First Semester

• Positive Mindset
• Personal Branding
• Conversation
• Socializing

Second Semester

• Neuro-linguistic Programming (NLP)
• Non-verbal Communication
• Presentation
• Practical #1 – Toastmasters Club

Third Semester

• Humor
• Public Speaking
• Leading
• Practical #2 – Assertiveness

Fourth Semester

• Persuasion
• Selling
• Negotiation
• Arguments

I designed this “curriculum” out of fun and quest for self-improvement.  I can use it as a self-imposed self-development course to improve my communication skills.

Imagine each semester takes 2 months to complete. Then I can focus on two courses in a month.  For example, in the first month I can improve on Positive Mindset and Personal Branding.  Then in the second month I can work on Conversation and Socializing.  The course will finish in eight months or within a year.

Is there any exam?  Of course, no.  But to make it work and make myself accountable, I’ll need to read, learn and put into practice in daily life.  Then I can use journaling to record and reflect on my progress.

How would you improve this course?  Would you like to design your own course too?

FB post #2 - Have you been working diligently but other people just don’t see your hard work? Perhaps your performance is not yet good enough to attract their attention? Perhaps you need some “selling skills” to make them notice you? Or perhaps you are not exposed enough that they don’t even know your existence?

FB post #3 - Sometimes what we want to do conflicts with what other important people in our life expect us to do. Maybe we haven’t learned enough of their needs. Maybe we don’t know enough of our own ability. Or maybe we haven’t communicated enough with them on what we can do for them.

How do you respond to these posts and questions? I’m in brainstorming stage to prepare for an upcoming talk on personal branding. Your comments are welcome.

1. Are you a student of tertiary education (university or college)?
2. Did you choose the course you are studying now (your dad did’t point a gun on your head telling you to take the course)?
3. Are you truly interested in the area of study you chose?
4. Have you got the passion to learn everything you could in your area of study?
5. Is you learning (note I don’t use the word “studying”) in good progress?
6. Would you like to know how well you are doing in your learning?
7. Do you consider exam a way to feedback to you how well you have learned what you like to learn?

These series of questions might help us to “reframe” how we view this thing called exam.  Reframing is a technique in neuro-linguistic programming (NLP) to relook at a matter from a different perspective.  In this case, hopefully we can view exam in more positive light.

I don’t deny exam can be boring, stressful and hated.  But if we could fill the thoughts in our mind and the words coming out of our mouth with more positive vocabularies, we are more likely to do well in it.  If you believe in the law of attraction, positive thoughts attract positive energy, which in turn attracts positive results.

If we need to face exam anyway, we might as well choose to use more empowering words to describe it.  May the positive force be with you

It was a few months ago when I joined a camp where the participants were thrown into the open sea and had to swim 350 meters back to the beach.  Everyone was clothed in life jacket and asked to move in a group.

There were three categories of us. The first category were those who didn’t know how to swim.  Blessed were them because they didn’t have to swim.  They had helpers to help them drift forward.

The second category were those who knew how to swim.  They not only needed to swim for themselves, but also gave a helping hand to non-swimmers to pull them towards the destination.

But the third category were those who didn’t really know how to swim well, but claimed they could swim.  They not only had to struggle their own way to the beach, they were supposed to help others too!

Guess which category I belonged to?  Perhaps I was one of its kind in this category

So I felt extremely tired, but it was still a long way in front. I couldn’t stop swimming to rest because we were supposed to swim together.  I looked at those swimming in front of me and knew how it felt to be left behind.  I looked at the beach far in front and realized I was the most desperate person in the worlds.

But I had no choice but kept telling myself, “Don’t give up. Keep on swimming. You can do it.”

I did it.  I swam to the shore and we completed the mission.  I felt thankful I had not given up.  I did the right thing to keep on swimming!

We were trained for positive thinking.  One compulsory reading we must have was Think & Grow Rich.  We were trained to visualize success and think “if I think I can, I can”!

I believed in the “law of attraction”, though it may not be called this name at that time.  I believed I could achieve anything I wanted, anything my mind focused on and attracted.  At the age of 19, I thought I was at the top of the world.

But things did not turn out well:

• My group collapsed.  Many downlines migrated to another network marketing company.
• The company also folded itself in a few years.
• I lost money and trust of many friends.
• And many other setbacks in life.

Recently I made a presentation on the concept of self-efficacy.  It is the belief that we can complete a certain task completely.  It also refers to our general trait that we think we can succeed in a variety of situations.

To make a long story short, while self-efficacy is very important, it is not everything.  We humans have limit on what we can do, and we need to be humble enough to recognize our limit.

However, as Stephen Covey, the author of The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People, proposes that as we focus on what we can do now (our circle of influence), and not on what we are concerned of but can’t do now (our circle of concern), we will stretch our circle of influence bigger and bigger.

Please go through my presentation and see if you can find out anything or not

• We were individually created for a purpose on earth.  There is a reason why we exist.
• We have been equipped with the necessary potential to fulfill our purpose in life.
• Our job is to draw our potential out, not to underestimate our self.
• We must not let criticisms from others to undermine our own potential.
• We must not let rejections in life to undermine our own potential.
• We have yet to reach our full potential.  We can always do better in life.
• We can always reach out to bless more people in life.
• We can always enlarge our territory (sphere of influence) in life.

Press on towards our goal!

No matter whether you are working, running your own business, studying, home-making, retired or somewhat in between, I wish you achieve new heights of success in career and life in this new year!

People say it’s going to be a bad year.  Many will lose their jobs.  Disposable income will become less and less.  Businesses will suffer.  So on and so forth.

We can read or hear so much bad news everyday that some people I know started to automatically develop a response of “immunity” and even “rejection” to these negative bombardments.

According to some really successful people, now is actually a great time to do many things, including developing your business.  So instead of lamenting on the economic situation, let’s learn to take advantage of it – we don’t have such opportunity many times in our lifetime!

So instead of expecting bad things to happen, let’s together hope for and work for good things to come up in our life, work or business this year!  Well, according to the law of attraction, we get what we expect.  We reap what we sow, starting first in our minds.

At the end of 2009, I wish I will have lived a fruitful year.  So I wish for you.  God bless you a successful year ahead!

Selamat Tahun Baru!

新年快乐,心想事成!

新年おめでとうございます！