Songs...
You know how there are just some songs that trigger memories of people or places? Just randomly came across my mind...
Everything I do I do It for You by Bryan Adams - Julie and Vietnam
Tong Hua by ... (I forgot his name!) - Anisha
My Wish by Rascal Flatts - AP MCPs 0607
My Love by Westlife - Phayao, North Thailand
Fixing a Broken Heart by Firehouse - Huimin from Wushu
Nothing's gonna stop us now by Starship - NYGH Council Sec 2
When We Believe - NYGH Council Sec 3
At the Beginning - NYGH Council Sec 4
Wu Ding by Jay Chou and some woman (haha) - HCJC Wushu and climbing the rooftop
there's a whole bunch of others... but they're not triggered at the moment...
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Poem that intrigued
Saw and heard this from a Channel News Asia advertisement.. will reveal more of its meaning shortly...
- I saw a peacock with a fiery tail
- I saw a blazing comet drop down hail
- I saw a cloud with ivy circled round
- I saw a sturdy oak creep on the ground
- I saw a *pismire swallow up a whale *[ant]
- I saw a raging sea brim full of ale
- I saw a Venice glass sixteen foot deep
- I saw a well full of men’s tears that weep
- I saw their eyes all in a flame of fire
- I saw a house as big as the moon and higher
- I saw the sun even in the midst of night
- I saw the man who saw this wondrous sight
- ‘A Person of Quality’, Westminster Drollery (1671)
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To each his own...
In this century, most of us will find it normal that in so many aspects of our world, numbers make the difference... the numbers are the indicators for success, for winning, for being Number One in the family, the company, the economy, the country, the world...
which makes it amusing to see so much happening now on deciding which is the REAL way of tallying the medals won at the recent Olympics in Beijing...
There is of course, the reputation of being the world's largest and most powerful sporting country at stake.. but well see for yourself:
1) Gold Medal Won
This list ranks countries by the number of Gold Medals won, since the Gold Medal is indicative of being Champions in the sport. By this list, China leads hugely with a total of 51.
2) Total Medals Won
The USA ranks top in this list, coming in with a total of 110 to the 100 by China. This ranking is done in the USA.
3) Total Points Gained
The following is taken from an article on The Straits Times
The New Superpower, 25 Aug 08"the US Olympic Committee, by paying US$25,000 (S$35,000) for a gold medal, US$15,000 for silver and US$10,000 for bronze, provides a fairer gauge: 25 points for gold, 15 for silver, 10 for bronze.
By that method, China have 1,870 points and the Americans 1,830."
4) the
REAL Olympic medal tallyThis tally does not include sports where the final results are entirely decided by referees and judging (e.g. diving, gymnastics, tae kwon do...) The final total medal tally puts US ahead of China 76 to 48.
5)
Medals per capitaThis takes total medals won divided by total national population and thus ranks US and China way back in the list.
I'm sure a further search on the internet will reveal more methods...
Now that the Games are over, the sports war is done...
Let the numbers game and statistics war begin...
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Why I love my job
In 1 year of doing AIESEC full time, counting 1st July 2007 till 4 August 2008 (when I officially finish as per my service terms), I will have
Visited 9 countries
- Taipei, Kao Shiung, Tai Dong, Taiwan - July 07
- Istanbul, Capadokya, Turkey - August 07
- KL, Malaysia - October 07
- Skopje and Ohrid, Republic of Macedonia - February 08
- Sophia, Bulgaria - February 08
- Tokyo, Japan - March 08
- Guang Zhou, China - May 08
- Jakarta, Indonesia - June 08
- Next stop: Ho Chi Minh, Vietnam - July 08
9 moments of amazing conference experiences
- Chair, Taiwan SNCF 2007
- Delegate, International Congress 2007
- Facilitator, Singapore Jump Start! Induction Conference 07
- Facilitator, Asia Pacific HEROES Conference 07
- Facilitator, Singapore NLDS 2007
- Delegate, International Presidents Meeting 2008
- Facilitator, Asia Pacific Exchange Leadership Development Seminar 2008
- Chair, Asia Pacific EVOLVE Conference 2008
- Facilitator, Asia Pacific Member Committee Transition Camp 2008
Managed
- budgets that are in 5 figure amounts (SGD for some, Euros for some)
- projects that have impacted more than 2000 youths from Singapore and around Asia Pacific
- to attend enough company meetings and networking events to give away more than 150 of my name cards
- to build a network of friends from more than 103 countries and territories in the world
- to gain hands-on experience in project management, team management, budget management, external relations and marketing, PR, strategic planning and governance, coaching, website management and programming, talent management
Presented
- A 2 hour discussion on "Youth Opinion in South East Asia" to a room of 30 HR professionals from companies around Singapore
- Opening Address to a room of 40 youths and professionals at the "Business Leaders in ASEAN" Alumni Summit in Jakarta, Indonesia
- Opening speech at AIESEC Singapore Gala Dinner, attended by 120 members, alumni and partners
- Opening speech at EVOLVE Gala Dinner, graced by Mr. Baey Yam Keng, Minister of Parliament, and 100 other guests (members from Singapore and Asia Pacific, alumni and partners)
- As part of panelist in a press conference in Jakarta, Indonesia alongside Mr. Hermawan Kartaja (one of 50 World Marketing Gurus, President of World Marketing Association, 5 times co-author with Philip Kotler)
all this at the age of 23 and 24 years old... what more can one ask for? :)
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Random
Am sitting here at Starbucks with 4 of my MC VP elects...
