Asia Professional Speakers -Singapore (APSS) is proud to present this prestigious conference as part of its commitment to giving back to the community in which we speak, train, teach, coach and facilitate.

My mom had breast cancer and survived and is now 90-years-old.

I fully support this event. I will be one of the presenters.

Raise Your Career, Raise Your Team and Raise Your Life!
Michael Podolinksy CSP

• Raise your career in 2010 by working your key career compass points
• Raise your team through the 5 stages of team development
• Raise your life with attitude, aptitude and assiduity

In this unique one-day event, 7 international presenters will revive you with stimulating presentations and motivating tips and techniques that you will want to start using immediately. You will feel fired up and motivated, ready to take on new challenges with enthusiasm.

If you want to enhance your efficiency, productivity and results, not to mention your job satisfaction, don’t miss this powerful one-day event. The inspiring presenters will take you on an energising journey that will give you all the stimulus you need to really raise your game and increase your success.

Click Here for Details.

Every drops form the ocean. You support is greatly appreciated!

4 Easy Steps to Reduce Your Holiday Stress

I am writing this as we celebrate Christmas and sometimes preparing for Christmas so stressful, we miss the point of the holy day. Our non-Christian friends can apply the concepts to preparing for their holy days or their holidays. I have noticed just about everyone goes through much the same rush and stressful preparations.

The ideal solution is to start acting early. A little effort allows you to enjoy the holy day by taking a holiday from excess stress.

Easy Step #1: Start preparing early. Make a list of everyone you need to buy a present for and start looking at the shops now. Better yet, set aside a time in the evenings to turn off the TV and MAKE something for that special someone. Not so handy and still hate to shop? Try giving to an orphanage or other charity in that person`s name, presenting them with a receipt, note of thanks and the orphan`s photos.

Easy Step #2: Shop online. Buying on-line is easy and safe. Aside from beating the crowds in the mall, you have a greater chance of finding JUST the right item for that hard to buy for person. Some examples:

Magazine subscriptions: Buy a gift subscription to God`s Word Today, my own personal choice for daily study of scripture and to develop my prayer life. Alternatively, get them a subscription to something reflecting their interests like Mens Health, Golf Digest or Car & Driver.

Give a gift of fruit that is delivered every month, 4 times a year or one-off with a personal card from you. Healthy and appreciated.

Easy Step #3: Make another list of all the things that stress you out before, during and after the holidays and make a plan to minimise the exposure, contamination or your reaction to what is out of your control. Ask for both divine guidance in dealing with these issues and ask good friends for their suggestions. Try Google to see what 10,000 other people have done to solve the issue.

Easy Step #4: Plan more to do less. Remember to ask, `So what?` If aunt Martha`s wall decoration does not make it up this year, `So what?` If you end up wrapping presents with colourful Sunday comics instead of fancy paper saving one trip to the store, the environment and money, `So what?` If you do NOT make it to that one party you really do not feel like attending, `So what?` If you do not get all the shopping done and give a handmade gift voucher for a back rub, a day at the beech, a movie and dinner on a night of their choosing or something else that person will appreciate more than a thoughtless gift just to fill an obligation, `So what?` Hey! So What!!

These 4 Easy Steps acted upon NOW can help you enjoy your holiday and take a holiday from excessive stress. Got comments or questions about holiday stress tips?   Just leave your comments here.

Merry Christmas to You and may 2010 be your BEST year yet. God bless you eternally.

Pushing Yourself

When was the last time you PUSHED Yourself? I’m not talking just working hard. I’m not talking about putting in long hours. I’m not talking about working until you are exhausted. Most of the world’s population suffers through one or more of these every week and sometimes all 3 every day. I’m talking about pushing yourself beyond your normal capabilities; PUSHING yourself beyond your pay grade or level of experience. How long has it been since you really GAVE yourself a physical, mental, social, spiritual challenge or target that seemed nearly impossible to reach or so SCAREY to imagine doing? If you cannot remember the last time, maybe it’s time you get busy and PUSH yourself.

Worthwhile growth does not come gradually, it comes in spurts. Remember as a kid having ‘growing pains’ when you had a ‘growth spurt’? It hurt. But you ’shot up’ a ‘thumb width’ or more in a week or two.

