Never let yesterday's disappointments overshadow tomorrow's dreams

I stumbled upon this email sent out on 31/03/2006 to the team. The link to this story was initially passed on by my friend.

A well-known speaker started off his seminar by holding up a $ 20 bill. In the room of 200, he asked, "who would like this $ 20 bill?" Hands
started going up. He said, "I am going to give this $ 20 to one of you but first let me do this."

He proceeded to crumple the dollar bill up. He then asked. "who still wants it?" Still the hands were up in the air. "Well, he replied. 'what if I do this?" And he dropped it on the ground and started to grind it into the floor with his shoe. He picked it up, now all crumpled and dirty. "Now who still wants it?" Still the hands went into the air.

"My friends, you have all learned a very valuable lesson. No matter what I did to the money, you still wanted it because it did not decrease in value. It was still worth $ 20. Many times in our lives, we are dropped, crumpled, and ground into the dirt by the decisions we make and the circumstances that come our way. We feel as though we are worthless. But no matter what has happened or what will happen, you will never lose your value. You are special. Don't ever forget it!

Never let yesterday's disappointments overshadow tomorrow's dreams.

How Simple is the Nicest?

I never see an online application that is so simple yet so elegant. Basecamp is one of the application which surprised me.



Yet, it is much more difficult to create a simple UI like this than to create a complicated one. (with all the fields we supposed the customers are interested to see but not really!!)

Google Rocks

I finished reading The Google Story in a short 2 weeks times in May. This is the only non-fiction book that I felt like reading a fictional story. And I was thrilled and excited throughout the story.

After reading the book, I really admire Google very much, especially its founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin. In fact, I admire them so much I felt compelled to blog about the reasons why:

• They always strive to do goods with motto “Don’t Be Evil”.
  If you cannot imagine how much this has inspired me, you can check through my blog and see how much I quoted this motto and how much I blogged on issues of evilness. :)
  

• They have a health disregard of the impossible.
  In one of the case way back before Google was born, Larry Page started with a crazy idea that he was going to download the entire Web onto his computer in a week. After about a year or so, he only had some portion of it.

• Greatest partnership I ever seen– Larry and Sergey remained as a best partner, complementing each other with Larry focusing on technology, while Sergey focusing on product, people and procedures.

• Energy and curiosity to questions everything. That's the traits that make them give birth to Google.
  

• Making mistakes and fearless – when they launched Gmail, they received a lot of opposition from different parties. They have miscalculated the response of the public. But they still went ahead, anyway. Fearless duo!
  

• Encouraging Innovation - they allow Googlers to spend 20% of their time on projects that interest them and exploring new things. That is 1 out of 5 working days. I will be very happy to work 4 days a week! :)
  

• Have fun while working - they know how to turn their workplace into a sort of playground and great home.
  

• Find different ways to reward their employees – Googlers has the joy to enjoy great food of a great chef, Free Movie Tickets for Star Wars (in fact, Google booked the whole cinema down the street), Free Branded Ice-Cream (that was when they celebrated when Google went IPO)
  

• They play by their own rule – They even changed the culture during the IPO period, by limiting the profits gained by the middle parties which there is no reason they deserve so much gains. It was so just because of some inefficient bureaucracy.
  They really go beyond conventional!
  

• Big,compelling vision . They think very hard on long term and they focus very much on long-term benefit rather than reap the short-term gain.
  

• They are opened and crazy about arguing.
  

• They try to remain in control, even when Eric Schmidt was hired as the company CEO. In fact, it is dictated the company have to get the majority votes from the trio in making big decisions. That's mean Larry and Sergey (together) are pretty much in control.

• Best Marketing Strategy - Google become popular with only relying on WOM (Word-of-Mouth). Cheapest way too ! No big ads or marketing funds!
  

• They always reinvent themselves - with Google Map, Google Earth, Google Books and of course Google Genes? I very much anticipate their next invention.
  

• They were young and brazen when they became successful. Again, it proves this right - don't give a hell to those people who tell you are not matured enough to do or decide on something!
  

