THE HARDEST WALK IS WALKING ALONE….
AND TO DO IT EVERYDAY.
THAT REQUIRES PATIENCE.
IT REQUIRES GRIT.
A MAN WHO CAN MASTER PATIENCE, CAN MASTER EVERYTHING ELSE.
WALKING ALONE ALSO MAKES YOU THE STRONGEST.
~ ALAN IAN ATKINSON
Writer, Author, Storyteller
POSITIVE THINKING.
THE SMARTER YOU GET, THE LESS YOU SPEAK.
MAYBE… JUST MAYBE, WRITE MORE.
THAT’S POSITIVE OUTCOME.
~ ALAN IAN ATKINSON
Writer, Author, Storyteller
NEVER LIVE YOUR LIFE TO PLEASE OTHERS.
LIVE YOUR LIFE TO BE OF SERVICE TO OTHERS.
ONE BRINGS YOU MISERY –
NO MATTER WHAT YOU DO, IT WILL NEVER BE RIGHT.
THE OTHER,
WHATEVER YOU DO, WHETHER IT’D BE THE
SIMPLEST OR SMALLEST GESTURE OF HELP;
IT WILL ALWAYS BE RECEIVED
WITH GRATEFULLNESS.
~ ALAN IAN ATKINSON
writer, Author, Storyteller
It’s 2.13am on a Sunday morning. My bed’s beginning to call out my name and my body is saying, “Okay, coming.” But (not “however” in this case), my “brain is saying, “Hang in there. You’ve got to get this article published early before the first thing in the morning (or in simple English: “like yesterday”). The truth: my brain is winning hands down.
It is 9.09 am on the same Sunday morning. Noooo, I’ve not been at this for about 7 hours and get to this far only. Though it does happen occasionally… when I am piecing together an article.. Okay okay, it happens quite a lot…my mind goes into “mind-mapping mode” when one idea leads to another and another.
I had a quick breakfast – a slightly thicker than thick slice of marble-walnut cake from Berry’s and my Hydraflask corked mug of Nescafe Gold black without clothes. Is gold black or black gold? Without clothes?…Like in the buff?
After a series of Devil Wears Prada, anything’s possible. It first started with Jeannie and I catching a movie, Devil Wears Prada 2 3 days ago (no, it is not 23 days ago). Then, Jeannie said she had not watched the first Devil Wears Prada. So, I applied my journalistic research skills (whatever it means) (the little that I think I have) to find it.
A trait that I picked up from my father when I was much younger (which means I am young)…as I was saying when I was much younger, was to record down all the movies that I watch: date, movie title and the actors & actresses. I have been doing that for about 50 years, where my recording was maybe about 1% – 2% missing information which included forgetting to record the movie. Up today, I have watched 2,454 movies, which isn’t a lot. I never really had time for movies. One thing I should have included in my recording was a capsule review. Then again, when I browse through the titles of the movies, I can recall some of the movies, even though they were decades ago when I watched them. Some of the titles, I have to crank my “go-back-through-history” hard to figure out movie. Then, there are others, even very recent ones…I simply have no clue in remembering them.
Yes…my father. Do you know that today is his birthday? He is 94 years old.
HAPPY 94TH BIRTHDAY DAD! KEEP ON ROCKING!
About a month ago, he was in hospital. On one of my visits to him, I said, “Dad, you are going to be 94 years old in just over a month’s time. What are your plans?” Without skipping a beat, he replied, “Pretty much the same”.
He is 94 today and he is going to continue doing what he has being doing to do more of that. His memory and wit is still pretty sharp.
It is MOTHER’S DAY today as well. Man o man, it’s tough being a mother, especially being my mother. From the stories she used to tell us, she became a “mother” to her nephews and nieces in her early teens. She had to look after them while her elder siblings went to work. Just to put things in perspective. My mother was 14th of 17 children of the Gomes clan. Then, when my sister, me and my brothers came along, her very own children; she was pretty much in control of things.
My mom was kind and good natured in school (her classmates / schoolmates and relatives can attest to that) and till this very day, is the same person. My late sister, Jen; late brother, Nigel, Terence, Malcolm and me (of course), together with our own families can attest to that. She has given all her life to being kind and good-natured, not just to us, but to everyone in her life.
