Got Your Dream Board?

One more week before the year ends! This is the best time to reflect, count your blessings, recall your bittersweet memories, meditate, and recharge. Because Year 2010 is going to bring new challenges the world is especially looking forward to.

Why I think Year 2010 is going to be *extra special*:

We are exactly 10 years into the 21st century!

It is the year of the Tiger! Those who believe in the Chinese zodiacs know what I’m talking about. And yes, I’m born in the year of the Tiger.

Last but not least, it is also time to update THE DREAM BOARD. If you haven’t got one yet, I highly recommend you start having your own Dream Board. Just having New Year resolutions isn’t enough; we know what happens to them – or rather, what DOESN’T happen.

But when you have your dreams and goals clarified clearly on paper, it becomes a DECLARATION.

It’s visual when it’s something you can SEE.

It’s powerful when it’s something you BELIEVE in.

The best part is dreaming doesn’t cost anything, and you can make do with any available stationary you have at home or your office.

When you spend a little bit of your time and effort into making your Dream Board, your mind starts to work and you will have greater clarity in what you want to set out and achieve.

It’s like having the final picture to constantly refer to while working on the pieces of the jigsaw puzzle. It would be hard to put the pieces together without referring to the complete picture. Can you imagine how hard it would be working on your business or career without having a goal or dream to achieve?

This is my latest Dream Board. The last one I did was about the same time last year. Things have changed since. Some goals were met; some underway. Regardless, to me it’s important to always set new goals and chase bigger dreams after a previous one is met.

Here’s to an exciting 2010 for everyone!

The Story Behind Every Packet of Mamee Monster

You’ve probably ate Mamee monster in your early childhood days. Even to this day, children continue to enjoy every yellow packet of those crunchy noodles, whether they buy it from the nearest sundry shop or from the ‘Roti man’. Mamee monster is very popular in Malaysia, Singapore, Australia, several Asian countries, and some in Europe even!

But what many people don’t know is the founder of Mamee Monster, Datuk Pang Tee Chew, or also known as TC Pang. To your surprise, did you know that there actually was a time that Mamee Monster was close to not being conceived at all?

You see, Tee Chew and his father, Pang Chin Tin (who also now holds a Datuk title), met with a lot of extreme challenges leading up to the conception of ‘eating instant noodles as it is without boiling it’.

As expected, the idea was met with objections and criticisms. I could imagine that people thought it was a stupid idea. In fact, their main supplier commented that the idea ‘would never work’. Man, who would believe that Mamee Monster was thought to be a stupid idea back then? Today, it’s a generally accepted idea.

Now at this point, the father and son could have given in to the objections. And perhaps we would now be living in a world without those bright yellow packets on sundry shops, shopping malls and the Bread Man.

But they went ahead… and the rest, as they say, is history.

Today people and children around the world are enjoying every bite of Mamee monster, and many would remember it fondly as part of their childhood memories. The crunchy snacks have started serving for generations of children and I don’t see this stopping anytime soon.

This is one of the many examples of people from humble beginnings, and they have proved – time and again – that you can still succeed and never be afraid to conceive your ideas, even if other people might not think highly of it. Yes, there will be obstacles. And you can still risk failing. But even if you fail on your first attempt, there’s no reason to give up. You only fail if you give in and stop trying. The Pang duos didn’t.

Why I Attend Seminars and Courses

At one time, I considered going back to continuing my tertiary education. I had second thoughts after meeting my peers whom I knew way back in high school, caught up with them and asked how they were doing. From high school to college, later to university, and then some more years of studying subjects they were barely interested in or as told by their parents.

I changed my mind at this point.

Perhaps I should have known myself better that I do much better outside the halls of education than from within (like home, for one example).

Up until recently, I learned building my business purely on my own and with some help from home study courses I purchased online to be shipped to my doorstep. While I have the privilege to meet great people in this business, I was later presented with the opportunities to go higher ticket, more exclusive seminars and courses which I wouldn’t have been able to afford to go to just some years ago.

I jumped onto the excellent opportunities and I decided it’s smarter to learn what I want, what I need, in a few days, and be able to apply right away vs. studying several months and semesters of theoretical study with a lot of fluff to boot.

I also decided that I won’t fit and mix well with students going to college and I should have forecast possible arguments with the lecturer, something I will do better to avoid before I give it a chance to happen.

So seminars and courses will take the place of my continuous education for the rest of my life. I’m sticking to the original plan. Preparing for a future without papers.

I don’t need a degree to my name to be approved in the society. I never needed it. And up until now, no one has asked me how many As I’ve scored in high school or what qualifications I have to my name. My credibility speaks better than my credentials.

And to best prepare myself for my daily to annual and lifetime challenges, I know that I must constantly equip myself with education. USEFUL, PRACTICAL education. More often than not, they are found outside the halls of formal education.

A Forex friend and sub mentor of mine told me this, “every day is test day“. I know I have passed or failed when I look at the balance of my bank account. And there will be a new challenge every time I wake up and start the day.