See the full photo and other photos by Tracy Raver at http://www.flickr.com/photos/tracyraver/
ENJOY...
Selamat Datang & Welcome!
$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$AKU$MAHU$SEJAHTERA$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$
Saturday, 12 September 2009
Tracy Raver's Photography
See the full photo and other photos by Tracy Raver at http://www.flickr.com/photos/tracyraver/
Friday, 11 September 2009
Seeds of SUCCESS
Stan Richards on Big Ideas
Stan Richards, founder of the award-winning advertising agency The Richards Group, believes in finding extraordinary ways to say ordinary things. His company is the brains behind Chick-fil-A's "Eat Mor Chikin" billboards and the "We'll leave a light on for you" ad for Motel 6. With his company's projected billings at $1.28 billion this year, you might be wondering about his ideas on running a successful company:
- "Nearly every beautiful idea has really ugly parents," he says. "Training is everything. Our writers and art directors are trained in what they do. You don't always come up with the right answer and do it quickly and easily. There are times when you have to beat yourself over the head, and stay with it for as long as it takes."
- Remove barriers to communication. "Barriers create destructive, competitive behavior. Keep the communication going."
- Great ideas need to be likable. "You want respect and a connection between you and the customer."
- Discipline matters more than talent. "A strong work ethic can outperform pure talent."
- Learn to lose like a kid. "Whatever the disappointment is, mourn it and move on."
Learn
How Stan Richards Founded The Richards Group on Fun.
Seeds of SUCCESS Recommends:
Chris Widener's Above All Else
Everybody is talking about Above All Else, the long-awaited sequel to Twelve Pillars, Chris Widener and Jim Rohn's best-selling tour de force that became a must-read for achievers worldwide. Widener takes the story to another level and teaches the single most important lesson for achieving, sustaining and enjoying success. It's a quick read, an enjoyable story, and one filled with profound insights to help you achieve, sustain, and enjoy your own success! |
Thursday, 10 September 2009
McDonald's loses trademark fight against McCurry
Interesting reading from Associated Press.
McDonald's loses trademark fight against McCurry
By JULIA ZAPPEI, Associated Press Writer Julia Zappei, Associated Press Writer – Tue Sep 8, 6:43 am ET
PUTRAJAYA, Malaysia – U.S. fast food giant McDonald's lost an eight-year trademark battle to prevent local restaurant McCurry from using the 'Mc' prefix in a precedent-setting judgment by Malaysia's highest court.
The Federal Court ruled Tuesday that McDonald's cannot appeal against another court's verdict that had allowed McCurry to use 'Mc' in its name. The owner says McCurry, which serves Indian food, is an abbreviation for Malaysian Chicken Curry.
The ruling by a three-member panel of the Federal Court ends all legal avenues for McDonald's to protect its name from what it said was a trademark infringement.
"On the basis of unanimous decision, our view is that" McDonald's plea to carry the case forward has no merit, said chief judge Arifin Zakaria. "It is unfortunate that we have to dismiss the application with costs," he said.
McDonald's will have to pay 10,000 ringgit ($2,900) to McCurry, a popular eatery in Jalan Ipoh on the edge of Kuala Lumpur's downtown. McDonald's lawyers refused to comment, except to say the company will abide by the judgment.
McCurry lawyer Sri Devi Nair said the ruling means McDonald's does not have a monopoly on the prefix 'Mc,' and that other restaurants could also use it as long as they distinguish their food from McDonald's.
"This is a precedent for everyone to follow," he said.
A three-member Appeal Court panel had ruled in favor of McCurry Restaurant in April this year when it overturned a 2006 high court ruling that had upheld McDonald's contention.
Arifin said McDonald's lawyers were unable to point out faults in the Appeal Court judgment, which had said there was no evidence to show that McCurry was passing off McDonald's business as its own. The Appeals Court also said McDonald's cannot claim an exclusive right to the 'Mc' prefix in the country.
McDonald's asked the Federal Court for permission to appeal against that decision but was denied Tuesday.
"We are very much relieved. We hope to expand. This is what we wanted to do from the beginning and we were stalled for eight years," said A.M.S.P. Suppiah, the owner of McCurry.
"I am so happy ... we have nothing in similarity with them at all. That's how we have felt all this while," said his wife, Kanageswary Suppiah.
The Appeal Court said McCurry's signboard has white and gray letters against a red background with a picture of a smiling chicken giving a double thumbs-up, in contrast to McDonald's red and yellow "M" logo. McCurry also serves only Indian food, not competing with McDonald's Western menu, the court said.
McDonald's began operations in Malaysia in 1982 and has 137 outlets in the Southeast Asian country.
Tuesday, 8 September 2009
Serena Williams' Success Strategies
Testing to publish blog from Word.
Serena Williams' Success Strategies
Serena Williams is this year's Wimbledon Ladies Singles Champion, but she's also a savvy businesswoman. Discover her principles for success on and off the court.
