In 399 BC, Socrates, an ancient Greek Philosopher said, “The unexamined life is not worth living.”

Socrates said these words during his trial, where he was on trial for encouraging his students to challenge the accepted beliefs of the time and think for themselves. The sentence was death…

Socrates did have an alternative, where he could suggest another form of punishment, but that would rob him off the only thing that made his life useful (and meaningful) – to examine the the world around him and discuss how to make the world a better place.

(In olden days, ‘examining’ and ‘challenging’ the accepted beliefs could very much mean challenging authorities, policies or even rules imposed by the ruler/the government, that’s why it was ‘taboo’ to do so)

Hence, living up to the philosophies he fought for, he choose death and was executed, but his philosophies and teachings went on very far and wide, spreading across countries and nations, even to this day to some extends.

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In 1970’s, Harvey Milk, a Gay Rights activist and the first openly gay man to be elected to public office in California said, “Without hope, life’s not worth living.”

In short, Harvey Milk fought for gay rights overcoming tonnes of obstacles along the way because gays and lesbians back then had to hide their identity, and love in shadows.

Back in those days, it would be safe to assume that anyone who confesses that he/she is gay would be kicked out by their parents, get taunted by friends at school or work, alienated and despiced by their straight peers, leaving them almost no option but to get into give up and die since there is no future of changing that.

His life changed history, and his courage changed lives. In his famous “Hope Speech” in 1978, he gave the “Us” people (gays and lesbians) a gift of hope, a gift that’s relevant up till today in many ways.

Before he was assassinated, he left a message…

I ask this… If there should be an assassination, I would hope that five, ten, one hundred, a thousand would rise. I would like to see every gay lawyer, every gay architect come out – - If a bullet should enter my brain, let that bullet destroy every closet door… And that’s all. I ask for the movement to continue. Because it’s not about personal gain, not about ego, not about power… it’s about the “us’s” out there. Not only gays, but the Blacks, the Asians, the disabled, the seniors, the us’s. Without hope, the us’s give up – I know you cannot live on hope alone, but without it, life is not worth living. So you, and you, and you… You gotta give em’ hope… you gotta give em’ hope.

What a strong message to live by, without hope, life’s ‘really’ not worth living…

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In March 2010, Kuan Yew, a blogger, a professional internet marketer, an avid golfer and an internet addict said, “Without progress, life’s not worth living… keep moving forward.”

Kuan Yew is a positive thinker from Asia, who strongly believes in living life to the fullest, in a modern, practical and achievable way. He blogs about personal development at KeepMovingForward.Asia where he shares tips, books, movies and other resources about personal development.

Inspired by many great individuals and great quotes he came to know, he strives for progress in life, in the area of health, wealth and love, for all individuals. He dubbed these three elements of life as “the three pillars of success“, which form the base principles of his theories of living a successful life.

Winning in life is not about being better than the competition. It’s about constantly making progress from where you are in life, keep moving forward people, you’ve gotta keep moving forward – Kuan Yew

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Indeed everyone, you’ve gotta keep moving forward! Stay tuned for more great things to come.

Cheers!

Anyway, let’s focus on the good stuff and leave the work bitching to some other times hahahaha.

As shown above, my leaves started on 11th February, just 3 days before the 1st day of Chinese New Year on 14th. From 11th to 13th, I spent my time chilling out and preparing for Chinese New Year, didn’t do much but I did manage to do 2 very important things with regards to golf.

On the 11th, I managed to sell off my complete set of Nike Golf set for a whopping price of Rm4,000. Quite a good price considering I’ve used the set for more than a year. I wasn’t going anywhere far with the clubs and the only option left was to sell it off and get a more forgiving set, a more suitable set for beginners like me.

It was an interesting sell, I listed the product in Mudah.my for free, and then went on to advertise the product in Facebook. With Facebook advertising, I ran a targeted CPC campaign and directed my visitors to the free listing page in Mudah.my. I spent nothing more than $USD 10 bucks on it, and already had a few very interested buyers calling me to enquire about the set. Much faster than other forms of free advertising like listing it in golf forums and such, also, visitors were much more targeted and not the typical just asking for fun visitors you get usually from the golf forums.

The buyer who successfully bought it was a doctor, he called, agreed, paid me and collected the set, all on 11th Feb, all in one day. I loved it, we both had clear intentions, were able to make a decision and we both took action. Sweet!

Immediately after selling that, on the 12th, I went for a custom fitting session at the Bukit Jalil driving range proshop. Boy was I glad I invested RM100 for this session. It was enlightening to have my swing analyzed by a professional. I am now so clear about my swing, what I need to do with it, and what type of equipments would best fit it. I left the proshop knowing exactly what I need.

13th, 14th and 15th were all for Chinese New Year. Here’s what I do annually for Chinese New Year (aka CNY).

• The day before CNY = preparations, spring-cleaning, big kick-ass family dinner and praying session at the temple and more praying at home, this is usually at late night, a session called “Chip Choi San” where we welcome the God of Fortune into our home.
• On the 1st Day of CNY = “Hoi Lin” Meal at home, this is the first meal of the year, and this day is a vegetarian day. Then, “Pai Lin” session at the temple, this is the CNY visit session where you visit people’s house and collect “Ang Pau” (red packets of money). Evenings are usually spent resting at home, waiting for dinner.
• On the 2nd Day of CNY = Hometown trip at Raub, Pahang, a small town near Bentong. With all the hectic city life in KL, this is the day when all my relatives (from my father side) gather together, spend a day, and have dinner together. This is the day where everyone gather and catch up with each other after not meeting each other for a long time (about a year usually). Children and young adults would be gambling, adults and senior members would be drinking, fun day lol.

On the 16th, I visited my big boss’ open house session, the Datuk’s open house session. Big house, Balinese resort-like design, great people, good food, all types of alcohol beverages, free cigars and such, nothing short of excellence!

