Alvin Lim - The Dreamer

You are not your money

Alvin Lim — Tue, 06 Jan 2009 00:56:00 +0000

I’ll write a very short post today since I’m dead tired today and I still have to rush for my company’s project. Yes yes, I know it’s 10 PM and my eyes are like Garfield…but I rather finish it earlier than making it a last minute work, especially since I really have a bad feeling about this project. =_=”"

Anyway, I came across this very useful and interesting article - You are not your money. I feel that what the author said is very true. Most people nowadays are only chasing after money because..well, we need money to survive irregardless of how much we hate to admit. Without money, we cannot eat, we cannot buy things, we cannot send our kids to school, and all the fine things in the world will just disappear from us. That is why most of us are so caught up in the modern “rat race” that we (some of us) eventually, forget who we are and what we actually stand for. And we often begin to relate our money with ourselves. We become happy when we can earn more money…and we become unhappy when we lose money.

Source: http://morningpaper.typepad.com

But is this really the right way to lead our life? To chase after money every time? To let our happiness be controlled by our own money? To treat our money as if they are ourselves?

Think about this - having more money in 2009 than 2008 is a good achievement, but does that change us as a person? I don’t think so. Similarly, having lesser money in 2009 than years before does not mean you are becoming a worse person. You are just a poorer person in terms of money. On the other hand, does earning more money through illegal deals make you a better person? NOPE. Remember that the real you does not change with your financial condition.

What will change you then, is your behavior and your impact to the world especially to the people around you, and to the community. It is the things you do for others which reflects the real you.

Also, remember that at the end of the day, you can’t bring your money along when you leave this world. The only thing that is worth bringing along, is the knowledge that you have touched the life of others deeply during your stay here. And that you have contributed to the society in a positive way.

So if your financial condition is being hit pretty badly in the year 2008 or 2009, remember that you are still you. And with enough efforts and plannings, you will regain what you have lost. At least, that is what I believe in.

Hope it helps.

p/s… sorry if this post sounds a bit confusing. I’m really quite tired by now. Haha.

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Sometimes it’s unexpected for the rich and famous to be humble

Alvin Lim — Mon, 05 Jan 2009 00:52:41 +0000

I was listening to the radio the other morning and there was this funny news about Brad Pitt calling up a store to order something for his wife. The conversation sounds something like this.

Storekeeper : Morning, this is XXX store, how may I help you?

Brad : Hi, this is Brad Pitt. I need…

Storekeeper : Yeah right, you’re Brad Pitt *hungs up*.

In the end, Brad Pitt was forced to call up his personal assistant to handle the gift purchasing thing.

That is when I started asking my question this question “Are the rich and famous really as arrogant as most people think they are, or the society actually made them so without any proof?” I think this is kinda like the chicken-or-egg question which means there is no definite right or wrong answer.

Funny look from the famous president

Some of the rich and famous ARE arrogant (not humble) by nature. They tend to look down on those who are not as famous or not as rich as themselves. Who are you talk to me when I am driving a Ferrari but you’re driving a SLK (small little kancil)? Or even if they don’t say it that way, they will look at you that way. Because to some of them, comparison is the way of life and if you are superior than them, they will treat you as their close friends or maybe even worship you like a god. But if you’re more inferior than them, they will either ignore you or treat you like an alien. This group is the extreme version of the arrogant rich and famous people.

But there is also another group which is …well…innocently regarded as arrogant even though they’re not. Why? Because even some of the normal folks, people like us, treat comparison as part of our life. We might see these individuals as far more superior than us, and thus do not dare to approach them. We “isolate” them. But does that mean they are not approachable? Does that mean they are arrogant and treat us like lowly citizens? Nope. It is us who are isolating them and labeling them arrogant. Not the other way round.

That’s why the next time you want to say someone rich and famous is arrogant, think about it. Have you ever considered approaching the person? Is it really true that he or she is not approachable? Is he or she really arrogant? Or is it just something someone else has told you before and you didn’t bother to find out how valid is that statement? Maybe you should approach and find out by yourselves first because at the end of the day, some of the so-called “arrogant” people are actually nice people who have been made “arrogant” by the society.

