Wisdom For Free

What we think ...

2010-11-02T15:45:00.003+08:00

The smartest thing that a man can do is to know that we aren't as smart as we think we are.

Even if we say we are dumb, we should assume that we are dumber than we think we are.

Reason for that logic?

Because the 'smart' ones tend to be the first one that makes the stupid mistakes.

Over confident.
Over thinking.
Over every thing.

So know this.
We are dumb and expect dumb mistakes whenever possible.

Plan for the future ...

2009-06-10T10:26:00.002+08:00

That’s what I was taught to do from my mother.

I was 3 years old when my mom gave me my first piggy bank.

It was a yellow globe with two white gloves sticking out to greet me with a wide open smile on its painted face.

Mom said that this was mine and I should pay attention to it.

It was to be my future.

Every week, mom will give me 20 cents and ask me to put it into the yellow globe.
So week after week, I will do so.

The coins inside grew slowly.

A year will pass and mom will open up the little hole underneath it and help me count the coins.
Of course it was not much.
20 cents for 52 weeks will only amount to 10 ringgit 40 cents.
But to a young child it was a large amount.

Once all the accounting work is done, dad will take me to the bank to deposit it into my kiddy account in our local bank.
Mom will always insist on topping up the amount to 50 ringgit so that it looks nice and orderly in the account books.

So year after year, I will diligently save up my money and put it into my account.
And eventually it became a life habit.

Even today, as an adult, I still save up my coins in a little box beside my bed counter.
Granted, my actual savings is no longer being accumulated in that manner.
But the habit stuck.

Since I began earning wages 14 years ago, a portion of my income will always go into a savings account separated from my spending account.

What do I save it all for?
Anything.
Everything.

That’s where I went when I needed the money for my wedding.

Now that I am married to my love of life.
The money I save will be used to better secure our future.
Investments and smart purchases will be in the agenda.
A shrewd investment plan is essential to see us get to where we want to be in the future.

People like Robert.T.Kiyosaki might say other wise.
He would say I should start taking up a loan and invest with other people's money.
I understand that concept and generally agree with the idea.
But I am too much a pragmatist to ever go boldly where I can't see the end of a tunnel.

Don't get me wrong.
People should take risk; those who dare not venture out of their comfort zone will never leave their "shire".
But you should only risk that which you are willing to loose.
Some have huge buffer zone on what is the acceptable risk to them.
To others it’s a tiny red line which seems to be billion of miles away.

As a war strategist, I am very much predictable.
I will only attack when I am sure of success.
But there are times where I will chance a risky maneuver as long as I can live to fight another day.

So plan for you future.
And I don't mean just your financial aspect.
Everything.
Think ahead.
Dream.
That’s one of the steps to building a meaningful and eventful life.

Learn From the Past

2009-05-25T14:00:00.002+08:00

More often than not, we keep repeating our past mistakes.

We keep forgetting to switch off the lights when we leave the house.
Or we keep misplacing our keys when we come back home.

You usually term these as being forgetful but that’s just it.
We keep forgetting it.
We repeat our mistake again and again because we don't want to or feel as if it’s not important enough to be remembered.

In school, we are taught for at least 6 full years of history about incidents happening around the world.
The reason for such a curriculum is to teach the young about the things that happen before and how it was handled.
Not all the things are about RIGHT decisions, more often than we are thought about how WRONG they can be.

Does it work?
Us learning about our past?
Do we make fewer mistakes because we learned about them through books?
Are we wiser for it?

I would love to think so.
But reality is seldom so accommodating to my wishes.

Yet, it is because of that, we must continue to teach our young to identify and learn from the mistakes we made.

Learn from the past.
Absorb them.
Only then, is there hope for humans as a whole.

I Don't Know ...

2009-05-18T15:57:00.005+08:00

"I Don't Know"
That’s what the Chinese characters are saying.

Its one of the most common phrase used in any language.

A common excuse used when we are faced with issues which we do not expect to be associated with.

Due to the reason that it’s the most widely used phrase to "push" away responsibility, it has lost its integrity value.

Even though it is actually a valid answer when used in its appropriate context.

Telling another person that we do not have all the answers are not an excuse.
It’s merely a fact.

But to just leave the issue unresolved under the "I don't know" umbrella is unprofessional.

Personally I can accept that not every answer is readily available.
To acknowledge that fact is a key step to getting the answer itself.

We must first know that WE DON'T KNOW and most importantly WE DON'T KNOW what WE DON'T KNOW OF, in order for us to move forward.

