Lehman Brothers in World’s Largest Bankruptcy

Lehman Brothers, the leading US-based investment bank, yesterday filed for bankruptcy, in what appears to be the world’s largest bankruptcy in history. Panic attack in the US financial markets are escalating to a dangerous new height.

It is a sad and cruel ending for financial institution rich of history, spanning almost since 160 years ago. Lehman Brothers is one of the oldest firms on the Wall Street.

For months it has been sinking with a number of potential takeovers and white knights in talks, including Bank of America and Barclays Bank but all of them pulled out, leaving the company in tatters. On early September, its US operation slashed more than 1,200 jobs in a futile attempt to save the day.

Thousands of Lehman’s employees in New York and London were seen in tears and distress as they were clearing off their desk to go home. The sudden, massive job loss of over 5,000 will also go down as one of the biggest single losses of jobs in the United Kingdom. A reporter described that “people were coming out of the Lehman Brothers’ headquarter in London carrying card box boxes stuffed with their personal effects as other employees in the neighboring banks watched in horror.”

As the bankruptcy also continues to deepen the financial crisis, they could be next to empty their desks.

Earlier this year, Lehman Brothers was named among the best employers for new graduates, alongside PwC, Intel, Microsoft and L’Oreal.

Don't Hire Crazy or Mentally Problem Employee

There are too many reasons why employers don’t hire crazy employees.

One of them is when they give out free stuff to the customers. In a Robin-Hood style charity give away, a newly-hired pump attendant for a petrol station in Kapar, Klang, started to offer free petrol refill to motorists after his boss went out for some business matters.

This caused a long line of queue with people eagerly waiting their turn to get their share of free petrol. His boss, who is the owner of the station, was alerted on the unusually long line of queue, quickly drove rushed back and discovered that more than RM3,000 worth of petrol has been lost. The guy ran off and disappeared after seeing his boss returning back to the station.

Upon further checking, the guy, who was paid RM12 salary per day, was found to be mentally unsound.

People say crazy people are crazy. Come to think of it, some of the things they do don’t look all crazy don’t you think? A real crazy guy will not realize that the society today is facing difficulties due to the price hike

JOB is Just Over Broke? Should I start a business instead?

Just Over Broke (JOB) phrase is quite a popular joke among those who aspire to be in the business or entrepreneurship world.

“The money is in the business, and JOB stands for Just Over Broke!”

“You’ll never be rich working here.”

“There’s no financial security if I were to continue working here until I retire.”

“I want to get rich, so I am quitting my job.”

If you look carefully, and if you look hard enough, you will notice that many a time, these words come from people who are yet to start a business! They come from people who are presently working, perhaps in your own department, next to your very own desk! (Or could it be you?). They are just words uttered as a disguise for their frustration and hatred for the job they’re currently doing. These people hate their job, yet they don’t do anything about it. Just talk. I have a friend, who for the past 4 years has been telling me that he is quitting his day job to start a business. Today, he is still working and is yet to start anything.


The reality of life is that, you can have a lot of money or not enough money doing your current job. Similarly, you can also be rich and be broke if you’re an entrepreneur minding your own business. It is down to how you manage your money regardless whether you’re currently an employee, self-employed, business owner or investor. If your income is RM5000 and your spending means are capped at RM2500 per month while the rest is put into good saving and investment vehicles, you can reach financial independence before you stop working.

The problem is, as our salary increases, our expenses and living means also often increase. Promotion and pay rise are always followed by arrival of bigger homes, latest model of Suzuki Swift, a piece of Rafflesia pearl for girl friend and new golf clubs. As a result, we become trapped in the rat race. We can’t even think of quitting our job. As a matter of fact, you’re only one month salary away of being a bankrupt. What if tomorrow you’re fired from your job?

When money is concerned, there is a lot of emotion attached to it. In his book, The Millionaire in Me, Azizi Ali refers money as ‘tool’. While in The Cashflow Quadrant, Robert Kiyosaki refers it as ‘drug’. Both are correct.

