Archive for the 'Pursuit for Happyness' Category

TFB Experiment #2: Negative Consequence

Published on March 15, 2010 in Experiment, Life, Pursuit for Happyness and the Beautiful Struggle. 0 Comments

For every choice we make there is an outcome. For ever action there is a consequence. Sometimes it is positive and sometimes it is negative. Sometimes the results are blatantly obvious. Other times we don’t realize the results until years later.

This year I am determined to get results. In order to do so I must hold myself accountable. I can’t blame the wind for every little thing that keeps me from my goals. If I want to achieve it, I must do so regardless of the many distractions life poses. If I fail, then there will be a consequence. If the consequence is not immediately evident? I must make them blatantly obvious myself.

This last Lunar New Year I decided to hold myself accountable for a single goal. I posted it on my Google Wave and then I added a couple of close friends to share it with. This is what the goal currently looks like:

Complete Tesol Course
Deadline: 28 Feb 2010
Breakdown: 1 unit a day over 15 days with some leeway
Sacrifice: no goofing off until the unit is done
Progress: 20/20 units [15 Mar 2010] COMPLETED
Reward: increase earning potential, more time for other goals
Consequence: stagnation, no manga reading, no basketball

It made it very clear what I wanted to get done, when I was suppose to have it done, how it would get done, what I would have to give up in order to get it done, my progress, the outcome of getting it done, and the outcome of not getting it done by the deadline. As you can see, I did not meet the deadline so I had to face the consequences. Though I had to be strict with myself, I had to be flexible too. I set another personal deadline for March 15. It was a deadline that would only be achievable if I held myself to the Breakdown to achieve the goal. I had to also make some adjustments. The original consequences would not be enough. Facebook took much more of my time so I did not allow myself to log onto FB either. (I did update my status through Twitter though.) It reduced my distractions but did not keep me focused as I turned to other forms of distractions such as YouTube. Eventually I limited my YouTube usage too. After the first week I had also decided that since my original consequence did not include Facebook, I had to allow myself the leisure of reading manga. It was a tradeoff for adding other consequences and it was also a small reward for keeping with the Breakdown. In the end I completed my goal by March 15. However, the experiment was more a test of my ability to hold myself accountable than of negative consequences shaping my actions. Nevertheless…

TFB Experiment #2: SUCCESSFUL!

Recentering, Readjusting, Refocusing

Published on January 17, 2010 in Goals, Pursuit for Happyness, Self Actualization and the Beautiful Struggle. 0 Comments

I’ve been in Vietnam for 5 months now? Time sure flies.
One more month and a half a year will have gone since I arrived in Vietnam.
I was initially thinking that I would only be in Vietnam for a year.
However, in almost half that time I got a job, quit the job, got hired at a new job, and started working on an independent tutoring company with a friend. Not to mention all the projects I have waiting on the wings.
I wanted to add 15-20 lbs of muscle mass, travel around South East Asia, and bring my business projects in the States up to the next level.
It’s a bit overwhelming.
How exactly am I suppose to accomplish everything I have set out to do in Vietnam in the one years time that I planned to be here?
Well, I could add the 15-20 lbs of muscle mass and work on my stateside business projects while I’m back in the states. Actually, it would be easier. However, travel will be close to nil and I still have 7 more months left of my one year excursion in Vietnam.
I gotta face the facts… I did not plan this out well at all.
Thinking back on it… I spent 2 years in Los Angeles and 2 years in Las Vegas. It is probably safe to say that I will spend at least 2 years in Vietnam.
All the while the 5 year deadline on my 5 year goals are slowly creeping up.
Once again… poorly planned. I need to recenter myself. I’m in Vietnam now and I don’t know how long I will be here but no matter what the goal is I will figure how to achieve it from here.
So what now? Do I say “no worries” and pick up more English classes and tutoring gigs so that I can make more money to enjoy Vietnam and travel? Do I give up on my 5 year goal? Do I give up on gaining 15 lbs? Do I hit the restart button?
Nah, I’m not trying to restart at this point.
Instead, I think I’ll just do a little refresh.
One of my mentors told me that most people overestimate what they can do in 5 years but underestimate what they can accomplish in 20 years. What I need to do is readjust my time frame. 5 years is not enough time for what I wanted to do, but 20 years should be more than enough. So now my 5 year goal will be my 20 year goal and I’ll set a new 5 year (more like 3.5 years now) goal to act as a stepping stone to my 20 year goal. There’s still year 10 and year 15 but I’ll add, readjust and tweak everything as I work through it all.
Now… will I even be able to accomplish my new 5 year goal in the 3.5 years that I have left? As I am right now, that is very unlikely. If I could accomplish my 5 year goal as I am right now I would be a lot further along. I know what I want and I have an idea of what I must do to accomplish it. However, I have neglected to remind myself of what I must sacrifice to achieve it. This has been and will always be the hardest part. Can I go up without giving up? Painfully, I must admit that this is not possible. I’d be further along in my goal if it was. Thus, today I’m taking time to refocus and bring the goal back into view. I hope, this time, that I will stay the course and make the choices that are imperative to my success.

