Tuesday, September 30, 2008

Selamat Hari Raya Aidilfitri 2008




I would like to take this special opportunity to wish to all muslims friends, customers, business associates, investors and business partner, Selamat Hari Raya Aidilfitri! Maaf, Zahir dan Batin.
Staying safe on the road and enjoy this special day with your lovely family.



Book Review - Play Money : How I Quit My Day Job and Made Millions Trading Virtual Loot


This book probably wouldn’t have shown up on my radar had it not been for the fact that the author, Julian Dibbell, made it available as a virtual book inside Second Life. I bought the virtual edition for the equivalent of about US$2.50 — using in-game currency I had acquired simply by joining and having an account for several months — then I proceeded to read it within the virtual environment. There is a hardcover edition available if you like that sort of thing.

The book is about the real world business within virtual environments. It’s not about the business of games like Ultima Online, Everquest or World of Warcraft, it’s about the people and companies doing business inside these environments. Most WoW players would know them as “gold farmers”, though that doesn’t do justice to the range of commercial activities currently pursued.

The events in the book centre on one man’s quest to make virtual item trading his primary source of income. As such, they take place over the course of a single financial year, more or less. During this time Julian kept a blog. This blog forms the core of the book, with much of the rest of the content a sort of commentary on the blog entries, as well as a number of interviews (both traditional and basic chat logs).

I’m not sure if I enjoyed the content of the book as much as I enjoyed actually reading a whole book rendered within a virtual world — it’s hard to separate the two parts of the experience. As far as the core of the story goes, the book only reinforces the idea that you can only make significant amounts of money in a virtual world by breaking the rules, partially because of the economic effects of those who are willing to break the rules. There’s also some discussion on the nature of work and play, which I can’t say I warmed to greatly. However, the nature of the book itself, available in a virtual edition and based on blog entries, gives you some hope for the future of both publishing and commerce.

You can join Second Life here. If you want to buy the book in-game, you’ll need a credit card (or possibly PayPal, ick), you’ll need to purchase 750 Linden Dollars (less than US$3), and you’ll need to go to the shop referenced in the New World Notes article.

SwissCash Lesson

KUALA LUMPUR: Tony (not his real name) had a successful job as an broadcasting executive with a reputable firm and was preparing to tie the knot with his childhood sweetheart.

"In January 2006, a colleague of mine bought a brand-new BMW 740Li worth almost RM800,000.

"We were amazed at how he could afford it, given that we were all on more or less the same salary scale," Tony told the New Straits Times.

"When we asked him how he could afford to purchase the car, he took us out for a meal and proceeded to tell us about the Swisscash investment programme and how he had profited from it."

According to Tony, his colleague had been among the early birds who had signed up with the investment programme when it was introduced and thus been able to earn 20 per cent every month with the promise of 300 per cent returns after 450 days.

"After hearing him rave about Swisscash and the amazing returns he had enjoyed after signing up for a mere six months, it started me thinking.

"I was going to marry my childhood sweetheart in January 2007 after five years of courtship and dating. And I wanted to make our honeymoon especially memorable for the both of us.

"I started to do some homework on Swisscash and discovered they invested in securities and equities in foreign stock markets.

"It never occurred to me to check whether the company had been licensed by the authorities to operate.

"After several days of contemplation, I decided to put an initial investment of RM10,000 into Swisscash."

It was all good for the first four months as Tony received RM2,000 every month.

He then decided to put his returns back into Swisscash.

Two months later, Tony managed to persuade his fiancee to invest the RM50,000 they had set aside for their wedding, although she initially had reservations. She gave in as he wanted to make enough money to take her to Europe on their honeymoon.

In August 2006, Tony checked his Swisscash account and noted with satisfaction that 20 per cent of his total investment had been credited.

To celebrate, he took his fiancee for a romantic dinner.

The next month, the troubles began when a report was lodged with the Securities Commission. After a warning was jointly issued by the SC and Bank Negara Malaysia, Tony began to have doubts.

He issued instructions for the money in his Swisscash account to be transferred to his bank account and was told it would be done in a week. It was not.

After several weeks and attempts to get the money transferred, Tony's calls went unanswered and a visit to the company's office revealed it had been closed.

The couple were married in January last year. The lovebirds had to borrow money from their parents for the wedding and dinner.

When he learnt of the latest court order against the three defendants to compensate victims of the scam, Tony could only say: "This was a valuable lesson for me not to be greedy."

SWISSCASH SCAM: Success due to painstaking work


KUALA LUMPUR: Securities Commission investigators probing the Swisscash scam had spent two years painstakingly recording statements from victims and sifting through mountains of paperwork.

They even had to go overseas to carry out surveillance on the main suspects.

In the end, their diligent work paid off as the recent landmark court order against three people to compensate victims of the scam to the tune of US$83 million (RM286.17 million) showed.

The case began in mid-2006 when the SC received a complaint from a victim of the scam.

The report was referred to the SC Investor Affairs and Complaints Department.

Swisscash fund is an investment programme offered through the Internet and local agents.

It had neither been approved nor endorsed by the Securities Commission or Bank Negara Malaysia.

Investigators made site visits for intelligence gathering and also to ascertain if the proprietors had the proper documents and licences to operate.

At the same time, they also ascertained the main players involved in the business.

The initial stages of the probe revealed that Swisscash was offering fund management services, taking money from investors and promising to invest in various high yielding investment funds with up to 300 per cent returns.

However, the company was breaching security laws as it did not possess the proper documents or licences to operate.

Activities involving securities, equities or fund management come under the purview of the SC.

When investigations revealed that funds contributed by an undisclosed number of victims ran into millions of ringgit, the Investor Affairs and Complaints Department passed the case to the SC Prosecution and Investigation Department.

Investigators then began due diligence on the case.

They began interviewing various victims who had parted with their hard-earned cash.

They also ran background checks on the main players involved.

"Swiss Mutual Fund was not licensed or exempted from licensing by Bank Negara Malaysia to accept deposits, nor was it licensed by the Securities Commission to carry out asset management activities or investment advisory services in Malaysia," the source said.

"Many people were so swayed by greed and promises of lucrative returns that they did not do their own checks to ascertain if the company making such promises was actually authorised to conduct such activities."

Sources disclosed that investigators also made several trips abroad as part of surveillance operations and to monitor the actions of the main suspects and the flow of cash.

"Cash contributed by victims of the scam was being funnelled to bank accounts abroad and investigators had to sift through mountains of paperwork to trace the money.

"Cooperation was sought from various agencies abroad as it had become a transnational case with the main suspects constantly travelling and cash being transferred to foreign accounts."

In July last year, the SC obtained a worldwide Mareva injunction against persons involved in the Swisscash investment scam, preventing them from disposing assets in and outside Malaysia.

Seen as a milestone enforcement action against investment scams, the SC also announced that it had blocked access to two other websites offering illegal investment schemes.

The Mareva injunction restrains and prohibits the defendants from carrying on the business of Swisscash, targeting, soliciting and collecting funds from the public for investments in Swisscash or any other Internet investment scheme.

The defendants also cannot host or operate the Swisscash websites or operate any other such websites which solicit investments for Swisscash or any other Internet investment scheme.

In September last year, the SC won a court order to transfer RM35 million accumulated under the Swisscash scam back to Malaysia.

The money was being held in six bank accounts in Hong Kong and eight in Singapore.

"As Swisscash had turned out to be a worldwide scam that operated using the Internet, the SC worked closely with regulators from seven other countries to combat these illegal activities.

"The cross-jurisdictional collaboration between so many agencies also helped to unearth valuable information that has helped investigators in the course of their probe," the source said.

Now that the judgement has been delivered, the SC is liaising with authorities from other countries with different jurisdictions and legal processes, to trace and repatriate the monies back to Malaysia.

Monday, September 29, 2008

Empat Asas Membentuk Remaja Berakhlak Mulia

ZAMAN remaja adalah masa peralihan yang menghubungkan antara alam kanak-kanak yang tidak matang ke alam dewasa yang lebih matang. Corak peralihan pelbagai akan membawa pelbagai pengaruh kepada individu yang mengalaminya. Setiap remaja sewajarnya diasuh untuk mempersiapkan dirinya sebagai khalifah Allah. Tujuan hidup yang tidak bercanggah dengan kehendak Islam hendaklah disemai dalam diri seorang remaja sejak awal lagi supaya mereka berjaya dan maju sebagai generasi cemerlang dan diberkati.

Jika pembentukan remaja tidak berlaku dengan sempurna, maka pembangunan negara akan terjejas kerana golongan remajalah bakal menjadi pemimpin pada masa akan datang. Rasulullah bersabda yang bermaksud: "Setiap anak yang dilahirkan adalah putih bersih, maka terpulanglah kepada kedua ibu bapanya untuk menjadikannya Yahudi, Nasrani atau Majusi." - (Riwayat Bukhari).

Ketika ini, masalah sosial di kalangan remaja amat membimbangkan. Boleh dikatakan keruntuhan akhlak remaja bagaikan seiring dengan pembangunan negara. Ini dapat dilihat melalui pembangunan yang hampir ke kemuncaknya, akhlak remaja juga kian jatuh dan bagaikan tidak dapat dibendung lagi. Antara masalah sosial yang sering dilakukan remaja pada hari ini ialah seks bebas, lari dari rumah, pembuangan bayi, penagihan atau pengedaran dadah, ponteng sekolah, mengugut, menubuhkan kumpulan haram dan sebagainya.

Sesungguhnya, masalah sosial remaja pada hari ini disebabkan beberapa faktor. Antaranya persekitaran berubah secara mendadak terutama pengaruh media cetak dan elektronik yang saban hari memaparkan mengenai eksploitasi terhadap wanita serta kebebasan remaja yang keterlaluan dan banyak mempengaruhi pemikiran anak-anak terutama yang baru meningkat remaja.

Selain itu, faktor kurangnya didikan agama dan kasih sayang daripada ibu
bapa, perasaan mahu mencuba serta desakan atau pengaruh daripada rakan
sebaya. Sebenarnya, masalah remaja adalah masalah kita bersama. Oleh itu
gandingan yang mantap dan kerjasama erat antara ibu bapa, guru, rakan
sebaya dan anggota masyarakat amat diperlukan dalam menangani masalah
remaja.

