Tips my Mentor Taught Me.

We all need Mentors who have seen it all and (ideally) 10 to 15 years our senior to guide us through life's unchartered waters. Its better to take advice from an old sea dog captain who may have retired from helming his cargo ship days than from depending on your experience, gut instinct, or what your star sign may say (Sagittarius is mine).

Here are tips from the very successful friend of whose picture is here, and whose name I shall not reveal. He retired early at age 54 and has never looked back on wanting to stay on in a highly stressed, though very high paying career as a banker. He was the CEO of a major multinational bank in a nearby Asian country. He spends his time, doing hobbies he enjoys, and meeting friends and his extended family (his daughters are both married and living outside of Singapore). 

     REAL LIFE TIPS

1.Always read the fine print in any thing 

  A product , a contract,  an NDA, a guarantor in any loan or financial 

  transaction

  If you have doubts, don't sign. 

2.Watch what the person does - not what he says 

3. What is NOT said is more important that what is said 99% of time. 

4. If its too good to be true, it probably is.

5.Always be on time for appointments.

   If you think you are stretched for time to meet that person on a particular day, reschedule. Do not waste his and your precious time fuming about a possible no show. 

6. Never brag about expensive possessions. 

   They belong only to those who earned money the hard way for them and look good only for a while. A top level S Class Mercedes at the end of the day is just a big car, but requires lots of money to purchase and to maintain. Be Humble.

7. One unlucky break and you are wiped out

Financially, reputationally and even health can go overnight from seemingly healthy to (say) you have just 6 months to live.

8. Black Swans Do Exist - and when they bite, all heall breaks loose.

Finally, the big downer, you can do well in anything for decades, (running a 

business, have a lucky streak in gambling, flipping properties, assets 

enhancement etc) - there will be a time when the PERFECT STORM hits, 

and if you are in the game. You WILL be wiped out.

9. Be Humble. 

10. Greed is real Bad.

 Gordon Gecko, in the film Wall Street ended up in jail.....

    

Don't be greedy, earn a little (or more than a little) and...

 10. Exit Early  

Enjoy what you have struggled for while you are still striving for that one last hurrah.  Its a contradiction, but you deserve the small fruits that come your way to incentivise yourself to climb higher for the best fruits.

Finally a Bonus.

 11. Life's too short to die with millions in the bank and while you worked a                 lifetime to earn it, you have hardly had any time to enjoy it. Spend Some 

12. Live a Little 

Go for the year end holidays (I have had over 20 with my family to date). We thoroughly enjoyed those getaways first when the kids were babies (first in 1996, and young children 1997 -  2009, next when they were early to mid teens (2008 - 2012). From 2014, it was duo holidays just my wife and I (in total 6 - all in Europe and all at least 2 weeks long).  

13. Pay it Forward

Give to charity and the needy.  Money, your experience and Time.

There is No Time like the Present 

Nemo Mortalium Omnibus Horis Sapit.

No Human has all the Wisdom of the World. 

Back to Drone Flying for some Exercise

4 Sept 23 Drone Practice. 

After a  hiatus of almost 9 months, I am back at the hobby I picked up last year, drone flying. The sight of flying a small aircraft and controlling something in the air had always had a fascination for me since I was in Primary school.

I remember years back, while staying in Adis Road, I was one of those very fortunate boys whose Dad doted on me. I had a petrol engine small plane (Spitfire I believe) and I dared not to fly it as playing with highly flammable things well, were very dangerous.

My then friend Percy Henry (he has now since migrated to Adelaide Australia) opted to fly it and we went to the nearby park to take the maiden flight. We flipped the propeller and the engine roared into life. Percy then managed to get the plane to speed on the grass patch and the plane rose high, almost vertically. AND THEN it fell headlong into the ground and literally crashed (no burning).

The end of my aeromodelling days and love for plane model flying !

My dream is to fly larger drones and take better videos in the future for (hoprfully) future holidays.

 

Best Advice from someone ; My advice (if I may be so bold as to advise on anything)

 With friends and business associates, Timothy Lee and Tom Gan

I read on Quora recently, someone answered this question, 

"What is or was the best advice anyone has given you ?"

He replied  "Well, if you do something, make sure you do it damn well !".

I have taken this advice and applied it to my small business (20 years of existence with its ups and downs, sometimes there are hard struggles and sometimes there is  just pure adrenalin rush). Here is my advice on starting a business and when you should exit. 

    Small Business Owner's Manual 

1. Find a Niche and Aim to Dominate that Niche.

2. Stay Focussed and Work Very Hard. 

3. Defeats are temporary ; pick yourself up, learn from the mistakes and move on, however painful that may be. If it is too big a burden to carry on - admit defeat,close the business and take the time to heal. Its only a business. 

