KianAnn.com - Life is About Living Your Choices

Yesterday, I met up with my friend and insurance agent for dinner, and he was sharing with me his first few years of experience in the financial planning business.

According to him, the first 6 months were the times which he really gave it all - putting a 100% focus on the business, determined to make one case every single day before he is willing to head home and rest.

Today, he is a manager, and is in the million dollar round table (MDRT).

That kind of spirit and determination and hard work is admirable. It really impresses and inspires me.

Nothing beats persistence and hard work.

From the short session with him, I’ve come to realise that I am STILL focusing on too many things. I want to do too many things, and then I end up not excelling in any.

I spent some time thinking about the things I have on hand, and I have decided to drop a few things in my life - or at least, put them aside for the next 6 months to a year, so that I can have a single one-eyed focus on ONE business.

Its a challenge.

I’ll focus on my N21 business. I’ll drop my Internet Marketing business. Not because one has greater potential than the other, but because I feel that if I want to succeed in something, it’d be the N21 business.

I’ll give myself one week (until next Wednesday) to just tidy up some things, and then I’ll leave my websites aside. They’ll be in “maintenance mode” until I am a Platinum in the N21 business.

I will not help people (friends, relatives alike) not because I don’t want to, but because that might make me lose focus. I’m sorry.

Then it’ll be FULL ON, no distractions!

I realize its been a couple of days since I last posted. Time really flies when you put focus in the things you need to do… and when that list of things to do keeps you motivated until its time to sleep everyday… But I’m glad that amidst these recent hectic days, I still manage to spend some quality time with my parents and PX. Maybe not enough, but at least I did.

Okay. Some updates.

1. Twittering

Yeah, I’m on twitter at http://www.twitter.com/tankianann. Just signed up for fun and then realized I can update that through my mobile phone. Pretty cool way to waste time keep updated about who’s doing what.

2. Erm… Dates

Met up with Kenneth together with PX on National Day to calculate auspicious dates for our marriage. ROM on 12 Aug 2009 and customary on 9 Apr 2010. Now its time to make arrangements… and make money to make the arrangements.

I’ve been offered a position to be an e-learning executive for a local educational group. I’m half tempted to switch jobs, because of the promised increase in salary, and the fact that my work location will be near to the sports amenities - which will spur me to get moving.

I have no doubt that I will be able to do well in the position. However, I need to remind myself what and why I am working for now. Work is a means for survival, and the only reason I am working full time today is because that will motivate me to build my N21 business after work hours.

So I must stick to my plan. My business mentor once told me - that distractions (like the job offer) are just tests for you to see how focused you are to your success plan.

So I must stick to my plan.

I’m going to be free by next year. Its a must. So I must stick to my plan.

A couple of events happened yesterday - some were great, and some were not as exciting.

One, in particular, is about this phone call I received on my way back from work. It was from this lady from a new cruise company. I have happily assisted her when she called the first time to do a survey on my holiday plans. Then she goes on to say there is a gift and needs me to go to their office to collect it.

I told her I was busy, and I will not make time for it. So she called me again yesterday to invite be down to collect my gift.

We chatted for a while, and I insisted that I will not make time for it. (Frankly, I have nothing against her, but if I had spare time, I’d rather be catching up on my sleep!)

At a point in the conversation, I remember asking “I’m not interested in the gift, so why should I meet you?”

Guess what she said? “Cos it’s my job ma!”

Inside, I was immediately thinking like “Its not as if I care about YOUR job!”

She was really persistent… and very VERY annoying - and she could do better in persuasion skills.

In the end, I had to tell her (in a somewhat frustrated tone) “I don’t want to talk to you, so please don’t call me again, okay?”

She hanged up without saying a word.

Anybody who has known me for a while know I don’t “flare up” so easily. In fact, yesterday was the first time in my life I really told someone off over the phone.

Thinking about it now, I still I don’t regret what I did. I admit I could have handled it in a more relaxed manner though.

I respect her ability to be so persistent, but also really sorry for her for not recognizing the broken record technique (being a tele-sales person), and for being my first “victim”. Heh.

Have you handled instances like this? Do you think that matters can always be resolved happily, or do some people just deserve some harder words?

Yesterday I had a short business review with my mentor - and I really appreciate him for his time and advice.

Frankly, things are not going as well as it is supposed to be - I’m still not doing enough to make sure things are moving the way it needs to be.

