Monthly Archives: March 2010

Continuing from my yesterday's post…

So what's my secret in turning myself into a person I am today? the answer is "Because I dare to DREAM BIG"

DREAM BIG

"What the mind of man can conceive and believe, it can achieve"

That is one of my favorite quotes taken from one of the books that have changed my life, Think and Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill.
And everytime I think of it, I get a goosebump, simply because I am the real life example of what the quote is all about. And I thank God for I am truly blessed.

Those of you who have known me long enough, you definitely know what I am talking about.

I was a totally different person, in all aspects. Physically, Emotionally, Socially, Intellectually, etc.. you name it !

I was considered as a plum girl at that time (at least 10kg more compare to my current weight now), I couldn't speak english properly (in fact I failed my English test when I first came to NTU, and had to take an English Proficiency class as an additional module), I wasn't very sociable because everytime I met with other people I felt inferior. I was scared that people would look down on me because of my financial background, my appearance and my english. If you want to see how do I look like back then… please scroll down…

…..

Hahaha.. yeah.. that's me !!

That picture signifies a historical moment for me. Because at that exact moment, when I celebrated my 20th Birthday, after I blew my birthday candle, I made a resolution that really changed my whole life. (sounds like movie, right? but it really was… my life is really like a fairy tale).

What resolutions that I had? and how did it eventually changed my life ? … Well, rather then typing it here, you can actually listen to this short story about my life. (This is the recent audio interview that I had with 938 LIVE)

Merry Riana 938 LIVE

IN A NUTSHELL

3 things that you can gather from my sharing in the audio interview:

1. VISION

You must know exactly what you want to achieve in life. Set a clear goal and direction. For example: Where do you see yourself 10 years from now? Just have fun doing it. Anyway, whether you dream small, medium, or big, it doesn't cost you any money.

2. ACTION

You must be willing to work very hard to achieve your dream. Don't be afraid to make mistake. Continue taking action until you succeed.

3. PASSION

You've probably heard the old saying: "Do what you love and success will follow". I totally agree with that, and at the same time I would like to compliment it by saying that not only you must do what you love, but you must also love what you are doing. Be passionate about it.

"Passion is the energy that keeps you going  no matter what the obstacles are."
                                                                                                                   Merry Riana 

Today I visited a few of MRO (Merry Riana Organization) Leaders who did a Career Fair in NTU. Normally around this time, most of my Leaders and Managers are busy doing their recruitment drives. They all will do their initial assessment and interview process and at the last stage I'll do the final selection process.

Going back to NTU today has brought me back a lot of memories.

MY $10 STORY

I consider myself as a very blessed person to be where I am right now. I actually have a very humble beginning in my life. I didn't come from a very wealthy family, and I was really struggling financially when I first arrived in Singapore. I still remember vividly even until today, how I survived with just $10 in 1 week. Some of you probably think it's not possible. But trust me, if it is a must, you'll find your way on how to survive with whatever things that you have.

HOW DID I SURVIVE ?

One thing that I did to save money at that time is to get as many 'free meal' as possible. It was very embarrasing, but at that time what I did was to go to all 'Welcome Tea' events that the societies / clubs in NTU organized for all the freshmen. There were Budhist Society, Christian Society, Engineering Clubs, etc. And guess what does a 'Welcome Tea' event normally have at the end? Yes.. !! you are absolutely correct… It was the refreshment. Hahaha… 

So everyday, what I did was, after attending my lecture, I would normally sit at the bench and studied until late afternoon. And when the event started (normally in the late afternoon), I would sit in to their presentation and had my 'FREE Dinner' there.

I also remembered those days when there was no 'Welcome Tea' and I had to buy my own food. Normally I just bought rice with 1 vegetable, which cost me less than $1. And in order to make it tastier, I just added a lot of curry gravy and chilly.
 

See that arrow sign ? that' is the gravy I was talking about. Since it was self-service, I can just take as much as I want, and of course it is FREE !

