As mentioned, majority of entrepreneurs in the world are Strategists, for they have nowhere to go with their many ideas for new and promising ventures.
We distinguish ourselves by living both our personal and professional lives in the belief that what conceptually can be created can at some point be implemented.
Once I understand how to achieve whatever I am setting out to do, I lose interest in the daily routine and execution of ideas.
I consider myself to be quite accommodating, understanding, and empathetic, but at times those with whom I interact experience me as hard, cold, and calculating. Sad to say, I'm not really bothered.
I'm habitually quite selective in what I choose to perceive, as I chiefly want to channel my energies in directions that first are fascinating and second, profitable. Its really the case for me, I noticed this behaviour getting more and more prominent.
I am relentless, around-the-clock workaholics, driven to direct all available energy and imagination toward achievement.
I tend to be more polyactive than single-minded, typically taking on many endeavors simultaneously. I can attest to this statement, but currently I'm trying to follow the motto of doing one thing at a time.
Frequently I am unaware of my tendency to be aloof, off somewhere in my intellectual space; for I arrive at the future first, and understand concepts and ideas long before you mortals. Foresight for me is vital; theory captivates my imagination. I'm at my best when I'm scheming, contemplating, and planning.
Role
I am open to change. I can easily be intellectual dilettantes and loses with day-to-day reality.
I am a lifelong learner who quickly loses interest and search for new adventures when there is no more new learning to be done.
Modus Operandi
My modus operandi is to preserve the freedom of increase options. FREEDOM OF CHOICES!!
I need freedom to intellectually soar, to view the world from conceptual perspectives, not from predetermined angles.
It is useful to recognize that I am so demanding of myself that I may extend the same expectations and pressure to others with quite different life agendas.
Values
I place more value on analysis, exploration, and the intellect than do the other 3 entrepreneur types.
I view my world of thinking and turning insights into new opportunities as synonymous with progress and achievement.
I value objectivity and gaining knowledge so much that I am at a loss when others rely more on their emotions than on logic.
I enjoy problem solving and mental gymnastics as much as or more than merely achieving predetermined goals. Like solving sudoku puzzles. I just solve them for the process.
People who do not understand my motivation and orientation may be upset by my flexibility. Possibly, not really sure what is going on in other people's head.
I enjoy being able to influence people. I usually enjoy being influenced by others.
I can discuss anything with anyone without taking myself too seriously. About cars? About horoscope? I'm not sure about this one.
I place high value on will, for I feel that I can will myself into whatever I want. I enjoy a kind of intellectual elasticity and therefore can waltz in and out of situations, even without a partner.
Expectations
My expectations are straightforward: Do as I say and not necessarily as I do. Hmm, not walking the talk?
I believe that I know what is best for everyone and that I can charm people into doing just anything.
I expect to be admired, loved, and worshiped by whomever I work with because my contribution is intellectually superior, unique, and more valuable than anyone else's. Over time, though, I am likely to realise that my charm has its limits. I get what this sentence means. I experience similar events before.
I expect people to work intelligently but not necessarily hard. Yes, Work Smart not Work Hard!
I don't necessarily believe that everyone should do their duty, because the term duty implies the inabiity to intellectualize and, the tendency to accept status quo. I abhor herd instincts.
Lifestyle
My lifestyle is most affected by my belief that there are never enough hours in the day to do everything I want to do.
I never cease to explore, study, read, and stay informed on whatever is important to me.
I prefer to be at work with an occasional passing thought for an outside event than to be at the event itself, thinking about work. Don't really get what this means though.
There may be times when I venture out to do something that is good for my health and well-being. These tend to be highly individualized activities; I enjoy competing against myself more than others, believing that "Anything I can do, I can do better." Explains why I prefer non-ball games that can be done on my own.
My Entrepreneur Style
I FOUND this book called Joining the Entrepreneurial Elite by Olaf Isachsen. It's not beneficial to non entrepreneurs but it helps me identify my entrepreneur style.
The book says that there are 4 entrepreneur styles. I belong to one of them. Here will be the records of the descriptions which I think made sense.
The Strategist
Most entrepreneurs belong to this style for 2 reason.
I'm highly critical and are usually open to learning as much as I can about myself. Which is what I'm doing right now.
I do not suffer fools gladly. Yes, I don't like to work with slow people who makes mistake 9 out of 10 times.
Nothing is ever complete in my world of work. I'm constantly facing a moving target. My mind is seldom at rest and I tend to work hard at everything I do. I really prefer to know it as working smart though, but those are the words from the book.
I'm highly competitive, but I'm competing with myself most of the time. I'm self-sufficient but I tend to lie about me being a great team player. I play time to time with the team, but am far too independent to rely on it for my own success. There's some truth to this. Recent episodes reinforced my mental affirmation of this statement.
I have a great need for power - over nature. I always need to find answer where my knowledge is limited, and when I know, I get bored and turn to the next batch of uncertainty. True, I have 3min interest in every intricate things.
I think in categorical terms in order to simplify and classify issues so that I can be highly efficient; I spend a minimum of energy in understanding the broadest possible range of things. Hmmm, really sums up what I meant by working smart.
I'm strategic but not particularly tactical. It is fun and stimulating for me to figure out where I need to be in a long haul but it is frustrating and difficult for me to play my cards in the short haul. This is due to the fact that the skills required to do that are more situationally orientated than stringing together issues with a strategic impact. This can become my weakness, therefore it is also a reason why I need a partner to cover me in this area. I think its like an artillery that can shoot far and cause lots of damage but is useless in close combat.
I am a loner in that I have learned that I cannot expect an equal intellectual contribution from my co-workers. Yet without them, accomplishing the day-to-day tasks might not be possible. This sentence actually made me felt good. It says that I'm smart. Haha. Love it.
I'm serious and I believe that "heaven can wait". Whatever that means.
Characteristics of the Strategist
"Today" is obsolete, and only "Tomorrow and beyond" captures my attention, imagination, and energies.
I never take no for an answer and consistently advances the goal line, ensuring a dynamic environment with no real end in sight. Cool, this serves as a mental boost. My programming is like this, so I will behave like this.
I derive great satisfaction from dealing with concepts, ideas, and abstractions. I have no patience for specific and concrete routinized work. Need to look into that, am already experiencing waves of confirmation with recent events.
I'm more concerned with what I can eventually achieve by being insightful and brilliant than I am with taking advantage of a situation on the fly. Delayed gratification vs instant gratification?
Everything I do, I apply reasoning, logic and brainpower - but not much else. Who cares, these are enough to rule.
I search for ways to ultilise resources as efficiently and as comprehensively as possible.
I believe that the best person will win, so naturally do not spend much time establishing warm long- term human relationships, finding it time consuming and not particularly predictable. Which really explains why I feel lonely sometimes. But I guess it is part of my programming and that it is necessary for my success. I'll live with it.
Delivering Superior Performance
I'm at my best when allowed to deal with concepts, ideas, and the future. It means that I'm the best person to stake out the course for an organization.
My weakness is at day-to-day routine tasks which are necessary to make an organization function. Sigh... I'll have to live with it.
I can talk out of both sides of my mouth at the same time and enjoy an argument for the sake of gaining insights and learning. Lol. I can do that sometimes with the right people. Picking an argument for both agreeing and disagreeing sake while I really have a neutral standpoint.
I am usually aware of the need for the team to reach ambitious goals and objectives but are not really a team players. Happened exactly the case for my first assembled book production team. Bad experience. But good learning lesson no doubt.
