Having a stay-cation with the wifey for this weekend

Having a stay-cation with the wifey for this weekend.

Just booked an impromptu stay-cation at Ascott Raffles Place this weekend with my wife to surprise her. Will be staying for 2 nights at the property right smack in the middle of the Central Business District of Singapore. 

Well, it is sort of a pre-Valentine date warm up, and plus, it is way cheaper to celebrate Valentine's Day ahead and in advance of the actual day itself. 

There will be wining, and dining, and as a bonus. We are also arranging for a dinner date with two of our single friends of the opposite sex, with the hope of match making them. 

Well, the lady, who is a friend of my wife, just broke up recently with her boyfriend. The guy friend, a long time friend of mine, is just plain single for like a really long time. Think it's time they meet and get to know 1 new friend. 

No pressures. If it doesn't pan out, well, it's just meeting one new friend, and a casual dinner event. If they like each other from the first meeting, well, the onus is up to them to carry this forward. Maybe plan something for the upcoming Valentine's Day. 

For other singles out there, get your ass out there this Valentine's Day, and make the magic work, or work the magic. 

For everything else, there's iWish. 

#iWish

iWish - Gifting Made Easy!

www.iwish.com.sg

Love at First Sight

Love at First Sight

I am a Singaporean who has never been to Thailand before. She was a Thai who has been to Singapore once when she was very young. That fateful day, 18 Jul 2007, we were gathering at a ferry terminal to board a ferry bound for Bintan for our company's induction program. That was where I met her for the very first time.

My first impression was that she looked stunning. Long black hair, beautiful face, slender long legs that goes on forever. I had to introduce myself to her, that was when I started the conversation with a remark on a flower brooch she had pinned on her bag – lousy starting line, I know. Well, it worked, and that was then when we talked about where we came from and everything else under the sun literally.

That first conversation led to many more, including me sitting just next to her during one of the team dinners. At the dinner, she briefly mentioned that her birthday was actually the next day, and so I surprised her during breakfast the next day with a muffin and a candle, taken from the buffet table. I guess I was being too straightforward and obvious in my additional liking towards her, and so my fellow Singaporean colleagues were making fun of me throughout the entire induction program in Bintan.

After we left Bintan and back to our home country, we still kept in touch through long distance calls, messenger and emails. She must have good thoughts about me too, if not she wouldn't have reciprocated with the calls and emails. One month later, we were sent by our company to study in Copenhagen, Denmark for 2 weeks. We met on the plane as planned, and went for our first date when we landed. The 2 weeks saw us getting closer, discussing the studies every night, chatting till late into the night. The unfamiliar country, the stresses of being away from home and the comfort in having someone familiar to spend time with must have helped. We officially became lovers during the study trip. Unfortunately, the study trip had to end, and we returned to our home country.

I missed her so much that I booked a flight to Bangkok immediately a few days after I got back, and went on my first ever solo trip and my first ever trip to Thailand. She brought me around town for the few days and I knew immediately, she is the one! Long distance phone calls, daily skype calls into the night, frequent monthly trips to Bangkok, millions of emails exchanges finally led me to the following…

In the middle of 2011, I got permission from her parents and officially proposed while I was in Bangkok. She agreed and preparation is underway for our double wedding dinner celebrations both in Singapore and Bangkok. We got married in 24 Nov 2011.

Today, we are happily married and we've just celebrated our third wedding anniversary.

#iWish

iWish - Gifting Made Easy!

www.iwish.com.sg

Start living simply, and simply start living.

Before you start to want things you do not have, make sure you appreciate the things you do have. 

In essence, it just means we need to stop wanting more, and instead, start enjoying more of what we already have in our possession. 

Start living simply, and simply start living. 

#iWish

iWish - Gifting Made Easy!

www.iwish.com.sg

Something, anything, is better than nothing at all

Attending the Straits Times Digital Life Award 2015 at Funan DigitaLife Mall in the afternoon. 

Great IT prizes are going to be given out. 

I've taken a look at the prizes listing, it looks enticing. 