1. Peranan Ibu bapa

Firman Allah yang bermaksud: "Wahai orang yang beriman! Selamatkan diri
kamu dan anggota keluarga kamu daripada api neraka." - (Surah At-Tahrim
ayat 6).
Anak-anak adalah amanah Allah kepada kita. Didikan awal kepada anak-anak
amat mustahak dalam kita merencanakan masa depan hidup mereka kerana
mengabaikannya bererti akan merosakkan ahli masyarakat seluruhnya.

Antara panduan keibubapaan yang digariskan Islam ialah:

- Ibu bapa menjadi model yang salih dengan menghayati dan mengamalkan
ajaran Islam sebenar. Ibu bapa salih adalah model terbaik untuk memberi pendidikan agama kepada anak-anak. Didik dan biasakanlah anak-anak dengan tingkah laku dan kegiatan yang baik sejak anak kecil.

- Mendisiplinkan anak dengan kasih sayang bukan kekerasan kerana ini
akan menjadikan mereka berasa senang hati dan gembira untuk melakukan
sesuatu perkara positif. Anak juga perlu dilatih membuat kebajikan dan pada masa yang sama menerima ganjaran atau pujian.

- Memenuhi masa lapang bersama anak seperti sembahyang berjemaah, makan,
membaca al-Quran dan bersukan. Hubungan akrab ibu bapa dan anak akan memudahkan anak taat perintah ibu bapa kerana sudah wujud perasaan saling hormat antara satu sama lain.

- Ibu bapa perlu bijak membaca setiap pergerakan anak. Simbol atau
isyarat tertentu boleh memberi gambaran tahap perkembangan anak.
Kemahiran ini perlu dipelajari ibu bapa dari semasa ke semasa.

- Kesabaran juga amat perlu dalam diri ibu bapa kerana tiap-tiap anak
walaupun dalam satu keluarga, mempunyai personaliti yang unik dan
berbeza antara satu sama lain.

2. Peranan Guru

Dalam proses pendidikan, kita seharusnya mengambil iktibar dengan
mencontohi asas pendidikan dilakukan Rasulullah.

Baginda bersabda yang bermaksud: "Salah satu cara terbaik untuk
membentuk akhlak mulia ini ialah dengan cara pendidikan."

Dalam hal ini, antara fungsi penting guru ialah:

- Menjadi 'Qudwah Hasanah' atau contoh teladan baik. Setiap tingkah laku
guru hendaklah dijaga kerana setiap inci pergerakan guru akan menjadi
ikutan.

- Memiliki sifat amanah, dedikasi, komited pada tugas, ikhlas, sanggup
berkorban masa dan tenaga.

- Mengamalkan sikap suka membantu serta membimbing dan berperanan
sebagai 'role model' kepada pelajar.

- Penampilan dan penerimaan guru terhadap konsep berilmu, beramal dan
berakhlak yang sebenar-benarnya.

- Bersedia bekerjasama dengan ibu bapa dalam usaha membentuk insan
Rabbani.



3. Peranan Rakan Sebaya

Dari sudut psikologi, peringkat remaja adalah peringkat paling
berpengaruh dalam kehidupan mereka. Pada peringkat inilah, pengaruh rakan sebaya paling kuat dan paling diterima. Mereka lebih rela menceritakan dan mencurahkan perasaan kepada rakan berbanding ibu bapa, guru atau orang dewasa lain.
Oleh itu, pendekatan logikal ialah menggunakan remaja untuk mempengaruhi
remaja lain. Program Pembimbing Rakan Sebaya (PRS) dapat memenuhi hasrat ini dengan
syarat mereka dilatih dan diselia dengan teratur. Oleh itu adalah disarankan supaya pemilihan dan perkembangan latihan ahli PRS hendaklah dipantau bersama kedua-dua pihak iaitu pihak sekolah dan juga ibu bapa.

4. Peranan Anggota Masyarakat
Dalam hal ini Allah berfirman yang bermaksud: "Dan berpegang teguhlah
kamu sekalian kepada tali Allah (agama Islam) dan janganlah kamu
bercerai berai." - (Surah Ali Imran, ayat 103).

Sabda Rasulullah yang bermaksud: "Hubungan orang mukmin dengan orang
mukmin lain adalah seperti sebuah bangunan yang menguatkan antara satu
sama lain." - (Riwayat at-Tabarani).

Ayat ini menjelaskan bahawa kerjasama anggota masyarakat amat penting
untuk menciptakan lingkungan yang baik bagi perkembangan dan pertumbuhan
remaja yang sihat.

Antara perkara yang boleh dilakukan masyarakat setempat ialah:

- Mewujudkan sebuah organisasi belia remaja yang dapat menentukan
peranan mereka dalam pelbagai bidang sebagai persediaan menentukan corak
pembangunan negara pada masa akan datang.

- Mengaktifkan peranan badan bukan kerajaan (NGO) tempatan untuk melatih
belia remaja aktif dalam berpersatuan.

Ia adalah jambatan yang menghubungkan mereka secara langsung dengan
masyarakat, sekali gus menghindarkan mereka dari melakukan kerja-kerja
yang tidak berfaedah.

- Wujudkan kerjasama dan persefahaman yang erat antara ahli dalam
sesuatu kariah melalui kegiatan gotong-royong dan seumpamanya supaya
anggota masyarakat setempat dapat saling mengenali antara satu sama lain
serta dapat mewujudkan perasaan mengasihi anak jiran seperti mana dia
mengasihi anaknya sendiri.

- Memartabatkan seluruh institusi keagamaan Islam (mahkamah atau
perundangan, pendidikan masjid, zakat dan badan dakwah dan NGO lain)
supaya peranan dan fungsi institusi berkaitan dapat direalisasikan
dengan berkesan.

- Menggesa sektor pekerjaan sama ada kerajaan, swasta atau korporat
untuk menzahirkan budaya kerja dan budaya hidup sihat di kalangan
pekerja mereka. Ia boleh dilakukan dengan mengambil kira faktor seperti penjadualan,
kegiatan kekeluargaan, hari kelepasan dan lain-lain. Walaupun usaha pelbagai pihak diperlukan bagi membendung gejala sosial di kalangan remaja, sesuatu yang pasti ialah memohon pertolongan dan petunjuk daripada Allah.

Ini kerana hidayah Allah juga faktor terpenting mempengaruhi pemulihan
dan kemurnian akhlak seseorang. Nabi Nuh gagal memujuk isteri dan anaknya memeluk Islam. Begitu juga Rasulullah gagal memujuk bapa saudaranya, Abu Talib kembali ke pangkuan Islam.

Allah berfirman yang bermaksud: "Sesungguhnya engkau (Wahai Muhammad)
tidak berkuasa memberi hidayah petunjuk kepada sesiapa yang engkau kasih
(supaya ia menerima Islam) tetapi Allah jua yang berkuasa memberi
hidayah petunjuk kepada sesiapa yang dikehendakinya, dan dialah jua yang
lebih mengetahui orang-orang yang mendapat hidayah petunjuk." - (Surah
Al-Qasas, ayat 56).

"Problem" Quotes Of The Day

"Understand that most problems are a good sign. Problems indicate that progress is being made, wheels are turning, you are moving toward your goals. Beware when you have no problems. Then you've really got a problem... Problems are like landmarks of progress." - Scott Alexander

"I have yet to see any problem, however complicated, which, when you looked at it in the right way, did not become still more complicated." - Poul Anderson

"He that will not apply new remedies, must expect new evils: for Time is the greatest innovator: and if Time, of course, alter things to the worse, and wisdom and counsel shall not alter them to the better, what shall be the end?." - Francis Bacon

"Well everybody in Casablanca has problems. Yours may work out." - Humphrey Bogart

"Let God's promises shine on your problems." - Corrie Ten Boom

"Brady's First Law of Problem Solving: When confronted by a difficult problem, you can solve it more easily by reducing it to the question: How would the Lone Ranger have handled this?" - Brady

“We can't solve problems by using the same kind of thinking we used when we created them.”
Albert Einstein quotes (German born American Physicist who developed the special and general theories of relativity. Nobel Prize for Physics in 1921. 1879-1955)


“Finish each day and be done with it. You have done what you could. Some blunders and absurdities no doubt crept in, forget them as soon as you can. Tomorrow is a new day, you shall begin it well and serenely...”
Ralph Waldo Emerson quotes (American Poet, Lecturer and Essayist, 1803-1882)


“Don't be pushed by your problems. Be led by your dreams.”

“The best years of your life are the ones in which you decide your problems are your own. You do not blame them on your mother, the ecology, or the president. You realize that you control your own destiny.”
Albert Ellis quotes (American Psychologist and Writer, b.1913)

“The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy.”
Martin Luther King, Jr. quotes (American Baptist Minister and Civil-Rights Leader. 1929-1968)

“He has a right to criticize, who has a heart to help.”
Abraham Lincoln quotes (American 16th US President (1861-65), who brought about the emancipation of the slaves. 1809-1865)


“It is a mistake to think you can solve any major problems just with potatoes.”
Douglas Adams quotes (British comic Writer, 1952-2001)


“My biggest problem is what to do about all the things I can't do anything about”
Ashleigh Brilliant quotes (English Author and Cartoonist, b.1933)

Singapore opposition stalwart JB Jeyaretnam dies

SINGAPORE: Veteran opposition politician J.B. Jeyaretam died of heart failure early on Tuesday morning. He was 82.

The pugnacious former head of the Workers’ Party, who recently formed the Reform Party, died at Tan Tock Seng Hospital, said his close friend and chairman of Mr Jeyaretnam’s new political party.

He leaves behind two sons, Kenneth and Philip.

He was the first opposition member to break the ruling People’s action Party’s grip on Parliament 27 years ago.

He was unable to contest the 2006 general election after he was made bankrupt in 2001 for failing to pay S$265,000 in defamation damages to then Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong.

He was discharged from bankruptcy in May last year.

Jeyaretnam made his final political comeback earlier this year.

