Are You "ALL-IN" ?

Are You "ALL-IN" ?

Prior to this pandemic, we always looked forward to the next "ALL-IN" airfare offers from SQ [Singapore Airlines].  What separates SQ from all other airlines is that what you see is what you get is what you pay.  No hidden charges.  No 'taxing taxes' being appended once you're settline the bill.  That's the best about being "ALL-IN".

Being "ALL-IN", you need to have that embedded attitude of being a 100% player.  You DON'T hold your punches.  You DON'T save your sweat.  You DON'T fear failing, if at all.  That "ALL-IN" attitude is what makes champiions.  Michael Schumacher.  Usain Bolt.  Manny Pacquiao.  The late Kobe Bryant.  That 'ALL-IN' attitude is showcased by them all.  If they have reached the pinnacle of their successes, credit goes to their being "ALL-IN".

Yesireeeee, it's non-debatable that we all have mindsets.  What separates the men from the boys are those with either a FIXED MINDSET or GROWTH MINDSET  Those with FIXED MINDSETs, the status quo is rarely challenged.  Preconceived notions are taken as universal truths, instead of being questioned.  What happens next, nothing.  They stagnate.

With a GROWTH MINDSET, you challenge yourself, your successes with the intention of setting stretch goals to push yourself outside of your comfort zone.  Growth won't happen when you keep doing what you've already done in the past.  It comes from failing while trying to make progress.  Stretch goals demand more quantity and quality of work and it forces you to innovate more often than ordinary goals.  This GROWTH MINDSET is what separates successful people from everyone else.

That positive attitude is manifested even in that glass half-full of water.  And only defeatist mindsets will look at it as half-empty whereas everyone with that positive and GROWTH MINDSET will insist that it's a full-glass because of the combined water and air.  If there is a tough task ahead you felt you will fail, damn it, very likely you'll fail.  But when you kick your ass damn hard to take on that tough task, likely you'll hurdle it.  IT's ALL IN THE MIND, dude.

No quick fix in life but unleashing your inner badass should be your mantra.  Harnessing your power and imposing your will on any challenge every step of the way will position you well as keep leapfrogging.  If you aim to achieve five great things and only succeed at two of them, you are outperforming all the people who never tried in the first place.  And assuming you just achieve small gains each day, a 1% gain everyday compounds to about 38% increase a year.  Where'd you go from here, dude.✅

Are You FALSE Positive ? Or FALSE Negative ?

Are You FALSE Positive ?  Or FALSE Negative ?

Happy Weekend.  Having been in this pandemic more than a year now, I'm cocksure everyone is aware what differentiates FALSE POSITIVE versus FALSE NEGATIVE.  146 Million [and still going up akin to a stampede] global cases have surely struggled and took some time to grapple and differentiate either of these FALSE's but the medical field is NOT our domain so we'll leave things at that for now

Let's get back to our lives where it matters most.  Even dogs are taking their own sweet time to figure out if those bones out there has any meat left yet. But matters most is living in the moment, what we are today regardless as to how we are perceived by people around us.  What I'm driving here is the fact that it will be unacceptable if we seem to be a POSITIVE persona [but a farce and fake] one.  Equally bad is we are perceived by folks around us as having that NEGATIVE persona when we are, truthfully, a POSITIVE person inside out with nothing farcical.

The thing, we got to be true and genuine INSIDE OUT.  Putting up a farcical facade not only means fooling people but it becomes both a comical and detestable act.  Why?  Because your very own IDENITY becomes a collateral damage of your farcical facade.  Remember, we are the author of our very own narrative and you don't want to be authoring fiction, right ?  You must be kidding, dude.

This 4-letter word shouldn't even be an optical illusion.  There's a huge divide between FACT and FAKE.  Unless truism is part of your mantra in life, you would end up leaving a hollowed and rudderless life.  If we some stuff trending, will you join that bandwagon even if you're not into it ?  Or probably you don't have a direction, you don't seem to be going anywhere?

It all boils down to be authentic.  Stay within your domain of competence.  You just don't walk up to repair a helicopter and start tinkering on it.  Any action that is tantamount to window-dressing is just not a palatable part in our life.

