What Im up to for 3 months!

Hi guys! it has been quite a long long time since i blogged. I dint blog monthly as what i said last time. But im back here now.. and i promise a long post here today:D

Last post, January 30th . Today April 17th. Almost 3 months of absence. I make sure i write 3 months of content here yea:D

Let me start by saying what im busy/doing with these few months.

1) Meetings, meetings, meetings
2) Constant self-education
3) Online Business
4) Receiving valuable life lessons from love experts
5) Stopped Forex trading
6) Gym sessions
7) March Hk Trip
8) Planning my future


Lets start...

1) Meetings meetings meetings.
Yea. What am I meeting for? I go to my office at bukit merah , at least thrice per week to meet up with my business partners. 3-4 times per week, to and fro, from bukit merah and tampines. Spending at least 5-8 hrs in the office, $6 meals, $4 transportation everyday. 8 hrs in the office? Yea. 8 hrs in the office having discussions, meetings, exchanging of views. Pay? nope. No pay? Yes. no pay. Simple reason. We are in the office discussing business plans, strategies, problems, discussions... I'm not working for a baisc pay/ hourly-pay. You may ask me why am i doing all these w/o getting paid? Company using you/cheat you/take advantage of you? NAh. None of these answers. Simple reason. I'm not working for money. I'm doing all these not for money.

'' Wah, i worked 8 hrs/day and im getting paid 7/hr, $1000+/month, and you worked 8hrs and not getting paid. HAhA''

I'm not working, so Im not asking for money. We are in a business project. In a business, money is secondary. If money is the primary factor anyone go into business, the business will not succeed. Serious. The primary goal of a business is to make someone else's life better. In the process of making someone else's life better, money is earned. People pay for something which makes their lives better. Money is a tool, and never a goal.

It can be a great test for me, surviving on savings from NS after i ord. However, I have my own reasons for doing this. I dint not get a job immediately after i ord, because I want to get back the freedom i lost in NS. I dun wan to get tied down again, called back to work, applied for leave, answer to bosses, play politics. I have it all in NS, and its enough. LOL. The 2 week holiday at Macau/HK during december is just so great that I have got back all my freedom!!

I am not wasting time either! Not earning money doesnt mean I am wasting time. What I learn from all these meetings are more valuable than money, and I can say, priceless. And, I have a vision in mind for our business. I have in mind what our business will be in the future. I have confidence in it, if not I wouldn't have started doing it :D

All these while in the office, i get out alot from the meetings, discussions. I see that it is not easy to have your ideas accepted by the others sometimes. What you say may be good, but people may not see it directly. And here, you need your communication skills to sell your ideas across. Not easy, but can be done. I learn to make cold calls. (eh, not as easy as people think). Making cold calls, since its cold, you have to break the ice. (no pun intended). However, it's a skill which can be trained and learnt. Talking to people from cold market may be difficult at first. You will sound robotic while talking (memorising scripts). But the more you make, the more natural you are, as the scripts have become your vocabulary. As what Brian Tracy says, do what you fear, and you will remove your fear eventually.

I tend to speak more openly now about my objections and concerns, and not holding back, afraid that i may hurt people's feelings if people don't buy their ideas. I learnt that there is no point hiding if you have serious concerns and objections. Furthermore, it is better for objections to surface during meetings, so that everyone can solve it together. No point hiding away from it. It has to be solved sooner or later. It wont be nice to pointed out by others in the future. It just reflects badly on the management team. While doing this, I thought of my NS days. Then, people who give objections were criticised. They are seen as 'acting clever' or not accepting the other's ideas.

E.g.: Very often, you will see that your supervisor is telling the team to do this do that/ not to do this do that. While giving his ideas, objections are bound to surface. However, most of my team dare not voice out their concerns! What is this? What's so scarying about voicing out your concerns if you are not agreeing with the orders! Common answers: ' you dare you say lar!' this answers spreads around, people pushing responsibilities to one another, waiting for 1 brave soul to stand up for the rest of them. Me and my friend, Daanesh, just stood up and said our concerns.