I'm at my very best when I don't have to be bothered with today and can arrive at the future long before anyone else suspects it is here. This is really cool. I hope I can fully understand what this sentence mean.
The best contribution I can make is to be involved today with the critical issues required to secure a brilliant tomorrow. Need to make sense of this statement as well.
Taking Charge of My Destiny
I not only want to be in charge of my own destiny, I tend to take charge of everybody's as well. Haha. Lots of events to support this statement.
I don't save for rainy days, I search for shelter when it rains. I trust my own ability to create conditions that are so superior that I don't need to bother taking care of my personal finances. Hmm, not exactly convinced by this but not entirely false either.
I have a very real sense for priorities, directing my energies into areas where the results are likely to be the most beneficial. Returns over investment. Yes!
I'm enarmoured with the design and the opportunity to resolve complex issues in difficult situations better and faster than anyone. That's just too great. Love this sentence. I'll live by it.
I find ideas of how to be in control of my future more meaningful than either dealing with the actual implementation of plans or enjoying the fruits of my labour. Yea, sort of makes sense.
Working Under Uncertainty
I'm highly flexible. I thrive on operating with insufficient information, while remaining open for new data. Cool!
I'm masterful in directing people and resources. But I can get uptight if my organization is not performing as anticipated, and will become preoccupied with issues outside the central core of a problem. Yea true. Happened before.
If my path become overloaded with uncertainty, I tend to become temporarily immobilized, and I flounder. Explains my loser mode.
But mild degree of uncertainty can energise me into providing better solutions in changing circumstances. Thank goodness.
Arriving at the Future First
I never arrive. I'm obsessed with making sense of current events in light of the future. I'm at my best when challenged to anticipate the future and at my worst when dwelling with the past. Yea, I suppose that what everyone should be like. Look forward and stop thinking about the past.
I'm frequently probing and exploring concepts whose time has not yet come to pre-empt the obsolete organization created for the present.
I'm impatient with the operating side of my business, I want to become better but not necessarily bigger.
I'm prepared to relinquish control to others more capable than myself so that I may continue to pursue my journey into the challenges of the future. Well said.
Being a Member of a Community
It is not a high priority for me. But it doesn't mean I don't appreciate the communities in both my business and personal lives. It just means that communities are not built by my kind.
I'm too individualistic to find satisfaction in community membership. But I will still join, perhaps more out of obligation than the need or desire.
I function in whatever community that seems appropriate, more as a result of obligation and proper positioning than attempting to be a valuable contributor. Very true. Too true.
The internal communities within my respective organizations are there to serve my intellectual needs and not the other way round. Band can be a great example. I found my first lover there.
I only have use for an internal community if it serves the purpose of strenghtening the competitive position of my enterprise. Perhaps using band to get more CCA points to deduct that 2 extra L1R5 score is applicable here?
Determining Essentials and Priorities
I cannot function well without knowing the changing dynamics and essential characteristics of my business.
My priorities emanate from an insatiable need to create conditions that allow my respective organizations to sustain success over long periods of time.
I can be sticklers for details and for following up on goals. This is done more to keep people alert and focused than because of an interest in control and in reporting on routine matters.
It is the interpretation and meaningfulness of day-to-day activities that gives me the impetus to contemplate and anticipate how things change and how to set new priorities.
I'm vitally interested in the dynamics and inconsistencies in complex issues, and my whole sense of priority-setting is based upon the idea of outperforming my competitors.
What is important to me is to constantly define, redefine, and comprehend the changes in the competitive environment and to construct new parameters for sustained success.
Realizing Some Entrepreneurs Are Born, Other Made
My kind are both born and made. I'm not sure which one I belong to.
I'm difficult to work for, as my mind wander across the constraints, routine, and discipline of everyday work life.
I'm a natural leader as a result of my need for foresight and often take carefully selected people with me on my journey to the future.
Born-Strategist Entrepreneur effortlessly seek to differentiate themselves from the crowd. Wow, sometimes it happens. More in recent years.
My kind are highly independent and therefore do not naturally fit into environments calling for conformity. We honor diversity and individuality and remain entrepreneurs all our lives. YES!
That pretty much sums up what I am or will be. I like it very much and will live by it.
The book says that there are 4 entrepreneur styles. I belong to one of them. Here will be the records of the descriptions which I think made sense.
The Strategist
Most entrepreneurs belong to this style for 2 reason.
- Fiercely independent and have great faith, be it realistic or unrealistic, in the promise of the future. Tends to live life in the future and have neither interest nor the time to consider the everyday chores of a business. Spot on.
- Unusually conceptual in approach and have an insatiable need to know why things are the way they are. Always challenges self intellectually to go one step further in exploring and understanding the realm of new possibilities. Right again.
I'm highly critical and are usually open to learning as much as I can about myself. Which is what I'm doing right now.
I do not suffer fools gladly. Yes, I don't like to work with slow people who makes mistake 9 out of 10 times.
Nothing is ever complete in my world of work. I'm constantly facing a moving target. My mind is seldom at rest and I tend to work hard at everything I do. I really prefer to know it as working smart though, but those are the words from the book.
I'm highly competitive, but I'm competing with myself most of the time. I'm self-sufficient but I tend to lie about me being a great team player. I play time to time with the team, but am far too independent to rely on it for my own success. There's some truth to this. Recent episodes reinforced my mental affirmation of this statement.
I have a great need for power - over nature. I always need to find answer where my knowledge is limited, and when I know, I get bored and turn to the next batch of uncertainty. True, I have 3min interest in every intricate things.
I think in categorical terms in order to simplify and classify issues so that I can be highly efficient; I spend a minimum of energy in understanding the broadest possible range of things. Hmmm, really sums up what I meant by working smart.
I'm strategic but not particularly tactical. It is fun and stimulating for me to figure out where I need to be in a long haul but it is frustrating and difficult for me to play my cards in the short haul. This is due to the fact that the skills required to do that are more situationally orientated than stringing together issues with a strategic impact. This can become my weakness, therefore it is also a reason why I need a partner to cover me in this area. I think its like an artillery that can shoot far and cause lots of damage but is useless in close combat.
I am a loner in that I have learned that I cannot expect an equal intellectual contribution from my co-workers. Yet without them, accomplishing the day-to-day tasks might not be possible. This sentence actually made me felt good. It says that I'm smart. Haha. Love it.
I'm serious and I believe that "heaven can wait". Whatever that means.
Characteristics of the Strategist
"Today" is obsolete, and only "Tomorrow and beyond" captures my attention, imagination, and energies.
I never take no for an answer and consistently advances the goal line, ensuring a dynamic environment with no real end in sight. Cool, this serves as a mental boost. My programming is like this, so I will behave like this.
I derive great satisfaction from dealing with concepts, ideas, and abstractions. I have no patience for specific and concrete routinized work. Need to look into that, am already experiencing waves of confirmation with recent events.
I'm more concerned with what I can eventually achieve by being insightful and brilliant than I am with taking advantage of a situation on the fly. Delayed gratification vs instant gratification?
Everything I do, I apply reasoning, logic and brainpower - but not much else. Who cares, these are enough to rule.
I search for ways to ultilise resources as efficiently and as comprehensively as possible.
I believe that the best person will win, so naturally do not spend much time establishing warm long- term human relationships, finding it time consuming and not particularly predictable. Which really explains why I feel lonely sometimes. But I guess it is part of my programming and that it is necessary for my success. I'll live with it.
Delivering Superior Performance
I'm at my best when allowed to deal with concepts, ideas, and the future. It means that I'm the best person to stake out the course for an organization.
