Jul
2
Are Free Things Worth The Effort?
July 2, 2009 | Leave a Comment
The best things in life are free, but sooner or later the government will find a way to tax them. ~ Unknown ~ [Source]
In Singapore, there is the Great Singapore Sales going on around mid year annually. In addition, for a certain amount of money spent, one will get a free gift worth a certain amount of money. Usually, it kick-starts the sales fast. People will grab everything in sight and buy them just to get the free gift that they may ultimately have no use for.
Starhub participate in The PC Show with a Lenovo S10 when one signs up for MaxOnline Express Plus. However, when the queue snakes out of the hall, is the effort to be one of the first 300 customers worth it? If one receives a free gift without doing anything, is the free gift worth it? Is there such a thing?
When a lot of effort has been poured into a particular task but the returns are low, was it worth it? Sometimes, expectations differ when one expects low effort for high returns. It creates heartache only for the person with this kind of mindset since each job needs one to set the alarm clock, try to shake the sleep out of the mind and go to work despite hating the process of squeezing through the crowded public transport on every working day.
Some free things are worth our efforts when the efforts will end with high returns. Humans are lazy. That’s why a switch was invented to turn on the lights, blenders to help with baking, coffee makers, coffee bean blender, sugarcane crushers among the various machines that have been helping mankind. Cutting down trees have been made easier just by making the effort to invent that chainsaw.
What are the free stuff that have made it worth your efforts?
Jun
25
Living on Intellectual Fats
June 25, 2009 | Leave a Comment
At a certain age some people’s minds close up; they live on their intellectual fat. ~ William Lyon Phelps ~ [Source]
Our minds keep thinking a lot. Sometimes, too much to the point whereby simple solutions can’t be accepted unless they have been complicated and still end up with the same results. It is normal for ourselves to fear change. Maybe we just need mentors to help us get back on the right track in life.
Most of us would have formed the idea of things and events we have seen or experienced. When we need a change and someone presents something to us, 80% of the time, our minds have been closed to it as the thing has been presented before albeit in a different manner. We do like the concept but may be unable to accept the changes we do need to make. Even if the method is simple. Perhaps we have a morbid fear of rejection.
It’s understandable since from the time we are born, we have been listening to “No”, “Don’t”, “Stop” and many other negative words. What we have learned in the past define what we are now. Sometimes, we need a boost in our believes as they may have died during our progress.
Living on the past thinking and habits won’t change our lives. Those are intellectual facts if we haven’t been able to get out of the rut based on the old thinking and habits. When problems occur from the same set of thinking, the solution won’t magically appear from the same set of thinking.
What have you done in order to change your life in order to be happy?
Jun
18
Solutions Can Be Simple. Stop Thinking So Much!
June 18, 2009 | Leave a Comment
Our pleasures were simple – they included survival. ~ Dwight D. Eisenhower ~ [Source]
What we have in life is simple. Happiness and being able to eat each meal without any worries. Sometimes, travelling without worrying about how much the amount will set us back and leading to cutting down on meals and other purchases. When people are presented with a simple solution, their wheels start moving and they start to think about what if it’s too good to be true.
photo credit: Tambako the Jaguar
While it’s true that in life, certain things are too good to be true, we still fall for the trap of believing that by giving away our bank account numbers just because one is “the long lost heir of some rich dead person”, why can’t we make things simple when a solution is right in front of our noses without complicating them?
Is the solution too close to our noses such that we can’t even see? Is there really a need to try to over-analyse something that is already made simple? What if a light bulb needs more than just positive and negative current from not a mere AA sized battery? Would that have complicated our lives?
Wasn’t the light invented to make life simple so that we won’t have to worry about candle wax residuals? Or even about running out of candles to buy? Why is it that some simple solutions can make people feel so uncomfortable that they need 2 years to make a decision to execute it?
What is it that makes people think so much about a simple solution? Isn’t a simple solution what we wanted in the first place so that we have more time to do other important things in our lives?
Jun
11
The Feeling of Importance
June 11, 2009 | 1 Comment
Airs of importance are the credentials of impotence. ~ Johann Kaspar Lavater ~ [Source]
photo credit: spike55151
Every now and then, we have this need to feel important. Even when someone ask us for a simple advice on changing a job. When a trip to the doctor for a routine Continue Reading…
Jun
4
Do You Want To Leave a Legacy?
June 4, 2009 | Leave a Comment
It is up to us to live up to the legacy that was left for us, and to leave a legacy that is worthy of our children and of future generations. ~ Christine Gregoire ~ [Source]
It’s now the middle of the year. Have the resolutions for this year been Continue Reading…
May
28
Persistence Pay Off
May 28, 2009 | Leave a Comment
Persist and persevere, and you will find most things that are attainable, possible. ~ Lord Chesterfield ~ [Source]
Living in this fast-paced world, we are so used to things being done fast that persistence is being forgotten. Advertisements scream out quick fixes for almost anything that you can think of. Continue Reading…
May
21
Attitude is Everything
May 21, 2009 | 1 Comment
The basic thing is that everyone wants happiness, no one wants suffering. And happiness mainly comes from our own attitude, rather than from external factors. If your own mental attitude is correct, even if you remain in a hostile atmosphere, you feel happy. ~ Dalai Lama [Source]
photo credit: Continue Reading…
May
14
Success Is Goal
May 14, 2009 | 1 Comment
The reason most people never reach their goals is that they don’t define them, or ever seriously consider them as believable or achievable. Winners can tell you where they are going, what they plan to do along the way, and who will be sharing the adventure with them. ~ Continue Reading…
Apr
23
The Power of Belief
April 23, 2009 | 1 Comment
You have to believe in yourself. ~ Sun Tzu ~ [Source]
The mind is a power tool that we are born with. One of the strong attributes that we have been born with is belief. Belief is either empowering or limiting. There isn’t any right or wrong. A simple example: Continue Reading…
Apr
20
Mind Tools – Online Management Training, Leadership, And Career Training
April 20, 2009 | Leave a Comment
Mind Tools is a site that helps visitors to empower themselves for their self improvement and careers.
Notable Read
Emotional Intelligence – Developing strong “people skills”
Successful Delegation – Using the power of other people’s help
Humility – The most beautiful word in the English language (not included in the Mind Tools Ebook)