Habit

Have you ever observe how you operate? From the minor details such as what would you do after you get into the car? How long does it takes before you actually ignite the engine and drive off? Or what do you normally do after starting up your computer? Do you go straight to what you want to do or you be distracted by emails, facebook messages, pop up advertisements, Groupon sale and all sorts, then only get to what you really need to do, like paying the overdue bills?

If you spend some time observing yourselves or others, you will see a trend of how people operate dictate the outcomes and how well a person manage time. Because every little distractions are eating up your time, and sometimes distractions lead to a habit of procrastination. And procrastination leads to further stress about unfinished tasks, assignments and failure of delivery. Not a good thing.

Let's nurture some good habits so we could all manage our time and work better. With better time management we could achieve better results and allow more spare times for fun and relaxation. One of the best way to do that is plan your actions, write them down as reminder (thanks to the funky mobile apps) and finally actions your flawless plan. I am confident in that way you will save time and energy with more effective results in operating a happier life.

Fighter's Story

Everyone has a different growing up story. What differentiate one story to be more inspiring than others would be ironically rating from the hardship a person has been through and how he demonstrated to be a real fighter in life. I find this famous person's story particularly interesting, just because he had to fight for his dreams, passions, and also challenge the social norm to prove his rights to be talented and successful. 

He said, "beauty is about perception, not about makeup. I think the beginning of all beauty is knowing and liking oneself. You can't put on makeup, or dress yourself, or do your hair with any sort of fun or joy if you're doing it from a position of correction." This is Kevin Aucoin, a famous male makeup artist, photographer and author.  

Aucoin was interested in makeup since he was a child, in the 60's. Because of his differences from his peers, he was bullied at school, being called "sissy" and discriminated from the society. But he never stop chasing his dreams and passions. He took in the hardship, moved to a different city and work harder than the girls (during that time makeup artists are generally women), finally his talent was discovered by Vogue in New York.

So when you are wondering why you are not successful, you have some reflection work to do. There is no one to blame. Don't worry about not being perfect, no one will really notice. I still believe work hard with a bit of luck you will get there in no time!

Have a bright and big future!

Now

Today I choose life. Every morning when I wake up I can choose joy, happiness, negativity, pain... To feel the freedom that comes from being able to continue to make mistakes and choices - today I choose to feel life, not to deny my humanity but embrace it. By Kevyn Aucoin

Recently I was in my hometown spending quality time with family and close friends. It was really rewarding to see people and allow relationships to grow.

By chance I went to meet this friend in hospital on the day she was admitted to go through a breast removal operation. She has been diagnosed with breast cancer. Hospital is not the best place to catch up. She is one of the mates I went backpacking with and we shared great memorable times on the trip. She was supposed to get married this June but it had to be postponed now. Other then being positive, I didn't know how else to take the news. At the hospital ward, we chatted happily, made jokes, talked about the past and the possible future, she let us feel her lump on her breast, we hung around a bit and then say our goodbyes.

Later that night I received a text message from her close friend saying the operation went well and her job now is to rest, recover and follow up with chemotherapy. She seems strong and is taking the right actions to fight the cancer. I pray for he well being.

As human being our body is fragile, you never know when life will slip off your grip. That reminds me to appreciate and embrace what I have now. I decided to make another trip to see this close friend thinking if not now, when? We spent some quality and good times together, just simple laughter and enjoy being together, it doesn't have to be complicated.

Let's embrace what we have today, NOW - the very moment and live with no regrets.

Sharing:

The beauty of scars: David Jay's 'honest' portraits of imperfect beauty

http://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-26473509

Happy Chinese New Year

Happiness is when what you think, what you say, and what you do are in harmony. - Mahatma Gandhi

Today is the second day of Chinese New Year base on the lunar calender. This is one of the most celebrated new year festival worldwide. Happy Chinese New Year 华人新年快乐

Being a Chinese decedent growing up in Malaysia, the celebration is great.
One of the signature dishes for this celebration is called 'Lou Sang' 捞生，it could be translated to Lucky Salad or Uplifting Salad, personally I like to call it Uplifting Salad.

This dish is originated from Malaysian, the dish combine thirteen different vegetables and a few distinctive spices to make it really tasty, the star of the dish is the raw fish. Every bits of the ingredients carry a blessing meaning, the fun part of the dish is not just eating it, before you could do that pour the spices and sauce on the top, then the people around the table have pick up their chopsticks and mix the dish upwardly to the sky, meaning stepping up and improving, while doing that movement, say out loud positive, uplifting wishes to welcome and bless the new year.

After the excitement of mixing of the dish and well wishes, everyone enjoy the dish with high spirit! It's such a great way to boost energy and to brighten up for a fresh year. Welcome to the year of HORSE!

Few years ago, we could only get this dish in Malaysia, but thanks to the trend of migration, this dish is quite famous now and you could even get it in Sydney. 

LIFE THOUGHTS

I stumbled across this picture/ artwork while reading online, first saw it in black and white but the actual colour is even more stunning. I fancy the design of the typography. Look up more similar artworks on Holstee.

Change

"If you change the way you look at things; the things you look at change." Wayne Dyer

How soon do you adjust to a new environment or picking up a new skill or learning a new system?

I once swear that I'm not going to use computer to produce work, it was such an unnecessary system that time. Because I am old fashion and it takes a long time for me to believe in something and adjust to new technologies. Irony enough I am going to learn web design, an idea that I never though I will surrender to two decades ago.

Since the millennium year, it has marked the change of time of how we live and communicate. The communication world had dictated by tweet counts, topics you share on social medias and the hits you get from people you never met. It's a time I wasn't prepared for, it's a time if you are quick enough to learn a new software to be considered included in the game. And it's also a time that bring people together with almost zero cost. It's a time that my retired aunties play Facebook games to pass time. It's surely a time to change your way of thinking and use the tools that are available to you to communicate and connect freely with the universe.

Of course it's a fun time not to be missed. Use it well to your advantage and thrive with it.

February

"A goal is a dream with a deadline." Napolean Hill 

Time flies. It's already February. Chinese New Year is around the corner.

I have been asked numerously time "are you coming back for CNY?" sadly my answer is No, well I will try very hard to make it for next year.

That was something I wrote a year ago and as promised I will be going home for the celebration this year, I made it! It feels like a déjà vu, except I planned for it and feels magnificent about making it happen. Being able to stick with my goal especially this one make me happy for a long while.

Most people I know spent a lot of effort 'cooking' towards their goal or goals (depending how much you could take at once). To achieve bigger goals we are looking at strict discipline, setting priorities, staying focus, and at the same time able to say no to temptations and distractions.

Temptations are always around, I find short term enjoyment and fun are the hardest to resist, the evil little voice will tell you to take a break, reward yourselves, you deserve it. At the time it might seems like a better offer but the next thing you find is running out of time and missing out deadlines. It does takes strong will, determination, a bit of stubbornness and a lot of consistent attention and working hours to be able to get to the point we set. With a deadline, we get the urgency of keeping up with time and being productive. Otherwise it could be a goal just for show.  

The delight of making something happen like achieving goal is beyond words. Moving on to the next goal is another key to get to the bigger goal, let others praise your achievement instead, and just smile.