As the Swiss Psychiatrist Carl Jung always espoused, "you're in a story whether you know it or not.  If it's someone else's story, you'll only get a bit part and it may not be what you want and if it's a sad story you don't know, it might be one with a really bad ending.  So c'mon, let us be either a TRUE POSITIVE or TRUE NEGATIVE.  By TRUE NEGATIVE, people's perception is really what we are and that's the truth anyone.  Farcical lives are now a taboo ✅

Will Your Other Shoe Drop Anytime Now ?

Will Your Other Shoe Drop Anytime Now ?

Oh no, what a damn boring piece today if all we've got to talk about are shoes, shoes and shoes.  Indeed, nothing can be more boring than that.

Straight to the facts, this is a fact of life.  We always need a pair of footwear, be it shoes what not, even before we can take the first step.  Even for babies and toddlers who parents are keen to learn the steps, they should always have a pair, right ?

Regardless of your 'flight plan' in life, always remember that the road you'll thread is tattered with landmines.  Make the misstep, the mine blows up right in your face.  So, always brace yourself that roads will be treacherous, sometimes too steep when it's uphill and sometimes too scary when it's along downward slopes because you dunno if you will just get thrown down deep the ravines and cliffs.  But other than this 'obstacle-laced' paths, obviously, there are many more smooth paths than rough patches.

Yup, sometimes, we celebrate too early and before we know it, the other shoe drops, right ? And more often, when things are just going in our way, we start to lose guard, getting complacent, getting loose [wrongly] thinking that those euphoric moment will go on and on.  No senor, you can savor those best moments, you just gotta live in the moment because you'll never know if tomorrow's moments is the excruciating version of your best moments now.

Remember, when everything is fine and dandy, who will ever think that the next moment things will go down south ?  Because when things get tough, even our brains can turn to mush.  Suddenly, you're like driving with no bumps on the road, with the skies as clear as it can get.  Dont lose life's basic navigational mantras namely:  Take stock of thinks, what needs work, what needs some fixin', and where're are you bound for ?  What's your damn plan, BTW.  ❗

You Wanna Be One of the Majority ?

 You Wanna Be One of the Majority ?

You Wanna Be One of the Majority ?  Sure not ?  Don't get me wrong, not that bad to be part of a majority that's on the correct side, on the positive flank of things BUT here's the thing.  Did we realize that if we were one of those AVERAGE "B" players, there is always a higher probability that we will slide down and become a "C" player ?

I totally agree, nothing wrong if we're in the #2 spot which BTW is the 'AVERAGE' guy whereas the #1 is the 'ABOVE AVERAGE" dude while obviously, the #3 is that cellar dweller who can't escape to be tagged as the "BELOW AVERAGE" fellow.  So, after this realization, think about it, are we still VERY comfortable being an 'AVERAGE' player ?  To be honest, what and where is that 'SENSE of ACHIEVEMENT' and 'SENSE of FULFILLMENT' by being an 'AVERAGE' player ?  I don't think you can have that ACHIEVEMENT cum FULFILLMENT sense.

Frankly, tell me who ever told you straight in your eyes that you can't be the BEST of the BEST ?  C'mon, I won't bat my eyelash to tear down into pieces anyone who has the temerity to tell you that as no one else BUT you yourself can have that moral and logical fortitude to state whether you can be the BEST of the BEST.  You might tell me, I'm sorry I DONT have a college degree or I DONT have work experience or I DONT have a certification yet or I DONT think I can work in any other shift sched except 8am-5am.

Oh I luv it when you're transparent enough to tell me all your DONTs because by affirming your DONTs, it reconfirms that you now know your LIMITS.  And by knowing your LIMITS, you can now GO BEYOND your LIMITS.  That's all it takes.  You DONT have a college degree.  Do you want one ?  You DONT have work experience.  Do you want to get some work experience even as a trainee/OJT ?  You DONT want work shifts other than 8am-5pm but if the best options out in the job market is a mid-shift or a graveyard shift ?  And remember you need some $$$ at least for your basic needs, right ?

