Every Breath Increases The Risk of Death!!!

As many as 30% of the buildings in cities around the world have Sick Building Syndrome, according to studies done over the last 10 years in Singapore, United States and the European Union. The indoor air is badly polluted with cigarette smoke, contaminants, dust, chemicals, toxic substances, moulds, fungi, bacteria and viruses etc.

Studies have shown that such bad air is the common cause of headache, fatigue, drowsiness and other sicknesses. People working in such office buildings tend to fall sick more easily. This will affect the productivity level of the company eventually.

ENVIRONMENTAL THREATS

The outdoor air pollution has increasingly become a very serious environmental threat all over the world especially in most of the major cities. Reportedly, it costs the governments around the world billions of dollars to try to tackle the air pollution problems but the results have not been very encouraging.

What about the indoor air? Is it clean? Environmental Protection Agency in the USA has reported that the indoor air pollution is at least five times worse than the outdoor air pollution. Indoor air does not circulate as freely as the outdoor air. Chemicals commonly used at home could also trigger allergic reactions. Worse, we actually spend 80%-90% of our time indoor. We live in a very unhealthy indoor environment.

An NUS Professor said that 6% of Singapore’s deaths is caused by diseases sparked by breathing dirty air. It was also reported that about 600 deaths here might be due to tiny airborne particles. Dirty air is choking 80 million people in Indonesia.

The air quality in the clean garden city of Singapore is badly affected when the wind sends the smoke and haze from the neighboring countries, as a result of the forest fires. There is nothing much Singapore could do. Times Magazine reported that the masks don’t help either.

Today, clean air is no longer easily available in the atmosphere. Gradually, you will realise that it needs to be purchased like the mineral water. Don’t be surprised when you see bottles of clean air or oxygen being sold at the 7-Elevens one day. In South Korea, the largest food maker, CJ Corporation has become the first to sell canned clean forest air. More and more oxygen bars are being open in various countries in the world such as in New Delhi of India, Greenbelt in the Makati City of Philippines and even in China.

HEALTH THREATS

The hydrocarbons emitted by the automobiles are toxic and they react with the haemoglobin in the blood. As a result, the heart may be damaged by air pollution, secondary to the lungs.

The percentage of population in most countries, suffering from the various common illnesses, continues to increase, such as cancer, heart attack, menopause, depression, migraine, insomnia, high blood pressure, diabetes, asthma, sinus, etc.

Another bad news is that time is running out for antibiotics. Professor Hugh McGavock, a specialist in prescription science from the University of Ulster told BBC that all antibiotics could be redundant in 12 years’ time. He estimated that by 2015, diseases that are easily treatable now would be killers. The growing resistance is not just due to unnecessary prescription by doctors and patients failing to take medicines correctly, but also due to antibiotic use in the farming industry over the last 50 years.

Price, Value and Affordability

Those who are in sales profession always encounter objections from their prospects in terms of the price of the product. The prospect would always ask about the price the product, and if the salesman were to tell him the price, he would immediately respond, "It is expensive!". Does it sound familiar? Perhaps, we are the ones who say that it is expensive or the price is too high!

Is the product really expensive? Let me answer the question by drawing your attention to the difference between the Price and the Value of the product! The value of the product lies in its usefulness and benefits.

When we understand and appreciate the value of a product, the price would not be an issue usually, assuming budget is not a problem. When we see the value of a product, we are usually prepared to pay for it. For example, many young people are paying as much $500 for a mobile phone. Is it expensive? Of course, it is. But, why are young people still buying and paying for it? It is the value of communications with their loved ones and friends that they like, besides enjoying the other benefits of a mobile phone.

On the other hand, if a person does not see the value of a product, even if you were to offer him the product at a lower price or give it to him free, he might not want it. He sees no value and benefit in the product.

When we say something is expensive, there is yet another thought! It is not so much the issue of price but affordability. For example, is a Rolex watch expensive? The answer is NO. If you do not believe me, please ask the person who wears a Rolex watch ( a genuine one) whether his Rolex watch is expensive. He would probably tell you "Not really! It is okay!" Why? The reason is because he could afford it. So, the next time before we say something is expensive, we should just say that "I cannot afford it at this point in time." The moment you can afford it, a Rolex watch is no longer expensive. Hope it makes sense to you!

