The Professor and the Jar

This is a story that many of us should have read at least once because it is so widely shared in emails. If you have forgotten what it is about, perhaps you should read it one more time here.

A Professor stood before his philosophy class and had some items in front of him. When the class began, wordlessly, he picked up a very large and empty mayonnaise jar and proceeded to fill it with golf balls. He then asked the students if the jar was full. They agreed that it was.

So the Professor then picked up a box of pebbles and poured them into the jar. He shook the jar lightly. The pebbles rolled into the open areas between the golf balls. He then asked the students again if the jar was full. They agreed it was.

The Professor next picked up a box of sand and poured it into the jar. Of course, the sand filled up everything else. He asked once more if the jar was full. The students responded with an unanimous "yes."

The Professor then produced two cups of coffee from under the table and poured the entire contents into the jar, effectively filling the space between the grains of sand.

"Now," said the professor, as the laughter subsided, "I want you to recognize that this jar represents your life. The golf balls are the important things--your family, your children, your health, your friends, and your favorite passions - things that if everything else was lost and only they remained, your life would still be full.

The pebbles are the other things that matter like your job, your house, and your car. The sand is everything else -the small stuff.

"If you put the sand into the jar first," he continued, "there is no room for the pebbles or the golf balls. The same goes for life. If you spend all your time and energy on the small stuff, you will never have room for the things that are important to you. Pay attention to the things that are critical to your happiness. Play with your children, bring them to the beach. Take time to get medical checkups. Spend time with your parents. Take your partner out to dinner.

There will always be time to clean the house and fix the disposal. "Take care of the golf balls first, the things that really matter. Set your priorities. The rest is just sand."

One of the students raised her hand and inquired what the coffee represented. The Professor smiled. "I'm glad you asked. It just goes to show you that no matter how full your life may seem, there's always room for a couple cups of coffee with a friend."

What A Wonderful World

It's a public holiday - Hari Raya Puasa as well as Children's Day in Singapore tomorrow. It is also the beginning of a brand new month, October. Wow! How fast time flies, we actually have only 3 months left in 2008.

However it is not the time to regret or feel sad over the things we promised to do yet we didn't, let's just look forward and make good use of these 3 months to fulfill the resolutions we made at the start of 2008, make it a nice ending for the year and a good start for 2009 =)

See the beauty in life, and you will find how beautiful it is and what a wonderful world we are living in... here watch and listen to this beautiful song.

Quotes on Action

Now IS The Right Time

"Even if you're on the right track, you'll get run over if you just sit there."
- Will Rogers

"Greatness is not where we stand, but in what direction we are moving. We must sail sometimes with the wind and sometimes against it but sail we must, and not drift, nor lie at anchor."
- Oliver Wendall Holmes

"Everything you see and touch was once an invisible idea until someone chose to bring it into being. Any powerful idea is absolutely fascinating and absolutely useless until we choose to use it."
- Richard Bach

"The people who get on in this world are the people who get up and look for the circumstances they want and if they can't find them, make them."
- George Bernard Shaw

"Iron rusts from disuse; water loses its purity from stagnation ... even so does inaction sap the vigor of the mind."
- Leonardo da Vinci

"I didn't get to where I am by thinking about it or dreaming about it.
I got there by doing it."
- Estee Lauder

"The best way to get something done is to begin."
- Anonymous

现在就开始吧！踏出你的第一步。
不要再等到下个星期，不必等到放假或有空的时候，
现在就是时候。
更不必等到感觉对了，或你认为好的时候。
不开始做，你就永远也不会有感觉对的时候，
不开始做，也就永远不可能把事情做好。
－ 何权峰作品“就靠这一次，人生急转弯”

Good Morning 早安

“早安”在传说中说，
当你每早收到这两个字，
你的新一天将充满
希望，快乐和幸福......
嗨“早安‘！
因为我总是希望你每天
都有个美好的开始。

The Power of SMILE

S - Sets you free
M - Makes you special
I - Increases your value
L - Lifts up your spirit
E - Erases all your tensions
So Keep Smiling!

稻香

我一直都很欣赏周杰伦的创作，刚好昨天在“完全娱乐“看到这首新歌的MV便到Youtube找一下。听了几遍就越喜欢了，再加上它的歌词也很有意思...




