Work Against The Clock

Still in the time is money spirit, do you have any idea how much time you waste on irrelevant things. You probably don’t have the slightest of clues, so here is a quick eye opener: You waste a staggering amount of time:

• Checking email
• Checking social media accounts
• Answering phone calls
• Surfing the internet
• Et cetera, et cetera

To fix this problem, you need to work against the clock by timing yourself and sticking to your guns. If you dedicate sixty (60) minutes to a project, don’t do anything else within that hour without first completing the project. Set definite time to check email, tweet, return calls, chat and StumbleUpon a million websites – when you’re not working. This calls for a little self-discipline, which is a key ingredient to being more productive.

Build A Routine

Many will argue routine is the death of creativity. A few of us will even go ahead and affirm the famous “The less routine the more life” quote by Amos Bronson Alcott. Well, a poor time-dependent routine will hamper your creativity and reduce your productivity. On the other hand, a relaxed time-independent routine will let you work when you are the most productive, which will boost your creativity as well as productivity. This is what I mean:

You can plan to prospect for new clients for two hours and work on any given project for two hours every Monday. You can plan to do accounting for an hour and review your progress for an hour every Friday and so on. You can work when you’re most productive instead of trying to work around time. Once you develop a routine, stick to it because you need stability. A routine gives you confidence and control. You need the two if you dream of becoming a more productive.

What is your greatest distraction? Is it your romantic partner? Is it social media? TV? Movies? Netflix? Or perhaps you have a thing for funny cat videos as well. Know your distractions and eliminate them. Just before you succumb to to the lure of your greatest distraction, please remind yourself why it’s important to keep working. Better still, set time for distractions; we all need a break once in a while. Don’t take too many breaks though.

Break Down Big Projects

Projects that seem big can intimidate motivation right out of your veins. When motivation leaves, you automatically become victim to procrastination. So you keep putting off the big project to the tomorrow that never comes. The project creates a backlog, But in true sense, no project is really big especially if you break it down into smaller tasks. We usually have more time than we like to believe. Don’t let procrastination pull the rug from under you.

SHUN PERFECTIONISM

Perfectionism is the enemy of progress in any field, not just creative fields. The following are very destructive thought patterns:

• What if I could make this design a bit better? Just a tiny bit better so the client will fall head over heels in love with me.
• I followed all the directions but what if the client doesn’t love this design?
• I will spend a few more days on this design because, well, I could have finished it last year but I never know when to stop. Just one more day
• Etc

Don’t sacrifice your productivity trying too hard. Follow the client instructions to the letter and do your best but don’t waste time obsessing over tiny details. First, complete the job, and then revise later. Don’t shoot productivity in the foot (haha) by working and revising at the same time.

Live Healthy

You can’t be more productive if you are not healthy. If you fall sick (because you’re not taking care of yourself), your work will suffer. A healthy web designer is a motivated designer. Period. How many times do you need the doctor to reiterate:

• Exercise regularly
• Shun junk food in favor of healthy food
• Get enough rest (Sleep 6 to 8 hours per day)
• Drink plenty of water (Eight glasses per 24 hours)
• Reduce stress by taking walks, talking to friends, spending time on hobbies and never biting more than you can chew

Your health is your greatest wealth, and if that isn’t going on for you, your productivity will suffer. Take care of your health. Live healthy.

Cut Back On Your Working Hours

Working long hours doesn’t necessarily mean you are being productive. You can boost your productivity by working less hours per day. This might seem illogical but I’m not pulling your leg. This is the genius of working lesser hours.

If you have a deadline coming up, you will be much more efficient. You won’t have time for distractions and you will achieve more. You might even work through lunch just to complete your project in time. Lesser working hours will eventually turn you into a productive machine.

Because, you have the ability to do so much in a single hour but if you always have the entire day at your disposal, you won’t ever realize this innate potential. If you work for twelve (12) hours per day, cut that back to eight (8) or six (6) hours and continue from there. Try to resist the urge to work beyond your working hours.

You must be ready to grab all opportunities that come your way! Take time to keep up with changes. Learn as much as you need to stay ahead of the curve. The confidence that learning brings will help you to remain motivated and productive. Moreover, learning is great for your work and personal development.

78 years ago, a journalist studied 500 rich men and boiled down their success into 13 steps - By Kathleen Elkins

At the peak of Andrew Carnegie's career, he crossed paths with an impressive journalist named Napoleon Hill, who he trusted to document — and share with the world — the strategies that turned him into one of the wealthiest and most successful businessmen of all time.

"It was Mr. Carnegie's idea that the magic formula, which gave him a stupendous fortune, ought to be placed within reach of people who do not have time to investigate how men make money," Hill wrote in the preface of "Think and Grow Rich," the result of his collaboration with Carnegie.

In addition to analyzing Carnegie, who became the richest man in the world after starting with little more than a penny upon arriving in the US from Scotland, Hill studied more than 500 self-made millionaires over a span of 20 years.

His interviews and research culminated in the 1937 bestseller, "Think and Grow Rich," which shares what he calls the "money-making secret" in 13 principles.

