Yu Song

30 day sugar free challenge

2011-08-30T13:07:00.002+08:00

So for the next 30 days starting tomorrow , 31st August 2011 , i'll be going cold turkey on all forms of sugars and food that act like sugar.

Honestly I don't know what i am going to be taking as food then... my good take would be something like. . .

1) Green apples

2) Subway salads (also means i have to walk a long distance to get there)

3) NTUC salads (from jurong point)

Wish me best of luck :)

A day at sgh polyclinic

2011-07-06T11:02:00.001+08:00

Today i am blogging from Singapore general hospital @ polyclinic.
Below is what it looks like from my point of view

It is more of a test post entry for my new app on iPad :)

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Location:Bond Terrace,Singapore,Singapore

Friendship

2010-08-27T07:50:00.001+08:00

It is in the face of adversity that friendship is tested. This sentence rings in my head these few days, I had a sort of a row with one of my bros, and to be honest I am largely to blame for my impulsiveness. I sometimes wonder if my priority to have friends on the top of my list was a good decision, sometimes i just feel unappreciated.. un cared for and taken for granted.

Perhaps if i switched off my mobile devices for a week , I would be able to look at myself better, instead of having the feeling that i’ve poured out all my energy and emotion into friendship, and am left empty handed. Although logically I know that I am left with the joy of friendship and that of unselfish giving, I am emotionally not able to keep up with this logic.

My best friend (xh) once told me that for him, he feels the same way and the person whom can fill this gap for him was a girl, that might also be true in my case, but are humans really that pathetic? That we cannot shower love and concern for our friends – and that it is only reserved for that special “someone” ?

My heart is full of sadness… filled with loneliness and filled with nothingness… I really wanna have a good cry.. But i’ve been unable to do so for a very long time… the best i could muster was a tear , I am sick and tired of this state that I am in, is this what life is about?

Perhaps we all show our love and concern in our own ways.

Blogging from ipad

2010-07-24T10:00:00.002+08:00

Hi all ,

First Sight

Just got an iPad upon it's release yesterday and I must say that it is simply phenomenal . It is literally as steve jobs has said , "to have the Internet in your hands ..." , just simply whow man !!! The keyboard is almost life-size (although it still takes some getting used to , and just like the iPhone it still takes one getting used to, but i have never imagine typing on a screen that allows me to use almost all of my ten fingers to type at the same time !

Video

Video clarity is definitely another whow factor , the HD screen allows for awesome graphics to be shown ! Just watched and rewatched the kobe bryant clinic video and I must say that it is one of the best if not the best experience that I have had watching the video from any given platform so far !

Main reason why I bought the iPad

The core reason is still because it allows me to bring my homework to school (from notes to tutorials) without having to carry the heavy paper counter part, and it also allows me to serve the internet without having to be confined to a computer screen, and to truly have the internet in your hands is just amazing !

This had been a very brief introduction to the first look at ipad and i expect to be using more of it in the near future as I explore it's function in depth.

岁月的痕迹

2010-06-06T13:49:00.001+08:00

好久没在此写出人生中的点点滴滴，人生总是起起落落，感觉上写来写去都是那几样东西，少了些新鲜感吧。我今年以二十初头了，虽然心仍然处于少年的状态，但不可否认的事实近几日终于让我接受了。

读者会问，“接受了什么呢？”，接受了长大后所得承担的某些责任与负担。自幼我从来没有为物质上的东西而有够多的烦恼，因为家庭吃，穿，住和药都算有了，其他的享受有则欢，无也罢。但慢慢想起这一切都是父母的血与汗换回来的，并非从天空掉下来的，从今往后，若要保持现状，那责任便是我的啦！

这么一个领悟对我来说并非太晚，我会为我父母，家人与朋友的将来努力打拼。

The Claws Of Love – Part 1

2010-03-02T12:26:00.001+08:00

This is a story –.- , this story is part fiction and part fact as I am writing with the intention of sharing the moral of the story with everyone hence I’ve modified the story (the characters , settings etc but plot is fact) a little to suit the plot better. Putting this as Part 1 only means that I do not not if i’ll finish this story in a single post …

As I finally start to come to terms with the fact that she cannot be the special someone that I’ll share part of my life with, my heart withered and the world turned gloomy, from the horizon the sun was setting, and life seems bleak at best, the fires of missing her were subsiding , however the lingering feeling that something was missing – like a piece of me was torn off - remained,

Hi , My name is James… and this is my story with her…

I knew her from school and when i first saw her , I didn’t bear a particular interest in her except that she was a classmate and also a friend of my close friend. Our regular meet-ups were in mass lectures halls where we would be sitting quite near each other – hardly any conversation took place . We would often have our lunch together with a bunch of other classmates , in which I seldom spoke as well.

Nothing in particular happened for a few weeks, until we were given a group project by our teacher and she said “Ok James you will be doing the project with Jesscia” , that was the first time I heard her name and it sure did caught my attention.

From then, we started having group meetings regularly as it was in both of us to want to complete the project exceeding expectations, and as a keen observer, I realised that Jess(ica) had something troubling her , I couldn’t put a finger on it , but I didn’t asked further .

As time went by , we got closer and closer together as good friends – partly because of the project, and we started joking around and seemed to have hit it off quite well. That was when I felt it was time for me to pop the question “Jessica, something seems to be bothering you, care to share?”

Looking back, I wished I had never asked this question…

She turned and looked at me with an elusive expression , after several seconds , she replied “why do you ask James?”

Sensing that she would be willing to share with me her problems if I pushed further I replied “Oh you seemed troubled by something and I thought I might be able to help”

"I don’t know if you can help .. but i’ll tell you anyway, I’ve just broke up with my boyfriend”

Hearing that I lent her my listening ear and we spoke about the issue, it was evident that she was hiding alot of information as her stories were not in chronological order – I didn’t mind, after hearing her story, this was what I gathered,

Jess and her boyfriend had broken up because he felt that both of them were not ready for a relationship as school work was very stressful and her boyfriend had a family to support (working part-time as well), he didn’t want to “short change” Jess as he felt he was failing in his duty as a boyfriend. Hence the broke up.

Listening to her story made me empathise with her plight, and I tried – in vain – to console her , the only thing I could do was accompany her, our project discussions that day did not continue as she was too bogged down by her emotional burdens to think straight.

At that moment when she was close to breaking down, she appeared to me like a blooming flower , so beautiful and so perfect , and I thought “let me help you to get out of this traumatic experience” .

For the next few weeks, Jess and I began to sit next to each other during lectures – and we shared a good amount of humour together , we usually have our meals together – except when I had to accompany my male friends .

I constantly listened to her problems and empathise with her, and sometimes she would not even speak about her problems and she would bluntly say “drop it James”.

I began to develop feelings for her and we got closer and closer , once she got so upset that she cried on my shoulders and gave me a hug for a good long while – it was an warming experience , I hugged her back and said “everything will be okay”

From that day onward, everyday in school became enjoyable , I looked forward to seeing her daily and at night we would often chat either online or on the phone, on days where I was rather busy, I would send her text messages , it was as if everyday the reason to rejoice was her, and everyday life only seem meaningful with her presence, life couldn’t have been better , I was enjoying her company and I wished I had her company forever. I decided , its time to make my move . . .

As 14th February approaches , I decided to ask for her “hand” – no not marriage- to go into a relationship with me on the 12th of February , I rehearsed my lines well and all seems to be in place and on the 11th night I called her to ask her out the next day for dinner, before I asked her out it was a routine that we would first talk about some random stuff , when I first heard her voice that night – it was unforgettable,

She was elated and seems to be brimming with joy, initially I thought it was because I was feeling rather happy and had some influence over her, and then I popped the question “you sound very happy today , are your inner conflicts with your past relationship resolved?”

I remember that scene all too well, I was sitting on my bed , on the right of my bed was the book I had just put down prior to the call, in front of me was my LCD TV and resting on my pillow , with the lights off, I was speaking with her on my handphone,

She replied “ I just reconcile with my boyfriend ! We’ve worked things out”

My world collapsed, as I sank into the abyss of darkness…

Recess Week is here

2010-02-27T09:15:00.001+08:00

Hi all, firstly if you are reading this, thanks :) As i’ve not blogged for a while now (and you check back !) ,it’s been 7 weeks into the second semester in NTU , SPMS/CBC , apparently this semester was supposed to be different from semester one where I was supposedly “adapting”.

However, it turned out that I got into the same old vicious cycle of not studying.. again. I havent been studying as much as I want to, and I’ve actually found out the supposed reason for this procrastination.

After reading zenhabits’s post , the one deadly sin of changing habits , I realised that I’ve been too focused on the “planning” and neglected the actual “doing” of the habit, sometimes when a plan is too complex it becomes difficult to execute because there are so many factors that must be “right” before anything can happen.

And now it is the recess week (1 week holiday) , i’ve decided to keep things simple and not “plan” so much ahead as opposed to “do” so much ahead. I know this advise does not apply to everyone because everyone is wired and build differently, however if you are a person whom “plans” alot but seems to accomplish little, it’s always worth the while putting more effort into “doing” than “planning” .

So for this recess week, i’ve decided to take things slowly but consistently, I used to set “study 10 hours per day” targets (and didnt wind up studying more than 10% of my intended target) , instead, i’ve divided my study hours in blocks of 2 hours ( 3 times a day from 9am – 11am , 2pm – 4pm , 7pm-9pm) and I am allowed to be flexible as long as i clock the 2 hours!

I definitely think i’ll succeed and hopefully I get to blog about it ^^

All the best to all my course mates !

5 Best experiences of 2009

2010-01-01T16:41:00.001+08:00

Welcome to the new year of 2010 ! it’s been a decade since the year 2000 , how is everyone?

As a way of remembering 2009, I would like to share with you – my readers – the 5 best experiences/decisions I have went through that made 2009 a meaningful and unforgettable one . (in no particularly order)

The resolutions during the rainy season (vassa)

From July – September , which is the rainy season (vassa) , it is a tradition for buddhist to devote themselves more towards their practice , as a buddhist, this is the first year that i’ve taken this tradition seriously, and the benefits which was reaped from it was immense. I’ve learned more about myself in this 3 months then I ever had for the past 22 years of my life.

Examination in NTU for the first time (yr 1 sem 1)

Taking the exams for the first time after 2 years of National Service made me feel like a total newbie in the area of academic excellence. I was totally unprepared for it ! However, this lead to a intense period of time when the pressure was on to study intensively prior to the actual examination dates. It was a moment where my sole focus was on my exams , this experience taught me to cherish the simple pleasures of life – 30 mins of rest is heavenly . It allowed me to understand my own temperament – and what a big ego I have.

New BS clubroom Cleaning

This happened just prior to 2010 (late december) , the cleaning of the new BS (buddhist society) clubroom, it was definitely a time where I got to know my very good brother alot better :) and we also had a share of jokes/thoughts/moments together. It was one of the best bonding experience i’ve had .

Knowing my neighbour and a few neighbour friends

For the first time in my life, I have a neighbour! and along with him, i met a few really great brothers along the way =) It is amazing how easily we clicked and seemed to have known each other for a long long time… Hope that our friendship continue to blossom ^^

Being Alive

The fifth and most meaningful experience is to know that I am alive after 2009 =) . As ironic as it sounds, life is the one thing most people take for granted and I really want to take this opportunity to be thankful that I am still alive.

The one thing I ought to remember is that the every one of the experiences in 2009 are lessons to learn upon to make 2010 a better year ^^

Happy New Year!

Starting the day with a good morning

2009-12-20T10:07:00.001+08:00

There’s always something about waking up early in the morning and getting some nice simple workout. I don’t do it often (yet), however, everytime when I do (get up early ~6-7am) , the experience is always a refreshing and rejuvenating one!

I’ve read alot about early risers and it’s benefits , however it is hard to believe any of what is written until I’ve truly experienced it myself, and boy , am i amazed!

I used to think that by sleeping late and working through the, wee hours of the morning actually saved me time (and I was being productive) , however ever since I got in touch with early rising (consequently sleeping earlier) , my opinion on the matter changed – a paradigm shift.

Sleeping one hour later and waking up one hour earlier may seem the same , however they mean a whole lot of difference!

From a medical point of view, the human body is biologically wired to rest at about 9pm and to rise at about 4-5am! Between 9-3am, major organs are actually undergoing “maintenance” and it’s a good idea to be resting at these hours.

From my own personal experience, it is alot easier to sleep 1 hour later then wake up one hour earlier , that being said, it is better to sleep one hour earlier than to sleep one hour later – especially true if I am working on an individual project or something that requires my attention. why?

Because by waking up earlier, there are fewer distractions around (although the same can be said for working late) but the best part is that your body had a good rest and is now ready to tackle the task at hand !

I am going to get into the habit of rising early (and sleeping early) as it’s simply amazing!

My First Neighbour in twenty two years

2009-12-11T20:49:00.001+08:00

This is gonna sound silly… but I finally got a neighbour after twenty two years on earth! :)

Well it’s kinda like a kampung spirit thing.. but it’s real good to have someone that lives so near you and that means can meet up with less restrain with distance (Travelling time).

And we kinda clicked it well after a few chats and have some similiar interest as well! =) Like basketball , dota , studying (yea i think we both like that >.<”) and yea!

We don’t exactly live next to each other but vertically above one another instead! and we vary by 10 storeys !

Okay I could go on, but no i won’t lols..

Alright , kinda an informal post here =)

Exams are over!

2009-12-06T22:27:00.001+08:00

Exams are finally over…yes this post is long overdue because exams were over on 2nd december!

Look forward to this week that follows :)

lots of stuff lined up which I missed due to exams..

As ironic as it may sound.. I do not mind the exams at all… at least they were exciting times when I could really soley just focus on ONE thing – exams. And that kind of energy was simply awe-inspiring! I’ve never felt so “Alive” in a very very long time =)

I look forward to the next semester and the holidays (notice how they are not in chronological order).

I aspire to be a writer.. a teacher .. a friend and an educator. I believe in the magic of words.. a picture may speak a thousand words, but a word can speak a million pictures (imagination) !

When all hell breaks loose…

2009-11-29T18:32:00.001+08:00

Finally found some time to write into my blog..

the exams has been very stressful for the past 2 weeks plus.. my routine lifestyle has been “broken” , i.e.

- cant be a avid facebook user

- cant slack on msn

- no bball trainings

- no tues meditation

- no wing chun

- no long hours of sleeping

I could go on and say how much it sucked.. bla bla bla.. but I won’t, because I have this very strong belief, that every adversity is a learning opportunity, there is something good out of every bad thing that happens to us – only if we look hard enough.

So what is so good about not being able to do the above? (Note: I am just saying theres a good side to it, not that it is 100% nice and rosy)

well for one, I get alot of personal time with myself (and my exam preparation) , and I get to cut off most(if not all) social activities (including online social activities) , which allowed for me to

- look at myself and reflect in quiet solitude about the purpose of life

- cherish the times that I had with my friends

- have time to be greatful for what I have

- relook at the way I was living my life

okay thats the heavy stuff.. now for some lighter stuff, because the exams totally interrupted my pattern, it meant that I had the opportunity to re-establish new patterns AFTER the exams! And in my quiet solitude, I learned a great deal about myself and the way I did things, it was most insightful and rather personal.

One things for sure, we are stronger than we think and have much more in us that we show . But we seldom show that side of ourselves, because life is too nice and rosy, however when all hell breaks loose, the part of us that says “Never give up” will show, and that is when life is most rewarding .

My good brother (xin hao) once shared with me the things he did prior to his full time ordination , he went to the places he loved, ate the food he liked.. etc etc . How much of these do we take for granted in our daily lives?

Although the exams has been a daunting task so far, however if I could choose again (assuming I could), I would choose to go through it again.

Because in the face of adversity,

when all odds seems to be against me,

I suddenly stopped walking

and looked at myself,

and for once, I saw my own reflection,

who I really am.

It is one of the “ahh” moments in life, when things goes too smoothly, we seldom stop in our tracks (pun intended) to look at how we are travelling or where we are going, only when we hit a kerb or fall down, do we reconsider our options – that is why , in every adversity , lies an opportunity.

Getting things off your mind – Part III

2009-11-21T20:11:00.001+08:00

In Part II , it was mentioned that the first piece of the puzzle was to allow the mind to only focus on one thing at a time and thus making an “appointment” with the tasks at hand ! Just by doing this alone, the heart can calm down a whole lot … but the second piece of the puzzle is the crnerstone to ensure the first piece of puzzle is firmly in place…

Second Puzzle Piece – Breaking things down

The second piece of the puzzle comes from the ability to put all of the “stuff” in our mind out of our mind ! But many conventional “organizing” methods does this, but there is a crux in doing so which was almost never mentioned before, pay attention to what is going to be mentioned for it is the most important content of the second piece of the puzzle ,

“Decide the very next physical action required to move the situation forward…”– David Allen , “Getting Things Done”

Taking an example from part I ,

“Need to exercise 30 mins 3 times a week” – is this a physical action? – NO , it is only a statement , a description – call it what you may , but it is not an action.

And when something isn’t an “action” , we tend to get lost ! Unless we decide upon the next physical action, chances are all the “stuff” gets thrown back into your mind =) But once the next physical action has been decided, our mind tend to naturally detach itself from it , because it has been given an assurance , our mind is like a child, to make a child secure , you either have to give the sweet to him right away or be very detail about when he’s getting that sweet , just saying “you’ll get your sweet in due time” is not good enough.

This was the key difference ! This is exactly what was missing, the method to allow the mind to detach from a task naturally!

So let’s look at the “Need to exercise 30 mins 3 times a week” again , let’s turn this into a “physical action” ,

1) Go for basketball games on mondays and wednesdays for 45 minutes after school(approximately 6pm to 6.45pm)

2) Set a reminder in a way (personalised it yourself!) that you will remember to do the above

Once that is done , something amazing happens, your mind KNOWS that this matter has been taken care of and KNOWS that it’ll be reminded in a way that you cannot forget, and what happens? It detaches itself from the activity of “planning it” .

