Richard Tan Blog

Japan Mini Incentive:Over 100 lucky distributors receive 5-star treatment at the Kagaya Hot Spring Resort, Japan’s “#1 Hotel for 28 Consecutive Years”

2008-06-06T10:02:00.008+08:00

Together as ONE: A SkyQuestCom family photo with our Japanese distributors

If you were to ask anybody about their personal experience at Kagaya, Japan’s most famous hot spring resort, you can expect replies that would certainly be filled with lots of “oohs” and “aahs”!

Voted as Japan’s “#1 Hotel for 28 Consecutive Years”, Kagaya was the perfect venue for Japan’s latest mini incentive. For 2 full days, over 100 of our lucky distributors received 5-star treatment at the luxurious resort that overlooks a majestic ocean. Also joining in the fun were our CEO - Mr. Richard Tan, Singapore’s GM - Mr. Terence Tan and Japan’s GM - Mr. Pasquale Kobayashi.

With our distributors are: Richard (front row, second from left), Kobayashi-san (front row, second from right) and Singapore's GM - Mr. Terence Tan (far right).
To success: Kobayashi-san, Terence and our distributors give the thumbs up!

Smile! Kobayashi-san sharing a photo opportunity with our distributors

Like a segment from right out of the show Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous, our distributors sampled expensive traditional Japanese meals that were fit for royalty. These special meals were beautifully presented on special ceramic dishes and were served personally by a waitress dressed in a traditional kimono.

Fine dining: Waiting eagerly for a sumptuous traditional Japanese dinner

In a guest appearance, Kagaya’s Director of Sales delivered an inspiring speech on Success – how his hotel consistently remained at #1 for 28 consecutive years.

Warm hospitality: Richard receives a welcome gift from Mr. Sadahiko Oda (far left) - Chairman and CEO of Kagaya Hotels Corporation. The lady wearing the brown kimono is Mr. Oda’s wife.

Pledge of excellence: With Richard leading the way, everyone was invited to recite a declaration as a commitment to success.

Richard also revealed the exciting developments and incentives that the distributors can look forward to in the next few months. In addition, he officially launched an incentive in which the top 10 best performing distributors in terms of directs sales would have the chance to wine and dine with T. Harv Eker, the best-selling author of Secrets of the Millionaire Mind – what a sweet delight to top off this memorable incentive!

Click here to re-live the excitment and have a taste of the luxury!

International Rally 2008 Kuala Lumpur: Re-live the Excitement!

2008-04-28T18:32:00.017+08:00

Hi! I'm very excited to share with you some photos from International Rally 2008. It's an annual gathering that honours our family members and top distributors from SkyQuestCom. It's like the Academy Awards that recognises the very best in our business. The rally was held at KL's famous Sunway Resort Hotel and Spa which travel writers hail as a "Resort-in-the-City". True to its famed reputation, it's one of the best venues in the world to stage a grand event. Let the photos speak for themselves:

What more can I say... truly a grand event! You should have been there!

Cultural dancers dazzling us with their glittering costumes and graceful moves. Encore!

That's me doing a celebratory dance of my own with some of our SkyQuestCom family members. They were such a fun lot!

Me and Roger Hamilton. Roger's a leading wealth consultant in Asia.

Steve Linder also took some time off his busy schedule to be with us. Steve's a peak performance coach with Anthony Robbins' companies. Thanks Steve.

That's me again. See the strobe ball? It's actually a special switch that reveals a hidden logo of SkyQuestCom on stage. High-tech stuff!

On stage with SkyQuestCom's top distributors from Singapore, Japan and China. Well done!

I truly believe that if we join our hands together and celebrate the multi-cutural world we live in, we can end all wars on this planet.

Hope you like the photos! If you want to see more, please click here >>

Download Your Trainers' "Project Checklist"

2008-04-18T19:13:00.014+08:00

Hi Trainers and Coaches-to-be!

By popular demand, I'm making this Trainers' Project Checklist available to you as a practical guide to getting started quickly in the seminar business.

For graduates from the Train the Trainer gathering, is there something you've learnt that you haven't applied? Or overlooked? This checklist will help you to keep track and reinforce what you've learnt.

Get it here>> Project Checklist

If you have something to say about your checklist or if there are parts of it we should improve, please feel free to drop me a comment.

With that, my bests and a toast to your success to your first seminar!

How to Run a Successful Seminar Business

2008-04-11T18:43:00.002+08:00

Being a trainer is one of the most exciting and fulfilling professions on the planet! And we've invited our graduates from T. Harv Eker's Train the Trainer programme for a special gathering at our office recently. T. Harv Eker is the famous author of best-selling book Secrets of the Millionaire Mind and a world-renowned Wealth Coach.

