Decluttering in autumn 2013

I love to remove clutters (declutter),
it cleans my physical, spiritual, and emotional life.

Decluttering allows us to realize that life is full of delightful treasures, if we take a moment to look around.

Cool stuff:
# DNA-based computers. Leonard Adleman.
# Self-tracking / health-tracking devices. Up wristband.
# portfolio career.
# What heals the soul, heals the mind and body as well.

Interesting quotes:
# Time is most definitely a thief.
Questions: What is the longest yet the shortest? What is the fastest yet the slowest?
Answer: TIME

Useful tips:
# Be careful! Over use of medication (e.g. paracetamol), either intentionally or accidentally, may damage liver.
# To fight pimples and minimize scar, I have used tea tree oil and aloe vera.
# Try to move after sitting for 45 minutes, e.g. while travelling on long-distance flight. In terms of radiation, 7 hour flight ~= an X-ray session.

Inspiring people:
# Bernie S. Siegel
# Christine Ong of UBS Wealth Management Singapore
# Reene Ho-Phang

Some random muses and reflections …

@~@ On life
An event that at first seem to be unfortunate / undesirable may actually provide surprising advantages, e.g. autumn 2007 (that affects the next 7 years).

@~@ On being unique
It is a great thing to be unique or different.
The grown ups often tell any kid (e.g. a 6 year old) that it is great to be yourself.
Be unique.
However, the goal of many grown-ups in life is to fit in.

@~@ On career
A career for life vs portfolio careers.

@~@ On gifts
Some people (e.g. KS) value expensive gifts. In case of KS, he acknowledged the hardship in his early life.
Some people (e.g. KF) value heartfelt letter of appreciation much more than expensive gifts. Possibly, people who are relatively richer than me in material wealth and assume leadership roles (e.g. my direct boss in 2013) have similar perspectives as KF does.

@~@ On travel destinations
Some destinations wow me and are perhaps best to be visited once over a short period of time (instead of residing there) in entire life, due to extreme weather conditions or high living expenses. For example, Cappadocia and Antarctica.

What’s next?
# Deal constructively with criticism. Give constructive criticism.
# What are you going to do for the rest of your life? (A question I wrote in a note taken in Switzerland)
# DO, don’t dream.

How to read story books to children? 13 fun loving tips

Strickland Gililan (1869-1954) in the Reading Mother:
“You may have tangible wealth untold;
Caskets of jewels and coffers of gold.
Richer than I you can never be –
I have a mother who read to me.”

@~@ Read with love
When we read to our children,
we are sending them a message of love:
“I love you and give you one of the most valuable gifts I have —
my time and uncompromising attention.”

@~@ Easy way : tell a story out of a book.

@~@ Reserve a regular time and place for reading together.
For my children, I set aside a minimum of 10 minutes per day (no matter how busy I am) for reading together.
This way, you can make reading a habit.

@~@ Allow your little ones to sit on your laps, to snuggle up to you.

@~@ Read s-l-o-w-l-y.

@~@ Read with animation : e.g. use different voices for different character.

@~@ Point to the / parts of the illustrations / visuals. Follow the text with your finger as you read.

@~@ Ask (stimulating / inspiring) questions. Remember that there is no right / wrong answer.

@~@ Allow your child to re-tell the story, can use the illustrations as aids.

@~@ Recreate the story through activities such as drawing, drama, music or role playing.

@~@ Reward your children when they identify good values, emulate / copy good behaviors from the characters in the stories.

@~@ Use the illustrations / visuals in the books to trigger imagination in storytelling.

@~@ For Chinese comprehension, insert a space in between words in sentences, just like white space in English sentences.

@~@ Visit library / attend storytelling sessions.

@~@ It’s OK to repeat. Children love stories that they wills still love them even if we read to them for more than 10 times.

More:
# email “2013 Parent-Child Reading & Brain-based Reading Strategies”
# Reading for children

Good luck!

