When my mother was born 90 years ago, a telegram would have been the way to wish a far-flung family member a Happy Birthday. On my mother’s 90th birthday (4 May 2020), my mother received birthday wishes in real-time via Zoom. Curious to know how she would remember her past 89 years on this earth, we asked her how it feels like being 90. She proceeded to list down all the...
A steady income is crucial for wealth building. If you want to be eligible for a bank loan or even a car loan, the banks will surely ask for your income statement. They will want to see if you can keep up the monthly payments. If you are employed, work for others, then this should be covered. However, if you just started your own business, this might be a bit of...
Is the proverbial saying, “Silence is Golden”, often used in circumstances where it is thought that saying nothing is preferable to speaking, still relevant in this time of Social Media? The ability to be anonymous online or in easily locating groups that share your views of the world, no matter how deviant or perverted, is that old proverbial saying working to our benefit or is it time to change it to Your Silence is...
I picked up this book based on an Amazon “you might like this book” recommendation while searching for books to read. I did wonder how the author, Atul Gawande, would weave a story about the simple checklist into a full-blown book. I mean checklists are everywhere, simple to create and even simpler to forget. By relating the many stories about the medical profession, the book kept me interested enough to keep...
Since smartphones became a thing, I’ve mostly been an iPhone user. Yes, there were the times when I tried out a Samsung Note or HTC phone, but I always came back to an iPhone. From the iPhone 3s, iPhone 5s and current iPhone 6s. iPhone has been my mainstay. With the launch of the iPhone XS or iPhone XS Max, I felt that it was time to upgrade. After all, I’ve...
I used to think that Banks were there to help you build your wealth. After all they had this financial consultant or wealth management officer to help you. What I learned was that, instead of helping you become wealthy, they wanted to manage whatever wealth you already had. So building your wealth was your job.
Have you ever had the experience where you thought that you were being generous and offered something you had without expecting anything but instead ended up receiving so much more in return? Random act of kindness turned around, karma, whatever you want to call it, this just solidifies the saying of before receiving, we should give first. And give unconditionally. A few months ago, I was contacted by True Complexion, the...
“I heard a story about a former Under Secretary of Defense who gave a speech at a large conference. He took his place on the stage and began talking, sharing his prepared remarks with the audience. He paused to take a sip of coffee from the Styrofoam cup he’d brought on stage with him. He took another sip, looked down at the cup and smiled. “You know,” he said, interrupting his...
Are you selling a product or selling a business? Is there a difference between selling your product or selling your business and more importantly, is that difference critical when pitching for funds to fuel your start up? IMHO, Hell Yeah!!! Having sat through numerous pitches as a judge for Business Pitching contests, the most irritating and frustrating thing I face is sieving through an entrepreneurs pitch to understand their business model. In the few...
Once, I had a great opportunity to observe the differences in my 2 children, Liyana and Jan. Both of them had to renew their passports before heading overseas to further their studies. Our house to the immigration centre to get your passport done is about 9 KM and would usually take about 15 minutes to get there. For reasons I can’t recall, we had to do this separately. First, I go...