Sui Generis People in the world today, especially in Singapore, are too willing to settle for fitting in with the status quo and just doing what they are told to do. Here's my thoughts on society, education and life in general; and my views on being significant. Statistics Unique Visitors: Total Unique Visitors: Outgoing: Total Outgoing: 0 0 21 2140

Articles from Sui Generis

Saturday Sharing: Passion 2007-12-08 09:59:00 Another Saturday Sharing segment here today, where I would like to hear from you. Share your thoughts and comments about the question below, or if you have something else on your mind, feel free to just let it out.Today's question (inspired by Rules of the Red Rubber Ball): What are you passionate about? And how do you tie that in to what you do daily?Like my blog? Make a donation. For more information, click here. ...

Don't Look Down 2007-12-08 07:27:00 Anyone who's done climbing will probably have heard the tip "don't look down". There's a couple of reasons for this. Firstly, it's for safety (this is what I just read), because if anything falls, you don't want it hitting your neck. Secondly, and this is the point that I want to discuss, I think it's about confidence. Sometimes when you look down, you realize how far off you are, and that gets you slightly more apprehensive. And that apprehension is never good.In life, whenever you're trying to progress, when you're trying to go 'higher', it's always risky. And when you look down, it's always going to be scary. So my advice? The same advice that rock climbers are given.Whatever you're pursuing, don't look down. Yes, you prepare for the worst. You make sure that you don't come off too bad (like the safety harness for climbers). But once you get going, don't keep thinking about the worst case scenario. Don't think about the risk you're taking. Basically, throw out all ...

Friday Flip-Through: Rules of the Red Rubber Ball 2007-12-07 09:34:00 I mentioned Kevin Carroll a few months ago, and he was nice enough to send me an autographed copy of his book (completely unexpectedly). He's an awesome guy, doing amazing things, and spreading a great message in his blog.But back to his book, Rules of the Red Rubber Ball. It's a short, simple book. And small, so you can carry it everywhere (and it's probably a good idea to, so you can share it with others). But it carries an important message. The Red Rubber Ball symbolizes "play". To quote the book, "It's any activity, topic or purpose that makes you excited about the day."His book is all about finding that purpose. He shares his personal story, which is an inspiring and amazing one. With his story, he inspires us to discover our own passion, and pursue it. And he gives us 7 simple rules of doing so.I highly recommend it for everyone. It's a really simple book. But with a really powerful and inspiring message, that I think we all need to hear.You can buy it from here, for only j ...

Falling Down 2007-12-06 10:24:00 This was a thought inspired by Vera's comment in my post on snowboarding. She said "[falling is] incredibly humiliating. :) But falling down doesn't really hurt me I guess." I think it was a great comment.To continue with the same analogy, in snowboarding, falling down doesn't really hurt. It's humiliating at times. But it doesn't really hurt. That's the case sometimes in life as well. Falling can be humiliating. Failing can embarrass you. But sometimes, it doesn't really hurt. And you should just get up and move on.Of course, that's not always the case. Take the example of skateboarding (chosen mainly because of the relation to snowboarding). When you skateboard, you aren't on snow. You're on wood or concrete. Falling on concrete or wood hurts. That's why you learn how to fall when you learn skateboarding. It minimizes injuries.Two tips on how to fall (from the National Safety Council):If you fall, try to roll rather than absorb the force with your arms.Even though it may b ...

My Johari Window 2007-12-06 09:28:00 I think most of you would have heard of the Johari Window. For those of you who don't, it's "a psychological tool created by Joseph Luft and Harry Ingham in 1955 in the United States, used to help people better understand their interpersonal communication and relationships." (from Wikipedia).I would love it if you guys could take some time to contribute to mine. I know I'm asking for a lot of participation and all lately, and I'm sorry for the selfishness. But I would really appreciate the help. I just want to know what you guys think of me, based on my blog, or through any interactions we might have had.Thanks in advance. =).Like my blog? Make a donation. For more information, click here. ...

New Rating System 2007-12-06 02:52:00 I've just installed a new rating system on the blog. If this works out over time, I will insert a "top rated posts widget". I think it will help you guys in terms of finding my older posts, and for newer visitors to discover what I've written.But for this to work, I'll need your help. I'm not going to ask you to go digging through the archives because I know it's very messy (though if you want to, I wouldn't mind), but I would really appreciate it if you would rate my posts from now on. You don't have to rate every single post. But if you really like (or really hate) one of my posts, please come rate it accordingly.Your help in making this feature work out well is greatly appreciated.Like my blog? Make a donation. For more information, click here. ...

Snowboarding and Discomfort 2007-12-05 08:21:00 I've personally gone snowboarding a couple of times, and I'm decent at it (especially considering I don't get too much practice being in Singapore). I'm not good by any means, but I get by, and don't fall. And what I'm writing here is based on what my experience learning snowboarding.2 points. One about apparent risk, and one about vision (and my personal failure).Firstly, risk. Or rather, apparent risk. In snowboarding, if you want to turn, you lean in the direction you want to go. It's not always the most comfortable position. It's slightly off center; off balance, if you will. But it's the only way for you to direct yourself, instead of being dictated by the environment, controlled by the curve of the slope. It might seem risky (you're off balance, leaning to one side, seemingly more likely to fall), but in the larger picture, it's the only way to be sure of where you're going.In life, sometimes you have to do what seems risky. You have to go off-kilter a bit. You need t ...

