Hi Friends

Last week, I have written about Part 1 of our 3-part series. Now it’s our 2nd instalment.

Here are 5 more.

1. SIR RICHARD BRANSON

This man needs no introduction. But there are a few things that you may not know about Branson:

(i) He suffered from Dyslexia – Wikipedia defines Dyslexia as someone who is “characterized by difficulty with learning to read fluently and with accurate comprehension despite normal intelligence”

(ii) He cried when he had 1 more billion dollars – I would probably be slapping myself to make sure that it wasn’t a dream but Branson cried. Why? At the 40th celebration of Virgin Records, Branson sold the record label more than 20 years ago for $1 billion. He cried because he felt as though he was selling his baby for money. “Of course, it was very hard – it’s like selling your children,” Branson said in an interview with Reuters. “I mean, you build something from scratch, we had just signed Janet Jackson, we had just signed the Rolling Stones when we sold it, and I remember running down Ladbroke Grove, tears streaming down my face with the check for a billion dollars.” Subsequently years after, he used the money to build one of the world’s commercial space travel company called Virgin Galactic making space travel a reality for me and you (provided you have US$250,000 to spare to buy 1 ticket). “We wouldn’t be building spaceships today if it hadn’t been for that (sale) so it was the right decision,” Branson told Reuters.

(iii) Virgin Airline started on a Blackboard – During a conference in August 2013, Branson recounted how he started Virgin Airline:

“I was in my late twenties, so I had a business, but nobody knew who I was at the time. I was headed to the Virgin Islands and I had a very pretty girl waiting for me, so I was determined to get there on time. At the airport, my final flight to the Virgin Islands was cancelled because of maintenance or something. It was the last flight out that night. I thought this was ridiculous, so I went and chartered a private airplane to take me to the Virgin Islands, which I did not have the money to do. Then, I picked up a small blackboard, wrote “Virgin Airlines. $29.” on it, and went over to the group of people who had been on the flight that was cancelled. I sold tickets for the rest of the seats on the plane, used their money to pay for the chartered plane, and we all went to the Virgin Islands that night.

Now you know the size of Branson’s mindset.

So what have I learnt from Branson?

Belief to Embrace: “Dream big by setting yourself seemingly impossible challenges. You will then have to catch up with them” ~ Sir Richard Branson.

2) ELON MUSK

Who is this man any way? I have first heard about this guy (how dare I use the phrase “this guy”) when I attended a workshop in KL. I did some research and I found this guy absolutely amazing. Can you believe that he wants to put man onto Mars? Elon Musk is an engineer and entrepreneur who had co-founded PayPal and currently drives strategy, development and design at two companies he created, Space Exploration Technologies (SpaceX) and Tesla Motors, and oversees a third company, SolarCity, which he co-founded. He led SpaceX’s efforts to be the first private company to successfully launch and dock a spacecraft with the international space station.

Please watch this video below to really really know who is Elon Musk.

I have always heard people talking about “Thinking Big” but what’s really “Thinking Big”. I got to realized what “Thinking Big” was when I saw this quote by Elon Musk:

Belief to Embrace: “The first step is to establish that something is possible; then probability will occur.” ~ Elon Musk.

3. ESTEE LAUDER (1908 – 2004)

If you are a lady reading this post, you would have heard this name which is synonymous with cosmetics. The company began in 1946 when Joseph Lauder and his wife Estée Lauder (Josephine Esther Mentzer) began producing cosmetics in New York City. She has been known to love her company so much that she wants to do everything herself. Starting from skin creams created by her chemist uncle, she sold  them at beauty shops and resorts until the establishment of their first department store account with Sakd Fith Avenue in New York. Estée Lauder’s Clinique brand became the first women’s cosmetic company to introduce a second line for men when, in 1976, they began a separate line called “Skin Supplies for Men”, which continues to be sold at Clinique counters worldwide.