Commit to doing your very best. Whether it's tennis, fashion design or her other interests, Serena Williams holds nothing back in her pursuit of excellence.
Be a good sport. Serena worked at being gracious in defeat. The losses still sting, she says, but she tries not to show it, refocusing her emotions instead on working harder for future wins.
Follow your heart. The legacy you create is yours—not to be dictated by others.
Promote your work. "Every tournament I play gives me a great opportunity to market whatever I am working on or wearing."
Don't listen to naysayers. Serena keeps some articles about her and one day she just might read them. For now, "I don't want their opinions impacting me."
Reflecting on Procrastination
I want to share the following that I received through my e-mail.
Dear Friends
I was with an old friend of mine having known him since I was in school. He was an excellent student and was constantly in the top five positions in class while I was at the opposite side. He went on to be a mid manager and spent most of his time in the office, board room working for a medium sized company in Jalan Ipoh.
After meeting him for lunch, I could see that he was quite envious of what I have done - among other things travelled extensively, sent my kids to Santa Clara University & spent about RM1.6M in that process etc - and he actually asked me how I did all that when my results in school (HSC 1968) was "D E E O" (O = Fail).
We then compared notes and realized that in almost every aspects, he actually beat me flat - he had a great degree, working in a listed company, had great contacts, and the list goes on and I asked him why didn't he strike out on his own when he had all these resources with him?
Same answer: FEAR and Procrastination
So I would like to share some of my views on a little discussed subject "Procrastination". You really don't have to believe me, because I am just relating from my experience, and that does not make it true or false, right or wrong. It’s just my experience I am sharing.
To over come Procrastination, you may need to:
Recognize that there is more pain in procrastinating than not. If you have procrastinated a lot (like me) you might have discovered that.
You procrastinate to avoid doing something that is boring, hard or something like that. You want to avoid that pain. But after having some experience with procrastination you’ll probably realize that procrastination itself causes your more pain than actually just doing what you were supposed to.
Realizing the true amount of pain in the two choices will make it easier to get things done. The pain comes from Regret which comes from realizing later on that if you had taken action much earlier, you would have avoided this feeling of regret which generally stems from "Missed Opportunities". When I looked back to my earlier days, I just could not believe the number of opportunities I passed by . .
1. I could have got a scholarship to the States (yes, in spite of my academic boo-boo results). It was FEAR of "loss of face" that stopped me. My teacher whom I still keep in touch after all these years advised me to “repeat” my Form 6, but you know what that means? As I am well known in school having been one of the few students who won medals in SEA Games, everybody will know that I repeated! The stigma of being a “repeat” student in Form 6 then was punishing, and yeah, the loss of face clouded all other forms of thinking.
Don’t let that happen to you!
2. I could have attended the Mexico Olympics as a competitor. It was my unwillingness to go through a gruelling training program - preferring my "comfort zone".
3. And the list can go on and on and on . .
Just take the first step. When you start to look too far into the future any task or project can seem close to impossible. And so you shut down because you become overwhelmed and start surfing the internet aimlessly instead. That is one of the reasons why it is good to plan for the future but then to shift your focus back to today and the present moment. Then you just focus on taking the first step today. That is all you need to focus on, nothing else.
By taking the first step you change you mental state from resistant to “hey, I’m doing this”. You put yourself in state where you become more positive, a state where you may not be enthusiastic about taking the next step after this first one but you are at least accepting it. And so you can take the next step, and the next one after that.
As they say, it is not necessary for you to see the end of the staircase before you need to take the first step.
Start with the hardest task of your day. Maybe you have an important call to make that you also fear might be uncomfortable. Maybe you know you have gotten behind on answering your emails and have big pile to dig into. Maybe you have the last five pages of your paper to finish. Whatever it may be, get it out of your way the first thing you do. If you start your day this way you will feel relieved. You feel relaxed and good about yourself. And the rest of the day - and your to-do list - tends to feel a lot lighter and easier to move through. It’s amazing what difference this one action makes.
So my beloved friends, ladies and gentlemen, start making your plans. Start dreaming because that is the first step. Dream! Then materialize your dreams. Dream of what you can do to start a business with Little or No Money and when you are halfway up the ladder, please reach out your hand to lift someone else up with you.
Have a great weekend ahead!
Please keep in touch.
From a Friend
Victor Lau
+6016 2293343 (Malaysia)
+65 9172 9111 (Singapore)
Dear Friends
I was with an old friend of mine having known him since I was in school. He was an excellent student and was constantly in the top five positions in class while I was at the opposite side. He went on to be a mid manager and spent most of his time in the office, board room working for a medium sized company in Jalan Ipoh.
After meeting him for lunch, I could see that he was quite envious of what I have done - among other things travelled extensively, sent my kids to Santa Clara University & spent about RM1.6M in that process etc - and he actually asked me how I did all that when my results in school (HSC 1968) was "D E E O" (O = Fail).
