It is becoming increasingly clear that Rafidah Aziz's position in public office has become untenable.
She should therefore resign as Minister of International Trade and Industry and relinquish her postion as Head of Wanita UMNO.
The longer she sticks around, the stronger the stench will become.
Copyright 2003-2005 Azlan Adnan Legal Notice
Thursday, July 28, 2005
Friday, July 22, 2005
HAPPINESS
To be happy with a man, you must understand him a lot
and love him a little.
To be happy with a woman, you must love her a lot
and not try understand her at all.
Copyright 2003-2005 Azlan Adnan Legal Notice
Thursday, July 21, 2005
The Precious Diamond
whose precious diamond, I have seen.
Imagine that you've just met a beautiful girl. The two of you are attracted to each other. And you begin to see her every day. One day you notice that she's wearing a necklace with a shiny stone pendant. "What's that?" you ask. She doesn't seem to hear your question, because she keeps talking about something else.
For some reason that shiny stone sticks in your mind. The next time you see her, you say "Oh, you're wearing it again." "It's nothing," she says, and starts talking about something else. Only now the stone looks a little bigger and shinier.
Now your curiosity is piqued, so you return the next day, and the stone has gotten very large and shiny. What if it's a diamond? you think. Maybe she's wearing a diamond that's so valuable she doesn't want to tell me about it.
Can you imagine how this story will turn out? That's right, she never tells. But the diamond just keeps getting bigger and bigger in your eyes, until you are sure it must be the most precious jewel on earth. That's how attraction grows into deep love. You have to make only one little change--the diamond is inside her. You'll never see it and she will never talk about it, but when you are attracted to a girl--or when a girl is attracted to a boy--love shows you something precious you can't stop wondering about.
It's easy to be attracted to somebody; it's even easy to fall in love. But loving someone else for the spirit inside is really deeper than that: it's like finding a precious jewel that only grows more fascinating. The steps on this path are as follows:
You notice something special that catches your eye.
You become intrigued.
The thing you notice grows in your eyes.
As it grows it becomes more and more special--you begin to find it precious.
So what could this mysterious thing be that attracts you and then turns out to be a diamond? Everyone could come up with an answer but the following three virtues are top among them:
KINDNESS
There is something incredibly touching when you find a kind person. Kindness comes so naturally to them that they don't notice it, because they aren't trying to be kind. You know what it's like to force yourself to "do the right thing" when you don't want to. Kindness doesn't come easily, but when it does, the person whose heart is naturally kind is able to fascinate me year after year. My love never grows old. Kindness can also be called courtesy of the heart.
COMPASSION
Compassion is kindness carried a step further. That makes it even more rare. Compassion is shown by selfless acts of kindness. Compassionate people are always thinking about the welfare of others that they forget to count themselves. In today's society, forgetting to count yourself can make you seem foolish or naive, but to me it's one of the most lovable qualities anyone can possess.
PEACE
This is another rare quality to find, because most people are at peace only when their surroundings are peaceful. It's not hard to be at peace when you come from a happy, contented home and have happy and contented friends. But some wise people can be at peace anywhere, even on a battlefield. The reason wisdom and peace go together is that you have to look deep to get past all the reasons for not being peaceful. These reasons are everywhere. People feel angry or afraid, they worry that things will fall apart or they worry that things have already fallen apart--the list never ends. But there is only one reason to be at peace, and that's because your soul is. Peaceful people seem to show you their soul, and that makes them fascinating without end.
I could add a lot more virtuous qualities to this list. I've been attracted to people because they are courageous or completely honest or truly wise about human nature, or they just have a joyful something in their eyes. Find the hidden jewel in every person and keep noticing it every day. I promise that it will become the most precious diamond on earth.
Wednesday, July 20, 2005
Of Chance and Choice
It's entirely up to you, Sweetheart...
When we meet the right person to love when we're at the right place at the right time, that's chance.
When you meet someone you're attracted to, that's not a choice. That's chance.
The difference is what happens afterwards.
When will you take that infatuation, that crush, that mind-blowing attraction to the next level?
That's when all sanity goes back, you sit down and contemplate whether you want to make this a marriage or just a fling.
When you decide to love me, even with all my faults, that's not a chance. That's choice.
Do you remember telling me that perhaps what I felt for you was not love, but merely an infatuation, a crush? And I told you that only time will tell? Well, really, what takes a crush to the next level is a conscious choice. I choose to love you, Naim. Truly, I do.
When you choose to be with me, no matter what, that's choice.
Infatuation, crushes, attraction comes to us by chance.
But true love that lasts is truly a choice; a choice that we make.
"Fate brings us together, but it's still up to you to make it happen."
I do believe that soul-mates do exist. That there is truly someone made for each one of us. But it's still up to you to make the choice if you're going to do something about it or not. You may have met me by chance, but loving and staying with me is still a choice you have to make.
"We become happy in love not by finding someone perfect to love... but by learning how to love an imperfect person perfectly..."
(",)::~~~
When we meet the right person to love when we're at the right place at the right time, that's chance.
When you meet someone you're attracted to, that's not a choice. That's chance.
The difference is what happens afterwards.
When will you take that infatuation, that crush, that mind-blowing attraction to the next level?
That's when all sanity goes back, you sit down and contemplate whether you want to make this a marriage or just a fling.
When you decide to love me, even with all my faults, that's not a chance. That's choice.
Do you remember telling me that perhaps what I felt for you was not love, but merely an infatuation, a crush? And I told you that only time will tell? Well, really, what takes a crush to the next level is a conscious choice. I choose to love you, Naim. Truly, I do.
When you choose to be with me, no matter what, that's choice.
Infatuation, crushes, attraction comes to us by chance.
But true love that lasts is truly a choice; a choice that we make.
"Fate brings us together, but it's still up to you to make it happen."
I do believe that soul-mates do exist. That there is truly someone made for each one of us. But it's still up to you to make the choice if you're going to do something about it or not. You may have met me by chance, but loving and staying with me is still a choice you have to make.
