Rightways to Success

Tuesday, 10 January 2012

Indonesian entrepreneur promotes love

http://english.people.com.cn/98389/7701869.html

In Indonesia, one ambitious entrepreneur has started a program teaching men how to be the person they've always dreamt of being. Always too shy to talk to the prettiest girl of the party? Then this program is for you. Andy Saputra reports from Jakarta, and gives us one or two special tips.

Feeling alone after the holidays? In Indonesia, you don't have to. This is part of the Pencinta Wanita program that helps men to understand and win the hardest game of all. The game of love. It teaches the ropes of social interaction, starting from introduction to how to keep them interested.

Pencinta wanita, which literally means women lover, was founded by Ronald frank, a self confessed promoter of love, he started this as an Internet forum and in 4 years, it has become his main source of income.

Ronald Frank, founder of Pencinta Wanita, said, "I was always a loser in relationships, from being cheated on to being used by women. This has encourage me to research on love. I found that there's a huge disconnect on what women think of love and what men think of love, I felt compelled to bridge this."

CCTV's Andy Saputra said, "This 2 day seminar is explaining the theory behind that bridge, Everything is broken down to points, explained and discussed.. Starting from changing their own mindset to live demonstration..Not unlike a war strategy."

Since 2009, Pecinta Wanita has conducted tens of seminars in all the major cities in Indonesia and it has an estimated 350,000 members. The program also bundled with products like ebooks and instruction videos. With revenue up to $100,000 annually and growing, it is good business. But this business of love, has also created some controversy.

And for Ron, the founder, this mindset change is his main goal.

Attitude determines altitude

Reflecting on the law By SHAD SALEEM FARUQI

To seek and attain inner peace, live simply, think deeply, act nobly; and leave the world a better place than you found it.

A DEAR colleague’s son was recently called to the Bar. At the dinner to commemorate the occasion, several of us were asked to share a few words of advice.

The wise among us spoke because they had something to say.

Lesser people like me spoke because we were asked to say something. This is what I could manage.

In the journey of life, a new destination beckons you. We, the friends of your parents, pray fervently that your journey on the highway of life will be successful; that you will blaze new trails; that the road ahead will lead you to many summits; and that each panoramic view will stir in you a striving for the horizons beyond.

Success, is, of course, a matter of personal perception.

To some people, wealth, power, influence and status are the tests of having made it.

To others – and I hope you will be in this category – success is to bring sunshine into the lives of others.

When you do that, some of that sunshine will illuminate your life as well.

Whatever your concept of success is, its attainment is rooted in some conducive mental attitudes and a great deal of planned, hard work.

Visualising and envisioning: You must envision, constructively imagine and role-play whatever you wish to be.

Dreams are the foundation of reality. If you can dream it, you can achieve it.

Any fulfillment is, of course, subject to your courage and discipline to act on your dreams and materialise them into concrete actions. Kipling’s admonition must be remembered: “If you can dream and not make dreams your master. If you can think but not make thoughts your aim”.

Daily planning: On a daily basis, plan your schedule. Fill every minute with 60 seconds of distance run. Sail a chartered course. Do not drift in the wind and the waves.

Act on, not just react to, things as they come. Do not let others lead you by the nose. Do not count on luck. Luck is what happens when preparation meets opportunity.

Mapping the road ahead: Careers are like ladders with many rungs. Map out the steps. Fix time frames. Periodically review your progress towards your long-term goals.

Intensity: There must be an intensity of commitment, a fire, a burning desire, an over-riding, if not single-minded, determination to attain your goals.

Ambition: Think big. Do not settle for too little. Make plans to reach the sky. If you land on the clouds, that’s OK. Strive harder next time.

Faith in God: When confronted by inevitable storms, trust God. God does not burden any soul with more than it can bear.

Self-confidence: We are all specks of dust in the universe. This necessary humility can, however, go hand in hand with a self-confidence that everything is attainable if we strive hard enough.

We must doubt our doubts but not our beliefs. We must remember that attitude, more than aptitude, determines our altitude.

Discipline and hard work: Work is part of worship and must be given the same type of devotion. Hard work compensates for lack of genius.

Many ordinary people achieve extraordinary things because they toil through the night while the world sleeps. Genius is 10% inspiration; 90% perspiration. A toiling tortoise can beat a heady hare.

Over the course of four decades, I have seen scores of extremely intelligent people fail in their endeavours because they lacked the humility that drives hard work; the discipline and planning that ensures progress; and the courage and persistence that overcome odds.

