The Camelot House

My Dream Home Come True!!

The Power by Rhonda Byrne

As the title depicts, this is going to be yet another book review! Yay:) Come New Year 2011 and I'm still in the reading mood, Alhamdulillah.. I bought 'The Power by Rhonda Byrne' on 24 December 2010. Attracted by the cover (and the 30% discount and on it!), I did a flip through and  the first few words caught me right at the heart...

"You are meant to have an amazing life!"

says Rhonda Byrne.

"You are meant to be fulfilling your dreams.."

I absolutely love the positivity she was putting through there and immediately bought a copy. Dr. Muhaya on IKIM.fm a couple of weeks ago talked about how one should spend at least an hour a day digesting motivational materials. So this is me following her advice, picking up a totally inspiring book..love, love, love.. I do hope I'll get to attend Dr. Muhaya's workshop, "Kuasa Minda: Ke Arah Sikap Yang Positif"(the power of the mind: towards a positive attitude). I would love to be under her tutelage and have her as one of  my life coaches. She sounds phenomenal! Did I mention she's an ophthalmologist? To undergo LASIK is another one on my wish-list:)! love..love..love..

Now back to the book under scrutiny! 'The Power', in a way to me is similar to 'The Secret'. While the former focuses on the Law of Attraction, 'The Power' zooms in on the power of LOVE.. And love is actually the law of attraction..Yes, love. Love makes the world go round. Love is the essence of living. Love conquers all!

To be able to live the amazing life we all dream about, it is essential that we learn how to fully utilise the attractive force of love. Because like attract likes and what we give, we receive. So give good to receive goodness. It all totally makes sense.

If everyday in our lives, we focus on the positive, it is this positive part of our thinking that will materialize. Therefore, we have to think and talk about what we love: all the good news and the things that went well in our day. And next, we have to feel good about it. Inject positive feelings towards it. Feelings of love, gratitude, joy, passion, excitement, enthusiasm, satisfaction, hope and many more. Increase the frequency of these emotions to benefit even more from it.

According to Byrne,

"....Every decision you make in your life is based on how you feel.."

What we want in our lives, we want it because it makes us feel good. To receive the good, we need to have good feelings. Give love through good feelings.

"You have to be happy first, and give happiness, to receive happy things!"

The next few part of the book talks about The Creation Process. It takes you through a few simple steps to harness the force of love in every areas of your life - IMAGINE, FEEL, RECEIVE.

Yes, it all starts with the visualization process.  This may be nothing new to some of us. Even major athletes use this visualisation technique before taking part in an event. This envisioning of the whole process and the victorious ending. It is said that the mind cannot tell the difference between what is imagined and what is real. This is what we have to use to our advantage. But how many of us have done it?

I love how Byrne describes that there is nothing too big for the law of attraction. We have to think of the things that we want and desire in life, no matter how big, to be just the size of a dot. It's achievable! And this is as far as I'm going to reveal. Especially, since I haven't finished reading the book whole yet.

But one thing's for sure.. Getting your mind to focus on what you love, really brightens the day..when you think happy thoughts and feel it through positive emotions, your day just turns out so much better. You feel more relaxed, at ease, and you'll find that others respond to you better and you just learn to enjoy the moment. Love, love, love!!

No Time Like The Present and Reading For Knowledge

My 4-year-old son, Hariz is an excellent example of someone who makes full use of his waking hours. Some days he is awake 12 hours and sleeps another 12. Most days he sleeps less than that (8 - 10 hours) and is awake, the rest of the time. What does he do? He plays, explores, learns, interacts.. The world is his playground! Ofcourse, whatever he does is always under supervision (be it my own, husband's or his grandparents'). What I love about this part of him is his zest for life. He looks forward to every new day. When he opens his eyes in the morning, he won't just lie around in bed daydreaming (nor does he sneaks in a few more hours of sleep). He just sits up, gets up and is on the move! We adults sure can learn from this kind of zesty attitude!

So why is it important to make full use of our waking hours? Because we don't know how long we'll live! And if you have your life goals mapped out, I am sure you would want to have them realised during your lifetime, God-willing. So there is no time to waste!

