Monkey Saw, Monkey Did!

Now here's a hilarious but true experiment on what happens when you reward unequally for equal work.

See any similarities to real life here? Ahhhh, bourgeois living....

Note: Thanks to Hillary for sharing!

To All Racists, Here's What You Owe Refugees

Freddie Mercury - ironic how so many
idolise him, a refugee, yet persecute
refugees with their miniscule mindset and racist attitudes. 

With the book, Managing Yaa-hoos! newly-released, it certainly has raised enough eyebrows. One of which is that for every book sold, it contributes to one hour of free training for an underprivileged youth or refugee.

"Why should you train refugees?" Because every child is my child. Even one who doesn't belong to me. Even one who looks nothing like me.

"We've got enough of our own poor children." I'll share with you what one donor said to me when I told her she could channel her money/free training to poor youths - it's much popular as Malaysians prefer that rather than refugees. She said, "It's because it's easier to raise money for orphans, or local causes that I want to support more difficult, less popular ones."

"I don't trust Africans." My question is: Were they refugees?

The sole Somali refugee I met had to mix with Arab refugees because he didn't want to get involved with his own race, whom he admits is so involved in crime... he wanted a different life for himself. And the Arabs accepted this 'stray' because in essence, aren't they all in the same boat?

He was a boy who wanted a chance at real change for his life. A refugee who saw the nonsense his own people were up to, and decided he wanted nothing to do with it. And yet, Malaysians sit in their high, ivory tower and deny this boy a chance, because of his colour.

SO...

Here's what history will show. That some of the greatest minds that ever crossed the face of this earth... were once refugees:

Lord Maurice Saatchi & Charles Saatchi - Founder of Saatchi & Saatchi advertising agency. Their father was an Iraqi Jewish refugee.

Peter Carl Faberge, the famous Russian jeweller and whose namesake Faberge eggs and other jewelleries take after. He fled Finland.

Aristotle Onassis - need we say more on who this tycoon is? Formerly richest man in the world who was a Greek refugee.

Supermodel Alek Wek, she fled Sudan with her family.

Bob Marley - A Jamaican refugee. All Rastafarians, bow down right now...

Freddie Mercury, who else but Queen would've made it so good. He fled Zanzibar during the Indian Massacre.

Gloria Estefan, iconic Latin American singer in the late 80s and 90s. Her father was a Cuban refugee.

Sir John Tenniel, a descendent of Huguenot refugees who was a cartoonist and book illustrator.

And my personal favourite: Marc Chagall, the painter who revolutionised the art world. And always left it to the viewer to draw their own meaning from his dream-like deft-defying style. A personal favourite is his painting posted somewhere in our previous entry. But then again, there are so many to choose from. But perhaps the most fitting for this post is The Wandering Jew.

It epitomises the plight of all displaced persons, people who have fled their country in search of peace, a better future, freedom, persecution... Where would we be without them?

Managing Yaa-hoos!

Join us at the Sunway Education Expo!

Akasaa's talk on Social Innovations - The Never-Ending Saga: Of Time Banking, Spring Chickens & Strutting Sally's.

Be the first to get a copy of our book: Managing Yaa-hoos! True accounts of unscrupulous conduct & the 'nobodies' who change things. 

Malaysia's first book reviewed by London School of Economics, Amnesty International Malaysia, International Women's Rights Action Watch-Asia Pacific.

The Talk: Oct 7 10:30AM
The Booth: Oct 6 & 7 from 8am-5pm

The Mind Battle

Our mind can be tuned to block out pain,

To turn pain into strength,

But it could also be wired to exaggerate the pain. 

The mind makes or breaks you.

I was told by a teacher that I would be a tomboy at 12.

I've heard people laughing and poking fun at me for my size.

I've been told no guys would like me because I'm not attractive.

No one believed that I was just an unpolished jewel, eagerly waiting for the right time to shine.

But to me it doesn't matter. 

As long as I had the courage, faith and strength to carry on, 

No words can inflict harm if I do not allow it to hurt me.

I cannot even fathom how much I've learnt through Awake Minds. 

