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There Is No Secret Ingredient

This afternoon, I was longing to watch an old cartoon movie while having lunch. After a thorough search of the collection of CDs, I found Kung Fu Panda. Yes, it is quite old already I guess. So, I skipped some chapters (it's a DVD) and watched. For those who never watched this, the story is about a panda named Po who is a fanatic of Kung Fu and the "Furious Five", the elit Kung Fu warriors: a tigress, a snake, a mantis, a monkey and a..duck? No..a crane. Ok, so, Po then finds himself chosen as the Dragon Warrior despite the fact that he is obese and a complete novice at martial arts. Then, he was destined to face Tai Lung, the snow leopard that just escaped from a prison guarded by 1000 rhinos! ..Long story short, Po finally had the chance to read the Dragion Warrior's Scroll (supposed to give power to the reader), which contained..NOTHING! Nothing but a reflection. Everyone was shocked. After that, Po's father which is a duck..revealed to him the secret recipe to his secret delicious noodle..NOTHING! "There is no secret ingredient.", he said. And then, Po figured it out, there is no secret power! It's just yourself! (You should watch it yourself, if you haven't)
Here's a snippet:



It sure is hard to shorten a long story. Well, my point here is that, there is no secret ingredient to success actually. But it's ourselves that determine the possibility of our success in life (and the hereafter). It's you who determine whether you want to study or play, to learn how to study or just study away~ We are the masters of our actions and the ones who determine the future of ourselves! THERE IS NO SECRET INGREDIENT! That's why sometimes I wonder why people ask successful people ,"What is the secret to your success?". If it was a secret, why would he or she tell? So, it's our own effort that makes us successful. Not "secrets".

Imagine how cartoons like this can give a very good lesson (and entertainment). There are also other good lines in Kung Fu Panda like, "There are no accidents", "Your mind is like water" and "Believe in yourself". I can find great lessons in a number of cartoon movies. And I believe you can do it too. We can always learn great things from simple experiences..like a cartoon~ Have a nice day!

Lessons! (especially for future graduates) #2

When buying a car, don't just be concerned about the PRICE. Find out how much it costs to INSURE it. That can be the REAL KILLER in the long run.

Try NEW things. Taste NEW foods (make sure HALAL). Have NEW experiences.

Nothing is as real as a dream (not the one in your sleep.haha). And if you go for it, something really good is going to happen to you. You may grow old, but you never really get old.

CHANGE is the only GUARANTEE for the future.

LEARN TO COOK. You'd be amazed at how much you can save just by eating at home instead of going out.

HAVE A RAINY DAY FUND that you can survive on should you be out of work for six months.

POSTPONE BUYING THE NEW BMW FOR A WHILE.

You can be OLD at age 30 or YOUNG at age 70. IT'S ALL A STATE OF MIND.

Take time for yourself everyday to do something JUST FOR YOU.

Anything which sounds 'too good to be true' USUALLY IS.

Lessons! (especially for future graduates)

ALUMNI are great sources for jobs or job leads.

Corporate recruiters overwhelmingly specify LEADERSHIP & INTERPERSONAL SKILLS as the assets they seek in managerial candidates (this also includes scholarship awards..).

The first step to discovering your path is to IDENTIFY THE THINGS THAT LIGHT YOU FROM WITHIN.

Resources like books, pamphlets, magazines, organizations, people, networks, newsletters and counselling services will lead you to a thousand other resources.

Remember the rule of MODERATION. Even sunshine burns if you get too much.

Don't let anyone tell you that your experience is not 'reality'. YOUR EXPERIENCE IS YOUR REALITY.

LIFE IS ABOUT LEARNING LESSONS. A lesson will be presented to you in various forms until you have learned it. When you have learned it, you can then go on to the next lesson.

YOU ARE WHAT YOU THINK YOU ARE.

Employers don't want excuses. They want RESULTS.

Communication skills are vital. Speak and write with CLARITY, SINCERITY AND BERVITY.

You've Got A Weakness?

