My CEO Journey

Previously, I mentioned that I was preparing for an examination , which was part of upgrading for my current job. This is a self- study examination, and after taking 3 more papers, I will be able to obtain a diploma. And after 6 more papers, an advanced diploma. I have completed 1 paper, and passed with pass. To obtain a Distinction I would require 90% or more. I didn't, but am still happy with it. So, the next step is to prepare for more exams ahead!

I added a additional point for my washing machine to my parents' home recently. The plumbing job for adding a tee followed by tapping the pipe to the washing machine, and ending off with a on/ off tap for the washing machine. The plumber took along a kid along for the job, and was telling the kid to do this and that. The job was completed in a few hours, and the workmanship was... hahaha, some of the screws were slanted, and the plumber told us to on the tap after at least 3 hours (I know why). And all the water smelt of glue... The kid spilled loads of glue at my place. All this for a whooping $280! Anyway, enough of my complains. This incident lead me to thinking, there are tasks that are simple enough even for kids to do, but we engage contractors to do it. Are we too reliant on them? Particularly for Singapore, where for renovation, we almost ask contractors to do almost everything for us, although the task may not be difficult, and the contractor's price comes with

Passive income is the IN thing now. It is an income stream in which one does not need to be present in order to obtain it. This can be dividends from stocks, rental income, interest income from deposits, money from a business (where you do not need to be there literally to earn the money), and so on. We all have some passive income, in some ways or another. Being a typical Singaporean, working on a job to earn a living, and without any property and any business that generates passive income, my passive income is relatively low. In fact, if you look at it, all these come from interest earned. As I looked back, I realized that I have been working on increasing this interest income stream, though still at a low amount to date. My first few dollars... I first received interest income from, banks. I remembered when I was 18, when my parents gave me the POSB bank book that they had saved money into, under my name.I updated it regularly, and always, at the end of the year, tracked

I was brainstorming on the items for the three new businesses that I was thinking of, and was having a severe mental block. As such, rather than going for businesses, I was wondering, why not try out things that I have an impulse to do, but have never tried. I'm not a passionate person. And if you were to ask me what I really liked, I can't really tell you. But there are many things that I sometimes have an impulse to do, but am deterred by some limitations, self- doubt, and more importantly -- laziness and high inertia. I read a super interesting article on having many passions and how to go about it . The conclusion I have is that, there are too many naysayers (including ourselves around). And if we limit ourselves to only what we are doing now, because of these "advice", we will forever be at the same step. So if you have an impulse for something, go try it, and only doing it, then would you know yourself better, and whether you have the passion for that. As

I re- read my previous post , and felt that it was a complain- ish post, where I whined about whether one's job is worth the sacrifice . But is whining, complaining, of any use? Does it make the situation better? Apparently NOT. Rather than complaining, why not try to make the situation better? I have friends who complain about their jobs, and after years, they are still in the same company, and having the same complaints. Doesn't seem like that complaining helps, ya? So, I decided, rather than complaining, I will spend more time thinking positively on how to improve the situation. It's action that makes a difference, not sound or noise.

My partner has been working loads of overtime lately. For your information, my partner is a white collared worker, so no over- time pay. Sometimes, I wonder, is sacrificing loads of time for the company worth it. What are your thoughts?

I talked about not travelling anywhere for my this block of leave I am taking from work. Well, on contrary, most people I know spend most of their leave on overseas holiday. I used to do that, until one of the vacations made me realize what I really want from a vacation. Vacation of Realization @ Iceland It's my vacation to --- Iceland I was here on a self- drive tour last year in April, and this is the only place, that I feel sad to go home, after more than a week here. Usually, by the last day of any vacation, I would want to go home as I missed my family, our food, my bed, etc. But this vacation was different. The photos below are all taken by me when I was at Iceland last year. They are not from some postcards. What did you notice? I could take photos without anyone inside! The reason why I loved Iceland is because you can be truly yourself. No need to act because there is not many people you can act in front of (particularly I'm on a n

Many people complain that Singaporean students are exam smart, and being exam smart may not be useful for them in the real life. I disagree.  In fact, the skills gain from being exam smart are rather similar to the skills required to succeed in life, the only thing is, you need to remember bring out these "exam smart skills" after you finish formal education.  These skills include having a good understanding of: - what is important in the syllabus, and - how to score What is important in the syllabus There is so much information out in the world. Examinations usually come with a syllabus which you should stick to to do well. Also, there is so much in the syllabus, what are the important "modules" that you need to know well, so that you can do well -- these will affect how much focus you put, and in other words, how well you do for the examination. Similarly, the world out there is information overload. To do well in whichever field, y

