Essential

What is essential?

This is a question that would probably prompt many answers from different perspective. What is essential to one may not be as essential to another. Somehow, everyone would agree that money is the one most essential thing that humans need in order to survive in this era. It is true that money can buy all the things we need for the lifestyle we yearn to have.

Some people may say that it is of utmost importance that we have a full and prepared wardrobe. There should be something for every occasion, especially that ball we have to attend. Whatever that has been worn should not reappear in another occasion to avoid being seen in the same outfit twice. While this creates opportunity for the fashion industry, it is at the cost of nature. Perhaps having a little swap party can resolve this issue.

Some people may say that they not only need to look good, they also need to smell good. We are correct to want to show the best of ourselves to the world. We have thought and used all means and ways to do so. This creates plentiful opportunity for the cosmetics and fragrances industry. The first impression is the most important because almost every human being uses the five senses to perceive something or someone. The beautiful always fair better given an opportunity.

Some people may say that a cozy home is what they need. It is a place they can go back to after a long days’ work. It is a place they can look forward to seeing and being. No matter what happens outside, it really does not matter as long as there is a place called home. The cost of living is rising faster than a paycheck. There are people who blame the exploiters but really, if we are capable, perhaps we can be the opportunist too.

When asked this question, we will usually picture all the material things that we can see and hold. It is just by perception. Many of times, we do not realize that whatever essentials we think of is actually not that essential at all if without life itself.

So what is essential?

Some people may say that wisdom is. It is with wisdom, we can grow our inner self to understand better about the universe within us. There is a little universe in each of us that we have conveniently neglected over the years. We perceive material things as essential and we chase after them with all efforts. We forget one thing, that without wisdom, we are just chasing blindly. Wise people are able to spend more time on themselves and less time in efforts but still producing the same results.

Some people may say health is. Life and health are bound hand in hand. We need to be healthy to live life. Health used to be simple. Anyone can achieve good health with healthy daily routines. The time we are awake, we choose all the healthy practices. The time we are asleep, we choose to let go of all that bothers us, let it be handled during waking hours. How many people can really do that, just let go and not be a control freak? Everyone loves to control to a certain extent.

Some people may say family and friends is. In this day and time, relationship has been brought to another level. We can find long lost friends through social media from friends of friends. We can stay in touch using voice or video calls from free platforms. We can even hold a seamless meeting using zoom calls. There are no boundaries even in the state of a global lockdown. Everyone can keep in touch with each other be it for business or just connecting.

Perhaps we are still not looking deep enough to find the true essentials that each human need to survive. Perhaps the most important things come so naturally we do not even realize that they are the true essentials of living.

How many days can a person survive without food?
How many days can a person survive without water?
How many minutes can a person survive without air?
What is of utmost importance that we must protect regardless of whether or not we live to see it?

Mother Nature is the solitary provider of all essentials; food, water, and air. Let us all protect and create a better world for our children.

 

And now here is my secret, a very simple secret, it is only with the heart that one can see rightly, what is essential is invisible to the eye.

Antoine Marie Jean-Baptiste Roger, comte de Saint-Exupery (Antoine de Saint-Exupery), French writer and aviator, 1900-1944

Do

Do is one of the shorter words in the English language but it is also one of the most used words by people around the world.

Just Do It! This is the tagline used by Nike, the most famous brand in sports. The name is short, the logo is simple, and the tagline is motivating. This is by far the best branding ever created that I know of that made such a huge impact. This is by far, even though those who cannot afford to buy anything from their stores, will get something from them, insight. It is a brand that everyone models upon.

In life, we always adore the people that have a great life, or seem to have a great life. We only see what is in the limelight. We will almost never know what they have gone through to get to where they are now. We will never know what they are going through now that makes them who they are. Perhaps the only thing we know is what they are willing to let us know.

