Tag: keep moving forward

“Sometimes you have to get off track to discover a better track.”  #RobinSharma #ArtisanCoffeeHQ


Hey guys, What’s up?

Just had my Artisan Coffee flat white while talking to Alan about coffee, practice, giving back and other general points of life; which got the brain turning a little and got me thinking about today’s QOTD, got me looking back at the detours over the last few years, when life went Off Track.

How life isn’t always smooth sailing and that the ideal route isn’t the only route.

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“Sometimes you have to get off track to discover a better track.” -Robin Sharma-

I can definitely say, with much confidence, that leaving MUWCI (UWCMC) in 2010 and then having to take an Intermission from Monash Malaysia in 2012 counts as going off track.

Were these detours off track (amongst others) truly leading me to discover a better track?

At this present moment in life I’m going to say yes, although each time felt like a win for Fibro and pushed me to feeling like a failure, especially in 2012….

Anyway, with failure always comes the option to either give in or fight. And so I picked myself up each time, though not necessarily immediately, and Kept Moving Forward.

This lead to learning, growing and maturing much along the way; in mind, body and soul (as corny as it sounds).

Priorities changed and I discovered more about myself.

This is nowhere near what the ‘me’ 7 years ago would’ve envisioned.

So, is this the better track?

 I’ll never really know the answer but i’m going to say Yes:

Yes because I’m happy now because of who I am and not what i have.

Yes because the person I was then was a whole lot more Materialistic, Egoistic, Judgemental and Superficial and only would’ve gotten worse if i never fell.

Yes because the last few years have helped me develop and discover my passions, things that I might not have had time if things had gone the other way.

Yes because only through the recent hurdles and challenges did I learn what was truly important to me. (after being brainwashed and saturated by the images of the media driven, American Dream-esk, mainstream visions of a happy and successful life)

In a nutshell, I’m happy with the person I have grown into today but know that I can improve and develop more, but at my own pace and by my own benchmarks.

Now the question is, was this path meant to be or did I just make best with the hand that life dealt me? 😉

Straight From The Heart,
KMF
Roshan ‘Arkay’ Kanesan

Dream Big But Start Small @ CoffeaCoffeeMY, Bangsar


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Good morning guys, it’s looking gloomy here in Bangsar, hopefully the day doesn’t remain this way, but even if it does, well at least it’ll be a cool day, yesterday was quite hot. I’m sitting here at my current Fav Coffee Spot, Coffea Coffee enjoying the lovely Madonna FlatWhite that they have prepared for me. The day has started of pretty well, lets hope the feeling can continue to resonate through the day.

Today I would like to focus on the topic of Dream Big but Start Small, something I got from one of Robin Sharma’s materials.

Life isn’t about skipping steps or having to rush (which is unfortunately what a lot of us seem to be doing, rushing through life), it’s about continuous improvement, or at least it is to me. There are steps that can be taken to reach a dream, the steps just adjust to the decree of the Dream, and as such steps can get more difficult as you go forward. The key however, is to continuously break the steps down as you move forward, while still keeping an eye on the Big Dream. There’s nothing wrong with dreaming big, everyone who Made-It, started somewhere, they didn’t just get to where they are now in a flash of light. They didn’t wait around and wish for things to happen either, they went out and happen to things, they broke things down and made long-term goals and took the steps necessary. All lasting success is build upon the foundation of long-term planning, starting small, building momentum and patience (I talked about patience in my last blog post).

Now the most important thing about starting small is that you actually get started, the broken-down steps make it so that the dream doesn’t look daunting or intimidating, it looks achievable. As you keep on going, you will find that it will in fact get easier, or if not you have more energy and enthusiasm to face the world, this is simply because as you Keep Moving Forward, taking down one step or mini-step or even micro-step, you will build up Momentum, and the this further helps to propel you forward, as I’m sure you have experienced before.

