Merry Little Notes

Visit me at www.MerryRiana.com.sg/blog

2010-01-04T23:42:00.002+08:00

Hi Guys,

I've migrated my blog to my current website.

Do visit: www.MerryRiana.com.sg/blog

And THANK YOU for being my loyal readers :)

Touching Hearts, Changing Lives,
Merry Riana

Hello Again :)

2009-11-03T01:12:00.003+08:00

Wow !!

Long time no updates.. :p

First of all, I'm in the middle of upgrading my website. http://www.merryriana.com.sg/.

Currently it is not 100% fully completed yet, but once it is fully ready, I'll do my regular blogging from there instead of blogspot. In the meantime, you can still visit this page, or if you want more recent updates, you can also follow me on the Female 50 gorgeous website because currently I'm blogging more on that sites. http://www.female50gp.com/2009/blog/author/merry/

My last post was about my Bali trip :)

Also, recently I was actually on Razor TV :)
So if you want to catch the interview and see me, feel free to drop by http://www.razor.tv/site/servlet/segment/main/lifestyle/38090.html

Touching Hearts Changing Lives,
Merry Riana

Merry Riana - Voting for Female 50 Gorgeous People is on !

2009-10-23T13:05:00.004+08:00

Hi all,

Just to let you know that the voting for Female 50 Gorgeous is on.
You can go to http://www.female50gp.com/2009/vote.php and vote generously for me :)

Also, I've been updating my daily blog at their platform

http://www.female50gp.com/2009/blog/author/merry/

read more about my interview with Adam Khoo, and Elim Chew.
also my 5th year Wedding Anniversary, which happen to be today :) hehehe..

Alright then..
Thank you in advance for all your supports :)

Touching Hearts Changing Lives,
Merry Riana
http://www.merryriana.com.sg/

Merry Riana - 50 Most Gorgeous People 2009 Updates

2009-10-20T01:29:00.003+08:00

I want to say a BIG Thank You to all of you.

Ever since I shared the good news of me being one of the 50 Most Gorgeous People 2009, I have received many messages, comments, emails, calls and sms. And I would say that all are very encouraging. Thank you, again !

For the next 10 weeks, I will actually write my blog regularly on their website.

http://www.female50gp.com/2009/blog/author/merry/

And I will probably did a bit summary of what I wrote over there. But for more details and more updated stuff, you can visit the above link.

See you guys there !

Touching Hearts Changing Lives,
Merry Riana

Merry Riana - Female 50 Gorgeous People 2009

2009-10-15T23:59:00.005+08:00

This might come as a surprise for you, but I would like to share with you the good news !

I was actually chosen as one of the Finalist for the 50 FEMALE Gorgeous People 2009. Hahaha.. !! Yup.. yup.. I'm not kidding.. actually been wanting to tell you guys since my last post, but I want to wait until it is really really confirm.. :)

So, I just got the email today, and decided to share my great joy with you guys in my blog.

They actually wanted me to write my daily activities in their blog, and today is my first time writing it. So from now onwards, you can visit

http://www.female50gp.com/2009/blog/author/merry/

There will be also a preview next Sat, 24th Oct at ION Orchad from 2pm - 5pm.
You'll be able to see the other 49 gorgeous hunks and babes, but of course you all know who is the most gorgeous one! hahhaa... :)

Please make yourself available on that day and do come down for the event.
You can email me in advance (merry@merryriana.com.sg) if you are coming, so that I can look out for you on that day, plus I'll know who is my most supportive readers.... hahaha... :)

Your great support will definitely means a lot to me :)

Love,
Merry Riana

5 Days with Merry Riana

2009-10-10T13:25:00.006+08:00

It has been almost 1 week since I came back to Singapore, has been very busy since then, that's why I couldn't have time to update my blog :p

Started my Monday by having great breakfast with my team, it was fun catching up with them and it was definitely a good way to start my Monday before the whole back to back meeting that was line up in front of me.

