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What is “No Choice”?

Posted by You Teck - 27/05/08 at 09:05:55 pm

Although it has always been said that we are master of our destiny, it’s definitely not surprising for us to come across people who often say “No Choice”. So, what is no choice? Does it mean that you’ve lost all your choices even when you’re threaten at gun point?

As far as I can tell, the answer is a big no! That’s right, even when you’re threatened at gun point, you still have two choices. Either you don’t agree or agree to the threats of the aggressor. In this sort of situation, we would normally agree to the threats simply because it’s a better choice.

What is most infuriating to me is the majority of the people who have many obvious choices available to them choose to think of no choice instead. Take the example of one man (close to 40) whom I happen to chat up with in a networking session recently. He works as a senior position in one of the big firms.

For about 50% of our short conversation, he mentioned that he haven’t being able to attend networking sessions for quite some time. As I have an extremely high curiosity level, I decided to probe further and ask why. Here’s his reply, “Well, too much work on the plate and I can’t even clear them if I work on the weekends.”

Upon receiving his reply, I asked my favorite question of all time. “Well, surely you have a choice to change all this right, don’t you?” To keep things simple, his reply to my question was in the following sequence, rising cost of living and inflation, got to earn a living and he ended with “what to do?”

What a big walking target for retrenchment! In 10 short minutes, my conclusion of this man is boring and he’s definitely going to stagnate for years to come unless he shifts his paradigms of thinking dramatically.

In the spirit of comparison, I shall site the example of another man whom I’ve met in the same networking session. A brief summary of this man is that he holds several businesses and the two most prominent ones are in manga training and web development.

At the point of our conversation, he was actually involved in a new set of business that deals with high power supplements. I was particularly Intrigued because of the diversity of his interests and I asked what’s the factor that made him want to go into the wellness industry. His reply was short and sweet, “It’s a great product and it doesn’t take a lot to test it out in the market.”

An average man will only think about no choice while a great man will always create a choice for himself whatever the circumstances. Once you understand and acknowledge the laws of cause and effects, you will be able to accept the fact that where you are now is a choice made by you several years back and where you want to be in 5 years time is the very choice you choose to take this moment.

Even in your darkest hours, you must always you believe that you still have a choice and that choice is to make your way slowly and steadily back into the light. No choice is just a very lazy man’s way of pushing off all their responsibilities. Start eliminating the words “No Choice” from your life today and I’m quite sure that your life can only progress for the better.

Are You A Passionate Learner?

Posted by You Teck - 21/05/08 at 09:05:53 pm

Men from the day they are born are meant to learn till the day they die. However, for many people, that does not always seem to be the case. Most of them normally choose to stop the process of learning once their education ends.

The perils of stagnation don’t usually strike early and they will only strike you when you least expected it. I’m sure retrenchment is a taboo word to many but would it be a major concern if you’ve been a learner for life? The point I want to stress here is not that you would be immune to retrenchment if you were a life learner but rather it would have little effects on your confident because you know that you can always adapt to a new environment with ease if you had been a lifelong learner.

When you’re constantly exposing yourself to new materials and knowledge, it’s almost as close as to stepping out of your comfort zone. What might seem foreign to you in the beginning will certainly become more comforting as you continue to familiarize yourself with it.

The process of foreign to familiar can not only prove to be an exhilarating experience but also a useful experience should you choose to change your working environment in the future.

Life learning can occur in many different forms and the most interesting topic will most likely be that of foreign language and culture. An important aspect of life learning is to let your curiosity lead the way instead of restricting yourself to certain fields

Finally, too old or too young should never deter you from your quest to being a lifelong learner. The following dazzling talk presented by Mr Ben Dunlap which tells the story of Sandor Teszler, a Hungarian Holocaust survivor who taught him about passionate living and lifelong learning will certainly inspire you.

The video is fetched from one of my favorite conference and video channel, Tedtalk.

The Magic of Deadlines

Posted by You Teck - 20/05/08 at 08:05:02 pm

Have you ever wondered about how you will always automagickally (just like scaffold) get things done just before a vacation? It’s an easy answer isn’t it? That’s because you’ve got a flight to catch the next morning and you had to get everything done before you can leave with a peace of mind.

Take another example of a library book. Do you find that you’re more likely to finish a library book than the one that you’ve bought? For me, that’s certainly the case because if there was a deadline attached to it and I don’t finish it, it would have defeat the purpose of borrowing it in the first place!

Now, think about this, "wouldn’t we be a lot more efficient if we set a deadline on the tasks that we plan to complete?". Think about the business project you plan to start or the room you’ve wanted to clean for a very long time.

The whole paradigm of not having enough time to complete the task will change because once it has a deadline attached to it, there can be no excuses and not matter what, you would have to find a way to get it done. Of course, you can always choose not to honor the deadline but wouldn’t it put your personal integrity into question if you choose to do so?

So, here’s a short summary on what was discussed above:

1. Find the one task that you’ve been putting off.
2. Set a deadline on when you want to complete that task.
3. Leave no room for excuses and starting completing it!

Personally, I’ve find that setting deadline is an extremely useful technique on getting my things done. Ordinary tasks that would normally seem boring would suddenly become exciting when I set a particularly challenging deadline to it. If you doubt my words, experience the technique yourself and you’ll definitely not regret it.

Great stuffs are meant to be shared!

Posted by You Teck - 18/05/08 at 11:05:18 pm

Have you ever being in those moment where you found a really great stuff and the firs though that came to your mind was, "God, I’ve got to share this with my friends!". Well, here’s my very own moment when I discovered that the eBook version of "The Photoshop Anthology: 101 Web Design Tips, Tricks & Techniques " is going for free.

Here’s a short excerpt from the site:

That’s right! No catches, no samples. For a LIMITED TIME only, a COMPLETE COPY of Corrie Haffly’s Brilliant Photoshop Web primer is free to download.

I’ve personally read through the materials and this ebook is a keep if you’re keen in developing some form of web graphics. Be sure to grab it soon cause there are still 25 more days before the link is taken down!

Here’s the download link: The Photoshop Anthology

Finally, the “Opening”!

Posted by You Teck - 18/05/08 at 10:05:21 pm

Finally, the long awaited moment has arrived. Setting up a personal site of mine has been my goal for 2008 and I’m glad that I’ve done it before the half year mark. My mind frequently conjures up lots of thoughts and ideas and instead of letting them disintegrate into the thin air, I thought it would be better if I would just write it down and share them with my friends.

Well, as I’ve mentioned earlier, since this is a personal site of mine, my writings will be based on my entrepreneur journey and the many interesting things I’ve encountered in my life.

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