I Want To be A Workaholic

Most people hate the idea of workaholics, but I actually want to be one, especially after reading this post by Scott Berkun. The idea that one can work so hard under such short period of time is intriguing. More importantly, it's the quality of the work produced that is even more worthy of emulation.

From the post, here's an excerpt:

Show me a genius and I’ll show you a workaholic. Van Gogh produced 2000 works of art between 1880 and 1890 (1100 paintings and 900 sketches). That’s 4 works of art a week for a decade, and he didn’t start making art until his mid twenties. DaVinci’s famous journals represent decades of note taking, doodling and observations, and it’s a good guess that work was the center of his life: no spouses or children are mentioned in any of our records of him (though he likely had lovers in his studio). Picasso made over 12,000 works of art (“Give me a museum and I’ll fill it he said, and he was right) in his lifetime, including sculptures, paintings and other mediums. Shakespeare wrote more than 40 plays, not to mention dozens of sonnets, poems and of course, grocery lists. These are people who practiced their crafts daily and sacrificed many other ordinary pleasures in life to make their work possible. Every math or music prodigy practiced to produce the work they are famous for (See the ten year rule).

 In addition to having a high demanding job and stress, I've noticed that most workaholics follow a stringent schedule, one that is defined by early rising and a night owl. Imagine being so devoted to one thing that you can do this for 10-12 hours a day without a break! That is the kind of passion I hope to see in my work. I admire these people because they are so focused and in love with what they are reading and doing that they are not tempted by external stimuli and do not wish to take breaks to satisfy their desire to entertain and be entertained. In other words, work is their main focus.

From this article by Life Optimizer, I learn about the 5 levels of Focus: Lifetime, Yearly, Weekly, Daily, Currently.

1. Lifetime. What is your life purpose? Have you followed it?
2. Yearly.  Your goal should be both specific and measurable. To ensure that you are focused at the yearly level, you should have only one goal for the year (or two if you must).
3. Weekly. What do you want to achieve in the following week to help you achieve your yearly goal?
4. Daily. You can start by setting your Most Important Task (MIT) for the day. Your MIT should be the thing that will make the most difference if you accomplish it today.
5. After setting your goals for the day, the next level is the present. To get optimum result, you should be focused in whatever you are doing. It means that:

1. You should not multitask
2. You should prevent distraction
3. You should use ultradian sprint to accomplish as much as possible within the working session

I am definitely well versed in the ways of goal making, but it's been awhile that I've been reminded of the importance of focusing and being obsessive with work, so to speak. By minimizing multitasking and preventing distraction--two simple steps, I can ensure that my time is used most effectively.

Hehe, I can't wait to try out this ultradian sprint!

Inspirational Read

After I read this post, I felt moved. So moved, that I twittered about it. The fact is that what Jaeson experienced, I feel exactly the same way. I went back, reread the post and I felt comfort. Here is the post below, may you feel peace in your heart!

Life isn’t always fair. Seldom does life turn out the way we hope it does. When we are young we have ideals and dreams. We believe anything is possible and the world is our frontier to conquer. As we get older, many of our hopes get dashed, our dreams become forgotten and our expectations are shattered. We can’t predict exactly how life will turn out, not for ourselves or anyone else.

Many people I know are frustrated, discouraged, depressed, hurt or bitter at life. When things in life don’t turn out the way we want them to, it’s easy to get upset and lose trust in ourselves and other people. I’ll be honest, through the years although I’ve had many ups, equally I’ve had just as many downs. I’ve had major disappointments in my relationships, my family, my pursuits and dreams, but what do you make of it all?

This past weekend I decided to take a day out and just “drive”. I have the luxury of being able to live around the most beautiful beaches in the world here in Los Angeles California. I decided I would go and take a Saturday to just drive towards Malibu where there is a 27 mile stretch of gorgeous beaches and coastlands. I wanted to just get a way, get alone with God, pray and spend some time thinking about things I normally don’t get to think about.

Normally, I’m so busy doing projects, meeting with other people, or helping other people that I hardly get any time to think about things that are important to me. We tend to push things that are important to us, or things that are too hurtful to think about, or issues we don’t want to confront deep down into our subconscious. We sort of just keep going and going in life when these issues are just too hard to understand or to deal with.

Well, this weekend I was able to get away and “confront the issues” that have been on my heart. I was going to wrestle with them myself and with God. I ended up finding a random beach café on the coastal highway. I was hoping that somehow God would lead me to a quite destination, some secluded beach where I could walk and talk with God. When I felt this strong leading to make this turn into this small entrance to this beach café, it turned out to be the most beautiful and perfect spot! It was a beach cove, with a secluded and quite beach and I could walk for miles on my own with time to myself.

