Take Stock!

Time flies, third quarter of 2011 is coming to an end and the last quarter of the year is just around the corner! What have you achieved so far? How many 2011 resolution have you completed so far? It's time to take stock of your achievement and start to plan for year 2012 and beyond.

For me, I've achieved a number of new online ventures, like started this blog (in Mar 2011) and gone into the space of internet marketing learning etc...even though none of these are part of my original 2011 resolution! As age is catching up fast, I need to speed up my learning curve and hope to be able to contribute more on the online space. So, stay tune! 

By the way, next week (to be exact, on 5th Oct 2011), Apple is going to announce the launch of the highly anticipated IPhone 5. Can't wait to see the real new model, hope that it WOW me once again with it's new features and the missing flash player (not so hopeful for the latter though!).

It has been awhile since my last inspirational quote sharing, here come the latest one, fresh from the oven:

"The further you go, the closer you are towards your goal; The harder the decision, the easier to obtain appreciation!"

Cheers!

P/S: Just catches the Gala Premier of "Real Steel" yesterday. It's an awesome movie with right mix of robots, action, laughter, tears and loves. The casts are great, the story line is simple yet inspirational. Highly recommended to everyone, young or old! Click on the image below to check out their official Facebook Fan Page:

Real Steel

Don't worry, I am not going to share with you how to differetiate the real steel from the fake steaal! In fact, the steel is not even the main focus here. What I am going to share is the upcoming highly anticipated blockbuster movie entitled "Real Steel".

Synopsis of the movie Reel Steel is as follows:

A gritty, white-knuckle, action ride set in the near-future, where the sport of boxing has gone hi-tech, “Real Steel” stars Hugh Jackman as Charlie Kenton, a washed-up fighter who lost his chance at a title when 2000-pound, 8-foot-tall steel robots took over the ring. Now, nothing but a small-time promoter, Charlie earns just enough money piecing together low-end bots from scrap metal to get from one underground boxing venue to the next. When Charlie hits rock bottom, he reluctantly teams up with his estranged son Max (Dakota Goyo) to build and train a championship contender. As the stakes in the brutal, no-holds-barred arena are raised, Charlie and Max, against all odds, get one last shot at a comeback.

Hmmm... just thinking out loud and wild, if I've got one of such steel robot, what function would I want it to have?? I would want it to be able to run/fly at high speed so that it can fetch me to whereever I want to go (bearing in mind that the car and petrol cost in Singapore is ever increasing..).

Joke aside, I hope this movie will wow me with inspirational speeches and interesting plot (it reminds me with the movie, Rocky actually) so that I can come back here once again to write a positive review of this movie at a later stage.

Catch Real Steel in cinemas this 6 October 2011 and like the Official Real Steel Singapore Facebook Page!”

Cheers! 

Up Your Service; Up Your Spirit!

How would you usually rate a service that you received from say a waiter/waitress of a restaurant, cashier of the supermarket etc? I believed you will usually rate them as "Good", "Excellence", "so-so" or "terrible" etc... These are common adjectives associated with services. However, there is a problem here, the subjectivity of these terms. As all these adjectives are very subject to interpretation and thus one person's "good" might be another person's "so-so" and vice versa. That's where the common language of service come into picture

I've just attended a service quality training course provided by Mr Ron Kaufman over the weekend called "Stepping Up Your Service!". I must say that it's an very interesting and participative training program, it should be a fundamental training course for any company who want to inject the service DNA in their company culture. Also, with the highly energetic and explosive style of Mr Ron Kaufman, I guarantee you will enjoy every minute of it. If you like to sneak preview his delivery style, just type "Ron kaufman" in youtube and there is a list of his training video clips for your viewing pleasure. He is also an author of a few service related books, some of them are:
 


Just a brief highlights of what I've learned:

6 Levels of Service (This is the common language that I am talking about):

• Unbelievable (Best: Wow factor)
• Surprising (Something special)
• Desired (what the customer prefer)
• Expected (Average)
• Basic (Bare minimum)
• Criminal (Worst: below minimum)

The concept of Levels Of Service is a downwards escalator whereby we need to constantly stepping up the levels. Or else, the service that deemed Unbelievable today might be just surprising or even desired in 3 or 6 months' time.

The concept of Perception Points, The Big Pictures and the Service Styles (Direction, Production, Education, Motivation and Inspiration) also play an important part of the overall service delivery.