Successful people are influential. But they were not born with success written on the foreheads. Nobody can tell if the person will be successful before they even live their life. They may be born with a destiny of becoming a ruler. It takes more than just destiny to make them successful. They will end up being a ruler one way or the other. Whether or not they are great rulers is another matter altogether. If they are great rulers, their empire will last for centuries. If they are not great rulers, their empire will crumble in just years if not months within their ruling.

We are be born talented in our own way.

We may be talented at talking. If we do not take action to develop the skills to take it to the next level, we are just being talkative. If we are to learn from the masters, we may one day become the world’s greatest speaker that makes the difference in other people’s lives.

We may be born talented in music, be it singing or playing instruments. If we do not take action to practice and keep practicing, we will not forget how to do it, but the skillset that we have will deteriorate over time. By then, we would be demotivated to do anything about it. If we are to continue our efforts to improve our skillset, we may one day make an impact in other people’s lives. We know that music creates the ambience for clarity and motivation.

We may be born talented in more subtle skills that we may not be aware of. We are reserved. We love to be alone to create art, be it writing, drawing, or painting. If we do not take action in developing our passion, we are just a normal person like any other person out there without such talents. Just as I have wasted much of my earlier years whining about how life being unfair to me. I was just a regular person like all my other peers out there. I hidden my creativity.

Somehow, this year, I decided to finally do it. To start my own blog. To write in my own words. To design with the help of the latest software. I have taken the first step. I do not know where this will take me but I am determined that I am able to make a difference in the lives of others because I am making a difference in my own life. I feel more motivation. I feel more accomplishment.

Anybody can tell us to do or not to do something. Everything happens for a reason. It is up to us whether or not we want to action on the things that is bothering us. If we take action upon it and failed, it is a precious lesson in life. If we do not take action, we have failed in life because we never learnt anything. “Either way, we pay.” This is a phrase I picked up from a training by Peng Joon. He is the person that is capable of making a difference in my life. He is the only person that has managed to empower me to take it one step further. I am grateful to have encountered him. Thank you.

Just do what your heart tells you! I may be small but I am capable of making the difference, just like the word “DO”.

 

He who waits to do a great deal of good at once will never do anything.

Samuel Johnson (Dr Johnson), English writer, 1709-1784

Discipline

This word brings about mixed feelings in everyone.

I remember when I was schooling, everyone is more afraid of the discipline teacher than the headmistress. It makes me wonder now. Why? We should be afraid of the headmistress more because the discipline teacher actually reports to her. She is the highest ranking personnel in the whole school. She is like the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the school.

Back then, the headmistress is only seen during assemblies. As students, we never ever need to visit the headmistress’s office unless we are the top student or the worst of the lot. Perhaps it is because she rarely comes into contact with students, we look up to her as a leader.

On the other hand, the discipline teacher is always around. She is a regular teacher that looks exceptionally stern. Whenever teachers or prefects encounter difficult students, the discipline teacher will be there. She is the problem solver.

I remember my parents telling me their discipline teacher held a cane in their hand when doing their rounds in school. Though we never see this anymore because of human rights and possible child abuse, there should still be some kind of control over the students. It is to prevent unwanted situations from happening.

Many parents nowadays spend little time with their children. Technology is created to ease our livelihood, not as a tool to keep children from disturbing your so called important meeting. Nothing can ever replace play time or chat time with your own children. We want our children to learn from many aspects but we also should teach them the little knowledge that we have about life.

Having a mother who was an experienced teacher in both public and private schools, I have heard many stories. There is a huge difference between children from poor and rich families. The way they act and express themselves are on two total opposite ends. This is not to condemn any person on the upbringing of their children. There is no right or wrong way to doing anything. There is only the best approach we hope to provide for our children.

Children from poor families are either very keen to learn or have given in to the condition they are born. It is up to the teachers to guide them on the right path. Sometimes, it takes more than the role of teachers to make them understand that they have a choice. Communication is of utmost importance.