Beliefs to Embrace: “I didn’t get there by wishing for it or hoping for it, but by working for it.” ~ Estée Lauder

4. Milton Hershey (1857 – 1945)

At the age of 14, Hershey, who had dropped out of school the year before, expressed an interest in candy making and began apprenticing with a master confectioner in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. Four years later, Hershey borrowed $150 from his aunt and set up his own candy shop in the heart of Philadelphia. Despite working hard for 5 years, unfortunately, things did not work out. He has to closed his shop and he went to Denver to search for his dad. It’s also in Denver that he work with a confectioner and he discovered caramel and how fresh milk could be used to make it. But he wasn’t happy to work for someone. He decided to gave it another shot again in Chicago and later in New York City, but both venture failed. In 1883, he returned to Lancaster and, still convinced he could build a successful candy company, started the Lancaster Caramel Company. He later started Hershey Chocolate Company. Fast forward, Hershey’s winning ideas included the Hershey Kiss in 1907, which the company’s founder named himself. The trademark foil wrapper was added in 1924.

I love his story. Watch Part 1 of this story here:

You can watch the rest of his documentary in YouTube by searching for his name.

I love one of his quotes to know how philanthropic he was:

Beliefs to Embrace: “If I ever become rich, I am going to use my money to build schools to give every boy and girl an opportunity to get an education.”  ~ Milton Hershey

5. Levi Strauss (1829 – 1902) 

Yes, the above man is the Founder of Levi’s. He may not looked as cool as Levi’s jeans but he sure is a man that you can learn a lot from.

In 1853, the California gold rush was in full swing, and everyday items were in short supply. Levi Strauss, a 24-year-old German immigrant, left for San Francisco with a small supply of dry goods. After his arrival, a prospector wanted to know what Mr. Levi Strauss was selling. When Strauss told him he had rough canvas to use for tents and wagon covers, the prospector said, “You should have brought pants!,” saying he couldn’t find a pair of pants strong enough to last.

Levi Strauss eventually use the canvas and made them into waist overalls. But the miners complained that they tended to chafe. Levi Strauss then replaced a twilled cotton cloth from France called “serge de Nimes.” The fabric later became known as denim and the pants were nicknamed blue jeans. In 1873, Levi Strauss & Company began using the pocket stitch design. Levi Strauss and a Reno Nevada-based Latvian tailor by the name of Jacob Davis co-patented the process of putting rivets in pants for strength. On May 20, 1873, they received a patent. This date is now considered the official birthday of “blue jeans.”

This is the story of Levi Strauss:

Belief to Embrace: “The scientist is not a person who gives the right answers, he’s one who asks the right questions.” ~ Levi Strauss.

Every time I write something, I have learnt something. What have you learnt today?

To CHAT with me and know more about how NLP can transform your life and others around you? CLICK on this link – Free NLP Workshop.

Cayden Chang Founder & Director,

Mind Kinesis Management International & Mind Kinesis Investments Pte Ltd
BSc(Hons), MSc
Lifelong Learner Award 2008 Honouree

Hi Friends

I was in Penang International Airport last month waiting for a plane to come back home when I saw this posting. It will be the GREATEST Present that I have ever received for this year!

FULL TEXT BELOW:

<<So many of us go through life without knowing what to do, without a purpose, or maybe having a dream but never finding time to fulfill these dreams. Most will easily come up with reasons for not doing so. However, you’ve really never lived life till you lived it purposefully. Once you discover or rediscover your life purpose, that’s your compass, bearing direction in your choices in life. You do things that are aligned with your purpose and you know when to let go of certain time occupiers that do not serve that purpose. The ONE most critical training I attended my entire life is the NLP course by an ex-colleague and now friend and mentor, Cayden Chang.

Even though I had known for some time what my life mission is, I never really took it seriously, just floating along, got sidetracked, mixed with wrong company that got me so high and dry on some hollow friendship, and made a terrible life mistake that thrusted me into depression and felt that life wasn’t worth living. On the outside, I was wearing a facade of happiness, bubbly and friendly. Deep inside, I was hurting badly and felt I was living just so my loved ones do not have to grief. When Cayden first asked the class what we would want to do if we knew we only had a few weeks, days or months to live. I told the class there was nothing I’d do as I was ready to go. By Day 6 of NLP, this had changed.