Social Media 100 2007-12-04 10:53:00 Chris Brogan has started a Social Media 100 series. It's a series of 100 posts, where he'll share his thoughts on how to use social media effectively. It's going to be great, so head over to [chrisbrogan.com] and check it out.You guys may have noticed that lately I've been writing a lot more about social media - stuff like Twitter, Social networks, etc. It's partly because I'm personally getting really involved in that at the moment. But it's also something that I think we can all gain from. Social media is a great way to express yourself. It's a great way to share your thoughts and opinions. And more than that, it's a great way to build a community.Those are things that Sui Generis has always been about. Letting your true colors shine through. Expressing yourself. Connecting with others (like-minded and otherwise) . And that the combination of those will enable you to make an impact on society.Social media is great for that. And that's why I've been writing so much about it ...

Foundations: Essential, but Unseen 2007-12-04 10:18:00 In a building, the most important part is the foundation. It's what holds everything up. Without a good foundation, the building falls easily. The other thing about the foundation is it's underground. To the naked eye, if you're just passing by the building, you don't notice it. But it's there. And it's very important.Just a reminder that sometimes, the most important things are unseen. Like the intangibles I blogged about a couple of months ago. Just because something is unseen doesn't meant it isn't essential.How are you building and developing your foundations - the essential, but unseen intangibles that will enable success?Like my blog? Make a donation. For more information, click here. ...

Jazz, Self Expression and Social Media 2007-12-04 09:19:00 There was a really interesting conversation on Twitter yesterday, that start with this comment by Jeremiah Owyang. It was basically about jazz and music, and how that relates to Social Media. Nate Westheimer tied the conversation together with his post Improvisation: Collaboration, Structure and Social Media. I think he makes really good points, but I want to expand a bit more on the idea of jazz and social media.One thing about jazz and improvisation is the self expression. While there is structure, jazz is largely about self expression and creativity. And I think that also plays a part in why I love social media so much. Social media, things like blogs, podcasting, etc, make it possible for me to express my thoughts. As the name implies, it lets society, average people, create media. And I think that's a common thread among all of us. I believe that while we all enjoy the community being built and all, we enjoy the opportunity for personal expression just as much.But even then, we d ...

Sui Generis Weekly #4 2007-12-03 10:30:00 The 4th edition of Sui Generis Weekly is now up. This week the talk is a lot about building conversations.If the embedded player fails to work, you can download it directly from here.Covered in this podcast:- New Weekend Schedule- Your Caricature- Students lacking Sleep- Real World Guide to Social Networks- Why I Love Twitter- About Me Wiki- Sui Generis College- Save Melissa*- Quote of the Week*- "Colder" by Fugitive Kind**Not mentioned on my blogLike my blog? Make a donation. For more information, click here. ...

About Me 2007-12-03 05:30:00 I'm experimenting with using a wiki as an "About Me". You can find it here. It includes basic information about me, as well an autobiography of sorts, among others.I hope you guys will take a look at it, and edit it as you see fit. The whole point of having it as a wiki is so that YOU, my readers, can edit and define what you think I'm about, what you think I stand for.So, go check it out. It'll only take a couple of minutes to read through and add your thoughts/opinions. To make it easier for you, it's embedded below (again, it might not work too well for those of you accessing it in a RSS reader, so my apologies for that, and I hope you take the time to go to the full wiki)Bitty Browser (iframes required)Like my blog? Make a donation. For more information, click here. ...

Sunday Shortlist 2007-12-02 09:55:00 To round up my new weekend schedule (following the announcements of the Friday Flip-Through and Saturday Sharing sections) is the new Sunday Shortlist - yes, I have a thing for alliterative names. In the past, people have said that I find good links, and I personally enjoy sharing the interesting things that I read. But I also don't want to clutter this blog too much with links that I can't add that much to. So that's what this section is going to be about. A shortlist of the best links I've found over the week. Enjoy.Soften Your Eyes and Study Ordinary Things Intently - HELLO, my name is Blog!There's so much we can learn from the world around, even from the 'ordinary' things that we normally don't notice. Scott Ginsberg gives us 2 articles with good reasons why we should, and some tips on how to notice these ordinary things.Children of Overbearing, High Stress Parents Hit Singles and Doubles - Ben Casnocha: The BlogNot a statistical study by any means of imagination, but still ...

Why I Love Twitter 2007-12-02 07:05:00 Ricky Van Veen presented us with the case against hyperblogging last month. And Fred Graver gave us his response.Both of them seem to make the similar point that services like Twitter provide too much information, and lack intelligent messages. I think that's missing the point of what Twitter can be great for. So here's why I love Twitter (I'm using Twitter as a specific example because I use it regularly, unlike things like Tumblr).Personally, I think that the "too much information" argument misses the point. You wouldn't complain that in when people call you for a chat, there's too much information (in that short period of time) and the person doesn't think through (with drafts) about what he/she is saying, would you? Or an IM conversation? And to me, that's what Twitter is about. It's a place for conversations. It's not as much about information as it is about connection and relationships. @loudmouthman defined it quite well, as "the open plan office water cooler conversati ...

Saturday Sharing - Conversation 2007-12-01 10:45:00 I've renamed the "Your Turn" section, to "Saturday Sharing". But it's essentially the same thing. Every Saturday, I'll just post a short question for you to respond to. I want to hear your thoughts, so yeah, come on and share your views.Today's question, how do you go about building conversation - both in real life and online?Like my blog? Make a donation. For more information, click here. ...