To me Monday normally is the day where I will have 1 whole day of non-stop meeting with various people in my organization, my Elite Force, Core Team, and of course my board of managers. And especially this week, it was more intense because we were really planning to make sure everybody are motivated and charged up for the final quarter.

In the midst of my busy Monday, I then received an email. After reading the email, I was just smiling the whole day.. what a pleasant surprise :) Unfortunately it was a great news that I can't share right now, but I guess by next week you should probably already know it. Hahaha...

On Tuesday, I started my day earlier than my normal day because by 7.30 am I should already be at Suntec Convention Centre for a half day event. Nevertheless, It was another great event full of inspiration.

Wednesday, it was a monthly meeting day ! Every month I always looking forward for this moment where I can have my solid 3 hours to update, motivate and inspire my beloved MRO team. This time, me and my board of managers have prepared something special for them. And I was very happy to see that they were all excited. It's gonna be a very fierce competition, and may the best tribes win :)

Thursday was another day where I did my Pay It Forward (PIF) Project. PIF Project is one of my non-profit initiative. Although I am regularly engaged to conduct professional trainings in the region, I have pledged my time to conduct free Talks for institutions/schools/clubs whose members are young people aged 15-35. During this 60-minutes Talk, I shared my personal success journey – from school into the business world.

This time, I did my PIF project for Republic Polytechnic. My first time visiting Republic Polytechnic, and I was amazed, not only by its grand building and infrastructure, but also by its curriculum. The school actually don't have lecture, tutorial or even textbook for the students. It's all experiential learning. Awesome !

Anyway, I really enjoyed talking and interacting with the students there.. some of them already become my facebook friends :) hahaha...

Friday, it was another full day of training. I conducted 1 full day of Sales Express. After that, still have to go for a few rounds of meeting. Exhausted, but it's really fulfilling.

Well, that's just a glimpse of what I did for the last 5 days.
Tomorrow will be another busy day, have to go for full day shooting for my latest video :)
I bet's gonna be fun !

To me, Life is like a book. Everyday has a new page with adventures to tell, things to learn, and tales to remember. May you have a wonderful chapters in your life to come !

Love,
Merry Riana
http://www.merryriana.com.sg/
www.facebook.com.sg/merry.riana

Equipt yourself with the right tools

2009-10-02T13:32:00.004+08:00

Wow ! so fast, we are now stepping into the month of October.

For many people that I know, especially those who works in sales line, October is an important month, because it marks the beginning of the last quarter.
And why last quarter is important? because normally that's the time where they will really run all the way until end of the year to clear their yearly target, year end quota or even run to get their promotion, bonus, awards, etc.

If I can give an analogy of a running competition, normally the last quarter is like a final lap, which is going to determine whether you will end the race victoriously as a winner or not. It is the Final Sprint.

Whether you have closed a lot of cases in the past 9 months, or whether you didn't manage to close any cases, it doesn't really matter. Because in race, it's not about how you start, it's about how you end it. And that's what this final sprint is all about.

One of the things that you need in order to excel in this final sprint is ATTITUDE.
Your courage and belief in yourself will be tested many, many times in your life. Especially in this Final Sprint.

How you will react is up to you.
Do you believe in yourself?
Have you been able to overcome adversity before?
Do you have the necessary tools to help you through the difficulty?

If you answered to all the above questions is YES, then I am happy because then I know that you can use that tools to get up - each time you get knocked down. Most of us have been knocked hard, more than once, more than twice. With the proper tools, we didn't let it destroy our life or our image and confident of ourselves. We thought, "Okay, there is some lesson here I need to learn", and moved forward again

For those who couldn't pick themselves back up - there's hope. You can do it too - it will take time, commitment, action and determination. You will need to surround yourself with tools that can help you break through your barriers. Like a mechanic, we all need tools to help us refine our skills for dealing with disappointment, hurt, anger and grief.

Tools can come in many forms:
1. Written material, like nice inspiration quote or article
2. Recorded material, such as motivation songs, video, etc
3. Images, for example, a photo of your loved ones, a photo of your past achievement, a picture of your future goals, your dream book, vision board, and many more.
4. And of course, people. Some one who can give you encouragement when you are down, some one who can listen and understand you, or it could even be someone who can nag and nag and nag at you. It could be your family member, your friends, your colleague, your team mates, your boss, your manager, etc.

