Dear Friends

Having being a speaker myself for so many years speaking to more than 40,000 people around Asia, I have some favourite questions in which I love to ask the participants to make an important point. Let us play this activity.

I want you to look at the picture of the boy shown below and ask yourself the following questions:
1. What is something special about this boy? (List 1)
2. What are the things that this boy can’t do? (List as many as possible)
3. If this boy can’t do those things that you have mentioned, what will be the life that this boy going to have? A good life or a bad life?

From my experience, close to 100% of the participants that I have trained will say that this boy is going to have a bad life in the future. Let me show you how he looks like right now. By the way, I did not tamper this photo with any photo editing software. This young man really have no arms and legs.

Some of you may have seen him on TV or on the Internet. His name is Nick Vuijicic. The first time I met him face to face was during this year’s motivational event called National Achievers Congress 2014 where I happened to be the speaker and I had a brief encounter with Nick.

Through one wonderful lady called Kelly Chew, I managed to meet up with Nick Vuijicic again during a media session where Nick was sharing with the entire room his life experience and his latest brain child which is a online magazine called “Attitude is Altitude”.

What’s IMPORTANT are 3 LIFE TRANSFORMATIONAL TIPS that I have learnt from Nick:

1. It’s NOT what you don’t have, but what you DO with what you HAVE

In case you are not aware, since Nick’s first speaking engagement at age 19, Nick has traveled around the world, sharing his story with millions, sometimes in stadiums filled to capacity, speaking to a range of diverse groups such as students, teachers, young people, business professionals and church congregations of all sizes. Today this dynamic young man has accomplished more than most people achieve in a lifetime. He’s an author, musician, actor, and his hobbies include fishing, painting and swimming. You may be wondering how is it possible that he can do things like fishing, painting and swimming without hands and legs? Look at the jaw-dropping photos below:

Nick swims ……

He plays golf ……..

He surfs ……

 Yes, and he is happily married with a son.

 So what are the things you BELIEVE you CAN DO to make a difference in your own life?

2. Attract People by Focusing on Who You Truly Can Become

During the media session, a lady from the local newspaper asked Nick how he can become a good father when he do not have hands, legs and can’t even hug his son even he wants to? This question was really very direct but Nick’s answer was professional and mind blowing. Guess what he said? Nick mentioned that even though he does not have any arms to hug his son but he will do his utmost best to become a FATHER so great that his son will come and hug him instead. As a father of 2 little girls myself, that did not come across my mind and Nick’s way of looking at his relationship between him and his son just changed my perspective of how we may choose to love our children. Check out this photo below. Anything else to say?

 3. Being GRATEFUL. Just being Grateful!

If you look at the 2 cups above, do you think that the cup is half empty or half full? Some of you may think it’s half empty while some of you may think that it’s half full. There are no right or wrong answers. There are only perspectives. One key thing that I have learnt after surviving my first encounter with cancer in 2010 and my most recent stage 4 cancer just a few weeks ago is that it does not matter whether the glass is half full or half empty. Be grateful that there is a glass and there is something in it. For that, I am grateful to Kelly Chew and Elim Chew who has invited me to the media session to meet Nick Vuijicic and I am glad that I will be having a coffee session sometime next week with Elim Chew (Founder of 77th Street). It’s my honour and I am grateful!

Watch a short clip of Nick Vuijicic here (I used my iPhone 4 to shoot, so forgive me for the quality) and please please support his Attitude is Altitude Magazine at www.facebook.com/NickVujicic & www.facebook.com/aiamag:

If you wish to chat with me at my FREE Inspiring NLP Master Class on 22 Dec 2014 (Mon) which will be our LAST class for this year, register for a limited to meet me at www.singapore-nlp.com. We will have a little CHRISTMAS SURPRISE for you!

Cayden Chang

Founder of Mind Kinesis NLP Academy

1. Your competitors set goals.

Setting goals is an important component to keep you on track.
Decide what you want to achieve in the next three, six and twelve months so that you can make the right choices about which task to focus on.

2. Your competitors start early.

Training yourself to get started early can help you to get some extra work done. Successful people differentiate themselves with the norm. As an added bonus, the earlier you begin the more likely you’ll have time in the evening for a social life.

2. Your competitors rule out distractions.

Distractions are everywhere, but competitors take steps to block them out. This can be as simple as shutting the door or turning off your phone.

3. Your competitors have a clear working space.

Cross out your frustration and confusion. Having a clear working space will increase your productivity, efficiency and reduce margin of errors.