I have been spending the last few weeks buying discounted books at the MPH sale in Alamanda. Mostly books on personal finance, parenting and writing. I have also been spending last weekend devouring these books. As you can see, I am in the reading mood and nothing, nobody can stop me from reading book after book! Right now I am reading 'Smart Parents Richer Kids' by Azizi Ali and Zaid Mohamad. Although I have read many other Personal Finance books (by Robert Kiyosaki, Azizi Ali, Dave Ramsey etc.) this particular book shares how we could get the whole family and especially the kids involved in financial planning, instilling good financial habits in kids from young and securing a better future for them. Some tips mentioned in this book are familiar. But it's being conveyed in such a delightful manner with Zaid, who's very much a family man sharing delightful anecdotes based on his real day-to-day life experience. I love it!

I feel like starting a Total Money Makeover again! Yes, I've been slacking these past few years. The problem is, the more I earn, the more my desire to buy increases. So now is no better time than ever to put a stop to these useless desires! Time for me to think rationally and get back on track to my goal of becoming financially free (and not to have to work for others but to make money work for me). Due to my spending fury these past couple of years (I have vague memories of what I've spent on, except one expensive hair treatment programme), I have alot of catching up to do. Damage control: credit card bills to pay up, monthly budget to scrutinize (items to be divided into categories: essentials, nice, crap), 20% of income to be put aside each month (the pay- yourself- first concept which actually should top the list), to teach my son to save (he spends like his mom these days and he uses other people's hard earned money - which just drives my mom up the walls) and ofcourse to set out our family's Objectives, Goals, Strategies and Measures (OGSM). Like Zaid mentioned in his book, (in my own words now) you won't know which path to take unless you have it all mapped out. So yes, we shall be doing that. Infact, I've been making drafts of it while going through the book. Now all I need is to go through the OGSM with hubby and son before we get to the implementing stage. Phew! Some work needed there!

Now the next book on my reading list is, 'Bear Hunt: Earn Your Living By Doing What You Love' by Malcolm McClean. I am also in the midst of reading 'Rumahku, Ofisku' (My Home, My Office) by Mazneera Zainal which is also pretty inspirational for a woman like me who is yearning, wanting, trying and is in the process of realising my dream of becoming a WAHM. Another mind blowing book I read last week was 'The One Minute Entrepreneur' by Ken Blanchard, Don Hutson and Ethan Willis. They share their secrets to Creating and Sustaining a Successful Business. Yes, yes, that is one of my long term goal - to become a successful entrepreneur. Before that I must have solid foundations which is what I am working at right now - good financial planning and then I'll need a sound business plan.

More books on my reading list (books I've bought and have yet to read):

English:

1. How They Started In Tough Times by David Lester and Beth Bishop ( I got this book at 50% discount! and it's just been published this year!! Thanks MPH - my fave bookstore!)

2. Writing Fiction For Children by Judy K. Morris (70% discount - yay!)

3. The Power of a Positive No by William Ury (among the first books I bought when the year 2010 opened its curtain)

4. The 48 Laws of Power by Robbert Greene (bought July 2009 - hmm wonder why I didn't get around to reading it - I guess I'm not so crazy about being controlling and being in power over others. But then again it is actually necessary to be in power over your own self - having self-control.

Bahasa Malaysia:

1. Jejak Bisnes Rasul by Mohamed Sulaiman and Aisuddinur Zakaria

2. 7 Formula Individu Cemerlang by Dr. Danial Zainal Abidin

3.Rahsia Bisnes Isteri Nabi: Khatijah by Shadi Zain

4. Jana RM Dari Rumah by Masayu Ahmad

5. Rahsia Bisnes Orang Cina by Ann Wan Seng (fantastic!!)

6. Mudahnya Bisnes dengan Blogshop by Zamri Mohamad

7. Rancang Wang Dari Sekarang by Pakdi (founder of bicarajutawan.com community)

(All these Bahasa Malaysia books I've started but have yet to finish reading  - these are mostly on business, personal development and personal finance)

8. Satu Rasa Dua Hati by Pahrol Mohd Juoi (on marriage)

9. Teknik Memotivasikan Anak Cara Positif (on parenting)

Wow, I just realised I have loads of reading to do. Actually, there's probably about 5-10 other books (including fiction) which are still left untouched (mostly because I bought them on sale especially the novels and over time I felt too adult to be reading them tsk...tsk..I also would rather be filling my brain with more useful knowledge than fantasy - better excuse!).