The event was an exciting one as you can see from the photos. Some of the graduates who attended are already professional trainers themselves!

I shared my years of practical experience as CEO of Asia's largest seminar organiser and gave them additional tips on how to run a successful seminar business (just like SR's!) and I'm very, very happy with the positive response and feedback. Quoting a phrase from Harv: it's a wonderful feeling to "teach teachers who will go out and make a real difference in this world."

Especially true in the business of changing lives!

Just for Laughs

2008-04-09T17:21:00.013+08:00

This is Rebecca. She has been with the company for many years. She is in the sales department and has won the best sales award several time. I do not recall Rebecca sending me any email before. That is why I was surprised when I got an email from her this morning. The subject of the email was “Just for a laugh” but I think it is a lesson for all of us especially the leaders in the office.

This is her email to me.

"How to Kill Creativity"
Always pretend to know more than everybody around you.
Get employees to fill in time sheets.
Run daily checks on progress of everyone's work.
Ensure that highly qualified people do mundane work for long periods.
Put barriers up between departments.
Don't speak personally to employees, except when announcing increased targets, shortened deadlines and tightened cost restraints.
Ask for a 200-page document to justify every new idea.
Call lots of meetings..
Place the biggest emphasis on the budget.
Kill any idea that is not your own

We need to remember that creativity is what keeps things growing, keeps the mind sharp and keeps people enthusiastic in all their endeavors, from home to work to personal life. So next time you have the opportunity to stifle creativity – Don’t – whether it is in the workplace, the kitchen, or from a smiling 3 year old. Thinking out of the box is what brings society its leaders. Restricting creativity only hurts oneself.

Thank you Rebecca.

Anthony Robbins' "Date with Destiny" Seminar (Day2)

2008-04-07T11:19:00.006+08:00

This is the second morning of the DWD program. We had a late supper last night with delicious crab porridge and dim sum at a nearby Chinese restaurant. The owner still remembers us as we come here annually. This must have been the 3^rd or 4^th year we have been here.

My room at the Conrad Jupiter is a suite with Jacuzzi long bath that can sit 2 people. We have a large balcony big enough to have a party too. Ha-ha, no time to use the long bath. Veronica asked if we could fix one in our house.

This is Michael. He is our partner. He is fun and honorable. He is a personal friend of Anthony Robbins and he is the one that brings Anthony Robbins to this part of the world.

He is the smartest businessman I know. He owns a public listed company here in Australia and is the best seminar promoter in the world. Over the years, I have learnt so many business skills from him. Even though he is very successful, he is a man with a big heart.

I am not staying for the rest of the DWD. I have to go back to Singapore today. Oh, Michael is here. He offers to drive me to the airport. Thanks Michael.

Anthony Robbins' "Date with Destiny" Seminar

2008-04-07T10:13:00.009+08:00

"Date With Destiny" at Australia's Gold Coast is Anthony Robbins’s most passionate seminar. It is held at the Conrad Jupiters from 6 – 11 April 2008. This year we have 1200 participants from 30 countries.

Last night we had a welcome party for the Japanese delegate on the 21^st floor penthouse.Thanks to Learning Edge, our Japanese partner, for making this happen. Also thanks to Cris, Erico, Fredrick (Taiwan) and Catal for their continuous support. I have enclose some photos of last night's welcome party. If you have not attended "Date With Destiny", make sure you watch out for the next one in 2009. It will change your life.

Venue: Conrad Jupiters Hotel, Gold Coast Australia

Evelyn Tan and Lynn, all ready for the DWD program

Lynn stocking food for the 6 days DWD.
She is worried price of rice will go up!

Satoshi is welcoming the Japanese participants.

Lynn and Tegan. Where is Tegan's Husband?

Here he is ! With Lena : )

Download "The 100 Greatest Headlines"

2008-02-27T18:34:00.009+08:00

Hi Friends,

Click the link below to download "The 100 Greatest Headlines"
このリンクをクリックすると「ニュース見出しベスト１００」をダウンロードできます。

Download: http://www.srpl.net/100headlines

All the best & to your success
皆さんの幸運と成功をお祈りしています

Richard

Photos from the Mr. X event in Japan

2008-02-25T14:53:00.008+08:00

On 23 Feb, we had a seminar in our Tokyo office. The participants are those that had invested in the Mr X manual. Due to my recent work and busy schedule I overlooked checking the weather in Tokyo before I arrived. I did not bring any warm clothing. Fortunately all the participants were warm, fun and enthusiastic. It made up for the cold weather. You can look at the happy faces below.

