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:

• Frequent Self check is necessary
• Don't fail to try new things!
• Have you free yourself?
• Raise your standards
• Be Innovative
• Renew your mind

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?

Related posts:

• Understanding Motivation
• Don't wait! - Start now
• Action generates inspiration
• Caffeine replacement found!

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?

Related posts:

• Tortoise and the Rabbit Story
• Be enthusiastic
• Be Flexible
• Persist and Persevere
• Live with Passion!
• Action generates inspiration

How to remain in business

“To open a shop is easy, to keep it open is an art” - Chinese Proverbs

"In business, doing as much as you can while staying within the limits of your capabilities is the short cut that will take you to the finish line before the rest." - Konosuke Matsushita

“Our business in life is not to get ahead of others, but to get ahead of ourselves -- to break our own records, to outstrip our yesterday by our today.” - Stewart B. Johnson

“Every sale has five basic obstacles: no need, no money, no hurry, no desire, no trust.” - Zig Ziglar

“The success combination in business is: Do what you do better... and Do more of what you do...” - David Joseph Schwartz

I am wondering whether this is applicable to even blogging. What do you think? Please share your wisdom by posting your comments. Thank you.

P.S. I could not switch on my notebook. Schedule to have the motherboard change next week. Thus, I could only do blogging in the office, which I seldom do. I should be able to visit all my friends' blogs again next week.

Related posts:

• Customer is your Boss
• Be a Team Player
• Keep moving and be innovative
• Equip yourself with the necessary tools
• Preparation is a necessity for success

Kindle the fire of your enthusiasm

“Nothing great was ever achieved without enthusiasm.” - Ralph Waldo Emerson

Make very sure you like what you do. To get from where you are to where you want to be, you need to have constant supply of enthusiasm. You can succeed at almost anything for which you has unlimited enthusiasm.

"Love what you do. Do what you love." - Wayne Dyer

"All that we need to make us really happy is something to be enthusiastic about." - Charles Kingsley

“Enthusiasm... the sustaining power of all great action.” - Samuel Smiles

“Enthusiasm is contagious. Be a carrier.” - Susan Rabin

"If you can give your son or daughter only one gift, let it be Enthusiasm." - Bruce Barton

"I consider my ability to arouse enthusiasm among men the greatest asset I possess. The way to develop the best that is in a man is by appreciation and encouragement." - Charles Schwab

"If you are not getting as much from life as you want to, then examine the state of your enthusiasm." - Norman Vincent Peale

Enthusiasm is one of your greatest assets. Go and find means to arouse your enthusiasm. Then sustain it. Combine it with faith and you will be able to achieve results unheard of!

Do you know what triggers your enthusiasm?

Photo 1 by Infidelic taken from this source
Photo 2 by noizyboy taken from this source

Related posts:

• Be enthusiastic
• Keep going
• Live with Passion!

Understanding Leadership

"Managers have employees, leaders have followers." - Workplace 2000

Although all skills are learnable, it is not easy to be a good leader. Good leaders are followed chiefly because people trust and respect them, rather than the skills they possess.

Management skills are important but leadership relies more on qualities such as integrity, honesty, humility, courage, commitment, sincerity, passion, confidence, positivity, wisdom, determination, compassion and sensitivity.

I find the following passage very thought provoking:

Leadership has to do with direction. Management has to do with the speed, coordination and logistics in going in that direction. The Workers are chopping their way through the jungle. The Managers are coordinating, making sure the tools are sharp, etc. The Leaders climb a tree and shout Wrong jungle!! The Managers shout back Be quiet! We're making progress!

Below are some quotes that can give us some hints of those behaviors of effective leadership.

"A good objective of leadership is to help those who are doing poorly to do well and to help those who are doing well to do even better." - Jim Rohn

"The best leader is the one who has sense enough to pick good people to do what he/she wants done, and self-restraint enough to keep from meddling with them while they do it." - Theodore Roosevelt

"The level of morale is a good barometer of how each of your people is experiencing your leadership." - Danny Cox

"Every leader needs to look back once in awhile to make sure he has followers." - Kouzes and Posner

"Be enthusiastic as a leader. You can't light a fire with a wet match!"

