The second lesson after hard work is focus. I happened to know a few actors and actresses (no Hollywood stars yet) and I am always impressed by their high level of concentration when they are focused. Come to think of it, it all makes sense. It takes hours if not days or weeks or months for them to rehearse their roles. When they are on the set (either on stage, TV, being filmed), they need to perform their very best at that moment. A director will not be happy (and you will soon to out of a job) if you waste his/her money (filming is expensive) and time.

That high level of focus, concentration and professionalism is very important in all lines of business. Let us do our best when it comes to our ‘act’ and not waste resources nor time of others and our very good selves.

Well, how should I start? The influence of Hollywood is gone far beyond entertainment and fashion regardless of whether you are a fan or not. I think there are some valuable lessons that we can learn from Hollywood and its “inhabitants”.

First of all, hard work is essential besides good luck. Acting is not the same as modeling. Good look can only take you so far. Actually there is a lot of hard work involved. Imagine memorizing all the lines (dialogues) that a lead actor/actress has to do. It is no picnic. The time involved in filming (could be as long as years) being away from your friends and family (if filming abroad and traveling) and the intensity of work. I know some people think it is very glamorous, but actually it usually requires a lot of hard work before one can get to the more glamorous part.

I have been traveling quite a bit for work lately and transportation delays have become part of my life. Here is my advice on how to deal with it.
1) Keep calm and carry on
2) Acknowledge it is beyond your control
3) No need to find someone to blame
4) Seek alternatives if possible
5) Inform the people that may be affected by your late arrival/departure
6) Pursue compensation if applicable
7) Make the best out of the “extra” time in hand; for example, retail therapy, a snack, a drink, read a book or even write a blog (exactly what I am doing now).

To sum up, often time we can’t control what happens to us, but we can always choose how to react to it. So make a positive spin.

I had an interesting discussion with a friend a few weeks ago on the subject of consensus.
One insight came out of the discussion is the relationship between consensus and mediocrity. As the group of participants gets bigger and everyone tries to reach a consensus, then the result will be mediocre.
I am not a statistician nor mathematician. However, I think that is logical. Imagine if everyone in the group is aiming to reach a consensus, there will be a convergence of opinions moving toward the average. In addition, as more people join the group with the same behavior, the group average will move closer to the average of the population (mediocrity).

I was “inactive” on my blog during the past few weeks.
Some people speculated that I was “retired” (too nearly?) or too busy with my new job (perhaps?) or exhausted with my stories (if that is possible at all).
To make the long story short (instead of the other way around which has been part of me): The truth is I ran into some technical problem with my website which was beyond my ability to fix.
Now I am back with my stories/dramas/thoughts/insights (not necessary in that order of importance) as a result of the generous help of my editor friend Geoff. A big thank you to Geoff :>

Recently I have reflected on the appropriate attitude towards people that I am meeting for the first time. It could be a stranger in the elevator, a fellow passenger on the tube or a friend of a friend. There are at least three important elements which I sum up with a acronym PEN.
P = Positivity. Always start and stay positive towards others.
E = Equality. Think of others as equal to you, no more and no less.
N = Neutrality. Don’t hold any bias in favor or against a stranger based on your own experience or his/her appearance. Begin with a neutral ground before forming your opinion of him/her. Avoid make assumptions and judgment.

Another extract from Business Life magazine:
Adrian Moorhouse, swimmer (August 2011)
“I’ve learnt a lot personally going from being an individual sports performer to being a leader. I think some managers start off being really good at what they do and then get promoted to team leader and if they’re not careful they end up trying to spraypaint everybody with their way of doing things. You have to understand different characters’ personalities and how to get the best out of them. My coach couldn’t swim but he enabled others to be Olympic and world companions. It was all about working together to get the best out of each other.”
In fact, many successful coaches (sport and business coaches) are not experts in the area of their clients. Knowledge of personal development, active listening, support and feedback are far more important than expertise in the subject matter.

Continuing on another point from an article of Business Life magazine, let us listen what Lewis Hamilton, racing driver wants to share.
“At the end of the day, I’m a winner. It’s what I do. I’m not here to mess around. The aim is always to win but you have ups and downs. When you don’t win, it’s about how you turn around all that negative energy and come back stronger”.

It is about being focused and knowing what you want. As I mentioned in my book, the ability to rebound from difficult time and transform negative energy into a positive one is critical in life.

Continuing on another point from an article of Business Life magazine, this time it is from Ian McGeechan, rugby coach:
“As far as I’m concerned, I treat the players as if they’re my own children, I want to do the best for them. It’s important that they know they’ll get support when they need it and they’ll get criticism when they deserve it and also get praise”
As a life coach, same key elements also apply to me: Client interest first, support, objective feedback and encouragement.

I came across this interesting article from the Business Life magazine on gathering insights from successful athletes. Excellent food for thought.
“I was pretty good at most sport and I took a liking to cricket at about 16. I used to train and train and train. And that’s what I believe my recipe of success is, just hard work and preparation. It’s exactly the same today” — Kevin Pietersen, cricketer (July 2007)
Yes, I could not agree more. Nothing can replace hard work. Nothing at all!