What Did I Do?

Hey! August is coming to an end...and I only have TEN posts this month (Eleven...including this crap)? What did I do all these time? Hmmm....

Dude, I'm not trying to compare myself against all the other hot-shot Bloggers, okay. Nor am I trying to become like one. But if I could...that'll be great, eh? Hehe. I'm measuring myself against myself here. You see, when I started to become an avid Blogger, I wanted to share my life's experience and the experience of others. I want to inspire people or at least to make them learn from any of the experiences. So if I don't post anything here regularly, how'd people learn...

Ugghhh...in that case I gotta pick up from now onwards. For those who regularly read and check on my Blog (I know there's a few of you out there...and I thank you very much! Muaahhsss!!) my sincere apologies for the lack of updates. I'll do my best to do it more regularly.

Heck...how regular can a 'more regularly' be?? Huhuhu.

Being Independent

Tomorrow, Aug 31, 2010 Malaysia will celebrate her 53rd Independence Day. I've celebrated this day together with the country for as long as I lived. Apart from the history of how Malaysia gained her Independence, my only thought about this auspicious day is the celebrations on the day itself - parades, parades & parades.

Lately, there'll be performances, concerts, stage shows or even TV shows...during the night before. But perhaps because this year it is celebrated during the month of Ramadhan (fasting month for the Muslims), these performances would not happen.

As for myself, I've thought of being independent a long time ago...since I was a teenager. Because I was rigidly controlled by my parents; that I became a silent rebel. So when I finally gained my 'independence' back in 1987 (when I went to college), I realised that I can't be totally independent. And that independence could mean these three things:

Mental

I've taught myself to be mentally independent when I started working. That's when I started to adopt my own philosophies of life. So far, they have been proven to be the right philosophies (except one). I've never let anything or anyone control my mind. People can tell me what to do or how to do it...but whether or not I'll do it, is entirely up to me. So most of the time people would say that I'm hard-headed. I am who I am, what else can I say. Those who knew me well wouldn't say otherwise.

Spiritual

When I was fighting to get free from my parents, I started to think...how free do I want to be? That's when I found out that I can't be totally free. For a Muslim, I am still confined to the teachings of Islam...the Al-Quran and the Al-Hadiths. Those are the two guides that I have to follow, whether I like it or not. But it is good. To have these guides. Because they would ensure that I shall not become astray from my purpose of living. So, yeah...I am NOT spiritually independent.

Physical

When I became rebellious, I've always thought that if I get married I would be physically free from my parents. But then again, I would still be confined to a husband. As a Muslim, the place for a wife is beside the husband. And she must do as he says. That's part of the reason why I married at such a late age. Haha. But since I'm married now, I realised that I can't be physically independent from my parents anyway. Because I would still need them to guide me and shelter me, sometimes.

But this year...I am embracing the meaning of 'Independent' in a whole new way. I am now independent of the 9 to 5 working hours...I am now independent of the corporate mentality....and I am now independent of the dirty and scamful 'office politics'. Finally...I gained my Independence...of some sort.

MERDEKA! MERDEKA! MERDEKA!

P/S: How do you define your 'Independence'?

DO YOU REALLY WANT IT?

It's the Cup of Life...Do you really want it? Pump up the adrenalin and let's go for it!! Keep your eye on the GOAL...

It's THE Game

I'm not a fan, if that's what you're about to ask me. But yeah, I do watch football or soccer or whatever the game is called. I'm sure some of you aren't either. And some are die-hard fans...especially to this Red D*&^$ (can't say it out loud) team.

When you're watching the game, do you realise that football or soccer or whatever the game is called, relates closely to our life?

In life, we need to have strategies. Because we need to develop ourselves, we need to be from here to there and always, we need to be better off tomorrow than we are today. Strategies would provide us with the means to achieve what we want to achieve.

Strategies need to be aligned with the goals that we want to achieve. What are the goals you want to achieve in your life? You wanna be successful? Wanna have a mansion facing the Caribbean Sea, perhaps? Or wanna marry the most beautiful girl in your hometown...or the most eligible bachelor? Maybe. Goals are usually derived from dreams.

What do you dream of becoming in 5, 10 or 20 years' time? You dream of being rich and famous? You dream of becoming the most popular artiste of the Century? The most respected person in your hometown? Dream a dream...today. And set your goals to make that dream come true.

Be the Captain of your own life. Chart your own course towards achieving your goals and realising your dream. Nobody should tell you what to do except you yourself. A famous quote says "You are the Master of your fate and the Captain of your soul". And Donald Trump says "No one should care about your money and your success more than you do".



But sometimes you need to refer to someone to do it properly. So that you can avoid making mistakes along the way. So look for someone who has the experience and the expertise and who's willing to share with you their knowledge. Make him/her your coach or your mentor to whom you can always refer to, whenever you're in doubt. Remember that great sportspeople like Tiger Woods, Nicol David, David Beckham or even Asafa Powell...wouldn't be who they are today without their coaches.

Football, or soccer, or whatever the game is called, is a hard game. In life, you'd always have to play it hard, if you want to be successful. So sometimes you have to defend yourself against the brutality of life. Scepticisms, criticisms, denials, betrayals, etc. In doing so, you'll always need to know your ground. "Keep your eye on the ball", some people would say. But to me, you nee to always KEEP YOUR EYE ON THE GOAL. Because that's where you're gonna score.

Teammates, in life, are those people who would support you all the way. These would not necessarily mean your spouse or your family or your friends...for sometimes they could become your greatest hurdles. If you have a very supportive spouse, family or friends; then good for you. If not, don't be disheartened. You are the Captain of your soul, remember?

In life, you'd always need to strive hard in order to achieve what you want. You must persistent and the passion to really want success. Success doesn't come easily. You have to work hard for it. And when the opportunity arise, you strike the goal.

And then you'll become the winner. But sometimes you've tried very hard and never got the chance to strike goal. Don't fret. Life's like that...sometimes you'll win, sometimes you'll lose. Every time you lose, you have to get back up and running. It doesn't matter how many times you lose but what matters most is how fast you get back up. So you always have to keep you eye and your mind on the goal.

You see, in the game of life, you are actually competing against yourself...To live a better life or to become a better person. And you deserve to be better...you deserve to be the BEST!

So start playing your own game today.

Mixed Identity

Sometimes I'd find it a bit difficult to tell people where I was from. It's easier to say that I'm from Pahang. But when they start to ask "Where in Pahang?" then I'd start to fidget.

I was born in Kuala Lipis. Then I moved to Raub where I spent most of my teenage life. Then I moved to Bentong when I was already in College and where I don't know a lot of people except for the neighbours. Most of the time I'd say I'm from KL (Kuala Lipis...duhh...). Heh. Sometimes, just for the fun of it, I'd give this lengthy answer "I was born in Kuala Lipis and now my parents live in Bentong. But I'm staying in JB".

And since I've been staying in JB for quite some time now (10 years) and I'm married to a Johorean, people would say that literally I'm a Johorean too. Initially I'd dismiss that and say "No. I am a Pahangite". And I realised that I dismissed those remarks because I was afraid that I might lose my borne identity.

Now I'm not afraid anymore. So what if I say that I'm a Johorean. Afterall I married one and I'm staying in Johor anyway...I worked here and my two kids were born here. And I'm going to promote Johor as the preferred industrial location to foreign investors, meaning that I need to know all the corners and the bends in Johor. So literally, yes. I am a Johorean.

But so long as my Identity Card shows '06' and my Place of Birth remains as 'Kuala Lipis'...I still have my Pahang identity in me. Oh! And Penang too...