"How?" you ask.

If you don't know what you need to know, how do you go about knowing what to seek?

As I said, by knowing that fact alone is the key to it all.

The answer to that riddle is to seek answers everywhere.
Leave no stone unturned.
Ask all questions available regardless of how dumb it might sound.
Because we don't know what we are looking for, we then seek everything.
We will only know when we find it.

I always thought that phrase to be very "Gandalf" in nature.
But it seems to be proving it consistently correct.

Life is an ever learning experience.
Saying that "I Know" puts a huge obstacle in front of that path of learning.
By simply embracing that we don't know, we allow our self so much more space to grow.

So don't be shy to admit that we are lacking in knowledge.
Don't be stubborn and insist that we are always right.
We gain more when we open up our minds to all possibilities.

So yeah, I say...
"I don't know.”
"But I am willing to be taught."

Stop and ...

2009-05-13T09:57:00.002+08:00

I can't get the song out of my head.
This song from One Republic.
"Stop and Stare"
The lyrics and the melody seem to be dancing in front of me.

It pushes my mind to swim again.

Pondering.

What do you see in me?

The world judges us.
We judge ourselves.
The verdict is seldom what we expect.
Most of us don't even want to know the answer to it.
So much so we put ourselves down just so that when we do fail we don't hurt so much.
Aim low so that if you miss you don't feel the pain.

It’s of course all bull.

The way is of course to aim high.
Always aim higher than you can reach.

So that if you do miss, you still end up generally somewhere better than where we are now.

I know that people are scared of the unknown.
They fear that future that is a blur to them.
Some would even stand forever still and never move an inch so that everything is always what they understand.
Everything in a neat little box with pin cushions and candy bars.

And then there are other kind that does much to facilitate as much as change as possible because they can't man up to their reality.
The think they are moving but actually they go no where.
Just like the hamster in its running wheel.
They run and run just so they think they can run away from it all.
Never stop to ponder if this where they are supposed to be?

You need to stop and wonder why you’re here and not there.
There where you should be.
Doing something that you feel good doing.

Yes, reality sucks and it does not give you the luxury to do what you want.
Yet, my answer is the same.

Why are you still here?

You made a decision to be here.
You believe that it’s never going to happen.
You stop the dream before it even formed.

Can you count back all the sleepless nights that you wish it was different?
Can you remember all the time where you stand in the middle of a crowd and you don't know why you are there?
Can you still feel that empty hole inside of you whenever you are alone?

It’s happening because we stopped dreaming.
We stopped pushing ourselves.
It’s so scary that we run just for the sake of running.
Desperately seeking that thing which eludes our grasps.

That is why I stopped running.
I stopped and started to look around.
Pulling my focus back into the reality around me.
And then I make the decision.
I will become all that I can be.
I will live to the fullest extent that my life can contain and more.

Enough of all this bickering.
Just stop it all.
I know it’s scary.
I understand that it’s overwhelming.
I know you want to start running again.
Well you’re not alone.
I know.
Steady hands will lead you to where you need to go.
Choose to be more.

Can you see what I see?

Listen to your inner voice ...

2009-05-08T10:11:00.003+08:00

One of the many things that our parents give us is the ability to make judgments.
They train us to decide what is right and wrong.
They force us to understand that not everything is what we want it to be.
But most of all they train us to be able to survive in the adult world when we actually step into it.

The voice inside of us is more or less their voice.
The small sound that lives deep down our gut.
We ignore if most of the time of course.
Just like the way we ignore the advice from our elders.
It is to our disadvantage when we do that.

How many times have we made useless mistakes only to realize that we have been forewarned?

How many times have we blundered through because we refuse to make sense?

Yet like those that have before us, some bridges are destined to be cross just so we understand deeply what it means.

Someone smarter than me once told me that even though I know a lot and I understand a lot, without truly going through it, I will never be able to embrace it all.
I disagree with him of course but age does prove to be a patient master and I eventually understand and accept that wisdom.

Being able to analyze and dissect a problem is part of what we are as human.
Its one of the things that defines and separates us from the everyday animals.
Animals though go by instincts.
Their genes retain information that is passed down from generation to generation.
I believe that Humans have the same capability.
We have a whole universe of experience inside of us but we don't listen to it.

That voice in our gut is made up of all the experiences that we have in us as well.

So with so much information, why do we still struggle?
Why do we keep ignoring it?
Are we so arrogant that we can't accept even if they are correct?

