Recently been feeling kinda down...perhaps its loneliness? Not that I don't have good friends or whatever, its just the vast amount of time spent alone is starting to pull down on me...that, or the vast amount of time spent not doing anything that helps me improve myself or make a living is the cause.
Need to do something to fulfill myself...but in the meantime, gonna just occupy myself with some basketball.
Tuesday, February 22, 2011
Sunday, February 20, 2011
First Day
Its the first day of the NEW SEMESTER...woohoo (insert copyrighted sarcasm mark), it'll be so fun. Not that I don't want to get back into university, however the drudgery of work is not something anyone looks forward to, unless of course that work is your pleasure. In the case of dentistry, however enjoyable the work is when done correctly, it is definitely far from pleasurable when not done properly. Or the numbers of hours one must devote to infusing one's memory with dental facts.
Aside from that, saw an ad on ESPN for some kind of 'from their own words' ('their' being highly paid professional athletes). And one saying really caught my eye: 'Don't think about it tomorrow, think about it NOW'. Very simple words, but they did kinda stir something up inside me. Something along the lines 'How much easier life would be if I simply followed that...and stopped procrastinating stuff'.
Moving on, I encountered another good saying from teamliquid...
"If you're not practicing, just remember that someone, somewhere else is practicing. And when you two meet, he will beat you."
- Bill Bradley
Now that is also a very good saying. Its basically saying...work hard man, cause someone out there is working when you aren't and if you don't work as hard as he or more, you'll lose out. Or god knows, maybe everyone out there is working harder than you and if you don't step up your game, crap will come raining down from the skies until the day you die.
Something else to think about
Aside from that, saw an ad on ESPN for some kind of 'from their own words' ('their' being highly paid professional athletes). And one saying really caught my eye: 'Don't think about it tomorrow, think about it NOW'. Very simple words, but they did kinda stir something up inside me. Something along the lines 'How much easier life would be if I simply followed that...and stopped procrastinating stuff'.
Moving on, I encountered another good saying from teamliquid...
"If you're not practicing, just remember that someone, somewhere else is practicing. And when you two meet, he will beat you."
- Bill Bradley
Now that is also a very good saying. Its basically saying...work hard man, cause someone out there is working when you aren't and if you don't work as hard as he or more, you'll lose out. Or god knows, maybe everyone out there is working harder than you and if you don't step up your game, crap will come raining down from the skies until the day you die.
Something else to think about
Friday, February 18, 2011
Creativity Through Constraint
Yes, I have returned after a 3(4?) month hiatus...and honest to god, this return is motivated mainly by the selfish need to feel like I'm actually accomplishing something. I feel like I can count the number of activities I'll be performing in the following year with my fingers:
1. Studying
2. Gaming
3. Exercising
4. ...Miscellaneous (Groceries, cooking, sleeping)
Hence, I figured maybe it would be a good time to restart the blog. In retrospect, seeing how I first wrote about dental things, and then motivational things, and both of them failed, I figure maybe I'll just go about this blog without any plans or whatnot, just see what kind of direction randomness will take me. In the meantime though, I still do feel like talking about various sayings and what they mean...
So today, I guess I'll be talking about the notion of Creativity through Constraint. This was something first heard from another Day 9 Daily, something that has stuck itself quite well in my head...so well in fact, I can't seem to think of another way to inspire creativity.
So anyway, the concept is that in order to inspire creativity one must impose some kinds of constraints upon oneself. The first example I think of is immediately the Day9 Daily Funday Monday, where you have to play a certain kind of way in order to get your replay featured - e.g warp prisms, nydus worms, contaminates (most recent one). And interestingly enough, although sometimes garbage does happen some new and innovative things do come up, things that people didn't really consider, unexpectedly powerful things.
Which made me think, what happens if you apply this to your everyday activities? What if one day I suddenly sat down and said 'no computer every alternating day', would I be forced to think of new things to do to fill up my time? I certainly think so.
Something interesting to incorporate if anybody's willing.
1. Studying
2. Gaming
3. Exercising
4. ...Miscellaneous (Groceries, cooking, sleeping)
Hence, I figured maybe it would be a good time to restart the blog. In retrospect, seeing how I first wrote about dental things, and then motivational things, and both of them failed, I figure maybe I'll just go about this blog without any plans or whatnot, just see what kind of direction randomness will take me. In the meantime though, I still do feel like talking about various sayings and what they mean...
