Category Archives: Woman’s World

What Failure Means ?

Failure doesn't mean- You are a failure,
It means- You have not succeeded.

Failure doesn't mean- You accomplished nothing,
It means- You have learned something.

Failure doesn't mean- That you have been a fool,
It means- You had a lot of faith.

Failure doesn't mean- You've been disgraced,
It means- You were willing to try.

Failure doesn't mean- You don't have it,
It means- You have to do something in a different way.

Failure doesn't mean- You are inferior,
It means- You are not perfect.

Remember:  Failure comes before Success, even in the Dictionary

After months of preparation and hardwork, I'm very proud to present to you: "Women Extraordinaire"

This is a collaboration between me and Adam Khoo.

Women Extraordinaire was co-developed by me and the expert trainers of AKLTG (Adam Khoo Learning Technology Group)  to help women understand their own personal top challenges and priorities in life, direct them to become more aware of themselves emotionally, mentally and physically by setting them in an environment to discover not only the lives that revolves around them, but most importantly, the Life they are leading right now.

This exclusive women-only programme was designed specially to give women of today new tools, skills, strategies and inspiration in order for them to take charge of their financial management, to further their professional developments and to balance their work and family roles, without compromising their own space and time.

Yesterday, we just had our very first "Women Extraordinaire" Introductory workshop.

This was the ad posted in both StraitsTimes and also TODAY newspaper

And I was so happy that it really went very well. It was FULL HOUSE, and people just kept on coming, until we had to add extra chairs at the isle and at the back to accommodate them.

During the 3 hours, I shared with them the challenges that I had as a women, having to manage both career and family. I also shared with them how did I achieved my first million at the age of 26, and the challenges that I had after I achieved my first million. I know …, by the time you read this, you might be wondering … "Are you kidding me.. you have so much money at such a young age, what kind of challenges you could still possibly had?"  Hahaha… trust me, life is really not all about the money and the achievement.

I also shared some useful tips on how women, like you and me can also live the life that we truly deserve. How to excel in our career, and at the same time create a long lasting relationship with our loved one. And many more…

I really had a wonderful time with all the participants. They were all just so awesome and so energetic. Here are some moments captured 

Even though this event is a 'Women-only' event, you'll be surprise to see that there were few gentlemen who actually came for this workshop too. I was pleasantly surprise, Some came down with their female friends, some came down with their wives. So sweet and so supportive of them

If you missed this workshop, don't worry, I'll be conducting another one next Friday.

Here's the detail:

Date                : Friday, 11th June 2010
Time               : 7pm-10pm (Registration starts at 6.30pm)
Venue             : Adam Khoo Learning Technologies Group Training Centre
                          10 Hoe Chiang Road #01-05 Keppel Towers, Singapore 089315
                          (Nearest MRT: Tanjong Pagar, Exit A, Opposite Amara Hotel)

If you are free and you would like to come, you can email me at  merry@merryriana.co.id
I'll be more than happy to have you as my guest

Hope to see you there!

Another piece of good news to share with all of you.

I’m blessed to be nominated as one of The Singapore Women’s Weekly Great Women of Our Time 2010.
This is an annual event where they honor 18 outstanding women who are making significant contributions to their fields and society.

I am featured under the Finance & Commerce Category

What’s even more surprising is when I read the article, I found out that 3 out of the other 5 ladies who were featured are actually my friends Wow! I was so honored to be nominated together with these other great women.

It’s so coincidence that me and Violet always share the same path together
We first met during the Spirit Of Enterprise Award 2008.

When I received that award I was 8 months pregnant, and later I found out that Violet was 3 months pregnant too.
And now we both each have one beautiful daughter

Hahaha.. cute rite?

I’m really looking forward to get to know the other great women who is featured too.

Last but not least, I would like to say Thank You to Singapore Women’s Weekly who have given me this honor.

Something that I wanted to share with you today.
Hope it inspires you as it has deeply inspired me

A CREED TO LIVE BY
(Author: Nancyesims)

Don't undermine your worth by comparing
yourself with others,
It is because we are different that each
of us is special.