A typical example we might better relate to is how do we make sure we remember to bring something to school/work the next day? let’s say to bring an important piece of document to your boss the next day, what would you do? If you are like most people, all that needs to be done is to place that document beside something you would NEVER FORGET to bring out of your house – like the keys, in our briefcase or on our shoes (if it doesn’t stink lol)

After placing the document on your shoe (example) , what happens? Yes, you know what happens, your mind automatically detaches itself from worrying/thinking/planning about that very important document !

TADA! , the 2nd piece of the puzzle has been found :)

Getting things off your mind – Part II

2009-11-18T19:33:00.001+08:00

As mentioned in Part I , the i-got-alot-of-things-to-do-but-i-got-no-time symdrome comes from the looping of the mind over the things that needs to be done over and over again… which leads to the inevitable conclusion that “I got alot of things to do but no time!” And now…

My story continues – part II

As I begin to realize that I am in deep shit, I began to look for a solution, organizing myself, de-cluttering , managing time , prioritizing , you name it!

Did it work? NO. If anything, it only made me come to the conclusion that I have even MORE things to do now, why was that so? As rightly pointed out by David Allen (spoiler : Do not google his name if you want to read on , Managing time , Managing information and/or managing priorities, After all,

1) you don’t manage five minutes and end up with six;

2) you don’t manage information overload – otherwise you’ve walk into a library and die or the first time you connected to the web, or even opened a phone book, you’d blow up;(pun intended) and

3) you don’t manage priorities – you have them

So here is my story on the problem… now the story of the solution.. (yes what we all have been waiting for)

The story of the solution – Initial Realization

My first realization of the possible solution came from my own meditation practice , I realised that since the mind can only have one focus at a time, it would only make sense that whenever we do something, we should focus solely on the task at hand – this was the first piece of the puzzle.

This meant that everything deserved our attention only when we consciously decide to do so – meaning if I was having dinner, I want to have the choice of just focus on eating my dinner and not think of what is about to happen when the world ends.

That was as far as I got as far as my realization was concern , I couldn’t yet find any sort of solution further from this,

So readers, remember the first part of the puzzle,(there are a total of three)

Our mind can only focus on ONE thing at a time, and things should only have our attention when we consciously decide to do so.

What does this lead to you may ask? The very first part of the puzzle lead to me making “appointments” with my task at hand, if i set 30 mins for my morning workout, that’ve be my focus for that span of 30 mins , not engaged in the future nor the past. And when I do need to “plan” for the future or “review” the past, I put my full attention on doing so .

This can be summarised in a sentence ,

“To live in the now , the present , this very moment or in day-light-compartments”

But this is not the complete picture , what I realized next was an important trampoline to put this first piece of puzzle in it’s place – towards forming the complete picture.

Getting things off your mind – Part I

2009-11-15T11:55:00.001+08:00

I’ve finally realised the cause of my ineffectiveness in school and in life !!! *Three Cheers* Allow me to digress a little from the actual solution =) I’ve like to relate my situation with everyone reading this as it’ve be unlikely that most of you know the story yet…

(As I write this, I realise it’ve be too long to squeeze everything into one part, hence i’ll split it up into various parts)

The story beings…

I’ve always felt …

1. I have alot to accomplish

2. I have “no time” to accomplish the things I want to

3. Feeling that I have alot of things “I need to do” on a very consistent basis

4. I am being split apart by commitments ranging from work to friends in all aspects

5. I don’t have time for myself

Does that sound familiar to you? I bet at least one of them does, an informal survey would reflect that in today’s modern society, at least 70% (being modest here) of people “suffer” from the above syndrome, the i-got-alot-of-things-to-do-but-i-got-no-time symdrome !

Question , “Why is that so?” –> this is the question that I only found an answer to … Yesterday (14 Nov 09)

The cause of the problem is simple,(but detailed if I were to answer here), i’ll put it simply and generally ,

We cannot get the things off our minds

Relating back to my story, All the things that I want to do are all fermenting within my mind ! Health issues… studies.. sports… martial arts.. family.. friends … Do i need to go on? The first “realization one needs to know is this, the mind can only focus on one thing at a time! Hence it isnt hard to figure out how overwhelmed I felt when I had my WHOLE LIFE’s concern in my mind!

Basically, my mind was overloaded with problems and although there were solutions , it just simply wasn’t possible to make it into feasible plans because everything is stuffed up there! The mind is moving within a very narrow boundary , imagine the inner conversation go…

Health : Need to exercise 30 mins 3 times a week , Eat fruits , do marketing, sleep early

Martial Art : Need to train for 30 mins (EH can i consider this a exercise?) , everyday , make it a routine

Studies : Need to study at least 2 hours per day, review notes , do tutorials , do up presentation (whow alot of time needed..)

Home : Need to do housework, do the laundry, buy groceries…

The list of priorities goes ON , but at this point, my mind was already overwhelmed and it came to a conclusion “I need alot of time, I dont have so much time” – period. My mind shuts down, switches off, closes shop and says good night.

And what did I get out of this “mental processing” ? A whole bunch of negative conclusions, it’s hard not to be negative when the whole world is “crashing in” with so many “to-dos” and “to-plans”.

This resulted in my being less motivated to do the things that needs to be done! And it basically rolled itself in a vicious cycle, and things don’t get done, I cower away into that little place we all call “Comfort zone” or “a place to NUA” - I was escaping reality .

But when the time comes for a reality check(exams/tests/deadlines etc) , suddenly, I realised..

“I am in deep shit”

Examinations

2009-11-09T11:07:00.002+08:00

Hi all my readers,

in view of my examinations, I may not be posting for the duration from now till 2nd december (my last paper).

I also won't be frequenting facebook/msn/websites-i-usually-surf =)

Do drop my some tags !! :)

Exams are coming!

2009-11-06T23:04:00.001+08:00

Some very random rants…

As the exams draws near…! Everyone is busy preparing for it… Somehow , It feels a bit foolish isn’t it?

I’ve always been prepared for most of life’s challenges, but one of the challenges that is bound to happen one day – I am not prepared at all. And guess what ? That’s death.

We spend so much time preparing for the light – happiness – at the end of the tunnel, but we’re never sure when death will hit us =(

Well yea… nevertheless! Life goes on =) Tomorrow I’ll be heading out for the Body World Exhibition, it’ll sure be an eye opener for me ^^

Off to bed! :)

世外桃园,a place called peace

2009-11-04T21:43:00.001+08:00

中国花园之景色，Actual Footage of chinese garden

以经好久没有用华文写下我的感想了，但今日我将以我的母语表达我对世外桃园的另类体验。还请大家对我的华文不佳多多包容！（我也会以英文写出我的感受）

今日武术练习取消，原本大算在家温书，但好友ck邀约我一同用餐然后一道练习武术-也因自己

爱与好友闲聊，所以便答应了他。晚餐就不提了，用完饭之后，我们决定到中国花园（chinese garden)练习武术,一路上我们有说有笑，仿佛亲兄弟一班。

一到了目的地，眼见天空闪电频频，天色一片暗红，心想天就快要下雨了，但花园中有数多可遮风挡雨之处，便不把他当作一回事。

我们俩就这样走入了花园，到了里面有如踏入了一个非常安静的地方，有人真在散步，又看见有人在静坐，周围一片安宁，心也平静了。

走这走这，心中有一种非笔墨所能行容的平静感，有如一切过去与未来都消失了，没有压力，没有一大堆的杂念，又有好友相伴，如果在此品品茶，弹奏琴，下下棋，写书法，作作画，那该是多么完美的一件事啊！！！

离开时，心中有许多的依依不舍，但好友感叹“每一次的离去，带表下一次的到来”，听了有些惊讶，因为从每听过好友有如此雅兴说出如此有“墨水”的话，我心里也有所感叹，儿时毫无疑问的，这便是书中所写的“世外桃园”。

Phew, that was a feat ! Been a while since I last used chinese to write such a long “Compo” !

Today martial arts training was cancelled due to some unforseen circumstances, wanted to stay at home and study, however I decided one of my good pals ck and I decided to have our own training session and have dinner together at the same time. And this was how I discovered “A Place Called Peace”,

After dinner, ck and I decided to go to chinese garden for our “private” training session, upon reaching the gates of the garden, the welcoming breeze greeted us and a amazing sort of peace feeling took over . Although the skies was showing it’s wrath with instances after instances of lightning, we proceeded to tour the garden and settled for a spot – which was near a toilet which could act as a shelter for us in case it rained – and started our training.

The feeling that such a place brought was a very calm, serene and indescribable sense of peace . There were little signs of humans within sight, however, a walk around revealed people jogging, dancing and meditating amongst the woods. Everyone was composed and calm and there were only the sounds of nature echoing against the peaceful lake .

I’ve never felt so incredibly at ease without effort at all, a step away from the city life, it was a savour of mother nature and the blessing to have a good brother by my side.

Before we left, my good friend ck even said “every departure signifies the next arrival”, it came as a total surprise as my friend hardly speaks eloquently, much less made a poem! It was then that I was sure this is “A Place Called Peace” .

20 days to exams

2009-11-02T16:49:00.001+08:00

It is 20 days to my first paper (CBC 113) ,and i’ve decided to keep a small log of how things goes on a frequent basis (if possible daily – depends on my schedule). It’s a bit LATE to start preparing, but nevertheless, better late than never , so goes the sayings! (there’ll be photos below… phew!)

Also I intend to form some new habits… I wont list them here… If i do post about them you’ll see ^^

Here’s the initial planning stage…

1) Prepare study area that’s conducive and comfortable

1.1 – Table , Side table, notice boards, stationeries , well organised desk

1.2 – Conducive Music (Soft Pali Chants Is Chosen this time)

2) Prepare a flowchart

This is important.. to gauge what NEEDS to be done.. as mdm yaw (my sec sch teacher said) ,

If you want to get As, plan – that’s the first step !

So this part is going to scare me off.. because I’ve alot of stuff that needs to be done – mostly due to my super perfectionist attitude towards anything!

It will be 32 days later when my LAST paper ends… Just nice one month… time to heat things up and do well!

Here are some photos… (speaks for themselves)

This is the core reason why I am struggling now.. inexperienced… spent my time ONLINE during lessons breaks.. omg..:X (old photos – week 1-7 I was as such…!)

My revamped study area, conducive (notice the right cabinet? It is to give me a feeling of “compactness” which was not present previously – without the cabinet , this causes me to be easily distracted

A closer look reveals two green notice boards and a comfortable “closed up” environment" !

Temporarily , I’ve shifted all my “junk” here (area behind the shot above), once this is cleared, either can make a new study area (for grp study) or some other purpose (meditation corner?)

Hope you enjoyed!

stop the abuse.. on ourselves!

2009-10-25T12:36:00.001+08:00

As I look around myself and on myself… I realised that humans are really great at abusing ourselves… and we get very “happy” about abusing ourselves…! And what are the two main things that we humans abuse?

First it is our body, Taking the rearing of horse as an example, we give the horse the most nutritious grass,the best water , and we let it exercise on a daily basis, by nightfall we let it sleep, when it’s sick we give it more water, more rest, and the best care. If we treat our body the way we treated the horse, there would be less unhealthy people around… Why?

Let’s switch roles and treat the horse like how we treat our body, what happens? We would feed the horse with things that the horse likes to eat (but not good for it’s body) , we would fry the grass, feed the horse soft drinks, deprive it of water, don’t allow it to exercise, and on top of that, the horse will only get to sleep past midnight… and let’s assume the horse can work like us, it’ll be working it’s ass off , just how much abuse are we giving our body? Depriving it of rest… of water… of nutrient… to satisfy what?

To satisfy our own greed, instead of eating what is beneficial to our bodies, we eat things that are beneficial to our greed through the function of taste,. instead of drinking water that is beneficial to our body,we drink things that are beneficial to our greed through the function of taste, instead of resting our body, we let it work on overdrive, for various reasons, just when are we going to let our body deserve the care it deserves?

The second thing we abuse is our mind, in fact, I am inclined to believe that we abuse our bodies because our mind is already so scarred and wounded beyond our imaginations,but because it takes no physical form, that is why we are as if oblivious to the extend of it’s injuries !

Our mind is like a wild monkey, ordinarily, monkeys love running and jumping around, never sitting still, in a bid to control the monkey, we tie a steady string to the monkey’s arm , and sometimes we succeed in restraining the monkey , but often, when the monkey meet with thing it likes and dislikes, it either runs in the direction of what it likes, or flee in the opposite direction of what it dislikes, when that happens, we’re at the full mercy of the monkey! sometimes the monkey runs so fast, that it loses it’s sense of direction, and we too get lost !

And when the monkey finally gets tired, it looks for a place to stay and rest, but alas, there’s no house in sight! And the rain pours… the sun shines… the monkey is left, wounded, stranded and defeated . Having no choice, the monkey comes to a rest at the very spot it was at the moment, and having being led round and round by the monkey , we too , stop to rest on the uncomfortable ground.

With no place to call his own, no roof over it’s head, our minds is under constant abuse from the elements of nature, it never gets to rest completely!

These are the 2 most valuable assets we humans have, but we failed to take good care of them, just exactly what are we losing out on that we don’t even have time to look after our most valuable assets ?

That is a question to ponder upon.

A simple forest life in the cities ?

2009-10-10T19:34:00.001+08:00

This is probably going to be a long post (I don’t know , I haven’t written it yet!) .

Since a very young age – like 6-7 ? , i’ve loved the nature environment a “forest” provides , back when I was young, kids would like to spend their time at the “Fitness Corner” playing the balance beams, the monkey bars and what not , but I would spend my time near an area surrounded by trees (maybe that’s why I made it into the TAF club – a club for overweight personnel) , didnt enjoy much company either, preferring always to be alone and just soaking it all up , *ah* =)

This habit prevailed even as I “aged” , moving to my teenage years, always preferring to go to the areas with more trees – again right beside the fitness corner! – and always preferring to keep to my own thoughts .

Well, all these builds up to my main topic today, can we live a simple “Forest” life in the cities? I mention “forest” because of the origin of my thoughts . Which are the forest monastery situated in malaysia & thailand , I could only read about them, which typically goes like (I apologise for any mis-representations , its only the way I percieve it)

4am Wake Up

4.30am - 6am Meditation

6am – 7am Chanting

7am – 8am Preparations

8am – 11am AlmsRound

11am – 12pm Meal

12pm – 4pm Own Time Own Target

4pm – 6pm Daily Chores (Sweeping the floor…etc)

6pm – 7pm Chanting

7pm onwards Meditation/Weekly Meetings etc

11pm Lights Out

The closest type of life that I have to this was actually.. in NS’s BMT ! To be honest, I totally enjoyed the life inside as it brings about a sense of inner peace within , there was no need to rush anywhere, every activity was well planned and well executed, it was a simple and peaceful life.

But in modern day society , is that possible to lead such a simple life ? I don’t know about you, but that question remains unsolved for me, its still a mystery in every way.

One of the things that makes life complicated … for me

Msn, Facebook.. the COMPUTER , how much of the computer do we use for fulfilling our duties (work/study etc) and how much of it are we using to fulfil our WANTS ?(videos/dramas/music)

Will I be able to establish a “Forest” within this concrete surrounding? Can life be simpler?

Afterall, there are only 4 basic needs in our life

Food , Shelter , Clothing , Medicine

What more do we need ?

Ok truth be told, company of the right kind seems kinda important to me as well.. but well that kinda doesnt make life all too complex does it ?

A forest city life… even the english sounds wrong.. but is it truly impossible?

A full mind

2009-10-07T01:16:00.001+08:00

Met ajahn keng today, and felt very at ease about him, had plenty of laughs but the mind was very stable and didn’t shake about too much.

Dont have much to talk , for all that needs to be spoken has been.

A heart released … i wonder … but wondering only ties it down …

The practice of genorosity and virtue so important…

Why I am doing so badly in school =(

2009-09-21T13:09:00.001+08:00

Readers please be warned that there will be multiple reference made to toilets and dirty stuff in this post. . . largely because I’ve literally been admonished by my grandpapa of truth through a mp3 recording. . . and felt so bad I’ve be better of digging a hole and hide my face in it . . . The below is a message mostly written to myself , I find using analogies works very well because at different times it can hold a different meaning to different persons as well . . .

This will be a long post . . . Beginning of analogy (skip if its too long)

Being the top 10 student in secondary school and also amongst the top few in polytechnic to be able to enter into the university of a high calibre, I found myself stranded in a position where I can’t seem to cope with my studies at all . . . Too much homework . . . Too much information to digest . . . ecetera

And the surrounding environment makes it all seems “natural” and “yea uni is like that” , and I sort of got into a stinky toilet and just because everyone is so comfortable inside and echoes of “toilets can never be clean. . .” and as such, I happily take a seat on the dirt ridden floor and sing along with sloth and torpor dancing along then engaging in vain speech and the mind simply slips into the toilet bowls . . . full of bowels and mucous and I exclaim “What bliss is it to have such company ! What bliss is it for my mind to dwell in that toilet bowl !”

The truth cannot be further away ! People nowadays can’t wait to congratulate you in joining them in the dance with sloth and torpor you know, they’ll throw parties and parades when a new member exclaims that “Ah the toilet bowls should stink and urinals always overflow” , they even invite all the alumnis and bring you all around their own toilet bowls which is filled with shit saying “see ours is like that also!” , then the mind happily goes along , when will we ever see the dirt and filth we are living in ?

It is only natural for the mind to be soaked in dirt and rubbish, but if we the owners of this mind do not quickly hasten ourselves and start fertilising the rubbish and dirt so that the lotus will grow out quickly, we might just stay there long enough and become part of the dirt !

