As a self-made millionaire and serial entrepreneur who have traveled widely, John [not his real name] has gathered rich life experiences, and met many wonderful people from varied walks of life. Whenever I meet him for coffee, he has lots & lots of life stories to share – always a fascination to have a conversation with him.
Amongst the things I learned from John is that life is about taking calculated risks. As a matter of fact, mankind’s progress throughout the ages is the cumulative outcome of decisions by visionary individuals who dare to dream and take action.
Would man have landed on the moon, if President Kennedy didn’t dare to dream, took calculated risks and pursue relentlessly to realize it? As I understand, when the dream was articulated, no one knows whether it is be achievable. If fact, many of the President’s men said it cannot be done.
I therefore find it equally fascinating when people tells me that they don’t want [or, rather] afraid to take risks [unless someone guarantees their success] even though adequate facts are laid before them.
Imagine what would have happened if we were afraid of going to college for fear of failure to complete the course, didn’t applying for a job or embarked on any venture fear of failure / rejection, fear of failing our examination therefore not sign-up for the next seating, not leaving the house for fear of being knock down by a car, not buying the dream home for fear of catastrophic consequences, etc. We wouldn’t have made any progress.
Life is about taking chances, making commitment and taking action. Go, live life, get out of your comfort zone and set an example for the next generation. There’s whole spectrum of rich sights and sounds and experience awaiting you. Best wishes and may you live a life of abundance like my friend, John.
Thursday, August 30, 2007
Wednesday, August 15, 2007
10 TIPS ON HOW TO LIVE LONGER
August’s issue of Adsvantage lists 10 things you can do to live longer, summarized as follows:
TIP #1 DAILY WORKOUTS
Regular exercise can increase physical health. A recent study shows that daily exercise adds 3.7 years to our lives.
TIP#2 NOT SMOKING
It is common knowledge that smoking is bad for health. Findings have shown that the mortality rate of middle-aged heavy smokers were cut by half once they have decided to quit smoking.
TIP #3 OWNING PETS
Several studies have shown that owning a pet lowers a person’s blood pressure, increases self-esteem in children, decreases the mortality rates of heart attack victims, decreases cholesterol, decreases depression, relieves stress and increase family happiness. Research predicts that those owning pets may add 7 years to their lives.
TIP #4 EATING WISELY
A number of studies have already confirmed that certain foods have positive impact on our lifespan. With a little planning and discipline it is possible to incorporate a good range of healthy food into our diet, and minimize unhealthy food.
TIP#5 HAVING GOOD FRIENDS
An Australian study has shown that those who had the most close friends ended up living the longest. This is because friends can increase a person’s well-being through lower stress, less boredom and reduced sadness.
TIP#6 LAUGHING
Laughter is a natural medicine, with the ability to decrease stress-related hormones, boost immune system, regulate blood pressure, and increase the flow of blood and oxygen.
TIP#7 BEING NICE AND POSITIVE
Being positive and cheerful, and maintaining an optimistic outlook can add years to life, and life to years. Recent studies found that older men with angry and hostile personalities are more likely to die before those who engaged in smoking and drinking.
TIP#8 MEDITATING
Meditating can reduce stress and reduce pain, lower blood pressure and facilitate positive emotions to the brain. It also promotes mental clarity.
TIP#9 RELAXATION
Taking time to relax is great for both the body and mind. It has calming effect and is excellent for dealing with stress.
TIP#10 DOING YOGA
Yoga has been shown to relax the mind as it trains the brain to focus on the present moment and promotes clarity of the mind. It improves blood flow and relaxes the body.
TIP #1 DAILY WORKOUTS
Regular exercise can increase physical health. A recent study shows that daily exercise adds 3.7 years to our lives.
TIP#2 NOT SMOKING
It is common knowledge that smoking is bad for health. Findings have shown that the mortality rate of middle-aged heavy smokers were cut by half once they have decided to quit smoking.
TIP #3 OWNING PETS
Several studies have shown that owning a pet lowers a person’s blood pressure, increases self-esteem in children, decreases the mortality rates of heart attack victims, decreases cholesterol, decreases depression, relieves stress and increase family happiness. Research predicts that those owning pets may add 7 years to their lives.
