Brainy Quote

Friday, November 19, 2010

The World Needs More Loving and Kind People!

Someone sent this to me. Please pass this story along to your friends & family especially to teenagers/students. There kids who want to get involved in teen gangs and not only ruin their lives but also cause real turmoil to lives of other families. Teach them the meaning of love and showing kindness towards others.

"A farmer had  some puppies he needed to sell.
He painted a sign advertising the 4  pups and set about nailing it to a
post on the edge of his yard.  As he was driving the last nail into
the post, he felt a tug on his  overalls. He looked
down into the eyes of little  boy.

"Mister," he said, "I want to buy one of your puppies."

"Well," said the farmer, as he rubbed the sweat off the back of his neck,
"These puppies come from fine parents  and cost a good deal of money."

The boy dropped his head for a  moment. Then reaching deep into his pocket,
he pulled out a handful of change and held it up to the farmer.

"I've got  thirty-nine cents. Is that enough to take a  look?"

"Sure,"  said the farmer. And with that he let out a whistle. "Here,
Dolly!"  he called.

Out from the doghouse and down the ramp ran Dolly  followed by four little
balls of fur.

The little boy pressed his  face against the chain link fence. His eyes
danced with delight. As  the dogs made their way to the fence,  the little
boy noticed something else stirring inside the  doghouse.

Slowly another little ball appeared, this one  noticeably smaller. Down the
ramp it slid. Then in a somewhat
awkward manner, the little pup began hobbling toward the others,  doing its
best to catch up...

"I want that one," the little boy  said, pointing to the runt. The farmer
knelt down at the boy's side  and said, "Son, you don't want that puppy.
He will never  be able to run and play with you like these other dogs
would."

With  that the little boy stepped back from the fence, reached down, and
began rolling up one leg of his trousers.

In doing so he revealed  a steel brace running down both sides of his leg
attaching itself to  a specially made shoe.

Looking back up at the farmer, he said,  "You see sir, I don't run too well
myself, and he will need someone  who understands."

With tears in his eyes, the farmer reached down  and picked up the little
pup.


Holding it  carefully he handed it to the little boy.

"How  much?" asked the little boy.

"No charge," answered the farmer,  "There's no charge for love."

The world is full of people who  need someone who understands."


Make the World a Better Place!Love All, Serve All!

Cheers,
Mark



Friday, November 12, 2010

Overcome your Advertsity!

Hi All,

Again, another Golf story (part 2-previous Golf & Mind related article on November 4th -"Your Mind is a Powerful Tool"). I was watching Golf Channel and they featured a unique Golfer. He is a one legged golfer.

Meet Manuel De Los Santos. He was once a promising 18 year old Dominican Republic Baseball player. He had been recruited by a big baseball team when he met with a motorbike accident. He lost a leg and with that his promising baseball career. His world collapsed. But he was a "survivor" and found a new passion.....Golf.
Now, if you understand the game of Golf, most able bodied amateur players are not able to master their mind to play half as good a Manuel. That's how mentally strong Manuel is. He drives his ball over 260 yards (about 250 meters) on one leg. You have to have incredible balance to do it with one leg. He refuses to use a prosthetics leg. He is a 3 handicapper. He became good at it and now conducts exhibition golf around the world. (for more detailed report you can find more information on http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/sport/golf/article6851460.ece ).

The point is that able bodied individuals who face small but challenging problems just give up and want to take short-cuts in life. Why? We unlike Manuel have so many options and yet we refuse to explore them. Instead, we blame God, people around us, fate except ourselves. Manuel with his limited options compared to us able bodied individuals decided to use his limited options to good use and has succeeded. Put it simply, it is a case of "mind over matter". You can achieve your goals if you put your heart and mind to it like Manuel. Come up with a plan and ask for advise from people who may know more or may be able to make good suggestions.

People like Manuel and Susan Boyle are an inspiration to people who want to all of us. If they can do it, so can we!

For me, I have resolved to become a better Golf Player and reduce my handicap to below 15 by end of next year. Wish me luck!

Have a Great Weekend!

