My Music Group plays Jingle Bells as a way to greet one and all a merry christmas!

I was talking to a friend hotelier, and he was recounting that for over 10 years in the early 1980s, he was working in a hotel in China.

One time, there were a group of students who came, and each was carrying an umbrella.  He told the tour guide that at that time of the year, there was no need to carry umbrellas because it hardly rained.

The tour guide reiterated that they have been advised to bring umbrellas - reason is at that time, China dd not have doors to their toilets.

So when you have to go to the comfort room, an umbrella was needed to shield yourself if you don’t want to be seen!

Fortunately, China has progressed quickly, and in most places, you will see western style sanitary toilets with door and lock!

You have read this story countless times.

There is the martyr wife. She sacrifices everything for the family.  After marriage, she spends her whole time taking care of the house, cooking, washing, and cleaning.  She takes care of the family.  She has no time for herself.  In return for her ’sacrifice’, she makes the husband feel obliged and expect therefore that he returns the favor by being ‘loyal’.

Unfortunately many times it does not work.

The husband feels guilty and stays with the family, but Later on he finds a mistress.

The mistress does not make him feel guilty.  She does not impose. She listens and makes him feel good.

The husband feels the need to feel good because he feels the yoke of guilt for so long.  Hey, we all want to feel good.

This is not a moral story, but a story to be learned in business.  How much ‘influence’ can be had by making people feel obliged and guilty?  Do you know people who work long hours and expect rewards even in the absence of good results?  They supposedly sacrifice this and that ( and you don’t know what for?), and because of it, you were supposed to give them a little bit more out of a sense of guilt.

Yes, it does work, but only for a time.  Nobody wants to feel guilty, and if people are doing things for you because you made them so, you will for sure not enjoy success for long.   Because at the end people want to feel good.

If you want success, you should make people successful and feel good about working with you.  That’s the thing that will endure….

si filemon, si filimon

My Orchestral band for which I play the piano, the Asian Troubadours have recently released its Timeless Visayan and Russian Classics CD.  The CD contains 7 enduring Cebuano/Visayan folk Classics, and details of its release can be found in their site.

In addition to promoting Cebuano folk songs in music, we will be releasing a series of MTV featuring their music and performances.

Si Filemon, si Filimon is the first of the series. It is a lighthearted song about a fisherman’s travels to catch the bounty of the sea and returned emptyhanded.  It is a folk song popularized in the 60s and 70s by Yoyoy villame, and is mostly sang in parties and celebrations, as well as festivities.   comments are welcome!

Can A Little Extra Weight Protect People From Early Death? Underweight, Extremely Obese Die Earlier Than People Of Normal Weight

Underweight people and those who are extremely obese die earlier than people of normal weight—but those who are overweight actually live longer than people of normal weight.

This is a good article in terms of understanding where you are and where you want to be?

So, Are you surviving, sacrificing, sustaining, stimulating, or succeeding?

Are You Living for the Short Term or the Long Term? - BusinessWeek

In analyzing how we spend our time, whether personally or professionally, it can be helpful to consider two dimensions: short-term satisfaction and long-term benefit. Both have value. It can be disappointing to live our lives with no meaning or pleasure in the here and now, just as it can be unfulfilling to live only for today.

We have only one life and a short one at that - that pretty much is something we have to realize - we don’t have forever, and someday we will go.

There will be no regrets when we go (regrets or not, it will happen), but it is important I think that we leave a legacy and a feeling that at least the world is a better place because of us.

I am now 43, and for the last 25 or so years, i have been very conscious of this, and have spent a big part of my time trying to better my financial condition ( in short, earn a living), as well as do what I can to contribute back to society - either engaging in community activities, participating in chamber of commerce activities and charitable endeavors, teaching, and also writing.

Because I live in a developing country, what was always impressed upon me is that poverty is the single biggest hindrance to happiness and fulfillment, and therefore its elimination must therefore be the prime importance. 

Indeed, even among those of us who are middle or upper class, who does not harbor the illusion that maybe tomorrow, we will suddenly become obscenely rich, and therefore will spend the rest of our lives indulging in what we want without having to worry again about money, and therefore live happily ever after.

Yet, the pursuit, and attainment of happiness is more than that.

The last one or so years, i have started writing and publishing business comics books, teaching in my alma maters master of management program, and also playing in a band.  This has brought upon me some fulfillment and I justify that I am planting a rose. What does it mean?

It means that attainment of fulfillment is more than just eliminating hindrances, lifting miseries or righting wrongs.  It means we need also to provide people with good mental attitude and reasons to be happy.  A poor person will become miserable if we allow him to focus that he must be become rich first to be happy, and imposes on him the thinking that until he becomes so, he does not have the right to be happy.

In short, we need to build better gardens ( and communities) — and the way to build a great garden is to do two things — you remove the weeds and you plant the flowers. Let us not be only too focused on removing the weeds.  Let us plant some flowers.  I am proud that we just recently released a CD, and we hope that our music will be one of the flowers that will give to listeners some measure of enjoyment.

They say art is something that makes a person feel less lonely, and I would like to think by dabbling into music, I am doing something worthwhile as well.  Is your role that of clearing away the weeds, or planting the flowers?

Technorati Tags: Asian troubadours wilson ng bizdrivenlife ngenius itsngenius engy

I have uploaded my first piano performance. Its a piano solo and the piece is dedicated to the memory of Glenn Westerman, a friend who was the former CEO of Lexmark Philippines.

I feel proud on this because this video was recorded and edited by my 15  year old son, Earl christianson Ng

Looking forward to your comments:

I’d like to thank the hundreds of people who took time to listen to our music in myspace.

Also the people who click on the right sidebar upper link where you can get samples of our music.

If you like it, and is ok to put it in your blog or site, please do so.

The following code should work:

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It was a matter of time. The author did not go into all that trouble without trying to benefit!

Conficker virus begins to attack PCs: experts by Reuters: Yahoo! Tech

BOSTON (Reuters) -

A malicious software program known as Conficker that many feared would wreak havoc on April 1 is slowly being activated, weeks after being dismissed as a false alarm, security experts said.

Conficker, also known as Downadup or Kido, is quietly turning thousands of personal computers into servers of e-mail spam and installing spyware, they said.