On the 17th, I was already golfing at the Awana Golf and Country Resort. 17th is an exceptionally special day. It started with an 8.30am tee-off at Awana, marvelous course, awesome weather and excellent course conditions. Since I sold my golf set, I was using my father’s set and naturally, I didn’t do very well. But nonetheless, this is an awesome course, would definitely come back for more golf!

Right after the game, I left Awana and proceeded to KL for my golf shopping. Only 4th day of CNY and I was already golfing and golf shopping! Woot! Woot!

After much considerations and some excellent recommendations from golfers I trust, I decided to go with the TaylorMade Burner Forged Irons – a special edition of the Burner Irons for the Japanese market, forged from gun metal by TaylorMade Japan. Excellent looks and superb forged feel. Also, MST Golf was clearing these sets as they are last year’s model and TaylorMade has a lot of new models to push. Hence, I got it off for 40% percent discount. The price for the irons from 4-PW, standard NS Pro Shaft with Regular Flex was “only” at RM2,200, an excellent bargain considering the quality you get from the irons.

In my opinion, this is the deal of the century! If you’re looking for an iron set, I highly recommend you to call MST Golf and check if they still have any units left. Slim chance, but bloody worth a try. it’s “Da Bomb’!!!

I complimented the iron set with a 56 Degree Titleist Vokey Design® Spin Milled® wedge as my Sand Wedge. This one is exceptionally nice and it feels damn awesome to hit a ball with it.

From there on, I left MST Golf and went on to an independent proshop at the Cheras Driving Range. I’ve been bugging the boss there for weeks, testing all ranges of irons and made zero purchase. I felt bad and guilty, hence I went there to give him some business. Since I’m recycling my father’s TaylorMade R5 Dual Driver and his Ping Putter, I only needed a hybrid or a fairway wood, and a nice TaylorMade Golf Bag to complete my golf shopping. Boy was he happy to finally make some money from me hahahahahha

For the wairway wood, I got a second hand R7 Ti Face 5 Wood, an old model but that was the only TaylorMade club available at the budget I’m looking at, it’s got a superb feel, and I’m gaining about 180 meters with a 5 fairway wood, so, it’s all good. As for the bag, I got a nice TaylorMade Burner Staff bag, total cost, Rm875.

Now that golf shopping was complete, I stayed on and started practicing with my new set. Hit a good 200 balls right there and then. The feeling was awesome, the new irons are smooth like ‘buttah’!!!

Practically, the whole day was a golfy day, from morning till night, and all the way through to the morning when I teed-off at Templer’s Park! That’s right, it was golf all the way babe!

On 18th February, I brought my spanking new golf gears to Templer’s Park Golf Course, and boy it was such a fantastic course! Nothing much to say about my game as I kinda sucked that day but really, the course is superb! Excellent conditions, weather was perfect and the view was just breathtaking! See for yourself

Well, that pretty much sums up the 1st part of my Chinese New Year Break. I was more or less breezing through 19th and 20th with the normal makan and gamble at friend’s house sessions.

On the 21st, I traveled down to Singapore for my 2nd half of the break! There were 4 of us in the trip, Matthew Ong, the best ‘driver’ who drove down to SG, picking Jackie and Jenie, and me together for the ride.

Thanks to Matt’s excellent suggestion, we went down to the historical town of Malacca for breakfast and had some kick-ass assam laksa and nasi lemak, and the famous “Air Batu Campur” (ABC) with Gula Melaka (Malacca Sugar)! Superb food and dirt cheap price! I love Malacca hahahaha.

After the fulfilling breakfast, we were on our way to Singapore! About 3-4 hours later, we arrived at the immigration checkpoint. Boy, even the staff there laughed when checking my passport… “Kuan Yew” is coming in to Singapore! hahah

Stayed at Jackie’s place, and ‘huat’ (gambled) with his Singaporean friends at night. Boy the Singaporean chicks can ‘huat!’ and they were using all sorts of ‘fu fit’ (gambling behaviors for good luck) when gambling, shouting ‘huat ah!” almost the entire night lol. I won 2 Sing Dollars that night, yes, only 2 bucks after a few hours lol!

Day 2 at Singapore was shopping day! Friends from Malaysia who heard about my trip all recommended me to look for Uniqlo clothes as they have great basic cotton products at great prices and it’s not available in Malaysia. So I went hunting for it. We visited quite a few malls along Orchard Road, I can’t even recall all the names but I did manage to grab quite a lot of items, 11 pieces in total, 9 of it were from Uniqlo, and 2 from TopShop.

Also, we visited Queensbay Mall, an equivalent of Pertama Complex in Malaysia where you can find the cheapest sports shoes and accessories. Got myself a pair of  Nike Lunar Swift jogging shoes, with the Nike+ device and a wrist band, these 2 items help you track your progress and such. I bought these with the intentions of starting to jog once I get back to KL.

Dinner with some other Singaporean friends were awesome. We went to Robertson’s Quay (Robertsonquay) and had Yakitori dinner, followed by chocolate desert. Food was nice but not too fantastic so no pictures, but I loved the scenery and the ambience the most. It’s unfortunate that I’m only taking all these photos with my phone camera, so pardon me on the quality, camera phones don’t take great pictures at night.

While in Singapore, we also managed to visit the new Casino as it was the latest attraction there. Only Matthew and I went in, Jackie and Jenie were back home as they had to pay $100 if they were to go (applicable to Singaporeans and PRs). We went there at about 1.00am, and boy was it packed with people! The gigantic carpark was filled up and we noticed 90% of Singaporeans car plates and a few JB ones (Johor Bahru).

Right at the entrance itself, we were greeted with this jackpot prize – a stunning Lamborghini.

We didn’t play at the tables, we were both merely visiting the casino as tourists, tried our hands at the slot machines just to officially experience the casino since we were there.

