

And that key is labeled "desire."

-- Steve Goodier

10 Very Short Ghost Stories

Do you like to read ghost stories?

Do you like to read short stories?

How about short ghost stories?

Check out blogger Old Beng - his 10 very short ghost stories in Chinese ... Really creepy!

Know Your Personality

Want to know more about your personality from your fingerprints?
Is it accurate for you?

Check out this post by blogger Twilight Zone.
I like his style - bold, sometimes crude and always entertaining.

Cheers :)

Cheap, Good and Fast Service?

Saw this posted by blogger Agnes Tan
So true .... You think leh?

Effective Leaders

A young officer in the Army discovered that he had no change when he tried to buy a soft drink from a vending machine. He flagged down a passing private and asked him, "Do you have change for a dollar?"

The private said cheerfully, "I think so. Let me take a look."

The officer drew himself up stiffly and said, "Soldier, that is no way to address a superior. We'll start all over again. Do you have change for a dollar?"

The private came to attention, saluted smartly, and said, "No, sir!"

Each of us commands some authority. There are or will be those we guide, supervise, rear, mentor or lead. Some of us will be effective and others will feel as if we're running a cemetery: we've got a lot of people under us and nobody's listening.

Much has been written and taught about leadership, but I find that at least four traits are common in all people of authority who effectively elicit cooperation and respect from those who look up to them. Whether you are a parent, whether you find yourself in the workplace, sitting on a volunteer committee or teaching someone a new skill, these traits will help you effectively guide those who would seek to follow.

These good leaders are...

L isteners. They take time to listen to the suggestions and concerns of those they endeavor to lead.

E ncouragers. They don't try to do it all themselves. Neither do they motivate by force or guilt. They encourage others and help bring out their best.

A ssertive. They say what needs to be said without being unkind. They tell the truth as they see it, openly and frankly.

D ecisive. They know what needs to be done and they make timely, even difficult, decisions when necessary. But they can also take charge without running over the people in their lives.

In short, good leaders L-E-A-D!

It's said that the trouble with being a leader today is that you can't be sure whether people are following you or chasing you. But those who will develop these four traits are sure to find that their authority will be valued and respected.

-- Steve Goodier

Little Things

When I was in college, I shared an American Thanksgiving supper with friends. We spent the day cooking together – turkey, potatoes, green beans, yams and, of course, dinner rolls. I was in charge of the rolls. Looking back, that may have been a mistake.

I love to eat raw dough. Most any kind will do – cookie dough, cake batter, biscuit dough, bread dough – you get the idea. So I rolled out the yeast dough, sliced off a corner and ate it, rolled some more, sliced and ate, rolled, sliced, ate…. I don't know how much of the dough I consumed before the rolls hit the oven, but I remember it as a wonderful afternoon. Until about a half-hour later.

Yeast, it seems, likes a dark, moist, warm environment. In me, it found one and did what yeast does best – it grew. And grew. And grew.

After a while my stomach was distended and I felt like the Pillsbury Dough Boy with a burping disorder.

It was soon time for supper and I felt too full to eat anything. All of that scrumptious food and I couldn't eat.

That day I gained a new respect for the power of yeast; it doesn't take much to make a big difference.

Little things make a big difference. Little things like yeast. Little things like kindness.

Douglas, a fifteen year old boy who lived in Missouri (USA), had been feeling badly for several days. His mother Donna took him to the emergency room where blood tests revealed one of the most frightening things a parent can learn about a child. Her son was diagnosed with leukemia.

Douglas' life changed. He began a routine of blood transfusions, spinal and bone marrow tests and chemotherapy. The physical trauma was one thing, but he also became depressed. And who wouldn't? He lost his former life, his healthy self. All of those exciting dreams and plans a young boy has for his future vanished, and in their place all he could see was somebody with cancer. Somebody who may or may not live long. Somebody whose life would be very different than before.

He had a good hospital and good doctors. But he did not have hope.
And without it, he was in serious jeopardy.

Douglas' aunt called a florist close to the hospital. She wanted the sales clerk to be aware of the flower arrangement's significance. "I want the planter to be especially attractive. It's for my teenage nephew who has leukemia," she told the clerk.

"Oh," said the sales clerk. "Let's add some fresh-cut flowers to brighten it up."

When the floral arrangement arrived, Douglas opened the envelope and read the card from his aunt. Then he saw something unusual.

