Catching That 'SECOND WIND'

Catching That 'SECOND WIND'

💥 Anyone amongst you with that 'teflon factor', shielded from challenges, crisis, cataclysmic moments or catastrophic flashes ?  I guess everyone of us went through the toughest moments, enough to break our backs and leading us to the precipice of the breaking point.

Fact is, everyone of us almost do run out of gas the first time around.  And probably we felt like our fuel tank was about to get emptied.  But that's fine.  What matters is our second wind but the tough truth is that, that second wind doesn't come out on the fly.  Neither is it served to us as part of the platter.  You gotta figure it out  You gotta unlock it. You gotta unearth it from down deep.  More than your awareness, if things just don't pan out the first time around, try your tail at the other end.  You may be swinging for the fences, going for broke [remember those boxing bouts where the boxer catches his second wind, pushing his foe with a flurry of punches.

At that juncture, we need to realize that perception DOES NOT equate to reality.  When all the chips are down, this becomes your 'eye test' which you need to hurdle beyond doubt.  Get rid of the cob webs and any rust that could have creeped upon you.  Get that tick with your confidence that you have that ability to go for your second wind.  Gotta figure out what's your serious upside at this juncture.

Unlocking that second wind can start with that caffeine from that brewed coffee, from that bottled water during the pit stop, that corner stool at the boxing ring where your handlers are coaxing you to keep fighting and never give up. And most importantly, re-inject that self-respect, that self-confidence because everything follows thereafter.

Try throwing in the towel and you would feel hitting the seabed, that rock bottom.  What's summoning you will be a performance that warrants to nudge the rationale ouf of the window for a moment.  And if there's a mob of hecklers out there, NEVER pay attention to the outside because they're not inside in the first place.  

Anything else you need ?  It's your adrenalin, it's your final push and nothing less.  Just be glued at that FINISH LINE, enough for you to [finally] empty your tank.  And one last stumbling block you gotta hurdle is nothing but a four-letter word spelled F-E-A-R.  When you FEAR to fail, where you FEAR to fail, that will be the last nail on the coffin.  Go and dump out that 4-letter word because that's nothing but rubbish, with no value-add as you go for your last gasp.  GO for it !!!

When all the marbles are on the line...

 When all the marbles are on the line...

❗When all the marbles are on the line, what happens next ?  You then confront yourself whether you will attempt or not.  Attempt and you might fail.  Don't attempt and absolutely you won't fail.  Would you rather not attempt so that surely you won't fail, really ?

Or will you take the plunge when all the marbles are on the line, when the next option left for you is a far second ?  And a third option is much farther down ?

We have had so many mentors even in modern history, all harping on the obvious.  Nelson Mandela, the famous South African democratic leader pitched and preached that there is no passion to be found playing small and settling for a life that's less than what you are capable of living.

Take this barbershop story.  You can fail and fail and fail over and over again but if you hang around in the barbershop for quite sometime, sooner you get a haircut.  Lesson here ?  Eventually you will catch a break.  Sometimes, failure is the best way to figure out where you're going.  The chances you take, the people you meet, the people you love, that's what's going to define you.  Just never get discouraged.  Never hold back.  

Not to encourage hacking because we condone such acts but hold on, why are hackers hitting the bullseye over and over again ?  Curtly, its because they never cease to stop attempting, trying and retrying.  Even Thomas Edison conducted 1,000 failed experiments and on the 1,001st try, the bulb did lit, finally.  Lesson he learned ?  Every failed experiment brings you closer to success.  You will fail.  You will lose.  You will suck.  But you gotta 

embrace that cycle because that's the inevitability. When your laptop fails to boot up, you don't dump it off straight away, right ?  You don't need to be a techie to go through the motions of the basics.  If you need to restart in safe mode, just do it.  If you need to initiate a manual start via DOS, go for it.  