Too bad I am not in the running for it, neither do I know how do one qualify to be considered for it...

I guess I can only list the items on my wish list, and hope my loved ones pick up the direct hint, and get me something. 

Something, anything, is better than nothing at all. 

#iWish

iWish - Gifting Made Easy!

www.iwish.com.sg

Always show your appreciation and gratitude

Watched Mocking Jay Part 1 over the weekend. 

Taken note of a theme that was playing throughout the movie. 

To win the War, you need to capture the hearts and minds of the people. 

Well, I think this theme applies to many aspects of our life as well. 

However, some may have lost the plot...

Win battles, but lose the war. 

Read a story on facebook as well, that went something like this:

Mum spent a hard day at work, returned home, and made dinner for the family. 

Somehow, mum overcooked and charred the chicken. 

During dinner, dad just picked up the charred and overcooked piece of chicken and ate it, no complains, no comments. 

Mum even apologised for overcooking the chicken. 

Dad however said, honey, I love chicken with some charring. 

Later that night, when tucking the kid into bed, the kid asked dad if he really liked charred chicken or was he pretending. 

To which dad replied that eating the charred chicken hurt no one, but harsh words will hurt, and besides, mum worked a hard day at work and even put in effort to cook us dinner, so the least we can do is to appreciate her efforts and eat the dinner. 

To this, the kid learnt a valuable lesson. 

Harsh words hurt people. 

Always show your appreciation and gratitude. 

Same theme goes to gifting. 

Sometimes, it is not the actual gift that matters, it is the thought that truly counts. 

And an unexpected gift, goes a long way...

To win the hearts and minds of your gift recipients, surprise them with a thoughtful gift today. It need not be extravagant, need not be expensive. It just have to be thoughtful and sincere. 

Happy gifting!

#iWish

iWish - Gifting Made Easy!

www.iwish.com.sg

Valentine's Day Gifting Made Easy!

Almost 3 weeks to go to Valentine's Day. 

What will you be giving to your loved one? 

What will you be giving to your secret crush?

What will you be hoping to receive?

Any gift that will make your day?

Stay tuned as we curate interesting gift ideas especially for this Valentine's Day. 

For the season of love. 

For one, we have a few gift ideas to start you off:

1. Hand-made DIY says it best

2. Something very personal that only the two of you know

3. Something heartfelt, which says how you feel for the other person

4. Practical gifts where both of you can enjoy

5. Cash/Vouchers - so that your loved one can go get himself/herself a desired gift

6. Something real expensive - signalling effect that you can provide for the family

7. An SG50 baby!

8. Couple coupons - eg. wash the dishes, clear the trash, clean the toilet, a good back massage, etc...

9. A romantic date - leave the kids with your parents, spend the day with your loved one, indulge in couple time, doing couple activities

10. Nostalgia date - bring him/her to reminiscence the good old days, like where you first met, where you had your first kiss with each other, the place where you proposed etc. 

If you have any other romantic gift ideas on how to make Valentine's Day a special and memorable day, do give us more ideas to add to the list. 

Good things are worth sharing, isn't it?

#iWish

iWish - Valentine's Day Gifting Made Easy!

www.iwish.com.sg 

The rise of e-commerce

The rise of e-commerce. 

With the increase use of technology and technological advancements made in recent years, e-commerce platforms are sprouting up everywhere. 

What makes e-commerce so appealing and what distinct advantages does it have over the traditional brick and mortar shops?

For one, e-commerce achieves the Anytime, Anywhere maxim. Shoppers are able to access websites/apps/platforms anytime and anywhere, as long as he/she has an internet connection. 

In comparison, the brick and mortar shops are limited by their fixed location, their physical store is only at one particular location (unless it is a chain store and has stores in all corners of Singapore), and operates only during limited operational hours (unless again it operates a 24 hours establishment). Brick and mortar shops are also burdened with the logistical and storage costs of their inventory, and having to pay relatively high rental for the use of the shop space. Also, they need to hire staff to man the operations, check the inventory, do customer service, and do the actual retailing. 