As a tool, money is used to: make our life comfortable and more meaningful, live life to the fullest, build comfortable life to the fullest, build library or mosque for the community and help those in need of money.

As a drug, money makes someone happy when they have money, and upset, down or moody when they do not have money. Just like a drug addict gets high when his body is infiltrated with heroin, they get moody and violent when the body is without it.

And if we believe in the “JOB is Just Over Broke” philosophy, how come Azizi Ali becomes a millionaire while still being a full time employee? You may also want to re-read The Cashflow Quadrant book, particularly the part where Kiyosaki told about his 2 friends working as firefighters who both became millionaire while working as full time employees.

The first of his 2 friends buys old houses, fixes them up and collects rent. He keeps on positive cash flow, and buy more houses, one after another. He owns more than 40 houses that pay him US10,000 a month net, after debt, taxes, maintenance, management and insurance. While his full time job pays him only US3500, the total monthly cash flow in he is getting will be enough for him to attain financial independence before he retires.

The other friend spends his time analyzing companies and taking major long term positions in stocks and options. His portfolio today is more than US3 million. He can cash out and invest in more stable investment vehicles that can earn him a handsome US300,000 per year and increasing, for life. Not bad for a government employee with two kids, huh?

I am not writing this to say that being in a business is bad and neither being an employee working for other people is good. Life is about choices. Take your choice . The good thing is that, you can be both! Yes, you can work full time and at the same time own your own business. If your business is doing good and your feel it is time for you to quit being an employee, who’s there to stop you? Just don’t forget to drop a “Wish Us Luck” note before you board the cruise. Robert Kiyosaki has done it. Bill Gate has done it. Richard Branson has done it. Many other people are doing it. And if you’re one of them you can also have me add your name to the list here.

10 Reasons Why You Should Start Blogging

1. You become better at writing

Whether you like it or not, writing today has become an integral part in almost every single aspect of life. Hence, many people are making a good income out of writing professionally or casually.

Concern over bad writing is not an excuse for you, but instead, it should be the encouraging factor to start blogging now. As the time goes by, your writing skill will improve tremendously - you will go from creating a 5-word sentence to one with 10 words; you’ll start looking up the dictionary for new vocabs; you will start compiling your report instead of asking someone else to do it.

One fine day all your blog writing can even be compiled into a book and start giving you a handsome passive income every month.

2. You learn to manage your time better

Unless you intend to write a blog entry today and the next in 6 months time (which will defeat the whole purpose anyway), blogging commands some great deal of time management, discipline and respect. Look around you and you will find that those colleagues who blog (and do it consistently) are those who know how to manage their time effectively and efficiently. Perhaps they’re doing the same job function as you, work around the same office time, and have 24 hours per day and not a minute longer. The difference is, they can accomplish a lot more things than you within this 24-hour window.

3. You will improve your knowledge

Inevitably, the more you blog, the more knowledge you will gain, and the more wisdom will kick in. Making your expression counts on certain subjects will also be made relatively easier. If you continue writing about gym work out for years, you will be surprised to see how much information about the gym work out you wrote for the past 2 years is actually new to you once you look back at your old writing.

On top of that, when you keep on writing about the same subject, people will start making you as their referral source, and bookmark your blog as their daily read. While you may reject the idea that you have somehow become a subject matter expert, it is not your decision to make - the readers decide.

4. You open up more opportunities

12 months down the road, don’t be surprised when you get a call from CEOs, Vice Presidents and industry leaders indicating their interest about one or more topics that you have written in the past. You may also get invitation from companies, colleges and organizations to become a speaker for their event, or a judge for some competition. Perhaps they want you to become a column writer for their periodical magazine, ezine or other publications. And things will get even more interesting when you are approached for a job offer from companies or recruiters.