"Managers are people who do things right; leaders are people who do the right thing." - Warren Bennis

"Management is efficiency in climbing the ladder of success, leadership determines whether the ladder is leaning against the right wall." - Stephen Covey

"The most vital task of the leader is to motivate, inspire, empower and encourage the team's primary resource -- the unlimited, creative human potential to find better ways." - Dr. Lewis Losoncy

Skills alone do not make leaders - style and behavior do. To be a good leader means that you can inspire others to follow your example, willingly and cheerfully. What do you think? Do you agree? Do you have a great leader that you are following?

"Do not worry if others do not understand you.
Instead worry if you do not understand others." - Confucius

Photo 1 by tcd123usa taken from this source
Photo 2 by kool_skatkat taken from this source

Related posts:

• Boss versus Leader
• Setting a good example
• The Art of Leadership
• Be a Leader

Live with Passion!

"One person with passion is better than forty people merely interested." - E. M. Forster

It is vital to find out things that you're passionate about. When you are passionate about certain things, you tend to talk about it all the time! A lot of great thing in the world were accomplished by those with great passion. True happiness comes when you do what you're most passionate about.

“We're constantly striving for success, fame and comfort when all we really need to be happy is someone or some thing to be enthusiastic about.” - H. Jackson Brown, Jr.

“Passion is energy. Feel the power that comes from focusing on what excites you.” - Oprah Winfrey

"You never achieve success unless you like what you are doing." - Dale Carnegie

“Enthusiasm releases the drive to carry you over obstacles and adds significance to all you do” - Norman Vincent Peale

“A strong passion for any object will ensure success, for the desire of the end will point out the means” - William Hazlitt

“Never underestimate the power of passion.” - Eve Sawyer

"Waste no more time talking about great souls and how they should be. Become one yourself!" - Marcus Aurelius Antoninus

I believe that passion must goes with wisdom. Wisdom is not worth acquiring if we could not live with passion. However, if we just live with passion without wisdom, we might end up living foolishly without integrity. So it is very important that we acquire wisdom and live with passion.

Have you uncovered your true passion? Well, what one thing you want to do because you love to - not because you have to?

If you are not pursuing your passion, find out what is stopping you and do something about it.

It's time to stop wishing, find out how and start living!

Photo 1 by sixs†eps taken from this source
Photo 2 by steveharris taken from this source

Related posts:

• How to Acquire Wisdom?
• Be enthusiastic
• Do you know where is your strength?
• A need for determination and commitment

Caffeine replacement found!

Today, I came across a thought-provoking post by Ilker Yoldas that mentioned our popular beverages such as coffee, tea, hot chocolate, soft drinks and energy drinks contains the evil caffeine.

Modern drug of choice
According to Steve Pavlina (How to Give Up Coffee), Caffeine is the modern drug of choice in the work world, easily accessible, socially acceptable, readily affordable, and of course perfectly legal.

Well, now that worries me after knowing the fact that it can affect my health because I just got myself addicted to coffee. Somehow, I need a cup of coffee every night to come out with a post for this blog! I am not blaming anybody except myself for being such a perfectionist. Some posts can really take me 2 to 4 hours to complete.

Encouragement - the replacement
What surprises me was that I wasn't tired at all to come out with this post. How come? Well, today I received a message from Jesse about her new post. After seeing her encouraging post about my blog, my passion suddenly shot up. That was indeed a great caffeine replacement for me today!

My heartfelt thanks to you Jesse!

"Taking an interest in what others are thinking and doing is often a much more powerful form of encouragement than praise." - Robert Martin

"The more you practice stepping into other peoples' shoes, the more you'll experience the results and benefits. This encourages and inspires you to do it even more." - Wendy Hearn

Our needs to do well
I believe everyone needs encouragement, support and motivation to do well. Be an encourager! You will definitely feel good after you have encouraged someone. By mutual support, we can build a great community!