• Google Current market share is ever rising- valued at almost $490 now , $85 on 2004. Microsoft is $30 per share. And ExxonMobil, the most profitable company is at $82

• Secret and Surprise - they always keep secret on their products and , of course , their recipes to search. And they continuously surprise people with their great products! (except the bad surprise of the Gmail, but is a surprise, anyway. :) )
  
  
• Teamwork. They promote the culture where the employees discuss with each other on their little projects or new discovery.
  

• Focus on Hiring the Best.
  
  One remark in the book is funny! "It seems like Microsoft is the hiring agency of Google." That was when Google is trying to snatch (should say, attract) away the talented people from Microsoft.
  

• Equal opportunities in hiring and other stuffs.
  During their IPO, they offer equal opportunities to all investors to bid on their shares through a bidding system they developed themselves. This is most unconventional as Wall Street practice is to give priorities to premium investors.
  
  Hiring: Found the text below in their ads for hiring.
  Google is an Equal Employment Opportunity/Affirmative Action Employer
  
  To all recruitment agencies: Google does not accept agency resumes. Please do not forward resumes to our jobs alias, Google employees or any other company location. Google is not responsible for any fees related to unsolicited resumes.
  
  Most of all, there is no special treatment given to a particular page to affect its rating in the search result. For e.g. since I said so much good things about Google here, one cannot expect my blog to have high ranking when you search for "Google". :)
  

• The greatest mathematician and computer science geeks - they even used some mathematics concept to decide how much shares to offer at the IPO. Though they are geeks, they are quite OK socially and also they applied Warren Buffet's teaching during their IPO.
  

• Quirky corporate culture - that makes working at Google even more special and fun. I remembered reading some responses on those people who visited Google. Some good, some bad (for those who are more conventional). Mostly good, of course.
  
  
• They are the new dictionary - they created new and popular words like Google, Googleplex, Googlers, and a lot of words.
  
  After reading the book and searching more stuffs for this post, I took a Google quiz in Fortune magazine and here is what I got:
  Yikes, you've got a lot to learn. Don't quit your current job. (OK, I won't. Thanks for letting me know. LOL)
  

I am so inspired!

Woman Fertility

What is the chance of me stumbling on news of 2 different technology breakthrough discoveries on woman fertility ( or infertility) in a day?

Answer: 1 in around 200,000 (measuring in hours, considering I started to read at around 5 years old). (No guess on my age, please)

The first test-tube baby created from an egg matured in the laboratory and then frozen has been born in Canada, in a breakthrough offering hope to women with cancer and others unsuited to normal IVF treatment.

More info on the local newspaper, The Star.

On other study, a bizarre hairless rodent living underground in Africa may offer clues about the links between stress and human infertility, scientists said on Monday.

Stressed-out mole-rats become infertile after constant bullying by the colony's "queen", the only female to reproduce. But this infertility is reversible and when the queen dies, a previously non-breeding female quickly takes her place.

Why I am interested in the articles?
1. First and foremost, I am a woman (if you have not already know that)
2. I am a stressed-out woman (proven with hair fall on the rise)
3. I love kids! ( I almost wanted to strangle one of my best friend who said she does not plan to have kids. To her: YOU know who you are. Don't let me strangle you!)

Photo courtesy of http://www.sxc.hu

Getting Things Done

Four months after I have finished the book "Getting Things Done", I think I have to admit that I had failed miserably.

Four months ago, I was totally inspired to start organizing things in my life and make a BIG change in my life. Due to my lack of discipline and distraction in life (due to some incidents), I have just improved barely.

However, my dream is not totally crushed. I understand the whole process better now. And, it seems I know what the best I can do and how to maintain my task lists. I just need to be discipline and maintain the momentum of reviewing the tasks often.

I will start all over again. This time, with more determination to make it works!!!!


My original email to the team when I was trying to promote the book, claiming it is the best book in enhancing the productivity.

From: Susan Lim
Sent: 12 February 2007 00:45
To: All Team Members
Subject: Getting Things Done... are we?

