In my previous post, I’ve asked the question “What are your passions?”. Let’s assume you’ve found your passions…and you’ve planned how to fully utilize your passions. Do you think, by having all these little plans of yours, will make you achieve lasting success?

It’s possible, but not easy.

I’m currently reading a very good book “Success built to last : Creating a life that matters” by Jerry Porras, Stewart Emery and Mark Thompson. In this book, the authors mentioned something which I personally feel is very true – being passionate in your job, can make you successful but being passionate and having a reason to do so will enable you to build a lasting success.

Do you want a success which is only short term, or a success which can last long..perhaps outlast even yourself?

If yes, I believe you need more than passions. It’s good to do what we like…..for myself, I love to play games, read, cook, etc. Can I really be successful or start a business based on these passions? Yes, there’s a high possibility. However, I do not have a proper reason to be successful….I just love to do my work, that’s all.

What if I add a reason to do what I like to do? It’ll start an inner fire….a very strong will to make it big and successful. When you find the reason to work hard (such as to contribute to those who needs your help), you are no longer doing something you like for yourselves. You are doing something because of certain beliefs.

The classic example will be the story of Mahatma Gandhi who found out that his passions were not that applicable after he graduated. However, he found a different reason to work hard after he travelled to South Africa. In the end, the thing he was fighting for, became aligned with his initial passions.

It’s important to have passions in whatever you do….but if you want to achieve something big and lasting, you need a reason for it. A reason which will lit the inner fire within you.

Hope you’ll find this post useful.

p/s…. Do refer to the link for futher information. I might not have provided a good description on this legendary figure. My apologies for that.

It’s 31st of August…soon. About 2 hours to go. This year is Malaysia‘s 50th birthday, celebrating 50 years of independence.

True, a lot of people are not happy with our country……but i think our country has actually went through a lot and in my opinion, have done very well so far.

Well, we have our fair share of sucky politicians……but which country doesn’t have that? We also have our fair share of unfair and stupid government policies….but i am sure Malaysia is not the only country which is like that.

No human being is perfect. Same thing – no country is perfect.

Our country is still quite young…only 50 years old. Don’t compare us with Kiasu land. They are more efficient but their country is smaller.

Well, no matter what, Malaysia is still my home country and i have no regret of being born in Malaysia.

Oh and in case you’re wondering, i’m patriotic…but not to the extent of going for those meaningless countdown event in KLCC. I’ll be patriotic by going for the blood donation in Kelana Jaya tomorrow.

That’s my way of being patriotic.

p/s….picture courtesy of Avijit Paul @ Enveluv and Pelf.

Most of the time, the answer is NO, NO and NO. Wah, so demotivating. Hahaha. But let’s face it, most people want to hear things that like to hear. And normally, when we have the so-called “Open” discussion……it is very rare for people to talk about the good things.

Yea, and you should know what’s the outcome when the employees say something the bosses don’t like to hear.

2 possibilities – the bosses do nothing……or the bosses start to plan for that particular employee’s exit.

Most companies (the better ones) have meetings or “discussion” session between the management team every now and then. They, the management team, will talk about things like the performance of the company, their appreciation, etc. Then, once in a blue moon, there’ll be someone who is brave enough to shoot the management team a few questions….questions which might be sensitive to them.

The next thing you know, this SOMEONE will be blacklisted by the management and eventually leave the company.

Don’t get me wrong, i fully support this kind of attitude because it definitely helps the company and the individual, provided the points are valid and beneficial (used to have this ex-colleague who always ask questions to the management team…..but all are …irrelevant questions).

So what should you do? Please don’t be like most people – be passive and quietly suffering in one corner. No, you shouldn’t do that. You should be honest, and be open when it comes to this type of discussion.

What if your boss is the type described in the first few paragraphs (the type who doesn’t appreciate you voicing out too honestly even though they verbally promote “open discussion”)?

