Talking With My Father

Prayer moves God into action.

God's answer to our prayers is not delayed at all!

He is never slow to respond to our needs. When we cry out in prayer, God answers immediately, instantly, speedily, without delay - and He never gives up. God, our loving Father, never leaves any of His children bereft and alone in a time of need.

True prayer is confidence, trust and faith in God.

Genuine prayer is more than asking; prayer is taking.
Genuine prayer is more than pleading; prayer is believing.
Genuine prayer is more than words uttered; prayer is an attitude maintained.

Whenever there's a need, that is the time for prayer.
Prayer is an expression of dependence that uses God's resources for any need in our lives.

Choosing The Trail

Small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it.

On our journey through life, we face many choices about which road to travel. Many pathways seem promising and attractive but only one is the pathway of life.

As we ponder the road ahead, may God give us wisdom and courage to follow His way - the road of life.

Choose to walk the road of life with Jesus.

Viscount Althorp

See…I am so right! Hahaha…what happen was…CNY sales drop lor…have to analyze why lor…by right the Finance Dept should get it done...but don't know why the ball was thrown into the Marketing court...but this time around, Marcus was very hands on lah…so what happen was…Marcus email to Mr. Horton’s Secretary…her name come in first; then followed by me…cc to Samuel…luckily in the email contents…my name come out first, then baru Mr. Horton’s Secretary, followed by Samuel…I knew it…now any analysis work will direct to Mr. Horton’s Secretary…

6 Tips to Unwind, Relax and Recharge During Your Vacation from Work

1. Ask a Colleague to Take Over While You’re Away
Advance planning is key to ensuring a truly relaxing and stress-free holiday. Ask a colleague to cover for you while you’re away. Make sure to brief him/her fully the week before you leave for your holiday. This gives you ample time to bring your colleague up to speed on your active projects, besides giving your clients and superiors advance notice about who to contact during your absence.

Ensuring that you have left any ongoing work in capable hands will give you peace of mind to switch off properly during your holiday.

2. Let Your Out-of-Office Reply Take Charge of Your Mailbox
Don’t check your emails when you’re on vacation. Yes, it’s tempting, but don’t. This is what the out-of-office reply is for. Include contact details of your colleague who’s taking over for you while you’re on holiday. This way, anyone looking for assistance will know who to speak to. If you find yourself worrying about work, take a deep breath and remember that it won’t be the end of the world if you don’t check your emails for a week (or however long you’re on holiday for).

3. Switch Off By Staying Active
Lying on a sun-kissed beach without a care in the world might seem like a dream come true, but in reality, an idle brain will look for ways to stay active. This might be why so many people find themselves worrying about work when they’re meant to be relaxing.

Switch off by staying active. Take diving lessons, go for a culinary class, or reconnect with nature by going on a long hike. Do something you’re interested in which will keep your mind and body engaged. New experiences are always fun, besides being a great way to disengage from your daily routine.

4. Pamper Yourself
Go for an aromatherapy massage or book yourself a couple of relaxing spa treatments to soothe and stimulate your senses. What better time to pamper yourself than when you’re on holiday? Make the most of it!

5. Eat Well
You work hard — you deserve to treat yourself to some lovely food while you’re on holiday. Indulge your taste buds; your body will appreciate the nutrition and gastronomic experience. Do you notice how much better you usually feel after having a delicious meal?

6. Explore Your Creativity
Last but not least, creative activity has long been proven to reduce stress and boost self-esteem. A recent study reported by The Huffington Post entitled “Reduction of Cortisol Levels and Participants’ Responses Following Art Making” show that “45 minutes of creative activity significantly lessens stress in the body, regardless of artistic experience or talent”. Write a book, compose music, draw, make something with your hands — don’t let your doubts stop you from exploring your hidden talents. Don’t let work get in the way of your next holiday. You’ve earned your vacation time. Make the most of it and have a wonderful break!

