It was amazing to watch.
The way you carry yourself and your appearance speaks volumes about your character.
Friday, August 31, 2012
Your Image
While watching Beyonce perform 'I Was Here' I was struck by how calm and assured she appeared.
Tuesday, August 14, 2012
Daily Happiness Exercises
My mum told me that life is so short. Don't work too hard. Remember to have a good time, live a good life and smell the roses. Nobody knows what's going to happen at the end of the line, so you might as well enjoy the trip.
Happiness is a skill to be learned for every day living. The primary cause of unhappiness is never the situation but your thoughts around it. Pleasure is always derived from something outside you, and will invariably turn into pain. A man of awareness is unattached to both pleasure and pain - he lives in bliss and remains untouched by the world whereever he is.
Why do I want to be happy?
Happy people live longer, are more productive, healthier, popular, and successful. I like positive energy, positive people, and smiles. Good moments in my life were happy. Achievements make me feel happy. I don't like being sad, down, or wasting my life being sad. No matter what happens in life, I will learn to appreciate it. When I do anything, enjoy it with energy. Be in a state of happy or super happy.
What do I need to do daily?
Be aware of my thoughts and emotions as they happen (awareness is 95% of the journey). Be present throughout the day.
3 deep breathes letting go (being present and at one with now). 3 acts of kindness and smiles. 3 grateful things and visualise the best possible version of myself. Stand in a posture of confidence. Love, appreciate, accept, embrace uncertainty, focus on my purpose to enjoy life, spend time with people I like, do what makes me happy (be active doing the top 5 things I like, ask what option will maximise my utility now, the process and experience, rather than simply the goal and benefits), do what I am good at (master skills, my skills are judgement and curiosity), be optimistic, dwelling on the positive and sharing these with others (not the negative, not dependent on situations, keeping problems in perspective). All we have is now. [Upon reflection apart from the the 3-3-3 the rest are not practical]
Don't worry or want. Don't hate or regret. Don't chase happiness.
Happiness is a skill to be learned for every day living. The primary cause of unhappiness is never the situation but your thoughts around it. Pleasure is always derived from something outside you, and will invariably turn into pain. A man of awareness is unattached to both pleasure and pain - he lives in bliss and remains untouched by the world whereever he is.
Why do I want to be happy?
Happy people live longer, are more productive, healthier, popular, and successful. I like positive energy, positive people, and smiles. Good moments in my life were happy. Achievements make me feel happy. I don't like being sad, down, or wasting my life being sad. No matter what happens in life, I will learn to appreciate it. When I do anything, enjoy it with energy. Be in a state of happy or super happy.
What do I need to do daily?
Be aware of my thoughts and emotions as they happen (awareness is 95% of the journey). Be present throughout the day.
3 deep breathes letting go (being present and at one with now). 3 acts of kindness and smiles. 3 grateful things and visualise the best possible version of myself. Stand in a posture of confidence. Love, appreciate, accept, embrace uncertainty, focus on my purpose to enjoy life, spend time with people I like, do what makes me happy (be active doing the top 5 things I like, ask what option will maximise my utility now, the process and experience, rather than simply the goal and benefits), do what I am good at (master skills, my skills are judgement and curiosity), be optimistic, dwelling on the positive and sharing these with others (not the negative, not dependent on situations, keeping problems in perspective). All we have is now. [Upon reflection apart from the the 3-3-3 the rest are not practical]
Don't worry or want. Don't hate or regret. Don't chase happiness.
Wednesday, August 8, 2012
Secrets of the Rich
All 25 of the top 25 of the Forbes rich list ran a business. Only 5 of the top 50 derived wealth from investments.
They started or ran their own business, and that means hard work. They put work first. They probably don't hold a lot of cash: everything is tied up in the business or investments. Their business is usually in a growing industry where they can capture a large market share and they are experts in their field.
Few seem to have built their wealth from the sharemarket, except for stock in their own company if it is listed. The rich buy their own property early on and from there speculate on property.
If there's one thing millionaires are constantly doing, it's networking and mixing with other millionaires. They achieve maximum leverage by utilising other people's money, time, knowledge, ideas and labour.