Maturity, confidence, and discipline to spirituality.

Learning is the easy part. Applying what you've learnt to life is the challenge.

I made a goal that after my exams, I would start jogging everyday to build my stamina and lose weight besides controlling my diet and watching what I eat because I've been eating unhealthy junk prior to exams.

The biggest part of losing weight is not about the diet or the exercise.

It ultimately boils down to how successful you are in controlling your mind. 

I have come to a realization that this is just a microcosm of life itself. 

Life is ultimately the battle of the mind, not if I am better than the person next to me.

If it was not for a senior's advice, I would had never kicked start my plan.

I told him how I would want to lose more weight by running but the weather has been a huge stumbling block (it's winter and it tends to rain almost everyday)

His solution for me was simple. 

"Rain or shine, just run"

His advice knocked me hard. 

It hit me that I was too busy making excuses, using talk but no actions to comfort my laziness.

I am pretty fond of excuses.

Excuses are like Valium or Prozac to the mind.

Only difference is its au naturale as compared to the synthetic drugs generating big bucks for pharmaceutical companies. 

Excuses are so poisonous and dangerous it becomes addictive and a habit that's so hard to break.

Now I clearly see the difference and reason between a winner and a loser. 

One puts words into actions, and the other actions into mere words.

Most Successful Women 2012 Award

Akasaa Founder & Director, Angela Yap, was one of 10 recipients of Jessica Malaysia's inaugural award for Most Successful Women 2012.

She joins the ranks of Datuk Ambiga Sreenevasan, co-chair of Bersih, and Datin Paduka Marina Mahathir, social activist and writer, who also received the honour this year.

Our congratulations to these women who've contributed to the building of a true Malaysian spirit!

Watch the video here on her acceptance: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fNi5lRPc798

Angela is featured here in May's issue of Jessica Malaysia:

 

Honour In Labour

Labour Day Parade in Toronto.

As we usher in Labour Day, I remember a time when Labour had great dignity attached to it.

Today, if you tell someone that you labour for a living, they'll take two steps back and then make a run for it. Why? Coz nobody wants to hang around with a chump who toils for a living... like Bangladeshi workers or Indonesian maids.

Everyone wants to snuggle up to success, to the man at the top of a ladder rather than the guy holding it.

But to labour doesn't mean being a Labourer or from the lower classes. In fact, anyone whose focus is to put in an honest day's work every day, Labours for his/her profession.

The world has changed drastically.

Most of the developed world no longer "makes" anything. America has downsized Detroit, the UK no longer manages it's customer service and Europeans no longer manage their own books.

But all great countries, were built on hard labour. Forefathers who believed in dignity, from doing it on your own rather than at someone else's expense for cheap. From smelters to tappers, miners to carpenters, medical officers to administrators... everything we have today is built on the legacy of someone else's sweat and toil.

There's a lot of pride that comes from having to do something on your own. From getting your hands dirty. From remembering what it feels to get a fair wage for the job.

For instance, the going rate for getting your car washed in the city is $10. And no one gets their car washed on a cloudy day so it's obvious the sun is shining and the car washers toil under the heat. After watching the boys working and sweating to clean the car, I used to give them $12. Because it's an honest day's job.

Some people are appalled. I've been told off for 'spoiling the market'. But everyone's got their pet splurge. Mine isn't beer.  

If you check your insurance policy, the investment linked fund you bought 4 years ago is worth very little today. In fact, if you sold it, you'd be bearing a loss.

The customer service agent is always gonna tell you to hold on because it's a good policy. On what grounds? Ummmm... She can't quite tell. That's the prepared speech they trained them to spout whenever anyone considers surrendering their policy. Don't question - just say it. Even if it's not true. So is that an honest day's work? No, it's not.

When someone offered his services as a consultant to a fellow entrepreneur to raise funds for a project, this self appointed consultant tells him, "You're naive to think you'll be seeing actual cash in your bank account. In my experience, they usually never pay up."

Which speaks volumes about the capacity of the consultant and his style of advising potential clients. Why would I need to hire anyone who's expecting to bring zero into my account?