Children from rich families are either very outspoken or quiet to the extreme. Some may even act out just to get the attention of their parents. While it is great for children to experiment on things, there are situations that should be regulated. Parents have the responsibility to listen to what teachers have to say about their children. Rich parents sometimes do not realize that their words have thorns.

There is no point telling teachers that you are highly educated when you do not act like one. There is not point threatening teachers that you will sue them for pointing out your child’s mistakes. There is no point forcing teachers to apologize to your child or you will pull out the funds for that new school hall. The teachers are just doing their part in guiding your child. It is your duty as parents to nurture them to be the person who is responsible to building the future world.

Discipline is an essential act.

Perhaps we have been misled that discipline means living like a soldier. It is far beyond that. We need to be able to plan how we want to run our lives. We can be doing many things at once but if everything is completely jumbled up, we will end up in confusion.

Living a great life takes effort. I am living up to my own challenge now. To wake early and write an article out of the first word that comes to mind. I love writing and have always wanted to write but have no idea what and how. Recently, I have been meditating every morning and this whole 1NE Journal thing came to mind. I have decided to celebrate my determination for fifty days in a row. On the fifty-first article, I have shown the other creative side of me.

This blog is to illustrate to everyone that discipline reaps satisfaction.

 

For me, the martial arts is a search for something inside. It’s not just a physical discipline.

Brandon Bruce Lee (Brandon Lee), American actor and martial artist, 1965-1993

Love

How deep is your love? This song has been playing in my head for at least an hour now.

Love comes in many forms. It can be given or taken. Some people are just born with the life that everyone dreams of. They seem to be loved by people everywhere they go. Some are not so fortunate. They have been the ones giving but never getting anything in return.

Whether or not our family is perfect, it really does not matter. We should be grateful for having parents and siblings around us when we are growing up. We may have had fights between siblings for something as small as that beautiful pen or big as the estates of our parents. Everything that we have, we should be grateful for. There are some out there who have been abandoned or orphaned the day they were born.

Humans love to compare between each other. We love to look up to people who are more privileged than us. While this is good for aiming for a better life, we need to strike a balance between what is realistic and what is mere jealousy.

We may be having family members who are always fighting over everything under the sky. While we want to have a peaceful life, we should look at each family member as an individual and also collectively. There is no point comparing with our friends and neighbours. Everyone has their own way of communicating with each other. Having arguments all the time may be better than just keeping silent of all misery.

Just imagine we are a rubber band. It will last longer if it is stretched and let go every now and then. If it is continuously stretched and keep on being stretched, there will come a time when it can no longer withstand the stress. It will break. There need to be space for letting go of all the tension. That space may jolly well mean arguments between family members.

It is always better to let everyone know what we have in mind rather than making people guess. Women have a tendency to make their partners guess. No matter how well their partner may know them, sometimes the guessing game goes overboard. When that happens, we are often not satisfied and say to our partner that they do not love us anymore.

Men, on the other hand, are generally more straight-forward. But there is a problem with them too. They have a thing about being the bread winner of the household. Perhaps it is ego. Perhaps it is just the way they have been brought up, to be responsible over the family. Sometimes, we do feel that men are not such great lovers anymore after marriage. And so, problems arise.

We should understand that relationships move both ways and changes as time goes by. The fairy tale beginning during courtship will soon end when the relationship is brought to another level. After tying the knot, life begins in a different way. While keeping promises is important, we should also prepare for changes to happen. There could be that new home, living with in-laws, having children, and much more to take into consideration. If we are not prepared for these, some serious problems could arise.

If love is what brought a couple together, then love should bring them further. With love, all difficulties can be conquered. With love, we grow better.

But let us not forget the most important person we should love.

Life is as such that we are too busy to remember the most important person in our lives. Self-love is something that we should practice every minute. Whatever anybody says does not matter. All that matters is what we think of ourselves. The only person who will take the last breath with us is none other than ourselves. There is no doubt about that.