4. Your competitors are strict about spending time on each project.

Discipline is the key word to achieve your goals. Your competitors learned to set limits on how much they work on each project and draft up a schedule to pen down how much they should spend on each project each day.

5. Your competitors know how to use small bits of time.

You’ve got fifteen minutes before a call to a client – what do you do? If you said ‘check Facebook’ then you may want to take a look at your competitors. They have a list of tasks that only take ten or fifteen minutes on hand at all times. Whenever they have a spare bit of time they start moving through the list. Imagine how much you could get done if you did the same.

6. Your competitors have strict working hours.

You’ve heard it before: don’t check Facebook and Twitter while working. Your competitors have heard it too, but they’re taking it to heart. Multitasking is not as easy as it seems. A new piece of information can quickly knock your schedule out of whack, putting you behind for the rest of the day. As tempting as it may be to give your feed just a quick peek, keep that new window closed.

7. Your competitors collaborate with others.

Collaborating with others is likely something your competitors do to help manage their time. Do you have too much work to get done by your next deadline? Freelancers in your social or professional network can help share the load. Create those relationships now and you may even find them sending work back when your schedule is looking a little lean.

8. Your competitors have a life!

Your competitors take time to get out with friends and family, exercise, and pursue hobbies they enjoy. If you feel you don’t have the time for these pursuits because you’re too busy working on your business, now may be the time to reexamine your time management skills.

Have you find your own competitor to push and motivate yourself?

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

Jenniser
Programme Manager,

Mind Kinesis Management International & Mind Kinesis Investments Pte Ltd

Hi friends,

Second-hand stress happens subconsciously in our daily lives. It can easily influence by other stressed people just like you having a common cold. In this post, you will learn how to spot second-hand stress and avoid the unnecessary stress.

But we can learn how to identify second-hand stress and not sink into it. 

Identify 1: Identify the negative people in your life

It’s usually emitted by those people closest to you, in terms of relationships and time spent together. Thus, it tends to be your spouse/partner, children, work colleagues and supervisors and anyone else you spend a lot of time with, such as close friends or even neighbours. The more empathetic a person is, the more likely they will suffer second-hand stress.

Identify 2: Recognize the situations in which second-hand stress can occur.

There are lots of times when you can unconsciously take on board another’s stress. Example:

A colleague, boss or client pressures you about a deadline that he or she perceives as urgent. You don’t believe it to be as urgent as this person insists but by the time you’ve heard his or her stress about it, you’ve joined the club.

After identifying the second-hand stress, we need to know how to avoid it. The following are the solutions that may help you to release unnecessary stress.

Solution 1: Take charge of your own emotions

Once you can recognize the times in your life when stress seems to be catching, you can begin to stop yourself from falling victim to absorbing other people’s stress.

Notice yourself mimicking stressful stances, attitudes and body language. Are you scrunching up your shoulders just like the stressful colleague? Are you screwing up your forehead with worry just like your spouse? Take a moment to notice how tense your body is and make a conscious choice to relax every part of it and shake off those negative vibes.

Solution 2: Be an atmosphere change

• If it’s someone complaining about things, tell them something positive about themselves or the situation.
• If they’re worried about meeting a deadline, suggest spending time together to plot out a way to reassure the worrier. You could offer to show this person how you prioritize pressing tasks.
  

Solution 3: Acknowledge and accept what you can’t change

• You won’t always be able to put a positive shine on a situation or personal issue and you won’t always be able/want to be out of the presence of a stressful person or situation. In this case, you’ll need to armor yourself mentally and be prepared to remain positive and to not allow the stressful person’s outlook to color yours.
• Stop trying to protect and comfort someone who is a source of stress when this increases your own stress. Sometimes you’ll need to call it like it is, as it’s quite possible the person bringing the stress home from work or spreading it around work, doesn’t even realize the impact that he or she is having on others. Tell the person in question about the impact his or her stress is having on you. Use “I” statements but don’t avoid it; the other person needs to understand how harmful this has become to you.

Prioritize your tasks and get it rolling ~ Have a great weekend ahead.

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

Jenniser
Programme Manager,

Mind Kinesis Management International & Mind Kinesis Investments Pte Ltd

Reference: http://www.wikihow.com/Spot-and-Avoid-Secondhand-Stress

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

In our previous article on NLP Beliefs, we mentioned that beliefs shape the way we behave and thus our results and our lives. In this 1^st part of a 3-part series, I will talk about numerous Successful Entrepreneurs, what they think about and believe in that we can model after.