Ok guys, all these listing is actually to serve as a reminder to myself, a way to keep track of my reading materials. And if you're looking for interesting books to read, feel free to pick one from my list. If I am not mistaken, the MPH sale at Alamanda is still on! See you there!!

S-a-t-i-s-f-a-c-t-i-o-n

I shall start my ramblings today with a number of questions:

1. Why are we often never satisfied with what we currently have?
2. Is it of inert nature to be dissatisfied most of the time?
3. Could it be that we are programmed this way so that we may strive to consistently improve ourselves on a daily basis, in order to achieve greater heights and recognition?
3. Is the displeasure that we have towards our present situation, the fire that will ignite our desires, determination and perseverance to reach out and work towards materializing our dreams and goals?

Looking at it from this point of view casts a positive light on dissatisfaction.

I for one am forever scribbling away in my dream book, trying to figure out a way to live a life worth-living. One that I can enjoy every second of and that will enable me to project my (inhibited) skills and talents to good use while gaining good financial standings. I think you know which aspects of my life I am referring to.

For now I am trying to learn from those who have taken the path before me, taking notes and making calculated moves.

Today I am experimenting with blogger template designs. Is this it? Or do I still have to embark on a search for one that says, 'This is me!' That's my dissatisfaction for today. Finding my identity in a blog design. As absurd it may sounds, it reflects the reality of life that nothing comes easy. Even trying to figure your own self takes effort and time. I am still soul-searching..though I have already found a part of me. And this part of me I reckon, helps make me a better person.

My passion for now: my family, my writings and.... muslimah fashion!

I've Moved Back!

Also to announce my return to my premiere blog "Abundance Journey" - because it is still a destination that I am headed to. All the things that I love to blog about still remains the same. Although I have left Success Uni (to follow through with my Total Money Makeover), I am still more than ever passionate about personal development. So if you're still with me, drop me line or two :)

Back with a Passion!!

I've decided to start blogging again. Why today? Because I've settled all my week's worth of work (and am waiting for more!). Writing gives me something worthwhile to do that is stimulating for the mind. I am starting on a new book today called 'Roberts's Rules of Writing' by R. Masello. A book that practically jumped at me from my father's bookshelves. While browsing through the book, one of the rules caught my eyes and that is that "writing should be with purpose". Because anyone can just scribble nonsense. But writing with a purpose is what makes you a real writer.

My passion has recently been rediscovered through 'The Passion Test'. The results of my test tells me that my passion is in actual fact writing. Yes, but not just any writing. Infectious writing that affects other people's lives positively. My other top five passion includes (not in any particular order): living life as a work-at-home-mom (and encouraging other moms to do the same for the benefit of our children and family), having inner peace through reconnection with the Higher Powers, having financial freedom (I love personal finance!)and living in my perfect family dream home.

As advised by the developers of the Passion Test, I have made markers for each passion as an indicator of having achieved and am actually living the life I am passionate about. My next step is to create a vision board which many, many personal development guru advices on doing. It's to ignite your passion and keep your dreams and goals in view. I can't wait to get started on my vision board! It's going to be fantastic!!

As a personal reminder, the next two steps in actualising your passion process is:

1) creating passion pages; and
2) writing your 100th birthday speech.

So stay tuned.

Visit My New Website!!

People, as you've probably realised, I havent't been updating this blog for a number of days. But that's only because I now have a brand new dotcom website to blog on!! I shall be focusing mainly only Personal Development issues there but will come back here to blog on more personal stuff from time to time.