Usually you will have to try many, before you find the right combination. But once you do, look out! All of a sudden the light bulb will go off in your head and you will think, "I get it, I understand what I have to do to move forward".

Do something nice for yourself this weekend - take a minute to reflect on what you want to happen in this Final Sprint and then start looking for the tools that will help you complete your plan.

Love,
Merry Riana
www.MerryRiana.com.sg

20 + 1 ways to make others happy

2009-09-27T03:54:00.005+08:00

Continuing from my yesterday post,

Let me share with you few tips that you can do to brighten up someone's day

1. Look them in the eyes and say: "You are beautiful"
2. Give a free hug
3. Send them some cute or funny video from youtube
4. Secretly leave them a thank you notes
5. Help them carry something.
6. Buy them breakfast
7. Give compliment publicly
8. Say Thank You
9. Lend a listening ear
10. Just call to ask how they're doing
11. Cook for them
12. Make coffee for them
13. Write good comments on their facebook
14. Say I Love You :)
15. Send a thoughtful sms
16. Be there with them
17. Give them a nice massage
18. Remember their birthday
19. Give them a helping hand
20. Tell a joke

Last but not least, my favorite one:
21. SMILE :)

Your positive smile will surely make someone happy today! :)

Love,
Merry Riana
www.MerryRiana.com.sg

Make someone happy today !

2009-09-26T23:56:00.000+08:00

Why people do volunteer work?
Some people do it because they find something they are passionate about and want to do something good for others, another probably think that they are very fortunate to live the way they do and want to give something back to society. Or it could even be for personal growth, volunteers often say that the experience has made them a better person.

There are number of different reasons we do charity work, bring flowers to a friend in the hospital, or buy a special gift for someone we love when we're out shopping. And one of the reason is because it makes us happy. Sometimes in fact, being kind and considerate to others actually benefits us more than the people we're helping.

Even if our activities initially starts out as a chore or an obligation, it can become a joy to us, as well as to those who benefit from our effort.
The real happiness consists in making others happy.
Have you done anything that makes someone happy today? :)

Well, even if your answer is NO, it's never too late.
Hopefully after reading this, you can start thinking: "Is there something that I can do to make someone happy?" It doesn't have to be big or spectacular. Even a simple message expressing how much you appreciate someone's friendship can be very powerful.

You cannot always have happiness,
but you can always give happiness.

Love,
Merry Riana
http://www.merryriana.com.sg/

How to gain back your momentum after a long holiday?

2009-09-21T23:00:00.006+08:00

I just logged on to my facebook, and saw that many of my friends' status said something like: "No more holidays, back to work tomorrow"

Hahaha... yeah.. we just ended our long holiday here in Singapore, and sad to say that tomorrow, we have to be back to reality.

I know some of you probably right now are still in a 'holiday mood' and definitely not ready to get back to work tomorrow or start your daily activities.

Well, that's why I decided to give you a few tips that you can use to get back your momentum, so that tomorrow, you will be recharged again and ready to be your best!

Tips #1.
Wake up early ! Jump off your bed and shout out loud "This is going to be my best day!"

Tips #2.
Prepare only the best.
Wear your best clothes, spray your nicest perfume and of course take your time to enjoy your favorite breakfast with your morning coffee.

Tips #3
Be Positive.
On the way to your workplace, surround yourself with positive things and positive people. Listen to your favorite inspirational songs from your ipod, or tune in to your favorite radio station :) And don't forget to SMILE and greet at least 5 person that you meet that morning.

Tips #4
Have a plan.
By now you should already reach your working place and already feel very good. It's time to start your work. Well, before you start doing anything, it is important for you to know what you want to do for a day. You should have a plan (things to do list). If you don't have, then start making one.

Tips #5.
Create a schedule.
This is also important to get you starting. Scheduling a time ensures that you don’t put the activity off because you don’t feel like it or because something comes up.