7 must-do’s to maintain your diplomacy in office politics

Office politics are an inevitable part of work life, whichever company we work for. Having individuals with different temperaments and perspectives working closely together on a daily basis will result in friction and disagreements. That’s perfectly normal. What matters however, is how we deal with those conflicts and differences.

It’s healthy for a workplace to have different perspectives and opinions – it’s how we learn and grow. But to ensure a harmonious and productive working environment, it’s important to build a culture of diversity and respect. Easier said than done, for sure. But as the wise Mahatma Gandhi once observed, ‘If we could change ourselves, the tendencies in the world would also change. As a man changes his own nature, so does the attitude of the world change towards him. We need not wait to see what others do.” In short, ‘we should be the change we wish to see in the world.’

If you’re struggling to maintain your diplomacy in office politics, here are seven must-dos to help you navigate those challenging waters:

1. Don’t complain about work at work
It’s tempting to vent about our work frustrations, but if you don’t wish to get involved in office drama, make sure you don’t fuel the flames. Best not to complain about work at work – you never know who might be listening in, and you run the risk of having your words used against you.

2. Treat others how you would like to be treated
It’s challenging to stay cordial when someone’s hurling petty accusations at you, or trying to put you down in front of the boss, but if you can rise above it and stay professional, you will earn your colleagues’ and bosses’ respect, in contrast with those troublemakers. You’ll also feel better about yourself by not getting drawn into the negativity and drama.

3. Breathe
If things get too heated, or you receive an unpleasant email that makes you see red, take a deep breath and step away from your desk, or tell your colleagues you need a timeout. Go for a stroll around the block, get a coffee, and take time to collect your thoughts. By the time you get back to the matter at hand, you’ll be able to look at things more objectively and respond with a calmer state of mind.

4. Develop meaningful friendships at work
Everyone needs a support group. By building meaningful friendships at work, you’re ensuring that you have trusted friends to confide in on days when the going gets tough. It also helps to have trustworthy colleagues to lean on for advice and moral support. Having like-minded individuals you can connect with at work makes a huge difference to your job happiness, which in turn keeps you in a calmer state of mind.

5. Keep your distance from the divas and drama queens
There will always be divas and drama queens wherever you go. Some people seek attention to compensate for their insecurity, while others get carried away by career ambitions and desire for power. Whatever their reasons, it’s best to stay away from them if you don’t want to get dragged into their world of petty office politics.

6. Focus on your job
You’re hired to do a job. Focus on doing it to the best of your ability and steer clear of office politics as much as possible. It doesn’t mean not having an opinion. It just means staying calm and keeping things as simple and drama-free as possible. It’s important to bond with your colleagues, but keep the conversation topics neutral and gossip-free.

7. Be careful who you confide in
It can be tricky to spot the troublemakers in the beginning, so take your time to get to know your colleagues before confiding in them things they can use against you later on. Some people can be awfully deceptive. Better to be safe than sorry!

Office politics can be quite intimidating, not to mention stressful and counterproductive. If you find yourself getting worn out by the negativity and toxic energy, it might be time to reconsider your future with the company. No job is worth sacrificing your mental and emotional well-being.

5 Leadership Trends That Will Dominate 2019

1. Learn to lead several generations.
For all the articles focused on millennials, 2019 will see a major influx of workers from Generation Z (individuals born in the late 1990s and early 2000s). At the same time, many companies also employ Baby Boomers and members of Generation X.

These age cohorts come from different cultural and economic backgrounds, and the management styles that work for one group may not work for another. Focus on creating an environment where each group feels valued and motivated to give their best effort.

Though you should strive to become more aware of the challenges facing each group, remember that each employee is an individual, not a statistic. Besides, most of the generational stereotypes you read online don't have much, if any, basis in fact.

2. Welcome female leadership.
A 2018 analysis found that only 24 of the companies listed in the Fortune 500 had a female CEO -- troubling numbers in a time when the importance of female leadership is becoming increasingly obvious.