In the face of adversity, we should never lose sight of the elusive success we have been hungering for.  We may be gifted [like you're gifted in Math] but what becomes imperative is constantly practicing that Math so by taking it to the next level means you have opted to take the less easy path, in fact, that's the hard part.

Nothing kills more dreams than fear itself.  Not even the failures that repeat over and over again.  Unless you take the next step, that next stride, you are going nowhere in your path towards achieving that dream.  Having that guts is a must but having that guts to fail will test your mettle because to get something you never had, you need to do something you never did.⏳

Time for "Ta'awun"

Time for Ta'awun

👳Ta'awun is a Malay term whose meaning has had various interpretations but nevertheless, there is a commonality across all those versions, i.e. Ta'awun refers to the helpfulness of helping to involve more than two individuals [or more].  It's COOPERATION no less.  As the global pandemic has worsened when 2021 kicked in, Ta'awun needs to be embraced by us all, cutting across cultures and economic strata regardless whether you are a Christian or Muslim.  There is no tomorrow for us to collaborate, close ranks.

That most elusive Covid vaccine, it should not further widen the great divide between the first world and the third world, the G7 countries versus the rag-and-tag countries.  Instead, it becomes imperative that the national leaders from the leading global economies should not tighten the nozzle on these pharma players [e.g. Pfizer, AstraZeneca, Moderna] so that the vaccines become tools of the political interplay and agenda each of the political leaders have crafted [more to look good to their constituents]

We may not be economists but surely this x & y axis translates clearly, enough to hit us rock bottom.  As the pandemic continues to worsen unabated, all economies [and unfortunately, not even the G7 countries can be spared] have been on a downward spiral for a year now.  Until when ?  Only God knows.  Not even Dr Sanjay Gupta, CNN's CMC can give the slightest hint.  And even as the pharma players are all racing against time, even their breakthroughs to date are spotty at best.  And to put 

a damper, even before their respective vaccine's efficacy vaults up high, here comes the various Covid variants [in the U.K., in Hong Kong, in India and even in Southeast Asia [as we speak now]].

And this brings me back to Ta'awun , that collaborative helpfulness across countries, cultures.  Unfortunately, this Covid pandemic is akin to a 'TRAP' game, not as what the doctor ordered though.  And as we chalk it up to experience, let's not lose sight that mediocrity is the elephant in the 

room.  As things seem ot getting too far out of hand, it's time we gotta shake it up just before the pandemic trigger gets pulled.  As we now swing for the fences, we might be left forlorn and alone in the podium, abandoned. BUT, here's the big BUT.  Don't go for broke yet.  Just don't handcuff yourself.  You gotta get out of your cocoon, ensure to have that long rope to cling and at any point now that we are breaching the survival mode, this is where our treasure trove for the rainy days really matters.  This state of stupor just can't go on forever.  We gotta take matters in our own  

hands.  This is a Win-now proposition.  We gotta prevail over this pandemic before we get buried by the catastrophic tidal waves now engulfing us all.  Time to embrace ta'awun, that collaborative helpfulness across all countries and cultures regardless if a particular country has no budget to offer Pfizer and the big pharma players.  Virtual meetings via MS Teams and Zoom can't just go on forever.😓

That BLUE COLLAR Mentality

That BLUE COLLAR Mentality

Not long back, everyone dreamt and wanted for a white collar job no less.  And everyone shunned from anything that has got to do with BLUE COLLAR stuff.  I myself.  Not too long ago, I had that despicable mindset too.  

But not too fast though.  How things can turn around 180-degrees.  Suddenly, everyone wants to join the BLUE COLLAR mentality !

Not looking far.  Over at the NBA hoops universe, if there is ballclub who wins hands down in terms of BLUE COLLAR mentality, it is the Miami Heat with Mick Arison, 'the GODFATHER' Pat Riley and Coach Spo.  As the old adage goes, 'many are called but few are chosen'.  And in the NBA, it totals to more than 500 basketball players especially during this 2021 Season when the NBA Leadership has increased team rosters from 15 to 17.  And many of the best players want to be part of the Miami Heat ballclub.  Unfortunately, theirs is a team of BLUE COLLAR players committed to the Miami Heat culture.  Any lesser soul will fall by the wayside.  Dion Waiters, James Johnson, name it.  Quite a number of them fell out of favor simply because they failed to consistently come up with the BLUE COLLAR which everyone now is hungering for, wanting for.

