Laingan.com

I received a phone call a few days ago from a seminar organiser who was asking me whether I would be interested to attend an Income List Booster seminar conducted by a local internet marketer. 

My answer was a “Yes” since I’m quite free nowadays. Honestly, I find it enjoyable to attend free seminars and talks in recent 1-2 years. I will usually find time to attend non-work related seminars so as to find out the current market trend as well as to have a feel of the market response. 

Furthermore, I can take the opportunity to see how the hosts or speakers do their presentation and public speaking. They will be the models for me to learn from if I need to do classroom training for the skilled workers again in the future.

So, I attended the internet marketing seminar on the topic of Income List Booster this evening. The speaker for today was Jaz Lai who is a famous internet marketer internationally but not many local people have heard of his name. What an irony? 

Basically, what Jaz Lai had covered this evening is quite the standard internet marketing stuff except that the methods that he uses are somehow quite different from others. I would say he goes against the norm in certain area and I find it an eye-opener for me.

His easy-going style makes him more approachable and likeable than other local internet marketers or presenters. Jaz Lai even mocks about his poor written English during the seminar. I find him frank and honest enough to admit that.

Frankly speaking, I have already learnt the internet marketing basics from the WordPress Jumpstart course that I took up in 2007 so I don’t think I will sign up for Jaz Lai’s Income List Booster course.

He even slashed the course fee quite significantly as the initial response was not too positive. You can see that internet marketers get the hit from the global economic downturn too just like the full-time working people.

So, who says internet marketing or online business is recession-proof?

My Favourites :

I read today’s newspapers and found an eye-catching headline that was giving tips to people on how to look out for tell-tale signs of looming retrenchment. 

These tips are given by many Human Resource experts who have been actively giving job-seeking talks and job-saving tips to job-seekers lately at job fairs.

Quoted from what the HR experts have said, people can tell that job-cutting exercise is on the way if they observe the following signs :

• Cost-cutting measures are being implemented throughout the organisation
• Your workload is lighter than usual or projects are being re-assigned to others within your department
• Your work is seasonal in nature and you have significant periods of down time
• Your position or department is not viewed as a revenue generator
• You are no longer including in meetings in which you typically participate
• Your manager is showing increased interest in the status of your projects and the steps to complete them

I think the tips come in handy in view of the global economic downturn is affecting many companies and many people all over the world. People are concerned about how they could save or protect their jobs during the financial crisis.

So, the tips will help workers to be more alert and stay focus on the jobs. Probably one of the best ways to save their job is to continue delivering high quality of work that is above expectations.

My Favourites :

I often hear people saying that they are not given the opportunities to prove themselves. In fact, I myself also share the same sentiment sometimes. 

Probably most of us feel that we have our potentials but just that we lack of luck as well as a mentor who could guide and help us.  

I read an article written by Marcus Ingemann who talks about the source of motivation. I find that what the author has said in his article is very motivational and meaningful. He quoted what Francis Bacon has said as follows :

The article is trying to tell people that you can expect to wait forever if you just wait for the right moment to happen. Thing might not turn out the way that you want it to be if you hope and wish for something to come true.

Meaning to say that there is a high possibility that you might not be getting it. Thus, it probably won’t get you anywhere. Whereas, the result will be different if a person is active in his or her strive to reach a goal. It will create a lot of possibilities and alternatives to realise any dream.

There comes the options and opportunities because you search out for them. They come because you create the right circumstances for them to appear. It will change and improve your life when you take action and start actively to achieving it.

A wise man creates more opportunities than he finds. How true it is!

I will let this motivational quote to sink down in my mind and start thinking what I really want to do to make my life better.

My Favourites :

Today is the Earth Hour Day. My family and I have pledged to switch off all lights and electricity supply for one hour at 8:30pm local time on 28 March 2009 in Singapore. This is to show our support to the Earth Hour event. 

When did Earth Hour start being observed?

Here is an excerpt from the Earth Hour official website :

Earth Hour began in Sydney in 2007, when 2.2 million homes and businesses switched off their lights for one hour. In 2008 the message had grown into a global sustainability movement, with 50 million people switching off their lights. Global landmarks such as the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco, Rome’s Colosseum, the Sydney Opera House and the Coca Cola billboard in Times Square all stood in darkness. 