So, c'mon.  How not to be just one of those 'AVERAGE' dudes?  DON'T do things because others are doing it.  DON'T do something just because its the trend.  DON'T go in that same direction where everyone is going to.  DON'T present your project via PowerPoint just because everyone's using PPT.  And once you aim with a purpose, IF it doesn't sting a little bit, IF it doesn't make you a little bit uncomfortable, you won't probably get much out of it.  So, you should be uncomfortable with AVERAGE.  BTW, you DON'T get to choose how to start your life but you do get to choose what to do.✅✅✅

Know Your Limits !

 Know Your Limits !

RM, the most eloquent member of world famous Korean Pop Group BTS is very good source of one-liners that will grab you by your lapels.  And for today, this one-liner speaks volumes:  'I HOPE YOU KNOW YOUR LIMITS WELL. BUT DON'T STAY WITHIN THOSE LIMITS.  OVERCOME THEM EACH DAY'. And I think no one disagree with RM on this.

Challenge question:  Why do we need to know our limits?  Why can't we just go on and carry own?  Fine, for argument's sake, assuming you really dunno your limits.  What happens next?  Likely, nothing will happen!  Why? Because either you refuse to know your limits or you simply wanna ignore it when your stubborn persona suddenly takes over your whole self.  So how will things end up with you by then?

Go down memory lane when we were still in school.  Isn't it we knew fully well our limits such that we really studied damn hard even if folks around us were simply taking things in stride?  And that's the very crux of the matter.  Only by being fully aware of our limits will likely help us find the catalyst within us for us to overcome that barrier that somehow separates the boys from men.

In fact, the acid test we should overcome is that upon knowing our limits, we will defy that everything ends within those limits but instead, you will spare no single stone to continue ramping up and scaling up as you continue to kick your ass damn hard.  How then can you overcome your limits?

• Be FEARLESS-Overcome that by getting rid of fear.
• TOOTB - Think out of the box.  Expand your thinking
• Will you ASK AROUND - Nope, pls DONT.  Once you start asking someone, you end constrained by that person's LIMITS.  Would you rather go that route ?
• Play by the RULES ? - NO WAY.  DONT ride that bandwagon just to be with the mainstream.  
  
  What is the commonality of Mahatma Gandhi, Martin Luther King Abraham Lincoln, Mother Teresa and John Kennedy?  They all hit the wall and they got hit hard and that woke them up because they realized their limits and decided to take the next step of DEFYING their LIMITS ✅✅✅

Here Comes the World's MOST POWERFUL Language !

Here Comes the World's MOST POWERFUL Language !

Here's my $64 riddle.  What is the world's MOST POWERFUL LANGUAGE ?  English?  Nope.  Russian?  Ngek.  Chinese?  No way, COVID.  Time is UP.  It's BODY LANGUAGE folks!  For the longest time, no language can beat it black and blue.  As this poster goes, 'BODY LANGUAGE IS LIKE AN ICEBERG.  90% OF WHAT IS UNSAID LIES UNDERNEATH THE SURFACE'.

Oh c'mon, here's another dude who insists that programming languages are the most powerful ones because they are now lording it all over the place, in our connected world.  Hmmmmm, well, how to disagree with this discourse because indeed the techies have taken over the global trade and marketplace but oh no, I won't turn my back on BODY LANGUAGE being the most powerful one!

In terms of recency, no one beats Former US President Donald Trump in his four years in the White House.  To see him, whether in Photo-Ops or Off-cam shots, he is one of the living proofs of body language.  Take this shot of President Trump with Pakistan PM Imran Khan.  It's just picture-perfect to know who's stronger, more dominant, aggressive, name it, you got it all in this shot.

Former US FL , Senator and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is another 'class act'.  You don't have to look far as to who's dominant, domineering and daunting.  In hard-ball negotiations, she'll be the front act and it's curtains down.  So, during this pandemic, forget all those language online schools offering eye-popping discounts.  You can learn the world's MOST POWERFUL LANGUAGE by honing on the sound fundamentals, pronto.

