This special series got me back into reading and following National Geographic, I am heavily influenced and mesmerised by National Geographic Magazine when I was a young kid in school, even dreaming of becoming a National Geographic photojournalist too! This special series brought up by National Geographic, with a few topics for discussion and deep thoughts thinking -

- Dealing with climate change

- Are there enough food for 7 Billion ?

- Are there too many people on the planet ?

The issues, questions, topics and discussions are going to be deep, specific and mind-opener. Is there a solution or are there solutions? Will concrete appropriate constructive action be taken? This will not be a straight forward discussion or answer session, likely a complicated and complex inter-related human race relationship and problems for Mother Earth.

That’s no 1 perfect solution, maybe multi solutions for each topic of discussion that was brought up by the National Geographic site, some questions I asked myself, what can one individual living on Mother Earth do or contribute ? If each individual can do something or contribute to one or some of the solutions implemented, it might be sustainable after all, how true, remains to be seen.

One simple task we can do is to share and spread this message of 7 Billion across and abroad, around us and beyond our shores and this meaningful quote below ~

Treat the earth well: it was not given to you by your parents,
it was loaned to you by your children.
We do not inherit the Earth from our Ancestors,
we borrow it from our Children.

We are more than the sum of our knowledge,
we are the products of our imagination. “

Ancient Proverb

From the iPods, starting from the iPod classic, redesigning, re-innovating and re-generating itself, the growth is phenomenal and huge. Although I didn’t own an iPod and thought of owning one, the arrival of the iPhone 3G revolutionise and expedite my entry into the other side, some calling it a cult, it’s the Apple revolution, culture and belonging.

When Steve Jobs announced his decision to step down and hand over the reins to Tim Cook, it was like the end of an era, yet it also signify the start of another era in Apple technology and innovation. Looking back at Steve’s timeline, from the pioneer days to the remarkable growth days, he’s a great man beyond his peers, ranked among the great entrepreneurs and a master of leadership, innovation, vision and change. While I am taking the step to learn more about his entrepreneurship and vision, how he dealt with competition and leveraging. Steve Jobs will always stand high and above the rest, with the few elites of great innovative visionary leaders.

Here are some personal thoughts

- the iPhone revolutionsing the growth and expansion of social media networking on the move

- the iPad bringing the world of work & leisure into a portable handy powerful tablet with the best of both worlds along with social media connectivity

- iPods ~ brining songs to your daily life in different shapes, sizes and storage spaces, something for everybody from young to old, in different striking attractive colours too!

- MacBook Air ~ a beautiful marriage of a powerful laptop with portability, for work and leisure, all day round.

- Innovating, improving and getting ahead of their competitors

How did the world pay tribute to this great man Steve Jobs ?

Take a look at London Creative Digital Steve Jobs Infographic !

Source : London Creative Digital 

Newsweek’s The Daily Beast shared Steve Jobs 10 Commandments – The Genius and his creative process

Source : Newsweek The Daily Beast

Paying tribute to a genius and his creativity, a role model to learn from, not so much of designing a technology gadget, it’s about bringing it up and high above, a brand that goes beyond the stars, a following that just gets bigger, a vision that not many can dare or for-see into the future, this is Steve Jobs.

I found this interactive and informative infographic map via SocialNomics and Social Media Today, produced by Overdrive Interactive, a very useful overview map of the Social Media universe, a good reference point to start off and learning the tools, trades and power of Social Media.

You can download the Social Media Map here on Overdrive website or pop into Overdrive’s Facebook page for more resources ! Hope this helps to get started off on learning more on Social Media!

Looking back into a short history timeline when social media rides on its boom and wave towards the new era of marketing and public relations, online and offline, digital and traditional. It’s pretty amazing on the exponential growth and expansion in the past 3-5 years especially, moving from internet marketing to a highly active social media engagement society. Through dedicated social media sharing and learning websites, such as Socialnomics, Social Media Today and Flow Town Blog, I chanced upon an intriguing and very helpful infographic to share with my readers on Social Media today

State of the Internet 2011 

Created by: Online Schools

Take a time to watch this infographic, look at how fast the world is “turning” with the social media wave!

Embarking on the social media enthusiast route, expanding my social networks tremendously, locally and worldwide, getting to know more friends online and leading into good friends in real life too! I am moving into more active social media engagement given my time and business commitments. While I am not planning to be a social media leader, I am learning and wanting to be into Specialist in my fields of my expertise via the various social media tools, channels and networks. Check out my Klout profile, currently, I am a Broadcaster!

