Beating A Slump
Feb 17, 2010 Personal Development
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It happens to the best of us, in whatever we’re doing. Sometimes we just hit a dead end and it feels like no matter what we do, it’s not going right. How do you get out of the slump?
To be perfectly honest, I don’t have the answer myself. I’m struggling with that too. But poker has thought me a couple of things about it, though.
Firstly, it’s thought me to go back to basics when things aren’t going my way. More often than not, when things aren’t going well, the best way to get back on track is just to go back to basics. Things that won’t set the world alight, but you know will give you consistent results. Do that for a while, get some confidence back, and you’ll be back on track.
Secondly, while you’re doing that, figure out why exactly it is that you’re not succeeding as much as you think you should. You have to be perfectly honest with yourself. Sometimes, you just aren’t doing the right thing, and you need to re-evaluate your strategy/actions.
Thirdly, I think sometimes, the best thing to do is just take a break. Take a step away from it all – it’ll sometimes give you a fresh perspective on things.
That’s my three tips for getting out of a slump. But again, just my opinion. You guys probably have better ideas than I do, and I would love to hear them. So, yeah, what do you do when you feel you’re in a slump?
[?]Taking Your Chances
Feb 9, 2010 Personal Development, Sports
Watching the Arsenal vs Chelsea match on Sunday really hurt, as an Arsenal fan. It sucked to see Arsenal lose.
The biggest thing about the loss, though, was the way it happened. Arsenal had most of the possession, they passed it around well. They even created a few chances and all, but in the end they could not score. They couldn’t make the most of having controlled possession.
Chelsea on the other hand, had 3 shots all match. 2 of them went in, and 1 hit the crossbar. That’s pure efficiency. And that’s why we won.
And I think that’s true of anything in life as well. It’s all well and good being elegant and all, but at the end of the day, you need to be aware of whatever opportunities come up.You’ll always have opportunities and chances to achieve what you want. But you need to take your chances, or you’ll never win.
What opportunities around you are missing?
[?]Tags: arsenal, chances, chelsea, efficiency, elegance
Pixelated – Sui Generis Conference
Oct 7, 2008 Personal Development, blogging
Mitch Joel recently started the Pixelated Conference, a free business conference you can watch from anywhere. Chris Brogan took the idea one step further, encouraging all of us to create our own Pixelated Conferences.
I think it’s a really good series. So here’s mine. The Pixelated – Sui Generis Conference. 7 sessions (in no particular order, because I think you should watch all of them) about being remarkable, following your passions, and changing the world.
If you the videos don’t appear (if you’re reading via RSS, for example), you can check it out here.
And if you like it, feel free to grab the list and share it. Or better yet, make your own and join be part of the series.
[?]Tags: be yourself, change the world, conference, passion, pixelated, remarkable, video
Playing Safe
Oct 5, 2008 Personal Development, Sports, education
I was talking to another student about my quitting school. Here’s what she said about why she’s still in school – “education is the safest insurance plan”.
I understand where she’s coming from. And I’ve heard that statement so many times, especially when people ask me about why I quit school. But I don’t agree. The question is, why play it safe? As Seth Godin has said, in today’s world, ’safe is risky”.
The semi-finals of the World 10-Ball Championship between Niels Feijen and Darren Appleton was a great example. Feijen consistently went for safety shots. Even when he could make the offensive shot, he chose to go down the safe path. And eventually, he lost out.
If you play not to lose, you won’t win. You won’t make the right decisions, and ultimately, you won’t come up on top. As the book “Sway” by Ori and Rom Brafman points out, fear of loss is one of the main reasons behind bad decisions. Kathy Sierra has talked about “death by risk aversion” as well.
If you want to be the best, you have to take risks. And why settle for anything less than the best?
“There is no reason, in 2008, to do shit you hate.”
Sep 24, 2008 Personal Development, personal branding
So says Gary Vaynerchuk, and I couldn’t agree more.
There’s really nothing much I can add to what he says. If you haven’t already, you really should watch it – it’s more than worth the 15 minutes.
[?]Tags: gary vaynerchuk, passion, personal brand, web 2.0 expo
Your Online Identity
Jun 12, 2008 Personal, Personal Development
Was having a chat with a really intelligent friend, Wan Lyn today. She’s apparently been a regular reader of my blog for a while, but I never knew until I met her at the second Social Media Breakfast in Singapore a couple of weeks ago. Talking to her is really interesting because she’s got some great thoughts (which will inspire some other posts for sure).
As a side point, I just want to say that this is the reason why I blog. Above anything else, the pleasure of connecting with new people and making new friends.
But what I want to point out is this. She knew a lot about me because of my blog. When we first talked, she already had judgments about what I was like as a person – and most of it is accurate, in my opinion.
That shows her insightfulness, but more importantly, it shows the power of your online presence. Daryl Tay recently asked a question about how important it is to manage your online identity. And here’s my answer: yes, it is definitely very important. Your online identity reveals a lot about you. People can easily judge and conclude what you are like through your online identity.
In real life, whatever you do and say play a huge part in people’s opinions about you.
Online, that is amplified, especially because the people who are reading it may not yet know you personally.
The chat with Wan Lyn has confirmed the importance of managing your online identity, in my mind at least. Things that I didn’t even put much thought into went some way into forming her opinion about me.
Every little thing on your blog or your online identity – your blog design, what you put on your blog, your style of writing, everything – it all affects what people think of you. And personally, I think it’s really important.
What is your online identity (your blog, Twitter, etc) saying about you?
[?]Tags: online identity, opinion, personal brand
Your Web 2.0 Story
Apr 28, 2008 Personal Development, Technology
I’ve been thinking about the intersection of the things I write about here. I blog about things from technology to sports to personal development. And I do think there is a central theme. Obviously I deviate from it sometimes. But in general, I’d like to think that I’m still holding true to my original intended message: an encouragement to realize your true potential and not settle for anything less.
The sports parts are related because, well, I think sports are a very good analogy to life. The mental aspects and decision making – the games are almost like a miniature replica of life.
The technology aspects come in because I believe that technology (especially in today’s Web 2.0 world) can be an amazing resource for that. It makes it a lot easier to realize your potential.
And so, on that note, I want to ask you to share your thoughts.
How has social media and Web 2.0 impacted your life? Has it helped make you a better person or improved you in any way?
I’d love to hear your story.
[?]Tags: Personal Development, share, social media, story, web 2.0