Footprints In The Sand - An Inspirational Poem

One night I dreamed I was walking along the beach with the Lord. Many scenes from my life flashed across the sky. In each scene I noticed footprints in the sand. Sometimes there were two sets of footprints, other times there was one only. This bothered me because I noticed that during the low periods of my life, when I was suffering from anguish, sorrow or defeat, I could see only one set of footprints, so I said to the Lord, “You promised me Lord, that if I followed you, you would walk with me always. But I have noticed that during the most trying periods of my life there has only been one set of footprints in the sand. Why, when I needed you most, have you not been there for me?” The Lord replied, “The years when you have seen only one set of footprints, my child, is when I carried you.”

Mary Stevenson, 1936

A Group of ENTHUSIASTIC PARENTS...

I am thankful that the talk I conducted this morning at Maha Bodhi School for the parents received positive response and good feedback from the participating parents. The parents were listening so attentively throughout. Occasionally, I saw some couples whispering to one another seemingly discussing about the implementation of some of the ideas I shared. That really inspired me. I am sure many ideas I presented to them were unheard of. Those were the useful experience I had gathered all these years.

The talk was jointly organised by the school and the PSG chaired by Mr Richard Chua. It was just before the talk that I found out that Richard was actually my ex-colleague. We have not met each other for more than 15 years. With a quick introduction, we quickly recollected some of the memories. I was told the PSG was just set up last August. From my experience as the founding chairman of two other PSGs, I believe this PSG would grow from strength to strength, built on the good partnership between the school and the parents.

Towards the end of the talk, I opened to the floor for Q&A. A good number of questions were addressed. There were parents who shared their positive experience in parenting by example.

After the talk, many parents were queueing up to buy my books. I was impressed with their enthusiasm in learning. I am deeply appreciative of the help extended to me by the Treasurer of the PSG, Ms Ai Lin. She was the one who helped me with order taking and payments. The books were sold out and many of them placed order for the next delivery. I am indeed grateful to those parents who have purchased or ordered the books. It is my fervent prayer that all the readers be blessed.

There were also parents who sought my advice on some home-based business ideas. I applaud them for such forward-looking attitude. Indeed, today, home-based business presents a good solution to parents who want to spend more time with their children at home and yet could earn some income by working from home.

There were quite a number of parents who stayed back to chat with me about some personal situations and asked for my advice. Well, I wish I could have more time for them. There was a mother who queued up so patiently just to ask for my name card. I felt bad. But, I really enjoyed the whole session that was so wonderfully organised and executed.

After this talk, I was heading to chair another business meeting at 2pm. It was indeed a beautiful Saturday.

“I.C.A.R.E™ for My Children” Talk for 180 Parents...

I have been invited to speak to about 180 parents on "“I.C.A.R.E™ for My Children” - How to take the stress out of children's education?". This talk is organised by Maha Bodhi School in collaboration with its Parents Support Group (PSG). It will take place on Saturday, 25 February 2006 and is exclusive for the parents of the students of this school.

Those who are interested to attend a similar talk may approach your nearest Community Club and make enquiries. You may suggest to them to get in touch with me to make arrangement on the speaking schedule.

A Revolutionary New Look at A Centuries-Old Character

This evening, I happened to speak to a middle-aged woman. The command of her Chinese Language, the facility of her expression and her non-Singaporean accent suggested to me that she was either from China or Taiwan. Indeed, she is from Taiwan. She was married in Singapore some twenty years ago. She is currently a teacher in a kindergarten. She shared her delightful experience in teaching the young children in unorthodox ways, seeing them learning creatively and feeling the joy when she was surrounded and hugged by the children.

This is the way children in kindergarten should learn, i.e. learn through play, and this is the way teachers should teach, i.e. teach in more creative ways.