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8 Life lessons from dog

Dear my beloved readers,

Are you a dog lover?
Do you have a lovely, cute, or naughty puppy or dog as your pet?
Personally, I have lived with a lovely yet naughty dog (she was only 1~2 years old when we began our relationship).
I walked her sometimes,
we played and jumped at a trampoline,
and she would always rushed down stairs when I returned from work at almost midnight.
She would look at me and pant with happiness (just for my returning home).
Her action was very heartwarming,
especially at the chilling night after a long day of work.

Or have you had a bad experience with dog?
I heard a story that in a developing country,
where the social gap is relatively wide,
a beautiful girl was bitten by a dog of a rich family.
Consequently, she suffered serious fever and died few days later.
Such a precious life had gone just like that.
Although I could not ascertain if this story was true,
it serves a reminder to us that not all dogs are good to us.

A good friend was once complaining about his neighbor’s dog.
It barked suddenly and shocked his father who has heart medical condition.
It barked fiercely at delivery men, babies and children, including those of neighbors.

In my current conclusion, dogs can be our friends (to some people dogs are their best friend) or foes.

According to BBC reports by Jonathan Amos, dog has actually evolved from wolf ‘on the waste dump’.
After knowing about this finding,
would you want to keep a wolf as a pet?
What come to your mind when you think of the word ‘word’?
Dracula.
The Red Riding Hood.
Wolves have not been positively portrayed.
On the other hand,
when we think of our pet dogs,
they are so docile and appear to be permanently stuck in a kind of innocent puppyhood.

What make (some) dogs so lovely as compared to wolves?

1. LOVE is powerful.
Dogs love unconditionally.
Once the dog wins over the love of the master, the master is willing to sacrifice / spend for / to serve the dog.
For example,
Roy Chong was helping an expatriate to look for a bungalow to rent in Singapore.
The comfortable monthly price range of the tenancy that the tenant looked for was SGD25,000 (paid by his company), and the tenant had only a request.
He wanted a pool to be available for his Golden Retriever dog to swim around.
Most landlords rejected his request, except a landlord who asked for SGD27,000.
The tenant happily spent the extra SGD2,000 so that his dog can swim / play at his home.

2. LOYALTY
Some wolves had evolved into our best friend: our dogs that protect our home from the most dangerous animal in the whole world and that is human.
For my experience, S always faithfully welcomed me when I just returned home.

3. NATURE heals. Go outdoor, walk / stroll at the park / garden, breathe in fresh air, let the tree and birds cheer us up!
To quote Threesia Goff, a little fresh air goes a long way to brighten your day.
Note : exception exists. If you live in a heavily polluted city or when haze affects your city, perhaps staying indoor combined with a weekend getaway is an option.

4. TIME is the best gift we can give to others, because even money cannot buy back the lost time.
Always make time for the people in your life.
There is a saying that you choose your friends but not your family.
So where do colleagues fit in?
Many of us who are employed spend more time with our colleagues than we do with our family or friends yet we cannot choose who our colleagues are.
In my humble opinion,
there are situations where we cannot choose who our associates are.
If our colleagues are good, we try our best to maintain harmonious fellowship, learn from them, and emulate their strengths.
If our colleagues are bad, we also try our best to maintain harmonious fellowship (not to turn anyone into a foe).

Some people said that we do not choose our parents.
I also heard that before we were conceived,
God asked us which (biological) parents we want to choose, just that when we arrived as a newborn, we forgot everything.
However, we can choose who our Godparents are.

5. be PRESENT.
Dogs live in the moment and don’t hold grudges.
Christina Villa suggests us to slow down and notice the sights, sounds, and smells of our everyday life,
as inspired by our dogs which stop to smell the roses and little children.
Although planning is important, sometimes over planning may lead to unnecessary worry. I once read from the National Geographic "Don’t worry so much. Worry is praying for what you don’t want.".
Here is some suggestions / reflections on how not to worry.