End of analogy – to main topic now

Okay , I’ve finished my analogy , please do carefully consider this matter clearly for yourself.

Let me continue unto the pareto’s principle or simply known as the 80/20 rule , and it states that . . .

“20% of what we do produces 80% of our results

80% of what we do produces 20% of our results”

It simply implies that out of the many tasks we do, a minority of them forms a majority of our results

From experience and many top student’s testimonial… 3 things matters the MOST when it comes to academic performance. . .

1) Reading up before a lecture

2) Paying attention in the lecture

3) Reading up after a lecture

And guess what ?

Amazing. . . I didn’t read up before a lecture , I didn’t read up after a lecture , I didn’t bother to do the textbook questions and I complain I got no time and I don’t know how to do the tutorials?

I better wake up my idea. . . Good thing it’s only week 6. . . Wake up Wake up!!!

What does being an entrepreneur mean to me?

2009-09-18T08:27:00.001+08:00

I used to think about the plans of setting up my company and expanding it to a huge enterprise whilst “value adding” to my customers and earning a passive income was the most “successful” thing in one’s career…

But as the years pass by (and pass by) , I realised that the places I personally like to visit for services (i.e. sports injury , shops , financial consultants etc) are not those big “enterprise” nor MNCs. I find them too commercialised and lacking in that “human touch” , the people who serve these companies hardly has any passion for the job or whatsoever!

Something then dawned upon me that… maybe the greatest gift that being an entrepreneur can give me, is that I can decide what kind of benefits my workers will get, how I can help my workers foster a friendly working environment where they’ll look forward to working everyday ! Isn’t it great to know that one has the privilege of being to be in the position to dictate other people’s life and put it to good use?

I personally find it a big waste to be in a high position where many people’s life literally depend on you for a living and all I can think of is how I can earn more money, build more branches and how much more I can….I would want to….all I I I I I I I I !!!

Is this what life is about for me? Wasting the wonderful opportunities all for myself?

No. Definitely not, most absolutely not.

my five best friends

2009-09-14T07:52:00.001+08:00

Been refraining from blogging the past week or so because my thoughts has pretty much been established in such a way that I feel if i were to start typing it here, people might think i am crazy !

What more can i say? hahas..

I do have 5 best “physical” friends… wont mention names here lest their privacy gets invaded =p hahas.. but they’ve been a source of support and inspiration for me… =)

I have alot of thoughts these days.. but i do my best not to let my mind get all entangled up with them.. the only thing that i really want to say and express my utmost gratitude for are my 5 best friends from within, which 5?

My friend of harmlessness, whom would not do harm even to the smallest of beings (ants) , and through him my heart is cool with loving kindness

My friend of contentment, whom is perfectly content with whatever he has and would only sought to give what he has to others and not covet what others have for himself , and through him my heart is filled with contentment and appreciation

My friend of respect, whom would not engage in disrespectful acts of any kind towards people whom are loved by loved ones and protected by love ones, and through him my heart is filled with a sense of calmness

My friend of honesty , whom would not utter a single falsehood to anyone , and through him heart is set at ease and i gain many more friends

My friend of mindfulness, whom seeks to maintain itself in being aware of what is going on from moment to moment and will not allow things to jeopardize it , and through him my heart is always alert

many thanks for befriending this 5 friends ^^ may they all be your friends as well :)

Ip Man Movie

2009-09-02T23:24:00.001+08:00

Been re-watching this movie.. and found a part thats motivational to me =)

Share with all of you.. from 1:30 .. the music is very motivating..! check it out!!

As a practicioner of wing chun.. the scene makes more sense to me then the first time i saw it (before i learned wing chun)

jia you!!

Mathematics is tough

2009-08-29T10:24:00.001+08:00

First semester module.. Mathematics for Science.. A tough challenge for me =(

First chapter functions already got be baflled and trigonometric identities made me go “gaga”

But i trust nothing is impossible.. and i’ll still score well for this module!!

Adapting to school life sure isn’t as smooth as i taught, my body does not have enough rest (4-5 hrs per day) and my mind is being used almost in every waking hour..

It would appear alot of my “social” activities online will have to stop and priorities needs to be given to my body and my mind (and it’s development)

May all go well !

Tired

2009-08-22T23:12:00.001+08:00

Been sleeping alot on weekends recently..

Weekdays just seems to be jammed packed with activities that I hardly get enough time for myself ..

I think it’s time I took a rest from my long hours (going out at 7.30am in the morning and coming home at 10pm) of trying to accomplish so much at one go..

Been trying to find a balance for my activities and my priorities..

I’ll never forget the purpose of being born.. that is to not be born again..

Listening

2009-08-15T00:21:00.001+08:00

Listening is an art.. and when one can truly listen and not judge.. that’s something.. most ppl can only brag about listening.. but the true listeners are humble beyond measure..(a true irony after these quotes)

some quotes..(source: here)

“A wise old owl sat on an oak; The more he saw the less he spoke; The less he spoke the more he heard; Why aren't we like that wise old bird?

“Listening is a magnetic and strange thing, a creative force. The friends who listen to us are the ones we move toward. When we are listened to, it creates us, makes us unfold and expand.”

“So when you are listening to somebody, completely, attentively, then you are listening not only to the words, but also to the feeling of what is being conveyed, to the whole of it, not part of it.”

“You seldom listen to me, and when you do you don't hear, and when you do hear you hear wrong, and even when you hear right you change it so fast that it's never the same.”

The true irony is.. that if one feels that nobody listens to him enough.. its very likely because one don’t listen to others enough.

Happy National Day

2009-08-10T13:56:00.001+08:00

Yes.. happy birthday singapore.. ! yesterday’s national day parade was sure a very nice show for me.. but throughout the parade, i didn’t actually “enjoy” it because my mind was instead set on contemplation of life.. yes.. if you like to enjoy life and go by the motto of “one life , live it” , please feel free to skip the contents below..

As the parade showed alot of people gathering around to perform, a thought hit me and said “look at these people , how many of them are virtuous? how many of them have sila?” and the answer my mind gave was not a good one.. Thus I reflect.. it is indeed my merit to be able to make an effort to be virtuous..

Then there was a segment where it showed the vision of MM lee and he exclaimed “In ten years time, this city shall be a metropolis , fear not!” , well i was very impressed with MM’s vision… but i am even more reminded of the vision and metta of the fully enlightened one.. Thus i reflect, it is indeed my merit to be able to meet and practice the teachings of the teacher who’ve shown us the way..

This national day is like a buddha puja day for me.. lol.. there is no greater leader.. no wiser awakened one.. then the fully right awakened one.. buddham saranam gacchami !!

p.s. sorry for readers who want to read about my life :P i feel these contemplations are more of my daily thoughts.. and perhaps this is a small insight into my thoughts ^^”

Sleeping alot =D

2009-08-05T09:49:00.001+08:00

Been a long time since i last got to wake up at 9am+ and 10am + . and it kinda feels good ! =) And i also get to do the housework which I so have been wanting to do for a long long time (but didn’t get to fulfill this wish till now!)

Schedule kinda pack these days still at night.. but i suppose the morning rests kinda makes up for it ! tada!

Oh and i encourage everyone to make a facebook account – I do not need to hyperlink you there do i ? because its probably one of the most convenient mediums for social communication nowadays ! =D

see all of you on face book! (add me @ ben pek – friends only)

Is Desire Good?

2009-08-02T21:58:00.001+08:00

I’ve heard many a times people say that we shouldn’t do good for the sake of doing good, and that we shouldn’t be greedy over merits ! And that if we do “good deeds” because we wanted the merit, then its greed.

But when they start to gossip about other people’s bad things, when they go drinking alcohol or when they start having bad intentions towards others, do they realise what they are doing? when it comes to indulging in sensual pleasure , do they say ‘oh i shouldn’t be greedy about watching tv”. NO! they go ahead and do it!

At least the people who are “greedy” after the goodness behind a good deed is smart enough to know he is accumulating merit !

Such is the nature of people, when they want to do something they do not first consider the consequences or the intention behind their actions – they simply follow their defilements . But when it comes to doing good , they can come up with all the excuses and even say that we shouldn’t be greedy over “Goodness” !!

I’ve said enough..

A dream…

2009-07-29T23:46:00.001+08:00

Words cannot describe how I feel.. Just going to be very random here.. Whoever can understand will.. whoever don’t .. just don’t…

You see that car?

How do you know its real?

Because the eyes sees colours..

Because the skin can feel..

Because you remember seeing and touching it..

But what if you were blind?

But what if you couldn’t feel?

What if you couldn’t remember?

Would that car still be real?

All these things feel so real because of what we see.. hear.. taste.. smell .. touch .. and think.. if anyone of it was removed from the equation.. would things still appear so real?

Maybe we’re all living in a dream.. a nightmare.. ><”

My Last Week Of Work..

2009-07-26T14:07:00.001+08:00

This week marks the end of my NS stint.. I leave my office with mix feelings.. Rather not say them now.. let the photos do the talking!! (we took more photos then this, click this link to see more! )

Steam Boat Gathering Prior To Last Day Of Work

Everyone preparing to makan! Group Photo After Dinner

Last Day Of Work

mdm gopi me sze tho Boss And Me!

Shahreza and Me My work desk – one last time =(

Through this.. I reflect.. everything is subjected to 4 conditions , birth , aging , illness and death. Alot of my colleagues ask me “why do you talk like as if you are going to die?” , because that’s exactly what was on my mind on the last day..

Birth – I was “born” in the office on january 2008 , still young, i strove my way to learn all I could

Aging – I matured through the years and gained alot of experience on the job

Illness – Job screw up, relationship issues with office , everything unpleasant

Death – And now i’ve been placed in the coffin, never again will I be part of this office

This 4 conditions is found in all (conditioned)things.. everything without exception is subjected to this 4 conditions.. This “Death” (ORD) of mine is only a small one.. when a bigger “Death” comes along.. can I handle it?

That is the real cause of my sadness…

The Weekday Review Posting Format

2009-07-18T13:45:00.001+08:00

Random Picture – Firdaus(my office best friend) and me in locker room ^^

The format of this post is inspired by a good buddy of mine, Gordan . That’s usually how he blogs and I thought I should try it too!! (check him out in my blogroll as well)

I modified the format a bit, so it’ll be a weekly breakdown of my activities(low mental strain) to some of my own thoughts (high mental strain) and finally to my own thoughts that is very critical in nature (high mental strain)

So feel free to ignore anything that may not make sense to you.

Weekly BreakDown :

Monday

Work as usual.. I usually don’t remember what happens at work.. because it sort of became a routine for me.. But the constant bonding with my office people is something that I appreciate and enjoy on a day to day basis..

At night went to taught bball , i adopted a fresher approach to my coaching , and I believe my players prefer this approach =)

Tuesday

At night went to BS for weekly meditation session , the mind calmed down quite fast this time round although still haven’t managed to concentrate .. zi wei (my office colleague) was there also.. after that went to have dinner @ clementi before heading off home .

Wednesday

Like i said i wont mention work !

At night went for wing chun lesson =) Brought alot of new friends there , jimson (and his pal zen an) , zi yang and sean also went, very interesting lesson as usual, and today kena hit by the trainer(he hit softly only dont worry) so fast that i didnt even see his hand kena whack already.. lol

Thursday

Wanted to go zi wei house to swim.. but got caught up by work, so in the end we ended up having dinner and going back to office to accompany our supervisor wei xiong , the three of us had a very meaningful (and somewhat heated) discussion which resulted in much benefit =)

Friday

Today at work was very busy.. had to wake up at 6am to give zi wei a wake up call.. he told me i called him 24 times before he woke up.. (i have some patience huh?) then was very busy preparing for work stuff.. and afternoon had quite a depressing quarrel with zi wei (again), but we ended up shaking hands and forgiving each other (for the 100003345 time) . isn’t it beautiful that friendship ? how we can quarrel and respect each other for our differences

Overall:

It is rare for me to meet friends whom are good listeners and supporters of myself, maybe i am too naive, but i really treat my friends better than myself sometimes. (i.e. i wont treat myself to a S$10 meal but i will do that for my friend if he wants) . Bringing joy to my buddies is way more important than bringing joy to myself (although it can be said that my buddies rejoicing creates a joy in me – so ultimately its still my own joy that matters) .

Upon reflection tho, i must always remember , no matter how close i may to anyone/anything , they are without exception, subjected to separation. One day , i’ll be separated from those I love dearly and those who love me dearly, this i have to keep reflecting else i’ll be setting myself up for a ton of suffering.

No wonder devas have it harder to walk the path towards total unbinding.

Quote of the week + Thoughts

“Song, you’re the one friend I have in my entire social circle , that doesn’t drink/smoke/womanise , and one whom goes to temple , meditates and chant , the only “pure” friend I know”

– Xiong (identity wont be revealed)

Song’s thoughts: I take it as a big compliment =) wayne always tells me that virtue is not innocence, virtue is innocence tested. Personally, i feel that being born and growing up in such a society (which drinks/smoking is a norm) and to be surrounded by ppl who does so , and yet not being pulled along with them is already the biggest test to my virtue, for there are 4 types of people in the world,

1) ppl who upon hearing (of an act and it’s consequences) will refrain from that act

i.e. reading through newspapers , hearing it from elders/wiser people

2) ppl who upon seeing (the act and it’s consequences) will refrain from that act

i.e. seeing your own friend/family experience the consequences of certain actions

3) ppl whom upon experiencing (the act and it’s consequences) will refrain from that act

i.e. telling a deliberate lie which resulted in many parties getting hurt

4) ppl whom upon experiencing (the act and it’s consequences) continues with that act

i.e. beating people up and ending up in jail, but upon release, continues to beat ppl up

1 – 4 , wise – foolish , this is the mark.

I always hope i belong to category 1) , but alas, I do not for all actions . However, I hope to be always faster than the kilesas so that I can stay in 1) and if i am a bit slower 2) , may i never have to belong to 3) and especially not 4) .

Like my new way of posting? no? leave a comment and let me know what you think!!

a little at a time

2009-07-10T22:02:00.001+08:00

Slowly this few days the feelings that bugged me for a long time is starting to dissipate, what remains is a slight sting which appears quickly and disappears just as fast. I hope this can be maintained =)

As life begins to shift into a different chapter , my ORD date closes in as my days in the university is about to begin ! Some would think that I am dead set on leaving NS and go to uni , however, my heart is filled with a tinch of sadness as I’ll miss all my buddies in my office, the times we had – good and bad, they are indeed as close to me as a family would be.

It’s hard for me to accept this transition, as I’ve never felt so close to a group of people , their understanding and kindness , especially our supervisors (mdm kaur , harold & wei xiong) treats us so well and can accept us for who we are not to work within our differences.

I’ll always remember them and the times we had together will forever be cherished.

How do I let go ?

2009-07-05T09:21:00.001+08:00

It seems impossible for me to let go.. 7 days ago.. lol .. this is the seventh morning i awaken very early (5am+ 6am) to a very heavy and “Emo’ feeling.. everyday it burns..

This aching feeling.. this fear. .this worry.. that my friends would do stupid things and end up in inconceivable dire consequences. Images of their suffering ran through my head day after day, night after night, without rest , like a shadow that never leaves – not even in my sleep.

I seem so certain that something is going to happen to those whom do foolish stuff.. (drinking alcohol , meddling with girls unchastely) , however i forgot, that all these things are just too extreme..

Where is my trust in my friends? In that they’ll look after themselves, as of now, they seem to be doing better off than i am, so much for foolishness leading to suffering – I seem to be the wise one, but why am i suffering more?

Learning to let go, and always know , life is uncertain , there is not certainty in life and there never will be. Whether or not my friends will end up for better or for worst with their foolish actions? – not sure. Because they too have wise actions and skilful actions as well, just that some of them are more inclined towards foolish actions – thats ALL .

If you see certainty in that which is uncertain, you are bound to suffer.

Should start looking inwardly at myself, am i tainted by the same defilements as my friends are? lead by the same stupid foolish delusion , blinded by passion and disgusted by aversion?

Everyone is owner to their own actions and heir to the consequences of their actions , there is nothing I can do except point the way towards happiness.

I am determined to overcome this suffering and become wiser in my dealings with every fellow beings.

What Is knowledge?

2009-07-01T00:11:00.001+08:00

It is not something to be memorized and not understood..

It is not something that you read and repeat..

It is not something which comes from books ..

True knowledge is gained through experience or other’s experience ..

Only through practice of knowledge can one see knowledge..

The Amount Of Wealth you can ever gain

2009-06-27T23:04:00.001+08:00

Sitting here , suddenly a thought occurred as I just sat back and enjoyed the bliss.. like cool water running down my neck , cleansing my heart and streamlining my mind..

“There is no wealth nor

health greater than a peace of mind”

Indeed there is no wealth comparable to a mind that’s strong filled with energy

Indeed there is no health comparable to a mind that’s unshaken by the greatest quakes on earth

Just enjoying this bliss of a peace of mind.. I can understand why some great people described this feeling as “A Heart Released”

Although my peace of mind is still rough and coarse.. it is a glimpse of what is to be.. I’ll strive at it..

Action speaks louder than a thousand words..

If indeed the dhamma is so good, why was i suffering trying to get people to practice it? irony.

Peace of mind, its the only way to show others the way .

Bridges Of Flames

2009-06-21T09:24:00.001+08:00

This story does not depict reality but instead a metaphoric representation of reality.

This morning , I awaken to a burning sensation throughout my entire body , as if on fire, with no place to run. After a while, from the skies came a bridge that was aflamed lashing down unto me like whips , without time to dodge, it hit me squarely across my shoulders as I bent in submission to it’s flames – 2 narrow pathway was made , each just nice for one’s feet , no wider .

