Anti-Marketing-Geek Defence

In a recent interview, Jon McKenzie, M&C Satchi Singapore
’s head of digital creative, said that combining a Flash developer and an ideas person is like “absolute gold”, and that these hard-to-come-by people should be grabbed by any company…

read more | digg story

WE HAVE MOVED !

That’s right. In case you’ve been wondering why the lack of updates, we’ve moved to a new site. So update your boomarks to:

www.hafihz.com

See you there!

The Power of Goal Setting: Lessons from A Married Man

I attended a talk today regarding marriages and how you should try and prepare yourself for that big event. As such, 4 speakers were invited to give their insights. The first speaker introduced himself and backtracked his life with the dates that he got engaged, married, became a dad and went for honeymoon. The amazing thing was that he did all that (except the dad part), within a span of about 4 months after graduation.

Now, don’t get me wrong, but as a university student, budgets are tight. You’re caught in a semi-adulthood kind of phase, where you are expected to pay like an adult for your expenses, yet you’re still a student.

So how the heck did he do all that, immediately after school? Yes the first question came from the audience and that very salvo was that very question. Here was his reply in short:

• He had planned that he would get married about 3 years prior. During that time, he did not even have a girlfriend.
• He earned quite a sum during his undergraduate days and saved about half (about $750) for …. marriage.

What does this all ring? Goal setting. Look up any book on success, and you’ll see this term being used many many times. Cliche you might call it…but here it was, infront of my eyes, a living example of what goal setting can do to you. Here’s some pointers:

• Goals must be specific… yes super specific. You want to teach tuition? How many? What subjects? How much? You need more money? How much and by when?
• You need to know why you’re setting those goals. This man knew why he wanted to get married. And he stuck to it like glue.
• Be committed.

It takes tons of work, but looking at where he is at… not bad, not bad at all.

Strange Behaviours

Here’s the story (Names have been changed): Few weeks back I approached Tom to ask him if he was interested in trying out this new coaching seminar I was introducing. If all was not well after it, if he did not feel more motivated than before, then a money back guarantee would come suit. His reply? He thought all this was not right, and that if anything I could consult him to improve my program. Now then, the reason I approached him was coz of his MSN nick, which rang something like “Life is crumbling”.

…

It get’s better. Few days ago Tom suddenly approached me and asked for specifics regarding my business degree course. When I asked him, he suddenly said that he had a friend who had big bucks and was looking for someone to help them out, and that he would consider me for the new business they wanted to do. What new business? They had no idea. The questions he asked me? Well, let’s just say they were not really apt for such a proposal.

Ok now, what in the world is going on? On one hand you’re sceptical, and then suddenly you’re all motivated? Even his MSN nick has suddenly changed. I’m just worried that he does not have the right know how to handle the theoretical aspects that is business. And would I want to join him? For now no, because really, before you attempt to create your own something, you really have to have a grip of your own life.

Yeah, strange behavious.

Why you need to do Brain Gymnastics.

Staying comfortable at one spot is easy. Going down, is easier. Going up, is hard. Going different? That’s insane.

Which is essentially what brain gymnastics is. Brain gymnastics is the process of stretching your mind into forcing yourself into doing things that are not in your comfort zone, yet you know that it is the right thing to do and will benefit you in the long run. It’s that exercise you need to do in your mind when you feel like doing something, something good, but think twice, thrice, donkey years.

So how do we do brain gymnastics? Well, procrastination is like this 1000 ton weight that most of us find hard to carry and put aside. So don’t carry. What I do is use the power of the email. Any form I see, pertaining to any course, no matter how comfortable I feel, maybe due to lack of experience or just plain cowardice, I’ll just fill it in, and submit. That uncomfortable feeling, yes… will still come (and yes, it’s still there, from that last form I submitted regarding a mentorship scheme) but what the heck, you’ve already submitted it! You have committed to it.

And you know what? You feel good after that, really, because you have beat procrastination, a 100 ton weight, not by carrying it, but by squashing it with a much greater weight…. a 1000 000 ton weight called “Doing the right thing”. 

Adidas – Impossible is Nothing [Encore]

Looking through my blog stats, I realised just how many readers actually digg Adidas and the Muhammad Ali commercial.

I totally understand where you guys are coming from. The Ad rocks. The tagline used “Impossible is Nothing” is superb. It is able to strike accord with many as it gives assurance, affirmation and a driving spirit we all want to have.

Companies should invest in making good ads. Did you know that for example, in a country like Singapore, you view around 300 ads per day? How many can you recall? Yup, for most for us, the answer is 0.

Yet there are some we just would like to watch again and again. Encore, anyone? …

http://hafihz.wordpress.com/2007/02/22/adidas-impossible-is-nothing-muhammed-ali-vs-laila-ali/ 

Pirates of Silicon Valley

In a nutshell, Pirates of Silicon Valley is a movie about the history of Apple and Microsoft’s eventual rise to dominant design. Based on the novel Fire in the Valley, the main players Steve Jobs and Bill Gates are dramatized alittle, giving the movie a slight satire punch to the situation today.

What I did like about the show was that it highlighted an aspect of entrepreneurship often overlooked. While we all talk about drive and desire as pillars of your own startup, be it business or anything really, it is the savviness and streetsmarts that keeps you sane.

Of course, I still think Steve Jobs is the greatest second act in history of business thus far. His presentations are superb. His comeback is legendary. His style is there. Maybe, what we see today are just results of his previous mistakes, depicted in this movie. The movie does send down slight chills when you look at your own computer, yes the one you’re using right now, and think about how history was made back then which resulted in what you’re using right now.