So why spend all the time loving somebody else but forgetting to love ourselves? Anybody can steal our heart and disappear forever from our lives. Why are we spending all the effort loving everyone else but not ourselves? Why do we always put ourselves last? We only live once. Make it meaningful.

It is only when we love ourselves, we are able to spread love to the world.

 

When we love, we always strive to become better than we are. When we strive to become better than we are, everything around us becomes better too.

Paulo Coelho de Souza (Paulo Coelho), Brazilian lyricist and novelist, 1947-present

Universe

The universe is at large, we are but a speck of dust!

Yes, we are that minute in the universe. But we somehow like to magnify problems that we are facing, making them so enormous we are unable to solve. Is there really a problem that we cannot solve?

Everything happens for a reason. This is what we should all remind ourselves daily. Nothing ever happens without any reason at all. Though we may not be able to see the reason now, there will come a time when we finally would understand the true meaning behind everything there is.

The little tasks that we have to deal with every now and then. The people we meet. The events that happen in our lives. They are all to build us, to improve us, to nurture us to become our better self.

Everyone is different. There is no point comparing with each other. Instead, compare ourselves then with now. If we are to pull ourselves out of our current situation and become an observer, we will find that we have changed.

Change is inevitable. We should embrace change. At times, we may sway a little to the dark side and end up making wrong decisions. We then find ourselves tumbling downhill like never before. Everything we do seems unacceptable. It is okay. We are human after all. It is not how hard we fall, it is how fast we get up to face challenges again.

Every human makes mistakes. What is important is to let go, never to dwell and blame anyone, especially ourselves. Learn from the past and make a better future. This is the utmost important practice everyone should adhere to.

Change for the better.

Live the path of truth. Be true to ourselves and everyone else. We may not be able to please everyone, in fact, we can never please everyone, not in our family, office, amongst friends, let alone the entire world. Everyone has their own opinion. As long as our decision is what we think is right, we are on the right track. Most importantly is to never harm another being. Even better, to be able to lend helping hand to those in need.

Everyone has their own dreams, they could be similar to ours but never the same. It would be perfect if everyone has the same dreams as ours, then the world would be better. Life is simple, but not as simple as that. Just imagine if everyone is to compete for the same things, what would happen to the world? We do not need to look far. If everyone in the family only wants to use that same cup, can they take turns or will they fight day in day out?

We can never tell what the future will be but we can always work toward a better future. Variety is what we have. Creativity is what we are born with. We just need to use them to guide our path in the right direction heading towards our dreams.

Our dreams will come true one way or the other. Sometimes may be exactly the way we dreamt of but most of the time, there is a twist somewhere.

I have always wanted a German Shepherd (GSD) for a dog. We now have a miniature GSD lookalike and act alike in our home. He the size of a Corgi but his entire outlook, intelligence, and energy is exactly like I imagined. This dream of mine came true in a subtle way. The universe knows that with the little space I have at home, a full-sized GSD would be too much. Thus, this little loyal creature makes the perfect match for me. Thank you.

I am grateful I have been given a gift. The gift of life.

We only have one life. We should all cherish the one life that we have. Though the universe is colossal but we each have a universe deep within us. All beings have a little universe within. We just need to find it, tap into it, and bring it out to the light. We are the energy that can bring life to the next level. We have to be willing to do so.

This is our life, our universe.

 

The universe had to fall apart into dust first to become its majestic, incredible, infinite self. What makes you think this breaking, this trauma, this destruction, won’t be the making of a more powerful you too?

Nikita Gill, Poet and writer

Sun

The sun is simply the center of our universe.

We live on this earth that depends solely on the sun to bring us many things that nothing can ever replace. When the sun rises, a new day arrives. A new day, a new beginning. Anything that has happened yesterday becomes history. Whatever that happens now is what creates history. Everything that happens tomorrow can be random or planned.

Every time the sun rises, it brings with it hope. We just wake from slumber. We had a dream. We dream far and wide. We do not know how but we know that we can hold on to that dream. We realize that with hope, a dream can come true. We only need to believe that the universe is working with us, for us.