Don't set your goals by what other people
deem important,
Only you know what is best for you.

Don't take for granted the things closest
to your heart,
Cling to that as you would your life, for without
them life is meaningless.

Don't let your life slip through your fingers by living
in the past or the future.
By living your life one day at a time, you live all the
days of your life.

Don't give up when you still have something to give
Nothing is really over … until the moment
you stop trying.

Don't be afraid to admit that you are less
than perfect,
It is the fragile thread that binds us to each other.

Don't be afraid to encounter risks,
It is by taking chances that we learn how to be brave.

Don't shut love out of your life by saying it's
impossible to find.
The quickest way to receive love is to give love.
The fastest way to lose love is to hold on too tightly,
And the best way to keep love is to give it wings.

Don't dismiss your Dreams. To be without
dreams is to be without hope.
To be without hope is to be without purpose.

Don't run through life so fast that you forget
where you've been,
But also know where you're going.

Life is not a race, but a journey to be savored
every step of the way.

A few days ago I saw this advertisement. I thought it is very funny (… and cute)

Hahaha… Well, this year Mother's Day is very special. I woke up in the morning and got a little surprise from both my husband and my daugther. A sweet Kiss and a Rose

I was even more surprised to know that my husband already prepared the lunch for me whoaaaa.. I was so touched.. this normally doesn't happen often. So I was extremely very happy

I'm thankful for that, and I'm thankful for many people who have sent me tons of messages to wish me "Happy Mother's Day".

We spend the whole day together as a family, had a nice lunch and we went to Jurong Bird Park. It was actually our first time there. Eventhough when we reached the place, it rained heavily … :(  But it is a nice place. Definitely worth going there again.

Also not to forget, I gave a call to my mom to wish her 'Happy Mother's Day'. She was surprised, because in Indonesia, Mother's Day is celebrated on 22nd December, not in the month of May. (Don't ask me why, because I also totally have no idea why it is celebrated in December)  Nevertheless, that means every year she will get 2 'Happy Mother's Day'- wishes hahahah…

Of all the rights of women, the greatest is to be a mother. and I'm proud to be one. This is my 2nd year celebrating Mother's Day, and I'm loving it.

HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY to all MOTHERS !

Every first week of the month, I normally conduct a monthly motivation meeting for my organization (MRO). Today I shared with them about the concept of Head, Heart and Hands.

I believe in order for us to achieve personal success, being it is in our work, relationship, education, etc these are the three keys areas that contribute to our success:

1. Our Focus, which means where our head is (Head)

2. Our Motivation, or what we have the heart for (Heart)

3. Our Capability, which refers to our skills and abilities and what we can handle (Hand)

When we have all three of these areas working together, we experience personal success.

For example, if you want to experience success as a salesperson, you will need to understand the product that you are selling, the price, the market comparison. Those things are all to do with the Head - knowledge, understanding and focus. Likewise you will need skills and techniques such as communication skills, handling objection, closing skills, etc. Those are the Hands aspect of your recipe for success. Last but not least, you also will need some attitude, motivation, desire and drive. And that is what I called the Heart aspect.

It is only when all three things operate together that we experience personal success and have peak experience inside while delivering peak performance on the outside.

In our daily lives, sometimes we probably too busy with our work and routine that we might not even realized if one of those three elements is missing.

If you have the Hands and the Heart without the Head, then you may act, but you are likely to just run around in all directions, doing unrelated things and accomplishing little of significance, simply because you have no focus.

If you have the Hands and the Head without the Heart, you could act, but probably you won't because although you have the focus and the capabilities, you lack the motivation.

If you have the Head and the Heart without the Hands, you would act, but you're unable to, because you do not have the necessary skills, abilities or resources.

Again it is only when you have Head, Heart and Hands all acting together that you will act effectively.

So, do you have all those right now to bring you to your success?