There is no mention of "money," "wealth," "finances," or "stocks" within Hill's text; he takes a different approach, focusing on breaking down the psychological barriers that prevent many of us from attaining our own fortunes.

This approach is still relevant today, 78 years later. As personal finance expert Farnoosh Torabi said on episode one of her podcast, "Mastering your money has more to do with psychology and mindset than anything else."

Here are Hill's 13 steps, in his words and ours:

1. Desire: You have to want it.

All of the super wealthy started with a certain amount of dreaming, hoping, planning, and desiring before they became rich. They imagined riches before they saw them in their bank accounts, Hill explains:

Wishing will not bring riches. But desiring riches with a state of mind that becomes an obsession, then planning definite ways and means to acquire riches, and backing those plans with persistence which does not recognize failure, will bring riches.

This is not so different from the modern-day concept of visualizing a savings goal with a specific price tag.

2. Faith: Believe that you can achieve your goal.

Growing rich starts with your mindset — with the belief that you can accumulate wealth. Hill writes:

Riches begin in the form of thought! The amount is limited only by the person in whose mind the thought is put into motion. Faith removes limitations!

As self-made millionaire and author Steve Siebold writes, "Being rich isn't a privilege. Being rich is a right. If you create massive value for others, you have the right to be as rich as you want."

3. Auto-suggestion: Use affirmations to reach your goal.

Turning desire for money or success into reality requires sending your subconscious mind phrases and mantras that support your goal. You have to repeat out loud what it is that you want, and how you plan to get it, so you become obsessed with your purpose, Hill explains:

Your ability to use the principle of auto-suggestion will depend, very largely, upon your capacity to concentrate upon a given desire until that desire becomes a burning obsession.

For example, if you aim to save $1 million for retirement by putting away money every week, you would repeat, "I will set aside money this week to have $1 million in retirement savings," as many times as possible each day.

4. Specialized knowledge: Gain experiences and continue learning.

Knowledge is potential power. An education only becomes powerful and leads to great wealth when it is organized and applied to life. It also must be continually sought after. You're never done learning, Hill emphasizes:

Successful men, in all callings, never stop acquiring specialized knowledge related to their major purpose, business, or profession. Those who are not successful usually make the mistake of believing that the knowledge-acquiring period ends when one finishes school.

Many modern-day successful and wealthy people are voracious readers; they never stop learning and challenging their minds.

5. Imagination: Come up with ideas and visualize your success.

If you can imagine it, you can create it, says Hill:

Ideas are the beginning points of all fortunes. Ideas are products of the imagination ...

Man's only limitation, within reason, lies in his development and use of his imagination.

Don't be afraid to come up with, and develop, ideas. "Whoever you are, wherever you may live, whatever occupation you may be engaged in, just remember in the future, every time you see the words 'Coca-Cola,' that its vast empire of wealth and influence grew out of a single idea," Hill writes.

Consider Sara Blakely, whose small, disruptive idea — making an incision in a pair of pantyhose — amounted to her booming, billion-dollar business, Spanx, and rocketed her into the limelight.

6. Organized planning: Take action.

Once you've visualized your success, you need to take action and go after exactly what you want. You must act with persistence and enthusiasm. Hill explains:

Opportunity has spread its wares before you. Step up to the front, select what you want, create your plan, put the plan into action, and follow through with persistence ...

Most of us are good "starters" but poor "finishers" of everything we begin. Moreover, people are prone to give up at the first signs of defeat. There is no substitute for persistence.

For instance, if you're looking to build wealth, start with forming a financial plan, and determine exactly where you want your money to go.

7. Decision: Defeat procrastination with decisiveness.

A key trait Hill recognized in all of the individuals he studied who acquired great wealth was decisiveness. Those who settle on decisions quickly know what they want, and they tend to get what they want. He writes:

People who fail to accumulate money, without exception, have the habit of reaching decisions, if at all, very slowly, and of changing these decisions quickly and often.

Decisiveness is not just a trait of the wealthy, but one of the most important qualities a leader needs to possess. At the end of the day, making a bad decision is better than making no decision at all.

8. Persistence: Don't stop until you get what you want.

Persistence is crucial when trying to accumulate wealth, yet few people possess the willpower required to turn their desire for money into actual money. Hill writes:

Riches do not respond to wishes. They respond only to definite plans, backed by definite desires, through constant persistence.

The most successful people tend to have dealt with, and overcome, failure. "I've learned that it doesn't matter how many times you failed," Mark Cuban told Smart Business. "You only have to be right once. I tried to sell powdered milk. I was an idiot lots of times, and I learned from them all."

9. Power of the Master Mind: Surround yourself with the best.

The wealthiest people create a "Master Mind," meaning they surround themselves with talented friends and colleagues who share their vision. The alignment of several smart and creative minds is exponentially more powerful than just one, Hill explains:

No individual may have great power without availing himself of the "Master Mind" ...

A group of brains coordinated (or connected) in a spirit of harmony will provide more thought-energy than a single brain, just as a group of electric batteries will provide more energy than a single battery.

