Perspective

An Opinionated View On The World

Do You Like Your Career?

		Sunday, 23 March 08 - 09:00 AM (GMT +08:00) By Sing Chie Tie in Thoughts

Do you like your work/career?  Ask yourself these:

1. Are you reluctant (dread) to go to work in the morning? 
   
2. Do you always work long and/or irregular hours and it is not of your choosing?
3. Do you feel that you are not paid accordingly and/or feel marginalized?
4. Do you feel that your career is not advancing or going anywhere?
5. Do you dislike and/or feel inferior on what your doing currently?

If you respond YES to any 1 of the 5 questions, u earn a 20% score.  If your score exceeds 60%, time to really look into what goes wrong in your work/career.

I am not a career consultant.  I just mentioned this over my few years of experience as a working dude.  (Yes, I had been through some bad times)

Shortcut to Success

		Wednesday, 20 February 08 - 10:50 AM (GMT +08:00) By Sing Chie Tie in Thoughts

There is a shortcut to success and everyone has access to it.

But when I mentioned this to my friends, most will reply, "There is no shortcut to success.  You have to work hard and persevere for it."  I find this to be half-truth and doing injustice to people.

Yes, you do need to work hard and persevere to achieve it but you also need to take the shortcut.  It would be dumb not to take it when the shortcut is just so readily available to us, ain't it?  It is not even a sin to take a shortcut to success.  In fact, every religion encourages this shortcut to success.  The shortcut to success is through education.

Huh?  Go to School and Get Good Grades?

That's call formal education and it does help but that will only get you that far - getting good grades.  Most of us stop learning when we graduated from our academic endeavor.  Eventually we will pick up a class or professional certification or two to make ourselves more marketable to make a living.  That's all good and noble. 

Education should not stop when you graduated from your formal academic endeavor.  Education is for a life-time.  When you stop learning, you are six-foot-under.

Success = Life

Success is much like life; it is a journey and like all journeys it has a lot of junctions and obstacles.  Sometimes when we come to a crossroad, stop for a while, take a breather and make a choice.  The choices we make could be good and it could also be otherwise.  When it is a bad move, we may get detoured and reached our destination late or perhaps at the expense of spending more money to get back on track.  By then there's this little voice in our head that say, "Oh I should have known that.", "Why no one tell me this!" or "If only I have listened to Symon."

Other times we come to a junction, we pave our own path.  We are like pioneers in the new frontier.  We will put up road signs to warn weary travelers of the upcoming potholes and sharp corners.  The little voice in your head will say, "I need to warn people who come this way to be careful at this turning." or "I have to put a sign here so that other travelers can know what's ahead of them."

When I sit back and reflect on it, most of our setbacks can be avoided if only we have spend some time educating ourselves.  And most of other people's setback can be avoided if we share our experience to them in order for them to avoid the same setback that befell us.

How Short is The Shortcut

When we mention shortcut, we are visualizing that we are to reach our destination at a shorter time with less cost.  That's not how we measure shortcut to success.  Shortcut to success is measured by how many hours you saved from avoiding a mistake or how efficiently you use your resources to reach your destination. 

If you know how to identify a ponzi-scheme from a genuine opportunity you could have invested your hard earned RM100,000 elsewhere.  If you know that all speakers have stage frights you may be the next great speaker.  If you know the value of money is at this present time perhaps you can be a millionaire 2 years earlier than planned.

Shortcut to success is about time-saving and resource allocation; not making the distance between you and success shorter.  It is about cutting down the delays but not cutting short the kilometers/miles.

So How Does Education Help?

Education reveals the misconceptions and debunks the myths.  Best of all, it is all within our reach.  Learning from other people's experience is the best way.  It can come in the form of a book, an interview or even a good film/documentary. 

Successful people like to tell the rest of us how they make it and in hope we do not have to go through the same challenges they went through.  It is our folly not to heed their generosity.

Successful People are Teachers

Knowledge is gained while wisdom is earned.  The most fulfilling intellectual social obligation anyone can achieve is to share one's wisdom with the world. 

PS: This blog entry is dedicated to all the successful people in my life who have generously coached me to be who I am today without expecting anything in return.