She is very creative in teaching the Chinese Language. We exchanged our ideas about the fun way of learning the Chinese Language and the Chinese characters. One of the things she shared was about the way many Chinese hang the character "FU" - BLESSINGS. Many like to hang it inverted. When it is hanged inverted, it means to pour away the blessings. So, it should be hanged upright, and it would mean the blessings arrived. It is indeed a revolutionary new look at a centuries-old character.

Graduate from School and Be Semi-Retired

A Home-based and web-based international business that enables you to EARN as you LEARN - Graduate from School and be Semi-Retired in Life!!! --- A Dream Worth Dreaming!

Upcoming Motivational Talk at Toa Payoh East Community Club for STUDENTS!!!

I have been invited to conduct a motivational workshop based on my book "15 Forgotten Secrets That Will Make You A Better Student" at Toa Payoh East Community Club, 160 Lorong 6 Toa Payoh, Singapore 319380 on Thursday, 30 March 2006 from 7.30pm to 9.30pm. Students are encouraged to attend. It is now open for registration. Please call the CC office at 62567601 to register.

Who Motivates The Motivator?

This morning, I was speaking to the students of Primary One and Two in Tanjong Katong Primary School. It is the first time students in the lower primary classes are attending my motivational talk entitled "Secrets of Success". They were so neatly seated in the hall. All of them looked so innocently smart.

As I was delivering the talk, they were actively participating in answering my questions and responding to my requests. They were so spontaneous. Usually, it is pretty challenging eliciting response from the more "matured" students!!!

When the talk was over and the students were dismissed orderly back into their respective classes, one class remained in the hall as they were going to have their Physical Education lesson there. I briefly chatted with one little girl and asked her what she has learned from my talk, she replied so instantaneously, "Never, never, never give up!". That's it! I am glad she learnt. Frankly, you never know when this principle she has learnt is going to help her in her studies and in her life later. The little girl and her response are really what motivate the motivator!!!

Student Coaching, Consultation and Motivation

The workshop on "I.C.A.R.E™ for My Children" was successfully conducted at the Toa Payoh East Community Club as scheduled. The participants were all mothers. Sometimes, I wonder where the fathers were! Hehehe!!!

I was impressed with the participants for they were listening so attentively to everything that I was sharing i.e the five types of quotients that I have designed and trademarked.

When I ended the talk and eventually opened for Q&A, a couple of them wanted to ask questions but were a bit shy. After some encouragement, questions began to flow in. One of them asked if I could help to conduct personal coaching sessions for her daughter in Secondary 3. Several others, upon hearing this, requested for the same. I could see that many mothers face similar problems in parenting and dealing with their children. The mothers were so concerned for their children that they were asking me to start a personal coaching and motivational class for their children and one of them even wanted to send her child to me.

Frankly, there had been constant requests from parents I know, to start a coaching and motivational class. Well, I might give it a serious consideration now when there are enough students who value such a service from me. This would allow me to put my years of coaching, consulting, training and motivating experience to good use to help the students so that they become self-motivated and learn to be a better student and a better person as what I encourage the readers to be in my book "15 Forgotten Secrets That Will Make You A Better Student".

A similar workshop has been scheduled for 28 March 2006, Tuesday at 7.30pm at the same place, i.e. Toa Payoh East Community Club. If you know some parents who would benefit from this talk, please encourage them to register early by calling up the office at 62567601. It is only $8 per participant. To learn more about the course, please visit the People's Association website.

“I.C.A.R.E™ for My Children” Workshop at Toa Payoh East Community Club

I will be conducting a workshop on “I.C.A.R.E™ for My Children” at Toa Payoh East Community Club, 160 Lorong 6 Toa Payoh, Singapore 319380 on Sunday, 19 February 2006. Time is from 5pm to 7pm. Parents are welcome to attend. Please call the CC office at 62567601 to register.

I will be discussing the common problems faced by most parents in today’s competitive environment in relation to their children’s education. The course will also explain how parents can apply the special I.C.A.R.E™ (IQ, CQ, AQ, RQ, EQ) skills to help overcome the problems and reduce the stress on themselves. Please visit the People's Association website for more details.