This may explain why rich people tend to make friends with other rich people. "Exposure to people who are more successful than you are has the potential to expand your thinking and catapult your income," writes self-made millionaire Steve Siebold. "We become like the people we associate with, and that's why winners are attracted to winners."

10. The Mystery of Sex Transmutation: Choose a compatible partner.

Sexual energy is an incredibly powerful human energy — it creates physical life and develops emotional life, and when it is harnessed and redirected, it can enhance our creativity, passion, enthusiasm, and persistence, all which are crucial in accumulating wealth, Hill says:

Sex desire is the most powerful of human desires. When driven by this desire, men develop keenness of imagination, courage, willpower, persistence, and creative ability unknown to them at other times.

Love, romance, and sex are all emotions capable of driving men to heights of super achievement. When combined, these three emotions may lift one to an altitude of genius.

While this step may feel like a bit of a stretch, having a supportive partner is important to career success. Research also shows that having a conscientious spouse can boost your salary by $4,000 a year.

11. The Subconscious Mind: Master positivity and dismiss negative emotions.

If you truly want to be rich, you have to plant that desire, and then your plan, into your subconscious mind. Hill writes:

The subconscious mind will not remain idle! If you fail to plant desires in your subconscious mind, it will feed upon the thoughts which reach it as the result of your neglect.

Positive and negative emotions cannot occupy the mind at the same time. One or the other must dominate. It is your responsibility to make sure that positive emotions constitute the dominating influence of your mind.

If you want to be successful and grow rich, it is critical that the positive emotions dominate any negative ones that arise, Hill says. He was on to something: Today, research shows that positive, happier people are more likely to perform better at their jobs and are less likely to be unemployed.

12. The Brain: Associate with other smart people and learn from them.

Our brain is a "transmitter and receiver of thought vibrations" — it absorbs thoughts from other individuals surrounding us, making it even more important to associate with intelligent, creative, and positive individuals. Hill writes:

Every human brain is capable of picking up vibrations of thought which are being released by other brains ...

The Creative Imagination is the "receiving set" of the brain, which receives thoughts released by the brains of others.

This principle is simply application of the Master Mind principle. It takes it one step further — rather than just surrounding yourself with people who are smarter and better, use the members of your group to find solutions to problems or brainstorm ideas. Hill calls this "blending of several minds into one," and suggests sitting down with a small group of people and diving deep into the problem at hand.

13. The Sixth Sense: Trust your gut.

The final principle — the "sixth sense" — occurs only after you've mastered the other 12 principles. You'll experience a sort of mind-shift, Hill says: "Through the aid of the sixth sense, you will be warned of impending dangers in time to avoid them, and notified of opportunities in time to embrace them."

While this principle isn't the most straightforward — Hill admits it is generally not attained until age 40 — his basic claim is that your intuition will change. You'll have achieved a level of wisdom that will allow you to start making smart financial and life decisions naturally.

Although it takes a while to master the final step, you can still get a lot out of the other 12 principles, Hill says:

No matter who you are, or what may have been your purpose in reading this book, you can profit by it without understanding the principle described in this chapter. This is especially true if your major purpose is that of accumulation of money or other material things.

The chapter on the sixth sense was included, because the book is designed for the purpose of presenting a complete philosophy by which individuals may unerringly guide themselves in attaining whatever they ask of life.

10 Things to Start Doing Right Now

1. Love yourself and take care of yourself. Take time to do what YOU like, take breaks and treat yourself to nice things every once in a while.

2. Be authentic, know who you are and stay confident.

3. Be more accepting of yourself and others. No one is perfect.

4. Be grateful for what you have. Think about this, you probably have something that others can only dream of, so be thankful for that.

5. Be more open to new things: seek new experiences, new opportunities, do not reject new ideas or people who are different. And DO NOT let limiting conditions passed to you from your friends or relatives keep you from living your best life. Read the new book Origins to discover how you can clean your slate of everything holding you back. You can finally embrace the extraordinary life you are meant for!

6. Find what you love to do and do it. Make a list of things you enjoy doing and make them into hobbies, and, potentially, make these hobbies into what you do for a living.

7. Be willing to work hard. Understand that sometimes it is necessary to work harder to get what you want and not give up half way through your journey to success.

8. Do not be afraid of failure.

9. Keep learning something new every day. Continue to grow and re-educate yourself. Take for example the Law of Attraction, you can always discover new techniques and tools to give it a boost. If this is something you want to do, take a look at the new online program “Law of Attraction Origins:  The Intention Point Secrets To Manifest An Extraordinary Life” – it’s a great place to start changing your life for the better.

10. And, finally, just stay positive. Don’t forget to have fun and enjoy life! 

Sunesh Rodrigo- a new age 'farmer' wishes to change peoples’ opinions and perceptions about agriculture

A Love Letter to Beirut, Paris and Beyond From Sri Lanka

No Dick Heads - LEADERSHIP LESSONS FROM THE ALL BLACKS

Well it is finally upon us and I cannot wait to watch the World Cup final (from home unfortunately) and to see the All Blacks retain the World Cup, you  know they will!!

Earlier this week we explored how the Aussies went from Wannabes back to the Wallabies in just one season through strong LEADERSHIP. 

