Fear Factor!

"Winners don't have any natural immunity to fear and its liability, but what sets them apart is how they manage their fear so that it never gets the upper hand"

The fact is everybody feels fear. Even people who won Olympic medals, academy awards etc. But if we see fear as a weakness in us, then it will exert a strong crippling grip on us, leading us to think that we are incapable of success. Face the fears! Or it will control us... Manage it so that it will not sabotage our success...

Take the first step in faith....

Think of a car driving through the night. The headlights only go to a hundred feet forward and you can make it all the way from Adelaide to Darwin. I had that first-hand experience in Australia. The highway (as they call it) is not like in Malaysia where there are tonnes of lights and you can sometimes even forget to turn on your headlights! I drove on seeing pitch black next to me and the next meter. I cannot see what is in front. There is no one else on the road. It's the wee hours of the morning. I trust there is a road. And that's how life unfolds before us. If you just trust that the next meters will unfold after that, and the next few meters... and our lives unfolds in this way. It will eventually get us to the destination (which I really did arrive safely in Darwin, 33 hours later!), whatever it is that we want, because we want it!

"Take the first step in faith. You don't have to see the whole staircase. Just take the first step." (Martin Luther King)

Negotiating to Win

Points I gleaned from the book: Negotiating to Win by Jim Hennig PHD

The basic philosophy of negotiating is to "build relationships by finding and meeting the read needs of both you and the other party through the use of questions, effective listening, honesty, integrity, sincere caring and building partnerships".

- WHEN PEOPLE LIKE YOU, THEY WANT TO WORK WITH YOU -

1) Act as if the relationship will last forever

2) Understand needs and wants

3) "Do unto others as THEY would have you do unto them".. The Platinum Rule

4) Recognize feelings as facts. Dr. Charles Riker says "FFTT rules - Feelings First, Then Think" because you can't think clearly until you understand how you are feeling. So first know what you/other party feels, then tackle the differences/challenges of the negotiation.

5) Determine ahead of time how to resolve differences.

Stepping into new waters -- The BC tourism industry

I have been told I am in the most beautiful part of Canada. Hmmmm.... Could be true, considering the beautiful places like Whistler and Victoria/Vancouver Island. Right now, everyone in the industry is looking forward to the 2010 Winter Olympics held right in British Columbia. Athletes amounting to 17,000 and media representatives of over 80 countries will be here. I can't wait to watch the Olympics in real life!!!

Like a fish from a pond being released to the open sea.... that's how I feel being new in the hotel industry here in North America. I wonder if the culture here is different? Guess I will have to find out only at the next SKAL meeting! That will be my first step into the Canadian hotel industry.

I just read a book that says "We are all born winners". And I like the quote "Success is a result, not a goal" (Gustave Flaubert) So true!!! Many people think they want success but they never make an effort to work at it. In all human history, there's only one of us. We are special with our unique personality and life's perspective.

Carpe Diem!!!!

Be thankful

Oh my, I am really looking to chill out on this long weekend... Thanksgiving day! I don't celebrate Thanksgiving but why should one day be dedicated to Thanksgiving when you should give thanks every day of your life???? Shouldn't we be thankful everyday that we are alive, that we could wake up to a sunny day, that we have family that loves us dearly, that we have food/drink (and not in famine, like some other countries), that our countries is relatively peaceful (tho' the financial system is crashing), that we are not sick and... and...and...and... I guess too many things to be thankful about. And I shall sign off saying "merci beau coup"... "terima kasih" to all the people that touched my life, in big ways and in small ways. I love you guys!!

An autumn day

Fall is the prettiest season everywhere. Leaves falling to the ground, trees changing its colours and of course the cool crisp air blowing from the North Atlantic ocean. We are having a beautiful autum! I guess I'd have to countdown till winter ... because it does feel winter is coming.