I talked about having sufficient to meet my retirement at the age of 45 . However, what is retiring? To many, retiring means not needing to work, and do what you like.  The latter may be something you may like to ponder about.  Some examples of retiring I remembered my dad retired years ago, and for a few months, he had nothing much to do. You see, he used to work, buy things, eat three meals, look at his 4D/ TOTO book (don't ask me what's there to look at), and occasionally, drink coffee, and work took up most of the workday. On his rest day, replace work with sleep. How does that sound? When he retired, he did what he do on his rest days... To me, that sounds ok for a few days, but super boring for long periods of time. He later went to work part time, and I guess with companion, and something to do, well, he's occupied, and happier. Also, there is more pocket money. I guess, working may be good for him. As for my mom, I see a totally different picture

I used to work in Jurong Island --- the land of ulu... I ended work at 5.40 pm then, and took the company transport to one of the MRT stations in the west, and reach home at about 7.30 pm (since I live at the other end of Singapore). Back then, I was envious of people who can reach home by 6+ every day. I always thought, I could do so much if I were to reach home by 6+ each day. Fast forward today, my work place is a mere 20 min from my home. With work ending at 6 pm, I can reach home by 6.30 pm. This is about 1 hour of free time more per day, assuming 52 work weeks, and 5 work days per week, that's 156 hours for three years! So what have I achieved with this about 156 hours? Sleep more, watch more TV, eat more, idle more, more random web surfing etc. Actually, nothing much have changed. Why? Goals To Achieve The main reason for wasting away the 156 + hours is because I don't have a goal that I really want to achieve, and the reason why there is nothing

I have just finished my exams . The passing mark is 55% . Wish me luck! Wish me loads of luck! This is a self- study module, that goes towards getting a diploma, issued by a Singapore body. No lessons required, perfectly good for me, (but a lot of content). Since I generally need to travel 50% of the time (for work), and hence, will miss most lessons, this suits me best. With the exams over, I am checking whether the SkillsFuture fund announced in Budget 2015 will help to "subsidize" part of my exam fees. For information, the Skills Future fund is a $500 credit given to Singaporeans to use for upgrading their skills. There is a website for this at http://www.skillsfuture.sg/  . As this will be rolled out next year, the exact details are not available yet. I'm not very happy with what I have read. I am looking forward to the funds defraying my exam fees for the diploma I am taking. However, I believe the money is mainly for COURSES (if you look carefully at &q

I spend a lot of money on liang teh (herbal tea). Whenever I pass by a Chinese medicine shop, I will have an urge to get a bottle of chilled herbal tea. Such tea range from a low cost of $1.20 to a high of about $3.50 (depending on what shop you go to, and what is their most expensive variety). I tend to go for the $1.20 + to $2 ones, depending on my mood. This cost me about $10 per week sometimes. But, cost may not be the key thing. We all drink liang teh thinking that it's healthy right? Honestly, I suspect though it has the good chinese ingredients, it is too loaded with sugar. For instance, I tried making barley water myself (about 4 cups of water), with just 6 large cubes of rock sugar, and it's taste sweet enough (for me), but those sold outside is always so sweet. I wonder how much sugar goes into it. So this week, I come up with simple ways to make my own herbal tea, which I can bring along anywhere. With that, I can drink it whenever the craving comes. Less suga

Retirement is  hot topic these days. With people living longer these days, having not enough money is a serious issue for many. It saddens me to see old people, who are frail, clearing the plates at hawker centres, cleaning the toliets in Singapore and so on. So much about our high GDP. I want to make sure that I am well prepared to retirement, as such, I did a calculation on what I would need if I were to retire. Honestly, I am looking at retiring at the age of 45. Then I am still young enough to enjoy life, and yet, have worked for more than 20 years. Also, I would have finished paying for my life policies, and as such, living the health insurances to pay for. I am also aiming to get a place of my home way before 45 (preferably by 35), and completely pay for it by 45. So, with that, I am looking at $3000 per year for health insurance, and $2,000 per month for other expenditures. This will be $27,000 per annum. To be conservative, I'll take it as $30,000 per year