The last day of bad year

It is my pleasure to write this article at this moment. This is the special day of year 2008. It is the last day of the very bad year in the last century. Whatever bad news in the real world has released and gone, let it pass us and re-frame our new initiatives in our life forward. If you think that it is not the worst day of the year. Decide all aspects of the fact in our life, and move forward to the new year in the very moment to come.

This coming new year will be forward looking once you decide to forgo losses in materials terms and / or percieve value. I hope all of you agree with the way forward. This will allow us to share more joy & fun in year 2009. We shall realise that one's happiness is within one's control. Back to the basic to develop your happiness life continuum, you shall see it in the next moment.
With that, I would like to take this opportunity to wish all of you a Happy New Year.

Recharging your battery

It was the worst time for many people during the last three months, tons of bad news releasing from the stock market and the real economy globally. Thanks for the globalization and rapidly technology advancement. Top official from G 20 & Apac summit has committed to stabilize the volatile market by injecting many more billions of dollars to support the real economy.

As for the ordinary people, it is a time for us to reflect ourself in terms of varies aspects of our life. for example, why we have landed in this situation against our dream???

A lots of reflecting, re-thinking, re-adjusting in our work, our family, our relationship with friends, colleagues and communities and etc, our lifestyle. This is a good time for us to reframe our mind set regarding about our value system of one's life continuum. Lets take this good opportunity to do it with your soul and recharging your body with strength.

Opportunities ahead

Recently I had a meeting with a group of senior ex-corporate people in their early fifties and sixties, they displayed clam and happiness in their faces when I met them and reflected in their lifestyle. I wonder how they can stay so cool in this global financial crisis time. I asked them, how did you behave so relax and joyful amid this current global financial and economic crisis ? They provided me a simple response.

They live a simple life but enjoying every activities they involved everyday, for example, one of the senior people say he make frequent holiday travel with his wife while he manages his investment since more than ten years. He said to me that he just returned from a holiday trip in Japan a few days ago.

Many of them are managing their investment as a prime source of incomes. They shared similiar investment philosophy, One of the key aspects for the investment philosophy is to create a balanced portfolio. While selecting stocks, do your home work, research on stocks that you want to buy and invest in fundamental strong companies. In fact, it is an great opportunity in every crisis like this, for these people to pick good value stocks and the expected return is often a few times more than they invested on those stocks. These people are VALUE investors and prepare to invest over a periond of 5 to 10 years. They started with small investment portfolio in the earlier years.

Opportunities are plentiful in this world, especially during every crisis, for this current financial and economic challenges is a golden opportunity, because just like many people say this is once in the century crisis. On reflection, I have learned in the "Lau Zi" philosophy, one of the oldest philosopher in China history since 5000 years ago, that an opportunity is only sieze by someone prepare for it. Are you ready for this opportumity ? I think maybe a small portion of these people are alway ready for it but not all. If not, there is no big deal for it. Let's start to prepare ourself for the next greater opportunity again.

Float with your feeling

Learning how to float with your head's up in the sea is the most critical point in life-saving for beginner on how to swim. This is the first lesson I learned when I was young on learning how to swim a long time ago. Prior to the proper swimming techniques to move oneself in the water, one needs a capability to hold one's head up above the surface of water as long as you want to live.

Today, the financial crisis spreads exteme rapidly from US, Europe and down to Asia pacific as the US congress is not supporting the bailout plan designed by the treasury & federal reserve bureau. The market is in the chaotic moment. This crisis began with sub-prime mortgage from US about one year ago, now the problem is wider and deeper that affect million of people globally, thanks to the technology advancement and a globalisation world. Many people life has been affected with or without their own action. For instance, many minibond holders in Singapore and Hong Kong realised that their investment is down to the drain. Their years of savings or retirement fund is no longer recoverable. Another example, many jobs lost due to closure of investment companies; or oversea and local consumers demand dropped, lead to factories cutting down production. Question ask is, where is the life-saving boat?