All these high overhead costs, the e-commerce platform has none or very little exposure to it. All it costs is a one time fee to set up a website, incur the hosting fee and maybe annual maintenance fees. Oh, if the platform handles payment, it need to host a payment gateway, which will take a % cut from the online purchases made. What about the logistics part? Well, that is a massive headache, and if you can solve that with a viable and cost effective solution, you're on your way to e-commerce heaven. Did I also mention the need to do heavy marketing to acquire a large user base? Well, that is another large piece of the puzzle. Many e-commerce platforms are still figuring out what works. Oh, and Search Engine Optimisation (SEO), you've got to figure out what works and make it work for you too. 

At the end of the day, you got to find the right solution and need and that will inform you on the best choice of retailing. Is it the e-commerce route, or the brick and mortar way? 

Well, for iWish, we are going the e-commerce route. 

Wish us success on this journey. 

Leveraging on technology as an enabler for gifting.

#iWish

iWish - Gifting Made Easy! (electronically)

www.iwish.com.sg

handwritten notes makes for better comprehension and memory retention

Just read an article on why handwritten notes makes for better comprehension and memory retention as compared to typed notes on the computer. 

The article notes that when students typed notes on their computer during class, they tend to type faster, and type more words. While all these sound good, the verbatim note taking by the typing method is only superficially cognitive. 

On the other hand, the good old fashioned method of actual handwritten note taking in journals or real paper it seems, is a better way of comprehension and knowledge assimilation. It notes also that typically, we write slower than we can type, and so when we take physical notes, we go through one round of comprehension in our brains in order to take a summarised version of notes. Through this process, we have gone through one round of comprehension and understanding in our brain. So, this method makes for higher comprehension and better memory retention. 

With this insight in mind. How then can one apply this to the note taking on gift ideas?

Well, it just means that if you mentally note down the gift ideas or hints dropped along the way, you have a higher likelihood of forgetting it. 

If you took a further step, of actually writing the gift idea or hint down on a piece of paper, or even on your smart phone note electronically, you have done a first round of comprehension. 

If you took an even further step, and this means you must be really determined to know the gift idea/ take the hint seriously. You will then key in the data onto a platform, either on your computer, or an excel sheet, or even better, there's a solution out there. You key it into iWish, and iWish will be your storing platform, electronically, for all your gift ideas! iWish can be assessed anywhere, anytime, as long as you have an internet connection. 

Use iWish today and start documenting and storing your gift ideas. 

You never know when you may need to use it. 

#iWish

iWish - Gifting Made Easy!

www.iwish.com.sg

The Journey So Far...

Had a wonderful time speaking to the undergrad class at Singapore Management University (SMU) today. 

Reached SMU at 9am and waited for Prof Loh at 1983 cafe. 

Texted him when i arrived, and he shortly turned up. 

He bought me a drink at the cafe, and we had a brief chat on the demographics of the student in the class I will be speaking to later on. 

Turns out they are undergrads, a class of 32 pax. Taking a module for Prof Loh's business study trip to Taiwan class.  

Finished the tea, and we proceeded to go to the class. 

Entered the gantry, feels good to be back at SMU, but my student pass did not work anymore!

Reached the class, to a rousing applause!

Seems Prof Loh pre-empted his students to really give me a warm reception and a rousing welcome. Never felt so good!

So, set up my laptop and slides. 

Prof Loh gave a short introduction to me, and I was handed the show. 

I spoke energetically, touching on three items:

My speech title was: The Journey So Far...

1. Why and how did we start with the idea

2. The idea/product

3. Learning so far

Bam bam bam, questions, interactions, laughter. Serious thought. 

That's how I like my talks, and how I structure the speech journey. 

Lots of laughter, lots of anecdotes and personal stories. 

Oh, and lots of stories that poke fun at myself, well, I like to use that angle to be more approachable. 

When it ended, more questions followed. 

They asked really good questions.

