Brennan Neoh

An ecosystem is more than just what apps you run, or what digital goods can be bought on a device; it's also the open or closed standards you support for application development, APIs, peripherals and connectors. The way your device communicates with other devices, and the way your ecosystem communicates with other ecosystems, is a fundamental decision that every company dealing in digital goods, both hardware and software, has to make. I think there are a few equally valid approaches for a company to take when building an ecosystem, but there are some important qualifiers. Let's discuss.

In short, we shouldn't let money be our sole motivator in technological innovation.

Much as we would like to, it is not possible to please everyone completely. If all sides refuse to budge, Singapore will be gridlocked and nothing will move. Hence, we need to uphold a spirit of give and take, and actively search for creative and practical outcomes that serve the common good. And, after the final decision has been made, I hope that all parties will rally behind this collective decision.

We know, Prime Minister sir. Thanks for going down your knees 6 months back thou! :D

Do recruiters provide high school students with the images of our dead and wounded arriving at Dover and Walter Reed in the middle of the night? Do they see the images of the dead and wounded Iraqi victims of our military weapons? Do recruiters discuss the long-term effects of depleted uranium? Are these students exposed to the diverse views written in the newspapers of Europe, Asia, and the Middle East? Or are they only presented the "sanitized" and quickly changing monolithic view of this administration mimicked in our media. The ONLY purpose of the military in our schools is to recruit naive young kids to help fill the ranks. 

What exactly is the war we're in, you say?

The Wall Street Journal calls this “sticker shock” for many consumers, as introductory pricing on e-books was the opposite — likely to entice users to buy the initially expensive Kindles and Nooks, which were originally priced around $399. Now, Kindles are priced as low as $79. My Kindle Touch, which includes Wi-Fi and a 6″ E Ink display, is currently priced at only $99. MSNBC explains that, in contrast, retailers were previously “selling e-books for around $9.99, or sometimes less, making the ownership of an e-reader look like a value proposition when compared with the double-digit price of buying a new hardcover book.”

Well, so much for the cost-savingness of technology!

This image, released by Kyodo News and originally transmitted via the Associated Press, shows a cluster of mourners on the left-hand side of the frame.

This image, released by the North Korean Central News Agency, was taken within seconds of the one above. An analysis shows that it was digitally altered, removing the cluster of men on the left edge and enhancing the perfect line of mourners.

Totalitarian photoshop FTW.

Not to be left out, we at Post Leadership decided we needed our own year-end list. But rather than highlight the best leadership moments of the year—our esteemed panel has already picked a few of those —we thought we’d highlight some of the worst. After all, this was a year, sadly, when examples of poor leadership (bad decision-making, selfish actions and inexplicably bone-headed moves) seemed to outnumber the good.

Top Leadership FAILS of 2011, according to the Washington Post. Can we include the SMRT board of directors as well?

iStockphoto.com

Leonardo DaVinci noted that when trees branch, smaller branches have a precise, mathematical relationship to the branch they sprang from.

The trees are wise, indeed.

We really need this, SMU peeps!

All this time, his wife believed he was giving 'private tuition'. In fact, he was seeing both the student and a 16-year-old who had left the school and was over the age of consent. On Friday, the teacher, now 41, pleaded guilty to having sex with a minor.

Every now and then, we get a juicy sex story of a middle-aged man with his extremely young, nubile fling. Is this good girls gone bad, or vice versa?

Consider, firstly, that the Galaxy S sold 10 million units within its first seven months on the market and was recently nudging up against the 20 million mark. It wasn't merely Samsung's flagship phone for 2010, it was Android's. As if to confirm that, Google later chose the Galaxy S hardware as the base around which to build the Nexus S, its second Android showcase device. The Galaxy S was a big deal, as close to a halo Android phone as we've had prior to the grunting arrival of the Galaxy Nexus powerhouse.

O Samsung, Where is the Love, the Love the Love...

I would assume that there are generally periods of non-communication between tech companies and their PR firms.

Sure. Well, not for a lengthy period of time. They were completely unaware of the situation. This is a transparent conversation and I want to be clear about what's happening with Fusion Garage. While Fusion Garage is not dead, [the situation] as it is right now is that we are in the midst of finding a new line of funding that we need to close to continue our existence. If we are unable to close the funding that we need, then we will certainly be in trouble. I think that it's best that the company focuses on finding the funding it needs before proceeding.

Come on! You're already dead in a sudden death match.

I’ve spent a lot of time thinking about RIM and its current situation, and no matter how I imagine various scenarios, I just can’t see a positive outcome. After sitting idle for years, RIM gave up its position as smartphone leader to Apple and Google. Already, developer sentiment toward Windows Phone matches or exceeds sentiment regarding the BlackBerry. This is a real problem.

When (Nokia) history repeats itself...