Quotations by Dale Carnegie

1. Any fool can criticize, condemn, and complain - and most fools do.
2. If you can't sleep, then get up and do something instead of lying there and worrying. It's the worry that gets you, not the loss of sleep.
3. It is the way we react to circumstances that determines our feelings.
4. Many people think that if they were only in some other place, or had some other job, they would be happy. Well, that is doubtful. So get as much happiness out of what you are doing as you can and don't put off being happy until some future date.
5. Take a chance! All life is a chance. The man who goes furthest is generally the one who is willing to do and dare.
6. When dealing with people, let us remember we are not dealing with creatures of logic. We are dealing with creatures of emotion, creatures bustling with prejudices and motivated by pride and vanity.
7. You can make more friends in two months by becoming interested in other people than you can in two years by trying to get other people interested in you.

Happy Valentine's Day !!! A Technical Guy Saves Money...

Today is St Valentine's Day. What is a Valentine by the way? A valentine or a valentine card is a greetings card that you send to someone who you are in love with or are attracted to, usually without signing your name, on St Valentine's Day, the 14th of February. It was on the Valentine's Day one score and three (23) years ago that I courted my wife and then ...

Time flies, we are married for almost 19 years. This year, we celebrate our wedding anniversary every day. Do you know why? I leave it to you to find out. So, this morning, my wife and I had a simple "Kway Chap" breakfast together at the coffee shop at Hougang Green with a cup of coffee.

Then, we went into a traditional hardware shop. As I was walking down the rows of shelves, my mind was constantly reminded through the visual contact with the various items, that certain items are needed to replace those at home, that are no longer usable, beyond repair or had worn out through normal wear and tear.

Well, most of the time, I am the free handyman at home, being assigned jobs ranging from changing the toilet bowl cover to changing the goose-neck tap at the washing basin, repairing the doors of the wardrobe to the changing of light bulbs and circular fluorecent tubes and changing the filthy and stinking water for the two terrapins regularly. The terrapin owner seems to be responsible for feeding and nothing else!!! Hmmmmmm...

So, it makes economic sense for girls to find a partner who is technically-inclined or practice-oriented. But, be careful, such people usually tend to be less romantic with one or two exceptions!!! Many people think I am one of the few... mmmmmm... any violent objections? Well, even if there are, objections overruled!

Talking about the two terrapins, when they were first migrated to our home and being housed specifically in a blue basin with an inch of water in it and placed near the entrance to the toilet with adequate exposure to sunlight and good ventilation, they were as small as a twenty-cent coin. But, now, they are as big as an adult palm. Here is the picture.

Singapore River Hong Bao 2006

In case you have missed visiting the Singapore River Hong Bao 2006 that had just ended on 12 February (15th Day of the Lunar New Year, which is the last day of the Chinese New Year celebrations), I have taken 166 random shots using my digital camera. Please click to view the slideshow using Yahoo Photos

Chinese New Year Decorations at Chinatown Singapore

My family and I were at Chinatown for dinner and after that, I took some shots with my digital camera. I just discovered a function on the camera that could help me take night shots pretty well without using flash. Frankly, there are so many things to discover and learn every day.

I just want to share with you some of the pictures of the Chinese New Year decorations at Chinatown. The pictures also reveal the three main modes of public transport, namely bus, taxi and MRT.

Some Quotes To Reflect On....

I am not too sure where I got these quotes from. Anyway, I must appreciate the person who wrote them or borrowed them from somewhere and also, the person who sent them to me. It would be nice if you could read each one carefully and think about it for a second or two.

1. I love you not because of who you are, but because of who I am when I am with you.
2. No man or woman is worth your tears, and the one who is, won't make you cry.
3. Just because someone doesn't love you the way you want them to, doesn't mean they don't love you with all they have.
4. A true friend is someone who reaches for your hand and touches your heart.
5. To the world you may be one person, but to one person you may be the world.
6. Don't waste your time on a man/woman, who isn't willing to waste his/her time on you.
7. May be God wants us to meet a few wrong people before meeting the right one, so that when we finally meet the person, we will know how to be grateful.
8. There's always going to be people who hurt you so what you have to do is keep on trusting and just be more careful about who you trust the next time around.
9. Make yourself a better person and know who you are before you try to know someone else and expect them to know you.
10. Don't try so hard, the best things come when you least expect them to.