"We become happy in love not by finding someone perfect to love... but by learning how to love an imperfect person perfectly..."
(",)::~~~
Tuesday, July 19, 2005
The 90/10 Principle by Stephen Covey
Discover the 90/10 Principle. It will change your life.
What is the 90/10 Principle?
10% of life is made up of what happens to you.
90% of life is decided by how you react.
What does this mean?
We really have no control over 10% of what happens to us.
We cannot stop the car from breaking down.
The plane will be late arriving, which throws our whole schedule off.
A driver may cut us off in traffic.
We have no control over this 10%.
The other 90% is different.
You determine the other 90%.
How? By your reaction.
You cannot control a red light, but you can control your reaction.
Don't let people fool you; YOU can control how you react.
Let's use an example.
You are eating breakfast with your family.
Your daughter knocks over a cup of coffee onto your business shirt.
You have no control over what just what happened.
What happens when the next will be determined by how you react.
You curse.
You harshly scold your daughter for knocking the cup over.
She breaks down in tears.
After scolding her, you turn to your spouse and criticize her for placing the cup too close to the edge of the table.
A short verbal battle follows.
You storm upstairs and change your shirt.
Back downstairs, you find your daughter has been too busy crying to finish breakfast and get ready for school.
She misses the bus.
Your spouse must leave immediately for work.
You rush to the car and drive your daughter to school.
Because you are late, you drive 40 miles an hour in a 30 mph speed limit.
After a 15-minute delay and throwing $60 traffic fine away, you arrive at school.
Your daughter runs into the building without saying goodbye.
After arriving at the office 20 minutes late, you find you forgot your briefcase.
Your day has started terribly.
As it continues, it seems to get worse and worse. You look forward to coming home.
When you arrive home, you find a small wedge in your relationship with your spouse and daughter.
Why? Because of how you reacted in the morning.
Why did you have a bad day?
A) Did the coffee cause it?
B) Did your daughter cause it?
C) Did the policeman cause it?
D) Did you cause it?
The answer is D.
You had no control over what happened with the coffee.
How you reacted in those 5 seconds is what caused your bad day.
Here is what could have and should have happened.
Coffee splashes over you.
Your daughter is about to cry.
You gently say, "It's ok honey, you just need, to be more careful next time."
Grabbing a towel you rush upstairs.
After grabbing a new shirt and your briefcase, you come back down in time to look through the window and see your child getting on the bus.
She turns and waves.
You arrive 5 minutes early and cheerfully greet the staff.
Your boss comments on how good the day you are having.
Notice the difference?
Two different scenarios.
Both started the same.
Both ended different.
Why? Because of how you REACTED.
You really do not have any control over 10% of what happens.
The other 90% was determined by your reaction.
Here are some ways to apply the 90/10 principle.
If someone says something negative about you, don't be a sponge.
Let the attack roll off like water on glass.
You don't have to let the negative comment affect you!
React properly and it will not ruin your day.
A wrong reaction could result in losing a friend, being fired, getting stressed out, and etc.
How do you react if someone cuts you off in traffic?
Do you lose your temper?
Pound on the steering wheel?
A friend of mine had the steering wheel fall off!
Do you curse?
Does your blood pressure skyrocket?
Do you try and bump them? WHO CARES if you arrive ten seconds later at work?
Why let the cars ruin your drive?
Remember the 90/10 principle, and do not worry about it.
You are told you lost your job.
Why lose sleep and get irritated?
It will work out.
Use your worrying energy and time into finding another job.
The plane is late; it is going to mangle your schedule for the day.
Why take out your frustration on the flight attendant?
She has no control over what is going on.
Use your time to study, get to know the other passenger.
Why get stressed out?
It will just make things worse.
Now you know the 90-10 principle.
Apply it and you will be amazed at the results.
You will lose no thing if you try it.
The 90-10 principle is incredible.
Very few know and apply this principle.
The result?
Millions of people are suffering from undeserved stress, trials, problems and heartache.
There never seem to be a success in life.
Bad days follow bad days.
Terrible things seem to be constantly happening.
There is constant stress, lack of joy, and broken relationships.
Worry consumes time.
Anger breaks friendships and life seems dreary and is not enjoyed to the fullest.
Friends are lost.
Life is a bore and often seems cruel.
Does this describe you? If so, do not be discouraged.
You can be different!
Understand and apply the 90/10 principle.
It will change your life.
Have a Grrrreeeat Day & and even Grrrrrrrrreeeaaaater Tomorrow!!
What is the 90/10 Principle?
10% of life is made up of what happens to you.
90% of life is decided by how you react.
What does this mean?
We really have no control over 10% of what happens to us.
We cannot stop the car from breaking down.
The plane will be late arriving, which throws our whole schedule off.
A driver may cut us off in traffic.
We have no control over this 10%.
The other 90% is different.
You determine the other 90%.
How? By your reaction.
You cannot control a red light, but you can control your reaction.
Don't let people fool you; YOU can control how you react.
Let's use an example.
You are eating breakfast with your family.
Your daughter knocks over a cup of coffee onto your business shirt.
You have no control over what just what happened.
What happens when the next will be determined by how you react.
You curse.
You harshly scold your daughter for knocking the cup over.
She breaks down in tears.
After scolding her, you turn to your spouse and criticize her for placing the cup too close to the edge of the table.
A short verbal battle follows.
You storm upstairs and change your shirt.
Back downstairs, you find your daughter has been too busy crying to finish breakfast and get ready for school.
She misses the bus.
Your spouse must leave immediately for work.
You rush to the car and drive your daughter to school.
Because you are late, you drive 40 miles an hour in a 30 mph speed limit.
After a 15-minute delay and throwing $60 traffic fine away, you arrive at school.
Your daughter runs into the building without saying goodbye.
After arriving at the office 20 minutes late, you find you forgot your briefcase.
Your day has started terribly.
As it continues, it seems to get worse and worse. You look forward to coming home.
When you arrive home, you find a small wedge in your relationship with your spouse and daughter.
Why? Because of how you reacted in the morning.
Why did you have a bad day?
