# 21 - HABIT improvement - Reverse Parking

Something Which Can Be Turned into Good Habit

I promised myself to write again in 7 days time from my last improvement note, with one major improvement in my life. So today I'm proud to say that I've been consciously practising Reverse Parking(RP) whenever possible.

So, what is Reverse Parking(RP) anyway? Basically it means we park our car in reverse mode. So, what's so good about RP?

Before I talk about the benefits of RP, I would like to tell the story where I got the idea to RP. Just like any other ideas in my life, it doesn't come out of the blue. In fact the first time I saw the notice board which recommends RP was about 3 years ago and at that time I couldn't be bothered to think about it. But now I'm different. I'm a changed person.

Where did I see such a notice? It was at TNB Research Sdn Bhd. In fact I kept on seeing the same notice at most of TNB offices/stations again and again. It turned out that it is some sort of TNB's corporate policy to encourage RP.

If a big organisation like TNB is practising it, it must be good right? So last month when I was to looking for things to improve, I remember about this RP again and started Googling for it. Guess what, people all over the world are doing it, i.e. those who are concerned about improving themselves.

Basically RP is good because :

• It's much easier and more accurate to park using RP, don't you think? In fact side parking is also essentially RP, if you really think about it.....

• You take the trouble to park at first but when you want to go later on, it's easier and faster - this is very important if you're parking in a remote/secluded area (in danger of being ambushed by thieves/robbers)

• It makes more difficult for thief to break into your car via your trunk especially if you park against a wall.

• You use less fuel to drive your car forward later on because it is smooth sailing. But I guess when you RP your car in the 1st place, you must have the same amount of fuel anyway. So this point is arguable.

Those are some of the pros of RP and of course there are the cons of RP but I don't intend to write it here. For now I'm very happy to internalise this RP into my automatic robotic behaviour = HABIT.

Till next time.....I want to improve on My Hobby - Aquarium.

# 20 - SYSTEM improvement - Consistency & Persistency

Easier Said Than Done - Major Weakness

I started this blog with the intention to write every day about the improvements I want to make 'everyday'. Imagine that, everyday....not to talk about current issues or what appeared in the daily newspaper, but to talk about major improvement that I did which in effect translated into a better life for me and those around me!!!!

Clearly that was impossible because I just couldn't find the time nor the strength to do it everyday. So I decided to make it a weekly endeavour because in 7 days time surely I must have one improvement in my life which I can target to make and be able to start to do it and maintain doing it for the rest of my life.

Mmmm.....even that is easier said than done. For instance, it has been nearly 2 weeks now since my last improvement note. And I hardly can pin-point one significant improvement which I've made since then. There were various small improvements but none deserve to be given an entry in this blog coz the effects on my life as a result of the improvements have not been significant too.

So for today my improvement is to realise the importance of being CONSISTENT and PERSISTENT in whatever I do. By being consistent, i.e doing things in a timely and regular intervals, my new actions will be converted into HABITS which you know OLD HABITS DIE HARD. Once it becomes a habit then it will be my AUTO/ROBOTIC actions. For example, once we get up in the morning, we automatically (like a robot) brush our teeth. There's no need to think about the need to brush our teeth, we just do it.

And by being PERSISTENT, i.e doing something until it is completed no matter what the challenges are, I can achieve whatever I want, as long as I must want it REALLY BADLY and persevere to get it! And in this case, I want to reiterate today that I REALLY WANT TO TRANSFORM MYSELF INTO A BETTER (richer,more successful) PERSON and I will persevere to achieve it !

Yes it's easier said than done. It's easier to write and forget. But I'm determined to make it from today. I'll set one improvement to make in my posting today and by my next compulsory posting date (i.e 12/9/2009) I should have started to make the improvement I intended to make in my life.

So, starting today, I want to start this new improvement......REVERSE PARKING. I will explain what it is in my next posting when I've successfully implemented it, insya'Allah.