Remember: Whatever happens, happens for a reason.

What Is An IDEAL MLM Company?

I was on the phone with a semi-retired lady. She has been through the early years of MLM (Multi-Level Marketing) when she made good money. But, she backed off for some years helping her family in a traditional business. She is now seriously considering a comeback. But, she is very sharp in analysing companies to determine if that is a company worth joining and whether it is fast or slow money-making. We shared our experience in MLM.

She asked me, "What do you think is a good MLM company to join now?". I shall not name any company here. But, if you need advice, feel free to talk to me. I will be writing a second book on MLM to address this particular question.

In a nutshell, drawing from the success and failure stories of those in the MLM industry, here are some of my thoughts.

You should not start MLM on a full-time basis unless you have another steady source of income or you are already out of job. It is best to have a full time job but starting it on a part-time basis until the income builds up to the level comparable to that of your full time job. Then, you decide if you would like to quit your full-time job.

MLM is best run as a home-based business that you can work the business from your kitchen in your pyjamas or at the beach in your bikini. It should not be one which necessitates you to attend numerous meetings. If that is the case, where is the time freedom? This leads to the next point.

It should be internet-based and online. In USA, the country is huge, and so it is unlikely that prospects would travel hundreds of miles just to attend an OPP seminar!!! So, most Americans prefer to work from the comfort of their homes. How could that be achieved? Internet shopfront, online presentation, conference calls etc. are the ways to do it. Singapore is geographically small and the herd instinct is still culturally strong here. Coming to an OPP seminar and feeling the warmth and the size of the crowd and get hyped up, is still one of the deciding criteria for joining the company for many. I envisage that it takes another 5-10 years for Singaporeans to adjust to and adopt the home-based concept.

Entry into any MLM company should not involve a big sum of money. People joining a company in this manner would usually end up with lots of inventory and no network. After all, what is network marketing? It should focus on building the network. As I mentioned in my first MLM book, network is what moves the products. To build a network, you need lots of users. From the network of users, some of them might want to consider building the business as well. So, they can proceed to do so. The rest may remain as users. There is nothing wrong with that.

While many people thought that a company without quota or monthly maintenance is good, the contrary might be better. If nobody buys anything or maintains something, how could the uplines earn? In a system that makes maintenance or monthly purchase a part of the requirements, there will be residual income for the leaders at least. Does it mean that the downlines would suffer and not make money? No. The system duplicates itself.

Earlier on, I mentioned that MLM should be done part-time for a start. So, if you are dealing with products that you need to go to the stock centre, make purchase and deliver them to your customers, how do you find time to do it? You probably have to do it after work or over the weekends. So, this brings up another consideration. Ideally, you should work with a company where there is no physical product to deliver and if there is to be delivered, it should be delivered by the courier service and NOT by you.

Many people are also stuck with lots of physical inventory, worse will be those that carry expiration date. If you could deal with a product that is NOT physical and there is no need to keep physical inventory, that would be superbly ideal. Is there such a product? Yes. E-product is one. It would be good to have a product that you can market worldwide without any special need for physical demonstration of how the product works.

If you need any special discussion, please send me an email.

Some OXYMORONS ...

If you describe a phrase as an oxymoron, you mean that what it refers to combines two contradictory qualities or ideas and therefore seems impossible. Some examples are:

• Found missing
• Business ethics
• Same difference
• Soft rock
• Pretty ugly
• Clearly confused
• Humbly proud
• Open Secret
• Consistently inconsistent
• Logically illogical
• Alone together
• Systematically chaotic
• Young aged
• Original copies
• Perfectly wrong
• Simply complicated
• Accurate forecast
• Exact estimate
• Old boy
• Permanent temp(orary)
• Dull colour
• Sinking float

Don't PERSEVERE At Doing The Wrong Thing...

We have always been encouraged to be determined in what we are doing and to persevere, persevere and persevere.