Now the thing about momentum is that life will throw a Wrench in the works and send you back to Momentum Zero (the point where there is no momentum whether because you are starting new or because of the Wrench) and you’ll have to rebuild the momentum again and though you might feel frustrated (or angry or upset etc), Brace The Storm, don’t lose hope and don’t give up. Build the momentum again, get to Peak Momentum and when the Wrench comes at you again and you find yourself at Momentum Zero, do the before mentioned again. Keep repeating this and, as with all things, you will find that the time from Momentum Zero to Peak Momentum will shorten with every repetition, but only if you focus and don’t give up that is. You’ll grow tougher and lengthen your Peak Momentum Life as you will have learnt to deal with previous Wrenches and as such, it would now take bigger Wrenches to sway you off course.

This is not something that will come to you automatically, you have to be conscious and aware of this, keep a Momentum Record if you think it will help, so that you can see how your momentum is doing, what your Peak Momentum Life is and how it has either grown or diminished. This is not a straightforward process, but it will be worth it. Focus, Be Conscious & Keep Moving Forward.

Straight From The Heart

Other Related Posts:
1) Getting to Greatness without Burning Out

2) Small daily improvements lead to stunning results

3) Keeping The Momentum

4) Better Than Yesterday, Always

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Personal Productivity


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Good evening people,

I’m trying out this place called Artisan Coffee Bar, and their coffee is pretty damn good. Having myself a Flat White.

I know it’s been a while, it’s been more difficult then I thought it would be to get back into the swing of things. But ill get there. In my previous post ‘Better Than Yesterday, Always.’ I mentioned that it is essential to Keep Moving Forward and making today better based upon your own personal productivity. Now what is Personal Productivity?

Productivity isn’t the same for everyone, certain things that may be productive to one person may not be universal. Yes there are some general productivity tips that are more universal than others such as always educating oneself, exercise, being healthy and the lessons from people like Sharma, Branson etc (not all of course, but you’ll fine most of them are very applicable and useful).

Personal productivity getting things done that are important to you, that will help get you closer to where you want to be. It’s about not wasting your time, potential and life. Not all things that are considered productive may be productive to you, hence the importance of personal productivity. Look at reading, most people consider it a productive way to spend time, but I really don’t think that is true. Reading for entertainment is not generally productive, it’s entertainment and too much of it is a waste of time. Of course reading is the most productive of the entertainment mediums but if you want to be productive, there Erne other more effective ways. If you want to go into business, then read the biographies of great businessmen, “have a cup of tea with them”. Do not let the common perception of reading make it seem that all books are productive, plenty of them aren’t, especially now days.

Focus on what matters to you, whether you want to be a footballer, business tycoon, a parent, or whether it is to live a healthy life, fun life,etc . Know what you want and make sure most of your actions are in line. Why do I say most? Well because we’ve got to have time to kick back and do others things so that life don’t become stale and monotonous. Anyway, in order to really know what you should be doing, you have to be aware of what you want, you need to achieve clarity of your desires. And that requires of lot of thinking and personal time. Only you can know what you truly want, what your goals, dreams and ambitions are. Of course there’s no harm “consulting” others for advice,either be conversing or reading about the people you respect, what I like to refer to as mentors. They will help provide additional knowledge, guidance and wisdom to help you achieve Clarity and Awareness. But REMEMBER, that doesn’t mean you need to follow them exactly and become a copy of them. Learn from them, don’t copy them.
There are plenty of productivity sites with plenty of tips, you have to be able to see what you need and what will work and not try everything and anything you can read. Find a set that works for you’d and follow through on them and once you’re comfortable and consistent, then maybe you want to add-on and modify your current Personal Productivity M.O.

The foundation of all this is knowing YOUR goals, dreams and ambitions. Only then will you when you are wasting time and when you are making the best use of it.

