6 Tips to Become A Millionaire

Tips by Chris Hogan, the author Retired Inspired.

1. Dream big.
Dreams can wake you up and become your motivation. Put the dreams on paper.

2. Really commit.
Deep commitment, not just lip-service of actions you want to take. Truly being focus. Other things have to be limited or even discarded. Remind yourself of that mission day in and day out.

3. Work a plan.
Talk with successful people. Take notes. Listen to what other people are doing. Learn the truth about money and how it works. Figure out if this something I want or something I need. You have to know what's coming in (income) and what's coming out (expenses). Learn how to count. Debt is a threat. Debt delays you from your dream, from your millionaire status. Stay allergic to debt. Know the importance of investing. Compound interest is huge. Starting early is the key! Diversify your investment. Use all available tools to help build your dreams.

4. Don't get distracted.
Stay focus. Keep your lifestyle in check. Don't worry about other people.

5. Don't fall for stupid.
Get smarter. Avoid car payments! Interest that you pay is penalty. Interest that you earn is reward. Instead of paying car payment, send that monthly payment to your 401(k). Make wiser choices for your jeans, phones, and laptops.

6. Don't forget the goal.
Know what you're trying to accomplish.

A Slice of Pie

It's less than a week before Thanksgiving. Mmmmm, Thanksgiving. A day to be thankful for everything we have. A day of a culinary feast! A day of roasted turkey, stuffing, honey-glazed yam, green bean casserole, cranberry jellies, and that famous dessert, pumpkin pie! I think pumpkin pie is the most food I'm looking forward in celebrating Thanksgiving. A slice of pumpkin pie with a whipped cream on top.... yummmmmm!

Our life can be dissected like pumpkin pies too. Some slices here, some slices there. There are so many moving part in our life that sometimes makes our life seems like a blur. But if we really think deep about this, each part of life it's like a chapter in a book, it has its own story, with its own people inside it. Just the same like a slice of pie.

Let's divide our lives into 3 huge slices of pie. Assuming we live to be a hundred, here's some mental picture of what our life could be. (Of course I know that some of us may not make it to a hundred, and there are some that will live over a hundred. This is just an average stats, a ceteris paribus).

1st slice : Age 0 - 33 years old: The learning period.
These are the most busiest years of our lives. We grow up from being a baby, toddler, child, pre-teen, teenager, young adult, into adulthood during the first pie of our lives. From learning how to talk and walk, to learning basic math and language, to learning how to drive a car and how to be successful in school.

Finish with school? Then the learning continues on how to survive on your first 7 days in your first job (or business, or any professional endeavor of your choosing). In these times, some of us got married, have children, and raising little kids into a wonderful human being. This is also the period that we are so eager to grab new experiences by travelling to anywhere, going to this new restaurants and those new bars, and have no fears in facing the uncertainty of the future. YOLO, right?

This is the most exciting part of our lives, where we create lots of photos and memories. This is where we're very vocal of what we want to do in life, and let no one determine the course of our actions. This is also the period where we face our first failures in life, and start wondering if we are still on the right path. But this is also the time where we learn to bounce back every time life knock us down.

2nd slice: Age 34 - 66 years old: The accumulation period.
These are the time when we accumulate everything. The possession time. From money, designer clothes (and bags for women!), jewelry, to big ticket items like TV, cars, and even houses. Some of us may already started the accumulation process when we were in the previous part of life. Some us don't stop the learning process. We continue to accumulate the education we want, either formally (master degree, doctorate degree, and so on) or non formally (learning what's the new make up trend, or how to be confident in public speaking).

This is also one of the most exciting period in our lives, because we could now see our hard work starting to pay off. We probably already finish paying some student loans or old credit card "mistakes" that we did in our twenty's. We see our children grow up into a mini version of ourselves. We are in the stage of being comfortable in life.

While this may true to some people, unfortunately this is also the time period that stress might seep in and start conquering our lives. More money sometimes means more problems. Couples might getting into a disagreement about how to handle their finances, which could lead to resentment and grudges, and eventually leading them to divorce. Or maybe it's not money itself. Maybe it's the time problem. Wife start to blaming husband who prefer to spend time more with his friends watching football elsewhere rather than their home. Husband keep blaming wife for shopping without his permission. The feeling of betrayal keeps accumulated and creates more and bigger tension, leading to a death of marriage.

Some might experience something completely different. This is maybe the time when that company that you work for seventeen years, starts showing a sign of struggle, and later on have no way to keep the door open. Layoff happens. Some of us are forced to start job hunting again, knowing that mortgage need to be paid each month, and other responsibilities that start taking a comfortable nest in our shoulders. These could be the time period when we realize that life is not what we thought it was.

We longing for the olden days of our youth when we don't have to do this adulting things, instead we just focused on our studies, and game time after school. We daydream of our retirement days, eventhough that still another twenty years to go. Some of us who have teenage children start thinking ahead of their ongoing study in universities, and wondering where the money come from. Of course not everyone is unprepared. Some of us did a very good job setting up a college education plan when they still in diapers!

This is the time period, where diligence pays. If we smart and plan our life ahead in the first slice of pie period, we start seeing some results in this second slice of pie.  And if this is the time when we realize that we're getting behind at some stuff, this is also the time to correct our course and start planning some serious life roadmap for the last pie of life. This could be our wake-up call period.

But not everything is doom and gloom. Some of us will have the most successful time in our career or business than in any other period of our time. Some of us will make it to the top. Our business is booming, and we will amass so much wealth that we won't know what to do with it! Just kidding, I'm sure we will know what to do with it. This could be the glory days of our lives. And because of this success, some of us already entering early retirement and leaving the workforce for good.

This is the time to accumulate wealth, knowledge, and start building our life in shape.

3rd slice: Age 67 - 100 years old: The preservation period.
The last piece of the pie is usually the best. It's the final slice. Majority of folks in these group are retired and enjoying their ultimate vacation. It's like vacation every day, y'all! Just imagine this. Don't need to wake up to an alarm clock every Monday to Friday. No need to dress up every morning to go to work. And the best thing of all, no need to go to work at all! Work is done, school is done. Freedom!

The 3rd slice of pie means we have both things that we didn't have before: time and money. We have all the time in the world to do what we want to do (or to not do anything at all, perhaps?). And hopefully at this time, we already have a huge savings and retirement funds to ensure our quality of life is still at least the same of our previous lives, if not better.

Some of us going to enjoy the fruit of our labor for the rest of our lives, from this moment on. But unfortunately, some of us have life happens to us, like battling illness and sickness, and have to endure the health struggle. Or sometimes tragedy struck our families, crippling us into a moment of despair and hopelessness.