At the NLP basic practitioner training and later master practitioner training, I rediscovered my life purpose. Untangled myself from the negative people that I got involved with, cleared my negative emotions and guilt, integrated a conflict that I had held with regard to making money whilst doing charity, learned and explored strategies for self life coaching and facing up to an unavoidable extended family member who’d been mentally abusing me for close to 20 years. Through it all, I completed my master’s degree and though I got nominated for two awards (based on research excellence and GPA) but didn’t win any, I emerged a winner. I’ve won over the demons in me: fear, conceitedness, procrastination, insecurity, negativity, etc. The list can go on and on. Other than my supportive husband who is always the buoy that keeps me afloat, NLP training at the NLP Singapore – Mind Kinesis NLP Academy is the lifeline thrown to me, the one that got me ashore. Borrowing the lyrics from the song ‘Passion’, the purpose (future) before me, the past behind me, there’s no turning back.

With NLP, I’ve opened the door for myself to a community of positive, supportive and encouraging NLP practitioner friends. I’ve also gone on to attend another training in Value Investing (VI) by Cayden’s company and started investing and earning passive income. Every now and then, in Facebook, these two communities of practitioners (NLP and VI) will “nudge” me on my dreams and my life purpose, with their reflections, announcements and sharing of their achievements of the various milestones and life goals. This sharing by Cayden below is one of them. Life is constantly throwing us the unexpected, the unpleasant,  the irksome somebody or some events. I can’t stop these from coming. But I am now better, much better equipped with the resources and community of support to face these. Unconsciously, I’m also starting to be more reflective, something I deem a positive transformation in me. Of course, NLP is not the panacea to all downs in life. It doesn’t mean I will never ever cry, fear, procrastinate, make mistakes or fail. Like what my best friend and sis-in-Christ Dorothy said, I am still the sinner, but a saved sinner. I am still the fallible human, but a more resourceful human, with the necessary mental resources to cope with the spectrum of life experiences.That is why I always have Cayden (who survived renal cancer in 2010) in my prayer. His work is transforming people’s lives. I sincerely hope he can continue to transform many more lives. And this all started with Cayden himself having the life purpose to motivate and empower people to reach their destiny.

READ CAYDEN’S REFLECTION at: https://nlp1.myguaranteedseo.com/inspiration-story/nlp-singapore-finding-your-purpose-in-life

READ INTERVIEW WITH CAYDEN CHANG BY MY AWARD-WINNING BUSINESS & LIFESTYLE BLOGGER COUSIN, GRACE TAN at: http://workingwithgrace.wordpress.com/2011/01/21/interview-with-cayden-chang/>>

It’s the usual month where Christmas is near and festive mood is in the air.

I wish you a Merry Merry Christmas and a Brand New Year where ALL your Dreams will come TRUE!

To know more about how NLP can transform your life and others around you? CLICK on this link – Free NLP Workshop.

Cayden Chang

Founder & Director, Mind Kinesis Management International & Mind Kinesis Investments Pte Ltd
BSc(Hons), MSc
Lifelong Learner Award 2008 Honouree

Dear Friends,

We just had a Super Awesome Session with NLP Batch Swish 26 last Friday to Sunday where they had ALL their Limiting Beliefs,. which have been bugging them for years, removed in less than half an hour. It was really a Wonderful 3 days where there were moments of Joy, moments of Self-Reflection and moments of Breakthrough.

View some of the Amazing Photos of NLP Swish 26:

“Here’s to the crazy ones. The misfits. The rebels. The troublemakers. The round pegs in the square holes. The ones who see things differently. They’re not fond of rules. And they have no respect for the status quo. You can quote them, disagree with them, glorify or vilify them. About the only thing you can’t do is ignore them. Because they change things. They push the human race forward. And while some may see them as the crazy ones, we see genius. Because the people who are crazy enough to think they can change the world, are the ones who do.”

Another Amazing thing that took place was the Facebook posting of a Breakthrough of one of our NLP Graduate, Hazel, who was just half-way through her NLP Training. Her posting almost put tears onto my eyes. Read below:

Talking about a TRANSFORMATION in LIFE! 

We will be having our Day 7 NLP Training again next month where we will review the progress of their Goals and themselves in Life.

Looking forward to seeing them again!

Know more about how NLP can transform your life and others around you? CLICK on this link – Free NLP Workshop.

Have a GREAT Weekend!

Cayden Chang
Founder & Director, Mind Kinesis Management International & Mind Kinesis Investments Pte Ltd
BSc(Hons), MSc
Lifelong Learner Award 2008 Honouree
Co-author, “Do You Have What It Takes To Be BOSS?