What happens? The supervisor see us as not respectful to him, not obeying him, we as arrogant fellas, bla bla bla. He labelled us as 'bad apples', cos we make our concerns and objections known. Who wins? The supervisor (cos he don't want to lose. He don't want to accept ideas from someone of lower rank than him). The rest of the team thought they win too.(They kept quiet and hence they are still the 'good apples' of the team.) Both of us lost.

However, the fact is, only the supervisor wins. The rest lost. They have to do what the supervisor says, and even it was wrong/against their wishes, they still do it. Just because, they do not want to be in their supervisor's bad books. This is very normal in coporate organisations. And often, it results in back-stabbing, ball-carrying. Nicely said, politicking. Alright, enough of NS :D


2) Constant Self education
After finishing my first ever book in 19 years, I have a great passion for reading. Yes! Reading! but not storybooks. They are self-improvement books, sales books, business books. I have invested in audio CDs too. No offence to fiction book lovers, but its just self-improvement books/business books that interest me.heh

The Best Investment for anybody is to invest in himself/herself. Not stocks, not commodities, not foreign currencies, not real estate. It's investment in self-education.

After my first ever book-'Master Your Mind, Design your Destiny' by Adam Khoo, I have gone to read other books.

-Secrets of Self-Made Millionaires by Adam Khoo
-Tony Buzan' Increase your Memory Skills
-Think and Grow Rich, Napolean Hill
-Creating Wealth, Robert Allen
-What I learnt on my way to the TOP, Zig Ziglar
-How to talk to anyone 92 ways
-Rich Dad Poor Dad
-Rich Dad Increase your financial IQ, Robert Kiyosaki
-Trade for a living
-Swing trading the currencies, Kathy Lein & Borris
-Secret Psychology of Millionaire Traders
-Gureilla Marketing for Free, Jay Conrad Levinson
-The Art of Closing a sale, Brian Tracy
-Write to sell, the Ultimate guide to copywriting

Audio CDs include 'Little Voice Management', 'Psychology of selling' by Brian Tracy, and some highly rated CDs to improve my communication skills.

Other than the 1st 3 books that i borrowed, I bought the rest. The rest cost over a hundred dollars. Expensive? Yea. To me, it is expensive to buy a book that cost around $25-$30. However, that's in the past before i started reading. I used to think, ''How on earn can a few hundred pieces of paper cost $30??!!'' The price of printing the book is just a few dollars, and they sold it for $30, and some even at $40-$100++!! With $30, i can watch 4 movies, eat a good meal at crystal jade, or a buffet at sakae sushi/ Lao Beijing/Nihon Mura.(every non-book lovers think of that too..)

BUT not after I have bought my first book!! Even before i bought that book (which pulled me to Times over and over again just to browse it for free...), I hesitated alot. I am not sure if that book is worth my $30. However, when val saw me going back to Times, time after time, she told me ''Just get that book, Not that you can't spare $30.'' I still hesitated. I never liked reading before, and Much more, I never bought a book before in my past 19 years(2008).

And Poof! I bought that book! not at $30, but at $24, after a Times 20% discount. What a breakthrough yea? LOL. After reading it, i dont think it costs $30. not $24...
It cost much much much much more than that. It changed me as a person.
-I let go of my hatred in NS against that An.g
-I looked ahead of my NS life
-I see NS life as a challenge, not as a work.
-I see the importance of not wasting anymore time in NS
-I see the importance of fully utilizing my time in NS, improve myself, and not wasting time playing politics in the team.
-I learnt how to control my mind, not being controlled by it (NLP)
-I learn how to think and act like successful people
-I gained back my self-confidence after going through a hard time in NS
-Most Important, it gives me a whole new meaning in reading books. It let me understand the true meaning of books, and not just the few dollars cost of printing that book. Its the information.