6. PERSEVERANCE : never give up!
Ever see a dog try to chase a squirrel up a tree? They jump, claw at the tree, and bark their heads off.
Personally, I have had some challenges sometimes while walking S (a golden retriever),
when we just left the gate,
she would half running half jumping instead of walking.
Once a guy remarked,
"It seems like your dog walk you instead of you walk your dog!"
S also loves to chase ducks and pursue them until S fell into a dirty drain,
and we had to spend an evening completely bathing her.

7. KNOW YOURSELF
Don’t go out without your tag. Always remember who you are, where you come from, and the name and number of someone to call if you get lost.
At minimum requirement, know how to return home after running out from your home.

8. Be genuinely INTERESTED in other people.
Being interested in other people here refers to being caring, not interrogating.
Story 1:
Z was sharing with me once she met a President’s Scholar, who interrogated her (at their first encounter) on a train.
Story 2:
When my friends visited me, S would stand on her 2 legs against my friends to welcome them.

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How to be our own boss?

Tips from Pearlin who has interviewed bosses in Singapore:
identify what really works in business by learning from the best experts in the world.
research thoroughly.
systematically study and retain what you learn.
absorb, ponder, analyze, review what you learn.
take risks.
take actions.

Most people have no idea of what they really want.
Have a clear goal (CLARITY).
Be specific about exactly how much more money we want to earn in a specific period of time.

Choose our customers / clients.
Look for cues that people give us that they are better, people who are worth more, buzz more, care more, buy more.
Embrace them.

Never give up when the banks say no.
We can find an amateur investor (a wealthy doctor, a retired executive) and raise money to bring our idea to market.
Tell a story that investors want to hear, with supporting cash flow scenario.

TRY BEFORE WE BUY.
VOIP phone lines are cheaper than landlines / cellphone services (for sales calls, customer service, teleconferences).
Save time = save money.

Do not use social media platform as a way to shove our marketing messages about our brand down people’s throats.
Instead of direct selling, help, share, engage people in your social media.

Remember that we are always offering VALUE and educating clients so that they know choosing our service is the right decision.

Advice from Jim Rohn, authors of books like The Art of Exceptional Living:
work harder on ourselves than we do on our job.
attend personal development seminars.
read self-help books.
listen to audio programs to improve ourselves.

Do not follow the Rat Race-to-Riches formula.

How to increase our income?

Income = value x time x scalability

Indeed, in September 2012, I learned from an Australian mentor with numerous patents (KS) that scalability and low cost enable easy commercialization.

How much are you worth currently?
Your hourly current value = monthly income / hours worked per month

To create more value to our company and our clients, we must keep upgrading our knowledge, skills, intellectual capital.

We must constantly install new software into our mind in order to be able to create more value.

It is not one’s age, experience, or academic qualifications, but how much value one can create for his company / clients that matters and translates into different levels of income.

It is about "WHAT CAN YOU DO?"

Let us compare 2 insurance advisers.

Insurance adviser A, age 33, monthly income $3,000.
Waits for leads.
Follows up on leads.
Give adequate presentation on products / services

Closes the sale.
Never follows up with the client thereafter.
Closes monthly premium of $7,000.

Insurance adviser B, age 33, monthly income $20,000
Sets specific monthly sales target.
Actively generates leads from all source.

Creates partnership with other companies.
Ensures a minimum of 2 appointments for consultations / day.
Gives seminars on financial planning.
Writes and publishes a book on financial planning.
Does a a detailed needs and outcome analysis for potential clients.

Presents a highly beneficial and value-added plan for the client.
Helps the clients save money and identify important needs client may have overlooked (i.e. corporate insurance, estate planning, asset protection).
Follows up every 3 months to ensure client’s emotional and financial needs are met.
Sends a quarterly e-newsletter to his customers packed with tips on money management and investments.
Able to generate even more referrals from powerful services.
Helps recruit and train more sales people for the company.

Closes monthly premium of $50,000.

Now, let us compare 2 teachers.