And for 1 whole year, there is 1 stall that never had any business from me. Guess what stall is that?

hahaha.. it was the drink stall. To me, drinking tap water is already good enough, so I thought it wasn't necessary for me to spend on drinks (eventhough it only cost $0.30 per cup).

There were many times where I also had to skip meal or just ate instant noodle. You might not believe it, but that was really how I spent my 1st year in NTU.  It was definitely a tough life for me, but I guess having experienced those difficulties actually have given me a lot of drive to do better in life.

THE TURNING POINT OF MY LIFE

There was one moment in my 2nd year in NTU where I felt so fed up about my life, living with all those difficulties that I decided to make a change. In that moment I really thought seriously about what my life is all about, and I decided that I don't want to continue living like that. I have to be successful, I have to be financially free. I would say the turning point of my life was when I make those decisions.

"It is in your moments of decision that your destiny is shaped."
Anthony Robbins

Will continue my story in my next entry..

Today I have decided, instead of just writing about the update on my activities on the My Paper Executive Look 2010 journey, I will also write something that will be eventually help you in your own success journey (your career, your personal life, etc)
Anyway, that's exactly the very reason why I wanted to join this competition in the first place.

So here it is.. starting from today, my blog will be named as: Merry Little Notes

STOP CRITICIZING, START CONGRATULATING.

How many times do we congratulate ourselves? How many more times do we critize ourselves?
Congratulating is energizing, it will give you more energy, more strenght and make you feel good about yourselves.
Criticising is weakening. It will pull you down, drain your energy, and make you feel lousy.

Recently, there is this one guy come and talk to me "I haven't accomplished anything all year long, how can you help me?"
I actually know this guy and from my perspective, he had actually done many wonderful and amazing things. So to help him changed his habitual self-criticism, I gave him 1 week to really sit down, reflect  and start to make a list of his accomplishments for the year. Regardless how small or negligible it is, I asked him to just put it on paper, and not to be judgmental.  
 

When he met me again the week after that (with the list), I could see changes in him. He laughed more easily, felt excited, energized and empowered. I guess he has slowly changed himself from self-criticism to self-congratulations.

Being a good friend to ourselves means that we have the courage to stop crippling ourselves with criticism, and negativity. Instead, what we should do is to compliment and congratulate ourselves. Make it a habit and be empowered through praises.

Talking about criticising, I found a perfect picture to illustrate that..
This is actually a picture of my 15 months daugther, Alvernia with my nephew, Ryan.
(Photo was taken during our recent 2-weeks holiday in Australia)

Stop Criticising

… And Start Congratulating

I congratulate myself for the good things I do, say and think

I congratulate myself on the person I am, and the person I am becoming

ps: Today, I opened MyPaper, and found out there was an article and photo of me. So cool !!

One of the important aspects of our lives is that they are our lives.

No one else could live them exactly the way we are living them. Everything that happens in our lives is an opportunity for learning. What an extraordinary experience it is to look back and truly feel that we can celebrate our lives – all of them. 

Beginning of this year, I already knew that in 2010 there's going to be many breakthroughs in my lives, And so far, it is really happening. Law of attraction is really very powerful.

 A lot of interesting things happened, and a lot of new things that I'm exposed to.

Just take this month for example.. in March alone, there were so many things that I did for the first time in my life

First time I was interviewed and featured in 938 LIVE

(will upload the podcast probably in my next blog)

First time I celebrated International Women's Day (8th March 2010)

It was very memorable, because that was the very first time I did a 'Woman-only" Event.
It was Awesome !! I really had fun

First time I went to St James Power Station

(You might laugh at this, but it's true !) If it's not because of the photoshoot for My Paper Executive Look, I don't think I'll ever have a chance to go there… hahhaa..

First time for me learning how to do catwalk

Really not an easy task for me.

I can conquer the business world.. but to conquer the runway… hahahaha.. (not yet) there are really a lot of things to learn…
(and I don't know why all the other Finalists are just very natural and good when it comes to catwalk.. hahaha… not fair !! :p )

But I believe one thing.. practice makes perfect ! so I will have to PRACTICE, PRACTICE and PRACTICE …

Luckily we had a great teacher, Linda from Carrie Academy, who have taught us basic tips on how to do catwalk.