So today, I guess I'll be talking about the notion of Creativity through Constraint. This was something first heard from another Day 9 Daily, something that has stuck itself quite well in my head...so well in fact, I can't seem to think of another way to inspire creativity.
So anyway, the concept is that in order to inspire creativity one must impose some kinds of constraints upon oneself. The first example I think of is immediately the Day9 Daily Funday Monday, where you have to play a certain kind of way in order to get your replay featured - e.g warp prisms, nydus worms, contaminates (most recent one). And interestingly enough, although sometimes garbage does happen some new and innovative things do come up, things that people didn't really consider, unexpectedly powerful things.
Which made me think, what happens if you apply this to your everyday activities? What if one day I suddenly sat down and said 'no computer every alternating day', would I be forced to think of new things to do to fill up my time? I certainly think so.
Something interesting to incorporate if anybody's willing.
Thursday, October 7, 2010
"There is no free lunch" ~ Unknown
The exam stress is beginning to takes its toll on me. I find myself less and less inclined to do work, even though I know I should be. I have been caught in a slump of sorts, and everything seems to be declining as a result...so I pray in time I find the necessary will to pull myself out of it.
In the meantime, I figured today we'd do a quote thats very simple: "There is no free lunch". I personally have NO idea who was the first person to quote it, and if you search wikipedia you will find aplethora of variations on the theme...but I figured I'd just take the simplest one and run with it.
SO, 'There is no free lunch'. If we look past what its saying literally (There is literally, no free lunch...unless you go eat in one of those soup kitchens for the homeless, but thats a different case) you will find it is merely saying 'You cannot get something for nothing".
Think about it: In real life, you cannot get anything without an equivalent trade. You cannot eat food, unless you lose money somehow. If you eat for free at charity, you have to expend energy in order to walk to the soup kitchen and whatnot. And if you eat by having the charity deliver food to your doorstep...then I really have no idea what to say about that. But I'm assuming most people understand what I'm getting at.
The point is, to acquire something of great worth, or of great value to ourselves we must expend an equivalent amount of something in order to get it. It is important to emphasise the word equivalent here. Too many people get hooked onto scams, get-rich-quick schemes with the belief that will really make them rich very easily. The truth is, if it is so hard to scrounge a living as it is, what are the chances that there really is a scheme to 'get-rich quick'?
This is a very simple quote...there isn't much to dive into today...and the work is starting to pile on so this blog will suffer. But ah well...when I do get free time, I will attempt to update this MORE often...for now though, everybody'll have to suffer through some very short articles...
Once again, anybody who reads this, your comments will be appreciated. And now I have to go back and read about Endodontics!
~
In the meantime, I figured today we'd do a quote thats very simple: "There is no free lunch". I personally have NO idea who was the first person to quote it, and if you search wikipedia you will find aplethora of variations on the theme...but I figured I'd just take the simplest one and run with it.
SO, 'There is no free lunch'. If we look past what its saying literally (There is literally, no free lunch...unless you go eat in one of those soup kitchens for the homeless, but thats a different case) you will find it is merely saying 'You cannot get something for nothing".
Think about it: In real life, you cannot get anything without an equivalent trade. You cannot eat food, unless you lose money somehow. If you eat for free at charity, you have to expend energy in order to walk to the soup kitchen and whatnot. And if you eat by having the charity deliver food to your doorstep...then I really have no idea what to say about that. But I'm assuming most people understand what I'm getting at.
The point is, to acquire something of great worth, or of great value to ourselves we must expend an equivalent amount of something in order to get it. It is important to emphasise the word equivalent here. Too many people get hooked onto scams, get-rich-quick schemes with the belief that will really make them rich very easily. The truth is, if it is so hard to scrounge a living as it is, what are the chances that there really is a scheme to 'get-rich quick'?
This is a very simple quote...there isn't much to dive into today...and the work is starting to pile on so this blog will suffer. But ah well...when I do get free time, I will attempt to update this MORE often...for now though, everybody'll have to suffer through some very short articles...