Straight From The Heart

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Of Living Now & Anticipation


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Im sitting here in this Starbucks, my Caffe Latte on my right and my iPad right in front of me, thinking about how long I haven’t blogged and how blogging right now would just make my morning even better.
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Good Morning dear readers, it’s been a while since I last took to the iPad and opened up my WordPress app to share my thoughts with you. I’ve been in a bit of a rut, waking up late, wasting too much of my time on unnecessary unproductive things, but today I have snapped out of it, thanks to my Holy Hour yesterday afternoon that got me feeling good, aware and driven. My Holy Hour is such a important tool in my life, I have to make sure I keep it up, because when I don’t, everything just goes out of sync, priorities get disorientated and my mind gets cluttered. But enough about that, that is the past and I will learn from them and Keep Moving Forward.

Right now I’m enjoying this very moment, not thinking about the last or looking forward to the future in Anticipation, but just sitting here in this black arm chair, in this tastefully designed Starbucks sipping on my caffe latte, breathing in the moment, savouring my coffee.

Enjoying the moment, I think I wrote about this before, but anyway let me write about it again.

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If you visited my Facebook FanPage recently, you would have seen a quote from the current book I’m reading:

“the only moment we ever live is the present moment. It is the only one we ever have to be happy.” John A. Schindler

How right is that. Read it again and let it sink in. The only moment we can do something about is this very moment. Not the moment before this, or the moment after, this moment. So don’t waste time, try your level best to enjoy it.

The biggest threat and detriment to enjoying the present moment is Anticipation. The anticipation of something coming up that you are looking forward to or the classic,”I can’t wait to go to high school,” when you’re in middle school or “I can’t wait to go to university!”, when you’re in high school and so on. Stop wanting to fast forward through life all the time and enjoy what you can from the present phase of life you are in. Every phase has its benefits, so stop looking at the negatives. Stop being so glass half-empty. There’s always a Silver Lining.

Yes please plan ahead, plan that event you want to do, or plan for they concert you want to go for, but in the mean time, before that very exciting event happens, don’t let the anticipation to get to that future moment kill all the time in-between. The most valuable commodity in life is time, so don’t waste it living in fast forward or sleep-walking. Be aware of what you are doing at all times, at all moment and try your very best to enjoy each moment or at the very least live each moment, really live.

Put more living in your days.

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A suggestion, the next time you are walking, take a look around. Observe the people, the scenery, the sky, the plants etc, really observe and maybe, just maybe you’ll be able to see beauty and colour of all of it, to really see it and enjoy every bit of it.

To round up, enjoy the moment, don’t fret about the past because there really is nothing you can do about it but learn from it and plan ahead but don’t live life in fast-forward because of the Anticipation of getting to that next moment, or that next event or that next phase in your life.

“love what you have, and then go for heat you want. Enjoy the climb up the mountain, but never take your eyes of the summit”Robin Sharma

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And In the Morning, I’m Making Waffles. Rest In Peace Mr. D



 

I haven’t written in a whole, and to those that were disappointed with the lack in posting, please accept my apology, I am sorry.

I’ve been putting off writing this because I was trying to find the “right” way to write this, but really, no words can truly describe the shock, confusion and sadness. Here it goes.

Last week was a difficult week for me, and many others I know, we lost a good man, a son, a father, a colleague, a friend, a teacher, a mentor.

He is a hero to me, a man who helped me out during tough times, who was understanding and caring. He motivated and inspired. He gave the best damn hugs in the world and had a smile that was infectious.

He helped me see the light when I needed it the most.

He understood, he cared and he helped.

I am very sure that my feelings of him are shared by many others, I only wish that our friendship could’ve been much more.

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When I heard the news, I didn’t believe it, I told my friend not to kid about this and check his sources and told me not to get back to me until after my test… But I couldnt wait and called him an hour later, and it was confirmed, the world lost one of the Good Guys. My dear teacher was no longer with us.

I felt numb, confused and shocked. It wasn’t easy, the day was hard and I can’t imagine what the others closer to him must have been going through.