Pay It Forward - A Charity Project of SkyQuestCom

2007-08-22T16:36:00.000+08:00

Hi!

I'd like to invite you to join me in a special charity project we have initiated with my company SkyQuestCom.

When someone has done something good to you, most of us want to return them a favour. However, most people don’t need the favour in return. So instead of returning a favour, those who have benefitted are asked to do something good to someone else instead.

The term originates from the movie, “Pay It Forward”. If you get an opportunity to watch the movie you will be touched by the heart-warming story it presents.

We have chosen a home for kids with HIV/AIDS in Chennai, India. The name of the home is "Shelter: Hope for Every One".

About Shelter

Shelter's aim is to provide love, laughter, and life to HIV-positive children.

Love - because most of these children have lost their parents and are longing for love.
Laughter - to take them through the difficulties of their situation.
Life - to give them a quality life for as long as they live with proper care, food, clothing and other needs.

The home is filled with HIV-positive kids and has 4 HIV-positive women as staff. 90% of the children have lost both parents. The rest have a single parent who is not in a position to take care of them because the parents themselves are in the back end of life.

Help the Children
Here are just a couple of examples of the different kinds of children with various degrees of problems and issues the shelter helps:

Suraj, 10 years old, has lost both of his parents and four of his siblings - he lost one elder sister, his two small brothers and one younger sister. Imagine the emotional trauma and difficulty this child has to face in seeing six of his family members dying in front of him. He came into the home on his last days, but with antiviral drugs, he is now stable.

Sita, a 7 year old girl, has multiple sicknesses in her brain. These cause convulsions or ticks. When she has an attack, froth will come from her mouth and she faints and needs to be attended to within 1 hour of the attack.

Senthil, an 8 year old boy, has skin infections from his head to his toes with open wounds all over his body. His mother wished he would die because she could not handle his suffering. She literally said "I am dropping you here and would be happy if you died." He is now doing well. He is smiling, he is going to school, and is one of the bubbly children they have in the home.

No financial support to help any more children
The shelter has had to turn down kids who need help because they do not have the financial support to take on any more children.

They do not currently have any support from the corporate sector, or government sector or international funding. The shelter is being run on an individual basis, but is a registered trust in India. Currently the shelter is only supported by friends, relatives and a few local individuals.

Finances are an added stress to the already present stress of taking care of these very sick and needy children.

They have difficulty finding proper schools for these children. If the kids have a fall or get sick, the shelter gets desperate calls from the school for them to come and take them. Emergency help from hospitals is difficult. Even simple issues like getting a haircut are difficult because they have boils all over their heads and it can stink quite badly. Barbers are not willing to come in and do a simple haircut.

There are also food issues; as some children have different dietary requirements and cannot eat the same things. Feeding them in front of others can be difficult because they may want certain foods that they cannot eat.

These kids go through a lot of emotional trauma in their lives and often don't know how to express themselves.

I'd like to encourage you to join us in this cause along with us:

Richard Tan

Download for Presentation at John Childers Program

2007-06-15T10:45:00.000+08:00

Hello Friends,

This is the download for the presentation.

Here is the page to Opt-in download page:

http://www.srpl.net/johnchilders

I have included the following
1. 100 headlines
2. Marketing checklist
3. Steve Job's letter

Hope the above are of help to you all.

Bests, Richard

Are You Spending Time with Your Children?

2007-05-14T08:56:00.000+08:00

I am taking breakfast at the United Square. Just ordered a Char Siew Noodle.

Many things have happened the last one month, some tragic, some ordinary. The shooting of the students in the Virginia Tech University by a Korean student is considered tragic. The gunman was a 23 year old English major who kept to himself. Something eerie about this - sounds like a pretty normal kid. He had problems that he kept to himself. It exploded with him taking 33 innocent lives. Why did he not tell or share his problem? Was it his fault for not sharing and letting it build up to end with this tragic event.

How did he turn out to be this way?

I'd like to make a guess...

When he was a kid, both his parent was very busy making a living; probably both were working to support the family. They did not have time for their children. When they were at home, they were too tired to pay any attention to him. A sample conversation could be as follows:

Korean boy: My class mate, Kim hit me today.

Father: Why did he hit you? You must have done something wrong. Otherwise, he won’t hit you.

Korean Boy: No dad. I did not do anything to him.

Father: Why did he not hit another boy but hit you? You must be naughty.

Korean Boy: Noooo.....

Father: Don’t argue with me. That is why people hit you. Because you are so argumentative

Korean Boy: Nooo …I don’t want to talk to you in future.

The above could be one scenario that caused the Korean boy to keep to himself. Don’t let this happened to your kid. If your children get into trouble (pregnant, take drugs, are bullied by others), you want them to trust you and be able to share with you. Listen to your children attentively.

