Don't Question the Questions, Ever !

Don't Question the Questions, Ever !

Questions Questions Questions, anyone ? Should be that way, we need to be welcoming with all questions posed upon us as long as they are valid and reasonable enough to be answered.  Many points of failure in our lives are like landmines planted all over the place, about to blow up anytime we make a misstep.  So what do we do instead ?  Sadly, many of us tend to avoid or ignore questions posed upon us.  Worst, we tend to be smart [not really !] to skirt and go around, giving lip service to posed questions. 

Why do we avoid or ignore questions posed upon us ?  In an illogical sense, we take it as another breach of our privacy, that we are entitled to keep things under cover even for no reason at all.  These interrogatives ?  We tend to take them as intrusive enough that does not deserve a reasonable response.  But don't we realize that whoever is posing that question, it behooves that we respond back because in the first place, it means that our existence, our presence is recognized at the very least.

C'mon, can we run things this way.  Pull that person in for you to have a one-on-one.  That becomes prim and proper so that anything that is unclear or muddled are given crystal-clear clarifications.  Whereas in real life, we tend to AVOID & GO on the premise that avoiding questions will lead those questions to a natural death

As we all live in a digitally connected world now, we don't want to give responses like this right ?  That 'THIS TOPIC IS STILL UNDER CONSTRUCTION' and worse, you can't declare 'COME BACK SOON' because questions left unanswered will likely boomerang to you, the supposed responder.  Rule here is, avoidance does not closeout loose ends and hanging items.

And if for some reasons no one is asking you questions, not to worry, you got a handful of daily questions you need to ask yourself:  

1. DID I ACHIEVE MY TASKS FOR TODAY ?
2. WHAT MOTIVATED ME TO ACHIEVE THOSE TASKS ?
3. WHAT MISSTEPS or MISTAKES DID I MAKE TODAY ?
4. DID MY FAMILY BENEFIT FROM MY TASKS TODAY ?
5. HOW CAN I IMPROVE MYSELF BASED FROM TODAY?
6. CAN I TAKE GOOD SLEEP BECAUSE OF ALL MY ACCOMPLISHED TASKS FOR TODAY ?

Let's go back and see how far can we replicate the work ethics of Elon Musk.  first things first, he always asked:  What's your MIT [Most Important Task] for the day ?  That then sets the tone for your task planning and prioritization for a given day.  Remember, everyday we have 2 options:  MOVE FORWARD [and have a choice] OR MOVE BACK INTO SAFETY.  It's your call, dude.❗❗❗

Why Your Mirror Should Be Your BFF !

Why Your Mirror Should Be Your BFF !

Hmmmm, surely this will become a lively debate because surely, you know who's your BFF[s], right?  But that's fine, we're not implying that you have to disown whoever is/are your BFFs now.  What we're pushing is for you to agree [without appearing as acquiescing] that your own mirror should be your BFF as well.  If that's debatable, sure we can discuss it.

C'mon, this is non-negotiable.  In our life, we got to have in place anything that's akin to a "FEEDBACK LOOP" for yourself.  Simply put, you need to find out what have you done and how can you do it better.  Remember, we can't be an 'all-weather' toughie in life.  There will be times when we seem vulnerable, delicate and fragile like that porcelain doll.  And when we face our mirror, what we're aiming for is to get back that 'rude dude' attitude as quickly as possible.

Yes it's true, we do have those moments when we are weak or even at our weakest point.  The most common lapse we commit is that we are unaware that we're at those 'low points' and that's an alarm that should have rang up loud enough because it is imperative that we are fully awake and aware when things are going south because that's the time when we need to put on that 'tough guy' face and start grinding.

What's scary is when things really turn towards 'deep south' when it seems the doomsday clock is ticking fast, inching closer to midnight.  Ironically, you, we can be everything and nothing all at once, turning us like a disturbing Frankenstein monster stranded somewhere between life and death being harassed by villagers with pitchforks [can you visualize that?  OMGeeee].

Oh, did you had those moments in life when you seem shackled ?  Then you gotta 'unshackle' yourself, let loose yourself from constraints and limitations that may seem to be strangling you.  Remember, BREAKTHROUGHS are NOT just X's and O's.  it all boils down to mental toughness.  And BTW, use your guilt as your fuel.  Start feeling guilty when you're not achieving because to achieve means you need to keep going, keep chasing till you face your mirror with a SMILEY face😀😁😂😃😄😆😇

Have You Learned the 'RIGHT READS" ?

Have You Learned the 'RIGHT READS" ?

Sometime back, we talked about BODY LANGUAGE, how it can be a powerful tool we can leverage.  But it doesn't end up there.  Learning the "RIGHT READS" is another conduit to equip and aid us even way before we get into decision points in life.  But learning the "RIGHT READs" offers us much more challenging points to overcome because more often, it becomes a judgment call as you walk that fine line between what could be the 'RIGHT READs' or the 'WRONG READ'.

Don't get me wrong, we're not asking you to be a volume reader.  In fact, you don't need to read because the hell of 'RIGHT READs' we need to learn are not literally readable but instead, this entails us to deep dive even beyond ground level because as the cliche goes, 'God is in the detail'.  In real life, when someone is spewing a mouthful, more often, we don't even need to read between the lines but instead, we just need to 'read the lines'.    

