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I see dead people every day in my life.

They are dead and they still walk among us.

I am not joking and really mean it.

The living dead that I am referring to are people who just exist in today’s society with no aim or purpose in their lives. They are living, but yet dead at the same time (ironic isn’t it?). When you ask them what makes them excited or passionate, a large number of people have forgotten about it. They cite reasons that when they were younger, they had dreams. Some even had ambitions. The sad thing is that after many years of working and climbing the corporate ladder, they looked back and asked themselves “Am I happy and is this life?”

In the book Halftime, it describes that for most people in the first half of their lives, they really work hard to pursue success. Everyone has a different idea of what success looks like. For some it will be money or career, while others it could be about places they have travelled or people they have met.

However, when they enter the second half of their lives, they look back at the work of their hands and ask the following fundamental questions:

“What have I done so far?” and the usual “Am I contented with it?”

They realise that their lives are no longer about pursuing success, it is about pursuing significance.

Image from freelanceapple.com

Here’s my story and journey of how I started my entrepreneur journey:

I started off my career working in an engineering company that was extremely established in Singapore. I was into building automation and served as a project engineer handling building projects. It was something that I could do, in fact, it was something that I was trained well for. I mean, my early years in life was spent on preparing for a job in the engineering sector.

Until something happened.

At the age of 26, I started to ask myself a question which all adults actually ask at one point in their lives and that is “what do I really want to do with my life?” It was astonishing simple but yet, it could not be answered at all. I was dumb folded.

This question kept ringing in my head. I actually ignored it, thinking that it will go away. It did go away, only to resurface again a week later, then another week and a couple of days later. It just kept coming back. For some adults, they ignored it to a point where their dreams were drowned by the immediate concerns of providing for the family. I acknowledge that all of us have a responsibility to fulfill to our families, but what has happened to our dreams in the process? Can there be a way to fulfill both at the same time?

It took me a year of soul searching and to constantly ask what I am passionate about? And I finally found it. I discovered that I really love to teach and inspire people towards fun, loving and supportive relationships. Not only I found it, I took massive action towards it. I started asking myself how can I do more of what I am passionate about? Are there groups that I can join to do just that? Is there a career decision that I have to make for that to happen? Can I change my attitude towards life and start taking personal responsibility for all the results that I have been getting? Will I make a firm decision to change my life right now?

Fast forward into the present now. I have traveled to 7 countries so far, conducting training and giving talks on motivation, mindset change and building teams. At a young age, I have spoken to CEOs, directors and people twice my age. I have given keynote speeches in conferences and learning seminars. I have personally trained or spoken to 5400 people. Everything started because I started to find out what makes me excited and alive.

So, my question to you is what makes you excited? What makes you feel alive? Will you take some time to list them down? Don’t do it for me, but do it for yourself!

Do read my questions that I have posted earlier here and reflect on it.

Take time to clear the clutter off your mind and another 30 minutes to reflect upon it. Do share with me on what you have discovered!

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Kenneth having fun with his participants

From my experience, I have come to know many people who know what they do not like, however, not many people know what they like and what really drives them in life. There are a lot of people who work with a lack of passion or have values that clash with their job scope. This results in a lot of unhappy people.

The question then is “How do you know what you are passionate about?”

Here are some questions that will help you:

1. What are the three words that describe you?
2. What are the things that you really like to do, without getting paid, for long hours?
3. What are the three things in life that makes you frustrated?
4. What are some talents that people say you have?
5. What is your perfect world like?

I truly believe that when you are able to answer the above questions truthfully, your next step is to identify whether there are links between each question and attempt to put them together. Here’s my personal mission statement:

My life purpose is to teach and inspire people to have fun, loving and supportive relationships.

When I see people enjoying their relationships and having fun in the work environment or at home, it gives me tremendous pleasure! This is one of the reasons why I conduct many transformational teambuilding and people related programs. In addition, I give key note address in seminars and conduct talks as well in the people management area. Do not fall into the trap and pursue other peoples’ dreams. I have seen many people trying to enroll themselves in different programs when it is not in line with their personal values and mission.

So, I hope that you will make a conscious decision to identify what you are passionate about and go for it, rather than go through life talking about the things that you don’t like to do.

What’s your passion? Do share it with me in the comments box!

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Most people are good in what they do, but few seldom achieve greatness. Most are content with just being good, however, they feel that greatness is something that is achieved with a lot more hard work, time and energy. However, let me share with you something that might just shock you!

1. Greatness requires just a little more from you

In the Olympics, any 100 meter race is over by just a couple of seconds. The difference between the first and the second place is just a matter of split seconds! However, the prize money between the first and second (or even third) usually differs by a few times! Just a little bit more in the final push towards the end line, and the person is the first place. Since we are already putting in so much effort to be good, why not take a little more to make it great? It is no harder to build a good company than to be build something great and lasting.

An interesting note: No one remembers 2nd place in a race, but everyone remembers only the first!

2. Greatness sometimes requires less suffering and work

In the book Good to Great, Jim Collins comments that some of the great companies face less suffering and perhaps less work. This is because Great companies are able to realise that much of what they are doing is a waste of energy and have the ability to focus on objectives that will only drive the company towards a singular goal. Most other companies tend to focus on a lot of areas and diversifying their time and efforts, thus resulting in a lot of extra work with not much result.

Collins adds, “I am not saying that going from good to great is easy… but I am asserting that those who strive to turn good into great find the process no more painful or exhausting than those who settle for just letting things wallow along in mind-numbing mediocrity. Yes, turning good into great requires energy, but building the momentum adds more energy back in to the pool than it takes out.”

3. Greatness is about asking the right question

If we ever ask questions like “Why should I need to be great? Isn’t success enough?” My question to you would be whether you are in the right kind of work. If you are engaged in something that you really love and are passionate about, that question becomes irrelevant. This is because when we are in the flow of doing what we really enjoy and like, we will want to make it greater and better. We will be asking better questions like, “How can I add more value to my clients/organisation in what I am doing?”

Conclusion

Make a conscious decision to be Great in what we do. Since we are already striving to be good, let’s strive to be Great!

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