He left the Workers’ Party after years at its helm and was succeeded by Mr Low Thia Khiang, who is now MP for Hougang.

When he broke the PAP’s 15-year monopoly of the Parliament in 1981, most of today’s young Singaporeans were not even born yet.

After losing his parliamentary seat in 1986 for making a false declaration of the WP accounts and being jailed for a month and fined S$5,000, he spent most of the last two decades battling outside the legislature.

Of the five General Elections since then, he has contested only once, in 1997.

He finished as top loser through the bruising Cheng San GRC bout, earning 45.2% of the valid votes.

That brought him back into the House as a Non-Constituency MP, a brief tenure that ended in 2001, when he was declared a bankrupt for failing to pay after losing a defamation suit against five Indian People’s Action Party MPs, among others.

When he left his 30-year-long WP vehicle in that same year, after accusing his successor Low of not helping him clear his debts, he was effectively banished to the margins of the opposition scene here. -- The Straits Times / ANN 300908

Starting A Small Business

So you are thinking of going into business. This can have advantages and disadvantages. Running a business of your own will bring a sense of independence, and a sense of accomplishment. You will be the boss, and you can't be fired, though there may be days when you would welcome it. Because you can pay yourself a salary and the profit or return on your investment will also be yours, you anticipate a good income once your business is established. You will experience a pride in ownership - such as you experience if you own your own home or your own automobile. You can derive great satisfaction from offering a product or service which is valued in the market place.

By being boss you can adopt new ideas quickly. Since your enterprise undoubtedly will be a small business - at least in the beginning - you will have no large, unwieldy organization to retrain, no board to get permission from, each time you wish to try something new. If the idea doesn't work you can drop it just as quickly. This opportunity for flexibility is one of small businesses greatest assets.

These are some of the advantages and pleasures of operating your own business. Now take a look at the other side. If you have employees, you must meet a payroll week after week. You must always have money to pay creditors - the man who sells you goods or materials, the dealer who furnishes fixtures and equipment, the landlord if you rent, the mortgage holder if you are buying your place of business, the publisher running your advertisements, the tax collector, and many others. All of these must be paid before you can consider the "profits" yours.

You must accept sole responsibility for all final decisions. A wrong judgment on your part can result in losses not only to yourself but, possibly, to your employees, creditors, and customers as well. Moreover, you must withstand, alone, adverse situations caused by circumstances frequently beyond your control, To overcome these business setbacks and keep your business profitable means long hours of hard work. It could very well not be the work you want to do. As someone else's employee you developed a skill. Now, starting a business of your own, you may expect to use that skill 40 or more hours a week. Instead, you must perform the management tasks as well. You must keep the books, analyze accounting records, sit back and do long range planning, jump and handle the expediting and, when everyone has gone home and you finally have caught up with the paper work, you may even have to sweep the floor.

As your business grows and you become more successful, you may not do some of these activities. As an owner-manager, however, you must - at least at first - give up the technical aspects you know and enjoy doing, and focus on the management aspects. To get your business off to a successful start, you must be a manager not an operator.

You will never be entirely your own boss.

No matter what you choose - manufacturing, wholesaling, retailing or service business - you must always satisfy your customers. If you don't give the customers what they want, they'll go somewhere else and you'll be out of business. So every customer, or even potential customer, is your boss. Your creditors will also dictate to you, and your competitors' actions may force you to make decisions you don't want to make. National and local government agencies will insist that you meet certain standards and follow certain regulations. The one thing you can decide yourself is how you will satisfy all of these bosses.

Are You the Type?

The first question you should answer after recognizing that there are two sides to the prospect of establishing your own business is "Am I the type?"

You will be your most important employee. It is more important that you rate yourself objectively than how you rate any prospective employee. Appraise your strengths and your weaknesses. As a prospective operator of your own business, acknowledge that you are weak in certain areas and cover the deficiency by either retraining yourself or hiring someone with the necessary skill.

Numerous studies have been made of small business managers over the years. Many look at traits and characteristics that appear common to most people who start their own businesses. Other studies focus on characteristics that seem to appear frequently in successful owner-managers.

First, consider those characteristics that seem to distinguish the person who opens a business from the person who works for someone else. These studies investigated successful and unsuccessful owners, some of whom went bankrupt several times. Some were successful only after the second or third try. The characteristics they share might almost be said to predispose a person into trying to start a business. Of course, not all of these characteristics appear in every small business owner-manager, but the following seem to be most predominate.

Strong Opinions and Attitudes

People who start their own business may be members of different political parties, feel differently about religion, economics and other issues. They are like everyone else. The difference is they usually feel and express themselves more strongly. This is consistent. If you are going to risk your money and time in your own business you must have a strong feeling that you will be successful. As you will see later, these strong feelings may also cause problems.


If you want to start your own business you probably have mixed feelings about authority. You know the manager must have authority to get things done, but you're not comfortable working under someone. This may also have been your attitude in a scholastic, family or other authority structure.

If you want to open you own business you are likely to have a strong "Need for Achievement". This "Need for Achievement" is a psychologist's term for motivation and is usually measured by tests. It can be an important factor in success.

The person who wouldn't think of starting a business, might call you a plunger, a gambler, a high risk taker. Yet you probably don't feel that about yourself. Studies have shown that very often the small business owner doesn't differ from anyone else in risk avoidance or aversion when measured on tests. At first thought this seems unreasonable since logic tells us that it is risky to open your own business. An Ohio State professor once explained this apparent contradiction very simply. "When a person starts and manages his own business he doesn't see risks; he sees only factors that he can control to his advantage."

If you possess these traits to some degree or other it doesn't mean you will be successful, only that you will very likely start your own business. Some of these characteristics in excess may actually hamper you if you are not careful.

The characteristics that appear most frequently among "successful" small business managers include drive, thinking ability, competence in human relations, communications skills and technical knowledge.


Drive, as defined in the study, is composed of responsibility, vigor, initiative, persistence and health. Thinking ability consists of original, creative, critical, and analytical thinking. Competency in human relations means emotional stability, sociability, good personal relations, consideration, cheerfulness, cooperation. and tactfulness. Important communications skills include verbal comprehension, and oral and written communications. Technical knowledge is the manager's comprehension of the physical process of producing goods or services, and the ability to use the information purposefully.

Motivation or drive has long been considered as having an important effect on performance. Psychologists now claim you can increase the motivation and the personal capacities that will improve your effectiveness and increase your chances for success. Much of the development of such achievement motivation depends on setting the right kind of goals for yourself.

What Business Should You Choose?

Many of you have already decided what business to choose. Others may still be seeking answers from counselors. Whether you have decided or not, you will find it helpful to continue your self-evaluation.

Begin by summarizing your background and experience. Include jobs. schooling, and hobbies. Then write down what you think you would like to do. Does what you would like to do match up with what you have done? It is helpful if your experience and training can be put to direct use in your new enterprise.

What are your prospective needs? What are your prospective customers' needs? You may make money doing something you don't like if people will pay for it. On the other hand, you will never make money if people don t need your product or service no matter how happy you are doing it. Experts have said more companies fail because they are in the wrong business than because they are "doing business wrong".


Read, listen to the experts, talk to business people, try to determine where growth will occur. Most new businesses can only get customers by taking them away from someone else, or by attracting new people entering the area. In other words, don't start a contracting business in a community where the population is decreasing even if you are a good contractor.

At this point, try to match your background and interests with what you see the needs to be. If they match, wonderful. Now all you have to do is discover how to offer the customers more for their money than do your competitors.

If the needs and your background don't match, don't despair. Get training by working in a company that provides a product or service that is needed. Find a job in a well managed, successful company of the kind you are contemplating. Then absorb as much management know-how as you can while learning the technical skills.

Education can help too. While there may be no educational requirements for starting your own business, the more schooling you have along the right lines the better equipped you should be.

(Some fields require licenses, certificates, even degrees in specific educational areas.) Certainly it is helpful if you have had courses in record keeping, sales and communication. These needn't be college or even high school courses. They can come from adult education programs and the like.

Is there a need for what you want to sell or do? Are you prepared to fill that need? Are you interested in the area? Can you learn what you need to? Will there be a continuing and growing need for your product or service?

Your Chances of Success

What are your chances of success if you go into business? New businesses are always being started. Almost as many are failing or being discontinued. A year of poor business conditions is likely to be followed by a greater than average number of failures or closings. A year of good business conditions tends to be followed by large increases in the total number of businesses. In general, the number of firms increases with increases in human population, total personal income and per capita income and since these factors have increased regularly, the total number of small businesses usually rises every year.

This growth is not free of growing pains, however. At the same time new businesses are being born other businesses are being discontinued. Some of these discontinuances are legally business failures; other owners give up to avoid or minimize losses and are not failures in the strict sense. Still others discontinue for reasons such as the death or retirement of the proprietor, the dissolution of a partnership, or the sale of the business to a new owner.

Younger businesses tend to discontinue first. Many do not make it through the first year. The discontinuation rate of those that survive this first year "burn-in" declines steadily until at the end of several years the rate has dropped dramatically. So, your chances of success improve the longer you stay in business.

Poor management is the largest single cause of business failure. Year after year, the lack of managerial experience and aptitude has accounted for around 90 percent of all failures analyzed by Dun & Bradstreet, Inc.

Many factors may adversely affect individual firms over which owners have little control. In such cases, the astute manager can often soften the blow or, sometimes, change adversity into an asset. Examples of factors over which the owner has little control are overall poor business conditions, relocations of highways, sudden style changes, the replacement of existing products by new ones, and local labor situations. While these factors may cause some businesses to close, they may represent opportunities for others. A local market place may decline in importance at the same time new shopping centers are developing. Sudden changes in style or the replacement of existing products may bring trouble to certain businesses but open doors for new ones. Adverse employment situations in some areas may be offset by favorable situations in others. Ingenuity in taking advantage of changing consumer desires and technological improvements will always be rewarded.

In the final analysis, it is up to you. Will your management be competent? Will you be able to judge, and then satisfy, your customers' wants? Can you do this accurately and quickly enough to more than compensate for risks due to factors beyond your control? Such accomplishment requires expert management.

