I am currently reading a book titled "The richest man in Babylon" by George S. Clason. This is an amazing book written in the 1920s. It is written in a story form about the richest man in Babylonia and the conversations he had with others who wanted to learn about how to be wealthy.
It talks about the rules of gold, how to accumulate it, how to invest it, how not to invest, and what how those rules help. One particular paragraph caught my attention (among many others!). It states:
"I had thought of it as something most desirable that might happen to a man without effort upon his part. Now, I do realize such happenings are not the sort of thing one may attract to himself. From our discussion have I learned that to attract good luck to oneself, it is necessary to take advantage of opportunities. Therefore, in the future, I shall endeavor to make the best of such opportunities as do come to me"
Why did this paragraph stand out?
It is so basic that we may have forgotten. It is about taking action NOW! Not later, not another time, not after I finish my lunch. For the goddess of good luck smiles upon those who take action...NOW. (THis is my interpretation of several other paragraphs)
So what have I been posting about the past year? Its all about taking action. Its all about planning. Its all about being structured in your time management to unleash maximum effectiveness, in order to take advantage of such opportunities when they arise.
I must say, this is an amazing book, a small and short book, but amazing nonetheless. I highly recommend it. It should not be read as a story book. After the first reading, reflect and contemplate if you have put into practice any of the principles. The laws and principles are so simple, yet we do not do them.
I wonder why.
For fear of failure? For fear of starting? For fear of not knowing how it will all turn out?
Get out of this undesirable mental state. What's it going to cost you to to take one principle and apply it for 30 days? One of the principle is to save at least one-tenth of your income. Believe it, even after saving one-tenth, you must make the adjustment to your lifestyle. Its worth it. Its possible, because our desires for material things always grows beyond our income. Control it!
Take charge. Set your goals. Do your daily planning to take advantage of the opportunites that come your way when the goddess of good luck smiles upon you. :-)
Bernard
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Copyright © Bernard Ong, 2006,2007.
All Rights Reserved
How to Rescue Failing Software Projects: Practical Proven Methods That Work
My book is finally available as an eBook, on Amazon Kindle and on Amazon. I wrote this book to share my experience in how to rescue failing software projects. When I was going through such a situation, I had no one to turn to. My hope is that the information in this book will be useful to those in similar situations. Although the information in the book pertains to software projects, I have come to realize that the techniques can be used in many other situations. I have personally used these techniques in business and technical projects.
You can read more about it here.
My book can be purchased here at Amazon.com.
Amazon Kindle version is available here at Amazon.com
Monday, February 26, 2007
Thursday, February 15, 2007
Why goals fail
Goals do not fail. We fail goals.
I've been really busy with work and working towards my goals. Its been a tough ride, balancing my time between work, personal goals and family...And its all worth it. I can see my achievements gaining strength, day after day. As I had written in previous posts, it takes one small step at a time. If I take 365 small steps, that puts me 365 steps closer to my goal.
Many do set goals but do not follow through. One very glaring reason is that we live in an instant world. Instant noodles, instant TV using a remote, instant messenger, instant communication. When we set goals, we also expect instant results. If we do not achieve our goals in 24 hours or 48 hours, we get bored with it and the goal fades away. We tend to forget, we cannot have a tree unless we take the time to plant the see and continually nurture it...and this takes time. If we see a seedling and wanting for it to grow quickly, we decide to pull it out of the ground, the seedling will never grow into a tree. This is the same for our goals. We must have patience. As long as we know we are taking one step at a time towards our goal, we have to wait to see the results.
Do, do not be afraid. Go forth and set you most ambitious goals and dreams. Then begin by taking one step at a time. Write it down and paste it on your wall or planner and update it everyday. You will see that this will be your motivation. This motivation comes from your internal self, not from any external influence. Motivation from your internal self last much longer than from any external stimuli.
I am pumped up with my goals and steps I have taken. You should be too. So enough typing and reading. Just go write your goals down, write down the first 3 to 5 steps, and JUST DO IT. (See my previous posts for techniques on doing this.)
Go, go, go....!!!
Bernard
---------------------------
Copyright © Bernard Ong, 2006,2007.
All Rights Reserved
I've been really busy with work and working towards my goals. Its been a tough ride, balancing my time between work, personal goals and family...And its all worth it. I can see my achievements gaining strength, day after day. As I had written in previous posts, it takes one small step at a time. If I take 365 small steps, that puts me 365 steps closer to my goal.
Many do set goals but do not follow through. One very glaring reason is that we live in an instant world. Instant noodles, instant TV using a remote, instant messenger, instant communication. When we set goals, we also expect instant results. If we do not achieve our goals in 24 hours or 48 hours, we get bored with it and the goal fades away. We tend to forget, we cannot have a tree unless we take the time to plant the see and continually nurture it...and this takes time. If we see a seedling and wanting for it to grow quickly, we decide to pull it out of the ground, the seedling will never grow into a tree. This is the same for our goals. We must have patience. As long as we know we are taking one step at a time towards our goal, we have to wait to see the results.