Tips #6.
Just do it !
Don’t stop to pause and wonder if you really FEEL like doing this today. Coz you know what? You won’t! Just walk out the door, or sit down at the desk, or start doing things that you've already plan to do and already in your schedule (that's why having schedule is important!).
Remember, you need to build your momentum back. And taking action builds the enthusiasm.

Tips #7
Celebrate your day.
Without your realize, you probably already completed most of the things that you've plan today. Congrats! just a little bit more, and that's the end of your first day at work after your holiday.
You are almost there !
Once you've done so, you definitely deserve a little celebration.
Go and have dinner with your loved one, or your friends.

But remember... don't over celebrate and don't sleep to late, because the next day, you have to be at work again :) Taking an MC just after 1 day of working definitely is not advisable :p

Well, that's my tips for you. I hope the 7 tips that I just shared with you will help you gain back your momentum and will help you to make tomorrow your best day.

Love,
Merry Riana
http://www.merryriana.com.sg/

$86,400

2009-09-19T23:16:00.006+08:00

2 days ago, someone asked me: "If I have some spare cash, what would I want to buy?"
I looked at her and told her my answer, which is TIME.

For me, time is precious, and there never seem to be enough of it.
Ironically, many of people forget its value.

Sometimes time flies just like that without they realise where does it go?
And if you are one of them, hopefully you will appreciate it more after you read this:

Imagine there is a bank that credits your account each morning with $86,400. It carries over no balance from day to day. Every evening deletes whatever part of the balance you failed to use during the day.

What would you do? Draw out every cent, of course!!!! Each of us has such a bank. Its name is TIME.

Every morning, it credits you with 86,400 seconds. Every night it writes off, as lost, whatever of this you have failed to invest to good purpose. It carries over no balance. It allows no overdraft. Each day it opens a new account for you. Each night it burns the remains of the day. If you fail to use the day's deposits, the loss is yours.

There is no going back. There is no drawing against the "tomorrow". You must live in the present on today's deposits. Invest it so as to get from it the utmost in health, happiness, and success!

The clock is running. Make the most of today.

· To realize the value of ONE YEAR, ask a student who failed a grade. 
· To realize the value of ONE MONTH, ask a mother who gave birth to a premature baby. 
· To realize the value of ONE WEEK, ask the editor of a weekly newspaper.
· To realize the value of ONE HOUR, ask the lovers who are waiting to meet.
· To realize the value of ONE MINUTE, ask a person who missed the train.
· To realize the value of ONE SECOND, ask a person who just avoided an accident.
· To realize the value of ONE MILLISECOND, ask the person who won a silver medal in the Olympics

Treasure every moment that you have! And treasure it more because you shared it with someone special, special enough to spend your time. And remember that time waits for no one.

And what did I do today?
After my long and busy week I choose to spend all my day today with my precious little angel, Alvernia.
And I loved every single moment of it !

Love,
Merry Riana
http://www.merryriana.com.sg/

Is your life worth saving ?

2009-09-17T00:08:00.004+08:00

A man risked his life by swimming through the high tide to save a young boy being swept out to sea. After the child recovered from the horrible experience, he said to the man, "Thank you for saving my life."

The man looked into the little boy's eyes and said, "That's okay, kid. Just make sure your life was worth saving."

Ask yourself: "Is your life worth saving?"

This is your life. Take the power to choose what you want to do and do it well.

We only live once. But once is enough if we do it right :)

Live your life to the fullest.
Live it with passion
Live it with dignity

Love,
Merry Riana
www.MerryRiana.com.sg

When should I give up on my goal and dream ?

2009-09-15T23:43:00.000+08:00

I just did my talk in NUS this evening. It was part of my non-profit project that I have, which is called Pay It Forward. It was a wonderful session, and I enjoyed myself sharing my experiences with the students there :)

Not long ago, I received a message in my facebook from one of the student who attended my talk earlier on. He told me that he has been working hard to pursue his dream but he is still far from what he wanted to be. He asked me how can he know when to stop and when to continue doing?