Today we are going to explore how Leadership works in the All Blacks. 

First up the All Blacks are the most successful sporting franchise in the history of the world. 

I’m just going by straight stats here.

With a win ratio of 76% over 115 years 

Back in 2004, something was wrong. The 2003 World Cup had gone badly, and by the start of the following year senior All Blacks were threatening to leave. Discipline was lacking with players drunk and disorderly and to make things worse....the All Blacks were losing. 

In response, a new management team under Graham Henry began to rebuild the world's most successful sporting team from the inside out. They wanted a fresh culture that placed emphasis on individual character and personal leadership. 

Their mantra..... ‘BETTER PEOPLE MAKE BETTER ALL BLACKS’ 

The result.... An incredible win-rate of just over 86% and a Rugby World Cup. 

Since Steve Hansen took over as head coach (after being Henry's assistant) after the world cup victory in 2011, he has achieved a remarkable 93% win record!

What has contributed to this is that inside the team they have a Leadership group, a group of players who keep the standards high for the culture of the team and the integrity of the jersey. 

Gone are the days where you would hear of drinking incidents, and loutish behaviour. 

It become a mantra within the coaching group a number of years back that better people make better All Blacks and they began working on the CULTURE within the team ethos that was about becoming a BETTER MAN. 

The values shifted to living BALANCED lives, with focus on FAMILY and COMMUNITY. 

For example the wives and girlfriends are with the team for this world cup, yet there is no media frenzy like what happened with the England football team debacle in Germany. 

They are there to keep the guys entered and balanced. 

Better people make better LEADERS. 

Leadership isn't  just about being the best in your field in terms of KNOWLEDGE and SKILL. 

These attributes are important, yet what really is important is the way you are at HOME, out of the spotlight. Are you balanced with work/ home life (always a juggling act). 

Are you in harmony in your relationship? Are you faithful and loyal with your energy? Are you putting others before yourself? The greatest expression of LOVE is SERVICE. 

Real LEADERS make LEADERS of others…. Not FOLLOWERS….. 

Real leaders are there to SERVE, not to be SERVED and have their followers gratify their ego’s Which is often he case in sport and I am sad to say the health and fitness industry. I mean how often do we see idiotic behaviour, or big ego’s in sports… 

One of the key VALUES of the ALL Blacks culture is HUMILITY. 

For example after every match the biggest names in the team sweep the changing rooms. That’s right the All Blacks clean up their own changing rooms after each and every test. How humble is that. 

In Maori culture WHANAU means extended family, it’s symbol is a spearhead.  Every All Black follows the mantra ‘NO DICK HEADS’ The All Blacks management select on character as well as talent.

So a super promising player would never pull on a jersey if they are consider a dick head, their place in the team would be detrimental to the WHANAU. The team has a mantra ‘CHAMPIONS DO MORE’ This means finding incremental ways to keep improving.

For example this year at fitness testing Richie McCaw at the ripe old age of 35 performed his personal best on the fitness tests! His attitude as captain sets the tone for the rest to follow, he is always looking to improve. 

The team has created an ethos to leave the jersey in a better place.

Meaning that their task is to represent all those that came before them, they are playing not for themselves, yet the truly remarkable club of people who have reached the pinnacle and have represented the jersey before them. 

It’s clear that better people make better ALL BLACKS. And that better people make better LEADERS as well.

So how is your FAMILY LIFE? Is it in harmony do you have enough time with them which is the most valuable resource you have. 

Do you stay HUMBLE even when things are going amazing for you? Do you gather people around you based upon CHARACTER as well as skill? Do you always find ways to keep improving even though you have mastered something?

And most importantly are you trying to LEAVE A LEGACY and if so what does it look like? Food for thought as you step up your PERSONAL LEADERSHIP and INFLUENCE.

Nigel Owens' Guide to Rugby Referee Signals

QUOTES THAT I LOVED READING - 2015.10.25

"No matter how badly people treat you, never drop down to their level, just know you're better and walk away!" 

"You only have so much emotional energy each day. Don't spend it on things that don't matter or on people who don't value you or your time. Be discerning." 

Your Will has to be stronger than your fear.

"Always remember that your present situation is not your final destination. The best is yet to come." 

"Never put the key to your happiness in someone else's pocket." 

"No matter how educated, talented, rich or cool you believe you are, how you treat people ultimately tells all. Integrity is everything." 

"Forgive others, not because they deserve forgiveness, but because you deserve peace." 

"Take life day by day, and be grateful for the little things. Don't get stressed over what you can't control." 

"Do not stand in the way of your own good. Get rid of your bad thoughts, inferior attitudes and limited behaviors and good will be attracted to you. What you give out will be returned to you. It's not easy. It's not magic. But it works."

A ONCE-IN-A-GENERATION PLAYER

http://www.impactindexcricket.com/story.php?id=588&headline=the-secondhighest-impact-test-batsman-in-the-last-50-years

9 Things More Important Than Money

The kind of capital that is worth more than dollars and that can secure your future and fortune - Jim Rohn

We all know the value of having plenty of money, especially as entrepreneurs. But we also know there are people who started enterprises with no money, who went on to make fortunes. So how did they do it? 

