Decoding Your Destiny 2012 By Joey Yap

Got Mandy to accompany me to attend this fengshui n bazi seminar by Joey Yap on Sun...although Joey repeated some of the basic bazi stuff...he covered some new stuff...i always find bazi study v. intriguing...esp when it comes to reading my own bazi chart o.O

Joey covered interesting concepts abt change...nothing changes unless something new comes into ur life or goes out of ur life! U either do something different or change ur environment to bring abt a change! So don't wait n see! U can do something different or have something different come to u! N it's ur bad karma if u dont change it!

N Michael Mike says: "The opportunist would drink it all!" 

Btw, i happened to see that there were ppl searching for gossips on Joey Yap's gf n they landed on this leechie blog...sorry to disappoint u...no such gossip here...lol...

Btw, leechie will be in Malacca this weekend...who's up for watching Euro final there? ;p

Before i go, check out the lovely nite scenery from One Altitude! Juz found out that i could actually see where i stay from One Altitude!

This was my first visit to One Altitude...gotta thx DJ Modium for his kind invitation =)

With Siobhan n Sherman at One Altitude...u muz b wondering why this pic is so blur...well, the photographer was Terence who happened to walk past n he explained the blur shot by saying that all nite shots r all like this! =.="

A Mother's Hands...

Our Adrian was busy posting updates on a certain Con Hee case until he said ship captain said "cool it"...Juz a short insiders' joke before sharing a touching story from Henry Ling...Humanity is a quality which isn't found in many urbanites today...haiz =.="

My fb postings: 

"Som ppl like to preach, thinking that they understand me n know my situation v. Well. If u wanna preach, pls don't come to me. Go n b a pastor instead. Much more lucrative too ;p"

"Mayb I shld consider dating a pastor who can fulfill my Hollywood dreams? Anyone wanna intro any rich pastor to a Leechie? ;p"

"Kong Hee Fatt Choy! Huat arh!"

Frenz' responses:

"Take note that beside looking for those guys who found career in religion, you can also consider those in charity, politics, banking lines. Haha ... Good night LC" 

"Politics is a no-no for the time being... Those political high-rankers are under evaluation & monitoring at the moment. At any moment, their secrets would be exposed and you'll have to attend court sessions for no reasons. I suggest you cast your eyes over the river and look for those datuks and tuns."

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"One young academically excellent person went to apply for a managerial position in a big company.

He passed the first interview, the director did the last interview, made the last decision.

The director discovered from the CV that the youth's academic achievements were excellent all the way, from the secondary school until the postgraduate research, never had a year when he did not score.

The director asked, "Did you obtain any scholarships in school?" the youth answered "none".

The director asked, " Was it your father who paid for your school fees?" The youth answered, "My father passed away when I was one year old, it was my mother who paid for my school fees.

The director asked, " Where did your mother work?" The youth answered, "My mother worked as clothes cleaner. The director requested the youth to show his hands. The youth showed a pair of hands that were smooth and perfect.

The director asked, " Have you ever helped your mother wash the clothes before?" The youth answered, "Never, my mother always wanted me to study and read more books. Furthermore, my mother can wash clothes faster than me.

The director said, "I have a request. When you go back today, go and clean your mother's hands, and then see me tomorrow morning."

The youth felt that his chance of landing the job was high. When he went back, he happily requested his mother to let him clean her hands. His mother felt strange, happy but with mixed feelings, she showed her hands to the kid.

The youth cleaned his mother's hands slowly. His tear fell as he did that. It was the first time he noticed that his mother's hands were so wrinkled, and there were so many bruises in her hands. Some bruises were so painful that his mother shivered when they were cleaned with water.

This was the first time the youth realized that it was this pair of hands that washed the clothes everyday to enable him to pay the school fee. The bruises in the mother's hands were the price that the mother had to pay for his graduation, academic excellence and his future.

After finishing the cleaning of his mother hands, the youth quietly washed all the remaining clothes for his mother.

That night, mother and son talked for a very long time.

Next morning, the youth went to the director's office.

The Director noticed the tears in the youth's eyes, asked: " Can you tell me what have you done and learned yesterday in your house?"

