There must be some sort of flu going on in London as more than a few people that I know (including our very Raymond) have been ill lately. My best strategy is to drop all activities to a minimum and rest to the maximum. I have seen some people “force” themselves to carry on their usual busy lives and it took them much longer to recover. My advice is to sit back and relax before moving back to your normal gear of life again.

No kidding! The first quarter of the year is over (I guess it is always the same on the April Fools’ day each year) – 25% of the year is gone.
And more importantly, spring is around the corner though it does not feel like it in London yet.
Jokes aside. I ordered and received more copies of my book this week. It dawned on me that one reaps what one sows. If I don’t promote my book, I can’t expect others to do so.
Game on with my book promotion!!!

First of all, to some of my friends’ shock and horror, I went to see the latest blockbuster Batman vs. Superman today.
My personal review is that the film is intended to be part 1 of 2 films and it should have been just ONE film. Some parts of the film are being dragged on and other parts are not developed/explained properly. For example, after the movie, I turned to my friend and asked “Who was the new lady superhero character that appeared at the end of the movie?” He replied, “That was Wonder Woman!”. I said,” I thought she was human”. He asked, “Where did you think Wonder Woman come from?”. I firmly replied, “She was Miss U.S.A. That is how I remember her from the once-popular American TV program many decades ago.” That was the end of our discussion :>

May we all be touched, encouraged and inspired by the love, sacrifice and triumph of the resurrected Jesus Christ in this Easter season.

Taking time to reflect regularly is quite beneficial for self-improvement. Awareness is the first step of addressing the issue.

We, as human beings, all have our blind-spots These are things that we do and/or assumptions that we make subconsciously without knowing them. One suggestion is to ask ourselves the tough and honest question “Did I do the same?” when someone’s behavior bothers or annoys you. Sometimes (not always) we may behave similarly without realizing it (blind-spot). To go one step further, we can ask our friends for feedback to help us raise our awareness.

Yes, sometimes the truth hurts. Brace yourself and face it.

Another advantage that more mature people may have is intuition derived from our more experience in life. Intuition by its very nature is difficult to describe or capture. Some people say is it is something that for some reason “speaks” to you. It could simply be something that does not sound right to you or, on the contrary, makes perfect sense to you but you can’t explain it.

Some readers asked me if I am done with the mini series on “Mature vs. Young Talents”. Actually no. I still have a few points that I would like to share.
I believe generosity can be a strength of more mature people. The willingness to share our knowledge and experience as well as credit with others is liberating and a privilege to have. A manager once said, ‘Sometimes it is easier to work with more experienced people because they are willing to share the credit instead of focusing on building up their reputation like the younger people.” A bit of generalization here and no offense intended.

A friend of mine asked me how to appreciate Modern Art. My humble response as an absolute amateur of art was:
1) Don’t try to come up with a explanation of the art work. Art, in particular Modern Art, is very subjective.
2) Open your mind and eyes to see if you like it visually or not. It could be the colors and/or the composition of the art work.
3) You don’t need to justify you like it or dislike it. You are entitled to have your own opinion and taste.

Recently I have had a discussion with a friend over his relationship with his son who is in his late teens. One insightful thought came out of it is sometimes letting our loved one go and grow in his/her own pace is a different expression (arguably harder) of love. In that case, we need to hold back our emotion and urge to take care of the person (sometimes NOT necessary the best option for him/her). Taking care and doing everything possible within our limits is only one way of showing our love but not necessary the BEST for the person if we want him/her to grow and learn. Sometimes “holding back and letting it go” is an alternative (though not an easy option). In addition, “letting it go” is also a lesson for us as well.

I thought it would be a good time to have a quick recap of my coaching approach called SAFE Coaching.

S = Sound boarding and Support to the client
A = Awareness and blind-spots. Help the client raise his/her awareness and point out blind-spots.
F = Feedback. Provide objective feedback to the client
E = Equality. Coach and client are of the same level, page and wavelength. The client has sole ownership of his/her decision.

Last but not least, it is a SAFE coaching environment with complete confidentiality and zero judgemental attitude.