We always sigh at our weaknesses to an extent that some of us might say "Why did god create me like this?" or "Why me?". Nevertheless, we can always make one of our worst weaknesses into our greatest strength! Here's a motivational story I got in an email and would like to share. 
 

A 10-year-old boy decided to study judo despite the fact that he had lost his left arm in a devastating car accident.

The boy began lessons with an old Japanese judo master.  The boy was doing well, so he couldn’t understand why, after three months of training the master had taught him only one move.

“Sensei (teacher in Japanese)," the boy finally said, “Shouldn’t I be learning more moves?”  “This is the only move you know, but this is the only move you’ll ever need to know,” the sensei replied.

Not quite understanding, but believing in his teacher, the boy kept training.  Several months later, the sensei took the boy to his first tournament.

Surprising himself, the boy easily won his first two matches.  The third match proved to be more difficult, but after some time, his opponent became impatient and charged; the boy deftly used his one move to win the match.  Still amazed by his success, the boy was now in the finals.

This time, his opponent was bigger, stronger, and more experienced. For a while, the boy appeared to be outmatched.  Concerned that the boy might get hurt, the referee called a time-out.

He was about to stop the match when the sensei intervened. “No,” the sensei insisted, “Let him continue.”  Soon after the match resumed, his opponent made a critical mistake: he dropped his guard.  Instantly, the boy used his move to pin him.  The boy had won the match and the tournament.

He was the champion. On the way home, the boy and sensei reviewed every move in each and every match. Then the boy summoned the courage to ask what was really on his mind.

“Sensei, how did I win the tournament with only one move?”

“You won for two reasons,” the sensei answered. “First, you’ve almost mastered one of the most difficult throws in all of judo. And second, the only known defense for that move is for your opponent to grab your left arm.”

The boy’s biggest weakness had become his biggest strength!

Sometimes we feel that we have certain weaknesses and we blame others, the circumstances, or ourselves for it, but we never know that our weaknesses can someday become our strengths. Find the opportunity and grab it while we still can. Good Luck!

Simple Stuff To Help Us STUDY!

Take Notes 
This is the most simple yet ignored way of studying. Why? Students usually think they have really good memory. Yes, it's true that our human brain is very advanced and can store memories higher than a super computer. But we have ur own limitations. Especially one that's called "forgetting". A study says that if we don't revise what we just learned in 24 hours, we will forget 80% of that thing. So that's about memory. Now, about note taking. The advantages are:
  • we can increase memory with writing, we may remember what we wrote easier than what we heard.
  • we can easily revise on what the teacher/lecturer taught, because sometimes, what the teacher has taught in class are not in the text books.
  • we focus more in class, because we want everything important written in our notes.
And those are some of the goodness of taking notes. So be sure to take them!


Revise
Yes, I know..this one's cliche'. But it's just so true that I think it should be said! Well, since most already know of this..I'll skip the elaborations. =)

Mind Maps
This is actually part of Take Notes but I'd like to highlight it. Officially designed by Tony Buzan, this little technique here is just so simple and awesome! Why? It helps strengthen memory, it makes our notes more interesting to ourselves, and it is much much simpler to read than normal paragraphic notes. Tony Buzan wrote a whole book just about mind maps and scores of motivational speakers keep pointing out this technique to students in seminars. So, why not??



Keeping A List Of Formulas
This is very essential for Mathematics, Physics, Chemistry, and any subject that has a long line of formulas. Keeping this helps us most during revision. When we do an exercise that requires a certain formula that we forgot, we can easily find it in our list. But what if we don't have a list? We'll have to open up the text book or revision book and search it up..takes TIME! So, take the easiest and fastest way. I myself used this method for PMR and SPM. For SPM Physics and Chemistry, I got the lists from http://www.one-school.net/ which really helped! So, get a move on! Go make/get your lists!

This is an example..

Seek Help
"When all else fails, we don't!"
I really like that quote from G.I.Joe. But in this case, when all else fails, go get help! Ask someone to teach you. A lecturer/teacher, a friend, a going-to-be-friend...anyone!..that knows the answer to your misery. ^_^

If in any case you find difficulty in a subject, feel free to read an article I already wrote: Steps To Master A Difficult Subject