But those moments could happen in any other period of time, not necessarily this one.

Bottom line is, this is the period of time when we normally don't have too much demands in our life, and can just take it easy. Just relax, slow down, and enjoy our golden days. Till death do us part.

And that's our life, in 3 big slices of pies! :)

The Money Enigma

I can relate to Curious George.

There is a subject that always peek my curiosity.  This eventually become my passion. Other people pursue their passion of cooking, gardening, or crafting, while I pursue this thing since as long as I can remember.

This thing we call money. The finance matter.

As it turns out, in my twenty years journey demystifying the money history, I found out that it's not money itself that make it interesting, but the behavior on managing finances that make me want to learn mastering it.

I started with a book titled Rich Dad Poor Dad by Robert Kiyosaki. From that book, I learned that there are 4 categories of how source of income being divided. I continue deepened his money philosophy by reading his next books, Cashflow Quadrant and The Business School.

Next, I read another money book titled The Richest Man in Babylon, by George S. Classon. A very interesting outlook about money. Old philosophy about savings and other important activities on how to win with money, with an interesting flair of another exotic and unique culture behind it.

My journey continues. I read The Millionaire Next Door, by Thomas J Stanley, which provides a refreshing take on how millionaires behave. Surprisingly, unlike the common perception, average millionaires do not flaunt their wealth. They live modestly, drive a two-year old paid off car, and living below their means. I guess that's why they are millionaires!

My husband knows that I love these finance stuff, so he gave me a book titled The Total Money Makeover by Dave Ramsey. This is one of the book that I would say change my life drastically. Thanks to Mr. Ramsey, I learn to do his seven baby steps to be financially happy!

Since I'm still ongoing on my financial quest to conquer money, I read the next book titled Retired Inspired, by Chris Hogan. I love how motivational this book can be! He lays out a game plan to have an HD (high definition) retirement dream. He detailed some obstacles preventing us having a dream retirement, along with the solutions to achieve a great retirement goal, so we all can retired with dignity!

Knowledge is like thirst. The more you drink, the more you become thirsty. So, not satisfied with all these money books I've read, now I land on the next best seller book, Love Your Life Not Theirs, by Rachel Cruze. I'm still in the middle of the book, so I can't tell you the conclusion yet. So far I learn that comparison is a killjoy, so no longer I want to compare my life with anybody else!

Understanding money and the behavior behind it is my passion. I love learning about these things. It's like unlocking a puzzle. It's like peeling an onion, layer by layer. The more I found the truth about money, the more I understand what to do with it. It's affecting all aspect of our life. The decision making we do impacting to our finances, the desire we need to limit while knowing we still have other obligations to meet, it makes us become a responsible adult.

I want to express my thanks to all the financial guru in the world who shares their wisdom about money and finance, and how it can directly touch our lives. Thank you for your financial education. Your insights and experience are so valuable, guiding us basic simple principle on how to master our money habits. And please, do continue to share this with the world! One day we all will be financially literate and able to pass along the wisdom to the next generation. And the next. And the next!

If you have great money books to read, please do share that with me! I would love to learn more!

Santa's Toy Factory

Once upon a time, there's an young bright elf name Hugo who works in Santa's toy factory. He has been working there for eight months and he likes his work. Hugo's job is to put the assembled toys into boxes, and lift the boxes into the factory's gigantic inventory room. This way, on the night of Christmas Eve, Hugo and his elves team can just move the boxes from the piling room into Santa's sleigh. Considering there are 1.9 billion children in the world, Hugo has to ensure that he does it fast and accurate, so this way he can meet his quota while not sacrificing quality of the work. After all, we don't want a disappointed children not getting their toys right.

One day while working, Hugo found that the quality of the toys were not up to standard. One of the dolls is missing one of the eyes. One of the mini trains has not being painted yet, looks all metallic. One of the children's oven does not have a functioning light bulb. One of the toy car has only three wheels. And he realized that at least there were twenty toys that are missing at least something important.

Hugo understood that these imperfections must be happening from the other department that is sending him the toys for the final assembly, so he went next door and meet the elf responsible for making the toys. He saw elf George is assembling a teddy bear. George has been working in Santa's toy factory for the last 20 years of his life, so he's definitely not a newcomer.

"Hi, George!"

"Hello young Hugo."

"Can I ask you a question?"

"Sure." George still attaching the teddy bear's leg to its body.

"I've noticed that there are about twenty toys that are not finished, but they are in the last batch that got send to my table to put into boxes. Could you repair them before we move these to Santa's sleigh?" Hugo put down a box full of the twenty malfunctioning toys.

George just shrugged his shoulder and said,"Well, we don't have enough material to cover all that, so they just need to make do. I haven't receive new shipment yet from the supplier department. And I have a quota to finish if we want to ensure 1.9 billion children get their toys."

Hugo wrinkles his nose. "Hmmmm, but this is not the right toy. They are ... broken toys. Not only it's not up to the standard, but these toys are far from done. Sally Dolly here is missing an eye. Train choo choo doesn't have a colorful paint all over. Mini bake oven doesn't have a light bulb inside, so a child won't know when a cake done being bake. And this cool Indy 500 race car doesn't even have the fourth wheel. No child would like to play with these unfinished toys."

George got defensive. "Look Hugo, do you know how much quota I have to fill to finish all these toys? I have to complete at least 500 toys every day. If out of 500 toys, there are 20 not so perfect ones, so what? They just got to deal with it. Me and my team need to finish these as fast as we could. So what is it's missing some stuff here and there? It's just a toy, it's not a real thing."

Hugo also has his own quota to finish. He has to move about 2000 boxes every day to the inventory room. But Hugo is not satisfied. He then went to the floor supervisor who oversees all the factory's operations. Another elf name Paul.

"Hi Paul!"

"Hey Hugo!"

"Paul, I'd like to report something to you. I think it's important for you to know this before we sending the gifts out to the children. I've found that there are about 20 toys that are not up to standard. You see all these toys in this box? Every single one of them are missing something. Looks incomplete to me. I spoke to elf George earlier, but he doesn't want to hear me out. He..."

"Whoa whoa whoa, you confronted George? You know he's very senior among all of us here."

"Well, I didn't really confronted him. I want to pointed out the imperfections so he can fix it. We don't want to sacrifice quality, do we? This way he will understand and ..."