So what are waiting for? Visit AzrinaAznan.com and join me on the road to financial freedom!

The Right Balance

As a full time working mom, getting the right balance between work and family can be quite a challenge. Especially as I found out, when you're on a mission to achieving financial freedom. Sometimes you have to sleep later than others, use the extra time in between work to carry out your mission and miss out on leisure activities at first. It is important that you persevere whatever the circumstances, get back up when you stumble, set up new strategies when reach a road block and all that. Who said it was easy to become financially free? The hard work you'd be putting in these first few years will definitely pay of once your money starts working hard for you. It's when you have a constant abundance of passive income that you can declare yourself financially free. By that time, you wouldn't have to work if you didn't want to and you'd have the leisurely time to spend as you wish. Now wouldn't that be ideal?

As for quality time with your family, it takes good time management, patience and some effort to strike the right balance. Sometimes when you are supposed to be spending time playing with your children, you may have your mind on work and don't give your family the attention they deserve. It's unfair to them and breeds dissatisfaction in the family. So plan your time. Allocate time for both your family and your (mission) work. Enjoy your family time when it comes and concentrate on your tasks during the time allocated specifically for that. Have faith that financial freedom awaits you and your family provided your efforts are constant and on-going.

Financial Plannings

We took our son to the park today. We've decided to stay away from shopping malls for a while to avoid impulse buys during this coming holiday season. I for one have decided to take full control of my own finances. Harv Eker has inspired me to do this. And it's wonderful how when you start taking action, delightful surprises awaits you. Like just few days ago a colleague gave me a financial planner to easily budget my spendings and savings. My urge to spend has also slowly dissipated and it is being gradually replaced by the urge or need to save. I just love it! Whenever, I refrain myself from an impulse buy, it makes me feel more powerful where else before I would be restless and not stop thinking about buying a particular thing. I am planning my finances to pave my path to financial freedom! I feel great!!!

The Death of Network Marketing Review

The Death of Network Marketing Review
by Zamri Nanyan

The Death Of Network Marketing is an ebook by Mike Filsaime
and Ellie Drake. Ellie Drake is a successful network marketer,
while Mike Filsaime is a well-known internet marketer that
does not need an introduction anymore.

This 45-page pdf ebook is targeted to the people who are
involved in network marketing and also to those who are
curious about the industry. While you will not get an
introduction about network marketing from this ebook, you
will know some of the problems faced my network marketers
nowadays - especially network marketers who are still using
old methods to grow their network marketing team.

Ellie Drakes talks about her past experience about how network
marketing was done previously. In brief, she explained that
she had to do cold-calling, belly-to-belly meetings and
seminars alike. She explains that some of the leaders are
still doing that now but the wave is changing.

People are looking for easier ways to grow their network
marketing business and the old ways of doing network marketing
are dying. The attrition in the industry is high because what
people are looking for is not presented to them entirely - things
like how to get people look for them and how to use cutting-edge
internet tools to grow the business.

This is where the ebook talks more about using the internet
to do recruiting, training, coaching and more. You will see
some of the action steps suggested in the ebook such as
studying lead generation page, automated training, forming
online communities and a few others.

Although internet marketing can be powerful in the network
marketing industry, Ellie warns that high-touch connection
is equally important as well.

In case you are wondering what Mike Filsaime has to do with
network marketing (or NetWeb Marketing as it is mentioned in
the ebook), you can guess at the end of the pages as Ellie
mentions that Ellie and Mike are working on internet marketing
tools to help network marketers build their business much
more efficiently (do you smell another product promotion?)

The good news is that this ebook is free to download. For a
limited time, Mike is also giving commissions to those who
distribute the ebook to others.

In conclusion, this ebook can be an eye-opening for lots of
network marketers out there. And, I agree that you can't avoid
using the internet to build your network marketing business
nowadays. It's one of the BIGGEST reasons why I left my previous
network marketing company - they were not internet marketing
savvy enough while others company are pushing for automation
and more automation.