Glancing back at the trail of the burning bridge, I see no end , glancing forward of the burning bridge, I see no end , the rocks beneath my bare foot was heated up by this lashing bridge that my feet was on fire, gradually, my whole body was on fire – a flame that burns right through the bones.

A slave to this flame, I’ve been walking and walking on this bridge from no beginning to no end, although sometimes it rains , the rains are droplets of oil – only to ignite the flames more as time passes.

As my eyesight improves, I see my friends burning , my parents burning , all those whom i know, burning, walking along this same narrow bridge behind & in front of me , there is no relief of this burning on the front or back of this bridge, anyone who tries to pull the other has to be careful , else one might just be stepped and more burning occurs.

Suddenly, from the side came a hand and a voice that says “ Step aside, that is all” . Stepping aside, relief was obtained. Though dirty and tattered, with burn scars all over, joy occurred as the body was no longer burning – but burnt.

Then came the voice again “ You shouldn’t step into that flames again nor allow it to burn you anymore , Untainted, cooled , refreshed – this is the highest bliss”

Flames of craving, Flames of desire , Ignited by delusion , Support By greed, Backed By hatred, Filled with doubt , burning in the trails of its own menace , there is no end , step aside, where it’s cool here.

Getting Stronger…

2009-06-19T21:25:00.001+08:00

As I interact with more people and get to know more friends.. My mentality has strengthen and less critical of people and more loving towards them..

This is a learning process for me , especially in the area of work.. it seems vital to be able to master such inter-personal communication skills..

And to cater to different people.. different skill sets are needed..

I need to get even stronger to be un moved by the problems of my closer friends..

or else i will not even be able to sleep in peace.

Life is a set of repeated habits

2009-06-14T09:06:00.001+08:00

Our lifes is comprised of many sets of different habits put together!

Which side do you brush your teeth from?

Whats the first thing you do when you wake up?

How do you decide what to feel when something happens?

HABITS.

Some habits are more deeply ingrained than others , however , we have the will power (mind) to change these habits if we decide to..

Do it now! (more sharing later on…)

Powerless To Aid..

2009-06-09T22:45:00.002+08:00

Seldom in my life do i feel powerless towards events... I suppose this is a phase of life when i truly feel that nothing I can do can change the situation around for the better..

maybe its better for me to let things take it's nature course and play my role accordingly.. instead of forcing my beliefs and ideas unto you..

My sincere wish is that suffering will not befall those who pay my advise no heed..

Sometimes being selfish may be the path towards fruition.. If i cant save everyone.. at least i can save myself (from suffering)

I'll hold much of my peace from towards hence forth.. and will only answer when asked upon.

I hope my decision today is for the better of all beings and not in opposition to it.

The Foolish Leading The Fools

2009-06-07T14:30:00.001+08:00

Many a times it saddens me to see a scenario where a fool is led by a bunch of fools – only to be fooled.

Fools here does not refer to people whom are stupid , in fact they are very intelligent. It refers to people whom are ignorant , ignorant of the truth of matters.

Why do I say this?

Recently , I know a few friends whom drinks on a frequent basis , and these lot of people constitute of the foundation of fools. It is they who lead others into foolishness (drinking in this case)

And who is to be lead by them? those whom do not establish themselves in correct view. And those who think that the first bunch of fools are their “Friends”.

I’ve posted a post before regarding friends, you can find it here.

One is not your friend if he is a companion in indulging in intoxicants that cause
infatuation and heedlessness .

And how can this be more true?

After one particular drinking sessions of the fools, I out of curiosity asked on of them ,

“why do you ask James (pseudonym) to go drinking with you?”

The reply i got?

“no la.. i merely told him I was going and he made a choice himself!”

so i asked more

“So whos going to take care of him?”

he replied

“man, everyone has to take care of themselves at the bar, if you want to do any wrong things, thats your problem”

I was in total shock, asking your friend to drink with you whilst you dont bother about his safety ?

Thus the buddha said ..

A friend is when..

(i) he guards the heedless,
(ii) he protects the wealth of the heedless,
(iii) he becomes a refuge when you are in danger,
(iv) when there are commitments he provides you with double the
supply needed.

So if a bunch of people go drinking , everyone gets drunk, how does anyone become anyone’s refuge?

Hence i conclude, its a bunch of big fools , leading a bunch of smaller fools , all going to be fooled into the three lower realms.

Thinking of which, it saddens me alot.

Communication Is Not About The Words

2009-06-01T23:03:00.002+08:00

Having read a fair share of books on communication , I dare to bodly say that communication still remains a problem for most individuals because most people - like myself - only focuses on the techniques on communication and not the intention behind every conversation.

Whilst I am not undermining the importance of techniques, I find it far less critical in holding a conversation.

Some typical things that we may have came across are..

1. Dont use the word "BUT , substitute it with "AND"

2. Dont talk , listen

3. Always start by emphatising with the other party then bring in your point

In my opinion, these things come naturally when one is truly adept at communication. Great communication doesnt come by mastering such things - it is a natural reaction which comes with great communication.

It the same logic as you cant grow durian trees from durians but from seeds of durians. No one grows a durian tree from a durian shell but from the durian seed!

And so what is the seed of great communication? Now the simplest and most beautiful phrase for the seed of great communication is this

The ability to put yourself in another person's shoes.

It takes alot of observation and right attention to pick up even the subtlest of signs from the other party in order to hold a great communication.

The moment you can put yourself in another person's shoes, communication will flow!

The problem with most people is they ask "Why should I bother about the feelings of the other person ? , I have enough problems myself!"

I cannot answer the above question for you, to speak for myself I would reply as..

Its a joy to bring joy to others, even at the expense of one's own
interest.

Just think ... how does it feel when someone elses does something nice for you?

Now , that is food for thought.

Inspirations From Ajahn Keng

2009-05-23T21:55:00.001+08:00

This is a very personal post..

君子有所为，有所不为

There are certain issues where we can use skillfulness and wisdom to overcome so as to live in harmony with others, however, there are certain issues that one should never relent no matter what. (i.e. especially precepts)

祝愿大家，

心想事成，

万事如意。

问世间情为何物？

2009-05-22T22:40:00.001+08:00

见到你我的心不由自主地跳，

见不到你心又开始酸酸的，

痛在你的身，

苦在我的心，

我问，世间情为何物？

情是拥有？还是无条件的祝福？

情是保护？还是真心诚意的放手？

情啊情，

如若我能与你真正的会面，

我会对你如何？

那又如何？

生，老，病，死，

情能消除吗？

问世间情为何物？！？！

叹

Educating The Next Generation

2009-05-22T21:24:00.001+08:00

It has always been my wish to educate the younger generation . Personally, studying has never been a problem for me since the age of 16. In fact, I had to go through a bit of a struggle prior to attaining that “Gift” for studying such that I never had to find studying a chore or something “boring” . To speak the truth, I felt truly lucky to be able to break the mystery of academics and unlock the unlimited potential within me to do well in my studies – at an amazingly relaxed pace.

Although I cannot upload and download this mentalities to the mind of the younger generations, I do have the intention to do my best to educate them on how studying can be enjoyable, practical and fun – just like my teacher mr tan peng yeong did.

Although I haven’t come up with a definitive plan , I hope that I’ll be able to attract like minded individuals in Singapore to start doing this for our younger generations.

May my wish come true.

When I Am Down..

2009-05-17T12:08:00.001+08:00

Been feeling down and out this weekend.. sadness seems to overwhelm me alot… I very long no cry twice in a row (and a third time when my friend was counsoling me..

This period probably allows me to recognise who are those I called brothers whom will call me “Bro” back.. But I wont draw a conclusion with regards to this matter..

Life is full of ups and downs.. sometimes its the people whom lift you up when you’re down and to share your joy that makes you feel its all worth it..

Thats is why the buddha say that a good friend is one who rejoice in your gains and supports you when you loss..

How many friends do I have that follows strictly to the protocol of what the lord buddha mentioned?

What is NOT a friend ?

(1) he who appropriates a friend's possessions,

(i) he appropriates his friend's wealth,
(ii) he gives little and asks much,
(iii) he does his duty out of fear,
(iv) he associates for his own advantage.

(2) he who renders lip-service,

(i) he makes friendly profession as regards the past,
(ii) he makes friendly profession as regards the future,
(iii) he tries to gain one's favor by empty words,
(iv) when opportunity for service has arisen, he expresses his inability.

(3) he who flatters,

(i) he approves of his friend's evil deeds,
(ii) he disapproves his friend's good deeds,
(iii) he praises him in his presence,
(iv) he speaks ill of him in his absence.


(4) he who brings ruin.

(i) he is a companion in indulging in intoxicants that cause
infatuation and heedlessness,
(ii) he is a companion in sauntering in streets at unseemly hours,
(iii) he is a companion in frequenting theatrical shows,
(iv) he is a companion in indulging in gambling which causes heedlessness."

What IS a friend?

(1) he who is a helpmate,

(i) he guards the heedless,
(ii) he protects the wealth of the heedless,
(iii) he becomes a refuge when you are in danger,
(iv) when there are commitments he provides you with double the
supply needed.

(2) he who is the same in happiness and sorrow,

(i) he reveals his secrets,
(ii) he conceals one's own secrets,
(iii) in misfortune he does not forsake one,
(iv) his life even he sacrifices for one's sake.

(3) he who gives good counsel,

(i) he restrains one from doing evil,
(ii) he encourages one to do good,
(iii) he informs one of what is unknown to oneself,
(iv) he points out the path to heaven.

(4) he who sympathises.

(i) he does not rejoice in one's misfortune,
(ii) he rejoices in one's prosperity,
(iii) he restrains others speaking ill of oneself,
(iv) he praises those who speak well of oneself."

If anyone of else has a friend that fulfill all 4 criterias as stated above, one should be truly thankful. i am thankful =)

first major disappointment in my life

2009-05-08T20:44:00.001+08:00

从小到大，我所付出的努力都会有耕耘。在加上家庭的教育是赏罚分明-一个公平的制度，这可能造就了我对世界的看法- 凡是都是一份耕耘，一份收获。这也许在很多方面都是一个优点，但今天我发现，如果误以为世界就是对每个人都是那么的公平，那我也太过天真了。

Today my grading concerning my work performance was confirmed , and it was a disappointing “C” – GOOD. And the reason why it was just only a GOOD, was because I had taken too many medical leave throughout the course of my past 1+ years in my job

I find it difficult to accept it initially, because my work ethic and work quality – in my opinion – is nothing short of an “A” – Outstanding. Out of all my responsibilities as an employee, the only thing I didnt managed to fulfil was to leave the office later than my boss.

I was always in early, never complained about too much work, always delivering on time (with high quality) and way before deadline etc. To even put my overall grading anything less than a “B” – Very Good , was already a huge blow to me.

One of the main reasons why I was so upset was because , the work ethic of others are not even close to what I’ve delivered, and yet their grades are much better than mine – all because I am sick.

Is that how it is like? That if you are sick, then no matter how good your work is , it doesnt count ? Is that the message we’re sending out to people whom give their heart and soul to a job?

I’ve been denied everything in my stint of serving my nation, no promotion , no awards and not even a grade that should’ve been fairly given to me. thinking of this, it often draws me to tears , I find that I cannot accept such a treatment.

Upon reflection, I can only say this for myself , this is the way of the samsara.

Samsara is not fair , because of kamma, kamma is created, because of the kilesas.

Expecting a fair treatment is like expecting humans to fly. maybe humans have a higher chance of flying.

Nevertheless, I’ll continue to fulfil my duties towards my boss and my peers , if this is the way my kamma would be, I’ve do well to let it fruit and be done with it – who knows, maybe this is just a small way of repaying something i did very wrong in the past (i.e. not following the dhamma vinaya as a member of the ariya sangha?)

And if this is not my kamma, things will turn out for the better , right? I have sadda in this.

My sincere wish,is that whoever has did this to me, will not be in my position now or in the future, I do not blame anyone and I do not wish to pursue this matter anymore. Let it rest.

May all beings be well and happy.

Many Reflections

2009-05-05T23:19:00.003+08:00

No photos for this today because this is meant to be a post that I've to take seriously when I am going to re-read it someday.

Day:
Tuesday , IPPT day. Xin Hao & Zi Wei came over to my house for a tea session. We Drank dragon well (long jing) tea and it was one of the finer and higher grade tea compared to what I am used to. In the midst of our discussions, I learned alot of things which I must apply or else I've be practicing for nothing...

1) Alot of times I feel that whatever works for me should and must work for another person. And personally, i've get very upset if it doesnt. Because I've been taught that everyone has the same psychology and whatever that works should work throughout without biasness. However, this form of thinking seems to be hugely mistaken by me! Everyone has their own natural tendencies and inclinations, and it is wrong of me to try and force upon others what i feel is the best. Upon which , I've like to apologise to many people because I've done that on them and I would like to apologise to these people, although I may have lost alot of their contacts...

Dear Friend,

I am sorry that i've forced my thoughts on you previously, please accept my apology.

To:
Xin Hao , Mr Yang (ZW) , Shi Ping , Shi Long , Zhen Hui.

2) Things happen by their own natural accord and we shouldnt force anything's progress beyond their natural speed.

3) Conceit is another one of the weak link i've found in myself. I often like to think that I am an expert in a certain field although only knowing a bit about them , i.e. listening to a seminar, or reading a series of books. I've not given due respect to the field of interest and even attempt to teach others how to do it.

On a very very personal basis, I feel this is where blogging for $$ should not be made as a main thing unless you was or am a field expert before! I've been trying to setup blogs of my own "passion" , however I fail to realise that I am neither an expert on the area nor know any of the experts . Making such a thing into a solid source of income is hardly righteous nor beneficial.

I end my reflections here.

Today has been such a meaningful day, maybe many a times, if our heart asks a sincere question , wherever we look, a sincere reply will be obtained.

It appears all of life's question can be answered if only we knew how to listen, and really listen, not to others, but to the deep inner voice ... within.

我的好朋友

2009-05-03T16:51:00.001+08:00

Post will be rewrote due to multiple technical errors.

How can one love and let go?

2009-05-02T21:02:00.001+08:00

Recently been thinking about how Metta (loving kindness) , Karuna (Compassion) & Uphekka (equanimity) be practiced in harmony?

Loving kindness is wishing others to be well and happy & Compassion is to wish that others do not suffer, hence logically, if we were to see someone suffering, we’ve do our best to help , right?

Equanimity is to know that everyone is heir to their own actions and suffer the necessary consequences for themselves , hence we should learn to accept that this world is full of suffering, right?

So how does the two mix together? Now most scholars(pun intended) on such subjects may immediately pass judgement and say that how can they co-exist together?

For someone who does not practice metta, karuna and uphekka together will never understand why they can co-exist together, only when ones see, even the reflective understanding of bringing out these sublime qualities of the heart is enough to learn that they can exist together!!

So many times people whom speak about the impossibilities of the practices actually setup a barriers for themselves without even first trying them out! this is very sad ,because then they would take what is wrong to be right.

There is no meaning in trying to lighten up people’s life if you are not a bright burning candle on your own, its akin to the blind leading the blind. So stop saying that if one practices then one would have no time to help others!! This is akin to a doctor saying that he should treat people without learning the necessary skills (because there is no time!).

Now its time to practice.

Contentment at 2 levels

2009-04-30T21:03:00.001+08:00

Having trained myself in a rather strict manner, I’ve came to find out more about how certain aspect of thoughts and feelings lead to many aspect of action.

Now a certain topic caught my attention, something that i’ve always wanted to address but didnt (at that point in time before) had the necessary linguistic capability that could meet the benchmark in which I’ve set for myself.

That topic is contentment.

People in general by large feels that contentment is an negative attitude – especially for those whom wants to become “Successful” . Defining success is another whole topic by itself and I’ll not delve into it now.

The foundation of contentment lies on equanimity – ability to accept things as they are (general definition). This definition of contentment is too coarse, and coarse explanations is like grabbing a bunch of sand and say “this is sand”, but , there are fine sand and coarse sand , which is it? Now contentment with a foundation on equanimity – ability to accept things as they are is akin to grabbing a bunch of sand and saying “this is sand”.

I will daringly and broadly categorise contentment into two types, one being superficial, and the other being in depth.

Superficial contentment lies in being able to accept things as they come , living on things in a way that one’s expenses does not exceed one’s income. Being able to see the value in things that we possess and not overlook them – by large it refers to family bonds, friendship etc.

While such contentment (of superficial level) is already hard to achieve, such a level of contentment isn’t contentment set upon the foundation of equanimity.

Now for readers whom is new to the concept above, I strongly suggest you do not read on as it might choke you and I would like to seek forgiveness from anyone whom will be offended as to what I am going to write below.

Now what does contentment on a deeper level means? (this is not the deepest level,however I am relating it to the level at which I’ve seen it for myself)

Contentment at a deeper level is when one is able to deal with skilfully with mental suggestions(i am using a rather diplomatic term here),

One stops all unwholesome states of mind

One stops the arising of unwholesome states of mind

One works hard at arising wholesome states of mind

One works hard at maintaining all wholesome states of mind

Now if you’re thinking what rubbish is this writer writing, isnt that a unwholesome state of mind? Is this how a contented person think & act?

Freedom At A Basic Level

2009-04-24T22:19:00.001+08:00

Just two days into my seek of freedom, and I realise, true freedom doesnt come from things that we’re conventionally used to , like “Freedom Of Speech” etc. Although the common things like that does give us “freedom” at a superficial level, it actually strips us of another kind of freedom – the freedom of our mind falling for our thoughts.

Why do humans want a million dollars? Because then , they would be free from worrying about things like…

Food , Shelter , Bills , Handphones , Entertainment etc

Then when we get a million dollars , what do we want to be free from.. ?

Good Food, Big Shelter, More Bills, I-phone , More Entertainment..etc

Then when we get 10 million dollars , and our body starts to degenerate.. what do we want to be free from?