At the end, I was surprised when there were photographers there, students taking photos of me giving the speech. The class representative even proceeded to give me a token of appreciation for my candid sharing!

A set of SMU branded cuff links!

Just what I liked!

nice gift! without the use of iWish haha. 

Prof Loh also gave me a thumb drive. 

Group photo session. 

I was initially given 10 to 15 mins of air time by Prof Loh for the sharing. 

I ended up taking about 40 mins, inclusive of interaction and questions and answers segment. 

In all, time well spent. And because of this exposure, 11 new users signed up with iWish today. 

My parting words to the class. 

"Support local entreprises"

"Support local start-ups"

Thank you Prof Loh for giving me the opportunity to do the sharing!

Really appreciate it. 

#iWish

iWish - Gifting Made Easy!

www.iwish.com.sg

Love at First Sight

Love at First Sight

 

I am a Singaporean who has never been to Thailand before. She was a Thai who has been to Singapore once when she was very young. That fateful day, 18 Jul 2007, we were gathering at a ferry terminal to board a ferry bound for Bintan for our company's induction program. That was where I met her for the very first time.

 

My first impression was that she looked stunning. Long black hair, beautiful face, slender long legs that goes on forever. I had to introduce myself to her, that was when I started the conversation with a remark on a flower brooch she had pinned on her bag – lousy starting line, I know. Well, it worked, and that was then when we talked about where we came from and everything else under the sun literally.

 

That first conversation led to many more, including me sitting just next to her during one of the team dinners. At the dinner, she briefly mentioned that her birthday was actually the next day, and so I surprised her during breakfast the next day with a muffin and a candle, taken from the buffet table. I guess I was being too straightforward and obvious in my additional liking towards her, and so my fellow Singaporean colleagues were making fun of me throughout the entire induction program in Bintan.

 

After we left Bintan and back to our home country, we still kept in touch through long distance calls, messenger and emails. She must have good thoughts about me too, if not she wouldn't have reciprocated with the calls and emails. One month later, we were sent by our company to study in Copenhagen, Denmark for 2 weeks. We met on the plane as planned, and went for our first date when we landed. The 2 weeks saw us getting closer, discussing the studies every night, chatting till late into the night. The unfamiliar country, the stresses of being away from home and the comfort in having someone familiar to spend time with must have helped. We officially became lovers during the study trip. Unfortunately, the study trip had to end, and we returned to our home country.

 

I remember keeping in touch with her even after returning to our home countries. I remember the one hour time difference between Singapore and Bangkok. I remember buying endless calling cards and dialing in every night just to hear her voice. I even remembered the 24 digits calling codes by heart. I remember missing her as soon as I put the phone down.

 

I remember having our first official date in Copenhagen. I remember meeting her on the plane on the way to Denmark. I remember having to ask someone if we could swop seats just so I can sit with her. I remember the pure ecstasy of sitting beside her that made the 14 hour flight more bearable. I remember hoping the flight will never end. I also remember how we have to part at the airport weeks later after our overseas course had ended. I remember having the urge to want to stay in Bangkok right there and then.

I missed her so much that I booked a flight to Bangkok immediately a few days after I got back, and went on my first ever solo trip and my first ever trip to Thailand. She brought me around town for the few days and I knew immediately, she is the one! Long distance phone calls, daily skype calls into the night, frequent monthly trips to Bangkok, millions of emails exchanges finally led me to the following…

 

I remember the first time I heard her laugh. I remember the first time I saw her smile. I remember the first time she looked deep into my eyes. And I remember for the first time ever, I no longer lived in the present. For the first time ever, I could imagine my future. For the first time ever, I had a vision of us growing old together.

 

I remember meeting her parents for the first time. I remember every single detail of our countless dates that followed. I remember the time I asked her whole family, all 20 over members of her extended family if they will allow me to marry her. I remember speaking in Thai and I remember they said yes. I remember proposing to her with a banner across the streets from her home. I remember she was more embarrassed over it than me.

