My main topic is about Protection and the sub-topic is about Planning. Let's talk about the subject of PLANNING first.
Planning means to be able to predict where you want to be in the future and by when and to think of ways how to get there! in a nutshell, if you're bad at planning, the chance are you're going to fail in life !
Planning is something I've been very good at.
At Maxwell I planned my study very well (despite coming from a very poor family) so that I could go to a boarding school with the ultimate aim TO HELP MY FAMILY. My plan worked to perfection when I got offered to study at MRSM Kuantan and Alam Shah (SAS) KL. I chose SAS.
Then at SAS I planned to make full use of me being there because I wanted so much to follow the footstep of my cousin (Abang Azhar) who had further his studies in the USA. I was active in co-curriculum and the height of my achievement was when our team won the PPM Debate (BM), in which my teammates agreed to a strategy which I had planned for the team in the first round !
Last but not least at SAS I continued to plan my studies and executed it very well until I came up as Top 5 student in SPM 1991 and secured a scholarship to fly to the UK !
I planned to be an accountant. But my plan FAILED ! JPA was not going to offer me do to accounting, for some strange reasons. So I had to accept the offer to do business studies instead. That was the point when I learned to adapt. I accepted that we don't always get what we planned for.
With a Business Degree in hand, I landed my first job at Maybank Credit Card Centre in 1997 (some 13 years ago !) as a Marketing Planning Officer. Observe the word in italic, P.L.A.N.N.I.N.G !
I was placed there because in the Placement Test (Essay Form) which all officers had to take, I wrote about My Master Plan. i.e. what I want to be and by when ! It all came to me in a flash, while writing the essay, when I happened to find a brochure about Career Path in Maybank.....
I excelled and loved that Maybank job. However due to a better offer (pay-wise), I had to leave. I worked in Maybank for 3 months only, yet there was a Farewell Party for me !
From then on my life had been a roller coaster ride ! There were many ups and downs. Mostly downs. But WHY ? Because I failed to plan. I did not plan to fail but I basically failed to plan. Most of the times I had lost my Planning Skill !!!!!
It was a rough ride for me and only these last few years that I started to recover my true self and my life back. After some long Self-Assessment (Muhasabah Diri) and Soul Searching....I concluded that Planning was one of my greatest strength and I must start doing it again..... Maybe it's a bit late but I hope it's not too late for me to start all over again. And the key for me to rebound is PLANNING !
Two years ago I had planned for most of the things I accomplished today. And now is the time to review and fine-tune that PLAN to achieve better things in my life.
And this week my first priority in my planning was to realise my planning from 2 years ago - i.e to PROTECT MYSELF as the head of my family against life's uncertainties.
In layman's terms, only this week I had managed to buy my Life Insurance + Medical Card + Savings ! Not that I never bought insurance before but life's hardships had forced to lapse the premiums and hence lose valuable time (because we pay higher premium as we get older). In fact I had put my family in danger by not protecting myself .
I'm proud to say that I've bought insurance from the best, i.e Prudential. And with the Medical Card, I feel more confident with my life because I know if something happens to me, I 'm covered and I won't trouble my family !
So that was my best improvement for this week and next week I intend to embark on a better improvement quest.....i.e I'm pondering a change in career path.....still in the line of Sales, but a much better and more meaningful Sales Job than the one I'm currently doing.....
So, till next week.....
Bye !
Amir Hamdzan
