Notification Of Blog Transfer

Dear Readers,

It has been quite some time since I blogged here and it has been a wonderful experience sharing the things I do and the books I've read.

With immediate effect, this blog will not be updated further and this is the last entry here. I'll be transfering these information to my own website http://mohamadfaizal.com/

It is an emotional move because it is through this blog that I gained my business contacts, contracts, acquaintances and friends. It is the outreach of this blog that led me to people from different parts of the world.

As emotional as it is, I think it is time for some changes. I thank you for reading my entries and sharing your perspective. I look forward to your future visits into my new website http://mohamadfaizal.com/

My First National Achievers' Congress in 2014.

If you have read in my earlier posts, I stated my commitment to take up more classes this year. So end May 2014, I attended the National Achiever's Congress 2014 at Resorts World Sentosa. It was my first NAC event and I think I will look forward to more. It's not just the speakers or the motivational speech, it is also about the ideas and new ways of doing things that provides us with new options.

Workbook for National Achiever Congress 2014 Singapore

I do have a few friends who told me things such as "Whats the point of attending" or "the NAC can't change your life" and the list goes on. I'm not sure what the negativity is all about but in some sense I do agree with them. Yes, a seminar, like any other form of learning will not change lives. Action is needed in order to change our results. My response to them; Learning is part of taking action. There's learning and there's applying.

This year's keynote speaker was the ever inspiring Nick Vujicic. He was the last speaker and during that time, ... there were more people that the usual NAC attendees. I wonder where they've disappeared to in the first 2.5 days.







Other speakers include;

1. Brendon Burchard - The World's No 1 Motivation & Marketing Trainer.
2. Tom Hopkins - The World's Leading Authority on Sales.
3. Adam Ginsberg - The No 1 Expert on Making Money on the Internet, particularly Ebay and Amazon.
4. Andrews Matthews - Illustrator and Author of Being Happy
5. Andy Harrington - Leading Public Speaking Expert
6. Caroline Claydon - Rich Dad Education Coach
7. Daniel Miller - Domain Trading Expert
8. Gerry Robert - Bestselling Author
9. John Burley - Legendary Real Estate Mentor.
10. J.T. Foxx - World's No 1 Wealth Coach
11. Kieron Sweeney - Digital Entrepreneur
12. Peng Joon - Voted No 1 Digital Marketer
13. Cayden Chang & Sean Seah - Masters of Value Investing
14. Shiv Khera - Author and Business Consultant.

Notes from Brendon Burchard's session.
I bet it's drawn by Andrews Matthews.

Brendon Burchard
Brendon is young, energetic and he shared about his near-death experience that led him to find 3 most empowering questions that we should all ask ourselves. He spoke about the importance of having an online presence and establishing credibility.

Tom Hopkins - Unbelievable

Tom Hopkins
Tom is the last of the powerful three of the old time speakers which also includes; Jim Rohn and Zig Ziglar. Tom did a sales demonstration in front of everyone and we are all mesmerized by the flair that he displayed. If he comes in next NAC, I will sign up for his Sales class. He also shared that almost 20 years ago, a man by the name of Dennis Wee became his student and now, he owns one of the largest real estate companies in the country.

Adam Ginsberg getting NAC participant to take a selfie

Adam Ginsberg
Adam is truly a master at what he does; internet marketing using Amazon and Ebay. He shared about how a very young girl sold a 'Ghost Walking Stick' and made an amazing sum of money. All Ebay sellers, you need to listen to this guy. He has developed a system where we can cross trade between Ebay and Amazon.

Andrews Matthews
Andrews is true artist. He uses illustrations to show his point. He spoke twice during this congress and he mesmerized the audience on both occasions. At the end of his presentation, he auctioned off the whole drawing that he did for a cool sum of $60,000! All those money will be donated to Reach (http://www.reach.org.sg/).

I've been wanting to use illustrations in my workshops but damn, do my drawing sucks... BIG TIME! Andrews pulled it off very very well. Maybe I should work on my drawings.

Andy Harrington
Andy specializes in public speaking. He got a random volunteer on stage and he helped the guy with his stage posture. You guys need to see it to believe it. If Andy is here again next year, I'll sign up for his class.