There was a housefly that was trying to fly out of an office surrounded with glass panes. It was so determined that it kept flying towards the glass pane and knocking against it. It reversed a little and tried again and repeated the same action many times. It persevered and persevered but still could not fly out of the office. Actually, just another glass-pane width across, there was an opening. All the housefly ought to do was to just take a step back, take another look at the situation and it would be able to fly out of the office with ease and unhurt.

In life, sometimes, we are faced with difficult and trying situations. But, we have been told to persevere. The lesson we can learn from the housefly is, NOT to persevere at doing the wrong thing. When we have given a situation enough time to improve or change and it doesn't, it is good to sit back, reflect and take another good look at the situation again. The solution may be just so simple and obvious.

A journey of a thousand miles begins with the first step. Yes. But, make sure it is the first step in the right direction. Otherwise, you might be just in time to be too late to realise that you have walked a thousand miles in the wrong direction.

Keep The Fire Burning In The Belly!

One day, I met this 19 year old young man. A couple of weeks later, he sent me an email asking me if I could help him learn how to start a business. So, we planned and met up yesterday.

I spent some 2.5 hours with him yesterday, sharing with him my little experience and giving him some practical advice. He was determined to start doing some simple business. He also shared with me very openly his personal situations.

For some reasons, he has not been to church regularly. Now, he is making plans to go back. That is very encouraging! Before he left, he met my family members. In the evening, he sent me an SMS reproduced (without editing) below:

"hey uncle. thanks for all the advise today. really made me wanna do some great for myself. anyway great to meet you and your family. see you and. will contact u soon"

Though the sentences were not so grammatical with some typographical errors, which is common in SMS language, I was touched by the message. It was a simple form of appreciation. This young man (though he dyed his hair) has been very polite from day one. He has been calling me "Uncle Jonathan" as compared to another 18 year old girl whom I was helping, she called me by my name! Frankly, many young people have missed learning these old but fine virtues and values these days. Is it the fallacy of the education system, the parents or the society?

As long as he keeps the fire burning in the belly, is willing to learn and never gives up, he will do well in his studies and in life. Best wishes to him in his endeavours.

A Budding Digital Photographer...

This picture of mine was taken at Boat Quay at night by my daughter, Rebecca. Of course, this picture has been cropped from the original one that is bigger.

She seems to have acquired some basic skills in digital photography. Most of my pictures were taken by her, including the one on my book cover. She is my "officially-appointed" photographer who knows how to handle my Canon S-40, 4.0 Megapixel Digital Camera, better than most people.

Frankly, I don't have many pictures taken for myself because 95% of the time, I am the photographer. I have recently taken at least a couple of hundred shots while attending the Chinese New Year celebration dinners in the homes of our relatives. Many of them, including my mother-in-law, like the pictures very much. Well, it is the joy we derive when people appreciate the photographs we take for them!

By the way, this shirt of mine that is bright in colour and a bit flowery in design, has received many nice comments. Perhaps, many people seldom see me in such bright and flowery attire in recent years. I used to wear batik shirts untucked when I was younger.

You may like to guess where I bought it from, and what the price was.
Answers: A place you would never thought of and a price that you would not believe.

Are You Water Smart?

Recently, the local newspaper carried a report on the increasing number of people drowning as a result of swimming in the water off some of the beaches along Sentosa Island.

So, are you water smart? In Chinese, as the saying goes, " You may bully the mountain, but not the water."

How Could A Small Country WITHOUT Natural Resources Survive?

In the evening, we took the MRT from Buangkok station which had been a white elephant for some time until it was open for operation recently. We were on our way to the Marina Bay where the Chinese New Year celebrations were held.

My daughter was reading her book on Social Studies and was at this chapter that talked about Education in Singapore. I was fiddling with my three-year old Canon S40 Digital Camera. There were so many functions that I have not fully explored. I discovered a new function and was testing it out. So, I took a close-up shot of the page she was reading. Click here to see the digital output.