Disease brought by food , Disease brought by immobility , Diseases brought by working too much

So in the end, we humans make one big round to go after things that we dont have, only to later come and look for things that we already have now – pure irony.

Now the freedom I’ve experienced cannot be understood by a mere reading of words (unless you’ve experienced it yourself before) – like a person who dont know whats red unless he himself has seen it before. I’ll do a simpler illustration for the sake of those seeking such freedom,(if your intention is bend on arguing with what I am about to write, it’ll by default not be able to gain the freedom which I write of)

I love to dota (an online game) and everyday when I go home, I would at least surf some dota news and if possible play 1 game of dota – it was a staple activity for me. Now thus it appears I am free to do what I like – to dota – but actually it restricts me because if i dont dota , i suffer the results of craving for dota – what sort of freedom is this?

Hence, having abstain from dota, one does not focus on dota and observe the feeling that is produced from abstaining from dota, if one is indeed bent on observing exactly what this feeling is, one gains true freedom .

Now this may sound all blur for many, should you need to ask me about it, feel free to.

P.s To ensure maximum result, please ensure you go and abstain from something you like for 2-3 days before chatting with me ;)

My Persnality Description

2009-04-19T20:49:00.001+08:00

Your Personality Style Description:

Systematic and detailed, ben focuses on the process. Others see him as practical and logical. He tends to be sensitive to criticism, but prefers to internalize his emotions rather than expose them. ben likes to clarify expectations before undertaking new projects, because he works hard to meet the standards that are set for him.
A loyal friend, ben is patient and caring when attending to the needs of others. He is usually an even-paced individual who thrives in a peaceful, harmonious environment. He tends to be quite predictable, sticking with proven, reliable methods of dealing with situations rather than taking chances with a new, unproven approach.
A thoughtful, caring person who likes to be around others, ben is one who appreciates relationships. He enjoys being involved in social functions, but does not usually care to be the center of attention. ben seeks balance between personal and social time, and enjoys a quiet evening with a few close friends as a good mix of the two.
Because he cares about how others feel, ben may feel uncomfortable making decisions that strongly affect others. He typically encourages others to be involved in the decision making process and prefers to work in a team role. Others tend to see ben as agreeable and humble.

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Articles

2009-04-19T16:26:00.001+08:00

Having setup this blog for so long, its time to review my best and most popular posts so everyone can savour them :)

Personal

My Priority As A BasketBall Coach

My Youth Team ‘09

sec 2 to sec 3 transition – The NightMare

Sec 3 to sec 4 transition – The end of the tunnel (1)

Subconscious Compulsion To Internet

Financial

How Do I Handle My Money? – Part 1

How Do I Handle My Money? – Part 2

How Do i handle my money – part 3

How Do i handle my money? – part 4

How do i handle my money? – part 5

BasketBall

#1 Key To Grow your Bball Skills exponentially

BasketBall Game of habits

bball physical – 4 basic keys

Kobe bryant just talented? read on

Is playing basketball daily a good thing?

Respect In BasketBall

Life

Keep your focus right here

be careful what you’re conditioned to

Slinging A Bag

Understanding Others ?

Defense Against The afflictions

Discipline In Your Everyday Action

Academics

what is the meaning of tests & exams ?

Discipline In Your Everyday Action

2009-04-18T10:03:00.001+08:00

There

Is

A

Science

To

Everything

The environment which one resides in reflects directly on the mind state of the person.(unless he or she has no rights over the place). It is important that everyone take extra care of the place he stays in , to not be negligent in taking care of the place he stays in , to have discipline over the mind at all times.

Below is a simple story…

Once I heard that there was a gathering at a house and two groups of people were invited. And one group of people left their footwear haphazardly all over the place (making a mess) and the other group neatly placed their footwear in an orderly fashion. Anyone passing by that place could tell the difference between the two groups of people.

Now what kind of a person are you? Do you …

Leave your bed as it is – messy and untidy – when you rise?

Keep the toilet clean and free of stains ?

Arrange your books neatly in their holding places?

Now the importance of this is rarely appreciated. I shall not elaborate further as whatever said from this point forth will only invite arguments and unhappiness.

For those whom do not see the benefit, please forgive me for what I’ve said.

For those whom see the benefit but not yet practice, please start now.

For those whom saw the benefit ,is practicing but not yet ripe the whole fruit, be persistent in your efforts.

For those whom saw the benefit, is practicing and has the fruit ripe, please pardon my ignorance.

My Decision As A Coach?

2009-04-12T16:56:00.001+08:00

Recently, I’ve had mix feelings about coaching the youth group that I am now, although I am very far from giving up, my passion draws thinner as the days goes by. Maybe I’ve set my expectations too high? or maybe the expectations of me on my players versus that of their own for themselves sets us apart right from the start.

My expectations for players VERSUS

Their expectations of themselves

Or maybe it’s my own incompetence as a coach to bring my players to the next level?

I’ve seen many of them grown so much and so fast in a matter of weeks during their initial days , but now their progress is.. lets just say i’ve be glad they didnt deprove. This truly saddens me as I really do not know where the problem lies.. this thought alone often bring tears to my eyes.. (metaphorically).

I’ve never met such a problem before, because all those i’ve taught progressed to the stage they wanted before eventually stopping, however these players i’ve now wants to go further (or so i think) but they are not moving! Is it my ability to coach them is only up till the level they are at now? Or their own lack of focus and intensity that delays their own progress? I am truly at a dilemma.

Besides, I’ve always coached for a love and passion for the game , and I associate with people whom competes and loves the game – or so I thought. I’ve been dealt a devastating blow when so many months of hard work can vanish for something as simple as monetary values – or did I too superficially gave my judgement in a premature manner? – Another question that lies in the balance of both ends.

Maybe its time I let go of the game.. and let it fade away in the sands of time along with the flow of my memory – am I hanging on too tightly to a rope that is affixed to no end?

Or maybe I should intensify the fire in the furnace to harness the most well forged weapon of my repertoire ?

Confusion bugs me and answers – the only antidote- seems to be sacred even in a time of technological advancement.

Maybe .. thats all that lies in my head now.. Maybe..

Subconscious Compulsion To Internet

2009-04-10T10:35:00.001+08:00

For the past week, I’ve been working relentlessly to break this habit of chatting online and using the internet daily without much of a second thought. Here’s a typical night for me whenever I go home before I broke my habit..(realise all of them requires internet access)

Why do i call it a compulsion? because it is (and not addiction)

Compulsion : Psychology. a strong, usually irresistible impulse to perform an act, esp. one that is irrational or contrary to one's will. (Source : dictionary.com)

It doesnt happen everyday, however if I do stay at home at night, this is pretty much how my compulsion habits look like

7pm : Reach home , on com , sign in to chatting platform

7.30pm : Dota

8.30pm : Dota

9.30pm: chat

10.30pm : chat

11.30pm : chat

12.30am : Log off and sleep

Oh my god? On days when I dont dota, I chat online all the way! And i also surf the following sites on a daily basis..

Dota All Stars Forums , Kevinhzh.com , becomeabballer.com , nuffnang.com , friendster, facebook , youtube , this blog (and all my friend’s blog)

thats all. I take 2(min) – 5 hours daily to stuck myself on the net to do all these things. Looking back, it looks pretty retarded. I could well be doing so many other things .. ! This is the power of compulsion – the power of our subconscious.

Well anyway, for you readers out there whom are in this cycle, you might want to think thrice before continuing (with your compulsions) :)

My next post will deal with the bad effects of being subconsciously compulsion to the computer and online chatting platforms (i.e. MSN, facebook etc)

Defense Against The afflictions

2009-04-03T21:38:00.001+08:00

It is important to guard ourselves against the afflictions on the heart in our daily lives, as I also mentioned in my post of synergising bball and studies , I find it important to mention it again here in my own blog to remind myself constantly about the kind of affliction where we should draw up our defense against!! I’ll just be adding short sentences below each category, so feel free to check them out!

Procrastination

One who complains , saying, its too early , its too late, its too hot , its too cold, i am too full or i am too hungry and acts in line with these thoughts , is said to be procrastinating .

Defend Against Procrastination With : Right Effort

Over Confidence

If you dont know its best to keep it at that, if you dont know and say you know , then you’re really spreading your ignorance around.

Defend Against Over Confidence With : Humility

Fear

Dont be afraid to fail, for failure is the mother (And father) of success!

Defend Against Fear With : Courage

Aversion

Liking and disliking is two faces of the same kind . For both disliking and liking takes something that is not for something that is. Example, we say durian smells nice, does it really smell nice? if its really nice, why doesnt everyone like it? because smell of durian is subjective. from this example, one can tell that liking and disliking is based of the action of the mind, not the object of which the mind counters.

Defend Against Aversion With : Equanimity* in accordance to Right View

*(click on the word if you dont know what it means)

Regret

Whatever that has happened has past, whatever that is happening will shape the future! Focus on whats happening now, not the what has happened or what is going to happen !!

Defend Against Regret With : Right View

Understanding Others ?

2009-04-01T19:14:00.001+08:00

Recently I’ve came to realise that one can never understand how another person thinks or feels through reflective thinking – i.e. just by analysing his bodily actions or his look etc. Although an expert can come very close to how a person may be thinking or feeling, they cannot be 100% sure – at least this holds truth for reflective understanding .

And the interesting thing is we judge others action, feeling and intention based upon our own heart. Its like using your finger to measure how long or how short something is , the gauge is always based on your finger, is it “one finger long , or two finger long?” . Ultimately, its still boils down to your finger.

Many people quarrel over such things “oh this thing is two fingers (of mine) long” , and then someone disagrees “oh no, its 2.5 fingers (of mine) long”, so whos right? both are! whos wrong? both are!

Hence when we intend to judge anyone by anything at all, always remember, you wont know how he feels or think or intends , you can at best guess , gauge and analyse.

Bearing this in mind , and being able to let go of judging others constantly, one gains release from some form of suffering. When we truly let go and allow others to be as they are, its a blessing.

Although when we see the chance of the person being receptive to what we have to say, and what we say will lead to goodness , then we should do our best to encourage the other person to do good.

Outing To Sammy’s Curry

2009-03-29T17:36:00.001+08:00

Last Tuesday was our office’s outing to Sammy’s curry in celebration of my two supervisor’s grand occasion :) posting a few photos for memory sake.. and yea.. the food was good!

Mr Rayman doing what he does best.. Mdm Siok Ha , Harold And Raymannn!

Everyone’s waiting for the food… Do I look like some robot of the future?

Fir focusing on his.. food? Try on the specs fir!!

And a group photo of my whole office except.. mr yang! & wayne!=( ok nevermind i’ll add them another time! =p

Rest And Relax

2009-03-25T18:59:00.001+08:00

Today I took a day off work and stayed at home to rest my very injured back.. and thanks to alex wang for helping me with my injury (hes a sports chinese therapist) cause without him, i think i would not be playing basketball up till today.

Its amazing how little rest like these can really bring a sense of simple joy to life and its not as if I’ve struck a million dollars =)

I suppose breaking up my routine sometimes can really help bring in new fresh air to the boring routine that happens to us daily.

Do you take a day off from your routine? If you dont know what your routine is, chances are you’re stuck with one :P

A short little post here as all my bball posts has shifted to become a bballer official website =)

Check it over there as I’ve added some fresh content today =)

Respect In BasketBall

2009-03-22T18:27:00.001+08:00

This video touched my heart.. and I would like to share it with all my friends and readers =)

This is how basketball at its highest level should be like..

The fans make those two seems like “Rivals” .. but they are only rivals on the floor..

Basketball is a game that should bring joy to everyone.. anytime on the floor.. there should be joy.. even in competing..

thanks kobe and lebron =)

Become A BBaller

2009-03-20T19:40:00.001+08:00

Its been a long time since I last posted! Largely due to my mounting schedule but I didnt forget you guys! :)

In the midst of all the busy schedule , I’ve squeezed out some time everyday to prepare materials and content for a blog that I’ve been preparing for a few months now ^^

Introducing.. Become A BBaller.com !

So for today.. I’ll refer you guys over to my bball blog where you’ll find

2 featured articles on basketball

1 featured article on yu song’s basketball time line (never released before!!)

SO.. head over now.. to a blog filled with lots of basketball content!

See you there!

Slinging A Bag

2009-03-14T22:04:00.001+08:00

I haven’t been posting much due to my pretty much hectic nights this weekdays. Monday , Wed, Thursday was devoted to basketball – something which I feel is not sustainable as I have many other priorities in life, Tuesday I went with Xin Hao & Zi Wei to Wat Palelai.

On the way back from basketball on Thursday, I was sling-ing my bag on my left shoulder only and my bag kept dropping to my elbows, after much annoyance, I decided to sling my bag across my shoulders and that was the end of the annoyance . I walked home in peace with my bag.

Now why would i mention this? Because I had a “enlightened” moment in that moment and I would like to share it with you – it’ll not be written as i typically do – .

When one decides to carry out a habit or action , there are two kinds of people – from the observation of this act.

First Kind – People who sling their bags upon their shoulder (either right or left)

Second Kind – People who sling their bags across their shoulders

And how does the first kind of people act upon making a decision to do something?

The first kind of people sling the habit or action upon one shoulder and goes on the path of life.

And how does one who slings the bag upon one shoulder walk like ?

One who slings the bag upon one shoulder and walking the path will find that in times of difficulty – i.e. hitting a hole in the ground or slipping – the bag falls off the shoulder and the habit or action is either temporarily stopped or abandoned totally.

And how does the second kind of people act upon making a decision to do something?

The second kind of people sling the habit or action across the shoulder and goes on the path of life.

And how does one who slings the bag across the shoulder walk like?

One who slings the bag across the shoulder and walking the path will find that in times of difficulty – i.e. hitting a hole in the ground or slipping – the bag does not fall off the shoulder and the bait or action is either maintained or strengthened.

Such is the way of a committed person – slinging his decisions based upon what is right and good, he does not heedlessly sling his bag upon one’s shoulders but across one’s shoulders.

Such is the way of a determined person – slinging his decisions based upon what is right and good, he does not heedlessly sling his bag upon one’s shoulders but across one’s shoulders.

In doing so, one does not based off his action which is right and good with his emotions or feelings.

In doing so, one will stick to his action which is right and good regardless of his emotions or feelings.

Thus is the way of one who slings his bag across his shoulders.

Sec 3 to sec 4 transition – The end of the tunnel (1)

2009-03-08T09:40:00.001+08:00

As I mentioned in the previous story , “A” students are just students that take one extra baby step more than others on a consistent basis. Many have came to me about what this “baby” step is, before I unveil the secret, let me share with you how I came across this “Secret”…

Actually this secret was already taught to this by our great physics teacher mr tan peng yeong , however I didnt apply it to every subject I was taking back then. Until one day, my dad bought me a book – perhaps in desperation - “If I Am Gifted , So Are You” . I read this book somewhere in march right after my common tests results was announced – much to my disappointment I didn’t do well at all.

I made a decision there and then that, if I didnt do something about my grades NOW, a few things are going to happen

1) I will flung my exams and my O levels , along with my future

2) I will not be able to play basketball to the fullest – because I have to spend time doing homework

3) I would live a life of misery as I struggle to just pass tests

Why was I so certain the above 3 things will happen? Simple, I’ve been living the above three for three years (sec 1 to sec 3) – and honestly I’ve had it .

Hence I decided to apply “the secret” to the area of my studies and the true secret is , the power of…

Momentum

What is momentum? It’s like a snowball rolling down a hill capped with snow and the snowball just keeps getting bigger and bigger as the snowball rolls faster and faster!

Now you might ask “How do I apply the principles of momentum into my studies?!”

There are so many things you can do.. but the key here is this

You have to take a baby step now! Note that this small baby step could be anything ! Let me elaborate my own case so as to benefit you =) I started…

* to not watch TVs anymore

* to pack my room and make a big study area for myself

* to view homework as a challenge and not as a problem

* to planning my revision schedule

* to draw my own mindmaps for individual topics

* study the subject matter before every class

* and many more

Its worth noting that the first baby step I took was to eliminate TV from my life ( I was catching 2-3 hours of drama daily) and then I suddenly had more time for homework! Then my tests results started to improve and homework didn’t seem so bad ! Followed by… etc etc

You see my friends, its all about taking the first step , once you take that first step , everything goes on auto-gear not because you’re so disciplined but because the results you get is so rewarding!

“I am sure most of you know “what to do” but seldom do people do “what they know” , why?”

Because they do not build momentum! My suggestion of building momentum is simple, take your life and habits now as a glass of hot water thats filled up to the brim, trying to add new habits without removing some old ones is like pouring cool water unto a cup of hot water – it overspills.

“Building momentum in this case is to remove some water from the cup and add ice to it.

Then now the drink is cooler to drink and you enjoy it in the hot sunny weather. Then you remove more water

and add more ice”

Of course there is a balance point where you shouldn’t over do it – by adding too much ice – because then you get a brain freeze which is bad for you . Our aim is to concoot a cool drink , and the way to do that is first remove some hot water then add some ice – a cool drink.

Back to my story, after applying the power of momentum , everything just went on auto-gear, I find myself studying less and learning more, I had alot of time to play the game I love – and improve upon it, and my test results were excellent! (topped my class for mid year exams) .

During the “O” levels, I merely had to step up 1 extra hour per day to my daily studying schedule – which was not much of a problem, while my peers were stepping up 4-5 hours on a daily basis just to make it to a pass.

Now I hope my readers will take action and capitalise on the power of momentum and start living a life that is filled with more freedom and less restrictions (from homework & revision) !

be careful what you’re conditioned to

2009-03-06T22:20:00.001+08:00

Hi all my readers, it’s been a long week for me as my NS duties start to stack and hence lesser time to come up with quality posts for you guys to read ><”

Finally have some time on a friday to share with you guys something I have a big “feel” for during the course of this week..