There is no such thing as quality time without quality time. Quality time is only an excuse for not spending enough time for your children.

I want to share some of my life’s regret... maybe next blog k. I got to go now. you have a great day .

My faithful friends - April and Sha

2007-04-10T00:02:00.000+08:00

April and Sha, both came into our life on a brilliant October about 7 years ago. April and Sha are Jack Russels, the cutest puppies on the planet. They belong to my brother in law. He told my wife that he temporary needed a place to house April and Sha while he went for a vacation. He never took them back. It was ok for me as April and Sha soon became good companions for my children and the whole family.

Both are very playful and cheeky. April is much more playful. I throw her a ball and she brings it back. April will chase lizards too. Both bark when strangers pass by the house, yet they are friendly with children and friends. April likes me to rub her belly and scratch her back. She is a furry little angel and a monster guard dog all in one.

Grace and Aaron were fond of them. They kept the children company and busy while I worked. When my children went to school, April and Sha kept my aged mother occupied. Otherwise many aged become lonely when their children and grandchildren are not home. In fact my mother treated April and Sha like her 'kids' too. She talked to them. They seemed to talk back to her by barking.

I usually go home very late in the night. Everyone is asleep. No matter how late, April and Sha never fail to welcome me at the gate, wagging their tails cheerfully. April and Sha are my friends.

They are always faithful.

I am going to have a meeting with Johnson tomorrow to update on the listing of the company. I will share with you about it on another day.

Enjoy Nature

2007-04-08T18:50:00.000+08:00

Today is Easter Sunday, the resurrection of Jesus Christ. He was crucified and now risen from the grave. For Christians, it is a victorious day as Jesus has conquered death and those that believe in Him and accept Jesus as Savior will have eternal life.

At 8.45 am, I picked up Stephen, Alicia and John to go to church. They are staying at the Sanctuary service apartment. It costs almost S$500 per day. They will be staying for 10 days and then head off to Jakarta for the Global Internet Summit. My church is only 10 min from where they are staying.

I am glad that they enjoyed their time in Singapore. It could be the food. More so, I think it is the friends they have around here. One time, someone asked me which is my favorite country since I travel so frequently. It really caused me to think. My favorite country need not be the most beautiful or the most dynamic place. It is the place where I have the most friends.

A few days ago, I brought Stephen and John to walk up the Bukit Timah Hill. Bukit Timah Hill at 164 meters is the highest land point in Singapore. The shortest trekking route to the summit follows the forest reserve which is just over 2 km and follows a paved road. We had a great time and it was fun.

The best part of this walk is that we are able to talk and share and get to know each other better.

We spend so much time working and making money that many of us don’t know how to appreciate nature and have fun.

Take time to get away and enjoy nature.

What is your net worth ?

2007-04-06T22:24:00.000+08:00

I am at the airport now waiting for my flight to Singapore.

Last night, I did a presentation in Malaysia to 150 people on acquiring businesses and property with no money down. It is an interesting topic that attracted a wide audience. There are those that come and learn and also skeptics who think it is a myth. I shared with them my experiences on how I have acquired businesses and properties with no money or little money. Most of the ideas that I shared are not what ordinary people do. Successful people don't do ordinary things too.

At the end of the talk, I also encouraged them to attend the Financial Mastery seminar on this coming 12-13 May. This seminar is based on the teachings of Robert Kiyosaki.

At the end of the presentation, 25 people rushed to sign up for the seminar. During the question and answer time, one participant asked me what my net worth is. This is the first time someone has asked me this question. It is a very interesting question. Most people do not know how much they are worth. They do not take time to do an audit of themselves. There is also another group of people who are too afraid to know their net worth because they do not want to know the truth. The truth will hurt. They are the escapists. These two groups normally do not plan their finances and their lives. If you do not plan, you will very likely not go anywhere.

Your worth is not necessarily measured in the area of money. To the people who love you, you are priceless. To God, your parents, your children, your friends, you are priceless.
You are not necessarily measured by how much money you have made but how you have contributed to people’s lives. For example, if you provide financial help to a child from a poor family to help him finish his education, he will never forget your kindness.

No one really cares if you have millions for just yourself. If you give to the world your time and money, your net worth will be measured by your legacy.

For the next few months, I will be working on listing one of my businesses. I will be sharing with you the progress. It is hard work but very interesting.

You are invited to comment on my blogs.

Thank you, Richard

powerpoint for "no Money Down"

2007-04-05T17:39:00.000+08:00

Hello everyone, here is the powerpoint for my "buying properties and business with no money down" go to www.srpl.net and click on the Financial Mastery picture as shown on the next space.