Do you agree? If yes, do share your comments, come back often and I will likewise try my very best to visit your blog and do likewise. Hope this is agreeable to you.

“Good communication is as stimulating as black coffee, and just as hard to sleep after.” - Anne Morrow Lindbergh

Photo 1 by highwaygirl67 taken from this source
Photo 2 by don.lee taken from this source

Related posts:

• Health is Wealth
• Stay healthy
• Help others we are helping ourselves
• Remember to do something for others

How to Make Progress

We all want progress. Every day you may make progress. Every step may be fruitful. However, if you know that you are heading toward the wrong direction you need to make an about-turn. Otherwise, you will drift further away from your goal. Be sure your directions are clear and accurate. If you aren’t going forward, you’re going backwards.

Many of us like to utter the favorite phrase - "I am very busy". However, we ought to remind ourselves that we must "Never mistake activity for progress."

What counts is what get done. Thus, "Don't tell how hard you work. Tell how much you get done."

“It is important that you recognize your progress and take pride in your accomplishments. Share your achievements with others. Brag a little. The recognition and support of those around you is nurturing.” - Rosemarie Rossetti

If you really spend some time to learn at least one thing a day, or improve one thing a day, you will be amazed how much you have learned and accomplished.

Manageable chunks or bite size chunks is always the way forward. Make progress on something every day. It doesn’t really matter how big or small the level of accomplishment - just make progress.

Photo by Poppyseed Bandits taken from this source

Related posts:

• Changes bring forth progress
• The Importance of Planning
• Speed Matters?

In life there are no shortcuts!

"Be true to the game, because the game will be true to you. If you try to shortcut the game, then the game will shortcut you. If you put forth the effort, good things will be bestowed upon you. That’s truly about the game, and in some ways that’s about life too." - Michael Jordan

"There are no shortcuts in the quest for perfection." - Ben Hogan

"People who enjoy what they are doing invariably do it well." - Joe Gibbs

"When it comes to success, there are no shortcuts." - Bo Bennett

"There is no elevator to success. You have to take the stairs."

"Nothing can come of nothing." - William Shakespeare

"People create their own success by learning what they need to learn and then by practicing it until they become proficient at it." - Brian Tracy

"You have to work for it. It is the result of preparation, hard work and learning from failure."

"It takes a lot of devotion and work, or maybe I should say play, because if you love it, that's what it amounts to. I haven't found any shortcuts, and I've been looking for a long time." - Chet Atkins

Photo by krossbow taken from this source

Related posts:

• Looking for Instant Success?
• Fear of being too old to succeed
• Growing the right way

What is your greatest loss?

When Wealth is lost, nothing is lost;
When Health is lost, something is lost;
When Character is lost, all is lost!

We all value things differently. So what is the most precious thing in life you value most? Is it Wealth, Health, Relationship or Career? Well, why don't you spend some time and find out for yourself. Then do something about it!

The Bible tell us the greatest loss in Matthew 16:25-26 "For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it. For what profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul?"

Photo by TommyOshima taken from this source

Related posts:

• Be enthusiatic
• Keep going
• Never Give Up!
• Hard work? - Keep it up!
• Use it or lose it

Take the greatest challenge

"Competing in sports has taught me that if I'm not willing to give 120 percent, somebody else will." - Ron Blomberg

The real competition starts after 100 percent.

"There is no challenge more challenging than the challenge to improve yourself." - Michael Staley

"The toughest thing about success is that you've got to keep on being a success."

“Challenges make you discover things about yourself that you never really knew. They're what make the instrument stretch - what make you go beyond the norm.”