And luckily I have all the other female contestants who are very supportive to each other..,
So no matter how good, bad or funny our catwalk was… there were always all the resounding cheers for everyone of us.

And after that long hard work, I think I deserve to have a nice sweet banana- ice cream-crepes

with all the girls, of course !

Life is like a book. Everyday has a new page with adventures to tell, things to learn, and tales to remember.

I really look forward for the wonderful chapters in my life to come.

Isn't life exciting?

Hi everyone, THANK YOU for reading my blog.

Let me first start by doing a formal introduction about myself.

Who is Merry Riana ?

Some of you might know me as the 'Millionaire Lady' 

Probably because you've seen me in some magazine or newspaper articles before.

Some of you know me as the  Best-selling Author of the book "A Gift From A Friend"

Or, you probably know me as a Financial Services Director, running my own team with 50 talented people.

Or maybe there are many of you who have attended my training or my seminar before

Yes, I actually have many different roles in my life. But despite all those roles that I have, one thing that I'm most proud of is for me  to have all those things and yet still be able to fullfill my destiny as a woman, which is to be a loving wife and a mother of one beautiful 16 month old daughter.

So the question that you probably have in your mind right now is: "Then, what makes me want to participate in this competition?"

Well, that is the exact same question that the judges asked me during my audition. I still remember the very first question that the judges asked me is this:  "You've made your millions, you have won so many awards, I don't think you are here for the $10,000 prize, right? so what is your reason for joining this competition?"

Well, to tell you the truth, I actually didn't know about My Paper Executive Look 2010 until my husband told me that he has sent my photos and details to participate in this. At that point of time my first reaction was: "Oh No !! Why you wanted me to join this beauty contest?"   But after I checked their website and did my research (I'm the kind of person who must know exactly first what I'm about to be involved in) I then found out 2 very important facts

1. This is NOT a Beauty Contest.

Look at the criteria that they have. The finalists will be judged not on their looks but on their confidence, style, personality, wit, eloquence, "EQ" (Emotional Quotient) and "OQ" ("Office Intelligence Quotient").

2. Not only is this a competition, but also a very enriching experience.

It really impressed me that the organiser are willing to invest so much to groom all the finalist thru many courses that they have, i.e. business ettiquette, make up class, catwalk class, etc.

That 2 facts above really gave me a totally different impression about what is this competition all about. Plus the fact that I am a very adventurous person. I'm very open to all good opportunities.

To me success is a journey, not a destination.

And I believe by participating in this, I will create another interesting chapter in my life. To me, success is also about growth and contribution. By taking part, I hope it will help me to grow socially, emotionally and intellectually, and at the same time I can make my simple contribution to inspire more people, thru my experiences, my blog and my life story.

 So do stay tuned for more updates from me.

If there is one thing that I can comment about my experience so far with My Paper Executive Look 2010 it would be the solid and superb team from SPH and the event organiser. They are really very professional and efficient. A lot of effort has definitely been put to make sure that this event will be a successful one.

Just look at the photos of all the 18th Finalist, for example, Aren't they just Fantastic ?

Do you know that my photo there was actually taken exactly 1 week ago? Yup.. I just had my photoshoot done last Sunday, 7th March and by 11th March, they have already published it on paper. Really super efficient !

Initially I was a bit worried about my photoshoot, because that week was actually was a super-packed week for me, especially the weekend. Since Thursday till Sunday I was involved in the super long and intensive training program, therefore instead of having my beauty-sleep the night before, I actually only slept about 3 hours that night.

Luckily I learned how to control my state, and I believe the key to have a good photoshoot is to be ourselves, be happy and enjoy the process. And that's exactly what I did on that day. Of course having a good make up artist, creative hairdresser, fashionable stylist and talented photographer will also make a lot of difference. And I'm fortunate to have all those  Thank you all for making me look beautiful. I really love the pictures.