"You told him that? You pointed out the missing things? That's harsh. You should not talk that way to George. You should soften your approach a bit to him. He's old you know. He can't just take direct feedback like that. You young people should always respect your elf elders. You can't just barge in and start pointing out flaws here and there. Have some elf manners there, boy."

Hugo looked astonished. He can't believe that instead of getting Paul involved to try to fix the issue, he got a feedback of his speech delivery! Unbelievable! Is this fixing the real issues?

"Look Hugo, I know you meant well. It is good that you notice these things. I will let you work with George together to fix this problem. I know you can do it. Just smooth it out. Nobody like being scolded like a toddler, right? You got this."

Poor Hugo.

This young elf thought that by involving George the toy maker, he could get the toys being fixed. Instead, George tuned him out and got busy with his own quota. Hugo went to Paul hoping a resolution to fix the problem George caused, but instead, Paul kept cutting him short and not listening to the whole story.   He was hoping that by getting George's and Paul's attention, he could at least get less broken toys in the next batch, or none at all. He is now thinking if he should just move to the reindeer maintenance department. At least Rudolph won't mind a broken carrot.

But Hugo didn't give up.

He finally went to the big boss, Santa, to report all this. He doesn't mention names, he just proposed that if he found broken toys, he would like to get Santa's permission to just discard the toys and not including those in for the next assembly. Santa agrees and will look into this matter deeply, because Santa doesn't like to waste resources as well.

So what's the moral of the story?
1. Never make a conclusion without having all facts on the table. 
If Paul could just hear Hugo out completely, Paul might be able to see Hugo's point pass the "speech delivery flaw". Hugo could choose to not bring the issue to Paul's attention, but he chose to do the right thing.

2. Don't miss the big picture.
What's the point of making toys? It is for the children, right? George the elf toy maker should be happy to get a feedback from Hugo, because that would make him be able to increase the quality of his work. 500 perfect toys are still better than 480 perfect toys, especially if you're going to allocate the same amount of time of working them.

3. Be resourceful and creative.
Hugo didn't give up. He came up with a solution that Santa agrees (for now), until the next better resolution is made up. Hugo did try to escalate things to the toy maker and floor supervisor, but their responses are not within Hugo's control at all. He thinks outside the box and he delivers a way out.

With time, Hugo, George, and Paul made up. And they live happily ever after. Making 1.9 billion toys for 1.9 billion children in the world.

The end.

Natal Keempat

Ini adalah Natal keempat tanpa hadiah-hadiah mewah. Ini adalah Natal yang tidak sarat dengan materialisme. Ini adalah Natal lagi yang akan membawa kesejahteraan untuk hidup keluargaku kelak.

Di musim panas tahun 2014, aku membaca suatu buku konsep keuangan yang betul-betul membantu untuk merubah perilakuku terhadap uang. Buku itu tidak bilang untuk tunda Natal. Buku itu hanya membantu memberikan saran-saran atas persepsi dan tingkah laku seseorang jika orang itu mau menang dengan uang.

Uang, bukan berarti mau kaya atau bikin orang jadi kikir. Tapi maksudnya adalah kita harus bisa menguasai uang, supaya uang tidak mengendalikan hidup kita. Istilah orang dulu adalah untuk bisa menghindari "besar pasak daripada tiang."

Bukunya berjudul Total Money Makeover, karangan Dave Ramsey. Aku tidak tahu apakah buku ini dijual atau tidak di Indonesia, tapi kalau tidak dijual di sana, coba saja cek Amazon, siapa tahu ada.

Nah, sejak tahun 2014, keluarga kami memutuskan untuk tidak memberi hadiah satu sama lain untuk tiap Natal. Kalau kamu tinggal di Amerika Serikat, kamu akan mengerti kenapa ini adalah satu hal aneh. Di negeri bule sini nih, kamu akan dicap macem2x kalau kamu nggak ngasih hadiah2x Natal. Aku tahu itu karena sejak aku "skip" Natal, banyak orang2x yang melihat aku seolah2x aku ini makhluk asing dari planet Mars.

Contohnya, pada bulan Desember tahun 2014 di kantorku, mereka mau mengadakan "White Elephant". Istilah white elephant (atau gajah putih) artinya tiap orang akan memberikan satu hadiah Natal bagi satu (atau lebih) orang lain, dimana hadiah itu biasanya mahal dan ekspensif. Ini berasal dari legenda Raja Siam memberi hadiah gajah albino yang langka untuk orang yang tidak menyenangkan hatinya, supaya orang itu jadi bangkrut karena pembiayaan gajah yang sangat tinggi.

Tahun 2015, perayaan Natal di rumah tetap sederhana. Berhubung ini adalah masa transisi dari kerjaan lama ke kerjaan baru, kita tidak dibebani oleh kantor untuk acara tukar-menukar hadiah Natal.  Tidak bela beli hadiah lagi, melainkan tetap menghabiskan waktu bersama keluarga dan memberi perhatian satu sama lain.

Tahun 2016, kantor baruku merayakan Natal dan lagi-lagi aku "terpaksa" ikut berpartisipasi dalam program "Secret Santa". Konsep yang mirip dengan "White Elephant", tapi bedanya, ini tiap minggu kita harus ngasih hadiah pada salah satu orang yang namanya diundi untuk kita. Berarti 3 minggu berturut2 ngasih paling tidak 3 hadiah total, dan di minggu keempat kita "diharapkan" memberikan satu hadiah bergengsi. Ya okelah, kuturuti dengan hati berat, walaupun sebetulnya nggak mau.

Tahun 2017, tahun ini, aku narik garis batas. Sama seperti tahun lalu, program Secret Santa kembali datang menghampiri. Tapi bedanya, kali ini aku bilang tidak. Aku menolak untuk berpartisipasi. Bukannya karena aku pelit, tapi aku ini punya keuangan yang terbatas. Dalam arti kata aku masih punya hutang hipotek untuk dilunasi untuk rumah kami, mesti juga terus menambah tabungan dana pensiun untuk hari tua kelak (apalagi aku kan nggak punya anak, nggak bisa mengharapkan anak akan menjagaku kalau nanti aku tua renta, lah anaknya aja nggak ada!). Dan masih punya segudang keperluan lain yang harus dipersiapkan seperti dana keadaan darurat, tagihan kanan kiri untuk hidup, dan lain sebagainya.