A report from the Peterson Institute for International Economics found a direct correlation between female leadership and profitability. According to the report, "A profitable firm at which 30 percent of leaders are women could expect to add more than 1 percentage point to its net margin compared with an otherwise similar firm with no female leaders."

For business leaders, the next challenge comes in addressing this disparity. Companies that wish to grow need to find ways to diversify their leadership teams. By creating a more inclusive and welcoming culture, leaders can foster an environment where everyone can achieve success.

3. Time to pick up the pace.
We live in a world of instant gratification. Customers demand results faster than ever these days, and the businesses that learn to keep up are the ones that will continue to grow. For leaders, ensuring that "picking up the pace" doesn't lead to a decline in quality will be crucial. For further elaboration on this, I reached out to Dhruv Saxena, co-founder and CEO of ShipBob. "There has been a major shift in expectations, driven by retail consumers. From two-day shipping of e-commerce orders to near real-time responses for online inquiries, people's expectations continue to evolve," he notes.

"Businesses have to meet these new expectations, yet just as importantly, they must do so without burning out colleagues and employees. For many businesses, this will require adopting new strategies, tools, or services that streamline operations and not only reduce the burden on their staff, but empower them."

Companies that find the balance between increased speed and continued high-quality results will be far better positioned to grow in 2019.

4. Emphasize accountability.
2018 continued to see a major increase in remote work. While there is no doubt remote work lowers office overhead costs, increases access to a wider range of talent and has the potential to improve productivity, it doesn't come without its challenges.

One of the biggest problems it brings is around accountability. Through my company LearnLoft's work with hundreds of companies, the problem of accountability revolves around having competent and effective leaders. You will see more and more organizations in 2019 provide training and development around having consequential conversations.

As a business leader, you need to lead the charge by consistently holding yourself and those on your team accountable to a set of standards and values.

5. Embrace continuing education.
2018 saw a wide array of trends leave their mark on the business world, from the hype over blockchain to the increased utilization of chatbots and other AI tools. What hasn't changed, however, is the necessity of businesses being ready to pivot and adapt to these new trends when needed. You can save yourself a lot of headaches when you invest in your current employees to help them master the latest changes in technology. Not only will it improve employee engagement and loyalty, but this move will also help you shape your company's future.

As Chad Halvorson writes, "Employee development both trains your current employees for possible future promotion from daily worker to management as well as shows you which employees have aptitude for such a promotion."

Six Things You Must Quit Doing Now To Be More Successful

“Quitting is leading too.” – Nelson Mandela

Quit doubting yourself. Confidence plays a huge role in success. Hewlett-Packard conducted an interesting study whereby they analyzed the process through which people applied for promotions at the company. Women, it turned out, only applied when they met 100% of the criteria for the job they wanted, while men applied when they met 60% of the criteria. The researchers postulated that one of the (many) reasons men dominated the upper echelons of the company is that they were willing to try for more positions than females. Sometimes confidence is all it takes to reach that next level. The trick is, you have to believe it. If you doubt yourself, it won’t work. Faking confidence just doesn’t produce the same results.

Quit putting things off. Change is hard. Self-improvement is hard. Scrounging up the guts to go for what you want is hard, and so is the work to make it happen. When things are hard, it’s always easier to decide to tackle them tomorrow. The problem is that tomorrow never comes. Saying you’ll do it tomorrow is just an excuse, and it means that either you don’t really want to do it or that you want the results without the hard work that comes along with it.

Quit thinking you have no choice. There’s always a choice. Sure, sometimes it’s a choice between two things that seem equally bad, but there’s still a choice. Pretending that there isn’t one makes you a victim who is voluntarily taking on a mantle of helplessness. To play the victim, you have to give up your power, and you can’t put a price on that. To succeed at the highest level, you have to quit giving your power away.