Caroline Claydon
A student of Robert T. Kiyosaki and a real estate investor herself, Caroline shared some important principles in financial freedom and wealth creation using real estate. She helped me understand Rich Dad's concept better and she shared on how overpriced the property prices are in Singapore. The system she has set up was fantastic and I think her participants get their more than just their first property in the UK.

Daniel Miller
Daniel shared something even more interesting, which is online real estate. It was quite an eye opener for me and I think it has some amazing potential.

John Burley
John is the real deal in real estate investments. He is the man responsible in working with Robert Kiyosaki on his real estate investments. In addition to that, he is the man who trained Nick Vujicic in real estate investments. Unfortunately, I can't see how I can use this knowledge. The property prices in Singapore is crazy and the public housing that most Singaporeans have, will lose its value after 90 years.

J.T. Foxx.
This guy literally stormed onto the stage and wowed the crowd with his energy and stage charisma. Simply awesome. He shared his commitment to make about 40 Singaporeans millionaires. That is one tough challenge but it'll be interesting to see what this guy can do.

Kieron Sweeney
Kieron specializes in mobile application technology. His model is perfect at this time because the number of smart phone users are increasing and the platform he created is able to 'jump start' anyone into starting a Digital Mobile business.

Peng Joon
Peng Joon spoke about his past and his present. He has over 500 websites generating him over $20m in the last 7 years. I have been make several attempts over the internet. For some reason, I am a more successful buyer than a seller. I've attended a few internet marketing programs in the past. I need to make this one work this time!

Cayden Chang & Sean Seah
Cayden and Sean spoke about Value Investing, which is the investing preference by Warren Buffett. Sean shared the different investment strategies and I think 2 of them are very sound to me.

Shiv Khera
Shiv spoke about values and that how someone who has a job but is not working, really amounts to stealing. I could not have put it better.

Nick Vujicic
This is one amazing speaker. He spoke a lot of personal values. He spoke about having a vision for oneself and taking one step at a time. He shared about how he started off his speaking business which I think is simply inspirational. The foundation of success is values. If a person has wrong values, success is meaningless and he explained on the importance of building our value system as a foundation for success.

Notes from Nick's session.  

Making sure I arrived early.

What I learned from NAC 2014?
This NAC delivered a lot of new information and reinforcement of old knowledge. Some of the things I've learned;
1. Values - Our values and beliefs must be the root or foundation of our ventures. So what if we are rich but we neglected our basic responsibilities with the different roles entrusted to us. What is a million dollar deal if our family is neglected and left for ruin..

2. Discover who we are and how do we want to impact the world - Purpose... What is our purpose in this life? Before we can change the world, we need look within. What is in us that needs to be changed. The world will change when we change.

3.  The Attitude of Gratitude - Be thankful for what you have. Every night, think of 3 things that makes you happy. Get pictures of your family, friends and put it on a poster board. This will help you remember who you are and who you is behind you. Here's a good example on why this works..
When you do something for someone, maybe a colleague or a family member and that person expresses gratitude for what you've done. How would you feel? You will feel good and appreciated and you tend to give more, thus that person will receive more. The magic of it all..

4. Exercise - Build health for wealth. I'm always procrastinating this one. Time to get back into shape.

5. Dream.. If you don't dream, you'll get nightmares.. Interesting way to put it across.

Lessons From The Passing Of 2 Uncles

This morning, I attending a funeral and prayer session for my uncle who passed on last night. He was my wife's uncle to be specific. It's the second funeral this month within my extended family. Funerals kind of reminds me of the things I need to do, the legacy I need to leave for my family. The unpredictability of life reminds me of the balance I need to achieve in life.

Early this month, my own uncle died after 6 months of battle with pancreas cancer. Both men has lived good lives. They left behind a loving wife, grown up children and even grandchildren. No, they were no celebrities, but they have achieved great things and both has taught me some of life's lessons;

My own uncle passed on a week before the birth of my second daughter. He was a good man, strong beliefs and quite a disciplinarian. I have never seen him without a smile. He was a retired police officer. I remember seeing him in his uniform and the holstered pistol has always been my focus. I always pictured him in action like those in TJ Hooker series.

He retired from the police force in the early 90s. He was about 45 at that time, I think. Everyone was wondering what he would do next. He did something that no one in the family expected; he started building computers!

