A Man's Word Is Worth His Weight in Gold

I'm a firm believer in the above statement. In fact, if you ask anyone, chances are, they would subscribe to the same belief as well. However, how many of us consciously put it into practice?

Yeah, perhaps you may make it a point to keep 'major' or 'important' promises, but what about the little ones you make and break on a periodic basis?

I heard in a seminar by T. Harv Eker (The Millionaire Mind Intensive, which I would encourage everyone to go) the following saying, which I've adopted as my 'mantra' now:

"How you do anything, is how you do everything!"

Meaning to say, you need to be consistent with your actions no matter small or trivial it is, as that would be how you'd react in a major event.

I've come across many people (especially friends and colleagues) who love to make little promises they don't intend to keep. Say for example, if you bump into an old friend while shopping, catch up a little and exchange numbers. And just before you part ways you tell him "I'll call you sometime", will you really follow up with a call? Or would you let it slide?

Or let's say he said that to you? Would you expect him to call?

If the answer is no, why make the remark in the first place? If you were sincere, then you should call him. Otherwise, don't say that you'd call. Just exchange numbers and that's it.

How about keeping your appointments? Say you promise your client that you'd meet him at 10 am. I bet you'd probably make the time. If it was a big case, you'd probably be there around 9.30 am waiting for him!

If you could be on time for your client, why can't you do the same for your friend? Let's say you really can't make the time due to some unforeseen circumstances, you would at least call your client to notify him of your delay. Why can't you extend the same courtesy to your friends?

Why the double standards? How you do anything, is how you do everything! For those in the sales line, over time, you'd build a reputation with your clients. And in time, most of your clients would end up being your friends. So, once they are classified as 'friends' then you'd start applying your normal 'friends' timing, taking your client-friend for granted.

I just find it appalling that many people love to make promises and then conveniently forget it later on. It may be a small issue, say promising someone that you'd call or even a promise to buy someone dinner!

You may say it as a passing remark, but the person you gave the promise to, may not forget it. I've experienced many situations where people wanted to borrow a certain amount of cash and promises to pay me back by a certain date. And when that date arrives, there's no news of the cash. Not even a courtesy call to apologise for the delay or even a request for an extension!

I mean, the least you could do, if you are still short of cash or haven't sorted your finances yet, is to tell me so! Come on, at that time when you really needed the cash, you can call me a 100 times, send me so many smses, desperately asking me for the cash, but when the due date that YOU promised me arrives, no news! Nothing!

You conveniently 'forget' that you even owe me money. No courtesy call, no request for extension, no apology. Nothing!

Why is it you expect me to chase you for it? I find it sad that when you need cash, you remember my number, but when you have it, you can forget you owe me cash? It's not like I'm charging interest!

The above is intended particularly to 3 people who are NOT on my facebook. Just to set the record straight, this does not apply to some of my friends who owe me cash for their insurance premiums, we are cool because you guys always keep me updated. So, if you are reading this and are on my facebook, don't worry, it's not about you ;)

Anyway, back to the topic. Why can't people stick to their words? Why do people have the habit of making promises they can't or don't intend to keep? Or at least even feel bad that they can't keep to their promise?

A man's word is worth his weight in gold! If you can't keep your word, you are worth nothing!

What Do You Believe In?

What do you believe in? Some may ask what is your religion? Does it really matter? If you were to tell me you want to know just for 'talking point', then you'd better be prepared to question your own faith before you raise this topic with me.

I'd like to think of myself as an Agnostic. Unfortunately, the government of Malaysia does not recognize this category as a 'religion'. In fact, come to think of it, is it illegal for one NOT to have a religion? If you look at the Malaysian Pledge, the first pledge is 'Kepercayaan Kepada Tuhan', or "Believe In God'. So, if you don't believe in God, does it mean you are not Malaysian?

Personally, I'd like it if the term 'religion' is replaced with 'beliefs' instead since 'religion' indicates a belief in a 'higher' being watching over us, while some of us don't actually believe that, nor can we deny the existence of such a being.

For the uninitiated, Agnosticism should not be confused with Atheists. Atheists are people who DO NOT believe in the existence of God. Agnostics on the other hand are more interested in the 'Truth'. Therefore, Agnostics do not reject the idea of God nor do they follow it. Of course if you Wiki the term Agnostic, they'll go into different categories of Agnostics which is just mind boggling.

For the record, Agnosticism is NOT an 'organised' religion. It is not even a religion. It is just a belief restricted to the individual. There are no teachings, nor books, nor associations, nor weekly assemblies, etc. It is basically your own belief on what is the truth about life.

Of course the religious people would call us 'fence sitters'. Some of these religious people would 'pity' us because they feel we are 'lost' and would be damned to hell since I do not prescribe to their version on what is the 'truth' about God and etc....

The other extreme would look 'down' on the 'Godless heathen' or even assume that I am the Devil's Advocate, trying to convince them away from their believe in God!

I'm a believer of religious freedom. Who am I to tell you what you believe is wrong? Being a self described Agnostic, I can't say that you are wrong in your belief. For every evidence I can put forth that you are wrong about your beliefs, you can show me a 'miracle' which proves me otherwise. So, why should I convince you that you are wrong when I am not sure whether I am right?

But what annoys me is that when people come to talk to me with the intention of 'convincing' me to believe in their religion, but they themselves are not open to accepting my views. So, how is it fair that I must keep an open mind and listen to YOUR version of the truth and try to accept it, while you are not willing to do the same with MY version of the truth?

So what is the truth? Actually, no one is certain. No one can guarantee 100% that their beliefs are 100% true. Why not? Because there is no concrete evidence. No solid proof. Some may say that their Holy book(s) which was written thousands of years ago is the truth, because it was written thousands of years ago or because that particular book says it is the truth! I mean, just because something is old or it says it is the truth, doesn't mean it is!

If I am able to build a time machine (assuming it is really possible to do so) and I am to go back in time and leave the Star Wars series in the hands of some guy 2 to 3 thousand years ago, I'm willing to bet there would be many believers in 'The Force' and the Star Wars series would actually be a 'documentary' instead of a movie! Get my point?

Since there is no way to 'prove' 100% beyond all reasonable doubt that it is the truth, there is a word which is used with all religion. It is called Faith. Faith is a belief, not upon evidence, but by your instincts (or gut feeling) on the truth.

So, if you have faith in what you believe in, who am I to take that faith away from you? On the same note, since you have faith in what you believe in, who are you to deny another person's belief?

If you wish to 'share' your beliefs, then be prepared to open up to another person's beliefs too and be prepared to change your beliefs at the same time.

As for myself, I am no religious scholar. I'm just an accountant, trying to get a nut in this world. But I have done my fair share of learning about the various religions such as Hinduism, Christianity, Islam, Buddhism, Bahaism, Zoroastrianism, Shintoism, Sikhism, Confucianism, Jainism, Judaism, Taoism, Wicca, Voodoo and other 'Pagan' religions to name a few. I'm willing to bet that some of you have never heard of some of the religions I've mentioned above!

So how much do you know about the 'other' religion for you to actually 'criticize' that their followers are 'wrong'? What makes you think that you are right?

If what you believe in is the truth, why are there so many other versions of the 'truth'? There could only be one truth. When there's so many versions, surely something is not right? Or could it be they are all right?

Personally, I'd like to think of all these religions as different paths leading to the same destination. It's a matter of choice and no one person has the right to say to another that their choice or path is wrong. At the end of the day, we would only know the truth when we are no longer alive. So, in the meantime please respect another person's beliefs even though it differs from yours ;)