Do, do not be afraid. Go forth and set you most ambitious goals and dreams. Then begin by taking one step at a time. Write it down and paste it on your wall or planner and update it everyday. You will see that this will be your motivation. This motivation comes from your internal self, not from any external influence. Motivation from your internal self last much longer than from any external stimuli.
I am pumped up with my goals and steps I have taken. You should be too. So enough typing and reading. Just go write your goals down, write down the first 3 to 5 steps, and JUST DO IT. (See my previous posts for techniques on doing this.)
Go, go, go....!!!
Bernard
---------------------------
Copyright © Bernard Ong, 2006,2007.
All Rights Reserved
Friday, November 17, 2006
Goals give you power to go on
Goal setting is important. Taking action on your goals is equally important. Reviewing your goals daily is critical. It reminds you of your committment and keeps pushing you to take action.
Recently, I was swamped with work, too much work. 16 to 18 hours of my time was devoted to work. Yeah, I slipped up too. I didn't review my goals daily. One night, I was pretty exhausted and felt kind of lost. Don't get me wrong. The work I do is fulfilling, but I felt empty.
That was when I pulled out my goals. I read my goals again and again. Suddenly, I felt relieved and elated! The goals I had set and taken action on reminded me of where I was headed. I was reminded of my purposed in life. I was reminded of the fulfillment when I took a small step at a time.
I have found that reading and reviewing my goals daily has given me and reminded me of the direction my life is headed, where I want to be, what I want in life, what I need to do to get there. My life became balanced again. Having this balance in life is extremely important to me because it affects my health and mental well being, all necessary for the achievement of my personal, wealth and health goals.
---------------------------
Copyright © Bernard Ong, 2006.
All Rights Reserved
Recently, I was swamped with work, too much work. 16 to 18 hours of my time was devoted to work. Yeah, I slipped up too. I didn't review my goals daily. One night, I was pretty exhausted and felt kind of lost. Don't get me wrong. The work I do is fulfilling, but I felt empty.
That was when I pulled out my goals. I read my goals again and again. Suddenly, I felt relieved and elated! The goals I had set and taken action on reminded me of where I was headed. I was reminded of my purposed in life. I was reminded of the fulfillment when I took a small step at a time.
I have found that reading and reviewing my goals daily has given me and reminded me of the direction my life is headed, where I want to be, what I want in life, what I need to do to get there. My life became balanced again. Having this balance in life is extremely important to me because it affects my health and mental well being, all necessary for the achievement of my personal, wealth and health goals.
---------------------------
Copyright © Bernard Ong, 2006.
All Rights Reserved
Wednesday, November 08, 2006
Newsletter on Effectiveness
Hello
Based on feedback and traffic received, I am thinking of creating regular newsletters, provide forms for downloads (or sent through newsletter) and notification of new blog posts.
I would like to solicit feedback. Do let me know if you would like to subscribe to receive:
1. Regular Newsletters on effectiveness - sharing more details of my experiences on how I use various techniques to improve effectiveness. I have not decided if I will do this fortnightly or monthly.
2. Provide forms that I use
3. Notify you on new blog posts that I write.
Do let me know if this would interest you. All this will be free to you.
Thanks
---------------------------
Copyright © Bernard Ong, 2006.
All Rights Reserved
Based on feedback and traffic received, I am thinking of creating regular newsletters, provide forms for downloads (or sent through newsletter) and notification of new blog posts.
I would like to solicit feedback. Do let me know if you would like to subscribe to receive:
1. Regular Newsletters on effectiveness - sharing more details of my experiences on how I use various techniques to improve effectiveness. I have not decided if I will do this fortnightly or monthly.
2. Provide forms that I use
3. Notify you on new blog posts that I write.
Do let me know if this would interest you. All this will be free to you.
Thanks
---------------------------
Copyright © Bernard Ong, 2006.
All Rights Reserved
Tuesday, November 07, 2006
Goal Setting Tips
Goal Setting is not a new topic. There are lots of books and information about how to set goals. I would like to offer my experience in goal setting and more importantly, how to begin achieving goals.
Let's start from the basics. How do you set goals? Many books advocate the SMART way, which stands for:
1. Specific
2. Measurable
3. Actionable
4. Realistic
5. Time
I agree with this concept. This is the way I use it to set goals.
1. Grab a piece of paper and pen. No, typing into your laptop is not going to work. I have found that writing it down forces you to think hard before writing because you don't want to cancel and make a mess on the paper. With a laptop, hitting the 'delete' button is too easy.
2. At the top of the paper, write you goal. What do you want to achieve and by when. The description of your goal must be specific. For example, writing "I want to be rich" isn't a concrete goal. It has to be specific like "I want to have $1 million in cash in the bank by 31 December 2008". Being specific forces you to think hard about what you want in concrete terms. It also allows you to take action. Vague goals do not have actionable activities that bring you closer to it. Be bold about your goal. Don't do incremental goals. Think big and bold. I can hear you now. What if I can't achieve it? If you think big and set tough goals, if your goal is important and critical to you, you will find a way. If it is incremental, it doesn't have the excitement and challenge to sustain you.