A) Did the coffee cause it?
B) Did your daughter cause it?
C) Did the policeman cause it?
D) Did you cause it?
The answer is D.
You had no control over what happened with the coffee.
How you reacted in those 5 seconds is what caused your bad day.
Here is what could have and should have happened.
Coffee splashes over you.
Your daughter is about to cry.
You gently say, "It's ok honey, you just need, to be more careful next time."
Grabbing a towel you rush upstairs.
After grabbing a new shirt and your briefcase, you come back down in time to look through the window and see your child getting on the bus.
She turns and waves.
You arrive 5 minutes early and cheerfully greet the staff.
Your boss comments on how good the day you are having.
Notice the difference?
Two different scenarios.
Both started the same.
Both ended different.
Why? Because of how you REACTED.
You really do not have any control over 10% of what happens.
The other 90% was determined by your reaction.
Here are some ways to apply the 90/10 principle.
If someone says something negative about you, don't be a sponge.
Let the attack roll off like water on glass.
You don't have to let the negative comment affect you!
React properly and it will not ruin your day.
A wrong reaction could result in losing a friend, being fired, getting stressed out, and etc.
How do you react if someone cuts you off in traffic?
Do you lose your temper?
Pound on the steering wheel?
A friend of mine had the steering wheel fall off!
Do you curse?
Does your blood pressure skyrocket?
Do you try and bump them? WHO CARES if you arrive ten seconds later at work?
Why let the cars ruin your drive?
Remember the 90/10 principle, and do not worry about it.
You are told you lost your job.
Why lose sleep and get irritated?
It will work out.
Use your worrying energy and time into finding another job.
The plane is late; it is going to mangle your schedule for the day.
Why take out your frustration on the flight attendant?
She has no control over what is going on.
Use your time to study, get to know the other passenger.
Why get stressed out?
It will just make things worse.
Now you know the 90-10 principle.
Apply it and you will be amazed at the results.
You will lose no thing if you try it.
The 90-10 principle is incredible.
Very few know and apply this principle.
The result?
Millions of people are suffering from undeserved stress, trials, problems and heartache.
There never seem to be a success in life.
Bad days follow bad days.
Terrible things seem to be constantly happening.
There is constant stress, lack of joy, and broken relationships.
Worry consumes time.
Anger breaks friendships and life seems dreary and is not enjoyed to the fullest.
Friends are lost.
Life is a bore and often seems cruel.
Does this describe you? If so, do not be discouraged.
You can be different!
Understand and apply the 90/10 principle.
It will change your life.
Have a Grrrreeeat Day & and even Grrrrrrrrreeeaaaater Tomorrow!!
Monday, July 18, 2005
Beauty
July 18, 2005
Kepada Jantung Manis ku
Beauty
The beauty of a woman is not in the clothes she wears, the figure she carries, or the way she combs her hair.
The beauty of a woman is from her eyes, because that is the doorway to her heart, the place where love resides.
The beauty of a woman is reflected in her soul.
It is the care that she lovingly gives, the passion that she shows.
The beauty of a woman, with passing years, only grows.
(",)::~~~
Kepada Jantung Manis ku
Beauty
The beauty of a woman is not in the clothes she wears, the figure she carries, or the way she combs her hair.
The beauty of a woman is from her eyes, because that is the doorway to her heart, the place where love resides.
The beauty of a woman is reflected in her soul.
It is the care that she lovingly gives, the passion that she shows.
The beauty of a woman, with passing years, only grows.
(",)::~~~
Life
July 16, 2005
Kepada Jantung Manis ku
Life
As you lie there in your bed,
With doubts and worries in your head,
Your soul is ready to be bared,
But in your heart you're just plain scared
You think of things that could go wrong,
And the bad times seem to go on for so long
The truth is that in your heart,
You really don't know where to start
Against the darkness everyday you fight,
As you long to find the light
Life passes you by in a blur,
You wish you knew where you actually were,
You just want someone to stand by you,
You wish that you could start a new,
This feeling's getting really old,
You feel alone and in the cold
But then you fill with warmth inside,
As you realize the friends right by your side...
Someone with all your problems to share,
For you know deep in your heart I will always be there...
(",)::~~~
Kepada Jantung Manis ku
Life
As you lie there in your bed,
With doubts and worries in your head,
Your soul is ready to be bared,
But in your heart you're just plain scared
You think of things that could go wrong,
And the bad times seem to go on for so long
The truth is that in your heart,
You really don't know where to start
Against the darkness everyday you fight,
As you long to find the light
Life passes you by in a blur,
You wish you knew where you actually were,
You just want someone to stand by you,
You wish that you could start a new,
This feeling's getting really old,
You feel alone and in the cold
But then you fill with warmth inside,
As you realize the friends right by your side...
Someone with all your problems to share,
For you know deep in your heart I will always be there...
(",)::~~~
Bayu Apartment for Rent
4th Floor, Bayu Apartment, Damansara Damai
3 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, kitchen, living and dining areas, balcony
RM450 per month
Contact AZLAN
019-28-AZLAN
019-28-29526
3 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, kitchen, living and dining areas, balcony
RM450 per month
Contact AZLAN
019-28-AZLAN
019-28-29526
"THE BACHELOR" GOES TO PARIS!
Subject: TV show "The Bachelor" is looking for our members.
Dear Sir,
This is from the producer of TV show "THE BACHELOR".
"THE BACHELOR" GOES TO PARIS! -- ABC's "The Bachelor" is searching for America's most eligible man, as we head into the 8th season of the popular reality romance show. Set in Paris, France, this season promises to be the classiest and most romantic ever!
The producers are looking for the man of every woman's dreams, a true "Prince Charming", handsome, successful, fun, and looking for true love. It's a tall order to fill, so if you or someone you know is 25-35 years old, an accomplished CEO, doctor, lawyer, entrepreneur, businessman, etc., and wants to find true love, contact us NOW!
(We also need 25 lovely, smart, interesting girls for him to date, in the same age group.)
