I might as well do it for myself

I read this article with interest.
It was printed in The Star (http://thestar.com.my/lifestyle/story.asp?file=/2006/5/29/lifefocus/13882290&sec=lifefocus)
Note that this URL will change in the future and will be a broken link, thus, I have extracted part of it here. Due to copyright, I have only extracted a little of it…

Job satisfaction

KENNY Wong was the one in the family who used to cook, from his secondary school days.

IT graduate Kenny Wong: ‘If I had to spend long hours working for someone, I might as well do it for myself.’

His mother, Audrey Chan, was not a lady who ventured into the kitchen, but Kenny had the passion for food and cooking, whipping up lamb chops or Hainanese chicken rice for his whole family.

That early inclination sowed the seeds for his business venture today.

An IT graduate from Charles Stuart University, Australia, Kenny, 27, first got a job in network support with a public-listed company when he came back.

However, after a year of long working hours, he did some rethinking about his career. “Once, I had to camp in the office for three days straight and couldn’t leave! So it came a time when I said to myself if I had to spend long hours working for someone, I might as well do it for myself,” said Kenny.

So, with his father Wong Chee Kong, a senior IT consultant, and Chan’s moral and financial support, the family decided to go into the food business.

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My comments :I have told myself the same thing when I decided to start my own business. Kenny Wong: ‘If I had to spend long hours working for someone, I might as well do it for myself.’ Well said. Well said.

Happy & delighted every time Napoleon Hill appears beside me.

I should not be afraid; in fact, I should be happy and delighted every time Napoleon Hill appears beside me.

I need him to give me the strength to face my family and friends and all those people who think that I am “different” (not taking a office day job etc etc).
I need him to help and encourage me to ward off all my worries which sometimes can be overwhelming.
I need him to assert and affirm that my success is guaranteed (this, of course, is dependent on how tightly I follow what he laid out in his book).

The moment I finished my life changing book.

It was 12:40am just now. As I usually sleep later than that (yes, I sleep late), I thought to myself, since I only have a few pages left before I finish “Think and Grow Rich” by Napoleon Hill, why not just read as much as I can and go to bed at 1am.

I was hooked.

Just like how I was hooked when I started reading its 1^st few pages, I was hooked again this time. The next time I looked at my watch, it was already 1:50am, found myself finishing it and kissing that book.

Yes…can you believe it? I was kissing a book at 1:50am. And mind you, I am a person who considers himself lazy to read books. I usually can’t finish most of those that I started.

I loved it sooo much because I know success is on my way and because Napoleon Hill has shown me the way!

That last few pages of the book took me more than 1 hour because I read each sentence 3-4 times! Every sentence is so powerful that I can’t afford to miss a word … or a letter.

I will always remember 26^th of May, 2006, 1:50am…because that was the moment I finished my life changing book.

I am going to read it again from the beginning… or maybe I should start “How To Win Friends and Influence People” by “Dale Carnegie”, which is another classic.

Oh…I just felt Napoleon Hill standing at the back of me. Yes, it was scary. I felt cold suddenly. In fact, I am feeling cold now…as I am writing this. But I know he is there to guide me…and I should be happy whenever he shows his presence. I should feel the kind of happiness that others feel when they had a chance to meet their God.

If you think I have already gone crazy. Think again. I am definitely not. Pick up that book and read the chapter “The Thirteenth Step to Riches”. Now…only those who have finished the book understands what I am talking about. :)

Good Night.

There was silence over the phone.

I recently attended a paid seminar in KL.  There was this speaker from the US… and the audience was in the thousands.  I was fortunate enough to be among the thousands to listen to him. 

He said something along these lines:

“What is your dream?  What is your goal?”  (Please determine and picture it now.)

“OK…”

“Some of you might want to have a house, some of you, a million dollars, some… might want to have the ability to donate substantially to the poor…”

“Now… are you busy currently?  Busy doing your work…?”  (Most said yes to this question.)  “Juggling a few projects at the same time?”

“I asked this to a friend who wants a to be a millionaire…and he was busy working on a few projects.  He barely had time for his family and himself.”

“Then I asked him: “Are there any one of your projects helping you to achieve your goal?”.  He was driving at that moment…and upon hearing my question….he pulled over to the side of the road…and stared into space for a few minutes.  There was silence over the phone.”

“THERE IS SOMETHING ABSOLUTELY WRONG … IF YOU ARE BUSY DAY & NIGHT … AND YET NONE OF WHAT YOU ARE DOING IS HELPING YOU TO ACHIEVE YOUR GOALS IN A REASONABLE TIME!”

Good lesson. Good speech. 

Better to be CEO of your own family

Someone wrote this to The Star (published on 9 May 2006 – http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2006/5/9/focus/14176435&sec=focus) :

Better to be CEO of your own family

No doubt it is true that foregoing an income is one of the greatest obstacles for men to become homemakers, but that should not be a major problem if there is proper planning.