What is life without hope?

The sun is the source of all life on earth. Perhaps we have not realized. The sun brings with it heat. The warmth that is created makes life possible. Just imagine life where the sun is not present. How are we to live? We probably would need to hide indoors under layers of sheets to stay warm. We probably would need to carry on our shoulders coats of sweaters to stay warm. Life may not even exist.

It is rather easy to imagine life in the everlasting snow and ice caps. The first men have done it, and perhaps we can too. But life will not be easy without the sun. How many have really been? The snow is fair and pure, they are beautiful but lifeforms are scarce. Many lifeforms stay under the snow to keep warm. What are we to make for food? Where do we find variety like we have here in tropical countries? 

Most humans populate areas where the sun is out most of the time. Life flourish the way it should. I am grateful to be born and raised in a country with little natural disaster. My home country is blessed with a large area of tropical rainforest that supports vast species of life. Though unfortunately, many forests are cut down for development to happen, I have set upon myself to build a little haven of my own in the little space I have at home. Perhaps I do not have green fingers but at least I give it a try.

With all the light that we have from the sun, we are able to grow many plants to contribute to the environment. I am an individual that is doing my part. Just imagine if the whole neighbourhood will do their part as well, then perhaps life would be better for everyone.

A little light from the sun, combined with a little shower from the rain, which forms a rainbow. When we strike a balance between something that seems good and something that seems bad, we will reach a destination beyond our imagination. Rainbow is perceived as the most beautiful natural form of light. It contains all spectrum of colours in different hues. Every rainbow is different.

Just as we are brought down with something that seemingly has no values, we may not realize that we are on the way to creating that rainbow within us. Always look at things beyond our imagination. Everything happens for a reason. All we need to do is to embrace it and learn from it.

We can tap into the energy of the sun to bring us to greater places. Just stare at the rays coming through the window and we can see little specks of dusts moving aimlessly back and forth. We should realize that the sun exists for one great reason, which is to energize all there is in this universe. The sun’s energy may run out one day, but never in our lifetime. By then, the human race would have already found other ways to energize life on earth. Perhaps, we are one of the contributors of this invention too. We never try, we never know.

The sun represents power. The land of the rising sun has conquered many parts of the world. We know from history that there were sufferings in creation of all empires. Generations have passed. We are living in peace now. Let us all use our little power with great minds to continuously bring peace to the world.

Let the sun guide us the way.

 

The day, water, sun, moon, night – I do not have to purchase these things with money.

Titus Maccius Plautus (Plautus), Roman playwright, 254BC-184BC

Minute

What can be achieved in a minute?

For the fast-paced, every second counts. For the slow-movers, one minute is probably too short to get anything done. The world we are living in is ever more busy than before. Very often we just let a minute slip through here and there without even realizing it.

Perhaps mathematics can help us with some calculations that let us understand better how one minute makes a difference.

1 year = 365 days = 8760 hours = 525600 minutes = 31536000 seconds

We have half a million minutes every year. If each minute was a dollar, how would we want to spend that half a million dollars in a year? Perhaps bit by bit, perhaps in bulk. However, wherever, whenever, the choice is ours to make. Nobody else can make it on our behalf.

We each have 1440 minutes every single day. It is great if we think of it as a lot. Then it would only make sense to set aside one minute each day to do something different, something that would improve ourselves, enlighten our minds, and give a sense of achievement that lifts us throughout the day.

Through writing this blog, I have come to realize that my life is getting better each day. Because of the one rule I have set in this blog; that is to find a corresponding quote or phrase to be inserted as a positive vibe to remind us of the words of wisdom from the great people that walk the earth. Each day, I learn a little bit more. Each day, I find myself changing for the better.

Writing an article in this blog obviously takes way more than a minute but it takes less than a minute to think of a word to start with every morning. After 45 days of writing this blog day after day, the first word that comes to my mind every morning is somewhat moving towards more encouraging words.