Zamri Nanyan is a team leader in the hottest and most lucrative
personal development program on the Internet. Visit
http://www1.successuniversity.com.my/r/into now for more details
and don't forget to read "The Death of Network Marketing" ebook
to know the future of this amazing business model.

Wealth Files

'Secrets of the Millionaire Mind' by T. Harv Eker is by far the most brilliant book I've read this year! So much so that Harv's voice keeps playing over and over again in my head (despite me having never attended his seminar)! This goes to show how powerful his messages on wealth creation are. His words just resonates through me and I actually feel financially liberated. I can't recommend his book enough! I so want to attend his 'Millionaire Mind Course', I feel like writing to Harv inviting him to share his expertise right here in Malaysia!! Harv, you've made such an impact on me!!

That said, allow me to share the tip of the iceberg as to the secrets of the millionaire mind.

The first chapter of this book talks about your financial blueprints (as mentioned in my previous entry). Your financial blueprints are thoughts, ideas and beliefs on money that has been programmed into your mind while you were growing up. If you end up with a lousy financial blueprint, you can always undo it (undoing it is important as it determines your success in this area). Supposing your mind is a filing cabinet. Your financial blueprints are the files that get filled into these cabinets. Changing your blueprints means taking out the old and putting in new files. In his book, Harv provides you with new, more positive wealth files in order to help you achieve a millionaire mindset.

Now these wealth files come together with declarations and activities you must do to have a millionaire mind. I'll let you in on Wealth File #3 as I find it quite amusing. This particular wealth file talks about 'complaining'. According to Harv, "when you are complaining, you become a living, breathing 'crap' magnet" and "what you focus on, you expand". So complaining can do more damage to your financial success than you think. To help resolve this, Harv instructs us to do the following activity: for the next 7 days, go through each day without a single complaining whether out loud or in your mind. Doing this would really make a remarkable difference in your life. When you stop complaining, you start to view life in a more positive manner. You view the good side of things. And when you focus on the good things in life, you put your energy in it or to it and more of these good stuff start flowing into your life. Again let me repeat as Harv likes to do,"what you focus on, you expand".

I found the above exercise to be rather challenging as although I can manage the not complaining out loud part,quietening the mind is a task that takes some discipline. But I know I'll succeed in doing it for the rest of this week and for the rest of my life (as that's part of what it takes to become a millionaire!).

Now say it with me, "I am committed to taking the necessary actions to becoming a millionaire. I have a millionaire mind!!"

Secrets of the Millionaire Mind by T. Harv Eker

It's a brand new week, and I have a brand new book in hand! And boy, I'm glad I got my hands on it!! The book as you must have guessed by now is 'Secrets of the Millionaire Mind' by T. Harv Eker. I think Anamiraa recommended this book previously (Thanks Ana!). I was actually attracted to it's cover and when I viewed it's content, I made up my mind to purchase it right away. I bought other books as well and using my trusty MPH member card, I'd managed to collect myself points and received free book vouchers (festive seasons people!).

What's so great about this particular book? Well, it provides you with the missing link between your desire for success and your achievement of success. Now this is very important since, nearly everybody wants to be successful and rich. And most of these wannabees have the intense desire to be so. But what is it that's lacking in many that they haven't achieved this success or richness? Could it have something to do with the economic downturn? Limited opportunities? If no, then what?

Ahaa.. I have yet to find out.. But for now, the chapter I'm reading refers to our financial blueprints. These are our preprogrammed thoughts on success and money. And how the results we have or see in ourselves now is actually contributed by the programming we've had in the past. Redo the program and you are most likely going to get a different and more desirable outcome should you have done it correctly. That's what I'm trying to find out in this book. That and many, many other secrets which will soon be revealed to my eyes/mind/soul.

The Panther Personality

If when asked to choose from a panther, an owl, a dolphin and a peacock, you choose a panther, then the following may describe your personality:

A person with panther personality is one who has good leadership quality, is good at making decisions, are people oriented and values productivity.

