inflation crisis..my wantan mee is getting more expensive!!

Just when oil crisis starts to cool down, we are facing another dilemma that shots us at the back..at least not from the bottom of the arse. Looking down at the red hot butt , it spells vividly....

..inflation...

Why does inflation happens? It's a good question. I'm not an economic expert or some analyst , but I can describe it in a layman's term of what is inflation. Prices of everything is rising!! This includes the rice you eat, the books you buy, the rents you pay, the property you wish to buy, the toilet paper you use, the coca cola you drink and etc.

Quoted in the papers, Vietnam is currently worst hit by this hidden economic tsunami with the inflation rate of 21.4% this month. Imagine the prices around you increased at 21% more...just an illustration. A wantan mee which cost RM3 will go up to RM3.60? How about rents? A friend of mine living in Singapore told me that his apartment rental which was previously $SGD 1000 increased to $SGD1400 at a national all year high 6% inflation rate.

Any suggestion to reduce the effect of inflation? SAVINGS does not seem to help.Imagine at the inflation rate of 6% a year and a savings interest of 3% on fixed deposits, our money in the bank seems to depreciate over time. WORKING does not seem to help either. Even with an increment of 4.5% a year does not seem to solve the problem. Another disadvantage of having a job as an only source of income is there is a stop cap on our income. As living expenses increases, it will directly increase the bottom line and squeeze us alive as there is limited way in increasing the income circle.

So one of the alternative is to engage in a business. Why is that so? Simple, a business which generates incomes does not have a stop cap.As product price and profit margin increases as inflation increase, it is in fact one of a good ways to generate income without a major setback. Learn and start to build your own business on the side. A good suggestion would be to be involve in a blog advertising network to generate some income. Another idea will be to build networks to market consumer goods for international market growth using the internet. Learning to invest would also be a good start as there are numerous investment vehicles worthwhile to check out such as insurances, property , mutual funds , FOREX and stocks. But all of this requires time and experience to learn. The question is ..are you ready and willing to pay the price? There's no free lunch in this world today.

As a conclusion, the moral is we should be more creative and learn to generate income by all means besides hanging on to a job. Have fun and experiment new ideas. Malaysian are not spared from the regional inflation crisis. So, we ought to learn some other trade to have better security. We need to get out of our comfort zone! Any other fresh idea to generate incomes?

Problems are daily learning tools

When is the last time you say "WTF!!" when you stumbled upon an unfavored situation. What were your reactions when your car broke down in a middle of no-where during your lunch hours? What will you do when you were turned down by a very prospective employer for your dream job.

Well, if you reactions were merely 'F**k!! Why things done always does not go as plan???' then you need to do some self check. If you think that you are perfectly fine with it and let life and other people push you around, don't bother reading this and go surf porn.

If you notice, problems are like learning tools. It sharpens our ability to adapt and cope with situations . If you meet with problems everyday and manage to solve it or at least think of ways to solve it, well congratulations. You will become more robust. The obstacles will challenge your willpower, mind and develop new skills. On the other hand, if you just nag, blaming on others and expect others to pity you, pray hard that you will lead an easy life without any obstacles..hmm sounds too perfect and ideal isn't?

In a book "How to be like Rich Devos" , founder of Alticor Inc , the more capacity a person is able to solve problems , the greater his/her value to society or an organization. Notice that problem solvers are most highly sought after instead of simply good scholastic skills. So, start your day and find problems. Be proactive to become a problem solver.

By developing this habit, it will be a great tool for personal growth. Simple everyday problems, such as organizing your bedroom before going out to work everyday to avoid cluttering. Another example of everyday solving is writing down new acquaintance names to avoid forgetting them for every new appointment. I tend to forget so I jot them down. Get a personal organizer/planner if you are a klutz like me. It will save lots of pain and disappointments. Sounds simple but it really helps in developing good skills and habits. Always start with small things and slowly challenge yourself to a higher level to acquire the problem solving skill that you desire. Like muscles, skills requires work-outs.

"sikit sikit lama-lama jadi bukit"

Bukit Tinggi Colmar Village

*The description of this trip is still under construction. The editor cum writer cum blogger is suffering from writers block.* - SUMIMASEN-

An idle thought- leaders and followers

A great leader needs to be a good follower. He/she needs to learn to be a follower in order to lead more followers. A person who walks in front with people diligently following behind with absolute faith towards the vision that he/she carries is a true leader.