To apply or to nominate someone, contact Danielle Barba at dbarbacasting@yahoo.com be sure to include a current photo and brief description of yourself. The deadline is July 20, 2005 but we prefer to receive earlier applications.
Mention you were referred by THE ABSOLUTELY HILARIOUS FABULOUSLY WONDERFUL GUY! or MillionaireMatch.com to get you or your friends priority.
Customer Services
MillionaireMatch.com
Dear Sir,
This is from the producer of TV show "THE BACHELOR".
"THE BACHELOR" GOES TO PARIS! -- ABC's "The Bachelor" is searching for America's most eligible man, as we head into the 8th season of the popular reality romance show. Set in Paris, France, this season promises to be the classiest and most romantic ever!
The producers are looking for the man of every woman's dreams, a true "Prince Charming", handsome, successful, fun, and looking for true love. It's a tall order to fill, so if you or someone you know is 25-35 years old, an accomplished CEO, doctor, lawyer, entrepreneur, businessman, etc., and wants to find true love, contact us NOW!
(We also need 25 lovely, smart, interesting girls for him to date, in the same age group.)
To apply or to nominate someone, contact Danielle Barba at dbarbacasting@yahoo.com be sure to include a current photo and brief description of yourself. The deadline is July 20, 2005 but we prefer to receive earlier applications.
Mention you were referred by THE ABSOLUTELY HILARIOUS FABULOUSLY WONDERFUL GUY! or MillionaireMatch.com to get you or your friends priority.
Customer Services
MillionaireMatch.com
Saturday, July 16, 2005
Land for Sale
I want to sell my 2 acres of land, now cultivated with oil palm.
Location : Kampong Parit Wer, Telok Kerang, Pontian Johor
Infra structure : Access road, bitumen, electricity and piped water
Nearest town : Pontian Kecil, 10 km distance
Land area : 2 acres
Asking price : RM40,000.00
Ideal for pensioners who want to retire to a calm, cool environment, it is really cool at night, area is surrounded with trees.
A clean stream runs near the land, children can do fishing for catfish, sepat and haruan.
Also suitable for agriculture or rearing of goats, chicken or cattle
Interested, please call me anytime
Mohd Nordin Abbas
012 - 214 8580
dinsufi@tm.net.my
Location : Kampong Parit Wer, Telok Kerang, Pontian Johor
Infra structure : Access road, bitumen, electricity and piped water
Nearest town : Pontian Kecil, 10 km distance
Land area : 2 acres
Asking price : RM40,000.00
Ideal for pensioners who want to retire to a calm, cool environment, it is really cool at night, area is surrounded with trees.
A clean stream runs near the land, children can do fishing for catfish, sepat and haruan.
Also suitable for agriculture or rearing of goats, chicken or cattle
Interested, please call me anytime
Mohd Nordin Abbas
012 - 214 8580
dinsufi@tm.net.my
Tuesday, July 12, 2005
Deer Meat
A hunter kills a deer and brings it home.
He decides to clean and serve the venison for supper. He knows his kids are fussy eaters and won't eat it if they know what it is - so he does not tell them.
His little boy keeps asking him, "What's for dinner?"
"You'll see," says his dad.
They start eating dinner and his daughter keeps asking what they're eating.
"OK," says her dad, "here's a hint: It's what your mother sometimes calls me."
The girl suddenly screams at her little brother, "Spit it out! It's asshole!"
He decides to clean and serve the venison for supper. He knows his kids are fussy eaters and won't eat it if they know what it is - so he does not tell them.
His little boy keeps asking him, "What's for dinner?"
"You'll see," says his dad.
They start eating dinner and his daughter keeps asking what they're eating.
"OK," says her dad, "here's a hint: It's what your mother sometimes calls me."
The girl suddenly screams at her little brother, "Spit it out! It's asshole!"
Quotations
Pleasure is always derived from something outside you, whereas joy arises from within.
~ Eckhart Tolle
When you see it right and when you feel it right in the wholeness of your being, you then have created the condition that makes the result inevitable.
~ Stretton Smith
Happiness is not in our circumstance but in ourselves. It is not something we see, like a rainbow, or feel, like the heat of a fire. Happiness is something we are.
~ John B. Sheerin
~ Eckhart Tolle
When you see it right and when you feel it right in the wholeness of your being, you then have created the condition that makes the result inevitable.
~ Stretton Smith
Happiness is not in our circumstance but in ourselves. It is not something we see, like a rainbow, or feel, like the heat of a fire. Happiness is something we are.
~ John B. Sheerin
Sunday, July 10, 2005
All that talk about Proton and Rafidah
While I am in admiration for Mahaleel to defend Proton and also of Mahathir's support for Proton, I am saddened that as a consumer, I have little choice but to buy Protons at inflated prices. Protons are sold much cheaper in the UK than in Malaysia, transport cost notwithstanding. How come?
If "cheap" Korean cars really cost RM11,000 how come we don't seem to be able to buy these "dumped" cars at that price at our local Kia or Hyundai showrooms?
And what exactly is the relationship between Rafidah and Naza Motors? Who are the proxies? What are the vested interests? Where is the transparency? Are the conflicts of interest healthy?
Proton also has to admit it is not beyond producing lemons. Recent blunders include the Tiara, Putra and Juara. Maybe it would make sense to design cars that people actually want to buy if you want to increase your market share. Or is this too difficult a concept to comprehend by the spoon-fed "let's ask for a Govt subsidy mentality" of the management at Proton?
If "cheap" Korean cars really cost RM11,000 how come we don't seem to be able to buy these "dumped" cars at that price at our local Kia or Hyundai showrooms?
And what exactly is the relationship between Rafidah and Naza Motors? Who are the proxies? What are the vested interests? Where is the transparency? Are the conflicts of interest healthy?
Proton also has to admit it is not beyond producing lemons. Recent blunders include the Tiara, Putra and Juara. Maybe it would make sense to design cars that people actually want to buy if you want to increase your market share. Or is this too difficult a concept to comprehend by the spoon-fed "let's ask for a Govt subsidy mentality" of the management at Proton?
