Tag: learning

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Thinking habits

Today is kind of special as it’s my first time using the WordPress app to write this blog… enjoy reading!

“The secret of living a life of excellence is merely a matter of thinking thoughts of excellence. Really, it’s a matter of programming our minds with the kind of information that will set us free.” – Charles R. Swindoll

We are constantly thinking and some of us are overthinking. My mentor used to tell me… “Dion, overthinking kills!”

Truthfully, till today, I am still thinking and I’m not asking anyone to stop thinking… just be mindful and practice Awareness on what are we thinking of?

What thoughts do you have in mind? More of positives or negatives? What’s the pattern? Being aware is the key to start changing.

For some of us, we are concern about how others are thinking of us… frankly speaking I believe people are only interested in themselves. So do not worry too much on how people think of you as they are busy thinking of themselves!

Thinking can help us to decide on what’s Important versus urgent. Guiding us to prioritise our activities and helping us to achieve our goals.

“Positive thinking is a valuable tool that can help you overcome obstacles, deal with pain, and reach new goals.” – Amy Morin

After reading some articles on thinking habits, I would like to share some key learning points I have gotten on good practices. Here we go…

1. Awareness about our thinking

First things first… Awareness before change as whatever we think and feel affects our attitude leading to our action and behaviour making our habits… if there is a pattern you realise that is not helping you, time to change.

2. Decide to have open mind to learning continuously.

Expand our understanding… find new topics and things to learn. Invest some minutes leading to hours to learning new things, reading value adding articles / books… there are endless learning tools out there, just have to start learning… pick one that you can start with.

3. Think agility, be flexible

There is a need to avoid being judgemental, accept different perspectives and viewpoints… be neutral and listen first… consider new ideas… then gauge whether they are align with your values. Flexibility trumps rigidity!

4. Humour helps

Humour is a good catalyst to positive emotions and vast thoughts… being too serious and over-thinking will affect our creativity. Humour helps us to be more productive and contributes to stress management. How can you start being humourous?

5. Empathy… Seek to understand

We need to practice more empathy… connecting and relating to others via listening. Listen with the intent to understand (as the late Stephen Covey mentioned). It is a skill that needs to be developed and done deliberately at first. And one day… it will be automatic.

6. No right, no wrong…

If you think it’s right, you are right… if you think it’s wrong, you are right!

When you read an article, the writer is just expressing via his/her own understanding, knowledge, experience and views… if needed, do your own research. If you do not agree, learn to voice your opinion and decide your own stand.

7. Imagination is more powerful than knowledge

Like Albert Einstein, we need to start dreaming, fantasising and think about the possibilities… keep visualising and be flowing with creative juice… do not let the dream stealers rob you of your greatest ability to imagine…

8. Be amazed and appreciate life which if full of wonderment

Discover and go with your passion. What are the things that make you feel amazing? Be in the moment to feel good creating memories. Today only comes once in your lifetime.

9. Risk if you need to…

Like what we have been exposed to the phrase… “no risk, no gain…”

Anyway, everyone’s risk appetite is different. To grow, you need to venture out of your comfort zone… unknown territory and not sure what you are going to get yourself into… whatever it is, it may not have to be a gamble. Set SMART goals that are meaningful to yourself and stretch your own limit. Great if you can think big and have a responsible plan to achieve the goals! And if you can find people who can help to support you… that’s a bonus!

10. Focus

There are so many distractions in our lives today. How can we learn to be more focused? We can start by praying or meditating, anyway that works for you. We as humans can only do what we can do… the rest will be up to God! What is stopping you from this thinking that you are not able to change? Take action to make it your habit!

I have this believe that someone has done it before… it’s a matter of how we can reach out to that someone and learn for him/her.

“There is nothing either good or bad but thinking makes it so.” – William Shakespeare

“Your habits, your future!”

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Learning from Microsoft’s CEO…

Image result for hit refresh satya nadella

“Be passionate and bold. Always keep learning. You stop doing useful things if you don’t learn.” – Satya Nadella

My ex-colleague from one of the training providers, who is based in Vietnam has introduced this book, “Hit Refresh” to me. The one that he read was in Vietnamese language. The last time he came to Penang, when we were at one of the major book stores… he said to me… “Dion, this book (where he pointed to at one of the book racks in the shop) is a good read… I read it in Vietnamese and I highly recommend it to you…”

Yup, I bought a few books that day and one of them… “Hit Refresh” by Satya Nadella. My ex-colleague was right… it is definitely a good book to read and I have picked up some key learning from the book; which I will share later in this blog.