Try this.
The next time you are in doubt.
Stop and be silent.
Listen for it.
That voice deep down.
What does it say?
You might just learn something new.

Note:
12th May 2009
Changed the previous image to this new one.
Its just speaks better visually.

Eat Healthy ...

2009-04-24T12:14:00.006+08:00

A lot of young people don't understand that we are not immortal.
We squander away our life doing things that we should not do.
For instance, we spent way too much time thinking about getting into a relationship when it’s suppose to be thinking how to make best of our lives.
Getting a mate is important but the motivation must be pure and true.
A girlfriend/boyfriend is not an item in which we put a tick to a checkbox.
You keep looking for that and you will end up with exactly what you are looking for, a superficial relationship that is based on nothing more than a false impression.

Eating healthy is not just a motion of eating "organic" foods and less sugar.
Eating healthy is about enjoying the food you eat and helping our body get what it needs.
People misinterpret so many of these simple facts that they seldom receive what they are supposed to get.

So people eating ice cream is not bad.
Eating TOO MUCH of ice cream is.
Having a nice meal is not bad.
Glutton consumption is.

Eat Healthy.
Be Healthy.
You decide.

Partners in life ...

2009-04-17T14:08:00.002+08:00

Throughout our life we will meet a lot of people.

Some come and go without leaving any impression.

Some stays longer than others and makes a dent in our nice little wall.

Then there are some who does more than just aggravate our souls.

When you find that some one that manages to make you angry without doing anything.
Or makes you smile with just simple actions.
You should know that you found some one who is more than just another passer by.

That person might not be your boy friend or girl friend.
They might not be your wife or husband.
Just someone who is special and will always be special for it.

Finding a soul mate of such is rare.
Its one of those things that you never expect but happens when you least want it to be.
Because its in those circumstances that defines their ties to you.
Its there because we needed them to come forth and embrace us.

So if you find that certain someone.
Be grateful.
Because it’s these individuals that helps make our life a little more interesting because of it.

Family first ...

2008-12-12T18:40:00.000+08:00

When a person has family, their priorities change.

Its not that they are no longer responsible people or that they no longer care about other peoples pain.
Its just they care a little less.

Focus is now put on to the children.
They will do anything for their children.
Which will include murder, seduction and just about any act that will help their children get the extra edge.

Most of my senior staffs are now married and just have or having their first child.
It is in this period of time where you see grown adults reduce to tears (of joy) when their 1 year olds makes a fart.

I sound like a cynic. Don't I?

They say, I don't understand the emotions that parents go through when they see their flesh and blood grow into Hercules or Hera.
Not true, of course.
I know it plenty well.

Because I have a lot of "children" of my own.

From my work to my friends.

Of course, they say it’s different.

These things and people are distant from me.
There is less connection.
It’s far away from THE HEART.

Maybe to them ... but not to me.
I take everything to heart.
Its how I work philosophically and biologically.

I can't stop myself from paying attention and caring.
So much so, my wife has to tell me to STOP being so emotional attached to everything that I come in contact with.

I might not look like the kind, but I am.
Else I would have stopped communicating with people that most will call "Lost Causes" a long long time ago.
Of this, I blame my mom to have brought me up to "Understand Others People Feelings" so damn well.

So please stop telling me that I don't understand.
Because I do.
And because I do understand, I also understand that it needs to be controlled.
Becoming imbalance in our way of perceiving the world causes imbalances within our life as a result.
Some say that they accept those consequences because it’s worth it.
Well then good for them, because they are going in with their eyes open.
But for those who don't know any better, well its time to REALLY grow up.

I don't spout gibberish.
Not often anyway.
Most of the time, even my gibberish is hiding a statement I want to pass on to the listener.
It’s my way of being "Zen"ish.

So whats todays wisdom?
"Let not others colour your eyes blue, if you can see through your heart of true"

Chew on that.

TB or not TB ...

2008-02-20T13:23:00.000+08:00

"To be or not to be. What kind of question is that? Just do it."

I am a practical man.

Who I am...

2008-02-15T17:01:00.000+08:00

Its not as easy as people think.

Wisdom I mean.

It comes from learning that we are more stupid then we think we are.

First comes the knowing.

Then come the understanding.

Last comes the accepting.

So here is todays wisdom.

"The difference between a wise man and a fool. Is that the former knows that they are stupid"

Its free ...

2008-02-13T14:49:00.001+08:00

People.

What is wisdom?

Who wants more?

So here is mine for the day.

"Life is like chocalate. If you don't eat it soon, it ends up being spoiled"