In most challenges in life, natural talents do not take us very far. Discipline does.

Passion: Whatever you do, do well. Let reason be the rudder and passion the sail. There are no small jobs; only small people.

There is honour in every profession provided we put our heart and soul into it and do ordinary things extraordinarily well.

It is often the case that those who do small jobs meticulously are likely to confront major challenges majestically.

Do not wait for ideal conditions: Do not wait for the perfect time to start building on your dreams. External conditions will never be ideal. We have to make do with what we have.

The wind often changes for the better once we set sail. It is our inner determination that makes the world stand aside to let pass a man who knows where he is going.

Show-case your talents: At a place of work, substance and form, isih dan gaya, the ability to be relevant, as well as to seem competent, are all equally important. Don’t be like the peacock that dances in the jungle but is not seen by anyone.

Find sophisticated and civilised ways to show-case your talents. Polish up your communication and PR skills so that your hard work and competence will be known.

Rewards come in many ways: It is natural to expect appreciation and recognition.

However, one must remember that in the workplace there are rivalries, jealousies and injustices.

As in the outside world, so in the workplace, justice does not usually prevail.

If the rewards do not come when they are due, remember that God is watching. His justice will one day prevail.

Work never goes to waste. A competent man is like the moon. Clouds can hide the moon for a while but in the end the beams of light will break through and the world will be filled with their luminescence.

Remember also that hard work with sincerity is nourishing for the soul and good for health.

The rewards of hard workare long term, internal and intangible. We all know that of all the things that matter in life, most are not things.

Success and failure: Success is never final. It is a journey, not a destination. It is a continuing process of repeating, reinforcing past accomplishments and conquering new challenges by adapting to a changed world.

Success is sustained effort over time and persistence in the face of hurdles. It is an attitude of “I think I can”. It is the courage to treat adversity as an opportunity. It is the willingness to regard every dare as a door.

Falling down does not amount to failure. Failure is to stay down. Falling down is never fatal. Life breaks all of us. The thing to do is to learn from our failings and to emerge stronger where we’re broken.

Happiness: To seek inner peace, live simply. Richness is not the accumulation of wealth but the smallness of needs. Think deeply. Act nobly. Leave the world a better place than you found it. Learn from people you admire.

“Lives of great men all remind us; we can make our lives sublime and departing leave behind us, footprints on the sands of time”.

Shad Saleem Faruqi is Emeritus Professor of Law at UiTM and Visiting Professor at USM. He wishes all readers happiness and health in the New Year.

Monday, 9 January 2012

China slams Asia-focused US defense strategy

BEIJING (AP) — China on Monday slammed the United States' new Asian-focused defense strategy, saying its accusations of a lack of openness in Beijing's military policy were "groundless and untrustworthy."

China's ministry spokesman Geng Yansheng, pictured said the U.S.'s new military strategy would be 'beneficial' for both countries

President Obama speaking during a media briefing at the Pentagon where he vowed to strengthen military presence in the Asia-Pacific

The strategy unveiled Thursday shifts the U.S. military focus away from Iraq and Afghanistan and makes a renewed commitment to assert America's position in the Asia-Pacific region.

The document says the growth of China's military power must be accompanied by greater clarity in its strategic intentions to avoid causing friction in the region.

In response, China said it was committed to peaceful development and a "defensive" policy.

"China's strategic intent is clear, open and transparent," Foreign Ministry spokesman Liu Weimin told reporters at a regular briefing.

"Our national defense modernization serves the objective requirements of national security and development and also plays an active role in maintaining regional peace and stability.

It will not pose any threat to any country," Liu said. "The charges against China in this document are groundless and untrustworthy."

He added that maintaining peace, stability and prosperity in the region serve the common interests of all Asia-Pacific countries "and we hope the U.S. will play a more constructive role to this end."

U.S. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta said the U.S. is not anticipating military conflict in Asia, but that it became so bogged down in Iraq and Afghanistan after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks that it missed chances to improve its strategic position elsewhere.

Panetta said the Asia-Pacific region is growing in importance for the U.S. economy and national security, so the nation needed to maintain "our military's technological edge and freedom of action."

The new strategy also identified India as a long-term strategic partner that can serve as a regional economic anchor and provider of security in the Indian Ocean region. It said the U.S. will try to maintain peace on the Korean peninsula by working with allies and others in Asia to defend against North Korean provocations.