If you are interested to know about the book review, please visit Amazon with the link below:

I have captured a few key learning from the book and I would like to share my favorites with you…

(1) Investment Strategy across 3 Growth Horizons

This model, I believe can be used by organizations to understand and strategize better. You just need a good facilitator to help with the session for your key leaders.

(2) Microsoft’s 3 C’s

Easy and straight-forward; covering three major focus for the organization’s sustainable growth. Can be a good reflection and discussion to test for readiness before implementing any new innovation.

(3) Satya’s Mental Model

How as a new CEO of a major organization focused on Value Creation. if we study the model, 3 out of 4 are focusing on people… I strongly believe that leadership is influence. How does one influence others to work with you and strive for excellence?

“Success can cause people to unlearn the habits that made them successful in the first place.” – Satya Nadella

Well, the key learning above that I have shared is important and another crucial learning that I have learnt from Satya is that, as leaders, we need to be humble and practice empathy; when we have the interest to seek to understanding others, we can build better trust that leads to strong relationship and influence.

Enjoy reading the book and let me know what you think. Looking forward to learning from you.

Have a great journey in learning.

“Your habits, your future!”

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Review of 2018

green, red, and white fireworks on sky at nighttime
Happy New Year 2019!

Happy New Year folks! How was your 2018?

After reflecting and reviewing 2018 for myself, I have listed some of the events / achievements / learning / experience for your reading pleasure… if we have anything in common, please do not hesitate to share them with me.

I am looking forward to an exciting 2019, where I will enter a new phase of my life’s journey – will share with you all later.

Image result for new year meme
How about that?

“The way we experience the world around us is a direct reflection of the world within us.” ~ Gabrielle Bernstein

Here are my 2018 reflections / reviews:

  1. Had some wonderful opportunities in executive coaching assignments (learning to be a better coach and it is a joy to experience the coachee achieving their results)
  2. Completed E-learning video for the organization I am working with (not an easy task at first and got the hang of it after a few takes)
  3. CSR talks (on habit change, leadership and motivation) and Lighthouse (with my trusted group of friends / partners to buy, prepare, cook and serve the under privileged – a joy and fulfillment for us)
  4. Camping with family (in Thailand, a great outdoor experience for the kids)
  5. DISC certification (years of practice and finally got the certification from USA, thank you for the opportunity)
  6. Journey on Leadership Development Program for a multi-national company (supporting, delivering, coaching, mentoring, having fun with the emerging leaders!)
  7. Help with service recovery for some of the company’s clients (helping to close some gaps in leadership development)
  8. Went to Gujarat, India for Entrepreneurship Development Program for 21 days with a group of awesome people (known as our G20 family)
  9. Becoming an Entrepreneurship mentor for the business owners (thank you for the opportunity)
  10. World of Habits blog site (had a free site and now decided to have own web site to compile and share to as many people as possible)
  11. Daily sharing QOTD (in Facebook, Instagram and LinkedIn)
  12. Captain Habit (the mascot I created for fun and inspiration)
  13. Finished 1 chapter of a book (given to opportunity to write with international authors, appreciate the chance and learning)
  14. Closed the business deal and delivered 10 team building sessions for a multi-national company (really felt honored as they have requested for me as the lead facilitator… looking forward to serve better!)
  15. Family and friends from Thailand trip to Cameron Highlands (a memorable trip for our family)
  16. Xmas presents for my wife and kids (seeing the joy on their face and being able to give… priceless!)
  17. Birthday celebration with my son (missed my daughter’s birthday due to an oversea assignment… sorry girl…)
  18. Change of role in the company for better opportunities and prospect in the near future
  19. Another short holiday to Kuala Lumpur with my family for xmas
  20. Registered to complete my semester (leading to my own academic qualification)
  21. Signed up and completing my online courses with Udemy.

