Last week I attended an interesting seminar on the topic of applying creativity in coaching and brainstorming.
We did some hands-on workshops in the format of role-play. The results were astonishing.
For example, for practice, I was asked to express my issue (role play) to my coach by my choice of a famous quote or an object displayed on the table (there were many to choose from).
It is amazing how people can express themselves and see issues from a completely different perspective given the right creative stimulus.
I have already prepared some creative tools that I can use during my coaching session when the right opportunity arises.

Today I attended an inspiring talk given by Kate Adie, one of the first female journalists in the U.K. known for her news coverage in countries in conflicts among many of her achievements.
One excellent point she shared on the face of unfair treatment (she being the first high-profiled female journalist in a male-dominant field in the 70’s):
1) Stand your ground.
2) Work hard to show that you are equal (prove the prejudice wrong).
3) Don’t need to start a big fight each time when there is a conflict. There are other ways to make a statement and hold your ground without compromising.

In the coming year(s), I will be focusing more on my coaching work which is an extension of my keen interest in personal development. This very website will be enhanced with information on coaching and this blog will continue to be used for the sharing of my personal opinions on various topics (sometimes random – I know :>) but the core will be on coaching and personal development. Watch this space!

The past 12 months of my book publication are filled with many surprises, wonders and miracles.
I am very grateful and blessed with the people, in particular my friends and family, who stood by my side and helped me on this wonderful journey.
To conclude, just some statistics (a geek is always a geek :>)
1) Copies of book sold = 302
2) Blogs published (including this one) = 309
3) Twitter followers = 1,297
4) Tweets (including retweets) = 2,555
5) Lessons learned = Countless and Priceless!!!

A heartfelt thank you to all my supporters. You (and I) know who you are :>

I am very pleased to announce that I am now a qualified life coach which is a natural next step of my keen interest in personal development.
In the beginning of the year, I started a coaching certificate course offered by OCM. I passed the assessment with merit and obtained the coaching certificate 2 weeks ago. Life coaching is actually closely related to the learning and personal development work that I am passionate about. So right on and marching forward to the next phase of the journey :>

This is to get back to some people who also asked me about the Chinese version of the book.
Well, I am in the process of finding an agent in Mainland China that would help me identify a publisher that will purchase the publishing right from me and also take care of the translation.
Work in progress indeed.

One frequent and logical question that many people asked me was “What about your next book?”. Well, I think it is a bit too early (only after one year) for me to publish the next book or even the next edition. Perhaps give me a few more years. I do have some ideas on the areas that I want to expand more if I write the next book. I will need more time to do more research and pondering beforehand.

Sometimes silence is gold. I can still recall clearly the first advice given to me by my editor friend Geoff right after my book publication. He advised me to take any feedback (in particular negative) with grace and not to start a debate/fight with anyone regarding his/her comments about the book. If I go down that path, it will generate “bad press” to say the least and it won’t solve the issues. After close to a year, I fully agree with his advice. It is so true.

Patience is more than a virtue! It is essential in learning in particular when we are more mature in life.

Being impatient generates negative energy (I am as guilty as anyone else as I am far from a patient person) and it will lead to adverse consequences in life if we don’t have it under control.

Being impatient is not necessary one of by-products of having a strong motivation and drive to success. One does not need to express that passion in a negative way by being impatient. Note the difference.

Wearing different hats and playing different roles are useful skills to have in life. I need to put on a more “corporate” face in order to promote my book to strangers. To put things in a more general perspective, we need to tune our approach and attitude towards the specific client. One size fits all will not work in most cases.