Oh BTW, what's going on for more than a year on with this pandemic?  Almost everyone of us are locked-in online, right?  Oh what about those arguments and debates?  Hmmmm, 99% are running online too, real-time in fact.  So who means those online jousts?  Sorry folks, there's barely a runaway winnah! Why?  Because most protagonists get so locked-in with verbals than with non-verbals.  Had they turned on their cams and argue online nary a single word to be typed, we would have easily figured it out who'll be the runaway winnah.

Oh everyone would miss this, badly.  Those breaks from class or from work, where everyone will rush to the cafeteria but even before they could grab a coffee, each one seems to be hostaged by their gadgets.  BUT, but don't get glued with their gadgets. Instead, dissect their body language. Can you figure out who's the active versus the laidback?  The giver versus the taker  The trailblazer versus the laggard?  

So, where do you start to pick up your sound fundamentals?  Firstly, do you know that person inside-out?  Better be sure because studies show that only 50% know welll enough their partner inside-out.  That explains why a partner [wrongly] thought the other half is soft?  Submissive?  Timid?  Not until when all hell broke loose.  Too late the hero.  So, better get your fundamentals sound enough before the waters get rough. 📌📌📌

Are You Walking on Eggshells ? Or in a Minefield ?

Are You Walking on Eggshells ?  Or in a Minefield ?

Either way, whether you're walking on eggshells or you're now walking in a minefield, those are times when you gotta be sharp and incisive with your instincts and your judgment call as well.  These are instances when an snafu will lead to a problem which later on compounds into a much bigger one, a complex problem which, in hyperbole, you end up creating a 'monster'.

Oh, I liked this concoction of what ASSUME is.  And seriously, this strikes a chord because when the assumption is off-track, you and I know what will happen next.  And you end up either with a pair of protagonists or one of them turns into an antagonist.  It's akin to waking up at the wrong side of the bed and from the time you rise up, you end up committing in succession a combination of bloppers and misjudgments which may end up in a mess which you need to clear up pronto.  

Probably, you were just into a casual convo or if at work, you were in a feedback session, which to everyone's chagrin, turns out to be a disconnect that's simmering to shape up as a real problem to deal with.  You can even with your BFF or partner but suddenly, a friction got ignited probably by just a word or two.

What's just trickier, though, is if you're right in the midst of a minefield, a situation with just more Nays than Ayes, situations where there is a high probability of an issue pushing you in a corner you can't wiggle out from.  Multiple issues, compounded problems, these are ingredients of a minefield where you need to walk through deftly but likely hitting a mine.

During this pandemic when the labor force were the hardest hit, many jobseekers are exerting their darn best in their job search.  What if you didn't had a college degree.  What if you had just one too many job changes.  These are eye-popping lowlights in your Resume where you need to prepare an airtight explanation.  But if you come prepared for it, then you can end up unscathed from the mines.

And BTW, don't miss this out.  Even if you burned the midnight oil to prepare, there will always be unknown variables of the equation.  It's how you run the bases that will dictate the end-result because the ball is solely in your hands.

When You're Thrown a CURVEBALL

When You're Thrown a CURVEBALL

Curveballs in life, that we experience over and over again infinitely.  These are the unexpected things that just pop-up, sometimes throwing a monkey wrench on your situation that very moment.  It could be surprises that could be positive and pleasant as it may present opportunities for you but unless you handle it well enough, you won't get to be aware that there was indeed an 'opportunity' in that curveball.  There are just one too many curveballs in our lives.  Imagine you were so pumped-up for that long-drive only to find that there is a kilometric-long jam just at the entry point to the highway.  How will you handle that ?  Will you do a U-turn?

Getting into curveball situations is very tricky.  It's not just the rightness of your countermeasure that very moment but what's equally a priority is your quickness to make swift and sound decisions.  A right decision made one or two minutes late could go wrong because it was late for a minute or two.  Two Sundays ago, we woke up early for an early market schedule but  towards the market, there was a long traffic snarl that early morning.  

Pronto, we made a U-turn and went to another market instead, much smaller with fewer options and prices slightly higher.  But the fact we're off early morning to market on a Sunday meant that we valued time more than anything so that quick reflex  for the U-turn necessitated figuring out the difference between the prices and the price point.