Lesson of the day - don’t discriminate people (or putting a big label “ARROGANT” on his forehead) if you don’t know them well enough.

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Can’t find a job? Maybe it’s due to your attitude?

Alvin Lim — Sun, 04 Jan 2009 04:52:05 +0000

If you are a fresh graduate, are you worried that you will not be able to find a job during this recession period? Or if you are an experienced professional, are you worried to change job since the new job might not be that stable? Or if you’re one of the unfortunate people who got retrenched, do you find it difficult to find job out there?

During such recession period, there are still ample of jobs out there but to be honest, the good paying jobs are quite limited. Every business is trying to cut cost and some are trying to reduce their total workforce. But that doesn’t mean there’s not enough job for everyone.

Santa needs a day job too (http://www.CartoonStock.com)

There is. It’s just a matter of whether you want it or not. It might not pay you that well, and it might not give you the benefits you used to have, or it might not give you the things your other friends get from their employers…but it is still a job. And when one is really desperate, any job will suffice, even as a newspaper delivery boy (man). Because a penny earned, is always better than Z-E-R-O.

That’s why when people start complaining about there’s no job and start asking the government to help them, maybe they should think about it a little. There ARE jobs out there but are they willing to take those jobs? Or do they think they are too “high-class” for such jobs? Or more realistically, are their current commitments too much for those low-income jobs to support and that is why they don’t want to take those jobs…and instead opt to complain?

When one wants to find an excuse of not doing something (such as finding a job), he or she will come out with a lot of nonsense stuff. I’ve met people like that before. But in my opinion, there are still a lot of opportunities out there. It’s just that some of them require a lot of hard work but that doesn’t mean it’s impossible.

At the end of the day, it is all about the attitude. Are you the type who likes to complain without taking any action on anything else…or are you the type who prefer to stop complaining and take the appropriate action? Which one do you prefer? One might bring you some results, while the other won’t.

It’s your choice.

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Is taking the first step the hardest thing to do?

Alvin Lim — Sat, 03 Jan 2009 03:52:28 +0000

Do you have something that you really want to do but have yet to do? Do you find it very difficult to take that first step? Do you believe that after taking the first step, the journey will be smooth and you will have no problem at all?

If you answered “yes” to all the above questions, maybe it’s time to change your mindset a little because the first step in doing something might not be as hard as it seems. It is relatively easier than the steps which would follow the first one.

Source: http://www.flickr.com/photos/ansdeblauwe/2335132102/

Why do I think so?

It’s easy to force yourselves to make the first step especially if you can convince yourselves that you have nothing much to lose.
After passing the first hurdle, your excitement will somehow “cool off”.
And to reignite your excitement after the first hurdle can be very difficult, which means your 2nd, 3rd and n-th steps will be more difficult than your first step.
That is the big problem because at the end of the day, without maintaining the momentum, it will be hard to achieve whatever you initially wanted to achieve.

That is why in order to be successful in something, taking the first step IS important but it will not be enough to make it successful. You will need to continue with the momentum, or better, increase it. But that requires one to have a very good discipline. If you do not have the will to keep doing it, then you might as well forget it. You will just give up after the first step.

So, think carefully what you want to achieve and plan ahead. And be sure to follow that plan of yours and not giving it up after the first hurdle unless you really feel it’s not meant for you. Also, don’t take the first step for the sake of taking it. Don’t waste your time.

Maybe that is why some people from the older generation often says “If you want to do it, then do it properly, don’t do it halfway!”

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Try to think from your customers’ perspective

Alvin Lim — Fri, 02 Jan 2009 01:00:29 +0000

Are customers always right? Not exactly. But does that mean they are always wrong? Not exactly too. However, one important thing which every business needs to know is that, they are the one who bring revenues to your business. They are the one who keep your business alive.