The youth answered, " I cleaned my mother's hand, and also finished cleaning all the remaining clothes'

The Director asked, " please tell me your feelings."

The youth said, Number 1, I know now what is appreciation. Without my mother, there would not the successful me today. Number 2, by working together and helping my mother, only I now realize how difficult and tough it is to get something done. Number 3, I have come to appreciate the importance and value of family relationship.

The director said, " This is what I am looking for to be my manager. I want to recruit a person who can appreciate the help of others, a person who knows the sufferings of others to get things done, and a person who would not put money as his only goal in life. You are hired."

Later on, this young person worked very hard, and received the respect of his subordinates. Every employee worked diligently and as a team. The company's performance improved tremendously.

A child, who has been protected and habitually given whatever he wanted, would develop "entitlement mentality" and would always put himself first. He would be ignorant of his parent's efforts. When he starts work, he assumes that every person must listen to him, and when he becomes a manager, he would never know the sufferings of his employees and would always blame others. For this kind of people, who may be good academically, may be successful for a while, but eventually would not feel sense of achievement. He will grumble and be full of hatred and fight for more. If we are this kind of protective parents, are we really showing love or are we destroying the kid instead?

You can let your kid live in a big house, eat a good meal, learn piano, watch a big screen TV. But when you are cutting grass, please let them experience it. After a meal, let them wash their plates and bowls together with their brothers and sisters. It is not because you do not have money to hire a maid, but it is because you want to love them in a right way. You want them to understand, no matter how rich their parents are, one day their hair will grow gray, same as the mother of that young person. The most important thing is your kid learns how to appreciate the effort and experience the difficulty and learns the ability to work with others to get things done."

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Branson is sooooooooooo cool! B-)

Cooler than cool! B-)

Why bother wasting time to blend in when u were born to stand out?? ;p

How To Be Happy? o.O

"This is AWESOME ... something we should all remember. 

A 92-year-old, petite, well-poised and proud man, who is fully dressed each morning by eight o'clock, with his hair fashionably combed and shaved perfectly, even though he is legally blind, moved to a nursing home today.
His wife of 70 years recently passed away, making the move necessary. After many hours of waiting patiently in the lobby of the nursing home, he smiled sweetly when told his room was ready.

As he maneuvered his walker to the elevator, I provided a visual description of his tiny room, including the eyelet sheets that had been hung on his window. I love it,' he stated with the enthusiasm of an eight-year-old having just been presented with a new puppy. Mr. Jones, you haven't seen the room; just wait.' 'That doesn't have anything to do with it,' he replied. Happiness is something you decide on ahead of time. Whether I like my room or not doesn't depend on how the furniture is arranged ... it's how I arrange my mind. I already decided to love it. 'It's a decision I make every morning when I wake up. I have a choice; I can spend the day in bed recounting the difficulty I have with the parts of my body that no longer work, or get out of bed and be thankful for the ones that do.

Each day is a gift, and as long as my eyes open, I'll focus on the new day and all the happy memories I've stored away.. Just for this time in my life.

Old age is like a bank account. You withdraw from what you've put in.

So, my advice to you would be to deposit a lot of happiness in the bank account of memories! Thank you for your part in filling my Memory Bank. I am still depositing.

'Remember the five simple rules to be happy:

1. Free your heart from hatred.

2. Free your mind from worries.

3. Live simply.

4. Give more.

5. Expect less." 
As he maneuvered his walker to the elevator, I provided a visual description of his tiny room, including the eyelet sheets that had been hung on his window. I love it,' he stated with the enthusiasm of an eight-year-old having just been presented with a new puppy. Mr. Jones, you haven't seen the room; just wait.' 'That doesn't have anything to do with it,' he replied. Happiness is something you decide on ahead of time. Whether I like my room or not doesn't depend on how the furniture is arranged ... it's how I arrange my mind. I already decided to love it. 'It's a decision I make every morning when I wake up. I have a choice; I can spend the day in bed recounting the difficulty I have with the parts of my body that no longer work, or get out of bed and be thankful for the ones that do.
Each day is a gift, and as long as my eyes open, I'll focus on the new day and all the happy memories I've stored away.. Just for this time in my life. the nursing home, he smiled sweetly when told his room was ready.
As he maneuvered his walker to the elevator, I provided a visual description of his tiny room, including the eyelet sheets that had been hung on his window. I love it,' he stated with the enthusiasm of an eight-year-old having just been presented with a new puppy. Mr. Jones, you haven't seen the room; just wait.' 'That doesn't have anything to do with it,' he replied. Happiness is something you decide on ahead of time. Whether I like my room or not doesn't depend on how the furniture is arranged ... it's how I arrange my mind. I already decided to love it. 'It's a decision I make every morning when I wake up. I have a choice; I can spend the day in bed recounting the difficulty I have with the parts of my body that no longer work, or get out of bed and be thankful for the ones that do.
Each day is a gift, and as long as my eyes open, I'll focus on the new day and all the happy memories I've stored away.. Just for this time in my life.
Old age is like a bank account. You withdraw from what you've put in.
So, my advice to you would be to deposit a lot of happiness in the bank account of memories! Thank you for your part in filling my Memory Bank. I am still depositing.
'Remember the five simple rules to be happy:
1. Free your heart from hatred.
2. Free your mind from worries.
3. Live simply.
4. Give more.
5. Exp

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V.powderful from nmk:

"Steven Covey's famous 7 habits for successful people are nothing more than a free adaptation of very common Hokkien phrases (surprised ?) 
So why pay thousands of dollars to attend talks when your ...grand-parents, parents, spouses and even the auntie who sweeps the floor. 
can give you the same kind of advice FOC, everyday?

Habit No 1:
... Be Pro-Active
Kin Ka Kin Chiew ( Fast leg, fast hand )

Habit No 2:
Sharpen the Saw
Toh Bua Lai Lai ( Make the knife sharp )

Habit No 3:
Begin with the End In Mind
Ooh Tao Ooh Buay ( Have head, have tail )

Habit No 4:
First Things First
Chik Hung Chik Hung Lai - Ban Ban Lai
( One thing at a time, slow and steady ); or
Cho Tow Seng
( Do first ; talk later )

Habit No 5:
Think Win-Win
Long Chong Ai Yarh ( Must win everything ) 
This is definitely not thinking win-win. This is a zero sum game.
Win everything!

Habit No 6:
Seek To Understand Rather Than To Be Understood
Cho Lang Ai Eh Beng Pek ( You must be understanding )

Habit No 7:
Synergize
Tai Kay Ai Hup Chop ( All must cooperate )"

N the 8th Habit from Kit:

LOOK BEFORE YOU LEAP

NMK's Hokkien translation: "kwa zhun zhun seng ka tiao" [this is kaisu version] or can be "seng kwa liao ka tiao" [this is bochup su or yang]

From Kevin:
‎"don't be optimistic, don't be pessimistic, be opportunistic" ~ A Timid Trader

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Btw, leechie will b in KL...so pls dont miss my musings...lol...doubt i'll get to watch any of the euro matches there o.O there r lotsa stuff that i wanna blog abt...but i'm always on the move...trying to find time to blog...

In Pursuit of Success

Many thots ran thru my leechie mind as i read the following article o.O i guess we r competitive beings living in a very practical society where peer comparison is considered a societal norm...i muz admit that i do get the same feelings whenever i read abt some peers' achievements in the press...n i always wonder abt the "what if" scenarios...until a fren was telling me that some ppl get so absorbed in the "what if"s n nvr really live their lives! @.@" if u r juz like me...who occasionally indulged in the "what if"s...rem that life is short n we only live once! since we only live once...we might as well make the best outta it...n not hav any regrets ya! ppl always say that most ppl hav lesser regrets doing the things that they shouldnt do than not doing the things that they thot of doing n nvr did!


In pursuit of success

By Sumiko Tan

Do you feel a twinge whenever you discover that someone you went to school with has become very successful or is, at least, more successful than you are?

A twitch of envy perhaps?

A tug of regret that life hasn't dealt you an equally good hand?

An irritation, almost, with the person's good fortune?