Surely in your lives you were thrown with curveballs but you were just too oblivious and less discerning.  Imagine this scripted dialogue with LIFE that finally you felt happy.  BUT don't speak prematurely because LIFE will tell you 'LOL, wait a sec', and i'll spring another surprise for you.  That's when things begin to whirl and twirl all over again.  But curveballs are not something we need to be averse because a lot of those 'curveball' situations will sublimely come knocking with a window of opportunity slightly opening for you to grab.

Sorry folks, this is NOT Flowcharting 101 but simply sharing with you the ideal way for us to validate your decision-making process.  BTW, some decisions require a thorough and incisive approach because sometimes, things can never be more complex than what you have at hand.  And if NEGATIVITY prevails over you [with that 2-horned creature whispering through your ears] because you thought we're making a mountain out of a molehill with this flowcharting, no sirs, this is as basic as ABC and 123.

And as this poster goes, 'THROW ME TO THE WOLVES AND I'LL RETURN LEADING THE PACK'.  Well said.  Just too picture-perfect but this is the way to go, remain positive, get motivated, continue to be self-driven, never waiver, never wither and remain consistently FOCUSED with what your goal and keep a close tab with your game plan so you don't get waylaid when you hit the crossroads from time to time.  And what better way to self-motivate you than aiming to be at the top of the totem pole, spearheading your group with your trailblazing efforts every step of the way.  Any disrupted focus, any reduced effort will result you to falling short of leading the pack, a position that will offer you multifarious opportunities because you'll catch the prey ahead.

Going back to our school academics for a minute, can we revisit this equation:  WHAT YOU WANT TO DO IS EQUALS TO THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN WHO YOU ARE AND WHO YOU WANT TO BE.  Where's the pitfall here ?  If you dunno WHO YOU WANT TO BE then that is a sorry state of affairs because it's only you can decide on that.  PROXY DECISIONS are untenable in life because it's you and not any one else will live your life except YOU.📌📌📌

Of Post Mortems and Retrospectives

 Of Post Mortems and Retrospectives

Yeheyyy, happy weekend !  How time flies, indeed.  It used to be, when we wrongly hit something, we paused and would go back to what got hit.  When we committed a faux pas, we will pause and ponder how did we end up with that mess.  Problem is, these days, the surface is hardly scratched when it comes to post mortems & retrospectives.

In the old school, once you commit slip-ups, you will be berated no end by your boss, sometimes to your chagrin, in front your colleagues and peers.  That doesn't work these days with millennials.  With the millennials and Gen Z, things will surely boomerang on you, frankly.

To quote Francis Kong, learning from 'a mistake is MORE IMPORTANT than the mistake itself'.  BUT are we really learning from our mistakes ?  I'm afraid not.  WHY?  Probably we veered away just because we are all in a 'rat race'?  That continuing the fastbreak after a bad pass is the only tempo to go ?  But that's in a hoop's game.

But hey, even in a fast-paced hoops game, the coach won't waste time for a time-out after a recent boo-boo and to recoup from that, the coach will plot a countermeasure to estop the opposing team's momentum.  So, whether it's your own life or you're in a team play [at work], never lay by the wayside the value of these quick timeouts.

So what do we need ?  hmmmp, do paste these post-it-notes within your eye-view no less because you gotta take a balance relook at things, both the right things and the not-so-right things you did and ask yourself, how could you do this right because either the game is not yet over or this may recur in the future.

Oh, this pic may look sooo boring but bear with me because we just need to improve our retrospectives.  BTW, you don't initiate a retrospective a year after the game is over.  In fact, agile retrospective tells us that we should initiate this even for what's ongoing, to tweak things even things are going right but who knows we can further improve our efficiency or productivity ?

What tools do we need then to initiate a post-mortem or a retrospective ?  Nothing as in NADA.  WHY ?  Because by then you have all the data, all the hard facts as to what made you reach where you're standing now.  So, c'mon, let's not be too tied up with the 'up tempo' pace in our lives because what matters most is not just reaching the finish line but reaching it way ahead of the competition ✅✅✅