I wish my mother and all mothers to their own children, to others, to people around them,
HAPPY MOTHER’S DAY!
NO MATTER WHAT, YOU NEVER
LOOK GOOD TRYING TO MAKE SOMEONE ELSE LOOK BAD. SO DON’T.
BELIEVE IN YOURSELF AND YOUR ABILITY TO
TURN TOUGH SITUATIONS AROUND, ESPECIALLY RECOGNIZING THE POSITIVES IN CHALLENGING PEOPLE.
~ ALAN IAN ATKINSON
Writer, Author, Storyteller
8 BILLION PEOPLE.
THE WORLD IS GOING TO JUDGE YOU
NO MATTER WHAT YOU DO.
LET THEM BE WRONG.
YOU NEED THEM…SURE.
BUT YOU NEED YOU MORE.
LIVE THE LIFE THE WAY YOU WANT TO.
THAT’S LIVING!
~ ALAN IAN ATKINSON
Writer, Author, Storyteller
GOOD THINGS COME TO PEOPLE WHO WAIT…AND WAIT…
HOWEVER, BETTER AND GREAT THINGS COME TO PEOPLE WHO GO OUT AND GET THEM BY MAKING THEM HAPPEN.
~ ALAN IAN ATKINSON
Writer, Author, Storyteller
NOTE TO SELF….
TODAY, INSTEAD OF BEING UPSET WITH ALL THE THINGS THAT ARE WRONG…MULTIPLE CHALLENGES,
BE THANKFUL FOR ALL THE THINGS THAT ARE RIGHT. AND THERE ARE PLENTY.
“I GOT THIS.”…YOU SMILE. YOU FEEL…
SEE THE MULTIPLIER EFFECT OF THIS.
~ ALAN IAN ATKINSON
Writer, Author, Storyteller
BE ONE OF THOSE PEOPLE WITH BIG HEARTS TO MAKE THE WORLD A BETTER PLACE.
A SMILE GOES A LONG WAY.
~ ALAN IAN ATKINSON
Writer, Author, Storyteller
Years ago, if a person was to say that she or he had graduated from Tunku Abdul Rahman College or more popularly known as T.A.R. College; you may have guessed that the person had to be an accountant or something related to that field. Some of Malaysia’s best accountants and business management professionals were graduates from T.A.R. College.
T.A.R. College has been elevated to university status and is now T.A.R.U.M.T., or Tunku Abdul Rahman University of Management and Technology. It is located in a very pleasant and conducive part of Kuala Lumpur. When I drove in to the campus, I was immediately impressed with the uncluttered-ness of its layout. It made me feel comfortable, a place where I could think and put thought to paper (old school instead of one of those everyday screen devices that most people are strapped to).
I was here, at TARUMT (without the dots after each letter) to share a presentation to a group of young adults – the next generation of Malaysian and world leaders to be. My presentation, IF YOU THINK YOU CAN, YOU CAN; was with the hope of inspiring these leaders, yes, each and everyone of them (most of them don’t know it…yet); to move from “all’s good to wonderful” or “good to great”.
Among this future generation of leaders were two who aspire to be Prime Minister of Malaysia, of which one is a lady. This is a great start. Instead of using the “anything is possible” phrase, I believe that almost everything is possible. It won’t just happen magically. They have to have their gameplan to make it happen.
With a well thought out gameplan, Malaysia could see a mindset change in its political landscape. The current administration has already raised the bar for Malaysians to have a better Malaysia. These students can help Malaysia grow for Malaysians even further, placing Malaysia on a larger and more prominent stage for world peace.
A student, who approached me after my presentation shared her passion to be a baker of cakes. She is studying accountancy. Her family has high expectations for her to be an accountant.
However, she has a bigger love for stirring and mixing cake-mix dough than churning numbers out on computers and calculators. I suggested for her to do both, be a baker accountant or accountant baker and see where that takes her to… the next level in her future. She could start an accountant style themed cafe that would attract people of the same profession to gather over some of the most delicious cake baked by a top notch accountant, coffee or tea, and discuss financials and strategies. She was excited about the idea.
The presentation went well. It whetted the appetites of these next generation leaders from being just getting by or all’s good, to great, wonderful. It also shows that there is a lot more work needed to stimulate and create a definite mindset shift that the future depends on them – the future leaders of Malaysia…the region…the world.