To be a leader requires strength and courage to see what normal people can't and to act even at the most unfavored circumstances. That is the first step in living a great life. But sometimes its hard to be a leader, more ever to practice to be one. The way our modern society was designed does not permit us to fully develop our hidden talents to lead. In reality, everyone has the ability to lead. It's just that there isn't an opportunity to sharpen the saw.

Why is it important to learn to lead? You tell me why..Today, if you don't lead your life, some else will. If you don't have a direction, some else will determine a direction for you. It's part of the rolling wheels of nature. That is why we need more managers today. To manage people who can't manage themselves. That is why it's important to know what you want in this short life and lead your way through. Remember.

Wellness

4 months in the working force doesn't seems so bad at all. I spent two hours a day in my car cruising along the highway to work. Abundance of time to think and re-aligned myself with the current situation. I was complaining before about everything. It was like a dilemma but everything is fine now as long as a we have a positive attitude and approach towards life. I admit that I enjoy working. To learn , to earn a living and to understand more about life.

There's a thing that is very important though that we sometimes neglect and ignore as we live our busy hectic working life. Some jobs requires irregular long hours with stress. Thankfully mine isn't. To keep things short, what Id like to convey is all about being WELL. Its so prominent because I can't afford to fall sick these days. Basically, wellness is a topic which is getting more and more popular among the physicians as the health community slowly recognizes the importance of staying healthy rather than combating diseases.

Generally, wellness is the exact opposite to today's modern medical treatment. Many people are not familiar with wellness as the idea is vague and not always discussed in the education system as well as in the media. In a nutshell, modern medicine is a reactive approach towards treating a disease. The term reactive is used because doctors always prescribes drugs and treatments once they've successfully diagnosed the disease/root cause. On the contrary, wellness is a preventive approach. Its a science to prevent a disease from happening and maintaining a healthy physiology by eating the correct food , maintaining a proper and healthy lifestyle , stress managements and a few more other areas.

Wellness is also a growing dynamic industry and extensive researches were being done because more and more people are getting aware of the importance of being healthy. As a result, more career paths are being develop in this sector such as wellness planners, nutritionist and fitness planners/consultants.

To know more, read on future posts.

the silent killer

Today's post is a simple day to day topic. Its a lesson that most of us may not notice. It may be insignificant but gives a lasting impression to people. It's about why you need or try your best to keep your words and promises.

Have you ever enthusiastically make an appointment with someone and cancels it at the last minute without any reasonable reasons?

Have you ever set an outing with a buddy but cancels it at the last minute because some better events pop up out of nowhere? Something that you can politely say "no". Something that can be avoided if you have good prioritizing skills and being firm.

Have you ever make a simple promise and breaks it everytime without even aware of it? Even if you are aware of it, you just cover a blind eye.." tutup sebelah mata" quoted by a local pirate.

If you do, then you need to think again and re-evaluate yourself again because small things tend to sour great relationships. It's a silent killer.

Think and you'l grow...

I've heard many people say that the world is unfair. The rich gets richer. The poor gets poorer. The hot gals will only go out with macho guys with nice cars. The list goes on. On the contrary, i think that the world that we live in is actually fair enough. It provides us with every opportunity day and night. The question is... can we really see it?

Are you just an average Joe? Are you the person who call yourself ordinary but knows deep inside that you are extraordinary? If you think you are..then read on.

Everything that changes a person's destiny always begins at a place. The mind. It's the basic foundation to success. A sound mind does not necessary means that you have a masters on a PHD. We all know that the most brilliant and successful people don't even have a college degree. It's the ability to think with an open mind, seeking continuous growth and to be emotionally prepared to stand apart from the crowd.

For starters, I would recommend a book .Not just any a book. The philosophies in this books were already proven by more than 500 people including Steve Jobs, John D. Rockefeller, Mary Kay Ash and W.Clement Stones. Its a classic. It teaches us to think. To Think and Grow Rich by Napolean Hill.

Like chicken and duck

What chicken and duck do when they meet? They chik and quack!

How about people? Do they talk like chickens and ducks? No, there's something even more sophisticated that provides the connections even if we speak in different languages and background. The human factor.