We are living animals. We can be influenced to become someone we never expect to be. If that is to happen, why not choose to be someone better? Whatever your peers may be, whenever you meet new people, perhaps it only makes sense to become the person you truly want to be. Everyone is born different but everyone was born a clean slate.

Each event that happens in our life puts a little dap of colour in us. We are who we are, the best we are. Whether or not we want to move towards the light, is entirely up to us. We may be surrounded by negative family and colleagues, but nothing can stop us from meeting new friends that can pump up our life. Find the like-minded and encourage each other to be better.

Some say it is easier said than done but if you have never tried it, what makes you think it is hard? Everyone perceive things differently. What is difficult for some may be as easy as one two three for others. Certain ways can only work for some people. We are all different. If we are to expect change overnight, then we are probably looking up too high. Change happens a little at a time. Be patient.

I personally find it easier to make small changes in my daily routine being helpful. Making a big change at a go is actually tiring and I often put myself off because of unfinished task.

Start small. Let us just put aside one minute in a day for something that we can see. By making that little change that our eyes can grasp, it will be easier to remind ourselves of the achievement we made in that one minute. I am giving myself a task, to do one different thing in one minute every morning. I have started with my messy bathroom. The bathroom is the first place we go to every morning and the last place we visit every night. This is the best place to start. We cannot clean the whole bathroom in a minute but we can section the bathroom in such that we can complete each task in a minute.

What we think is minute can actually change our lives. Make a small change every minute!

 

If you make each minute of your life fruitful, you will have nothing but a fruitful life.

Gift Gugu Mona, South African author

Positive

Think Positive!

We hear this a lot. Some people find it rather easy while most may say it is impossible. However impossible anything may seem, there is always a way to doing things. As soon as we realize that there is no right or wrong in any decision we make, we are on the right path.

Some people find it difficult to accept the fact that everything happens for a reason. Life throws a lot at us, to challenge us, to make us better. For someone who is easily torn, life seems to be pulling them downward. All negative thoughts come to their mind. They often feel that life is unfair. Perhaps it is unfair because we let it be.

We may be born to an average family but that should never stop us from striving towards our goal. We have to know what we want, where we want, and the universe will work out the how. When a challenge comes our way, it is the universe working for us. It is the path to the right place, the place that we yearn for.

There are people who seem to be on top all the time while most are suffering down below, not understanding why their life is as such. Perhaps we are not thinking hard enough of what we want. Perhaps we are fickle on our dreams. Perhaps we locked ourselves in.

The universe is infinite. We are just a minute speck of dust in the vast space but very often we choose to magnify our problems and let it stick to us in remorse for the longest time without realizing it. Remorse is a very strong feeling that is extremelly hard to let go unless we have clarity.

We should bring ourselves back to those days where our minds run wild by just reading a fairy tale. We imagine we are that prince or princess that has the happily ever after ending. Fairy tales are created with a message. As children, we may not understand the message but as adults, we should have the ability to look beyond the story. Learn the moral behind each story.

Love conquers all…

Love is the strongest feeling of all. Love can overcome pain, fear, and even regret. With love, life is beautiful. With love, we feel the best of every moment. With love, we are afloat on cloud nine.

If we remember the day when we first fell in love, we will remember the first thoughts in our mind. This is the Mister or Miss Right. We are going to have a happy ending like in the fairy tales. Keep that thought. Put a “star” to that thought like you would in your favourite WhatsApp message. “Pin” it up like you would in your Telegram or Pinterest or on the mirror in your bathroom. Remind yourself every minute of the day.

When we feel love for our goal, we will ultimately reach the destination. Through thick and thin, no matter what comes our way, they will only build us stronger. As long as we reach our goal, it does not really matter what challenges we face. Take up responsibility to whatever decisions we make and the universe will adjust itself towards creating our dreams in the best way possible.