It’s common for humans to take shortcuts, this is especially so on a sub-conscious level or the level of the mind. This means that sometimes the process of determining what something means to us is so fast that we dont even realise it , Let me give you an example..

Have a look at the picture on the left.. then the right.. followed by center.. what do you see?

yes.. on the left its a young lady, on the right is an old lady, and in the center, whatever you focus on appears! (either as a young or old lady depending)

These sort of thing has an important teaching point, how we view things is based on our conditioning . And our conditioning is due to the fact that our mind works so fast that it forms a loop that helps us to give meaning to things, while this may be good to us in general, if we’re not aware of this phenomenon, it can cause us to suffer badly.

If this is getting too complex.. let me simplify it..

3 important teaching points here is,

1) What we see is based on what we’ve saw before

2) What we see now will determine what we’ll see later

3) What we see either before or now may not be entirely true.

make sense?

take for example.. when you were young, you were told that you were “Stupid” for not following instructions given..(what you’ve seen before) so next time when you see someone not following instructions what do you think of that person? S-T-U-P-I-D ! (what you see now)

But does that mean that not following instructions means that it’s stupid? NO! (what we see now or before may not be entirely true)

so now is a good time to ask, do you find yourself accepting your scriptings.. example.

I just can’t do maths…

I just can’t talk to people…

I am a crude person, thats how I talk …

I am poor at sports…

Ask yourselves.. what made you think that way? what happened??!

If you are able to see it, then you must remember, it is not entirely true! We need to be aware of these things.. what make us think the way we do? is it true? or is it just another case of continuous conditioning ?

Share with me your thoughts on this current post in the cbox or comments area

Kobe bryant just talented? read on

2009-03-01T20:20:00.001+08:00

I am going to save my words in this post and instead use a video and an excerpt from ganon baker’s blog to show you that champions are made not born.

Kobe Bryant Scores 61 @ madison square garden

And then.. his routine in his off-season

(adapted from : Ganon Baker Bball Blog)

Below is the summer workout schedule he does in the off-season. This is Monday-Friday.

5:30 a.m. - Wake Up

6:30 a.m. - Weight Room (no music and no lights on, he likes complete focus) 6:30 -7:15

9:00 a.m. - Hit the Court until 10:30 with Drills and Skills (Kobe said he might work on the same move 100 times in a row)

1:00 p.m. - Hits the beach for a run, runs hills or on the track until 2:00.

3:30 p.m. - Taekwon-doe, Pilates, Yoga or a massage until 4:00 p.m.

That my friends is the life of a champion. – Ganon Baker

what is the meaning of tests & exams ?

2009-02-28T09:26:00.001+08:00

I recall back when I was a student, I probably faced the same situation of tests and exams as students of today. Reflecting back, I can see clearly how I was stuck in this “score the As” and “If I don’t do well it automatically means ____ (insert word i.e. stupid)”. However all of these thoughts does not give perspective to the true meaning of tests and exams!

In my opinion, tests and exams are means to grade a student’s proficiency in a subject. And there are two major factors a test can determine

1) A student’s proficiency at understanding a subject

2) A student’s proficiency at remembering a subject

A point to note is that a good test – in my opinion – should consist of 20% 2) and 80% 1). That’s because if a test’s focus on testing a student’s memory, then it can be quite certain to say that the student will well forget what he memorised after the test.

Following on this path of testing, students find themselves having to memorise more and more stuff as the semester year digs in, for example:

Common Test One : Chapter 1 2 3

Mid Year : Chapter 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

Common Test Two : Chapter 8 9 10

End Of Year : 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

Everytime a test or exam surfaces , the student starts from scratch! And what happens when the “big exam” (“O” levels, “A” levels etc) drops? The student has to memorise everything he has learnt in the past 2 years, its no wonder if tests are set in such a format(to test memory) – most if not all students will find it stressful to study.

However, if tests are set in such a way that it directly tests a student’s understanding of a subject, such a scenario as depicted above is less likely to occur. Instead , students will find that simply by reading through the earlier chapters that they understood, they can quickly grasp the concepts and move on to the next chapter/subject.

Because when you understand something ,it sticks with you longer – if not forever.

Hence, as a student, never ever try to memorise something if it can be understood. Remember, when you understand something it’s automatically memorised. It’s so important i’ll repeat it here

Never Ever Try To Memorise Something

If It Can Be Understood

For When You Understand

You Remember

So you may ask, how do I understand ?! This is a subject where books has been written about it and a blog post isn’t enough to cover the entire subject, however if you would like to learn more, please leave a comment (below this post) or msn me and we could have a discussion.

Last but not least, doing well or badly in a test doesn’t show anything except how good you are in grasping concepts and/or remember concepts. To be honest, understanding a subject matter is just one skill (and not ranked very high) in doing well in life.

It is not to say it’s not important, it’s a reminder to you that grades are not everything. Do not think your future is gone just because you do not do well in school ! Your future is determined by so many other factors and in fact, many people who did not do well in school also managed to succeed in life! (there are also those who do well and succeed).

So remember, the true meaning of tests and exams is nothing but a test of your proficiency in understanding and remembering a subject matter. or simply translate

It’s your ability to retain what you’ve read

Its not that big of a deal ! For those of you who work and went for an interview, you definitely know that the above skill is not very much sought after as compared to stuff like..

* HardWorking

* Willing To Learn

* Social Skills

I’ll end this post with a final note, tests and exams is just here to test your proficiency in a subject – it does not fully determine your future or your life.

Keep your focus right here

2009-02-27T20:56:00.001+08:00

Alot of us pass through life without ever fully enjoying it. We always find that happiness is somewhere in the near future, when A B C will fall into place or somewhere in the past, where X Y Z had fallen into place but is somehow distorted now. And the kind of happiness in the future is one that has not taken place yet, and the one in the past is one that could’ve taken place (i.e. regret)

It is this kind of thinking that causes us to find peace and happiness ever so elusive. Such internal dialogue may include ..

* If only I had live in such and such a way when I was younger

* When I live in such and such a way I’ll be happier

While such thinking has it’s own payoffs, it largely isnt worth what could’ve been better. The payoffs of thinking like that is that it is never the best yet, the “best” has yet to come and we always have something to look forward towards. The sad part of the above is that the “best” never comes.

Such thinking is generated out of a fear that if we truly attain “happiness” or “the best thing in life” , there would be nothing more to look forward to anymore! Now isn’t that scary?! Living a life that could never get better! (Which means it can only get worst)

I was exposed to the above logic a while back and I agreed with how they potray the scenario , and my solution to it is fairly simple.

Keep your focus on the present moment , right here.

Why? Just as the flowers bloom in certain seasons and wither in another (season), there is no guarantee whether life will be for better or for worst. So we should embrace every moment life presents and to live through it. Clearly understanding that by focusing on the moment – right here, thats the only moment we can live in. Don’t follow your thoughts into the future and the past , because they bear no meaning (its okay to “think” about the future if that’s your focus , but do not allow your mind to heedlessly slip into the future or past without you knowing it).

Just as the wise has said “there are 2 days in a week that I never rest in , they are “yesterday” and “tomorrow” “ . Live wisely, life isn’t about what has past or what is coming, its about whats happening – now.

Is playing basketball daily a good thing?

2009-02-24T22:42:00.001+08:00

As a young player, I’ve never been exposed to the art of training basketball. After all, training is – just training. Working hard was all I could think of and nothing was going to stop me from playing basketball on a daily basis – well almost nothing. Until the day I realised how playing basketball daily wasn’t doing me any good – no matter how I looked at it.

In order to be able to appreciate the benefits of not playing basketball daily, one can only do it. The analogy of being able to improve more and benefit one’s own basketball development is that of planting a tree. Even trees don’t need to be watered daily and fertilised every day! They too need time to absorb the nutrients given to it and not be drown in it’s own vitamins.

The first time I managed to stop basketball completely for a week or so– I cannot remember clearly. I remember having periods where I stopped playing physically, but I didnt stop on a mental level. The period I stopped both physically and mentally just for a couple of days, I realised a few things..

* Increased Energy Levels

* Renew Drive For The Game

* Creativity Sparks – more creative in the game

* Able To Better Appreciate The Game

I am a huge believer of a metaphor of the human being like the sun and it’s happenings like the solar system. Planets revolves around the sun , just as the various priorities in our life’s revolve around us. Never let yourself revolve around anything in your life – or else you’re going to suffer badly.

This you revolving around the planet metaphor is commonly termed as “addiction” . Although on a minor scale, its called routine habits. Have you ever felt life was meaningless? doing the same thing daily, weekly, monthly.. etc. Think about this.. are you letting yourself spin around something? Not always but often, people who are happy and fulfilled in life dont revolve around things, they let things revolve around them, setting proper priorities in life.

So why do people want to revolve around things?

Because most are afraid to face what is on the other side of the island.

I remember being addicted to computer gaming in secondary 3, I was subconsciously aware that I was addicted. I didnt face up to the reality.. until one day I decided to.. what was I really afraid of?

I was afraid of facing my failing grades and mountains of homework.

Are you letting something revolve in your life? Do you find yourself doing the same thing day after day and you seem to have lost interest in the thing you were once passionate about (but you keep doing them because you don’t know what else you can do)

Maybe its time, to break the habit. It takes one instant to decide to just break off the habit for one day or two, the rewards is for a life time. Try it, let me know how it worked out for you ^^

How do i handle my money? – part 5

2009-02-23T07:42:00.001+08:00

Welcome to weekly series of How Do I Handle My Money?. It’ll be featured every Monday on a weekly basis. If you haven’t read the first four parts, please do so at the right side bar under “Favourites” =)

So in this series, I’ve like to show you what you can potentially accomplish with what we’ve talked about in the first four series namely ,

* Record And Plan Your Expenditure

*Take Action To Cut Un-Needed Expenses

*Pay Yourself First

Many readers may ask, What does all this leads to? What does this promises in the future?

That’s what we’re going to talk about today, in adam khoo’s secrets of self made millionaires , he touched on the 4 levels of wealth a person can accomplish , today we’re going to talk about the first level of wealth which is ,

Financial Stability

To achieve this, adam states that you need to..

*1* Achieve enough liquid assets to cover 6 months of your current expenses

*2* Enough insurance(life and hospital) for you and your family should anything untoward happen to you

Please note that the amount you “pay yourself” does not contribute to covering your 6 months expenses! That’s for your future investments.

Hence I would encourage all of my readers to aim for this level of wealth as soon as possible, it is akin to having your own “reserve pool” of cash, so that even in times of economic downturn, you have a “buffer” created to tide you through the possible crisis.

So now, it’ve be good to sit down in front of a piece of paper or a blank excel sheet and start planning how you’ll achieve financial stability. It may take you one year or two (or even more) and remember the journey of a thousand steps starts with the first – you gotta start somewhere!

Go ahead, take action.

Going with the flow for awhile

2009-02-20T21:40:00.001+08:00

Having taught my 08-09 group basketball group, i’ve came to realise one thing that I’ve repeatedly done and could potentially result in very negative results. I’ve been way too proactive – desperate – towards my players. For example..

* I call up my players to ask if they want to train bball

* I try and convince them to come for bball

In my opinion , this is a taboo for coaches if done excessively

Until recently, outsiders has commented that I want to improve my players skills more than the players themselves. I’ve often dismissed this notion as I find that all my players want to improve to the best of their ability – and I truly believe that even till now. However, I have to realise that by constantly pressuring them – even if its for their own good – to come for trainings, what it does is that this places unnecessary on the players themselves.

Hence I’ve decided to go with the flow – I will revert back to my old rule of accepting players ( i came up with this rule to prevent myself from being overly desperate, but still it happened – so it’s best these rules apply again)

1) I shall leave my players to contact me and ask me when they would like to train– now I place all my training dates on the bottom right of the blog , so my players will know if there’s any “preferred” training dates (the date will be set when someone asks me to train them for bball (i.e. sean calls me and ask if mon I can work with him on his skills)

2) If no players want to come – thats fine with me. I’ll just practice on my own

I hope this “going with the flow” approach will bring our basketball team to greater heights

the real price of being great…

2009-02-17T20:04:00.001+08:00

There is always a price tag attached to most things.. and today, I wanna talk about the price tag of being great at [something] . In this particular post, i’ll talk about basketball !

What is your view of how to become a great basketball player? yes many of you would have already known some.. let’s try listing them…

1) Practice

2) Knowledge

3) Discipline

4) Ecetera

But do you truly understand what these are ? my dear readers, all of the above is nothing without one thing

Consistency

You can’t be good for one day, or practice for a month or get knowledge from one source.. , in order to be great at basketball, all of the qualities you know of must be woven into

A LifeStyle – Your LifeStyle

That is why most players are good at most.. I once had a player who shot 1000 shots and practiced 6 hours a day.. and he asked me “coach, i’ve given so much.. why am i still so lousy?” My answer to him would be “because you haven’t integrate it into a lifestyle – its still practice to you” .

Many players don’t understand this.. they think that by being able to do a particular drill or perform a certain move – it means they’ve mastered it.. thats not true.. being able to do a fade away doesnt make you a great fade away shooter.. you gotta work at it.. – consistently! All this takes time.. on the court, alone – when no one is watching , you gotta practice man! Stay focused , keep going at it.. master it, as tim duncan said

Good , Better , Best , Never Let It Rest, Till Your Good Is Better, And Your Better Best

This quote – along with many others meant so much to me.. I bought a permanent marker and wrote it on my basketball and told myself, until I practice using this basketball till the words fade, I will not play another basketball pick up game. And I stuck to it – results? My basketball pals was all stunned when I return from my “retreat” – because i pushed myself so hard just to get the marks off , just to play another pick up game (took me ~ 2 weeks). So how do we make something consistent?

Think of something you’re good at.. something you feel confident of.. do you think about it? do you consider it as “chore” or its just “doing what I am doing’ kinda thing.. let me give you an example.. some people are really good at watching tv serials.. they can tell you 7pm channel U has this program and its about.. and then at 8pm.. oh and if you don’t wanna watch this you can choose from channel 5 which covers…

Is watching TV a chore? (oh its 7pm! time to go to watch tv.. AGAIN=.=) – I Doubt So

So you’ll ask me, but coach , training basketball is so not enjoyable!? its so boring!

let me help you out.. lets take the tv serial as an example again.. if you switch to a channel which speaks in a language you dont understand.. the graphics are distorted.. try watching it for an hour.. – and enjoy it! go ahead.. do it.. what? you already know its boring? so what do u instinctively do? oh right switch channels

That’s right.. if something is boring.. make it interesting.. switch channels!

Think of ways to make it fun.. enjoy the process.. switch channels..

Ask yourself.. how can i make this fun? how can i enjoy this process? Initially, you’ve probably say.. nothing is going to make this fun! but hey stop there.. keep asking.. if there’s gonna be something really fun about training basketball , what would it be?

Keep at it, get out of that comfort zone. keep practicing, till your good is better, and your better best.

How Do i handle my money? – part 4

2009-02-15T22:08:00.001+08:00

Welcome to the fourth part of how to handle my money? If you haven’t already ready the first 3 parts, please do so by navigating to the right side-bar , under “popular stuff” ^^

So in this fourth series, I would like to start on the theme of “paying oneself first”. Now what does that mean?

You see, every time we receive our allowance or salary, who do we pay? lets look at it

we pay..

the hawker, the barber, the technician , the entertainment stores . etc . But do we ever pay ourselves? Hardly, every cent that goes into our left hand, is paid to others from our right hand. Even if we do “save” up some money, we eventually spend it on something “big”.

Ultimately, none of the money we get ever stays with us.

So you may ask, why do we need to pay ourselves? The answer is simple, we cannot always be exchanging time for money. or for some, we simply do not want to change time for money. Let’s look at the typical mindset of modern day typical citizen..

Time <—> Money <—> Spend

This formula gets us stuck, because once we dont have time ,we dont have money and we dont have money to spend ?!

That’s not what we want… If we expect to live a life of greater quality , we need to build momentum towards that goal, we have to slowly eliminate exchanging time for money, so we can spend time on more meaningful things.. Eventually, we hope to achieve the following

Money ----> More Money ---> Spend

Simply put, we let our money make us money. I know this may sound “idealistic” , but let me paint you a very simple picture ,(please note that this takes TIME), you save enough money to buy a bungalow , but instead of buying one bungalow, you bought 2 HDB flats, one for rent and one for personal stay.

You have effectively make your money work for you, because your cash is generating cash for you! Every month you get rental (automatically) without doing anything! now isnt that wonderful?

I know this is a very simplistic concept, so let me share with you something more substantial – something I just came across today.

I came across the opening of a cafe with a brand new concept and solid business model, in the opening, the senior consultant of the cafe mention that anyone interested could buy the “preference” shares for the cafe and would be entitled to monthly returns (as such is the nature of a preference share). At the end of 90 months (approx 8 years) , you would earn about 3 times what you put in, amazing? the best part, in this 90 months, you do not need to do anything.

Although you may think its “too good to be true”, to be honest, the company would’ve used this 90 months to gain leverage on the cash you put in and earned more than 3 times its original value – feel free to skip this part if you do not understand.

So part 4 of this series is simple – if you want to live a life of abundance and one that gives you more freedom , more time and more “life” , start paying yourself today. It doesn’t matter how small the amount is, start somewhere, and make sure you never spend this money on anything else other than making it work for you (not applicable to emergency cases).

Pay Yourself First

My Journey back as a player

2009-02-15T10:59:00.001+08:00

Through the years of basketball, i’ve been constantly surrounded by people who is constantly saying how “old” they have became – at the age of 25 or 26 – to play basketball. How they were once much better than they were and many other interesting stories . Although I do not deny that they were once great players , I feel that what they are really saying is this , “You ought to respect me for who I was, not who I am” . – it was really an excuse .