In our short discussion, I realised again that I have in a sense “lost the dream” once again.

I’d admit, its very easy to lose focus when you have a regular 9am to 6am job. Afterall, its 9 hours of of your life everyday - a third of your life spent in a boring cubical.

Life is also full of distractions. Recently I had tonnes of them.

Last week, my computer fan messed up - and I had to send it back to IBM. When it came back, after some minor software updates, the operating system just refused to load. Spent the whole Sunday formatting it… and then it crashed again. Formatted again… and yesterday I almost lost my entire partition of data (all my data). Good thing it was recovered.

It doesn’t feel excellent to be surviving on total 6 hours of sleep for the last 2 days and knowing you won’t be really sleeping soundly until the weekend.

But I think I need to get back in focus. Daryl asked me yesterday - if I can guarantee a I’ll get $80,000 if I show 30 plans from now till the coming WLS, will there be a problem doing it?

I’m just not focusing on the right things recently.

Things will get better today.

I realised today why I haven’t been as profitable as I want to be in the businesses I am running. I am not putting enough heart into the business.

Getting someone to buy a product from you is not about “Oh, I want to make money.” Its about knowing that the product will really help the person.

Today I received an email at work, telling me that one of my colleagues has passed away due to cancer. I don’t know this colleague - we never met, we never chatted, but something struck me inside. I recall a workshop I have attended some time back, saying that cancer is very close to heart - 3 of 10 Singaporeans die of cancer.

I realise what an business profit driven a**hole I’ve been. To know you have something on hand that can help people live a better live, and yet not be promoting it - I think I’m really not doing what I am responsible to do.

I don’t wish to have ANYBODY close to me to suffer the same fate as my colleague. NOBODY. That is a decision I have made. I NEED to promote supplementation because I know it is essential.

Wow. I just attended a N21 business preview today at Suntec, and man, it was really one of the best previews I’ve attended so far! There was a change in the presentation slides, and everything was like *exactly the way it feels in my heart*.

Following that we continued on with a leaders meeting which was also AWESOME!

I’m so fired up man!

Since I started work 3 months ago, I haven’t really had the time for myself - to clear up my room and do housekeeping of everything I had like my computer files, and notes. Today, with a day of medical leave, I managed to at least know where things are put (it’ll probably take two weekends to finish clearing!) so that I can slowly take steps to clear out the mess.

I’ve heard from one of the N21 CDs that it is important to keep organised so that you can get your tasks done, but not let keeping organised be something that will take tonnes of time - I think that’s true and really need to change myself a little.

I used to be a real stinge when it comes to organising my room - everything has to be right where they need to be, but being busy really keeps me from spending time cleaning up. I just felt it has gone a little too much on the other end and it is affecting my productivity.

I like the security and confidence of knowing where I have put my things, and knowing that a hard drive crasy will not destroy my precious computer files.

Cleaning up is good.

I do! I’m having one now… and I just felt mine wasn’t blue - mine is horribly stinky black. My alarm went off at 7am, and I snoozed until 7:20am, and had to drag myself out of bed, wash up, iron my working attire, and get out of home before 7.50am.

Then I had to squeeze in that sardine packed MRT train for 40 minutes, travel to the city, rush through my breakfast and then rush up to my workplace to face people I don’t particularly like to face on a sleepy Monday morning.

Get this right (and I won’t try to be diplomatic here)… THIS FEELING TOTALLY STINKS! I hate it! I hate my job. I hate doing this today, and I don’t want to do this for 40 years to come!

I will remember this feeling - to propel me forward and build my N21 business! 1 year from now, I will be sleeping LATE on Mondays.

My ticker has started. Has yours?

Normally, people are exceptionally happy on Friday, work people - I mean. Afterall, what’s coming is a weekend where they can relax and sleep in bed.

But this Friday, I’m not… because I just realized that over the busy past few days, I haven’t got any results. I’ve not attained my goals for the week! So, this weekend I’ll have to work extra hard.

Yikes.

Oh well, let’s learn from this week. Getting less sleep for the whole of next week (to catch up on my progressive goals) is still better than having to drag myself to work for the rest of my life!

Talking about sleep - this is something I need to address. I really need to change my home working environment a bit, so I don’t go into “get a nap first” mentality every night. Hate it. My naps always go on for 5 hours. Argh!