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Learning & Inspirational Moments (Aug 07):

Your GROWTH gives you potential!
Hi my friends and people I care,

I hope the month of Aug is a challenging and fulfilling one for all of you.
Yes, I am back with this month's Learning & Inspirational Moments.

2. Last month, I shared with all of you on the importance of continuous

learning. Learning isn't just about economic success, however, it is the key to
achieving our full potential and becoming the person we truly desire. If you have
missed my last month's message, please scroll right to the bottom, I have
attached the message there for your reading. :) This month, I would like to
explore this topic a bit further.

3. Novelist Robert Louis Stevenson said, "To be what we are, and to

become what we are capable of becoming, is the only end of life." Nearly all
people would like to become who they are capable of being, yet I think many of
us don't. Why? One reason (I think) is our mis-understanding and one key
assumption about GROWTH.

4. When we are young, our bodies grow automatically. In school, our

teachers challenged us to grow mentally on a daily basis. When we stop growing
physically, we expect our bodies to take care of themselves as they did the first
20 to 25 years of our lives. With that assumption, we also assumed that our
minds will take care of themselves too, even though we no longer have anyone
pushing us to improve. The truth is my friends, if we don't take responsibility for
our GROWTH, it won't happen! GROWTH is not automatic!

5. I once read a quotation by a Pulitzer prize-winning composer Gian Carlo

Menotti who said, "Hell begins on that day when God grant us a clear vision
of all that we might have achieved, of all the gifts we wasted, of all that we
might have done that we did not do." I don't think anyone of us want to look
back at life and see time and opportunities wasted. That's why it's important to
recognise the value of GROWTH before too much time passes.

6. I truly believe that all of us are gifted and talented. But gifting without
GROWTH leads to ineffectiveness. Our GROWTH also prevent personal and
professional stagnation (will help to make EAP a bit harder- My Prison officers
will know what is this all about..Ha Ha). Most importantly, only through
continuous improvement can you reach your potential.

7. I have been intentionally planning to make myself better for the past few
years. I committed to myself that I will develop and follow a personal growth plan
for my life. I personal believe that the greatest handicap a person has is not
realising his potential. What dreams do you have that are just waiting to be
fulfilled? What gifts and talents are inside you that are dying to be drawn out and
 H H
F-XC A N GE F-XC A N GE
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developed? Trust me, the answers are there within you....spend some time
reflecting on my questions above.

8. So, what are some tips I can share with all of you about GROWTH? I will
share some of my thoughts on managing the discipline of GROWTH with all of
you. If you have any other tips, please share with me because I am still
growing...Ha Ha..

a. The first step to your GROWTH is to make your goals to grow in

some way everyday! If we desire to improve a little every day and do it
intentionally, then we can make great progress over the long haul.

b. Have a time and plan to grow. There is a quote from Earl Nightengale
that I like very much. Nightengale said, " If a person will spend one hour a day
on the same subject for five years, that person will be an expert on the
subject." Every morning at 5 am, I will try to practice my piano for at least one
hour (electric piano with headphones lah! What were you thinking...). Yes, just
started to learn the pop piano this year. It has been about 6 mths now, just an
hour a day, I can really see the BIG difference. At least I can now play with both
hands! Try it! Besides spending an hour a day on my piano in my study room, I
also make it a point to read at least 1 book a week. My wife has been nagging
that I am spending too much $ on books. :( Well, that's the price I have to pay...

c. File what you learn. I am a sucker for quotations, stories and ideas.
Whenever I find something that I think will be valuable to me in the future either
for learning, my training, coaching or teaching, I will file it or write in down in my
thick organiser I carry around with me.

d. Lastly, Apply what you learn.The final test of any learning is always
application. If what you are learning can be used in some way to help and
improve you or others, then it is worth the effort. My OCHUs get this from me all
the time. During my meetings or dialogues with them, if I think that some of the
management concepts or tools that will help them in some way, I will give them a
short "lecture" on the spot. That's Jimmy. My poor OCHUs.

9. There you have it. My very long message this month. So, what are you
waiting for? Start today, because the greatest of all miracles is that we need not
be tomorrow what we are today. The greatest of all insights is that we cannot be
tomorrow what we do not do today. That is why today matters.

Have a great day ahead!

With Love,
JIMMY LEE