They also know how to bounce back from misfortune. It's amazing how many of the self-made rich failed at some point only to pick themselves up, dust themselves off and go on to make a fortune. They believe in themselves. Business is all about turning negative situations into positive ones.
They avoid the crowds. They start with a big goal in mind. They learn relentlessly. They sell by communicating. They are patient.
They're tight. The rich will always drive a hard bargain. Although, they don't need to be overly frugal. They take smart, calculated risks, while always having good risk management in place.
Finally, the rich pay as little tax as they can get away with.
They started or ran their own business, and that means hard work. They put work first. They probably don't hold a lot of cash: everything is tied up in the business or investments. Their business is usually in a growing industry where they can capture a large market share and they are experts in their field.
Few seem to have built their wealth from the sharemarket, except for stock in their own company if it is listed. The rich buy their own property early on and from there speculate on property.
If there's one thing millionaires are constantly doing, it's networking and mixing with other millionaires. They achieve maximum leverage by utilising other people's money, time, knowledge, ideas and labour.
They also know how to bounce back from misfortune. It's amazing how many of the self-made rich failed at some point only to pick themselves up, dust themselves off and go on to make a fortune. They believe in themselves. Business is all about turning negative situations into positive ones.
They avoid the crowds. They start with a big goal in mind. They learn relentlessly. They sell by communicating. They are patient.
They're tight. The rich will always drive a hard bargain. Although, they don't need to be overly frugal. They take smart, calculated risks, while always having good risk management in place.
Finally, the rich pay as little tax as they can get away with.
Tuesday, August 7, 2012
An Awakening
At the break of dawn I awoke from my sleep. I couldn't get back to sleep so I visualised my future. I counted the years from my birth to the present and then pictured how life looks in the future. I saw a fit and healthy me at 40 standing by the side of a pool in a resort with a beautiful fit wife by my side and a smile across my face. I saw myself having a exquisite dinner with my wife and two children at 60 in the warm glow of our dining room. I saw myself kissing my wife on the forehead at 80 and reflecting upon the happiness in my life thinking back to today when I made a decision to myself that changed my life forever.
I have experienced many happy days this year, but through it all I felt weighed down by the expectation, stress and pressure on my shoulders.
When I awoke today I felt my heart leap for joy. I had an epiphany. It sent my world spinning.
Don't worry/want. Be happy. Let go. (Paul Van Dyke)
From this day on-wards, I make a decision to let go of all worry and stress, want and need, and ego with its associated fears and expectations.
The big enemy of happiness is worry, which comes from focusing on events that are outside your control rather than what you can do. Jesus taught us not to worry about our life or tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Worry never ends. Over all the years of my life I have had worries come, go, and come again. I worried about my exams, games, girls, jobs, finances, and family. Some advice on stress minimisation is found in (Healthy Living).
I have experienced many happy days this year, but through it all I felt weighed down by the expectation, stress and pressure on my shoulders.
When I awoke today I felt my heart leap for joy. I had an epiphany. It sent my world spinning.
Don't worry/want. Be happy. Let go. (Paul Van Dyke)
From this day on-wards, I make a decision to let go of all worry and stress, want and need, and ego with its associated fears and expectations.
The big enemy of happiness is worry, which comes from focusing on events that are outside your control rather than what you can do. Jesus taught us not to worry about our life or tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Worry never ends. Over all the years of my life I have had worries come, go, and come again. I worried about my exams, games, girls, jobs, finances, and family. Some advice on stress minimisation is found in (Healthy Living).
I documented some of my worries after an appointment with a psychologist (August 2013). My psychologist said that they were pretty normal and fairly common. The worries are minor when I look at them. There was no point in getting worried about them in the first place. The bottom line is that worry does not make me happy.
I have attained pretty much all the goals I set but they don't bring me happiness, instead I keep wanting more. Achieving what I wanted never brought me lasting happiness. It just leaves me wanting more. It is a constant cycle of setting goals, achieving them, setting more ambitious goals, and never experiencing true joy. After returning to work for the past month and being left broken, I learn not to let my want for a new job control my life (November 2012). I will learn to ‘dream and not make dreams your master’ and let go of the attachment to the want.
