A Turn of Events

It’s been a while since I last updated my blog. Many things have manifested in my life. I resigned from my job at the end of October. In the beginning, I thought I would like to have my own time, doing things that I love and getting focused on Youth Development and Women Development.

A week before I finally left my position as Assistant Vice President, Human Resource Development, a night occurred when someone encouraged me to take up a different position. It’s becoming a District Manager and building my own business in financial services. This is like a 360 degrees turn in my career, venturing an unknown territory. I am jumping into a career in managing a sales team focusing on acquiring sales figures every single day. I have always spoken in my training sessions that I don’t do sales; I only sell inspiration, for free. Now I am doing sales? I am taking a challenge of doing something totally different in my life.

As I started off, after getting my contract on November 28, 2007, life has been pretty colorful. It’s true that I get to do things on my own terms, I have freedom of time, I get to walk in the park every single morning without any need to clock in the office at 8.30 a.m. but life is definitely a different ballgame altogether. I admit that it is truly challenging yet at the same time filled with excitement.

Many showed up to extend their support to me. Throughout my first one month, the two who claimed to be the wings that are going to help me fly high are Azim and Darwish. These two fine young men who showed up in my life are smart, intelligent and very creative. They have been my strong pillars as I go through each challenge along the way.

On December 27, 2007 I asked Darwish to take on a medical protection plan. This has been going on quite a while and after a series of discussion in this area, I made him finally signed up late evening as we plan to submit cases on December 28, 2007.

I woke up on December 28 at 5.00 a.m. as usual, had my prayers and by 6.15 a.m. left for the daily ritual to the park for my morning walk. I had been very diligent ever since I quit my job as I have a dedicated walking buddy, Marcia. By the time I got back, it was 7.30 a.m. and I left for an appointment at 8.00 a.m.

As I started driving, I notice a message on my phone. It was from Azim sent at 6.15 a.m. asking me to call him ASAP. I made that call and my heart sank when he told me that Darwish had an accident and when he sent that message, they were at the hospital and the doctor was stitching up his wounds. I was on my way for an appointment at Renaissance Hotel and told him that I would rush to see Darwish as soon as I finish some work in the office after the appointment.

When Darwish showed up in my life, I felt that he was sent to me for a purpose. He has been very kind to me, he is a fast learner and he is very open to learning. We had dinner together with Azim the night before and they made me laugh most of the time as they related their fishing experience and other past humorous events in their life. We had fun and suddenly he is now wounded…it was so very sad.

As soon as I finished my instructions to my secretary, I left the office to see Darwish. He was in another friend’s apartment. It saddens me to see this frail looking young man lying in bed sleeping with all the wounds on his head. As I walked in the apartment, I noticed the shirt which I gave him was hung with blood stains on it. Izmir showed me the picture of a badly smashed RX 7 that he drove. Azim and Izmir gave me an account of what happened. Darwish was unconscious when a cab driver took him to the hospital. I thank God that an angel was sent to save his life. Anyone who saw the condition of the car would never believe that the driver would survive the crash. That thought alone was truly heart wrenching for me.

It gives me the creeps and I felt goose bumps all over me as I recall the vision that I had of him. When I looked into his eyes asking him to get a medical protection the day before, I felt so strongly about it because I had a vision of him lying in a hospital bed. Exactly a year ago, I had the same vision for Iznor and the next day he was admitted and put up for surgery. I know how strange this feels but I did not ask to have these peculiar images. It just came as a flash and I had no control over it.

After talking to Azim and Izmir, I slowly woke Darwish up to make sure that he is fine. As he opened his eyes, I asked him whether he knows who I am. He slowly said, “Puan” and nodded his head. So, he was fine. The next thing he said was,”PA (Personal Accident Plan) is important.” Then he said his ECP (Excel Care Plus i.e. Medical Protection Plan) is one day late. Isn’t it sad? Sometimes we thought things won’t happen to us. That we don’t need to protect ourselves from an accident or any medical condition…but do we know for sure? That it will happen to others and we are spared the pain?

Darwish then started talking and suddenly he was his old self again, teasing and joking with us. I felt better seeing him this way. As I left him and his friends I was grateful to God that he is very much alive, that he is surrounded with caring friends like Izmir, Azim and Mahathir.

To Darwish:

“May God give you the strength to endure this and may you have a speedy recovery. I may not be able to fly high with one broken wing…..”

The Seed Market

The Seed Market

Can you find another market like this?

Where,

with your one rose

you can buy hundreds of rose gardens?

Where,

for one seed

get a whole wilderness?

For one weak breath,

a divine wind?

You've been fearful

of being absorbed in the ground,

or drawn up by the air.

Now, your waterbead lets go

and drops into the ocean,

where it came from.

It no longer has the form it had,

but it's still water

The essence is the same.

This giving up is not a repenting.

It's a deep honoring of yourself.

When the ocean comes to you as a lover,

marry at once, quickly,

for God's sake!

Don't postpone it!

Existence has no better gift.

No amount of searching

will find this.

A perfect falcon, for no reason

has landed on your shoulder,

and become yours.