4. The boss's mindset must change and ride the technology revolution.

5. Now it is digital payment, ChatGPT and AI. How to use these to my advantage ?

6. Evolve ; the business world  is ever changing - the business owner's mind many a times is stuck in the 90s or early 2000s 

7. Pick good people and give them a purpose ; they will help you grow to the next 2 to 3 levels.

8. When the time comes to say, thats it ; sell. At a good price. When the profits are good and the outlook is rosy. 

8. Sell when the sun is shining and the sky is blue. Rather sell when you have options than when you have none or are pushed to the limit.

 

A Gem of a Buy - Oasis Tumbler from IMM Jurong East

I bought a set of 2 ; 1 gold and one silver grey 

There are tumblers and there a good value tumblers. I managed to stumble upon good buys ever so often at IMM, the factory outlet mall in Jurong East. If you go to Boarding Gate or the plethora of shops in most high end shopping malls like Paragon, you can buy a tumbler which will keep your beverage hot or cold without the nasty 

a) heat 

b) humidity condensation

singeing your fingers for the hot coffee or beverage, or the messy condensation which will drip onto your pants. Not cool. 

The brand in question is called Oasis, and I managed to buy 2 at their pop up store at IMM Ground Floor. Each costs only $15.90 or $16.00 whilst the ones sold at the town outlets easily sell for $49.00 and more.

My most recent favorite activity is to sit on the patio and enjoy the cool breeze of the evening, before calling it a night. I would have my favorite Korean prawn crackers, or Japanese Calbee crackers for company and would have an ice cold Asahi or Kirin beer to go along with it.

A small and most enjoyable alone time with no messy drips from the beer can or beer bottle.

Cheers anyone ?   

Business 'Raking' in the Profits ; Why the adjective 'Rake' ?

I have been busy most days during my off work time, doing housework. Its is a daunting task for a person my age, but I try to make the most of it and I have managed to convince myselt the health benefits of hard labour at the beginning and at the end of the work day - it is worth it.

I was surprised that the common adjective any business when they are doing good, the term 'raking' in the profits comes to mind.  You know why ?

Today I found out why.

I have a small lawn 5 m long x 34 m wide. Every day I vigorously rake it with this rake below.to dig up the small leaves blown down from the small plants on the side of the frangipani tree. They are small like 3cm x 2 cm x 5 mm and strewn all over the lawn. For a young old person like myself - to go down on all fours and pick up each and every one is a backbreaking task !

So the use of the trustry rake. A wooden contraption made of stiff bamboo fingers with sharp ends and good for digging up stuff just under the surface of the grass.  

Raking is all of the below 

1. It requires Hard Effort and work. I need to dig into the grass and pull it in one direction thus disengaging the leaf which may be below the grass. The leaves are spread wherever the wind blows.

2. It requires Strength from the person raking the lawn.

3. It requires Focus to ensure the leaves all end up in a small pile

4. It requires Stamina to get the job done.

Business Profits easy to make ?   Raking is Hard Work ! Hence making Profits for a Business requires 

1. Hard Effort

2. Strength and Perseverence

3. Focus on the Core Strategies

4. Stamina and Grit to get to the serious Money  
 

Anyone who says a business can just open and Roll in the Moolah  must be 

a) A conman

b) Deluded bordering on mental institution admission

c) Totally inexperienced and a Believer of Fairy Tales "and they lived happily ever after" types. 

d) A bit of all 3 above

                                                Carpe Diem   

 

Pham Quyen Muslim Vietnamese Restaurant - Inexpensive and So Tasty

 

                        Steamed Sea Bass Vietnamese Style Must Try 9.5 /10

Beef Nasi Pattaya Superb 8 / 10 

Vietnam Coffee Potently Awesome (10 / 10) 

 

Awesome Muslim Vietnamese Restaurant Coffeshop Food.

Situated at the junction of Clementi Road and at the westernmost end of Pasir Panjang Road sits this new coffeeshop place selling the most awesome Vietnamese food I have tasted in a long while. The place is called Pham Quyen Vietnamese Restaurant at 440 Pasir Panjang Road.

It has its share of fans, and my sons and I had the pleasure of a lovely dinner last weekend, with a very pleasant and decent price for dinner.

                                                    Fried Spring Rolls - Must Try (9 / 10)

Grilled Chicken Skewers - Superb (8.5 / 10) 

Honey Glazed Chicken Wings - Must Try (9.5 / 10)

Braised Beef Noodles Very Good (7.5 / 10)