Here's some pictures that I took on that photoshoot day @ St.James.

Me and Amida, the make up artist from Bobbi Brown

Getting my hair done. Loves the curl and the 'party-look' effect

With Alena, from the Kenaris Salon.

Group photo before the actual photoshoot

With Angela

With Joy, My Paper Journalist

With Victoria

And finally, last photo that I took on the way back.

Yesterday was the very first time that the finalist of the My Paper Executive Look 2010 revealed.

Thanks to the 3 judges (Tommy Lim, Douglas Khee, and the Gorgeous Lady) who have given me a chance to be one of the Finalist.

I still remember it was about 1 month ago that I went for the closed-door audition. First time in my life going thru such Audition. There were about 50 of us (all the shortlisted female candidates) inside the auditorium, and each of us were given only about 2 minutes to present ourselves in front everyone and the 3 judges. It really look like the Hollywood Week of American Idol, except that the judges were much nicer compare to Randy, Kara and Simon Cowell.

Here's a photo of me, just before the audition.

A few days after that I received a call from Shan (from SPH) mentioned that I was selected to be the Finalist for the My Paper Executive Look 2010. What a good news ! And she really called me at the right time, because I was actually on my way to Changi Airport to go for my 2-weeks holidays. So can you imagine how happy I was, going for my holidays with a piece of wonderful news. It was really a blessing.

Over the past 2 weeks, me and all the other finalist have actually met a few times during our photo shoots as well as our grooming courses. They are all very friendly, nice and talented people. I'm so happy to share this journey with them. 

To the other 17 Finalist, I really look forward to get to know you better  I'm sure we're gonna have lots of FUN together !

In the meantime, stay tuned for more updates from me :)

Yesterday (Monday, 8th March 2010) was the very first time I celebrate Women's Day. It was a very meaningful and memorable day for me because that day I shared the joy of me being a woman by sharing my life experiences to other great woman in Singapore.

I conducted a Workshop, especially for Women, talking about how is it possible for woman like us to have both Money and Love at the same time. It was an exclusive event, especially for AKLTG (Adam Khoo Learning Technology Group) graduates.

The main reason why we choose this topic is because there are many women who feel guilty towards your spouse/family whenever they have late nights at work, be it if they are striving for a career breakthrough for themselves or slogging to lighten the family’s financial burden. And at the same time, there are also many women out there who are so focus in pursuing their career and because of that, they have to 'sacrifice' their Love life.

Being a woman myself, who is currently having my own business and having my own family and children, I thought it will be great if I can share my personal experiences and also few tips that I do balance both money and love.

The 3 hours workshop turns out to be better than expected. We all have fun in learning and sharing together. Big Thanks to my personal friend, Violet Lim, Founder of Lunch Actually who came down to the workshop and share her experiences.

It was my pleasure and honor to be an inspiration to all the women who came to the workshop yesterday

Here are some snapshots of the event

Me, excited ! just before the workshop start

Only Ladies are allowed to be inside the room

Interaction with fellow lady participant

Me in ACTION !

What does money mean to me ?

Sharing platform with my guess speaker: Violet Lim from Lunch Actually

Me and the wonderful team from AKLTG

Last but not least, I ended my day by spending quality time with my loving husband

Me enjoying my huge portion of crab-porridge.

What a wonderful day !

We all have an infinite capacity for loving.

Sometimes we get confused about loving, and we start thinking that we only have so much to go around. We start thinking in zero-sum terms. We believe that we only have so much love and if we give some away, we have that much less.

We start giving out our love like we pay the bills at the end of the month. We meet all our "love obligations," and we try to keep a little bit in savings, just in case of an emergency.

Controlled love is not loving. Obligatory love is not loving.

Love is something that flows out of our deep sense of loving ourselves. It is not possible to love another if we don't love ourselves.

When we love ourselves, there is no limits to the amount of love we can share. But also remember that loving can never be manufactured because we should, need to, or want to get something in return.

Love is an energy that is shared because we have it.

Me and the love of my life