Dan ajaibnya, aku tidak merasa bersalah untuk kembali lagi dalam situasi Natal tanpa hadiah. Malah aku pikir, arti Natal yang sebetulnya kan bukan hadiah. Yesus lahir di bumi justru dalam keadaan yang sangat jauh dari kemewahan dan keagungan. Malahan Yesus mengambil bentuk yang sesederhana mungkin, sebagai hamba yang lahir di palungan hewan. Natal yang sesungguhnya adalah memahami contoh yang diberikan Yesus, untuk semakin sederhana dan rendah hati. Bukannya pesta sana sini dan bikin orang jadi bangkrut!

Bilang tidak adalah sesuatu yang tidak gampang dilakukan. Tapi kadang kita harus bilang tidak kalau kita mau sukses dalam bidang apapun itu. Sama aza kan kayak bilang tidak untuk kue-kue dan donat-donat berkalori tinggi kalau kita mau serius nurunin berat badan. Ya keuangan juga sama. Kadang kita harus berani menyangkal diri sendiri kalau kita mau maju. Kalau nanti kita sudah punya banyak berlebih-lebih uang sampai nggak tau mau diapain tuh uang, boleh deh kita bilang iya ke hadiah Natal. Mau pilih mana? Sejahtera di hari tua karena rajin menabung, atau foya-foya sekarang dan kere kemudian?

Berakit-rakit ke hulu,
berenang-renang ke tepian.
Bersakit-sakit dahulu,
Bersenang-senang kemudian.

The Alphabet Problem

Is D better than F?

(academically speaking).

Technically yes, D is better than F. But if the standard passing grade in school is C, then is it really better? If C means pass, anything below C means not pass, then basically D is not better than F.

One day when I was a naive young student, I came home with my report card. I passed for majority of my classes, even getting some As and Bs. But, there is one subject that I didn't pass. I got a D on PE (Physical Education). I guess I prefer being a brainiac than being physically fit? Anyway, I got home and remember being so scared to face my dad. So I "strategize" myself in presenting my report card to him.

"Pa, D is better than F, ya?" asked this silly little girl.

He looked at me with a knowing look. Then he simply said,"Well B is better than D."

I guess I can't fool him. Wise dad after all.

Long story short, I grew up with a conviction, that anything below par is not acceptable. It doesn't mean that I have to be on top of everything, got As in every single subject, but I know I can't afford to be below the minimum grade requirement, not even a D. Don't mention F too me, really.

This attitude stay with me for all my adult life. I strive to be the best, as best as I can. I don't accept "mediocre" thinking, a philosophy that good enough is better than nothing. Well, sometimes the enemy of best is not worst, but "good".

"It's good for me to have this C, at least it's not a D."

If that's the best you can do, okay, that's great. But you know that you don't give it your all, when you delay studying because you need to finish this level on that awesome video game. When you delay studying because you have to talk to your boyfriend about this important decision of life called shoe shopping. You know you didn't give it your best shot, when you keep procrastinating on studying your books for watching just one more episode of your favorite TV show. You know that. I know that, because I was guilty of all those charges before! :)

So, if you did give it your all, and you still got a C, then is that means good? Ok, that means you pass.

But if you give it all and you still got a D, that means you have work to do. Maybe you can reach out to a tutor or mentor to coach you and help you to understand the subject. Maybe you need to look at it from different perspective. It'll push you to be creative and resourceful. Or that simply means, you just need to pay attention 100% and not get distracted with your game, boyfriend (or girlfriend), or TV shows. Or anything that preventing you to focus on your study material!

It's your attitude in life that will carry you far far away above the mediocrity of our society. Change your thinking and you'll change your life.

D is not better than F. Go get an A!

Next

I'm a kid who can't wait to grow up.

I think about college when I was in third grade.

I daydreamed about being a thirty-five year old housewife with two kids when I was fifteen years old.

I charted a three years road map of college classes I need to took when I was in my second semester of being a college freshman, on my first year, to ensure I finished my bachelor degree in less than four years.

When I was a direct sales representative, I cannot stop thinking what my career would be like if I work super hard in order to be promoted to the next level, the Personal Financial Consultant in Retail Banking.

When I was engaged to my fiancee in Indonesia, I continuously imagined my new marriage life will look like in United States.

During our first three years renting apartment, I think about buying a dream house every single day.

Six month before our second car being paid off, I counted the weeks of that final payment day.

I can't wait for our mortgage to be paid off, even though technically we still have thirteen years to go.

And now, I imagine retirement every waking moment, although I still have twenty-one years left in the workforce.

I simply always thinking what's next.

I don't know why I always think what's next.

Sometimes I wonder, if I get to be an eighty year old woman one day, will I think about coffin, cremation, or if I won't wake up forever?

For now, I'll just think of the next blogpost that I will write.

TINGGAL LANDAS

**Izin diberikan oleh pengarangnya, Mich John Igna**

Dua Puluh Tahun Pertama,
habiskan waktu untuk belajar banyak hal,
habiskan banyak uang dan waktu orangtua,
dunia berputar lambat karena cita-cita yang tampak jauh.

Dua Puluh Tahun Kedua,
habiskan uang untuk bekerja dan menabung,
habiskan hasil kerja untuk diri sendiri dan anak-anak,
dunia berputar lebih cepat dari duapuluh tahun pertama,

Dua Puluh Tahun Ketiga,
habiskan uang untuk investasi dan persiapan pensiun,
habiskan banyak uang dan waktu untuk anak,
dunia berputar sangat-sangat cepat, sampai kurang istirahat

Di awal Dua Puluh Tahun Ketiga,
bersiap lepas landas untuk terbang lebih tinggi,
LEPAS LANDAS menuju ketidakpastian langit,
namun mengarah satu yang pasti di bumi.

#syukur40
#mefam
#michlegacy

Cutthroat Kitchen

Have you ever seen Cutthroat Kitchen? It's a cooking game show where all the four contestants are given $25,000 each to compete with each other, where they can use the money for their own advancement, or to sabotage their competitions. They have to cook their way out, and despite of any challenges they have to face, their dish will be judged while the judge has no idea what kind of adversity they've been through. It's really entertaining, and definitely full of life lessons.

What makes this cooking competition unique, is the situation they're being throw into. It's not going to be a perfect cooking stage. Not only the chef must have the ability to cook, but they also have to outwit and sabotage their opponents to win. The last standing chef will win his/her leftover money.

The money itself, they can spend it at auctions to get things that could help them, like buying exclusive ingredients, or hinder their foe, like make them cook with one hand while the other hand is tied up. Or have one chef go walk in a treadmill while preparing their dish. Or make one chef bake in a children's oven. Very creative challenges and the best one I've ever seen!!

It's the show where you gotta play with the hands you've dealt. Accept it, deal it, and make the most of the current situation or circumstances, to make use of that which one is afforded or has available. Simply put, do the best with what you have.