My weakness is at day-to-day routine tasks which are necessary to make an organization function. Sigh... I'll have to live with it.
I can talk out of both sides of my mouth at the same time and enjoy an argument for the sake of gaining insights and learning. Lol. I can do that sometimes with the right people. Picking an argument for both agreeing and disagreeing sake while I really have a neutral standpoint.
I am usually aware of the need for the team to reach ambitious goals and objectives but are not really a team players. Happened exactly the case for my first assembled book production team. Bad experience. But good learning lesson no doubt.
I'm at my very best when I don't have to be bothered with today and can arrive at the future long before anyone else suspects it is here. This is really cool. I hope I can fully understand what this sentence mean.
The best contribution I can make is to be involved today with the critical issues required to secure a brilliant tomorrow. Need to make sense of this statement as well.
Taking Charge of My Destiny
I not only want to be in charge of my own destiny, I tend to take charge of everybody's as well. Haha. Lots of events to support this statement.
I don't save for rainy days, I search for shelter when it rains. I trust my own ability to create conditions that are so superior that I don't need to bother taking care of my personal finances. Hmm, not exactly convinced by this but not entirely false either.
I have a very real sense for priorities, directing my energies into areas where the results are likely to be the most beneficial. Returns over investment. Yes!
I'm enarmoured with the design and the opportunity to resolve complex issues in difficult situations better and faster than anyone. That's just too great. Love this sentence. I'll live by it.
I find ideas of how to be in control of my future more meaningful than either dealing with the actual implementation of plans or enjoying the fruits of my labour. Yea, sort of makes sense.
Working Under Uncertainty
I'm highly flexible. I thrive on operating with insufficient information, while remaining open for new data. Cool!
I'm masterful in directing people and resources. But I can get uptight if my organization is not performing as anticipated, and will become preoccupied with issues outside the central core of a problem. Yea true. Happened before.
If my path become overloaded with uncertainty, I tend to become temporarily immobilized, and I flounder. Explains my loser mode.
But mild degree of uncertainty can energise me into providing better solutions in changing circumstances. Thank goodness.
Arriving at the Future First
I never arrive. I'm obsessed with making sense of current events in light of the future. I'm at my best when challenged to anticipate the future and at my worst when dwelling with the past. Yea, I suppose that what everyone should be like. Look forward and stop thinking about the past.
I'm frequently probing and exploring concepts whose time has not yet come to pre-empt the obsolete organization created for the present.
I'm impatient with the operating side of my business, I want to become better but not necessarily bigger.
I'm prepared to relinquish control to others more capable than myself so that I may continue to pursue my journey into the challenges of the future. Well said.
Being a Member of a Community
It is not a high priority for me. But it doesn't mean I don't appreciate the communities in both my business and personal lives. It just means that communities are not built by my kind.
I'm too individualistic to find satisfaction in community membership. But I will still join, perhaps more out of obligation than the need or desire.
I function in whatever community that seems appropriate, more as a result of obligation and proper positioning than attempting to be a valuable contributor. Very true. Too true.
The internal communities within my respective organizations are there to serve my intellectual needs and not the other way round. Band can be a great example. I found my first lover there.
I only have use for an internal community if it serves the purpose of strenghtening the competitive position of my enterprise. Perhaps using band to get more CCA points to deduct that 2 extra L1R5 score is applicable here?
Determining Essentials and Priorities
I cannot function well without knowing the changing dynamics and essential characteristics of my business.
My priorities emanate from an insatiable need to create conditions that allow my respective organizations to sustain success over long periods of time.
I can be sticklers for details and for following up on goals. This is done more to keep people alert and focused than because of an interest in control and in reporting on routine matters.
It is the interpretation and meaningfulness of day-to-day activities that gives me the impetus to contemplate and anticipate how things change and how to set new priorities.
I'm vitally interested in the dynamics and inconsistencies in complex issues, and my whole sense of priority-setting is based upon the idea of outperforming my competitors.
What is important to me is to constantly define, redefine, and comprehend the changes in the competitive environment and to construct new parameters for sustained success.
Realizing Some Entrepreneurs Are Born, Other Made
My kind are both born and made. I'm not sure which one I belong to.
I'm difficult to work for, as my mind wander across the constraints, routine, and discipline of everyday work life.
I'm a natural leader as a result of my need for foresight and often take carefully selected people with me on my journey to the future.
Born-Strategist Entrepreneur effortlessly seek to differentiate themselves from the crowd. Wow, sometimes it happens. More in recent years.
My kind are highly independent and therefore do not naturally fit into environments calling for conformity. We honor diversity and individuality and remain entrepreneurs all our lives. YES!
That pretty much sums up what I am or will be. I like it very much and will live by it.
My Goals, Recap
Things that I want to have
- I commit to find that someone special who will brave through fire and water with me and love me till death do us part.
- I commit to have a million dollars by the age of 26.
- I commit to own 2 companies dealing with the creative industry and 1 company dealing with real estate development.
- I commit to own a large plot of land to build house on.
- I commit to design and build lots of houses for people to collect.
- I commit to buy a lagoon to build my house.
- I commit to own 2 dolphins in my lagoon.
- I commit to retire at the age of 40.
My Child's Education
IT SEEMS quite early to think about this but I have been giving thoughts about what I want my children to grow up to be like.
Since keeping these thoughts inside my head will only slow down my processor speed, I shall relieve myself of them here.
Like most traditional man, I would prefer to have a son, but I guess it doesn't really matter if it's a girl or a boy in this era.
I'll get married when I am successful, so, that would mean that I'll be financially independent. I'll have time and money to do anything I want without having to work regularly.
With so much time and money to spare, the only thing natural to do after getting married would be to reproduce.
Say, both my wife and I are perfectly normal in the sense that we are both fertile, and she is healthy to give birth and manages to give birth to a healthy baby. And we have a child, what next?
I suppose the up bringing of the child has to be agreed upon between myself and my wife before we even plan to make one.
But these are some of the things that I wish could happen to my child.
First off, I'll use myself as a role model to teach my child. The ways of how to be a winner.
Some of the sayings that I currently remember are:
Courage is not one without fear, but the ability to overcome fear.
There is no right or wrong in making a decision, only the willlingness to accept the consequences.
Be responsible for your own actions and never blaming others.
Always give yourself the chance to make a choice, and stick with the choice until you have bear the consequences.
Make mistakes, but learn from them; and always admit if it is your fault.
Etc...
List goes on but I suppose these are lessons that can only be taught by leading through examples.
That's for character building. Next for life skills.
Everyone has their own strength and weaknesses. Whether one's strength can be nurtured, it is still under debate. But no matter what the case is, I believe in letting my children make choices for themselves. I want to instill in them the responsibility of making choices and sticking with it.
I don't think that a child's fickle-mindedness is an issue here, the important thing I want to enforce in them is that, if they chose to do something, finish it. It is one important factor that I consider myself lacking. Thus, I want to make sure my children doesn't have the flaw of giving up half way through a task.
What interests a person is subjective, so the life skills that my child would be interested to learn would be up to them. Giving them the opportunity to try out each and every skill they can ever imagine is the best thing I can provide for them.
All they need to do is to choose those that really interests them and I'll make sure they see it through to completion.
Academic education
An article that I read in the newspaper today, which was the original source of my inspiration for this post, coincided with my resentment of sending my children to government schools.
When I look back, the only useful education I received stopped at primary 6. The rest was just crap stuff that aims to program you into hard working duplicating machines.