 

In the middle of 2011, I got permission from her parents and officially proposed while I was in Bangkok. She agreed and preparation is underway for our double wedding dinner celebrations both in Singapore and Bangkok. We got married in 24 Nov 2011.

 

I remember exchanging our vows. Our promise that to stay with each other. And I remember planning and building our future together. I remember getting the keys to our first home. I remember decorating and renovating the home together. I remember the small fights we had, and how we will rush to say sorry first. I remember the silly conversations we had, those that made absolute no sense just before we drift off to sleep while lying in bed. I remember seeing her face the first thing in the morning when I woke up. I remember how wonderful my future is with her by my side. I remember having my future mind mate by my side.

 

Today, we are happily married and we've just celebrated our third wedding anniversary.

2 work days, and 5 rest days

Weekend is for resting. 

The weekend is here and over in a flash. 

Weekends have taken on a life on its own, and changed somewhat over the years. 

When I was young...er. Weekends are the only time I do not have to go to school, and where I can hang out with my friends, or find time to date. Weekends are spent walking aimlessly in shopping malls, around Orchard Road, or Suntec City, or even Marina Square. I could spend the entire day walking, and standing, and never sitting down, and yet still feel energetic and excited. 

These days, after being married, and being placed with more responsibilities at work means more stress. So, weekends are largely confined to spending couple time with my missus in the comfort of our own home. Where we will not be disturbed or interrupted. We spend time with each other, watching movies, making lunches and dinners, and taking long strolls around our neighbourhood in the evenings. 

Weekends change overtime, depending on which phase of life you are at, and whether you are still spending it alone, or you already have a spouse. Plus, if you got your own home, all the better to spend it in your own home. 

Oh, and did I forget to mention having to do the house work?  

Vacuum and mop the floors. 

Clean the fans. 

Wipe the table. 

Iron the clothes. 

Don't forget to say "I love you" to your spouse every now and then even when doing the house work. 

iWish I could have more time on weekends. 

iWish there can be a reversal, instead of the usual 5 work days, and 2 rest days, why not have 2 work days, and 5 rest days instead!

#iWish

iWish - Gifting Made Easy!

www.iwish.com.sg

Judge a person by his intent, not by his actions

Judge a person by his intent, not by his actions. 

So if a person loved by you got you a gift that you didn't want, well, judge his intent. 

His intent is to surprise you and appreciate you with a gift. 

Whether the gift is desired by you, is only his actions. 

So, the saying is really true. 

What if you can judge a person by his intent and his actions together? 

What if the intent to get you a gift, and the gift itself is what you desired? 

Truly amazing combination, isn't it?

with iWish, you can. 

#iWish

iWish - Gifting Made Easy!

www.iwish.com.sg

Google Chrome's Easter egg

Google Chrome's Easter egg. 

An Easter egg, not the actual egg covered in paint, but an Easter egg, is an intentional inside joke, hidden message, or a hidden feature in a programme, book, movie or any message. 

Google is famous to include Easter eggs in its applications. 

To let you on in one Easter egg from a Google product. 

Check your internet browser. 

I hope you're not using Internet Explorer...

If you're using Google Chrome, good. 

If you're not, then download it and use it to discover the Easter egg. 

Steps:

1. Disconnect from the internet (Unplug your LAN cable, or disable your Wi Fi)

2. Open a Google Chrome internet brower

3. The browser will show you a page where Google Chrome can't display the webpage because your computer isn't connected to the Internet, there will be a small Tyrannosaurus Rex icon on the top left hand corner. 

4. Click "spacebar" on your keyboard

5. Ta-da! Enjoy the game! You've found the Easter egg. Press "spacebar" to jump.

#iWish

iWish - Gifting Made Easy!

www.iwish.com.sg

The Journey So Far...

The Journey So Far...

Doing up my slides for a sharing session on our entrepreneurship journey so far to an undergraduate class at Singapore Management University. 

Thanks to Prof Loh, who so graciously invited us to this sharing opportunity. 

While doing up and updating the slides deck, I am reminded again on how my personal journey has been so far while doing iWish. I am sure my other co-founders would have their own story to tell. I get to tell my side of the story for the sharing session. 