Once again, anybody who reads this, your comments will be appreciated. And now I have to go back and read about Endodontics!
~
Tuesday, October 5, 2010
"The real measure of your wealth is how much you'd be worth if you lost all your money"
So its 11.44pm now and I just came back from watching 'Wall Street 2: Money Never Sleeps' at Rialto in Dunedin...great place, big screen...however it was a little empty, I suppose mainly because its the month before exams and...well either everyone is studying, or nobody wants to watch a movie about the stock market.
But I like the stock market...though I haven't invested anything into any stocks, bonds, derivatives or anything just yet, though I intend to ONE day, when I have learned enough to not kill myself. But enough of that. For now, seeing as how I just came back from a movie about money, I figured it'd be best to do a quote about money.
SO, "The real measure of your wealth is how much you'd be worth if you lost all your money". This quote actually has no...source? Citation? But it is a good quote nonetheless. How true this quote is can be evaluated simply by asking yourself one question: "If I lost all my money today, how long would it take me to get it back?"
If the answer to the aforementioned question is..."Never"...then what you are essentially saying is you are worthless, because it means you are acknowledging that you do not have the skillset necessary to create the wealth you had. That is the main point of this quote: Real wealth lies not in the amount of money that you have, but the ability to create it.
How many times have you heard this one: "Millionaires are lucky. They got opportunities in life that no one else got, and because of that, they are where they are today". The truth is (for the majority anyway) that if they lost it all tomorrow, chances are they would be able to make it back in a few years anyway, because they have the necessary skills to do so.
What I believe this quote is telling us, is that the value that society places on us is not based on the amount of money that we HAVE, but the amount of money that we can MAKE. Who would you rank as the one better off; The multi-millionaire who inherited his wealth, or the millionaire who created it on his own? I would pick the latter, because he/she (referred as he) would have shown that he can create it on his own, and can most likely do it again if needed.
I'm not saying that everybody who has inherited their wealth is doomed, on the contrary some inheritors, upon inheriting their wealth gain the wisdom to start learning about how to conserve their money. But not all (e.g Andrew Luster). But I suppose the ultimate point is thus: The world will value you on not what you have, but on what you can do.
As always, anybody who reads this is welcomed to comment on what they think is a fair interpretation of the quote above. And as always, I shall catch you once again soon.
~
But I like the stock market...though I haven't invested anything into any stocks, bonds, derivatives or anything just yet, though I intend to ONE day, when I have learned enough to not kill myself. But enough of that. For now, seeing as how I just came back from a movie about money, I figured it'd be best to do a quote about money.
SO, "The real measure of your wealth is how much you'd be worth if you lost all your money". This quote actually has no...source? Citation? But it is a good quote nonetheless. How true this quote is can be evaluated simply by asking yourself one question: "If I lost all my money today, how long would it take me to get it back?"
If the answer to the aforementioned question is..."Never"...then what you are essentially saying is you are worthless, because it means you are acknowledging that you do not have the skillset necessary to create the wealth you had. That is the main point of this quote: Real wealth lies not in the amount of money that you have, but the ability to create it.
How many times have you heard this one: "Millionaires are lucky. They got opportunities in life that no one else got, and because of that, they are where they are today". The truth is (for the majority anyway) that if they lost it all tomorrow, chances are they would be able to make it back in a few years anyway, because they have the necessary skills to do so.
What I believe this quote is telling us, is that the value that society places on us is not based on the amount of money that we HAVE, but the amount of money that we can MAKE. Who would you rank as the one better off; The multi-millionaire who inherited his wealth, or the millionaire who created it on his own? I would pick the latter, because he/she (referred as he) would have shown that he can create it on his own, and can most likely do it again if needed.
I'm not saying that everybody who has inherited their wealth is doomed, on the contrary some inheritors, upon inheriting their wealth gain the wisdom to start learning about how to conserve their money. But not all (e.g Andrew Luster). But I suppose the ultimate point is thus: The world will value you on not what you have, but on what you can do.
As always, anybody who reads this is welcomed to comment on what they think is a fair interpretation of the quote above. And as always, I shall catch you once again soon.
~
Sunday, October 3, 2010
One of those revelations...