Cheers,
Mark

















Wednesday, November 10, 2010

Operation "Time Square"- Car Bomb

Hi All,

The operation "Time Square"- Car Bomb, simulation exercise is proof that Singaporeans like to complain about everything and the same time we take things for granted. Out of the, 7000 odd people who walked by only 260 people noticed something wrong and only 55 people bothered to call "999". When I read the Straits Times today, I was shocked. And I heard over the radio that people were making excuses on their blogs and Facebook pages......"like what will happen if 7,000 people call the police at the same time."

Why have Singaporeans become so complacent? We tend to take things for granted that the government will take care of us. But we can be the eyes and ears that help to detect unwarranted activities or dangerous situation, and assist the Police in minimizing the chances of such events happening. We can be safe but you do not want to be sorry because you overlooked that minor anomaly that could have saved people's life. You do not know when danger will strike but at least we should be vigilant.

A case in point, I just heard from a friend that she got robbed couple of weeks ago by 3 men near her house in Sims Drive. The robbers pushed my friend down, grabbed the bag and kicked her head. I never thought this could happen to a friend of mine even though you read about it all the time in the papers.

The point is, we need to be more careful even though we have had a relatively safe environment in Singapore for a long time. Terrorists will go to great lengths to achieve their goals which to us is a criminal act. We should not be paranoid but at the same time we should show some concern about the place we call our home. Let's help maintain the peace and tranquility that we have enjoyed so the our children will have safe environment to live in.

Cheers,
Mark

Thursday, November 4, 2010

Your Mind Is a Powerful Tool!

Hi  All,

Last Wednesday, I had dinner at one my favorite Indian restaurants with my friends from college. We met after more that 20years. We had a great time but I believe the cook put too much of "MSG" in the "fish-head" curry. I could not sleep because my throat felt dry, So, I woke up at 3.00am to watch Golf and they were showing Lady's Golf tournament. Kristie Kerr a top women's golfer was playing and she was leading the tournament with a 5 shot lead. But apparently, she hit a bad drive in one of the holes and she double-bogeyed (which is bad when you play golf). But that started playing on her mind and she lost her 5 shot lead. She started missing her putts which keeps missing the holes by millimeters. You could hear her shouting at herself and the golf ball.

I played golf on Friday, and this thought of Kristie Kerr missing her putts kept playing in my head, I don't know why. I was playing well but I kept missing some of my putts like how Kristie Kerr was. I could have"Birdied" (which a good thing in Golf) but I ended up "bogeying" a "birdie-able" hole. This happened on at least 4 of the holes. I did not let this bother me too much and I enjoyed my golf. But I wish I had better control of my mind, I would have played a great game with a few birdies.

My point is that.....be careful of what you think.Use your mind well. It may just come true.Power of "VISUALIZATION". If you can think positively, what you wish will come true. Likewise, if you this of the worse-case scenario (thinking negatively), it will also come true. If you can train yourself to be positive, you will be able to achieve what you want.

So be careful what you think and say. Like your thoughts, your words also have the power to empower or weaken you. Best of Luck!

Happy Deepavali!

Cheers,
Mark

Wednesday, October 27, 2010

Look Yourself in the Mirror Before You......

.....start criticizing others. Are you being a hypocrite?

I have been following the SGX buy over of the Australian Stock Exchange (ASX) with great interest. It has become highly politicized. And I was appalled by some of the statements made by some Australians especially by people in high positions in the Australian Government. The nationalistic sentiment is understandable. But of the statements are just double edged swords. They claim that Singapore's capital punishment of hanging those who committed serious crimes is in-humane. I say, its what we call it "Justice".... "An eye for an eye". What have the Australians done to avenge the precious their fellow country men's lives lost in Bali other than protesting that the terrorists be brought to justice.The terrorists are having a holiday in the prisons with probably a ten course meal.

It is because of too much of "Freedom of Speech" that you can't build consensus. It is because of liberal rules that there are a lot of Australians who live on "DOLE". Who pays for it....the hard working Australians which includes millions of of PRs and new citizens from Asia, Middle East, Europe, America and others.

They accuse Singapore of violating Human Rights laws. Look at what White Australians have done to the Aborigines. When I meet them in the streets, I feel sorry for them. They are worst off than some of the poor African- Americans in United States.The "Lost Generation" - children of Aborigines forcibly taken away from their families to work for the whites about 50 years ago....the Australian PM had to apologize for it only recently.

