Eliminating Desires

A strong desire,

is not nearly as potent as

one that is focused, refined and purified.

Young Men - Rise Up

Nothing is a substitute for passion

You cannot compensate for heart.

Through gritted teeth,

and clenched fists,

and late nights,

pacing.

If you do not break

when you are broken

You will rise.

Dichotomy

Which would you pick

if offered the truth

or happiness?

Stubborn

If you can't go out

of your way to do

something good,

Which way is 'your way'?

Small Victories

To deal with stress,

do small, manageable things

to stay on top

of the big things.

Maybe

Maybe, they made success look easy

when it was not.

that their achievements are built on flash

and not fire.

that their skill is a God-given gift

and not something they worked for

every, single, day.

Maybe it was just easy for them.

or maybe, that's just making excuses.

- inspired by Michael Jordan

Bad Traffic

Feeling like the first,

having discovered fire,

complete paradigm shift,

a visionary, a zealot

born into the world

bursting forth into...

a queue of former revolutionaries, all

stuck,

at the first hurdle.

Describe Yourself

How would you describe yourself

in three words, that are neither particularly

favourable nor insulting?

Unpredictable, Fallible, Curious

Goliath

Punching above my weight class

always have been.

A regular David

who compensates with heart.

Dinosaur

Memories of a 7 year old.

Thanks Dad,

You gave me

a huge toy dinosaur

(the thing I most desired)

so I would promise

to stop biting my nails.

I never did,

you knew I wouldn't;

but you gave it to me

anyway.

Shabbat

When did you last turn off your phone

for the whole day?

Separated out the time to check

yourself,

Reminding yourself that you are not

a machine.

Sometimes the best thing we can do

is nothing.

just

be.

Hooked

He ventured out of his cave

Eyes squinting into daylight.

He never looked back.

The more you live,

the more you realise

there is to live.

Realisation

It's not hard to grow

when you realise how

much you don't know.

Humility is the foundation

for growth.

Motorcycle

The moment you're born,

you start dying.

The realisation of that truth

inspires many middle-aged men

to buy huge motorcycles.

The realisation of that truth also

inspires many people to leave a mark,

to change the world, and to do it

today.

From Nothing

We brought nothing into this world,

so let us be thankful for everything we have,

For gratitude is the foundation for happiness.

I Believe in You

Don't fear being mediocre.

You are too great for that.

Wall Street

Some people use the word 'ambition',

as a euphemism for their greed.

Excitement

From the bland, calmness,

they whip up the waves,

the blue begins to rise and surge

until you've never been so high or so scared

and suddenly,

they quell the swell,

until you've almost.

caught.

breath...

again?

Excitement isn't created by sheer vigor or calmness,

it is the anticipation, the contrast, the unpredictability,

that keeps you coming back for more.

Seek first to Understand, then to be Understood

You may see an old woman,

you may see a young woman.

You are right.

In political, moral, economic, philosophical issues

others may have an opinion about what they see,

and you might see something completely different.

First, fully understand the issue from their view.

for they may be right.

too.

The Illusion of Choice

Is Choice an illusion?

Is it the predestined, preordained sum of our

formative years, temperament and habits,

proclivities, ignorances and desires?

What if it is?

The adventure is in making choices,

and through that, we unravel a purpose.

Discovering why we make them.

Why

Was there ever a more pertinent, yet

ultimately irrelevant question than;

Why am I here?

Bourgeois

'Sorry Mum, Dad,

I can't understand what you're saying.

I don't speak

Bourgeois.'

Accomplishment

Today;

I applied to four investment banks,

Organised my timetable,

Read a book on the financial crisis,

Completed some lectures on Game Theory

Attended a networking event.

And...

somewhat more importantly,

I climbed up 3 different trees.

Nice Guys Finish Last

Girls don't like mean guys,

over nice guys.

They prefer strong guys,

over weak guys.

You should never have to be a jerk

to make her happy.