We came to his house one day, my cousin invited us to his room to play computer games. In the 90s, computers were still in the early stages. Not everyone can afford one. My dad asked my uncle how much he bought it for. He said he made it himself. He learnt by reading books he borrowed from the library! Since his price was more than reasonable, my dad ordered 2 sets from him. I remembered feeling rich having two computers at home. As word of mouth spread, my uncle had more orders.

As computer progresses, so did he. He made friends with retailers and suppliers, getting them to share their knowledge with him in building computers. I can tell that he was passionate about it. When he visited us, he will run through the computers to make sure things are working fine. I learned the function of 'Disk Defragmenting' from him.

He decided to stop dealing with computers after about 10 years because computers were getting more affordable and it almost didn't make sense to build your own. He joined the security industry. When I heard the news of his pancreas cancer, it was a shock to me. I thought he would be the last person in the family to ever get sick, considering his health consciousness and selective of the foods he eat. My aunt told me stories of how she and my cousins smuggled delicacies when he was out working. Alas, everyone has their time.

As I reflect on how he lived, I learnt the importance of learning. Knowledge is out there, we need to seek it. Be passionate and try different things. No one has to fit into my shoes. It is designed by me for me.

My wife's uncle was another sad story. He was supposed to get an operation done on his leg but doctors said that they could not do it due to his weak heart. Picture this, you need an operation that can save your live but you can't have the operation because of your weak heart. I asked myself if life can get any more stranger. Alas, things happen for a reason. Only HE knows what we know not.

As I reflect on those incident, he taught me the importance of health. One should take care of his body when he can so that his body can take care of him when he can't.

May His Blessings be upon them both...

Hey, you! Yeah, you! If you have READ my blog, you need to READ this.

Good day to everyone. First of all, please do not mind the title of this blog. I just wanted to capture your attention. If you are reading this, then I guess it works. hehe.

I love writing this blog. Why this blog lasted longer than my other previous blogs is simply because training is something close to my heart. And to discover that I have readers from countries like United States, United Kingdom, Pakistan and Australia is mind blowing. Don't get me wrong, I am not one of those top rated bloggers so these are exciting moments for me.

In the past 2-3 months, I was approached by new acquaintances, new friends, fellow trainers and program developers. They told with me that they came across my blog, read my blog etc. I just want to thank you, the readers, for spending a little time to read my entries. From the bottom of my heart, I really, really appreciate it. My only hope is that all the things I wrote here was able to serve you one way or another.

It would be awesome if you, the readers, are able to share some of your ideas related to the entries via the comment section. I think that it will add value, not only to my blog, but to everyone reading it. As you know, my entries are from my own limited experience and I am not very experienced in every aspect of my life. 

I don't have much to write about this time around. My wife is expecting, my daughter is having a bad cough and I have a deadline tomorrow. 

Once again, to all of you who have read my blog..

"My new boss used that technique in our meeting yesterday!"

Yesterday, I met up a gentleman from my DIEB (Develop Initiative & Enterprise Behavior) class which ended last week. He works in a logistic company and is already in the early 50s.

One the last few sessions, he asked me about the practicality of those techniques learned during the Employability Skills Module. He said that while techniques are useful, he felt that it is of little use at work. He also brought to my attention that as ground staffs, the opportunities to use those new-found skills can be limited.

I explained to him by using the following phrase "It Is Better To Be Prepared and Not Have An Opportunity, than Having an Opportunity and Not Being Prepared". The thing is we can never know what lies ahead of us. We can never know when an opportunity will come knocking on our door. And if it does knock, what do you want to do?

That phrase is close to my heart because I was at the receiving end. In the early 2000s, the first business that I started was a freelance draftsman, drawing single line diagrams and getting endorsement from an electrical Professional Engineer (PE). I learned how to use AutoCad in Singapore Polytechnic in the late 90s. I got hands-on practice during my first job. When I discovered that demand, I took it up. I was paid $50 for every drawing. With the energy and time I have in my hands, I could easily complete 100 single line drawings in a month. However, I was under the illusion that that opportunity will last. I refused to upgrade my skills simply because I was already too busy. Weeks passed and the demand for my services dropped. One day, I was given an opportunity to do a more complex drawing. I had to give it away because their requirements were beyond me.. That drawing itself could have fetch me a cool $5,000 in a week. That is also the cost of my lesson.