Reading and writing are definitely important. But the application of these skills are not really amplified in the system. I'm sure there are private schools out there which studied the best methods of teaching a child how to read and write and use them.
I want my child to be able to hold himself or herself infront of a crowd. Be confident and have a healthy level of self-esteem. To me, it is just a fear that one has overcome some point in life, so why not do it young?
Socialising skills seems to be naturally imbued in some of us, but there are cases of anti-socials in every hierarchy of society I advance into. Making friends wasn't really a problem for me, but I wouldn't say that I am the best person to teach my child about it.
For this area, I think the best solution is to allow my child to experience it personally and to develope his/her own brand of friend making skills. All I can do is to provide guidance from books written by Dale Carnegie.
Intelligence Quotient and Emotional Quotient
Both of them are covered in the academic and socialising education that I can provide for my child. It is my hope to nurture a child that scores high for both areas. Under generous praising and encouragement, I believe it wouldn't be a difficult goal to accomplish.
Financial Intelligence
It is my personal belief that the subject of money has no age limits. My first encounter with money was at 7, when I received my first pocket money for school.
My mother gave me a piggy bank, its a greenish-blue tin box with hello kitty pictures on it(wtf?), I later won a teddy bear piggy bank which I still have it now. I was encouraged not to spend all my money and put all the left over into the box.
But there's a place of evil in my school called the bookshop.
On display are all the colourful little playthings that are so tempting to splurge your money on.
I was a victim to those baits at times. My understanding of money at that time was that, it was a very powerful thing that can make me "happy".
I'm sure it still is for many people. But I don't see money that way now.
Yes it is neccessary to satisfy my needs and desires sometimes with money. And yes, I'm currently working for it (some people my age are still receiving it, you know who you are...), but I've learnt about the much greater power that money possess.
Money can grow if I put it at the right place.
The very knowledge that money can be grown, instead of having to slog for it motivated me to think twice whenever I'm about to satisfy my desires.
Instead of giving my money to others so that they can enjoy it, why not put it to grow so that I have more of it to enjoy later.
It is not being stingy or money faced.
It is being mindful of where you spend your money. It is the awareness that your money can do even greater things than to grant you your temporary pleasures. It can give you eternal pleasure.
And that, Financial Education is the most important lesson I wish to impart onto my children.
It is something that is lacking in schools, probably existent but inadequent. Unless one of my goals for my book company is accomplished, I'll home school my children on this subject.
That's what I have in mind for my children. I don't believe in punishments. I'm more of a reward and encouragement person. Instead of telling you what not to do, I'll rather tell you what you can do.
My relationship with my own father wasn't too close. That is probably due to his personality. But I still respect him for some of the things he did for me. He wasn't a punisher and the lessons that he teaches which makes sense are those that he actually do.
Well, I have a post about the type of girl I'm looking for, I have a post about the child I wish to raise, I guess the next posts I might touch on would be how I want to carry out my wedding and how I want to die. Haha.
If you fail to plan, you plan to fail.
If you plan too much, your plan will fail.
If you don't plan, you will fail.
A set back is not a failure.
You fail only when you give up.
Since keeping these thoughts inside my head will only slow down my processor speed, I shall relieve myself of them here.
Like most traditional man, I would prefer to have a son, but I guess it doesn't really matter if it's a girl or a boy in this era.
I'll get married when I am successful, so, that would mean that I'll be financially independent. I'll have time and money to do anything I want without having to work regularly.
With so much time and money to spare, the only thing natural to do after getting married would be to reproduce.
Say, both my wife and I are perfectly normal in the sense that we are both fertile, and she is healthy to give birth and manages to give birth to a healthy baby. And we have a child, what next?
I suppose the up bringing of the child has to be agreed upon between myself and my wife before we even plan to make one.
But these are some of the things that I wish could happen to my child.
First off, I'll use myself as a role model to teach my child. The ways of how to be a winner.
Some of the sayings that I currently remember are:
Courage is not one without fear, but the ability to overcome fear.
There is no right or wrong in making a decision, only the willlingness to accept the consequences.
Be responsible for your own actions and never blaming others.
Always give yourself the chance to make a choice, and stick with the choice until you have bear the consequences.
Make mistakes, but learn from them; and always admit if it is your fault.
Etc...
List goes on but I suppose these are lessons that can only be taught by leading through examples.
That's for character building. Next for life skills.
Everyone has their own strength and weaknesses. Whether one's strength can be nurtured, it is still under debate. But no matter what the case is, I believe in letting my children make choices for themselves. I want to instill in them the responsibility of making choices and sticking with it.
I don't think that a child's fickle-mindedness is an issue here, the important thing I want to enforce in them is that, if they chose to do something, finish it. It is one important factor that I consider myself lacking. Thus, I want to make sure my children doesn't have the flaw of giving up half way through a task.
What interests a person is subjective, so the life skills that my child would be interested to learn would be up to them. Giving them the opportunity to try out each and every skill they can ever imagine is the best thing I can provide for them.
All they need to do is to choose those that really interests them and I'll make sure they see it through to completion.
Academic education
An article that I read in the newspaper today, which was the original source of my inspiration for this post, coincided with my resentment of sending my children to government schools.
When I look back, the only useful education I received stopped at primary 6. The rest was just crap stuff that aims to program you into hard working duplicating machines.
Reading and writing are definitely important. But the application of these skills are not really amplified in the system. I'm sure there are private schools out there which studied the best methods of teaching a child how to read and write and use them.
I want my child to be able to hold himself or herself infront of a crowd. Be confident and have a healthy level of self-esteem. To me, it is just a fear that one has overcome some point in life, so why not do it young?
Socialising skills seems to be naturally imbued in some of us, but there are cases of anti-socials in every hierarchy of society I advance into. Making friends wasn't really a problem for me, but I wouldn't say that I am the best person to teach my child about it.
For this area, I think the best solution is to allow my child to experience it personally and to develope his/her own brand of friend making skills. All I can do is to provide guidance from books written by Dale Carnegie.
Intelligence Quotient and Emotional Quotient
Both of them are covered in the academic and socialising education that I can provide for my child. It is my hope to nurture a child that scores high for both areas. Under generous praising and encouragement, I believe it wouldn't be a difficult goal to accomplish.
Financial Intelligence
It is my personal belief that the subject of money has no age limits. My first encounter with money was at 7, when I received my first pocket money for school.
My mother gave me a piggy bank, its a greenish-blue tin box with hello kitty pictures on it(wtf?), I later won a teddy bear piggy bank which I still have it now. I was encouraged not to spend all my money and put all the left over into the box.
But there's a place of evil in my school called the bookshop.
On display are all the colourful little playthings that are so tempting to splurge your money on.
I was a victim to those baits at times. My understanding of money at that time was that, it was a very powerful thing that can make me "happy".
I'm sure it still is for many people. But I don't see money that way now.
Yes it is neccessary to satisfy my needs and desires sometimes with money. And yes, I'm currently working for it (some people my age are still receiving it, you know who you are...), but I've learnt about the much greater power that money possess.
Money can grow if I put it at the right place.
The very knowledge that money can be grown, instead of having to slog for it motivated me to think twice whenever I'm about to satisfy my desires.
Instead of giving my money to others so that they can enjoy it, why not put it to grow so that I have more of it to enjoy later.
It is not being stingy or money faced.
It is being mindful of where you spend your money. It is the awareness that your money can do even greater things than to grant you your temporary pleasures. It can give you eternal pleasure.
And that, Financial Education is the most important lesson I wish to impart onto my children.