Each of the animal personalities I mentioned before have their strengths and weaknesses. However, I do not mention them all here. The ones I did mentioned are described in my own words. If you're interested in the whole material, please get a copy of "Conquer Fear!" by Lisa Jimenez;)

Success University - Team Malaysia

Dear Readers,

I have some very exciting news to share with all of you! I am currently in the process of setting up my own website!! This is one of my goals being realised! And for this I must give credit to my Success University mentor, Zamri Nanyan and ofcourse to my SU teammates. We've all been working very hard to move towards our goals of achieving abundance in life. Through this program, I have started to see positive changes in myself. I feel more excited about what life has to offer. I have found my passion (Personal Development, Internet Marketing and Blogging)
and am turning it into something profitable!

If you've missed out on my past articles about Success University, please refer to my category archive. You would definitely want to know what Success University is all about and the opportunities it provides you with.

Many people who have joined Success University are successful because they have followed the Internet Marketing program that comes with it. If you are familiar with Multi Level Marketing, this is pretty similar except that you are using the internet to market to prospects. With Success University you have a great Personal Development product backed by some of the 50 most inspiring, international motivators/speakers/trainers/experts. And knowing the power of the Internet, you are able to market your product worldwide and to limitless, massive numbers of people. But to do that you have to be equipped with the right skills. These skills you require will be yours should you decide to sign up for Success University under any trusted mentor.

For Malaysians, we have currently set up our Success University Team Malaysia. If you think you have what it takes and have the burning desire to be successful through this business, then sign up HERE!! Join our friendly team of motivated people who are more than willing to help you graps the neccessary success skills you require! Learn along side us, and become successful with us!!

I also extend my invitation to anybody from any parts of the world to join our lucrative program. This program is one of great quality that it's founder Matt Morris has passionately created with your success in mind. We are real people, in a real business and we care about your success. Success University is devoted to bringing you success in many areas of Personal Development be it Leadership, Communication, Relationship, Health, Internet Marketing and many more! By joining Success University, you get to share this wonderful program with many others and with more people involved in the field of Personal Development, imagine what the world would be like! You make the choice. ACT NOW!! and you'll thank yourself for it later!

An Article By Sifu Zamri

How To Build The Right Online Business Mindset For Day-job Employees
By: Zamri Nanyan

Talk to majority of employees and you'll find some of them would definitely come up with a dream of starting their own business. Since I'm building an online MLM business, I can relate these few points in building the right mindset in any business.

1. Business Is Not Employment

If you are still working with other people, do not treat your business like your job.

In the office, you will most likely be told to do your own tasks or assignments and they'll be people setting up goals and directions for you. These goals and directions will align with the company growth - not your own personal financial growth. So, what plans do the company have for you? Not much!

However, in building your online business, you have to set your mind about where, when and what you want to achieve in life - meaning that goal setting-and-getting is your job.

You have to set your goals, strategize and work towards getting those goals on your own (with the help of your business team, of course). There will be no one forcing you to do any specific tasks in an online business and you won't get penalized for not completing your tasks - but you have to remember that your income in any online program will not grow if you don't grow.

So, treat your online business as your future investment.

2. Doing Half-heartedly Doesn't Count

What's the worst that you can get if you work half-heartedly at job? Not much if your boss doesn't know that you are not giving your 100%. As long as you can deliver what's expected from you, you are safe. Come back tomorrow and you are still at work.

It can be tough at times when you build an online home based business while still working - not only in terms of consistently getting the income but also in terms of giving attention to your business.

I still remember a quote from Robert Kiyosaki on a website. He suggests to keep your daytime job while starting a business part time mostly because of the experience. He says, "Not only will you learn about business, you will learn a lot about yourself,"

Since you already make certain amount of money every month from your job, a little income from your home based business seems trivial. But, it will grow bigger once your business starts to grow big.

However, this does not mean that you will put only a little effort in growing your business.

You would probably have heard that most wealthy people work harder than those who have jobs, but how do you build a business when you are still at work 9 to 5?

The key is to keep yourself disciplined and do the right things to grow your business consistently. If it takes 2 to 3 hours a day from your spare time to build your business, then use those hours effectively to build your business.

