No Time? Make Time!

No Time?  Make Time!

How many times in life did we blurt out that we have NO TIME?  Probably a zillion times, right? The truth is, that is mankind's most favorite and most overused excuse in life.  Whether it is for mundane things to meeting expectations of your friends to complying with workplace requirements to standing up to your responsibilities as a partner/spouse or worst, if your health seems to be failing, we are all guilty [OVER and OVER AGAIN] for finding a way out by claiming you have No Time?  

But the mother of all questions is this:  Is having NO TIME a valid and credible reason?  Having NO TIME becomes valid if emergencies and/or sudden turn of events happen in our life.  When your bosom friend suddenly flies back to the country and at that time you were on a business trip, it is a no brainer that that reason is valid.  

But if every now and then, you are chasing time as if it is ticking just too fast or you seem to be at the tail-end of things, unable to 'DELIVER the DELIVERABLE', how can you buttress the fact that more often, having NO TIME is more of a ruse, an excuse, an alibi no less.  But you might get back to me scream, BUT THAT IS NOT A CRIME!  Of course it is not but when you condone your recurring NO TIME excuse, does it hold water?

Over this most recent weekend, myself and my wife were in a dilemma because we wanted to be in two places on the same day but the catch is that those two places are 101 miles apart [and that's not even a straight line to traverse].  Lo and behold, we managed to FIND TIME, TAKE the TIME and MAKE the TIME.  How?  We had to tweak things a bit without spoiling my family's holiday schedule and at the same, keeping up to our promise to travel [whatever it takes] to be with our daughter's favorite teacher.

When we finally reached home Sunday evening, it was a miracle of sorts because 'INSPITE of WAZE' [yes that's true, the WAZE app was more of a challenge as it was pointing me to traverse across directions that would have thrown a monkey wrench to be at the place at the appointed time].  And I'd admit it was no mean feat because from the time our family had a 'quick' breakfast buffet then checking out from our hotel, I gave myself no more than three hours to be at the next destination [which place we were going for the very first time].  Lo and behold, we made it.  This latest feat we achieved just reinforces the fact that having NO TIME is the last excuse in life.  Hoping we can replicate this in our life over and over again, with no pressures to wilt⌛⌛⌛

Tidy Up OR The Mess Will Get Messier

Tidy Up OR The Mess Will Get Messier

Life is all a matter of choices and at any given time, we could end up with situations either in a mess or at the very least, not so tidy enough.  And that's fine as long as we have our buy-in that the next decision point is to Tidy Up OR The Mess Will Get Messier.  But a devil's advocate can argue, WHY NOT LET THE MESS DIE A NATURAL DEATH.  Good grief.  Too bad though, any mess in life never dies a natural death but instead, the ugly head of the snake might even spring out of it and before you know it, you have a situation that is not only unmanageable but worse, one that may be unresolvable.

Do an apples-to-apples comparison.  Isn't there a huge difference between a BEFORE and the AFTER if ever a mess did gets put back in order?  And take a contrarian view.  WHAT IF you didn't lift a finger?  Do you think the status quo would remain AS IS?  Oh, DON'T buy that fallacy at all.

So, what's really the QUICK FIX?  Dude, this is all a D-I-Y thing.  Clean up your own mess but how?  First off, atone to it, accept it, own it. From there, plot your action plan how to attack that mess.  And if we're referring to a messy relationship, that's a steep mountain to climb up and overcome.  Bottom line, is NEVER turn around and look the other way because you're DIGGING YOUR OWN GRAVE for that.  You got to pull the bull by its horn no less.

BTW, if children can clean-up their own mess, why can't we? Frankly though, taking the first step is the hardest part because you got to halt that momentum of your skid and turn it around in one hundred eighty degrees.  And that is huge turnaround!  So how?  Simplify a complex and tricky situation.  First things first.  Go for the low-hanging fruits.  Don't cherry pick though.  Take as you pick.  Take that need to fix a relationship, that could be akin to a TUG of WAR because likely, two protagonists will hold their ground and wpn't cede an inch, whatever happens.

And when protagonists reach an impasse, there will be NO QUARTERS given or taken.  Each one will dig up their heels in their respective trenches.  Oh, sorry about that.  That reminds me when I witnessed relationships eventually floundered because neither party would want to cede or give up an inch.  Why?  More often, the ugly head of PRIDE creeps in and everything just crumbles down.  So, let's put back SANITY in the rightful place and let us be fair and just if we have that good faith and resolve to really TIDY UP THINGS or the MESS GETS MESSIER❗❗❗

Seize the Moment [Carpe Diem]

Seize the Moment [Carpe Diem]

Throughout our lives, we all go through zillions of moments, peaks and valleys, troughs and and trenches but what most of us tend to miss is that opportunity to Seize the Moment a.k.a. Carpe Diem.  This may be quite convoluted because there are moments in our life which we'd rather forget and obliterate from our memories and that's understandable.  But how about all other moments which we could have Seized the Moment and end up on the uptick.