There was a time when managing another persons' affairs was a position of trust, not a philosophy lesson. If you can't deliver the goods, leave it to the next person who can. Don't try to convince the other that they're naive in believing that they will be paid what's owed. That's not consulting, that's your own personal agenda shining through. Needless to say, not an honest day's work.

Respecting people's time is another. Too often, the little SMEs that hold immense knowledge obtained through hard work and toil... are violated. Big boys that ask them to pitch for jobs just to hear the idea and then pass the job on to their friends. Or private phone calls from officials who openly ask to 'pick your brains' and request access to your presentations and research materials.

That's not an honest day's work because it disrespects the person who took the time and effort to perfect their work into an art form.

So what IS an honest days work?

It's giving it everything you've got, no matter the outcome. Whether you're working for someone or running your own outfit. Cleaning the toilet or balancing the books. You owe it to no one else but yourself.

It's in being judicious and objective when executing your office. Dropping your Ego, Prejudices, Special Interests at the door. Otherwise, you can only see what you want to see, not what IS.

By referring to the past to make a decision in the present... that's not honest, wise or even a real decision. It's a reaction. And in reaction, there is no creativity, there's nothing new, no blossoming of understanding.

An honest days work is having the courage to tell the Truth... to our opponents as well as our friends. All relationships are secondary when one understands how dire it is to speak the Truth - and how many family and friends you will lose along the way. But being unpopular and without friends never hurt anybody. You get more time to tend to your inner garden.

It's also living up to your word. That if you'll make that call, or finish that piece of work... you will. But if you're not planning to... have the courage to say that too. But don't evade, avoid or change the subject. You may dodge the bullet. Whether you can hold your head up is another matter.

An honest day's work is apologising when you've made a mistake... and withholding an apology when you haven't. To say you're sorry when you aren't... belittles everyone. Time will sort that out. The real ones will stay. Others will never stay too long.

That's how the gravy train works. Chooooo-choooooo! On to the next fad! While the true Labour on...

Inspiration: How Value-Added Teachers Change The Face of Education

To all great Educators out there - past and present - who've changed lives by giving students something money can never buy... HOPE.

Here's the Columbia Uni study covering 18 million in statistical tracking over 20 years, proving how value-added teachers (those who give more than just knowledge and whose students show greater improvement than others in the curve) can significantly change the outcome in the lives of young people - their income, social status, occupation.

Click here: Columbia's 20-year study on Value-Added Education

Here's an excerpt from the Financial Times and their write-up on the study:

"The notion that a teacher can make a difference in an individual’s life is a familiar one, but now academics have discovered that the impact a good teacher can have goes much further than first realised.

According to professors from Columbia Business School and Harvard University a good teacher can affect students’ entire lives, from where they live, to how much they earn and even the age at which they have children."

Read more here: http://www.ft.com/cms/s/2/638fb35e-7e71-11e1-b20a-00144feab49a.html#axzz1rGzaUTZ3

Holding On Inside - Fear?

A question is posed:

Osho,
These days here with you are certainly the most beautiful. Doing nothing, so much time to sit silently in the garden, in my room, and watch the trees dancing in the wind, sparkling in the sun. So much beauty.

My mind is finally getting used to the idea of being turned off. I am so peaceful, so happy. Now, today, again going inside on this path of silence, with thoughts drifting away and emptiness surrounding me, I am aware of a tension inside me as if I am holding on to something.
Osho, what am I holding on to, and how do I let go?

It is not difficult to find out what you are holding on to, what your subtle tension is inside. You are feeling peaceful, you are feeling silent, you are feeling blissful as you have never felt. Hence, side by side, a fear must be lurking inside that soon you will be going from here and will this peace, this silence, this blissfulness remain a part of you? Or the moment you are away from me, will it disappear? This fear is not only within you, it is in every disciple’s mind, that when you are here it is one thing and when you go back to the marketplace, into the world, you will find it more miserable, more saddening than before because now you have something to compare it with.