You Don’t Have the Money

Let’s face it: Unless you live quite comfortably, the iPad 2 is a luxury for most everyone in the world. A 64 GB iPad 2 with Wi-Fi and 3G can cost $829 — which is more than twice what just my monthly rent was in college. When Chris Pirillo asked his followers on Google+ what might prohibit them from buying an iPad 2, many users responded that price was the primary pain point. Bob Ress said: “I think having no [money] is a pretty good reason [not to buy an iPad 2].” If you have a need for an iPad 2, such as a plan for transitioning to using the iPad 2 in lieu of a laptop and a tablet and a smartphone, the investment may be literally worth it despite the financial burden. However, you may want to reconsider spending the money on a gadget you just don’t have the funds for and sticking with the plethora of devices you already have — even if the quantity is a burden. If you’re living off loans in school, paying off school loans (or other debt), or are living paycheck to paycheck, you may want to save your money to pay for more essential necessities — at least for now.

Want versus Need.

Omitting to mention that the speaker you’re quoting is quoting someone else can be a little misleading. That didn’t stop TOC, whose report on a TV forum is headlined, “MP Seng Han Thong: SMRT’s unpreparedness also due to Malay and Indian staffs English language inefficiency”.

TOC’s reporter goes on to say, “He said that because some staffs are “Malay(s), they are Indians, they cannot converse in English good, well enough”.”

In the 13-odd hours since the article went up, more than 200 readers have posted comments, practically all of them outraged by the MP's remarks as reported by TOC.

But what Seng actually said was, “And I notice that the PR mentioned that some of the staff, because they are Malay they are Indian, they cannot converse in English good, well enough, so that also we can learn from. I think we accept broken English.”

Context, context, context...

I think that would be a serious mistake. In my opinion, RIM is indeed in danger, probably a lot more danger than its executives realize. But I don't agree on the reasons most people are giving for why RIM is in trouble, and I think most of the solutions that are being proposed would make the situation worse, not better.

That was over a year ago. And Blackberry still seems to be in a dire, 'enterprise' state...

MS ANJU Tiwari's letter urging us to accept a higher rate of transit disruptions is the last thing Singapore needs ('Be reasonable, like commuters elsewhere'; yesterday).

Singapore stands out compared to New York and London precisely because unlike their under-funded, dangerous and decrepit subways, ours ran like clockwork. Unlike cities that do not take any pride in how they look, Singapore's transit system was once known for being clean and uncrowded.

Is the writer saying that rather than compete and excel, we should just sink back to the mediocre standards found elsewhere in the world?

The old Singapore I came to know would never call more than 20 detached third-rail claws strewn all over subway tunnel floors 'normal' or 'expected'. Let us remind ourselves that no matter how much New York or London fail to keep up their subways or keep their streets clean, Singapore has always done it better.

The writer's comments remind me of what happened to Canada's Toronto Transit Commission's (TTC) subway lines. Throughout the 1970s and the early 1980s, Toronto's TTC was voted the most efficient and safest transit system in North America. Eventually, several chief executives took over - and they took their own cars to work.

Every year over more than a decade, the system saw more delays, train stations became dirtier and trains became more overcrowded. Train station infrastructure started to fall apart right before passengers' eyes.

If you visit Toronto today, the system is woefully overcrowded, delays are frequent, and countless subway stations have ceiling cracks with water leaking.

In many of Toronto's tunnels, puddles of water can be seen from the front seat windows. All this is 'normal' in transit systems all over the United States, Britain and Canada.

From having one of the best transit systems in the world 30 years ago, Toronto now has the longest commute time to work in all of North America.

Ten years ago, I would tell my family overseas how amazing Singapore's MRT is. Financially, MRT's bottom line is better than ever but in all honesty, its service standard has fallen to mediocrity, punctuated by non-stop overcrowdedness and a rising incidence of unacceptably long delays.

Accepting other cities' mediocre standards in transit, public sanitation or infrastructure has never been the Singapore way - and hopefully, will never be.

Eric J. Brooks

Because when we fail, somebody's gotta' take the blame.

Let’s take a look at an example of good website localization. In the screenshot above, notice how Zynga Japan, the company behind Farmville and Cityville, incorporates the Japanese flag into its homepage banner. Clearly, the image is appropriate for a website intended for a Japanese audience.

You're doing it right, marketing localization!

In the good old days of online marketing there was a screen size you designed for and that was that. Your website always worked and always looked good but things started to change rapidly. First there were multiple resolutions to cater for: 800 x 600 became 1024 x 768. The internet then went mobile and ‘mobi’ websites become the buzzword of the day. The tablet is fast becoming the new mobile defacto standard. Marketers, therefore, have had to adjust and figure out how best to present themselves across multiple platforms.

Goodbye, 1024 x 768?

I remember the very first time I wanted to give up.