5. You get more friends

They say when you go online too often you become a geek with no friends, and you lose out on the social interaction. The reality is opposite. Through blogging, you connect with strangers and like minded people which will eventually become your friends. These can be your readers, fellow bloggers, professionals, advertisers and others. When meetings and conventions are organized, the early virtual friendship evolves into real friendship, with real touch and real meaning. Some of the online friends get married. Sounds familiar? At this time, you will realize how powerful the impact of the cyber space to the community.

6. Blogging grows your career, business and hobby


The growth in knowledge will go hand-in-hand with growth in your career, business and hobby, all at one go. You become a source for referral, advice and consultation. By learning a thing a two about blogging technology and platforms, you set yourself apart from your peers. And with the right blogging marketing strategy, you will also increase the number of readers and visitors even more. Thus, your blog becomes a powerful tool to promote your products and services and the eventual results can go beyond your wildest dreams.

7. Blogging today is easy - no need to be a coding developer, webmaster

One of the many reasons people who never blog continue to shy away from the blogging world is the perception of complexity and IT illiteracy. Today, for someone who wants to start creating a blog and write their first article, he or she never needs to be a coding developer, a webmaster, a programmer or a graphic designer. Everything can be done in less than 10 minutes and someone with virtually zero IT knowledge can do it. If it still sounds overwhelming, ask around and there will be one helping hand to guide you.

8. Low maintenance

The cost of starting a blog ranges from zero to a few hundred dollars. This means that no matter how stingy you are, you can still start a blog without any cost using free platforms such as WordPress, Blogspot, TypePad and many others. As you start enjoying the knack of blogging, then consider investing a few dollars in a new domain name, hosting and templates or web themes, whenever necessary. This will do you good in the long run.

9. Make some, or a lot of money, out of it

The time may come when you sit down looking at your blog readership and income statistics and realize that you can now generate a full time income. Suddenly you find yourself having a healthy choice of either staying with whatever job you’re doing or become a full time blogger and make money from home. These days, the stories of people who quit their day time job and become full time bloggers are no longer miracles as they happen almost every day. Certainly, making their way from scratch to full time blogging comes a long way as it requires huge effort and sacrifice but they deserve it.

10. You are building an asset

As your blog grows, you’re building something that grows in value. Does it ring a bell? Yes, that’s what we call an asset. An asset is something that people would pay for when they want to acquire it, just like your house, land, stock options, gold and so on. The definition of asset is also no longer limited to tangible goods that you can touch, feel or taste. Today, a website can be valued higher than a real estate property. There have been countless of stories in the cyberspace where people started their blog with a few hundred dollars and sold it for $10,000 and even millions

20 Myths of Entrepreneurship

1. An entrepreneur is born and not made

2. Money is always the number one motivation for an entrepreneur

3. It takes a lot of money to start a business

4. A great business has the best business plan

5. An entrepreneur is destined for financial freedom

6. Being an entrepreneur always means being your own boss

7. Entrepreneurs always work longer hours

8. Money is the most important tool for a start up business

9. A person needs to have a business experience before starting one

10. A successful entrepreneur has the best product in the market

11. Young entrepreneurs have the highest rate of success

12. Starting a business is an answer to an unhappy job

13. One business failure and that’s the end for an entrepreneur

14. A good business idea means you can easily get financial help

15. A successful entrepreneur can be a successful salaried worker

16. A successful salaried worker can be a successful entrepreneur

17. All entrepreneurs have high degree of stress threshold

18. Most entrepreneurs are the gambling lots

19. An entrepreneur can be successful only in the location he is familiar with

20. An entrepreneur can be successful only in the field he is familiar with

Silent Millionaire

Silent Millionaire is a translation version of the original Malay book Menjejaki Jutawan Senyap by Dr Rusly Abdullah or better know as Chef Li.I would love to write a full review on this book once I find some ample time to do it. One thing though, if you know to read Bahasa Melayu, you’d better off get its original version in Bahasa Melayu as its English translated version sounds so academic (word to word translation), and comes with a number of noticeable mistakes (hmm.. macamlah english saya ni bagus sangat!). The book is translated by a local associate professor.