Well, I cannot stress the importance of partners. Partners who are in it for the long run, who are in it to go through thick and thin with you in this lonely journey. Partners who push and push for the ideal and keep reminding each other on why we are doing this. 

Many mentors have told me, there is no such thing as friendship in business partnerships, there will be a day where because of money usually, you will have a falling out. Well, our philosophy among the partners has always been:

Friends first, Partners second.

Which we still hold true to this very day. 

Although at the back of our minds, we too knew of the coming of the day when it will snap. And partners will exit. 

I dread for the day. They too shared that partners come and go at different stages of the journey, at different phases and growth of the product. So embrace it, because you cannot really avoid or do anything about it. 

Then it comes to the personal learning part, where I get to share with the class on the personal learning and growth I have experienced while embarking on this journey. I shall start with a quote on statistics I read somewhere, source unknown... because I was lazy and forgot to write down the source. 

"90% of first businesses fail"

Depressing, but very true, isn't it?

There is a second, more optimistic part to the quote.

"90% of second businesses succeed"

There, more optimistic point of view right?

What it means to me, is that there is such a thin line separating success from failure. It often means just hanging on for just a tad longer. 

"When you get to the end of the rope, tie a knot, and hold on!"

For the second part of my personal learning. I have three questions that guide how I view every events. 

1. What do you choose to focus on?

2. What does this mean in the very long run?

3. What can I learn/ grow from this?

There you have it, my personal learning so far in this entrepreneurial journey. 

I will be updating my thoughts and learnings after the actual sharing talk itself, which is scheduled on 20 January 2015 (Tuesday). 

Till then, wish iWish for its next breakthrough. 

More users sign ups. 

More users!

#iWish

iWish - Gifting Made Easy!

www.iwish.com.sg

Quick poll:

Quick poll:

What appeals you the most to change your current behaviour, adopt a new behaviour, and possibly sign up for a new free service? 

- attractiveness of landing page?

- perceived usefulness of product? 

- perceived simplicity?

- ease of signing up?

- integration and compatible with existing options?

- back out option? 

- cost of using product?

- network or friends already using the product?

- peer pressures?

- first mover?

- etc...

Why then would the founding team spend the limited resources on building a product to achieve the greatest return on investment? for example, for our product, iWish. 

#iWish

iWish - Gifting Made Easy!

www.iwish.com.sg

Wedding celebration

Wedding celebration

I just attended a wedding celebration over the weekend at a church. 

It was a simple function, a simple church wedding. 

I knew both the bride and groom from my management trainee days at Maersk. 

The groom is a fellow Singaporean MISE, the bride is a MISE from China. 

They met in the program as well, but admittedly in the groom's speech that day, sparks did not fly then. It was only after the pogramme and traineeship has ended, and when the bride moved to Singapore to take up a job position, before the two finally did see sparks fly.

Oh, did i mention the groom was Indian, and the bride is Chinese? 

So, the unique thing is this was a inter-race, inter-country, and inter-cultural marriage. This again proves that love knows no boundaries. In the eyes of love, there is no distinction, no difference in race, country or culture. All it matters is love. 

True testament to that!

When we arrived, we proceeded to the usual hong bao collection kiosk, and to ceremoniously drop our hong bao ("red packet") into the corresponding box, either for the groom side, or the bride side. 

This begets the question, what if this tradition of hong bao giving is not in place. What if we have to buy them wedding gifts instead. Now, what would we have bought and gifted them? 

A TV? A microwave? A photo frame? A hamper? Some fruits? Some wine? A fan? Flight tickets to a honeymoon destination?

The more I thought of the endless possibilities, the greater headache I had. 

Thankfully, this was a hong bao tradition ceremony. 

So, all we had to do is to put in some money into the hong bao, and gifted the blissful couple. Done deal!

After the wedding celebrations, we proceeded to a luncheon service. Where food galore piled on. We also collected wedding door gifts before we left. It consisted of a purple box, with two ferrero rocher chocolate balls inside. 