Mr. D, I will remember you for all that you taught me. The laughter, the motivation and hugs. I will always remember you for the person you encouraged me to be, that I was not relegated to letting my condition to dictate my life. I will remember you for all the good you did and all the smiles you gave us. The dancing, the Music and the pizza.

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Thank you for helping me see that I can be what I always want to be. Thank you Mr. D, thank you so damn much.

Thank you to the organisers of his memorial on Monday, it was beautiful. Heartfelt, spot on and very Mr. D.

My condolences to his family back in Canada. My condolences to his loved ones, friends and colleagues. My condolences to my fellow classmates, seniors and juniors. And my condolences to anyone who knew him. This is a tough time but we will get through, there is a light at the end of this tunnel, you might not see it now, but it is there.

Thank you for reading this blog Mr. D and encouraging me forward. I will make it a point to pay it forward.

Well, I think that’s it, it’s time for me to test some shut eye and… In the morning, I’m making waffles.

Straight From the Heart

 

The letter i wrote to him a few months back.

Journaling @Journal: Keeping the Momentum


Good Afternoon guys,

I’m making a little change to my Sunday Blog, instead of Sunday Reflections i’m changing it now to Journaling @Journal. When journaling one does reflect so I thought it would be a nice change, plus I found this new place that I like and it’s called Journal. I cake here in the middle of the last week, and that’s when I thought about the title of Journaling @Journal and decided to switch Sunday Reflections with it. We’ll see how this goes.

;

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Anyway, as the title suggests i’m at Journal Publika, with my iPad on my lap and my mocha just in front of me, thinking about the past week and reflecting. On a completely of topic point, I miss my Starbucks mocha, though the mochas at cafes like this are definitely more flavourful, they are so small! I miss my grande that costs me only 1.65 more than the mocha in front of me, but anyway back to my journaling @journal.

This week I’ve been thinking a lot about how I can keep the momentum going, the week before was brilliant, full of exercise and early mornings and I felt great. Over the last week I’ve been feeling a little slower, and I know it’s due to the fact that I’ve had some late mornings, I’ve got to keep my discipline and keeping waking up early while getting enough sleep (I aim for 7/8 hours). I’ve started including a daily hours of academic study, which was really hard to initiate but I got it done by Just starting it, sitting down and reading my text book, yes it was only 30 minutes, but the next day it was easier and I got 45 minutes down and the day after that I did an hour without much fuss, so it’s just about beating gravity and gaining momentum to Keep Moving Forward. Keeping the momentum can be difficult in busty lives but we’ve got to be disciplined and have the will power, after 3 weeks of regular daily exercise, holy hours and studying it’ll be engrained into your daily system and you won’t have to think twice about why you’re doing it, when to do it or what to do…. It’ll be second nature. I just have to keep the momentum going, and the only way to keep it so it through discipline, will power and self control. Easier said than done, but it can be done.

I made a few mistakes the last week, as is the case with every week, but the key is to ensure that it ain’t the same mistakes happening over and over again.

Gotta keep the momentum going, gotta keep the exercise gearing, gotta keep the mornings early and gotta keep the knowledge flowing.

Straight From The Heart

;

Tuesday Inspiration – 6 ways to Keep Moving Forward.


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Good day readers,
Today didn’t start well at all, but like yesterday, I adapted and did what I could and am will continue and do what I can, so when I was thinking about what to write today for Tuesday Inspirations, I thought why not write about how I Keep Moving Forward.

My week is primarily divided into 2 categories, good days and bad days. There are days that I wake up fine, but there are days where I wake up feeling heavy, foggy and in pain. That’s how I’ve been living for the a while now in my fight against Fibromyalgia and I happy to say that I’ve come to a point where the good days outnumber the bad, which was the complete at the start of the year. During that time good days were rare. Why? Because during that time, they period of my life, I had given up fighting, I had given up trying to move forward, I let the Fibromyalgia reign without resistance, at that point not only was my body broken, but more importantly, my spirit as well.