If your boss is someone who accepts other people’s opinions…good for you and you should be grateful because it’s very very rare to find such personality. If not….either be quiet, switch to a different boss…or leave.

Hope it helps.

Thinker was a “nickname” that i came out with last year…when i first started to blog about leadership, management, etc. Since then, people have been asking me why “Thinker”…which sounds a bit weird, to be honest. Jamy, one of the fellow bloggers, actually asked me to think properly on many issues because i put this big label on top of my head “Thinker”.

That’s a pretty big “tag” to wear, you know.

Yes, this IS a thinking blog….since most of the posts are based on my opinions + a little bit of knowledge from books/articles. But i think i have to give up on the name “Thinker” (ah, who cares bout Google ranking or whatever ranking) and put on a new name – Dreamer.

Why? Because i dream a lot…not in my sleep (fortunately i don’t suffer from that) though.

I daydream and imagine a lot. I dream to become this n that…i dream about the possibility of alien invasion (yea, that’s where my Animax story came from). I dream about having this property and that car. I dream about being 1 of the greatest animators in the industry (er..ok, i’m not even in that industry). I dream about helping people around the world.

Yea, you see…i dream a lot.

Furthermore, i’m a Piscean….the born dreamer.

Thus, the change of name.

Oh…and rather than having “Thinker” which sounds weird…..i seriously believe “Dreamer” sounds cool! Wahahhaa

Idiot might be a harsh word….but i seriously cannot think of any better word to describe someone who likes to mess up other people’s life at work.

Well, let’s face it. We have idiots all over the place….the bigger your company, the higher chance you’ll have an idiot working near you. If you work at home, you might encounter idiots too…irresponsible neighbors. Ah well, let’s leave it there since we’re talking about leadership here.

How many of you have actually encountered or have worked with an idiotic leader/boss before? I have…and i’m sure > 50% of you reading this post have the same experience too.

Just recently, one of my frens came to complain to me (using 1 of the world’s greatest inventions….Instant Messaging) that his boss is an idiot…a very big one. His company is one of those typical companies where turnover rate has been going up like ..er…inflation rate? So his big boss, who is actually his direct supervisor a.k.a. leader…..told him to organize more activities for the employees – things like leadership camp, team building, ice breaking, etc. And my friend, who used to be very active during his uni time, planned to start a motivational camp (motivate people so that they won’t leave?).

He has been planning so many things….from starting the organizing committee to getting the fund etc. Then one fine day, his boss knocked on his door and said “You should not do this”. His boss, who before this, said he will not be involved in this and let my friend take full charge….now changed his mind! That’s not a bad thing actually, maybe he’s worried or wanted to help out……. The bad thing, however, is that he knows nuts about organizing such things…and he doesn’t know “head and tail”….

So my friend got quite pissed and decided to…tolerate. “He’s still the boss…what to do?” True…when it comes to your boss, things will get difficult. You don’t want to offend the boss…yet, by doing things he THINKS are right…you know the outcome will be quite bad. *Sighs* I somehow pity my friend. He’s been working so hard…and bear in mind that he is not getting any extra $$$ or recognition from the company by organizing this event.

Then he told me what his boss wanted him to do…to actually go employee by employee (i think his company has around 100 people) and ask whether they want to join the event. When my friend asked “why not use email?”...then the boss said “it is to avoid misunderstanding..and not to give people hope in case the event is cancelled”. My friend was like =_=”

As if people won’t be disappointed after verbally agree to go…and know about this event…gets so excited bout it…and suddenly the event got called off. Furthermore, without something official, people can always FFK and ended up not going….so there goes your $$$ for the accommodation.

Well, wat can he (my friend) do? Just listen and try to give some advice/opinions….if the boss wants to act smart and doesn’t want to listen, there’s really nothing my friend can do.

It WILL be frustrating. No doubt. Guess he just have to live with it OR, withdraw from the activity itself…which will in turn, put my friend in a pretty bad position with the boss.

On a positive note…having idiots in our life sometimes does help to brighten up our life a little