Many people asked me, what are some traits that a person must have in order for them to achieve their success. Normally during interview I share with them 3 most important traits (at least these are the 3 most important things that I looked for in a candidates before they can work together with me in my organization)

1. Hardworking
2. Discipline
3. Teachable

Today I want to talk more about the first one, i.e. Hardworking.

I’m a person who have a strong believe that there are no short cut to success. If you want to be successful, you need to be prepared not only to work hard, but to work really really hard. 

"There is no elevator to success. You have to take the stairs !"

THE RULE OF 10,000 HOURS

Recently I came to know about the rule of 10,000 hours.
In his new book, Malcolm Gladwell, said that “The best way to achieve international stardom is to spend 10,000 hours honing your skills” 

The greatest athletes, entrepreneurs, musicians and scientists emerge only after spending at least three hours a day for a decade mastering their chosen field. Ability, according to Gladwell, is just one factor in success. Work ethic, luck, a strong support base and even being born in the right year play a far larger role.

Just as the Beatles rose to fame with the explosion of pop culture in the 1960s, so Bill Gates’s fascination with the ASR-33 Teletype that he used at school in 1968 placed a shy boy on track to become one of the world’s richest men.

“No one – not rock stars, not professional athletes, not software billionaires and not even geniuses – ever makes it alone,” writes Gladwell in Outliers: The Story of Success. His new book argues that there is no such thing as a “self-made man”. Instead, the years spent intensively focused on their area of expertise place the world’s most successful people above their peers.

What’s really interesting about this 10,000-hour rule is that it applies virtually everywhere. You can’t become a chess grand master unless you spend 10,000 hours on practice. The tennis prodigy who starts playing at six is playing in Wimbledon at 16 or 17  like Boris Becker. The classical musician who starts playing the violin at four is debuting at Carnegie Hall at 15 or so.

The obsessive approach is particularly evident in sporting icons. Jonny Wilkinson, the rugby player, Tiger Woods, the golfer, and the Williams sisters in tennis have all trained relentlessly since they were children. Much of Britain’s Olympic success is down to a combination of natural ability and sheer dedication. Victoria Pendleton’s emphatic gold in the women’s sprint cycling in Beijing came only after humiliating defeat in Athens four years ago. After training for four hours a day, six days a week the 27-year-old finally reaped the rewards. Rebecca Adlington, the 19-year-old swimmer who won two gold medals at the Beijing Games, has put in an estimated 8,840 hours of training since the age of 12. Bill Furniss, her coach, said: “When I first saw her, what stood out was the fact that she was so willing to take the pain and make sacrifices.”

Such dedication is also apparent in musicians. Maxim Vengerov, 34, is one of the world’s greatest violinists. He was born in the Siberian city of Novosibirsk and, after being given a miniature fiddle at the age of four, displayed outstanding aptitude.
His talent was matched by an immense work ethic. He practised seven hours a day, giving his first recital at the age of five and winning his first international prize at 15. Vengerov said: “My mother would get home at 8pm, cook dinner and then teach me the violin until four in the morning. As a four-year-old boy it was torture. But I became a violinist within two years.”

My 10,000 Hours

So when I first knew about this rule from Elim Chew, one very successful Entrepreneur, the first thing that I did was to do amental calculation. When I first started my career in sales, many people have doubt in me whether I will make it, because I have no sales skills or even communication skills at all. But I was willing to work very hard. My investment at that time was my time and energy. So if I calculated the amount of work that I did, literally talking to people non-stop 14 hours a day, 7 days a week for a period of 1.5 years. I’ve actually clocked a total of 7,665 hrs.  And true enough, by doing so, I became expert in my field, and that year I’ve broken industry record and featured in Straits Times.

I have proven that the 10,000 hour rules really applies.

So, I’ve done mine, and in fact I’m still doing it for many different aspects in my life right now.
What about you? Have you clocked in your 10,000 hours?

