What You Can Learn From Singapore

According to the latest issue of Time (June 25, 2012), Singapore has the world’s highest percentage of millionaire households, with 17% of all households owning at least one million US dollars in net assets.   

  

Singapore is a tiny country in Southeast Asia at the southern tip of Malaysia. You can hardly spot it on a world map. It has no natural resources and there is no way for you to till the land and do cultivation. However, it is a successful country and you can learn a few things from this country which is efficient and effective.

·         Brainpower: In order to survive, without natural resources and limited land, Singapore has, since independence in 1965, capitalized on services of many kinds and achieved what it is today. According to Wikipedia, Singapore is a world leader in several economic areas: The country is the world's fourth-leading financial centre, the world's second-biggest casino gambling market, one of the world's top three oil refining centres, the world's largest oil-rig producer, and a major ship-repairer. The port is one of the five busiest ports in the world. The World Bank has named Singapore as the easiest place in the world to do business and ranks Singapore as the world's top logistics hub. It is also the world's fourth-largest foreign exchange trading centre after London, New York, and Tokyo.

You may think you are unknown when you can think of a big and unique idea you can create an impact in the world.

·         Get educated: Education is of paramount importance in Singapore because knowledge is power. Acquiring marketable skills and know-how is the way to compete with other bigger and resource-rich countries in the world.  According to Wikipedia the country's two main public universities – the National University of Singapore and Nanyang Technological University – are among the top 100 universities in the world.

The way for you to move ahead and stay competitive is to learn and acquire skills and technical knowledge and take a cue from other successful people.

   

·         Be disciplined: Singapore is an organized and orderly country and it has zero-tolerance for corruption. Success is about  planning and organization and doing the  right things consistently

You have to set challenging goals, plan and organize your daily activities to be productive. When you work you plan consistently without procrastination you will meet success.

 

·         Determination and patience: It has taken Singapore close to 50 years since independence to attain its present glory.

It is important to think and work long term because getting overnight success is few and far in between. You will not appreciate things you can get easily.  All good things require personal effort expanding over a long period.  

·         Take advantage of your strengths: Singapore, taking advantage of its strategic location, is a major international transport hub in Asia, positioned on many sea and air trade routes, providing much-needed services globally.  

Focus on your strengths and develop into something useful for others. You will get what you want when you can give others what they want.

Education is important, but creating a workable and original idea will make a big difference in your life.   

Top 3 Posts in May 2012

1.  What Can You Do With Scoop.it?

Nowadays the Internet is abuzzed with curation. To be precise it is about content curation. There is a great platform just for that; Scoop.it is it. Like Pinterest, it is loaded with stunning images, but it is also filled with texts like a magazine.  How do you take advantage of Scoop.it?


2. 20 More Wise Quotes to Live Your Life

Here are 20 marvelous way to live your life:

1. Believe that life is worth living and your belief will help create the fact.
~William James

2. Do not dwell in the past, do not dream of the future, concentrate the mind on the present moment.
~Buddha

 3. The big secret in life is that there is no big secret. Whatever your goal, you can get there if you’re willing to work. 
~Oprah Winfrey


3.7 More Soul-Searching Questions to Ask Yourself

Is your daily life fulfilling, satisfying and happy? Do you feel you are living purposefully? Touch base with yourself with these soul-searching questions: 

10 Ways Happy People are Productive People

Happy people are smart and successful people. They get things done and they are happy to accomplish their tasks.

1.       Start their day right: They wake up and get up with a positive note. They are happy to welcome a new day and are anxious to get started because they have planned, organized, and prioritized their day.

2.       Creative: Happy people are calm and relaxed. They are in a better frame of mind to create ideas. They are more likely to be resourceful at work and be more effective and efficient.   

3.       Work better with others: You are more inclined to work with happy people because they are always in a good mood.  They smile at you and acknowledge your presence. Their cheerfulness is always a welcome sign for others. They put people at ease and work gets done smoothly.

4.       Solve problems: Happy people think clearly as they enjoy peace of mind.  Their upbeat behavior reacts to problems positively. They will overcome problems creatively. 

5.       Energetic: Happy people are enthusiastic, fit, and alert because they care for themselves and they like the way they are. They feel good about themselves.

6.       Focused: Happy people live in the present. They work in the flow at one task at a time. They do what is important. They avoid distractions and small stuff.

7.       Confident: Happy people are sure of themselves because their outlook in life is optimistic. To them, if there is a will there is a way. Their winning way is more likely to meet challenges in life successfully.

8.       Decisive: Happy people work promptly. They do not procrastinate and they do not hesitate to take risks in order to get things done.

9.       Interested to know more: Happy people are happy learners. They are always in the quest for more knowledge. It is their attitude to seek improvement and be more productive.

10.   Taking breaks: Happy people are smart people. They take time out to refresh their mind. They find happiness in indulging in a cup of coffee and chatting with coworkers to release stress and tension at work.    

Be happy. Be productive.

10 Things Y generation Employees Want

Y generation is people born between 1980 and 1995. They are called the "millennials." They are young, energetic, creative, well-educated, tech-savvy, pampered and they have fun and freedom. Their needs are different from baby boomers. These are the things they look for in a job:

1.       Competitive pay: They want a salary in line with their contributions. Pay is important to them because they have more debt such as student loans and credit cards.

2.       A trusted brand: They prefer to work in an influential establishment with social responsibilities.  

3.       A challenging job: They want to put into use what they have learnt in a challenging environment.

4.       Personal development: They look for growth. They are keen  to learn more and acquire more  skills

5.       Promotion: They value the opportunities to move up the corporate ladder. 

6.       To be noticed: They like to take initiative to get things done. So don’t order them but give them ideas.  They want to be recognized for their output.