Everyday is a new day with new chance to make a new choice. I will start making more choices that lead me toward my goals and less choices that lead me away from my goals. (I hope.)

Losses, Waste, Potential, Opportunity

Published on November 23, 2009 in Life and the Beautiful Struggle. 0 Comments

The world will not allow me to settle.

It detests my complacency.

Whether it is self-inflicted loss of direction or a conspiracy some higher force has with me, I cannot seem to keep a decent job for long.

It’s as if any job that would give me a comfortable life is sabotaged by another more urgent matter or by crabs in a bucket.

Whereas dead end jobs seem to follow me around, taunting me and daring me to keep it.

It’s not that it bothers me at all. I wouldn’t be happy with being comfortable. It’s not what I want. I do not want to live a comfortable life right now.

I want the world and I want to be able to give it to others.

I want a life where I could truthfully tell myself and tell others that the possibilities are limitless.

Coming to Vietnam was a plan C at best. But what happens when plan C doesn’t pan out? I don’t think I have a plan D. Do I go back to the drawing board? Do I start all over?

I spent a whole evening losing sleep while brooding over my current situation. Then it came like a balloon being inflated from within my head. Doubt. Yes, I occasionally doubt myself too. I started to remember all the times I’ve been told I should put my degree to good use, that I wasn’t suited to do business, or that what I wanted to do was too risky or insecure. I remembered that there are people who doubt me and there are people who feel I should do something else, something safe. I started to feel like everything I did up until now was a waste of time. I started to think that what I want to accomplish in my life is impossible.

Now, after trying not to think about it for a few days, I am starting to remember why.

Why it is imperative that I believe in myself and believe in those around me.

Why I absolutely must succeed.

Why I absolutely cannot settle.

Why I absolutely must persevere despite the obstacles and challenges.

Why it is impossible for me to give up the dream.

All this moving and trying to settle in made me nearly forget something very important. Plan C wasn’t a backup plan incase plan A & B failed. Plan C was a detour to get to plan A. Plan B isn’t a backup plan either. It’s just another plan to achieve plan A.

So consumed I was by all the doubters and debtors that I nearly forgot all those who believe in me. I nearly forgot all those I have disappointed thus far and all those who are still waiting for me to reach my potential. I nearly forgot those I have failed and all those who will continue to stand by me even after I fail again just to make sure I get back up again.

I won’t accept that all that I have done has been a loss or a waste of my time.  It has led me to today and today is where opportunity awaits.  Now the question that remains is if I’ll be able to hold on this time or will I let it slip through my fingers again?

Library to Success

Published on June 25, 2009 in Books and Pursuit for Happyness. 3 Comments Tags: , , .

As a follow up to my last post, I really don’t know what the CEOs of Fortune 500 companies read. The only way to really know what each of them reads is to go visit their homes and look into their, and this is the key folks, library (so says Ron White in a Success Magazine audio clip). It’s not the act of reading that is important (from what I understand of Steven Levitt’s Freakonomics), it’s the importance placed on it. You can get someone to carry a book and you may even be able to get them to read it (schools have been doing this for ages) but you cannot get someone to seek out the knowledge if they don’t want to. Now, if someone has a library of books that they read (not just a library for looks) than it’s a pretty safe assumption that they value learning.
I can only assume that the books these CEOs are reading are directly related to their field and to what they want. I’m sure Steve Jobs and Bill Gates read a lot of tech and business books. I’m sure Trump and Buffett read a lot of investment and business books. There is no easy answer to success, however, I’m sure if you read about their lives you’ll discover what books have influenced their lives.

