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So, a couple of days ago I walked home (I stay in Tampines) from Victoria Concert Hall. More specifically, I walked from Victoria Concert Hall to the Singapore Flyer, to Kallang MRT, then along the MRT track to Bedok MRT, then through Bedok Reservoir and to Tampines and home. For those of you not from Singapore and have no idea what I’m talking about, it was a walk of slightly over 11 miles (based on Google Maps).
And well, the walk reminded me of two lessons.
Firstly, at a point during the walk (in Bedok), I made a wrong turn. I could have turned back, retraced my steps, and gone the original path. And it would have taken me just as long (or even longer). Instead, I went on, kept in mind the big picture (the rough direction I was headed), and adjusted my route accordingly. Eventually, I did make it back, and I learned more about the area because of that.The same lesson applies in life. We’re human, we’ll all make mistakes. If you’ve got the big picture in mind, if you know the general direction you’re headed, you’ll be able to readjust your plans accordingly when you do.
Secondly, and more importantly, the walk started out as just a short stroll, because I didn’t feel like going home yet. But after a while, it became a challenge, to see how far I could push myself. Honestly, I wouldn’t have expected to be able to walk all the way back home. I just wanted to see how far I could go, and in the end, I managed it.
Just goes to show that you never know how far you can go until you push your limits - and more often than not, it’s further than you’d expect.
Are you pushing your limits and stepping out of your comfort zone? Are you really going as far as you can?
Here’s a feature I’d want on Twitter, a way to turn on notifications only for @ replies. Twitter provides the ability to turn on notifications to either your whole timeline, or to DMs only. I’d like one for @ replies.
Why? Because sometimes I’m having conversations on Twitter, and I need to go offline. Or sometimes I Twitter from my phone, and would love to get notifications about people who reply to me. It’s more focused. Rather than a hundred SMSes a minute, it’d be much more useful to only get notified of conversations I’m involved in. Or to at least get the option.
I’ve got a rough idea of a possible way it can be implemented as a 3rd party. Twitter provides notifications for DMs. So I’m thinking, would it be possible to create a bot account to do something like this. You follow it, it auto-follows you back. Then it monitors the @replies RSS pipe (created by Andrea Vascellari, referencing TweetScan) and just duplicates the RSS updates as DM to you. That’s just one possibility, and it should be highly possible to create, right?
What do you guys think? Am I the only one who wants this feature? And anyone want to help create something like this (because I don’t have much experience with scripting)?
So, I was supposed to be enlisting for National Service (2 years of compulsory army for all Singaporean guys). When I applied, one of the papers mentioned that my enlistment should be within 6 months of my application. When I went for my medical, the person there told me that I would be enlisted by either March/April or the at least by June/July. And that I’d only get my letter a month or so before.
Because of that, I haven’t been able to do much all year. I didn’t know how long I had before enlistment, so I couldn’t really commit myself to anything. And yesterday, my mum went down to the Central Manpower Base to check, and was told that my enlistment would be in September.
I’m seriously really pissed off about this. Firstly, and most importantly, they lied. I was told I’d be enlisted by June/July, and that didn’t happen. I know that circumstances change and all, but if that was the case, they shouldn’t have told me as if it was a fact that I’d be in by July. They might be the government, and there’s probably nothing much I can do about it, but it’s still really annoying to be lied to. Maybe I’m over-reacting. But even though they’re the government, they still shouldn’t make promises they can’t keep. Rather, especially since they’re the government, they shouldn’t. I’ve seriously lost trust in them because of this.
The second reason, albeit less important, I’m pissed about this is because it’s wasting my time. It’s wasted half a year of my life waiting. I’m now rushing and struggling to find a summer program/internship to do. So if anyone has any suggestions or offers, let me know, yeah? (I have no qualms about travelling, if required.)
If I had known from the start that chances are I’d be enlisted in September, I wouldn’t be pissed. I’d have planned accordingly. And I’d still have been able to do a lot. I would probably have applied for Seth Godin’s internship (I’m not saying I would have definitely got in, but I’d have loved to at least had the chance to try). I would have gone to California with my mum earlier this year. I would have applied for a summer institute. But because I was told that I would be enlisted by July, I didn’t. And I’ve missed lots of opportunities.
I guess it all comes down to this. It’s not really about the date itself. It’s about what I was told - what I was led to believe and expect. Don’t tell me something and not deliver on it. Don’t make promises you can’t keep.
Joël Che recently wrote an article on Arsenal Mania about what the current Arsenal team lacks. He compares the current squad to the ‘Invincibles’ squad of 2004 that went the whole season unbeaten. The main point of the article is that “Counter-attacking is by far the best and most lethal form of attacking.” and that the current squad has lost the speed of counter-attacks that the previous team had.
And I’ve got to agree with him. On both counts. But the one I want to emphasize more is his general point.
Counter-attacking is by far the best and most lethal form of attacking.
This is true in any sport, I think. I’d even go as far as saying it’s true in any venture. You might not be the most skillful, but if you can handle pressure and react quickly, you’ll go far.
How fast are you able to respond from being under pressure?
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’m not a huge fan of golf, but I am a fan of Tiger Woods. I love his mentality. He’s a true winner, who doesn’t settle for anything less. And this interview really shows that. You should watch it, even if you’re not a golf fan. There are lots of great lessons and insights into the mind of an amazing sportsman.
The ending of it really shows what he’s all about, and what I really like about him. His got great self confidence and belief in himself - but he’s not arrogant - and he’ll never settle for anything less than what he wants.
“The greatest thing about tomorrow is I will be better than I am today.”
What are you doing to ensure that you’re going to be better tomorrow than you are today?
We’ve all heard the high pitched squeal that results from feedback from speakers. And I’m pretty sure most of you would agree that it’s annoying. It’s not something you want to hear.
Feedback occurs when a microphone picks up it’s own sound from the speaker. The sound gets trapped in a loop (microphone picks it up from the speaker, amplifies it and sends it to the speaker, where it gets sent back to the microphone, etc), which causes that annoying whine that we all know (and most hate).
The thing is, with the power of Web 2.0, it’s very easy to get trapped in our own ‘feedback loop’. The web allows you to amplify your voice. With blogs, podcasting, Twitter and all the other Web 2.0 tools, you can speak and be heard.
But social media is a conversation. It’s not a one way broadcast. Yes, the tools help to amplify what you have to say, but if you’re just trying to build yourself up, it’s not going to work. You’ll just get annoying.
Companies which blog and only plug their products aren’t going to get much value from social media. Companies which blog and listen to what their customers say back will.
Same for individuals. You’re more likely to gain from social media if you’re listening to what others say, and feeding off each other, inspiring each other. If you’re just amplifying yourself over and over, you won’t gain value, and you won’t be adding value either. You’ll just be making noise.
How do you keep yourself from getting trap in a ‘feedback loop’?
May 5, 2008 
Posted in Analogies, Personal 
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