Quit doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result. Albert Einstein said that insanity is doing the same thing and expecting a different result. Despite his popularity and cutting insight, there are a lot of people who seem determined that two plus two will eventually equal five. The fact is simple: if you keep the same approach, you’ll keep getting the same results, no matter how much you hope for the opposite. If you want different results, you need to change your approach, even when it’s painful to do so.

Quit thinking everything is going to work out on its own. It’s tempting to think that it’s all going to work out in the end, but the truth is that you have to make it work. This has many implications. Don’t expect your boss to notice when you’re ready for a promotion, don’t expect your colleague to stop sloughing work off on you if you’re always willing to do it, and don’t think that anyone is going to stop walking all over you as long as you allow it. Everything is not going to magically work out on its own; you have to be proactive and take responsibility for yourself.

Quit saying “yes.” Every “yes” you utter is a tradeoff. By saying “yes” to one thing, you’re saying “no” to something else. Saying “yes” to staying late at work, for example, might mean saying “no” to the gym or to time spent with your family. Research conducted at the University of California, San Francisco, showed that the more difficulty you have saying “no,” the more likely you are to experience stress, burnout, and even depression. Saying “no” is indeed a major challenge for many people. No is a powerful word that you should not be afraid to wield. When it’s time to say “no,” avoid phrases such as I don’t think I can or I’m not certain. Saying “no” to a new commitment honors your existing commitments and gives you the opportunity to successfully fulfill them. When you learn to say “no,” you free yourself from unnecessary constraints and free up your time and energy for the important things in life.

The Prayer & The Chain Saw

I always pray before I tackle any job or tasks...

Is prayer your response? It's always the best way to face any task or trial in life.

Make Prayer a First Priority, instead of a last resort.

Terrible & Beautiful Things

Frederick Buechner describes God's Grace: Here is the world. Terrible and Beautiful things will happen. Don't be afraid. I am with you.

Healer & Redeemer, thank You for holding us and healing us with Your endless love.

Trust Him First

Praise the Lord; praise God our savior! For each day He carries us in His arms.

We may not always be able to feel God's arms beneath us, but the Lord has promised that He will never leave us.

Abba Father, I praise You for carrying me through life. Please give me faith to trust that You are always with me.

God carries us to new places of grace as we trust in him.

Safe In His Arms

He tends His flock like a Shepherd; He gathers the lambs in His arms and carries them close to His heart.

The Good News is that God cares for us!

Marquess of Worcester

Thank You God, Praise To The Lord, Bless You God!

Hahaha…God is also very fair to me…I win some, I lose some…gosh, I’m so bad…

What happen was…on Tuesday…Marcus’s voice began to coarse…so in the morning, Marcus casually informs me to do the S&M meeting…I said ok lor…then, a few hours later…while facing Mr. Horton’s Secretary…Marcus mention that Marcus’s voice is getting coarser and ask us to do the meeting…I overheard the whole conversation and I began to wonder how it will end up…so, in the end…for the first half of the meeting…Marcus still chairs it…and the second half…Marcus pass the baton to me…hahaha…but this Mr. Horton’s Secretary try to mencelah masuk lah…menyampah betul...I know I still need a lot of coaching & help to chair the S&M meeting and I hope that I will be given more opportunities to do so to polish up my skill…but most importantly, I am being seen as the proxy…Yes!

Marquess of Granby

Mr. Horton’s Secretary already secure her place in the team mah…want to be analysis...so, all the analysis work will pass to her one...I am the one who is shaky here…I can go and tell Marcus that I am boring…anytime Marcus can transfer me out…Samuel also very kesian…sigh…I think it’s all Marcus’s fault here…don’t know how to define our role and orchestra us around to play a more solid role in the department…

Princess and the Seven Kung Fu Masters

Her selfishness is back in again…apparently Miguel ask Mr. Horton’s Secretary to run some reporting on the CNY leaflet sales results…sigh; no cc me…she kadang - kadang will on me and off me one...fine…I will also skip too…