Have you seen…? By the side of the road you are standing in darkness, and a car passes with its headlights on. The darkness disappears for a moment. The car has gone, but strangely enough after the car has gone the darkness is greater than it was before the car had come. You have seen the light; now there is a comparison.

This fear is natural. Only one thing can be done about it, and that is not to repress it but let it surface. You are repressing; that’s why you are not finding what it is that is troubling you somewhere inside. Allow it to surface. Experience that fear also. Accept the fear, and accept the challenge of the fear. Tell your mind, “It does not matter where I am. Whatever I have experienced, it is my experience and I can create it again.” It may have been triggered in my presence, but it is not my experience, it is your experience. Let it be deeply settled in you that it is your experience, it has nothing to do with me. I may have been a catalytic agent, but the experience is yours. And now, once it has happened, you can create it again anywhere in the world. Maybe in the beginning you will find it a little difficult, because you have become accustomed, and associated it with my presence. But it is not dependent on my presence.

It is just as if you light a candle with another candle – but once the candle is lit, it has its own flame. Perhaps in the beginning it needed to be close enough to another flame, but once it catches the flame, it has its own; it is no longer dependent. And when you go away, you will experience what I am saying – but give it a chance. Don’t decide that “Now it cannot happen because the master is not here.”

The master was needed to make you aware that it is something within you. Now you have seen it. Close your eyes anywhere, and you can recreate the silence, the beauty, the bliss. You can even recreate the presence of the master – that is the most difficult part, but not impossible. It depends on how intense is your love, how deep is your trust.


But no need to try it; first try those things which you can create within yourself. And once you have created all those things then you can try the tremendously beautiful experiment of creating the presence of the master.


So don’t be worried; just bring your fear to the surface. And it is not only in you; it is in everyone. It is something in the nature of things. So don’t give it too much importance either; just accept it as a natural phenomenon which will disappear by your little experiments away from me.


I guarantee it will disappear, because I have guaranteed it to thousands of my sannyasins and it has disappeared from their lives. There is no reason why it should not disappear from your life. The principles are the same; there are no exceptions.

Adults say the darnedest things

As fresh faced kids, we all listened intently to the adults in our life who told us what we were meant to be when we got bigger, older and wiser.
The first ambition I ever had was to be Spider-man. I had no idea how genetically modified spider bites worked, or how to get a genetically modified spider, for that matter. Still, it was Spider-man I wanted to be, and I was not going to settle for anything less. As I voiced out my opinions, I was constantly told that Spider-man never existed, and he was just a figment of an old man's imagination. Granted, that old man was Stan Lee, but the fact remained that Peter Parker was no more real than the Boogeyman under my bed. So with my head bowed, I finally accepted that I would neither swing from sky scrapers, fight the Green Goblin, nor marry Mary Jane Watson.

As I grew a little older, I wanted to be a mad scientist. Not just any scientist, but a mad one; complete with the crazy hairdo and the beer bottle glasses. As you can imagine, that idea too did not sit too well with the folks. "How are you going to make money", they said. Being a kid of 8 or 9, it never bothered me that someday I would be expected to support a household, or hold what the community and society believed to be a "respectable job". I was never a poor student in school, and most relatives I encountered would make comments on how I would make a great doctor or engineer someday. Why doctor? What's wrong with being a mad scientist, I would ask. The answer was always the same. Son, it's just not done.

And so as I grew into a teenager, I became wiser, and started targeting a 'real ambition'.

Yet, two years after deciding on a profession, I think of all the past ambitions I have had, and ask myself this. Did I actually get any wiser, or was I cowed into accepting the limits society imposed on  me? Guys, you can be whatever you set your mind to be. If I want to be Spider-man, then damn it, I will be Spider-man. Who is to say what is a respectable ambition, and what is not? The thing about potential is that once you doubt its existence, you automatically impose an extremely unforgiving barrier upon yourself, a barrier that unless broken will haunt your every effort at excellence. The effect of this barrier is like the "brick wall" long distance runners face. At a given point in their run, the runner feels the sudden urge to stop, and at that exact instant, it seems almost impossible to go on, and that the best choice would be to quit the race. However, once the barrier is overcome, the runner becomes extremely invigorated, pushing at their boundaries, and astonishing both themselves, and the crowd with their burst of excellence.