Jim Rohn believes there are nine things that are more valuable than capital, things that can lead straight to your success:

1. Time
Time is a treasure—the time you set aside not to be wasted, not to be given away. The time you set aside to be invested in something that brings value to the marketplace with the hope of making a profit, that’s capital time. How valuable is time? Time properly invested is worth a fortune; time wasted can be devastation. Time invested can perform miracles—so invest yours.

2. Desperation
My friend and mentor Bill Bailey went to Chicago as a teenager after he got out of high school. And the first job he got was as a night janitor. Someone said, "Bill, why would you settle for night janitor?" He said, "Malnutrition." His first job might have been night janitor, but he went on to receive the Horatio Alger award and become rich and powerful—one of the great examples of lifestyle that I know.
Desperation can be a powerful incentive when you say I must. You work at whatever you can possibly get when you get hungry. You go to work somewhere—it doesn't matter where.

3. Determination
I have another friend, Lydia, whose first major investment in her new enterprise was also desperation. She needed to feed her kids—so she invested $1 in something she believed in. That $1 was used to buy a few flyers so she could make a sale at retail, collect the money and then buy the product wholesale to deliver back to the customer. First Lydia said, "I must find a customer”—desperation. Second she said, "I will find someone before this first day is over"—determination. And sure enough, she found someone. Determination says I will.

4. Courage
If you've only got $1 and a lot of courage, you've got a good future ahead of you. Because humans can do the most incredible things no matter what happens—courage in spite of, not because of, circumstances.

5. Ambition
With courage, Lydia made three or four more sales. And once she got going, ambition took over. She thought, If I can sell three, I can sell 33. If I can sell 33, I can sell 103. Lydia was dazzled by her own dreams of the future.

6. Faith
At this point, Lydia began to believe she had a good product, a good company. And then she started to believe in herself—Lydia, a single mother, two kids, no job. My gosh, I'm going to pull it off! Her self-esteem started to soar. Faith is an investment that cannot be matched. Money can't touch it. What if you had a million dollars and no faith? You'd be poor. You wouldn't be rich.

7. Ingenuity
The reason Lydia is a millionaire today is because of her ingenuity—she put her brains to work. Probably up until now, you've put about 1/10 of your brainpower to work. What if you employed the other 9/10? You can't believe what can happen. Humans can come up with the most intriguing things to do. What's ingenuity worth? A fortune. All you need is a $1 and plenty of ingenuity. Figuring out a way to make it work, make it work, make it work.


8. Heart and Soul
Heart and soul is like the unseen magic that moves people—moves people to make decisions, moves people to act, moves people to respond. What is a substitute for heart and soul? It's not money, because heart and soul is more valuable than a million dollars. A million dollars without heart and soul? You have no life. You are ineffective.

9. Personality
My mentor Bill Bailey taught me, "You've got to learn to be just as comfortable, Mr. Rohn, whether it is in a little shack in Kentucky having a beer and watching the fights with my friend Winfred, or in a Georgian mansion in Washington, D.C., as the senator's guest."
You've got plenty of personality. You've just got to spruce up and sharpen up it, develop it to where it is effective every day, at home anywhere, no matter who you talk to—whether it is a child or a businessperson, a rich person or a poor person. It makes no difference to you who is rich or who is poor. It’s about the chance to have a unique relationship with whomever. Have the kind of personality that's comfortable, the kind of personality that's never bent out of shape. Move with ease, with charisma and sophistication and humility.
With $1 and this list, the world is yours. It belongs to you, whatever piece of it you desire, whatever development you wish for your life. It’s the kind of capital that is more valuable than money and that can secure your future and fortune. Remember that you lack not the resources.

30 Questions that will Set Your Mind Free

Often times when people come to you for advice, getting them to ask questions is the most effective form of finding an answer. Taking the time to contemplate a question let’s people come to their own conclusions, and is often times way more effective than just telling them how they should think, or act. But what if it is you that is seeking advice? Thanks to books like ““If…(questions for the Game of Life” here is a list of questions to ask yourself that will set your mind free.

1. If you didn’t know how old you were, what would you guess your age to be?

2. In the end of your life, will you have said more, or done more?

3. If the average human lifespan was only 40 years, how would you live differently?

4. If happiness was money, what would make you rich?

5. Would you rather do the right thing, or do things right?

6. What is better: a worried genius, or a joyful idiot?

7. Would you rather lose all of your old memories, or not be able to make new ones?

8. Can you know the truth without challenging it?

9. Have you ever actually encountered your greatest fear? If not – why is it your greatest fear?

10. Are you simply alive, or truly living?

11. What did you do today that you’ll actually remember?

12. Are you doing what you believe in? Or simply getting by?

13. How much have you actually controlled the path of your life?

14. If you could offer someone one piece of advice, what would it be?

15. Do you see the line between insanity and creativity?

16. If you could change one thing about the world what would it be?

17. Would you give up 10 years of your life to be attractive or famous?

18. Would you rather have less work to do, or more work doing what you love?

19. Do you ever feel like you’re re-living the same day over and over?

20. If we learn from mistakes, why are we so afraid to make them?

21. How comes what makes you happy doesn’t make everyone happy?

22. Why are you, you?

23. What would you do differently if there was no one to judge you?

24. what is it in life that you truly love?