However, if you’re still looking for books to read than here’s a list of 25 books recommended by the April/May 2008 issue of Success Magazine and many, many, many others:

- Think & Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill (the guy really thought unusually, and I guess that’s why he gained an unusual amount of wealth)
- How to Win Friends and Influence People by Dale Carnegie (you need to read this and stop being such an @$$)
- The Richest Man in Babylon by George S. Clason (a very easy to read book that is “the most inspiring book on wealth ever written!” how can you not want to read it?)
- The 9 Steps to Financial Freedom by Suze Orman (good book, though I don’t agree with it all)
- The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People (’cuz what you got is a result of who you are)
- Who Moved My Cheese by Dr. Spencer Johnson (’cuz change happens, don’t get stuck when it does)
- The Power of Positive Thinking by Norman Vincent Peale
- The Magic of Thinking Big by David J. Schwartz
- The Way of the Peaceful Warrior: A Book That Changes Lives by Dan Millman (does watching the movie count)
- See You at the Top by Zig Ziglar
- Acres of Diamonds by Russell H. Conwell
- Maximum Achievement by Brian Tracy
- As a Man Thinketh by James Allen
- The Laws of Success by Napoleon Hill
- The Seasons of Life by Jim Rohn & Ronald Reynolds
- The One Minute Manager by Kenneth Blanchard
- The Automatic Millionaire by David Bach
- The Greatest Salesman in the World by Og Mandino
- The Sales Bible by Jeffrey Gitomer
- Chicken Soup for the Soul series by Jack Canfield & Mark Victor Hansen, with other contributors
- Success Through a Positive Mental Attitude by Napoleon Hill and W. Clement Stone
- Developing the Leader Within You by John C. Maxwell
- Good to Great: Why some Companies Make the Leap and Others Don’t by Jim Collins
- Rich Dad Poor Dad by Robert T. Kiyosaki (changed the way I think about work and my career)
- Awaken the Giant Within by Anthony Robbins

Whew, it’s tiring just reading the titles, but if you intend to keep up with multi-million dollar CEOs it should take you only 5 to 6 months to finish them all. What? Already read them all? Wow, aren’t you quite the over achiever. Lucky for you Success Magazine also suggested 4 others in their article:

- The Slight Edge by Jeff Olson
- The Secret by Rhonda Byrne (the mind is a very powerful thing)
- Become a Better You by Joel Osteen
- Why Not You?: 28 Days to Authentic Confidence by Valorie Burton

And a little more scouring of the pages provided a few more books:

- Unlimited Power by Anthony Robbins
- The Courage to Be Rich by Suze Orman

Still not satisfied? Here’s what my paltry library adds:

- Leading an Inspired Life by Jim Rohn
- The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership (if you’re gonna be in charge of anything, better learn how to do it well)
- The Tipping Point by Malcolm Gladwell (not as easy as he makes it sound)
- The 21 Indispensable Qualities of a Leader (believe me, you ain’t got them)
- The 5 People You Meet in Heaven by Mitch Albom
- Tuesdays with Morrie by Mitch Albom (face it, we’ll all die. but only some of us will every make an impact)
- The Game by Neil Strauss (I’m a male psychology student, I couldn’t resist)
- Dragonlance Chronicles & other related books (I like stories about dragons and elves. What? Everyone has to relax)
- Equity Happens by Robert Helms & Russell Gray
- How to Invest in Gold & Silver by Mike Maloney
- Cashflow Quadrants by Robert Kiyosaki
- Why We Want You to Be Rich by Robert Kiyosaki and Donald Trump
- The Zahir by Paulo Coelho
- The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho

Well, that’s it. Anyone else got books they wanna share?

Stepping into CEO shoes

Published on June 23, 2009 in Brain Shock and Inspirations. 1 Comment Tags: , .

One of the differences, not the only difference, but one of the differences between us and CEOs of fortune 500 companies are the number of books we read.
CEOs of fortune 500 companies read an average of 4 to 5 books a month! I read maybe 4 to 5 books a year! The average American reads 1 book a year and 60% of the average American only get to the first chapter!
I may be above average when it comes to reading but I only read a measly 8% of the amount that the average fortune 500 CEO reads.
And does anyone know what the opportunity cost of our lack of reading is?
The average CEO earns 536 times the salary of their average employee! In other words, it will take a year and a half to earn what the average CEO makes in a day!
Now this isn’t the only reason for the enormous salary difference, but if we can’t keep up with a CEOs desire to read and learn how will we be able to keep up with the other aspects that could possibly get us paid 536 times what we get paid now?
I need to learn to read faster and find more time to read more.