Isn't that concept so similar with life? Despite of our circumstances, we are being expected to deliver our best. Despite of our adversity, we are expected to get up and face whatever we need to face. To be professional. To not only finish the job, but to do it so well, although our worlds crumbling down around us. While we battle our own challenges, we still need to wake up in the morning and go to work. To perform 120% and give it all.

Do you think our customers, superiors, shareholders, and whoever we need to give answer and accountability care how difficult our life was? No. They expect results. And they will reward those who work hard and deliver progressive results, despite of our emotions and situations that day.

I'm not saying they are heartless. But life is life. You still need to do your job. You still need to pay the bills. You still need to pickup your axe and swing at that tree if you want to survive. You must go on. Stop the pity party and work your way up.

You will be so proud of yourself of your accomplishment. Of all the rewards that you reap although you're crying inside. You are a survivor, and you will need to do anything to survive (thru legal means though, no cheat mode!). You are strong, you are smart, you will have the ability to figure it out, whatever "it" is. Always think that you're a winner, and you'll think like a winner.

And that's what Cutthroat Kitchen had taught me all these years watching them.

Survival of the fittest.

Musuh Terbesarku

Hari ini gue diundang untuk menghadiri acara makan siang prestigius yang diadakan oleh perusahaan di tempat gue bekerja. Gak semua orang diundang. Hanya untuk beberapa saja yang lolos seleksi. Kriterianya ditetapkan oleh para boss besar, dan gue merasa beruntung sekali bisa terpilih untuk menghadirinya. Seneng banget deh!

Mereka mengadakannya di restoran Beaches. Gue dulu udah pernah ke restoran ini sekali (beberapa tahun lalu). Jadi gue agak lupa2x ingat rute perjalanannya ke sana. Karena kurang PD (percaya diri) kalo nyetir sendiri ke sana, jadilah gue sepakat sama salah satu rekan kerja gue yang mumpung sekantor untuk pergi bareng2x ke sana. Istilah kerennya: nebeng, yang merupakan salah satu bakat spesialku sejak dini, hehehe.

Gue udah janjian sama si A (kita sebut saja doi A untuk cerita ini) kalo gue akan ketemu dia di kantor jam sebelas seperempat, karena acara makan siang ini diadakan tepat jam dua belas. Karena hari ini gue dijadwalkan libur (hore!), berarti gue akan mampir ke kantor dulu supaya kita bisa pergi bareng.

Nah, hari yang dinanti2kan tiba, yaitu hari ini. Gue udah tau kalo gue mesti nyampe kantor jam sebelas seperempat. Gue bangun pagi sperti biasa (gak super pagi banget lah, kan libur, jadi bisa tidur agak lamaan sedikit). Habis bangun pagi, ya berarti acara bebas sebelum jam yang sudah ditetapkan. Asik! Bisa main game, bisa ngeblog, nonton tipi, pokoknya haleluya dech! Biasanya tiap hari kan ngantor dari pagi sampe sore, pulang masak buat makan malam, terus acara main gamenya kan abis makan malam.

Saking asiknya gue menikmati acara bebas di pagi hari sebelum ketemuan sama si A, gue sampe nggak inget waktu.  Gue melihat jam di dinding, tapi nggak kepikir kalo gue kan mesti siap2x pake make up, baju, tata rambut, dan segalanya sebelum jam sebelas. Pas gue ngeliat jam lagi, waktu udah menunjukkan jam sebelas seperempat. Nggak tau kenapa gue mikir pada jam itu lah gue harus stop acara bebas pagi dan mulai siap2x. Salah besar!!! Mestinya gue siap2x jauh sebelum jam sebelas seperempat, karena si A kan udah nungguin gue!! Haleluya jadi halelupa!!!

Gue langsung panik kalang kabut. Hal pertama yang gue lakukan adalah kirim text ke si A minta maaf bahwa gue akan telat. Mungkin si A punya pikiran yang sama, jadinya jam sebelas lewat dua enam doi telpon gue. Gue bilang,"A, sorry banget nih gue nggak taruh perhatian sama waktu, elu pergi dulu aja deh ke restoran itu, gue nyusul belakangan, jadi kita langsung ketemu di sana ya?". Untunglah si A nggak marah. Dan untung pula restorannya nggak terlalu jauh2x amat sih. Dan nggak ada acara macet soalnya kan bukan jam pulang-pergi kerja.

Berikutnya, gue langsung buka google map untuk mencari tau rute untuk pergi ke restoran Beaches. Alamaak!!! Google map bukannya ngasih tau rute yang mesti gue tuju, tapi ini pake acara "you must intall this app" this and that. Walah! Gue udah nggak punya waktu, ini google macem2x segala minta gue melakukan hal yang akhirnya tidak gue lakukan deh. Soalnya gue kan musti hati2x, jangan download sembarangan, jangan click link yang macem2x, mana tau itu scam.

Gue tau waktu udah nggak banyak lagi, soalnya gue mesti ciao sekarang kalo mau tiba di restoran tepat waktu. Akhirnya setelah dandan serba kilat, gue cabut dari rumah sekitar jam setengah dua belas, dan ngebut kayak setan jalanan. Dan selagi gue nunggu di lampu merah, gue berpikir,"Time is my worst enemy = waktu adalah musuh terbesar gue."

Tapi satu detik kemudian, gue mikir lagi,"No, I am my worst enemy = gue adalah musuh terbesar gue!"

Coba kita telusuri pemikiran ini. Gue udah tau kalo gue mesti ketemu si A jam sebelas seperempat. Tapi apa yang gue lakukan? Keasikan main ini itu, ngeblog kanan kiri, baca artikel2x di fesbuk dan linkedin dan segudang artikel2 lain di web2x, yang membuat gue jadi ketayalan sama jadwal yang sudah ditetapkan. Waktu jalan terus. Kalo gue bisa mempersiapkan diri lebih baik, mestinya gue disiplin sama diri sendiri seperti menetapkan waktu dari awal untuk stop acara bebas jam sepuluh tiga puluh, supaya bisa punya waktu empat puluh lima menit untuk dandan dan siap2x dan tiba di kantor dan ketemu si A tepat waktu.

Waktu bukanlah musuh terbesarku. Akulah musuhku sendiri pada saat itu. Waktu mah jalan terus. 60 detik sekarang dengan 60 detik sepuluh tahun yang lalu adalah sama. Tetap 60 detik. Satu jam sekarang dengan satu jam di lima tahun mendatang juga sama. Tetap satu jam. Jadi ngapain nyalahin waktu?

