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I knew since long ago that it is not so much about the nature, but it is about the walking.
May be walking through the city, may be walking up the mountain, may be along the beach, etc. but it is always about the walk and the mindless walk.
For rare times in life, I would not think but simply walk.
It is worth watching not because he is Steve Jobs, but because of three well-told real good real stories.s. It is to remind myself.
He speaks on
a. dropping out of college and not having a college degree, but moving forward
b. being fired from Apple, starting again doing what he loves
c. facing death, his cancer
”Again, you can’t connect the dots looking forward; you can only connect them looking backwards. So you have to trust that the dots will somehow connect in your future. You have to trust in something — your gut, destiny, life, karma, whatever. Because believing the dots will connect down the road will give you the confidence to follow your heart even if it leads you off well worn path, and that will make all the difference.” — Steve Jobs
“Sometimes life hits you in the head with a brick. Don’t lose faith. I’m convinced that the only thing that kept me going was that I loved what I did. You’ve got to find what you love. And that is as true for your work as it is for your lovers. Your work is going to fill a large part of your life, and the only way to be truly satisfied is to do what you believe is great work. And the only way to do great work is to love what you do. If you haven’t found it yet, keep looking. Don’t settle. As with all matters of the heart, you’ll know when you find it. And, like any great relationship, it just gets better and better as the years roll on. So keep looking until you find it. Don’t settle.” — Steve Jobs
Last two weeks were interesting. I was experiencing a new understanding from the combination of reading Tolle and the experience of asking a friend some buried memories. For the later, I regretted that I had ever asked the moment I sent out the email. I should not have asked.
Tolle was right, memories are just concepts or ideas. They are never real.
Something I wrote right before 40 changed. The sequence, of past, future and now, matters.
It was once “Look forward, cherish past and live now”.
But now, I know it should always be “Live now” then a distance second of “look forward and cherish past.”
I must always remember this.
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Somehow in my list of 10 things to do to make life worth living I included “To work in Singapore or China”.
I wanted to go Singapore since very young. But more than twice I was denied to study in Singapore. I took Asian Scholarship test a few times, if I remember correctly. But my English was too weak to be offered a scholarship. (The danger of digging into memory is like what Joan Baez sang in Diamonds and Rust, they (memories) bring diamond and rust. This is the rust part.) With reasonable good result in Form 5 SPM exam (O Level), both Polytechnics (Ngee An and Singapore) surprised me by rejecting my applications. I lost confidence in Form 6 and almost flunk my STPM (A Level). The only college that accepted my application and offered my 1st choice of course is TAR College. The next 3 years in college was one of the best time of my life. I was happy in Kuala Lumpur and decided never to go Singapore. Then, in my early working life I wanted to go Singapore again. Money is always better over there. But again, I knew then I would have to break a relationship to do so. I chose the relationship and got married later. I had never made it to work or to study in Singapore. |
When I looked back, my first thought was that, fate is not to be defeated. It played so powerful onto me that despite all my desires, it kept me away from Singapore and barred me from going there.
However, when I saw an old friend’s name in Facebook I realised the only reason I could not make it to Singapore is because I was going along with flow. First, I had never study hard enough to be good enough to be offered to study in Singapore. Second, I made logical or reasonable choice that fate gave to me or decided for me. I did not insist my ideal to go Singapore to pursue my dreams against all adversities. When Singapore colleges and university did not offer me a space, I did not forge forward to land myself there to find a job and start from the ground to move upward. I simply chose an easier road presented to me, a college that offered me a place. I simply chose the easy road, the logical one. For I am afraid to take risk, then (and probably now). It takes courage to defy what fate forces onto you. My friend had the courage to make that tough choice. She went to Singapore, anyhow. I did not have that courage and wanted to play safe. I took what fate presented to me. So I am still in Malaysia wanting to work in Singapore (China too) one day. |
It is through a very different perspective when one says “Let’s see where life leads us to”. It is at the opposite of my deeply rooted perception of “life must be within one’s control”.
I have to tell myself “oh….NO no no no. Bu shi de. c’nest pas comme ca.” . We should just see where life leads us to. This is what my cousin wrote. For the last 9 months, in a positive way, life had shown me that it is not within my control. I started to realise it is good for me to leave accountancy & finance behind. This profession makes me wrongly believe in the illusion that life is structured and can be controlled within the structure.