All the best.

Richard

Don’t get fooled today

2007-04-02T13:00:00.000+08:00

Do you realize that today is April fool’s Day? So be on guard, lest you be taken in by an April Fools’ joke. Haha, it would be wise to remember that not everyone has a sense of humor. I must confess that I have played harmless jokes on my friends, college and family on this day. After being serious for more than 300 plus days a year, it is nice to have a day off for jokes. You should be prepared to be fooled on April 1 and not take it to heart.

This morning, I played one joke on Veronica. She was taken in for a few minutes before she realized that it might be an April Fools’ joke. Others were not so fortunate.

The big one was played in front of 200 participants in the seminar we held at the Crown Plaza Riverside Hotel today. I went up to the stage and spoke with a serious tone. “Today is a very unfortunate day. One of you here thinks that you are a smart Alec. During the break, you went to the staff room and tried to be fresh with one of our female staff. You tried to get onto her and tried to kiss her... Even though she told you that she has absolutely no interest, you still persisted on. During the struggle, she took a sharp pencil and struck you and injured your palm. We know who you are. We have informed the police. After this announcement. I'd like to see you behind.” The whole room was in dead silence. Then I took out my hand from my pocket and it was bandaged in red ink. They all started to laugh.

We played a joke on Phoebe. First, I asked Shirlynn to text her and pretend to be Ben, a good looking Chinese guy from Australia whom Phoebe just met. We tricked her to believe that Ben was trying to date her. From the way she responsed, we could feel her heart pounding. She almost freaked out. Kekeke, she will be more careful next year.

We played a joke on Yang Po too. As she is still recovering from her illness, we only planned a mild joke. Hope she laughed at the joke and recovers sooner.

We played a joke on June Yuen. Shirlynn texted June and told her that the seminar was badly organized and that Jessie has broke down, cried and now cannot be found. We were all worried for her. We just managed to stop June as she was booking her air ticket to fly to Kuching to help.

The seminar ended at about 7 pm and we went for dinner behind the hotel. Along the way, we bumped into Kelvin and Michael from Hong Kong. We went back to the same place that Simon took us last night. The seafood is very good there. The only thing lacking is a good dessert. After the dinner, Fabian suggested we go to the Starbuck's nearby.

As we were waiting for the coffee, Douglas whispered in my ear that one of the speakers, Sam has requested that he does not want another speaker, Francis to be in the room when he speaks tomorrow. The reason is that, he does not want Francis to copy his speech. It is a serious matter and can be a potential time bomb if we do not address the issue immediately. I suggested to Douglas that we should call both Sam and Francis to sit together and iron out the differences. Douglas said he will meet them and handle it. We went back to our room. I was worried.

It was 11.50 pm when my phone rang. Alice, Sam’s lovely wife called. “Richard, Douglas and Sam met and Sam was very upset. He has gone to Francis’s room. I am afraid. He might punch him”. My heart dropped to my toe. Sam is a big rough American. Francis will be no match for him. “Where is Douglas?” I asked. The last thing I wanted is to have 2 professional men pounding on one another. “He is going after Sam” Alice replied. “What do you think is the best thing to do?” I asked, at a loss for words. “I don’t know. I thought I'd just let you know”, Alice replied. “Is there anything that Francis did today that upset Sam?” I asked, trying to think hard about my next move. I wanted to go stop the fight but I don’t know in which room Francis is staying. He is on the 17 floor. I am sure there will be a commotion and it will be easy to spot.

“What is the day today?” Alice added. “1 April?, ahhhhhhhhhhhhh .. Alice you fooled me”. I could hear roaring laugher in the background. Only then, I realized that the last joke of the day was played on me.

It is now 11.58pm. 2 minutes to midnite. I don’t have time to get back at them. Alice/Sam/Douglas, I will remember you next year.

PS: I am trying to upload photos of Phoebe, YangPo, Veronica, Ben, Douglas, Jessie and Shirlynn but for some reason I encountered an error. Maybe I will upload later.

How can an ordinary person made a million in one day ....

2007-03-28T01:52:00.000+08:00

I made a million in one day. In fact in 2004, I did that 3 times. Recently was another example.

Last week we did a Internet marketing program in Singapore. In the program, Stephen Pierce asked me how much should he price his backend product? He wanted to sell his product at US $10,000. There were 3 different suggestions from the team. June, our database manager from Malaysia, suggested we price it in Malaysia Ringget at RM 10,000 - equivalent to S $4,300 or US $2,687. One Singapore staff suggested we should price it in Singapore dollars at S $10,000 equivalent to RM 23,000 or US $6250.