The page of the book reminded me of how the country, after independence, survived without natural resources. Education was the key and the key was to focus on areas that promote ethnic culture and the teaching of life skills. Of course, needs change and evolve as the society progresses.

What is the SIGNIFICANCE of a BIRTHDAY?

Many people especially the children, celebrate their birthdays. But, what is a birthday? What is its significance?

Most of us have been treating it as the day when we were born. But, there is more to it. Isn't it also the day when the mother went through the labour and eventually gave birth to the baby? So, why are we only celebrating the birth of the baby and not the mother who gave birth? Isn't this a good way to honour our mother?

Therefore, if a mother has three children, remember that she has four birthdays!!!

Theory and Practice are Equally Important

I read in The Straits Times an article headlined "Young Doctors 'lack training in clinical skills'" in Malaysia. Apparently, a severe shortage of clinical places in government hospitals in Malaysia is churning out doctors with no clinical skills. Private medical colleges were mushrooming in the country. As a result, there were too many medical students but too few clinical places. By right, medical students are required to start the study of clinical skills from day one. Anyway, mass production should not be done at the expense of standards and quality. Doctors are dealing with life and death issues.

This brings up one very important subject, Theory and Practice.

Those who lack academic qualifications but work hard through rank and file and eventually become a manager for example, have the tendency to tell others that theory is not important, but experience counts.

On the other hand, those who are academically qualified always think that they are very knowledgeable (actually, it is all head knowledge) but they fail to realise that they lack experience which takes time to gain and accummulate.

In my years of factory management, I have worked with both types of people. I have seen how people in the first group played office politics to keep their positions and how people in the second group grappled with dejection as a result of rejection by those in the first group.

In a balanced perspective, it is important to have good theoretical knowledge of things, but one has to quickly build up his or her experience by learning from the School of OPE (Other People's Experience). Be willing and humble enough to learn from those who have the experience.

Please read the article of mine in the link.

Getting Kids To Listen

The following article was contributed By Elizabeth Pantley (2000), author of Kid Cooperation and Perfect Parenting

One of the hardest parts of parenting is getting our kids to listen to us, and then, of course, getting them to do what we ask! If you remember to use a few important skills this job will be much easier for you.

Think before you speak
You tell your daughter it's time to leave, then take twenty more minutes to get yourself ready. You ask your kids to clean up the family room, then allow the mess to remain for the night. You threaten to cancel your child's party if he sasses you again. He does, but you don't. All these scenes create kids who have "selective hearing." Instead, take a minute to think before you issue a command, be specific, and your words will become more accurate and meaningful.

Be very specific
Don't "hint" at what you want your child to do: "It would be nice if you... " or "Don't you think you should..' Don't make an incomplete request: "Soon you'll have to get ready to go." Don't be vague: "You know better than that..." Instead, be clear and specific. State your requests in a way that will not be misunderstood "Please put your shoes and coat on and get in the car " or "Please hang up your clothes and put your books on the shelf. " or "Sit here and use a quiet inside voice."

Control your emotions
When you lose your temper and raise your voice the logical result would be that your kids would pay closer attention to you. In fact, the opposite is often true! Kids often key in on your anger, but miss the point of your words. Studies show that most of our communication is conveyed through our presentation (body language, tone of voice, etc.). Kids will focus on your emotions, and dismiss your words. Instead keep your voice even and calm, and your words clear and specific to get better results. To do this, remember to think first, determine exactly what you want, and make your words convey a tone of authority.

Get up close and personal
While it's a whole lot easier to yell from two rooms away, it's much less effective. Children respond much, much better to a parent who is facing them eye-to-eye. In addition, when you are standing close by you can determine if your child is paying attention to you, without having to gauge the meaning of a few distant grunts. It takes a few extra minutes to get face to face, but will save you from getting angry as you repeat your request over and over again.

It will take practice to master these skills. Simply reading this article will not change your style. You will need to remind yourself of what you are trying to do, and keep your goals fresh in your mind. Its important to give yourself time to learn how to use these ideas, and to be kind and forgiving to yourself when you make mistakes. None of us are born knowing how to parent. It's a tough job, but with a few new skills and enough practice you'll be successful!