Im wondering what kind of person would I be now, if I did not pick up that book that time, which has an great impact on my life. Would I still be playing politics with An.g? Would I still be someone who hated reading books, less buying it? Would I still be the one loving to waste time gossiping about people? Would I still be someone who has no clear future path in mind? Would I still be someone who dare not step out of comfort zone to achieve something? Would I still be someone who is very hesitant in making important decisions? Would I still be someone who never look or think out of the box for real opportunities other than following what everybody does?

Answer: Yes, if I have not picked my first book, and went on to read more self-improvement books. On top of that, i got a true real buddy, Seng BY, who got the same interest of constant self-improvement. Without his constant 'bugging me to follow him to borders', i would not have read more books highly rated by Amazn.com

Bottomline: Invest in yourself. Not just through academic education. I have wasted 19 years of my life not reading, and wonder what could i have learnt more, if i had started reading earlier.
Guys who never read self-improvement books, start now. You still have a great future to mould. After reading this, and you still think that reading is a waste of time, then i got nothing more to say. People only take action when something is taken away from them. That happened to me, and that's why I made a breakthrough today. :D

3) Online Business

This came to my mind after reading Secrets of Self Made Millionaire by Adam Khoo. Btw, I bought his Audio CDs at $147, along with all the bonuses. Waste money? nah, its an investment.
This open my mind! I came to understand that, there are alot of ways to make money, not just by working for someone else in a part-time job. Working in a job wont make u rich. It just allow you to survive. He discussed numerous ways to create multiple streams of income- and that's what make people rich!

From there, it discuss about making money online, which everybody thought its impossible. ( i thought that too, internet is just for surfing the information, play games...) But no! He opened up my immature mind! Its possible to make money online, and alot of people are doing that already! There are gurus like Ewen Chia, Adam Khoo himself, Stuart Tan, the lucky bastard AdamWong, Mark Joyner, Ken Evoy, Jeff Derick, Edmund Loh, Dylan Loh, Mike Filsaime, Mike G, Derek Gehl, Alvin phang... and alot more! you know what? i subscribed to the newsletters of the above Internet Gurus.

Its a whole new world now. Money can be made online. However, there are alot of online scams which people have to be careful too. These are just the spoilers in the internet marketing industry, just like any other industry where you can find scammers. But that does not mean making money online is impossible!

Now, im starting to build a new website, be an infoprenuer. I paid for it. Yes, money for investment again. Im gonna build a website to make money. Read again, it's build, not buy. Sometimes, you can buy a website , a ready made website from some internet marketers. Some claim just that website can make you $#&$*!#& of money within &$& days. Its not that easy like they claim. You need to put in effort too. Making money online is easy, but not without effort!! If you are serious about doing an online business, do it seriously. Invest the time and money required.

Looking for get-rich-quick schemes wont make you rich. It just scammmmms you!

4) Receiving valuable Love lessons from love experts.

yea. the love expert im referring to is Pastor Kong Hee from CHC. He is no doubt a great expert in love n relationships. I dun think i can learn it somewhere else. He talked about the top 5 needs of Men and Women. yea. What are these needs? i blog about them next time:D

Why do I listen to him?

Simply because, he is someone who has been there, done that, and succeeded at it!!

In life, there are 3 kinds of people.

No.1 - People who had read alot about the subject, but had never do what they says before.
No.2- People who had done it, but had failed
No.3- People who had been there, done that, and SUCCEEDED at it!!

Pastor Kong is No.3 He is a married guy, with a family and kids, a busy businessman, but with time to spend with his family and maintaining a good relationship with his wife. It is wise to listen to him!

Listen to No.1? an example would be someone who has read alot about love and relationships, seen alot of break ups in friends, and thought they knew all the reasons for break down of relationships... but they themselves never been in a relationship before.
Listen to them? HAHA...