BTW, to Seize the Moment does NOT mean waiting for an opportunity and seize it.  More often, opportunities are NOT served on a silver platter.  More often, an opportunity is just showing a slight glimmer of light which could be a hundred miles down the road and it is for you to be incisive and so focused to go for it.

Picture yourself standing at the coast and with your naked eyes, you can see opportunities lurking out there in the waters.  Even assuming you want to go for it, you got two scenarios which is, either you standstill on the coast and wait for that opportunity [it could be a prized blue marlin] or you would just row your boat and zero-in within a perimeter area to Seize the Moment of angling that 'catch'.

As this poster says it, TIME WAITS FOR NO ONE.  That's spot on simply because many of us tend to miss out the fact that we all live on BORROWED TIME.  We are NOT facing a BUFFET table of a dozen dishes for our picking in a leisurely pace.  So how do you extricate from that dilemma?  RACE AGAINST YOURSELF.  Set a benchmark and once you breach it, MOVE THE GOAL POST and keep RAISING THE BAR.  Then, you're now seizing the moment✅✅✅

Know the PRICE POINT

Know the PRICE POINT

Oh, today's piece is not a commercial doc.  You could be a student now or simply a partner of your spouse.  Nevertheless, you cannot be bailed out from Knowing your PRICE POINT because each of us does command a PRICE but the bigger question where all the interested parties will be likely begging to hear and know is that what is your PRICE POINT.  Unfortunately, everything has a PRICE POINT.

And the variable that is always pegged to one's PRICE POINT is your very own VALUE as a product.  So, where's the beef?  For you to have a good and reasonable PRICE POINT, your VALUE will need to be figured out.  And how will you be assessed?  Like it or not, you will BENCHMARKED with today's market.  How good are you in your craft, how efficient are you, how good is your quality, among others.

So, how do you fare now in the market?  Are you a blue chip the major employers will dangle a juicy job offer?  Or are you simply a part of the mainstream, that huge segment of 'MEDIANs' who can't be tagged either as LEADERS or LAGGARDS? If you are bunched in that pack, the upside is that you are NOT hugging the cellar.  But is that the spot you deserve to be, right now?

BTW, if there's one thing we CAN'T get away from?  It is the QUALITY aspect.  Whether we'll talk about relationships, about school life or work life or even an entrepreneur's world, QUALITY is the common denominator.  What's your QUALITY score as a partner/spouse?  As a worker?  As an entrepreneur? BTW, we can't understate that QUALITY score because that could be a GAME-CHANGER or worst, a DEAL-BREAKER.  If your QUALITY score is spotty at best, expect your price to be badly battered.

Yes folks, everything boils down to $$$$$ and cents.  And frankly, in life, you are only as good as your VALUE today as in RIGHT NOW.  if your value suffers a dip or it continues to go down south, the urgency to arrest that skid cannot be over-emphasized.  You would rather pour it out to rescue yourself now than much later when you plummet at a value that will be beyond recovery.  How many lives have we witnessed to have plummeted deep enough?  How to avert this?  Know thy PRICE POINT❗❗❗

Are You Cooked and Burned?

Are You Cooked and Burned?

Nope, today's thread is NOT about culinary arts.  But instead, we'd like to peek into our lives and ask ourselves if we are Cooked and Burned as we speak now?  Frankly in life, we do NOT expect to be that Cooked and Burned so soon in life because even our normal trajectories normally shapes up in a gradual, managed approach.  But if you got Cooked and Burned so soon in life, we got to figure out why this early, you really got Cooked and Burned because that's alarming  

So, what does being Cooked and Burned really mean?  Frankly, if you're in a workplace, that could imply that you're feeling BURNT OUT.  It's like your energy is spent, your drive is drained.  That's when you feel zapped.  But the bigger question stomping right in our face is as to what and why it took that fast for you get drained, spent and zapped?  Is/Was it your lifestyle?  Your discipline in life? Or how purposeful your life was?

If there's a word we need to attack now, it is 'BURNOUT' because whether you're still in the academe or now in the workplace, you might get caught with 'BURNOUT'  much sooner.  Why?  Could it be discontentment either with your academic nentors in school?  Or your bosses at the workplace?  Or it could be a rough-and-tumble relationship that has been rocking wildly till you got thrown off?

Either way, you got to arrest that 'DOWNHILL' trend in your life.  You just CAN'T leave it at that because we all know what and where will you end up.  If you're embroiled in a relationship that has been draining and taxing you 24x7, figure things out because you might have reached the tail-end of that saga.