I spoke to Stephen Pierce. His offer was very very compelling. I am confident that he can sell it higher. So I voted to price his product at US $10,000 or equivalent to RM 40,000 or S $16,500.

In the end, Stephen sold 50 products at US$10,000 each and grossed US$500,000 or equivalent to RM 2,000,000 or S$825,000 in just 1 hour.

If we had priced it at June's suggestion of RM 10,000 (US$2,687), we would have sold only RM 500,000 and make less money by an amount of RM 1,500,000. (US$400,000) This is more than what 85% of Malaysians would make in their whole working life.

Is Stephen Pierce just lucky that he made an extra RM1,500,000 or US$400,000 without spending a single cent or effort more? NO, I don't believe luck has anything to do with it.

I believe that he can make a million a day because of his belief in himself and his self-esteem. Its funny how self-esteem works. If you have high self-esteem and believe in yourself, you get paid more. How much money you have in your bank account can be a reflection of your self-esteem too. It may not be too scientific but I think it is pretty accurate.

You realise that it does not take more effort to make more money than little money. In this case, just by believing in yourself you make more money.

You deserve to be successful. Have confidence in yourself. You can do it.

What you have now is enough to be successful!

2007-03-26T14:27:00.000+08:00

I was only in Singapore for a day. Now I am on my way to the airport to fly to Medan, Indonesia.

It is very refreshing driving along the Pan Island Expressway (PIE) to the Changi Intertnational Airport. You can see plants and flowers all over. And then you will drive through a few kilometers of trees on both sides that have grown to form a tunnel sheltering your car as you drive through. I have never seen any place in the world that has so much greenery and gardens, integrated in an urban lifestyle like Singapore.

In 1972, the Singapore Tourist Promotion Board handed Lee Kuan Yew (Former Singapore Prime Minister) a report. Roughly, the report stated the following: "Singapore is not like Egypt, we do not have the great pyramid; Singapore does not have The Great Wall like China; Singapore does not have Mount Fuji like Japan; Singapore is not like Hawaii that has abundant waves, all we have is four seasons of sunlight, nothing historical and nothing else." The report kind of concluded that for Singapore to be a tourist destination was going to be an uphill task.

After Lee Kuan Yew read the report, he was angry. It was said that he put a comment on the report and sent it back to the Promotion Board and his comment was, “What else do you want God to give to us? Sunlight - isn’t sunlight enough? Later Singapore would use the four seasons of sunlight to grow plants, flowers and trees. In a very short time, Singapore became known as the "garden city". Singapore has won the third favorite tourist destination in Asia for many years.

God gave every country and city something, but not very much. Hangzhou was given West Lake. God gave Medan, Lake Toba. God gave Bangkok the Chao Praya River.

God gives individuals even less. For Isaac Newton, he gave him only an apple and the apple was even thrown down from the tree. Walt Disney was only given a mouse. And this mouse only appeared on the bread that was all Walt Disney could afford at that time.

The sunshine that God gives Singapore has made Singapore a garden city, the apple that God gave to Newton made him a leading scientist in history, the mouse that God gave to Disney made him an empire and brings happiness to both children and adults around the world.

Have you ever felt that God is unfair? Why did some people get beauty, height, money, position? What has God given to you?

If you have faith, whatever you have right now is already enough for you to be successful. You don't need more.

The very chair that you are sitting in now, if you have faith , is already enough for you to be successful.

Have Faith now! Have faith in what you do and who you are. You will be successful.

I pray he don't fall asleep along the way.

2007-03-23T04:21:00.000+08:00

It is still raining. I have just finished my presentation at the Marriott Hotel in KL. With this rain and traffic jam, I am happy that the program started on time. More then 120 people braved the rain and traffic to come to my talk.

The car was waiting in the lobby to drive me back to Singapore. The night drive usually takes 3-4 hours from KL to Singapore. In this weather, I will probably be in Singapore at 4 or 5 am in the morning. I have a morning meeting with Yang Po (YP) and Siew Chong on the IPO listing issues. I jumped into the car. The driver is an elderly man with thick glasses. I prayed he doesn’t fall asleep as easily as I do. My thought floated to thinking of YP and the IPO listing. Better take a nap first so that I can be ready for the morning IPO meeting.

Those of you who are at the Marriott Hotel and are reading this, just bear with me for a day or two. I will upload the presentation powerpoint when I get back.

"Just give him this money and come back.” I told Melvin

2007-03-22T15:34:00.000+08:00

I felt terrible today. Almost like another wake up call. I will share with you more another time.