Then a ruefulness because you know in your heart that it's probably not fate that brought him his success but hard work, and you realise you've got only yourself to blame for not being as successful?

Which brings on something akin to self-reproach?

And then embarrassment for allowing yourself to think such petty thoughts?

I felt a bit of all that last week when I flipped open The Straits Times and found myself staring at someone whose face and name rang a bell.

The person had made headlines for an achievement in the corporate world.

It took me a while but I finally figured out that I was in school with him.

Wow, I thought, he sure has gone far in life. I was impressed.

I wondered what he had done all these years to get to that stratified position.

I also wondered - rather churlishly, I must admit - what qualities he has that I don't.

Was he smarter than me? More eloquent? Possessed more street smarts? More diligence? Had more perseverance? Blessed with good timing? Had a mentor?

Maybe it was all of the above.

It wasn't the first time this had happened.

Over the years, I've read newspaper reports of former school mates who are topping, or have topped, the various professional fields they have chosen in life.

(There have also been those who made the news for the wrong reasons - like getting on the wrong side of the law - but it's human nature, isn't it, for us to compare ourselves with those who are better off than those who are worse?)

Some have done very well in the arts. Others have made waves in the worlds of finance, business, academia, the military and other branches of the civil service.

Unless the person had been especially obnoxious to me in the past, I'll feel happy for him. He must be pleased to have got so far and I'm glad he's happy.

There's a bit of pride too, though it is pride-by-association, which is misplaced and pathetic, I know.

You feel proud to have known this now-successful person - however vaguely or fleetingly - and this endows you with bragging rights.

You tell anyone who is interested (usually no one is) that you had gone to school with that person. You act as if just knowing him makes his awesome achievements somehow a reflection on you - which they aren't, of course.

But then, you start comparing yourself with him, and that's when it becomes disquieting.

You think of the classes and teachers you shared and you wonder how he ended up at the top of the heap and you, if not quite at the bottom, in the middle somewhere.

Education-wise (and education does count for a lot in how you end up in life), you both had the same start. Yet he must have been so much cleverer than you to have gone so far.

It makes you ponder your lot and question your abilities, priorities and self-worth. His success makes you re-evaluate your life. Yup, it sure brings on the angst, even though your rational mind tells you that it's pointless to compare.

There will always be somebody smarter and better in some way than yourself and, if you start comparing with the best and getting upset by it, you may as well not bother getting up in the morning.

Of course, how much another person's success affects you depends on what and how you define the term 'success'.

Because I place so much weight on my professional life, news about the former school mate's success in the corporate world made me re-examine my own career.

'Success' for me equals job success so, yes, his gain felt a bit like my loss. I felt inadequate in contrast, at least for an hour or so before I snapped out of it.

But if that school mate had made the news for acing areas I have no interest or inclination in, I'd just be happy for him and leave it at that.

If he had broken the record for an Ironman triathlon, for example, I'd merely salute him.

If he had written a best-selling song or directed an acclaimed play or excelled in the field of physics - areas I am not interested in - it'll be just another interesting story of someone I once knew.

If it had been a woman and she was being feted by the media for being the world's most dedicated stay-at-home mum and for baking the prettiest cupcakes, I'd say congratulations and good luck. These are not things I spend time thinking about.

But one's concept of success is not cast in stone. It changes as you age.

When I entered journalism after school, 'success' for me meant getting as many bylines as I could into the newspaper, better still if it was a byline on the front page.

'Success' meant being chosen to cover overseas ministerial trips, and it meant winning writing awards.

All these 'achievements' might seem trivial to others, not worth losing sleep over, but it meant everything to me then.

In my 30s, my definition expanded. I was still hungry to do well at work, and 'success' now also meant being able to acquire material things with the money I made.

But I started to hanker for 'success' in the personal realm too. I wanted to ace it when it came to relationships. I wanted to be part of a 'successful' couple.

Alas, I didn't come up tops in the love stakes. In fact, compared to people around me who went on to get married and start happy families, I failed utterly, miserably. I got an F9. But it was okay, I didn't really mind.

Now that I'm in my 40s, I'm beginning to frame 'success' in life in other terms.

