Passion and Devotion

Have you ever worked so hard yet you don't feel mentally exhausted (or in some cases burned out)? Well, chances are, that's what you are supposed to do in your life. This morning, I saw a very profound quote by Bob Proctor. "You have got to love what you do because you are trading your life for it". We spend most of our time working. And if we hate what we do, guess what, we are trading our life (time) for it.

Lately, I've been doing a lot of work on a personal project of mine. I'm on a 1 week leave from my workplace but I find myself immersed in this project every single waking moment. I just can't put it down! Sure, at the end of the day, I was physically exhausted. I now know what it feels like to fall asleep the moment my head hits the pillow! Yet, the following morning, I jump out of bed at 5.00am to continue at it. This feeling is fantastic!

I read somewhere (sorry, I can't remember from where) that when you are on a medical leave (for a mild sickness) and have to confine yourself at home, what you do even though you were sick is what you really love to do with your life. Does this make any sense to you?

Live with passion!

The Moment Is Here!

The event a lot of us at the Miri Toastmasters Club has been eagerly anticipating is finally here. The Magic of Public Speaking. 2 months of laborious work will show us its fruits. I'm proud to be associated with a team of dedicated and passionate people who put the goal before ourselves. It energizes me and it makes me want to go the extra mile, too!

Our organizing chairman (OC) Ken Yong is doing a fabulous job organizing this seminar. I learned from him about deploying people and delegating tasks effectively, something which I've been struggling to do for years. Elizabeth Wee and her media team showed us how dedication and commitment can produce excellent results. Make sure you watch the Miri Toastmasters Club promotional video they made for this Saturday at Pustaka Miri.

I'm charged up and all ready to go! Can't wait for Saturday afternoon to speak to our guests. I love public speaking. I eat it! I live it! I sleep it!

Cheers!
Luke

When the going gets tough...

Sometimes, things can be tough. I know because this year I have faced one obstacle after another. In fact those who know me are beginning to ask if I was jinxed? And for awhile, I was thinking about it, too.

Well, as a child of God, I know that if one is going through hell, don't stop! The only way to get out is to continue going and believe in Him for deliverance. The Bible tells me that His mercy endures forever and is new every morning. Thank God for that!

The latest episode in my 'interesting' 2009 happened like this (the funny thing was I didn't even know about it). I was in my office and I felt a funny sensation in my left toe. My toe was painful and it felt hard. When I finally took off my shoes at home, I noticed that it was reddish in colour. I immediately applied some medication, thinking that it was just a mosquito bite, or something harmless. Well, little did I know the next day, my left foot was swollen and the pain grew. I went to see a doctor who prescribed me some antibiotics and cream. No improvement. The following day, another doctor. More antibiotics, painkillers and anti-histamine. Well, still no improvement yet. So, I'm going to see another doctor tomorrow. This time, it will be a skin specialist. You can see from the picture how it looks like.

Anyway, I trust my God that He will deliver me from whatever situation that He allows me to be in. Do keep me in your prayers, will you?

Cheers!

This is worth protecting...

Health, that is.

Recently, my family was faced with several health complications starting with my mum, than me and now my Dad. So, I was in and out of the hospital tending to my parents and myself in August and September 2009. Needless to say, this is really tiring and stressful for me. Anyway, this experience taught me 3 precious lessons as well. I just want to share them here.

1. Some people think that their body is stronger than others and can take more punishment so they adopt a 'tidak apa' attitude. WRONG! Just because we are not experiencing anything doesn't mean we are healthy. On the contrary, when the body starts telling us something, it is usually quite late already. For example, 99% of kidney failure patients don't feel any pain in their kidneys! So, by the time they discover they have kidney failure, it is normally end-stage, hence requiring dialysis forever.
2. Man will spend the first half of their life trading health for money and then the second half of their life trading money for health. This is so true and so STUPID! What's the meaning in that? Better to have a balanced lifestyle and enjoy the beauty that God has placed in our lives from beginning until the final destination. Do we slow down and just enjoy the beauty of HIS creation? Do we slow down and say 'thank you' and 'I love you' to our loved ones? We may be busy chasing after our dreams but certainly we can have time for these 'Important but Not Urgent' matters.
3. Work like there's no tomorrow. Yeah, and there will not be a tomorrow. Whoever coined this phrase must be mesmerized by the philosophy of "The world is round because it is not flat". Instead, work because there is a tomorrow. Don't burn bridges. Don't hurt people. Don't feel that we are the center of the universe. Respect life. Value others. Enjoy the beauty that God has put in our lives.