So now… will you be the next Bill Gates / Steve Jobs? (If so, please… grooming is important.)

Why Namecards Should be White

Namecards should be white… well, at least some parts of it, because it is more economical to write on as supposed to a dark colour.

Sometimes, your client may want to write some stuff related to you, additional information not present in your well designed namecard. Your namecard is a convenient place to “add-on” this information. With that in mind, yes a black namecard may look cool, a glossy finish might look sleek, but both just make writing anything impossible.

5 Lessons to Make You think About The Way We Treat People

1 – First Important Lesson – Cleaning Lady

During my second month of college, our professor gave us a pop quiz. I was a conscientious student and had breezed through the questions until I read the last one:

“What is the first name of the woman who cleans the school?”

Surely this was some kind of joke. I had seen the cleaning woman several times. She was tall, dark-haired and in her 50s, but how would I know her name?

I handed in my paper, leaving the last question blank. Just before class ended, one student asked if the last question would count toward our quiz grade.

“Absolutely,” said the professor. “In your careers, you will meet many people. All are significant. They deserve your attention and care, even if all you do is smile and say “hello.”

I’ve never forgotten that lesson. I also learned her name was Dorothy.

2. – Second Important Lesson – Pickup in the Rain

One night, at 11:30 p.m., an older African American woman was standing on the side of an Alabama highway trying to endure a lashing rainstorm. Her car had broken down and she desperately needed a ride. Soaking wet, she decided to flag down the next car.

A young white man stopped to help her, generally unheard of in those conflict-filled 1960s. The man took her to safety, helped her get assistance, and put her into a taxicab.

She seemed to be in a big hurry, but wrote down his address and thanked him. Seven days went by and a knock came on the man’s door. To his surprise, a giant console color TV was delivered to his home. A  special note was attached..

It read:  ”Thank you so much for assisting me on the highway the other night. The rain drenched not only my clothes, but also my spirits. Then you came along. Because of you, I was able to make it to my dying husband’s bedside just before he passed away… God bless you for helping me and unselfishly serving  others.”

Sincerely,
Mrs. Nat King Cole.

3 – Third Important Lesson – Always remember those who serve.

In the days when an ice cream sundae cost much less, a 10-year-old boy entered a hotel coffee shop and sat at a table. A waitress put a glass of water in front of him.

“How much is an ice cream sundae?” he asked.

“Fifty cents,” replied the waitress.

The little boy pulled is hand out of his pocket and studied the coins in it.

“Well, how much is a plain dish of ice cream?” he inquired.

By now more people were waiting for a table and the  waitress was growing impatient.

“Thirty-five cents,” she brusquely replied.

The little boy again counted his coins.

“I’ll have the plain ice cream,” he said.

The waitress brought the ice cream, put the bill on the table and walked away. The boy finished the ice cream, paid the cashier and left. When the waitress came back, she began to cry as she wiped down the table. There, placed neatly beside the empty dish,
were two nickels and five pennies..

You see, he couldn’t have the sundae, because he had to have enough left to leave her a tip.

4 – Fourth Important Lesson. – The obstacle in Our Path.

In ancient times, a King had a boulder placed on a roadway. Then he hid himself and watched to see if anyone would remove the huge rock. Some of the king’s wealthiest merchants and courtiers came by and simply walked around it. Many loudly blamed the
King for not keeping the roads clear, but none did anything about getting the stone out of the way.

Then a peasant came along carrying a load of vegetables. Upon approaching the boulder, the peasant laid down his burden and tried to move the stone to the side of the road. After much pushing and straining, he finally succeeded. After the peasant picked up his load of vegetables, he noticed a purse lying in the road where the boulder had
been. The purse contained many gold coins and a note from the King indicating that the gold was for the person who removed the boulder from the roadway. The peasant learned what many of us never understand!

Every obstacle presents an opportunity to improve our condition.

5 – Fifth Important Lesson – Giving When it Counts…

Many years ago, when I worked as a volunteer at a hospital, I got to know a little girl named Liz who was suffering from a rare & serious disease. Her only chance of recovery appeared to be a blood transfusion from her 5-year old brother, who had  miraculously survived the same disease and had  developed the antibodies needed to combat the
illness. The doctor explained the situation to her little brother, and asked the little boy if he would be willing to give his blood to his sister.

I saw him hesitate for only a moment before taking a deep breath and saying, “Yes I’ll do it if it will save her.” As the transfusion progressed, he lay in bed next to his sister and smiled, as we all did, seeing the color returning to her cheek. Then his face grew pale and his smile faded.

He looked up at the doctor and asked with a trembling voice, “Will I start to die right away”.

Being young, the little boy had misunderstood the doctor; he thought he was going to have to give his sister all of his blood in order to save her.

Nobody Calls Me Chicken [Lessons from Back to the Future]

Sometimes in life, things do not go your way. While this may bug you at times, what might really irritate you are people who do not respond the way you want them too. Free riders, disruptive and distracting people often fall in this category. How do you respond to such stuff?

It is of utmost importance to keep your cool. It is bad enough people are disrupting dynamics by not contributing. You need to keep your head sane so that you can still do something, rather than go all berzerk about the problematic fella and in the process, join the disruptive group.

If you are really super irritated by that someone, sit down. If you’re sitting down, lie down. Tell yourself not to sound like a clown by immediately voicing out your angst at the person. Advice the person if need be, but do so without your own emotions engulfing everything.

Two wrongs don’t make one right. Marty took 3 whole movies to learn not to retalliate. You can do so in 3 minutes. Be cool. Keep your cool.