Why do we have to go through all the torments?

This goes back to “everything happens for a reason”. We may not see the reason now but there sure is a reason behind all events in life. When we have passed a certain stage and look back, we will understand. Something that does not make sense now will make sense later. It is just a matter of time, how we emerge stronger each moment we own up to a challenge. It gives us experience. It builds us stronger.

Just as life seems to be the darkest, there is always light at the end of the tunnel. We have to be persistent, to walk forward, no matter what other topsy turvy situation we may encounter on the way. Life is fair. The universe always works for us. Whatever we want, the universe will give.

Today is a good day to start looking at the positive side of everything. Think positive, stay positive, live positive!

 

The way positive reinforcement is carried out is more important than the amount.

Burrhus Frederic Skinner (B.F. Skinner), American psychologist, 1904-1990

1NE

What is this 1NE journal all about?

First of all, 1NE is a figurative word that just came up my mind several days before I started to challenge myself in writing a few words every morning to elaborate on the first word that come to mind. Of course I wanted just a simple number “1” or word “one” for my title but because I am only starting now, both the simple number and word have already been taken. If I am to insist on using those, I would have to spend a bomb to get the URL (Uniform Resource Locator) or simply known as the web address before I can even start writing.

With a little thought and some creativity, the word 1NE came to mind, with the number “1” replacing the letter “O”. As weird as it may look, it is good enough to represent what the word means. It is simple, and catchy. It also shows that our mind is a wonderful gift. When there is a problem, and we are open-minded, there is always a way around it. Staying safe is just an excuse of for staying stagnant in the comfort zone.

The idea of using one word and elaborate about it came from an experience many years back. I was the regular university graduate searching for a job. I was called for interview in this multi-national company for their Management Trainee position. The designation looks great for a graduate looking to climb the corporate ladder. The interviewer explained the job description and it sounded just right for someone who has no idea of the working life.

Once the interviewer finished explaining the job description, there comes the challenge. She gave me one single word and told me to elaborate it in five minutes. Wow! That excites me because I do love to talk out my mind. But… there is always a “but” in such situations. That one word chosen for me was “SPORTS”. I was given a bit of time to prepare myself before starting the test. At that point of time, I was thinking why sports?

This is probably the one word that I find seriously difficult to elaborate on. I have no interest in sports whatsoever. How in the world do I elaborate on something I am not good at? Then, a brilliant idea came out. I was happy that I finally found something to say. I started talking and talking and going round and about on the Formula 1 race. I was not sure if they consider this as a sport but that was the best I could do. Because of my lack of knowledge in the one word they require me to elaborate on, I stopped before the end of five minutes. I could not continue. My brain got stuck.

I obviously did not get the job.

Back then, I did not understand why I was given this challenge. What has that word got to do with the job I was interviewing for? Now, two decades later, with an open-mind and after interviewing numerous people for the open positions in the company I am working for, I begin to understand. Most often, interviewers will ask questions relevant to the job. If they are able to answer, they make good employees. However, if you go through their resume and find a weak point and you shoot the person a question straight on that point, you will be able to understand the level of creativity of the person. They make great partners. They are the ones who will level up the company.

Most often, we are unable to see through why we are being braved in a certain way. We may not realize at the beginning. We feel like life is throwing at us all the dirt and rotten eggs. If we are up for the trial, we will succeed one way or the other. Success is our ultimate goal.

How do we measure success is entirely up to us. There is no right or wrong way to live our life. Some may want to take it slowly while others may excel at the speed of light. This has nothing to do with our IQ (Intelligent Quotient) level or how much money we have in our pockets right now. It is all about the mind-set. Be open-minded and the universe will work its way to send you all the messages you need to succeed in life. As long as we are ready to receive, the universe is ready to give.

Be it the passion that we seek, or the money that we need, everything will just flow in abundance. We only need that 1NE thing that wakes us up. Now!

One day or day one. You decide.     

Unknown