Luck: The Insignificant Signifance

		Tuesday, 19 February 08 - 10:41 AM (GMT +08:00) By Sing Chie Tie in Thoughts

When someone says "You are lucky" I know they meant well.  I smiled and with the most pleasant tone possible would thank them for the compliment.  However it prompts me to think - What is Luck?

The Luck Delusion

Luck, according to Dictionary.com, means the force that seems to operate for good or ill in a person's life, as in shaping circumstances, events, or opportunities. A very neutral term but we generally refer luck as a good omen.  However, how can we differentiate a pure luck and one that's man-made?

I firmly believe that 98% of the luck in this world are man-made while the remaining 2% are what I would say require some sort of divine or serendipitous intervention. 

Successful People Are Not Lucky People

Success is no luck (or otherwise categorized by me as man-made luck).  One becomes more successful when one is in focus and determined.  Success is a cocktail of determination, perseverance, confidence and a whole lot more other good qualities of life.  One's success is considered as luck by others simply because the others do not put into their mental equation that success come to those who work hard and smart on it. 

Success begins with the mind.  If one has constructive thoughts, success will come easier. A wiser dude once said, "The mind attracts what it constructs."  If one think one is a loser then a loser one is and vice versa.

The Significance of the Insignificant 2%

Having debunked that 98% of luck is man-made (i.e. if one works hard, smart and have the mental health that attracts success), the remaining 2% is what I call pure luck - the insignificant significance. 

Consider the following: You are driving carefully and suddenly a car skidded from the opposite lane and miss you by an inch - just an inch - leaving you and your car unscathed.  Now that's pure luck.  Have you drive 1 mile or kilometer faster, you could put your life in danger.  How can you explain this using logic?  Pure luck cannot be logically explained.  Stuff that happens when it happens for good or bad is what pure luck is all about. 

And it is this pure luck that one tends to love and hate. It is the almost and merely of our life.  Sometimes when I reflect a little on the pure luck I incidents I experienced, I might be able to connect the dots to a specific event(s) that may be the catalyst that triggers the occurrence of pure luck later in my life.  By then it is still pure luck to me.  How could I know by doing something (i.e. drive at 90kph) now can help me avoid a tragic event (accident 5 seconds down the time line)?

About Tomorrow Never Comes

		Wednesday, 19 September 07 - 11:47 AM (GMT +08:00) By Sing Chie Tie in Thoughts

I came across this quote:

Don't worry about the world coming to an end today. It's already tomorrow in Australia.

- Charles Schultz -

It makes sense!  How about this:

Reflect about the past.  It's still yesterday in Hawaii.

-S.C.Tie-

Okay, I am just being sarcastic but please do take sometimes to reflect about our past.  There are lessons to be learned there.  Don't dwell in the past though.  Refer Discovery & Progress for the inspiration.

Should I Vote?

		Tuesday, 18 September 07 - 12:10 AM (GMT +08:00) By Sing Chie Tie in Thoughts

Should I vote?  The election is coming...so should I exercise my constitutional right?  I live in a [partially] democratic country so I should [to honor what's left of it].  However a part of me says otherwise.  First off, let's get the technicality of things sorted out.

My Constituency

MyKad is imprinted with my hometown address of Sibu, Sarawak.  I am now in Seri Kembangan, Selangor.  By following the regulation set by the election committee, I should go back to Sibu, Sarawak to vote.  I should take a flight back to Sibu, have my vote, and fly back.  RM300++ at the current flight ticket rate.

I emailed Suruhanjaya Pilihan Raya (SPR).  On first attempt, the email bounced back - email no longer valid.  On second attempt I managed to get to one of the SPR personnel.  It has been four weeks since then.  I have yet to hear from him...and I think I would probably won't hear from him anyway.

Later I found out that I can only change my constituency if I changed my address in MyKad...and that's not going to happen since I am renting a place here in Seri Kembangan (not having a permenant address).  I believe that constitute to a significant number of the rakyat who do not vote in Malaysian elections.