“Gratitude makes sense of our past, brings peace for today, and creates a vision for tomorrow.” ~ Melody Beattie

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Hello from my family 🙂


I am truly grateful for all that I have gone through in 2018 and definitely looking forward to a fantastic 2019 (and beyond). Knowing that, a lot of my family members, friends, partners and clients are going to help supporting my bigger success.

Thank God for all the blessings and do share with me your experience / successes / learning…

“Your habits, your future!”

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Good Habits of Leaders

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Get up early

Majority of the top people in organisations (especially multi-nationals; and they are made known to the public), they wake up early… of course, there are some who prefers to do the opposite 😉

As what Anthony Robbins and other leadership gurus mentioned about having your own time… “the Golden Hour”, “Power Hour” or “Hour of Power”… the time for you to reflect, do your journaling, exercise, meditate, plan your day, strategise your project, do your prayers, read books, and your own important things to boost your motivation.

Of course there are some special people who prefer to do it late at night; anytime is fine as long as you get to utilise your own precious time to add value to yourself.

A lot of people that I have met, they shared with me that they do not have the time. My recommendation, just start with 5 minutes a day and work from there… increase to 10, then 15 minutes and so on… you will need to find time to do what you want to do and get the results.

“Give me six hours to chop down a tree and I will spend the first four sharpening the axe.” – Abraham Lincoln

Exercise Regularly

What do you have in mind when you hear the word “exercise”?

Walking, running, cycling, swimming, going to the gym, stretching, skipping, doing push-ups?

Yes, by exercising, we build and strengthen our muscles. Making ourselves fitter and stronger… having more energy throughout the day.

What I have realised, while we are working on our physical strength, we will also need to exercise our brains… the brain is a muscle, the more you use (exercise) it, the stronger it becomes.

How do we exercise our brains?

Reading helps, solving problems, taking on challenges, thinking about solutions, having discussions to share ideas, being curious, asking great questions, having open mind to learn, relax by playing Legos, some puzzles, games, sports… yes, our brains need the workout to be stretched and strengthen.

“Exercise is the key not only to physical health but to peace of mind.” – Nelson Mandela

Attitude of Learning

From the cradle to the grave, I believe that we are in a journey of learning. No matter how young or old you are, we are constantly learning. Whether we are doing well or facing failure (by the way, failure is a feedback – not the end… just a stumbling block experience that we can learn something from). As long as we have positive attitude to learn, we are growing to be a better individual; leader.

In this age of technology, we have access to multiple media to learn from, the YouTube, TED talk, Vimeo, social media – all the good, the bad, beautiful, ugly… everything that we can learn from; it is our choice to select what to learn. And of course, for those who prefer the books or audio books… they are also available.

The term role modelling; learning from a successful individual that we admire – we can learn by watching their interviews, talks, workshops, speeches, etc. In a way, they are like your virtual mentors or coaches (learn from their great questions). WOW! There are really a LOT to learn.

Another good place to learn will be the car; it is also known as “University on Wheels”; how much time do we spend driving everyday?

For instance, if it takes you 20 minutes one-way, you have a total of 40 minutes to listen and learn from self-improvement or any learning topics’ audio books… or you may choose any knowledge or skills that you would like to learn. Definitely a good choice for those who do not like to take the book to read; you can get your player to read to you and learn about the contents. SUPER AWESOME!

Positive Growth Mindset

“Whether you think you can or think you can’t, you’re right.” – Henry Ford

Life is a journey and I guarantee that, there is no perfect journey; like the weather, it changes and it is not fixed… and we are affected by the weather and how we go through the journey, depends on us… what mindset are we practicing?

We can choose to have negative, fixed mindset and feel miserable – having the weight of the world on our shoulders (that’s the price to pay for having negative thinking) or have a positive growth mindset…

What we can learn from Dr. Carol Dweck on Growth Mindset:

Growth Mindset vs. Fixed Mindset

Another learning that I captured from one of my mentors… the people that we constantly mix with will somehow influence us, “birds of the same feather, flock together.” Hence, it will be better for us to surround ourselves with people who are positive and having skills to complement us… not compete but complete us.