It is actually an interesting questions, why I said interesting?? Because I believe many of us, including myself had probably asked that kind of question to ourselves sometimes.
So I decided to write this blog to answer his interesting question.

If you are wandering what will be my answer? Well… follow this closely..

In my opinion, whether you are not sure about what you do is the correct thing or whether is this the correct choice for you, or whether is this something that will help you in the future, there’s only 3 tips that I want to share with you.

1. Just Take Action first!

It is better to make a wrong decision rather than make no decision. So if you are not sure, you are still doubtful, just go for it first, if not then you wouldn’t know

2. Take Action wholeheartedly

This is important because I believe the quality of your action will determine the quality of your results. There is a huge different in results from someone who really give 100% in whatever that he do, and those people who just doing it for the sake of doing it.
You might think that you already working very hard by working 10-14 hrs per day. But I’m sorry to tell you that working hard is not only determine by how many hrs you worked.

Once you know the first 2 steps, by now you probably will still ask the ultimately question which is when do you give up on one pathway in life and move to another? When do you quit?

This is the time where I’m going to share with you the 3rd key, which is Faith !

3. Have FAITH

I believe in one thing: “Do your best and God will do the rest”
I believe that as long as I’ve done my part, taking action and giving my 100%, I’ll let God lead me to where He want me to be and what He want me to do.

And how would I know that? Well, If this is the ‘right’ thing for me, I'm sure He will make me see progress and growth. He will give me passion towards what I’m doing and He will also give me sense of fulfillment. Somehow I’ll find peace and I just know it.

Similarly, when do I know whether I should give up on one pathway in life and move to another? The answer is simple, when I have an alternative path that will give me more growth, passion and fulfillment.

So, if currently you are pursuing your dream and you don’t think you are going to achieve it, the question of whether or not to quit doesn’t depend on your chance of success. The real question is whether pursuing this dream is causing you to grow? Does this path fill you with passion and enthusiasm? Do you feel alive?

If the path you are on currently is giving you the greatest growth, passion and fulfillment, just continue doing. It doesn’t matter whether you ever reach your destination because success is a journey, not a destination. Sometimes the doing is more important than the outcome.

Love,

Merry Riana
http://www.merryriana.com.sg/

Change your life, Change your habit !

2009-09-14T23:03:00.000+08:00

What is a secret of success?

Well, if there is an answer to that I think the answer will be one word called: HABIT.

Successful people are successful because they form the habits of doing those things that failures don't like to do.

Is it a good news or a bad news? It is definitely a good news ! because forming a good habit actually it is not as difficult as it seems.

We all know that your habits will form your futures. And if you do not deliberately form good habits, unconsciously you will form bad ones. You are the kind of person you are because you have formed the habit of being that kind of person. The only way you can change is through habit.

Maybe you are not even aware of them but if you are not quite living up to your full capabilities, the chances are that bad habit or lack of good habits are slowing you down. If that’s how it is with you, it’s time to change bad habits to good.

When I first started my entrepreneurship journey I was in the sales industry. And I couldn't agree more that having a daily good habit has brought me to be where I am today.

When I was still doing sales, I listed down 5 things that I MUST do daily.

1. Plan my work - my whole one year work. Then I'll break it down to month, week, and eventually daily work. I will plan exactly how to reach my goal

2. I must do a sufficient number of sales presentations each day to real prospects.

3. I must have, use regularly, a procedure that produces a sufficient number of real prospects.

4. I must record my activities and results and analyze them regularly in order to learn how to improve them.

5. I must continually upgrade myself. Read and study regularly and systematically and try to keep pace with changes in then business and in human needs.

If you work in sales, I understand that your job definitely requires you to do prospecting, preparation of cases, client servicing, travel, office details, business lunches and dinners (sometimes breakfast too), and many others.

Depending on individual, some of these activities are more enjoyable than others. There is a normal tendency to concentrate on those that are pleasant, but if we don’t get the most from our other activities as well, that one particularly enjoyable duty will not be as profitable as it should be.