Let me list down some of my favourite entrepreneurs :

1.       GEORGE LUCAS

“May the Force be with you”. If you have not heard before this guy, you would probably have heard movies such as Star Wars and characters such as Han Solo, Luke Sky Walker and Darth Vader and the famous music called Imperial March.  Or you may even watched the movie series called Indiana Jones. Lucas first started this own company called ‘Industrial Light and Magic’. The smart thing that he did was to obtain the merchandising rights after the success of ‘Star Wars’. Since 1977, various toys, action figures, sound track, etc., made up about US$13.5 billion of memorabilia sales. In addition to business, he also created George Lucas Educational Foundation in the early 1990s.

Belief to Embrace: “No! Try not. Do, or do not. There is no try.” ― George Lucas.

2.       Walt Disney (1901 – 1966)

Every successful entrepreneur has their fair share of challenges and you probably did not know that Walt Disney has declared bankruptcy before in 1923 when his company was burdened with debt. Despite that, Disney and his brother, Roy, started Disney Brothers’ Studio. Their first deal was for distributor Margaret Winkler to distribute their ‘Alice’ cartoons. However, years later, Disney discovered that Winkler and her husband, Charles Mintz, had stolen the rights to Oswald, along with all of Disney’s animators. Disney and his team quickly produced three cartoons featuring a new character Walt had been developing called Mickey Mouse. As there was no sound for their earlier short films, they failed to find distribution. When sound technology became available, Walt used his own voice as Mickey Mouse and the cartoon became an instant hit. The rest is history.

Belief to Embrace:  “If you can dream it, you can do it. Always remember that this whole thing was started with a dream and a mouse.” ~ Walt Disney.

3.       Ray Kroc (1902 – 1984)

Macdonald’s is the world largest chain if fast-food restaurants serving more than 54 million customers daily. It’s the most famous successful stories ever told in American Business History. Kroc started his career as a salesman selling Prince Castle Multi-mixer and even though his sales were not doing well in one period of time, he remembered Macdonald Brothers who had purchased 8 of such mixers from him. After doing his research, Kroc opened his first franchise Macdonald’s in Illinois. His franchise did extremely well, and he franchised more restaurants. Fortunately and unfortunately, Macdonald Brothers have no ambition to expand their business. In the end, Kroc paid Macdonald Brothers US$2.7 million, and implementing automation and strict preparation standards that helped make McDonald’s the world’s largest restaurant franchise before his death in 1984, at the age of 81.

Belief to Embrace: “Luck is a dividend of sweat. The more you sweat, the luckier you get” ~ Ray Kroc.

1. 4.       Harland Sanders (1890 – 1980)

Sanders lie changed when his father passed away in 1895. The young Sanders has no choice but to look after and cook for his siblings. Sanders had worked in various jobs such as a fireman, insurance salesman and running filling stations. He began selling fried chicken from his roadside restaurant in Corbin, Kentucky, during the Great Depression. At age 40, the Shell Oil Company offered Sanders a service station in Kentucky rent free, where he would also feed hungry travellers.Sanders began to cook chicken dishes and other meals such as country ham and steaks for customers.Since he did not have a restaurant, he served customers in his adjacent living quarters. Sanders eventually moved his operation to a restaurant across the street, and featured a fried chicken so notable that he was named a Kentucky colonel in 1935 by Governor Ruby Laffoon. Sanders was diagnosed with leukemia in June 1980.He died in Louisville, Kentucky of pneumonia on December 16, 1980.

Belief to Embrace:  “One has to remember that every failure can be a stepping-stone to something better” ~ Colonel Harland Sanders.

5.       Asa Griggs Candler (1851 – 1929)

What comes to your mind when you think of Colas?

Invented by pharmacists John Pemberton by mixing little tonic syrup with water and baking soda, Candler saw a great opportunity – bottled the individual drink for individual sale. In 1891, Candler had purchased the entire company for just $2,300, the equivalent of about $54,400 today. Candler was a great marketer who strongly believes in advertising. Under Candler’s management, Coca-Cola’s advertising budget grew from $100,000 in 1901 to $1 million in 1911. The Coca-Cola name was plastered on everything. In order to protect the integrity of the brand, Candler took serious action on those who copied Coca Cola. The secret formula for Coca-Cola reportedly resides in a vault in an Atlanta bank and, in 2006, a scheme to sell company secrets to Pepsi landed three employees in jail.

Belief to Embrace:  “Every human life is made to fit some place, and there us a place for every life” ~ Asa Candler.

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
NLP in Singapore