I think that reason alone is enough for you to keep your patience when dealing with them. But rather than just tolerating them, maybe it’s better for us to think and look at things from the customers’ perspective. It’ll also be easier that way since tolerating cannot last forever.

Today a fellow blogger Apple talked about “Customer is always right“. Actually, I’ve seen pretty nasty and unreasonable customers though I have not dealt with them personally before. I must admit that some of them are indeed notoriously unreasonable and don’t make sense at all. But there are times when we ourselves are customers.

For example, a customer who claims the car is having some engine problems might not know the problem actually has something to do with the car brake because he is not the mechanic. He might act smart and keep insisting it is the engine problem, but that is based on his perspective. From our perspective, we should understand that this customer knows nothing about the problem and that is why he comes to us though it might require some efforts to convince him.

Similarly, someone who wants the IT system to look like this might not know it is actually not the best way to do it. He just does not know any other way. What we can do is to provide examples and let the customer know the best way to do it aka our recommendation but if he does not want to change, then we will have to follow what he wants. He’s the one paying the bill after all.

What I want to say here is that one needs to be patience when dealing with customers especially the older customers. I know some of them are very arrogant but they approach you for a reason - they need your help. We ourselves are customers to other businesses. We ourselves have been in those situation and believe me, the idiotic customers of yours? We might look that way to other people too.

However, there are times when some customers are very nasty and rude. They might scold you for their own mistakes. That is when you need to tolerate. But I do understand that everyone has a limit. So if you can’t stand it anymore and this customer is just too rude and unreasonable, feel free to cut him off. It might be too expensive for your business to continue retaining this customer.

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It’s already 2009, time to stop sitting around?

Alvin Lim — Thu, 01 Jan 2009 05:10:44 +0000

“I like to move it, move it!” is a very popular phrase made by our cool animal dudes of Madagascar but to me, it’s not just plain talk. I’m going to make this one of my key phrases of 2009. To me, it means “Stop sitting around and move it !!”

I’m not sure whether you have the same feeling as I do. Every year, time passes by so very fast - too fast and every January 1st, we’ll sit down and realized that there’s actually not much progress/improvement from the year before. Not much have changed - except for wider waistline, more gray hair (lesser hair for my case), and maybe a decreasing value of financial net worth. Not very good eh? Maybe it’s time for us to step up a little and put a full stop to this? Just so that we will not be seeing the same thing (wider waistline, more gray hair and lesser money, again) in 2010.

So what are you gonna do to put a full stop to such routine? Eh, this routine can be quite costly since you only reflect on it once a year, not everyday.

Here are few ways which I can think of now (yaya, it’s 1st day of 2009, but that doesn’t mean you should relax and let your brain stop functioning for today. In fact, today is a very good day to plan ahead for 2009!).

Break the normal routine. Feeling bored with your life? It’s all the same..everyday… how boring. Maybe it’s time to do something out of the ordinary? If you have never go for rock climbing, maybe it’s time to do it this year? Or if you are not the type who dares to speak out in meeting, maybe it’s time to change and be more outspoken? Life can be more interesting that way.
Stop finding excuses. Ah…weather pretty bad…don’t feel like going for a jog. The project’s deadline is still far away…maybe we can relax first. Stop finding such lame excuses. If you are strong-willed enough, there will be no mountain too high for you to climb. It’s all up to you. So if you want to do something, stop giving excuses. If you don’t want to do it, then don’t think of it in the first place.
Improve on the past. Not everything which happened in the past is bad. Maybe you can get some from 2008 and improve it this year? Maybe that idea of yours is good but it lacks the proper implementation. Maybe it’s time to start something solid in 2009?
Remove those useless habits. Can’t get rid of those ugly habits like smoking and drinking? Maybe the question is not can or cannot, but do you want to get rid of them or not. Again, it’s all up to you. If you feel it is hurting you and the people around you (such as smoking), then stop finding excuses (oh, entertainment, social gathering, this and that)! Remove those useless habits now, in this year, 2009!
Stop sitting around and act on it! Is there something which you really really want to do in the past but not able to do it due to some reasons or excuses? Maybe it’s time to take a look again and make it a reality this 2009! No point sitting around and waiting for the sky to fall. Time is not going to wait for you, neither is your age and amount of hair. So make it happen before your excuse become a reality (oh no, I can’t do that, I’m too old for that).