Doing the right things for your business only for 2 to 3 hours a day does not mean you are doing half-heartedly. It means you're giving a 100% on a limited half-time you have for your future.

3. Grow yourself more than you grow your business

That is right!

You can grow your business to a million dollar empire but you should know that your first million can go down the drain overnight because of a lot of factors.

What do normally business people do when that happens?

They get back up and build a bigger business because they are equipped with what it takes to be successful.

This includes sharpening your skills in networking, sales, communication and other areas of personal growth.

Most people with employee mentality will probably feel frustrated and unmotivated with failures and give up the first time business turns sour. They do not know what to do next when it happens.

Well-equipped business people know that failures are just temporary. It is like a stepping stone for them to elevate to a higher ground.

The friendship, self-motivation, business networking and sales skills will take them anywhere they want to go and build a new business in a more powerful way. The last temporary hiccup was actually their biggest lesson for them to grow to even smarter entrepreneurs.

Even when they are successful, they will keep on learning to grow themselves for greater challenges in the future.

In short, great business leaders are life-long personal development students.

Now, let's close it by a quote from Jim Rohn that I love so much.

"Formal education will make you a living; self-education will make you a fortune."

Interpret it well and it won't be surprised why the most respected business philosopher, Jim Rohn himself, said like that about personal development.

****************

About the Author

Zamri Nanyan is a team leader in the hottest and most lucrative personal development program on the Internet. Visit http://www1.successuniversity.com.my/r/into now for more details.

Having Faith

If only we had more faith in our Creator, we could achieve so much more. The so-called diseases of the modern ages would be few and more people would be living a peaceful and contented life. Regardless of which religion you follow, it is important to have faith in the Creator. To turn to Him in our times of need. And to thank Him for our good fortunes. It is when we lose our connections with God that we start to fall apart and lose our directions in life. The importance and benefits of a prayer should never be underestimated. Through prayers and our conversations with God, we are able to reach into our subconscious thoughts and allow it to enhance our well being and help us achieve the success we desire with all our heart.

Your Personality Type

I am still dwelling on the subject of the e-book I raved about yesterday (Conquer Fear! by Lisa Jimenez). This time I'd like to share another activity from the e-book without revealing too much.

According to Lisa, our personality type can be determined by which of the following animal we choose to represent our personality: a panther, an owl, a dolphin or a peacock.

So have your pick!

As for me, I chose dolphin first. Then I thought I preferred an owl and ended up having a hard time choosing between the two. So I continued reading the passages in the book and it mentions that I can choose a second animal. So it's settled, I am a dolphin first and an owl second. Now the animal I like least (this has got nothing to do with me not liking the actual animal as I love all God's creations!) is a peacock.

So what do these animal preferences translate as?

A dolphin: someone who likes helping others and is a team player.

An owl: one who likes a lot of information, is very detail oriented and prefers to work behind the scene.

A peacock: someone who is a socialite and loves being the centre of attention.

And lastly a panther: ....

Ok, let's put it this way, I shall let it be a secret until someone admits to choosing a panther. hehehe.. how about that for suspense?!

Conquer Fear!

While my son was napping during the day, I'd checked my email and discovered a delightful surprise from Success University. My SU weekly plan for this week contained a free e-book entitled "Conquer Fear!" by Lisa Jimenez. Out of excitement, I decided to start reading it there and then. And what I read really intrigued me.

According to the author, the reason why many of us don't achieve the goals we set out is because we have a fear of either 'failure' or 'success'. The author goes on to explain the differences between the two so that we can recognise which category we fall under. However, it is deemed more serious if you have a fear of success. People who fear success have a negative perspective on what success does to them. They may associate success with being arrogant, losing friends, being too busy and many other negative attributes. Their subconscious mind responds to this fear by either fleeing away from it or fighting it, bringing them even further away from their intended goal. Now that makes sense doesn't it?!

Behind these fears lies a negative belief system that have been built upon us based on what we've gone through in life.

