# 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.