Focus on the Water, Not the Cup
A group of working adults got together to visit their University lecturer. The Lecturer was happy to see them. Conversation soon turned into complaints about stress in work and life.
The Lecturer just smiled and went to the kitchen to get an assortment of cups - some porcelain, some in plastic, some in glass, some plain looking and some looked rather expensive and exquisite.
The Lecturer offered his former students the cups to get drinks for themselves.
When all the students had a cup in hand with water, the Lecturer spoke: "If you noticed, all the nice looking, expensive cups were taken up, leaving behind the plain and cheap ones. While it is normal that you only want the best for yourselves, that is the source of your problems and stress. What all you wanted was water, not the cup, but we unconsciously went for the better cups."
"Just like in life, if Life is Water, then the jobs, money and position in society are the cups. They are just tools to hold/maintain Life, but the quality of Life doesn't change."
"If we only concentrate on the cup, we won't have time to enjoy/taste the water in it."
The Lecturer just smiled and went to the kitchen to get an assortment of cups - some porcelain, some in plastic, some in glass, some plain looking and some looked rather expensive and exquisite.
The Lecturer offered his former students the cups to get drinks for themselves.
When all the students had a cup in hand with water, the Lecturer spoke: "If you noticed, all the nice looking, expensive cups were taken up, leaving behind the plain and cheap ones. While it is normal that you only want the best for yourselves, that is the source of your problems and stress. What all you wanted was water, not the cup, but we unconsciously went for the better cups."
"Just like in life, if Life is Water, then the jobs, money and position in society are the cups. They are just tools to hold/maintain Life, but the quality of Life doesn't change."
"If we only concentrate on the cup, we won't have time to enjoy/taste the water in it."
Wednesday, July 06, 2005
You've got to find what you love
Stanford University
Stanford Report, June 14, 2005
This is the text of the Commencement address by Steve Jobs,
CEO of Apple Computer and of Pixar Animation Studios, delivered on June 12, 2005.
I am honored to be with you today at your commencement from one of the
finest universities in the world. I never graduated from college. Truth be
told, this is the closest I've ever gotten to a college graduation. Today I
want to tell you three stories from my life. That's it. No big deal. Just
three stories.
The first story is about connecting the dots.
I dropped out of Reed College after the first 6 months, but then stayed
around as a drop-in for another 18 months or so before I really quit. So why
did I drop out?
It started before I was born. My biological mother was a young, unwed
college graduate student, and she decided to put me up for adoption. She
felt very strongly that I should be adopted by college graduates, so
everything was all set for me to be adopted at birth by a lawyer and his
wife. Except that when I popped out they decided at the last minute that
they really wanted a girl. So my parents, who were on a waiting list, got a
call in the middle of the night asking: "We have an unexpected baby boy; do
you want him?" They said: "Of course." My biological mother later found out
that my mother had never graduated from college and that my father had never
graduated from high school. She refused to sign the final adoption papers.
She only relented a few months later when my parents promised that I would
someday go to college.
And 17 years later I did go to college. But I naively chose a college that
was almost as expensive as Stanford, and all of my working-class parents'
savings were being spent on my college tuition. After six months, I couldn't
see the value in it. I had no idea what I wanted to do with my life and no
idea how college was going to help me figure it out. And here I was spending
all of the money my parents had saved their entire life. So I decided to
drop out and trust that it would all work out OK. It was pretty scary at the
time, but looking back it was one of the best decisions I ever made. The
minute I dropped out I could stop taking the required classes that didn't
interest me, and begin dropping in on the ones that looked interesting.
It wasn't all romantic. I didn't have a dorm room, so I slept on the floor
in friends' rooms, I returned coke bottles for the 5¢ deposits to buy food
with, and I would walk the 7 miles across town every Sunday night to get one
good meal a week at the Hare Krishna temple. I loved it. And much of what I
stumbled into by following my curiosity and intuition turned out to be
priceless later on. Let me give you one example:
Reed College at that time offered perhaps the best calligraphy instruction
in the country. Throughout the campus every poster, every label on every
drawer, was beautifully hand calligraphed. Because I had dropped out and
didn't have to take the normal classes, I decided to take a calligraphy
class to learn how to do this. I learned about serif and san serif
typefaces, about varying the amount of space between different letter
combinations, about what makes great typography great. It was beautiful,
historical, artistically subtle in a way that science can't capture, and I
found it fascinating.
None of this had even a hope of any practical application in my life. But
ten years later, when we were designing the first Macintosh computer, it all
came back to me. And we designed it all into the Mac. It was the first
computer with beautiful typography. If I had never dropped in on that single
course in college, the Mac would have never had multiple typefaces or
proportionally spaced fonts. And since Windows just copied the Mac, its
likely that no personal computer would have them. If I had never dropped
out, I would have never dropped in on this calligraphy class, and personal
computers might not have the wonderful typography that they do. Of course it
was impossible to connect the dots looking forward when I was in college.
But it was very, very clear looking backwards ten years later.
Again, you can't connect the dots looking forward; you can only connect them
looking backwards. So you have to trust that the dots will somehow connect
in your future. You have to trust in something - your gut, destiny, life,
karma, whatever. This approach has never let me down, and it has made all
the difference in my life.
My second story is about love and loss.
I was lucky - I found what I loved to do early in life. Woz and I started
Apple in my parents garage when I was 20. We worked hard, and in 10 years
Apple had grown from just the two of us in a garage into a $2 billion
company with over 4000 employees. We had just released our finest creation -
the Macintosh - a year earlier, and I had just turned 30. And then I got
fired. How can you get fired from a company you started? Well, as Apple grew
we hired someone who I thought was very talented to run the company with me,
and for the first year or so things went well. But then our visions of the
future began to diverge and eventually we had a falling out. When we did,
our Board of Directors sided with him. So at 30 I was out. And very publicly
out. What had been the focus of my entire adult life was gone, and it was
devastating.