Your Return on Investment

Will the rate of return on the money you invest in your business be greater than the rate you could receive if you invested your money elsewhere? While your decision to go into business for yourself may not depend entirely upon this, it is a factor which should interest you. Too frequently people invest money in their own businesses under the misapprehension that the financial return will be far greater than the return from other investments. Investigation of the average annual returns in the line of business in which you are interested may be worthy of your time.

Your decision to go into business may not depend entirely on financial rewards. The size of the potential return on your investment may be overshadowed by your desire for independence, the chance to do the type of work you would like to do, the opportunity to live in the part of the country or city you prefer, or the feeling that you can be more useful to the community than you would be if you continued working for someone else. Do not overlook such intangible considerations. But remember, you cannot keep your own business open unless you receive an adequate financial return on your investment.

Raja Munirah Gagal Batal Hukuman

PUTRAJAYA: Pelajar Malaysia, Raja Munirah Raja Iskandar, gagal dalam cubaan terakhirnya untuk membatalkan sabitan dan hukuman penjara bagi kesalahan cuba menyeludup syabu di Lapangan Terbang Antarabangsa Narita pada 2006.

Keputusan itu dibuat Mahkamah Agung Jepun pada 20 Mei selepas mendapati hujah yang dikemukakan oleh peguam bela Raja Munirah hanya berdasarkan dakwaan tidak mematuhi prosedur undang-undang yang bukan alasan kukuh membenarkan permohonan Raja Munirah mengemukakan rayuan ke Mahkamah Agung.

Peguam belanya, Rosal Azimin Ahmad, ketika dihubungi berkata, alasan betul yang terkandung dalam Fasal 405 Undang-undang Prosedur Jenayah Jepun ialah dakwaan bagi tidak mematuhi hak Perlembagaan.

Beliau berkata, Raja Munirah amat sedih dengan keputusan mahkamah itu tetapi menerimanya dengan tenang.

Rosal Azimin berkata, Raja Munirah mungkin memohon bagi parol tetapi dia perlu menghabiskan separuh daripada hukuman penjara itu.

Raja Munirah, 23, dihukum penjara tujuh tahun dan enam bulan serta didenda 1.5 juta yen (RM46,800) atau penjara 250 hari jika gagal membayar denda itu oleh Mahkamah Tinggi Jepun selepas mengaku bersalah terhadap kesalahan itu.

Hukuman itu berkuat kuasa dari tarikh dia ditangkap pada 20 Disember 2006. Bagaimanapun, dia diberikan pengurangan 270 hari dan dengan itu, hanya perlu menjalani hukuman penjara enam tahun sembilan bulan.

Rayuannya ke Mahkamah Tinggi Jepun bagi mengetepikan sabitan dan hukuman penjara juga gagal.

Sementara itu, Rosal Azimin merayu sumbangan daripada orang ramai untuk membayar denda bagi Raja Munirah supaya pelajar itu tidak perlu menjalani hukuman penjara 250 hari lagi.

Pada 20 Disember 2006, Raja Munirah ditahan di Lapangan Terbang Narita apabila satu bungkusan mengandungi syabu seberat 690.80 gram ditemui dalam begnya. � Bernama

Dia mendakwa beg itu dibeli rakannya, seorang warga Iran untuk diisi baju panasnya dan beg itu diserahkan kepadanya di Lapangan Terbang Antarabangsa Kuala Lumpur (KLIA) sejurus sebelum berlepas ke Tokyo.

Raja Munirah pergi ke Tokyo untuk menghadiri temu duga bagi jawatan pegawai perhubungan awam.

Dia sedang menjalani hukuman di pusat tahanan Tokyo di Kosuge. - BH, Bernama

What Is Blog?

A blog (a contraction of the term "Web log") is a Web site, usually maintained by an individual [1], with regular entries of commentary, descriptions of events, or other material such as graphics or video. Entries are commonly displayed in reverse-chronological order. "Blog" can also be used as a verb, meaning to maintain or add content to a blog.
Many blogs provide commentary or news on a particular subject; others function as more personal online diaries. A typical blog combines text, images, and links to other blogs, Web pages, and other media related to its topic. The ability for readers to leave comments in an interactive format is an important part of many blogs. Most blogs are primarily textual, although some focus on art (artlog), photographs (photoblog), sketches (sketchblog), videos (vlog), music (MP3 blog), audio (podcasting), which are part of a wider network of social media. Micro-blogging is another type of blogging, one which consists of blogs with very short posts. As of December 2007, blog search engine Technorati was tracking more than 112 million blogs.[2] With the advent of video blogging, the word blog has taken on an even looser meaning — that of any bit of media wherein the subject expresses his opinion or simply talks about something.
There are many different types of blogs, differing not only in the type of content, but also in the way that content is delivered or written.
Personal Blogs
The personal blog, an ongoing diary or commentary by an individual, is the traditional, most common blog. Personal bloggers usually take pride in their blog posts, even if their blog is never read by anyone but them. Blogs often become more than a way to just communicate; they become a way to reflect on life or works of art. Blogging can have a sentimental quality. Few personal blogs rise to fame and the mainstream, but some personal blogs quickly garner an extensive following. A type of personal blog is referred to as "microblogging," which is extremely detailed blogging as it seeks to capture a moment in time. Sites, such as Twitter, allow bloggers to share thoughts and feelings instantaneously with friends and family and is much faster than e-mailing or writing. This form of social media lends to an online generation already too busy to keep in touch.[3]
Corporate Blogs
A blog can be private, as in most cases, or it can be for business purposes. Blogs, either used internally to enhance the communication and culture in a corporation or externally for marketing, branding or public relations purposes are called corporate blogs.
Question Blogging
is a type of blog that answers questions. Questions can be submitted in the form of a submittal form, or through email or other means such as telephone or VOIP. Qlogs can be used to display shownotes from podcasts[4] or the means of conveying information through the internet. Many question logs use syndication such as RSS as a means of conveying answers to questions.
By Media Type
A blog comprising videos is called a vlog, one comprising links is called a linklog, a site containing a portfolio of sketches is called a sketchblog or one comprising photos is called a photoblog.[5] Blogs with shorter posts and mixed media types are called tumblelogs.
A rare type of blog hosted on the Gopher Protocol is known as a Phlog.[citation needed]
By Device
Blogs can also be defined by which type of device is used to compose it. A blog written by a mobile device like a mobile phone or PDA could be called a moblog.[6] One early blog was Wearable Wireless Webcam, an online shared diary of a person's personal life combining text, video, and pictures transmitted live from a wearable computer and EyeTap device to a web site. This practice of semi-automated blogging with live video together with text was referred to as sousveillance. Such journals have been used as evidence in legal matters.[citation needed]
By Genre
Some blogs focus on a particular subject, such as political blogs, travel blogs, house blogs, fashion blogs, project blogs, education blogs, niche blogs, classical music blogs, quizzing blogs and legal blogs (often referred to as a blawgs) or dreamlogs. While not a legitimate type of blog, one used for the sole purpose of spamming is known as a Splog.
House Blog
A house blog is a Blog created with the sole intent of using it to share and chronicle a home improvement or renovation process. Only in recent years has the concept of a house blog[7] come into being and become more popularized through communities[8]. The majority of house blogs are operated by homeowners who wish to share with the online community their remodeling projects from cost and materials to how it's impacted their family. Most house blogs are not created with the intention of earning revenue although some house blogs do sell advertising or are part of ad networks. The most significant reason for the popularity of house blogs is the cost. Using services such as Blogger and Wordpress, house bloggers can quickly and easily create a blog for free. In this way, the marketer can determine the viability of the selected niche before making a large investment of time and money.
Community and Cataloging
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The Blogosphere
The collective community of all blogs is known as the blogosphere. Since all blogs are on the internet by definition, they may be seen as interconnected and socially networked. Discussions "in the blogosphere" have been used by the media as a gauge of public opinion on various issues. A collection of local blogs is sometimes referred to as a bloghood.
Blog Search Engines
Several blog search engines are used to search blog contents, such as Bloglines, BlogScope, and Technorati. Technorati, which is among the most popular blog search engines, provides current information on both popular searches and tags used to categorize blog postings. Research community is working on going beyond simple keyword search, by inventing new ways to navigate through huge amounts of information present in the blogosphere, as demonstrated by projects like BlogScope.
Blogging Communities and Directories
Several online communities exist that connect people to blogs and bloggers to other bloggers, including BlogCatalog and MyBlogLog.
Blogging and Advertising
It is common for blogs to feature advertisements either to financially benefit the blogger or to promote the blogger's favorite causes. The popularity of blogs has also given rise to "fake blogs" in which a company will create a fictional blog as a marketing tool to promote a product.
Popularity
Researchers have analyzed the dynamics of how blogs become popular. There are essentially two measures of this: popularity through citations, as well as popularity through affiliation (i.e. blogroll). The basic conclusion from studies of the structure of blogs is that while it takes time for a blog to become popular through blogrolls, permalinks can boost popularity more quickly, and are perhaps more indicative of popularity and authority than blogrolls, since they denote that people are actually reading the blog's content and deem it valuable or noteworthy in specific cases.[9]
The blogdex project was launched by researchers in the MIT Media Lab to crawl the Web and gather data from thousands of blogs in order to investigate their social properties. It gathered this information for over 4 years, and autonomously tracked the most contagious information spreading in the blog community, ranking it by recency and popularity. It can therefore be considered the first instantiation of a memetracker. The project is no longer active, but a similar function is now served by tailrank.com.
Blogs are given rankings by Technorati based on the number of incoming links and Alexa Internet based on the Web hits of Alexa Toolbar users. In August 2006, Technorati found that the most linked-to blog on the internet was that of Chinese actress Xu Jinglei.[10] Chinese media Xinhua reported that this blog received more than 50 million page views, claiming it to be the most popular blog in the world.[11] Technorati rated Boing Boing to be the most-read group-written blog.[10]
Gartner forecasts that blogging will peak in 2007, leveling off when the number of writers who maintain a personal Web site reaches 100 million. Gartner analysts expect that the novelty value of the medium will wear off as most people who are interested in the phenomenon have checked it out, and new bloggers will offset the number of writers who abandon their creation out of boredom. The firm estimates that there are more than 200 million former bloggers who have ceased posting to their online diaries, creating an exponential rise in the amount of "dotsam" and "netsam" — that is to say, unwanted objects on the Web (analogous to flotsam and jetsam).
Blurring with the Mass Media
Many bloggers, particularly those engaged in participatory journalism, differentiate themselves from the mainstream media, while others are members of that media working through a different channel. Some institutions see blogging as a means of "getting around the filter" and pushing messages directly to the public. Some critics worry that bloggers respect neither copyright nor the role of the mass media in presenting society with credible news. Bloggers and other contributors to user-generated content are behind Time magazine naming their 2006 person of the year as "you".
Many mainstream journalists, meanwhile, write their own blogs — well over 300, according to CyberJournalist.net's J-blog list. The first known use of a blog on a news site was in August 1998, when Jonathan Dube of The Charlotte Observer published one chronicling Hurricane Bonnie.[12]
Some bloggers have moved over to other media. The following bloggers (and others) have appeared on radio and television: Duncan Black (known widely by his pseudonym, Atrios), Glenn Reynolds (Instapundit), Markos Moulitsas Zúniga (Daily Kos), Alex Steffen (Worldchanging) and Ana Marie Cox (Wonkette). In counterpoint, Hugh Hewitt exemplifies a mass-media personality who has moved in the other direction, adding to his reach in "old media" by being an influential blogger. Equally many established authors, for example Mitzi Szereto have started using Blogs to not only update fans on their current works but also to expand into new areas of writing.
Blogs have also had an influence on minority languages, bringing together scattered speakers and learners; this is particularly so with blogs in Gaelic languages. Minority language publishing (which may lack economic feasibility) can find its audience through inexpensive blogging.
There are many examples of bloggers who have published books based on their blogs, e.g., Salam Pax, Ellen Simonetti, Jessica Cutler, ScrappleFace. Blog-based books have been given the name blook. A prize for the best blog-based book was initiated in 2005,[13] the Lulu Blooker Prize.[14] However, success has been elusive offline, with many of these books not selling as well as their blogs. Only blogger Tucker Max cracked the New York Times Bestseller List.[15]
Blogging Consequences
The emergence of blogging has brought a range of legal liabilities and other often unforeseen consequences.
Defamation or Liability
Several cases have been brought before the national courts against bloggers concerning issues of defamation or liability. The courts have returned with mixed verdicts. Internet Service Providers (ISPs), in general, are immune from liability for information that originates with third parties (U.S. Communications Decency Act and the EU Directive 2000/31/EC).
In John Doe v. Patrick Cahill, the Delaware Supreme Court held that stringent standards had to be met to unmask anonymous bloggers, and also took the unusual step of dismissing the libel case itself (as unfounded under American libel law) rather than referring it back to the trial court for reconsideration. In a bizarre twist, the Cahills were able to obtain the identity of John Doe, who turned out to be the person they suspected: the town's mayor, Councilman Cahill's political rival. The Cahills amended their original complaint, and the mayor settled the case rather than going to trial.[16]
In January 2007, two prominent Malaysian political bloggers, Jeff Ooi and Ahiruddin Attan were sued by pro-government newspaper, The New Straits Times Press (Malaysia) Berhad, Kalimullah bin Masheerul Hassan, Hishamuddin bin Aun and Brenden John a/l John Pereira over an alleged defamation. The plaintiff was supported by the Malaysian government.[17] Following the suit, the Malaysian government proposed to "register" all bloggers in Malaysia in order to better control parties against their interest. [18] This is the first such legal case against bloggers in the country.