“Life's challenges are not supposed to paralyze you, they're supposed to help you discover who you are.” - Bernice Johnson Reagon

Photo by Sheree K taken from this source

Related posts:

• Be Responsible
• Raise your standards
• Be Improvement-Conscious

Raise your standards

"All personal breakthroughs begin with a change in beliefs." - Anthony Robbins

“People seldom improve when they have no other model but themselves to copy after” - Oliver Goldsmith

"If you want to be successful, find someone who has achieved the results you want and copy what they do and you'll achieve the same results." - Anthony Robbins

“Any time you sincerely want to make a change, the first thing you must do is to raise your standards. When people ask me what really changed my life eight years ago, I tell them that absolutely the most important thing was changing what I demanded of myself. I wrote down all the things I would no longer accept in my life, all the things I would no longer tolerate, and all the things that I aspired to becoming.” - Anthony Robbins

Photo by supersam5 taken from this source

Related posts:

• Belief System
• Improve Yourself and Be useful
• Be Improvement-Conscious
• Sharpen your mind

Make sure you use all resources available

The more you use your brain, the more you have. Using it, wakes up idle brain cells.

“Most people have no idea of the giant capacity we can immediately command when we focus all of our resources on mastering a single area of our lives.” - Anthony Robbins

“Never forget the three powerful resources you always have available to you: love, prayer, and forgiveness.” - H. Jackson Brown, Jr.

“I've continued to recognize the power individuals have to change virtually anything and everything in their lives in an instant. I've learned that the resources we need to turn our dreams into reality are within us, merely waiting for the day when we decide to wake up and claim our birthright.” - Anthony Robbins

Related posts:

• Control your thoughts
• Renew your mind
• Sharpen your mind
• The Power of Imagination
• Be enthusiastic

The Value of Laughter

Laughter is the best exercise, the cheapest medicine, the cheapest vacation, the cheapest tonic, it stirs the blood, exercises the chest, stimulates the nerves, chases fear, prevents ulcers, cures the blues, relaxes strangers, wins friends and gives all a cleansing rehabilitation.

"The person who can bring the spirit of laughter into a room is indeed blessed." - Bennett Alfred Cerf

"Laughter is a tranquilizer with no side effects." - Arnold H. Glasgow

Laugh as much as you breathe and love as long as you live. Laughter is the shock absorber that eases the blows of life

“An optimist laughs to forget, a pessimist forgets to laugh.”

"Beware of those who laugh at nothing or everything." - Arnold H Glasgow

Photo by Yogi taken from this source

Related posts:

• Remember to Smile Always
• Learn to be happy
• Don't Worry Be Happy

Be enthusiastic

Love what you do. Do what you love.

“A man can succeed at almost anything for which he has unlimited enthusiasm.” - Charles M. Schwab

The moment enthusiasm leaves us, our life-energy decreases beyond our imagination.

“Cash can buy, but it takes enthusiasm to sell”

Act enthusiastic and you will be enthusiastic. - Dale Carnegie

Photo by unpatitodegoma taken from this source

Related posts:

• Belief System
• Be a Winner
• Keep going

Hard work? Keep it up!

If the going is real easy, beware, you may be headed down hill.

Dictionary is the only place that success comes before work. Hard work is the price we must pay for success. I think you can accomplish anything if you're willing to pay the price. - Vince Lombardi

"Continuous effort - not strength or intelligence - is the key to unlocking our potential" - Winston Churchill

“Many of the great achievements of the world were accomplished by tired and discouraged men who kept on working.”

Never, never, never give up.

Photo by maveric2003 taken from this source

Related posts:

• Working Attitude
• Tortoise and the Rabbit Story
• Never Give Up!

Keep going

A man rarely succeeds at anything unless he has fun doing it.

Your success, and how quickly you'll realize your goal, will depend on how long you can keep your enthusiasm up. Some have enthusiasm for a few minutes, others for a few days, some for a few weeks, or months. But the real winners are the ones who keep it up for years.

Even if you're on the right track, you'll get run over if you just sit there. - Will Rogers

“Winning is not everything, but the effort to win is.” - Zig Ziglar

Photo by OskarN taken from this source