Salam Usahawan,

Amir Hamdzan

p/s : To be my friend, Add me www.facebook.com/amirhamdzan

# 19 - LIFESTYLE improvement - Bigger, Better and Bolder Car

Today We Got Our Avanza - How Good this improvement makes me Feel!

In my #15th improvement note I wrote about my jubilation when my application for a new car had been approved. I talked about the improvement I made from owning a motorbike to an MPV called Toyota Avanza. I mentioned about car as a symbol of sucess. In fact, I was truly delighted on that day, just knowing the prospect that I would drive an Avanza in 2 weeks time.

And today the day has arrived ! Today my wife and I went to Toyota Showroom in TTDI to collect our Avanza 1.5E/AT.

I can't describe my feeling when I saw that car....basically I was very very very happy. The car for me is not just a symbol of success but a solution to many of life problems, i.e my own and my family's problems. And the feeling I got when I was driving it was even better.....simply awesome!

One of the main problem was that my wife has been commuting on the public transport to work for the past 2 years. Pity on her. And for the last 8 months my elder son Aqil has joined her predicament in catching the bus/taxi during peak hours in the afternoon. And with the present and clear danger of H1N1 pandemic, public transport is the last place one wants to be at, unless it's REALLY REALLY unavoidable. I wanted to do something, to elevate their burden but I thought I couldnt do anything! I believed I was hopeless!

Then another problem was when we had to do long distance travelling, my 3 kids would be cramped like sardines in a can. And it got worse when all 3 of them fell asleep, a view which I despised to see but had to endure because I was hopeless hopeless & hopeless! At least I thought I was hopeless until that ONE FINE DAY when I decided to transform my life and be a better person every day in the future, day in and day out........

Today I believe that all those problems and many others including the perception of others towards me would go away, must go away! And I intend to build on this new BIG success of mine towards BIGGER and BIGGER success in the future.

So, please pray for me....and here's the photos of our new Avanza.....see how happy we are......

p/s : Not to forget, a special thank you to our Toyota Salesman, En Azhar Taat for his professional and excellent service.

Salam Usahawan,

Amir Hamdzan

1family1biz.com - your one stop family needs provider, from cradle to the grave.......

# 18 - SKILL improvement - Basic Guide to CPanel

How to Build A Website for A Newbie - I never thought it is SOOOO EASY.....

I bought my domain name and website hosting 4 days ago, i.e 17th Aug 2009 to be exact.

That by itself was a big improvement in my life. But I couldn't claimed it as an improvement in my life just yet, at least not on that day itself because like I said, it's just an act of buying something, and I had no clue what to do with it !

Just imagine, buying a car, then you leave it parked in the yard because you do not know how to drive it ! Stupid right?

Anyway, today I'm so happy that I've become wiser. I've started to learn to drive that car! In this case, I've started to learn how to use the Cpanel given to me by people who sold me the hosting plan. Not that the hosting guy did not give any materials to learn Cpanel or anything, but just that I need something simpler and easier to use.

So, yesterday I found this Jebat guy (online of course), who wrote this wonderful e-book on CPanel. If you do not know what domain/hosting/Cpanel is, but you intend to have your own website, I urge you to seriously consider buying his e-book. It's worth every cent you pay for it!

Where to buy? You can click on the e-book visual below..... it will bring you to Jebat's website.




I'm on my way to learn more about the internet....come and join me !

# 17 - SAFETY improvement - Don't Sleep & Drive!

A Tool For those who tends to fall asleep while Driving

Today I bought Smart Alert - the stay alert device designed to raise drivers awareness of momentary lapses caused by sleepiness and tiredness. Why I bought it? Because I've had the experience of fallen into a sleep (within a blink of an eye) and crashed into an accident!

The one I bought is a cheap one, only RM25. I supposed there are better ones but at the moment I can only afford this one and hopefully it will function well and lasts long enough until I have more money to buy a better gadget.

No doubt that it is a very important gadget and my personal experience is a testimony to that. However, its effectiveness is still to be tested and I hope to test it right away - but still have to wait when I got tired and sleepy while driving lah.....