Mission Milano

She wins liao lor…sigh…Mr. Horton’s Secretary’s Marketing Campaign Mapping will be shared with our Indonesian counterparts lor…I started it first mah…then she squeeze in; opportunistic lah she…celaka betul…and further enhance it…sigh…

Mr. High Heels

Gosh, I am so bad…hahaha…

What happen was…on last week Friday, there is a CNY Press Ad Review…Marcus will be going on leave earlier…Marcus; at that point of time was not facing me…ask who wants to lead…so Mr. Horton’s Secretary volunteer lor…

So the best part is this – THANK YOU GOD, PRAISE TO THE LORD, BLESS YOU GOD!

On that day itself…both Mr. Horton’s Secretary & Samuel went into the Marketing War Room earlier than me…so, when I walk in; Lord Alfonso ask: J___, how do you want to do this…hahaha…so, that means I get to lead lor…I also overheard Samuel call out Mr. Horton’s Secretary’s name (assuming that Samuel also overheard the earlier conversation between Marcus & Mr. Horton’s Secretary)…but I guess Lord Alfonso cannot hear it…I did the lead…not that perfect…there is still room for improvement…nonetheless, it have given that impression to both Samuel & Mr. Horton’s Secretary plus everyone else in that room that I am the proxy…hahaha…

I’m not a bad person ok…if Mr. Horton’s Secretary can play nice, fair & square…I’m all ok…unfortunately she is not…

Thereafter, Shukri (Operation) also looks for me; via phone on the morning press ad review updates…Sir Terry too…with Sir Terry…as Sir Terry was walking towards my angle…I just stood up and took the opportunity to brief Sir Terry…hahaha…

La Comédie humaine

On last week Friday, before all of us head into the CNY holidays…Samuel’s car had a flat battery, we manage to jump-start it, however the steering wheel went into an auto-lock mode.

So, while waiting for help…Samuel & I hang out together at McD…in Samuel’s opinion…Samuel is also ready to move away from Trade Planning if there is a need by Lord Alfonso to do so…and I shall stick with TP because I am already too involve in it…duh…yeah; too involve into the routine, stagnant & monotonous processes…I assure Samuel by repeating myself…the same thing that I told Uncle Andy, if TP continue to play its current role…TP just needs Marcus & 3 executives…Mr. Horton’s Secretary can remain park under TP if Marcus needs an analyst…by outlining her analyst intentions…I think Mr. Horton’s Secretary already cement & secure her place in TP.

Just Another Pandora's Box

Another draw!
Liverpool 1 - 1 West Ham
We blew away our strong lead.
Now, it's gone for good...
We are indeed under pressure and can't rise up to the title challenge.

Asking God First

Take delight in the Lord, and He will give you the desires of your heart.

At times I've wanted desperately to know exactly what God wanted me to do - such as which job to take. Praying for guidance and reading the Bible didn't reveal any specific answers. But one answer was clear: I was to trust in the Lord, take delight in Him, and commit my way to Him.

That's when I realized that God usually gives us the freedom of choice - if we first seek to put His ways before our own. That means dropping choices that are plainly wrong or would not please Him. It might be something immoral, ungodly or unhelpful toward our relationship with Him. If the remaining options please God, then we're free to choose from them. Our loving Father wants to give us the desires of our hearts - hearts that take delight in Him.

Walking God's Way

I'm thankful God patiently directs me; day by day, step by step, as I trust Him and listen for His voice.

Father, You've promised to guide us through ups and downs and decisions we face in life. Help us to trust and follow You, and to actively listen for Your guiding voice.

God's Brand

If you will walk in obedience to me and keep my requirements, then you will govern my house.

Asking For Help

Lord, I am needy.

God opposes the proud but shows favor to the humble.

Better Than Ever

There is Grace that not only forgives sin but also uses it to make us better than before.
God wastes nothing.

Lord, I've failed You again. Please forgive me again. Change me. Turn me around.

God has both an all-seeing eye and all-forgiving heart.