With the different engagements by PR companies, Digital Marketing companies and organisations, I am still learning on how to be a social media leader eventually, along with specialisation in my fields of photography, blogging, mentoring and social media. This article on “Wanted : Social Media Leaders” would serve as a good reading!

Another interesting infographic for you all readers here who are into Social Media :

 

Flowtown – Social Media Marketing Application

Which do you belong to in this Class of 2011 : If Social Media Were A High School ?

There were some scenes inside this movie that inside my heart, I wished I could go back to the past again, the scene whereby the young kids were playing along the HDB corridor, their auntie and grandmother was baking/cooking the egg rolls, the traditional and authentic way over charcoal fire. When I was a young kid, my eldest auntie and my maternal grandma used to do this in their backyard, being a young kid, I would play and wait for the egg rolls to be cooked fresh and hot from the special metal round skewers and munch it away. As time passes by, growing up, this became “lost” and with Rachel visiting her grandma in the movie, I realised that time will not wait for anybody, recalling that I promised to visit my maternal grandma once I was discharged from hospital when I suffered from a freakish accident 1 year ago, however, she went away somewhere else far far away and till date, there is a bit of regret inside me that I didn’t make the time to visit her enough when she was still on Mother Earth, regardless of the history, she will always be remembered.

When the 3 teenagers were exploring the Old/Abandoned Railway tracks, from the Teban Gardens to Sunset Way Railway Bridge and towards Bukit Timah (if I recall the scenes correctly), the scenes were moving from the present, back to the past, back again to the future, repeating and repeating. It might be confusing at times, maybe it’s meant to be confusing, however, if you are like me or around my age band, you would probably relate it, to growing up, searching, seeking through the studying years here in Singapore. It’s not just about being educated, it strikes into us, what does our dreams hold and where did we really end up? The trekking journey along the Old Railway tracks is the 3 teenagers questions and answers to them and Rachel returned to her roots, her younger days and probably trying to recapture her trekking journey when she embarked as a teenager.

While embarking on my personal project, to document the Old Places of Singapore and the Old Abandoned Railway Tracks being part of it and also part of where I grew up during my primary school days (I was living near the Old Railway Bridge at Sunset Way and my Primary School now defunct, the compound is very near to them). Immediately, I was able to relate to their trekking and my entries here would tell the stories – (Abandoned Railway) Track Photo Walkabout to (Abandoned) Railway Track (Part 2) Photo Walkabout to Railway Tracks Exploration Part 3. These journeys may not be totally the same as the 3 teenagers in their trekking, maybe we were all searching for something that I am and all of us are looking for.

At times, the movie was mysterious, insightful and intriguing, indeed, it’s mesmerising, capturing attention and publicity, reaching and gaining international recognition. It’s not just about the awards and accolades, it’s about something Singaporean, the growing up, fast paced changes to society, culture and surroundings, in the midst of rapid globalisation and commercialisation, and it is something that is not just unique to Singapore, it’s likely to be faced by all societies/cities/countries around the world too.

How much do we, and can we trust the newspaper reports ? How about financial news ? With the rise and fall of the recent global financial crisis, that rocked the entire world economy really hard, it was a testing time for all those inside the financial industry, no matter where you are worldwide. In this vibrant and dynamic financial industry that spans worldwide and interconnected, do you know where are the World’s Leading Financial and Trust Centres ?

It was with great honour and pleasure to be invited by the President of University of Queensland Alumni Association of Singapore (UQAAS), Dr Angelo M Venardos, to the official book launch of “World’s Leading Financial and Trust Centres“, whereby he was the General Editor of the book, on 6th October 2010 at Thomson Reuters Auditorium, at One Raffles Quay.

Dr Venardos, Founder and Executive Director of Heritage Trust Group, with many years of expertise and experience in the corporate and offshore banking, along with 3 books written by him under his portfolio,

(1) Current Issues in Islamic Banking and Finance: Resilience and Stability in the Present System

(2) Islamic Banking & Finance in South-East Asia: Its Development & Future (2nd edition)

(3) Islamic Banking & Finance in South-East Asia: Its Developments & Future

Many distinguished guests graced this event, listening to the words and wisdom of Dr Venardos. During his speech, it was very insightful and enriching, it also showed how much more I have to learn and expand my business consultancy experience and specialised knowledge, something I am striving towards to and it’s a steep and huge learning curve in my journey, for somebody very junior level like me (compared to the rest of the guests present).

