Choose to be the Right Plant

Human definitely have similarities with plants!

Except the fact that both are living organism of course.

There are 3 kinds of plants that possibly match the human categories;

Parasitic Plant / Person - Definition: An animal or plant that lives in or on another (the host) from which it obtains nourishment. The host does not benefit from the association and is often harmed by it.
You and I know there are people who just love to take advantage all the time. They loved to win no matter what. The best is a Win-Lose situation for them. Try to prevent association of such people. I know of a particular person who just loved to take advantage of other people's honesty and was creating lies after lies after lies to protect himself while jeopardizing other's values & beliefs.

Epiphytic Plant / Person - Definition: A plant that grows on another plant and depends on it for support but not food.
Some people are really good at leveraging opportunities and circumstances. They may not fully take advantage of us in a one-way street but wise enough to use situations to springboard themself. I have a friend who is younger than me that is of this kind. He is a street-wise, sociable and adaptable person. From a messy life full of debts, he managed to turned it around and now living quite comfortably. We should learn the opportunistic part of that person!

Symbiotic Plant / Person - Definition: A close and usually obligatory association of two organisms of different species that live together, often to their mutual benefit.
The most beneficial person to be around is those who strive for a Win-Win relationship. It consists of Giving & Sacrificing and they never make any promises that they couldn't fulfill in the first place. Recently, I've met a young man in his late 30s, helping me genuinely without any upfront favours. In return, I initiatively return his goodwill. Guess what, I'll remember him for life!
I think our altitude of life very much depends on how many Symbiotic Friends that we have.

Therefore, DO UNTO OTHERS OF WHAT WE WANT OTHERS TO DO UNTO US.
It is a Grandmother's Principle, but it still works!!

Let's Make Our Money Meaningful!

Well, we make money everyday, then we spend it.....then we make some more.....and we spend some more...etc
Sometimes it is good to "give meanings" to the money that we earn or spend!
We've often thought about "The grass is always greener on the other side." Until we take into account of what we do have as compared to what other people don't have.

A simple "Thank You" to WorldVision is simply not enough. They have done a great job, not only providing fishes to those who needed it, but also equipped them with necessary skills to fish as well.
I like the idea of donating business kits to them, in the form of seeds, chicken, cows....etc.
At least, they can make a transition from dependent to independent & finally interdependent.

Few years back, I've adopted some children......
Flipping through those files really makes me feel that at the very least, I'm doing a little favour to these little ones.
Not to mention about Wii Sport, Wii Fit, Transformers toy ...etc, but some of them just wanted to SURVIVE!
Not to mention having a balance meal, they even have problem of getting a simple meal!
Not to mention having great education, they just want to get basic literacy!
Of course with WorldVision, now they have a much better life......

These are the letters & greeting cards which I've received on a regular basis. It is meaningful to look at them from time to time, reminding us on ONE of the purpose of making money.

Of course I want to be RICH but I also want to be RICHLY BLESSING OTHERS.
Sponsoring those kids makes me feel that way......perhaps you should try it too!

5 Major Bosses

The common chronologies in our life were:
- got born
- learn how to walk, talk & eat!
- go to school
- then go to bigger school
- if didn't drop out, then go to another bigger school called the college / uni
- graduated.....if can...
- find a job
- earn money
- if risk appetite is high, invest or do business or businesses....
- earn more money
- find a partner
- got married & have kids
- sigh......tired to talk about it, you know the rest of the stories.....finally, we are buried 6 feet under!

Besides targeting the highest Maslow's hierarchy of needs which is Self-Actualization & Significance, money is kind of orbiting our lives all the time.
And whatever we do, is like ....we are serving 5 major "bosses" in our life all the time!

Our 1st Boss: The Real Boss!
Of course the one who pay our salary.

Our 2nd Boss: The Government!
This is due to the existence of the 1st Boss. Of course in the name of nation-building, we pay tax.

Our 3rd Boss: The Bank!
Due to climbing the ladder of needs, we buy car or cars....then a house to put it in of course! Then a major portion of our money goes to the bank.

Our 4th Boss: Spouse / Family!
Our parents took good care of us, of course we will take good care of them as well. We buy them good food, nutrition ranging from birdnest, ginseng......all the way to super-multiple-variable-awesome-vitamins!
Then we spend time with them and if possible, bring them for a holiday! Hopefully, we serve them well.