As grand as it sounded, we were both kinda disappointed with the casino. We both felt that it wasn’t as grand as we expected it to be. Even Casino de Genting looked grander, older but grander. At least in Genting, they have themed ceiling paintings, and high ceilings too. The one in Singapore felt rather normal in terms of design, you don’t get much ‘wow’ from the design. If you study the picture above, even the Lamborghini didn’t look ‘grand’. It’s a freaking Lamborghini but you don’t seem to get ‘wowed’ by looking at it. They could have displayed it with better lighting, add some spotlights to highlight certain areas and such, but, they didn’t, and the grandness of the Lamborghini didn’t shine through…

Sad but true, let’s hope they do a better job in the next casino and the Universal Studio, both launching very soon.

Our trip was coming to an end, 23rd was the last day in Singapore, we went for further shopping (that’s when I picked up the Nike shoes actually) and had our dinner at Robertson’s Quay again, this time we were eating at Ichiban Tei, a very nice Japanese restaurant. They serve a great list of food, but we were there only for the ramen, touted by my friends as the best ramen you can find in Singapore! (and not available in Malaysia, ouch!).

Boy, the ramen was AWESOME! We all had the same one, the portion was big, and taste was heavenly, and gosh when the skin and fats of the ‘chu yuk’ (pork) melts in your mouth………. orgasmic!!!

We also ordered a special roll, 1 of only 2 items marked as chef’s recommendation in the menu. It was lovely, I sure wish they open a branch in Malaysia soon, can’t wait!

(The ramen was so good and tempting, I forgot to take a picture when it arrived. Took this from the menu instead hehe)

Well, that’s it for my Awesome Chinese New Year Break this year. Arrived back in KL at about 1.30am and straight to work the very next day. Feeling satisfied that I’ve maximized all my leaves, all my much deserved leaves

It’s back to work now, looking forward to my next break to Australia in August.

Happy New Year everyone!

In life, we’re always chasing success, always fighting and struggling to get bigger, better, higher, richer and so on and so forth. At the end of the day, do we really know what we’re fighting for?

Here’s a fine story to bring us one step back and ask ourselves, what exactly are we chasing after?

A boat docked in a tiny Mexican village. An American tourist complimented the Mexican fisherman on the quality of his fish and asked “How long it took him to catch them?”
“Not very long,” answered the Mexican.

“But then, why didn’t you stay out longer and catch more?” asked the American.
The Mexican explained that his small catch was sufficient to meet his needs and those of his family.

The American asked, “But what do you do with the rest of your time?”
“I sleep late, fish a little, play with my children, and take a siesta with my wife.
In the evenings, I go into the village to see my friends, play the guitar, and sing a few songs… I have a full life.”

The American interrupted, “I have an MBA from Harvard, and I can help you!

You should start by fishing longer every day. You can then sell the extra fish you catch. With the extra revenue, you can buy a bigger boat.”

“And after that?” asked the Mexican.

“With the extra money the larger boat will bring, you can buy a second one and a third one and so on until you have an entire fleet of trawlers. Instead of selling your fish to a middle man, you can then negotiate directly with the processing plants and maybe even open your own plant. You can then leave this little village and move to Mexico City, Los Angeles , or even New York City ! From there you can direct your huge new enterprise.”

“How long would that take?” asked the Mexican?
“Twenty, perhaps twenty-five years,” replied the American.

“And after that?”
Well, my friend, that’s when it gets really interesting, ” answered the American, laughing.

“When your business gets really big, you can cart selling stocks and make millions!”
“Millions? Really? And after that?” said the Mexican.

“After that you’ll be able to retire, live in a tiny village near the coast, sleep late, play with your children, catch a few fish, take a siesta with your wife and spend your evenings doing what you like and enjoying your friends.”

“With all due respect sir, but that’s exactly what I am doing now. So what’s the point wasting twenty-five years?” asked the Mexican……..

And the moral of the story is… Know where you’re going in life… you may already be there.

Do you know where you’re going in life?

This is the text of the Commencement address by Steve Jobs, CEO of Apple Computer and of Pixar Animation Studios, delivered on June 12, 2005.

Source: Standford University

I am honored to be with you today at your commencement from one of the finest universities in the world. I never graduated from college. Truth be told, this is the closest I’ve ever gotten to a college graduation. Today I want to tell you three stories from my life. That’s it. No big deal. Just three stories.

The first story is about connecting the dots.

I dropped out of Reed College after the first 6 months, but then stayed around as a drop-in for another 18 months or so before I really quit. So why did I drop out?

It started before I was born. My biological mother was a young, unwed college graduate student, and she decided to put me up for adoption. She felt very strongly that I should be adopted by college graduates, so everything was all set for me to be adopted at birth by a lawyer and his wife. Except that when I popped out they decided at the last minute that they really wanted a girl. So my parents, who were on a waiting list, got a call in the middle of the night asking: “We have an unexpected baby boy; do you want him?” They said: “Of course.” My biological mother later found out that my mother had never graduated from college and that my father had never graduated from high school. She refused to sign the final adoption papers. She only relented a few months later when my parents promised that I would someday go to college.

And 17 years later I did go to college. But I naively chose a college that was almost as expensive as Stanford, and all of my working-class parents’ savings were being spent on my college tuition. After six months, I couldn’t see the value in it. I had no idea what I wanted to do with my life and no idea how college was going to help me figure it out. And here I was spending all of the money my parents had saved their entire life. So I decided to drop out and trust that it would all work out OK. It was pretty scary at the time, but looking back it was one of the best decisions I ever made. The minute I dropped out I could stop taking the required classes that didn’t interest me, and begin dropping in on the ones that looked interesting.