We are entering the last quarter of 2009. Very soon we will bid farewell to this year and say hello to 2010. What legacy are we leaving behind this year? Which reminds me. My friend, Ken and I set a few personal goals to be achieved this year. Time to do a 'stock check' to see what have been done and if the results are what we want them to be. One thing for sure, my bosses will certainly look back and say to me "Yesterday is history. Forget past victory. Tomorrow is still empty. Meet the target or you'll be sorry." :p

Cheers!

The Best Way to Predict the Future is to Create it

The above quote was from Abraham Lincoln. What a fantastic way to view the future. In times like this, people are constantly worried about the future: economy, AH1N1 virus, terrorism, etc. Let's do what Lincoln suggested. Create the future we want today. What's one thing that if we start to do today that would change our lives 5 years from now? Learn a new skill? Start an exercise program? Start to be involved in charity work?

I was sharing with some friends on the Power of One. Can one person change the world? Definitely not on his or her own. But one person can inspire many others to change their world and when enough people change, we change our world together.

Maya Angelou said this. "If you don't like something, change it. If you can't change it, change your attitude. Don't complain." I say this sheepishly. I still catch myself complaining about certain things. Well, I'm going to do my best to stop it. Rather than complain about it, I'll do something about it. Then, it's fruitful.

Selamat Hari Raya!

Why I love the Toastmasters Club?

I have a confession to make. I love the Toastmasters Club! In particular, Miri Toastmasters Club. Why do I say that? Well, when you feel tired and weak, come for a workshop and a group of sincere people will laugh together with you and motivate you. By the end of the workshop, you just feel that the stress is all gone.

Now if I made it sound like it is a laughing club, actually it's only half true. The Toastmasters Club is dedicated to the development of verbal communication skills and leadership skills among its members. It has touched the lives of more than 250,000 people! Personally, I've improved a lot as both a leader and speaker ever since joining this club 2 years ago. Every workshop is a learning laboratory to discover myself more. We learn by doing and that's the best way to learn.

In my 2 years at this club, I've seen people transformed from a timid person into a confident speaker. Talk about the Magic of Public Speaking. If you are interested to drop by to see the workshop and experience the fun and laughter, we meet every 1st and 3rd Thursday of the month at Gymkhana Club, Miri. Our workshop starts at 7.30pm.

Failing Forward

I was having a deep discussion with a close friend last week when the subject of our discussion touched on the topic of fear and failure. My friend asked me a very profound question "What is the worst case scenario that you will see yourself in?" Well, that question hit me like a tonne of bricks. It was one of those questions where I know is there but never really got around to asking, perhaps conveniently bypassing it.

As I was contemplating it, I told him that if I were to fail, I'll make sure that I come up with something else to make up for the gap that my failure would have created. I'd not just return to where I was and say "Boy, I should have just listened to them naysayers." The idea was to make sure that I'd go further and further towards my goal and each failure would be a push towards the success that I'm searching for.

My friend immediately replied "Failing Forward." I thought it sounded cool. So I googled the phrase and it is actually the title of a book written by Leadership guru John C. Maxwell about how to optimize each failure to achieve our success.

At present, I'm about to make a very important decision that may change the course of my life. Am I scared? OF COURSE, I AM! Am I excited? YES, too! (There's something about us humans who like to seek thrills in activities such as bungee jumping and climbing the KLCC Twin Towers with our bare hands to tell ourselves that: Yes! I am alive!) But I'm going for it even though I'm scared. That's what courage is. It is not the absence of fear. Rather it is doing something in spite of fear.

I'll finish with this quote by the Malaysian tycoon, Mr. Robert Kuok. He said as much as "she pai nai chen gong che mu" (translated as failure is the mother of success), he holds firmly that "chen gong nai she pai che mu" (translated as success is the mother of failure). Does it make sense to you?