Compromise

We are the only ones

who can undermine

our own integrity, dignity

and peace of mind.

No one else.

"They cannot take away our self-respect,

if we do not give it to them." ~ Ghandi

Lingering Smile

As she strolled away,

after a quick chat with him,

she suddenly caught herself,

still grinning like a goon.

Decision Time

The time when you must choose

to love or not,

is often disguised as the time

when you most want to leave.

Big Cheese

You may possess the whole earth

and even the sun,

(there are millions of suns left)

and have misplaced

your self.

Grace

Deep affliction

eclipsed

by deep affection.

Saving

It's an odd feeling,

to watch the money you'd

been saving for ages

to buy that designer/latest

garment/gadget

get spent on the electric and gas bill.

Dear Stranger,

I am going through a phase

where I need you.

Whoever you are.

Aim

I reserve the deepest respect

for those who venture and eventually live

outside their comfort zone.

No one ever lived a full life

on their bed or a sofa at home.

Maps

I like people who like maps.

Perhaps the recognition of a kindred spirit,

or probs cos maps are hot.

Closet Optimist

A self-proclaimed pessimist

once told me;

"Being a pessimist is great,

because you're either proved right

or pleasantly surprised."

I thought, "heh, gotcha,

you're even optimistic about pessimism."

zing.

Subjective

You cannot escape subjectivity.

at least, thats how it seems,

from my point of view.

Bicycle

I like to take pictures

of asian people trying to carry

too much on a bicycle.

a beautiful unabashed display of optimism.

The End of the Beginning

What's past is prologue.

What's last is yours.

This could go

either way.

Short Cut

Do not cut corners

when it comes to getting to know

yourself.

Gap Yah

Yah, so this one time,

in Malaysia, I met my Grandma

called Popo

for the first time in years,

and, she looked at me as if to say

though we don't speak the same

language, you and I are deeply

and profoundly connected...

and then I just CHUNDERED EVERYWHERE!

Banter.

Archive

It's a nice thought,

that the chaotic story

of how you came into existence

is written down somewhere,

archived, to read later.

Sadly, there is no such log.

You pull up your own roots,

to find out where they've gone.

Big Apple

She has always called me,

it's not long now.

Success

Studying the most successful people

of this age, there appears

to be a common thread.

It's never how they got there,

but why.

With a burning purpose,

Bigger than what is easy

and what is hard.

Surrendering likes

and dislikes.

Surpassing distractions

and easily satisfied needs.

Logic

'But, you see..'

He said.

'There's no inspiration in logic.

There's no courage in logic.

There's not even happiness in logic.

There's only satisfaction.

The only place for logic in my life

is the realisation that the more I

am willing to do for others,

the more I shall be able to do for myself.'

Surprise

You,

are like a surprise

waiting in cupboard somewhere.

with balloons.

Holding Doors

Finding new doors

of opportunity

is important and exciting. But,

it's hard to confidently

walk through a new door,

whilst trying to hold open

old ones.

Become Today

You are today,

as you became,

yesterday.

"Inches make champions"

~ Vince Lombardi

Unique

"Hiya! ya um, can I have,

just a tiny scoop of everything

please?"

I like people

with little idiosyncrasies

so unknown, hidden

like a secret.

Vocabulary

"Hey man, you hear?

that dude Pete Atkins died."

"Really?"

"Yeeaa man."

"Total bummer."

Inside Out

Quotes:

"The Lord works from the inside out.

The world works from the outside in.

The world would take people out of the slums.

Christ takes the slums out of people,

and then they take themselves out of the slums.

The world would mold men by changing their environment.

Christ changes men, who then change their environment.

The world would shape human behavior,

but Christ can change human nature."

Ezra Taft Benson

Looking Up

On the way to work...

Tourist #1: (Looking up)

"Woah St Pauls is massive,

it's so beautiful,

you don't realise until you stand next to it

how great it really is."

Tourist #2:

"Ha, you think that is great?

wait 'till you meet who it's for."