At the very least, cry and scream for HELP.  Fine for you NOT to look for HELP if you DON'T need it.  But if there you are, limping down the rough roads, throw away that pride, dump away your ego and just go to your HELPLINE because for you to end up this early as Cooked and Burned is akin to the curtain call where you have reached your non-extendible DEAD END, whew✅✅✅

Go Beyond Being Cynical

Go Beyond Being Cynical

Please allow me to day-dream now, albeit in a fleeting way.  I closed my eyes and I ask myself how often have I been cynical in life.  And regardless if it is often or rarely, it's worth asking why can't we Go Beyond Being Cynical?  Definitely, this could open up the floodgates for a debate whether it's worth our time today to discuss being cynical.  But let me be frank enough on this.  Cynicism impacts our life.

And this is my favorite attestation.  I have had friends who react differently to having a glass half-filled with water.  Some are thankful enough because it is half-full while some I found them frowning because it is half-empty.  Imagine how the world can turn upside down simply because of perspectives.

So, more often, situations become YOU versus ME for opinions.  And as we know, we live in an age where there is NO shortage of opinion.  And the default attitude toward the world appears to be cynicism.  DON'T get me wrong though.  My fingers are NOT pointed at you.

The question confronting us is this:  how do we handle the cynics and pessimists whose usual response to a new idea is to explain why why it won't work, why it's doomed to fail or why it's simply not worth pursuing?  Of course, cynics and pessimists rarely own up wo who are they are.  Instead, they will tell you they're realists. However, REALISM is often just a thin disguise for the much deeper problems of cynicism and pessimism.

The worst thing about the constant barrage of negative voices is that they snuff out HOPE.  And you never get to a better future without HOPE.  So how do we handle the cynics?  First off, trace back the SOURCE.  Drill down further and you might discover that in their personal livs, they've rarely attempted anything.  Lesson here:  NEVER TRUST those who have opinions on everything and even attempt nothing with their own life.  BTW, cynicism is NOT a spiritual gift.  HOLD ON though.  NOT all negative opinions are bad opinions.  Sometimes, what you're saying or doing needs correction in whole or in part.  And I learned in life that the best critiques come from people who are attempting to do something significant with their lives.  So, please let us GO BEYOND BEING CYNICAL📌📌📌

Cover Your Tracks

 Cover Your Tracks

Good morning and HAPPY SUNDAY. Oh, did it ever cross your mind that you need to Cover Your Tracks?  Nemind.  Let's just agree to this basic ground rule that while being an 'OPEN BOOK' seems to be ideal, life ISN'T all about being an 'OPEN BOOK' because reality is, it is imperative to Cover Your Tracks when needed.  In any facet of your daily life, a modicum of prudence and privacy dictates upon us to take those proactive measures.  Even at the workplace where you are fully aware of what/where are the 'CHINKS IN YOUR ARMOUR' so you would come up with a remediation plan to resolve those 'chinks' because no way should you be 'EXPOSED'

BTW, this ground rule is equally imperative in our digital activities.  That explains why browsers and apps would always give you an option to CLEAR HISTORY because simply put, you need to Cover Your Tracks.  Leave that OPEN and UNATTENDED.  Voila, you will be EXPOSED [you DON'T want that]

Even in your best plans with the best intentions, you want to keep things under wraps because by doing so, it gives you that motivation to push yourself to go for results and that's by way of covering your tracks.

Not to impute that there are people around/near you with ill intentions but that's the harsh reality we need to face especially when we're dealing with strangers.  So you don't spill out details of your financials, be it your savings or liabilities.  And in the workplace, by being aware of your weaknesses at work and working to fix it all, until then, you continue to cover your tracks.

So as I won't be misconstrued of ramming this through your throat, we fervently hope that we're all aligned with the given that life is all about repeated 'BALANCING ACTS' when you need to weigh when to be COVERT versus OVERT as either option has its UPsides and DOWNsides. Bottom line is Covering Your Tracks will always hinge on your JUDGMENT CALL because that's all matters in life⏳⏳⏳

Watch Your TRAJECTORY

Watch Your TRAJECTORY

Seriously, how's your TRAJECTORY as we speak now?  Not to be scared, there is no right or wrong answer but we need an answer, I'm serious.  Otherwise, if you tell me now that you are totally clueless as regards your TRAJECTORY as we speak now, that is so alarming because that tells me of fluttering RED FLAGS that need to be addressed with no less than an urgency

So, the biggest question you might dump on me is this:  WHO CARES about the TRAJECTORY.  Ooooops, we got to know our TRAJECTORY as we speak now because we got to pay attention to how our we faring in life.  Starting to build SELF-AWARENESS is the first step after all.

Seriously, it's hard to find our purpose because we DON'T really know ourselves.  We DON'T know what we genuinely like to do or why we do what we do.  We NEVER question what influences us.  We even end up in a career because our parents approved of it, because we thought it would be safe or because it was easy enough.