Simple eh? It sure is simple if you have the will to do it. Because at the end of the day, everything is up to you since it is your life. If you don’t want to waste another year of your life doing nothing much….like what you have been doing in the past few years…then maybe it’s time to move it?

As for me, there are many things I want to do. 2008 hasn’t been very good and I only managed to achieve 10-20% of my resolutions. But it’s time to put a full stop and move it. 2009 is gonna be a big year for me. If it’s not going to be good, just like the doomsayers (aka our economy experts) said, then it’s up to me to at least make my 2009 slightly better than the average.

So what are you waiting for? Stop sitting around and start making a move! Act now!

Ok ok..maybe just take this one day off since it’s new year.

Hope it helps!

p/s…. Curve’s firework was great last night. Not as great as London’s but well, one of the best I’ve seen in Malaysia. Hmm…i thought we’re having recession?

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Happy New Year!

Alvin Lim — Wed, 31 Dec 2008 08:27:54 +0000

I’m still stuck in the office, and will most probably stuck in the jam later (road closures~~~). Just want to take this opportunity to wish all of you a very Happy New Year. Hopefully this coming year 2009 will be a great one for everyone, irregardless of what our economists are saying.

And do remember to spend the last few hours of 2008 to prepare for your 2009 resolutions. It’s still not too late to do that.

Courtesy of http://www.gorillasushi.com

So have fun people and thanks for all the support for this humble blog of mine. Looking forward to post up more in 2009 and will also try to start another IT and design-related blog soon.

Take care and good luck.

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Always have an agenda for meeting

Alvin Lim — Wed, 31 Dec 2008 00:54:10 +0000

It might be funny to come out with such a topic but don’t be surprised if I tell you that most people who organize a meeting do not have any form of meeting agenda. But that does not mean they do not have anything to discuss. They do! But without any agenda, how can they remember so much? They might be able to remember 1 or 2 issues for the meeting but does that mean they only have that 1 or 2 issues to discuss? Nope. They just can’t remember the rest of the issues.

Also, without an agenda, they will not know which issue is more important and urgent. They might end up spending a lot of time discussing an issue which is not important at all just because they cannot remember the other more important issues. If they do have an agenda, they will realize it and can choose to skip the not so important issues first.

Having an agenda is also important when you go for a meeting with the client. It helps to keep you focused and organized, and also gives a positive image to the client. Imagine if you do not have any agenda during the meeting. You asked the client 2 questions and after the meeting, you realized you have few other questions. You ended up calling the client to ask the remaining questions. Do you think this is a good move? I doubt so.

So, if you are the type who do not like to prepare meeting agendas, maybe it is time to change your behavior now. Be more efficient and most importantly, learn to respect time - other people’s time and also your own time.

Hope it helps.

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Should you put your photo in your CV or resume?

Alvin Lim — Tue, 30 Dec 2008 01:00:35 +0000

When it comes to preparing your Curriculum Vitae (CV) or resume, there are generally 2 types of belief. The first is those who believe that attaching your latest photo in the CV will help increase your chance of landing a job interview, and the second is those who believe it is better not to attach your photo in your CV at all.

But I believe that there’s no definite right or wrong here. It depends on what you want to achieve with that photo of yours and how confident you are with it.

When applying for a job, you are hoping that the company will give you a chance in terms of job interview based on your qualifications and experiences and NOT based on your look. Unless, you are applying for marketing or personal assistant kind of role where good look is very important. Otherwise, in my opinion, it is better not to attach any photo in your CV. Why?