Learning is part of life. The value of knowledge is not in the certificates. It is in how we apply it. When that happens, that knowledge will have greater value to self and organization.

So back to my meeting with this gentlemen; he shared that he has a new boss to report to. In his 15 years of service in the company, he has never had a conversation on career path. This new manager spoke to all his colleagues for 30minutes each to find out their goals and aspirations.

So I asked him,"So what was your response?". He said, "If only there is a manager like you in the earlier years of my career, I would be somewhere better now. Since I'm in the 50s, I've lost some drive." He told his manager to give those opportunities to the younger ones.

I told him that with his wealth of experience, he can consider mentoring the new entrees into the industry. He pondered for a while.

In the later part of the conversation, he shared that his new boss used a few techniques which he learnt in the ES modules; such as goal setting, divergent and convergent thinking, etc. He was surprised to see someone in management level applying those techniques. Now that he has a better idea of what is going on, he became more appreciative of the changes implemented by the management.

That feedback were music to my ears. It has been a week since we completed the module and he was able to change his perception of things.

My advise to everyone; keep learning, keep growing, find ways to apply your new found skills. If door to opportunity does not open, make our own door. Things always happen for a reason.

Cute and Creative Thank You Card From My DIEB Class.

It has been 8 months since I started training with MendakiSense. MendakiSense is a social enterprise that provides affordable training and upgrading program. So far, I've conducted Employability Skills (ES) and Service Excellence(SE) Modules such as;
1. Adapt to Change,
2. Develop Initiative & Enterprising Behaviour,
3. Solving Problem & Decision Making,
4. Develop Personal Effectiveness
5. Cultivate Service Innovation Mindset
6. Participating in Service Innovation Program
7. Engage in Service Innovation Initiative.

I love to take on more training projects. Being in the frontline forces me to grow and equip myself with new tools and techniques in bringing the lessons across. I'm always reading to find ways to create examples and case studies to help my learners develop clear understanding of the subject matter. I definitely am looking for more training assignments.

Training in MendakiSense has given me a very new perspective to look from. Let me tell you a secret; MendakiSense has a good pool of good trainers who are committed to giving the best. I have 2 fellow trainers who are currently mentoring and advising me as I go along; Jamali and Ian Favacho, I can never thank them enough. Ian allowed me to sit in his lessons before I got started to let me have a good feel of things and the training environment. All I can say is "I'm Loving It". BeforeI met Ian, I was told by an acquaintance that freelance trainers will never share what they know as, indirectly, they are creating a competitor. So when Ian allowed me to sit in for not 1, not 2 but a FULL 8 WORKSHOP SESSIONS!!!. Along the way, he has given me some priceless advice and I owe it to him.

I love conducting training workshops and I love what I do. Last week, I conducted the last session of the DIEB program. In addition to that, it was also their last day as most of them will be graduating. At exactly 8.45pm, one of them came to the front and gave me a special card. I loved that card. This is how it looks like;

I wish all my learners all the best in their future careers. May they be presented with opportunities that permit them to apply their new found skillsets.

My First Training Session as a Learner in 2014

2014 started so fast and I spent the first month scouting for personal development programs to attend. I looked into NLP training, public speaking and even some WSQ programs. I have been so preoccupied with training programs, meetings and operations what-nots and have not been able to even complete a book, let alone attend a training session.

In January this year, I bought a ticket to the National Achievers' Congress 2014. This is going to be my first time and I am so looking forward to learning and meeting like-minded people who are goal-getters and trend-setters. Last year, I could not get a ticket so this year, I made sure I got an early bird discount.

2 weeks later, I received a call from Success Resources, the organizer for the NAC, asking if I am interested in a free ticket to 3-day Millionaire Mind Intensive. I said yes. I was at the Resorts World Sentosa from 7th to 9th March for the 3-day MMI. I was so thrilled and excited. 3 full day sessions can be very challenging for learners, and the activities, dances, games and jokes helped a lot. This program really taught me the true meaning of passion.

The MMI trainer was Robert Riopel, T. Harv Eker's lead trainer. He has been travelling to different cities conducting 50 programs. Assuming each program runs on an average of 6 days, including travelling, he works an astounding 300 days! Nothings but passion can get you there.