I really didn't know what to do for a few months. I felt that I had let the
previous generation of entrepreneurs down - that I had dropped the baton as
it was being passed to me. I met with David Packard and Bob Noyce and tried
to apologize for screwing up so badly. I was a very public failure, and I
even thought about running away from the valley. But something slowly began
to dawn on me - I still loved what I did. The turn of events at Apple had
not changed that one bit. I had been rejected, but I was still in love. And
so I decided to start over.
I didn't see it then, but it turned out that getting fired from Apple was
the best thing that could have ever happened to me. The heaviness of being
successful was replaced by the lightness of being a beginner again, less
sure about everything. It freed me to enter one of the most creative periods
of my life.
During the next five years, I started a company named NeXT, another company
named Pixar, and fell in love with an amazing woman who would become my
wife. Pixar went on to create the worlds first computer animated feature
film, Toy Story, and is now the most successful animation studio in the
world. In a remarkable turn of events, Apple bought NeXT, I retuned to
Apple, and the technology we developed at NeXT is at the heart of Apple's
current renaissance. And Laurene and I have a wonderful family together.
I'm pretty sure none of this would have happened if I hadn't been fired from
Apple. It was awful tasting medicine, but I guess the patient needed it.
Sometimes life hits you in the head with a brick. Don't lose faith. I'm
convinced that the only thing that kept me going was that I loved what I
did. You've got to find what you love. And that is as true for your work as
it is for your lovers. Your work is going to fill a large part of your life,
and the only way to be truly satisfied is to do what you believe is great
work. And the only way to do great work is to love what you do. If you
haven't found it yet, keep looking. Don't settle. As with all matters of the
heart, you'll know when you find it. And, like any great relationship, it
just gets better and better as the years roll on. So keep looking until you
find it. Don't settle.
My third story is about death.
When I was 17, I read a quote that went something like: "If you live each
day as if it was your last, someday you'll most certainly be right." It made
an impression on me, and since then, for the past 33 years, I have looked in
the mirror every morning and asked myself: "If today were the last day of my
life, would I want to do what I am about to do today?" And whenever the
answer has been "No" for too many days in a row, I know I need to change
something.
Remembering that I'll be dead soon is the most important tool I've ever
encountered to help me make the big choices in life. Because almost
everything - all external expectations, all pride, all fear of embarrassment
or failure - these things just fall away in the face of death, leaving only
what is truly important. Remembering that you are going to die is the best
way I know to avoid the trap of thinking you have something to lose. You are
already naked. There is no reason not to follow your heart.
About a year ago I was diagnosed with cancer. I had a scan at 7:30 in the
morning, and it clearly showed a tumor on my pancreas. I didn't even know
what a pancreas was. The doctors told me this was almost certainly a type of
cancer that is incurable, and that I should expect to live no longer than
three to six months. My doctor advised me to go home and get my affairs in
order, which is doctor's code for prepare to die. It means to try to tell
your kids everything you thought you'd have the next 10 years to tell them
in just a few months. It means to make sure everything is buttoned up so
that it will be as easy as possible for your family. It means to say your
goodbyes.
I lived with that diagnosis all day. Later that evening I had a biopsy,
where they stuck an endoscope down my throat, through my stomach and into my
intestines, put a needle into my pancreas and got a few cells from the
tumor. I was sedated, but my wife, who was there, told me that when they
viewed the cells under a microscope the doctors started crying because it
turned out to be a very rare form of pancreatic cancer that is curable with
surgery. I had the surgery and I'm fine now.
This was the closest I've been to facing death, and I hope its the closest I
get for a few more decades. Having lived through it, I can now say this to
you with a bit more certainty than when death was a useful but purely
intellectual concept:
No one wants to die. Even people who want to go to heaven don't want to die
to get there. And yet death is the destination we all share. No one has ever
escaped it. And that is as it should be, because Death is very likely the
single best invention of Life. It is Life's change agent. It clears out the
old to make way for the new. Right now the new is you, but someday not too
long from now, you will gradually become the old and be cleared away. Sorry
to be so dramatic, but it is quite true.
Your time is limited, so don't waste it living someone else's life. Don't be
trapped by dogma - which is living with the results of other people's
thinking. Don't let the noise of other's opinions drown out your own inner
voice. And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and
intuition. They somehow already know what you truly want to become.
Everything else is secondary.
When I was young, there was an amazing publication called The Whole Earth
Catalog, which was one of the bibles of my generation. It was created by a
fellow named Stewart Brand not far from here in Menlo Park, and he brought
it to life with his poetic touch. This was in the late 1960's, before
personal computers and desktop publishing, so it was all made with
typewriters, scissors, and polaroid cameras. It was sort of like Google in
paperback form, 35 years before Google came along: it was idealistic, and
overflowing with neat tools and great notions.
Stewart and his team put out several issues of The Whole Earth Catalog, and
then when it had run its course, they put out a final issue. It was the
mid-1970s, and I was your age. On the back cover of their final issue was a
photograph of an early morning country road, the kind you might find
yourself hitchhiking on if you were so adventurous. Beneath it were the
words: "Stay Hungry. Stay Foolish." It was their farewell message as they
signed off. Stay Hungry. Stay Foolish. And I have always wished that for
myself. And now, as you graduate to begin anew, I wish that for you.
Stay Hungry. Stay Foolish.
Thank you all very much.
Stanford Report, June 14, 2005
This is the text of the Commencement address by Steve Jobs,
CEO of Apple Computer and of Pixar Animation Studios, delivered on June 12, 2005.
I am honored to be with you today at your commencement from one of the
finest universities in the world. I never graduated from college. Truth be
told, this is the closest I've ever gotten to a college graduation. Today I
want to tell you three stories from my life. That's it. No big deal. Just
three stories.
The first story is about connecting the dots.
I dropped out of Reed College after the first 6 months, but then stayed
around as a drop-in for another 18 months or so before I really quit. So why
did I drop out?
