Monday, March 10, 2008

My Collection of Quotes

I have been inspiration-less for 2 months on writing a blog article. Don't you have this kind of feeling before? Go to the work, don't feel like working. Know got school test coming up, don't feel like studying. Now and then, I feel like that. Especially from Mondays to Fridays.

Lucky I got idea to kick start my lazy brain. You see, I like to keep interesting quotes that I come across. So I share with you some of my quotes and how they relate to me. I hope you will find them meaningful to you too.


My Chio Bu in Recent Ad

Before I start, let me digress a bit to tell you my chio bu appeared in a major advertisement recently. You might have seen her in this ad:




My Chio Bu as the model in Singtel Mobile RedPac Advertisement
She appears as the mother in the ad.

Image from Singtel Mobile advertisement from
http://home.singtel.com/kidz/redpac.asp

Printed advertisement appeared on the main sections on:
5 March 2008, Wednesday--Lian He Zhao Bao
5 March 2008, Wednesday--Strait's Times
8 March 2008, Saturday--Strait's Times

TV advertisement scheduled to air on 17 March 2008, all major channels of MediaCorp including Channel 5, Channel 8, Channel U.

With so much exposure, maybe she will be better recognised than that wanted JI terrorist Mas Selamat that escaped.

She appeared in many other ads in the past. Like Acuve, POSB, IBM, CPF, etc etc she say until I also cannot remember.

Ok, break over. Back to main topic.



"The Journey Is The Reward"
Phil Jackson, head coach of Chicago Bulls during the Michael Jordan 7-year NBA championship years.

This is my personal favourite and motto. Because quite easy to remember.

Possessions, accomplishments, fame, wealth: hese are all fleeting. Impermanent. One day they will all be gone. Also, we by nature are greedy. The satisfaction you get from attaining them is short-lived. We will never get enough and get satisfied. We are always hungry for more. Also, in life, nothing is guaranteed. You may or may not get what you want. So in the end, where is the satisfaction going to come from?
It is from the journey.

Good hor? This quote is also good for people like me.
Go chase girls but in the end never get them. So I think myself, "Nevermind, the journey is the reward."


"You always have a choice."

Pete, Spiderman 2.

Spiderman is actually quite wise. People remember his more famous quote, "With more power comes more responsibility". But this is the one that I thought is the wisest.

You ride motorcycle and a car just cut-across in front of you causing you to jam brake narrowly avoiding hitting you. You cursed and swell. #@%#*&.

You not happy right? Fine, you always got a choice. Don't ride bike lah. Go take public transport lah. The cursing immediately stops.

This thought not only applies to riding. But to any everyday event whenever we feel frustrated.
We feel frustrated because we felt we have no other choice. Wrong. We always have another choice. Pause and think a bit harder.

We would end up happier. Even when we still end up sticking to the same unpreferred choice, we do things smarter.

So you see, Spideman is not stupid one ok. If I see Spiderman, I will use his quote on him.
Because that Kirsten Dunst who plays Mary Jane, look like sai to me. I will tell Peter Parker,

"You always have another choice."



“Fear leads to anger. Anger leads to hate. Hate leads to suffering.”
Yoda, Star Wars

This one you should remember right?
That Yoda is a wise monk in disguise. George Lucas actually embedded the wisedom of Shaolin monks into Star Wars. Don't play play.

Why this one useful leh?
First, it tells me not to get angry. At anyone even if it is not my fault. Because in the end, I will kena suffer as well. Sure one, I tell you. Like back in school days, that #$%@ boy in your class steal your eraser and you feel like punching him, but you sure cannot escape one. Sure kena punishment from teacher if you pull the punch. So better don't get angry.

It teaches me to have a cheerful character as well. You must smile more.
Don't belive? You see Ronald McDonald smile so wide. See how rich he is now.


“Do or do not... there is no try.”
Yoda, Star Wars

This one also from Yoda. Also very useful.

If you got subordinate and you ask him to do something and he respond with "I try".