People say 'I want happiness'. First remove the 'I', that's ego, then remove 'want', that's desire. Then all you are left with is happiness.
The only certainties I have are that I don't like darkness (with Jesus being my last resort)* and my primary aim is happiness. I don't have other certainties. I don't know if the world exists, if I exist, if time exists, if money exists, if God exists, if anything is real.
I make a decision starting today to put an end to worry and want no matter what. The outcome does not matter, neither does money nor other people. I realise there is no time to waste to enjoy and appreciate everything that life has to offer, including all the highs and the lows, especially since there are only 20,000 days left in my life.
* I had a nightmare where darkness enveloped me and I was very scared. I screamed twice and called out to Jesus for help and it went away. I had another nightmare where I was stopped by a woman outside a whorehouse. My heart dropped. I was very scared and shivering, and my heart was racing for a long time. I had been feeling strong earlier that day, but my hands felt cold. I called out to Jesus and the Bible. I know that Jesus is my last resort. I don't know whether this was something I dreamed up internally or whether it is something external. There may be something bigger out there outside the physical world.
- Things are are not going right today, so I want to leave the risk out until tomorrow. I feel uncertain and need validation.
- A girl is not responding to me when I thought she'd respond. I regret not talking to more girls in a venue.
- I left a banana at work today and it may go rotten. I also should have spoken to my manager about taking leave today.
I have attained pretty much all the goals I set but they don't bring me happiness, instead I keep wanting more. Achieving what I wanted never brought me lasting happiness. It just leaves me wanting more. It is a constant cycle of setting goals, achieving them, setting more ambitious goals, and never experiencing true joy. After returning to work for the past month and being left broken, I learn not to let my want for a new job control my life (November 2012). I will learn to ‘dream and not make dreams your master’ and let go of the attachment to the want.
People say 'I want happiness'. First remove the 'I', that's ego, then remove 'want', that's desire. Then all you are left with is happiness.
The only certainties I have are that I don't like darkness (with Jesus being my last resort)* and my primary aim is happiness. I don't have other certainties. I don't know if the world exists, if I exist, if time exists, if money exists, if God exists, if anything is real.
I make a decision starting today to put an end to worry and want no matter what. The outcome does not matter, neither does money nor other people. I realise there is no time to waste to enjoy and appreciate everything that life has to offer, including all the highs and the lows, especially since there are only 20,000 days left in my life.
* I had a nightmare where darkness enveloped me and I was very scared. I screamed twice and called out to Jesus for help and it went away. I had another nightmare where I was stopped by a woman outside a whorehouse. My heart dropped. I was very scared and shivering, and my heart was racing for a long time. I had been feeling strong earlier that day, but my hands felt cold. I called out to Jesus and the Bible. I know that Jesus is my last resort. I don't know whether this was something I dreamed up internally or whether it is something external. There may be something bigger out there outside the physical world.
Sunday, August 5, 2012
A New Chapter
Quitting is always very hard. I made the decision this week to move on from the start-up with my two friends and move on to the next journey.
I made the decision because of personal and family reasons, a new business opportunity, and the lack of resources in the current start-up in terms of the time to reach critical mass (from other start-up examples and our own experience) and the team.
I want to enjoy life and live my happiness year, not struggle and forgo the things I love about life. I want to remember that I lived a good happy life shared with the people I love when I look back on my life.
Lessons from the post-mortem
I feel a sadness because I failed to acquire 100k users in the time I had and only launched in August. I felt disheartened during my time in the start-up. I tried my best and I put my soul into it, but it was not meant to be. When I reflect on it, it was good that we set a commitment date which prompted me to review how we were going and make the decision to leave. It is true that less than 5% of Australian tech startups reach scale stage. These companies are still not sustainable, they are only starting to grow around a known business model.
While I was in the start-up, I realised that I prefer living the dream to doing a start-up. Start-up life is draining and I give up other areas of life such as my health and relationships. My life is consumed by the start-up. There is little time off. I think about it all the time.