Let us go back to basic principle on how to float and hold up your head above water in this crisis situation. Be it an individual, a family, a company or a nation, or an international community, assuming that all of us begin to rationalise, it does not matter whether is by design or by deflaut, if we were using the "need-base" approach for this rationalisation exercise. I guess the world will be heading to a deep depression. But if we were adopting the "value-base" approcah, "Value-base" means that what is important to you. we may have a better chance for riding through this crisis with a better feeling. Go and float your feeling with value is important to you, your family and your friends.

Next Chapter

Next chapter after the summer Olympics in Beijing, what else? business as usual ? Life going on ? We learned a lot of things by watching sports and games competition last few weeks. Especially table tennis medal competition for many Singaporean. It was the first time Singapore received Olympics medal after 48 years.

One of the lesson I learned from this is that to arrive at one's set goal, one thing is certain if all desired inputs are given and right. Such inputs as like resources, players, coach, organisation support and etc. All ingredients must be right.

Back to business and daily routine, there seems many things are less right nowaday, consumers worldwide are tighting their belts due to the value of money worth less compared with previous time. The choices of buying any items are becoming a critical point for people to ponder how to make a right decision everyday. Ironically, this is the best time that we learn how to make the best choice for our life. Most of the people went through this situation many times in their lifetime, but few of us learned and remembered after perhaps the right choice is made.

In each decision making process, we percevied that the right decision is alway based on personal preference but not needs base. Thus, a lot of times we wasted our valuable resources in both good times and bad times because of our own habit. I hope that the next chapter in our life to be more peace and joy, and sharing of all these with many more people.

In search of ........ ....... ......

While we are moving forward everyday, we all think that we are ahead and advance to acheive our desire dream, be it in our career, family or social objectives. Quite suprisingly, often we have inclined towards the reverse direction. Let's look back to the previous month, the oil price has readjusted three times downward in the unexpected current situation, like the old saying what goes up will come down. Some people say that this is the law of supply and demand in reality, other say that there is the nature law in action.

It is interesting to put some time to think through what we are doing each day and what we are now. This is what I call a self reflection and in search of new perspective in relation to the context you want or your desire.

The beauty of this is when you are searching and re-searching inside-outside of oneslef, and it shall come to attain an equilibrium in oneself, despite that the process has triggerred many ups and downs, joys and tears. You feel calm and relax when it reaches an equilibrium because it is the nature law in action. All of us shall be able to enjoy this moment of peace in us, I like to share this feeling as I call it " the new perspective alway" here with all of you who are reading this article now, and please bring it back and share with your love one too.

In the Era of Value Destruction ($120 billion evaporated)

The first half of this year is over after today, many corporations have began to conduct the deep review on thier business performance for the first half now. Although the final report cards still in the cooking, but the business sentiments are less favourable that appears in the news all over the world and in the region, as well as in Singapore.

The leading indicators for economic in Singapore such as the purchasing index was dipped below 50 and declining over the last 3 months and stock market has dropped by more than 15 % from the peak of STI 3500 at beginning this year. The growth of property market has reduced from at the peak of 30% last year down to around 5% to 8% this year.

Why? it was started with the sub-prime mortgage crisis in US last year. It is a bigger problem than many people thought, with this happening it is leading to lower interest rate by US Fed reserve every quarter, weaker US Dollar, higher and higher crude oil price and soft commodities such as rice, soybean and etc. It does produce the highest record for fuel price and rice price at this moment and probably in the forseeable future.

What does it mean to you and me?

As a consumer, you move from point A to point B more often than before in this complex city life, such as travel to work and visit your clients, and make social visit to families and friends, that requires petrol ............ Power your home with high tech stuff for example, power utility for Lighting, TV, Computer and laptop, mobile phone, digital and video camera, MP 3 & 4, audio players and etc. All these requires fuel oil ......... The fuel oil price increased also trigger higher transportation cost for business and ordinary people. it leads to;

>>>> higher inflation, it is a value destruction processing environment that hurt many people, especially the lower income group, however the higher income group may lost more in absolute terms. The higher income group will see their personal wealth shrink due to lower price of property and equity. The lower income group will face the difficulty in making ends meet in the uncertian future.

Let's us change our perspective to help many to reverse this high era of value destruction to value re-creation.

Please let me know if you have any comments.