Tau kan ada orang yang berpendapat : Time get the best of you. Maksudnya kita kalah dalam let's say kompetisi tertentu karena waktunya sudah habis. Time's up, katanya orang bule di sini. Tapi kalo dipikir2x, sebetulnya bukan waktunya yang habis, tapi kitanya yang kurang persiapan dan tidak mengorganisir kegiatan kita dengan baik.

Dari pengalaman ini, gue berjanji untuk lebih baik lagi. Yang sudah lewat ya sudah. Tapi gue belajar banyak dari kisah hari ini. Lain kali, kalo ada acara penting kayak gini, gue harus berjanji pada diri sendiri untuk menjadwal kegiatan2x yang akan gue lakukan sebelum hari H. Boleh main game tapi nggak boleh lupa untuk stop setidaknya satu jam sebelum acara.

Akhirnya gua tiba di restoran Beaches, tepatnya empat menit setelah jam dua belas. Jengkel banget deh sama diri sendiri, soalnya gue paling nggak suka telat.  Pake acara nyasar pula. Tapi untung banget suami gue yang baik ngasih tau rute yang benar untuk pergi ke restoran ini. Jadi nganggu dia di kerjaannya, tapi mo gimana lagi? Aniwei, acaranya sendiri berjalan dengan lancar, dan gue pulang dengan perut penuh. Hehe.

Tapi beneran deh, gue bener2x mesti taruh perhatian pada waktu. Ada waktu untuk main, ada waktu untuk ngeblog, ada waktu untuk dandan, dan ada waktu untuk pergi dalam perjalanan menuju suatu tempat. Jadi gue harus memperhitungkan dari semula semua hal yang gue lakukan dalam waktu2 tertentu, supaya pengalaman ini nggak terulang lagi.

Supaya lain kali, bukannya menjadi musuh terbesar, tapi gue bisa jadi sahabat terbaik bagi diri gua sendiri! :)

Uplifting Quotes

Uplifting quotes are needed between now and then, even for someone that always positive and happy. We all need words to encourage us, telling us to keep moving on.  When I have doubtful moments, I instantly think of these quotes to give me strength.

Nothing really last forever. So like everything else, this too will pass.

Whatever it is, just don't give up. Don't give up your dreams and hope. You might change your tactic and strategy, but never your goal. Never your dream.

Move on quick. Keep pushing to the next thing. Life is too precious for us to linger thinking bad things that we don't have any control of. Just breathe in, breathe out, and "next!".

Again, like quote#1, nothing last forever. So this too, is temporary. Setbacks are always temporary.

And in the end, it doesn't matter. When it's time for us to leave this world, we won't bring anything to afterlife. We'll leave everything behind. So just relax, calm down, and clear your mind. This is not the end. We'll figure out the solution, but we won't stuck with this problem forever. Sometimes we need to let that matter go. So we can move on to the next important thing that already waiting for our attention.

And the survey says...

I was walking with my husband today at the mall. As we walked while eating our ice cream, my eyes caught an interesting corner office with the label Opinion in the window. There are nothing on the display beside that one word.

Next to the window, there are a glass door. There was an announcement of it. Before I could finish what was there, a gentleman came outside and unlocked the door. He turned the sign from "Close" to "Open". And then he said,"We're open."

We must have a questioning look on our face, because we couldn't figure out what kind of merchandise or service this place sell. So he explained it,"We are a market research company. If you do some survey, we'll pay you $5 dollar for your opinion."

Hm, interesting.

This place is inside the mall. Normally store sell stuff and we give out money for the exchange. But this? We get money if we give our opinion?

My husband and I looked at each other, and I know our curiosity beat us. As if begging us to explore more.

My husband asked him,"What kind of survey?"

He replied,"There are different kind of survey. For example, how old are you, mam?" he turned to me.

I said,"32." And in that split second I laugh and said,"Wait! No, I'm 39!!". This is one of a very funny moment for me, because not too long ago I just had a birthday, and I can't believe I said I was 32! I guess I'm stuck living in 2010 for a moment, hahaha!

He then provided me examples of what kind of survey I have in my age group.

Long story short, we did the surveys. We got 5 bucks (each). It was an intriguing experience. But I think it's great that these companies are doing market research to test the water. To see how the consumer react before (or after) they launch their next product or service.

Hm, maybe my "opinion" made it to the Family Feud survey? Who knows!

Futuring

When I was 12, I had a homework assignment from my teacher. She wanted us to think of what will I become when I reach the age of 35. What will I do? So, using my imagination, I envisioned my 35 year old self will be married, have 2 kids, and not working at all. My justification of not working? The kids. They will need a mother to grow up with, and I don't want to entrust their care in someone else's lap. I want to raise them, educate them, and spend all my time with them. I want to be there to watch them grow up, do their homework together, teaching all the important stuff about life.

Armed with this vision, I grow up to be a young lady with busy activities. When I was in high school, I challenged myself to not only to be the top ten of my class, but I also was active in my high school's drama club. I trained myself to not only master one thing, but two things at once. With time that has been given to me, I want to see if I can manage my activities effectively.

When I was 20, I was super busy. I attended my university classes and pushed myself to get an A in every single subject possible. I also was active my student body (senate), holding events like seminars, workshops, and outreach events, getting sponsorship from left and right to fund my events, creating special committees, and ensure each events went on successfully.

One of my best friend saw this pattern in me. Always going around somewhere. Always have something to do. No idle time. So he asked me why I push myself to do all these. I, naively said, "15 years from now I'll be 35. I'll be married and have 2 children. I also will be working (this is a bit different from my original vision, but that's okay. I guess when I was 20 I realized that my future family might need my income to help support life).  So I need to train myself for time management while juggling with these activities. Might as well learn now rather than be overwhelmed later."

And I did it. I graduated from my university with honors (cum laude). I was proud of my achievement. Although I did not get summa cum laude or magna cum laude, but I thought it was good enough graduating with cum laude at least because on top of that I also busy doing something else. I had my activities with the student senate. And in the final year of my study, I also worked part-time (internship). Another thing that I accomplished: I got an A in my final thesis. This is from a professor that was infamously never given somebody an A!

One thing that I can learn from these experience, it taught me something. Because I already know that my time at the university is limited, I was able to do quality things and not doing stuff that not important. During the class session, I seriously study. During the students senate meeting, I hold the meeting effectively because I know this is the only time for me to do things. I charted a road map for me on how to finish all my classes in 3.5 years, because I don't want to be one of those students that attending classes "forever". College should be a 4 years degree (unless if you're in medical field).