I ended up spending the day walking the beaches, and pouring out my heart to God. I kept telling him all the different things that I wanted, I desired, things that made me disappointed, personal struggles, people who hurt me, and dreams that were dashed. I also shared with Him my hopes, my plans and my deepest wants that not anyone knows of… it was great to just get it out. We need to do that sometimes, just let go and let God take our burdens, we may not find the answers but just knowing that He hears and that He cares is enough.

When I started my walk on the beach my heart was heavy, burdened and weighed down. I didn’t even really know why, but past issues, pains, and hurts just began to surface. I wept, I laughed, I cried, I screamed, I sang, I was still before God and in the end I knew He heard me.

I came to my own peace with God and myself. If I never saw the desires of my heart fulfilled, if I never got those things in life that I really wanted, if things never did turn out the way I would like to have planned, if my hopes and dreams were never realized, I would be okay. Not because I want to be defeated, but because indeed just knowing God, and having a relationship with Him was more than enough. I only asked God for one thing, “Wash me clean of my sins and keep me faithful to the end!” When I die, I only ask that I die with one thing in my heart and that is… integrity.

God bless,
Jaeson Ma

Happy Labor Day!

I am a fan of national holidays. Not only is it an excuse for a long weekend, but it also provides a reason for people to get together and to celebrate.

For my readers not in the U.S., let me tell you a little bit about this holiday:

Labor Day is a U.S. federal holiday observed on the first Monday in September (each year). Traditionally, Labor Day is celebrated by most Americans as the symbolic end of the summer. The holiday is often regarded as a day of rest and parties. Forms of celebration include picnics, barbecues, fireworks displays, water sports, and public art events. Families with school-age children take it as the last chance to travel before the end of summer recess. Similarly, some teenagers and young adults view it as the last weekend for parties before returning to school, although school starting times now vary.

For me, this year's labor day is even more special, because I believe it marks the end of my school years and the start of my grown up years.

Financial Accruals - Made Simple

Since I felt "ambitious", I decided to do some fun reading in an accounting textbook on accruals since this was something that I had seemed to miss in a lecture when I was in college. Finally, I understand the differences among the four types! Since I am so excited about it, I will share my new found knowledge here. (Prepare to be bored!)

There are two types of accruals-- cash movement prior to accounting recognition and cash movement after accounting recognition. Here, recognition just means recognizing the transaction on the financial statement, which in this case, really it's just the income statement. And since we are talking about the income statement, cash movement affects revenue and expense (since these are the top lines before one reaches net income-- remember that Net Income = Revenue - Expense). So, you see, there are four possible options here, just write out a 2 (cash movement: prior, after) x 2 (income statement: revenue, expense) matrix so you can organize your thoughts.

Box #1: Prior x Revenue
Unearned (Deferred) Revenue--
Originating entry-- record cash receipt and establish a liability (such as unearned revenue).
Adjusting entry-- reduce the liability while recording revenue

Box #2: Prior x Expense
Pre-paid Expense--
Originating entry-- record cash payment and establish an asset (such as prepaid expense)
Adjusting entry-- reduce the asset while recording expense

Box #3: After x Revenue
Unbilled (Accrued Revenue)--
Originating entry-- record revenue and establish an asset (such as unbilled revenue)
Adjusting entry-- when billing occurs, reduce unbilled revenue and increase accounts receivable. When cash is collected, eliminate the receivable.

Box #4: After x Expense
Accrued Expenses--
Originating entry-- establish a liability (such as accrued expenses) and record an expense
Adjusting entry-- reduce the liability as cash is paid

I guess I used to get confused by this topic because I always forget whether the originating entry is an asset or a liability. And now this chart makes it simple, because basically if the cash movement happened before accounting recognition, then it's recorded as an opposite to what the name suggests. For example, unearned revenue is a liability and a prepaid expense is an asset. On the other hand, if the cash movement happened after accounting recognition, then it follows what the name suggests. For example, unbilled revenue is an asset and accrued expense is an expense.

Do you get it?????

Ambitious Sunday

Sunday is my second favorite day of the week. After a fun filled Saturday, I'm usually feeling energetic and well rested by Sunday. Before the panic mode kicks in, I'm usually feeling quite good and positive. After all, Sunday morning is the time when I feel the most ambitious. That's why I'm glad that church services are usually scheduled on Sunday morning. By going to church or spending some time on devotional, it makes me feel like I'm starting my week off on the right foot!