There are many ways to develop SELF-AWARENESS and it starts with APPRECIATION. Regarding careers, if we are so fixated with high pay and all that stuff, getting constantly focused on getting enough points to get to the 'NEXT LEVEL', we will miss out on everything.  Way back my school years, I knew I wanted to become a lawyer as I thought that will be me a 'CLEAR PATH' to 'MAKE A DIFFERENCE'.  Of course, I realized how fraught all those rosy intentions were.

Like me [BEFORE], you may still be trapped worrying about you're 'MAKING A DIFFERENCE' in an appropriately prestigious way.  You may still get trapped longing for all the stuff that are important to you.  Now, let us take a PULSE CHECK and WATCH OUR TRAJECTORY because from that will tell you how you will need to plot your NEXT MOVES, NEXT PLANS❗❗❗

Recency Bias

Recency Bias

For us to be on the same page, let me quote how Recency Bias is defined in Wikipedia:  It is a COGNITIVE BIAS THAT FAVORS RECENT EVENTS OVER HISTORIC ONES whereas in MEMORY BIAS, it gives MORE IMPORTANCE TO THE MOST RECENT EVENT.   In brief, it is no less than a psychological phenomenon where a person can remember something which has happened recently.

If you are into trading, Recency Bias is your #1 enemy.  Why?  Because it tends to extrapolate the recent experiences that will happen to you in the future.  And if you are into investing and trading, Recency Bias is one of the biggest disasters that you may face because when investors try to invest, the Recency Bias skews the entire reality.

Truth is, there is always a huge gap between FACT and BIAS so our challenge now is how to overcome Recency Bias.  First off, avoid having a MYOPIC VIEW of things because that means you are constricting yourself to the four walls of the environment you're in.  And you yourself DON'T want to try SOMETHING NEW.  But since Recency Bias helps you to build your views based on the latest outcomes, try to overcome it by thinking about a bigger picture in your life.

Secondly, always try to work in with WHAT YOU HAVE IN CONTROL.  Setting realistic expectations is something that can put you down and bring false hopes in your life.  Always try to remember the fact that Recency Bias feeds into the belief that you have in your life.  

Most importantly, DON'T ever get swayed with the latest results, latest outcomes you had.  Results and numbers may seem so positive as the numbers are poppiing right in front of you.  But never forget that Recency Bias is a BRAIN ILLUSION.  Always try to understand that cyclicality comes with a lot of terrains.  There is not a smooth road that you can take to success.  Recency Bias is a brain illusion that happens when you see the latest issues.  It is your very brain tricking you into thinking that the same will happen again.  Be forewarned❗❗❗

When The Price is Too Steep

When The Price is Too Steep

It is a given that NOTHING IS FREE IN LIFE, not those freebies, not even those tempting 'FREE LUNCHES'.  Why?  Simple.  There will always be strings attached to it.  Even those tons of 'giftaways' Third World politicians would wantonly throw around during their political campaign.  Why?  Because out of that largesse, they 'might' be anticipating to 'REAP the FRUITS' once they become the political incumbents. That is When The Price is Too Steep.

When we plan out our holidays, we would be spending so much time with the travel industry's market players like Agoda and Booking.com and as the caveat goes, 'LOVELY PLACE BUT ENTRY PRICE IS TOO STEEP'.  Such is life.  For every premium add-on, the price tag levels up as well.  Even when when you go to McDonalds, the counter personnel will throw up tons of queries like, would you UPGRADE your fries, your drinks, and all that stuff.  Things get murkier and a bit complex when we delve with our relationships with our partner, spouse and even with our immediate family circle.  The equation will never be as simple as X's and O's.

Over at the NBA, it is a wild marketplace no less.  Players get traded and flipped overnight, sometimes not to their liking but as long as the interested party can meet even a steep orie, then the trade transaction is a 'GO'.  And trading NBA players sometimes involve more than just an arm and a leg. 

In relationships and even in commercials, QUID PRO QUO prevails most of the time.  And the exchange or transaction that gets consummated may not be on par in terms of value.  I may have a lemon and you got an apple but even if that apple is pricier, if you need my lemon, things become at par.

If QUID PRO QUO is too much of a jargon, let's settle with GIVE and TAKE.  And let's buckle down with relationships with couples.  WHY the friction?  WHY the tiff?  WHY the tantrums?  WHY the standoff? Point it to the GIVE and TAKE equation.  Likely the desired equilibrium in a relationship is slanted.  Either there is too much GIVE or there is just too much TAKE.  Why are we always in this conundrum?  It's because when we fail to realize When The Price is Too Steep, then we would [wrongly and falsely ] believe that all is FAIR and JUST when in truth, things seem UNFAIR and UNJUST, all because When The Price is Too Steep❗❗❗