It started before I was born. My biological mother was a young, unwed
college graduate student, and she decided to put me up for adoption. She
felt very strongly that I should be adopted by college graduates, so
everything was all set for me to be adopted at birth by a lawyer and his
wife. Except that when I popped out they decided at the last minute that
they really wanted a girl. So my parents, who were on a waiting list, got a
call in the middle of the night asking: "We have an unexpected baby boy; do
you want him?" They said: "Of course." My biological mother later found out
that my mother had never graduated from college and that my father had never
graduated from high school. She refused to sign the final adoption papers.
She only relented a few months later when my parents promised that I would
someday go to college.
And 17 years later I did go to college. But I naively chose a college that
was almost as expensive as Stanford, and all of my working-class parents'
savings were being spent on my college tuition. After six months, I couldn't
see the value in it. I had no idea what I wanted to do with my life and no
idea how college was going to help me figure it out. And here I was spending
all of the money my parents had saved their entire life. So I decided to
drop out and trust that it would all work out OK. It was pretty scary at the
time, but looking back it was one of the best decisions I ever made. The
minute I dropped out I could stop taking the required classes that didn't
interest me, and begin dropping in on the ones that looked interesting.
It wasn't all romantic. I didn't have a dorm room, so I slept on the floor
in friends' rooms, I returned coke bottles for the 5¢ deposits to buy food
with, and I would walk the 7 miles across town every Sunday night to get one
good meal a week at the Hare Krishna temple. I loved it. And much of what I
stumbled into by following my curiosity and intuition turned out to be
priceless later on. Let me give you one example:
Reed College at that time offered perhaps the best calligraphy instruction
in the country. Throughout the campus every poster, every label on every
drawer, was beautifully hand calligraphed. Because I had dropped out and
didn't have to take the normal classes, I decided to take a calligraphy
class to learn how to do this. I learned about serif and san serif
typefaces, about varying the amount of space between different letter
combinations, about what makes great typography great. It was beautiful,
historical, artistically subtle in a way that science can't capture, and I
found it fascinating.
None of this had even a hope of any practical application in my life. But
ten years later, when we were designing the first Macintosh computer, it all
came back to me. And we designed it all into the Mac. It was the first
computer with beautiful typography. If I had never dropped in on that single
course in college, the Mac would have never had multiple typefaces or
proportionally spaced fonts. And since Windows just copied the Mac, its
likely that no personal computer would have them. If I had never dropped
out, I would have never dropped in on this calligraphy class, and personal
computers might not have the wonderful typography that they do. Of course it
was impossible to connect the dots looking forward when I was in college.
But it was very, very clear looking backwards ten years later.
Again, you can't connect the dots looking forward; you can only connect them
looking backwards. So you have to trust that the dots will somehow connect
in your future. You have to trust in something - your gut, destiny, life,
karma, whatever. This approach has never let me down, and it has made all
the difference in my life.
My second story is about love and loss.
I was lucky - I found what I loved to do early in life. Woz and I started
Apple in my parents garage when I was 20. We worked hard, and in 10 years
Apple had grown from just the two of us in a garage into a $2 billion
company with over 4000 employees. We had just released our finest creation -
the Macintosh - a year earlier, and I had just turned 30. And then I got
fired. How can you get fired from a company you started? Well, as Apple grew
we hired someone who I thought was very talented to run the company with me,
and for the first year or so things went well. But then our visions of the
future began to diverge and eventually we had a falling out. When we did,
our Board of Directors sided with him. So at 30 I was out. And very publicly
out. What had been the focus of my entire adult life was gone, and it was
devastating.
I really didn't know what to do for a few months. I felt that I had let the
previous generation of entrepreneurs down - that I had dropped the baton as
it was being passed to me. I met with David Packard and Bob Noyce and tried
to apologize for screwing up so badly. I was a very public failure, and I
even thought about running away from the valley. But something slowly began
to dawn on me - I still loved what I did. The turn of events at Apple had
not changed that one bit. I had been rejected, but I was still in love. And
so I decided to start over.
I didn't see it then, but it turned out that getting fired from Apple was
the best thing that could have ever happened to me. The heaviness of being
successful was replaced by the lightness of being a beginner again, less
sure about everything. It freed me to enter one of the most creative periods
of my life.
During the next five years, I started a company named NeXT, another company
named Pixar, and fell in love with an amazing woman who would become my
wife. Pixar went on to create the worlds first computer animated feature
film, Toy Story, and is now the most successful animation studio in the
world. In a remarkable turn of events, Apple bought NeXT, I retuned to
Apple, and the technology we developed at NeXT is at the heart of Apple's
current renaissance. And Laurene and I have a wonderful family together.
I'm pretty sure none of this would have happened if I hadn't been fired from
Apple. It was awful tasting medicine, but I guess the patient needed it.
Sometimes life hits you in the head with a brick. Don't lose faith. I'm
convinced that the only thing that kept me going was that I loved what I
did. You've got to find what you love. And that is as true for your work as
it is for your lovers. Your work is going to fill a large part of your life,
and the only way to be truly satisfied is to do what you believe is great
work. And the only way to do great work is to love what you do. If you
haven't found it yet, keep looking. Don't settle. As with all matters of the
heart, you'll know when you find it. And, like any great relationship, it
just gets better and better as the years roll on. So keep looking until you
find it. Don't settle.
My third story is about death.
When I was 17, I read a quote that went something like: "If you live each
day as if it was your last, someday you'll most certainly be right." It made
an impression on me, and since then, for the past 33 years, I have looked in
the mirror every morning and asked myself: "If today were the last day of my
life, would I want to do what I am about to do today?" And whenever the
answer has been "No" for too many days in a row, I know I need to change
something.
Remembering that I'll be dead soon is the most important tool I've ever
encountered to help me make the big choices in life. Because almost
everything - all external expectations, all pride, all fear of embarrassment
or failure - these things just fall away in the face of death, leaving only
what is truly important. Remembering that you are going to die is the best
way I know to avoid the trap of thinking you have something to lose. You are
already naked. There is no reason not to follow your heart.