In my humble opinion, start our day with positives; having the attitude of gratitude (be thankful – so many things to be thankful for), read motivational quotes, stories, inspire ourselves… be alive. Or simply SMILE having positive thoughts. Imagine our mind like a garden, if you are the gardener, how are you going to tend to your precious garden? Are you going to leave your garden full of weeds or flowers? (weeds = negatives, flowers = positives). Your choice.

Talking about choices, I have a model (ABC-BCD) that I have learnt and would like to share with you (feel free to contact me, if you need more information).

 It starts with Awareness; perfect practicing mindfulness, then we decide on the habit / behaviour that we want to change and carry out the action. After some time doing the routine, it will be automatic (unconscious competence).

I believe that from birth to death (cradle to grave), we are constantly making choices and whether or not, we are willing to pay the price (for the choices that we have made)?

“Change Your Habits, Change Your World!”

#habitchange

#habitchange2dot0

#worldofhabits

#dionhabits

 

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Top 7 Habits of High Achievers

Why are some leaders effective and are able to achieve more than others? Have we ever thought of that question before?

What made these high achieving leaders successful? As my mentor and I are working on our new book, I have the opportunity to do some research on this topic.

Here are what I have discovered and of course there are a lot of other habits, let me focus on the critical few – top 7 – for your reading pleasure…

1. POSITIVE THINKING

“Keep your thoughts positive because your thoughts become your words. Keep your words positive because your words become your behavior. Keep your behavior positive because your behavior becomes your habits. Keep your habits positive because your habits become your values. Keep your values positive because your values become your destiny.”  – Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi

What do you gain by thinking negative? In my humble opinion, please save your mind energy and think positive – do it every day and one day, positive thinking becomes your habit.

A great day starts with positive thinking. Also shared by Zig Ziglar, positive thinking is like taking a bath… you need it every day NOT once in a while.

2. HEALTHY LIFESTYLE

“The greatest wealth is health.”  – Virgil

As humans, we have been given the power to choose what we do with our mind, body and spirit. How do you take care of your health?

To exercise or NOT? Sleep? Diet? Choices… Choices… the choice that we make, we have to learn how to pay the price.

We do not have to start with a lot, just focus on starting… bit by bit, step by step… as long as you keep doing, you will see the results. Results will give you the motivation and change in attitude.

3. FOCUS

“So rather than trying to do too many things at once, switch over to a mindset of focusing on just one thing while you are working.” – Timo Kiander

My mentor once shared with me, “if you chase two monkeys at the same time, you ended up with no monkey!”

I trust that if we really want to excel and get results, we need to focus. Like what Robert Kiyosaki mentioned in one of his books, FOCUS means “Follow One Course Until Succeed…”

What are you focus on today? How are you prioritizing your activities?

All of us have 24 hours a day, what would happen when you start to focus?

4. LEARNING

“Learning is the only thing the mind never exhausts, never fears, and never regrets.” – Leonardo Da Vinci

How do you plan to learn for the rest of your life? It is my belief that from our cradle to the grave, we have a choice to learn and I will make the choice to learn as much as I can. There is a Chinese saying… “We learn as we grow with age…”

Learning is one of the ways to make ourselves smarter. What do want to learn today?

5. START YOUR DAY RIGHT

“Make each day your masterpiece.” – John Wooden

How would you start you day right? Let’s do a 30-day challenge to start your day with the right, “Intention, Gratitude and Appreciation…”

Intention – what are the 3 things you would like to achieve today?

Gratitude – what are you thankful for today?

Appreciation – who are you going to appreciate today and how?

I once read in a magazine article, if you start your day right, the whole day will be fantastic and fruitful.

6. REST and RELAX

“If you do what you love, it is the best way to relax.” – Christian Louboutin

What will happen if we keep working non-stop without rest and relaxation? We will definitely experience burn-out and time will be wasted for us to get back in shape to be productive.

Dale Carnegie said it right, “So, to prevent fatigue and worry, the first rule is: Rest often. Rest before you get tired.”

Find time to do activities that you love and enjoy. Imagine when you find the career and business that you truly love and enjoy doing (to learn and earn)… it would be a bliss.

How are you enjoying your down-time to rest and relax?

7. CONNECT with OTHERS

“If you want 1 year of prosperity, grow grain. If you want 10 years of prosperity, grow trees. If you want 100 years of prosperity, grow people.” – Chinese Proverb

I have an author friend who encourages me to talk to strangers. In fact, I can learn a lot of things from strangers. The insight you can get from people is incredible when you listen closely to their stories.