It wasn’t all romantic. I didn’t have a dorm room, so I slept on the floor in friends’ rooms, I returned coke bottles for the 5¢ deposits to buy food with, and I would walk the 7 miles across town every Sunday night to get one good meal a week at the Hare Krishna temple. I loved it. And much of what I stumbled into by following my curiosity and intuition turned out to be priceless later on. Let me give you one example:

Reed College at that time offered perhaps the best calligraphy instruction in the country. Throughout the campus every poster, every label on every drawer, was beautifully hand calligraphed. Because I had dropped out and didn’t have to take the normal classes, I decided to take a calligraphy class to learn how to do this. I learned about serif and san serif typefaces, about varying the amount of space between different letter combinations, about what makes great typography great. It was beautiful, historical, artistically subtle in a way that science can’t capture, and I found it fascinating.

None of this had even a hope of any practical application in my life. But ten years later, when we were designing the first Macintosh computer, it all came back to me. And we designed it all into the Mac. It was the first computer with beautiful typography. If I had never dropped in on that single course in college, the Mac would have never had multiple typefaces or proportionally spaced fonts. And since Windows just copied the Mac, its likely that no personal computer would have them. If I had never dropped out, I would have never dropped in on this calligraphy class, and personal computers might not have the wonderful typography that they do. Of course it was impossible to connect the dots looking forward when I was in college. But it was very, very clear looking backwards ten years later.

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. This approach has never let me down, and it has made all the difference in my life.

My second story is about love and loss.

I was lucky — I found what I loved to do early in life. Woz and I started Apple in my parents garage when I was 20. We worked hard, and in 10 years Apple had grown from just the two of us in a garage into a $2 billion company with over 4000 employees. We had just released our finest creation — the Macintosh — a year earlier, and I had just turned 30. And then I got fired. How can you get fired from a company you started? Well, as Apple grew we hired someone who I thought was very talented to run the company with me, and for the first year or so things went well. But then our visions of the future began to diverge and eventually we had a falling out. When we did, our Board of Directors sided with him. So at 30 I was out. And very publicly out. What had been the focus of my entire adult life was gone, and it was devastating.

I really didn’t know what to do for a few months. I felt that I had let the previous generation of entrepreneurs down – that I had dropped the baton as it was being passed to me. I met with David Packard and Bob Noyce and tried to apologize for screwing up so badly. I was a very public failure, and I even thought about running away from the valley. But something slowly began to dawn on me — I still loved what I did. The turn of events at Apple had not changed that one bit. I had been rejected, but I was still in love. And so I decided to start over.

I didn’t see it then, but it turned out that getting fired from Apple was the best thing that could have ever happened to me. The heaviness of being successful was replaced by the lightness of being a beginner again, less sure about everything. It freed me to enter one of the most creative periods of my life.

During the next five years, I started a company named NeXT, another company named Pixar, and fell in love with an amazing woman who would become my wife. Pixar went on to create the worlds first computer animated feature film, Toy Story, and is now the most successful animation studio in the world. In a remarkable turn of events, Apple bought NeXT, I returned to Apple, and the technology we developed at NeXT is at the heart of Apple’s current renaissance. And Laurene and I have a wonderful family together.

I’m pretty sure none of this would have happened if I hadn’t been fired from Apple. It was awful tasting medicine, but I guess the patient needed it. 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.

My third story is about death.

When I was 17, I read a quote that went something like: “If you live each day as if it was your last, someday you’ll most certainly be right.” It made an impression on me, and since then, for the past 33 years, I have looked in the mirror every morning and asked myself: “If today were the last day of my life, would I want to do what I am about to do today?” And whenever the answer has been “No” for too many days in a row, I know I need to change something.

Remembering that I’ll be dead soon is the most important tool I’ve ever encountered to help me make the big choices in life. Because almost everything — all external expectations, all pride, all fear of embarrassment or failure – these things just fall away in the face of death, leaving only what is truly important. Remembering that you are going to die is the best way I know to avoid the trap of thinking you have something to lose. You are already naked. There is no reason not to follow your heart.

About a year ago I was diagnosed with cancer. I had a scan at 7:30 in the morning, and it clearly showed a tumor on my pancreas. I didn’t even know what a pancreas was. The doctors told me this was almost certainly a type of cancer that is incurable, and that I should expect to live no longer than three to six months. My doctor advised me to go home and get my affairs in order, which is doctor’s code for prepare to die. It means to try to tell your kids everything you thought you’d have the next 10 years to tell them in just a few months. It means to make sure everything is buttoned up so that it will be as easy as possible for your family. It means to say your goodbyes.

I lived with that diagnosis all day. Later that evening I had a biopsy, where they stuck an endoscope down my throat, through my stomach and into my intestines, put a needle into my pancreas and got a few cells from the tumor. I was sedated, but my wife, who was there, told me that when they viewed the cells under a microscope the doctors started crying because it turned out to be a very rare form of pancreatic cancer that is curable with surgery. I had the surgery and I’m fine now.

This was the closest I’ve been to facing death, and I hope its the closest I get for a few more decades. Having lived through it, I can now say this to you with a bit more certainty than when death was a useful but purely intellectual concept:

No one wants to die. Even people who want to go to heaven don’t want to die to get there. And yet death is the destination we all share. No one has ever escaped it. And that is as it should be, because Death is very likely the single best invention of Life. It is Life’s change agent. It clears out the old to make way for the new. Right now the new is you, but someday not too long from now, you will gradually become the old and be cleared away. Sorry to be so dramatic, but it is quite true.

Your time is limited, so don’t waste it living someone else’s life. Don’t be trapped by dogma — which is living with the results of other people’s thinking. Don’t let the noise of others’ opinions drown out your own inner voice. And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. They somehow already know what you truly want to become. Everything else is secondary.

When I was young, there was an amazing publication called The Whole Earth Catalog, which was one of the bibles of my generation. It was created by a fellow named Stewart Brand not far from here in Menlo Park, and he brought it to life with his poetic touch. This was in the late 1960’s, before personal computers and desktop publishing, so it was all made with typewriters, scissors, and polaroid cameras. It was sort of like Google in paperback form, 35 years before Google came along: it was idealistic, and overflowing with neat tools and great notions.

