Living an Excuse-free Life!

Was in Genting over the weekend. I kinda considered it as a pilgrimage, you know, go up to top of mountain, rest, relax, reflect over the past half-year, re-align or set new goals, and recharge.

The previous time I went Genting, I came down the mountain and joined Fitness First! Since then, I have lost 7 kg, finally seeing some small results on something I have been trying for years without success. So it's sort of a pat-on-the-back, let's-see-what's-coming-up sort of trip / personal reflection journey.

I forgot to take my borrowed library books from reception, so didn't manage to read any of the finance books I was interested in. Only had this book "Excuses Begone!" by Dr Wayne W. Dyer, some self-help guru. I finished the book this morning on the daily commute, and I appreciate the thoughts and reflections I have had after reading.

The book talks about Mind over Matter, and to stop giving oneself excuses for not achieving one's potential. "I don't deserve it", "I don't have time", "I am too old" are quite frankly some of the common excuses I use to avoid a certain decision, to not do something, or to seek sympathy.

So I was reading the final chapter today, and it spoke about how to face the excuse of "I'm too tired". If you keep saying this phrase, you will believe it, your body will live it, and soon you'll be too tired to do anything ever. It seems like such a valid reason, when you are working late into the night, juggling work and studies and what-nots, and it continuously provides a comfort zone for people to not do something.

Instead, the book advises one to stop saying that phrase, and instead tell yourself that "you have sufficient time and energy to do the work tasks that you set out to", and the body would adapt to achieve that. Having slept at 1 - 3 am for the work week so far, I truly felt that I was too tired, and that I wouldn't be able to concentrate during class today. "I'm too tired" is almost my daily phrase, and it is usually accompanied by a big yawn.

So, I tried it out today. I actively refrained myself from saying "I'm too tired", and instead reminded myself that I had sufficient energy to last the day, and still be able to focus in class. It worked. I barely yawned, I was able to focus on the discussions today, and I still have the energy to complete some work after class.

Now I will reflect on my usual excuses, and how I can remove them as barriers to attain my goals... so that I can live an excuse-free, fulfilling life!

Entrepreneurship

Attended a discussion that talked about entrepreneurship. One needs a PhD in order to do entrepreneurship...

P - Passion
h - hunger
D - Drive

A frank assessment of myself is that I probably have the passion in full capacity... Drive is about 50%, but I know, truly, that right now, I lack the hunger. My idea of entrepreneurship: Open a cafe while keeping my day job.

Am beginning to wonder if having the security of the day job keeps one from having a proper appetite to be an entrepreneur. But the lack of a job means that you'll have to survive on the business. Literally live/die by it! Am I ready for it, and will I ever be ready?

I have come to realise that I am a rather risk-adverse person. This would be so out of standard behaviour, and the urge to run back to the fold of safety would be tremendous.

When I was listening to the lecture, I busily wrote down all the potential funding avenues available from the Government, but one thing the entrepreneur mentioned really jolted my thinking. No one owes me a living. Stop expecting handouts. If you live by the Government direction, you can never be truly entrepreneurial.

I can feel the metamorphosis beginning. As a mentor mentioned, when a caterpillar goes into a cocoon, only after it experiences a complete breakdown on a physical level can it can truly become a butterfly...

The mental barriers, the personal restraints...

Am I ... breaking down?

My Dream

Everytime I try to write this, I'm always super duper exhausted. Sadly this is no different. I guess this has to be a series of continuing edits, and improvements, as I slowly sleep and think about my dream.

~~~~~

I always wanted to open my own little cafe bar, tucked away in a small corner of town. I want to live across my cafe, and be able to walk to my cafe from home as and when I feel like it.

This cafe would be the sum of my joys, the place where I go and have fun, where I go and find peace, the place of solace when I'm down and out, when I need to be alone, when I need to be with people, the place where I can share my passions, and sing my heart out, or talk about something I am interested in, a place where I meet new and old friends all the time...

Everything will be done with love and heart, making the coffee, making a recommendation, serving with a smile, chit-chatting with the customers, cleaning up the place, closing shop...

And I will not have customers; instead, I'll have potential new friends, and familiar faces. My term for them: "Friendstomers" The friendstomers philo will be: NO assholes need apply. Serving should be a pleasure, and not about satisfying the frustrating bunch who take it out on service staff when they're having a bad day. It would be collaborative partnership, between the person paying for my service and me providing it. I want my friendstomers to feel they are part of my life, part of my cafe, and for them to come back again and again, bringing new friends and new experiences. For my cafe, I am not just learning from my friendstomers, but hopefully I will have something to share with them as well...