Hi Friends

In the early part of May, I travelled to Omaha, State of Nebraska to attend Warren Buffett’s company, Berkshire Hathaway’s Annual General Meeting. Before that, I travelled around Omaha, visited some of Warren Buffett’s companies and attended a Value Investor Conference at University of Nebraska, Omaha.

So what’s my purpose of this trip? What is this trip got to do with NLP?

Numerous people that I have met in life have always wanted to achieve success in their life, whether is it in their career, personal development, relationship, health, etc. The question is HOW! If I want to be the Top 5% sales person in my company, HOW do I become one? If I want to be a very good communicator or public speaker, HOW do I become one? If I want to feel driven and motivated every day, HOW do I go about doing it?

The SECRET is simple (but not easy to do) – To MODEL after people WHO HAVE BEEN THERE DONE THAT.

For example, if you want to the Top 5% sales person in my company, who will have the answer? Do you seek the bottom 5% sales person for advice? Of course not. So who should you talk to? That’s right! The TOP 5% sales person.

Why them? Because they are the ones who knows exactly what’s to be done to become the TOP 5% because they have been there done that. Most people did not get what they want because they ask the wrong people. People who have NOT been there done that or people who have claimed to have been there done that. So HOW do you differentiate between those who have PRODUCED RESULTS and those who claimed? Easy. Just look at the results that they have achieved in their life!

So if it’s that simple, then everyone will become highly successful. But why isn’t it so?

Before I answer the above question, let me show you some photos of those whom I have learnt from in the aspect of Value Investing (www.investment-in-stocks.com) & about Warren Buffett, the Greatest Investor of All times.

The following photos show those Brilliant Minds that I have met at Value Investor Conference 2013 (Held at University of Nebraska):

Scott Thompson (Left), Founder and managing director of Intrinsic Value Capital Management

Me (Middle),

Dr Bud Labitan (Labitan Partners LLC)

Michael Shearn, Founder, Time Value of Money LP (Left), Me (Right)

Me (Left) & Howard Marks, Founder of Oaktree Capital (Right)

Me (Left), Scott Phillips, Lauren Templeton Capital Mgmt (Right)

Lawrence Cunningham, Professor of Law at George Washington University (Left), & Me (Right) 

Me (Left), Steve Jordon, World-Herald reporter on “everything Buffett” (Right)

So if it’s that simple, then everyone will become highly successful. But why isn’t it so?

Simple does not mean easy. For example, your Sales Mentor whom you want to model after may tell you that in order for you need to be the TOP 5%, you will need to wake up at 6am, exercise 30 mins to keep your mind and body healthy and then make 100 cold calls per day, and you will have to do the same thing for 365 days consecutively.

Simple to understand, isn’t it? But is it easy to do? NO! It’s damn hard to do, which is why MOST people gave up. Lots of effort and hard work is required to turn your plans into results. Li Kashing, a Hong Kong Billionaire, has said that if you want to enjoy the success that the successful people have, you will need to go through what these successful people have gone through.

So the question is HOW can anyone learn the will power to carry out what they want in life?

Know more about how NLP can transform your life by attending our Free NLP Workshop and add me at www.facebook.com/caydenchang.nlp.

Have a GREAT Weekend!

Cayden Chang
Founder & Director, Mind Kinesis Management International & Mind Kinesis Investments Pte Ltd
BSc(Hons), MSc
Lifelong Learner Award 2008 Honouree
Co-author, “Do You Have What It Takes To Be BOSS?

Hi Friends

I have just came back from Orlando (Florida) after attending Society of NLP’s Charisma Enhancment Trainers Training.

It was an amazing experience to meet Dr Richard Bandler …… as usual …. and watching him on stage performing his magical NLP Demos and his story-telling skills.