Stewart and his team put out several issues of The Whole Earth Catalog, and then when it had run its course, they put out a final issue. It was the mid-1970s, and I was your age. On the back cover of their final issue was a photograph of an early morning country road, the kind you might find yourself hitchhiking on if you were so adventurous. Beneath it were the words: “Stay Hungry. Stay Foolish.” It was their farewell message as they signed off. Stay Hungry. Stay Foolish. And I have always wished that for myself. And now, as you graduate to begin anew, I wish that for you.

Stay Hungry. Stay Foolish.

Thank you all very much.

Yes indeed, stay hungry, stay foolish. Find what you love and keep moving forward with it!

Have a great day people! Share this with all your friends!

Lovely right! Well, don’t be surprised but these are drawn by Doug Landis, using his mouth! Find out more about Doug from his website www.mouthart.com

I find Doug to be extremely inspiring, truly living to the proverb – When there is a will, there is a way. If you’re reading this, please take a moment to visit his website and view his gallery of pictures.

A lot of us are guilty of finding excuses to not do something due to imperfect facilities or complain that we can’t do our best due to a million other excuses, but look at Doug, when there is a will, there is ALWAYS a way.

Hope this inspires you, share this piece of inspiration to your friends, if they “get it”, they’ll thank you for life!

Keep Moving Forward people!

Cheers!

I was about to call it a night, would probably just watch a DVD before I go to bed. I guess it’s not too bad to just chill and relax on the first day of 2010. That when my buddy called and ‘forced’ me to join him at the Gentlemen’s Club. The club is fictional of course, we’re not the high-rollers with too much money to spend haha.

A mutual friend of ours bought a lot of champagne and a box of cigar, so we went to the pool below his apartment and spend 5 hours enjoying the goods and reminiscing old times and all the crazy things that happened in youth.

It was a splendid night, had so much fun, the champagnes was nice and fruity, the cigars were flavorful, the company was just awesome and hilarious, we laughed so hard and loud I was praying that the security gurad won’t come and bother us lol.

I guess, the most important thing about this event is the fact that I said ‘yes’. Yes, I said ‘yes’ to my friend’s invite, he managed to force his way through and made me say yes to join him to this gentlemen’s club. Had I not accepted the invite, I would have missed so much, I would have missed such a great way to usher in the new year.

Saying yes can sometimes lead to many wonderful things in life, just like the movie “Yes Man” by Jim Carrey. So go on people, say more yes than you say no. Enjoy the many surprises and opportunities that come along when you begin to say yes to life. Be a yes man, or a yes woman towards life. Say yes to life!

Here’s wishing you a great year in 2010. Remember to make it your best year!

Join us on Facebook, let’s make THIS YEAR the best year of our lives!

I loved it, the concept is beautiful and very much aligned to positive people like myself, so I joined it, and in 2009, I joined the new group, “I’m making 2009 the best year of my life!”

Both groups are created and administered by the same people, unfortunately, there were so much less members in 2009. I wonder why, are there less positive people in 2009? Hahaha, anyway, the 2010 group has yet to be created, perhaps I should take the initiative and create one, more about this later.

Anyway, in early 2009, I made a list of the things I would like to achieve and make 2009 the best year of my life. I managed to achieve quite a few goals, lost some, made some new ones too! Here are the positive highlights of my 2009, yes, there were much mishaps and much unfortunate disappointments too, but I choose to learn from them, remember only the lessons learned and not the disappointments caused, keep looking forward, and focus on the positive highlights. Well, here goes…

In early part of the year, February to be precise, I started a new job with a prestigious global interactive agency. What a great start for the year! The increment was great, the potentials of what can be achieved were overwhelming, and the challenges ahead were intimidating!

I still remember my first day of stepping into the office, the first employee to ever walk into this ‘renewed’ company, excluding the big boss of course, where the office has just been painted new and it was bare, we didn’t even have office chairs nor any computers! It totally felt like stepping into our own office. Me and my boss were working like office administrators, cleaning up the office, shopping for items to buy, setting up the phone lines, determining who sits where and why, scrubbing the big office logo clean, fixing the toilet, changing the lights, and much, much more.

We both felt like entrepreneurs starting our own office lol. What an experience!

Not too long after, all the new colleagues came in and that’s when we had an official launch. It was a blast. Daily challenges aside, somewhere in the middle of 2009, I was enrolled into the group’s annual training course, called the DDBU (U for university). It’s a 3-months course for managers and below within the entire group of companies to get an intensive training on our industry, all the different channels and aspects of communications, such as PR, event, strategic planning, creative execution, online, offline, mobile, integrated campaigns, etc, everything under the communication industry’s big umbrella.

“Students” went through weekly weekend classes for all the different topics, and were divided into groups for a final assignment, presenting a proposal to all the higher management people of the entire group, including the “Datuk” who’s known for his merciless feedback during such presentations. People have been told to jump off the window for presenting a bad idea before, he didn’t jump of course, well, you get the picture lol.

I was chosen as the ‘class monitor’ for the students and boy what a ride. I work like the coordinator, meeting the needs of the trainers, chasing the students with a rotan in hand, collecting fines for late comers, taking attendance in class, yes, taking attendance lol, how ironic!

When it boiled down to the final assignment, I’m grateful to say, me and my team won all the team awards that were available. Yes, we swept it all. We won best idea, best teamwork and overall champion. What a relief, my team was one of the most disorganized team, we had what seemed like the worst chemistry, arguments easily turned into street quarrels with swear words flying around the conference room, there were little respect for each other to work like professionals, hours to the presentation, we were still building our presentation deck, still quarreling! Hahahhaha, that was such an experience.

Don’t get me wrong, not all the team members were swearing, only one or two in particular, and I was the one whom a particular member was swearing at hahahaha, classic! You know who your are! lol

I guess, at the end of it, the real rewards for this DDBU thing are the lessons we learned and the new friendships we built, anything else, the awards, the recognition, those are the bonus you get.