1. Speed (50%) - planned to have launched by April to gear up for 10k users by August, but didn't happen. We should make quick decisions, launch quickly and refine, not wait around for the perfect moment. Take a chance and if it succeeds great, but if we fail then don't end up over-investing time in it so that we can move on and do the next thing. Reduce the amount of documents, processes, emails, and meeting time.
2. Team (40%) - difference of opinion on strategy and investment, didn't stick with the outputs I produced such as the marketing plan and it resulted in duplication, didn't follow the outcomes of team reviews, was depressed and lacked belief, not optimistic. Good that we were focused on our portfolio and reported on it weekly. I shouldn't find a co-founder just because we are missing a skill. Have the right people on the bus.
3. Focus (10%) - changed ideas multiple times based on limited customer feedback, no vision or set direction. We must know exactly what to focus on and only pursue that idea.
4. Need - it's good that we built to a customer need, and had the metric that the need should score an '8' on average or 40%+ very disappointed without it. We didn't love the product or were users ourselves, although it's good we listened to customer feedback. Understood that need and business may be temporary, especially in technology. Built to sell as things move too quickly and too many competitors.
5. Virality - get viral coefficient above 1, do whatever it takes to tip, break some rules to get there
I made the decision because of personal and family reasons, a new business opportunity, and the lack of resources in the current start-up in terms of the time to reach critical mass (from other start-up examples and our own experience) and the team.
I am taking some time off to regroup, recharge, and figure out what I am passionate about.
Personally, I am in a fortunate position where I have opportunities. I can think about travelling and making a difference. I don't want to defer my life anymore. I want to travel while I am young and single and live overseas during the warmer seasons, although at the same time I cannot damage my career as my family keeps telling me.
Personally, I am in a fortunate position where I have opportunities. I can think about travelling and making a difference. I don't want to defer my life anymore. I want to travel while I am young and single and live overseas during the warmer seasons, although at the same time I cannot damage my career as my family keeps telling me.
I want to enjoy life and live my happiness year, not struggle and forgo the things I love about life. I want to remember that I lived a good happy life shared with the people I love when I look back on my life.
Lessons from the post-mortem
I feel a sadness because I failed to acquire 100k users in the time I had and only launched in August. I felt disheartened during my time in the start-up. I tried my best and I put my soul into it, but it was not meant to be. When I reflect on it, it was good that we set a commitment date which prompted me to review how we were going and make the decision to leave. It is true that less than 5% of Australian tech startups reach scale stage. These companies are still not sustainable, they are only starting to grow around a known business model.
While I was in the start-up, I realised that I prefer living the dream to doing a start-up. Start-up life is draining and I give up other areas of life such as my health and relationships. My life is consumed by the start-up. There is little time off. I think about it all the time.
1. Speed (50%) - planned to have launched by April to gear up for 10k users by August, but didn't happen. We should make quick decisions, launch quickly and refine, not wait around for the perfect moment. Take a chance and if it succeeds great, but if we fail then don't end up over-investing time in it so that we can move on and do the next thing. Reduce the amount of documents, processes, emails, and meeting time.
2. Team (40%) - difference of opinion on strategy and investment, didn't stick with the outputs I produced such as the marketing plan and it resulted in duplication, didn't follow the outcomes of team reviews, was depressed and lacked belief, not optimistic. Good that we were focused on our portfolio and reported on it weekly. I shouldn't find a co-founder just because we are missing a skill. Have the right people on the bus.
3. Focus (10%) - changed ideas multiple times based on limited customer feedback, no vision or set direction. We must know exactly what to focus on and only pursue that idea.
4. Need - it's good that we built to a customer need, and had the metric that the need should score an '8' on average or 40%+ very disappointed without it. We didn't love the product or were users ourselves, although it's good we listened to customer feedback. Understood that need and business may be temporary, especially in technology. Built to sell as things move too quickly and too many competitors.
5. Virality - get viral coefficient above 1, do whatever it takes to tip, break some rules to get there
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