7.       To be inspired: They like a boss who can motivate them. A skilful manager is required to lead them so that there is high engagement among the workers. They favor a nurturing corporate culture.

8.       Quality of life: They work to live. It is essential to look after their well-being because having fun while at work is important for them. When they go to work, they dress for comfort.

9.       Technological tools: They are tech savvy. They work better with the latest technology.

10.   Flexible work: They work smarter not harder. They want telecommuting options. They also want the choice of working part-time or leave their job for a while when they have children.

The key is getting to know them better, groom them, get them involved, reward them and inspire them.  

Work to Live and Live to Work and be Happy

According to a survey as reported in the news, 50% of employees in Malaysian work to live and not live to work.  Randstad Holding’s survey also showed that 62% of Malaysian employees considered a good salary more important than job satisfaction.

When you work to live you find satisfaction in your job more important than your salary. If you work to live your job is only a means to an end.  Though good pay is important, your interests are somewhere else.

Live to work

It is good to enjoy what you do and be passionate about your job because you are measured by your performance. It is very likely that you will be handsomely compensated as you are doing a good job even though you may not pay much attention to your salary. For those who find their job interesting and do not mind working long hours, they are warned that work is not everything in their life.

Work to live  

If you work to live, you must remember that you have to perform well in order to keep the job. It is better for you to develop an interest in your work and be engaged in it. Doing things half-heartedly is not the way to work and it will not get you anywhere.  On the other hand, it is good to have many interests in life so that you can lead a balanced lifestyle.

The best of both worlds

The best thing in life is to land a challenging job that you find fulfilling and rewarding at the same time. You may love your job but you must not bring work home or work late all the time. You have to care for your family. Your presence at home is important for family happiness. You also need time to do workout to stay healthy and fit. You also have to spend the time to socialize and get connected. Getting involved in a community project is also a meaningful way to spend your time. 

Happiness is to live to work and work to live.  

The Way to Happiness

Happiness

Here are some wise quotes about getting happiness in your life:

Happiness is like a butterfly.

The more you chase it, the more it eludes you.

But if you turn your attention to other things,

It comes and sits softly on your shoulder.

~Henry David Thoreau

Action may not bring happiness but there is no happiness without action.

~ William James

Very little is needed to make a happy life; it is all within yourself, in your way of thinking.

~Marcus Aurelius Antoninus

The grand essentials of happiness are something to do, something to love, and something to hope for.

~Allan K. Chalmers

Happiness is not given but exchanged.

~Diane

The happiest person is the person who thinks the most interesting thoughts.

~Timothy Dwight

The search for happiness is one of the chief sources of unhappiness.

~Eric Hoffer

Unhappiness is the hunger to get; happiness is the hunger to give. . . . If the individual should set out for a single day to give happiness, to make life happier, brighter and sweeter, not for himself but for others, he would find a wondrous revelation of what happiness really is.

~William George Jordan

The way to happiness: keep your heart free from hate, your mind from worry. Live simply, expect little, give much. Fill your life with love. Scatter sunshine. Forget self, think of others. Do as you would be done by. Try this for a week and you will be surprised.

~H. C. Mattern

I believe the recipe for happiness to be just enough money to pay the monthly bills you acquire, a little surplus to give you confidence, a little too much work each day, enthusiasm for your work, a substantial share of good health, a couple of real friends, and a wife and children to share life's beauty with you.

~J. Kenfield Morley

Happiness is mostly a by-product of doing what makes us feel fulfilled.

~ Benjamin Spock

Gratefulness is the key to a happy life that we hold in our hands, because if we are not grateful, then no matter how much we have we will not be happy — because we will always want to have something else or something more.

~ David Steindl-Rast

Happiness is not in the mere possession of money; it lies in the joy of achievement, in the thrill of creative effort.

~ Franklin D. Roosevelt

It is only possible to live happily ever after on a day-to-day basis.

~ Margaret Bonnano

Success is not the key to happiness. Happiness is the key to success. If you love what you are doing, you will be successful.

~ Albert Schweitzer

Happiness does not come from doing easy work but from the afterglow of satisfaction that comes after the achievement of a difficult task that demanded our best.

~- Theodore Isaac Rubin

The true way to render ourselves happy is to love our work and find in it our pleasure.

~Françoise Bertaut de Motteville

Happiness cannot be traveled to, owned, earned, worn, or consumed. Happiness is the spiritual experience of living every minute with love, grace, and gratitude.

~ Denis Waitley

Are You Unemployed or Unemployable?

When you are unemployed, it may mean that jobs are scarce and openings are few. You are employable but you cannot get one. On the other hand, an unemployable person is someone who is not suitable to be employed even though there are jobs available.

Those unemployable are among the fresh graduates. Academically they do well, but some other things are lacking in them:

·         Marketable skills: You can study a subject that you are interested in, but more importantly the knowledge and skills you are going to acquire must be in demand. Check online and find out what is trending in the business world.  Go for evergreen courses such as accountancy and nursing.

·         Basic soft skills: It is not surprising to find newly employed who do not show politeness. They don’t greet you when they see you, let alone a smile.  Saying please and thank you is hard to get.  They do not show up on time and they could be missing in action or a few days without prior notice.

·         Language skills: They are not proficient in English which is widely used in business and on the Net.  Effective communication is a problem at work.  

·         Enthusiasm: They do not find excitement in the job they do. Maybe they are not interested because they work to live. They find interest in other things in life.

·         Analytical skills: According to Wikipedia, analytical skill is the ability to visualize, articulate, and solve both complex and uncomplicated problems and concepts and make decisions that are sensical based on available information. It means they find it difficult to deal with problems for which they are expected to solve. 

Be employable and be employed.

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