It’s been a long hectic year at work I’d say, a real roller-coaster ride full of major ups and downs. It certainly did contribute a lot to making 2009 the best year of my life! Now, nuff bout work, here are something more interesting.

2009 is the best year of my life because it’s also the same year when I finally found my passion for golf. To be precise, I fell in love with golf. In the beginning of 2009, I started collecting a golf set to call my own. Since there were so many options, and I’m not too much of a technical guy who goes reading and comparing all the specs to decide on a set, I followed my heart and went for Nike, Tiger Wood’s brand lol. Tiger Woods (despite all the off course swinging activities), shall always remain as one of the best golfers I have high respects for. He’s my golf idol!

So when Nike released the Victory Red Iron series, I decided, those are the clubs for me. I went for the Victory Red Forged Split Cavity irons, the set for med-to-low handicappers, a semi pros’s set. I then moved on to collect the rest of my NikeGolf equipments, and the rest is history. After a full long year, here’s what’s in my bag:

• Nike Dymo 10.5 Driver
• Nike Dymo 3 Fairway Wood
• Nike Victory Red Forged Split Cavity Irons
• Nike Victory Red Sand Wedge
• Nike Victory Red Lop Wedge
• Nike Unitized Putter
• Nike Tour Professional Golf Cart Bag
• 2nd hand Nike Balls, I bought a box of Nike Power Distance Long golf balls as a Christmas present to myself
• Nike gloves
• One Nike Golf Dry-Fit shirt, in S size, to wear when I finally slim down to fit into the S Size hahahahah

I’ve got the equipments, time to bring on the performance! I didn’t exactly manage to achieve my golf performance goals in 2009, haven’t even broke 100 yet lol, but I sure did enjoy a great year of golfing, and I look forward to improving my game greatly in 2010.

I still remember my ex CEO’s golf invite, he told me to give him a call when my game gets more consistent and I break 100. He’ll buy me a round on golf with him. A game of golf is not expensive, but a game of golf with such a great corporate warrior like him, one of my favorite mentors, one of the most successful men I’ve personally encountered and been mentored by, now that’s something. Steve, I’ll claim my game in 2010 hahaha!

The biggest thing about golf for me in 2009 was the fact that I truly fell in love with it. Life has a new purpose now, a new found passion, one that I know I’ll treasure and enjoy for many, many more years to come. And that my friends, is a true blessing, when you find something (or someone) that you are so passionate about, you’ll definitely enjoy life more. And that, is very important in life.

When it comes to my blog, I can’t say I’ve achieved much, there’s still so much work to do! The good news is, after many blogs in the past, from food to weight loss to digital marketing to golf, I finally make peace with myself and found the topic that I would like to write about for many years to come.

It’s ok if I don’t become a millionaire from this blog, it’s ok if I can’t live and work as a full time blogger, it’s ok if I don’t get thousands of visits every day. So long as I’m happy to write about it, and my blog inspires one or two people to move forward in their lives, I’m done!

If you don’t know it yet, I’m a personal development blogger. I inspire others to move forward in their lives, and in golf. Golf anf live are greatly similar in many ways. They both require you to move forward, to go up another notch, to learn endlessly, to harness the skills and experience and achieve greater heights, it’s the perfect thing for me!

As a positive thinker, I’m always about moving forward, always about making achievements I can be proud of, always about overcoming challenges ahead and savoring the moments of success. My friends, that’s life, and golf too!

On 26th July 2009, when I wrote my first post on KeepMovingForward.Asia, my Alexa ranking was at 9,626,914. Today, it’s gone up to 1,140,339. That’s not too bad. I didn’t make much money from this, way too early for any real profits anyway, but 30% of my Internet income over the last 4 years, did come from this blog, and I’m glad about it. After all these years, things finally make sense. I might be millions of years away from becoming an internet millionaire, but I’m making progress, and I’m finally moving forward too, and that’s what really matters.

When it come to chicks, friendships, love and relationships, 2009 was… “exciting” to say the least. I’ve made so, so many new friends in 2009. From partying with hot chicks to meaningful old and new friendships made, I viewed life from their perspectives and understood a little bit more about what or who I really am.

To all the genuine friends I met who were genuinely interested to make friends and share a small portion of our lives, thank you. You all have made my life that much more interesting.

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As I wrap up my 2009, the best year of my life so far, notice how much I’ve elaborated on each part of my life. Career was such a big part of it, followed by golf, my blog, and friendship & relationships. It goes to show how much time I’ve spent in each part. While it is the best year of my life, there’s so much room for improvements!

There’s definitely a lot more to life other than career! What about spending time with family, with friends, traveling, falling in love, building a meaningful relationship, pursuing my passions, and so on and so forth? These are all very important parts of life too and they all need time to build, to foster, to nurture and to cherish.

Hence, the only way to top 2010 and make it the best year of my life is to ‘diversify’ the way I spend my time. Here’s an interesting story shared by a sweet, sweet friend…

THE MAYONNAISE JAR AND 2 CUPS OF COFFEE

When things in your life seem, almost too much to handle,
When 24 Hours in a day is not enough,
Remember the mayonnaise jar and 2 cups of coffee.

A professor stood before his philosophy class and had some  items in  front of him.? When the class began, wordlessly, ?he picked up a very large and empty mayonnaise jar and proceeded to fill it with golf balls.

He then asked the students, if the jar was full. They agreed that it was.

The professor then picked up a box of pebbles and poured them into the jar. He shook the jar lightly. ?The pebbles rolled into the open areas between the golf balls.?? He then asked the students again if the jar was full. They agreed it was.

The professor next picked up a box of sand and poured it into the jar.? Of course, the sand filled up everything else. ?He asked once more if the jar was full. The students responded with a unanimous ‘yes.’