In the United Kingdom, a college lecturer contributed to a blog in which she referred to a politician (who had also expressed his views in the same blog) using various uncomplimentary names, including referring to him as a "Nazi". The politician found out the real name of the lecturer (she wrote under a pseudonym) via the ISP and successfully sued her for £10,000 in damages and £7,200 costs.[19]
In the United States, blogger Aaron Wall was sued by Traffic Power for defamation and publication of trade secrets in 2005.[20] According to Wired Magazine, Traffic Power had been "banned from Google for allegedly rigging search engine results."[21] Wall and other "white hat" search engine optimization consultants had exposed Traffic Power in what they claim was an effort to protect the public. The case was watched by many bloggers because it addressed the murky legal question of who's liable for comments posted on blogs.[22] The case was dismissed for lack of personal jurisdiction, and Traffic Power failed to appeal within the allowed time.[23][24][25][26]
Employment
In general, attempts at hiding the blogger's name and/or the place of employment in anonymity have proved ineffective at protecting the blogger.[27] Employees who blog about elements of their place of employment raise the issue of employee branding, since their activities can begin to affect the brand recognition of their employer.
In fall 2004, Ellen Simonetti was fired for what was deemed by her employer to be inappropriate material on her blog. She subsequently wrote a book based on her blog.Ellen Simonetti, a Delta Air Lines flight attendant, was fired by the airline for photos of herself in uniform on an airplane and comments posted on her blog "Queen of Sky: Diary of a Flight Attendant" which her employer deemed inappropriate.[28][29] This case highlighted the issue of personal blogging and freedom of expression vs. employer rights and responsibilities, and so it received wide media attention. Simonetti took legal action against the airline for "wrongful termination, defamation of character and lost future wages".[30] The suit is postponed while Delta is in bankruptcy proceedings (court docket).
In the spring of 2006, Erik Ringmar, a tenured senior lecturer at the London School of Economics, was ordered by the convenor of his department to "take down and destroy" his blog in which he discussed the quality of education at the school.[31]
Mark Cuban, owner of the Dallas Mavericks, was fined during the 2006 NBA playoffs for criticizing NBA officials on the court and in his blog.[32]
Mark Jen was terminated in 2005 after 10 days of employment as an Assistant Product Manager at Google for discussing corporate secrets on his personal blog, then called 99zeros and hosted on the Google-owned Blogger service.[33] He blogged about unreleased products and company finances a week before the company's earnings announcement. He was fired two days after he complied with his employer's request to remove the sensitive material from his blog. [34]
In India, blogger Gaurav Sabnis resigned from IBM after his posts exposing the false claims of a management school, IIPM, led to management of IIPM threatening to burn their IBM laptops as a sign of protest against him.[35]
Jessica Cutler, aka "The Washingtonienne", blogged about her sex life while employed as a congressional assistant. After the blog was discovered and she was fired,[36] she wrote a novel based on her experiences and blog: The Washingtonienne: A Novel. Cutler is presently being sued by one of her former lovers in a case that could establish the extent to which bloggers are obligated to protect the privacy of their real life associates.[37]
Catherine Sanderson, a.k.a. Petite Anglaise, lost her job in Paris at a British accountancy firm because of blogging.[38] Although given in the blog in a fairly anonymous manner, some of the descriptions of the firm and some of its people were less than flattering. Sanderson later won a compensation claim case against the British firm, however.[39]
On the other hand, Penelope Trunk, writing in the Globe in 2006, was one of the first to point out that a large portion of bloggers are professionals and that a well-written blog can actually help attract employers.
Political Dangers
Blogging can sometimes have unforeseen consequences in politically-sensitive areas. Blogs are much harder to control than broadcast or even print media. As a result, totalitarian and authoritarian regimes often seek to suppress blogs and/or to punish those who maintain them.
In Singapore, two ethnic Chinese were imprisoned under the country’s anti-sedition law for posting anti-Muslim remarks in their blogs.[40]
Egyptian blogger Kareem Amer was charged with insulting the Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak and an Islamic institution through his online blog. It is the first time in the history of Egypt that a blogger was prosecuted. After a brief trial session that took place in Alexandria, the blogger was found guilty and sentenced to prison terms of three years for insulting Islam and inciting sedition, and one year for insulting Mubarak.[41]
Egyptian blogger Abdel Monem Mahmoud was arrested in April 2007 for anti-government writings in his blog. Monem is a member of the banned Muslim Brotherhood.
After expressing opinions in his personal blog about the state of the Sudanese armed forces, Jan Pronk, United Nations Special Representative for the Sudan, was given three days notice to leave Sudan. The Sudanese army had demanded his deportation.[42][43][44]
Personal Safety
One unfortunate consequence of blogging is the possibility of attacks or threats against the blogger, sometimes without apparent reason. Kathy Sierra, author of the innocuous blog Creating Passionate Users, was the target of such vicious threats and misogynistic insults that she canceled her keynote speech at a technology conference in San Diego, fearing for her safety.[45] While a blogger's anonymity is often tenuous, Internet trolls who would attack a blogger with threats or insults can be emboldened by anonymity. Sierra and supporters initiated an online discussion aimed at countering abusive online behavior[46] and developed a blogger's code of conduct.
Therapeutic Benefits
Scientists have long known the therapeutic benefits of writing about personal experiences. Blogs provide another convenient avenue for writing about personal experiences. Research shows that it improves memory and sleep, boosts immune cell activity and reduces viral load in AIDS patients and even speeds healing after surgery.[47]
History
Main article: History of blogging timeline
Main article: Online diary
The term "weblog" was coined by Jorn Barger[48] on 17 December 1997. The short form, "blog," was coined by Peter Merholz, who jokingly broke the word weblog into the phrase we blog in the sidebar of his blog Peterme.com in April or May of 1999.[49][50][51] Shortly thereafter, Evan Williams at Pyra Labs used "blog" as both a noun and verb ("to blog," meaning "to edit one's weblog or to post to one's weblog") and devised the term "blogger" in connection with Pyra Labs' Blogger product, leading to the popularization of the terms.[52]
Origins
Before blogging became popular, digital communities took many forms, including Usenet, commercial online services such as GEnie, BiX and the early CompuServe, e-mail lists[53] and Bulletin Board Systems (BBS). In the 1990s, Internet forum software, such as WebEx, created running conversations with "threads." Threads are topical connections between messages on a metaphorical "corkboard."
The modern blog evolved from the online diary, where people would keep a running account of their personal lives. Most such writers called themselves diarists, journalists, or journalers. Justin Hall, who began personal blogging in 1994 while a student at Swarthmore College, is generally recognized as one of the earliest bloggers,[54] as is Jerry Pournelle.[citation needed] Dave Winer's Scripting News is also credited with being one of the oldest and longest running weblogs.[55][56] Another early blog was Wearable Wireless Webcam, an online shared diary of a person's personal life combining text, video, and pictures transmitted live from a wearable computer and EyeTap device to a web site in 1994. This practice of semi-automated blogging with live video together with text was referred to as sousveillance, and such journals were also used as evidence in legal matters.
Dr. Glen Barry started publishing the first political blog -- the Forest Protection Blog (originally entitled "Gaia's Forest Conservation Archives") at http://forests.org/blog/ -- in 1993, both to campaign for forest protection and as his Ph.D. project[57]. It began using Gopher in 1993, and has been on the web continuously since Jan. 1995, making it possibly the web's first blog, and certainly the oldest continuously running web based blog. The work has since evolved into the world's largest environmental portals.
Early blogs were simply manually-updated components of common Web sites. However, the evolution of tools to facilitate the production and maintenance of Web articles posted in reverse chronological order made the publishing process feasible to a much larger, less technical, population. Ultimately, this resulted in the distinct class of online publishing that produces blogs we recognize today. For instance, the use of some sort of browser-based software is now a typical aspect of "blogging". Blogs can be hosted by dedicated blog hosting services, or they can be run using blog software, such as WordPress, Movable Type, Blogger or LiveJournal, or on regular web hosting services.
Rise in Popularity
After a slow start, blogging rapidly gained in popularity. Blog usage spread during 1999 and the years following, being further popularized by the near-simultaneous arrival of the first hosted blog tools:
Open Diary launched in October 1998, soon growing to thousands of online diaries. Open Diary innovated the reader comment, becoming the first blog community where readers could add comments to other writers' blog entries.
Brad Fitzpatrick, a well-known blogger started LiveJournal in March 1999.
Andrew Smales created Pitas.com in July 1999 as an easier alternative to maintaining a "news page" on a Web site, followed by Diaryland in September 1999, focusing more on a personal diary community.[58]
Evan Williams and Meg Hourihan (Pyra Labs) launched blogger.com in August 1999 (purchased by Google in February 2003)
Blogging Becomes a Political Force
This section does not cite any references or sources.
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See also: Political blog
Since 2002, blogs have gained increasing notice and coverage for their role in breaking, shaping, and spinning news stories. The Iraq war saw bloggers taking measured and passionate points of view that go beyond the traditional left-right divide of the political spectrum.
On 6 December 2002, Josh Marshall's talkingpointsmemo.com blog called attention to U.S. Senator Lott's comments regarding Senator Thurmond. Senator Lott was eventually to resign over the matter.As an example of the rise of importance of blogs, in 2002, many blogs focused on comments by U.S. Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott. Senator Lott, at a party honoring U.S. Senator Strom Thurmond, praised Senator Thurmond by suggesting that the United States would have been better off had Thurmond been elected president. Lott's critics saw these comments as a tacit approval of racial segregation, a policy advocated by Thurmond's 1948 presidential campaign. This view was reinforced by documents and recorded interviews dug up by bloggers. (See Josh Marshall's Talking Points Memo.) Though Lott's comments were made at a public event attended by the media, no major media organizations reported on his controversial comments until after blogs broke the story. Blogging helped to create a political crisis that forced Lott to step down as majority leader.
Similarly, blogs were among the driving forces behind the "Rathergate" scandal. To wit: (television journalist) Dan Rather presented documents (on the CBS show 60 Minutes) that conflicted with accepted accounts of President Bush's military service record. Bloggers declared the documents to be forgeries and presented evidence and arguments in support of that view. Consequently, CBS apologized for what it said were inadequate reporting techniques (see Little Green Footballs). Many bloggers view this scandal as the advent of blogs' acceptance by the mass media, both as a news source and opinion and as means of applying political pressure.
The impact of these stories gave greater credibility to blogs as a medium of news dissemination. Though often seen as partisan gossips, bloggers sometimes lead the way in bringing key information to public light, with mainstream media having to follow their lead. More often, however, news blogs tend to react to material already published by the mainstream media. Meanwhile, an increasing number of experts blogged, making blogs a source of in-depth analysis. (See Daniel Drezner and J. Bradford DeLong.)
Blogging Becomes Mainstream
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By 2004, the role of blogs became increasingly mainstream, as political consultants, news services, and candidates began using them as tools for outreach and opinion forming. Blogging was established by politicians and political candidates to express opinions on war and other issues and cemented blogs' role as a news source. (See Howard Dean and Wesley Clark.) Even politicians not actively campaigning, such as the UK's Labour Party's MP Tom Watson, began to blog to bond with constituents.
In January 2005, Fortune magazine listed eight bloggers that business people "could not ignore": Peter Rojas, Xeni Jardin, Ben Trott, Mena Trott, Jonathan Schwartz, Jason Goldman, Robert Scoble, and Jason Calacanis