《稻香》
词：周杰伦 曲：周杰伦

　　对这个世界如果你有太多的抱怨

　　跌倒了就不敢继续往前走

　　为什么人要这么的脆弱 堕落

　　请你打开电视看看

　　多少人为生命在努力勇敢的走下去

　　我们是不是该知足

　　珍惜一切 就算没有拥有

　　还记得你说家是唯一的城堡 随着稻香河流继续奔跑

　　微微笑 小时候的梦我知道

　　不要哭让萤火虫带着你逃跑 乡间的歌谣永远的依靠

　　回家吧 回到最初的美好

　　不要这么容易就想放弃 就像我说的

　　追不到的梦想 换个梦不就得了

　　为自己的人生鲜艳上色 先把爱涂上喜欢的颜色

　　笑一个吧 功成名就不是目的

　　让自己快乐快乐这才叫做意义

　　童年的纸飞机 现在终于飞回我手里

　　所谓的那快乐 赤脚在田里追蜻蜓追到累了

　　偷摘水果被蜜蜂给叮到怕了 谁在偷笑呢

　　我靠着稻草人吹着风唱着歌睡着了

　　哦 哦 午后吉它在虫鸣中更清脆

　　哦 哦 阳光洒在路上就不怕心碎

　　珍惜一切 就算没有拥有

　　还记得你说家是唯一的城堡 随着稻香河流继续奔跑

Quotes on Procrastination

What Are You Waiting For?

"Nothing is so fatiguing as the eternal hanging on of an uncompleted task."
- William James

"Procrastination is opportunity's assassin."
- Victor Kiam

"A year from now you may wish you had started today."
- Karen Lamb

"If you wait, all that happens is that you get older."
- Larry McMurty

"Someday is not a day of the week."
- Anonymous

明天你将会想更多的理由，找更多的藉口，
然后，你的意志就会开始动摇，
你就会再次的延缓，就会再次的说；
［我明天开始或后天开始，或从下星期一才开始］
就这样，上星期变成了这星期，明天变成了今天，
但你的明天从未到来，你也一直从未开始。
- 何权峰的作品 “当下，把心放下”

不能下定决心今天就开始的事，
常常就没有开始的一天！
－ 戴晨志“成功高手座右铭”

Give me a Smile (^-^)

一个小小微笑，
虽然不能除去烦恼，
但它分散了对烦恼的集中力，
给你看到前面还有路。
在这早晨的开始，
用着你的微笑，
给自己有个美好的开始。
早安！

美好的一天

早晨起身洗个澡，
笑容满脸上班了，
精神爽快办事好，
常常欢笑解烦恼，
如果生气很快老，
不如开心笑到饱，
做人何必太苦恼，
简单快乐那就好。

Life is like a garden

It’s been said that life is like a garden.
Every small work of kindness and
every thoughtful gesture is like a tiny seed,
and when you plant these seeds,
wonderful things can happen.
Smiles appear, dreams blossom,
and love takes root and grows.

The Shoe Salesman

There was a successful company that manufactured and sold shoes. One day the management had a meeting to consider opening their market in Africa. They sent one of their top salesman to Africa to make a study of the market potential there.

Upon arriving in Africa, he noticed that most of the Africans were bare-footed. He faxed back a message to his office "Bad news, nobody wears shoes here!" And he followed up with the report that there is no market for shoes in Africa.

The management considered that it would be wise to have a second opinion, and so they decided to send another salesman to Africa to assess the market there.

Upon arrival in Africa, the second salesman was so excited that he quickly faxed a message back, "Good news, nobody wears shoes here!" He hurried back and reported to the management, "Gentlemen, we are going to be "rich", there is a big market in Africa, and what we need to do is to educate them on the benefits and importance of wearing shoes."

Moral of the Story:
Life is how we perceive of it. There is a positive side and a negative side to everything and every circumstances. You can either look a cup as "half full" or "half empty". The choice is yours and yours alone. But remember that the choices you make will determine your success or failure.