they're discussing their session for national planning...
and I'm sitting here feeling nolstagic, highly amused.. and well just reflective :)
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Random post
You are the World
Completion, Good Reward.
The World is the final card of the Major Arcana, and as such represents saturnian energies, time, and completion.
The World card pictures a dancer in a Yoni (sometimes made of laurel leaves). The Yoni symbolizes the great Mother, the cervix through which everything is born, and also the doorway to the next life after death. It is indicative of a complete circle. Everything is finally coming together, successfully and at last. You will get that Ph.D. you've been working for years to complete, graduate at long last, marry after a long engagement, or finish that huge project. This card is not for little ends, but for big ones, important ones, ones that come with well earned cheers and acknowledgements. Your hard work, knowledge, wisdom, patience, etc, will absolutely pay-off; you've done everything right.
What Tarot Card are You?
Take the Test to Find Out.
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The power of delegation...
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my latest love...
The Sony VAIO SZ433N
Click
HERE for a 3D view...
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Dilbert and Information Systems
I love Dilbert :)
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Good post
I read this on
Nicholas' blog... very meaningful!
Motivation can be split up between two different categories. The first is passionate motivation, this comes from craving to do something. The second is wealth motivation. Wealth motivation is craving to have something. The differences between the two may be subtle, but the impact is tremendous. One builds enthusiasm, while the other can be completely toxic.
The difference between these two drives is almost completely hidden. You can’t usually make a distinction from a written goal or mission statement. But the results are far apart. Passionately motivated people can easily overcome stress, pain and obstacles. Wealth motivated people are often frustrated, impatient and depressed at the slightest failure.
Wealth Motivation is Toxic
What is wealth motivation? It isn’t specifically being motivated by money. It simply means being motivated by outcomes over process. Wanting to be rich instead of being interested in earning money. Wanting a relationship instead of being interested in other people. Wanting a healthy body rather than being interested in healthy eating and exercise.
Wealth motivation isn’t, in itself, a bad thing. The problem is when it is used to disguise a lack of passionate motivation. When you aren’t intensely interested in the process, getting to the goal is going to be painful.
The best way to tell which type of motivation fuels you is to look at your goals and the pursuits required to reach them. Which draws you in more? Are you more interested in school or the degree? Are you more interested in running a business or being a successful businessperson?
Toxic Motivation Doesn’t Last
Wealth motivation might get you started, but it can’t finish the marathon. Every successful person I know got to where they are because they had at least some level of passionate motivation. Of the extremely successful people I know, passionate motivation is almost so high that it can often be hard to discern exactly what their external goals even are.
Here are some questions to ask yourself:
- Would you keep doing it even if eventual success was impossible?
- Would you keep doing it even if you couldn’t enjoy the rewards?
- Would you keep doing it even if failure was almost guaranteed?
How to Replace Toxic Drive With Enthusiasm
Just let go. The toxicity of your drive happens because you clutch onto it. The result has become so important to you that your willing to put up with the frustration, poison and pain that you have to go through to reach it. The first step (although certainly not the last) is simply to let go of this old drive.
When I used to run in track, our coach would explain that if you run up a hill lactic acids can build in your legs. It’s important to jog out the muscles a short time so that they won’t build up and cause problems later. I think sometimes the only way to get rid of a toxic drive is simply to jog it out. Get detached for awhile so you can begin fresh.
Win-Win or No Deal
Once you’ve detached from your goal, the only way you can create a healthy drive is to force an ultimatum. Either commit to finding a way to be wildly interested in the process AND the goal, or walk away from that area until you do.