So, how does this thing works? Well, you are supposed to wear it behind your right ear. It works in the principle of electronic balance. As the your head nods (due to sleepiness) below a certain angle it emits a loud signal or a strong vibration (depending which model you bought), alerting you to take corrective action, such as taking a break or even take a nap.

# 16 – LIFESTYLE improvement – Choice of Food

You Are What You Eat or Rather What You Eat is What You Are !

The title “you are what you eat” usually refers to the topic of healthy eating habits, i.e choosing which food is good for your digestion system, blood circulation or general health.

However my title today is mainly about the appetite for good food as a sign of improvement in life. What do I mean by this? How can food be related to an improvement in my life? Let me start with a story….

In my younger days, food was very, I mean VERY hard to get by. There were times when we didn’t even have “beras” in our home. And when this happened, I was the one who had to go to my mom’s boss’ house to borrow some money to buy food.

Normally I would be lectured by this guys about how bad my family was, asking to borrow money (i.e asking for advance pay – was this a sin?) from him almost every week.

Other than borrowing money, I was also the one always being asked by my mother to borrow (i.e buy on credit) “beras” from the grocery store in our village (the once glamorous but now gone from the world map – Kampung Sungai Udang, Segambut). Again, I could hear him or his wife babbling about having to lend us his valuable beras. Wonder if he could take that “beras” to his grave?

So, the consequences of the hardships in my younger days was that I didn’t have the appetite nor the desire nor the wants for GOOD FOOD, because I knew my family couldn’t afford it.

This attitude of mind towards food continued until I further my studies in the UK, and in fact until I came back here to work. To tell you the truth, I can’t even remember when did I start to have the desire for good food but for sure now I’m a better person in terms of the choice of food or what to eat.

Suffice to say, I’ve improved a lot in this aspect of my life and I’m still learning. In fact I’m now becoming a person whom I once heard uttered by the son of a Dato’ in my school…..he said something like this…”my father has a lot of money but he is very careful on what he spends, except for food. He wouldn’t mind spending on food”.

Yes, that’s who I’m now. I don’t mind spending money on good food, so that my sons and family won’t experience what I’ve experienced. For example, nowadays I would spend a lot on fruits, good quality cakes for birthdays and what I like most Nasi Kukus Ayam Berempah….mmmm Yummy !

And why is taking good food is important? I think you can figure this out for yourself my friends.....

# 15 - MINDSET improvement - Car is a Symbol of Success?

The Car One Drives Reflects One's Success

My first vehicle was a brand new Honda EX5 motorbike which I bought in 1999, when I was working in Penang & Ipoh. PEC 1255, I still remember the plate number. The bike meant a lot to me but had to sell it for some cash which I needed very desperately a couple of years after that.

Then in 2001 I bought my first van, i.e. a used Toyota Liteace (BDE 4547). I bought this van because I wanted to start a business. I did start a biz but it didn't last long. I had not enough of everything that is needed to be successful in biz - money,suppliers,customers,creativity bla bla. It was doomed to fail in the first place.

Then in 2002 I bought my first car, a used Proton Iswara. This car was my biggest mistake. First of all because it is a used car. Not only that, it is a VERY BAD used car. For all I know now, maybe this car was even a Kereta Potong! Who knows....at that time Puspakom Check was not compulsory and not a standard practice.

Being deeply frustrated with the Iswara, and having left with no other alternative because I've sold my van to my brother, I then bought my Second car which is a Perodua Kelisa in 2003.

I've been driving this Kelisa (WLD 58XX) since then, for about 6 years now but the odometer has already reached 250,000 km!

I love the Kelisa very much and won't sell it. We've gone through a lot together. And all these while this car had never caused any problem to me. Perodua Engineering product is excellent and very trustworthy.

So what'all all these got to do with my improvement for today? The answer is ALL OF IT. Because from the story you can see how I improved from a motorbike owner, to a used car owner, to a new small car owner......and today my greatest achievement so far in the aspect of owning a car is that.....today I paid the deposit for a bigger car, in line with my growing kids/family, i.e a Toyota Avanza 1.5e/AT.So I've moved a step further in this aspect of my life.