So why is the topic of service appear in the inspirational blog like this? I do agree and believe that whenever we are receiving an unbelievable service, we will feel upbeat and happy and positive energy will be spreading around. It is a chain reaction and the people around you will feel upbeat and happy as well in no time.

Also, service is a two ways process (yes, you hear it correctly), we (as a customer) can influence the level of service that we received by practicing some "service" back to the server e.g. by addressing them by name whenever possible (waiter/waitress at the restaurant usually do wear name-tag on their uniform) and treat them as a "profession" and not "servant"! So, everyone play a part in ensuring providing/receiving unbelievable service.

I've learned quite a lot from the course and viewed that this common language of Levels of Service is applicable to all kind of business (online or offline, service-oriented or non-service oriented industries) and even for non-businesses.
 
Just curious, basing on these 6 levels of service, how would you rate my blog? (you can rate it from the angle of my writing style, the graphics/photos used, user interface etc...). Feel free to rate it and be honest! ;-)

Cheers!

Copyright, Ron Kaufman. Used with permission. Ron Kaufman is the world’s leading educator and motivator for uplifting customer service and building service cultures. He is author of the Uplifting Service and founder of UP! Your Service. For free customer service training articles and video, visit UpYourService.com

Food For Thought!

Sorry, reversed pun intended! I am not really going into the "Food For Thought" per se but rather the real food here! First, I would like to congratulate my lovely wife for joining the blogsphere by creating her very own blog recently! It's HOT FROM OVEN!

As a hardcore foodie, she is very much into foods, cooking and baking (especially bread, cookies, pastries etc...). Hence, the born of petit-dejeuner-maison blog! I must say that she writes better English than me and also has her own style of writing animating content... For a sneak preview, check out the image below:

If you are also a foodie, do drop by her blog and provide her your valuable comments, after all, she is still a newbie in blogging.

Cheers!

SPECIAL: Cloud Hosting

As a strong believer in cloud computing, I've written posts about the forthcoming cloud computing development on 7th June 2011 and 23rd July 2011 respectively. It seems that it is getting bigger and bigger now.

Recently, I chanced upon an interesting commercial video clip talking about cloud hosting and thus embedded it here for the sharing:  


If you are interested to know more about cloud hosting, check out their Youtube video channel at Cloud Hosting.

Cheers!

SPECIAL : Games Time!

Online games are very popular especially among the Generation Y. Occasionally, if I chanced upon any unique or interesting online games, I would give the free or trial version a go. As I am not a hardcore gamers, I would usually just stop at the trial version. I do believe in occasional booster to our brain (through gaming) would help us in our brainpower. As the saying goes "all work and no play makes jack a dull boy"!

Recently, I chanced upon an online Games site which has more than 5,000 FREE online games to choose from and play on the spot. Check it out if you like to have some booster to your brain!

Following are the recommended game categories:

Sport Games
(Try the "Scuba" game, this Super-Mario like game might get you addicted!)

Puzzle Games

Have fun!

Cheers!

Inspirational Sharing - Inspire It Forward (#14)

Yet another Saturday blogging night (Singapore time). Even though Singapore has no four seasons but the weather can be drastically changed within a day: this morning, playing soccer under a searing hot sun, in the late afternoon, it was raining cats and dogs, and now, it's humid and dry... I guess probably that's the reason why weather man can never be "trusted" as the weather is just so unpredictable!

After a few weeks of gap, I am resuming the inspirational sharing series...here come the sharing #14.

Enjoy...

1. Inspirational Video: Inspiration For All (This one will make you smile and inspired at the same time)


2. Original Inspirational Quotes :

"Instead of raising your voice, raise your spirit; Instead of dropping your momentum, drop your self-doubt!"

Cheers!

P/S: For those who have registered your email under the mailing list, remember to verify your email account via the link in the welcoming email (check your spam folder as well) 

SPECIAL: BigNorman.com - A new online shopping paradise

Recently, while doing some online research on the price comparison for tech gadgets, I chanced upon a new online shopping site called BigNorman.com which is specializing in selling tech gadgets like tablets, camera, camcorders and laptops etc...Thus, I thought it is a great idea to share it out here to let everyone know about the alternatives, besides the big players like Amazon, eBay etc...  