Winner vs Loser

The winner is the man who refuses to surrender, show me a bad loser, and I'll show you the inner winner. A winner knows how to accelerate into the future and never ever look back, he could care less when persnickety malcontents attack. A winner knows he will win before the battle starts he sees it in his mind and can feel it in his heart.

He knows you must believe to achieve and it is the present and past where he creates his weave, understanding that the future depends on his strength of character and how it's perceived. If you want to emulate the winner and eminent achiever, you must demand of yourself, like no other. The secret to success is simple he will say; you must; "Make Lots of Friends, Work Smart, Work Hard, and Never give up!" if you wish to be standing at the end of the day.

Winning has never been easy, indeed, it never was, you work harder than everyone else, just because. Why, well you believe that you must do whatever it takes, work through the night to accomplish that goal to achieve. Winning is not for the weak of mind, it takes brawn and brains, as you work off your behind.

Adversity builds character and you'll need lots of that, but if you power through you'll always know where you are at. Sometimes you'll stumble and yes you will fall, but when you get up and dust yourself off, it will surprise them all. Because your made of tough stuff and refuse to quit, you'll keep on going when others say; Enough is enough. I want you to win because I know you can forget the losers, who say you can't.

Self Motivation

The true measure of success may be how much time you spend doing exactly what you want. Never mind the money, if you already have enough. How much of your time is spent doing that which either aggravates you or wastes your time? Even the very rich can find themselves caught up in stressful situations that cry out for a solution. Most of the time, eliminating them altogether is the best strategy.

The problem is one of habits. If you've always done things a certain way, you may be creating a problem that can be solved by a change in thinking, followed by a change in acting. Are you checking your email more than 5 times a day? More than 50? Why? Consider checking email twice a day, at the most. If you warn people that you only check email twice a day, you may find that those who depend on you to respond immediately change how they behave towards you.

Another consideration is negative influences. You may have a majority of customers that are a pleasure to deal with, and a few that are nasty, negative and chew up most of your time. Consider firing the troublemakers. That will make room for more good customers and make sure your attitude isn't negatively affected by dealing with people who delight in making you miserable.

Cut yourself off from the "news". Television and newspapers seldom serve up news that is actionable by you. When was the last time a public official or government agency contacted you regarding your take on the latest news bulletin? For that matter, when was the last time you missed something important in life that you didn't hear about from a friend or neighbor? If the world is about to blow up, I guarantee you'll find out about it without resorting to the media. Eliminate daily news briefings. You don't need the negative influence in your life.

Try outsourcing your chores. If you've automated your business so you can spend more time on yard work, housecleaning or maintenance, stop and think! How much will it cost you to pay someone to mop your floors, mow your lawn and clean your rain gutters? Unless you are a seasoned professional at such labor, you'll probably get a better result than if you keep doing it yourself. Even if you are a seasoned professional at such labor, isn't the reason you got into IM precisely to free yourself from daily drudgery?

Learn how to shut your mind tightly against negative thinking and the negative influence of other people. You can begin by practicing meditation, where you stop thinking about your thoughts and simply remain quiet, in your mind. With practice, you'll find it's easy and effortless to break a train of thought you do not wish to encourage. You'll also find it beneficial to cut out all the people who want to dump their problems on you. You don't have to be nasty or rude. Just stop allowing them to invade your life with the things that they, themselves, are unwilling to deal with. It is not your duty to hear other people whine about their life. There are troubles and duties we all must deal with. I'm not suggesting you drop your responsibilities and slack off on what you know you must do. Just take the time to question all of your assumptions regarding duty and responsibility. Figure out how much of your life is spent doing things that you really don't have to be doing. Get rid of all the old, bad habits that cause unnecessary aggravation and eliminate them from your life.

Histeria Penyakit Psikiatri

KES histeria yang menyerang pelajar sekolah di beberapa negeri sejak awal tahun ini perlukan kajian terperinci kerana jumlah kes yang dicatatkan bertambah dan kerap berlaku berbanding tahun sebelumnya.

Profesor yang juga Dekan Fakulti Perubatan dan Sains Kesihatan, Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM), Prof Dr Azhar Md Zain, berkata beliau berpendapat satu kajian khusus mengenai kes histeria di sekolah sejak kebelakangan ini perlu dibuat untuk menilai sama ada ia satu epidemik atau tidak selain melihat bagaimana ia boleh berlaku di sekolah.

Katanya, kajian juga perlu dibuat untuk melihat mengapa masih wujud kes histeria di sekolah walaupun masyarakat Malaysia kini semakin moden dan maju.

Beliau menjelaskan histeria berlaku di semua negara di seluruh dunia, termasuk di Barat. Namun, bilangan kes semakin berkurangan apabila sesebuah negara itu semakin maju.

Katanya, histeria adalah penyakit psikiatri yang dikenali sebagai ‘somatoform disorder’ dan dibahagikan kepada dua jenis iaitu ‘Conversion Disorder dan Dissociative Hysteria.

Conversion Disorder adalah keadaan yang mana mereka yang diserang histeria biasanya akan merasai gangguan fizikal seperti merasai badan lumpuh, buta, pekak dan bisu walaupun pada hakikatnya mereka tidak mengalami masalah berkenaan.