I figured I might as well put this into writing (or typing perhaps?), cause I've read, and heard a lot of things which say that if you put what you're thinking into writing, you're giving your thought physical form, making it more meaningful, giving it more meaning to yourself. So I figured I'd put this down to remind myself of what crossed my mind an hour or so ago...
So it was just after writing my last blog post (an ounce of action, anyone?) and I was just pondering over one of my dreams from the previous night...or should I say, nightmare? It goes as follows...I dreamt that I saw the devil himself offering people who were about to die a choice: You can either choose to die completely, as in...total and utter nothingness, or you can choose to live forever - as a stone sculpture. In my dream one fellow picked the latter choice thinking it was the better choice...only once it had happened, he started screaming...
That nightmare was one of the few dreams/nightmares that have caused me to wake up, scared. And I was just thinking about it this afternoon, while washing some dishes when it actually hit me: One day I am actually going to die. Yes, it is something OBVIOUS, but when you really think about it...one day we will no longer be able to anything, experience anything...we will simply just be...dead. I felt a chill run down my spine as I thought about this, watching the water from the tap flow over my fingertips...
Afterwards, it had me thinking...every second that I spend not performing at what I know to be my best, is a second that can no longer be retracted. I am inevitably going to be dead one day. We all owe a death, that is one of life's certainties. And it really hit me there...why do I live life, not trying to be the best at what I can...?
This post doesn't really adequately explain what I was thinking back then....but I do hope that I can look back and read this, and the same feeling that I had when I was thinking why not live life trying to be as best I can be will come over me again, and I will feel glad.
~
So it was just after writing my last blog post (an ounce of action, anyone?) and I was just pondering over one of my dreams from the previous night...or should I say, nightmare? It goes as follows...I dreamt that I saw the devil himself offering people who were about to die a choice: You can either choose to die completely, as in...total and utter nothingness, or you can choose to live forever - as a stone sculpture. In my dream one fellow picked the latter choice thinking it was the better choice...only once it had happened, he started screaming...
That nightmare was one of the few dreams/nightmares that have caused me to wake up, scared. And I was just thinking about it this afternoon, while washing some dishes when it actually hit me: One day I am actually going to die. Yes, it is something OBVIOUS, but when you really think about it...one day we will no longer be able to anything, experience anything...we will simply just be...dead. I felt a chill run down my spine as I thought about this, watching the water from the tap flow over my fingertips...
Afterwards, it had me thinking...every second that I spend not performing at what I know to be my best, is a second that can no longer be retracted. I am inevitably going to be dead one day. We all owe a death, that is one of life's certainties. And it really hit me there...why do I live life, not trying to be the best at what I can...?
This post doesn't really adequately explain what I was thinking back then....but I do hope that I can look back and read this, and the same feeling that I had when I was thinking why not live life trying to be as best I can be will come over me again, and I will feel glad.
~
"An ounce of action is worth a ton of theory" ~ Ralph Waldo Emerson
I'm feeling rather lazy at the moment...its 5.40pm, and I know I should be studying....but I just don't really feel like it. SO, instead of just sitting in front of my computer, visiting the same websites I visited 10 minutes ago and reading the same things I read...I figured this would be a good time if any to do today's quote! I decided to go back and quote Ralph Waldo Emerson again...solely because the underlying message of this quote 'action' is something I think I need right now...
SO, "An ounce of action is worth a ton of theory". This is a very, very good saying, solely because it is absolutely true. There isn't much to really dig into for this quote, but its meaning comes through everyday in anything we choose to do.
The quote refers to situations when, despite all the thinking of, planning of and discussing of doing something, it never materialises simply because we never take action on it. People tend to mistake thinking about something, or planning something for actually doing something; it actually isn't. The truth is, its only once we move past the planning stage and actually start do something that actually has an effect towards accomplishing our ultimate goal that we can be said to actually be 'taking action'. That sounds very obvious, but one would be suprised as to how often it happens.
The simple example could be a thin man who wants to go to the gym to gain some muscle. SO, he starts looking through his work schedule, looking for free time so he can go to the gym. He starts cruising through the mall and the net, looking for the best protein powders to buy so he can bulk up. He starts looking for gym memberships, for the best prices and the best rates. He starts looking up exercise guides so he can perform optimally in the gym...and so on and so forth. Now...here is the thing. He actually hasn't DONE anything. He has the illusion that he is taking action on his goal by going out, and looking and planning, and so on...but he has actually DONE nothing.
