Monthly Archives: July 2009

Another GREAT Day…

 

Started from 9 am this morning, I went to NTU (Nanyang Technological University) to teach the 1st day of their Entrepreneurship module. It is a course organized by NTC (Nanyang Technopreneurship Centre). It has been about 10 months since I conducted the last session there. I remembered I was 6.5 months pregnant at that time but I still really enjoyed the time that I spent with the students and shortly after that I went for my maternity leave. So I was definitely looking forward for today session.

 

 

 

It was really a fun day. The students are all very active and vibrant. I shared with them about my entrepreneurship journey from school to the business world. Also teach them few important elements needed in entrepreneurship. And especially for this class, I did some changes in the activities. I taught them one very important skills that a person need to have; a life time skills that everyone simply cannot afford not to learn; which is the Sales Skills. And who else can teach them better than someone who already been there and successfully done that before, right? And I was extremely happy because it seems that they all were having fun learning it.

 

 

Here are some photos that was taken during the session.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

After NTU, I headed directly to Bukit Batok.

 

I had a practice for the 2 songs that I will have to sing for the St. Mary Of The Angels' Concert.
(Yup..!! I will be one of the singer for the Concert)

 

That was the very first time I practiced with the musician because I missed the last week practice since I was overseas. So there's a lot that I had to catch up, because in just 2 hours they were already full dress rehearsal at the church.

 

Luckily everything turned out well. I just need to practice a little bit more at home myself and of course memorize the lyrics.

 

So for those of you who are reading my blog… ALL of you are most welcome to come for the Concert. I am very sure that it's going to be a wonderful evening.

 

I'm practicing so hard for it, so you must give me support OK

 

Here's the details:

 

Date : Saturday, 1st August 2009
Time : 7.30 pm – 9.30 pm
Place : Church of St Mary Of The Angels
5 Bukit Batok East Ave 2
Singapore
Cost : FREE !!

 

 

Hope to see you there!

 

 

 

 

I landed at Changi Airport, Singapore at 1 am this morning. Feel good to be home again. After I unpacked my stuff, took shower, prepared milk for my baby and put her to sleep I then have a good rest for myself.

I wake up this morning, and as usual, first thing that I always do every time I woke up is to turn on my TV to Channel News Asia. To my surprise, I heard a breaking news saying that Jakarta is bombed ! At first I thought I was dreaming or I must heard wrongly because it has been quite a while since there were bombs in Jakarta, but unfortunately what I heard is true.

The first suicide bomb happened in J.W Marriot Hotel at 7.48am local time.
I held my wedding banquet exactly at that hotel back in 2004. It was 1 year after the Marriott bombing incident in 2003. At that time I thought that was the safest hotel because even if there was bombing incident again, the person who did it definitely won't target the same place for the 2nd time.

Now they prove me wrong. Never in my imagination that the same incident can happen again at the same location, 6 year later. This time, not only they attacked J.W Marriott, but they also attacked nearby hotel, Ritz Carlton. Only heartless and insane people dare to do this non-human things.

Here actually the video taken from the CCTV (Surveillance Camera) at the hotel, just before the bombing happened.
There was one guy wearing full black jacket and hat (cannot really see his face) with a big suitcase went to the restaurant, and few seconds after that the restaurant exploded.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lVMTPVbADM8&hl=en&fs=1&]

If you watch the video closely, you should feel that there was oddness in the video.
The big question is: Why the CCTV is following that guy ever since he walked from the hotel corridor to the hotel lobby to the restaurant? Did they already suspect the guy?

I also have no answer for that.

My deepest sympathies go out to the victims and their families of this tragic incident.
I really hope that this thing will never happen again.

Just gave a motivation talk at the Oriflame – "Expect the Unexpected" yesterday

Feel GREAT and happy. There were about 1,500 people attending and they all are very energetic and fantastic people. It was definitely not a difficult job for me to motivate them

 

 

It was a very well organized event, thanks to Mr. Andreas and his team (you won't believe that Mr. Andreas is Swedish BUT he can talk very fluent Bahasa Indonesia, even with Indonesian slank ! Amazing)

 

 

 

 

Also, very cool and energetic MC (Pak Surya)

 

 

 

 

And of course the unforgettable audience who is super extremely enthusiastic with my talk, my book and my autograph

 

 

 

 

In this photo, I was almost squeezed. Luckily the security guard and Pak Surya came to make sure they all queue properly.

 

 

 

 

 

By the way, if you are wondering why I never put the photo when I gave the talk?