Kebiasaannya, histeria jenis Conversion Disorder ini berlaku kerana konflik dan trauma dengan satu-satu kejadian seperti melihat saudara dirogol, kemalangan dan kematian.

Dissociative Hysteria pula menyebabkan mereka yang terkena histeria akan meronta-ronta, meracau dan menjerit-jerit. Malah, ia kerap berlaku kepada kanak-kanak dan remaja akibat konflik yang tidak dapat dikawal.

Prof Azhar berkata, Dissociative Hysteria kerap berlaku dalam masyarakat di Malaysia dan biasanya membabitkan pelajar sekolah rendah dan menengah, penuntut di institusi pengajian tinggi (IPT) dan pekerja wanita di kilang manakala di Barat membabitkan histeria jenis Conversion Disorder .

Beliau menjelaskan kira-kira 20 tahun lalu kes histeria dilaporkan banyak berlaku di negara ini dengan kes tertinggi di sekolah berasrama, kilang dan kem motivasi serta minggu orientasi. Namun, ia mulai berkurangan dan menjadi kes terpencil dalam 1990-an.

Beliau menjelaskan berdasarkan kajian terdahulu, kebanyakan kes histeria berlaku ketika musim peperiksaan di sekolah berasrama dan minggu orientasi di IPT. Dalam kes di asrama sekolah, didapati berlaku dalam minggu orientasi yang mana pelajar baru didedahkan dengan pelbagai aktiviti yang meletihkan hingga mengganggu masa tidur dan rehat pelajar.

Selain itu, kes histeria berkait rapat dengan kepercayaan seseorang individu terhadap perkara mistik dan karut marut seperti pelajar baru sering dimomokkan dengan cerita karut seperti ada hantu dan perkara mistik lain.

“Pelajar asrama juga mudah terkena histeria kerana mereka tidak dapat mengawal konflik seperti terpaksa mengikut disiplin yang ketat di asrama selain kerinduan kepada keluarga. Dalam 1980-an, kebanyakan kes histeria berlaku di sekolah agama yang mana disiplinnya lebih tinggi berbanding sekolah biasa,” katanya.

Kes membabitkan pekerja kilang, biasanya berlaku pada waktu malam. Ia dipercayai berlaku kerana pekerja keletihan tidak cukup tidur selain faktor ketakutan kerana sering mendengar cerita mengenai hantu. Kebanyakan kes membabitkan wanita kerana tahap ketakutan mereka lebih tinggi berbanding pekerja lelaki.

Prof Azhar berkata, histeria sebenarnya berlaku kerana konflik dan tekanan yang tidak dapat dibendung dan dikawal oleh individu itu dan cara mengawalnya adalah dengan memberikan bantuan bukan tekanan kepada mereka yang ada masalah atau lemah.

“Mereka yang terkena histeria adalah individu yang memerlukan bantuan. Oleh itu, cara merawatnya adalah dengan memberikan bantuan kepada mereka. Cara terbaik adalah sesi kaunseling. Bagi mengelakkan ia berjangkit dan menjadi epidemik, mereka yang diserang terkena histeria diasingkan dengan orang lain,” katanya.

Beliau berkata, bagi orang Islam, biasanya pengawal perubatan Islam akan memberi rawatan untuk menenangkan pesakit dengan bacaan ayat al-Quran. Begitu juga dengan agama lain, yang mana mungkin orang yang arif dalam agama mereka akan memberikan rawatan mengikut kepercayaan masing-masing.

Namun, seeloknya selepas rawatan berkenaan pesakit diberikan keyakinan untuk mengawal diri dan selepas pulih pesakit diberikan sokongan seperti bertanyakan masalah dihadapi mereka.

Sementara itu, pengamal perubatan Islam, Fauzi Mustaffa, berkata histeria mengikut perspektif Islam adalah merujuk kepada keadaan yang mana manusia tidak sedar, dirasuk dan hilang ingatan akibat gangguan emosi yang tidak terkawal dan tekanan perasaan akibat masalah peribadi, rumah tangga dan kepincangan masyarakat.

Katanya. ia boleh berlaku apabila seseorang itu tidak sedar diri dan syaitan mula menguasai akal fikiran mereka sehingga menyebabkan ada yang meracau, menjerit dan melakukan perkara di luar batasan manusia normal serta hilang ingatan.

“Ia juga berpunca daripada gangguan emosi yang tidak terkawal yang berpunca daripada tekanan hidup, masalah rumah tangga, kepincangan masyarakat dipendam melampaui fikiran yang mana ketika itu syaitan mengambil tempat dan menyerang otak manusia. Ketika itu otak lemah dan jadi histeria,” katanya ditemui baru-baru ini.

Beliau yang kerap dipanggil membantu sekolah yang menghadapi histeria, berkata, mengikut pengalamannya kebanyakan histeria berlaku menjelang musim peperiksaan.

Ia berlaku kerana pelajar tertekan kerana mengulang kaji pelajaran selain tiada sokongan sebaliknya tekanan ibu bapa yang meletakkan harapan tinggi kepada mereka.

“Kerisauan dan kebimbangan ibu bapa menjadi tekanan yang akhirnya menyebabkan otak menjadi lemah dan syaitan mula menguasai sehingga berlaku gangguan. Selain tekanan ibu bapa, pada minggu peperiksaan biasanya pelajar tidur lewat kerana mengulang kaji pelajaran. Apabila kurang tidur mata mengantuk dan badan keletihan dan ada yang kurang makan menjadikan badan lemah yang membuka ruang untuk syaitan dan makhluk halus menguasai fikiran,” katanya.

Beliau juga tidak menolak kemungkinan, histeria berlaku kerana manusia mengganggu tempat tinggal atau kawasan makhluk halus yang menyebabkan makhluk berkenaan ‘bertindak balas’ termasuk merasuk manusia.

Imbas kembali

Kronologi kes histeria di seluruh negara tahun ini

28 Ogos 2008

KUANTAN: Kejadian histeria berulang di Sekolah Menengah Kebangsaan (SMK) Tanjung Lumpur membabitkan lapan pelajar perempuan selepas tiga hari sesi persekolahan bermula.

8 Ogos 2008

KUCHING: Seramai 15 pelajar Sekolah Menengah Kebangsaan Bekenu, termasuk dua lelaki, diserang histeria ketika belajar di dalam kelas bermula jam 8 pagi.

KUANTAN: Kejadian histeria berulang semula di Sekolah Menengah Kebangsaan Tanjung Lumpur, membabitkan 11 pelajar sehingga menyebabkan sesi pembelajaran terganggu.

7 Ogos 2008

SUBANG JAYA: Pelajar perempuan Sekolah Menengah Kebangsaan USJ 23, diserang histeria selepas dua hari kejadian yang sama berlaku di sekolah itu.

4 Ogos 2008

TELUK INTAN: Seramai 12 pelajar, termasuk empat lelaki, Sekolah Menengah Seri Kandi, histeria ketika mengikuti perkhemahan motivasi dan ceramah.

24 Julai 2008

KUANTAN: Sebilangan pelajar Sekolah Menengah Kebangsaan Tanjung Lumpur, diserang histeria dan sakit sendi hampir setiap hari, terutama menjelang tengah hari.

Setiap hari hampir empat hingga lima pelajar diserang kejadian misteri itu dan mengikut laporan akhbar seramai 35 pelajar terbabit.

17 Julai 2008

NIBONG TEBAL: Seramai 10 pelajar tingkatan satu Sekolah Menengah Kebangsaan Batu Kawan (SMKBK) diserang histeria di dalam kelas apabila mahu memulakan pembelajaran selepas tamat waktu rehat.

19 Jun 2008

CHERAS: Hampir 30 pelajar lelaki dan perempuan tingkatan lima di Sekolah Menengah Sains Selangor diserang histeria apabila tiba-tiba meracau, menjerit serta melukakan diri sendiri, dipercayai dirasuk makhluk halus.

24 April 2008

TAIPING: Pelajar dan guru sebuah sekolah menengah di Bukit Gantang, gempar apabila 13 pelajar diserang histeria sekembali daripada menziarahi jenazah seorang guru wanita.

Pelajar tingkatan tiga dan lima itu menjerit-jerit seperti orang gila ketika mengikuti pembelajaran di kelas pada jam 11.30 pagi.

14 April 2008

SEREMBAN: Kira-kira 15 pelajar dan seorang guru perempuan sebuah sekolah menengah, dekat Sikamat, diserang histeria.

31 Januari 2008

DUNGUN: Hampir 200 pelajar perempuan dan lelaki Sekolah Menengah Sains Dungun, alami histeria menyebabkan sesi persekolahan di sekolah berasrama penuh itu terpaksa ditutup empat hari. Kejadian dipercayai bermula jam 9.30 pagi selepas seorang pelajar tingkatan dua mula menjerit sebaik tamat perhimpunan.

Indonesia Dah Lancar Roket Sendiri Ke Angkasa

Tahniah kepada agensi angkasa lepas Indonesia , Lembaga Penerbangan dan Antariksa Nasional (LAPAN) yang telah mencipta , menguji dan melancarkan beberapa roket dalam usaha untuk membangunkan program angkasa lepas mereka samada untuk meletakkan satelit di orbit angkasa atau menghantar angkasawan ke angkasa lepas.

China sudah menghantar angkasawan mereka ke angkasa lepas dengan roket dan kapal angkasa mereka sendiri. Indonesia pula dalam proses pembikinan. Malaysia yang begitu bangga menumpangkan angkasawan negara dengan roket dan kapal angkasa milik Rusia bila lagi ?

Bukan itu sahaja , malah LAPAN membuka peluang kepada rakyat mereka untuk mempelajari cara-cara membuat roket untuk dijadikan sebagai aktiviti serta hobi yang bermanafaat. Akan tetapi pelajar dan remaja kita di Malaysia hanya seronok main roket bunga api yang dihasilkan dan diseludup dari negara jiran , lebih-lebih lagi apabila menyambut perayaan kebesaran Islam.

