Should you write more or less?

I would like to thank Rummy, this message is all started by what he commented in Jean’s post on Writers’ Blockhead. I am encouraged by what he said on how my posts have made some impacts. It’s not to boast about it as he also pointed his disappointment seeing how I wrote less these days.

I am honored by his expectation. I would love to write more and I’m looking forward to. But sometimes I have to sacrifice writing for some more important thing. I can just write more and more but I might be starving. And I may need to eat more…

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photo credit: Sea Frost

Do you dare to make your life an open source project?

Imagine your life is an open source project… Let’s say a Wordpress project!

People will be able to download it from internet, check out your PHP source codes, modifying it with all sorts of plugins and themes, and making it a custom-made blog for them.

Do you dare to make your life the same way?

It’s an idea raised by my friend, Ferry, a.k.a The Lazy Koala. He is a smart guy with whom I shared much of my life stories during university days, and even many times after. He is a smart guy, a scholar in IT and software engineering field, an expert in developing open source project.

I was sharing how I lose faith in blogging and he was suggesting that it might be good if I practice doing it before writing it. Sharing it as I’m doing it, sharing it as if my life is an open source project (just like Wordpress), open for others to review and contribute.

If you haven’t got an idea of what open source project is, check out the following definition from the home of open source project initiatives…

Open source is a development method for software that harnesses the power of distributed peer review and transparency of process. The promise of open source is better quality, higher reliability, more flexibility, lower cost, and an end to predatory vendor lock-in.
~Open Source Initiatives (www.opensource.org)

Now imagine a life similar to an open source project. It might also gives you greater rewards just as explained. But peer review and transparency? Mmm… that might be painful. Let’s take a look of what it takes for an open source project called LIFE.

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“I want pay increase!” I was asking for some pay increment. The statement is not that direct, but I did request that from my boss. I am confident enough on the experience that I have gained from the past one year on my previous job. I have also taken few IT certifications that I thought will give me the right to get the increment. I have learned a lot… so I believed I am eligible for that.

I was wrong…
Yes, I was wrong. My request was rejected. Or rather, it was postponed for further evaluation. I have told the story before that the process taught me about patience. But more than that, the process taught me about learning.

This blog has shared a lot about being teachable, to learn and to have an open-mind attitude. It is important topic to talk about. Each of us has to be a learner throughout our life. Learning is like climbing the stairs. Learning allows you to go to the top, to see and to know more things. But unfortunately, some made mistakes with learning, they forgot that it’s the means rather than the destination. Those are the lies of learning that are able to endanger you.

And those are the mindset that I wanted to share in this article…

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Messing up or mashing up?

Robert Hruzek has initiated projects title “What I Learn From” or WILF, it’s a group writing project where you are given a challenge about what you have learned from a certain topic. The topic is changed every month, and this month’s is “What I Learn from… Mashing It Up!”

Mashing it up!? It’s a new word for me too. Initially I was just reminded of mashed potato as well, wondering if it’s the same thing. And strange… it’s not! Here is Robert’s definition on mashing it up…

It’s where somebody combines two or more things together and produces something really really good.
~Robert Hruzek

What have I mashed up? Or maybe messed up?

I guess I have mashed up or maybe messed around with this blog. You may notice that I have been experimenting the past 1 month. I started guest post exchange, group writing project, marketing review, and the latest is the product review. Supposedly, I wanted to increase my traffic and subscribers. On the other hand, my subscription is more or less the same for the past 1 month, few people unsubscribe, none participates in the project, and emotionally I’m very disappointed as well.

The lesson

Stay to the course, young man!
~Donald Miller (Making Sales Making Money)

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What do you think of improving yourself using subliminal tapes and CDs?

This post is a sponsored review on subliminal tapes. Denise Adams approached me personally for the review on her website, subliminal tapes.” The site is promoting the products it is selling, the subliminal tapes and CDs. You can also see the demo here. For clarity, I will refer to the site as STSI from this point.

What am I reviewing here?
I am reviewing the STSI website and not the products. I am coming from exactly the same point of view as anyone of you, a potential customer having no information on the product. What I am going to do here is reviewing the business STSI is in and its marketing, particularly through its website.

For those of you who do not understand subliminal message, here is a statement about the subliminal message from the Wikipedia

A subliminal message is a signal or message embedded in another medium, designed to pass below the normal limits of perception. These messages are unrecognizable by the conscious mind, but in certain situations can affect the subconscious or deeper mind and later actions or attitudes.
~Subliminal message @ Wikipedia

What’s the challenge to market subliminal message?

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How do you define success?

That question has been in my mind since I’m putting “Helping introverts to be successful” in my tag line. I was fortunate that nobody asked me what I mean to be successful until now; otherwise I would not be able to give a strong answer.

Sadly, many relate success with what they have and achieve, that can be money, material things, positions, titles, responsibilities or even friends and families. But how about relating success with our potential? That is relating success with who we are instead of what we have.

Craig Harper, in his article Potential for Greatness shares a definition of success that relates very much to the potential.

…successful person (success of course being different things for different people) is not necessarily the one with all the talent but rather the one who simply uses more of what he/she has been given when compared to what the bulk of the population does (or doesn’t do) with their potential.
~Craig Harper (Potential for Greatness)

When success is related with who we are, that will be a success custom-made for each of us. Certainly, that success will not come overnight, that success requires a process. This article will share the process of manufacturing your custom-made success, a success uniquely yours.

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