Weddings are such a romantic experience, don't you agree? 

#iWish

iWish - Gifting Made Easy!

www.iwish.com.sg

Stay in your own lane

Stay in your own lane

A lot of people look at someone more successful than they are, and aspire to become that person that they look up to. 

On one hand, that is helpful, at least you have a role model that you can look up to, aspire to become, and can model after to achieve the same level of success by doing the things they did, thinking the way they did, behaving the way they did. After all, if what brought them to that level works for them, by following it strictly, it might work for you most probably too. 

On the other hand, everyone is unique. We are all individuals with our own paths to make. We can thread on the path which others have walked before, so we can save on the pain and ride on the learning experiences others before us had accumulated, or we can venture out and create our own path. In this way, we take the road less traveled, and create a new path. 

Along the journey, we may be tempted to change lanes multiple times, especially when the going gets tough, and the alternative lanes seem easier. We must, however, push on, and stay in our own lane. 

So the three steps to success summed up:

1. Find out which lane you are in right now

2. Venture out and create your own lane

3. Stay in your own lane

Compare yourself with yourself, and no one else. Everyone is fighting a battle you don't know about. Everyone has a life journey that is created only for them. 

Stay in your own lane!

#iWish

iWish - Gifting Made Easy!

www.iwish.com.sg

Achieving Financial Freedom

Financial Freedom

A lot of people want to achieve it, not many people get to truly reach it. 

Yet a lot of people dream about it. 

Well, for one, this is a goal where i am aiming to reach. by the time i turn 45 years old, which is in year 2027 that is. 

Financial Freedom is defined as being able to provide for yourself and your family financially, without having to work for it. 

Drilling deeper, it essentially means having passive income inflows that can cover your expenses outflow. 

Which then leads one to ask for the difference between active income and passive income. 

1) Active income is income inflows where you have to "actively" work for it, ie, exchange your time/effort/resources/talents/skills in exchange for income. 

2) Passive income is income inflows where you do not have to "actively" work for it, where the income flows in "passively".

Examples of passive income inflows can be:

- rental income

- business income

- interest payments

- dividend payments

- annuities

- etc

You also have to create multiple sources of income. 

First, create multiple sources of active income, then convert them into multiple sources of passive income. 

Until the day where your passive income inflows equals/exceeds your expenses outflows, then you, my friend, has truly become financially independent, and achieved financial freedom. 

You then do not have to work to live. 

You get to choose if you want to continue working, it's your choice basically. haha. 

Well. When that day comes, i will hopefully lay back and relax, and continue doing what i enjoy doing (training, facilitation and public speaking), and stop doing all others which i dread (eg. admin duties).

Till the day i achieve financial freedom!

#iWish

iWish - Gifting Made Easy!

www.iwish.com.sg

Having a good time!

Having a good time!

When was the last time you really had a good time? 

I mean, really, really had a good time? 

Has it been that long, seriously?

As we progress further as evolved human beings in this World, we somehow lost our ability to really have a good time. 

Would receiving a gift be considered as having a good time for you? 

What about gifting a gift to someone else? Would that be considered as having a good time then?

Since when did we lost the ability to feel good? 

Don't lose it, make it count while it still lasts. 

Gift and/or be gifted. 

Because that is what truly living means...

Having a good time, really. 

#iWish

iWish - Gifting Made Easy!

www.iwish.com.sg

Emcee services

Emcee services

I recently emcee-ed for a friend's wedding at Marina Bay Sands (MBS). It is my first time attending a wedding function at MBS, and it was a rather cool experience. 

I have heard stories from people who have been to MBS for wedding functions and corporate events, they have warned that MBS is just a location, while their food sucks. 

Well, this wedding function, the food is awesome!

Quality-wise, they have hit it spot on. 

Quantity-wise, well, let's say nice things come in little sizes. They could have increased the quantity of food, then it will be awesome! I left the wedding function feeling just a tad hungry still. My wife, who is normally easily satiable with a small appetite, also remarked that she still feels peckish, and hungry. 