You can tu (rebutt) him with "There is no try. Do or do not. This is Yoda say one."

He sure boh wei kong one.




"He who butters your bread holds the knife."
Forgot by who.

This one is to remind myself to dong. To restrain. To control myself whenever kena scolding by my boss, even when kena scolded until chao tao.

If you think this one quote not enough, you can combine with the earlier quote, "You always have a choice."

Suddenly, what your boss scold you for starts to make a lot of sense.



"The Stone Cutter.

Whenever I feel depressed or want to give up, I will go see the stone cutter.
He sits at the same place, hitting the same piece of rock at the same spot.
Each hit leaves not a mark and the rock remains intact.
But on the 101st hit, the rock falls apart."

Jacob a riis. 1901. Socialist and writer.


This one tells me to lang lang just work hard. Also to just continue to buy Toto. Maybe one day, will really hit jackpot.


“He told me that his philosophy is to simply do what he is good at, work hard, and do it very well everyday. He does not care about trends, but just what his customers like there.”

Jeremy, founder of Vis a Vis french restaurant in Singapore. It is in Bukit Timah area.

Means if you work in a company, you must listen to the customer and serve the customer well.
If you no time or no money to attend those MBA thing, just take good care of your customer
and your business will prosper.

If you not customer facing, means serve your boss very well.
If you work in the government, means serve the voters very well.




"The harder I worked, the luckier I got."
George Milkan, a famous NBA basketball player in 1940-50s.

Or I wished to believe.

But I really just prefer the lucky part without the hard work part.



"So in life, you take the cards given to you."

Lee Kuan Yew

This one lao Lee say one. Lao Lee say one how can be wrong, right?

Means you kena allocated a HDB flat in ulu ulu estate without MRT, without provision shop, without kopi tiam, face carpark, don't complain understand?! Just take it. Not happy ah? Go buy private property lah.


"Every dog has it's day"
My Chio Bu

Yes, not eye is not playing tricks on you. It is that chio bu who appeared in the Singtel ad above who said it.

I also equally shock that she said such got ink quote that I quickly write it down.

It means one day I will surely strike Toto!

Wahahahahaha!!!



"In Haste, we add Waste"
Endlessloop


This one by me. Because whenever I kum cheong and rush out of my house because late, I would reach my vICE only to realise that I forgot to bring it's motorcycle key out, or I left behind some important items in the house. And have to go all the way back, so waste even more time.

So plan properly, give yourself sufficient time before you start any project of all kinds, start promptly, then you can relax, enjoy the journey and finish your job sui sui.



"Clear Vision. Swift Action. Good Results."

Lim Kim Sang. Chairman of SPH.

I try to apply his advice. Must work right? If not he wouldn't be chairman of SPH wao.

I think I got good clear vision because I know what I want.
I also can act very fast. Kah qiu must be faster a bit, if not wait lose out.

But my results not very good leh. How ah? Where I go wrong?



"Sit Tight. Walk Right. Stand and Fight."
Pastor Lawrence Kong, from FCBC Church in Singapore.


Wah, pastor also teach people to fight ah?!!

No lah. He means when you are faced with crisis, just walk upright, do things that you can answer to your conscious. Deal with the problem and not run away.

Lawrence Kong is my favourite speaker of all the churches I have been so far in Singapore.




"Whatever you can do or dream you can, begin it.
Boldness has genius, power and magic in it!'"

Johann Wolfgang Von Goethe


Serious. It really work. You don't believe?


You try jay walking at a red-man traffic light. I tell you, the other pedestrains beside you will all follow you and jay walk across.

You try illegal parking your bike on the pavement at one spot. When you come back to your bike later, you will see many other bikes all copy you and illegal park next to you.

What bold dream do I have? Hmmm.

I want to one day marry my favourite Japanese AV actress Mai Asoh! Go check her out!


One Song that Rocks

Go listen to this song from Hebe, one member of S.H.E.