- Jalaluddin Rumi

THE UNEXPECTED INCOME PRAYER
The following prayer has been used by many people with wonderful and surprising results. Speak it out loud, once or twice daily.

THE UNEXPECTED INCOME PRAYER
I believe God is the source of all supply, and money is God in action, and should be used for good.
I believe my good is now freely flowing to me so bountifully I cannot use it all, and I have an abundance to spare and to share, today, and always. I am expecting "Unexpected Income!"

I believe God is now giving this to me and I accept this as Truth and give thanks.

All channels of financial supply are now open to me and I am richly, bountifully
and beautifully prospered in every good way.

I believe true Prosperity includes the demonstration of right living conditions,
right activity and right kinds of happiness.

This word, which I speak in faith, believing, now activates the law of increased
universal good for me and I expect to see rich results now!

I visualize the financial good I expect.

I see it coming to me richly and abundantly.

I claim and accept it for myself now.

I am grateful in advance! I bless all the good I now have, and bless the increase.

I bless all others in the "Unexpected Income!" program, and I know we are now
all prospering together in every good way, and share the good we receive.

I now freely give my tenth to God's good work.

My giving is making me rich!

God gives to me rich, lavish financial blessings now!

This is so now.

I am grateful.

Thank you, God!

Unexpected Income

Hi Readers,

Just want to share this Unexpected Income Prayer that I received via email from someone sometime ago for you to try out.

THE UNEXPECTED INCOME PRAYER
The following prayer has been used by many people with wonderful and surprising results. Speak it out loud, once or twice daily.

THE UNEXPECTED INCOME PRAYER
I believe God is the source of all supply, and money is God in action, and should be used for good.
I believe my good is now freely flowing to me so bountifully I cannot use it all, and I have an abundance to spare and to share, today, and always. I am expecting "Unexpected Income!"

I believe God is now giving this to me and I accept this as Truth and give thanks.

All channels of financial supply are now open to me and I am richly, bountifully
and beautifully prospered in every good way.

I believe true Prosperity includes the demonstration of right living conditions,
right activity and right kinds of happiness.

This word, which I speak in faith, believing, now activates the law of increased
universal good for me and I expect to see rich results now!

I visualize the financial good I expect.

I see it coming to me richly and abundantly.

I claim and accept it for myself now.

I am grateful in advance! I bless all the good I now have, and bless the increase.

I bless all others in the quest for Unexpected Income, and I know we are now
all prospering together in every good way, and share the good we receive.

I now freely give my tenth to God's good work.

My giving is making me rich!

God gives to me rich, lavish financial blessings now!

This is so now.

I am grateful.

Thank you, God!

Wrong Diagnosis?

Ever since the day the doctor told me I had a swollen liver, that I was diabetic and had high cholesterol, I started making adjustments to my lifestyle. I have since lost 5 kg.

I went to see our in-house doctor and when she examined my blood profile she told me that I was not diabetic and my cholesterol was not high. She asked me to stop taking both medication and then examined my liver. I was surprised that she said my liver was fine. She then wrote a note for me to have a liver scan to confirm this. The following day I went to the hospital for a liver scan. The reports came out that was my liver was fine. Not only that, my pancreas, spleen and kidneys are fine too. Whee...that was truly amazing good news for me.

Now that I am in this state, I am just wondering what kind of wrong diagnosis was given by the first specialist? They scare you with all the wrong diagnosis and made you come regularly for consultation. The place was so full with patients. Now I know why. It is a rip off.

I do not deny that after the first health scare, the wake up call was a good one for me but the wrong diagnosis? Had I not went for a second opinion, I would be doomed for life on diabetic and high cholesterol medication. Guess, God is on my side and gave me all the signs and warning.

I am grateful for this discovery and shall continue my quest for a healthier lifestyle as I feel that my new mission in life is about to begin.

A Walk In The Park

It has been months since I last had my regular walk in the park which is a mile away from where I live. This morning when I woke up, I failed the motivation test as when I could not find my pedometer; I quit making the move to walk. I ended up internet browsing and reading instead.

By mid-day my daughter and I went to watch the latest Disney movie, Ratatouille. It was about a rat having a strong passion to become a chef. There’s lots of learning in the movie, about living your passion, about no giving up and about standing up to what you believe in. As we walked out of the cinema, my 15-year old daughter, Adilah said that she would want to be a chef.

She has always expressed her desire to be a chef. Ever since she was seven, she started watching all the cooking shows, experiments some recipes and at one point even sold some of her culinary delights to her classmates. Watching Ratatouille reinforced her passion and by now she is very sure of becoming a chef one day.

When evening comes, I started to feel restless and decided to take a walk in the nearby park. I put on my sports attire, my walking shoes and drove to the park. My target was to hit 2 rounds which cover approximately 2 miles. As I hit the ground, I started to savor the scenes at the park. First I encountered people feeding monkeys. There must be more than fifty monkeys, some adults and some looked like they’re mere babies a few weeks old. They looked so cute running around and eating bits of bread from the kind visitors.