When I have to deal with sales and to meet strangers, I learned the truth of life that my success or failure is in the mercy of fate, of others, of everyone and everybody else. I am not in control. I should just believe in life, putting my fair share of decisions and take the journey it gives.
Let me get this into my thick head.
“Life is a piece of Toastmaster speech, regardless how well you draft the speech, you can never expect how it is going to turn out to be during the delivery.” — CT
The Living Years by Mike and the mechanics
Arthur’s Theme by Chris Cross
It was quite an experience today to attend Michael Losier’s seminar today to see him in person, live in action, 9am to 5pm. Thanks to CIMA Malaysia for organising the seminar.
It was in Nikko Hotel, Kuala Lumpur with about 200 – 300 participants, I guess. I bought his book “Law of Attraction”. He signed the book. Asking my name, he wrote, “CT, Dream BIG. Micheal 18 Mar 08″. The only problem is, I forgot to bring my camera (Ouch!). Still, what a great day today, meeting an international renown author and he asked for my name. Off course, the food is good, the weather is great with rain in the evening, the atmosphere of the seminar is comfortable. (All said with gratitude and gratefulness) 
I suppose Mr Losier sensed the difference between US audience and Malaysia audience. Malaysia audience is, always is, a shy and quiet bunch. Nobody rushed for microphone to speak in public. Everyone seems more comfortable in writing notes to him for the questions during Q&A sesion. But we are all attentive as he noticed.
There are many concepts and techniques, surprisingly, about the Law of Attraction and the deliberate use of the Law. I am writing these down before I forget.
Concepts to remember:
1. At every moment, I am sending +ve and -ve vibes and at every moment law of attraction is responding to my vibes by giving me more of the same. So if I want more +ve vibes, I should deliberately choose to send more +ve vibes. Law of attraction will MATCH.
2. Words change Thoughts change Vibes change Results
3. Eliminate “Don’t” “Not” “No” from vocabulary.
4. On relationship. Vibes range from 0 – 100. Resistance of 2 persons was due to difference in vibes level.
Techniques to remember: 3-step Formula for Deliberate Attraction
Step 1: Identify my desire (Tool is Clarify through Contrast)
Step 2: Give my desire attention (Tool is My Vibes Bubble’s include list and desire statement scripts)
Step 3: Allow it…remove doubts (Many tools to eliminate doubts, i.e. finding proofs (to break limiting beliefs), celebrate closeness of MATCH, record evidence, Lots can happen, etc. Law of Attraction Page 91 onward)
Reminder to myself, first 2 exercises of the 3-step formula:
1. Focus on getting rich.
2. Focus on getting satisfying vocation/lifestyles (not vacation).
Well, I will try to publish the exercises here.
Other tips: Michael covered this two topics today:
1. Does Goal Setting Help or Hinder Law of Attraction?
2. Does Using the Word ‘Want” Contradict Law of Attraction?
This post will expand whenever I have new things to add…
Technorati Tags:
Michael Losier, Attraction, Desire Statement, The Secret, Vibration, Vibe, Deliberate Attraction, Match
Take One: On Scientific Thinking
How many white swans do you have to count to prove and conclude that there is no black swan?
Before the discovery of Australia in seventeen century, it was considered scientific fact that all swans are white. After all, millions had been seen and they were all white. When black swans were eventually discovered in Australia, besides proving NOT all swans are white, it gave an insight on deductive logic: we couldn’t prove that there was no black swan, as David Hume argued, by counting (even millions) white swans.
Therefore we cannot prove there is no God, or no Bodhisattva, or even no Santa Claus. How many Christmases without a real Santa Claus are required to prove there is no Santa? By not seeing him around doesn’t mean he does not exist. It just takes one next Christmas with that snow sleigh flying cross the winter moon to prove you (well, us) wrong.
We cannot prove their non-existence. And off course, I am agreeable with you that we can neither prove their existence.
My good friend told me that she had never tried to convinced her child to believe in Santa Claus. “Why create illusion?” I agreed. The conversation developed into religions. She said she was “science person”. I paused. And disagreed.
