Alvin Lim - The Dreamer

What are your passions?

As part of the migration or relocation process from my old blog http://alvinlim.wordpress.com to my new blog here, i’ll re-post some of the older classics – posts which attracted a lot of readers.

Here is one of them.

What are your passions? This is a very important question which all of us should ask if we want to be happy and successful.

Some of you will ask “why?”. The answer is simple. Do you want to do something you don’t like to do? Or do you want to do something, just because you need to survive? Most of us do that. Even I myself do that.

I have plenty of friends, who graduated with IT degree who are not earning as much as they wanted to. They often asked me for advice…saying that they hate IT (and yeah, they spent 4 years in university studying IT) and stuff. In the end, some of them end up in direct sales, IT sales, or a mediocre IT personnels.

You can’t be successful if you are not passionate about what you’re doing.

True, all of us need a steady income to survive….to pay off loans…debts…looking after our family…etc. However, everytime we work on that SOMETHING which we are not passionate about……we’ll feel “empty”…..since that is not what we wanted to do. I am sure some of you have the same feeling.

Try to ask yourself…what are you passionate about? What will do you if you have free time? Minus your hobbies such as sleeping, gossiping, etc……I am sure you have few things which you really like to do. Try go to that direction….think about the things you can work on which will allow you to do something you are passionate about and help you to earn a steady income.

Let’s summarize this…

Start by asking yourself “what are your passions?” or finding out what do you normally do whenever you’re free?
Think about what you can do with those passions of yours. How can you get an income out of it?
Start testing out few ideas with minimal commitment. Try to make an effort, but not as to neglect your main priority, which is your current job and responsibilities.
Once your mini experiments started to show you some promising results…try to expand them and dedicate more efforts to them.
If they didn’t end up the way you were hoping they would….then move on and start testing other ideas.

And this is exactly what I’m doing right now. Again, comments/opinions/suggestions are welcome. Hope it helps.

p/s…as for myself, i’ve found my own passions and i’m working on it when i’m free Let’s see what i can come out with.

2007: 08/26
CATEGORY: Uncategorized
15 comments

Found a new idea or business opportunity? Do these steps first

No, this is not a Pay Per Post (PPP) thing. I just want to talk about this a little after reading a local magazine (*cough* in MPH *cough*).

Some people i know, spend yearssssss to find for the right ideas or the right business opportunities. Right ideas are hard to come by because…well, there’s just no one definite RIGHT IDEA. Someone might think that the idea of cloning a pig which can fly might sell well…….but someone like me will think it’s a total crap. Same goes for business opportunities. Some people think that a business which sells handphone accessories can give good ROI……but some people who have done their own research will know it’s too competitive.

Research…that’s the keyword. Idea A or business opportunity B might sound cool but there’s no point for you to invest thousands on it when it cannot sell. That’s why before you put in thousands of your hard-earned cash into something…..do these steps first.

Google - Google for it. This is the easiest method. Try search for it’s review (if business opportunity) whether the product is a good one or it’s a total crap. See if anyone has done it, especially in your own country. If not, see what other people have done in other countries…whether they’re successful or not. Same goes for business idea. Try to check if someone else has done it. If it has been done…and very successful…and it’s at your place…. then check why it has been such a big hit…and try to modify a bit. No point creating a new wheel when someone has already created the same thing before you. Again, i must stress that…Google is your best friend.

$$$$ – Check how much do you need to actually start working on the business idea/opportunity. Some business opportunities require a very large sum of money to start, like a franchise. Some don’t. And a new business idea, will need more cash actually because you need to do publicity and marketing to expose people to your new idea. Plan your finance properly. The next thing you don’t want is to spend 5 digit figures on a new business opportunity……..and you have no money left to advertise/market it or even sustain it.

Copyright or patent – some business ideas/opportunities that you have might already exist…and some might even be copyrighted or patented by someone. It’s a case-by-case basis i think. Some might require you to pay royalty fees, some need recognition and some are free. Check properly so that you don’t end up in the wrong place – courtroom.