Well, that's because my husband was sooooo engrossed watching me on stage until he forgot to take any single picture (hahaha…)

 

Overall, it was definitely a successful event.

Received many email from the participants. A lot of them also wrote about the event in their blog. I felt happy to be able to give them more inspiration and motivation through my life story and life philosophy.

 

For Oriflame consultant who read this blog, I wish you all every success, May all your dreams be fulfilled this year !

 

 

 

 

 

I’m writing this blog at my cozy room in my hometown, Jakarta.

That’s right everybody!, I’m back in Jakarta since yesterday, so if I haven’t update my blog since then it is because I wasn’t that accessible to internet as compared to Singapore.

I’m so excited, not only because I am able to enjoy my weekend with my family here in Jakarta, but also because on Wednesday I will be the main speaker for the great event, organized by one very big and prominent company in Indonesia, Oriflame. If you want to catch me live on stage, you can take note this following detail

With grandpa, look so happy
(of course the glasses is fake one, just for taking photo purposes)

Isn't she adorable ?

If you read my previous post Interview with Merry Riana, here's the part two:

6. Was there ever a moment where you wanted to quit the work you were doing and go on to something which wasn’t as aggressive? What kept you going?

No. I enjoy my business. I love the people in my Organization, MRO (Merry Riana Organization), who are outstanding young individuals who believed in my vision and have been working together with me to achieve our dreams together ever since.

I started my entrepreneurship journey with a dream to be successful while I'm still young so that I can share my successes with my parents.

Now, my motivation comes not only from the desire to provide a better life for my parents, but also from my desire to help other young people to be able to do the same, to provide a better life for themselves, their parents, and their families.

My vision is to raise up a new generation of successful young people who take charge of their lives, live their dreams, and eventually contribute back to society.
 

7. What are your views on the perceptions which people have and the barriers of entry which these perceptions have created for careers which are considered “women’s jobs” or “men’s jobs”?

I always remind myself that these so-called 'barriers' are created by people's perceptions, which means they are not real, they are only perceptions in people's minds.

8. How do you balance your professional and personal life (with regards to being wife, woman, mother and boss)?

I believe in a balanced lifestyle. I enjoy spending quality time with people that I love and very close to me; my husband, my 8 months daughter,my family back in Jakarta as well as people whom I work closely together with in my organization.

Eventually, you want to reach success because you want to be able to share it with your loved ones and to be able to enjoy it long-term optimally by having good health.

Remember, money in itself is just a medium of exchange. However, money, if used wisely, is able to enhance the more important things in life like relationships and health.

So, at the end of the day, we want to be successful not only with overflowing wealth, but also with outstanding time-tested relationships and abundant health. One of my mentors once said that happiness consists of 3 things: love, health and wealth.

And I could not agree more with that.

9. What do you feel about maternity and having children? Do you think such discrimination exists and if there’s a way around the issue?

We're fortunate to be living in Singapore, a country where there are many rules and guidelines that favor women during their pregnancy period, the few months just before and after they deliver their babies, and the next few years when they are raising their children.

Unlike other countries, which may even implement a policy that you can only have 1 child, Singapore government has always been encouraging us to start a family and have children, if possible the more children the merrier.

10. Do you believe that a woman can have both a successful career and a great family? What’s your secret?

My life revolves around my family and my close friends.

As I have mentioned so many times before, the reason why I want to be successful while I'm still young is so that I can share my successes with my parents. My parents played a very important role in my early days of entrepreneurship; they were my main driving force.

Currently, I live with my husband and my baby girl. I enjoy building this great Organization together with my husband, my 2 brothers and my close friends.

So, this is what my life is all about.

There is no meaning to life if you do not have love. In fact, that's what life is all about. To love and be loved.

Look closely to those people in your life who are close to your heart. They are not immortals. There will be time when you will not have them around anymore. Treasure them now, while you still can.

11. What do you feel about women’s rights in Singapore as opposed to Indonesia?
 

In this modern times, I guess women's rights both in Singapore and Indonesia are very similar, at least on paper.

However, in its real implementation on daily lives, I believe Singapore has definitely reached a much higher level of achievement in terms of championing women's rights compared to Indonesia, or any other countries in the region.

12. What do you think an ideal environment could be to promote equality and productivity among people in the workplace?

I believe that success is not a solo project – it needs to be shared. And success is not a competition. There is plenty of it to go around. You have to work with a team that shares the same dreams and objectives. A team will give you leverage. It makes success quicker and easier. It's all about synergy – the concept of adding 1 plus 1 and getting 11 – not 2.