It was another card. The second card read:

"Douglas--I took your order. I work at (this floral shop).
I had leukemia when I was seven years old.
I'm 22 years old now.
Good luck. My heart goes out to you.

Sincerely,
Laura."

Douglas smiled. He finally felt some real hope. And why not? Here was a person who also had cancer and new she was 22 and working! If she could do it, so could he. Douglas found what he needed. He found the will to live.

Little things make a big difference. Little things like kindness and encouragement and hope. Little things all of us can give.

And it doesn't take much to make a big difference.

-- Steve Goodier

So this is Christmas

A merry merry Christmas to all!!

Share with you my favourite Christmas song ... Enjoy :)

So this is Christmas
And what have you done
Another year over
And a new one just begun
Ans so this is Christmas
I hope you have fun
The near and the dear one
The old and the young

A very merry Christmas
And a happy New Year
Let's hope it's a good one
Without any fear

And so this is Christmas
For weak and for strong
For rich and the poor ones
The world is so wrong
And so happy Christmas
For black and for white
For yellow and red ones
Let's stop all the fight

A very merry Christmas
And a happy New Year
Let's hope it's a good one
Without any fear

Eyes on the Shore

A story is told about a bloodhound chasing a stag. A fox crossed the path, so the hound chased the fox. After a while a rabbit crossed the path, so the hound chased it. Later, a mouse crossed the path and the hound chased the mouse into a hole. The hound began his hunt on the trail of a magnificent stag and ended up watching a mouse hole!

Not that there is anything wrong with spontaneity. Some of the most wonderful things have come into my life by beautiful accident. But there is also something to be said for knowing where we want to go.

Florence Chadwick learned the importance of keeping a goal in mind on July 4, 1952. She waded into the Pacific Ocean off Catalina Island and began swimming toward the California coast 26 miles away. The day was cold and her attendants drove off sharks throughout the journey.

Florence had already swum the English Channel twice and, if she could finish today, she would be the first woman to have swum both. But after fifteen hours in the water, for the first and only time in her long-distance swimming career, she gave up and climbed into the escort boat. Others had urged her on, but in the fog they could not tell her how near she was to the coast. She later learned that she was less than half a mile from shore.

When asked by a reporter why she gave up, Florence replied: "It was the fog. If I could have seen land, I could have finished. But when you can't see your goal, you lose all sense of progress and you begin to give up."

On a warm, sunny day two months later Florence Chadwick swam the Catalina Channel, handily beating the men's record. Only when she kept her eyes on the shore did she eventually arrive there.

Keeping that goal constantly in sight will get you where you want to go.

-- Steve Goodier

We Need Each Other

Many living things need each other to survive.

I have lived for most of my life near trees known as Colorado aspens. If you are familiar with this tree, you may have noticed that it does not grow alone. Aspens are found in clusters, or groves. We're told that the reason for this is because aspens can multiply from the roots. They send up lots of new shoots every year. These become saplings that grow quickly and make new baby aspens of their own. In some groves, all of the trees may actually be connected by their roots. It is as if they are one tree.

Another tree, the giant California redwood, may tower 300 feet into the sky. We've seen pictures of tunnels carved into massive trunks wide enough to drive an automobile through. It seems they would require the deepest of roots to anchor them against strong winds. But instead their roots are actually shallow -- they spread out wide in search of surface water. And they reach in all directions, intertwining with roots of other redwoods. Locked together in this way, all the trees support each other in wind and storms.

Aspens and redwoods never stand alone. They need one another to survive.

People, too, are connected by a system of roots. We grow up in families that nurture and guide us. We learn early to make friends who support us in different ways. We are not meant to survive long without others. And like the giant redwoods, we do best when we hold onto one another and help each other to keep standing through life's storms. We need others to hold us up, encourage us and to stand with us.

When I'm not doing well, it is often because I am going it alone. I don't always let others in. I forget to ask for help; I keep my problems to myself. And though I may not see it, others around me might be doing the same thing.

It helps to remember how much like those trees we really are. It might be time to let someone else help hold you up for a while. Or perhaps someone needs to hang on to you.

-- Steve Goodier

You just need a PocketMod

If you don’t have a fancy Pocket PC or organizer, dun fret ... With PocketMod, you don’t need one!
Let's check it out!

So, what is a PocketMod?

Believe it or not, but it’s not another electronic gadget. You actually just need a piece of paper and you can use it as a personal organizer. And best of all, it's completely customizable!

Just follow the instructions on the website and you are all set to go!!