Who is to say we cannot do the same? I'll be bold here and say this. I will be whatever the hell I choose to be, regardless of what society expects of me, and honestly, you should too. Enough of being told what we can and can not do. Enough of having our limits imposed and set upon us. Enough of having our endless potential wasted by years of culling. We are all born with unique hues, yet sadly as we grow, we fade into the same shades of grey as the rest of the crowd. I say, stand out! Chase your dreams, however outlandish they may be. Try your hand at whatever it is you want to do, and if you fail, well at least you tried. Nobody won any awards for dreaming. Leave the dreaming to the dreamers and those who missed their boat. We are the youth of the nation, and we will do. 


Go ahead. Chase your dreams. I dare you. I dare us.

So long for now. I'm gonna go look for a radioactive spider.

Media Censorship

[- Post has been removed by SOPA -]




Freedom of speech and expression is everything. Do not let anyone take that away from us.
We are the youth of the nation, and we shall be heard.

Say no to SOPA and PIPA.

Would you believe me if I tell you...

What would you do if one day you realize that everything you've read, every idea that you have was never really yours? What would you do if you realize that your quickest and most reliable source of information about the world, and even about your friends have been filtered out only to fit your view about the world, not about how the world actually is? Would you believe me if I tell you that the internet may be turning you into a bigot? That your favorite social networking sites or search engines are only showing you what you want to see, not what you need to see?

Only you have the answers to this question. My main concern is, if you so willingly believe anything I tell you, then yes, I am very concerned. However, if you took the time to be critical, to analyze every information, every idea, to try and see every possible point of view on one particular issue, then I have no doubt that you'll be able to see the world as it is, not for what you think it is, or in other words, what the internet or the media wants you to think.

The problem with blindly believing every piece of information, especially one that has been accustomed to your view, one that does not challenge your view in any way is that it makes you prone to becoming ignorant, self-centered, dogmatic, and unaccepting of other peoples views or values. Is there any wonder then why people spend more time believing in or creating mindless gossip, arguing, defaming the other person instead of being more productive, exchanging great ideas and actually running the country? *ehem*slight reference to Malaysian politics and society*ehem*

I was inspired to write this post upon watching a video of Eli Pariser, a political and internet activist, talking about The Filter Bubble. As the internet is becoming an important source of information and connection to the rest of the world, I believe that every thinking person who is using the internet should watch this video. Please click HERE. (It's a link to a video from youtube, I'm not blogger-savvy enough to figure out how to share the video here.)

For more information about what exactly is The Filter Bubble. Click HERE.

Awake your Mind, DISCOVER the TRUTH.

Truth Is

We know discrimination by gender, sexual orientation, religion, race or disability is wrong,

Truth is that society

by acknowledging their differences and the need to treat them as equals, are already judging.

We ultimately realize that happiness is the reason for living,

Truth is that society

is ever ready to pop our happy bubble.

We learn that the only right we have is over our virtues and principles we hold in life,

Truth is that society

molds you to compromise your principles in exchange for a superior position on the superficial social ladder. 

We know failure in the quest for excellence would be inevitable

Truth is that society
tells us there is no such thing as perfection and only blaming others would make you feel better.

Yet, the very truth is that there's no truth.
Society's truth is not your truth.
My truth may not be your truth.

In the end, it is how we untangle and break free from the group mind that sets us apart. 

We are fully absorbed in the concept of following the majority that we are so afraid to stand for our truth. 

Why are we defending someone else's truth instead of our own?

What is keeping you and me back?

We keep telling our children to 'think out of the box' then we impose restrictions on them, forcing their retreat.
When a child questions an older figure, why is it seen as offensive if the question has a solid base?
Whoever said that age was the barometer of the quantity of respect awarded?

Professor Ha Joon Chang gave me one of the best advice that's so simple, yet often forgotten that I actually learnt through Awake Minds.

Do not fear. Dare to challenge the authority.
But of course, challenge authority with intelligence, not ego or pride.