Your photo might not look like your real person. This might cause a very big disappointment to the interviewer if he/she calls you for an interview based on your “good-looking” photo.
Your photo might be mislead the interviewers and they might neglect your true qualifications.
Your photo might not be as nice as you would’ve hoped for. Thus, by placing your photo there, they will just filter you out without looking at your CV’s content.
By placing your photo in there, you are trying to cover some facts about your skills and trying to mislead the person doing the filtering. And yes, I’ve said this before.

Not convinced? Let me give you an example. The other day, I was talking to a recruiter friend of mine who used to work in the Human Resource department of a large multinational company. She has to go through a lot of resumes and CVs in a single month…and I do mean A LOT. Some of the CVs have the photos attached and whenever she saw such type of CVs, there will only be 2 outcome. Either the photo is very bad and the candidate got filtered out straight away, or the photo is very good and she will proceed to the content. Because by placing a photo there, that is the first impression you are giving to the HR. Imagine if you received a CV with a photo belonging to someone who cannot even open his eyes properly…the sleepy and tired look. Do you think you want to hire him as a consultant? Ok, first filtering done….so she called up the group of people qualified for the job interviews. Apparently, a lot of those with good looking photos, didn’t appear to look as nice. Some of them were …well…ridiculously different. And they got penalized for that too because they were not being honest.

Do you want to hire an employee who always looks like this?

Conclusion? I really feel that the disadvantages you get by placing your photo in the CV or resume far outweight the advantages.

That’s why I’ve never adviced any of my friends to attach their photo in the CV or resume (even though some of my friends are really good looking people). Whenever they ask why, my answer will be “Don’t blindfold them with your photo. Convince them with your skills and experiences. That is how it should be done.”

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Don’t have a good idea? Go steal one!

Alvin Lim — Mon, 29 Dec 2008 02:35:42 +0000

You don’t have to be the most creative person in the world to come up with the best idea ever. And even if you do come out with a ground breaking idea, do you think you can implement it and most importantly, market it successfully? Coming out with an idea is not difficult but coming out with a good idea is not easy too.

That’s why some businesses especially the big boys don’t tend to come out with their original ideas. They steal other people’s ideas or buy from them. Well, not many buy actually, most of them prefer to steal or …improvise. For example, Apple did not come out with the first MP3 player of the world. They did come out with the first IPod in the world and the first ITunes (which is pretty similar to Napster, except you need to pay). What they did is to capture the heart of the consumers and to see what they need - performance and beauty. That is why IPod is such a big hit. It sounds better than most MP3 players and it looks a lot prettier than its competitors. Same idea, different implementation and marketing plan.

What about Google? They are definitely not the first company to come out with a search engine. We have Lycos, Yahoo, AltaVista (which..somehow..disappeared) and the terribly unsuccessful MSN Search. You might argue that Google was the engine behind Yahoo’s search engine…but that’s a totally different story. What matters here is who came out with the idea first? Maybe it’s Yahoo and maybe it’s Google…but from what I can see now, Google is far more successful than Yahoo because they redesigned the search engine and added a lot of goodies to the users. More features, better and more optimized results, but all built from the same idea.

Another example, our very own Air Asia. Are they the one who came out with the idea of budget airline? Definitely not. There are already other such ideas being implemented in the world but mainly in US and Europe. What Air Asia did was to take the idea and reimplement it in this region because nobody else has done this before. And they become a very big hit in a very short amount of time. Same idea, same implementation, different location and different timing.

From the above examples, you can see that you don’t really need to come out with a good or even great idea. Because it’s not that easy. If you can come out with one, then kudos to you but if you can’t, don’t blame yourself and it’s not the end of the world. You can still start a successful business and have a successful product. At the end of the day, it’s not just about the idea, but the way you market it, the way you position your product, the overall implementation and the timing.

So for those people who always say “Why do you want to start a business when you don’t even have a great idea? Come out with one first before you plan anything!”, maybe it’s time to reposition your stand?

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