Think about some successes you had that could have been tragedies:

• Did you ever buy a house you were not sure you could afford and found buying it changed you? Chances are, you became more focused, dedicated and within a short period of time, that home was no longer a ’stretch’.
• Did you talk someone into hiring you for a job or project and when you got it, reality set-in and you were stressed to the max? Yet, you rose to the occasion and did an awesome job, advancing your career.

These experiences where we PUSH ourselves are opportunities for quantum growth. These life-defining episodes are what separate us from the average person who never dares, never tries and never risks ‘failure’. As a result, those people live ’successfully’ in mediocrity.

PUSHING ourselves might be as simple as asking for bigger projects at work, setting STRECH goals for the year or signing up for a new course of study. Pushing ourselves might be has difficult as quitting a job to pursue the career of your dreams with no idea how to make it work or admitting yourself into a treatment facility for an alcohol or gambling addiction.

Remember, when PUSH comes to SHOVE, if you PUSH yourself, you are the one controlling your destiny. If someone has to SHOVE you into action, that person has some if not all of the power and control over your life. PUSHING ourselves is often the BEST way to grow and develop.

Smile Maker:  Three dreams of a woman:

To be as beautiful as her mother thinks.

To be as rich as her child believes.

To have a husband as wonderful as he thinks he is.

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8 Holiday Shopping Ideas… A bit off the beaten track

Creativity is an amazing thing. It can save you a fortune and give you better results yet most people opt for ‘thinking with their wallets.’ A much more expensive option. If you want to please those people in your life that really matter OR give the obligatory gifts to clients and ‘associates’ without going broke, here are 8 thoughts for you.

1.  Send them all the gift of love. Take a charity that no one can possible have a problem with and one you endorse and send a BIG gift to that charity in their name. ãYou…WE have so much. I am donating $100 in your name to UNICEF for the children of the world.ä It will cost you $100 but it does that person, you and the children a LOT more good than a pewter plate with your corporate logo on it.

2. Write a personal note to your spouse or kids and include 5 vouchers for ‘One hour of massage’, ‘One get out of the flat for free and I take care of the kids’ or ‘Good for one night out with your girlfriends / the guys’ or ‘A day with dad / mom doing what ever you want to do…Sentosa, video games, picnic, Discovery Centre or ???’. Put an expiration date so they get used up.

3.  Remember what that person likes and give it to them. This is a repeat of last week but the point is, if you are listening, it may not cost a lot to make people feel appreciated.

4.  Days for that special someone. You already have everything I own. I want to give you something that not even I own. A day of my life. I give you one day, of your choosing, where I will do whatever you desire. I’ll pamper you, take care of you, massage you and gladly be your servant for a day.ä Do you think THAT will be appreciated?

5.  Get out of work early voucher. Give your employees a voucher where they can get out of work at 3 PM any day of their choosing, except during peak periods (list). Costs you NOTHING and will be seen as a HUGE perk. Hey… On the days they wish they were gone? They are already GONE mentally.

6.  Book of your choice from Popular, Times or Borders. Great gift. Give them an in-store voucher or just your own (buy it and I’ll pay you back). Keeping your team or kids reading is a great thing. The fact they don’t buy it immediately means they have to see it and think about it a lot. More positive thoughts than the tie you buy and it goes into the drawer for years.

7.  Promise (and actually CHANGE) the bad habit your family dislikes. For example, if you have promised to be home for dinner and never made it on time, tell them it is your ‘present’ and NEVER BE LATE ONCE!!! Set no appointments near dinner time and pay your staff a bonus to kick you out EARLY.

8.  Write a poem or love note to the people that matter. Sorry, the jewellery stores tell you they need to see diamonds. Instead, take the next 10 lunch hours writing a poem of just how much you love that special someone in your life. Write it. Re-write it. Perfect it. Include how you met, your first kiss, the first time you ‘knew’ she / he was the one, etc. Print it out on special parchment and frame it. $30 - $50. Diamonds $5,000. Diamonds will impress. Your poem will touch the heart. Depends on what you want to accomplish.

I’m not against retail. Just think we need to connect at a level other than the plastic card level. Visa, MC, Diners and AMEX are great, but cannot buy the heart. Our gift of time and creativity can do a lot to make the holidays special.

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