The Gift of A Beautiful Day

Wrap a rainbow of joy in your heart,
let the sun paint a smile on your face,
remove all clouds of doubts & fear,
and receive the gift of a Beautiful Day.

把握并享受生命

活得开心
是快乐的理由，
知足更是要捷。
想清楚自己要的是什么，
也许就会找到快乐起来的理由。
好好把握，
享受生命中的每一段过程
“只因它不再重来”

Quotes on Time

Take Two

"You may delay, but time will not."
- Benjamin Franklin

"Do not wait; the time will never be "just right." Start where you stand, and work with whatever tools you may have at your command, and better tools will be found as you go along."
- Napoleon Hill

"Each of us has a bank account of time, into which a deposit is made and withdrawals are taken. No matter how depleted that account was at the end of yesterday, today it is chock-full of moments to cherish, memories to make, and minute after minute to spend wisely or not."
- Michael Rawls

"Modern man thinks he loses something - time - when he does not do things quickly. Yet he does not know what to do with the time he gains - except kill it. "
- Erich Fromm

"Time is the coin of your life. It is the only coin you have, and only you can determine how it will be spent. Be careful lest you let other people spend it for you."
- Carl Sandburg

“Begin doing what you want to do now. We are not living in eternity. We have only this moment, sparkling like a star in our hand - and melting like a snow flake”
- Marie Beyon Ray

“You don’t get to choose how you are going to die. Or when.
You can only decide how you are going to live. Now.”
- Joan Baez

"Though no one can go back and make a brand new start, anyone can start from now and make a brand new ending."
- Anonymous

The Daffodil Principle

The following story makes me think of this quote by Confucius - "A Journey of a Thousand Miles Begins with a Single Step."

We often heard "Don't put off till tomorrow what you can do today." But how many of us keep putting off doing things which will make us happy or feel fulfilled?

We delay and delay, we habitually procrastinate, we come out with many supporting excuses to wait until the arrival of "one fine day" but we never give one deserving reason to start.

Don't wait anymore, JUST DO IT! Start TODAY, Start NOW, begin one step at a time..... Visualise a beautiful garden with blooming flowers of different colours and colourful butterflies resting on the petals...


Several times my daughter had telephoned to say, "Mother, you must come to see the daffodils before they are over."

I wanted to go, but it was a two-hour drive from Laguna to Lake Arrowhead . "I will come next Tuesday", I promised a little reluctantly on her third call.

Next Tuesday dawned cold and rainy. Still, I had promised, and reluctantly I drove there. When I finally walked into Carolyn's house I was welcomed by the joyful sounds of happy children. I delightedly hugged and greeted my grandchildren.

"Forget the daffodils, Carolyn! The road is invisible in these clouds and fog, and there is nothing in the world except you and these children that I want to see badly enough to drive another inch!"
My daughter smiled calmly and said, "We drive in this all the time, Mother."

"Well, you won't get me back on the road until it clears, and then I'm heading for home!" I assured her.

"But first we're going to see the daffodils. It's just a few blocks," Carolyn said. "I'll drive. I'm used to this."

"Carolyn," I said sternly, "Please turn around."

"It's all right, Mother, I promise. You will never forgive yourself if you miss this experience."

After about twenty minutes, we turned onto a small gravel road and I saw a small church. On the far side of the church, I saw a hand lettered sign with an arrow that read, " Daffodil Garden ." We got out of the car, each took a child's hand, and I followed Carolyn down the path. Then, as we turned a corner, I looked up and gasped. Before me lay the most glorious sight.

It looked as though someone had taken a great vat of gold and poured it over the mountain and its surrounding slopes. The flowers were planted in majestic, swirling patterns, great ribbons and swaths of deep orange, creamy white, lemon yellow, salmon pink, and saffron and butter yellow. Each different colored variety was planted in large groups so that it swirled and flowed like its own river with its own unique hue. There were five acres of flowers.

"Who did this?" I asked Carolyn. "Just one woman," Carolyn answered. "She lives on the property. That's her home." Carolyn pointed to a well-kept A-frame house, small and modestly sitting in the midst of all that glory. We walked up to the house.