In real terms, having the most sought after BLUE COLLAR mindset means you need to have that 'DO IT ALL' mindset. You got to be a real dog, a genuine hound, a hungry one at that.  Without that hunger and never-ending drive, anyone cannot go any farther, not by a stretch.  Moreover, these days, it's non-negotiable that you gotta have that 'DO IT ALL' mindset.  There will be a plethora of tasks that need to be delivered and gone are the days when the 'specialist' role was the 'IN' thing.  These days, those guaranteed to run beyond just 'survival' mode are the real dogs, those with that chip in the shoulder.

That 'RIP OUT' mentality is what needs to get evolved.  Getting locked-in to what you did give your buy-in, that's all that matters where you always get to rip things out, where possible and not leaving any single stone unturned.  

With all these attributes deeply embedded in your own engine, you will see all your cylinders all fired up when you go full throttle and that chances of you gasping for air, for energy, for that extra push ?  Hardly will you end up with a near-empty tank as long as you're locked-in, mentally, emotionally and everything rolled into one, 

Who'll get the last laugh ?  It will be the BLUE COLLAR hounds out there.


 

Keep the MAIN THING the MAIN THING

Keep the MAIN THING the MAIN THING

🔑If there's a stark reality which we all share in life, it's the fact that our homes, our place, our lives just got too many things all over us, from left to right, from top to bottom, many of which criss-crossing each other, things cutting across.

Too many aberrations, complications, disruption, diversions, disturbances, interferences, interruptions and a plethora of variables and problems further complicating lives that are already as complex as it can be.

End-result ?  Bedlam.  Confusion.  Demoralization.  Which then leads us to the misjudgments, misstep, miscalculations.

Stephen Covey, one of America's most respected author and speaker kept preaching that 'the MAIN THING is to keep the MAIN THING the MAIN THING'.  Once you lose sight of the MAIN THING, you're off-track and soon you'll be a LOST case. But the truth is, who wants to lose sight of the MAIN THING ?  Human nature, though, tells us that when we get confused or disrupted or get diverted in a scenario not even least anticipated, we end up with an ill-advised decision, a miscall at the very least.  And before you know it, that MAIN THING is not in the picture anymore.  Suddenly, when you are caught in the middle of a large conflagration of fire, you will likely end up fighting the fire engulfing you.

What is it we lose in the midst of all these bedlam ?  It's that focus, that concentration on the very MAIN THING.  And for a darts player, he won't lose sight that his MAIN THING is to hit the bullseye and nothing less.  This is the best known secret of the most successful stories be they are sportsmen or business moguls.  They remain as cold as steel as they grapple with the challenges that confronts them every step of the way,

And what's our latest distraction ?  It's this Covid thing engulfing our global village.  Many of us lost sight of the MAIN THING.  And worst, many lives seem to be in 'SUSPEND' mode and their timers were scripted to kick-in when the vaccines will finally kill this pestering Covid virus.  And this where our problem lies.  That 'TEMPORARILY CLOSED' mark should not have been plastered right on our chests, right on our very nose.  There's our life to live.  We got to trudge on.

And suddenly, we end up running full circle and back to Stephen Covey [again !].    But it just can't be avoided.  Without infringing the author's intellectual property rights, we'd like to piggy-back on those '7 HABITS HIGHLY EFFECTIVE PEOPLE' ought to have, namely:  be PROACTIVE, begin with the END in MIND, put FIRST things FIRST, think WIN-WIN, UNDERSTAND before being UNDERSTOOD, synergize and never stop 'sharpening that saw'.  What next ?  All we need is your buy-in and let's start off from the gates with the gusto and fervor we need.