It is something that is lacking in schools, probably existent but inadequent. Unless one of my goals for my book company is accomplished, I'll home school my children on this subject.
That's what I have in mind for my children. I don't believe in punishments. I'm more of a reward and encouragement person. Instead of telling you what not to do, I'll rather tell you what you can do.
My relationship with my own father wasn't too close. That is probably due to his personality. But I still respect him for some of the things he did for me. He wasn't a punisher and the lessons that he teaches which makes sense are those that he actually do.
Well, I have a post about the type of girl I'm looking for, I have a post about the child I wish to raise, I guess the next posts I might touch on would be how I want to carry out my wedding and how I want to die. Haha.
If you fail to plan, you plan to fail.
If you plan too much, your plan will fail.
If you don't plan, you will fail.
A set back is not a failure.
You fail only when you give up.
School Work, Fitness, Business
CURRENTLY I have 3 major things to take care of in my life. School work, my fitness and my book business.
All 3 of them are important, I'll explain why. And they all need my time and attention.
First thing is school work. I'm graduating within the next 2 months and I have a graduation show(Fusion) coming 3 weeks from now(6th & 7th March 2009) . My goal is to leave a good impression on the visitors who came to see my booth so that they can remember the name MoneyThology, yes I'll put it on my booth.
Works that are required regarding the Fusion preparation include mostly my sculpturing and printing of the portfolio stuff. I need to show good portfolio and my most prized sculpture of my beloved Dragon. It is currently in satisfactory state, but I'm going to make it near perfect.
I have exactly 3 weeks to prepare fusion. So its not near but near. Urgent but not so.
Damn it
Business dateline is determined by when I go National Service. And I dunno when I'll go in since i have not received the letter. And the worst news ever is, I have 95% chance of becoming a commando. I was summoned to Hendon Camp for vocational assessment. GG...
This makes it hard to plan for business and fitness.
Fitness has to be maintained regularly, due to the fact that I might really become a commando. I need to be able to survive 1 and a half years of hell.
So I think I'm setting 2 days a week for physical training as usual.
1 day swimming 2.5km
1 day running and statics training
Tuesday for swimming Thursday or Friday running
For school work, I still owed a minor project. Because it wasn't done as well as expected. So now I have to redo it.
I'm modeling one of e cities I have designed long ago and texturing and lighting and rendering it.
While modeling I have to look out for cleanliness of model. No boolean. Clean mesh so that when I unwrap the UV and paint the textures, it will be smoother.
After i finish modeling and texturing, I want to do 3 renders of 3 moods. One is dawn, one is noon and one is night.
I got 1 week to do that. So it's the most urgent task at hand.
For fusion i need to print portfolio. Which means I need to select e pieces, colour adjust and put in the formatting. Then once that's done, I need to design my name card which needs to be printed.
Then, last but not least is sculpturing. Currently working on the armour of the Dragon. Aiming to make very nice armour. Hopefully can paint it but seems unlikely to dob it professionally within the time frame. So I better not be too ambitious. After that, I need to bake, after baking need to find place to hide in school. So I'll probably be baking on Thursday, 1 day before Fusion.
Left with the business part. Shall talk about it once I cleared all these shit... OMG... Commando... GG...
Focus on what is to come and on things within my control
All 3 of them are important, I'll explain why. And they all need my time and attention.
First thing is school work. I'm graduating within the next 2 months and I have a graduation show(Fusion) coming 3 weeks from now(6th & 7th March 2009) . My goal is to leave a good impression on the visitors who came to see my booth so that they can remember the name MoneyThology, yes I'll put it on my booth.
Works that are required regarding the Fusion preparation include mostly my sculpturing and printing of the portfolio stuff. I need to show good portfolio and my most prized sculpture of my beloved Dragon. It is currently in satisfactory state, but I'm going to make it near perfect.
I have exactly 3 weeks to prepare fusion. So its not near but near. Urgent but not so.
Damn it
Business dateline is determined by when I go National Service. And I dunno when I'll go in since i have not received the letter. And the worst news ever is, I have 95% chance of becoming a commando. I was summoned to Hendon Camp for vocational assessment. GG...
This makes it hard to plan for business and fitness.
Fitness has to be maintained regularly, due to the fact that I might really become a commando. I need to be able to survive 1 and a half years of hell.
So I think I'm setting 2 days a week for physical training as usual.
1 day swimming 2.5km
1 day running and statics training
Tuesday for swimming Thursday or Friday running
For school work, I still owed a minor project. Because it wasn't done as well as expected. So now I have to redo it.
I'm modeling one of e cities I have designed long ago and texturing and lighting and rendering it.
While modeling I have to look out for cleanliness of model. No boolean. Clean mesh so that when I unwrap the UV and paint the textures, it will be smoother.
After i finish modeling and texturing, I want to do 3 renders of 3 moods. One is dawn, one is noon and one is night.
I got 1 week to do that. So it's the most urgent task at hand.
For fusion i need to print portfolio. Which means I need to select e pieces, colour adjust and put in the formatting. Then once that's done, I need to design my name card which needs to be printed.
Then, last but not least is sculpturing. Currently working on the armour of the Dragon. Aiming to make very nice armour. Hopefully can paint it but seems unlikely to dob it professionally within the time frame. So I better not be too ambitious. After that, I need to bake, after baking need to find place to hide in school. So I'll probably be baking on Thursday, 1 day before Fusion.
Left with the business part. Shall talk about it once I cleared all these shit... OMG... Commando... GG...
Focus on what is to come and on things within my control
Marketing Leader
Taken from E-Myth Mastery by Michael E. Gerber, for reference. Con'td from this article
MARKETING calls for an intense, focused, single-minded, tunnel-visioned discipline and desire. Desire to get result, regardless of the cost, Desire to build a world class brand. Desire to get the customer to come in the door, and to buy, not just once, but over and over again. Desire to figure it out. Desire to be more than just a contender. Desire to be more than just somebody. Desire to be the One.
The marketing leader is the one in the organization who is most passionately committed to growth, to building a brand, a franchise, no matter how small the business may be.
The very first question the marketing leader must ask about his business: What's our franchise?
What do we own , what do we do, how do we look, how do we act and feel and perform that differentiates our company from everybody else's? What's the defining sensory impact our company makes?
The key job of a marketing leader is to find the answer to that question until everyone knows it. The answer is concrete, it can be seen, touched, felt and quantified. Everybody that the company deals with has to know that answer. It is not an abstract answer.
Answer to who the customer is, where the trading zone is, what the deliverable are, what promises the company makes, how the people in the company behave, what you do, who you are and why that's important to everyone who comes into contact with your company.
The more concrete the answer, the better the franchise, the better the marketing leader has done her job.
The first discipline of the marketing leader is the ability to draw a picture of the finished company. To translate the idea and words that expressed that idea into a concrete product that looks, acts, and feels exactly as it must look, act, and feel to differentiate if from every other product competing for the heart and mind of the company's most likely customer.
The marketing leader drives the pursuit of these questions:
What we do here?
How we do it?
Why that way and not this way?
What impact is on our customer?
Why is it important?
How we replicate that impact every single time?
Everyone - in operations, finance, human resources, training, field management, etc. - is engaged in the process.
Everything in a business starts with the customer. The business has to be focused on providing products, services, and communications that draws customers to you, satisfy them, and bring them back to you again and again.
The survival of a business depends on its ability to attract and satisfy customers
The foundation of marketing strategy can be classified into 3 categories. Who are the customers? Where are they? How they think and behave?