Eventhough Avanza is not as good as a BMW which some of my friends are driving, for me this is the best I've achieved so far.....

For this I'd like to thank my Toyota Salesman (En Azhar Taat) for making my car buying experience a breeze in the park. My loan application was processed within 3 days, and the discount given to me was a BIG relief! The service rendered by him so far is excellent. I would easily and happily recommend him to all my friends who wants to buy a new Toyota!

Now my whole family (especially my wife) is looking forward to get our new Avanza during Ramadhan.......Insya'Allah....

# 14 - FINANCIAL improvement - Manage it Better

Visa Electron - The Debit Card to Replace Credit Card

Today I obtained my Public Bank Visa Electron, 2 weeks after I applied for it.

What's the big deal about this Visa Electron? Well, I've had bad experiences with credit card usage before. Actually my self discipline was very bad. So I got into problem with my credit card issuers. It took years for me to settle that problem.

Yes, the problem had been settled. And now that my finances is getting more organised, I could easily apply for new credit card. But I decided NOT TO use credit card for the time being.

However, I quickly realised that credit card is very important, especially if one wants to do online transactions (be it buying or selling). So after doing some reading, I realised that there's another option to shop or sell online, i.e. via the use of Debit Card and PB's Visa Electron is one of the recommended ones.

I won't tell yet what I'm planning to do with this aspect of my life. Let it be a secret for now. Suffice to say that I'm planning to involve myself seriously in the world of Internet Marketing and surely there's vast amount of resources to learn about it.

And suffice to mention that obtaining my Visa electron is my best improvement today !

# 13 - SYSTEM improvement - Technology Improves Efficiency

The New Frontier???

Broadband internet supposed to be better than dial-up. I expected better anyway. But the opposite is true.

I am very frustrated that the connection get lost so many times, and when it does get connected, the speed is far slower than my dial-up connection!

What the heck is happening here? Why am I paying Rm98/month for such a lousy service? Is it because I'm living in a high-rise building? It could be but I thought I read somewhere in Celcom's advert materials that tall building is not a problem?

So, what the real problem? Maybe I'll take this notebook to the broadband dealer today and sort the problem out.

By the way, this supposed to be an improvement in my life today and still hope that it is.

# 12 - WORK improvement - Clearing Backlogs

Procrastination In A Evil

Everyone procrastinate! It's a habit that most of us tends to pick up along our way of doing a task, be it at work or at home.

For me, I do procrastinate sometimes. I only realise it when it had turned into a major problem. For example, I delayed sending an invoice to a customer, hence customer took longer time to pay, hence his account showed long overdue, thus his new order will not be processed due to account being blocked!

So, my improvement for today is that I admit this as my biggest stumbling block towards success and I want to change! Today I've managed to clear all the urgent tasks, and try to clear all the backlogs as soon as possible.

# 11 - SPIRITUAL improvement - Food for The Soul & Mind

MP3 is a very Powerful Tool

All these while if I were to search free MP3 in the net, I would always look for MP3 songs and ringtones. Not once I thought to improve on my search !

What do I mean by improving on my search? It basically means anything we do can be done in better ways, and so does MP3-related activities.

So, my best improvement for today is to upgrade my MP3-Search activity to include info-MP3 which is abundant in the net. There are so many free audios out there which can be used as Learning/Motivation/Guidance towards my Self Growth.

Thus, collecting all these materials in something which I think is a good improvement !

# 10 - HEALTH - Importance of Fruits

An Apple A Day.......Keeps The Doctors Away.

How true that saying is, that we MUST eat at least an apple a day. Or maybe some kind of fruits every day?

I remember during my younger days when fruits were considered luxury items. And the goodness of eating fruits has not been taught to me. So I didn't see its benefits and ended up eating more junk food than anyone else on this planet!