The Lesser of Two Evils

Onwards to the second point.  If the two candidates at my constituency are bad, should I vote?  I believe I should not.  The reasoning is simple: if you do not know what to buy in a sale, then don't buy anything at all because by just casually buying something just for the sake of the sale, you are worse off - firstly you spend the money on things you don't want/need and secondly you have to find place to keep the thing you just bought.  Am I a bad rakyat if I do not vote?  Are you a bad shopper if you do not buy anything during a sale?  Hmmm...

Alliance and Opposition

The ruling party is a alliance of smaller component parties.  Anyone who goes against them are called 'Opposition'.  Does that mean the opposition parties are bad?  Not necessarily.  The ruling alliance party, as I see it, is like a capitalist corporation.  The opposition parties are a collection of socialist and fundamentalist factions.  It's not necessarily a bad that one skewed towards the socialist/fundamentalist faction if they genuinely has a good thing to offer for the common good.  It is also not necessarily a good thing if one is pro capitalism (i.e. How the thirst for oil has lead countries to war backed by major economic corporations).

One thing is dead sure - the opposition party should stop calling themselves as 'The Oppositions'.  First off, the word 'opposition' has a bad tone to it.  Oppositions leads to words like 'revolution', 'rebellion', 'oppression' and the like.  The challenger should call themselves through a more neutral term else the first impression that it has to the less informed public would be that elections are the battleground between good and eivl with evil being the oppositions.

To Vote or Not To Vote

You have the right to vote as well as not to vote.  I do not believe it is unconstitutional if you don't vote because you think the candidates are bad.  Indecisiveness, despite being a bad decision is a decision nonetheless.

Conclusion

Know your rights and exercise conscience when you cast your vote because you vote is significant!

 

Common Sense: Commodity or Privilege?

		Thursday, 02 August 07 - 01:47 PM (GMT +08:00) By Sing Chie Tie in Thoughts

Sometimes I wonder, "How common is common sense?"

Lately there had been reports in the local newspapers about average Alis, Abus and Ah Chongs (equivalent to average Joes but localized to Malaysia) giving questionable answers to simple questions.

Consider This Scenario:

The Parliment House has a leaky roof.  It disrupts daily operations.  Someone asks, "When was the last time the inspection for the building maintenance be done?"

While you can expect the answers to be in the format of date/time, I will have to disappoint you by telling you that the answer is, "We have been doing our rounds".

Later a senior minister told the press something like this, "It has been raining a lot lately.  This building is not new anymore.  Surely one can expect leakage and sorts.  We are working on getting the building repaired."

Blaming the incident on El Nino?  Dude, buildings don't just leak!  Buildings are built to withstand weathers...and if it is heavy rain, the basement car park should be flooded and not leaking.  Blaming on engineering mischief (and that's gaining shares steadily in this country too) is heck a lot better an excuse (if it really is) than on the cyclical El Nino.

What Should A Common Sense Answer Be Like?

The senior minister should at least say, "The maintenance team overlooked the severity of the condition of the building roof during our maintenance rounds and we regret it is so.  We acknowledge that there is much to be done and we are going to need RM10 million for the repair."

Despite dodging the question of the last time the building maintenance did their rounds, I still feel that this is a better response than avoiding owning up to the mistakes.  It feels so much better just to know that someone takes responsibility over the issue.

How about the RM10 Million?

I am wondering too since no one involved revealed why it requires RM10 million.

The Lesson?

If you want to lie, please throw in common sense!

About Seeing the Bigger Picture

		Friday, 27 July 07 - 10:15 PM (GMT +08:00) By Sing Chie Tie in Thoughts

We all complain once in a while.  It is our nature.  Recently a colleague of mine shared a rather meaningful comic strip.  The comic strip is simple enough to comprehend.  I will leave it to you to contemplate on it...

What Do You Really Want?

		Thursday, 31 May 07 - 11:25 PM (GMT +08:00) By Sing Chie Tie in Thoughts

So what do I really really want?

The question is simple enough to ask and digest but it is ever so hard to answer.  We know what we want - short term or long term - but it is the question of what do we really really want that is mind bogging.

Do I want wealth?  Or is it health?  Or is it freedom?  Yes, I want those.  But what do I really really want? 

I guess the answer to that question is a journey that I really need to take.  I believe the answer to that simple zen-like question will be the pinnacle of my very existence...

... More items are available in my News Archive