Demographics, Trading area and Psychographics
Target Marketing and the Need For Focus
"Market" is a generic word used to describe those who might become your customers. But not everybody is a customer for your products. It is perfect for some people, complete inappropriate for other people, and so-so for others. In economics, I believe those things that everybody needs has to be monopolized and state controlled to prevent fluctuation of prices. They include services like transport, energy and items like water. So, if an item is needed by everybody, it is either free(air) or illegal to be sold for private gains. In short, it just means any commercial product will have people who doesn't need it.
The key here to to pin-point only those who are most likely to buy(most probable customers). This is so as to direct all marketing effort specifically to these people rather than a wide spectrum of people. Seems like common sense, but I suspect many people will overlook this or underestimate it.
So the first step is to identify the target market.
Look at the overall market and identify its various subgroups, or "market segments"
Evaluate them and select the segment which will produce the best results for your business(primary market segment) and any other market segments that will produce desirable results(flanker market segment).
Demographics are the objective, directly observed characteristics that describe people and organizations. From a business owner's viewpoint, demographics are the tangible facts that identify and describe your customers and prospective customers.
Demographics of people include:
Consultation needed on this subject.
There's still so much more sub topics on this chapter of marketing. My customers are parents with young kids in general, and my trading zone is in schools(government, private, tuition) centers in general.
The E-Myth Mastery Program aims to make the business as a whole to become the "product" that attracts and retains customers.
"Your business, not your commodity, is your product."
Definition of your Product as your customers sees it
A doughnut is just a doughnut. But the ways to sell the doughnut is what really makes it the product in business. Walk-in customers, packaged doughnuts to grocery stores for selling,bulk order to restaurants for resale, coffee and doughnut setups for business meetings. Each method of sales has it own demand, and with it, its profitability margin. It is just a doughnut, but the way you sell it makes a lot of difference.
This is what I like about doing business, you get to do things in so many different ways and no one is there tell you what to do or to say you are wrong.
There are practical steps listed in the book that I shall not put up here. Since I'll need the entire chunk of information for reference, I might as well go back to the book. pg 132
FATAL ASSUMPTIONS TO AVOID
It struck me as common sense, but I was guilty in making the mistake as I read the paragraph on this note.
It means thinking your customers think and act as you think and act. I was guilty of this.
You know you are guilty when you start to think: "The way I would do it is...," or "What I would want is...," or "The way they should think is...,"
Too product-orientated
It means thinking more about your products and their specifications, and less about what your customers need and how to communicate with them. That is exactly what I'm doing now. ZZZ...
But I don't suppose my customers will even know if they need this product since it's not even in the market. And since so many of the self-help books that I have read caters to only adults. I believe I can get to children through their parents, so I can explore this field a little further blindfolded.
My reasoning: I need some sort of product to pitch to prospective customers before I can find out if they need it or what else they need from the product. It's trial and error. Not exactly my favorite method to solve maths problems in school but I'm decent in guess works.
But it is a risk I have to take. I'll still keep these pitfalls in mind.
For those who like to buy the book, you can get it online through Amazon.com
MARKETING calls for an intense, focused, single-minded, tunnel-visioned discipline and desire. Desire to get result, regardless of the cost, Desire to build a world class brand. Desire to get the customer to come in the door, and to buy, not just once, but over and over again. Desire to figure it out. Desire to be more than just a contender. Desire to be more than just somebody. Desire to be the One.
The marketing leader is the one in the organization who is most passionately committed to growth, to building a brand, a franchise, no matter how small the business may be.
The very first question the marketing leader must ask about his business: What's our franchise?
What do we own , what do we do, how do we look, how do we act and feel and perform that differentiates our company from everybody else's? What's the defining sensory impact our company makes?
The key job of a marketing leader is to find the answer to that question until everyone knows it. The answer is concrete, it can be seen, touched, felt and quantified. Everybody that the company deals with has to know that answer. It is not an abstract answer.
Answer to who the customer is, where the trading zone is, what the deliverable are, what promises the company makes, how the people in the company behave, what you do, who you are and why that's important to everyone who comes into contact with your company.
The more concrete the answer, the better the franchise, the better the marketing leader has done her job.
The first discipline of the marketing leader is the ability to draw a picture of the finished company. To translate the idea and words that expressed that idea into a concrete product that looks, acts, and feels exactly as it must look, act, and feel to differentiate if from every other product competing for the heart and mind of the company's most likely customer.
The marketing leader drives the pursuit of these questions:
What we do here?
How we do it?
Why that way and not this way?
What impact is on our customer?
Why is it important?
How we replicate that impact every single time?
Everyone - in operations, finance, human resources, training, field management, etc. - is engaged in the process.
Everything in a business starts with the customer. The business has to be focused on providing products, services, and communications that draws customers to you, satisfy them, and bring them back to you again and again.
The survival of a business depends on its ability to attract and satisfy customers
The foundation of marketing strategy can be classified into 3 categories. Who are the customers? Where are they? How they think and behave?
Demographics, Trading area and Psychographics
Target Marketing and the Need For Focus
"Market" is a generic word used to describe those who might become your customers. But not everybody is a customer for your products. It is perfect for some people, complete inappropriate for other people, and so-so for others. In economics, I believe those things that everybody needs has to be monopolized and state controlled to prevent fluctuation of prices. They include services like transport, energy and items like water. So, if an item is needed by everybody, it is either free(air) or illegal to be sold for private gains. In short, it just means any commercial product will have people who doesn't need it.
The key here to to pin-point only those who are most likely to buy(most probable customers). This is so as to direct all marketing effort specifically to these people rather than a wide spectrum of people. Seems like common sense, but I suspect many people will overlook this or underestimate it.
So the first step is to identify the target market.
Look at the overall market and identify its various subgroups, or "market segments"
Evaluate them and select the segment which will produce the best results for your business(primary market segment) and any other market segments that will produce desirable results(flanker market segment).
Demographics are the objective, directly observed characteristics that describe people and organizations. From a business owner's viewpoint, demographics are the tangible facts that identify and describe your customers and prospective customers.
Demographics of people include:
- Age
- Employment status
- Location
- Gender
- Education
- Race
- Occupation
- Marital status
- Ethnicity
- Income
- Family status
- Physical characteristics
- Industry
- Product line
- Size of business (sales, number of employees, etc)
- Types of business(manufacturer, distributor, retailer, etc)
- Location (headquarters and branches/operating locations)
- Geographic scope of the business(local, regional, national, international)
- Financial status of business(revenue, profitability, leverage, etc
Consultation needed on this subject.
There's still so much more sub topics on this chapter of marketing. My customers are parents with young kids in general, and my trading zone is in schools(government, private, tuition) centers in general.
The E-Myth Mastery Program aims to make the business as a whole to become the "product" that attracts and retains customers.
"Your business, not your commodity, is your product."
Definition of your Product as your customers sees it
A doughnut is just a doughnut. But the ways to sell the doughnut is what really makes it the product in business. Walk-in customers, packaged doughnuts to grocery stores for selling,bulk order to restaurants for resale, coffee and doughnut setups for business meetings. Each method of sales has it own demand, and with it, its profitability margin. It is just a doughnut, but the way you sell it makes a lot of difference.
This is what I like about doing business, you get to do things in so many different ways and no one is there tell you what to do or to say you are wrong.
There are practical steps listed in the book that I shall not put up here. Since I'll need the entire chunk of information for reference, I might as well go back to the book. pg 132
FATAL ASSUMPTIONS TO AVOID
It struck me as common sense, but I was guilty in making the mistake as I read the paragraph on this note.