In "Getting Things Done" book, the author said there are 5 steps in every natural planning for virtually every tasks we need to accomplish, be it where to go for dinner, or what you want to eat . (page 58)

The 5 steps are:

1. Defining purpose and principles
2. Outcome visioning
3. Brainstorming
4. Organizing
5. Identifying next actions

Here are the questions asked for the 5 steps:

1. Have you clarified the primary purpose of the project and communicated it to everyone who ought to know it? And have you agreed on the standards and behaviors you’ll need to adhere to make it successful?

2. Have you envisioned the success and considered all the innovative things that might result if you achieved it?

3. Have you gotten all the possible ideas out on the table – everything you need to take into consideration that might affect the outcome?

4. Have you identified the mission-critical components, key milestones, and deliverables?
5. Have you defined all the aspects of the project that could be moved on right now, what the next actions is for each part, and who’s responsible for what?

After reading the questions, the author asked to stop , think about the recent project, and write down the answers of the questions on a paper. I did the practice and I have to admit that I have not done as much as I think I had on planning for the recent projects, and ALL the past projects. More often than not, we jumped right in to steps 4 and 5 without clear understanding and communication of the objectives, and no clear visioning.
Without clear understanding of the purpose , the visioning and thinking of all the possible ideas (Step 1 to 3), we usually completed a project and then found out there are many things more to do to achieve the objectives. I definitely need to improve on this (planning), and I WILL. And I hope we all do.

And the visioning as described in the book are the followings:

i. View the project from beyond the completion date
ii. Envision “WILD SUCCESS” ! (Suspend “Yeah, but …”)

iii. Capture features, aspects, qualities you imagine in place

Act of kindness

Neoauteur posted a wonderful account of meeting great people doing charitable work.

"Just as I was about to leave the booth, I saw something I would never forget. Emerging among the leprosy patients were three young nuns, around 19-22 years of age, wearing all-white attires. They were the patients' caretakers. They fed them, answered their questions, and cleansed their wounds. The nuns performed their jobs with pure joys having neither afraid of the nastiness of the wounds nor the fact that leprosy is a highly infectious disease. I could see in their eyes genuine affection and devotion. I could feel the tender and warmth radiated from the devoting way the nuns conducting their work. They treated the lepers not as their patients but as a friend in need of loving and care."

If you are interested to support some charitable works, please visit:
http://www.doctorswithoutborders.org

Please drop by to sign the petition to help protect access to affordable medicines where millions of lives are at stake.
http://www.msf.org/petition_india/usa.html

Hidden Side of Things

I picked up the book “Freakonomics” in the book fest early this month. I bought it for 2 reasons: the anticipation of some eye-openers to the world economy like the book ”The World is Flat” and of course, the book economic price. Indeed, it was an eye-opener but to something a little bit different than economic, thus the title freakonomics.

The claim on the book, ”The hidden side of everything” sounds a little bit spooky but I love it! And the very interesting questions the book is trying to answer:

How did the legalization of abortion affect the rate of violent crime?
What is the probability that a real-estate agent is cheating you?
Which is more dangerous, a gun or a swimming pool?
What do schoolteachers and sumo wrestlers have in common?
Why do drug dealers still live with their moms?
How much do parents really matter?
How much do person name has impact on them?

And More...

Why Google is still so great, at least to me? :)
Why Vote when the odds of your vote actually affecting the outcome in a given election is as slim as winning a lottery?
Can fear of AIDS change sexual preference?
What are the differences between a really bad customer service (Rancid Chicken) and a good one (Vegas Rule)?
Is it possible to encourage organ donation - if you agree to donate your organs when you die then you’ll receive a better chance of getting an organ if you ever need one to live?

The book was fun to read. In fact, I feel I can correlate to the author in a lot of ways. Here are what important qualities of the authors and the book.

• Curiosity - able to question things and always seeking for answer.
• Analytic thinking - able to collect data, put bits and parcels, seeing the correlation and come out with different solutions.
  
• Randomness - it is not necessary to write or blog on a single theme.
  
• Provocative - dare to stray from conventional wisdom.

Here is the interesting illustration of the hidden side of thing on the front book cover. I only realized what it is after I finished the book.

From a far glance on the book cover, people would have thought I was reading a book on dieting! (In fact, a friendly stranger had told me this).