For a bunch of people whose forefathers who were a bunch of prisoners, these guys sit on their high horses and complain about the SGX-ASX merger is laughable. There are many things not right about Australia as well. Australia needs to address those issues. You don't see Singapore telling Australians how to run their lives. And if we did, we do it diplomatically. YES, Australia wants to become a "Financial Hub". I think Singapore is well positioned and experienced enough to assist them achieve that goal.

I love Australia and I like going to there regularly for holidays. I have met a lot of lovely Australians. But for some these highly positioned Australians to accuse Singapore of the above things is just unfair. Singapore has done what it needs to, have law & order so that we all can focus on growing the economy and well being of the nation. A friend of mine joined the Australian Police Force but he quit and came back to Singapore and this is what he had to say....the guys on the Australian Police Force are nice but the Australians by and large do not show respect to the Police. It is sad. In Singapore, people show respect to the Police because we need the Police to do their job so that we can live in peace. We can walk on the streets in the middle of the night and feel relatively safe.I don't think you can say the same about Australia.I value my family's security more than I care about freedom of speech. At least I can go out and enjoy with family without any fear of being mugged.

So the next time you want to accuse someone else of a mistake or crime, think before you speak. Ask yourself, are you being a hypocrite? Others wise, you might look like a fool.....Mel Gibson (the famous Aussie actor now infamous used to be a favorite actor of mine) comes to mind. Nobody wants to be associated with him anymore. His mouth is a "Lethal Weapon"...every time he opens his mouth, he shoots himself in the foot or his backside. Ouch!

No country can have a perfect system or government and you can't please everybody but at least Singapore has become a role-model for many countries around the world.

As for the SGX-ASX merger, I hope it goes through because I see it as "win-win" for both countries.


G'Day Mate!

Mark

Monday, October 18, 2010

Happiness...... What is Happiness?


Khushwant Singh at his best. The rationale applied to each preference is absolutely top class.

EIGHT CLUES TO HAPPINESS
By- KHUSHWANT SINGH

Having lived a reasonably contented life, I was musing over what a person should strive for to achieve happiness. I drew up a list of a few essentials which I put forward for the readers' appraisal.

1.     First and foremost is GOOD HEALTH. If you do not enjoy good health you can never be happy. Any ailment, however trivial, will deduct from your happiness. 

2.     Second, A HEALTHY BANK BALANCE. It need not run into crores but should be enough to provide for creature comforts and something to spare for recreation, like eating out, going to the pictures, travelling or going on holidays on the hills or by the sea. Shortage of money can be only demoralizing. Living on credit or borrowing is demeaning and lowers one in one's own eyes. 


3.     Third, A HOME OF YOUR OWN. Rented premises can never give you the snug feeling of a nest which is yours for keeps that a home provides: if it has a garden space, all the better. Plant your own trees and flowers, see them grow and blossom, cultivate a sense of kinship with them. 

4.     Fourth, AN UNDERSTANDING COMPANION, be it your spouse or a friend. If there are too many misunderstandings, they will rob you of your peace of mind. It is better to be divorced than to bicker all the time. 


5.     Fifth, LACK OF ENVY towards those who have done better than you in life; risen higher, made more money, or earned more fame. Envy can be very corroding; avoid comparing yourself with others. 

6.       Sixth, DO NOT ALLOW OTHER PEOPLE to descend on you for gup-shup. By the time you get rid of them, you will feel exhausted and poisoned by their gossip-mongering.


7.     Seventh, CULTIVATE SOME HOBBIES which can bring you a sense of fulfilment, such as gardening, reading, writing, painting, playing or listening to music. Going to clubs or parties to get free drinks or to meet celebrities is criminal waste of time. 


8.     Eighth, every morning and evening, devote 15 minutes to INTROSPECTION. In the morning, 10 minutes should be spent on stilling the mind and then five in listing things you have to do that day. In the evening, five minutes to still the mind again, and ten to go over what you had undertaken to do. 

RICHNESS is not Earning More, Spending More  Or Saving  More, but ... 

"RICHNESS IS WHEN YOU NEED NO MORE"