The air was thick as mud and my olfactory nerves were being incessantly pounded by the smell of freshly cut grass with every breath I furiously fought for.

I thought I was dying, but in reality, I’d just never exercised before. I was fat, out of shape and my favorite meal was a bologna and cheese sandwich with a large bag of Doritos.

I’ll never forget the other kids running laps around me during my first ever football practice. I was ashamed, confused, and disappointed that I just wasn’t cut out for athletics as I’d began to believe before the practice had barely started.

I had to sit out the rest of the practice because I couldn’t catch my breath after one lap around the field. Once it was over, one of my football coaches approached my mother and said “Ms. Deen, I’m afraid little JC isn’t going to make it – he couldn’t even think about keeping up with his peers. We think he may have a bad case of asthma and you should probably have it checked out before he continues.”

I’ll never, ever forget it.

She stared him straight in the eyes and said “that’s bullsh*t – he’s just fat and out of shape. He doesn’t have asthma and he’ll be here every practice no matter what.”

I was only 10 years old.

As we approached the car, I was so excited to be done and seeking shelter from the pain and embarrassment. I remember sitting in the living room begging her to let me quit – it just wasn’t fun and all that running really hurt.

She said “no, you’ve started something and you’re going to finish it – even if you have to suck wind the rest of the season, you are not a quitter.”

A 10 year old boy really has no say with regards to these matters, so I ate my bologna sandwich, a few Doritos, and went to bed.

My First Lesson In Discipline

The next day, I woke up in dire pain. I’d never ran more than 50 yards in my life. My entire body ached and I was cursing this game of football under my breath all day long at school. All of my peers were excited for practice but I wanted to ditch it.

But guess what? Mother bear was my ride and she was sure I’d be there.

Ugh.

So I show up again at this dreaded practice field. We began the conditioning work and I remembered just how much I wanted to evaporate into thin air. My brain was constantly telling me I couldn’t do it – I didn’t have it in me.

Such atrocious thoughts persisted for about 2-3 weeks, but with every practice, the little voices inside my head dissipated. I began to keep up with the skinnier kids and actually started to develop some athleticism.

Over time, going to practice became fun. I even began to excel at something I’d never really attempted before. I was becoming quite the football player, even if I was only 10 years old!

Before I knew it, the season had ended, my pudgy figure had begun to transform, and I had a newfound confidence I’d never had before.

From this point on, athletics were a major part of my life. Day in and day out, I continued to push the limits. I competed in any sport I could and while I didn’t always excel (never fast enough for the track team, and couldn’t stay interested in baseball), I was always competitive nonetheless.

I learned through hard work and perseverance that you could overcome what sometimes seems to be the impossible.

The Reason I Continue to Succeed

It took me a while to figure it out, but one of my high school coaches said it best. “it’s okay to be less talented than someone else but never, ever let yourself be outworked.”

But in reality, there really is no such thing as talent. People just spend more time than others on whatever task at hand.

I used to get this all the time – in school, on the practice field, in my extracurricular activities. People would say, “oh, you were just born with this talent – it comes easier for you.”

I used to believe it, but then I began to think about what my coach was saying. I’d worked really hard for where I was and where I was going.

For those of you who are regular readers, if you’ve been here from the beginning, you know I started JCDFitness back in October of 2008. Re-reading some of my older articles makes me sick at my stomach. My writing style and ability has changed/improved drastically over the last 2 years.

Many might find it hard to believe, but I’d never written much more than a typical freshman English paper when I started this website. I knew nothing about writing style, or getting a message across through article form. All I knew is that I wanted to share my experiences about health and fitness.

So, without knowing much about what I was doing, I just started writing. I remember being so self-conscious about my writing – having my friends and mother proof-read each post for me so I wouldn’t feel like an idiot for publishing something that wasn’t perfect.

But over time, I started to get the hang of it. I’ll never claim myself to be a great writer but I do believe I’m a great communicator – something I’ve worked very hard at since I was young. My whole life has been about building relationships – writing is just one way I get to practice communicating.

So what’s the point?

I’m not really afraid to fail anymore. I’ll continue to use JCDFitness as an example, but I’ve many other ideas we could throw out there.

When I first began publishing, I was so afraid of what others would think, what they might say about me or my philosophy on fitness. But one day I woke up and stopped caring. The only way we learn is by doing and taking action.

I wrote a few articles that flopped. So what? I wrote some more that got attention.

Maybe I wrote some things that weren’t too politically correct? Maybe it lost me a few readers? Perhaps I stepped on a few toes?

Most people will pack up their bags at the very first piece of hate-mail they get. Goodness, I remember how emails poured in during class right after I published the first Clean Eating article. After reading some of the stuff I did, most people would’ve stopped publishing altogether.