It's for us to pick those 'low hanging fruits' because more often, it entails minimal effort but here's the catch.  Picking up the 'RIGHT READs' expects us to be extra discerning.  And that means, 'reading the lines' and finding the 'RIGHT READs' when the handwriting is all over the wall.  The risk here is missing those 'RIGHT READs' because those misses will become huge missed opportunities.  And God knows the ramifications once we miss out those 'RIGHT READs'.

When you want something as bad as you wanna breath, that's when you will find your way.  It doesn't take you to be talented or gifted.  You don't even need to be the most intelligent.  DON'T let external factors control you.  Instead, you gotta be in control of your life because life won't give you anything but if you make it, no one can take it away from you because at

 the end of the day, what counts is hard work and tenacity.  The worst faux pas in life is if you're looking for a way out.  But if you put yourself in a position of change, you know you can do it but you just wanna do it.  Once you get into that vicious cycle, you may end up with an excuse to tell yourself that you'll do something the next day, the next week till you would have gone kaput.  But the $64 question for you, for us, is this:  Do we agree that we can't remain the same ?  That we gotta evolve ?  That to evolve is more than just changing ?  As the cliche goes, 'change is good' but the question that may stomp you and me is this:  are you changing for the right reasons ?  Or are you changing just to please other people ?  Oh c'mon.

SMALL Problems Becoming BIG Problems ?

 SMALL Problems Becoming BIG Problems ?

Why is it that sometimes [or probably many times] SMALL problems become BIG problems? There's the rub.  Everything starts as a tiny dot of a problem.  If you're maintaining a website, you might stumble with a 'PAGE NOT FOUND' screen, very likely what you see is barely the surface.  Till you dig up, you would be unable to assess the magnitude of the problem at hand.

Let's get into our real life problems.  Could be a leak from the tap.  Ignore it, that leak won't get fixed by itself.  In truth, ignore it and that problem will become more than just a 'leak' problem.  Water may just overflow from that sink.  And if you try fixing the issue only when water is overflowing, can you imagine how the problem has compounded from that leak?

Another small problem could be that postal notification from IRS, a notice for payment amounting to probably $200.  Ignore that for a couple of years, don't fall from your chair if your IRS bill shoots up to thousands.  What causes problems to reach this magnitude ?  It's when we sweep things under the rugs and carpet.

Need a more domestic issue ?  DON'T look farther this pic.  Here comes some siblings sharing the same bedroom.  And then, one messy thing piles up till things turn up in this total mess no less.  Could all these been possibly averted ?  Absolutely.  But again, it all starts with you.  Will you lift a finger ?  Will you move your ass ?   Or will you leave things to just go way out of control until it reaches alarming levels when you can't ignore its impact anymore ?

You don't want to be clutching on straws, right ?  As long as you DON'T miss out that you've got helplines around.  That's when your family, your loved ones comes into play.  One fallacy proven over and over again ?  That 'LONE RANGER' is pure fiction.  You can't be that one, not in today's rough and tumble world.  Bottomline is, DON'T ever let SMALL problems worsen to become BIG problems.

How Often Do You Make 'HAIL MARY' Shots ?

How Often Do You Make 'HAIL MARY' Shots ?

Happy Monday folks.  So sorry this piece is not about the NBA and certainly not about basketball.  Instead, we'd like to circle around 'HAIL MARY' shots.  What are these anyway?  'HAIL MARY' shots are those times in our life when we attempt to achieve something despite the cards and odds being all stacked against us.  And that happens quite often be in life or even in basketball.

Quick pulse check.  Are you a delicate, fragile porcelain doll ?  Are u barely able to scrape just enough ?  Do quickly have a pulse check.  And do quickly realize that challenges and threats are not the same even if the magnitude of the problem is the same.  And instead of avoiding problems, it's better to find the dragon in its lair instead of waiting for it to devour you and if you find the dragon in its lair, you might find it's still a baby instead of a full-fledged bloody monster.      

At work, in school or even in a competitive game, the name of the game is GRIND GRIND GRIND.  If you're running your life at a pace less than the GRIND GRIND GRIND pace, then those are tell-tale signs that we may end up again catching up and end up with "HAIL MARY" shots.

So, this leads us back to the question, how can we avoid taking "HAIL MARY" shots since a lot of those shots are 'desperation' shots, if you may.  It's not that a steep goal to be ahead of the pack.  All we need is to take that first big stride right at the start.  And challenge yourself, can you pick up the slack when things aren't  going your way, you don't want to wait till things start to fall apart.  When you're in a train hurtling down the tracks, you'll end up with "HAIL MARY" shots all over again.

Thing is, miracles do happen in life.  At times, luck comes into our life but those are very much far and few in between.  What's needed is the sheer determination of each soul to really pour it out and push himself to the limits.  There has to be an unrelenting pursuit, that attitude that will take you to reach that next level and way beyond.  

Going back to mathematics, the equation of BREAKTHROUGH is equals to 90% WORK + 10% FIGHT.  A BREAKTHROUGH is NOT the X's and O's.  It's a mental toughness.  Just STOP downgrading your dream to feed your reality.  Start upgrading your conviction to match your destiny.  To achieve your dreams, you need to keep going, keep chasing.  True, it's difficult to follow your dreams but it's worse if you don't.  You need to find a way to build your own dream.  Else, someone else will hire you to build theirs.  Are you still keen to clinging on to the flickering hopes of those "HAIL MARY" shots ??? ❎❎❎

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 ✅✅✅