Every time I look back at the starting months of the year, I realise how far I’ve made it so far, and let me tell you this, it’s a damn good feeling. Yes, I still have bad days, like yesterday and this morning, but I keep myself moving forward, no matter how little, it is always better than nothing.

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So here’s a list of 6 things I do to keep myself moving forward and improving my state of mind (helps me feel better)

1. I spend the first waking hour alone, just thinking. Thinking about how far I’ve come, how far I can go, what needs to be done & what I can improve on. I call it my Holy Hour.

2. I spend time reading a set list of articles everyday, sometimes more than once. It’s a collection of blogs, articles & excerpts, which I have so “creatively” called Daily Reading. These readings motivate me, nourish my spirit and remind me of where I want to go. Below is part of my current Daily Reading list.
– my current 30 day improvement guide (just make a list of things you want to implement, improve, change etc)
– Robin Sharma’s 60 Tips for a Stunningly Great Life
– 71 Things You Can Do to Improve Your Life
– 30 Ways to Look and Feel Great in 30 Days

3. I get some exercise done, whether it’s taking Stitch for a 30 minute walk (good days), a 5 minute swim or even walking up & down the staircase a few times (bad days), every little bit counts. It’s always better to do a little exercise than none at all.

4. Practice. Over the last few months I’ve been taking vocal lessons, and after I sing, especially when I’m on form, I always feel better than I was. So not only does practice help me improve my voice, tone etc, it also makes me feel a lot better.

5. Just do it. Just get cracking on you’re to-do list, start with the easier ones, and as you keep going you’ll build momentum to tackle the bigger tasks which will lead to the completion of goals. Of course for this you’re going to already need a list of goals and to-dos that are in-line with the goals, so you might want to get cracking on that during you’re own Holy Hour.

6. Accept pitfalls and work around them. Yesterday I planned to wake up at 9am and get on with my day, I woke up late. Instead of beating myself up for waking up late, I adapted and rescheduled my day, and you know what, I got quite a bit done. I can say that yesterday was more a good day than bad.

Straight From The Heart

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Moving on


 

Sometimes the cards we are dealt are not always fair. However you must keep smiling & moving on
Tom Jackson

Moving on, is a simple thing, what it leaves behind is hard.
Dave Mustaine

Moving on, so easy to talk about it but not so easy to actually do it, but it is an integral part of growing up and and growing into the best version of yourself.

Moving on doesn’t mean forgetting, it means being able to close a chapter or your life, whether it’s a mistake or a loss, and get on with the next phase. It means getting to the next step without holding back, without holding on to what was once and move towards what could be.

It means having the courage to face the world, to get out of your safe zone after the shit has hit the fan. To be able to say, “yea, I screwed up, but i’m not going to give up.”

“What don’t kill me can only make me stronger”

Is hard to move on, to let go of that that was once so sweet but then turned bitter, to let go of memories of great times, but if we decide to stay and hide amongst those good memories past, we will never be able to carve out memories.

As difficult as it is to move on from a rough patch, or mistake or bad phase or our lives, it’s even harder to move on from “reliving” the “Glory Days”. Being trapped in a vicious cycle of replaying a part of your life that was so great, it is living in a little comfortable dream and not letting yourself live what could be even better life. Living in an illusion that those were the best days and that you won’t get better ones, but how do you know you won’t get better days? Especially if you’re too busy watching replays and not out there trying to live life the best you can.

I’m not saying that you should forget shut the good old days, or forget about the bad times and mistakes; remember them, talk about them, reminisce, but don’t let it hold you back. It is all those parts that build who we become, learn from them, gain from them, appreciate the experience but don’t live your life wishing you had done things different, spending your days reliving good memories instead of making new ones, letting bad memories haunt you instead of learning from them.

Have a great day,

John Reynolds: Tommy, that’s a hundred thousand dollars on a goddam golf swing!

Thomas Crown: It’s a beautiful Saturday morning, John… What the hell else have we got to do?

Straight from the Heart,

Arkay 6

Keep Moving Forward

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