On the patio, we saw a poster. "Answers to the Questions I Know You Are Asking", was the headline. The first answer was a simple one. "50,000 bulbs," it read. The second answer was, "One at a time, by one woman. Two hands, two feet, and one brain." The third answer was, "Began in 1958."

For me, that moment was a life-changing experience. I thought of this woman whom I had never met, who, more than forty years before, had begun, one bulb at a time, to bring her vision of beauty and joy to an obscure mountaintop. Planting one bulb at a time, year after year, this unknown woman had forever changed the world in which she lived. One day at a time, she had created something of extraordinary magnificence, beauty, and inspiration. The principle her daffodil garden taught is one of the greatest principles of celebration.

That is, learning to move toward our goals and desires one step at a time--often just one baby-step at time--and learning to love the doing, learning to use the accumulation of time. When we multiply tiny pieces of time with small increments of daily effort, we too will find we can accomplish magnificent things. We can change the world .

"It makes me sad in a way," I admitted to Carolyn. "What might I have accomplished if I had thought of a wonderful goal thirty-five or forty years ago and had worked away at it 'one bulb at a time' through all those years? Just think what I might have been able to achieve!"

My daughter summed up the message of the day in her usual direct way. "Start tomorrow," she said.

She was right. It's so pointless to think of the lost hours of yesterdays. The way to make learning a lesson of celebration instead of a cause for regret is to only ask, "How can I put this to use today?"

Use the Daffodil Principle. Stop waiting.....

Until your car or home is paid off

Until you get a new car or home

Until you lose 10 lbs.

Until you get married

Until you have kids

Until the kids go to school

Until you retire

Until summer

Until spring

Until winter

Until fall

Until you die...

Don't be afraid that your life will end,
be afraid that it will never begin.

******
There is no better time than right now to be happy.
Happiness is a journey, not a destination.
So work like you don't need money.
Love like you've never been hurt, and,
Dance like no one's watching.

Wishing you a beautiful, Daffodil day!

The Man of the Vineyard 葡萄地里的男人

Last Saturday was the final episode of this Korean drama on cable... This is a simple (life at the countryside, away from the bustling Seoul city) and sweet (because of the romantic love story and the big juicy looking grapes) drama.

The story is about a young city gal (Yoon Eun Hye) who left Seoul to work in her granduncle's vineyard, hoping to inherit his vineyard one year later. However she met a man who works at the vineyard and this man changed her from a modern, city gal to a gal who learns to appreciate the labour of grape cultivation & grows to love the simple countryside lifestyle. And most importantly, love blossoms between them.
(It should be something like this, I've to admit that I missed the first few episodes :( )

Here listen to the beautiful song in the background..... urghh..... I love Korean Dramas!

Smile c",)

A gReAt
mOrNiNg
wiLL leAd 2
A gReAt dAy

if
yOu
kEeP A
gReAt SMILE

Quotes on Happiness

Happiness
Originally uploaded by @rina

The groundwork of all happiness is health.
- Leigh Hunt

The art of being happy lies in the power of extracting happiness from common things.
- Henry Ward Beecher

Most of us have reasons to be happy, only that we don't see them or we take them for granted.
- Anonymous

"We act as though comfort and luxury were the chief requirements of life, when all that we need to make us really happy is something to be enthusiastic about."
- Charles Kingsley

"We tend to forget that happiness doesn't come as a result of getting something we don't have, but rather of recognizing and appreciating what we do have."
- Fredrick Koeing

"When one door of happiness closes, another opens; but often we look so long at the closed door that we do not see the one which has been opened for us."
- Helen Keller

“Happiness always looks small while you hold it in your hands, but let it go, and you learn at once how big and precious it is.”
-Maxim Gorky

What A Beautiful Sunday, Good Day 2 You!

Life is only travel once.
Today's moment
is tomorrow's memory.
Enjoy every moment
either good or bad
Because the gift of Life
is always Precious....
Good Day 2 You!

"I-M-Possible" - Nothing is Really Not Possible

Two or three days ago, I wrote about Singapore getting its first medal at the Beijing Paralympics Games. On Thursday night's news, I was delighted to know that Laurentia Tan, who won the first Paralympic medal for Singapore, has won another Equestrian Bronze medal.