Here are some applications you might want to use:
- Health - Don’t force yourself to get thin unless you can find an exercise, diet or health philosophy that you can become enthusiastic about.
- Money - Don’t try to earn more money unless you can find a process for making money that fascinates you.
- Work - Don’t do work that doesn’t make you passionate. If you can’t find passionate work do the bare minimum to survive and move up until you can find passionate work. Money can’t buy your soul.
- Relationships - Don’t force yourself to date, meet people or attract without becoming interested in other people.
Enthusiasm Hurts!
Passionate motivation doesn’t mean that everything you do should be easy or painless. Many of the things I love involve a lot of pain, challenge or scare the hell out of me. The point isn’t to have a pain free, relaxing stroll but to be involved in a process you are fascinated by and care about.
I’m not interested in being rich. I live a comfortable lifestyle and I could live on a minimum wage salary. Being a millionaire doesn’t motivate me. But the process of owning a business, investing, selling products and earning money does. I’m interested in becoming a millionaire, not being one.
Being interested isn’t the same as expecting ease. In fact, I probably wouldn’t be interested if I thought it were easy. It is because I expect it to be challenging that creates the drive.
A Drive for the Game
When you play a game, you are driven out of the fun of the play. The spirit of the game is what makes it worth playing, even if your goal is to win. In life you can also have strict goals, deadlines and objective results. But if you aren’t playing for a love of the game, you might as well quit because you aren’t playing at all.
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Randomness of Randomness
Last Saturday, I got a phone call from the school office. The lady told me that NTU is holding a convocation dinner to end off the year and invited me to join. The main reason was that the Tan Chin Tuan Foundation, who gave me a scholarship for my final year of university, would be gracing the event and the school felt it would be a good chance for them to meet us (myself and the other scholars) and for us to show our appreciation to the foundation...
so anyway, I figured it would be quite a cool networking opportunity and besides I didn't have anything lined up that evening... so I agreed... the lady told me before hanging up that it wasn't too formal and that dress code is similar to the Convocation ceremony itself (meaning collared, long sleeve blouse with slacks or skirt)
Fast forward to Monday evening 6.30pm... I arrive in the auditorium foyer where the dinner was to be held, only to see real extravagent decor in the foyer, a stage set up, plus about 20 tables for formal and served dining.. and guess what.. the stage front said "Guest of Honour: President SR Nathan and Mrs. Nathan"
and in case you are wondering, that happens to the President of Singapore and his wife!!!
as the evening went on and more guests started arriving, it was quite amazing to realise that this is an annual NTU stakeholders dinner, bringing together the deans and vice dean of faculties, management of the various NTU offices, management of various foundations and organisations that have supported, sponsored for funded NTU in any way, the NTU board of trustees and so on... very high level indeed...
and aside from myself and another guy who were Tan Chin Tuan scholars, the only other students were the Lee Kuan Yew scholars, the top students in each faculty of study... they got the privilege of speaking with the President himself..
It's kind of hard to describe how I felt.. but I was glad to gave exchanged a few namecards with some key people that day, to enjoy a 4 course dinner served by hotel catering, to enjoy some really cool performances (aerial display, electric violin and rhythmic gymnastics performance, choir performance, to share a lot about AIESEC, to learn how a Foundation works, to learn how university corporate development works..
amazing how a random opportunity can turn up so much... :)
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Nice picture...
I found this cute little picture on
Heidi's blog... Don't you think it's so physics? hehehe....
Seems kind of apt though... thinking back about the many many weekends spent on AIESEC transition and planning... each weekend flying by so so fast...
now that the hustle and bustle is kind of slowing down slightly, it feels weird to be sitting back home, communicating not by voice but by words through MSN and gtalk and stuff like that...
guess it's times like this that one really appreciates the company of those around...
missing all of you guys... you know who you are :)
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Randomness
Some of these blogthings things are quite fun and funny... hahahaha
| You Are 50% Boyish and 50% Girlish |
You are pretty evenly split down the middle - a total eunuch.
Okay, kidding about the eunuch part. But you do get along with both sexes.
You reject traditional gender roles. However, you don't actively fight them.
You're just you. You don't try to be what people expect you to be. |
| Your Aura is Violet |
Idealistic and thoughtful, you have the mind and ideas to change the world.
And you have the charisma of a great leader, even if you don't always use it!
The purpose of your life: saying truths that other people dare not say
Famous purples include: Mahatma Gandhi, Martin Luther King, Jr., Susan B. Anthony
Careers for you to try: Political Activist, Inventor, Life Coach |
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