Our 5th Boss: Children!
We feed them, bring them up, pay for schooling all the way until their life is sort of settle down & steadily earning a decent income.

At the end of the day, what's left?
A small-teeny-weeny portion of time & money left for us to do what we like....if there is anything that we like afterall. Sounds a bit sad huh?
No wonder people talks about setting Goals & Mission in life.
But most of the time, nobody plans to fail, just fail to plan.
I've once heard a prominent business person said, "Unhappiness is caused by Comparison."
Hmmm, quite true in a way. Some people compares negatively while some compares excitingly.

After knowing such a small portion of resources left for our ownself, we really have to cherish great moments with friends & family. Whatever we want to do, let's try to do it. Succeed or Failure is one thing but at least we don't regret trying it out.

For those who want to say "Thank You", say it.
For those who want to say "I'm sorry", say it.
For those who want to do things that's never done before, do it (I'm referring to the right thing!).

At the end of the day, we want to Live a Non-Regrettable Life.

Push & Pull Forces

Most of the times, when we wanted to Push ourself to do something, there is always another thing to Pull us back! Sometimes we just want to follow our Passion or Dream.
But due to our past experiences or failures, we tend step back and think .....
"what if...", "what happen next...", "is it worth doing...", "can I do it..."......etc.

It is like the Right-Brain fighting with the Left Brain....within our Brain!
I've heard someone said before, "The biggest prison in the whole world lies between our ears!" How true...

I've had moment like that before.
When I have a Direction of where I want to go, there is a Devil telling me otherwise.
When I try drafting those Details out, Mr. Distraction will divert my plan.
When I try to just Do It, it ended up as Damn It!!

In my opinion, the best treatment for such symptoms is JUST DO IT.
Sometimes the best time management method that I've ever use is just simply SAYING NO.
We need to do trading between exchanging good things with great things......or great things with greater things.

Once I break that decision barrier and was in the action mode, things become much easier. The initial inertia was the problem.

Remember these 2 forces, it is up to us to choose.

Direction ßà Devil

Details ßà Distractions

Do It ßà Damn It

Coffee-Business serving People or People-Business serving Coffee?

What an amazing book from the former President of Starbucks which contains nothing about coffee!
It is about how Starbucks focuses on People over Profits!
"There can be no coffee without people!"
That is the true essence of Starbucks.

Some companies believe that building a system, the system will build the business.
But Starbucks believe that building people, the people will grow the business!

I personally like one of the sayings in this book:
"Think Like A Person of Action and Act Like A Person of Thought".
Wow, simple & yet powerful stuff!

It is sort of the Yin & Yang between the Thoughts & Actions.
At times, we need to Think first before the Action. But sometimes, we need to Act first, then Think later.
This is very true especially a new opportunity arises.
When we analyze from A --> Z before taking actions, we could have miss the boat. And sometimes the boat doesn't return!!
But we can't be recklessly doing and running like a bull as well and be stubbornly positive about a hopeless projects. Persistency has to be coupled with Flexibility.
Imagine someone still persistently having faith & thinking positive about the growth of cassette industry in the year of 2011!!

Another empowering principle that I like from the book as well:
"The person who sweeps the floor should choose the broom!"
Some company truly believe human beings are capable of independent thinking if certain rules are removed.

Should we follow rules or should we fulfill the needs of people? The rule tells people "how-to-do" instead of explaining "why" & "what we are trying to achieve".

At Starbucks, they believed that they're in the Human Service Business, not the Customer Service Business.
As long as People are not being treated as Assets or Labour Costs alone, they can flourish in the environment of Encouragement, Appreciation, Reward & Respect.

Eventhough nowadays, consumers tend to go to Oldtown, Newtown, Georgetown or whatever Town kopitiam, I do prefer Starbucks off & on as I like the feeling of being greeted as a "friend" than filling up order number in kopitiam and passed it to a foreign worker who sometimes doesn't understand my extra request. I am saying this with all my respect to the foreign workers who contributed to the lack of workforce in the F&B industry. But sometimes it is good if we can understand them and vice-versa.

Let's learn to be a Logical-Person, Emotional-Person & a People-Person.