When the PARTY's OVER

 When the Party's Over

⏳ I'm sorry folks, I can't offer you a "SKIP AD" button because this piece is not an advert of Billie Eilish's 'WHEN THE PARTY's OVER' hit music which was #16 at its peak at the Billboard Chart [oh, that was almost 2 yrs back, JAN 5th 2019 to be precise] and which stayed in the charts for an enduring 17 weeks.

Anyways, to borrow from Billie Eilish, really WHEN THE PARTY's OVER, everyone has to heed the clarion call.  Holidays are over.  Festive events are one-off and done.  Family gatherings are a-ok as far as it lasts but WHEN THE PARTY's OVER, where do we go from here ?  

Oh, it's a no-brainer.  Let the RAT RACE begin [all over again].

Like it or not, you and me are in a RAT RACE and there's not even an Option 2 or a Plan B if I may surmise.  Oh BTW, do we know why are we in that RAT RACE ?  You're SPOT ON.  It's because that's our 'comfy zone'.  Why ?  It's because we are risk-averse, that's the long and short of it BUT don't ever that risk-aversion ever ever dictate your moves. Take that Megxit 'brouhaha' in the U.K. that continues to engulf its famous tabloids [The Sun, Daily Mirror, name it].  Prince Harry and Meghan, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex knew all along that their life won't be a cakewalk from the time they got married.

Cutting the cloth straight up, you gotta 'KNOW YOUR WHY'.  WHY are you in that RAT RACE.  And WHY are you NOT out of that RAT RACE.  And by being aware and conscious NOT to cherry-pick, we gotta realize that if we wanna be honest [at least to ourselves, there is half-IN or half-OUT options at all.

Oh, good for you.  You know you gotta WORK HARDER, EARN MORE MONEY, BUY this N that and keep going.  With your choices, do keep up to your decisions even if those [decisions] may have scuppered any chances for you to back-track and fallback on.  But again, I may sound like a broken record [and it really is], get out of your comfy zones.  HIGH risk = HIGH reward.  LOW risk = LOW reward.  NO risk = NO reward [and that's a damn loud NO !!!]

Don't get me wrong.  risks are good but you have to take it head-on intelligently, not those off-the-cuff moments.  And even if you fail, you'll pick up somethin' valuable about the decisions and its underlying circumstances.  All along, we gotta agree that failure isn't the END OF THE LINE.  Traversing the conventional and predictable path may be safe but it prevents you from achieving 

greatness and it significantly limits your options in life.  So, do you have MORE to lose ?  Or LESS to lose ?  Frankly, there is LESS to lose.  WHY ?  Taking a risk and even failing doesn't put you in jeopardy.  Even if you crash and burn after taking a big risk and even if that tarnishes your reputation, you got enuf years ahead of your to rebuild, repair and recoup [EVEN FROM THE GROUND UP].  As in statistics, the 

compounding returns of experience means if you keep taking risks and learning, those lessons will compound over you.  Even the less risky and more conservative decisions you make will be grounded with a more enlightened perspective.  

Now, as even this blog piece is no cakewalk, let me throw you off-balanced.  Contemplating to drop from the rat race ?  Oh that's a very honest REALITY CHECK you deserve BUT again, here's the big BUT.  To quote Mary Jean Tomlin [yes that's Lily as well], a famous American actress, writer, producer, comedian and singer, 'EVEN IF YOU WIN, YOU'RE STILL A RAT'.  Where does that leave you though ? 👎

That LEAP of FAITH

 That LEAP of FAITH

🙏 Probably a thousand times we heard about that LEAP of FAITH [a.k.a. LoF], being that proven formula of thousands of success stories even amongst folks you can relate with.  Word of caution, though.  We have heard countless debacles of 'LoF' that ended up as horror stories.  New arrivals detained in a foreign country.  Another one deported 'pronto y de prisa'.  Group of travelers all offloaded even before boarding a flight that would started off a doomed itinerary.