25. in the decisions you are making right now: are they for you? or for someone else?

26. Knowing I will die, how should I live?

27. Which is worse: failing or never trying?

28. What am I holding that I need to let go of?

29. Does something that upset me 5 years ago even matter anymore? Why?

30. If not now, when?

In memory of Dr Richard Teo (1972 - 2012)

I have re-read this a few times and each time, there is something different I have learned. Spend the next 15 mins of your time to read it. It may be one of best thing you have read about concerning your life journey.

Below is the transcript of the talk of Dr. Richard Teo, who is a 40-year-old millionaire and cosmetic surgeon with a stage-4 lung cancer but selflessly came to share with the D1 class his life experience on 19-Jan-2012. He has just passed away few days ago on 18 October 2012.

Hi good morning to all of you. My voice is a bit hoarse, so please bear with me. I thought I'll just introduce myself. My name is Richard, I'm a medical doctor. And I thought I'll just share some thoughts of my life. It's my pleasure to be invited by prof. Hopefully, it can get you thinking about how... as you pursue this.. embarking on your training to become dental surgeons, to think about other things as well.

Since young, I am a typical product of today's society. Relatively successful product that society requires.. From young, I came from a below average family. I was told by the media... and people around me that happiness is about success. And that success is about being wealthy. With this mind-set, I've always be extremely competitive, since I was young.

Not only do I need to go to the top school, I need to have success in all fields. Uniform groups, track, everything. I needed to get trophies, needed to be successful, I needed to have colours award, national colours award, everything. So I was highly competitive since young. I went on to medical school, graduated as a doctor. Some of you may know that within the medical faculty, ophthalmology is one of the most highly sought after specialities. So I went after that as well. I was given a traineeship in ophthalmology, I was also given a research scholarship by NUS to develop lasers to treat the eye.

So in the process, I was given 2 patents, one for the medical devices, and another for the lasers. And you know what, all this academic achievements did not bring me any wealth. So once I completed my bond with MOH, I decided that this is taking too long, the training in eye surgery is just taking too long. And there's lots of money to be made in the private sector. If you're aware, in the last few years, there is this rise in aesthetic medicine. Tons of money to be made there. So I decided, well, enough of staying in institution, it's time to leave. So I quit my training halfway and I went on to set up my aesthetic clinic... in town, together with a day surgery centre.

You know the irony is that people do not make heroes out average GP (general practitioner), family physicians. They don't. They make heroes out of people who are rich and famous. People who are not happy to pay $20 to see a GP, the same person have no qualms paying ten thousand dollars for a liposuction, 15 thousand dollars for a breast augmentation, and so on and so forth. So it's a no brainer isn't? Why do you want to be a gp? Become an aesthetic physician. So instead of healing the sick and ill, I decided that I'll become a glorified beautician. So, business was good, very good. It started off with waiting of one week, then became 3weeks, then one month, then 2 months, then 3 months. I was overwhelmed; there were just too many patients. Vanities are fantastic business. I employed one doctor, the second doctor, the 3rd doctor, the 4th doctor. And within the 1st year, we're already raking in millions. Just the 1st year. But never is enough because I was so obsessed with it. I started to expand into Indonesia to get all the rich Indonesian tai-tais who wouldn't blink an eye to have a procedure done. So life was really good.

So what do I do with the spare cash. How do I spend my weekends? Typically, I'll have car club gatherings. I take out my track car, with spare cash I got myself a track car. We have car club gatherings. We'll go up to Sepang in Malaysia. We'll go for car racing. And it was my life. With other spare cash, what do i do? I get myself a Ferrari. At that time, the 458 wasn't out, it's just a spider convertible, 430. This is a friend of mine, a schoolmate who is a forex trader, a banker. So he got a red one, he was wanting all along a red one, I was getting the silver one.

So what do I do after getting a car? It's time to buy a house, to build our own bungalows. So we go around looking for a land to build our own bungalows, we went around hunting. So how do i live my life? Well, we all think we have to mix around with the rich and famous. This is one of the Miss Universe. So we hang around with the beautiful, rich and famous. This by the way is an internet founder. So this is how we spend our lives, with dining and all the restaurants and Michelin Chefs you know.

So I reach a point in life that I got everything for my life. I was at the pinnacle of my career and all. That's me one year ago in the gym and I thought I was like, having everything under control and reaching the pinnacle.

Well, I was wrong. I didn't have everything under control. About last year March, I started to develop backache in the middle of nowhere. I thought maybe it was all the heavy squats I was doing. So I went to SGH, saw my classmate to do an MRI, to make sure it's not a slipped disc or anything. And that evening, he called me up and said that we found bone marrow replacement in your spine. I said, sorry what does that mean? I mean I know what it means, but I couldn't accept that. I was like “Are you serious?” I was still running around going to the gym you know. But we had more scans the next day, PET scans - positrons emission scans, they found that actually I have stage 4 terminal lung cancer. I was like "Whoa where did that come from?” It has already spread to the brain, the spine, the liver and the adrenals. And you know one moment I was there, totally thinking that I have everything under control, thinking that I've reached the pinnacle of my life. But the next moment, I have just lost it.