I think not only in sales industry, but every other business and every other activity in our lives requires organization. In your own home, for example, you know that your children don’t go to school simply when they feel like it, or when it is convenient for them to do so. They go on schedule.

So, write down a list of good habits that you want to have to replace your old ones. And start doing it today. I know in the beginning it's not going to be easy, but if you really follow thru, your new habits will work wonders for you. I guarantee !

Love,
Merry Riana
http://www.merryriana.com.sg/

How dependend are you with your handphone ?

2009-09-13T17:23:00.004+08:00

This weekend there is a huge IT fair in Singapore.

Actually it is not a once - a - year kind of event. I think every 3-4 months, there's always this event, but what amazed me is that every single time, there are always thousands of people flooding the area. Most sellable items normally are: plasma TV, laptop, printer, digital camera and handphone.

I guess nowdays those gadgets are no longer become a luxurious items, but it is already becoming a necessity. Especially handphone. From primary school students to grandpa and grandma, they all have it.

But how important handphone to you? Find out from the questionnaire below

1. You are hanging out in mall, then you realized that you left your hp at home. What are you thinking?

a. No time to think, straight away you go back to get your hp
b. “Never mind, hopefully nobody call me”
c. “I purposely left it at home, because I scared I will lost it if I bring to mall”

2. How often you received a call in a day?

a. Almost zero
b. 1 – 4 calls
c. More than 5 calls

3. Your ring tone is:

a. Every different person in your handphone, you'll assigned in with different ring tone
b. Current hit song
c. Not important to have a ring tone

4. How normally do you sms:

a. With two hands, so that it is faster
b. With one hand, because the other hand can do other things
c. You type so fast until nobody can notice

5. Have you ever breakup with your boyfriend/girlfriend thru handphone?

a. Yes
b. No
c. Not yet (going to)

6. When do you think is a best time to buy new handphone?

a. When your old handphone is lost or spoilt
b. When there is a new model that is reasonable and it is within your budget
c. Anytime there is a new model, regardless whether you need it or not

7. Have you ever use your handphone as a tools for you to show off ?

a. Of course ! because I always have the latest model
b. Don’t think anyone will still interested with my old-fashioned handphone
c. Only when I just bought it

8. When you hang out with your friend at the café, where do you normally put your handphone?

a. In your pocket. Vibrate mode so that it won’t disturb your conversation
b. Why need to bring handphone when your friends are already with you.
c. Obviously on top of the table. So when someone call, you’ll know immediately (also can show off to your friend about your handphone)

Score:
1. a = 3, b = 2, c = 1
2. a = 1, b = 2, c = 3
3. a = 3, b = 2, c = 1
4. a = 1, b = 2, c = 3
5. a = 3, b = 1, c = 2
6. a = 1, b = 2, c = 3
7. a = 3, b = 1, c = 2
8. a = 2, b = 1, c = 3

Description:

8 – 12
You think that your handphone disturb you. I know it is a bit annoying when you are in the middle of doing something important, then out of sudden you received a phone call from a stranger. But whether you realize or not, handphone is a really important device, especially during emergency. So don’t treat your handphone as your enemy.

13-18
Handphone definitely play and important role in your life. And you manage to balance it well. You use it to help you still be accessible, and at the same time you also still keep your handphone up to date with the current model, and of course all these are done within your budget.

19-24
You really crazy about your handphone. To you, handphone is not only a communication device, but also a tool that you can use to show off. And feel good about it. You feel that you must always have the latest model regardless whether you can afford it or not. Actually, if your handphone is still in a good condition, there’s no harm for you to continue using it. And the extra money that you have, you can use it to buy other things.

Whichever your score is, to me as long as you are not using your blackberry as an earrings like the picture below, I think you are still normal :)

Love,
Merry Riana
www.MerryRiana.com.sg
www.facebook.com/merry.riana

Latest News :)

2009-09-12T01:15:00.004+08:00

It has been awhile since I updated my blog.

This past few days was extremely busy.