3. The next line, write down WHY you want this goal. Write down as many reasons as you can. The more this goal is strongly linked to you emotionally, the stronger the passion, the more it will drive you to achieve. The 'WHY' factor is the most critical part of goal setting, but normally given the least amount of thinking because it is more difficult than the other steps. If you cannot find a strong WHY, keep the goal aside until you do. Keep find out reasons why. This also helps to filter out goals that are not in line with you values and beliefs.
4. Next, write down 3 activities that you will do in the next 48 hours. You don't have to have a detailed plan on how to achieve your goals. If you do, that's great. Many of us sometimes do not have all the steps in mind. So, start with the first 3 activities. It may be to register a business, research on internet web providers and their facilities, and create your first web page. It may be to register a company, do detailed research on a product you want to sell, search for a shop space. Whatever it may be, list out 3 activities and COMMIT to completing it in 48 hours. The first step is always the most difficult. Forcing yourself to complete the 3 activities in 48 hours creates the momentum. This is called taking massive action.
5. At the end of executing your 3 activities, review and set the next 3 activities. Repeat step 4 again.
While executing the activities, if you find you are on the wrong path or encountering difficulties, take stock and ask yourself if the action taken is correct. Are there alternatives? Learn from it, set another 3 action items and take action. You will not always succeed in all the activities, but each activity tells you what is going right and what is not. Use this feedback to adjust your path of action to achieving your goals.
What kinds of goals should you set? You should have the following goals:
1. Personal (health, self improvement)
2. Family
3. Wealth
4. Career
5. Spiritual
Start with just one goal and take action. Until you get into the momentum of things, then set another goal. Do not get overwhelmed. Take it one step at a time.
And remember, enjoy your journey. As stated in my previous posts, it is the journey to achieving your goals that provides the greatest insights and learnings. It is through these learnings (whether success or failure in an action) that you become a more confident and effective person at setting goals and achieving them.
Enjoy your journey.
---------------------------
Copyright © Bernard Ong, 2006.
All Rights Reserved
Let's start from the basics. How do you set goals? Many books advocate the SMART way, which stands for:
1. Specific
2. Measurable
3. Actionable
4. Realistic
5. Time
I agree with this concept. This is the way I use it to set goals.
1. Grab a piece of paper and pen. No, typing into your laptop is not going to work. I have found that writing it down forces you to think hard before writing because you don't want to cancel and make a mess on the paper. With a laptop, hitting the 'delete' button is too easy.
2. At the top of the paper, write you goal. What do you want to achieve and by when. The description of your goal must be specific. For example, writing "I want to be rich" isn't a concrete goal. It has to be specific like "I want to have $1 million in cash in the bank by 31 December 2008". Being specific forces you to think hard about what you want in concrete terms. It also allows you to take action. Vague goals do not have actionable activities that bring you closer to it. Be bold about your goal. Don't do incremental goals. Think big and bold. I can hear you now. What if I can't achieve it? If you think big and set tough goals, if your goal is important and critical to you, you will find a way. If it is incremental, it doesn't have the excitement and challenge to sustain you.
3. The next line, write down WHY you want this goal. Write down as many reasons as you can. The more this goal is strongly linked to you emotionally, the stronger the passion, the more it will drive you to achieve. The 'WHY' factor is the most critical part of goal setting, but normally given the least amount of thinking because it is more difficult than the other steps. If you cannot find a strong WHY, keep the goal aside until you do. Keep find out reasons why. This also helps to filter out goals that are not in line with you values and beliefs.
4. Next, write down 3 activities that you will do in the next 48 hours. You don't have to have a detailed plan on how to achieve your goals. If you do, that's great. Many of us sometimes do not have all the steps in mind. So, start with the first 3 activities. It may be to register a business, research on internet web providers and their facilities, and create your first web page. It may be to register a company, do detailed research on a product you want to sell, search for a shop space. Whatever it may be, list out 3 activities and COMMIT to completing it in 48 hours. The first step is always the most difficult. Forcing yourself to complete the 3 activities in 48 hours creates the momentum. This is called taking massive action.
5. At the end of executing your 3 activities, review and set the next 3 activities. Repeat step 4 again.
While executing the activities, if you find you are on the wrong path or encountering difficulties, take stock and ask yourself if the action taken is correct. Are there alternatives? Learn from it, set another 3 action items and take action. You will not always succeed in all the activities, but each activity tells you what is going right and what is not. Use this feedback to adjust your path of action to achieving your goals.
What kinds of goals should you set? You should have the following goals:
1. Personal (health, self improvement)
2. Family
3. Wealth
4. Career
5. Spiritual
Start with just one goal and take action. Until you get into the momentum of things, then set another goal. Do not get overwhelmed. Take it one step at a time.
And remember, enjoy your journey. As stated in my previous posts, it is the journey to achieving your goals that provides the greatest insights and learnings. It is through these learnings (whether success or failure in an action) that you become a more confident and effective person at setting goals and achieving them.
Enjoy your journey.
---------------------------
Copyright © Bernard Ong, 2006.
All Rights Reserved
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