People working together can accomplish far more that they can separately. Incredible power can be released when people work together. Associating with like-minded, success-oriented, joyful individuals – a Dream Team – is one of the most amazing success tools that exists. Anyone who achieves great success – anyone – must have a Dream Team.

Instant solutions exist in Dream-Teaming. This process helps you to take your ideas and expand them into greatness.

What characteristics should a Dream Team possess? A successful Dream Team consists of a group of people with a common purpose, where both hearts and heads are constantly in harmony with one another. There should be a spirit of joy and contribution within the group. Only a dedicated, committed, and joyful Dream Team can achieve great successes.

13. What do you think about lifestyle choices of youth today? (Promiscuity, etc)

I believe there is a period of time in our lives when we are trying to find our true self, our true identity.

This is the time when we are experimenting with ourselves, e.g. trying out different hairstyles, trying out different outfits and accessories, trying out different activities, different environments, and different experiences.

As long as you know how to control yourself in not crossing the 'healthy' boundaries in your pursuit of getting new experiences, then I guess it's okay for you to experiment and explore more possibilities.

14. Do you see any big issues with youths these days?
 

There are many young people I know, who know exactly what they really want and are committed to working very hard day and night to achieve their dreams. The sad thing is sometimes they do not have proper guidance which eventually causes them to make silly mistakes , that are not only wasting their time and money in the process, but worse, it may even discourage them to the point that they give up their dreams and return to those
normal 9-to-5 jobs.

I was fortunate to have learnt from many entrepreneurs and business gurus through their personal sharing, seminars, and books. But how fortunate are those who really have a personal mentor that is willing to invest time and money in their growth.

Such personal mentors are made in heaven and are a very rare breed indeed.

Remember, there is no synergy on your own. It takes at least two. Almost all successful people have mentors. They recognize the need to have a mentor.

Actually, there are few more questions, but if you want to know more … I guess the best way is to wait for the issue to be out. After that you can read everything from there!

72 hrs since I conducted a Goal Setting session for my organization.

Everyone was very motivated and inspired.

I believe some time in your life you've experienced this kind of motivation also, being it through seminar, retreat, book, etc

But, my questions is how long does your motivation last? Are you excited for the moment but feel down or back to normal the next day? Can your motivation endure for a long time?

I actually ended my goal setting session by leaving them with one final message:
 

Motivation is what gets you started.
Habit is what keeps you going.

And today I want to elaborate more on that.

I believe that successful people are NOT necessarily a more talented group of people compared to the others who are less successful. I also believe that successful people are NOT necessarily a more hard-working group of people either. Successful people achieve success merely because they have better habits compared to others.

Here is a simple example.

Some of us have better dental health compared to others.
 

It means some of us succeed in having healthier teeth.
But, does it mean that those of us with healthier teeth are more talented or hard-working?
Have you ever felt that you're talented in brushing your teeth?
Does it feel like hard work to brush your teeth every day?
Of course, not.
It feels natural, right?
 

The reason why some of us 'succeed' in having healthier teeth is because we have better habits (i.e. brush our teeth twice a day, visit the dentist twice a year, etc).

When certain activities become a habit to us, we don't need any talent to do it again and again, and we also don't feel like its hard work.
 

 
CONCLUSION
When you want to model a particular successful people to also achieve what she has achieved previously, you can just simply get to know more of her Success Habits. Then, make it your own.
 

Touching Hearts Changing Lives,
Merry Riana 

Last week I received an invitation for an interview. SMU magazine, Blurt! wanted to feature me inside.

Since the past 2 days I was so busy with the Goal Setting, therefore only today I finally got the time to answer it. Here are some of the questions (and my answers of course !)

1. It seems that from the beginning, with engineering, you chose to enter a mainly male dominant industry. Why was that so? What was your initial experience like?

I studied Electrical & Electronics Engineering (EEE) in NTU. I guess the reason why I chose to major in engineering had a lot to do with my background. My father is an engineer. And so are my uncles, aunties, and relatives. Having the opportunity to see how my father worked probably influenced my decision too. And since I was a small kid, when people asked me what I want to be when I grow up, my most natural answer will be, "I want to be like my father. I want to be an engineer." So, I guess being brought up in such a

Today is a wonderful day ! I conducted Goal Setting for my organization, Merry Riana Organization (MRO).

I've been doing this since I established MRO, and we do this twice a year.
So far ,I can say that this is the BEST Goal Setting that I've ever conducted.
I personally feel very satisfied and happy with everything.
 