Do drop by here at this link and you would have more information on the book “World’s Leading Financial and Trust Centres”, the order form is attached there too, facilitating your order and payment.

Over 1300 pages of knowledge and information inside “World’s Leading Financial and Trust Centres”, it’s definitely a niche area that I can develop learn and hone my skills, knowledge and experience down the road, in my entrepreneur and consultancy career.

My accident was another huge life test again for me, never again did I ever thought that such an accident would ever happen to me and not another major accident in life, although not life threatening, it’s impact-ful and big, learning to manage another crisis in my life again. At this junction in life, ever since embarking on the route of self-learning, personal development, motivational, inspirational and listening to world renowned speakers in these fields, the route to recovery from a crisis was much easier than the crisis before, probably age and life experiences played a significant component too.

During the rest, recovery and rehabilitation period, I basically took the time off the blogsphere, twitter, facebook and instant messenger, a.k.a MIA for about 2 weeks. There were friends who spotted me MIA and asked about what really happened to me, took me a while to reply though. Over this period and still counting, I slowly climbed my way out of the pit bottom of my current stage in life, applying my knowledge and skills in personal development and change into my recovery process along with the support of family, relatives, close friends, colleagues and friends from different sectors.

Reading through books and magazines, I read about Nelson Mandela, his legacy and contributions, Scott Neeson, who founded CCF – Cambodian Children’s Fund to help the children there. It dawned upon me that I can and we all around the world can make a contribution and make a difference to the life of other fellow world citizens out there who are less well off.

Finishing up (finally) my book, The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen Covey, to help me get back on track from this crisis, my life and goal setting. The single most powerful investment we can ever make in our life is – to invest in ourselves and we must do it for ourselves. The 7th Habit – Sharpen the Saw ~ Principles of Balanced Self-Renewal, renewing the 4 dimensions of our nature

- Physical ~ Exercise, Stress management

- Social / Emotional ~ Service, Intrinsic Security

- Spiritual ~ Study & Mediation

- Mental ~ Reading, Planning

When ever you are at the bottom of anything or anywhere, the only way back is UP ONLY ! Be pro-active in the renewal process that would empower you to move up and back high again in a upward spiral of growth, change and continuous improvement. Remember – Learn, Commit and Do.

I strongly encourage all my readers to own and read “The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People” by Stephen Covey, to read and fully understand the principles written and summarised in my blog post, that would help you tremendously in your personal life and career.

Let’s all find for ourselves the meaning and purpose in our life.

An objection would be a reason for not doing something. The prospects are not saying “No” and they are telling us, as best as they can, that they need more information, challenging us to tell them more. “I want to think it over” really means “I am not yet convinced”. We have to probe beneath the objection to find the true question, which the prospect may not even know themselves. Once we have exposed the prospect’s real question or fear, we can then move on to a logical conclusion.

Look into the prospect’s wants and leave the needs behind. Needs are basic, enough for the mortgage, food, schooling, the essentials of life. Wants are about much more than these. They are about a standard of living, a way of life. What is needed are the essentials of living. What is wanted is the maintainence of a world created by the breadwinner. If a prospect cares for their family, what they want for them will be far more than their basic needs. If we talk more about our client’s wants and less about their needs, we will find the sums assured will be bigger.

It does not cost the prospect to buy the premium, it only costs the prospect the use of the premium. The cost is only the interest the prospect would have earned on the premium. That is the proper way to buy insurance. Nobody ever wants a cheap alternative, not when they can do something properly. Everything has a correct price and buying a cheap, temporary alternative does not solve the problem, other than temporarily. No one does not believe in life insuracne, it is paying premiums that people do not believe in.

If a prospect needs to discuss with their spouse, we still have to remind them of reality. They cannot expect their spouse, or anybody else for that matter, to make the decision for them. It is their own liefe insurance. If we say it with a smile, they will understand the point and accept it.

If prospect can not afford the premiums, we need to emphasised that we understand that money is not easy to find, the problem is not the prospect finding the money needed a month out of their salary. The problem is the prospect’s family having to find the extra money a month when they do not have the prospect’s salary. The premium is not the problem, the premium is the solution to the problem. Life insurance is not some luxury to be taken when they can afford it. Life insurance is a necessity to be taken because the prospect’s family cannot afford to be without it.

