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Many of us who read other blog posts on this site would probably found out that I like to eat. I mean I like to eat a lot. For a man who is 5’7” and weigh about 140 lbs, I can really eat a lot more than average portion. I do exercise regularly to stay healthy and strong.

With food prices today, I tend to eat out less and cook more. Cooking to me is to do whatever the fastest that I can with minimal efforts. Usually, it involves a lot of frozen food and pre-made meals. I do make something (real cooking) off and on to spice things up a bit. Recently, I began to notice the constant dullness of the one and only meat cutting knife that I have for a long time. Cutting meat would take twice as long and lots of extra effort. It didn’t bother me the first few times. But after a while, I had to do something, for it began to really stand between a hungry man and his food.

So I went to the store and thought about getting a new one. But getting a new one turned out to be more expensive than I thought. Then I saw on the bottom shelf a sharpening rock that cost $2. I thought to myself, for $2, I’ll try it. To my surprise, the rock worked like a charm. The rock was strong and it refined the sharp edges of the metal knife. A thought went through my head. There is always something better. Although a stainless steel knife was real strong, there is a stronger material like that rock. And for everything that we do, there is always a better way. There are always things we can do to improve. If my knife didn’t get dull, I would never have thought of the sharpening rock. Now my knife is even sharper than ever before. We don’t have to wait until something doesn’t work in our life before we find something better. We can do it now. Even if things are going well, wouldn’t it be great to rise to the next level?

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Anyone likes tomatoes? Did you know that it was once believed that tomatoes were poisonous? On one late autumn day in 1830, Colonel Robert Gibbon Johnson stood on the steps of the courthouse in Salem, Massachusetts with a basket full of tomatoes. Despite warnings that its poison would turn his blood to acid, he told several hundred spectators that he planned to eat the entire basket - and survive. As we can probably guess, he survived all right.

Anyone likes to travel? Did you know that it was once believed that the world is flat? People would dare not to go beyond the known boundary in fear that they would “fall off the earth.”

These beliefs may seem ridiculous now. But they were not so at the time. One intriguing thing about these stories is how beliefs can change. The things we thought to be true at the time can turn out to be completely fault. Our beliefs system has a lot to do with the world we grow up with. If our parents, our families, our friends, everyone we know, and the world around us agree on one fact, it must be true right? It is so most of the times, but not always. We do have a choice. We can form our own belief. And when we do, our actions will also follow. So if our old beliefs are holding us back, why not try a new one for a change? Who knows, biting on that tomatoes might not be so bad after all.

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Standing behind the base line, my eyes were focus on the yellow ball on the opposite end across the net. As the tennis ball angled toward the deep right corner, I rushed to cover and returned it with a sharp cross-court forehand. It was a good return as I put it deep into the opposite corner. I rushed toward the net knowing that my opponent won’t be able to put much of a return if he gets to it.

I was right; he barely put his racquet to the ball. But the soft stroke went over my head, and I leaped up the air for it. As I came down, my footing was off. My hand somehow took my body weight and scraped against the concrete floor. Blood were dripping from my fingers and my hip took a major blow. I was shaken but in the heat of the moment, I wasn’t gonna quit, not when I’m about the win the match.

After the sweet victory, I went to wash the blood soaked fingers. The pain that wasn’t felt before started to come as I let a stream of warm water through it. The sting was surely there as I felt the soft tissue at the end of my right pinky finger. My mind went berserk as I realized that my nail was gone. I was shocked for it didn’t hurt that much at the time I fell. After a trip to the emergency room and a few days of rest, I realized something about this whole episode. Our action depends on our perspective. If I were aware that I lost a nail at the moment, I would have stopped playing for sure. It’s amazing how our mind can do wonders over our body. What we focus on controls our mind. If we could learn to control our thoughts and focus on only what we want to achieve, who knows what we can accomplish. How far would we go in life, if we let it loose and just pursue on?

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When I first saw the movie The Matrix in 1999, it was quite an experience, for I’ve never seen anything like it before. It stretched my thinking with twist and turn in every corner throughout the entire film. The idea of a world called “the Matrix” that was computer generated for human was the first of its kind. A group of people who had realized the truth about the Matrix were being hunted and eliminated. One person, who could save them, humanity, and the world, was Neo, the main character played by Keanu Reeves.

Neo was normal just like the rest of the people. He worked as a computer programmer during the day and spent his spare time as a hacker at night. Through a series of events, Neo came to meet Morpheus, the leader of the underground rebels whose mission was to free the world from the Matrix. Neo was “the One,” a man who was prophesized to save the world. Morpheus’s job was to show Neo the truth and prepare him to fight for humanity.

One of the most intriguing scenes was when Morpheus told Neo to make a decision. Holding a pill in each hand, Morpheus asked Neo to choose. If Neo were to swallow the red pill, he would learn the truth about the matrix and his life would forever change. If the blue pill was chosen, Neo would continue his life as if nothing had happened. Just like Neo, there are times in life where we have to make a decision. Would we choose the comfortable path where everything is familiar and live a subpar existent? Or would we live a life filled with road blocks and dangers, but maximizing our fullest potential? What are we here for anyway? If we only had this one life to live, how much of a waste of life would it be if we didn’t live at our fullest potential? What if the world is a Matrix? What if we were given a chance to save ourselves? What if we were given a chance to change our situation and change our life? Would you go for it? Would you take the red pill like Neo did and change everything forever? What would you do?