Before I attended the program, I was told that the program will include a lot of selling. i.e. they will sell other programs to you and there will be booths of different companies selling wealth management solutions and stuffs.

I have a few reasons why I had to attend this program;
a. I want to learn from more experienced trainers. I want to see for myself how they conduct programs, how they respond to situations, how they keep the audience on their feet etc.
b. I want to learn how to manage my money better. We think we are good managers but most of us are screwed up when it comes to personal finance. Some of us will rather leave it to the hands of financial advisors. Hey, if I do become millionaire in the process, why not?
c. I want to network. I think it takes quite a bit for a person to attend a 3-day program and I believe many people are searching for answers to whatever questions they might have. One thing we all have in common is the thirst for knowledge in success.

Guess what, I got all three objectives met. Robert Riopel, if you happen to read this, which I think is so not possible, I just want you to know that your class rocks.

One thing I learnt from the program;
1. In the program, we were taught to disperse our money according to a 7-jar system. In some methodology, it was a 5-jar system. I personally feel that the number of jars do not matter. It's the habit that is important and not easy to maintain.

Jar 1 - FFA Jar (Financial Freedom Account) - 10%
This jar is to be used in investments to generate passive income. Whatever returns are re-invested into the jar. The whole idea is that this jar is a goose that lays golden eggs. The goose must not be killed and only the eggs can be enjoyed.

Jar 2 and 3 - LTSS Jar (Long Term Saving for Spending) - 5%, 5%
This money is for big ticket expenses such as furniture, TV, car, etc

Jar 4 - EDU Jar (Education) - 10%
This is for education and personal development.

Jar 5 - NEC Jar(Necessity) - 55%
This is for daily expenses, such as petrol, food, etc

Jar 6 - PLAY Jar - 10%
As the name suggests, this money is for us to enjoy. We cannot accumulate money here for more than 3 months.

Jar 7 - GIVE Jar - 5%
This is to be given to charity of our choice

They key thing here is to make it a habit. Even if all we have is $100, we must split them accordingly. Before this, I split my earnings to my 3 bank accounts. Looks like I need to open one or two more.

Importance of a Personal Branding

One of the things I learned as a freelance trainer is this thing called 'Branding'. Wikipedia defines branding in a few ways;
1. a particular product or a characteristic that serves to identify a particular product

2. a trade name or trademark.

Then, even though I acknowledged the importance of Branding, it wasn't enough to be part of my 'To-do' list. A mistake that costs me a fortune. While Branding has been a major concern by most entrepreneurs, it is often overlooked by freelancers from various industry and one of them is writing this blog.

The old ways of doing our best work and hope for the next project to fall on our laps is becoming an outdated, not to mention insufficient, practice.

In this century, we face global competition, companies can close down tomorrow. We are competing projects and jobs with providers from all over the world, as such we need to market ourselves strategically in order to maintain a decent market value and have a good flow of projects. Question to think about; Do we want to be a commodity or a sought-after asset?

The right branding strategy will keep us noticed
and stay ahead of the pack

Personal brand goes beyond doing an excellent work. It means we need to plan a strategy to market our excellent work. Staying employable is as important as staying employed, if not more. Personal brand represents a promise of service delivery and quality.

I spoke to several freelancers in mid 2013 from various industries. Some of those I interviewed are earning a six figure yearly income while some are struggling to make ends meet. Interesting findings, I must say..
Based on those interviews, those who have been earning a comfortable 6 figure yearly income has the following attributes;

1. besides being good at what they do, they follow up and follow through their projects. 

2. Has vested a lot of time marketing themselves as a product/service. 

3. Attended networking sessions and community of practices to showcase what they can do.
4. They have a positive online presence with lots of self promotion, testimonials and credentials.
5. They keep upgrading and improving themselves, personally and professionally.
6. Maintain themselves as a brand of service that they provide.
7. Those with personalized services tend to do a few pro-bonos while others set a premium price since they began and instead of lowering their service rates, they provide value added services.

Hey, these are attributes of entrepreneurs too, isn't it? Ahh... how interesting. What separates a top earner from the rest is really the entrepreneurship spirit and this applies not just to freelancers but to employees too. Why are some employees headhunted while others need to look for recruitment agency? It all lies in personal and professional branding.