Teacher A, age 42, monthly income $4,000
Has worked for 12 years.
Teaches the curriculum.
Gives and marks homework.
Gives tests and mark papers.

Fulfills minimum extra curricular duties.

Teacher B, age 34, monthly income $9,800
Has worked for 4 years.
Teaches the curriculum.
Able to motivate and inspire even the weakest and most unmotivated students.

Innovates / develops new curriculum / teaching methods.
Writes systems of best practices.
Trains new teachers.
Produces innovative marketing ideas to enroll more students.
Develops strong rapport with parents and provides additional family counseling.

Innovates ideas to increase department productivity, reduce expenses.
Has written 6 textbooks, assessment books that are sold locally and over the internet.
Uses accelerated teaching methods to boost grades.
Conducts seminars / workshops on weekends for parents on how to motivate their children.

Conducts seminars for students on exam skills.
Consultant to private tuition centers.

Things to increase in order to increase income:
1. leads
2. conversion rate
3. repeat business
4. average dollar purchase
5. net profit margin

In more details …

LEADS
learn how to create more effective advertisements (stronger headlines, more persuasive copy, i.e. text)
TV, radio, newspaper advertising
industry newsletter advertising
internet / email advertising
magazine advertising
outdoor advertising
flyers
promotion / sale
ask for referrals
member get member scheme
offer free gift
insert into other company’s invoice
letterbox flyers
sales teams
telemarketing / make more cold calls
buying / swapping database
seminars, events, roadshows
attractive window display / video
posters, large signage

CONVERSION RATE
define our unique selling proposition
set sales target
excellent customer service
introduce myself
survey our past customers
sell key benefits (not features) passionately
high quality in store posters / brochures
in-store sales scripts
be a consultant / problem solver
give a money back guarantee
benefits, testimonials list
give free bonuses that increase value
great prospects and use their name
learn closing techniques
ask for the sale more than once
personal grooming, high dress standards
video in store displays
leave price to last
study and prepare for objections
specialized knowledge about our products and industry
focus on client’s needs and emphasize benefits
convenient payment scheme (credit cards, nets)
offer installment schemes with 0 interest
allow mail order / home delivery
address concerns / possible objections upfront
sell on value not price
use NLP to build strong rapport with clients
follow up with prospects regularly
improve our presentation skills

REPEAT BUSINESS
direct mail offers of the months
keep in touch every 3 months
inform clients of our entire range of services
target likely repeat customers
send special occassion cards
make customers feel special (super experience)
build a close relationship / friendship
create a loyalty program
exceed customers expectations
discount voucher off the next purchase

AVERAGE DOLLAR PURCHASE
focus on a higher income target market
use a shopping list
sell add-ons/up sizes
make sure our client knows our full range of services
suggest most expensive first
create value packages / bundle several products in a package
buy 3 get 1 free deals
ask people to buy some more
increase prices by 10%
arrange easy finance and payment
free gift / lucky draw with $xx purchase
ask customers to buy more (e.g. McDonalds, do you want to have a combo meal? do you want to upsize? do you want to have a dessert? do you want toy?)
up sell
cross sell
do a complete needs-analysis to find out how we can add even more value to customers

NET PROFIT MARGINS
increase prices
sell on value / service than price / discounts
set monthly budget targets
track costs weekly and aim to reduce by 10%
stop running ads that do not work
sell more higher margin items / sell higher margin products 1st
source for cheaper suppliers which are just as good
bargain hard with existing suppliers
increase working efficiency

How to go home on time

I want to go home on time and still get everything done!

My life turns better in 2012. If I have to work later, it will not be later than 7.30 pm to avoid the 6 pm rush hours.

Strategy: PERK
P = Postpone
E = Eliminate
R = Reduce
K = Keep

List all my activities (including mundane ones like washing myself, dishes, and clothes) to meeting friends.
Next to each activity write: P, E, R or K.

In the last week of 2012, I eliminate some documents (that I think I will not need again for the next 1 year).
I keep some important points in softcopy.