The shooting fountain at the lake was also a great view and there’s a group of people scooping small fishes from the pond with their little nets. I wondered what they would do with the little fish they caught. Taking the fish from their natural habitat would surely shorten their life span.

As I continued walking, I met Marilyn, a colleague at work. I was inspired when I saw her as I knew that she just had a knee surgery and she is already walking. I used to see her when I walked during weekends.

At one point, I started to talk to the trees from my heart, that I missed them and thanked them for still being there for the rest of the joggers. I used to walk before sunrise and the air was fresher in the morning. The smell of the trees is fresher and the fragrance of the flowers is truly remarkable at 5.30 a.m. When I passed the waterfall, I stopped for a moment to savor the therapeutic sound and vision of the water flowing into the lake with the fish swimming underneath it. The scenery was worth savoring for.

I walked for 45 minutes and today reached 6,946 steps on my pedometer. My ultimate goal is to reach 10,000 steps on a daily basis. I have led a very sedentary life and most days I would clocked in around 1,200 steps. Can you believe that? I have always been very tired and use the excuse as coming home late from work for not walking or exercising.

Today, I am grateful that I made a choice to begin my exercise by taking a walk in the park.

Meeting With A Millionaire

On Thursday morning, my part-time young driver sent me to a specialist. I was there a week ago. This time it was for me to take my blood test results. When the doctor related the results to me, it was like "The Day That Changed My Life".

I am not sure how to describe it but it was so real. My liver is swollen. That shocked me as I have no clue how it can happen. I have never consumed alcohol in my entire life, never had jaundice fever and never was on any liver medication. My blood sugar was high, my cholesterol was high and my white blood cells count was high which was termed as mild leucocytosis. Next, the doctor told me what I should eat i.e. fish and vegetables only and told me of the medication I need to take etc. When I was in the doctor's room lying down listening to him, it all happened so fast and I cannot recall how I felt. The doctor was good, he gave me assurance not to worry, he would give some medication and would see me again in three weeks.

A call was made to my part-time driver and as I waited for the nurse to dispense the medication, all that the doctor had just said began to sink in. I felt like crying as it dawned on me how serious my health condition was and I may not live very long. I knew and had been struggling to lose weight but I guess nothing ever hit me until I read those reports. Since last week, after my first visit, I had stricter control on my diet and I had lost 9.68 pounds. For a week, I had been cutting down on my food, limiting to mainly fish, chicken and vegetables. Each day, I got excited losing the pounds as I plotted my graph.

As I begin to worry about my condition, suddenly images of Hamu crossed my mind. She was our Call Center Staff who had liver cancer almost at the final stage where all the doctors told her she had a few more months to live. Whatever the doctors had said, seeing her was a different matter altogether. She appeared normal and excited and no one would guess how terminally ill she was. It's been two years since she beat it, got married last year and delivered a healthy baby last month. Images of her bubbly personality came into my mind. Her condition was far worse than mine and I then resolve that I can beat this too.

Even though at times images of defeat slide in, I kept thinking about the show I was going to perform on Friday in front of 100 audience. I planned to have an outstanding opening with dry ice for an Agency Executive Seminar in a hotel. Well that kept me going.

When my driver fetched me, he spoke about a millionaire he met the previous night and he was surprised the millionaire knew me well. Then I made a call to this young millionaire, Azman Bidin. I told him I wanted to see him. He agreed and we met at 8.30 p.m. Two young man and another friend joined us. It was inspiring to see him and how he has grown. He spoke a great deal on the mindset, what it takes to be successful and shared with us his experience and even his dreams. It was uplifting to see him speak. Anyone who sees this frail looking man who is exceptionally thin wouldn't guess that he is so powerful, so influential, so passionate yet so humble in his ways. We were with him for 3 hours and at the end of the session, the two young man who came with me shared their excitement to jump in the business with the millionaire. I, too am so impressed with him as I once knew him as a staff in an Audit Department from the same company where I once worked. Both of us had left that company.

After my meeting with him that night, I forgot about my condition, reached for my computer as soon as I got home, worked on my presentation materials and went for slumber at 2.00 a.m. Yesterday I woke up at 7.00 a.m., switched on my computer and did my finishing touches on my slides.

I had a great session where I managed to mesmerize my audience with my story about the boy who shocked Harry Houdini with a magic trick. I did the magic trick in front of the audience where I held a scarf, then picked a watch from a lady, put it under the scarf, got a person from each table to touch the watch and then went up to the front to show the full visibility of my next move. I then swing the scarf around and showed them that the watch had disappeared! Half of the audience stood up wondering what had happened and how I did it. I turned the pockets of my jackets out so that they could see that I did not hid it anywhere in my jacket. Then I told them that I couldn't share with them how it was done and I said,"It's called 'Job Security'!". The audience laughed. The experience was truly fulfilling. Of course, I learned all that from my own learning investment attending the American Society for Training & Development Conference in Orlando, Florida in June, the year of September 11 incident. I created myself to be exclusive just as what Azman, the Millionaire said that being exclusive is key in becoming a successful person.

Hence, my night with the millionaire was a night to remember as it happened on The Day That Changed My Life!