This is a CT scan of the lungs itself. If you look at it, every single dot there is a tumour. We call this miliaries tumour. And in fact, I have tens of thousands of them in the lungs. So, I was told that even with chemotherapy, that I'll have about 3-4months at most. Did my life come crushing on, of course it did, who wouldn't? I went into depression, of course, severe depression and I thought I had everything.

See the irony is that all these things that I have, the success, the trophies, my cars, my house and all. I thought that brought me happiness. But i was feeling really down, having severe depression. Having all these thoughts of my possessions, they brought me no joy. The thought of... You know, I can hug my Ferrari to sleep, no... No, it is not going to happen. It brought not a single comfort during my last ten months. And I thought they were, but they were not true happiness. But it wasn't. What really brought me joy in the last ten months was interaction with people, my loved ones, friends, people who genuinely care about me, they laugh and cry with me, and they are able to identify the pain and suffering I was going through. That brought joy to me, happiness. None of the things I have, all the possessions, and I thought those were supposed to bring me happiness. But it didn't, because if it did, I would have felt happy think about it, when I was feeling most down..

You know the classical Chinese New Year that is coming up. In the past, what do I do? Well, I will usually drive my flashy car to do my rounds, visit my relatives, to show it off to my friends. And I thought that was joy, you know. I thought that was really joy. But do you really think that my relatives and friends, whom some of them have difficulty trying to make ends meet, that will truly share the joy with me? Seeing me driving my flashy car and showing off to them? No, no way. They won’t be sharing joy with me. They were having problems trying to make ends meet, taking public transport. In fact i think, what I have done is more like you know, making them envious, jealous of all I have. In fact, sometimes even hatred.

Those are what we call objects of envy. I have them, I show them off to them and I feel it can fill my own pride and ego. That didn't bring any joy to these people, to my friends and relatives, and I thought they were real joy.

Well, let me just share another story with you. You know when I was about your age, I stayed in king Edward VII hall. I had this friend whom I thought was strange. Her name is Jennifer, we're still good friends. And as I walk along the path, she would, if she sees a snail, she would actually pick up the snail and put it along the grass patch. I was like why do you need to do that? Why dirty your hands? It’s just a snail. The truth is she could feel for the snail. The thought of being crushed to death is real to her, but to me it's just a snail. If you can't get out of the pathway of humans then you deserve to be crushed, it’s part of evolution isn't it? What an irony isn't it?

There I was being trained as a doctor, to be compassionate, to be able to empathise; but I couldn't. As a house officer, I graduated from medical school, posted to the oncology department at NUH. And, every day, every other day I witness death in the cancer department. When I see how they suffered, I see all the pain they went through. I see all the morphine they have to press every few minutes just to relieve their pain. I see them struggling with their oxygen breathing their last breath and all. But it was just a job. When I went to clinic every day, to the wards every day, take blood, give the medication but was the patient real to me? They weren't real to me. It was just a job, I do it, I get out of the ward, I can't wait to get home, I do my own stuff.

Was the pain, was the suffering the patients went through real? No. Of course I know all the medical terms to describe how they feel, all the suffering they went through. But in truth, I did not know how they feel, not until I became a patient. It is until now; I truly understand how they feel. And, if you ask me, would I have been a very different doctor if I were to re-live my life now, I can tell you yes I will. Because I truly understand how the patients feel now. And sometimes, you have to learn it the hard way.

Even as you start just your first year, and you embark this journey to become dental surgeons, let me just challenge you on two fronts.

Inevitably, all of you here will start to go into private practice. You will start to accumulate wealth. I can guarantee you. Just doing an implant can bring you thousands of dollars, it's fantastic money. And actually there is nothing wrong with being successful, with being rich or wealthy, absolutely nothing wrong. The only trouble is that a lot of us like myself couldn't handle it.

Why do I say that? Because when I start to accumulate, the more I have, the more I want. The more I wanted, the more obsessed I became. Like what I showed you earlier on, all I can was basically to get more possessions, to reach the pinnacle of what society did to us, of what society wants us to be. I became so obsessed that nothing else really mattered to me. Patients were just a source of income, and I tried to squeeze every single cent out of these patients.

A lot of times we forget, whom we are supposed to be serving. We become so lost that we serve nobody else but just ourselves. That was what happened to me. Whether it is in the medical, the dental fraternity, I can tell you, right now in the private practice, sometimes we just advise patients on treatment that is not indicated. Grey areas. And even though it is not necessary, we kind of advocate it. Even at this point, I know who are my friends and who genuinely cared for me and who are the ones who try to make money out of me by selling me "hope". We kind of lose our moral compass along the way. Because we just want to make money.

Worse, I can tell you, over the last few years, we bad mouth our fellow colleagues, our fellow competitors in the industry. We have no qualms about it. So if we can put them down to give ourselves an advantage, we do it. And that's what happening right now, medical, dental everywhere. My challenge to you is not to lose that moral compass. I learnt it the hard way, I hope you don't ever have to do it.