I am staying at the Marriott hotel in Kuala Lumpur. I need to go to my office in Dataram Prima about 30 minutes away. The taxi stand is quite empty. I don’t want to bother my staff to come pick me up so I decided to take a cab to the office. In front of me was a Caucasian man with his girlfriend. The first cab came and they took it.

Another cab was queuing behind. I told the bell man that I'd like to go to Dataram Prima. The bell man opened the cab door for me and I hopped in. I repeated to the cab driver “Dataram Prima please”.

The driver is an Indian man. He started to drive off without acknowledging me. I said again “Dataram Prima, do you know the place?” I could sense that he is uncertain but he keeps driving. “It is somewhere in PJ, do you know the place?” I asked.

"The fare is RM 30” He said. “That is ok.” I replied.

Usually I can take a cab from Marriott Hotel to my office for only RM 25. I am not in the mood for bargaining because I have to call into a conference call from my mobile phone and I am opening my computer to read the notes first.

Tom Hua, Brett, Phoebe and Veronica are already on the conference call. I called in but I could not hear them clearly. The phone reception on the highway is not clear. Halfway there, the cab driver asked if I'd like him to wait to take me back. I told him there is no need to wait for me.

Then he commented, “The place is very far, should be RM35, not RM30.” I just ignored him. He drove past the Motorola factory, then Yamaha School. “Further down please, turn right after you pass the Catholic Church. My office is around the corner.” I directed him.

“Wow... so far, should be RM 40” he grumbled. He raised the fare from RM30 to RM35 and now to RM40. We passed the main gate and entered block D where my office is located. “Please stop in front of the silver Volvo” I said. That is Jennifer’s, our senior manager, Volvo. He stopped. I took out a RM 50 bill and handled it to him.

“It is RM 40.” He held on to the RM50 bill and wanted to give me just RM 10 change. “No, it is RM 30 as you have quoted in the beginning,” I said calmly. “Very far lah, must be RM 40, still holding on to the RM 50 bill. “Hey”, I raised my voice. “You are trying to cheat.” I raised my voice louder.

On that, I snapped back the RM 50 bill from his hand, opened the cab door and just walked away. “ok, ok ok” I could hear him agreeing from behind me. I ignored him, walk into the building and took a lift to my office.

Cab drivers like this one give the tourist industries a bad name and damages even a nation’s reputation. In this case, it is Malaysia. I want to teach him a lesson. I am not going to pay him.
Not everyone is so easily taken advantage of.

15 minutes must have passed. I looked at the money I snapped back; there was another RM10 bill with the RM 50 bill. The RM10 does not belong to me. Aiyah, I not only did not pay him but I must have also snapped his money by accident.

I felt better now. Instead of making some money, now the Indian Cab driver loses money. He must be down there in a shock.

“Melvin”, I called. Melvin is the project executive in the office. “Can you take RM 35, and go down and look for an Indian cab driver. Just give him this money and come back.”

You have to "stand up for what you believe" and yet also "do the right thing."

Don't judge a preson just by their dressing

2007-03-22T00:32:00.000+08:00

Earlier, I just took a stroll along the polluted river. My heart goes to the new found species of clouded leopard that lived in the Borneo jungle.

Wearing jeans and an ordinary shirt, HK is sitting at the back of the room, diligently taking notes as I speak about “making money on the internet”.. He must be about 50 plus in age.

There are about 100 professionals in the room. I have done this same presentation many times the last two week as I traveled across Asia. The responses have been overwhelming. I am overwhelming by the people I meet, especially in small towns. They are very friendly.

In Surabaya, a lady gave me a small handmade pouch for my hand phone. In Bali, a lady sent home cook meals for my breakfast, lunch and dinner. Not only for me but my whole team of staff.

My presentation ended at about 9.30 pm.

After my presentation, HK offered to show me the town. I told him I have to wake up early to go to the airport. “Sibu is a small place, it is very fast, only takes a few minutes” said HK. “If only a while, it is ok”. I said. I left my computer at the hotel reception and hopped into his car. He drove around enthusiastically briefing me like a professional tour guide. Occasionally, he slowed his car to explain some location.

“Are you hungry?” he asked. “Oh, I can go back to the hotel and order room service” I said. “Just around the corner only, got very good food.” He point to a shop with lights on. “Ok if it is fast,” I said. “It is very fast, don’t worry." "What do you like to eat?" He asked. “I don’t mind some simple food, not too much” I replied. When the food came, it was for an army of people. “What drink do you like?” he asked. “Do they have soda here?” I asked. “Sure, they have the world's best soda here, you should try them” and he ordered the soda drink for me.. When the bottled soda drink arrived, I tasted it. “Very nice” I said.

