Good Afternoon readers,

I’m sitting in a nice arm chair, with a latte next to me and what was a glass of mocha, at this place called Journal by Plan B (loving this place), in this place called Publika and I love this place. It’s got a really good feel, very open, lots of natural light, great places to eat, chill, caffeinate and booze out. Specifically to Journal, it’s got good coffee, great food and a brilliant environment , feel and ambiance, though I wish the coffees came in bigger sizes, (cough grande cough).

When was the last time you spent some time in nature? I’ve got to tell you it has a great refreshing effect on you, well it did on me. I went for a walk this morning on this Kiara Trail, not the TTDI park, the one closer to KLGCC, and it was really nice. I was there at about 8:30 and the air was cool, crisp and so damn fresh. The sun was just nice and after a while I unplugged my iPhone and just focused on my surroundings. Feeling the air as I breathe it in, felt the cool air move brush passed me, heard the birds chirping/singing and the rustling of the leaves as the wind blew. It was such a calm environment, so damn good for my mind and my soul. The walk wasn’t exactly says, it goes up and down, but I came out not feeling tired, but feeling so damn refreshed.

Nature, do not underestimate its ability for whatever. It keeps us grounded and reminds us of the essence of life.

So spend some time regularly in nature, whether it’s once a week in a park full of trees, or a trail lined with greenery, it all counts. Just talk some time to put it into your day or at least your week. To calm down, to relax, refresh and renew for the next day/week. And hey, what have you got to lose? Go and try it out. A combination of nature and exercise is the ultimate way to start of your day, and keep the music away and focus on the walk, on the flora and the air. And hey, if you don’t love it, then maybe it ain’t your cuppa tea, but please give it a fair shot. Don’t multi task when you’re in nature, this is your ‘Me’ time, don’t use it for anything else but you, out the phone away, put the music away, and leave the distraction at the gate and enjoy the simple things in life, they tend to be able to bring the most amount of joy and pleasure.

Go find a green lung, a waterfall, a forest, a lake, whatever tickles your fancy and spend some time there daily or at least weekly.

Straight From The Heart

Good Afternoon dear readers, hope your Friday is going well. I’m currently checking out the Signature Starbucks at One Utama and I have to say that I am impressed. Looks good, feels good and my Soy Café Mocha tastes good. I’m think I’m going to make it a habit to come here once a week.

Anyway, today is Friday which means the weekend is going to start soon, i’m on a little little vacation, staying overnight at a hotel, (I’ll review it on Monday) and just engaging my self in renewal. And that’s what today’s topic is about Renewal.

When was the last time you took some time off for yourself. To just get away to renew, recharge and relax, to strip away try noise. this is as important as anything else in your life. We aren’t meant to work all the time and live life in an office. Try and make a habit of taking mini-vacations, they don’t have to be grand or anything like that. They just have to be able to get you away and help you renew your mind and soul. Whether it’s staying at a nice hotel overnight, or taking a weekend trip out of state or hike. It’d got to be something for you, not anyone else, something that appeals to you. Spend some time in nature, pamper yourself to a day spa or hideaway in your favourite quiet cafe and spend 3 hours just to read that book you’ve been wanting to or out on the headphones and listen to seem soothing tunes for an hour or two (if you can try out the Bose QC15) or just go out into nature and be with yourself in its serene, calm & quiet environment and do some thinking.

Do not underestimate the power of renewal, it is not a waste of time. In order for us to reform at our best we have to feel our best, simple as that. it is essential in Getting to Greatness without burning out.

So try and set a few hours every weekend to renew and have some relaxing ‘Me’ time and on top of that try to get away one weekend a month (road trip, stay at a hotel, out-of-state, full fledged day spa). Don’t take my word for it, try it our and see for yourself.

On a side note, I know some may think of sleeping the weekend away as Renewal, but I really wouldn’t recommend that, go ahead and sleep in, but don’t spend more than 9 hours in bed because after that you’re body is going to get into a last and lethargic mood and your renewal time would have been wasted. this is not just a time for physical renewal, but also for your mind and soul. Go ahead and sleep-in, but don’t over do it, go out more living in your life and get some nourishing renewal.

Straight From The Heart

I’ve been trying to do one new thing daily and so today, instead of Starbucks, I thought I’d try something different. So here I am, at Artisan Roast Cafe with my flat white. It’s pretty good, but I miss my Café Mocha, should have tried their mocha here instead, I guess that’ll have to be another time. By right now, I can say that this place is a nice chill out place for coffee purist, parking was a pain but I finally got a place. It has a very very different feel from Starbucks. But hey, what’s life if we don’t try out new things.

Today’s post revolves around the old saying, “Actions speak louder than words,” and “walk the talk.”

A lot of us talk a good talk but can we deliver? Are our actions in line with our words? Is our video aligned with your audio, as Robin Sharma says.

This is definitely something to think about, don’t say something if you don’t mean it, don’t make promises you can’t keep. You may say something is important to you, but do you actions follow through on it?

I remember this from one of Robin Sharma books, “your schedule doesn’t lie.” you may say that you family is top priority but do you schedule time to spend with them? You may say exercise is important but have you scheduled down workout sessions for the week?

Remember, anyone can talk a good talk, but not everyone can walk the talk. Listen to what you say regularly and ask yourself, do I really mean this? Do I really do these things? Am I just talking utter BS?

This habit is not beneficial to anyone in the long run, to you and your loved ones. You will hurt yourself and them.

Now one of the biggest enemies of walking the talk is procrastination, people have good intentions but good intentions are just that, intentions, and intentions won’t make a differences to anything or none unless they’re translated into action. The way to fight procrastination, start small , just do it and Keep Moving Forward. There are many decisions to make and things to do, just get cracking.

Do you remember what your new year’s resolution was?
When was the last time you made a promise and then didn’t keep it?

Words mean nothing until they become actions, yes words have the power to stimulate action, but they isn’t always the case as you and I both know.

Most of us (notice that i used ‘us’) are all guilty of these things, so here are a couple things to keep in mind that will help rectify this issue, it’s not an instant fix but it’s definitely the right way to go if you, like me, want to kill this habit/practice.

Don’t make promises you can’t keep, make sure your schedule is inline with your priorities or what you say are your priorities & don’t say something if you don’t mean it, if you’re going to say it, make sure you can do it.

Hope this helps,

Straight From The Heart