For those of you who have not seen Dr Richard Bandler before, I have provided a video below so that you can appreciate his style of communication:

So the following are 5 Critical Success Factors that I personally felt that they may be useful to you. Do note that some may be new , some may be a reinforcement to something that you may already know. So there you go:

#1 SENSE OF HUMOUR

OK. Now this you know. You may think that you know. It’s what you know but rather when you communicate with another person, are you able to elicit a response from them where they might smile or laugh so that the ice is broken between you and the person you are communicating. The secret lies in Richard’s ability to use his facial expression, tonality and body language. Watch the video below:

#2 Usage of a Nested Loops

Nested loops are usage of stories where only half of any story is told at the beginning where the 2nd half will be told at the end. I have been using such stories in most of my trainings. Purpose of Nested Loops is to plant ideas to the unconscious mind and for the audience to connect the dots. If you are still wondering what are Nested Loops, have you ever wonder why some action movies will show the most exciting segment right at the beginning and then suddenly, it leaves you hanging at the most critical point. The movie will then start from the beginning, continue with the flow until the end where the story will then link back to the exciting moment which was shown right in the beginning. It’s a great example of story telling where it catches your attention right in the beginning, suspense your interest and reveal the other half of the exciting portion right at the end.

An example will be a short clip below from the movie Inception. Watch the entire clip below and see how one scene jumps abruptly to another:

 #3 Usage Spatial Anchors

I have used this numerous times in my presentation to engage audience and it was a great reminder again. If you are new to this phrase ‘spatial anchors’, it simply means usage of space (ie. spatial) on the floor/stage to tell a specific story and then another space to tell a different story and so on. The purpose is so that each specific space Anchors a specific story which may elicit a certain state from the audience.

#4 How Behaviour Can be Shifted Using Submodalites 

Before I explain what are Submodalities, let me ask you a few questions:

(i) “Recall a moment in time where you felt absolutely happy …….”

(ii) “Are there pictures, sound and/or feelings in your mind right now?”

If there are pictures (Visual), sound (Auditory) or feelings (Kinethetic) in your mind, each of these is a Modality. If there are picture(s) in your mind, are the pictures small/big, near/far, black & white/colour? The finer elements of each Modality is a Submodality. Small/Big is a Submodality of the Visual Modality.

Watch the video below to witness how Dr Richard Bandler guide the volunteer to ‘play’ with the image and video in his mind.

Pay attention to the story which Dr Richard Bandler told right at the end of the demo? Do you know what is the message behind the story?

#5 Usage of Embedded Commands

I wonder what are embedded commands by itself is an embedded command ……..

Know more about how NLP can transform your life by attending our Free NLP Workshop and add me at www.facebook.com/caydenchang.nlp.

Have a GREAT Week ahead!

Cayden Chang
Founder & Director, Mind Kinesis Management International & Mind Kinesis Investments Pte Ltd
BSc(Hons), MSc
Lifelong Learner Award 2008 Honouree
Co-author, “Do You Have What It Takes To Be BOSS?

Dear Friends

Thank you for the various positive feedback regarding an interview that featured me on Sunday Times on 10th Jun 2012.

In the event that you did not manage to grab a copy, you can view the article below. CLICK on the article to have a better view.

Thanks for reading this article. In life, there is bound to be people who will put you down during your pursuit of your dreams. On the other hand, there will also be people who will lend you their hands when you needed most. Along this line, I will like to thank the following wonderful people who have made the above article possible:

1) Mr Wong Kim Hoh – Senior Writer of ‘The Straits Times’. He is one of the most passionate writer that I have ever known, calling me past midnight and early in the morning to clarify different facts of the article to ensure that the article is well written. I will be looking forward to more articles by Kim Hoh. Salute!

2) Ms Nuria Ling – She obviously loves her job. She was already at the venue  where we are supposed to have the shoot much earlier than me planning the different angles of the shoot. We had a great chat during the shoot!

3) Rachel Wong – one of the most successful entrepreneurs that I have ever met. Successful  yet humble. She started out as a hair-dresser to become the Managing Director of Marunda Utama Engineering Pte Ltd.

If you have anything to share with me personally, “Like” us at www.facebook.com/nlpinsingapore OR add me at www.facebook.com/caydenchang.nlp.

“It’s never about how many times you fall but how many times you get up!”

Cheers!

Chat with me by attending our Free NLP Workshop.

Have a GREAT Week ahead!

Cayden Chang
Founder & Director, Mind Kinesis Management International & Mind Kinesis Investments Pte Ltd
BSc(Hons), MSc
Lifelong Learner Award 2008 Honouree
Co-author, “Do You Have What It Takes To Be BOSS?