The waitress nearby heard me and said “He is the owner of the soda bottling plant, the biggest here, like Coca Cola.” If the waitress had not mentioned it, I would never know that I was having dinner with the owner of a successful soft drink business. Wow, I learned to never judge a person by the cloth he wear.

HK dressed very simply but he is a very humble and successful person. I fly toKL, Malaysia tomorrow morning.

"Want to go for a drink later?" one asked. "I'd love to, but I have to give a talk tonight". I sighed.

2007-03-19T00:08:00.000+08:00

I was inside the 52 seater plane to Sibu. A small plane, there is no first class or business class. It's all the same class. Usually when I hit the plane, I will fall asleep and wake up when I reach the destination. The other passengers are streaming in. The airline crew is leading them to their seats.

For a short flight, I like to be on the window seat. The aisle seat was taken by a Chinese man who was chatting on the mobile phone. I could figure out that he was speaking to his office about some business deal. He stood up to let me in while still talking on his phone. I placed my computer bag under the front seat. I wondered if this small plane provided you with some magazine or a newspaper. The man next to me is still on his phone. A female air crew stopped by and politely requested the man to stop talking. “Ok” he said as he tilts his head a little but he is still on his phone. Another female air crew passed by and tells the man to switch off his phone. Just then the man finished. The captain's voice is now on the PA system. “Toooo...” the man’s phone rang. He answered and started to talk again. I felt a little irritated now.

The first lady aircrew stopped by and requested again for the man to shut off his phone. The man turned to her "Heh, talk awhile won't die lah, plane also hasn’t fly" and is still talking. The female aircrew was taken aback. I suddenly turned to him, "What is wrong with you? This lady is doing her job." I raised my voice. I could see he was taken aback and quickly shut off his phone. The female aircrew smiled. She said "thank you" and walked away.

The plane is now flying over the Borneo jungle. I read in this morning's newspaper that a new species of cat was found in the jungle. As I looked out of the window, I could see a vast primary forest. Could the new found cat be just down there?

Then I saw a curved river. What shocked me was the color of the river. It is brown and muddy. I was expecting to see a blue or clear river not brown and muddy. ....how come it is like that? Where did the source of pollution come from? Hmmmm I took a few aerial photos from the plane. After I landed, a car took me to the hotel. Behind my hotel there is a river. I was even more shocked to see the pollution. You can see the above photos I have taken. A few boys were fishing from the muddy polluted river. I don't think they are going to find any fish.

I felt sad for the environment, and for the new found cat. With this pollution the species of new found cat may be extinct soon. Mankind needs to live on the earth. We may be the only species that kills the earth too.

This brought me to recall the time that I had a chance meeting with the famous Japanese wrestler, Inoki san, whose mission is to protect the environment. We had lunch together. If we have more people like him, we will have more people saving this earth.

When I returned to the hotel, I met the two female aircrew checking in the hotel too. "You want to go for a drink later?" one asked.

"I love to, but I have to give a talk tonight". I sighed.

How does Kuching, which means Cat come about?

2007-03-17T02:21:00.000+08:00

Yesterday, I told you that I am in the beautiful town of Kuching in East Malaysia. Kuching is the capital city of Sarawak. The people here are kind and friendly. Kuching means cat in the local language. I have been here many times and I don’t see many cats around. I am determined to find out how the name came about.

I finished giving a talk to about 100 people who were looking to learn how to start an online business and make money online. I asked some of them to go to http://www.skyquestcom.com and http://www.preenroller.com to look at an example of a proven business system.

The last few days has been hectic for me. Today, my flight to Sibu is in the afternoon. For the first time, I have a few hours to myself. I took a walk along the Kuching River front. I am surprised by the beauty of the green environment. This river separating the north and the south called the "Sarawak River". I could see a spectacular view of a gorgeous mountainous background. There was an elderly gentleman sitting on the bench resting. He must have finished his morning exercise. I walked over to ask him how “Kuching” the name is originated.

He said that Kuching originated from the Chinese word "Gu Chin" which means harbour. Hmmmm .. that made sense since I am standing at the river front. This should be it. I smiled and was excited that I found the answer. If there is a will, there is a way, I said to myself.

I walked back to the hotel. The hotel bell boy cheerfully greeted me “good morning, Mr. Richard Tan” and he opened the glass door for me. I responded back“Gooooood morning Andrew” “By the way, do you know how the name Kuching was originated?” I took the opportunity to ask him. He said “Kuching is named after a lychee like fruit called Mata Kuching (Cat's eye).” “A fruit??, What about the Chinese word which means harbour”, I replied. “Never heard that nonsense before” He shook his head.

Back to square one.

Maybe I better go ask my MD, Yang Po, she seemed to know everything.

I have got to go check out the hotel room now.