Back to the topic of this post, in the midst of wedding preparations and planning arrangements, there are a thousand and one things that scream out and require your immediate attention. I've been through that. 

from the booking of venues, the finalisation and discussions on the decor and theme of the wedding function and layout, to the guest list, down to the seating arrangement (trust me, this is important, there are unseen politics going on in the relatives segment, this uncle can't sit with this uncle, this auntie prefers to sit with who and who, etc, even down to the vegetarian, families with kids and requiring baby seats etc). You do your best to fit everyone who know and is happy to sit with each other in tables of 10, hopefully. And pray that everyone can fit in and be seated. 

Besides such events, you have to worry about inviting "brothers" and "sisters" to the gatecrashing. the actual solemisation ceremony, should you do it at the Registry of Marriage (ROM) itself, or should you invite a Justice of Peace (JP) to your location of choice? Well, you got to worry about car park coupons, bottles of wine etc, and a dozen of other things that require your immediate attention and decision there and then. 

Oh, and then during the actual dinner event itself. There is a need to have emcees to guide the process. The emcees is supposed to coordinate the audio-visual, the playing of music, of slides, of the animation to the photo montage of childhood pictures. 

Thing is, there are people out there (myself included), who would absolutely love to help out in such events. So that this can and will free up you and your friends' time in the event itself so you all can have a really good time. 

Outsource/delegate out such tasks. 

I, for one, has emcee-ed multiple times, I think about 15 weddings so far. And I absolutely love to emcee for weddings. Because I think it is a happy event, and it is a romantic event, and I have been through that, and I want to take this burden off the shoulders of the bride and groom so they have one less thing to worry about. 

Well, are there anyone out there who have experience, am competent, and would love to do:

1. emceeing

2. hosting

3. event planning

4. event coordination

5. F&b coordinator

etc etc for wedding functions?

I bet there are...

put your services up on iWish. 

oh for you guys in the midst or going to plan weddings, put up your roles and the kind of help/services you need for your event on iWish as well. iWish will match those requests. 

Let your wedding truly be a wedding celebration, and not a wedding logistical nightmare!

#iWish

iWish - Gifting Made Easy!

www.iwish.com.sg

First Monday of 2015, Be a better me.

Happy new year 2015!

Welcome to the first Monday of 2015!

Well, looking back at 2014, what have you accomplished?

Have you achieved what you set out to do for 2014?

If not, you have 2015 to achieve it still, on top of what you have planned to achieve for 2015!

"Be so good that they can't ignore you" 

- screamed this quote from a billboard advertisement that i have passed by many times on my way to work. Today, i passed by it again, and somehow, on this first Monday, working day of the new year. This saying somehow resonated with me, in a way it has never before despite me walking pass it many times before. 

Be so good. 

That's right. I am gonna be soooo damn good. 

That they can't ignore you. 

That's right too, soooo damn good in what i do (whatever it is), that they (audience, colleagues, bosses, clients ...) cannot ignore my very existence. 

hahaha. World Domination. 

But step 1 first, be so good. 

So the goal for today is to aim to be better than yesterday's me. 

Every little step and improvement, bit by bit, will make me a better me everyday, and will be a better me in a month, a year, and so on. 

As long as the goal is to be a better me than yesterday's me. 

Well, that's achievable, and serves to guide me along the multiple decisions i make everyday. 

Be a better me. 

#iWish

iWish - Gifting Made Easy!

www.iwish.com.sg

Work Hard, Retire Young

Happy new year. 

Happy 2015!

My previous post is about new year resolutions, setting goals to achieve in this new year. I also mentioned that it should be longer term, instead of the 1 year timeline for the goal. 

So for me personally, I am setting myself a life goal:

"to retire by the time I turn 45 years old, which is in year 2027. And survive through my passive income inflows."

Work Hard, Retire Young

#retireyoung

#iWishhelpsmeretire

#iWish

iWish - Gifting Made Easy!

www.iwish.com.sg