BigNorman.com has a clean layout interface and has a huge collection of tech gadgets (and their accessories). Some other notable features of BigNorman.com are:

• Fast and FREE delivery (UK only).
• Low price
• Free technical support
• Accept credit cards and paypal payment mode
• And many others...

Thus, if you are looking for tech gadget and intend to make some online purchase soon, I would recommend you to pay BigNorman.com a visit, I can guarantee that it would not be a wasted trip!

Hope you like my sharing.

Cheers! 

SPECIAL: Auto Insurance

Whenever you are buying a car, the first thing that ought to come to your mind is the auto insurance. Finding a suitable and cheap auto-insurance can never be easier nowadays, all you need to do is simply switch on your PC or laptop, do a search on Google and all the relevant information and online quotes are there for your selection.

Of course, if you have history of car accident(s) or gotten speeding tickets etc... it might be a different story altogether as in the eyes of the auto-insurance underwriters, you are deemed as a high risk candidate.

Recently, I stumbled upon a site with informative articles on how to obtain cheap high risk auto insurance. On top of that, you can get online auto insurance rates quotes in just a few clicks through this site. Thus, regardless whether you are getting the auto insurance now or later, this is definitely a great place to start your research for auto insurance needs.

Cheers!

Unforgettable Mid Autumn Festival 2011

Two days ago is the Chinese' Mid-Autumn Festival, which is supposed to be a time for family reunion and get together for appreciating the moon cakes, lanterns and moon-sighting. However, this year's Mid-autumn festival marked an unforgettable family gathering for me as I need to rush back to my home town after learned that my dad is having mild stroke for the second time and the gathering place is at the hospital bed.

My dad is 82 years old, in view of his weak condition, he is not able to talk to us as per normal, thus we asked him to write as a way of communication. However, 80% of time we can't understand what he is writing (we all felt dejected), we know very well that he has tried very hard with his trembling hand. He felt agitated at times in view of the failed communication... what we can do then is just keep encouraging him to re-write again and again with the hope that we can finally decipher what he is trying to say. Of course, we failed again and again...

Writing is such a simple action but at time of critical situation like this, it could means everything to you! So, never take anything for granted. He is recuperating and my wish is that he will recover soon and share with us once again what he is trying to tell us on the Mid-Autumn Day 2011.

Get well soon, dad!

"Many a time, there is no right or wrong, it's just a matter of perspective and judgement!"

Cheers!

SPECIAL: Insurance

I am in the Insurance Industry for almost 20 years now and I am learning something new everyday about this delicate industry. Insurance is something that you buy but yet hope that you would not need it so soon.

Effectively, you are just buying a "promise" which was translated into a stack of paper (policy contract)[physical or digital form], thus, it is the most intangible yet important products in the market. Of course, with the ever increasing variation of products popping up every now and then, it can only get more and more complicated.

Besides, there are many different types of insurance in the market, just to quote a few example: Health Insurance, Life Insurance, Liability Insurance etc... For Liability Insurance alone, there are many subcategories like Travel, Third Party, Business Insurance etc...

Talking about the Liability Insurance, recently stumbled upon an informative blog that share some nice piece of information on liability insurance, check it out via the link below:

Types Of Liability Insurance

Since we are on the topic of insurance, here come my original quote which relates to insurance:

"Insurance is sold not bought; Happiness is shared not taught!"

Cheers!

P/S: For those who have registered with my mailing list, do remember to verify your email account via the link sent through the email.

You Can "Let Go" But Never "Give Up"!

Is there a different between "Let Go" and "Give Up"?

What do you think?

I personally viewed that there is a very fine different between these two terms. For "Let Go", I interpret it to be applicable to more situational or physical happening; on the other hand, "Give Up" is more applicable to mental or emotional state. Another way to look at it is "Let Go" is one-off or temporary whereas "Give Up" is more permanent and long term.

To quote as an example, when you are facing an unresolvable problem/difficulty in a particular relationship, it might reach a time whereby you need to "Let Go" of that particular relationship, however, you should not "Give Up" building relationship all together with another person in the future. See the difference? In short, never never never give-up your dream but along the way, you might let go some sleeps! ;-P

Thus, my blog post title today is also the inspirational quote that I would like to share:

"You can Let Go but never Give Up!"

Cheers!

P/S: On the same note, Nick Vujicic is a real life example of never give-up in life, his book "Life Without Limits" will inspire you to live your life to the fullest (click the image below to see more details of his book):


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