Hope you find this useful in helping you get organised ... :)

Interesting photos

Simply amazing

Just saw this video on a fellow blogger's blog ... and i find it simply amazing, unbelievable talent.

Watch it and i bet you will be amazed, too ... Heehee

Loving Life Again

Dave was struggling through a bus station with two huge and obviously heavy suitcases when a stranger walked up to him and asked, "Have you got the time?"

Dave sighed, put down the large and cumbersome suitcases and spoke to his wristwatch. "Time please."

"The time is five thirty," came a voice somewhere in the timepiece.

"Wow! What a watch!" exclaimed the stranger.

Dave brightened a little. "Yeah, it's not bad. Check this out. The time in Japanese, please." The watch responded in Japanese. Then Dave asked for German and Swahili and a realistic voice gave the time in those languages. And then, "What time is it in London?" Dave asked, "with a British accent?" The device gave it to him.

The stranger was incredulous. "Watch this," said Dave. "Home monitor," he said to the wrist-watch. Immediately a 3-dimensional hologram projected in the space between the two men that perfectly displayed his living room. He could even see a half inch of coffee in the bottom of a cup he'd left on the table earlier in the day.

"Unbelievable!" said the stranger.

Then Dave spoke to the device. "Leave a voice message for Sharon that the bus is late and send flowers to my sister for her birthday. And give me the 5 O'clock news."

"Done, done and done," the voice confirmed. Suddenly a high-resolution hologram screen appeared in front of Dave. The two men felt as if they were sitting in the television studio watching the newscast.

The stranger was struck dumb with admiration. The display was of unbelievably high quality and the voice was simply astounding.

"Now, look at this -- `wedding photos'" Dave said the timepiece. Photos of his recent wedding appeared in front of them as if they were floating on air. "And play Bach," he said, and music filled the space as the wedding album scrolled.

"This timepiece is a super powerful voice-activated computer. In addition, it is in contact with most of the world's major satellites. And it is also a two-way radio that reaches halfway around the globe."

"I want to buy that watch!" said the stranger.

"Oh no, it's not ready for sale yet; I'm still working out the bugs." said Dave.

"I've got to have that watch!" said the stranger.

"No, you don't understand; it's not ready ..."

"I'll give you $10,000 for it!" interrupted the stranger.

"Oh, no, I've already spent more than ..."

"Then make it $20,000!" the stranger blurted. "Or just name your price."

"But it's just that ..."

The stranger pulled out a fat wallet. "All right -- $50,000. I'll give you the cash now."

Dave blinked. He could always make another device and $50,000 would give him a nice profit.

The stranger thrust the money at Dave. "Here, take it! I have to catch my bus."

Dave made his decision. "Okay," he said, and took off the timepiece.

The stranger smiled and hurried away. "Hey, wait a minute!" called Dave.

The man turned back warily. Dave pointed to the two suitcases he'd been trying to wrestle through the bus station and said, "Don't forget your batteries."

I think life is like that for some people. What should be wonderful and exciting is complicated and burdensome. It is as if they are dragging heavy baggage wherever they go. They feel tied down (to a job? to a lifestyle? to a relationship?) and long for simpler times.

Many people wish their lives were less complicated. They remember a carefree time and dream of returning to a simpler day. They yearn for more freedom. Less worry and more laughter. If only they could trade some of today's complexity for yesterday's simplicity.

American essayist and novelist Charles Dudley Warner said, "Simplicity is making the journey of this life with just baggage enough."

Rudyard Kipling yearned for less when he said, "Teach us to delight in simple things."

Author Augustus Hare observed that "the greatest truths are the simplest -- and so are the greatest men."

Maybe it's time to make a decision for greatness; a decision for simplicity. Maybe it's time to let go of that which weighs you down and walk with a lighter step. Maybe it's time to love life again.

-- Steve Goodier

No More With Me

"I'm sorry. Please forgive me! I don't mean to hold you up," he said as he struggled to get off the escalator.

I'll admit to it. There have been times when walking or driving behind an older person that I've gotten impatient and upset. I've huffed and zoomed around them, because I was in a hurry to get nowhere. Perhaps I'm more aware of it now, because I see myself there one day soon. Today, I saw myself in this old man's shoes and it caused me to slow down, stop and ask for his forgiveness.

He was about five or six people ahead of me. I was in a hurry and saw him as an obstacle. I've seen people get off the end of an escalator and stop dead in their tracks, gather their things and suddenly, there's a pile up of angry people behind them. You can't stop an escalator full of people behind you. Like the Energizer bunny, they keep on going.