- Marketing to yourself
- Too product-orientated
It means thinking your customers think and act as you think and act. I was guilty of this.
You know you are guilty when you start to think: "The way I would do it is...," or "What I would want is...," or "The way they should think is...,"
Too product-orientated
It means thinking more about your products and their specifications, and less about what your customers need and how to communicate with them. That is exactly what I'm doing now. ZZZ...
But I don't suppose my customers will even know if they need this product since it's not even in the market. And since so many of the self-help books that I have read caters to only adults. I believe I can get to children through their parents, so I can explore this field a little further blindfolded.
My reasoning: I need some sort of product to pitch to prospective customers before I can find out if they need it or what else they need from the product. It's trial and error. Not exactly my favorite method to solve maths problems in school but I'm decent in guess works.
But it is a risk I have to take. I'll still keep these pitfalls in mind.
For those who like to buy the book, you can get it online through Amazon.com
My Book - Progress Check
MY TEAM and I produced sort of a business proposal for the book. I did most of the writing, they did the illustrations. I'll be going through my proposal with my mentor some time soon. Hopefully I can receive some pointers. Maybe I can get him to join my business. =D
Agenda
Somebody who can help me with the artistic aspect of this business. I'm only a decent artist. I need exceptional artist who can lead. I have a few candidates in mind, but I need to work out the persuasion part. Money is most certainly the main attraction, which leads to the need for sponsors and investors. Prestige is another thing. Artist usually don't stay in one job for a long time. It is a good thing as they need exposure to become better. So to get them to join me, they need to believe that they will be more well known in future by working on my production. This is the part where I need more business partners.
The Business Partners
Currently, I have one full-time loyalist partner who is willing to brave through fire and water with me. Both of us still have much to learn but we'll get there. But the problem is, both of us have no business knowledge, no accounting knowledge, no (insert big word here) knowledge. I understand economics, but have no direct information that can be applied. All we know about business are from self-help books and network marketing background. Even though business knowledge is not the determining factor of success for businesses, it is still essential for proper running and managing of any business. I have a few friends who studies business. I can consider talking to them about joining me. But the most important thing is their interest in my business project.
The Sponsors and Investors
This is the sightly more headache part. I need the money to run the business, and I follow rich dad's lesson of using other people's money to get rich. To get the money, I need to convince my prospects that this business is lucrative and beneficial; and my team and I can bring it through to its success. To do that, I need more planning using the business plan that always works which requires me to get more partners and art director which needs me to go around pitching my business in hope to find talents who are interested in my project. I wonder if I'm moving in a straight line or the line actually connects into a circle.
Time
I'm entering NS soon. Time is against me. I can build my Education consultation business in NS and get my capital that is so sorely needed for my own business. But I'm torn between something I really want to do and something I need to do. I only have so much time until my 26th birthday. But still, one thing at a time. Now I need to clear my modules in school and qualify to graduate before worrying about my livelihood. Really? I was under the impression it was the other way round, worry about livelihood that's why the diploma. Anyway, entrepreneurs think differently. What has being an entrepreneur got to do with clearing modules. I'm good in my school work but I don't intend to get employed in the field I'm studying. What Logic is that? Don't know, I have not thought of a witty reply to that question yet. Why the hell am I debating about this... Anyway, time is crucial to me and I wish to ration it wisely. Hopefully I can squeeze in time to find a girlfriend but it won't be fair to her, whoever she will be. Tough luck, success will be worth this trouble.
Motivation
Instincts are calling out to me. I need morale support. I need pivotal points to proceed. Going it alone is possible, but it takes a lot more discipline. Business partners are business partners, investors are investors, ultimately I need someone to be there so that I can do something for that person. Strange. Why do things for somebody else? I build my success so that I can enjoy it with the person who endured it with me. Hopefully this person will be my life partner. Another dilemma, my impression is that most girls nowadays are too used to the idea that they'll find some successful guy and marry him and enjoy life. But I think that successful guy won't treasure the girl as much unless she had been through thick and thin with him in the first place. But a man who is striving for success on my magnitude will have to go through mud first, down to near beyond deep shit(which actually means deep shit). Which girl in the right sense of mind would follow me? Perhaps someone with the left sense would. Most would just follow some guy who steadily climbs the corporate leader and gets company benefits. Hard luck. But I feel that if a girl is willing to trust me and sacrifice a "safe" route to help me see success, she must be something. Man do things to impress woman. I got nobody to impress, so I need to find somebody to impress so that I can find the motivation to succeed. Instincts Instincts Instincts.
If instinct tells you to run, RUN!
Agenda
- I need to find an art director
- I need more business partners
- I need sponsors and investors
- I need time
- I need motivation
Somebody who can help me with the artistic aspect of this business. I'm only a decent artist. I need exceptional artist who can lead. I have a few candidates in mind, but I need to work out the persuasion part. Money is most certainly the main attraction, which leads to the need for sponsors and investors. Prestige is another thing. Artist usually don't stay in one job for a long time. It is a good thing as they need exposure to become better. So to get them to join me, they need to believe that they will be more well known in future by working on my production. This is the part where I need more business partners.
The Business Partners
Currently, I have one full-time loyalist partner who is willing to brave through fire and water with me. Both of us still have much to learn but we'll get there. But the problem is, both of us have no business knowledge, no accounting knowledge, no (insert big word here) knowledge. I understand economics, but have no direct information that can be applied. All we know about business are from self-help books and network marketing background. Even though business knowledge is not the determining factor of success for businesses, it is still essential for proper running and managing of any business. I have a few friends who studies business. I can consider talking to them about joining me. But the most important thing is their interest in my business project.
The Sponsors and Investors
This is the sightly more headache part. I need the money to run the business, and I follow rich dad's lesson of using other people's money to get rich. To get the money, I need to convince my prospects that this business is lucrative and beneficial; and my team and I can bring it through to its success. To do that, I need more planning using the business plan that always works which requires me to get more partners and art director which needs me to go around pitching my business in hope to find talents who are interested in my project. I wonder if I'm moving in a straight line or the line actually connects into a circle.
Time
I'm entering NS soon. Time is against me. I can build my Education consultation business in NS and get my capital that is so sorely needed for my own business. But I'm torn between something I really want to do and something I need to do. I only have so much time until my 26th birthday. But still, one thing at a time. Now I need to clear my modules in school and qualify to graduate before worrying about my livelihood. Really? I was under the impression it was the other way round, worry about livelihood that's why the diploma. Anyway, entrepreneurs think differently. What has being an entrepreneur got to do with clearing modules. I'm good in my school work but I don't intend to get employed in the field I'm studying. What Logic is that? Don't know, I have not thought of a witty reply to that question yet. Why the hell am I debating about this... Anyway, time is crucial to me and I wish to ration it wisely. Hopefully I can squeeze in time to find a girlfriend but it won't be fair to her, whoever she will be. Tough luck, success will be worth this trouble.
Motivation
Instincts are calling out to me. I need morale support. I need pivotal points to proceed. Going it alone is possible, but it takes a lot more discipline. Business partners are business partners, investors are investors, ultimately I need someone to be there so that I can do something for that person. Strange. Why do things for somebody else? I build my success so that I can enjoy it with the person who endured it with me. Hopefully this person will be my life partner. Another dilemma, my impression is that most girls nowadays are too used to the idea that they'll find some successful guy and marry him and enjoy life. But I think that successful guy won't treasure the girl as much unless she had been through thick and thin with him in the first place. But a man who is striving for success on my magnitude will have to go through mud first, down to near beyond deep shit(which actually means deep shit). Which girl in the right sense of mind would follow me? Perhaps someone with the left sense would. Most would just follow some guy who steadily climbs the corporate leader and gets company benefits. Hard luck. But I feel that if a girl is willing to trust me and sacrifice a "safe" route to help me see success, she must be something. Man do things to impress woman. I got nobody to impress, so I need to find somebody to impress so that I can find the motivation to succeed. Instincts Instincts Instincts.