About a year ago I was diagnosed with cancer. I had a scan at 7:30 in the
morning, and it clearly showed a tumor on my pancreas. I didn't even know
what a pancreas was. The doctors told me this was almost certainly a type of
cancer that is incurable, and that I should expect to live no longer than
three to six months. My doctor advised me to go home and get my affairs in
order, which is doctor's code for prepare to die. It means to try to tell
your kids everything you thought you'd have the next 10 years to tell them
in just a few months. It means to make sure everything is buttoned up so
that it will be as easy as possible for your family. It means to say your
goodbyes.
I lived with that diagnosis all day. Later that evening I had a biopsy,
where they stuck an endoscope down my throat, through my stomach and into my
intestines, put a needle into my pancreas and got a few cells from the
tumor. I was sedated, but my wife, who was there, told me that when they
viewed the cells under a microscope the doctors started crying because it
turned out to be a very rare form of pancreatic cancer that is curable with
surgery. I had the surgery and I'm fine now.
This was the closest I've been to facing death, and I hope its the closest I
get for a few more decades. Having lived through it, I can now say this to
you with a bit more certainty than when death was a useful but purely
intellectual concept:
No one wants to die. Even people who want to go to heaven don't want to die
to get there. And yet death is the destination we all share. No one has ever
escaped it. And that is as it should be, because Death is very likely the
single best invention of Life. It is Life's change agent. It clears out the
old to make way for the new. Right now the new is you, but someday not too
long from now, you will gradually become the old and be cleared away. Sorry
to be so dramatic, but it is quite true.
Your time is limited, so don't waste it living someone else's life. Don't be
trapped by dogma - which is living with the results of other people's
thinking. Don't let the noise of other's opinions drown out your own inner
voice. And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and
intuition. They somehow already know what you truly want to become.
Everything else is secondary.
When I was young, there was an amazing publication called The Whole Earth
Catalog, which was one of the bibles of my generation. It was created by a
fellow named Stewart Brand not far from here in Menlo Park, and he brought
it to life with his poetic touch. This was in the late 1960's, before
personal computers and desktop publishing, so it was all made with
typewriters, scissors, and polaroid cameras. It was sort of like Google in
paperback form, 35 years before Google came along: it was idealistic, and
overflowing with neat tools and great notions.
Stewart and his team put out several issues of The Whole Earth Catalog, and
then when it had run its course, they put out a final issue. It was the
mid-1970s, and I was your age. On the back cover of their final issue was a
photograph of an early morning country road, the kind you might find
yourself hitchhiking on if you were so adventurous. Beneath it were the
words: "Stay Hungry. Stay Foolish." It was their farewell message as they
signed off. Stay Hungry. Stay Foolish. And I have always wished that for
myself. And now, as you graduate to begin anew, I wish that for you.
Stay Hungry. Stay Foolish.
Thank you all very much.
Friday, July 01, 2005
i love you much(most beautiful darling)
by e.e.cummings
i love you much(most beautiful darling)
more than anyone on the earth and i
like you better than everything in the sky
-sunlight and singing welcome your coming
although winter may be everywhere
with such a silence and such a darkness
noone can quite begin to guess
(except my life)the true time of year-
and if what calls itself a world should have
the luck to hear such singing(or glimpse such
sunlight as will leap higher than high
through gayer than gayest someone's heart at your each
nearness)everyone certainly would(my
most beautiful darling)believe in nothing but love
Copyright 2003-2005 Azlan Adnan Legal Notice
i love you much(most beautiful darling)
more than anyone on the earth and i
like you better than everything in the sky
-sunlight and singing welcome your coming
although winter may be everywhere
with such a silence and such a darkness
noone can quite begin to guess
(except my life)the true time of year-
and if what calls itself a world should have
the luck to hear such singing(or glimpse such
sunlight as will leap higher than high
through gayer than gayest someone's heart at your each
nearness)everyone certainly would(my
most beautiful darling)believe in nothing but love
Copyright 2003-2005 Azlan Adnan Legal Notice
If
by e.e. cummings
If freckles were lovely, and day was night,
And measles were nice and a lie warn't a lie,
Life would be delight,--
But things couldn't go right
For in such a sad plight
I wouldn't be I.
If earth was heaven and now was hence,
And past was present, and false was true,
There might be some sense
But I'd be in suspense
For on such a pretense
You would''t be you.
If fear was plucky, and globes were square,
And dirt was cleanly and tears were glee
Things would seem fair,--
Yet they'd all despair,
For if here was there
We wouldn't be we.
Copyright 2003-2005 Azlan Adnan Legal Notice
If freckles were lovely, and day was night,
And measles were nice and a lie warn't a lie,
Life would be delight,--
But things couldn't go right
For in such a sad plight
I wouldn't be I.
If earth was heaven and now was hence,
And past was present, and false was true,
There might be some sense
But I'd be in suspense
For on such a pretense
You would''t be you.
If fear was plucky, and globes were square,
And dirt was cleanly and tears were glee
Things would seem fair,--
Yet they'd all despair,
For if here was there
We wouldn't be we.
Copyright 2003-2005 Azlan Adnan Legal Notice
Naim
Dedicated to my jantung manis
Naim asked Azlan if he thought she was pretty, he said... "No."
She asked him if he would want to be with her forever... and he said "No."
She then asked him if she were to leave would he cry, and once again he replied with a "No."
Naim had heard enough.
As she walked away, tears streaming down her face, Azlan grabbed her arm and said... "You're not pretty, you're beautiful. I don't want to be with you forever; I need to be with you forever. And I wouldn't cry if you walked away... I'd die..."
Naim, I love you because of who you are to me:
You are a true friend.
Copyright 2003-2005 Azlan Adnan Legal Notice
Naim asked Azlan if he thought she was pretty, he said... "No."
She asked him if he would want to be with her forever... and he said "No."
She then asked him if she were to leave would he cry, and once again he replied with a "No."
Naim had heard enough.
As she walked away, tears streaming down her face, Azlan grabbed her arm and said... "You're not pretty, you're beautiful. I don't want to be with you forever; I need to be with you forever. And I wouldn't cry if you walked away... I'd die..."
Naim, I love you because of who you are to me:
You are a true friend.
Copyright 2003-2005 Azlan Adnan Legal Notice
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)