No, I haven't quite lost my professional ambitions, not yet. Witnessing the corporate achievements of my peers still clearly brings on a competitive twitch in me.

But I'm more determined to balance that with doing well on the home front too.

And in my book - for we all have different definitions - success in my personal life now means peace of mind, a constant state of low-grade contentment rather than periodic episodes of extreme happiness, and a sense of settledness.

Will I ever attain it?

One can only hope, and time will tell.

sumiko@sph.com.sg

This article was first published in The Straits Times. (http://news.asiaone.com/News/Education/Story/A1Story20100531-219369.html)

Update: I was really v.touched when i read abt how Sumiko has found her soulmate n is settling down v.soon! Congrats!!! Singapore's most famous bachelorette has finally found her true love! =)

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"There is no passion to be found playing small - in settling for a life that is less than the one you are capable of living." - Nelson Mandela

“A man is not old until regrets take the place of dreams.” - John Barrymore

"You have to be yourself. Be very honest about who and what you are.
And if people still like you, that's great. If they don't, that's their
problem." - Sting (b. 1951)

"You must do the thing you think you cannot do." -Eleanor Roosevelt

"Only that which cannot be taken away by death is real. Everything else is unreal, it is made of the same stuff dreams are made of." -Osho

"Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that
you didn't do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines.
Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails.
Explore. Dream. Discover" - Mark Twain, author

"Vision without action is merely a dream. Action without vision just passes the time. Vision with action can change the world"

"The wealthiest people in the world didn’t get to where they are by doing what everybody else does."

"Time is like a river. u cannot touch the same water twice, bcos the flow tt has passed will never pass again. Enjoy every moment of life."

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Interesting comment tt i saw on a blog:
"Wealth Journey said...
Most degree holders will be able to earn a million dollars within their lifetime with many earning more. Anyway, the new benchmark for being considered rich is >USD$10mil. $1mil just don't cut it anymore (in Singapore at least).

The more relevant question would be what is your networth and how much income can you generate from your networth to sustain your living. No point having $1mil and putting it into a sgd deposit and you keep drawing down from it."
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Update: Gosh...with sooooooooo many sales going on...leechie is super undecided abt what i wanna get manz @.@" somhow i feel tt the items on sale in the boutiques dont look tt nice as compared to the new arrivals/classic ones...i'm so in love with the new arrivals at prada...the pink bags r sooooooooo pretty! <3 ---="" assistant="" at="" bling="" boutique="" boyish="" btw="" but="" caught="" checking="" couple="" cutie="" earring="" him="" himself="" in="" looks="" mirror="" of="" out="" p="" prada="" really="" sales="" the="" times="" with=""> vainpot -.-" my fren was telling me tt most of those cutie prada sales assistants r mostly gays! -.-"

there were such long q-s outside the boutiques manz...havent even managed to get into miu miu before closing -.-" but the Gucci security was better...leechie managed to get in there, after i talked to him abit n he actually chased some others before me away ;p

watched "SATC2" with a group of frenz tonite =) leechie feels honored to hav fren flying in from HK to grace my event! =D this movie's good...there were 2 touching scenes whereby my tears juz rolled down automatically...good thing tt i was sitting at the back n nobody saw tt o.O"

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Cool Billionaire song B-) c'mon...admit it... "I wanna be a billionaire so Fu***ing bad...Buy all of the things I never had." ;p


The Power of Decisions!!! o.O


Jack Ma of Alibaba on failures o.O


Jack Ma of Alibaba Part 1 =)


Jia You!!! Don't give up!!!


Sometimes shit happens -.-" but dont give up...i'll survive!!!


I'll survive!!!


Cool truth abt motivation ;p

Facebookless In China

Hi, i regret to inform that leechie will b in China n thus will b facebookless...haiz >.<"

"Often the difference between a successful person and a failure is not one has better abilities or ideas, but the courage that one has to bet on one's ideas, to take a calculated risk - and to act." ~ Maxwell Maltz (1899-1975)

Sg is the most unique place whereby they interview the losers first before the winners n give more tv time to the losers!!! Nvm, hammers rock!!! HUAT arh!!!