One terms comes to mind: futuring. Futuring is a systematic process for thinking and planning about the future. Back then I didn't know that I was futuring. I want to always be prepared to what's next, that's why I "trained" myself to be ready for whatever may comes. I guess I should call myself a futurist. Futurists are people who actively view the present world as a window on possible future outcomes. They watch trends and try to envision what might happen.

In the corporate world, this is what they called a vision.

Now I am 38.

I am married. I don't have 2 kids. But I do have 2 important people to take care of: my husband and my mother.  I am working, for the last 17 years of my life.  The future is somewhat different from what I envisioned. And that's okay. Because the past got me prepared for what's next.

Right now, I am still futuring. I imagine what my life will be when I'm 50, 60, and beyond. I predict that I won't work forever (I hope!), therefore I'm getting serious in building my retirement funds. I also think that healthcare cost will keep rising, so to prevent expensive treatment in the future, I watch what I eat (and drink). I don't want to work all the time, pile all those money, to be ended up wasting fixing my health. I want to enjoy my life, and for that I need my health. No more bacon and french fries! More fruits and vegs! Goodbye sodium!

All of these futuring is so exciting! It helps us preparing our next chapter in life. The prep stage, it enhanced our skills. It taught us to be selective with our thoughts and activities. It helps us to make a right decision. "Is this helping us with our goal? or not?". If the answer is not, then you know what to do. It pushes us to continue learning things that we don't know before. Like the term RMD (Required Minimum Distribution) for retirees age 70 and above. Or the secluded vacation spot in Vanuatu.

Futuring change our perspective. Futuring could help change our lives to the better. If you haven't try futuring, then try it. Explore it. You might need it one day. At least you'll get new skills and a new way to see the world.

22, 42 & 62

Last year, I wrote a blog titled What Advice Would You Give Your 21-Year-Old Self?. So now, a year later, my 21 yr old self would be 22. And I do have some insights to give to my 22-year-old self. But we can't turn back time. I can't go back to be 22. So instead of giving the advice to "her", I would pass the message to the older version of myself in the future. To my 42 year old self! Even to my 62 year old self!

1. Avoid death by small stuff

It's the small things that stresses life. I admit I'm guilty of this. I let small things bother me. I let small things ruin my day. If you already have a habit to get stressed easily, then it'll require a huge effort to change this behavior.

I learn from my wise husband that he doesn't let small things bother him. He is so peaceful. Yesterday we were driving in the road, and suddenly there's an ambulance making a left turn and cut immediately in front of us. My first reaction was to reach out to the horn, even though I wasn't the one who drove. But my husband prevented me and said,"Let it go. It's okay". I retorted back and said,"It's not okay, he should follow the rule, we almost got into an accident.". He calmed me down and said,"Just forget about it. We didn't get into an accident. And see? I even already forget about it."

The rest of the journey was pleasant. I let it go immediately. My younger version will keep hang on to it and let it dictate the rest of my days. But, this new habit, "let it go easily", it's actually works. I feel calmed and peaceful. What can I do anyway? The ambulance already way far ahead to the freeway. Plus the driver might be rushing trying to save another life by getting as fast as possible to get to the hospital.

Avoid death by small things. Don't make it your problem if it's not your problem. Like Elsa sang, "Let it go."

2. Keep saying no
Warren Buffet once said :

I ended up writing a separate blogpost for this. For further details, read it here.

3. Don't let your future controls your present.
Aka "Don't Worry, Be Happy". As Bobby McFerrin sang in that song, we shouldn't be worry for things that we can't control. Future for example. There's only few things that we can control, but we cannot possibly oversee every aspect.

I'm not saying that you should not planning your future. You do have to take necessary steps to build up your dream lives. You should have a goal and realistic plans to achieve it. I'm just saying that you should not be worry about it. If you let your future thoughts clouding your present too much, you won't have a present to enjoy.

I myself was guilty (again!). Sometimes I overanalyze my future. I obsessed with perfecting it, that I forget to enjoy the present. I spent hours planning this and that, and sometimes it ended up not happening anyway.

It's like a lottery wish. You ever heard that question,"What would you do if you win a million dollar?" You start saying, oh I'm going to pay this debt and that debt. I would buy this and that. I would help this person and that person. I'm going to travel all around the world. I would save half and invest half. I would do bla bla bla and the list go on and on and on. Just like Samir and Michael Bolton from Office Space did.

Well, it was a nice wish, but will it come true? That's why the question is in the "IF" format, and not "WHEN".

Don't be too consumed with all futuristic things. Set a goal, create a systemic plan, and do it. Just do it, but don't worry about it. Make adjustment to your plan if necessary and keep moving on. Don't get distracted with flashy little things here and there. And in the same time, enjoy the present. Enjoy the ride.

If your goal is so high above there that it seems you're in the bottom of the well, then be flexible. Don't set up goal so unrealistic that you ruin your present. That's why don't let your future control your present. You control your fate, not the other way around.  Just don't worry, be happy.

Those are 3 things that I will tell my 42 & 62 year old self to do. Better yet, why wait that long. Just do it now. Let it go, no, and don't worry! :)

Keep Saying No

Warren Buffet once said :

I've been implementing this principle for a long time. But sometimes I'm not consistent. Sometimes I said yes, when I should have said no. And then there is regret. Regret why I was so weak and succumb to temptation.

So now I held my head high and be confident with my choice. If I already have a commitment to certain goal or certain someone, I won't say yes too easily because that could distract me from completing my tasks.

There are 2 things that we should say no to:
a. Time Robbery

We only have limited hours to do what we need to do and what we want to do. We have obligation and responsibility that requires us time and energy to finish it. If we keep allowing other people to interrupt our already limited time, then how can we be closer to completion? Even if it was for a good intention, we should discipline ourselves and say no to extra things that doesn't help us get faster to our destinations.

I had my own case of time robbery. Few years ago I worked in a very highly operating team. We were very solid and work hard together. I could easily went into overtime because I have many projects and tasks to complete. We were close to each other, so when someone suggested we have a team outing, I unwittingly said yes.

At that time I already have a family : my husband and my mom. Sometimes I feel guilty when I have to work from home. Not only I bring my job home, I still working from home, while I should have spend more time with them. I already have 40 hours a week away from them, and now, I even taxing their time with me because I misplaced my priorities.