Now it could be argued that he's actually taking action by planning out how to best workout...but I'm not too sure about that. Because everything he has been doing up till that point hasn't actually done anything to his muscles. Its only when he has his hands wrapped around those iron bars and he's pumping them with all his strength can he be said to be taking action on his goal of gaining some muscle.
I'm actually finding this notion a little harder to explain than I anticipated. But I suppose my point is, we must all take action on our goals. Until we actually DO something that puts us on a firm path towards achieving our goals, something that beyond the point of return (for example say...paying a 2 year gym membership?) and cannot be retracted, because if not up till that point all we that we have been doing exists only in our minds.
We hear very often that people who 'get things done' are the ones who get hired, promoted and are generally successful in everything they do. And its absolutely true, simply because thats what they do - they take the necessary steps and actions in order to achieve something. This is in contrast to somebody who speaks about getting something done, but in the end does NOT do what is necessary to get them done. Such a person is all flash and no substance. And such a person, because his perceived actions actually achieve nothing except fruitless planning and talking, will never achieve what his goals are.
So, conclusion: If we want to get something done, we have to do something about it. Something concrete, something that is past the point of no return, something that forces our commitment. That is what action is.
As for me, I've got to take action and get off this computer chair, get my dinner ready and get that textbook in front of my eyes so I can study for my exams. As always, anybody who reads this is free to speak out about what you think is correct, wrong, and offer up your opinions on what said quote could mean. Until next time,
~
SO, "An ounce of action is worth a ton of theory". This is a very, very good saying, solely because it is absolutely true. There isn't much to really dig into for this quote, but its meaning comes through everyday in anything we choose to do.
The quote refers to situations when, despite all the thinking of, planning of and discussing of doing something, it never materialises simply because we never take action on it. People tend to mistake thinking about something, or planning something for actually doing something; it actually isn't. The truth is, its only once we move past the planning stage and actually start do something that actually has an effect towards accomplishing our ultimate goal that we can be said to actually be 'taking action'. That sounds very obvious, but one would be suprised as to how often it happens.
The simple example could be a thin man who wants to go to the gym to gain some muscle. SO, he starts looking through his work schedule, looking for free time so he can go to the gym. He starts cruising through the mall and the net, looking for the best protein powders to buy so he can bulk up. He starts looking for gym memberships, for the best prices and the best rates. He starts looking up exercise guides so he can perform optimally in the gym...and so on and so forth. Now...here is the thing. He actually hasn't DONE anything. He has the illusion that he is taking action on his goal by going out, and looking and planning, and so on...but he has actually DONE nothing.
Now it could be argued that he's actually taking action by planning out how to best workout...but I'm not too sure about that. Because everything he has been doing up till that point hasn't actually done anything to his muscles. Its only when he has his hands wrapped around those iron bars and he's pumping them with all his strength can he be said to be taking action on his goal of gaining some muscle.
I'm actually finding this notion a little harder to explain than I anticipated. But I suppose my point is, we must all take action on our goals. Until we actually DO something that puts us on a firm path towards achieving our goals, something that beyond the point of return (for example say...paying a 2 year gym membership?) and cannot be retracted, because if not up till that point all we that we have been doing exists only in our minds.
We hear very often that people who 'get things done' are the ones who get hired, promoted and are generally successful in everything they do. And its absolutely true, simply because thats what they do - they take the necessary steps and actions in order to achieve something. This is in contrast to somebody who speaks about getting something done, but in the end does NOT do what is necessary to get them done. Such a person is all flash and no substance. And such a person, because his perceived actions actually achieve nothing except fruitless planning and talking, will never achieve what his goals are.
So, conclusion: If we want to get something done, we have to do something about it. Something concrete, something that is past the point of no return, something that forces our commitment. That is what action is.
As for me, I've got to take action and get off this computer chair, get my dinner ready and get that textbook in front of my eyes so I can study for my exams. As always, anybody who reads this is free to speak out about what you think is correct, wrong, and offer up your opinions on what said quote could mean. Until next time,
~
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