I used to be a senior manager working with a major multinational company earning high income. However, I chose to quit my job four years ago at age 38 to spend more time with my two growing-up children and be a full time homemaker.

My wife is also working and we could have just hired a maid. But having a maid would mean having to sacrifice the privacy of our family.

Being a homemaker does not mean a man could no longer be a provider for his family.

There are many home-based businesses that can actually enable a house-husband to continue being a major financial provider for, and to spend time with, the family.

For me, I have chosen to be an Internet publisher. This allows me to have flexible working hours. I will only need to spend a few hours at night to focus on my home-based business after my children have gone to bed and I earn the same income as when I was in the corporate world.

So, being a house-husband does not necessarily mean that you will have to give up your role as a breadwinner for your family and rely on your wife.

The only thing that I have given up is the potential opportunity to be a Chief Executive Officer of a company but then, wouldn’t it be better to be a CEO of your own family where the children can actually look up to you for guidance at any time of the day?

ALVIN, Penang .

A note by The Achiever (that's me) :

If you can earn while seeing your kids grow up, earn while they climb on your back, earn while you are sleeping. Why not ? :) Must it always be 9-5 in an office ?

An online business

Today I have launched a website hoping to earn some revenue from it. It is a "joint venture" with a relative.

This is just one of the many businesses that I run, that I hope it will give me supplementary income while I work on my main project.

OK… work hard, work smart.

“THAT’S A LIE !”

Recently I attended a talk by an Internet entrepreneur. This is what he said :

“Does anyone here feel guilty when they have more time off ? Show of hands. Be honest. (Some hands were up.) OK. Why would you feel guilty ? Because you were brought up to think that the harder you work, the more money you make. That’s not true. THAT’S A LIE !”

He shouted “THAT’S A LIE !” really loud. I guess it is to drum that into our heads.

I always tell myself :
Work smart. Work smart. Work smart.
Do not feel guilty. Do not feel guilty. Do not feel guilty.

I am telling myself that I WILL NOT FEEL GUILTY when I see my family members and friends go out to work everyday 9-5 (usually more)…while I work in the comfort of my home. I am telling myself that I WILL NOT FEEL GUILTY when I have more time off. I am telling myself that I WILL NOT FEEL GUILTY when I spend only half the time (or less) than most people spend but earn the same amount as their full time job.

Successful entrepreneurs don’t have that guilt. You might say that they do not have conscience … but say what you will … the fact remains that they earn much more than the general public and they have a much better life (more time etc) than the general public.

In order to succeed, I first need to thin my conscience; I first need to get rid of any guilt (of earning easily and having a good life).

My Very 1st Product Enquiry

Today I received my very 1st product enquiry email. Of course I was excited when I saw it and promptly type out my reply … before sending, I proof read my reply like it's gonna be sent to the Prime Minister, Agong, or Mr Bush.

This is a big milestone for me. I have NEVER received product enquiry for my OWN product (because I never have my own product before this I guess) … all the product enquiries that I had received before were my company's. This is a big difference, you know !

This product enquiry is for my supplimentary business – I need to earn money while I develop my main system.

This day will go down in my personal history. I am happy to share this with you.

My next milestone is to have my 1st paying customer.

OK… back to work. See ya !

“But never did I, even for a moment, think of giving up.”

Genting founder Tan Sri Lim Goh Tong (http://www.genting.com.my/en/mydream/pdf/mydream_e.pdf) had to face many prejudices from family and friends when he struggled to build up Genting Highlands. Not many look up to a man who was in “dire straits financially”, and work on a hill with nothing but jungle.

In Lim’s own words : “In the seven years beginning from the construction of the access road in 1965 to 1971 when Genting Highlands commenced business, I was spending all my money on the project without getting any income. I was in dire straits financially and my health was affected. But never did I, even for a moment, think of giving up. On the other hand, when I approached friends to take up shares in the project, they declined, with some advising me to drop the whole project”.

When Lim had financial problems, he asked friends for help but they refused.

The word prejudice can be defined as “a negative attitude toward an entire category of people”. In this context, the “category of people” refers to entrepreneurs.

People look down on you…
People distance themselves from you…
People begin not to listen to you…
People start not to believe in you…
… mainly because you are either in financial trouble or they expect you to be in financial trouble.

When the whole world looks down on you, your project and everything about you, your only hope is to cling on to your belief that you will succeed in the end. When the whole world doesn’t believe, you believe. Your belief is the only thing that’s most important. This takes great courage.

Lim : “But never did I, even for a moment, think of giving up.”

Now, 6 months into the project, and I am already feeling the heat. Although minimal, I do sense some prejudices around me. I need to push all those away from me and not let those affect me.

I am thankful that I have many role models to emulate. I really salute entrepreneurs, whether successful or not. For today’s lesson on fending off prejudices, I am grateful to have Tan Sri Lim as my teacher.

Test time setting

I have just changed the timezone of my blog to +8, which is my timezone of course.  This post is just to test that the time setting for my blog is correct.