Here’s some preface to get you motivated in reading the 216-page book:

“For so long, the street vendors and small time businessmen are largely unknown. They are considered low class - no offices and no business cards to cast.

They work like turtles, struggling alone in the open seas to fend for themselves. When it is time to nest they would return to land but this time people would take notice. These turtles would lay hundreds of eggs but quietly with tears flowing silently.

Similar are the characteristics of entrepreneurs who strive diligently in small businesses. Eventually they become the ‘Silent Millinionaires’.

Unknown and certainly not living a glamorous life. However, if known their success will be the envy of millions. Could it be that your neighbour is a silent millionaire? You will not know until you become one of them!”

Prior to this, I have also made some brief research on the book and publish it in Malaysia Young Entrepreneur Forum on Nov 2005.

Here’s the cut:

Free your mind… Exit the comfort zone…

Street hawkers are normally not highly regarded. But do you know that many of them out there are millionaires? How they get away from the poverty-stricken life to achieve success?

Their stories are studied and shared by Malaysian motivational expert and author of Menjejaki Jutawan Senyap, Dr Rusly Abdullah.

Forget about sophistication of business models and mind blowing investment capitals. You can sell cendol, char kuey teow or soya drink under a flat or small warong and get rich. It all starts by first freeing your mind and be determined to leave your current comfort zone and start to ‘look and see’ for opportunities to create wealth, said Dr Rusly.

As a former banker, Dr Rusly noticed during his time that a lot of those ’silent millionaires’ who walked in into the bank and deposits millions are made up of single parents, nasi lemak hawkers and illegal immigrants.

For 22 years, he undertook study about the aspiration, motivation and the principles of these normal people who eventually reach the height of financial freedom. He was so encouraged that he himself left his job as a bank manager and started his small business selling char kuew teow until he reached the millionaireship status.

The story of Diyono Santoso, an illegal immigrant from Indonesia, whom he encountered during his time as a bank officer blew his mind. From his lowly status, Diyono achived a status as a millionaire, lived in a bungalow and drove a BMW though he stepped his foot in Malaysia “via a sampan and head first”. Dr Rusly asked himself, “How on earth that myself, a banker with a decent monthly pay check, is never a millionaire?” Then he realized of he was down with a syndrom ‘look but having never be able to see’, while Diyono looked and saw the opportunities.

Diyono started his business in Kampung Baru selling soya drink and red cendol. Being a diligent and dedicated trader, he managed to open up other 7 stalls which generate a total turnover of RM700 per day (RM21000 monthly).
When leaving for his home country, Diyono carried a cash of RM400,000 which he used to build up his empire in Indonesia.

“Apparently a lot of people out there who are rich and wealthy are not glamorous, not spoken about and even do not have a business card”, stressed Dr Rusly.

Dr Rusly also revealed the story of Ah Hong, a Chinese illiterate who sold Yong Tau Foo from his own house. Ah Hong would appear in front of the bank cashier, every day without fail and deposit RM200 to RM300. He owned two shop houses, 2 terrace houses and 2 kids who were studying in overseas using his own money.

Dr Rusly also expressed that there are differences in attitude between the Chinese and the Malay, and that there are a lot of things that can be learnt from the way the Chinese do businesses. The Malays are a bit skeptical on the idea of new business, and are so afraid of risk of failure, while the Chinese never stop thinking of ways to generate money.

Top 10 Malaysian Entrepreneur

1. Loh Boon Siew (Boon Siew Honda)

The entrepreneurship spirit showed by the Chinese immigrant was so classic that it granted him entry in the school’s curriculum. The late Boon Siew was the man responsible to start the dealership of Honda motorcycles in Penang, hence it does not come as a surprise when he was often referred as ‘Mr Honda’.

With virtually no education, he arrived in Penang at a tender age of 12, backed with little money, and a pinch of determination. Boon Siew started his job as a mechanic, before making his way to prominence with Honda dealership, and in the process, beat all odds.