(Adapted from “It Can Only Get Better – Tony Gordon’s Route to Sale Success”, Chapter 9: Practice Makes Perfect by Tony Gordon)

It is important to keep our presentations simple as out clients do not buy because they understand the product, they buy because they feel understood. Knowledge is needed but it is not to impress the prospect. Knowledge is important for the power it conveys through the self confidence it gives us. Being professional, trained and qualified, a confidence which comes from understanding that our advice is not probably right, it is absolutely, accurately, specifically the best thing for our client. The hardest thing about having knowledge is to know when to use it. Understanding this is the greatest advantage confidence brings.

We can make no progress when listening to ourselves, we are only moving forward when listening to our prospects. It does not matter what form of words are used, it is the spirit of the question which counts. If we are going to successfully sell to and serve the business and professional market place, we have to understand what our prospects are trying to achieve. When we fail to sell to a business owner, it is invariably because he sees the premiums competing with their own future plans. When we know exactly what they want to achieve and can show them how we can help them to reach their goals more quickly and more securely, then they will pay any premiums we ask.

The key to making a sale does not lie in what we say. The key is in what our prospects tell us. The most important information is not the specifics, the hard facts. The most important information is how they feel about their family, their business or their social responsibilities. These are known as feeling facts (often called soft facts), help us build an emotional picture of the prospect. Our job is to essentially help them understand for themselves what their priorities are. Life insurance is bought by people who care. It is not a case of the amount it costs but of the amount you care for those the prospects love. People buy insurance when they care enough to want to protect someone or something.

Human nature makes it hard to picture themselves growing old. It is harder for them to picture the virile character they see in the mirror being disabled and incapable of living and working in a full life and impossible for us to picture ourselves dying prematurely. Our job is to remind our prospects of their mortality. We need to find out how our prospects feel about those people and things which are important to them and then remind them of their own mortality. Outline in a way which cannot be misunderstoodm precisely what the financial impact of their mortality will be on those they care about, we can motivate them to take action.

If the prospect has a need for protection, it should be the number one priority with investment needs being secondary. It is our responsibility to tell our clients what they should be doing and remind them of their responsibilities. However, our responsibilities end there. The choice is their, as to whether or not they take our advice. As long as we have fulfiled our responsibility and tell them what we think they should do, the money is theirs and they have a right to choose how they want to spend their money. They have a right to set their own priorities.

Sales presentations should be modular. We should know exactly how we will present a specific plan. Our function is not to educate the prospects. No prospect remembers us for our knowledge. They remember us if they become our clients. Our job is to show them easily understood solutions to their problems and then motivate them to make decisions and another part of our job is to help and encourage our prospects in making decisions.

Our presentation needs to be planned, a pre-thought out sequence of words and sentences which will logically lead our prospect to a decision. We need to check at each step of the presentation that our client has understood. We must also be continually looking for affirmation before moving on to the next step and most importantly, we should be looking for commitment. We should also be trying to get some sort of financial commitment before actually presenting our recommendations. The earlier we get a commitment to an actual amount of premium, the better. Without a financial commitment, we can never close the sale.

Our prospects do not buy because they understand the product, they buy because they feel understood. It is the benefit we want, not the system of providing it. Many of us who may not be mechanically minded do not even care how it works, we only care that it works. It is the same with our service. Our prospect is only concerned that it does work and will solve their problems and be profitable for them.

(Adapted from “It Can Only Get Better – Tony Gordon’s Route to Sale Success”, Chapter 8: Face to Face by Tony Gordon)

The corporate market is different, it is more complex, more difficult. However, face to face, with simple presentations on a plain sheet of paper is the way to tackle this market. The corporate owner is no different to any other prospect. They are easier to deal with because they are used to making business decisions. Bigger does not mean more complicated, it just means bigger. The best way to deal with a large case is to treat it like a small one. Only in our minds is there a difference.

As we build a clientle, prospecting becomes easier. Many of our clients will do business many times. If we develop and service a business client base, some of them will become successful. Just by servicing our small clients as they grow bigger, so we will grow also.

However, real growth only happens when we continue to stretch ourselves. We must always ensure new prospects are being fed into the system, as some clients will be lost, some fail, some are wooed away by poachers of our business, some retire and die – which is what our business is about. New prospects are needed because they challenge us. They keep our minds active and help us stay up to date technically. It can become too easy, too comfortable just servicing our existing clients. We have to introduce a discipline, 25% of the new business from new clients. We lose percentage of those names and bit every appointment is there. The time should be concentrated on the remaining percentage of prospects that will keep the appointment and are willing to listen and whereby two-thirds of whom will be clients.

(Adapted from “It Can Only Get Better – Tony Gordon’s Route to Sale Success”, Chapter 7: Who to See by Tony Gordon)