Sumber : http://ikam-space.blogspot.com/2008/09/indonesia-lancar-roket-untuk-program.html

Lapan kembali melakukan uji terbang roket hasil penelitian dan pengembangannya. Setelah berhasil uji statik terhadap motor roket bertipe RX-320, Tim Peroketan Lapan melanjutkan dengan tahapan uji terbang pada Senin (19/05) di Stasiun Uji Terbang Pameungpeuk, Garut, Jawa Barat. Roket dengan tipe RX-3228.02.01 sebagai roket terbesar buatan Lapan selama ini, berhasil meluncur mulus. Keberhasilan ini sebagai tanda program pembuatan Roket Pengorbit Satelit memasuki tahap awal.

Roket diluncurkan dengan tujuan uji rancang bangun. Roket ini berspesifikasi panjang 4736 mm, diameter 320 mm, dan berat total 532 kg. Pukul 06.15 WIB, roket berhasil meluncur sesuai prediksi jarak jangkau yakni sekurangnya 42 km. Hal ini ditunjukkan oleh data Global Positioning System (GPS) yang dipasang pada roket. “Data terakhir yang bisa dipantau menunjukkan angka 42,1 km. Ini pun posisi roket masih terbang di atas laut,” imbuh Ka Pustekwagan.

Sumber : LAPAN http://langitselatan.com/2008/05/22/uji-terbang-rx-320-milik-lapan/

Success For Everybody


Success is available to everybody. Nobody was born successful.

Success is all a matter of what you want in life and how desperate you are to get it; you and you alone are responsible for your own achievements and success in life.

Success starts with an idea or dream of what you want to become or achieve. This idea or dream must be a desire or passion within you then you stand a good chance of achieving what you want and thereby being successful, other peoples ideas won't necessarily mean that you will be successful.

To be successful you must be motivated and be clear and specific in what it is that you want to achieve. There are certain steps that you need to follow, nothing will just happen and give you the desired results;

You must have a goal.

-You must put in writing what it is that you want (be specific).
-Write down when you want to achieve it (date).
-Write down how you want to achieve it (resources that's needed).
-What are you prepared to sacrifice to achieve your goal?
-Repetition (Read and re-read daily).
-Educate yourself.
-How are you going to share your success?

Now let's look at each of these points by themselves;

1.Formulate a goal.
Every idea or dream will stay just that unless it is put down as something definite that
you want to achieve. Unless you work on your idea or dream and put it down as a definite goal the chances of achieving it is very slim, because with the first obstacle a person encounters the chances of saying it is to hard, become very relevant or I've tried my best.

2.Put goal in Writing.
When it is in writing you will be able to see a month or year from now what it is that you
really wanted to achieve. Ensure that it is realistic and achievable. Very unlikely that any human being can stay under water like a fish for days on end without breathing apparatus. With a goal in writing one can regularly check and see if you are still on track and if it is perhaps necessary to put in more effort or work harder to achieve your goal. Unless it is in writing it will remain an idea or dream and can change as circumstances change.

3.When will the goal be achieved.
Unless a specific date is recorded it will remain as an unfulfilled dream. The date must be realistic and achievable. Ensure that the date allow time for unforeseen circumstances.

4.How the goal will be achieved.
What resources are needed? What assistance is required and where will it be obtained? If physical equipment is required like books, buy it from the outset as it will mean commitment.

5.What will be sacrificed?
If the goal involves studying, then parties and socials must come second to the studies. The goal must be more important than TV or other games. Don't neglect physical activities as a fit body means a fit mind. Don't ignore important people like loved ones or family. Don't push yourself to the point of a burnout.

6.Repetition.
Read your goal at least twice daily and then once aloud, convince your inner self that this is what you want, therefore read with the right emotion. By continually reading your goal you will stay focused. Reading the goal will immediately highlight if any diversions is sidetracking you.

7.Educate yourself.
It is necessary to read relevant information to keep you inspired. You might need some specific information. Books or manuals might be informative as to other people's achievements. Watch informative videos or screen shots. You might even need to join a library, depending on your goal.

8.Sharing success.
Who will you share your success with? Who will benefit from your success? How will you live with this success?

Belief in yourself, hard work and perseverance is some of the key elements of success.
Look at the achievements of any great name in history or just the achievements of any Olympics athlete.

Your success depends on yourself.

My Secret Of Millionaire Mind

Do you believe that you create your life or are you a victim what has happened to you? Set aside your spiritual beliefs for just a moment. I say this because I hear so many people say, "If God (or whatever they believe in) wants me to be rich, I will be rich." I do not necessarily believe this is absolutely correct. I believe that if you are meant to be rich, you will be given opportunities act upon to be rich and prosper. Anyway, back to what I am talking about.

I was recently reading Secrets of the Millionaire Mind by T. Harv Eker, and came across a quote that I had forgotten about over the years: "If you want to create wealth, it is imperative that you believe that you are at the steering wheel of your life, especially your financial life. If you don't believe this, then you must inherently believe that you have little or no control over your life, and therefore, you have little or no control over your financial success. This is not a rich attitude." Which do you believe in? Do you believe that you create your life, or do you believe that life just happens to you and you can't do anything about where you're going?

You have to take control of your life! I don't care if you were born in a drug house in a big city or if you've had a silver spoon in your mouth your entire life. You have to decide where you want to go. Do you want to be a millionaire some day? Then take action steps TODAY to do that. What is the next step for you to create massive wealth for yourself? Will you do it by having a job or running your own business? (Hint: a job probably won't get you there J) If you already own your own business, what should you do today to create more money for yourself?

I get so frustrated when people give me a "woe-is-me story." Frankly, I usually don't let them finish. Every time I hear somebody start to complain about the "bad hand" they've been dealt, I want to shake them and say, "Well why don't you do something about it?!" When you talk to most people with wealth, would they tell you that life just happened to put money in their bank account, or will they start to tell you all the things they did to create that money?

It starts with a decision. So make your decision today. Do you want to be wealthy or poor? Do you want your family prosper or suffer? Once you make your decision, do something about it! Take action steps (unless of course you choose to suffer...then you can just go back to work like normal tomorrow) to create massive wealth for yourself.

Decide, act, and be committed. I guarantee that if you put forth the necessary effort in whatever path you decide to create wealth, it will come to you.

Azizan MdNor
Rich Mindset Training

Sunday, September 28, 2008

BEFORE YOU QUIT YOUR JOB - R. KIYOSAKI


If you have been contemplating long and hard to become an entrepreneur and have taken some steps in preparation for the journey (like attending a course) this book is a must read for you. Both Robert and co-writer Sharon are both experienced entrepreneurs who have experienced both failures and success and shares with us 10 valuable lessons an entrepreneur should know in setting up a successful business. Robert credited Sharon as the 'A' student CPA and her businesses are more successful than his.After reading this book, the main lessons I have identified are:

-Employee Vs Entrepreneur: The differences in the thought process and behaviour of each are illustrated.

-The B-I Triangle: Rich Dad taught Robert the importance of building a business using the B-I Triangle. The five main factors that need to be considered are Product, Legal, Systems, Communications, and Cashflow. If one or many of the factors are weak, the company will be weak, the management needs to be aware of this weakness and strengthen them. Encompassing the five factors are Leadership, Team and Mission.

-Mission: The Company with the stronger mission and everybody in that company working for the same mission will succeed. Robert gave a compelling narration of his stint in Vietnam during the Vietnam War where the North Vietnamese who had a stronger sense of mission had more hunger to fulfill their mission. The Americans fought alongside the South Vietnamese against the North Vietnamese (Vietcong) which we all know suffered heavy losses.

-Building a team: A good entrepreneur knows it is impossible to be good in all aspects of operating a business. They need to surround themselves with people who are smarter than them to fulfill the other roles of creating a profitable business. These people can come in the form of employees or partners.

-Making mistakes: Entrepreneurs are supposed to make mistakes and learn from them. Employees dislike making mistakes as it affects their morale and performance appraisal.

-Know your customers: It is wise to retain your good customers and fire your bad customers. You have to let go those customers who always look for cheap bargains and do not know the true value of your goods. In order to find good customers, you need to match the product and the price to suit the customer's needs, wants and ego. In numerous cases, it's the customer's ego that take precedence over wants and needs. So before you quit your job, this book is a must read for all you would-be entrepreneur. The lessons in this book are invaluable and will help you to avoid the costly mistakes which 95% of all new entrepreneurs will make. Hurry, run to your nearest bookstore and get it now!

Book Summary : Think And Grow Rich

Even if it is 70 years since the book Think and Grow Rich was written, it is still a highly respected and read book. It has sold millions of copies and is a “Bible” for people who are searching financial freedom. The essence of the book is Napoleon Hill’s famous statement: “Everything your mind can conceive, you can achieve” The title says the same, in different words: Think and Grow Rich

The book teaches “The thirteen steps to riches” according to Napoleon Hill.

It offers many questionnaires and practical exercises in addition to all the text. It gives you clear guide lines in how to set goals and reach them and how to make clear plans to follow. You are shown how you can realise your highest potential, and succeed in anything you set your mind to.

It also teaches you not to give up, and see all mistakes as learning opportunities. Napoleon Hill teaches that successful people never considers temporary failure as a permanent defeat.

Napoleon Hill used over 25 years to study over 500 of America's most successful business men in the start of this century. He took this assignment on from Andrew Carnegie in 1908. If you would like to know more about the life of Napoleon Hill, click Biography and bibliography of Napoleon Hill.

Andrew Carnegie was at the time the richest man in the world and had from being a Scottish immigrant with no money, worked himself the way to become a giant steel manufacturer. If you like to know more about the life of Andrew Carnegie click: Biography of Andrew Carnegie .

Carnegie believed that any one could achieve the same success as him and wanted his success formula passed on to the world. This became Napoleon Hill’s life task.

The success formula is as relevant and useable now as it was 100 years ago. Maybe it is even more relevant, since now people like me and you start to understand that it is not magic and lucky stars that make people rich. It starts with the way we are thinking.

The book teaches you to think differently, and if you are on your way to financial freedom, this one is a must.

The only drawback with the book is that it can be formal and repetitive in the language it is written. (Remember that it was written 70 years ago.)

Get Think and Grow Rich free ebook by send an email to me at tmxpert7@gmail.com