Maybe that's the reason why I suffered from all sorts of stomach-related ilnesses when I reached my early 20's. Constipation is one of it. Gastro bla bla is another one. Heart burn etc. Nothing serious but it could have been !

Then I started reading on how to take care of my stomach and learn the importance of fruits in our diet. So since a few years back I've been steadily taking more fruits and vegetables in my diet.

Hence nowadays cleaning my bowels everyday can be considered as 'very smooth affair' - nothing to be ashamed to tell about this because that place,i.e getting rid of stomach waste (toxic) is the source of most diseases.

So, now, my improvement for today is my awareness to inculcate the habits of eating fruits to my young ones. I've been encouraging them to do so since there were little and alhamdulillah so far my kids LIKE fruits very much but I believe there's more room for improvement.

Just that it has been done seldomly and now I want to make it as a routine to ENSURE they eat at least one fruit a day. So, from today I'm going to make sure my kids eat at least one fruit per day....and that will be an improvement for me!

# 9 - WORK improvement - Monitoring System

SIMPLE & CHEAP, YET EFFECTIVE MONITORING SYSTEM

Today I improved on a system which I've used for quite some time.

For the past few years I've been writing and updating my TO DO list on a spreadsheet, consisting of two main columns :

1) the OUT OF OFFICE to do

2) the IN OFFICE to do

So far this system has been working OK. I would copy yesterday's To Do worksheet into a new worksheet, clear the completed tasks and key-in new tasks. Then at the end of the day I threw the paper away. What a waste!

So whilst thinking on what to improve today, I thought of improving this system. Basically I maintain the layout as above (coz it works OK for now).

What's new is that after I've updated the tasks for today and printed it out, I would.....

1) Fold-in both Left and Right margins (about 2cm each side)

2) Fold into half vertically the whole A4

3) Fold into half again horizontally

4) Hence I have 4 empty spaces to record these 4 EXTRA headings :

i) My Spending for Today

ii) My Journey (for toll&claim&sales report purposes) for Today

iii) My Improvement for Today

iv) My ETC for Today

5) This folded paper then is placed in my shirt's pocket which is easy to reach

6) The To Do Page is ready for filing for future references

Now I wonder, if I were to own a PDA, would I still use this system? Only time will tell.....

UPDATE : 20 Apr 2011

------------------------

Without realising it, I've been using this monitoring system for YEARS now!

I've got a PDA but still using this system (with a few modifications...) because I got so used to it.

Have been improving it bit by bit everyday.

And today I made another improvement - giving each field of to do list a CODE so that I could write the CODE on each To Do paper/document, for easy monitoring and reference later on.

So now it looks like this...

# 8 - FAMILY improvement - Relationship

Show More Love Towards Thy Wife

This is a simple concept but most people forget about it most of the time.

Today's improvement is that I started to show extra love towards my wife. I know it's very bad of me not to treat her with extra love everyday, but that's what I've done before and I intend to change from today. There are so many things I can do to show I care about her. For example, I should treat her the way I treat my customers, i.e. like Kings.

I should start to be aware about what my wife wants, write it down and try to get it for her whenever I can. I've been neglecting her wants because sometimes I feel that her wants are not as important as my customers' who give me income and profits!

From today I'll treat her better because she is my soulmate, the mother of child, the provider of my needs......so she deserves the best treatment I can give to anybody!

# 7 - FAMILY improvement - A House is More Than A Roof Over Your Head

HOME SWEET HOME

We normally take things for granted, until we lose it. For example, the home we are staying in.

If our home is still on mortgage, the house is not ours until the last payment has been made to the bank! And only last week I found out that the bank can auction your house without evicting you out first! So, for all you know, the home you're living in has been sold to someone else.

That's a bit off my topic of self-improvement for today but a bit related in the sense that we normally missed our home only when we have gone away on a long trip. Only then we knew that our home has the best bed, the best food and even the best toilet! And what makes our home the best is what we make of it.

Today my best improvement is to make sure that my home is AS TIDY AS POSSIBLE because all these while my home has been in a mess. The space is small yet my things are a lot. So I have a space issue. This can only be solved by installing more cabinets, something which I intend to do not too distant in future.

