I have been down recently and I did notice that my body seems to demand for more hours of sleep than usual.  Else, by mid-day, cough, flu and droopy eyes will ‘force’ me to take my beauty nap.  There is really a urgency for me to pen down a schedule for my workout.

This incident reminded me of an invaluable lesson I read from Robin Sharma, The Greatness Guide:

There is an old phrase that says “what you’re doing speaks so loudly I cannot hear what you are saying.’  You can say that your primary value involves putting your family first, but if time with your family is not all over our schedule, well then the truth of the matter is that your family life isn’t your priority.

You can say that being in world-class physical condition is another top value but if I don’t see five or six workouts etched into your weekly schedule, then the reality to be confronted is that your health just isn’t as important as you profess it to be.  You can argue that self-development is an essential pursuit to your because the better you are, the more effective you’ll be.  Show me your schedule and I’ll discover the truth.  Your schedule is the best barometer for what you truly value and believe to be important.

How true.

I have two journals that detailed my personal and profession, daily to do lists.  Yet, none is listed with a schedule to workout.

High time to go gym.  I am committing to sign up for a half yearly membership to get my momentum going.

Cheer me on! =)

It has been quite a while since my Iast visit to cinema for most time has been spent on exploring blogging. Sharkwater is my first movie for 2008 and one that I would strongly encourage all to watch.

Rob Stewart
It took the Director cum Biologist, Rob Stewart, 5 years before this true life documentary movie is ready for view. During the filming, Stewart was struck with flesh-eating disease, charged for attempted murder and even got himself and his team infringed with Taiwan mafia; all because the truth will cause the involved parties to be stripped off their illegal, yet highly profitable shark finning business.

Facts and Myths of Shark
The truth about shark was so twisted by the media that for so many years, we have been painted with all the bad and how menacing shark is. Rob Stewart used himself as a ‘bait’ to surface the truth. Shark is in fact such a picky eater that man is not even ranked anywhere near its delicacy list! As Stewart swam near the sharks, they are actually so shy and fearful that they kept a distance. The scene of how Stewart stroked the shark (just like how one adores Dolphin), is simply beautiful. That scene itself would shatter all our past perceptions about shark - deadly.

Unbearable sight
The sight of how fisherman catch and slaughter the turtle LIVE is very unbearable. And it is very disturbing to see the shark being thrown back into the sea after its fin and tail is being cut. I can’t help but wonder what if these sea creatures can talk? Can we then HEAR their pleas? What if it is now a human being whose limbs are being chopped off (just because of others handsome rewards) and after which, be dumped into the sea?

It does not stop at shark
Banning of shark finning is a spark to the other live stock eco-system. How many of us eat the whole chicken? So, for those who savour only chicken wing, what happen to the rest of the chicken parts when there are more demand for wings? Could these live stocks have similar fate as that of shark – being thrown back into the sea / land, limbless?

Do our part
So, how much more has the media deprived us from the truth? And for how long more, do we man want to open our eyes and dig further to find the ultimate truth, rather than to point finger and feign ignorance?

Do our part and:
1. Eat but eat moderately.

2. Pledge to stop shark finning by clicking on the banner below:

3. Support and watch the movie, Sharkwater. Singapore is currently showing the sneak preview. The movie will be officially released from 17th Jan 08 onwards. The negative image it might portray on our proud homeland (YES! Rabbit Brand Shark fin is from Singapore) is NOTHING as compared to the grander vision of saving shark from extinction and in turn reversed our eco-system to save the world.

4.. Support and buy Sharkwater: The Photographs

5. Read “The Food Revolution” by John Robbins and make a decision of how your diet can help save your Life and our world. The Food Revolution: How Your Diet Can Help Save Your Life and Our World

Lack of time is the most common excuse that is repeated right through the year for not exercising. Interestingly, I stumble upon this mind your body article that listed out the most common excuses from January to December.

January – need to work on those pineapple tarts
February – New Year festive
March – school is out
April – short getaways
May – Corporate travel
June – It is holiday time
July – got to go shopping
August – fasting month
September – year-end projects start piling up
October – I am bored
November – Wet weather
December – Party time

And amongst the listed, about half are exactly the same excuses I uttered ;p Nevertheless, all excuses really pale in comparison when I get to know this Sikh runner.

Life only begins for Fauja Singh at the age of 90. Born in 1911 and for the first 81 years of his life, Fauja Singh was a farmer. He rediscovered his new running career only at the age of 81 and is still running.

Some distinctive milestones of Fauja Singh:

• He rediscovered running at age 81 (because he was bored sitting around his son’s house) and ran his first marathon at 89.
• In year 2000, he set a world record for 90 year-olds
• He ran faster as he got older!
• He became a poster boy for Addidas’s campaign “Impossible is Nothing” and he gave a large chunk of the money to charity
• He’s a pure vegetarian
• He ran Marathons-London(5), Toronto(1), New York(1)

This is 2008 and Fauja Singh hopes to return in 2009 to break the record for the oldest marathon runner – held by a 98-year-old Greek athlete...

Man becomes great when they truly live their dreams. So, what is your (my) excuse for not exercising and living your dream?

Looking back, one of the best skills I have learnt (and is still learning) is blogging.

New found interest - blog
Self-improvement and spiritual books are still top on my list and for the past few months, unknowingly; I have expanded my range to blog. There are a couple of good books which outlined the in’s and out’s of blogging. It is quite motivating to learn how blog has evolved, impacted and will continue to influence the world.

Library
It started from “The Corporate Blogging Book” by Debbie Weil and after which I start to peep into other bloggers which were mentioned in the book. Curiousity got the better out of me. Tapping onto the efficiency of my hometown library online facilities, I did a search for subject(s) related to the blogosphere. Call it a moment to quench my desire for wanting to find out more, I simply pick out all the books listed (and readily available) and filter down to those that are of interest to me. Despite filtering, I ended up borrowing a pile of books home…

Bookstore
As if I could finish reading the pile of books, a day before Christmas Eve; I made a purposeful trip to Kinokuniya – just to dig out books that I could not find at the library. Despite cautioning myself that there will definitely be post Christmas sales, I still ended up buying. Impulsive buy =p

Shelf space for blogosphere related books?
Just for sheer fun, since blog is going to (and is still growing) its dominance, I wonder how fast would books on blogosphere topics grow on the shelves? Took snapshots of books related to blogging subject. As of 23 December 2007, there is only 3 shelves space for online blogging books.

I wonder how fast and far will blogging range dominate the shelf space, 6 months down the road?