Nothing is really not possible if we believe in ourselves & our dreams, in what we are doing and work hard towards achieving the goal. Tell ourselves "I-M-Possible"!

Here read on for more about this amazing gal, Laurentia Tan

Channel NewsAsia - Saturday, September 13

SINGAPORE: When she was five, Laurentia Tan was described as a "vegetable". Born with cerebral palsy, she could not speak, hear, walk or sit, and her parents Anselm and Jannie were advised to admit her into an institution.

They refused.

Today, their 29—year—old daughter is an Oxford Brooks University graduate based in the United Kingdom. She has a career, drives a car and is now a star athlete, after collecting a second bronze medal at the 13th Paralympic Games on Thursday.

On Tuesday, she became Singapore’s first Paralympic medallist when she came in third in the individual championship (Grade 1a) event at the Hong Kong Olympic Equestrian Centre in Shatin. On Thursday night, she won bronze again, this time in the individual freestyle test (Grade 1a), posting an average score of 70.167 in the 13—strong field.

Great Britain’s Sophie Christiansen (76.166) and Anne Dunham (73.333) took gold and silver, respectively.

"She has been smiling very happily and gave us a big hug straight away (after winning bronze)," said dad Anselm, 59, in a phone interview from Hong Kong on Thursday night.

Equestrian Federation of Singapore president Melanie Chew added: "We’re absolutely delighted as this is beyond our expectations! Not only does this raise more awareness for equestrian in Singapore, but it also shows any difficulties can be overcome."

Anselm and his wife Jannie moved their family, including son Ephraim, to the UK when Laurentia was four.

"When she was a year old, the doctor said she was spastic. Back then, they didn’t call it cerebral palsy," said Jannie, a government officer.

"We moved to England because the special schools there are very good with the necessary facilities. It was there her deafness was diagnosed. I’m not sure if she could have achieved all this if she had stayed in Singapore then."

Anselm, a businessman, added: "That was Singapore then. Singapore has come a long way in the last 20, 25 years. With the present conditions, she would definitely have been able to achieve this. The level of awareness is much greater now, and we’ve received so much support, including from the Singapore Sports Council, the Singapore Disability Sports Council and so many kind souls."

Tan began horse riding at London’s Diamond Centre Riding for the Disabled when she was five and completed her "A" levels at the Mary Hare Grammar School for the deaf. She pursued equestrian competitively from 2005. In June, she left her job as a mental health worker to train full—time for the Games under coach, Penny Pegrum.

Tan rides with the aid of seat savers and cage stirrups and has teamed up successfully with 20—year—old gelding Harvey, whose official name at the Games is Nothing To Lose.

For her achievement, Tan will earn $25,000 under the Singapore National Paralympic Council’s Athlete Achievement Awards scheme.

Happy Mid-Autumn Festival 中秋节快乐！

This Sunday is the Chinese's mid-autumn festival (or lantern festival we like to call it), here is a real nice sms that you can send to your friends

我要送你一个特别的灯笼，
让它点燃你的路，
照亮着你的前途，
在你需要温暖时，让你保温。
也送你以关怀和祝福为馅的月饼，
配上一壶温馨的茶，
提早祝你中秋节快乐！

命中注定我爱你

最近我迷上这部台湾偶像剧，更喜欢这首歌“心愿便利贴”。



让我在这分享一个小小的故事..... 前阵子这部偶像剧一直在"完全娱乐“上被介绍，节目也一直在说这部剧在台湾很受欢迎，可我却不为所动..... 直到有一天在没有什么好节目好看下，我坐下来看了一集..... 过后就一直追看 ：P

The moral of the story 是有的时候我们会先入为主地去判断一些人和一些事。在没给对方或自己一次机会下，说‘No’有些事是该说‘No’..... 但有些事你不尝试你怎么能很肯定自己一定不喜欢，不能接收呢？

我对他也不是一见钟情，曾经觉得他有点傻傻的，不是我喜欢的类形... 可现在我们也开心地生活在一起 ＝）

看来我要学会"Don't judge a book by its cover" or "Don't judge a drama series by the cast"? :P

生命的乐章

这是个很有意思的简讯，希望你能与更多的朋友分享 c",)

人在成长的过程中
难免遇到挫折
懂得保护自己
也要懂得爱自己
生命的乐章
看你自己如何去谱写
躲避不一定躲得过
面对不一定最难过
得到不一定能长久
失去不一定不在有
转身不一定最软弱
别急着说别无选择
别以为世上只有对与错
许多事情的答案都不只一个
所以我们永远有路可以走
你能找到理由难过
也一定能找到快乐
懂得放心的人找到轻松
懂得遗忘的人找到自由
懂得关怀的人找到朋友
很有意思吧？
与朋友分享吧!