Popularity: 63%

Recently, Warren Buffett was named the richest man on earth. He is one of people I most admired because he became unbelievably successful starting from nothing. The most amazing thing about him is that wealth did not change who he is. The guy still lives in the same house he bought 30 years ago for $31,500. Even with the richest man on earth, the law of nature still holds true. He will turn 78 this year and will be gone some day. This is the reason he decided to give most of his wealth to charity and plan for successors to run his business.

This brings us to one of the truth in life. Time does not wait for anyone. No matter how old or how young we are, one certainty in life is that there is no guarantee for tomorrow. This is not to say that we should not dream and plan for our life. What I’m saying is that we should not put things off for tomorrow when we can do them today.

I do it too. I put things off in hope that it will go away. We hope that the things we need to get done can be taken care of later at another more convenience time. But, what if there is no tomorrow? What if there is no such thing as a “convenience time”? What if today is our only chance? Would you do it? Would you start it? Would you get it done? Opportunity comes and goes. The ones who take advantage of the opportunity will be the ones who get the rewards. Successful people take action while the rest wait for “convenience time.” They try and fail and try again until they succeed while the rest is still waiting. What can you do today to better yourself? What can you do right now to make it happen? The next time we get the urge to put things off, think of this question; what if there is no tomorrow? What would you do today?

Popularity: 75%

A verse from the bible says that ask and you shall receive. It doesn’t matter what our religion or belief is, we can still use this saying in our life. Asking doesn’t guarantee that we’ll receive. But asking is sure to improve our chance of getting what we want. The sad truth is that many people don’t even bother to ask for what they want. The result is no surprise; they don’t receive because they didn’t ask.

But why is it that we don’t ask? One main reason is that we don’t believe we deserve the things we want. This is total B*&^$H!T. Pardon my typing but I’ve seen too many of us who got ripped off in lives because of this misconception. I’m here to tell you that we are the master of our lives. We are in control of our destination. It is up to us to make our dreams come true. It doesn’t matter what other people think or say. It’s what we think and say that count. And the only way we’ll ever get what we want is to first believe that we deserve every ounce of it!

Another reason we don’t ask is because we don’t believe that we’ll get it. It all begins in the mind. Thought becomes reality. When we think that we won’t get it, we don’t even bother to ask. But what if the answer is yes? What if the things we want were there for our taking and all we have to do is ask for it? Would you try? Would you go for it? Would you, for once in your life, ask for what you want, I mean what you really want? There is no secret to this. Most successful sales people already know this. The one who asks the most gets the most result. For every “yes” response, there may be 20, 50, or even 100 “no” responses. It’s all a number game. Many people stop asking after the first few nos. Little did they know that a yes is there, just not at that moment. Many circumstances need to come together to get a yes. Sometimes we may need to change the way we ask or the person we’re asking. But the more we try, the more we learn, adjust, and get better. Sooner or later, a yes will surely come for those who ask.

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Fear. We all have it in one form or another. The main cause of fear is the negative experience in the past that associates with certain action or event. When facing the same action or event, fear prevents us from taking action.

But, what is fear really? It’s a thought inside our mind. Many people are afraid of height. When those of us with that fear are in a place at high elevation, what is the thought inside our mind? The most likely thought would be the one where we see ourselves falling. This thought freezes us and we would do what it takes to get away from such high places. It’s the same way with other types of fear.

But what would our lives be if we ran away from every one of our fears? Running away may be the easiest way out, but it will certainly lead to an unfulfilling life. I know this because I’ve experience it. I can guarantee that for us to succeed in life, we will need to conquer some if not all of our fears. So how do we fight? Because fear is in our mind, the battle must be in our thoughts. We must eliminate the negative image from fear and replace it with the things that we want to see. If we wanted to learn to swim but we have the fear of the water, don’t ever let the image of drowning stay in our mind for more than a second. Picture ourselves swimming and having fun in the water. Then just do it. Just jump in the water and begin to learn how to swim. Every time the negative image comes up, eliminate it by focusing on the positive outcome you want. Every time we start to draw back because of fear, push ahead and do it. The more we take action, the less we feel the fear. Then the victory will come when fear won’t matter anymore because we tame it. Successful people have fear just like every one of us, but they learn to conquer their fear. When we do the same, we will be on the same path of success.

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Ever hear someone say, “You can’t be rich and still be a good person,” or “You can’t have a high paying job and still have the time for your family.” Although this may often be the case, it’s not always true. Our conditioning tells us that we can’t have it all. We were led to believe that we have to choose. Now what if someone were to say that you can have it all?

For every person who says that it can’t be done, there is always another person who had done it. If there is a will, there is a way. Your mind controls your action just as the title of the book by James Allen says, “As You Think, So Shall You Become.” When you believe that it can be done, your actions will begin to find a way to make it happen.

