How To Give

Posted by shooperman on Aug 12, 2008 in Conscious Living, Money | 9 comments

Photo by Martin Kingsley

Something happened in Singapore a couple of weeks back and it affected me greatly.

What I knew I read vaguely almost a week later from the evening papers and a discussion on a local forum:

A 15 year old boy was begging in a neighbourhood food centre when a patron called the police on him. Allegedly, he was asking for $2 to buy lunch for his ill mother. The police came and probably took him back to the police post and filed the incident. After that, they escorted him back to the void deck of his HDB (public housing in Singapore). From there, he went up another building and jumped. The boy died.

The story stuck with me for days, and nights. It wasn’t publicized much in the local papers and most of my friends hadn’t even heard about it.

I had been wondering why the story of the ‘begger boy’ (coined by the local paper) had affected me so much.

I came up with many responses to it: I talked to my friends about it, complained about the state of charity organizations in Singapore, and even thought about a startup for it.

In final analysis, I believe the story of the ‘boy’ is really trying to teach me something, something personal, something about how to give.

Why Is Abundance Attracted to Me?

Posted by shooperman on Aug 12, 2008 in Money | 1 comment

I’ve got a colleague who asked me how to be rich and contented. I told him it’s all in his relationship with money and how much attention he affords it. I don’t have a ‘technique’ now, but found something which might be helpful.

Reforge Your Relationships

Posted by shooperman on Mar 14, 2008 in Relationships | 1 comment

Photo by Payton Chung

Most of us in relationships play all sorts of mind games. No matter how great the beginnings of the relationship might be, most of us end up in a power struggle with the one we claim to love.

Many of us fall into this trap – and events in the past couple of weeks has led me to believe that I have too.

But unlike most modern (‘cool’) metropolitan types, I did not choose the path to exit the relationship gracefully.

It is apparent to me that something critical is missing from the relationship. And today, I happen to chance on Tom Kenyon’s article “Alchemy of Relationships” that has provided me a hint to the missing puzzle piece.

Go on a Vibrational Spending Spree

Posted by shooperman on Mar 11, 2008 in Money | 2 comments

Photo by dslrninja

There’s an old Chinese saying, “how much you eat and how much you clothe is fixed in this lifetime.” Older chinese folks believe that everyone of us can only ‘hold’ so much wealth in our lives. For example, if you can hold $100,000 and then win a million bucks in a lottery, chances are, you’d lose 90% of it in good time.

The older I get, the more evidence I see, in myself and people around me, that this is the way things work.

So, should we just give up and accept what is?

Hell no!

Like any computer programming bug, there’s a couple of ways that you can ‘beat the system’ and get more from life. This post talks about one of them – going on a vibrational spending spree.

Look for the Simple Pleasures in Life

Posted by shooperman on Mar 11, 2008 in Conscious Living | 0 comments

Photo by Sarah Jane

Every so often you’d find yourself dishearten with the state of the world around you.

If you’ve been reading this blog, I believe I’ve brought to your attention a few more dreads such as inflation and the growing weakness of our financial institutions.

My only intention in writing ‘dreadful’ posts is for them to serve as a ‘watch out!’ sign so you might take the necessary precautions. My intention is that you understand what’s going on and take relevant action. I do not want you to be dishearten and throw in the towel.

So, there will always be tough issues. You know them and you know how to go about dealing with them. Day in, day out, you go about your game plan. Then one fine morning while sipping coffee, you say to yourself, “life’s too tough.”

This is where simple pleasures come in.

Be Deliberately Happy

Posted by shooperman on Mar 7, 2008 in Happiness | 2 comments

We have been on a quest for happiness for too long.

The adult version of happiness: I will be happy when I get that promotion, make a million bucks, marry that girl, buy that car, live there, etc.

The child’s version: I will be happy now, hahahahahaha.

Right this minute, I am seated comfortably at a cafe along Orchard Road, sipping a chocolatey mocha spin and finishing one of the best apple crumbles I’ve ever tasted. The wind is weaving through the greenery around me. The hustle of traffic ring in a distance. I stretch out my legs and took a deep breathe of the best air this city can give. I like to loiter the crowded stretch of Singapore’s shopping street because I think it’s the happiest place in the country.

No matter where you are and what you do, you can decide to be happy too, like the child.

Plan Your Own Retirement

Posted by shooperman on Mar 7, 2008 in Money | 2 comments

Photo by dlkinney

About a decade ago, I put together a retirement plan that will yield a monthly income of about $2,500 when I turn 65 in about 25 years.

The recent chain of events in the financial sector and global economies have set me to re-think that plan again.

This post outlines what these economic trends are and they will impact any retirement plan.