2. Robert Kuok (Kuok Group)

When you combine good education and family’s wealth, then no hell will break loose. Banking on those two key strengths, Robert Kuok took over his father’s trading business, together with two brothers, and created a business larger than anyone can think of. The impact is so great that Kuok has been sitting on the top of Malaysia’s rich list for more than 5 years. Residing in Hong Kong, Kuok is mostly linked to a sugar business but also has his hands on other wide range of industries including hospitality, energy, logistic and manufacturing.

3. Tony Fernandes (Air Asia)

Tony Fernandes is the man behind AirAsia’s journey to world domination. With RM1, Tony bought a defunct carrier, along with over RM40 million in debts, and created Asia’s most successful budget airline company. From an ailing company deep in financial trouble, AirAsia went through a remarkable turnaround and made its first profit merely after 7 months of operation. From thereon, they never looked back and created records after records.

4. Syed Mokhtar al-Bukhary (MMC)

A humble entrepreneur, often shying away from publicity and media. Tan Sri Syed Mokhtar al-Bukhary is the richest Malay and bumiputra in Malaysia, and has continued to hold the status for a long time. In his childhood, he found difficulties to do school revision because of the inadequate house facilities and small space. But that did not stop him from achieving his current status. Syed Mokhtar is a great giver; his very first salary received during his youth was divided by 2 halves - one for him, and another for charity.

5. Lim Goh Tong (Genting)

Lim Goh Tong is another classic story of a rag-to-riches story. Just like Loh Boon Siew, Lim also migrated from the China mainland in his youth. And as fate would have it, the two later became friends when Lim was on his way to build Genting. From the day he was born until his death, Lim Goh Tong did not speak English - he only communicated in Chinese and Malay languages. But his language barrier did not prevent him from negotiating one of the largest contracts around.

6. Maznah Hamid (Securiforce)

When an almost bankrupt security company was offered to her, Maznah and her husband, who were eager to change their ordinary life, took the plunge and sacrificed RM5,000 of their saving. Only then she realized that apart from managing the operation, she also had to be a manager, a clerk, an accountant and an a receptionist. To grow their business, they had to sell their house and moved to a slum that came without electricity. But she perservered. Today, it’s difficult to find someone who has never heard of Securiforce.

7. Ananda Krishnan (Astro)

With an MBA qualification from Harvard University in America and a Degree from Melbourne University in Australia, it’s safe to say that Ananda Krishnan is the ’smartest’ entrepreneur in the list. With more than $7 billion of networth, only Robert Kuok is richer than him in this country. Ananda has a long list of business involvement, that includes Astro, Measat, Maxis, Aircel, TGV Cinemas and many others.

8. Azman Hashim (Ambank)

A horrible car accident almost wrecked his life, but Tan Sri Azman’s never-say-die attitude eventually rewarded him with larger than life achievements. With good academic background in accounting field, Azman was quick to maneuver his career along the corporate path, joining several established corporations in the process. Since acquiring Arab Malaysian Bank (now Ambank), Azman is credited for his effort to transform a relatively unkown bank into one of the largest financial institutions in the country.

9. Steven Sim (Secret Recipe)

A modern type entrepreneur, Dato’ Steven Sim established the popular Secret Recipe cafe and turned it into one of the most successful homegrown franchises. From merely 6 employees, the company has grown by leaps and bounds and is today backed by more than 300 staff nationwide and still growing. Secret Recipe today can be found in almost all major cities and towns, and is expanding beyond the international border with oversea operations in Singapore and Indonesia.

10. Mustapha Kamal (MK Land)

Tan Sri Datuk Mustapha Kamal is the co-founder of MK Land (an associate company of Emkay Group), which started as a small company and eventually grew to become one of the property icons in Malaysia. At the height of its prominence, the company was picked as one of the major developers of Cyberjaya, Malaysia’s very own cyber city. Among other successful developments carried out by MK Land are Bukit Merah Laketown, Damansara Perdana and Bukit Raya Beruntung.