It will also be good to constantly be in touch with our clients / customers / partners / colleagues…  get feedback and for them to feed-forward their expectations and requirements to us. By constant communication, it will help bond all of us.

How do you plan to connect with others? What questions will you ask? What information will you share?

I trust that, there are more habits that high achievers have and I am sharing this Top 7 Habits of High Achievers, so that we can benefit by perfect practicing them.

Have fun and the journey is the reward!

“Change Your Habits, Change Your World!”

“Your Habits, Your Future!”

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10 Habits of Lifelong Learners

 

Today I attended a preview for an Executive MBA and from the presentation, there was a slide which caught my attention.

“Habits of a lifelong learner…”

When I returned home, while spending the balance of my weekend… reflected and remembered that I have not written for quite some time now.

I would like to share the top 10 habits of lifelong learners as below:

1. Never stop learning as learning is a journey.

Albert Einstein shared this interesting quote,  “Once you stop learning, you start dying.”

2. Spread out the learning – chunk it down.

There is no point cramming everything in one learning. So let us take one day at a time. Like what I have shared during workshops, imaging if you improve 1% a month, you will improve 12% a year! How about 1% per week? It adds up to 52% a year… what is stopping us from learning?

3. Action will get results.

“You are what you do, not what you say you’ll do.” – Carl Gustav Jung

I do believe that when we put in the action, we get the results and when we get the results, we will be more motivated as well.

4. Visualise the goal (as if you have already achieve it).

“What the mind of man can conceive and believe, it can achieve.” – Napoleon Hill

When we know where we are headed (and see it clearly in our head), chances are better we reach the destination in no time. Example when we want to finish fixing the jigsaw puzzles, we will refer to the picture on the box (begin with the end in mind). Then comes the strategies and execution…

5. Seek out to learn.

One of my mentors used to share with me… “When the student is ready, the teacher will appear…”

Once we have decided to learn (ready with the right learning attitude), somehow we are more receptive and will be able to absorb the learning better.

What are the areas that you can further learn? Take it as a “mini-project” to work on enhancing yourself.

6. Coach and Mentor others.

“You will get all you want in life, if you help enough other people get what they want.” – Zig Ziglar

It is also true when we make others happy, in return, we are happy too.

I have decided to coach and mentor as many people as I can because when I do that, I can learn from others that I am coaching or mentoring. The questions we prepared before the coaching sessions, planning and organising, research and development and not forgetting the questions that others asked (especially when we are mentoring).

There is no limit in learning as long as we have an open mind.

7. Challenges are opportunities in disguise.

If it does not kill us, it will only make us stronger… take a rest if you must, just do not throw in the towel! As long as you keep moving, one day you will arrive.

As I looked back (reflected), I have learnt that problems / challenges that I went through have taught me A LOT! We may not be able to have control over the events, with enough practice and awareness, we can learn how to respond (or react) to the situation and get better outcomes. Even if we fail, we can learn from the failure (via reflection, feedback, coaching, mentoring… and many other ways to learn).

8. Be part of learning via participation and collaboration.

There will be a lot of opportunities presented when we attend seminars, workshops, conferences, networking or any social events… let’s do our part to participate and collaborate.

It could be running projects in the organisation, corporate social responsibility, or tasks… look out for ways to be part of the team to contribute (at the same time, learn!).

9. Use technology.

What is stopping you from utilising the technology to learn?

Articles, e-learning, YouTube, TED Talk, GoogleTalk, Feedly, Twitter, Podcasts… and many others… there is an endless streams of media that we can have access to…

Turn your commute to work as “university on the move” or you can listen to audiobooks while exercising… be creative… what is needed is to prioritise when and how we want to learn.

10. Have fun and enjoy the journey.

Oh… might as well enjoy it while we are at it… YES?

Ultimately, it boils down to the choice that we make… to learn or not to learn?

Whatever choice we make, we got to pay the price.

Have fun and enjoy your learning journey.

“Let go, let life, and enjoy the journey…!”  ― James A. Murphy

One last thing, when was the last time you visited the public library? 🙂

“Change your habits, change your world!”