For some reasons, the words “live for the benefit of others” have come to my mind for quite some time. It is like sitting there waiting for me to chew and digest.

At first, I would argue that it might be too philosophical. It might be too unrealistic for someone (like me) that is still finding joy in all the materialistic gadgets of the world. But, I must admit that the more I think about it, I find it makes great sense regardless one is living “in the world” or “out of the world”, if you know what I mean. And, that is the reason why I wait till now to share this with you.

It all starts with a point of view. By paying attention to others’ interests first, I would take the position to serve, rather than being served. I would choose to do things that “add value” to others. It aligns with the notion than ‘giving is always better than receiving”.

There have been great examples of this paradigm. For one, Jesus has been the greatest giver of all. His whole purpose to this world is to serve others. The like of Mother Teresa, Gandhi, Dale Carnegie are other fine examples of “living for the benefit of others”. (p.s. you might think of other good examples too. If you do, please write back as we can never have enough of an inspiration.)

By following this paradigm, I have found a new motivation and guidance in doing things that I could have left out. For instance, I have joined the volunteer work to do “meals on wheels” in the community, and possibly some medical transports down the track. There is nothing to boast about, really. But for me, they are important first steps. Where it would lead me to, only God will know. As for the present, I am happier because it adds a little bit extra to my purpose in life.

Live Life, Junius.

Crossing the Finish

This is the question I posted on the Facebook, Twitter, and some other social websites when I was doing the fund raising for the Aboriginal Children’s Advancement Society last week.

The fund raising was done in conjunction with a 10km running event, the “Run4Fun” organized by the Sun-Herald, a leading newspaper in Sydney.  All donations had to be made via the direct link provided by the organizer online.  It was a perfect way of using the internet to address the appeal to many within the shortest possible time, so I thought.

Whilst we started late in the fundraising, I was hopeful that the power of the internet would make a difference.  After all, we only targeted $1 each from 10,000 people.

As it turned out, we didn’t even receive one single dollar from anyone via this channel.  All the donations were from people we know personally.  Quite frankly, I was a little bit disappointed because it was such a good cause and there shouldn’t be any resistance not to do so.

Perhaps I could only attribute the following as reasons for the outcome.
a/ not enough time?  (the fundraising page was up just three days before the event)
b/ people were not familiar with the charity organization, and were too busy to follow through.
c/ people were skeptical about paying by credit card or paypal.

As for the run, it was fantastic, more so because it was my first time.  Having a chance to run into the ANZ Stadium for the last 100 metres with the audience on-looking was awesome.  It is like putting myself in the shoes of the Olympians running into the Stadium at the Year 2000 Sydney Olympic.

We ended up raising $710 for the Society. Thanks again to all those who had made this possible.

Live Life,
Junius
P.S.  the picture on the left was taken when I and my friend had crossed the finishing line.

Wordpress Goldmine

Read more ...

In the following passages, I want to share with you my experience with the Wordpress Goldmine training tool. I believe the information would be valuable to people particularly the newbies looking for a low-cost but effective learning tool.

Wordpress Goldmine is an ebook about how to build your domain and monetize it using Wordpress themes. The ebook is good, but what impresses me the most is the forum that comes with it. Membership is free, and it provides a platform of continuous learning using videos and live examples.

This concept of interactive learning through a forum is not so new.  But, what makes this one a stand-out is the openness of the proprietor, Mark Thompson, in sharing his tactics and techniques.  You can feel his energy and his dedication in putting together quality materials for the forum on a regular basis, not just on basics but on current day hot topics as well.

My comment would not be complete without a mention on the fellow participants to the forum.  They are a wonderful bunch, and are always willing to share their own experience and knowledge.  Good on them.

Internet is a huge platform and surely more and more people would be coming along to monetize it.  I feel that information like this would be important pointers for whoever wanting to fast track their learning curve in a simple but effective manner.  I feel strongly about it because I had learnt it the hard way only to find that the price tag might not be a good indicator of quality after all.

Live life,
Junius