Oh, most of us have families and loved ones to support, people closest to us who continue to cling on us for direction, for support and even for their future.  Even for those alone in their lives, many of them have pre-set goals to achieve and that's just so laudable.  BUT.... but when shove comes to push, human nature tells us that we tend to breach that fine line of HOPE and cross-over to being in DESPERATION, and that's a red flag as early as it surfaces in one's game plan.

   

Risks, per se, is very much part of the equations in life because such is life.  Life is all about taking risks.  Don't take risks and the likelihood is that you will not achieve your dreams, your goals.  At the other end of the spectrum, execute a game plan riddled with risks, you'll end up akin to being riddled with bullets in an all-out gunfire from the unknowns.

Thing is, do assess the risks and most importantly, MITIGATE where possible with countermeasures and a Plan B or even a Plan C.  Some risks can't just be mitigated.  TERRORISM.  VOLCANIC ERUPTION.  CRUISE SHIP hitting head-on an iceberg causing it to sink fast and quick.  But other than those risks beyond your control, we gotta be reminded when it's TIME for CHANGE.  If you continue to be in your comfort zone [TILL NOW?], question yourself.  Confront yourself.  Move your ass

Who preaches that technology has tremendously helped us all.  Everyone, including my very own self.  BUT.... who says that technology does kill us as well ?  Hmmmmp, well I guess it's only me and a few others will cling on to that prognosis.  Don't look far, grab your smart phones.  Just to set your alarms, it offers you a plethora of options, options that will kill the positives in you, options that will push you down deep till you unknowingly end up in the labyrinth of the failed stories, those horror stories.  Heard of someone setting the alarm at 604am, then at 613am, then at 624am till probably the smart phone's battery gets drained ?  Holy cow, how can we abuse technology this far and this much ?

Well, there's no need to reinvent the wheel.  Let's take a leaf from Melanie Robbins, the popular American TV host who is equally popular for covering CNN's George Zimmerman trial, amongst others.  Melanie just abused that SNOOZE button over and over again until she realized that she was behind schedules, running out of time, scampering, running 'helter skelter' because she has gone kaput, not of $$$$ but of TIME !@#$%  How many of us are guilty of abuse to SNOOZE that alarm.  A lot of us are.  And that's it.  It became the turning point and realization by Melanie.  She concluded, fine i'll give myself max 5 seconds and beyond that, it's 'game over'.  Unexpectedly, the ramifications when she imposed that 5-second was just too all-encompassing.  It was a new-found discipline that was so damn contagious even to her

An idea pops up ?  Don't kill it but all it takes is 5 seconds before it dissipates in thin air.  Your confidence level is down ?  You got 5 secs to give yourself a shot in the arm.  You are in a doubtful state ?  Take that 5-second countdown.  Well said ?  Surely this is easier said than done, so let's go down to brass tactics.  The moment you perceive your instincts seem to be firing up but hesitation seems to creep in, pronto, run the 5-second RULE.  If 5 secs does run out, who's the CULPRIT ?  Not you but it's your brain because it tells you to "KILL IT" and your brain is damn patient [yet persistent] to talk yourself out of doing it.  Who pays the price of OVER-THINKING ?  It your pitiful self, SADLY.😔

To be fair, though, you yourself is/was not the culprit of that OVER-THINKING.  Who else is to blame except technology [AGAIN ???] !!!  The more you search Google, the more you scour YouTube, you end up with mountains and mountains of 'crap' [yes sireeee it's true] because most of those search results numbering millions are not gospel truths.  To set the record straight, I am NOT here to falsely allude that those Google and YouTube search results are all figments and fallacies.  On the other hand, they are factual, vetted and validated BUT 

here's the BUT....... There are tons and tons of variables injected in each of those search results and unless you are a dyed-in-the-wool statistical guru or acolyte, how the hell can you run an iteration to come up with the most optimized results ?  Not until you get back to linear programming [which we used to run over and over again to come up with the best iterations that will feed into our company's refinery operations [that was decades back though].  