The team outing has been arranged and it happens on the same day of my husband's birthday. I told him this only takes 2 hours. Just 2 hours. Then I'm yours for the rest of the day. He was very understanding and wish me to have fun with my teammates. So here I go, with all of my coworkers, went to see a movie in Cinetopia, our favorite movie theater. While I watched the movie, something is nagging at me. I felt uneasy. I thought,"I should have spend the time with my husband and my mom, celebrating his birthday, making his day special! Instead, what am I doing here?"

Don't get me wrong. It is important to have a good relationship with your teammates. After all, they're the ones that support you and they are critical for your success at your job. But, after the clocking hours, it is your family time. It is your personal time. Your family is important too, and actually it's more important than your job. Why? Because they're the ones who pick up the pieces when your job say goodbye to you. When your job no longer need you, they're the ones who will be beside you when you're hunting another jobs. Jobs to support your family.

From that moment, I vow to not overmix my priorities. I limit my time to my work, because I need to set aside my time with my family, ... and with myself! I won't let anyone rob my time anymore. I won't let anyone dictate what should I do with my day, my hour, even my minute. I don't want to live with regret because I didn't spend time with the ones who matter the most.

Don't let time robber steal your precious time. You can't get it back.

b. Draining Environment

There are certain people in our lives that continues being a drama queen, drama king, blow up small things to big things, and draining our energy. They are everywhere. They constantly seeking our attention, begging our sympathy, or simply undermining us so they can feel better about themselves. This is what the experts labeled as "toxic people".

There's only one thing that we should do to toxic people. Keep your boundaries. Say no. You don't have enough time already with your life, why should you spare another moment to let them crowding your plates? I'm not being mean, but seriously, if these same people keep hindering you away from your happiness and your goals, then why?

Disconnect. Cut it loose. Just like a bad investment, you have to know when to get out.

I'm not saying that you have to completely ignore him/her and gave them a silent treatment. I'm just saying no to that draining behavior. You can still have a relationship with them, but the minute they start complaining, get out. Excuse yourself. "I'm sorry, I have to go." Don't give them the reason why. Explaining doesn't make things better. They won't understand. If they truly a good friend, they won't hold grudge to you. Beside, you do have other important priorities to do, right?

Limit your exposure to a draining environment. Surround yourself with uplifting environment. With people who truly loves you, care about you, and support you no matter what. Choose your environment wisely.

Conclusion:
Keep saying no is a positive attitude. If you keep saying no to the wrong things, eventually you'll say yes to the right thing. It'll make your "YES" priceless.

Resep Awet Muda

1. Banyak senyum
Orang yang banyak senyum biasanya hidup lebih hepi. Percaya atau tidak, senyum itu adalah obat untuk mengurangi stress. Kita bisa lebih 'nrimo' atas keadaan yang terjadi pada diri kita, dan bahkan bisa membangun tekad untuk menghadapi masalah yang perlu dipecahkan. Senyum juga membuat kepribadian kita tampak lebih menarik

2. Sering bahagia
Sering-seringlah merasa bahagia. Bahagia itu bukan kondisi, tapi sebetulnya adalah perasaan. Nggak berarti kita harus ketawa terus. Tapi maksudnya adalah supaya kita merasa tercukupi dan puas dengan keadaan kita yang sekarang ini. Istilah kerennya, gratitude. Merasa bersyukur atas hal-hal positif yang terjadi dalam diri kita, akan membuat kita tetap tampil awet muda.

3. Jaga makan
Tambah usia berarti tambah risiko untuk kena penyakit seperti darah tinggi, kolesterol, atau diabetes. Tambah usia berarti kita harus kontrol jenis makanan, supaya kita bisa mencegah penyakit-penyakit yang nantinya bisa membunuh kita. Jauhi makanan berlemak, goreng-gorengan, dan soda. Konsumsi anti-oksidan, misalnya blueberry, brokoli, dan tomat. Banyak makan makanan berserat untuk menjaga kesehatan pencernaan kita.

4. Hidup sesimpel mungkin
Hidup sederhana bukan berarti mengasingkan teknologi. Justru teknologi akan mempermudah hidup kita dengan hal-hal yang praktis. Contohnya mencuci pakaian. Apakah anda lebih memilih untuk pergi ke sungai terdekat sambil membawa papan bilas dan menghabiskan waktu berjam-jam untuk nyuci pakaian di sana? Atau cukup sisihkan waktu 20 menit untuk mencuci baju menggunakan mesin cuci? Gunakan teknologi untuk membuat hidup anda semudah mungkin, supaya anda punya banyak waktu untuk melakukan hal-hal yang menyenangkan dengan keluarga!

5. Berpikir positif
Orang yang berpikir positif selalu tampak lebih muda dari usianya. Mereka menjauhi stress yang tidak perlu dan tidak menambah kerutan di mata mereka. Pikiran positif punya dampak sepuluh kali lebih hebat daripada pikiran negatif. Sering-seringlah membaca artikel-artikel pembangunan diri (self-help) supaya anda terus mengasah pikiran anda ke jalur yang positif.

6. Cukup tidur
Pada saat kita tidur, otak menjadi rileks dan melepaskan toksin-toksin ke jalur pembuangan yang tepat. Kita "memberi makan" sel-sel otak kita dalam tidur. Kadar glukosa dan fungsi endokrin dipertahankan dalam level yang semestinya dan ini mencegah kita untuk rawan penyakit seperti diabetes, hipertensi, dan obesitas. Tidur 8 jam sehari adalah syarat mutlak untuk selalu awet muda.

7. Stimulasi otak
Otak kita ini terus berkembang dari hari ke hari. Orang yang terus menerus menstimulasi kehidupannya melalui kegiatan asah otak, seperti hobi, pekerjaan, dan pelajaran biasanya akan mengurangi kecenderungan terkena penyakit Alzheimer sebesar 35-40%. Game itu bagus untuk tetap jadi awet muda!

The Balloon Story

Once upon a time, there was a balloon seller selling balloons. Sometimes there are a lot of children crowding him, buying his balloon one by one. Sometimes nobody buys his balloon for a period of time. In this slow time, he release one balloon to the sky, to attract children to buy his balloons. When that happen, the children will crowd him again, buying his balloons to make them happy.

He does this every day.

One day, as he pumps the helium to his balloons, he felt a tug on his right side jacket. Apparently there was a little boy, trying to grab his attention.

"Yes kid, how can I help you?" asked the balloon seller.

"If you let go the black balloon, will it fly?" asked the boy.

The balloon seller look wisely at the child. And then he smiles. "Yes kid, the black balloon will fly. You see, it's not the color of the balloon, but the content inside that will make it fly to the sky".

***

It's our character inside that make us who we are.