So today I used the 5S concept which I've just learned in the Wikipidea and made my home a litttle bit more tidy and nicer to look at!

# 6 - WORK improvement - Opportunity Windows

Grab An Opportunity Once You See It !

I was never much of an opportunist. The term itself was so strange for me. Even when I got to know what it means, I always thought that an opportunist is an evil man.

Now I beg to differ.

Why? Because by being an opportunist you are already one step ahead of your competitor. By being one step ahead means that you are one step closer to win the battle - whatever battle it may be.

For example, I encountered one problem yesterday, related to a colleague of mine. The problem was quite big, but I also saw an opportunity if I can solve the problem.

So I proposed a solution to the affected party and the solution will surely benefit both of us, i.e. a win-win situation! The person agreed to my proposal and hence his problem is solved and I had managed to turn a problem into an opportunity and then into victory!

So my best achievement today is grabbing an opportunity when it was presented to me. I like it and I'll make sure not to let any future opportunities be wasted like it used to be.

# 5 - MINDSET improvement - Be A Learner

LEARN FROM THE BEST

It was only yesterday that I was writing about the need to have a SYSTEM to record my improvements. I even created the THREE MAIN areas of my IMPROVEMENT MASTER PLAN, i.e work & personal

But then it crossed my mind that if I'm thinking about it maybe somone else in this world has thought about it before ! After all Self-Improvement is a global subject. Everyone in this world, disregard of their race,religion,background etc, need to improve !

So I started searching the web, clicking a few sites. And I found that there are vast amount of materials/tools/techniques and resources which can be used to help me improve myself.

I didn't have the time to check all the websites but out of all that I've visited, one site is perfect for me - http://www.selfgrowth.com/

I think it is good for me because the founder has been promoting self improvement since 10 years ago and his website is very comprehensive and seems sincere enough to help people who want to improve !

If you are just like me, always wanting to improve yourself, check out this site and join it too.....

# 4 - SYSTEM improvement - Be Systematic

No System = CHAOS

Yesterday I told myself to improve an aspect of my work. So today I worked very hard to find one aspect of my work which can be improved. I did find an area of improvement and I did it, i.e learn from defeat = learn from competitor who wins.

That was a good improvement, I don't deny it. It deserves a separate posting by itself, so I will post it another time.

However, for the 15th of July, my most important achievement was for me to accept that I NEED A SYSTEM to record these improvements of mine. I should have a system of recognising problems, not just making improvement for the sake of making an improvement.

First of all, I separate my areas of improvement into 2 MAIN AREAS :
i) WORK area
ii) PERSONAL area

By doing this categorisation, my improvement initiatives will be more structured, hence can be presented in a more meaningful way.

Then each category will be further divided into sub-groups so that each area of improvement will be covered comprehensively (i.e. Total Improvement)

# 3 - MINDSET improvement - Being Aware

Being Aware of My Daily Improvement Targets

It's the 3rd day of my Self Improvement voyage and I'm feeling great about it.

This self awareness about needing to achieve great things in life makes me always want to do things better, better than what I've done before.

So for today, this self-realisation of my aspiration in life is the achievement that I believe is the best for the day.

Tomorrow I want to improve an aspect of my work which has been a bit stagnant in the recent years.

It's time to get a little bit creative at work !

# 2 - MIND improvement - Conquer Fear

Conquering An Old Feeling (Fear of the Unknown)

Today I visited CCRIS at BNM.

What's the big deal with visiting CCRIS? Well, I have always been afraid of the results I might get at CCRIS. Suffice to say that I'd done a silly mistake in the past and I was never brave enough to face it head on.

But today I did it. I went there, put my MyKad in the card-reader slot and printed out a CCRIS report of my financial health.

Guess what? My name at CCRIS is considered clean!

So, that was really an improvement in my life ! Next stop, CTOS, then FIS.....coz I really want to sort out the mess which I got into last few years and back on track to be a great man I'm destined to be.........