Acquire Wisdom and Live with Passion: January 2008

Monday, January 28, 2008

Be Tactful

“Tact is the art of making a point without making an enemy.” - Isaac Newton

"People with tact have less to retract." - Arnold H. Glasow

How we express our thoughts determines how it is perceived. Thus, it is very important to express our thoughts with clarity and diplomacy.

Look at the photo or read the story below that illustrates this point:

A King woke up dreaming about losing all his teeth. He summoned a very well known fortune teller of his kingdom to interpret his dream. "All losing teeth means the death of the whole family...", the fortune teller responded. Like stricken by thunder, the king got very angry, and he was very furious about it. So he ordered a sentence of 20 times whip to be given to the fortune teller.

The king was still curious by then, and so he again summoned another fortune teller of the kingdom.

After listening to the story, the fortune teller with a smile said,"The dream is saying that Your Highness is the luckiest person in the whole world. You will live longer than the rest of the other family members." Having heard the explanation, a bright smile cracked in the king's face. He was delighted and awarded 5 gold coins to the fortune teller.

"Silence is not always tact, and it is tact that is golden, not silence." - Samuel Butler

One of the basic causes for all the trouble in the world today is that people talk too much and think too little. They act impulsively without thinking.

Let us learn to be tactful, considerate and respectful when we speak. What do you think?

Related posts:

Wednesday, January 23, 2008

Keep out of debt

"The rich rules over the poor, and the borrower is servant to the lender. "- Proverbs 22:7

Many people are one paycheck away from bankruptcy because they have no savings and spend every dime they make. If you're servicing debt you don't have any money for yourself and your family! You are then working whole life not for yourself and your family but for the bank.

Below is an advice from Warren Buffet, the second richest man in the world.

“Stay away from credit cards and invest in yourself and remember:

Money doesn’t create man; it is the man who created money.
Live your life as simple as you are.
Don’t do what others say, just listen to them, but do what you feel good.
Don’t go for brand name; just wear those things in which you feel comfortable.
Don’t waste your money on unnecessary things; just spend on those who really are in need.
After all it’s your life so why give chance to others to rule your life.”

Your discipline today will govern you tomorrow. Do you agree?

Related posts:

Saturday, January 19, 2008

One Year has passed

"It requires wisdom to understand wisdom: the music is nothing if the audience is deaf." - Walter Lippman

Acquire Wisdom and Live with Passion has been around for a year.

Time really flies. The total hours that I spent for a year comes to 1460 hours if I spent an average of 4 hours a day in blogging. That is a lot of time – right? Anyway, I benefited a lot in so doing. Somehow, the saying is true. You get what you focus on. I got myself inspired when looking for inspiring quotes, wise sayings, insights and photos to match each of my posts. Anyway, moving forward, I will be spending more time doing other things that matters most to me. Thus, there will be much lesser posts in this blog. If you do not want to miss any of my future posts, please subscribe to this blog RSS feed.

I hereby express my thanks to all who had shared their experience, ideas, words of wisdom, and inspiration!

"Man is honored for his wisdom, loved for his kindness." - S. Cohen

One of my goals this year is to learn mandarin.

I will be starting a new blog very soon detailing my attempt to learn mandarin and I hope the new blog will be a useful resource for others wishing to do so as well.

Many Blessings
Sam Chan

Tuesday, January 15, 2008

The Familiarity Trap

“Nothing is wonderful when you get used to it." - Edgar Watson Howe

Autopilot kicks in when we allow what was once exciting and challenging to become boring or mundane. Because of familiarity, we tend to miss opportunities and fail to perform at our best.

A bomb could go through without being notice by the security official if they would look at the screen for a long duration. That is why security officials at the airport rotate their roles.

We need to aware the moment we are in autopilot because it is unhelpful when

We want to do something better than we did it last time or
There might be a better way of doing something that we are used to doing in the same way.

If you are experiencing autopilot in your life, it maybe time to look with fresh eyes. Do you agree?

Related posts:

Wednesday, January 09, 2008

Daring Ideas with Burning Desire Wins

“Daring ideas are like chessmen moved forward. They may be beaten, but they may start a winning game.” - Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

“If you wish to win a man over to your ideas, first make him your friend.” - Abraham Lincoln

The following conversation may be able to illustrate this point:

Father: I want you to marry a girl of my choice.
Son: "I will choose my own bride!"
Father: "But the girl is Bill Gate's daughter."
Son: "Well, in that case...ok"

Next Father approaches Bill Gates.
Father: "I have a husband for your daughter."
Bill Gates: "But my daughter is too young to marry!"
Father: "But this young man is a vice-president of the World Bank."
Bill Gates: "Ah, in that case...ok"

Finally Father goes to see the president of the World Bank.
Father: "I have a young man to be recommended as a vice-president."
President: "But I already have more vice-presidents than I need!"
Father: "But this young man is Bill Gate's son-in-law."
President: "Ah, in that case...ok"

Moral: Even If you have nothing, You can get Anything. But your attitude should be positive.

(Source: Internet)

“There is one quality which one must possess to win, and that is definiteness of purpose, the knowledge of what one wants, and a burning desire to possess it.” - Napoleon Hill

“Lack of money is no obstacle. Lack of an idea is an obstacle.”

What we need are ideas, burning desire and good moral as a guide. What do you think?