This man was well aware of the challenge. He tried desperately to step aside. Fumbling with his small packages, struggling to gain his footing, you could see how troubling this was for him. "I'm sorry. Please forgive me! I don't mean to hold you up," he said as he struggled to get off the escalator.

I suddenly saw this in a whole new light. It was like I was watching my future. I felt sorry for him. I felt sick to my stomach because this man was apologizing to everyone, when we should have been helping him and calming his fears.

One by one, people zipped around him. I heard a few angry comments whispered as one lady passed by him.

I saw me.

By the time I got to him, he was just about steady on his feet.

"Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't know there was more," he said.

"No, sir. No more with me," I said. This really hit me hard. I realized right then how sad it was that the world was in such a hurry. That, of course, included me. But no more with me. Count me out.

This wonderful man paid his dues. For whatever time he had spent on this earth, he most likely walked many rough roads and too many important miles. Now, he should be apologizing for moving slower?

My heart ached as I looked into his eyes. I wished I could see what he had seen all those years. His face weathered from life itself, was creased and wrinkled. The small soft pockets under his eyes and the gentle lines that curved up and around them told me he had many happy moments, too. Those were traces left behind from laughter and a smiling, happy man.

"My friend, can I help you with those things?" I asked.

Hesitant at first, he finally said, "Well, yes, thank you!"

I placed my hand under his left arm and walked with him a safe distance away from the rush of people.

"So, what are you shopping for, sir?"

"Oh, just a little something for my neighbor. She's a young mother raising kids on her own. She's always so nice to me. I thought a box of candy," he said, stopping suddenly as he searched the inside pocket of his sport coat.

"Do you need something?" I asked.

"Oh, no. Here. I think I have it right here. I always carry them with me," he said. Then pulling out a hand full of papers, he shuffled through them and handed me a business card that read:

"John A. Pomicter: Friend to all. Enemy to no one!"

"I said a prayer today and you were the answer. Thank you!"

"That's for you," he said. "Thanks for stopping to help an old man."

"My friend, you helped me. I discovered that I was unhappy with the world and I was part of the problem. Now, I'll be part of the solution. No more with me!"

"Then this was meant to be," he said smiling.

"You know God sends me gifts everyday and always at least one special person. You were my gift for today. Let's go get some chocolates, my friend!"

--Unknown

Gifted for Something?

I heard of a woman who operated a daycare for children from her home. As she transported children in her car one day, a fire truck zoomed by. The kids were thrilled to see a Dalmatian on the front seat, just like in the old-time stories.

They began a conversation about the duties of a "fire dog." One child suggested that they use the dog to keep the crowds back. Another said the Dalmatian is just for good luck. But young Jamie brought the argument to an end when he said, "They use the dog to find the hydrant!"

He reminds us that we all have useful abilities, if sniffing out fire hydrants is a useful ability. Some of our skills are apparent. Some are hidden. Some probably haven't even been discovered. Some can be improved with work -- lots of mine fall into this category.

Madame Marie Curie, the first woman to win a Nobel Prize (she won two), said this about giftedness: "Life is not easy for any of us, but what of that? We must have perseverance and above all confidence in ourselves. We must believe that we are gifted for something and that this thing must be attained."

I like that. "We must believe that we are gifted for something." Do you believe you are gifted for something? Do you know what that "something" is?

American football's William Floyd probably thought his athletic ability was his greatest gift. But then he injured his knee halfway through his 1995 season with the San Francisco Forty-Niners. The talented athlete was out for the rest of the season. It was then that he found a gift he may not have known he possessed.

William Floyd still wanted to contribute and he did NOT want his self pity to spill over to the rest of the team. So he stood on the sidelines at every workout and in every game and encouraged his teammates on. He shouted and cajoled; he motivated and consoled; he became a dominating presence and a source of great inspiration for his team. He had a remarkable ability for bringing out the best in others.

At the end of the year, his teammates voted him the player "who best exemplifies inspirational and courageous play." As much as they needed him on the field, they discovered how much they needed him on the sidelines, urging them to do and to be their best. I wonder if his newly-found life skill, his gift of positive motivation, could prove more useful than even his athletic ability?

What if we believed we were "gifted for something"? What difference would that make?

And what if we believed we should do something about it? What difference would that make? What difference COULD that make?

I think a lot of life is about finding that out.

-- Steve Goodier