Secondly, a lot of us will start to get numb to our patients as we start to practise. Whether is it government hospitals, private practice, I can tell you when I was in the hospital, with stacks of patient folders, I can't wait to get rid of those folders as soon as possible; I can't wait to get patients out of my consultation room as soon as possible because there is just so many, and that's a reality. Because it becomes a job, a very routine job. And this is just part of it. Do I truly know how the patient feels back then? No, I don't. The fears and anxiety and all, do I truly understand what they are going through? I don't, not until when this happens to me and I think that is one of the biggest flaws in our system.

We’re being trained to be healthcare providers, professional, and all and yet we don't know how exactly they feel. I'm not asking you to get involved emotionally, I don't think that is professional but do we actually make a real effort to understand their pain and all? Most of us won’t, alright, I can assure you. So don't lose it, my challenge to you is to always be able to put yourself in your patient's shoes.

Because the pain, the anxiety, the fear are very real even though it's not real to you, it's real to them. So don't lose it and you know, right now I'm in the midst of my 5th cycle of my chemotherapy. I can tell you it’s a terrible feeling. Chemotherapy is one of those things that you don't wish even your enemies to go through because it's just suffering, lousy feeling, throwing out, you don't even know if you can retain your meals or not. Terrible feeling! And even with whatever little energy now I have, I try to reach out to other cancer patients because I truly understand what pain and suffering is like. But it's kind of little too late and too little.

You guys have a bright future ahead of you with all the resource and energy, so I’m going to challenge you to go beyond your immediate patients. To understand that there are people out there who are truly in pain, truly in hardship. Don’t get the idea that only poor people suffer. It is not true. A lot of these poor people do not have much in the first place, they are easily contented. for all you know they are happier than you and me but there are out there, people who are suffering mentally, physically, hardship, emotionally, financially and so on and so forth, and they are real. We choose to ignore them or we just don't want to know that they exist.

So do think about it alright, even as you go on to become professionals and dental surgeons and all. That you can reach out to these people who are in need. Whatever you do can make a large difference to them. I'm now at the receiving end so I know how it feels, someone who genuinely care for you, encourage and all. It makes a lot of difference to me. That’s what happens after treatment. I had a treatment recently, but I’ll leave this for another day. A lot of things happened along the way, that's why I am still able to talk to you today.

I'll just end of with this quote here, it's from this book called Tuesdays with Morris, and some of you may have read it. Everyone knows that they are going to die; every one of us knows that. The truth is, none of us believe it because if we did, we will do things differently. When I faced death, when I had to, I stripped myself off all stuff totally and I focused only on what is essential. The irony is that a lot of times, only when we learn how to die then we learn how to live. I know it sounds very morbid for this morning but it's the truth, this is what I’m going through.

Don’t let society tell you how to live. Don’t let the media tell you what you're supposed to do. Those things happened to me. And I led this life thinking that these are going to bring me happiness. I hope that you will think about it and decide for yourself how you want to live your own life. Not according to what other people tell you to do, and you have to decide whether you want to serve yourself, whether you are going to make a difference in somebody else's life. Because true happiness doesn't come from serving yourself. I thought it was but it didn't turn out that way.

Also most importantly, I think true joy comes from knowing God. Not knowing about God – I mean, you can read the bible and know about God – but knowing God personally; getting a relationship with God. I think that’s the most important. That’s what I’ve learnt.

So if I were to sum it up, I’d say that the earlier we sort out the priorities in our lives, the better it is. Don’t be like me – I had no other way. I had to learn it through the hard way. I had to come back to God to thank Him for this opportunity because I’ve had 3 major accidents in my past – car accidents. You know, these sports car accidents – I was always speeding , but somehow I always came out alive, even with the car almost being overturned. And I wouldn’t have had a chance. Who knows, I don’t know where else I’d be going to! Even though I was baptised it was just a show, but the fact that this has happened, it gave me a chance to come back to God.

Few things I’d learnt though:
1. Trust in the Lord your God with all your heart – this is so important.
2. Is to love and serve others, not just ourselves.

There is nothing wrong with being rich or wealthy. I think it’s absolutely alright, cos God has blessed. So many people are blessed with good wealth, but the trouble is I think a lot of us can’t handle it. The more we have, the more we want. I’ve gone through it, the deeper the hole we dig, the more we get sucked into it, so much so that we worship wealth and lose focus. Instead of worshipping God, we worship wealth. It’s just a human instinct. It’s just so difficult to get out of it.

We are all professionals, and when we go into private practise, we start to build up our wealth – inevitably. So my thought are, when you start to build up wealth and when the opportunity comes, do remember that all these things don’t belong to us. We don’t really own it nor have rights to this wealth. It’s actually God’s gift to us. Remember that it’s more important to further His Kingdom rather than to further ourselves.

Anyway I think that I’ve gone through it, and I know that wealth without God is empty. It is more important that you fill up the wealth, as you build it up subsequently, as professionals and all, you need to fill it up with the wealth of God.