This is like a flashback
This is like a dream
This is like all the things you can fit inside a memory

 (Flashback – CALVIN HARRIS)

That song kept playing in my head like 20-30 times today
Ever since I managed to find that song on yourtube yesterday I can’t get it out of my head. I just simply LOVE the song.
(it was actually the theme song of our MyPaper Executive Look 2010 catwalk)

And indeed it is really like a flashback. Everything that just happened recently is really like a dream.

So here it is, capturing the moments of MyPaper Executive Look 2010 Grand Finals at VivoCity last Friday, 730pm.

My deepest gratitude to all my friends who have supported me ever since day one. Faithfully voting for me everyday, and coming down to the Grand Final to cheer for me.

There were actually more than 30 of my family members, friends, colleagues,  ex-colleagues, facebook-friends, networks, seminar participants,and many others who came down to support. Even my fellow friend from FEMALE 50 GORGEOUS PEOPLE 2009 also came down for me. THANK YOU ALL  

All of your efforts and thousands of votes have made us won the Readers’ Choice Award 2010.

I thank God for making this a reality for me. And I thank God for bringing all of you into my life.

Today I came to office, and the first thing that people noticed about me was my hair

yeah.. on Sunday, I went to KENARIS to get my hair 'REDKEN-ize'

Thanks to MyPaper, Kenaris and also Redken who have sponsored us to go for a treatment to prepare us for MyPaper Executive Look Finals this Friday

I reached there at 12.30pm and left at 4pm.
If you are wondering what did they do to my hair? Well.. continue reading my blogpost.

Just a little bit of information. Kenaris is actually owned by 2 person, Ken & Aris  I got a privilige to meet both of them personally last Sunday, and I was so happy that Ken is the one who was going to 'REDKEN-ize' my hair. Being an Entrepreneur myself, I'm always curious to find out how do other entrepreneus started their business. So during my hair treatment, I actually had a little chat with Ken. He shared with me that he started in this industry since he was 19 years old. (that was 29 years ago. WOW !  And he opened KENARIS together with Aris in year 2002. And so far most of the business come from satisfied – regular customers and their referral.

Thank you Ken, Thank you MyPaper, Thank you Redken and Thank you Kenaris !

I'm now ready to go for the Finals and shine hahaha.. see you all there this Friday

Yesterday I was so excited to know that I would meet Minister Mrs. Lim Hwee Hua at the forum on Women's Leadership Role in the New World.  Indeed it was really my pleasure to be one of the panelists, sharing my experiences and my views on this topic.

The event was actually featured in the news (and I’m so happy that they mentioned my name).

The panel also discussed challenges that women face in the business world and what could be done to address them.

Minister Mrs. Lim Hwee Hua said that in today society, both men and women have equal chance to get education, information and opportunity to excel. I totally agree with that since I am the real life example of a person who has benefited from it. During the forum I also shared my experiences of being a Woman Entrepreneur. And I think being a woman has its own advantages

1. Women can multi-task

We can juggle many tasks at the same time and still produce excellent results. We can talk on the phone, open and read our email at the same time.

2. Women have good inter-personal skills.

We can connect with people more easily. We are good in networking and creating support group. This will eventually help the business.

3. Women are good in branding and marketing themselves

We are natural marketers. When we are so passionate and enthusiastic about a certain thing or what we do, we just do not stop talking about it.

Having said that of course there are still challenges that women face. Mrs. Lim said that one of the biggest challenges that women have today is still the ability to juggle between career and family. She also advised that no matter how busy we are, women should always set aside a time for themselves too. It is important, because if you don’t have a sense of fulfillment in your life, you won’t be able to bring out your best, and therefore it will affect all other aspects of your life, i.e. family, work, etc.

That is indeed very true.  And I’m very blessed also to be able to have that in my life.

Here are some photos of  the event:

With 2 other panelists, Genecia Luo and Sophia Pang

Also, I got a chance to present my book to Minister Mrs. Lim Hwee Hua.

And lastly, photo with the organizer, Kenny

In the midst of writing this blog, I happen to noticed that CNA did a coverage on this event. So I quickly took my camera, and recorded it. Here's the link for you to watch (click on the picture).