www.Go To The Mountain - Musings of a Potential Guru

If you have not read Foreign Minister George Yeo's speech at the Fullerton - SJI Leadership Lecture, I would urge all of you to read it without exception. It was carried on Monday by The Straits Times of 25 January 2010 (page A17). To borrow a quote "In this day and age, clone armies are weak armies. Mindless supporters are worthless". "Leadership becomes a chemistry among people , enabling them to draw energy from one another. And for that to happen, leadership has to respect each individual in his own right and according to his own nature." You see George Yeo is one of my favourites because he is first and foremost a thinker. A forward thinker and he could put many things together and give you a scenario and a situation to provoke your thoughts. There two types of great people in this world - the thinkers and the dreamers. I could be one of the greatest since I both think and dream sometimes one more than the other not necessary in a fixed pattern. Or I dre...

Ever had a hangover? A splitting headache, nausea, lethargy and dehydration sets in and you have had it for the day. A result of festive celebrations or weekend gatherings. Sounds common isn't it. At that moment, many would vow never to do it again and then the next weekend or holiday comes along and here we go again. For others it could become a weekly or twice weekly affair or me. Why? The Legend of The Merlion Hangovers occur when the liver cannot process and get rid of excess toxins fast enough especially when we go "binge" drinking and such unpleasant symptoms of hangover can get worse when the ethanol present in alcohol becomes a dehydrating effect. Whenever you have alcohol, drink lots of water, mate. You will urinate more often due to this effect as dehydration can cause brain fluid to be reduced which leads to headaches, lethargy and a very dry mouth. The myth of our Merlion was to me not as interesting as the creature itself having stood as g...

World Cup It's really only January and spring time comes when the Chinese Lunar New Year comes around and a full year ahead is waiting. Depending on where you are, who you are, life can have very different meaning. We can get preoccupied with our work and life's problems while to others life's hanging in the balance and in tenterhook. Many Singaporean's chief concern right now is whether we get to see the World Cup soccer in South Africa in June and at what price. Our telcos out bid one another to give away several hundred millions to the EPL to lead FIFA to think that to pay a small sum of a hundred million for a month of soccer extravaganza is peanuts. Well, let them carry on with the gamesmanship to see who blink first. It'snot as if you don't have to pay. My take is that an amicable settlement will be reached. It could be FIFA's greed or out telco's way of telling us why we have to pay so much. In the event that we miss out improbable as it seem...

A friend is somebody who "trusts" and is "fond of" another. Somebody who "thinks well of" and who is on good terms with somebody else. "An ally, someone who is not an enemy." A "defender or supporter of a cause, group or principle". If you want to have friends, you must first be a friend by developing a genuine interest in people and certainly not in looking for what they can do for you. This is if you want true friendship. Friendship is really about giving without expecting anything in return. If you call on friends only when you need something, you will soon be without friends. What Kind Of Friend Are You? Are you the type who shows consideration for others? Are you generous? Do you give of your time freely and are you a kind person? Or do you take people for granted? Do you ask but never gave? Do you take time to stay in touch? Do you give freely? Why? Because birds of a feather flock together and they will be what you mak...