A friend shared me this story not too long ago – I find it humorous and inspiring at the same time.
Rabbit noticed Crow sitting on the tree doing nothing all day so Rabbit asked, “Can I also sit like you and do nothing at all?” Crow replied, “Sure, why not”. So Rabbit sat below the Crow and rested.
Suddenly, a fox appeared and ate the rabbit…
Moral of the story:
To be sitting and doing nothing, you must be sitting very very high up.
In 399 BC, Socrates, an ancient Greek Philosopher said, “The unexamined life is not worth living.”
Socrates said these words during his trial, where he was on trial for encouraging his students to challenge the accepted beliefs of the time and think for themselves. The sentence was death…
Socrates did have an alternative, where he could suggest another form of punishment, but that would rob him off the only thing that made his life useful (and meaningful) – to examine the the world around him and discuss how to make the world a better place.
(In olden days, ‘examining’ and ‘challenging’ the accepted beliefs could very much mean challenging authorities, policies or even rules imposed by the ruler/the government, that’s why it was ‘taboo’ to do so)
Hence, living up to the philosophies he fought for, he choose death and was executed, but his philosophies and teachings went on very far and wide, spreading across countries and nations, even to this day to some extends.
In 1970’s, Harvey Milk, a Gay Rights activist and the first openly gay man to be elected to public office in California said, “Without hope, life’s not worth living.”
In short, Harvey Milk fought for gay rights overcoming tonnes of obstacles along the way because gays and lesbians back then had to hide their identity, and love in shadows.
Back in those days, it would be safe to assume that anyone who confesses that he/she is gay would be kicked out by their parents, get taunted by friends at school or work, alienated and despiced by their straight peers, leaving them almost no option but to get into give up and die since there is no future of changing that.
His life changed history, and his courage changed lives. In his famous “Hope Speech” in 1978, he gave the “Us” people (gays and lesbians) a gift of hope, a gift that’s relevant up till today in many ways.
In life, we’re always chasing success, always fighting and struggling to get bigger, better, higher, richer and so on and so forth. At the end of the day, do we really know what we’re fighting for?
Here’s a fine story to bring us one step back and ask ourselves, what exactly are we chasing after?
A boat docked in a tiny Mexican village. An American tourist complimented the Mexican fisherman on the quality of his fish and asked “How long it took him to catch them?”
“Not very long,” answered the Mexican.
“But then, why didn’t you stay out longer and catch more?” asked the American.
The Mexican explained that his small catch was sufficient to meet his needs and those of his family.
The American asked, “But what do you do with the rest of your time?”
“I sleep late, fish a little, play with my children, and take a siesta with my wife.
In the evenings, I go into the village to see my friends, play the guitar, and sing a few songs… I have a full life.”
The American interrupted, “I have an MBA from Harvard, and I can help you!
You should start by fishing longer every day. You can then sell the extra fish you catch. With the extra revenue, you can buy a bigger boat.”
Woke up in the morning reading this excellent piece of speech by Steve Jobs. What an excellent read! Stay hungry, stay foolish, and keep moving forward people! Please do share this with all your friends, to the right people, it’s life-changing!
This is the text of the Commencement address by Steve Jobs, CEO of Apple Computer and of Pixar Animation Studios, delivered on June 12, 2005.
I am honored to be with you today at your commencement from one of the finest universities in the world. I never graduated from college. Truth be told, this is the closest I’ve ever gotten to a college graduation. Today I want to tell you three stories from my life. That’s it. No big deal. Just three stories.
The first story is about connecting the dots.
I dropped out of Reed College after the first 6 months, but then stayed around as a drop-in for another 18 months or so before I really quit. So why did I drop out?
It started before I was born. My biological mother was a young, unwed college graduate student, and she decided to put me up for adoption. She felt very strongly that I should be adopted by college graduates, so everything was all set for me to be adopted at birth by a lawyer and his wife. Except that when I popped out they decided at the last minute that they really wanted a girl. So my parents, who were on a waiting list, got a call in the middle of the night asking: “We have an unexpected baby boy; do you want him?” They said: “Of course.” My biological mother later found out that my mother had never graduated from college and that my father had never graduated from high school. She refused to sign the final adoption papers. She only relented a few months later when my parents promised that I would someday go to college. Read the rest of this entry »
I was about to call it a night, would probably just watch a DVD before I go to bed. I guess it’s not too bad to just chill and relax on the first day of 2010. That when my buddy called and ‘forced’ me to join him at the Gentlemen’s Club. The club is fictional of course, we’re not the high-rollers with too much money to spend haha.