National Achievers' Congress 2012

Robert and Kim Kiyosaki were scheduled to speak at this year's National Achievers' Congress. Robert appeared alone on stage on the second day cos Kim slipped and hurt herself and was in the hospital. He spoke abt the ES/BI quadrants and how we shld focus on our assets instead of expenses. What struck me most was what he said abt the importance of staying hungry for success (pretty congruent with some other rich ppl). His reply when his frenz asked him why he wont stop working was he loves winning n beating them!

Learnt this: "Stop trying to fit in when u were born to stand out!"
Some pointers to keep in mind when building a brand:
What do u stand for?
What must u keep from the existing brand?
Who exactly r u talking to?
How must ppl feel abt it?
N in human stoopidity, we can see opportunity!!!
N when one of the NAC presenters mentioned abt making $$$ in ur pyjamas...the image of our dear Jonathan in his YouTube clips immediately came to my mind...lol...

N this was the first time that i didnt buy anything from the seminar...lol...in fact, i bought quite a few pairs of Pedro n Charles&Keith shoes from the expo sale n lotsa clothes from the flea mkt instead...i was surprised to learn that the Charles&Keith shoes from its signature range r made of leather...i have v.sensitive n thin skin on my feet so my badly-bruised feet need leather shoes...o.O

Something really funny from our dear Adrian:
"Tomorrow if you happen to be at the PC show...
(1) and you suddenly hear the announcement "Paging for ship captain.. ship captain please come to the customer service counter"... you know that's me. But of course you would be too busy trying to get the best deals, get the free gifts and fight the noise.
(2) Alternatively if you see the lady carrying the most amount of bags in her hands.. that would be Tono Leechie. lol
(3) If you hear someone respond to the page above saying "I am here to collect the free Mc Donalds Ice cream voucher", you can be sure that is Jonathan Tan Boon Shiong. lol
(4) When you hear someone comment "Each time I buy something, I will end up with blue-black goods". That would be A Kay Sin.
lol !"
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(http://sg.finance.yahoo.com/news/being-kiasu-singapore-strong-suit-035654477.html)

Being ‘kiasu’ is Singapore’s strong suit: Kiyosaki

Robert Kiyosaki, author of the best-selling financial self-help book "Rich Dad Poor Dad", said that being "kiasu" might be the reason why Singapore is so successful today.

In an interview with Yahoo! Singapore on Saturday, he contrasted this "scared to lose" mentality in Singapore with the mentality of other countries.
"That's really what Singapore's strong suit is — kiasu. It's in your blood. You know in Mexico, they don't have kiasu, they have Mañana, which is 'Do it tomorrow' and in Hawaii, they have 'Ain't no big thing' and they don't get anything done," he said.
Speaking at the National Achievers' Congress 2012 at the Singapore Expo, Kiyosak however, warned against complacency.
"Singapore is rich and happy at the moment and that's not good. America was like that at one point in time," he said.
When asked how to avoid getting complacent, the financial guru said, "That's why I think of myself as poor and I keep working. That's why I never think of myself as rich. I'm always in the process of getting richer."
Kiyosaki then went on to talk about how many people need a change of mindset from simply earning money to pay their bills to increasing their assets and cashflow.
"Focus on what you want to expand. If you focus on assets, your assets will expand. What people do, is they focus on expenses so expenses expand. It's like the law of psychology, you've got to change what you focus on."
At his two-hour seminar, where spoke before a thousand people, Kiyosaki also talked about the difficulty in getting really rich in Singapore as compared to America.
"The trouble with Singapore is it's a small country, limited land, five million people, smart and rich. That's a bad combination. That means in Singapore, you've gotta be really smart and really ambitious," he said.
The bright side, according to him, is that Singapore is great for business because of its "secure environment" and "secure infrastructure".
"If I were in Singapore, I would be in business, not real estate," he said. "Safety is a very important factor in money production. If you don't feel safe, you can't produce."
Commenting on the world's current economic situation, he concluded, "We have never been in this situation before. The world has never been in such a precarious situation. Anybody who says they know what's gonna happen is crazy cause at any moment, something can happen."