The professor then produced two cups of coffee from under the table and poured the entire contents into the jar, effectively filling the empty space between the sand. The students laughed.

‘Now,’ said the professor, as the laughter subsided,

‘I want you to recognize that this jar represents your life.? The golf balls are the important things – family, children, health, friends, and favorite passions – ?Things that if everything else was lost and only they remained, your life would still be full.

The pebbles are the other things that matter like your job, house, and car. ??The sand is everything else – The small stuff.

‘If you put the sand into the jar first,’
He continued, ‘there is no room for the pebbles or the golf balls. ?The same goes for life.

If you spend all your time and energy on the small stuff, you will never have room for the things that are important to you.

So……? pay attention to the things that are critical to your happiness.

Play with your children.
Take time to get medical checkups.
Take your partner out to dinner.

There will always be time to clean the house and fix the disposal.

‘Take care of the golf balls first – ?The things that really matter. ?Set your priorities. The rest is just sand.

‘??One of the students raised her hand and inquired what the coffee represented.?? The professor smiled..

‘I’m glad you asked’.?? It just goes to show you that no matter how full your life may seem,? there’s always room for a couple of cups of coffee with a friend.

Please share this with other “Golf Balls”

I just did…….

Happy New Year everyone!

May your 2010 be filled with lots of achievements, moments of success, and lots of love! Make 2010 the best year of your life! Since no one has continued the “I’m Making XXXX the Best Year of My Life” group on Facebook yet, I’ve created a group called “I’m Making This Year The Best Year of My Life!”

Join it, become a Fan, get involved, spread the news, make 2010 the best year of your life!

I hope everyone reading this would be able to make 2010, and each and every year after, the best year of their lives.

Keep Moving Forward everyone!

Cheers and good luck!

-Kuan Yew

Do you know what happens to Christmas tree, after Christmas?

Exactly! They get thrown away! This pine tree finally learn the importance of being appreciated all year round instead of only the quick few days of Christmas.

Expect lots of great illustrations, especially how the forests friends are brought to life. Nothing short of excellence.

The touching story and the illustrations will make this a worthy collection to have. The children will love it!

Here are some other product information you might find useful:

Reading level: Ages 4-8
Hardcover: 32 pages
Publisher: Sleeping Bear Press; 1 edition (August 29, 2000)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1585360023
ISBN-13: 978-1585360024
Product Dimensions: 11.6 x 9.1 x 0.5 inches
Shipping Weight: 14.4 ounces

Amazon.com Review

Book Description
This charming tale of an overgrown pine always being passed by for Christmas, and what his woodland friends do to help him, is sure to become a Christmas classic. With delightful illustrations by wildlife artist Michael Monroe and enchanting text from Colleen Monroe, the birds, deer and squirrel of this story help make their special friend’s wish come true.

Card catalog description
Feeling sad because no one chooses it as a Christmas tree, a bedraggled forest pine discovers the importance of being appreciated all year long.

Product Description

This charming tale of an overgrown pine that was always passed over for Christmas, and what his woodland friends do to help him, is sure to become a holiday classic for years to come. With delightful illustrations by wildlife artist Michael Glenn Monroe and enchanting text by Colleen Monroe.

Customer Reviews

As a former Ohio resident who has lived in Florida for 30 years, I, as all my neighbors, love Christmas, even without the snow. This book is an extension of that love, and everything that is good about Christmas; emotion, caring and love for others.

The illustrations are beautiful, but the message is just as important. I read it to my grandchildren and they almost cried, until the end, when they yelled with delight at the perfectly complete and timed ending. This book is now a holiday ritual for our family. I recommend this book to all who love the spirit of Christmas, regardless of religion. (by Anna Williamson)

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If one wishes to learn the meaning of life, goodness, and generosity to others, you must read this book! Being from Michigan, and now living in the desert, I can bring the cold and snow into our home to my two young children.
The story tells of a sad tree who so wishes to be a Christmas tree and how his dear friends help him feel proud and special by a simple act of kindness.
You will read this book year-round and it will become a favorite Christmas story as it is in our home. (by Ann Holeso)

How the Grinch Stole Christmas is about Grinch, a mean old man who wants to stop Christmas from arriving so that people will not be happy. So, he went on to steal all the Christmas presents from the kids, thinking Christmas will not come, since everyone will be sad and won’t be in celebration moods.

Christmas came of course, and the Grinch finally understood the meaning of Christmas after a series of events.

This is a very popular book and even movies have been made, starring Jim Carrey, too! If you don’t have a copy yet, grab one now from Amazon, you’ll treasure it for a long time.

Some other product information you might find useful:

Reading level: Ages 4-8
Hardcover: 64 pages
Publisher: Random House Books for Young Readers; First Edition edition (October 12, 1957)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0394800796
ISBN-13: 978-0394800790
Product Dimensions: 11.1 x 8 x 0.4 inches
Shipping Weight: 10.4 ounces

Amazon.com Review

You’re a mean one, Mr. Grinch. But are you rotten enough to ruin Whoville’s Christmas Whobilation this year, even after Cindy Lou Who nominates you to be the Cheermeister of the event? Based on Dr. Seuss’s wacky and wonderful classic picture book, How the Grinch Stole Christmas and the motion picture screenplay of the same name, this novelization elaborates on the story of a holiday gone awry. Little Cindy Lou Who, her cheerfully dopey dad, Lou Lou Who, her semi-delinquent teenage brothers Stu and Drew Lou Who, the Martha Stewartesque Martha May Whovier, and the nastiest, most cynical, evil-hearted Grinch around star in this Christmas comedy. Seventeen color photos from the film are included. (Ages 8 to 12) –Emilie Coulter –This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Description

The Grinch, whose heart is two sizes too small, hates Who-ville’s holiday celebrations, and plans to steal all the presents to prevent Christmas from coming. To his amazement, Christmas comes anyway, and the Grinch discovers the true meaning of the holiday.