I can back that statement up because I am one of the people who did that (as described above). I would often tell my players how good I was, how smart I was and stuff like that. As a coach, I had that “Right”. I am more senior, older , I have a job commitment , I need to start a family soon , etc. Also my current level of basketball play does reflect shades of my old self. But hey , i told myself, “your students are busy too, they have homework , they need to deal with lack of freedom etc”.

I’ve always taught my players to exercise time management, I guess its time I did the same to myself, I have to stop giving excuses , stop talking about who I was.

Instead, I should focus who I am , how can I be a living example for my players? Look , i’ve seen 60 year olds playing basketball at a remarkable standard for their age – I am 21, no excuses.

Hence began the journey for me back as a player , in fact, this insight came when I ordered the DVD from ganon baker “How to survive and thrive as an undersized” , ganon baker is 35 yrs old… and he works out like no other player I’ve ever seen. “talk about being old? whos older here” – i asked myself .

I’ve learned to stop focusing on the past.. I’ve moved on, to the present. I do not know what the future holds for me, but that’s beside the point. I want to live in the moment, for the moment.

Comparing myself to who I was before will not get me to who I was nor will it get me to who I want to become. As we journey through the sands of time, I came to understand that at every stage in our lives, we mature and grow. We’ll never be who we were, we gain some stuff along the way, we lose some stuff along the way.

Accepting what we’ve gained (experience, wisdom, maturity) and making the best use of it and accepting what we’ve lost (physical stamina , energy , drive) is the key to living one’s life. It’s never really about what we have, but more of how we use them. (note: Losing something doesn’t equate to not being able to get it back, I am just citing examples of stuff we can gain and lose – it doesn’t mean that in order to gain something, you need to lose something and vice versa)

Michael Jordan broke the record of most points scored for a 40 year old, he scored 51 points. Scoring 51 points was not something out-of-the-norm for jordan at all. But when he did that, I am sure he was always thinking about what he could do with what he had(jump shots, directing traffic, etc), not who he was(the high flying dunker).

I am glad I moved on to learn to let go of my past.. Readers, do you have a similar experience? Share it with me in the comment box. Here’s a video that illustrates what I just mentioned in the previous paragraph (last sentence)

“To be better basketball player …. you just have to be

smart to utilise the skills that have been given (to you”

-Michael Jordan

Basketball timeline – Sneak Peek

2009-02-13T20:40:00.001+08:00

Hey all, i’ll be releasing a sneak preview of my “basketball time line” here =)

It’ll eventually be posted in full on a dedicated server of it’s own =)

enjoy!

Time Line Excerpt

During 2^nd half of 2003, I heard news that a renowned coach was opening a new youth team (Under 18s) playing for part of our constituency. Excited to hear this, I quickly began to ask all my friends whether they were interested to join in the training, in total these are the people whom join the team, Long , Gid , Ping , Wayne & me .

I remember training at a remarkable level at this stage of my life, I can’t remember how many things I broke at home (including my photo frame) just training on my basic cross over and behind the back passing – which I nearly broke my buddha’s image on the altar table.

Then there were days where I would train so hard on the court that all I saw was black & white. One significant drill was the full court lay ups with a few variations on the way to the basket. There were about 8 of us at beginning the drill , our coach didn’t gave us a specific number to complete , we just kept doing it until there were only 3 of us left. Coach continued to signal to us to continue and we just kept running and running and running up and down the floor – I must’ve ran 50 times up and down the floor alone – continuously.

After that particular training, I remember specifically seeing the basketball rim in black and white! I know I was close to fainting and vomiting, however I persevered and finished my free throws before proceeding to rest .

During my school holidays, I would rise to earlier than the sun and began having breakfast then proceeding down to the court to work on my game alone, went home had my lunch, and then go down on the court to play again in regular pick up games – I also studied the concept of the game and fundamentals when I reached home at night.

That kind of fire I possessed back then was so strong, I would just keep working on my game every chance I had. I would bring the ball everywhere I went – dribbling it whenever I can or doing some hand drills – the only place I didn’t bring my ball to was probably the toilet and the movies.

My studies didn’t suffer because my love for the game of basketball just propelled me beyond my comfort zone even in my studies. Everytime I would want to procrastinate on my studies , I would think “If I rest now, will it affect my basketball game?” .

This deep love for the game just drove me to eventually uncover the “genius” in me and to study the smart way – not the hardest way but the smartest way! In fact, during my mid year exams in 2003 , I topped my class !

BBall dilemma

2009-02-12T07:42:00.001+08:00

Been rather busy recently with bball coaching and playing itself !

So far my feelings towards coaching my current players is half half, because they want to improve their studies and at the same time improve their bball. whilst this isn’t impossible to me, it seems to my players that it is quite an impossible task.

The frustrating part for me is that I would like to give them the freedom to choose their own path in bball (whether to come for training or not etc) , also I understand that to mould a great bball player, there are certain criterias and factors that simply is a must – attending weekly trainings is one of them.

Also, I do not want them to do badly in their studies, hence thus far I’ve not mind them missing trainings and skipping trainings even though it hurts me in my heart.

The worst part of it all, is that I know clearly how a person can both study, bball, have fun, enjoy and still score good grades and excel in bball, but clearly I haven’t got a chance to teach my players that yet.

I hope I get to teach them this ability to manage their life well soon – its an invaluable skill.

p.s sean taught me this trick from his blog

p.s.s should I make bball coaching a priority in my life since the above incident?

How Do i handle my money – part 3

2009-02-09T07:36:00.001+08:00

If you havent already read the first two series of this , please do so :

part 1

part 2

Alright today I am going to talk about the one thing most people dont do when it comes to their money , and that’s taking action. The first series taught us the “why” we should save, the second series taught us the “how" , now in the third series I would like to encourage you to take action!

Taking Action Is Imperative To a Good Financial Health

So here’s a list of actions I would recommend you take to work towards your financial health

Plan your savings
Records your savings
Be generous
Set one day a week to reward yourself for doing well the entire week
Ask questions actively – on how to have better financial health
Save on the soft drinks – better health too
Bring your own lunch to work
Work out at home instead of at gym
Sleep early
Engage in sports – that’s free

So thats 10 steps for you…

got a step for our readers? leave a comment and share with us!

bball physical – 4 basic keys

2009-02-08T12:18:00.001+08:00

Basketball is divided into 3 key areas of development, namely, skill , physical and mentality. In each of these areas, I have the opinion that the mental aspect of the game determines 80% of all outcomes of the game. However, that is based on the assumption that the difference in skill and physical areas do not differ largely.

Hence today, our focus will be on – physical . And we’re just going to focus on simple and effective strategies to improve your physical.

Disclaimer: The author is not a certified doctor nor health care practitioner , what you read in this post is the author’s personal opinion derived from his own experience.

They 4 key areas we’re going to focus on today is to assist our body in it’s 4 basic functions . All of which are vital for the body to rejuvenate itself and hence build muscles and remove rubbish we don’t need.

1) Digestion

Digestion is all in your mouth, I know how ridiculous this may sound to many , however my personal belief – not scientifically proven by myself – all digestion occurs in the mouth. (For more info , refer to this : Stomach is an organ of contribution).

Hence, a simple way to improve digestion is to bite longer.

Take least 15-30 bites for every food you take , including fluids like smoothies or vegetable juice or fruit juice.

2) Elimination

Elimination is the body’s function to remove rubbish (tox, acid etc) from the system. Only when your body is able to eliminate rubbish properly, then can it function optimally – including building those muscle of yours. I could write a couple of posts on this topic itself, however for beginners, I just want to emphasis 3 things

Dramatically reduce your sugar intake ,

Dramatically reduce your fat intake (fried food , junk food) ,

Dramatically increase your fibre intake (vegetables , vegetables, more vegs!)

3) Hydrate Yourself

I believe this is a big reason why basketball players don’t grow in size much. They drink the wrong fluids. Most players drink sugar before a game and sugar after a game, I am not going into details here, but your body doesn’t sweat sugar, it sweats water and salt. So common sense would tell you that the drink you need is not coke.

Before a basketball game, you need to ensure you’ve properly hydrate yourself with at least 500ml of water – over a period of 2 hours prior to the game (do not drink all of it straight before a game!).

And after a basketball game, hydrate yourself with at least 1000 ml of water over a period of 2 hours.

YuSong : Personally, I drink 1000 ml before and after games (over period of 2 hours before and after)

4) Rest

Rest is the last – but not least – key to a good physical. Your body needs rest , your muscle needs rest and your mind needs rest. Getting enough rest is vital to your body’s basic function (the 3 above for example) and allows your system to run at 100% .

Always give yourself the gift of rest, when you rest , put away all your worries, excitement , dreams etc.

A good exercise to do when you sleep is…

Say to yourself , “I now give my body the greatest gift, the gift of rest” then..

From your hair down to your toes, say “let the hair relax.. forehead relax.. eyes relax.. nose relax..”

do this through your whole body (while lying down) – it helps in resting optimally.

The important thing when trying any of the above is to remember, make the changes gradually .

Swap that coke for plain water, swap the chicken wings for steam tofu , swap the french fries snacks for almond nuts. ( leave me a comment if you want to know more)

3 mistakes basketball coach & players make

2009-02-06T22:03:00.001+08:00

Having been in coaching for 3 years now, I came to realised a few key distinctions to outstanding coaching. One of which I’ll talk about today.

As I am writing this, tinches of sadness and guilt surfaces as I look at my own ability to get my players to improve to the next level .

Unto topic now…

Coaching basketball is a two way street in my opinion.

For a player, he looks to the coach to improve his game .

For a coach, he looks to improve the player’s game.

Sounds simple enough? not really.

Coach’s mistake #1

Many coaches (myself included) fail to coach the players based on 3 things,

1 Their current abilities

Coaches do not make a fair assessment of their players current skills and proceed to teach them.

2 Their ability to understand what you teach

Coaches automatically expects and assumes that a player will understand what is being taught .

3 What they want to achieve from your coaching

Perhaps the biggest mistake possibly made by any coach – and many makes it,, is to coach the player without first really understanding what the players want to achieve from your coaching

Untop of the above, practice is made boring and mundane by coaches which rubs salt unto the wounds of the players.

YuSong : I feel I don’t understand my player’s expectation from me at all.

Player’s mistake #1

Many players (most of the players I teach) fail to learn from their coaches based on 3 things,

1 They doubt the coach

Players who do not trust their coach’s coaching ability

2 They override the coach

Players think that they know better what’s good and bad for them – in practice or games

3 They expect results too soon

This point is worth elaborating – players feel that if they train X , Y , Z drill , they should be able to achieve A , B , C result. If they don’t, they automatically fault the training. What players need to realise is that the player is probably not up to mark in terms of practice at all, and hence expecting results when the effort isn’t there is not realistic

YuSong : As a player, I never doubted my coach’s training – even though i dislike it. I only understood why my coach emphasised certain things when the real game comes.

Being a player and a coach before, I can clearly understand both sides of the story.

To all the coaches out there, I would like to emphasis that caring for your players is the #1 key factor to coaching basketball players – the players matters.

To all the players out there, I would like to emphasis that you trust your coach and be patient. Patience in basketball is the true essence of a champion.

YuSong: It took me approximately 2 months of hard work before I finally did a beautiful left hand lay up (being right handed) in a normal pick up game – hows that for patience?

Feel free to drop me a comment on the post I just made. =)

BasketBall Game of habits

2009-02-05T18:40:00.001+08:00

In the game of basketball, its two different teams playing each other.

In the game of life, I would like to see it as a game between habits. Why?

Our daily lifes are filled with good habits and bad habits – maybe a bit simplistic but it proves my point here.

Our destiny is hence a result of which of our habits are pre-dominant. If our good habits are pre-dominant, we can call ourselves successful and if vice versa, we need to work on certain things before success comes to us.

Using that as a setup, life is just like a game of basketball between our good habits and bad habits

Team Good Habits VERSUS Team Bad Habits

and every incident we meet in life, can be considered the show down between our two teams (Good and bad habits). So if you are in a situation where you need to choose whether to eat that junk food and get fat or skip the junk food and stay healthy, who will make the play? will good habits score 2 points or will bad habits get a steal for the fast break?

In thinking so, as a basketball player, think, the next time you want to procrastinate on that homework and let the bad habits score on you because you were lazy on defense!

If it was a basketball game, would you get lazy on defense for the national qualifier? i guess not!

If you are star player of your team, will you choose to rest because your legs are sore when you know you can lead your team to victory? i guess not!

but so many times in life when we are the star player of our life, we let our bad habits score on us, block our shots and abuse us. aint that a bit mis-fitting?

Its your call – after all its your game.

Thriving As An Under-Sized Player

2009-02-04T07:39:00.001+08:00

Hi all, came across this video which is very motivating and powerful ^^ hence I ordered it on 26th Jan 09.

Just got the video DVD yesterday for the above =x

I watched it together with gordan and for the first few mins, we were like “OH MY GOD , HE DID THAT?”

His speed , everything! is just so so . .amazing. I think he works out faster than me at least 3 times >.<

if anyone can do the way he does the drill at 50% speed, i think can be Singapore national player already – just too good. If you would like to see the video , just leave me a comment here and we can fix a time ^^

So guys out there, don’t think because you’re small , you can’t compete. You still can and may do much better because you got that drive to workout!!

How Do I Handle My Money? – Part 2

2009-02-02T07:17:00.001+08:00

Hi all ^^ If you haven’t already read part 1 of this series , please do so here.

This series of “How Do I Handle My Money” is to share with you my experience in effectively handling my money and the joys you can get by implementing these simple steps ^^

Before I go on to the actual strategy ,I would like to emphasis something

“$ management is a long term investment , it takes time and effort to build up good money habits and reap the rewards later – it’s not a “quick fix”

So if you are reading this , expecting it to solve your money problems instantly – you will be disappointed.

Okay , on to actual practical strategies !

Strategy 1) Plan & Record Your Spendings

What do I mean by plan your spendings? That means sitting down and actually gauge how much you need to spend on a monthly basis .

To do this, I would like you to grab a pen and paper now, and write down the answers to the following questions , do it now!

Q1) What are the things I must spend on a monthly basis? (transport? meals?)

Q2) What are the things I splurge on a monthly basis? (nike apparels, billabong wallets)

Now do it ! Don’t wait..!

Okay, now that you have a list of items you spend on, next step would be to write down next to each item in your list how much you are currently spending on that item

Example:

Meals - S$ 200 / month

Transport - S$58 / month (concession + etc)

Games - S$ 30 / month

“But I don’t know how much I am spending on each item =X ”

That my friends, is one of the causes of you always not having enough to spend!

But it’s okay, whether you are able to write down how much you spend or not, we can move on to the next step

The next step is to record your spendings.

What I would introduce people to do is to record their spendings in this manner:

Use your list (in step 1 – Plan your spendings) to complement your records.

What do I mean by this?

Everytime you record a spending, it should fall nicely into one of the items in your list , example:

Description	Item Type	Amount
Chicken Rice	Meals	S$ 2.50
Top Up Ez-link	Transport	S$ 10.00
Nike Shoes	Luxury	S$ 159.95

You get the idea ^^ So at the end of every month, you would’ve know how much you spend in each category

Remember,

“If you fail to plan for success, then you’re planning for failure”

You’re probably asking, okay yu song, so what’s my first step now?

Where Should I Start? :

I’ve say start by

Recording your spendings on a daily-basis (make this a habit for life) – it takes only 5 mins per day

Start to plan your spendings simultaneously.

Do it NOW!

Part 3 coming up , next week ^^

sec 2 to sec 3 transition – The NightMare

2009-02-01T14:19:00.001+08:00

Been speaking alot with my players recently and heard alot about the tons of homework , remedials and tests coming up . Reminds me of my own secondary school days and I wanna blog about it today =)

note: sec denotes secondary , and the age of sec 1 is 13

Coming into sec 2 was what most would call “luck” for me, because I failed alot of my subjects and barely passed the overall grading(from sec 1). I remember my dad was quite disappointed after seeing my teacher and as for me, I couldn’t care less.

The story below recounts how as a sec 3 student I failed to cope with the changing environment and got myself into a nightmare I thought was over. Does it sound familiar about your own life as a sec 3 student? Read on…

The Story

During sec 2 period of my life, I really worked hard – at least i felt so , i would bury myself in homework and revisions before my exams in a bid to try and pass my exams plus I had 2 tutors (cost up to S$ 300 monthly) to assist me in my chinese and maths. And it would all seem like my hard work paid off when I made it to the sec 3 express stream !

When I made it to sec 3 express, I was indeed very happy and I truly believed that ,

If I kept up my efforts as I had in sec 2, I would achieve the same results – boy was I in for a rude awakening.

What followed in sec 3 was a total shock for me. There were at least 3 times more tests, twice as much homework and the teachers was teaching at a unreasonable pace – as compared to secondary 2. Plus this time, I dismissed all my tutors.

As someone who hardly – if ever – go out on a frequent basis, I was finding it hard to cope. Imagine! everyday I would just go to school and go home – period , end of story. And somehow, I couldn’t even cope with sec 3 work . It was a shock to me.

What subsequently happened was a grim reminder of my past – in sec 2 , my grades rapidly dropped and our teachers weren’t making things easier. They gave tests that were seemingly impossible to pass (much less score) and their reasoning was that if tests were tough , exams would be easy.

And A Maths (higher level math) was so difficult to comprehend , A maths alone could take up my entire day – not trying to finish the work but just figuring out what the question was even asking.

The only subject I had a bit of confidence in was physics back then, because we had an outstanding physics teacher by the name of Mr Tan P.Y . He made lessons fun and we often scored quite well – we did better than pass – in his tests and he truly made lectures interesting.