Listen to No.2? an example would be someone who had a failed relationship, and come to help you solve your problems with your boy/girlfriend. He recommends you to break up, and he tells you that breakup can give u alot of freedom, give you a chance to play girls again... bla bla bla..
Why he tell you to break up since you got a problem? Because he had broken up himself, since he cant manage his relationship problem. If you succeed at maintaining your relationship with your boy/girlfriend, it only show No.2's inadequacy in managing his own relationship.
Usually, No.2 will say that ' he is trying to protect you' , but in fact, he dun wan you to succeed, if not, you have proved his inadequacies.

However, in life, most of the people listen to No.1 & No.2 in their decision makings..

5) Stopped Forex Trading

yea. I stopped forex trading. But that doesnt mean i gave up on trading. Even though i lost money in forex trading, i never say making money through trading is impossible, and tell others not to follow my footsteps to trade forex. ( sounds like a No.2 ? lol) Nah. Forex trading will give you financial freedom, only if you trade it properly. So here, I'm not discouraging people not to trade forex as i have lost money. But i just wan to say that proper training and discipline of the mind is important to achieve success in forex trading.

Forex trading is never easy. and its not difficult too. Why i stopped? I have too many commitments. I have a business plan on the way, self-improvement commitments, and an online business to build. I dont want to overload myself with too much stress. I look forward to accomplish a task, before taking up another, instead of taking all at once. Giving up 1 stream of income will allow me to concentrate on another 2 streams of income.

Trading Real money has made me learnt the importance of psychology in trading. Trading with emotions is not trading. Its just gambling. I have not reached that stage where i can sit still and trade. But i never say controlling psychology is impossible. It can be done, through discipline and training. This is one aspect which you cant learn just by trading with virtual points. However, i must admit i made a mistake of trading real money too early, before i have a strong foundation in forex trading.

No worries, once im done with my online & offline business, I will come back to forex trading to create that stream of income.

6) Gym Sessions

Going to gym. I never go to a gym more than once per month. But these few months, i went at least 5 times per month. Simply because, I paid for a membership. A commitment i gave to make me exercise, train, do weights. And with the money factor in, you will want to go to the gym as many times, to make your membership fees valuable.

Make a commitment. Im referring to people who always want to get desired body shape, but never do anything abt it, or people who set it as their New year Resolutions, but remain the same at the end of year. Make a commitment, by paying for a membership fee (like me) , or tell all your friends you want a new body( makes u embarrassed if u fail to do it) , or an extreme one- clear all the clothes in your room, n buy new shirts with 2 sizes smaller. :P

7) Planning my future

It has started. I know what my future will be like, what will i do, what will i not do in the future. I have planned and this is the best time to plan. Never start planning after you graduate. Never start planning when there's a recession.

See the news? Almost 55% of undergraduates graduating this year do not know if they got a job after graduation, due to the financial crisis. Ok la. Part of it due to the financial crisis. What abt the other part? blame economy also? LOL. why not blame themselves for not planning ahead 3/4 years back? Why wait for economy downturn then start planning? If there's no economy downturn, no need to plan?

There's still a small % of graduation, who are not afraid of the recession. Why? They have planned! Some had started their own business during sch years, making a living from their business, which means, they may not need a job that urgently like others!. I admire them. These people look forward to the future, and always have a vision of their lives.

Plan Plan Plan. Fail to plan , plan to fail. simple

Don't be too shortsighted or superficial. Nvm, i used to be one too. If i can look far, so can you, so can anyone. It just depends on you whether you wan to take action and start to plan, look out and far for your future, or stay in your comfort zone and wait for something to happen. take action, stop procrastinating!


Alright! its time for me to end this post. I startef writing at 11pm.. now its 3.20am. Wow. 4 hrs plus yea. But its ok la. i promised a 3-month content and here i deliver it :D If you guys think it shld be longer, just write it in the comment box, or in the chatbox. I write a longer one next time:D Feel free to give comments too!

Time to sleep! good night :D