Customer Reviews

My 9 year old took a look at the face of Jim Carey, as the movie Grinch, and said, “That’s not the real Grinch!”

He’s right, of course. It’s hard when a book you’ve been reading faithfully every year is made into a movie, and you see who Hollywood gives the lead part to. (Then again, who else would anyone cast in this rubber-faced role?)

This is the original story, with the real face of the scowling, mean-spirited Grinch. That face changes from bad to worse, and then to tender when he finally “gets” the meaning of Christmas.

But before he does, children and adults will read (and reread) in delight and shock as the Grinch disguises himself as Santa. The innocent townspeople of Whoville never seem to catch on as the Grinch forces his poor dog Max to help him steal all the toys and ornaments. He’s so sure that once he’s done away with the material goodies, the Christmas spirit will be gone.

A wonderful story with a message we can’t hear enough. Add this to a child’s Christmas bookshelf, or give it to that grumpy coworker who’s ba-humbuging around.

This book is the classic (accept no substitutes)! (by Annie Quaker)

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I have memorized this book I love it so much! The young and young at heart will love Dr. Seuss’s crazy rhymes and cool words (have you ever gotten a “fuzzle” for Christmas? have you ever eaten “who hash”?…but you must have been to Whoville!) This book is silly and crazy, but it also gives a very important Christmas message which I think has been very much lacking in our society today. It’s so easy to get caught up in the holidays (or hating the holidays, a la Grinch), that we forget the true meaning of Christmas. I’m not only talking about religion (which is ultimately the reason for the season, but don’t get me started!), but also the time we spend with family and friends. Here’s one of my favourite Grinchy quotes: “He puzzled and puzzed til his puzzler was sore. Then the Grinch thought of something he hadn’t before. “Maybe Christmas..” he thought “Doesn’t come from a store. Maybe Christmas, perhaps, means a little bit more.” Keep that in mind. Merry Grinch-mas! “Welcome Christmas, bring your cheer. Cheer to all Whos far and near. Christmas day is in our grasp, so long as we have hands to clasp. Christmas day will always be just as long as we have we. Welcome Christmas while we stand, heart to heart, and hand in hand.” (by a reader)

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How The Grinch Stole Christmas is a classic tale about greed, materialism, and the kindness of man for his fellow man all wrapped up in one great big package! The illustrations are wonderful and the rhyming text impresses me. This is a story by Dr. Seuss that is so popular it was made into a Christmastime TV special; and it deserves every bit of recognition that it gets. (Note: this story is very popular; and because many, many people know it all the way through there are spoilers in this review.)

When the story begins we are introduced to the Grinch. He hates Christmas with all celebrations down in “Who-ville,” a village he can see from his home on a mountain. The Grinch hates the noise, the caroling, the sharing of presents and the feast of “roast beast.”

Eventually the Grinch gets an idea–he dresses up as Santa Claus and uses his dog Max for a reindeer; and this perverse take on the real Santa Claus tale is meant to strike people as ugly. The Grinch comes down from the mountain with his sled and his dog Max made up to look like a reindeer. Soon the Grinch steals all the presents, the stocking hung with care on the fireplace mantle, the roast beast, the Christmas trees–and even the firewood!

The Grinch gets quite a surprise when on Christmas day the “Whos” of “Who-ville” celebrate and rejoice anyway–without any material things to mark the holiday spirit. This shocks the Grinch and he must consider the possibility that Christmas doesn’t just “come from a store.”

Of course, once the Grinch learns his lesson he returns everything and there’s quite a huge celebration with the Grinch leading the way as he carves the “roast beast.” It’s a very positive ending.

The moral of the story for our children is, of course, that Christmas DOESN’T just come from a store. The importance of Christmas with its religious significance and its message of good will toward all mankind is stressed without banging the child on the head too aggressively. The story overall makes for a fascinating experience for the children. I have many fond memories of watching this TV special and reading this book when I was a very young child.

As with many Dr. Seuss books, children can use this book on a concrete, literal level to improve their vocabulary and reading skills. Older kids will learn the importance of Christmas and the need for all mankind to respect each other and share the beauties of the world together.

I highly recommend this exceptional children’s book.(by Matthew G. Sherwin)

The Christmas Baby is written by Marion Dane Bauer and illustrated by Richard Cowdrey, the same person who illustrated Bad Dog, Marley and A Very Marley Christmas, both by John Grogan.

The Christmas Baby celebrates the joy of a new baby being born into this world and the illustrations are simply superb. Just look at the cover, so cute! The illustrations alone will win the hearts of the children.

Here are some other information you might find useful:

Reading level: Ages 4-8
Hardcover: 32 pages
Publisher: Simon & Schuster Children’s Publishing (October 6, 2009)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1416978852
ISBN-13: 978-1416978855
Product Dimensions: 10.2 x 10.2 x 0.5 inches
Shipping Weight: 1 pounds

Product Description

When a baby was born in the manger, Mary and Joseph rejoiced. The angels sang, and kings journeyed to bring gifts. When you came into the world, there was a celebration too – because every new baby is a small miracle.

About the Author

Marion Dane Bauer is the author of many books for young readers, including the Newbery Honor book On My Honor and the New York Times bestseller My Mother Is Mine. Her other titles include A Mama for Owen, If You Were Born a Kitten, Grandmother’s Song, and the forthcoming Thank You for Me! Marion is on the faculty of the Vermont College MFA program in writing for children and young adults. She lives in Eden Prairie, Minnesota, and can be reached at mariondanebauer.com.

RICHARD COWDREY is the illustrator of Bad Dog, Marley and A Very Marley Christmas, both by John Grogan. He has also illustrated The Sandman by Ralph Fletcher. He lives in Gambier, Ohio.

Customer Review

I love reading this to my daughter. The pictures are wonderful, and do a great job portraying the story of jesus being born. And it also relates it to a baby being born in the image of God. I just Love it!! (by Mandy Molt)