Imagine a life with everything you ever wanted. Imagine yourself in a dream job. You know… the one you really enjoy doing and can’t wait to get up every morning to go to work. Imagine yourself with a dream spouse, the one you love with all your heart. Every time you are with her/him, you get the butterfly feeling. No matter how hard you try, you can’t keep your eyes or your mind off of that person. Imagine yourself with a dream family, with the kids and everything. When you spend time with them, you feel like you are young again…for they make you laugh, they make you smile, and they make you happy. Imagine yourself with a dream house, the one you always wanted. It’s your sanctuary, the place that restores your energy and life force. It’s not a house, but a home. Imagine your dream life. Imagine it all. What if you can live your dream life? What if it’s not just an imagination? What if it can be done? Would you want it? Would you take it? Would you live it?

Popularity: 95%

It was the final exam day, and Tom was in deep trouble because he woke up late. Missing the final was not an option, since he already missed several key assignments earlier in the term. So, Tom sprinted from his dorm to the math class and quietly sneaked in from the back entrance of the lecture hall. There were a couple of equations on the board with an instruction to solve them. There was also a bonus extra credit problem for those who’d like a little challenge. “This isn’t so bad,” Tom thought to himself. He knew that he had always been good at math. But with him being late and all, he spared no time and lunged right to the equations. The equations were long but Tom was on that day. He got through the exam quickly and rushed right into the extra credit problem. He needed the extra credit badly to make up for all the missing assignments. But the bonus points didn’t come easy, for the problem was not like what Tom had ever solved before. It took every ounce of energy but he gave it all he got. He was the last person to finish and his brain was toasted after the exam.

A few days later, he got his exam back. To his surprise, the professor did not give him the score but wrote “Come see me” on top of the exam. “What the *#@!*?” Tom exclaimed. “I didn’t even get a score!” “You’re *@^!* right, old professor! I’m going to go see you about this for sure,” said Tom. As Tom stomped into the professor’s office after class and about to let it all out, the professor smiled and said “Congratulation, Tom! You’ve solved the impossible problem.” He continued “Every year that I teach this course, I would give this extra credit problem on the final exam and tell the students that no one has ever solved this problem in the past 30 years that I’ve been teaching.” The professor stood up and said “Most students didn’t even try to solve it. For the few who attempted, the answers were quite pathetic at best.” “I usually get a kick out of it.” The professor grinned. “You are the first person who nailed it and I wanted to tell you this in person.”

Tom was speechless. He came late to the exam and completely missed the professor’s spiel about the extra credit problem and that no one had solved it for the past 30 years. He didn’t know that it hadn’t been done before. He didn’t know that there was a limit to what he can achieve. He simply just did it. This story is from an unknown source and it may or may not be true. But it doesn’t matter. We can still learn from it. What if Tom had known that it couldn’t be done, would he even try? Most likely not. The same is true for many of us. We’ve been conditioned by our family, friends, and society. We are expected to behave certain ways and do certain things in life. People get uncomfortable when we start to step out of that boundary. We also get uncomfortable outside our comfort zone. But what if there is more to it? What if there is no boundary or comfort zone? What if no one has ever told us it couldn’t be done? Where would you go? What would you do? What if there is no limit in our lives? What would you achieve? The answer lines nowhere else but inside of us. And the first step we can do for ourselves is to ask this question whenever we face a new challenge “What if there is no limit?”

Popularity: 95%

As the two ducks and I consumed the food, we were starting to run out. So I decided to stop giving them food. What can I say… I was still hungry and there wasn’t much left. Just like previous time, they went under the picnic table and sat there waiting quietly. These ducks don’t really give up, do they? I thought. So, I made a bet to myself. If after 10 minutes and they are still there, I will give them all the food I’ve got. I thought that 10 minutes was a good balance, since it was not too long and not too short.

5 minutes passed by without much action. Then, the male duck got up and walked down to the lake to get a sip of water and a quick swim while the female duck remained underneath the picnic table. As the 10 minutes was almost up, the male duck was still hanging out on the lake. If he didn’t come back when the clock hits 10 minutes, I would have given all the food to the female duck for sure. Then an unexpected thing happened. The female duck got up and gave a loud “quack, quack, quack, quack” calling him back. I heard a “quack” back from the male duck and he proceeded to walk back toward the picnic table just in time. It’s okay to listen to the right advice sometimes.

An ultimate test was given, and they passed it. The prize was handsomely rewarded; they were fed with a lot of food (even more than what they got before) at the end. After they were full, they went away completely satisfied. What an amazing experience I had with the ducky. They showed how we can get our dream by first wanting it and do what it takes to get it. They were willing to change and try again when things didn’t work and they did not let fear stop them from getting what they want. Finally, they passed the ultimate test and benefited mightily. And the fact that they are just a couple of ducks made the whole thing quite astonishing. Who know what we can accomplish if we apply the success principles from these ducky. So be like the ducky and get your rewards by passing the ultimate test. When you do so, complete satisfaction is not a matter of if but when.

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