Things I have applied PERK in 2012:
minimize watching / reading news online or through print media (I will get important news through people who are closed to me).
avoid boring gatherings (with distant relatives, friends) / professional talks indirectly related to my current projects.
discard useless emails (by marking them as Spam).
fasting from social media e.g. facebook.

Note:
My family is my man.
The in-laws are the in-laws.

In the near future (few years down the road), I want to work from home a few days a week.
To suggest to boss, say "flexi-time" or "telecommuting" instead of "working from home".
The latter may sound like a pseudo-vacation day.
Choices of words do matter.
It will be better when I am my own boss.

More:
book "The Other 8 Hours" by Robert Pagliarini
https://blueroselady.wordpress.com/2011/12/22/to-be-discipline-with-time/
https://blueroselady.wordpress.com/2009/11/28/book-time-management/

On time but not hurrying

Have you ever found yourselves rushing from a place to another? Taking public transports at the rush hours can be stressful because everyone seems to be in hurry. My housemate and I often go home together after work because we work at nearby offices. Many times, we go home after the rush hours. This way, we can do more work at the workplace instead of bringing our work home and we feel more relaxed on the journey home.

 

My Dear and I tend to prefer to go for a holiday free and easy instead of with a guided tour. We have more control on the time we would like to spend to appreciate the sceneries and to enjoy the fresh air, without hurrying because we have to follow the guided tour program.

 

 

Of course, there are things that we must do on time, such as arriving on time at school or office. To avoid hurrying and stressing ourselves, we can wake up earlier if we need more time to wash out and have breakfast. My parents used to advice me to arrive early at the airport. The passengers are expected to wait for the flight, but the airplane will not wait for the late passengers. If we arrive just few minutes before the boarding gate closes, we may be hurrying, panicking, and even forgetting things.

To be discipline with TIME

2011 is coming to an end. I feel that I have been easily distracted.
Do I still want to continue in this career? I cannot dream of wealth in this career, but just enough.
I am like in a cycle of motivation, up (when I read work of others) and down (when I think how we are going to make progress in our lives). We have 30 years of mortgage.

I want to go for that career, inspired from immigrants & summers of 2009, 2010. Where should I start? Keep on reading & learning from others.

Always pray in the morning.
Do the most important things 1st.
Always give time to see greenery.
Do not read newspapers in the morning, read at night only.
Do not google non-work, IT guy dislikes you.
Do not check other email accounts other than main one; check only after a min of 2 hrs.
Remember to double-check your email recipient.
Fast from twitter, wordpress, facebook for 1 month and subsequent alt months.
No photographic forum surfing at work.
No TV, esp drama series; TV is bad for u (MacKinnon).
Watch only heart-warming ~2 hour movies.
Do not read entertainment news / gossips; gossips are bad for you.
At work, no non-work related surfing; except 20% for continuous learning.
Do not talent search at daytime; do only at evening / night time.
Limit read about travel destinations to 1X / week unless you have an upcoming travel.
Visit a country / place you have not been to 1X / year; skip those you have been to except visiting parents or professional trips.
Pray and sleep by midnight.

Global dream destinations

Many writers and artists use travel as their inspiration.

Barcelona
Catalan capital
Antoni Gaudi’s still-unfinished church the Sagrada Familia (sagradafamilia.org)
The Eixample district: a groundbreaking 19th-century urban layout where the bold bourgeoisie gave free rein to their avant-garde architects.
Eat the ubiquitous menu del dia (a lunchtime set menu).
Mediterranean Sea.

San Francisco
Gold Rush, Wells Fargo and Bank of America.
Transamerica Pyramid skyline by bay.
Grace Cathedral : Gothic Revival design
Leland Stanford and Collis P. Huntington: both railroad tycoons.
Visited and learned at Stanford. Want to do so at UCSSF and UC Berkeley.

Churchill, Canada
Polar Bear Capital of the World.
lies on the rim of Hudson Bay, Manitoba, Canada.
Northern lights.