In a nutshell, c'mon folks, let's fix our lives.  Oh, you might rebut by asking why fix the car if it ain't broke ?  C'mon, it may be ain't broke now but is it best optimized now ?  Is it most cost-effective now given the other cards laid out on the table ?  Again, let's get out being comfy.✅

Welcoming 2021 !!!

 Welcoming 2021 !!!

⏳HAPPY HAPPY NEW YEAR to all !!!  Despite the gloomy exit of 2020 followed closely on the heels by the muted start of 2021, a new year is always a milestone which humanity never misses to celebrate.  From Sydney Harbor where the New Year countdown creeps in first to New York City's Time Square, a new year always ushers in lots of hope and optimism across our global communities.  Not even the Covid pandemic can dampen that hullaballoo to come out with the loudest decibels of celebrating every new year.

And when our calendar resets and refreshes, surely you will  be checking to refresh your Windows O/S for updates, right ?  How about us, ourselves ?  Shouldn't we refresh and update ourselves ?  Can't we have the latest version of ourselves ?

Regardless, we owe it to ourselves, to our families, to our loved ones and even to our workplace colleagues that we come out with the latest VERSION UPDATE of ourselves.  A new version that will be an improvement of the last version that we were able to offer. Where there bugs in that version ?  Will you introduce new functionalities, new features ?  Isn't it a given that when the new year ushers in, the latest version of you gets released in your 'REFRESH'

Despite the gloominess brought about by this global pandemic, as the old adage goes, when you're down, there's no other way to go but UP ! And getting stalled by almost a year now by the harsh realities of this pandemic, the early stages of panic seem to have simmered down, especially since the medical experts and frontline health personnel have collected enough domain knowledge to manage and control of reported cases that seem to push the defenseless citizenry to the very edges of the precipice.

When all the marbles are on the line, do we think that we were already at our best last 2020 ?  Sure not ?  I'm sorry dude.  Let me bluntly confront you that whatever you were last 2020 was not the best of you which you can offer to yourself, to your family, to your workplace colleagues.  Probably you have gained enough knowledge and skills by now.  Probably, your knowledge repository is filled at the rafters and probably about to overflow.  

But what if I don't mince my words and confront you straight to your eyes: YOU KNOW SO MUCH BUT YOU HAVE DONE SO LITTLE [to date].  If that sounds relevant to your situation as it is now, can you do as much as all the knowledge you have at hand by now ?

The late Nelson Mandela, South Africa's famous apartheid revolutionary who later became its President for 5 years way back 1994 said:  NO PASSION IS TO BE FOUND PLAYING SMALL AND SETTLING FOR A LIFE THAT'S LESS THAN WHAT YOU ARE CAPABLE OF LIVING.  In a nutshell, Mandela implies here that it is unfathomable and unacceptable if all the efforts you exert in life are less than what you can exert.  And if you are angling for something you never had, you have to do something which you have never did to date.  There are no IFs and BUTs to that.  That's just non-negotiable.

And while you yourself is your worst enemy, naysayers are like land mines.  They are obscurely planted all around you.  And if and when you are the first person to shoot your foot down and declare that you can't do it, trust me, YOU WILL GO DOWN that drain faster and even ahead of the flushing.  In short, you become what you just said.  Your statement becomes what you said.  As a ground rule, if you wanna rest, put that off till the next tomorrow.  That could be tell-tale signs that you need some time off BUT DON'T TAKE THE DAY OFF now, not yet anyway.  DON'T give in to that immediately gratification that whispers through your ears.  Let those hollowed words pass-through your eardrums, period.  Two cornerstones you need now:  COMMITMENT and CONSISTENCY.  Without COMMITMENT, you can't start.  Without CONSISTENCY, you will never finish.  And what could be your most serious threat to progress than hardship ?  It's that reckless inclination to take things at EASE, at your own leisurely pace. ⏳