It’s Hardly Ever Comfortable

My life philosophy is to fail forward – keep pushing. Never, ever give up. As soon as you give up, you’re never going to get what you want.

In sales, the end goal is the close. One reason I am drawn to the professions I am (fitness, web design, and selling in general) is because they’re all results-driven. One way or another, you’re getting a result.

Regardless of the outcome (someone says no, tells you to jump off a bridge, buys from you, etc) you’re always getting a result. You always have something firm to base your next decision off of.

It’s like the guy who wants to ask a girl out. His fear of rejection keeps him tightly clutching his beer, sucked to his seat. The problem is he’ll never ever know anything if he doesn’t act. He’s so afraid of getting a “no” that he won’t rise up get what he really wants.

Now the chances are highly variable as to what the girl might say depending on his approach. But one thing is guaranteed – he will get a result because he took action. She will either say yes or no.

And regardless of her response, he can leave that bar knowing something. He’ll know that he needs to step up his confidence and approach more girls, or he will have the shot at taking this new girl out.

But without that first step, without having the balls to push for a result, you’re wallowing in mediocrity.

Why You Might Need To Suffer First

I hate to say it, but sometimes, suffering a few bad blows is what we really need. Sometimes, it’s that kick in the pants that gets us going again – striving for something bigger and better – reaching for the stars.

When I first moved to Nashville in 2007, my life took a turn for the worst. It seemed as if everything in my life had turned upside down. I worked a few odd jobs, and then eventually worked a corporate gig that landed me a few therapy sessions. I was depressed, and lacked direction.

It seemed life was crumbling around me. My health was horrid, I’d lost touch with some great people in my life and couldn’t maintain any relationships.

I think Tyler Durden said it best.   “It’s only after we’ve lost everything that we’re free to do anything.”

I’d hit rock bottom.

But then one day I woke up. I realized that everything around me was, in some way, a reflection of how I viewed my situation.

There was only one way to change it and it began by taking personal action to fix what I could.

It was one step at a time.

First I got back into school. Second, I found a way to quit that horrible job. Then, I began rebuilding those old relationships.

Shortly thereafter, I began pouring myself into everything I loved. I made goals for JCDFitness, and decided to focus on improving my writing.

I then started to learn web development and design in my spare time (no sleep, lots of coffee). I began doing the things I loved again. But this time, it was without any fear or inhibition. I simply threw myself into what I wanted and trusted that it was going to work out.

I developed the mindset that I could have/do anything I wanted as long as I push and continued to push.

It’s like the saying goes, no risk, no reward – know risk, know reward.

But How Does This Apply To Fitness?

In many ways, actually. I am finding lots of people develop some fairly lofty goals when it comes to their personal aesthetic ideals.

The problem doesn’t lie within their ambitions; I feel it lies within their mindset and eventually their approach.

A common problem we all face is having the gumption to develop a plan, be realistic with time frames and then being objective enough to make changes when necessary (or when to leave stuff alone when nothing’s broken).

It’s not a matter of having what it takes – because I believe we can all achieve something worthwhile when it comes to strength and physique development. It’s more a matter of developing the mindset for success. Being resilient and never giving in.

Having goals and striving for more is what gives us life. I think Thomas Carlyle said it best here:

“A man without a goal is like a ship without a rudder.”

Without a goal, you’ll never make any real progress.

Never, Ever Give Up

So my challenge to you is this.

If you’ve been struggling with weight loss, go find someone who can help and keep you accountable. Get so sick of your current situation that you make the changes you need to make. Get downright fed up with your lack of progress; hire a coach if you need to.

If you’re a young guy in dire need of building some muscle, remember to be patient. Realize that this journey is a marathon, and hardly a sprint. Your goals should revolve around getting strong and eating well. Your hormones will take care of the rest.

If you’ve been injured and coming back from a long layoff – realize that you’ve been in great shape before and it’s something you can invariably achieve again.

If you’re brand new to this fitness stuff, soak up the information here, as well as the information at LeanGains.com, Alan Aragon.com, LeighPeele.com, RogLawFitness.com, AmpedTraining.com and Lyle McDonald.com.

And finally – you know yourself best. Develop a plan and work that plan. Do not waiver. Never give up – continue pushing and fighting as if tomorrow will never come.

Image Credit: cfourcalvin

Tagged as: just do it, Motivation

Don't forget to subscribe via Email or RSS. Site created using THESIS.

Mantivational.

SCAMPER is based on the notion that everything new is some addition or modification of something that already exists. You take a subject and change it into something else. (E.g., drilled petroleum becomes chemical feedstock becomes synthetic rubber becomes automobile tires. Natural gas becomes polyethylene becomes milk jugs. Mined ore becomes metal becomes wire becomes parts of a motor.)you can take anything that exists and change it into a new idea. 

Because creativity is 1% inspiration, 99% effort.