Besides traveling in space, one can also travel in time through imagination.
Golden Age of travel between 1900 to 1940.

ALEPPO
northern Syrian city.
has the longest covered suq in the Middle East.
What is suq? a teeming stretch of alley ways connecting mosques, inns, hammans.
See WHIRLING DERVISHES performances (originated in Turkey) at the restored (but not operational) 14th century psychiatric hospital of Bimaristan Arghan (itself worthy of a visit).

@~@
LEBANON
Byblos: (1) home to many Maronite Catholics, (2) was where our alphabet originated: a hieroglyphic version that read from right to left and which the Greeks reversed.

From Manhattan to Trollhattan

@~@
NEW ZEALAND
Northern Light

@~@
ARMENIA, a hot spot between Turkey and Iran, thus people are tough as nails and full of grit and determination. After our hot Turkey trip, should we consider visit Armenia? The Kite Runner.

@~@
SPAIN, PORTUGAL
2 weeks for Madrid – Toledo – Zaragoza – Barcelona – Montserrat – Pamplona – Burgo – Leon – Santiago – Porto – Fatima – Santarem – Avilla – Azpeitia.
Inspiration: St Teresa Sep11.

PS: beware of pickpockets in Spain. A friend of mine (EL) lost her wallet (Spain, winter 2011).

Learning from magazines

I love magazines, pictures, news, tips.
Most time I recycle my magazines, except National Geography. Your pictures are so fantabulous (fantastic + fabulous).

Useful resources:
Libraries, cabins, friends.

@~@
TIME September 6, 2010
Because their city is so safe and even-tempered, HK’s residents do not possess the sense of physical danger that many people elsewhere do.
Lawlessness is so woven into the fabric of Philippine society.

What’s so great about ORGANIC FOOD?
The importance of going organic is less relevant in developing world – where food security trumps other concerns.
Grass-feed beef is lower in fat, and milk without chemicals is clearly a good idea.
But organic fruits and vegetables? American J of Clincial Nutrition: no difference between organic and conventional produce with regard to all but 3 of vitamins.
You have people on both sides of the argument cherry-picking their data.

Processed food is dense with salt and swimming with high-fructose corn syrup. Blueroselady: Please eat grass have higher ratios of omega-3 fatty acids to omega-6 -> reduce cancer risk.
Alternative: eat more fish.

Drift from nearby nonorganic farms can contaminate other crops in vicinity.
Organic farmers use pesticides of their owns.

Milk: buy organic if you can. (cows that produce organic milk are not treated with antibiotics and hormones).
Beef: buy organic if you can.
Fruits / vegetables: buy conventional. Price matters.

TIME January 17, 2011

@~@ The speedy live longer.
In a study of adults over 65, those who WALKED FASTER were 90% likelier to live at least 10 more years than those who walked at a pokier pace.

@~@
A regular colonoscopic screening, which involves inserting a scope through the rectum and into the intestines to detect and sometimes remove growth, can lower the risk of colon cancer by 77%.
Right side of the intestines is harder to reach with the scope.
It may be worth seeking out skilled physicians.

@~@
Hope against baldness:
balding areas have the same number of hair stem cells as more hirsute ones.

@~@
A particular gene may increase the risk of depression, but only in combination wtih an added, nongenetic factor – a stressful life event. Blueroselady: NATURE and NURTURE both play roles!
Ppl with 1 form of a protein that ferries serotonin (a mood-related neurotransmitter), are esp prone to depression when faced with traumatic events. Why? this protein prevents nerve cells in the brain from reabsorbing serotonin.

@~@
There is no such thing as a free market, he declares, “a market looks free only because we so unconditionally accept its underlying restrictions that we fail to see them.” Book “23 things they don’t tell you about capitalism”, by Ha-Joon Chang.

@~@
Mario Valenzuela, who plays the villain, shrughs off accusations by the Mexican gov and press that these films glorify the drug cartels. Violence is as much a part of our daily life as bread. Tijuana.