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Monday, January 07, 2008

ICE campaign

"Knowing who to call can make all the difference"

We all carry our mobile phones with names and numbers stored in its memory but nobody, other than ourselves, knows which of these numbers belong to our closest family or friends.

If we were to be involved in an accident or were taken ill, the people attending us would have our mobile phone but wouldn't know who to call. Yes, there are hundreds of numbers stored but which one is the contact person in case of an emergency? Hence this "ICE" (In Case of Emergency) Campaign

The concept of "ICE" is catching on quickly. It is a method of contact during emergency situations. As cell phones are carried by the majority of the population, all you need to do is store the number of a contact person or persons who should be contacted during emergency under the name "ICE" ( In Case Of Emergency).

The idea was thought up by a paramedic who found that when he went to the scenes of accidents, there were always mobile phones with patients, but they didn't know which number to call. He therefore thought that it would be a good idea if there was a nationally recognized name for this purpose. In an emergency situation, Emergency Service personnel and hospital Staff would be able to quickly contact the right person by simply dialing the number you have stored as "ICE."

For more than one contact name simply enter ICE1, ICE2 and ICE3 etc. A great idea that will make a difference!

Let's spread the concept of ICE by storing an ICE number in our mobile phones today!!! !

Please forward this. It won't take too many "forwards" before everybody will know about this It really could save your life, or put a loved one's mind at rest .

(Source: e-mail)

P/S:
If you support this idea, please create ICE number in your mobile phones and then post this on your blogs, digg this, e-mail this to all your friends or spread it in whatever manner you can think of.

Thank you.

Sunday, January 06, 2008

The Greatest is Self-motivation

“People often say that motivation doesn't last. Well, neither does bathing - that's why we recommend it daily.” - Zig Ziglar

"Motivation is a fire from within. If someone else tries to light that fire under you, chances are it will burn very briefly." - Stephen R. Covey

“You can motivate by fear. And you can motivate by reward. But both of these methods are only temporary. The only lasting thing is self-motivation.” - Homer Rice

"When you know what you want,and you want it badly enough, you'll find a way to get it ." - Jim Rohn

Whatever has to be done, it's always your choice. Do you agree?

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Friday, January 04, 2008

Long Lasting Relationships

“Death ends a life, not a relationship.” - Robert Benchley

Relationships whether friendship, marriage or relationship by birth are always an important part of life. Learn what makes them tick, why they sometimes go wrong, what one can do about it, and why they are so precious.

“Love lasts when the relationship comes first.”

"Love endures only when the lovers love many things together and not merely each other." - Walter Lippmann

Growth in a relationship should come from; doing things together, allowing things to happen, accepting them as is, and changing what you can. It involves sharing and caring.

"Assumptions are the termites of relationships." - Henry Winkler

What do you think are essential in building lasting relationships?

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Thursday, January 03, 2008

Never-ending commitment

Studies have shown that a baby falls an average of 240 times before he learns how to walk. Funny thing is that when we become an adult, we call it quits when we fail just once or twice.

“I believe life is constantly testing us for our level of commitment, and life's greatest rewards are reserved for those who demonstrate a never-ending commitment to act until they achieve. This level of resolve can move mountains, but it must be constant and consistent. As simplistic as this may sound, it is still the common denominator separating those who live their dreams from those who live in regret.” - Anthony Robbins

"In life, rejection is only a comma, failure a semi-colon. They are not full-stops!"

In order to follow your vision, you have to be committed. When you work toward what you really want, you are far more likely to achieve your goals.

Expect to win and you will win!

You won’t know your limits if you don’t keep trying.

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Wednesday, January 02, 2008

Renew your energy

"Goals help you channel your energy into action." - Les Brown

For every vacation, I always find my children very energetic at the start of the journey. However, on the way home, they will usually sleep in the car. I reckon one of the reasons was that the hope to reach the destination makes the difference in their level of energy.

“When you are in the valley, keep your goal firmly in view and you will get the renewed energy to continue the climb.” - Denis Waitley

"The key that unlocks energy is desire. It's also the key to a long and interesting life. If we expect to create any drive, any real force within ourselves, we have to get excited." - Earl Nightingale

To renew our energy, we have to write down what we truly want in our life. Moreover, we need to be able to see our goals in our minds eye and in our heart to begin to have a chance of realizing them.

Nothing happens until we plan and a good plans have goals and objectives.

Goals should be SMART:

S - specific, significant, stretching
M - measurable, meaningful, motivational
A - agreed upon, attainable, achievable, acceptable, action-oriented
R - realistic, relevant, reasonable, rewarding, results-oriented
T - time-based, timely, tangible, trackable

Do you believe in goal setting?

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Tuesday, January 01, 2008

Happy New Year 2008

“The first step towards getting somewhere is to decide that you are not going to stay where you are.”

"Start by doing what's necessary; then do what's possible; and suddenly you are doing the impossible."

As a new year cascades forward with new beginnings....

May all of us be blessed with Happiness and Well being to last throughout the year

H ours of happy times with friends and family

A bundant time for relaxation

P rosperity

P lenty of love when you need it the most

Y outhful excitement at lifes simple pleasures

N ights of restful slumber

E verything you need

W ishing you love and light

Y ears and years of good health

E njoyment and mirth

A ll your tomorrows are bright

R emembrances of happy years!