TIP #4 EATING WISELY
A number of studies have already confirmed that certain foods have positive impact on our lifespan. With a little planning and discipline it is possible to incorporate a good range of healthy food into our diet, and minimize unhealthy food.
TIP#5 HAVING GOOD FRIENDS
An Australian study has shown that those who had the most close friends ended up living the longest. This is because friends can increase a person’s well-being through lower stress, less boredom and reduced sadness.
TIP#6 LAUGHING
Laughter is a natural medicine, with the ability to decrease stress-related hormones, boost immune system, regulate blood pressure, and increase the flow of blood and oxygen.
TIP#7 BEING NICE AND POSITIVE
Being positive and cheerful, and maintaining an optimistic outlook can add years to life, and life to years. Recent studies found that older men with angry and hostile personalities are more likely to die before those who engaged in smoking and drinking.
TIP#8 MEDITATING
Meditating can reduce stress and reduce pain, lower blood pressure and facilitate positive emotions to the brain. It also promotes mental clarity.
TIP#9 RELAXATION
Taking time to relax is great for both the body and mind. It has calming effect and is excellent for dealing with stress.
TIP#10 DOING YOGA
Yoga has been shown to relax the mind as it trains the brain to focus on the present moment and promotes clarity of the mind. It improves blood flow and relaxes the body.
Sunday, August 12, 2007
DID YOU HAVE FUN TODAY?
Rich Schefren posted an excellent article on 10 August 2007 in his blog on one of the secrets to boosting productivity and how inject a lot more fun into your life.
According to Rich, many people believe that they can get more done by putting in long hours; however, it has the opposite effect.
He suggests that if we want to get more out of our life, we should schedule one fun activity per day with the only condition being, it must be something we really look forward to doing.
The psychological reason being: we’ll be much more inclined to work productively and efficiently before we experience our fun activity – just try to recall how you worked and cleared all essential tasks every time you were preparing for a vacation.
Other than distressing, fun breaks are also great in many ways. Pulling ourselves away from our chores – even for a little while – clears the mind of some of the clutter. Often, unsolvable problems seem simpler when we look at it again after the break. Ideas and solutions dropped in out of nowhere while we shift our focus to something else.
So, if you want get more out of your life – be more productive and successful – commit to having fun each day!
According to Rich, many people believe that they can get more done by putting in long hours; however, it has the opposite effect.
He suggests that if we want to get more out of our life, we should schedule one fun activity per day with the only condition being, it must be something we really look forward to doing.
The psychological reason being: we’ll be much more inclined to work productively and efficiently before we experience our fun activity – just try to recall how you worked and cleared all essential tasks every time you were preparing for a vacation.
Other than distressing, fun breaks are also great in many ways. Pulling ourselves away from our chores – even for a little while – clears the mind of some of the clutter. Often, unsolvable problems seem simpler when we look at it again after the break. Ideas and solutions dropped in out of nowhere while we shift our focus to something else.
So, if you want get more out of your life – be more productive and successful – commit to having fun each day!
Thursday, August 9, 2007
I’LL LIVE A SIMPLE LIFE!
Are you sure? That’s my usual reply when people tell me that they don’t need a lot of money during their golden years as they intend to live a simple life.
Many people erroneously assume that they can practically curtail their current executive lifestyle & activities, and that the major costs during retirement are monies required for food and basic necessities. It is therefore not surprising that many people run out of savings within 3 – 10 years after retirement.
Underestimating one’s financial needs is not uncommon especially if no effort has been spend into defining what is a “simple life”; and identifying and computing the requirements spanning over 20 or more years. When they do, many people were literally dumbfounded actually when their financial consultant present the figures.
So, how much does one need for retirement? That will vary from individual to individual. However, the earlier one seized one’s funding requirements, the more time is available to plan and stock-up the nestegg.
Many people erroneously assume that they can practically curtail their current executive lifestyle & activities, and that the major costs during retirement are monies required for food and basic necessities. It is therefore not surprising that many people run out of savings within 3 – 10 years after retirement.
Underestimating one’s financial needs is not uncommon especially if no effort has been spend into defining what is a “simple life”; and identifying and computing the requirements spanning over 20 or more years. When they do, many people were literally dumbfounded actually when their financial consultant present the figures.
So, how much does one need for retirement? That will vary from individual to individual. However, the earlier one seized one’s funding requirements, the more time is available to plan and stock-up the nestegg.
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