Believing that Santa does not exist is BELIEF. There is nothing “science” about it. In a way I do believe Santa is our imagination, but I reckon this is, too, a belief. We simply cannot prove non existance of black swan by counting white swan. There is no fact to proof that Santa does not exist.
Therefore, whether you believe in Santa or not believe in Santa, both are beliefs and not science.
Take Two: On Belief
Before I continue, things that its existence can be proven, like gravity, we “know” it exist. We don’t need to believe its existence. Things that we cannot prove by science, we choose to “believe”.
(To know is simple. They are all proven by science. To believe the “can’t-be-proven-yet”, takes efforts.)
So when I choose to believe in their existence, I am not based on scientific or empirical conclusion. When you choose to believe their non-existence, neither are you in a scientific thinking. Both are beliefs which cannot be scientifically verified or proven.
Intellectually, we are the same level. We both choose a side to BELIEVE something that cannot be proven by science, i.e. spiritual existence and/or non-existence.
A true scientific mind or a critical mind would reckon that “there is a possibility that they exist and there is a possibility that they do not exist”. And just stop there. True application of science and its methodology lead to open mindedness instead of suffocating imagination and killing the world of possibility.
I told my friend to tell her daughter that may be Santa does exist… and this is a scientific mindset.
Take Three: On Openmindedness
Then why we choose to believe what cannot be proven? The answer is why it has to be proven? Openmindedness includes more than mere scientific mind as discribed above.
It can also include a intellectual position that…standing on facts, choosing a belief yet awaring that such belief is not supoorted by empirical evidence and accept the possibility of being wrong.
A gullible mind is usually a unscientific, narrow and fixed mind that ignore possibilities despite new empirical evidences. I disagree with Richard Chappell that “Rationality must remain as a filter” because rationality itself is reason/ logic (therefore a way of belief) and not empirical facts. By practising “Rationality as filter” we are selecting facts to believe. And if we are strong in believe in our such “filtered view based on rationality”, we can be dangerously blinded from seeing new empirical evidence. Gullibility is exactly such insistance of rationality filtered knowledge despite new facts proving otherwise. For instance, before 4th century it would be considered real gullible to believe that the earth is round. The fact was that “sky is up and earth is down”, with “Rationality must remain as a filter” we would insisted that the earth is indeed flat and would sent Galileo Galilei into house arrest.
This post seems to annoy some hackers. (Evil hates truth.) Let me know if you see funny links below this line. Thanks.
There were two answers in my journey of seeking a satisfying career life or simply…life. I found one of the answer in Po Bronson’s book. I found another answer in MBTI and was reaffirmed by the movie Mr Incredible.
In “What Should I Do With My Life?”, Po Bronson interviewed 900+ persons, tracked their life changes and movements, conceptualized their experiences (like an empirical study for theoretical answers). In one of the chapters, through the story of a fickle minded medicine student, he concluded those who found their places in life do not live in 24 hours high. (!) These people still complain about day to day mundane tasks, still have to do minor things in life that they don’t like, etc. but they are happy and contented with their place now. They live in their dream.
Essentially this is because, due to their personal history, such things that they do carry significant meanings to them. They found their place because they found meanings in what they are doing. And such meanings were provided by their personal history.
And that I know one day, when I found my dream job or my place in the world, there will be no 24 hours seven days a week of high and excitements. The answer cut down 95% of my illusion on a dream life. It is important simply because it saves my time. I stop thinking of starting my career afresh as a stock dealer. I stop believing that that eight hours of day to day intense trade execution and blinking screen would provide me the constant high that make me feel that I found my place and that I live my dream.
Too many books tell what a satisfying life is, too little books tell what it is not. In Po’s “what it is not”, I found my answer.
More about Po Bronson’s “What Should I Do With My Life?”…
“‘What should I do with my life?’ is the modern, secular version of the great timeless questions about our identity, such as “Who am I?” and “Where do I belong?” We ask it in this new way simply because constant disruption in our society forces us to – every time we graduate, or get downsized, or move to a new city, we”re confronted with this version of the question. It is a little more pragmatic than its philosophical and religious antecedents, reflecting the bottom-line reality that we can search for our identity only so long without making ends meet. Asking the question aspires to end the conflict between who you are and what you do. Answering the question is the way to protect yourself from being lathed into someone you’re not.” – What should I do with my life? By Po Bronson Page 118