If instinct tells you to run, RUN!
Gambling
THIS year's Chinese new year is so different to me. I saw gambling in a different light. Now I think gambling is the most powerful driving force that makes people want to visit each other. I have never seen this side of gambling before.
I know gambling has always been around during this festive season. It is the main activity that keep adults occupied and kills time for them. Second is the angbao(for receivers), third is the food, fourth is cultural instincts, last is to see each other and talk. The ranking is unbased.
Gambling is the simplest form of language.
Black Jack/Er-shi-yi-dian/Ban-luck
Big Two/Da Lao Er/Choh-dai-di
Mahjong
Bridge
and some other means of gambling that I have no idea what it is called.
Somehow, all of these gambling games are easily picked up by even the most illiterate adult. Observe while others play, ask a few questions(which is usually enthusiastically answered; probably to entice easy money for the pros), have money, and you are in the game.
I myself do not gamble. I detest the idea of gambling. It is just not productive. I'll elaborate my insights on this later.
Usually in a game of gambling, money is the main stake. One's goal is to win as much money as possible without losing too much. The judge to determine who wins and who loses is the deck of cards or tiles that players are required to either skillfully complete a certain criteria or simply have the best hand. The winning criteria are agreed upon before hand and once the winner is determined, money changes hands.
While I was watching my relatives gamble, I observed their expressions, gestures and words that they spoke, and I realise that they are obsessed by it.
Money can make them exhilarated and it can also make them sulk and bad tempered in a short span of 10 minutes.
One uncle of mine was observed to be in high spirits in the early game of cards where winning is determined purely by your luck in getting a good hand. He was smiling and teasing other aunts and played the game enthusiastically. Reason being, he had won quite a sum of money while he was the banker(banker was rotated every 3 rounds). But after a while, I saw him sitting there with stern eyes and down cast lips, shaking his legs impatiently while the cards are being given out. He must have lost big. He left the game soon after and announced that he has lost $170.
That was the story of a loser, now winners have ugly stories too. Some people are conscientious about winning other people's money. They are afraid that others will resent them for winning their money. In one case, the person kept winning, till a point where she felt that she should leave the table. But she couldn't bring herself to leave until she has lost some money back into the game. So she waited till it was her turn to play banker. The first 2 rounds, she lost, but it wasn't so bad. On her third round, she got a good hand and won back all the money she lost in the first 2 rounds. Now she is in a dilemma. To leave or to wait till her next turn of being banker?
As a child, I used to look up to adults. But I remember one time when I was young, it happened at my grandmother's house. There were lots of relatives. The television was showing a movie or something that I was quite engrossed in watching. Suddenly, one of the aunts took the remote control and switched to teletext. THEY DISRUPTED MY SHOW TO CHECK THE STUPID 4D!
I flared. I cursed them to lose all their money (which was impossible for everyone since the money is circulating) and ran out to the playground. It was this incident that started my resentment to gambling and a certain disrespect for adults, I also started to dislike watching TV when there are other people around, I rather catch interesting shows online, without inconsiderate channel hoppers and advertisement.
All my logic point to the fact that gambling is useless. You end up losing more than you will win. This year you might have won $300, but you forget that last year you lost $400. The banker always wins. It was just circulation of money and there was no creation involved. Somebody loses a lot of money and gets emotional, a small conflict becomes family feud. What is the point?
But this time, I saw the purpose of gambling. It is this simple act of rotating your money around one another that brings excitement to the dull and boring life of most people nowadays. It is the only thing that many people can do together and find joy in doing it. A game of cards will soon bore the hell out of you when there's no stakes involved. I realise the magic of money in this aspect. Even though I still resent gambling, I will respect it for being able to bring joy to many people whom I know.
I know gambling has always been around during this festive season. It is the main activity that keep adults occupied and kills time for them. Second is the angbao(for receivers), third is the food, fourth is cultural instincts, last is to see each other and talk. The ranking is unbased.
Gambling is the simplest form of language.
Black Jack/Er-shi-yi-dian/Ban-luck
Big Two/Da Lao Er/Choh-dai-di
Mahjong
Bridge
and some other means of gambling that I have no idea what it is called.
Somehow, all of these gambling games are easily picked up by even the most illiterate adult. Observe while others play, ask a few questions(which is usually enthusiastically answered; probably to entice easy money for the pros), have money, and you are in the game.
I myself do not gamble. I detest the idea of gambling. It is just not productive. I'll elaborate my insights on this later.
Usually in a game of gambling, money is the main stake. One's goal is to win as much money as possible without losing too much. The judge to determine who wins and who loses is the deck of cards or tiles that players are required to either skillfully complete a certain criteria or simply have the best hand. The winning criteria are agreed upon before hand and once the winner is determined, money changes hands.
While I was watching my relatives gamble, I observed their expressions, gestures and words that they spoke, and I realise that they are obsessed by it.
Money can make them exhilarated and it can also make them sulk and bad tempered in a short span of 10 minutes.
One uncle of mine was observed to be in high spirits in the early game of cards where winning is determined purely by your luck in getting a good hand. He was smiling and teasing other aunts and played the game enthusiastically. Reason being, he had won quite a sum of money while he was the banker(banker was rotated every 3 rounds). But after a while, I saw him sitting there with stern eyes and down cast lips, shaking his legs impatiently while the cards are being given out. He must have lost big. He left the game soon after and announced that he has lost $170.
That was the story of a loser, now winners have ugly stories too. Some people are conscientious about winning other people's money. They are afraid that others will resent them for winning their money. In one case, the person kept winning, till a point where she felt that she should leave the table. But she couldn't bring herself to leave until she has lost some money back into the game. So she waited till it was her turn to play banker. The first 2 rounds, she lost, but it wasn't so bad. On her third round, she got a good hand and won back all the money she lost in the first 2 rounds. Now she is in a dilemma. To leave or to wait till her next turn of being banker?
As a child, I used to look up to adults. But I remember one time when I was young, it happened at my grandmother's house. There were lots of relatives. The television was showing a movie or something that I was quite engrossed in watching. Suddenly, one of the aunts took the remote control and switched to teletext. THEY DISRUPTED MY SHOW TO CHECK THE STUPID 4D!
I flared. I cursed them to lose all their money (which was impossible for everyone since the money is circulating) and ran out to the playground. It was this incident that started my resentment to gambling and a certain disrespect for adults, I also started to dislike watching TV when there are other people around, I rather catch interesting shows online, without inconsiderate channel hoppers and advertisement.
All my logic point to the fact that gambling is useless. You end up losing more than you will win. This year you might have won $300, but you forget that last year you lost $400. The banker always wins. It was just circulation of money and there was no creation involved. Somebody loses a lot of money and gets emotional, a small conflict becomes family feud. What is the point?
But this time, I saw the purpose of gambling. It is this simple act of rotating your money around one another that brings excitement to the dull and boring life of most people nowadays. It is the only thing that many people can do together and find joy in doing it. A game of cards will soon bore the hell out of you when there's no stakes involved. I realise the magic of money in this aspect. Even though I still resent gambling, I will respect it for being able to bring joy to many people whom I know.
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