For you to go to the root of these negative beliefs, it is also important to first know yourself well. What is your personality type? What are your positive traits? What kind of natural abilities/skills do you have? What are your values and principles in life? I did a little bit of soul searching based on the above questions by going through the activities provided. One of the activities required for us to ask our loved ones to list down 6 positive words which describes us. I turned to my parents for this since hubby was away. And the words they listed down really surprised me just as the author had forewarned.

So just to share, my father had listed down the following words to describe me:

1. active (am I? maybe it's because I can't sit still when I'm at my parents' place),
2. courage (hmm.. yeah.. I've had had some courageous moments),
3. happy(I act that even when I don't feel that so that I'd eventually feel that..),
4. kind (awwe thanks dad, I'm really touched that you think so - that you actually think so brought tears to my eyes),
5. conservative (my dad still can't get over how fast I changed my fashion sense)and
6. fast (fast-learner? fast walker? fast..?).

While my mother listed down the following:

1. intelligent (due to the many awards I received in the past..),
2. hard-working (yes.. I am),
3. kind (thanks ma - same as dad)
4. friendly (really?:)),
5. sweet (ahahahaha) and
6. responsible (have to be!!).

Ok, enough bragging about it already! The main purpose of this particular exercise was to point out to us that sometimes how we view ourselves may differ to that of others (or so, I think). So try it out! It's a real confidence booster:D

I'll share more about this book after I'm done with it, ok:)

Demure..

I was sitting by myself at the dining table, thinking about how much of my parents' traits I'd inherited when a word came across my mind. It came to me when I started thinking about my father and how he is such a patient and generous man. How he takes such good care of my son when I drop him off at their place before work. That word which I'm referring to is: demure. I like the way the word sounds, "demure" which according to the Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary (2004) means: "(of woman or a girl) behaving in a way that does not attract attention to herself or her body; quiet and serious..". So why did I think of the word, 'demure'? It certainly did not refer to my father since he's a 'man'. Did the word ring a bell cause i was actually referring to myself? Was I or am I still a demure young lady? Maybe so.. Both my parents are pretty conservative, so I can see where it's coming from.. Does being demure means you're boring, unattractive and plain? I don't think so. I guess it just means that you're a modest person who is unselfish and have good moral values.

To be successful in your pursuits of your life-time goals, what are the most desirable traits you can have? My personal opinion: being brave, strong-willed, have perseverance, being optimistic, visionary, creative, intelligent, resourceful, passionate.. and the list of positive traits just goes on and on.. wow.. so how do you develop these traits so that they become part of who you are? I've read many times that it's by surrounding yourself with people who already have these desirable traits. By doing this, if you don't have those traits already, they may just rub off you. You could also read inspirational books written by equally inspiring people and pretty soon you'd see these desirable characteristics being put into motion as you begin to accept the ideas behind these traits and turn it into your one shining personality.

Hubby's New Interest

Hubby is really excited today. He just enrolled himself into a photography workshop which is going to be held for 2 days at Cheras this coming weekend. I am truly happy for him. Glad to see him all psyched up about the program:) He wants to turn photography into a profitable hobby. I sincerely hope he will see it through. I pray he'll be a success.

Whenever we are excited about something, there's this positive aura about us that surrounds our being. This so-called aura is a colorful bright color encircling our body. The happier and more positive our state of being, the brighter and bigger this circle of aura will be. And the bigger it becomes, the more opportunity it can reach out to as well as attract. I don't know whether you've seen what a person's aura looks like. It looks a bit like having a rainbow hanging all over you! If you go to Chinese shops selling crystals, a few would have aura photo services. Take an aura snap shot then have your aura analysed. Though not all will take the advise given by these aura analysts seriously, you can still get a kick out of discovering your own aura.

But then again, your aura does tend to change over time as you develop new skills, let go of old habits and find a new perspective in life. Talking about change, so does our personality. And the same goes for our dreams and goals. They evolve over time. My hubby used to be so into modifying cars. He's over that stage now and has moved on to photography (both are rather expensive hobbies, might I say). However, when it comes to personal development, it is a continuous journey we take on. Our paths may change and so will our areas of focus. But our quest for self-improvement is never-ending whether we realise it or not.