So throughout my entire sec 3 days, I was living homework to homework (the only good thing was there is no more ARTS ! yes ^^) , barely scraping passes for my tests and living day-to-day like a fire-fighter, doing everything that’s urgent.

A convenient procrastination reason I found for myself – whenever I had free time - back then was

“okay, I’ve worked hard enough, this isn’t due till 3 days later, I’ll do it tomorrow”

The end result? I barely scraped through sec 3 – and I was totally exhausted. I can’t remember the number of red lines I had in my report book – denoting a failed test or subject – and I was not proud of it.

After my exams was about the time when I took up the sport of basketball as well – on a side note.

Looking back at my experience, I was a total wreck ! If I could coach myself, things would’ve been very different. And I do have credentials for it too!

Sec 3	L1R4/R5 – 25 / 30
“O” Levels	L1R4/R5 – 6 / 10
Poly	Average GPA – 3.65 / 4
Now	Secured a place in NTU

How did I miracously turned my results around? Actually this is an open secret, however, most students only unlock this secret a few months before “O” levels – and things revert back to old ways after “O” levels – and after their exams, they return back to the nightmare days of failing tests once again in their tertiary education.

Point In Case:

“A” students are not born, they are ordinary students who take one extra baby step more than others on a consistent basis

Yes, Bold this, tape it, and seal it into your mind.

“A” students are ordinary students like you and me who takes one small little extra baby step on a consistent basis. Isn’t that amazing?

All you need to do , is take one small baby step on a consistent basis and you’re an “A” student!

To find out more about this miraculous first baby step, stay tuned to my blog

Coming Up Next : Sec 3 to Sec 4 Transition - The End Of The Tunnel

What this blog is about

2009-01-31T09:39:00.001+08:00

Hi All ! Welcome to my weblog (blog) !

Firstly I’ve like to introduce my blog (not me yet) and what this blog is about.

In this blog you will find,

Stuff about yu song’s personal life
Basketball training & coaching information where players and coaches can use to enhance their level of play in the game of basketball
Finance Mastery where you can read about to effectively manage your money so as to lead a higher quality life
Blog is updated on a regular basis (1 post per 2 – 3 days).

Find out how to use this blog to it’s max potential , here.

Who Is Yu Song?

The content of this blog is produced by Yu Song . Some general information about him can be found here.

Yu Song operates from his laptop to update content to this blog and is always searching for new ways to improve his bball coaching to the next level , drawing experience from his own days of competitive play, he aims to teach players in a complete manner where not only is the game of basketball covered – even the more important things in life such as personal mastery and wealth mastery are emphasised.

Contact Yu Song

If you would like to have me coach you in any aspect of your life, please feel free to contact me at my personal email here.

Photos With My Players

Sean , Thian Seng And Me (players 09-10)

Championship Team LPJ , Han Wei, Aik Peng, Wei Da, Dalton, Hao Xiang , Chun Long (manager) and Me (coach) (players 08-09)

Photo With My Brothers

Shi Long And Me (presenting S$ 300 to him! ^^)

#1 Key To Grow your Bball Skills exponentially

2009-01-29T22:27:00.001+08:00

Today’s training marks the starting of emphasising 2 key concepts that i’ve learned from Ganon Baker

When you practice, you have to practice at a pace and rate where .it’s not comfortable for you – break out of your comfort zone (health issues must not be a concern here – if you have health issues, listen to your doctor’s advise)
We do not aim for perfection, instead , we aim for persistence.

Elaborating on point 1 )

Alot of players (in fact i would say up to 95% of players) train at a level where they’re comfortable with. Now there’s no real problem with training comfortably except that it brings little growth.

“Training at a comfortable level brings you little growth.”

Taking an example of push ups, let’s say you can do a maximum of ten push ups, which one gives you the most growth? Number Eleven. (11)

So for today’s training (Rubin and Gordan turned up), I had rubin do some drills that he had done before – this time at a higher intensity and faster speed. He was losing the bball all over the place and finding it tiring. The main point is this – his growth was tremendous .

Because Rubin was willing to break out of his comfort zone , his growth was exponential.

To point 2)

As i mentioned, Rubin lost the bball a whole lot of times, this is where persistence – rather than perfection – comes into play, you ought to lose the bball a few times during practice, if you don’t then you’re still at a level where you’re comfortable at.

The key here is to persist, lose the bball? grab it back! that’s how you play the game!

Overall, I am certain that if players are willing to practice at a level where growth takes precedence over comfort , their growth will be exponential

Afterall, that’s how michael jordan and dr julius erving did it :)

Are you afraid to break out of your comfort zone to bring your game to the next level?

Chinese New Year Reunion - My Players

2009-01-28T22:11:00.002+08:00

Today was the happiest day for me in the whole chinese new year, because my players came to "bai nian" to me :)

Honestly, I really like the feeling of having us together and just having fun :) People who came were (in order of who came first x: )

Gordan
Rubin
Zi Yang
Thian Seng
Chze Kuan
Shi Long

I was messing alot with zi yang hahas fun :)

Basically we watched nba videos and played blackjack there after. The best part of the whole thing? Everyone was around and just talking around. I am really happy today :)

We took a photo but somehow i can't upload it to the post.. so i guess.. it'll have to wait for another day!

really tired (but happy) now! Talk later!

How Do I Handle My Money? – Part 1

2009-01-27T09:45:00.001+08:00

I am half-writing this to remind myself about the importance of proper finance management ( ability to handle money) and half writing this to suggest a way of handling money to all my readers.

There are many questions shrouding the mystery of handling one’s cash and one’s ever elusive conquest to master his money.

Before I go on to the actual strategy of handling cash, perhaps a fitting question to ask is

“Why Should I Learn How To Handle My Money?”

I am going to list out some benefits here

You will never be in a situation where you need to borrow – to survive
You will have the money to buy the stuff you want – besides your needs
You will be able to provide for your family with point 1. and point 2.

These are just some immediate benefits you’ll see , there are other long term factors as well.

So alot of people at this point of time will say

“I Already Don’t Have Enough Money To Spend , How Can I Save?!”

Bingo! It’s precisely because you don’t have enough to spend, that’s why you must save!

When I first started having my own money, I also fell into the trap of never having enough to spend! And when I needed something (think ipod , computers) , I found that I have no money to pay for it ! How disappointing!

However, now I often have enough to spend and often can “splurge” money on some “luxury” items ^^

Let’s examine this together, let me use a metaphor here, let’s say the roof has holes and when it rains the roof leaks. What do you do ? Repair the roof or wait for it to rain then start sweeping?

I think the answer is obvious – repair your roof. In the same way, the cause of having not enough to spend is improper money management. Hence , if you want to have money to spend you need to start managing your money well – by saving first.

“Ok So I Start Saving For The Things I Want To Buy?”

Yes and No.

Yes , because it’s the the better way to buy the stuff you want

No , because if you spend all your savings on the stuff you want, then you’re back to zero again – and this does not solve the long term problem of money.

There is a way to manage your money such that you’ll be able to both save for the things you want and solve the issue of money in long term.

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I’ll leave you to ponder about what I’ve just written =)

Keep checking back at this blog to find out how you can manage your money in such a way that it can solve money issues in the long term!

Ganon Baker Crazy Stuff

2009-01-26T00:58:00.001+08:00

I was thinking of working on my shooting and vertical when I came across an “old time friend” – ganon baker. (I used to watch his videos before). Oh and he has alot of credentials, including being amare stoudamire’s personal skill development coach, michael jordan europe tour head coach and kobe bryant skills academy head trainer.

Now for me at an earlier age of basketball , his drills was IMPOSSIBLE to me. Yes you got that right. As a young player I never found those drills possible. But now I know better – I’ve missed some of my best chances to advance as a player . But I do intend to workout myself back to shape and become a better player than I was ever before.

When I was younger, my focus was on vertical, driving , blocking shots and acrobatic finishes. As my age advances now, I would like to shift my focus to ball handling, passing , court vision, defense and shooting. It is the fundamental basic skill – something not glamorous , but wins you games and make second & third rounds .

So to all my readers, here’s a crazy drill from ganon baker.

To my players, I challenge you to master this drill before I do ^^ (yes i cant even do this now =.= )

Happy Chinese New Year of The Ox

2009-01-25T17:13:00.001+08:00

Happy Chinese New Year To All My Readers!

May all your wishes come true this year!! =)

To all my current players, thanks for letting me know you guys in year 08! 09 will be our year ! :)

To all my old players, it was fun training and competing together :) stay in touch!

To all my friends, stay happy and healthy!

How To Use This Blog

2009-01-24T23:05:00.001+08:00

Hi there everyone, I thought I’ve introduce a few features of my blog here ^^ and hopefully you’ll use them to make this blog a success together with me.

Theres 3 post (max) on the blog at any one time
Theres a comment function below every blog post, please post your comments about what you’ve just read
Theres a cbox to the right, please leave a message whenever to show me that you’re actively interested in my blog =p
To the right side-bar, you’ll find many interesting stuff , feel free to scroll them down and fill up the poll (if any) while you’re at it!

I’ll be establishing “days” where I’ll set aside to particularly post about a certain topic. So for now here they are:

Monday : My Money Matters

Please leave a comment and tag to show active interest in my blog! =)

Thanks! :D

HillGrove Versus Bukit Panjang Govt. high

2009-01-24T10:53:00.001+08:00

V.S

Today’s game was by far the best performance ever by hillgrove secondary. Their defense was solid and their offense was nothing short of impressive. The thing that impressed me the most was their will to win, they fought so hard that I couldn’t sit down at all! I stood for the whole match – watching in awe and feeling so proud for them.

It’s been a while since i last felt this way, when my players make a play or make a good defensive stop, i felt my heart beat a few times and something told me “whow, these are my players ^^ “

For a while I felt like these were my kids =x But i truly take them as all my younger brothers and its an honour to know them ^^

The coach was also did a good job today coaching the boys, he was giving them confidence and just simply supporting them in every way.

“I felt like a cheer-leader , jumping up and down on the sideline cheering for my players :) I hope they were glad to see me ^^ ”

Actually I forgot how the match went, because i was so focused on my players and every second I was just standing in awe thinking “Whow these are my players”

But HillGrove lost on the scoreboard but in my heart they are true winners – true champions.

Dedicate the below 2 videos to all my players :)

Left – Michael Jordan , Champion

Right – Kobe Bryant , Heart Of A Champion

My Youth Team ‘09

2009-01-22T17:07:00.001+08:00

Hi All,

I would like to honour my players whom have all played so well and to best honest, they blew me away with their performance and every game I witness just makes me more proud of them.

As I stand by the side-lines , i beam with glory and pride, when others ask me about them , I always say

“Those are my players ^^” with pride and honour.

I feel compelled to dedicate one post in my blog to let my players know how proud am I of them. (list alphabetically)

C. K

Ck played minimal minutes in the first two games, however when he was on the floor I could sense his hustle and will to win. I would like to emphasis in the third game, he just leaped the ladder in improvement. I beamed as I saw the way he played. He made defensive stops that was only capable by someone with immense mental toughness , he took shots and drives with a excellent timing. C.K has shown tremendous improvement in the third game ^^

C.K factors : Simplicity (he plays a simple and non-fanciful game) , humility (always willing to learn)

Rubin

Rubin was the support “hero” for his team, doing all the little stuff . He played a bit of everything, defense, hustle , anything the team needed. I remember his unselfish plays in all games plus his shot selection was commendable. Although he looks “cool” on the outside, he’s always giving his 101% on the floor without a doubt ^^

Rubin factors : Unselfish plays

Sean

Sean played way beyond my expectations in games, his rpg (rebounds per game) easily averages at 4-5 , and is amazing for someone who plays only 10-20 mins per game. He also made defensive stops – largely un-noticed – which were crucial to his team. Sean is also another player whom does all the little stuff (boxing out, hitting shots , defense) .

Sean factors : Effort , Effort, Effort

Thian Seng

Thian Seng is perhaps the most talented driver in the team. His drives are explosive and his finish is acrobatic and often creative. Shades of his explosive drives always impresses me to no end - especially in game 3. He is also a fairly good shooter plus good shot selections. These 3 qualities are rarely found in a single player – but thian seng has them all.

Thian Seng factors : Creativity, Acrobatic finish

Tommy

Tommy is the guy whom has the best vertical amongst my players and is not afraid to show it. I’ve seen him leap pass players taller than him and scoring – on all attempts. HIs athleticism also makes him a player that – once his fundamentals are polished – once he gets pass you, its over (think allen iverson). Tommy also exhibits a thirst for knowledge and is not shy to source for ways and means to improve on his own.

Tommy factors : Athleticism , Vertical , Initiative

Zi Yang

Zi Yang posies the “gentlemen” factor in his team. Always calm and compose , zi yang seemingly nevers loses his calm in tense situations. The thing that impresses me (and am proud of) zi yang is his unshakable confidence – so rare . When you calm, compose and confident, not many players will mess with you. With proper skills and mindset, zi yang can be easily counted on to lead his team to many victories

Zi Yang factors : poise, confidence

Ah! I am so proud of all of you :) By far the most talented bunch of players i’ve coached so far in my 3 years of coaching youth basketball. Well done boys ^^

p.s. Game proper will be updated either tomorrow or saturday. I want my players name to top my blog for at least a while ^^

HillGrove Versus Swiss Cottage

2009-01-21T21:14:00.001+08:00

VERSUS

Match was played on 20 Jan, posting late cause I was too tired yesterday

Match began well and hillgrove took a very large lead (10+ points) in the first half of the game. Basically swiss cottage wasn’t executing well and hillgrove’s defenses was just too tight and too fast.

Come second half of the game, things started to change as i believe fatigue started to set in for the players and swiss cottage took advantage by playing very physically. Physical toughness proved to be effective as swiss cottage quickly cut their lead to within 8 near the end of regulation.

However hillgrove adopted a strategy of winding down the clock and reducing their offense significantly to hold the lead , 43 – 35 , hillgrove wins.

Coaching Point:

I was just talking to sean a while ago,and I remembered something my coach once told me last time (Coach De Wei)

“If you cannot outplay your opponent, outwit him”

And Coach De Wei definitely did what he taught us. He was the smartest guy on the floor, once guarding a 1.9m centre when he only stands at 1.6+ m . He totally shut down the centre and it was the most amazing defensive performance i’ve ever seen.

You don’t need fancy footwork to play defense well at times, the most important thing in defense is your WILL to STOP the opponent.

Ask yourself this “If you were playing catching with your opponent, will you let him pass you that easily? – what’s more that now he has a extra bball with him to further restrict his movements”

Major food for thought guys :)

My Priority As A BasketBall Coach

2009-01-19T23:02:00.001+08:00

Recently (actually today) I heard that some of my player’s seniors seems to feel that I am not as good as a basketball coach compared to their current one.

Random Fact: My favourite coach is coach carter (yes the movie one – its based upon a real life story, youtube it to find the video for the real coach carter interview)

First and foremost, I wanna specify that I coach for one reason & one reason ONLY

MY PLAYERS

It is not within my agenda , principles nor wish to compete with another coach (although bball is a competitive game ). I believe if you ever become a coach, it should and always should be about

THE PLAYERS

Not for fame, glory or money (no pun intended)

My first priority for my players is mastery skills, meaning at the end of my coaching , my players should be equipped with

Have strong moral backbone
Able to lead a life of fulfillment
Being able to foster social relationship in an outstanding fashion
Finance Mastery
Personal Mastery
Emotional Mastery
Academics Excellence
Basketball Skills
Mindset Of A Champion (think 7 habits of highly effective people)

This is what I have in mind for all of my players. None of them is about myself, its all about

MY PLAYERS

So if people were to wanting me to compare with other coaches(means trying to ask me to compete with other coaches) , i’ve say they are a far cry from ever succeeding, my aim and goal is for my players and only my players

Just a random side note, I overheard that some players mentioned that I should play a 1 v 1 with another coach if I think I can coach better.

My philosophy is this : Being a great player doesn’t automatically makes you a great coach

A metaphor I like to use is this

Imagine 2 primary school teachers, trying to teach 7 yrs old how to do sums like 1 + 1 = 2, and 3 x 3 = 9. One of the teacher is a diploma graduate while the other is a P.H.D (Doctorate). Does that automatically means that the PHD teacher will teach better? answer: no . (the reverse is also true)

Point of matter, you do not need a doctorate to teach primary school maths

And you do not need to be a national player to teach secondary school basketball.(It would complement you if you am already an outstanding coach)

Personally , I chose to teach under 16s because I had played 2 yrs of under 18 league and a year of open league. And I feel fully qualified to teach basketball skills to 14 and 15 yrs old.

I hope this dismisses any wild claims of me trying to do anything that is not mentioned in the above post.

Coming Up With a New Weblog

2009-01-18T17:20:00.000+08:00

AND

These few days, my thoughts has been on the above 2 topics, helping my players excel in their grades and excel on the court. I’ve had many many ideas and I am both confident and certain that I can bring about this to happen. I’ve done it as a player myself, and I am even more informed and better equipped with the necessary skills to help my players replicate and surpass my previous success.

As I am not able to physically manifest myself all over my player’s houses and meet up with 6 different people on 6 different nights, I’ve decided to opt for 2 options (and i intend to adopt both)

Setup a Web-Log filled with informative stuff to help my players (eventually will become a online e-course)
Provide group tutions at a particular area which can accommodate my players and myself

So for now, the Web-Log is a first priority as I’ve been planning it for a while now ^^

Dear all my players reading this, what name do you want the new web-log to be?

Tommy has given me his suggestions already ^^

in order for your entries to be valid , please enter is into your web browser to ensure it’s not taken up yet. :)

looking forward to your feedback (please put it in the cbox to your right or in the “Comments” section below you)

p.s WeB-Log is the actual term for “Blog”