I guess those are the 3 steps that i can think of. There are surely others that are worth mentioning…..but *cough*…it’s Sunday morning and i just woke up. LOL.

Anyway, the steps above are meant for you once you found a new idea or business opportunity. When you’ve made sure it is the right idea/opportunity and want to continue with it……then it’s a totally different story. Things like marketing, advertising, branding will come into the picture.

Hope it helps!

2007: 08/26
CATEGORY: Uncategorized
4 comments

Don’t just absorb 100% of what you see and hear

In my previous post, 2 ladies (Cirnelle and Jamy) started to debate on few issues including the CNN thingy. Both of them (and me) agree that CNN is quite crap. Ah well, typical work from the reporters mah. They show what people like to see and hear. People like to see and hear big + breaking news…which are mostly bad news. Imagine one day, CNN stops showing news like major earthquake…war in iraq…or alien invasion (*cough*…i tend to think too much on alien invasion after the Animax thing)…….and starts showing news like “Man saved dog from drowning” or “18 years old girl celebrated her birthday in her home”. Sounds boring right?

Well, in our world, we cannot really escape from the clutches of the evil masterminds controlling the media – internet, newspapers, TV, radio stations…etc. Whatever we see or hear, are coming from them. They want to show us bad news (which is normally the case)…we WILL have to see bad news. They want to introduce one new product to us…we HAVE to see and listen. If we don’t want, we switch channel……escaping from the control of mastermind A….and goes straight into the hand of mastermind B. Unless, of course, you choose to fly to the scene and witness things yourselves.

Now now…it’s undeniable that all these media things are very important in our life. We NEED them to know what is happening in the world. Whether the market in US has crashed…Malaysia found a new place to harvest petroleum (er..extract or harvest? aiya, who cares), Manchester United is the EPL champion again, a dog falls in love with a cat or scientists created a pig which can fly….all these are important to us (if people don’t read newspaper or watch TV…i also won’t be so famous now la…aih, i better fast fast go UK to save myself from spending too much belanja-ing people).

However, remember that what you see or hear might not be the real thing. Take everything with a pinch of salt. Don’t let your judgement be influenced or “manipulated” by the media. Always check things properly before you believe in something. Most importantly is don’t just absorb 100% of whatever you see and hear from the media. Make your own judgement.

This world is too dangerous for us to just take in everything and believe in everything. We have the power to think and to judge what is right and wrong…and what is reality and fantasy. So, use it.

2007: 08/25
CATEGORY: Uncategorized
5 comments

The fortunate ones should give to the unfortunate ones

2 hours ago, the National Geographic channel showed a documentary on Hurricane Katrina. I was reading an article in ProBlogger (just started actually…not even the 2nd sentence) when i shifted my attention to what was showing in the TV. I was stunned to see the video footages, showing how badly hit was New Orleans. To be honest, i didn’t follow the news closely at that time and today’s documentary has been quite an eye opener to me.

Thousands were left homeless, and thousands more missing. The scene reminded me of the tsunami which happened in South East Asia not too long ago.

Sometimes, i really feel fortunate to stay in Malaysia. I have a very nice family and i can get whatever i want. If i cannot get the things i want, i can at least make an effort to get them. However, there are a lot of people in this world who don’t even have the luxury to do that.

Sometimes, people don’t know how fortunate they are. People around us are pursuing things which are not really necessary…..things which are so expensive that 1 item can actually save the lives of many. Things like electronic gadgets, luxury cars, handbags (the name LV somehow springs to my mind), etc. If not for my UK trip (will be there for 6 months), i would’ve opted to save my money and not buy the Playstation Portable (PSP). Even so, i feel a little bit bad for spending that RM 650.

Human beings are selfish…let’s face it. We rather spend the money on ourselves…or think for ourselves. Not many will donate $$ to the charity, not even RM 5. And i was quite pissed when few months ago, someone in the company initiated some fund collection thing for charity……and there was this envelope thing which will keep all the $$$. And when i took the envelope over, i actually saw coins…few SEN. I was pretty angry at that time. If you don’t want to donate, then please throw your small change elsewhere! If you don’t have small change, then change it with other people or don’t donate at all. I just feel that there’s no respect at all when someone throws in the coins (yea, i saw 1 sen before).