In 2009, Earth Hour is being taken to the next level, with the goal of 1 billion people switching off their lights as part of a global vote. Unlike any election in history, it is not about what country you’re from, but instead, what planet you’re from. VOTE EARTH is a global call to action for every individual, every business, and every community. A call to stand up and take control over the future of our planet. Over 74 countries and territories have pledged their support to VOTE EARTH during Earth Hour 2009, and this number is growing everyday.

Most of the people around the world are aware of the global warming issue but not many of us know precisely what we could do to fight the climate change.

Now, for the first time in history, people of different nationalities, race, age and background have the opportunity to use their light switch as their vote. That is :

• Switching off your lights is a vote for Earth
• Leaving them on is a vote for Global Warming 

My family and I have chosen to VOTE EARTH. What is your choice?

Here is a video clip on Earth Hour 2009 :

My Favourites :

I like Elton John‘s songs starting from the time that I first listened to his love song entitled “The One” in 1994. During that time, this song was frequently being played on the radio stations from morning till night in California.

I happened to listen to Elton John’s other song entitled “Something About The Way You Look Tonight” about 6 to 7 years later when I was still working in my previous company.

The company was developing our own MP3 recordable player so we were required to test out the sound quality of the player by playing various types of audio CDs, CDR and CDRW.

Besides listening to the sound quality, we were also required to test out the functionality of the MP3 features as well as to trouble-shoot the player if it was faulty. We would also make a feedback to the designers if there were areas that required improvement. 

The job gave me a lot of opportunities to listen to many different languages of songs. So, you can see that it was such a great pleasure and enjoyment to get paid for listening to songs during office hours 😛

One day, my former colleague passed me a compilation CD for testing purpose. Guess what? I cannot put it down when I heard Elton John was singing his love song. I was immediately attracted by his rich and powerful voice.

I really cannot stop listening to Elton John’s “Something About The Way You Look Tonight” song as it is such a beautiful love song which is as enchanting as “The One” song that I have had heard 15 years ago.

Sometimes, I really admire those talented songwriters who can produce very beautiful and everlasting love songs for the universe. How I wish I could do some creative work like this!

Click to watch the video clip and listen to Elton John’s love song entitled “Something About The Way You Look Tonight”.

My Favourites :

I bought a poem book in California in 1994. This book was written by the popular poet called Maya Angelou. I took it out from my book shelf when I was referring it to write my Blog post on the topic of poem on 19 May (just last Thursday). I notice that this book has turned yellowish now. 

I received an email sent by my friend, the GFF, three days ago. This email is mentioning about Maya Angelou was interviewed by the famous talk show host, Oprah Winfrey, on her 70+ birthday. 

I think it is either a coincident or an effect of the “Law of Attraction“. Anyway, I would like to thank my friend for sharing this email with me.

Picture of Maya Angelou :

Maya Angelou said this :

 ‘I’ve learned that no matter what happens, or how bad it seems today, life does go on, and it will be better tomorrow.’ 

‘I’ve learned that you can tell a lot about a person by the way he/she handles these three things: a rainy day, lost luggage, and tangled Christmas tree lights.’ 

‘I’ve learned that regardless of your relationship with your parents, you’ll miss them when they’re gone from your life.’ 

‘I’ve learned that making a ‘living’ is not the same thing as ‘making a life.’ 

‘I’ve learned that life sometimes gives you a second chance.’ 

‘I’ve learned that you shouldn’t go through life with a catcher’s mitt on both hands; you need to be able to throw some things back.’ 

‘I’ve learned that whenever I decide something with an open heart, I usually make the right decision.’ 

‘I’ve learned that even when I have pains, I don’t have to be one.’ 

‘I’ve learned that every day you should reach out and touch someone. People love a warm hug, or just a friendly pat on the back.’ 

‘I’ve learned that I still have a lot to learn.’ 

‘I’ve learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.’ 

I find what Maya Angelou has said are very inspiring and meaningful. I believe it has inspired us to see things in a different perspective and re-look the way we live our lives.

My Favourites :

I just attended a business skill workshop at AKLTG this evening. The topic for today’s business skill workshop is on “Smart Cash Flow Planning“.

This is the third workshop conducted in 2009 for the graduates of the Wealth Aceademy as well as Millionaire Business Academy programs.

They combined the WA and MBA graduates because they believe that graduates from both programs share a common goal which is to achieve life-long financial success and freedom.

There are inevitably insecurities and uncertainties in the air in view of the current market situations. Thus, AKLTG has decided to take this opportunity to share some tips on “Smart Cashflow Planning” for both the personal and business aspects for the WA and MBA graduates.

