inspiration
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Monday, July 30th, 2007I really like this post by Steve Pavlina.
Steve’s article crystallizes what I felt and saw as an employee in my last job.
Holding a job is like being a caged animal. Living a life of an employee is like living a life of a circus animal. At 9am you drag yourself to work (cage), perform for the rest of the day at the command of your boss (master) till 5pm when you are released from the cage. I don’t mean to sound derogatory, just using an analogy here, which you will probably appreciate if you care to look closely.
In the week leading up to an upcoming holiday, the HR department wrote a notice like this :-
“On the eve of Christmas Day, all employees will be released from work at 12pm. We wish everyone a very merry Christmas.”
Yeah, indeed they had to release us… It sounded really funny, and I remember joking about it to my colleagues.
Then there’s the atmosphere of fear and insecurity in the workplace. In conventional “wisdom”, people think and feel that they have the greatest security when they hold a day job, preferably in an MNC. However, do you sense the fear and insecurity in these people ?
Why do people engage in work politics and make their number one priority that of protecting their own asses in every work encounter ? Because at the back of their mind, they are always afraid of losing their job, losing their next promotion opportunity, or losing favour with their bosses. So instead of focusing on the client and on contributing value, they put their self interests first. Employees in fact live in fear, not security.
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Guitar - This guy rocks !
Sunday, July 15th, 2007
At the time of writing this post, more than 23 million people have viewed this guy’s guitar performance on Youtube. Have you ?
After I checked out the video, I understood why this attracts so much attention. Because he is GOOD !
Talk about the genius in everyone of us…
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The Secret… Exposed
Thursday, July 12th, 2007The Secret has taken the world by storm.
Have you wondered - what’s so “secret” about it ? What’s behind the eye-catching cover that claims to be an ancient “antidote” which can give you anything you want, if you apply it ?
I am a book fanatic. The local bookstore is my favourite hangout and I can easily spend hundreds of dollars a month on books. However, there is this thing about books with flashy cover, which makes me want to linger around it longer before forking out the extra dollars. I want to base my decision to buy on the substance, not the cover.
Perhaps the marketing hype is too loud. Perhaps the title is just too “secret” and therefore enticing to a curious consumer. After a couple of trips to the bookstore, I finally succumbed to my inquisitive nature and bought it. I want to find out for myself what the hoopla is all about.
What ”The Secret” Is Really About…
The book is a compilation of quotes by well-known people - living and ancient (i.e. dead). The author tries to give a structure to the quotes and breaks the book into different categories. However the essence is the “law of attraction” - the weaving thread through the chapters.
The basic concept is visualisation and belief in the thing you want, hence in the process attracting it into your life (hopefully).
If you keep thinking about bad things, likely you’ll attract the bad things into your life. if you visualise and cultivate strong positive emotions, etc about your desired object, your mind will tend to notice the paths to attain your goal. hence, it seems that you are “attracting” it into your life.
So Is “The Secret” Really A Secret ?
If you are an ardent reader of self-help books, you’ll find that the concept is nothing new or “secret”. It’s the marketing hype that makes it take the world by storm.
Having said that, visualisation, strong desire and belief are the first steps to achieving what you want. So a book with this focus is a good read too…
Ultimately, action has to follow to actualise the mental “exercise” as in the law of attraction. Otherwise, it’s like building sand castle in the air. No matter how beautiful the sand castle is, it is still … in the air !
If by reading this book, you can get so inspired to take that first step to start the process of attraction - by thinking right - then I think you would have reaped the benefits from reading it and the money is well spent.
Hey, you could even present this as a gift and capitalize on the sensational-looking cover !
See also … The Secret
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Sammi Cheng - Courage
Monday, July 9th, 2007
Sammi is back !
This is taken from the last of 8 concerts held in Hong Kong in May 2007, marking her return to the world of entertainment.
Besides her brilliant performance, and good rapport with fans and guest performers, one segment which really touched me is her reading out a letter she wrote to herself at the closing of the 8-day concerts.
***********************************************
I like the last sentence most.
This homework – I think you have done it.
I am certain that you have returned.
More importantly, your courage has returned.
At every stage of our lives, everyone needs courage.
To face ourselves, to face the future.
Today’s concert, these eight concerts,
I have proven to myself that I have done it.
I have won over my other self.
***********************************************
Indeed, everyone needs courage at some point in our lives for different reasons. To come back from temporary defeat, to find new strength to go on the journey of our choice, to push ahead even though we see nothing but fog over yonder, guided only by faith and belief in our vision.
Having courage is one thing, doing the necessary homework is important too. In fact doing the homework builds courage. Sometimes, in the pursuit of our dreams, we give up too easily without even doing enough homework. So at the end of the day, we let down no one but ourselves.
Sammi gave an interview with Phoenix TV recently.
I find that she has found that sense of calm that can only come from finding what she was looking for when she left the scene 2 years ago. She exudes beauty arising from maturity in character and person as a whole.
I’m glad she’s back. By being an outward manifestation of someone who has found new meaning and courage, she will be an inspiration to her fans … and me 
See also … Sammi - MTV
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Patch Adams
Sunday, July 1st, 2007“All of life is a coming home. Salesmen, secretaries, coal miners, beekeepers, sword swallowers, all of us. All the restless hearts of the world, all trying to find a way home. It’s hard to describe what I felt like then. Picture yourself walking for days in the driving snow; you don’t even know you’re walking in circles. The heaviness of your legs in the drifts, your shouts disappearing into the wind. How small you can feel, and how far away home can be.
Home. The dictionary defines it as both a place of origin and a goal or destination. And the storm? The storm was all in my mind. Or as the poet Dante put it: In the middle of the journey of my life, I found myself in a dark wood, for I had lost the right path. Eventually I would find the right path, but in the most unlikely place.”
Patch Adams is the first movie I watched which moved me.
The paragraphs which you’ve just read are the opening lines of the movie. And the music so fits the contemplative mood of the storyline. There are 18 tracks in the soundtrack - this is the one that always reminds me of Patch Adams whenever I hear it.
I’m inspired by the story of Patch Adams. I’m also amazed by the power of movies and the impact a well-shot movie can have on the audience. Since then, I’ve been hooked on movies and become a hardcore movie buff :)
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