From today's devotion:

The Lord said, "Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart."

-Jeremiah 1:5 (NIV)

It's comforting to know that God has a purpose for me and that I don't need to worry so much about the future but to focus on living in the present.

9 Guilty Pleasures of Saturday

Saturday is by far my favorite day of the week. Lazy mornings and the feeling that I can bum around for the entire day since there is always a Sunday to make up for the procrastinations.

Guilty Pleasure #1:OMGPOP.com & Neopets.com
These two websites are ones that I avoid at all cost during the weekdays, that is, because they are just too damn addicting. I can go on Omgpop for hours in order to gain more coins. And Neopets, well, that can go on forever as well, after all, who wouldn't want a virtual pet that you can feed and play games with?

Guilty Pleasure #2: Hulu.com
I don't get to watch too much TV during the weekdays but sometimes I feel like I had earned the right to watch them on Saturdays. Shows like White Collar, Master Chef, Lie to Me are some of current favorites. If and when Desperate Housewives come back on, I will for sure add that back on my list. If I can make a broad general statement about TV, I think mostly it's a waste of time, since when I watch TV nothing flows through my brain, but I think as an "individual" entertainment, it's quite worth the time and money, but I'd never consider TV as entertainment for two.

Guilty Pleasure #3: IHOP
For those of you reading this blog who don't know what IHOP is, it stands for International House of Pancakes, which is a restaurant chain serving predominantly breakfast food. In the U.S. it's common to eat brunch over the weekend--since the first meal of the day is often consumed so late in the day that it's no longer breakfast but not quite so lunch. I really miss those grad school days when I'd go there with my good friends.

Guilty Pleasure #4: Ice Cream & chocolate
I have a sweet tooth that I haven't been able to get rid of. Recently, I've been able to tone it down because the desire to be skinny and fashionable trumps the sweet tooth. But the point is who needs to diet on Saturday when you have Sunday and the rest of the week to do so?

Guilty Pleasure #5: Organizing & planning stuff
I like organizing things especially when it comes to school supplies. I enjoy planning ahead, writing in my planner and highlighting the appropriate places. Doing that just makes me feel like I'm so on track. Why is this a guilty pleasure? Well, I think I really enjoy the process of organizing and planning, but how much of the plans do I follow through? Not much. (I guess I would if I'd be less ambitious on a Saturday!)

Guilty Pleasure #6: Going Out
My definition of entertainment is that it needs to engage me intellectually, involves fine dining and entertaining in a way that I can blog about later. So, stuff like Broadway shows, ballet, new museum exhibitions, etc. are all things I'd consider to do on a Saturday. Of course, dining elegantly cannot be avoided. Since Saturday is a day to indulge, I usually treat myself to a wonderful dinner at some fancy restaurant.And if I'm too lazy to go out? Microwaved dinner sounds delicious. As long as I don't cook, I feel indulged.

Guilty Pleasure #7: Shopping
Saturday has always been the day that I don't feel so bad to splurge a little bit in the stores. Whether it's a beautiful but pricier dress or some shiny earrings, I guess I always tell myself, look you've worked hard for a week, you deserve a gift!

Guilty Pleasure #8: Pamper, but mostly bum around
Saturday is also the day that I feel like I can be a bum-- that is, it's OK to wear sweat pants and t-shirts around and make-up optional.

Guilty Pleasure #9: Taking a long walk. I really like walks, I think it's basically spending quality time with self, away from the computer, cell phone, Internet, people. It's great to just breathe in the fresh air, look at the blue sky and the road ahead and know that the world isn't going to end with one bad day.

I think it's good that there can be one day of the week when I can do anything that I want to do without feeling guilty or self-conscious. That's why I love Saturday so much!

Beauty Standards

I've realized that my lack of inspiration yesterday stemmed from my recently lack of interaction with interesting people, that is those whom I think have smart things to say and who can offer different perspectives on meaningful things. Luckily, today, while talking with a friend (from Japan!!) and sending pictures to each other, I discovered a very interesting topic to explore in my posting-- beauty standards of the east and west.

In Asia (China, Korea & Japan), the beauty standard is fair skinned, big eyes, small mouths and straight noses. For example:

However, in western culture, the beauty standards for Asian people is that of high cheekbones, often small slanted eyes, tanned skin. For instance, Asian celebrities in the U.S. includes Lucy Liu & Sandra Oh.

 

Why does Western standard of Eastern Asian beauty differ from Eastern standard of Eastern beauty? When I think of a fantastic answer, I will post it here. In the meantime, what are your thoughts?