My aim for this goal setting is for everybody to feel good and recharge. A lot of time we normally use more of our brain to think about our goal, plan a strategy, etc. Nothing wrong with that. In fact that is definitely an important thing to do. But one thing that is also extremely important is that you must not forget to attach a good feeling towards it. So, that's why this Goal Setting I planned to keep it short, sharp to the point and yet inspirational. I focused more to attach a positive and fantastic good feeling to everyone.
 

I'm also feel very happy, because this is the first time I finally have my very own "The Merry Riana Show".
 

To be able to have my own talk show has always been one of my passion. It is actually one of the thing that I put in my Dream Book that I hope to achieve. I hope those who were there this afternoon enjoyed the sessions. Thank you for my 3 special guests, Joanne, Dwi and Gaius and of course thank you for all of you who were there supporting !

Today, I realised once again on how blessed my life is. One person asked me during my talk show:

"After making such a big achievement in your life, at this moment, what do you value most?"

and my answer to that is RELATIONSHIP.
 

My relationship with people that I love; my lovely daughter, my husband, my family and the member of my organization, especially those who have shared this entrepreneurship journey with me since many years ago.

Thank you so much for being a part of my life.

After I posted ‘My Best Investment’ article, I received numbers of email asking me whether I can share with them how do I manage my personal finances.

Today I’m going to share with you tips on how you can manage your finances successfully.

Here’s how:
First of all, It is very important for you to know where all your money goes to.
Most people usually never keep track of their income and expenses.
I created a few accounts (these accounts may or may not be real savings accounts in the bank) where my income goes to.
For me, I have: Necessity Account, Business Development Account, Financial Freedom Account, Education Account, Fun Account & Giving Account.

Every time I earn my income, it goes to these accounts with the following proportion:

- Necessity Account (30%)
- Business Development Account (30%)
- Income Generator Account (20%)
- Education Account (5%)
- Fun Account (5%)
- Giving Account (10%)

I’ll share with you in more details about each of these accounts in my future blog entries.

Love,
Merry Riana
http://www.merryriana.org/
www.facebook.com/merry.riana

I'm in the midst of preparing for my organization's annual goal setting (6th – 8th July 2009)
I decided to take a break for a while and write my blog instead

Let me ask you this question.
 

How many of us had set a goal or new year's resolution back in January this year?
 

I bet 8 out of 10 people reading my blog will say yes.

Either is to get more money, be smarter, look prettier, lose weight, get company's award, have boyfriend/girlfriend, travel to exotic countries, read more books, etc. We always do the same thing every year, which is set our goal.
 

But how many of us have diligently follow our goal closely? or even worse, how many of us still remember what our goals are?
 

It's July, we're halfway through the year, and this is the perfect time to reassess our goals.
 

I know it might sound tedious and boring, but if you are really serious about achieving your goals, this is definitely an important step.
 

To me, goal setting can be very exciting
I have so many things that I can share with you on how to make the process of goal setting more fun and more effective. The most important of all is:
 

Write down your goal
 

This is a MUST !! If you fail to do this one very simple thing you will fail to achieve your goals. writing your goal is important because by doing so it forces you to visualize your goals. On top of that by externalizing it and put it down on paper it creates a commitment on your part.
 

To make it more fun, create a DREAM BOOK. I had mine since year 2000, and I'm still updating it even until today.
 

If you are curious to see how does Merry Riana's Dream Book look like?
 

well.. here it is….

It's just a simple sketch book, but inside are full of pictures of things that I wanted to have in life, things that I wanted to achieve in life, and many more. On top of that I also write down verses or quotes that means a lot to me through out my journey in pursuing my dream. Every time I open and look at the picture or read what I wrote there, I ALWAYS feel energized and motivated.
 

That's exactly the purpose of this DREAM BOOK, to give you energy and excite you every time you see it.
 

Here's another page of my dream book
 

I pasted that cute little baby picture in year 2007. And I pasted Tom Cruise's daughter Suri because I wanted to have a cute baby And you know what? Amazingly, I year after that, I got pregnant and have a little angel in my life, her name is Alvernia.
 

So you see how powerful it is !!
 

If you don’t already have one, I strongly encourage you to go out and buy the best, brightest and most appealing sketch book you can find. This dream book can become your planning space, your anchor, your bright ideas holder, your dream catcher, your source of inspiration and your celebration place. Do update it regularly and read it often.
 

In my next few post, I will give you more tips about how to do your goal setting in more fun and effective ways.
 

In the mean time, have fun with your dream book !
 

Touching Hearts Changing Lives,
Merry Riana