Another example, in May 2007 KLCC has this blood donation thing. I sort of have this blood phobia thingy (not too much, just a little). I didn’t even know what’s my blood type at that time. I’ve missed few blood donation campaigns before..but i promised myself not to miss the next one. So i went…regardless of my fear for blood…well, something from my body cannot be that scary rite? hahaha.

And then i saw few friends of mine…so i asked them along and they said “oh, i’m a selfish person” or “er..i am scared of the blood..don’t want la, sure got enough one la”..that sort of things. And of course, there was nothing i could do since it’s supposed to be “CHARITY” work.

When i went back home, i told my parents and both of them are very happy and proud of me. Then my dad told me 1 thing. He said when he was younger, he was a regular blood donor. Why? Because years ago, my mum nearly died because of severe blood loss (some stupid doctor made a very big mistake in the operation…let’s not discuss it). Few good friends of my father went out to look for help…to look for the suitable blood for my mum. Fortunately, they found enough blood supply…from strangers.

That’s why in my opinion….a little pain….a little scare…. will not mean anything if it can save a person’s life. And the next time there’s a blood donation near my area, i’ll make sure i will go.

Conclusion, one should overcome their fear, their selfishness, their whatevers…..to help those in needs. There are a lot of people out there who need our help…people have no idea what is a PSP…or LV…or even McDonald. I don’t mean to ask you to go donate everything you have. It’s the heart that counts. If you cannot donate $$, then help out with charity work like blood donation.

p/s….. i know this post is a bit confusing…but..ahem, i just feel like putting in everything in a single post. ahaha. sorry sorry.

2007: 08/25
CATEGORY: Uncategorized
16 comments

The rise of the spoilt brat

In case you start to wonder who is this “spoilt brat”, it’s not me. Hahah. I’m too good to be spoilt brat. Don’t believe? Ask my parents.

If you’ve noticed, the number of spoilt brats has been increasing in the last few years. Maybe it’s because of the parents who are richer, as compared to the parents a few decades ago? Or is it because of smaller families…..1 child per family vs 10 child per family?

To be honest, i’ve been waiting to write on this ever since i came to work in Kuala Lumpur (KL) city. I came from a small town (Kluang…used to be quite small). The only fast food I knew at that time was KFC. McDonald came to my town when I was 17 years old. We used to have cinemas but they were closed down when i was ..12 or 13 years old? The next time i actually stepped into a cinema was few years later…when i was studying for my degree in Melaka. I still remember how excited i was when i went to Johor Bahru with my family…to eat Pizza Hut.

Then, I came to KL.

I’ve seen groups of teenagers in my version of “high-class” eateries such as McDonald, KFC, Secret Recipe, Starbucks/Coffee Bean (my first drink from Coffee Bean was from my friend, when I was 20 years old and before that, I seriously have no idea what are those), Tai Thung…..etc etc.

The other day, i went to buy games in a shop in 1u. I spent 10 minutes, just to choose which game i really wanted to buy. Then, this 8 years old kid came in….talked in a very rude way to the shopkeeper “Eh, XBOX 360 how much?”. The shopkeeper was quite pissed but his tone changed when the kid said he wanted to buy 1 unit of XBOX 360….and he was all alone, with the cash in his side pocket.

The list will go on and on and on…..I’m just a bit sad when i see all these “kurang ajar” kids who are so rude towards the elders. Their parents should really avoid dotting on them too much and teach them properly. Kids nowadays are getting smarter (maybe due to the food and education). And when one gets too smart, it’s very vital for him/her to know what is right / wrong.

I just hope these spoilt brats of our society will learn to appreciate their life and to respect other people more, in the near future. Otherwise, just hope i won’t come across 1 anytime soon. LOL.

p/s….. AH well, i think my blog is becoming more and more like a complain blog.