I think this is a good idea to let the graduates learn something on cashflow planning instead of sitting around and waiting for things to get better. Furthermore, nobody knows when the economic downturn will start to pick up. Another 6 months? 12 months? 24 months? Or more?!

These are the topics that were covered during the workshop :

• Cashflow Planning for Yourself & Your Family
• Cashflow Management for Your Business
• Raising Cash for Your Business & Its Implications
• How to Deal with Destruction in Active Income

Besides the AKLTG trainer, they had also invited a Business Financial Manager for SME Banking of Standard Chartered Bank to share his experience in facilitating cashflow management solutions for local SMEs.

The intention is to share some tips with the graduates on how to leverage on new initiatives and improve our cashflow whether we are running or intending to start a Sole Proprietor, Partnership, Private Limited companies, or even non-profit organisation.

Well, I think all these are great information for us to know and learn because most of us don’t get to know these financial information from elsewhere.

I have really learnt something from today’s business skill workshop on “Smart Cash Flow Planning”. Hopefully I can use the information to help myself manage my cashflow better.

My Favourites :

I started my first Blog in the classroom during my WordPress Jumpstart course that I had taken up in August 2007. This course was a joint venture between my ex-colleague and his partners. 

I happened to bump into my ex-colleague in the street and he persuaded me to enrol for his course. I was thinking that I could learn a new skill and the course fee was not expensive so I took up the offer to sign up for the WordPress Jumpstart course.

Surprisely, I was his first batch of students. There were 9 students, 2 trainers and 1 admin assistant in the class. Apparently, I was the guinea pig of their joint venture 🙂 This is how I started up my Blogging journey.

The trainer told us to prepare 3 topics and then narrow down to one for the class assignment. We picked the topic that we wanted to use and then wrote 10 articles about this topic. After which, we shall put it in our first Blog and got ready to publish them.

The trainers also taught us on how to apply for Adsense account so as to monetise from our Blog. Besides this, we also learnt some other Blogging techniques which were so new to me. 

Frankly speaking, all these techniques were really like aliens to me as they involved a lot of technical skills and I was not internet-proficient during those days.

Anyway, I’m glad that I had taken up the WordPress Jumpstart course and have learnt a new skill. Perhaps this is one of the best courses that I have ever attended.

My Favourites :

I happened to stumble upon a video clip on Vimeo featuring a cute and lovely little girl by the name of Capucine was eating candy.

Apparently, her mother (Capucha) was capturing the video on her daughter who was hiding herself under a table and eating her favourite lollipop.

Based on the conversation between Capucine and her mother, I came to know that the little girl had eaten more candy than she was supposed to. Capucine was trying to get both she and her mother out of trouble before her Daddy found out about it.

Capucine has big round eyes and a lovely face that makes her look like a doll. She is really cute and pretty. I like her innocent facial expression and cute body language. She just reminds me of my niece and nephews when they were toddlers.

By the way, this is a non-English speaking video clip and I also cannot figure out which language they are speaking.

Anyway, it has English sub-titles which help English-speaking people to understand the conversation between Capucine and her mother better.

Vimeo Version :

Too much candy from Capucha on Vimeo.

YouTube Version :

My Favourites :

I just read an article on medical health tips and one of the chapters that interests me most is on walking exercise. It says that walking for 30 minutes, 3 or 4 times a week is enough to combat aging.

Wow, I think this is a good news for those people who loves to walk a lot. My usual walking friend definitely likes to hear it 🙂

Here is an excerpt of the article :

According to researchers at the University of California, one of the principle causes of deterioration of the human organism’s physical faculties is its diminished ability to metabolize glucose.

And they showed that even leisurely exercise, like taking a walk, plays an important role in keeping glucose metabolism functioning smoothly.

Well, most of the working people are cubicle-dwellers who spend the whole day sitting at the desk or in front of a computer screen inside the office. They spend most of their time exercising their fingers and hardly have the time to walk about much.

The right thing to do is to get up occasionally and do a few minutes of physical exercise so as to relax or to de-stress themselves. It helps to freshen up their mind and loosen up their muscles before they carry on with their routine works.

Furthermore, walking exercise helps to combat aging besides helping you to stay slim. So, the advice is to find time doing some walking exercise per week if you wish to stay young and healthy.

My Favourites :