Yes, Singapore did it again! A bronze medal at Beijing 2008 Paralympic Games!

Taken from The Straits Times's website:

RIDING with Nothing To Lose, Laurentia Tan gained a place in the history books yesterday when she clinched Singapore's first Paralympic medal at the Shatin equestrian venue in Hong Kong.

The 29-year-old, who was born with cerebral palsy and profound deafness, scored 68.80 percentage points on her chestnut mount to claim the bronze in the Individual Championship Test grade Ia event.

It was also Asia's first-ever Paralympics equestrian medal.

It is hard for many of the able-bodied people like us to imagine the tough trainings, difficulties and frustrations that many of these physically challenged people had to go through... whether in preparing for the games or in life...

Yet, how many of us so easily give up when face with difficulties or problems? And so many of us keep looking elsewhere for things that we don't have while some others envy us for what we have...
We should learn to cherish & be grateful for what we have.

送你十个小点点

干活小心点，
生活轻松点，
在家快乐点，
做人看开点，
凡事自然点，
朋友多一点，
玩得开心点，
吃得好一点，
心情愉快点，
每天多笑点。

A Beautiful Day

I love to receive nice, interesting & meaningful emails and sms from friends and likewise I love sharing these with friends and family so I will be putting those nice ones in my blog. Here is a nice short story, do share it with your friends. =)


A blind boy sat on the steps of a building with a hat by his feet. He held up a sign which said: "I am blind, please help!" There were only a few coins in the hat.

A man was walking by. He took a few coins from his pocket and dropped them into the hat. He then took the sign, turned it around, and wrote some words. He put the sign back so that everyone who walked by would see the new words.

Soon the hat began to fill up. A lot more people were giving money to the blind boy. That afternoon the man who had changed the sign came to see how things were. The boy recognized his footsteps and asked, 'Were you the one who changed my sign this morning? What did you write?'

The man said, 'I only wrote the truth. I said what you said but in a different way.'
What he had written was: 'Today is a beautiful day and I cannot see it.'

Do you think the first sign and the second sign were saying the same thing?

Of course both signs told people that the boy was blind. But the first sign simply said the boy was blind. The second sign told people they were so lucky that they were not blind. Should we be surprised that the second sign was more effective?

Moral of the Story:
Be thankful for what you have. Be creative. Be innovative. Think differently and positively.
Don't underestimate the power of words.

"Live life with no excuse and love with no regrets.
When life gives you a 100 reasons to cry, show life that you have 1000 reasons to smile.
Face your past without regret.
Handle your present with confidence.
Prepare for the future without fear.
Keep the faith and drop the fear. "

Why "Choose to Be Happy"

When I decided to use this blog title, I realised it had been taken up so I tried different variations and finally I got it as “ch00se2bhappy”. If you look at the “00” carefully, they are actually zeros. Well, nevermind if it's zero or “O” as long as it looks like an “O” :P

This however shows that I've chosen the right blog title as there are actually so many people who believe that being happy is a choice.

Life is ticking with time each minute and each second. We cannot turn back the time, we cannot change things that had happened, but we can learn from mistakes, learn from experience and we can change our thinking/ourselves to live more positively. Most importantly we can choose to be happy, it is a choice available to all of us.

Each morning, run a quick mental inventory of all the valuable assets you have (a supportive family, good and encouraging friends, a stable job & income, a cozy home etc), aren't all these good enough to make you decide to Be Happy?

Choose to be happy today and make the decision to be happy when you wake up each morning.

Finally, let me share a quote that I like very much -

"The man with no shoes grumbled in the street,
until he met a man with no feet."