A mutual friend of ours bought a lot of champagne and a box of cigar, so we went to the pool below his apartment and spend 5 hours enjoying the goods and reminiscing old times and all the crazy things that happened in youth.
It was a splendid night, had so much fun, the champagnes was nice and fruity, the cigars were flavorful, the company was just awesome and hilarious, we laughed so hard and loud I was praying that the security gurad won’t come and bother us lol.
I guess, the most important thing about this event is the fact that I said ‘yes’. Yes, I said ‘yes’ to my friend’s invite, he managed to force his way through and made me say yes to join him to this gentlemen’s club. Had I not accepted the invite, I would have missed so much, I would have missed such a great way to usher in the new year. Read the rest of this entry »
It all started in late 2008, when I discovered a Facebook Group called “I’m making 2008 the best year of my life!” The concept is simple, positive people from all over the world join this group and make regular reports on the positive things that happened in their lives, contributing to how they are making it the best year of their life. All the ‘reports’ become an inspiration to others, encouraging them to achieve their own goals too.
I loved it, the concept is beautiful and very much aligned to positive people like myself, so I joined it, and in 2009, I joined the new group, “I’m making 2009 the best year of my life!”
Both groups are created and administered by the same people, unfortunately, there were so much less members in 2009. I wonder why, are there less positive people in 2009? Hahaha, anyway, the 2010 group has yet to be created, perhaps I should take the initiative and create one, more about this later.
Anyway, in early 2009, I made a list of the things I would like to achieve and make 2009 the best year of my life. I managed to achieve quite a few goals, lost some, made some new ones too! Here are the positive highlights of my 2009, yes, there were much mishaps and much unfortunate disappointments too, but I choose to learn from them, remember only the lessons learned and not the disappointments caused, keep looking forward, and focus on the positive highlights. Well, here goes… Read the rest of this entry »
There has been a lot of buzz over the last few years that there will be more and more entrepreneurs in the next 5-10 years. In as early as 2005 in the United States, one in ten people were already involved in some forms of internet businesses or making full time or part time income online. By now, I’m sure the numbers have increased tremendously and you would’ve heard of countless stories of successful digital entrepreneurs, for example:
Mark Zuckerberg, the (at time of writing) 25 year old founder and CEO of Facebook
Alex Tew, the 21 year old dude who brought you his Million Dollar Home Page back in 2005 (imagine making a million bucks, just by selling pixels in one homepage!)
Carl Ocab, the 14 year old Kid Blogger from the Philippines who’s making 4 figures in USD a month, probably 5 figures by the time you read this
The list can go on and on and on…
Why are these digital entrepreneurs become who they are, digital entrepreneurs, and why you should consider becoming one too? I’m sure everyone’s got their own story to tell, here’s what I believe are the top 10 reasons why you (or any other digital entrepreneurs) should start building an income online today, hopefully they’ll give you some food for thoughts:
1. Retiring young and retiring rich
Every once in a while, we get approached by financial planners who’ll map our lives out financially and calculate the income we need to make in order to retire the way we want to. Well, do you like the figures? Here’s something new, digital entrepreneurship, when done right, can actually help you retire younger and much more richer too! Look back at the fine examples above, god, aren’t they young?
2. Financial security
Ever been through a recession from a global financial crisis? Did you know how many careers were destroyed and how high the retrenchment rate was? You know what, digital entrepreneurs are affected too, but a lot of them actually make more money during the recession too! Digital entrepreneurship is not 100% recession proof but it’s 100% safer than a 9-5 retrenchment risk. The funny thing is, many actually turn to digital entrepreneurship AFTER they were retrenched, and they always ask the same question – why didn’t I think of this earlier? Read the rest of this entry »
Jill and Kevin and the rest of their friends are great! Totally awesome!
Awesome isn’t it?
Look how different and fun things can be when you think out of the box and do things differently. Here’s how I relate this -
Success comes to those who do things differently. After all, if you’re doing things just like the other 95% of the world, it makes sense that your earning capabilities and your lifestyles are more or less, the same as the average 95% out there doesn’t it?
And if you’re the type who wants to achieve a lot but haven’t seem to achieve anything much over the last few years, think again…
“If you do what you’ve always done, you’ll get what you’ve always gotten.”
- Tony Robbins
In 1970’s, 
I am honored to be with you today at your commencement from one of the finest universities in the world. I never graduated from college. Truth be told, this is the closest I’ve ever gotten to a college graduation. Today I want to tell you three stories from my life. That’s it. No big deal. Just three stories.