We then compared notes and realized that in almost every aspects, he actually beat me flat - he had a great degree, working in a listed company, had great contacts, and the list goes on and I asked him why didn't he strike out on his own when he had all these resources with him?
Same answer: FEAR and Procrastination
So I would like to share some of my views on a little discussed subject "Procrastination". You really don't have to believe me, because I am just relating from my experience, and that does not make it true or false, right or wrong. It’s just my experience I am sharing.
To over come Procrastination, you may need to:
Recognize that there is more pain in procrastinating than not. If you have procrastinated a lot (like me) you might have discovered that.
You procrastinate to avoid doing something that is boring, hard or something like that. You want to avoid that pain. But after having some experience with procrastination you’ll probably realize that procrastination itself causes your more pain than actually just doing what you were supposed to.
Realizing the true amount of pain in the two choices will make it easier to get things done. The pain comes from Regret which comes from realizing later on that if you had taken action much earlier, you would have avoided this feeling of regret which generally stems from "Missed Opportunities". When I looked back to my earlier days, I just could not believe the number of opportunities I passed by . .
1. I could have got a scholarship to the States (yes, in spite of my academic boo-boo results). It was FEAR of "loss of face" that stopped me. My teacher whom I still keep in touch after all these years advised me to “repeat” my Form 6, but you know what that means? As I am well known in school having been one of the few students who won medals in SEA Games, everybody will know that I repeated! The stigma of being a “repeat” student in Form 6 then was punishing, and yeah, the loss of face clouded all other forms of thinking.
Don’t let that happen to you!
2. I could have attended the Mexico Olympics as a competitor. It was my unwillingness to go through a gruelling training program - preferring my "comfort zone".
3. And the list can go on and on and on . .
Just take the first step. When you start to look too far into the future any task or project can seem close to impossible. And so you shut down because you become overwhelmed and start surfing the internet aimlessly instead. That is one of the reasons why it is good to plan for the future but then to shift your focus back to today and the present moment. Then you just focus on taking the first step today. That is all you need to focus on, nothing else.
By taking the first step you change you mental state from resistant to “hey, I’m doing this”. You put yourself in state where you become more positive, a state where you may not be enthusiastic about taking the next step after this first one but you are at least accepting it. And so you can take the next step, and the next one after that.
As they say, it is not necessary for you to see the end of the staircase before you need to take the first step.
Start with the hardest task of your day. Maybe you have an important call to make that you also fear might be uncomfortable. Maybe you know you have gotten behind on answering your emails and have big pile to dig into. Maybe you have the last five pages of your paper to finish. Whatever it may be, get it out of your way the first thing you do. If you start your day this way you will feel relieved. You feel relaxed and good about yourself. And the rest of the day - and your to-do list - tends to feel a lot lighter and easier to move through. It’s amazing what difference this one action makes.
So my beloved friends, ladies and gentlemen, start making your plans. Start dreaming because that is the first step. Dream! Then materialize your dreams. Dream of what you can do to start a business with Little or No Money and when you are halfway up the ladder, please reach out your hand to lift someone else up with you.
Have a great weekend ahead!
Please keep in touch.
From a Friend
Victor Lau
+6016 2293343 (Malaysia)
+65 9172 9111 (Singapore)
Serena Williams' Success Strategies
I want to share the following article I received through my email.
Serena Williams' Success Strategies
Serena Williams is this year’s Wimbledon Ladies Singles Champion, but she’s also a savvy businesswoman. Discover her principles for success on and off the court.
Commit to doing your very best. Whether it’s tennis, fashion design or her other interests, Serena Williams holds nothing back in her pursuit of excellence.
Be a good sport. Serena worked at being gracious in defeat. The losses still sting, she says, but she tries not to show it, refocusing her emotions instead on working harder for future wins.
Follow your heart. The legacy you create is yours—not to be dictated by others.
Promote your work. “Every tournament I play gives me a great opportunity to market whatever I am working on or wearing.”
Don’t listen to naysayers. Serena keeps some articles about her and one day she just might read them. For now, “I don’t want their opinions impacting me.”
Serena Williams' Success Strategies
Serena Williams is this year’s Wimbledon Ladies Singles Champion, but she’s also a savvy businesswoman. Discover her principles for success on and off the court.
Commit to doing your very best. Whether it’s tennis, fashion design or her other interests, Serena Williams holds nothing back in her pursuit of excellence.
Be a good sport. Serena worked at being gracious in defeat. The losses still sting, she says, but she tries not to show it, refocusing her emotions instead on working harder for future wins.
Follow your heart. The legacy you create is yours—not to be dictated by others.
Promote your work. “Every tournament I play gives me a great opportunity to market whatever I am working on or wearing.”
Don’t listen to naysayers. Serena keeps some articles about her and one day she just might read them. For now, “I don’t want their opinions impacting me.”
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