I went back to Jakarta last Saturday to do a few projects, which you guys is going to find out very soon :)
One of it was a shoot for Indonesian TV Program. It is a variety show for young teenager called: Planet Remaja (Teenage World) which is an hour program talking about anything that is related to teenager, starting from funky activities, trend fashion, hottest news, etc. I remembered many years back I used to watch that program every saturday afternoon. Never thought that one day I will be taking part inside the program :)

I will be doing one of the section, which is called Dear Diary. Dear Diary is one of the segment in the Planet Remaja Show where teens will ask questions about problem that they are currently facing. And my job is to give them my advice, based on what they shared with me. It could be a BGR (Boyfriend Girlfriend Relationship) problem, lack of self-esteem, no direction, lack of motivation, communication problem between friends, misunderstanding with parents, and many others.

I feel very honored to be trusted to shared my opinion and give them my piece of advice. I did a shoot for 6 episodes. It was tiring and FUN at the same time.
The crew was very friendly and the producer was very professional and efficient.
So do keep a look out, OK :) it will be aired starting from next Sunday, 20th Sept 2009 12noon – 1pm in AnTV, Indonesian channel.
If you can't catch it, I'll see whether I'll have the copy of it so that I can post it in youtube :)

3,2,1, Action !

With Fantastic Crew from Anteve and Tiga Production

Love,
Merry Riana
www.merryriana.com.sg

Fire Walker experience with Anthony Robbins

2009-09-05T04:57:00.006+08:00

Some of my friends did the fire-walking experience today, and looking at their photos that they upload in facebook really brings back my memories of my own fire-walking experience 8 years ago...

Yes!! I attended the Unleash The Power Within (UPW) Seminar by Anthony Robbins in 2001. And I did walk on hot coals of 2,000 degrees Fahrenheit. It was an AWESOME and definitely life changing experience for me. It was one of the turning point in my life that brings me to be where I am today.

Initially it wasn't a easy decision for me to go for the event, because the price is not cheap. I paid $1,200 ++ and considering that I haven't work at that time, that amount is definitely a huge amount. But I believe before things changed, I must change first. And the most important thing to change is the mindset ! That's why finally me and my boyfriend (currently husband) went together for the event.

Here's the photo that I had with Tony Robbins

And this one is just after the fire walk experience, day 1.

There were more than 4000 participants attending the event at that time.
But, my question is, how many of them have really changed their life and achieve their success since then?

I'm saying this not to show off or to impress you, but to impress upon you the fact that just attending a seminar only is not a guarantee for success.
To be successful, not only you must get the right knowledge and skills, but also to take massive actions applying all those knowledge and skills in real life!

So, for all my friends who are attending UPW these 4 days, and also for all my other friends who like to attend seminars, read books, listen to audio CDs, etc, I would like to encourage you to IMPLEMENT all that you've learned.

It all starts with a Vision, but without Action, it's nothing.

Like the Bible says, Faith without Works is dead.

Love,
Merry Riana
www.MerryRiana.com.sg

Happy Family

2009-08-31T12:23:00.000+08:00

It has been few months since I wanted to take family picture together with my baby Alvernia, only yesterday then I finally managed to do it.

Taking baby picture wasn't easy at all.

The photographer asked me to come down at her 'happy hour', the timing that my Alvernia most active and happy. I thought afternoon should be the safest, because normally during that time she is the most active, unfortunately all this things really cannot predict. Don't know why, but on that day, it seems that she is very uncomfortable and don't want to smile a lot. Maybe because it is a new environment for her.

Well, but even though it wasn't her 'happy hour', we've managed to get a few good shots.

Here it is :)

Will update more of her photos and also my photos in my facebook (www.facebook.com/merryriana) and in my new website.

Love,
Merry Riana
http://www.merryriana.com.sg/

How good is your English ?

2009-08-29T21:19:00.000+08:00

Went for a speak clearly - articulate it right workshop today.
Very interesting ! Learn more about Phonics, Phonetics, Articulation, Pronunciation & Enunciation.

Apparently not many people really bother to speak good English nowdays.
How often do we hear of "udders" (others), "wif" (with), "di-yar" (their) and "tree" (three) ?
Those are just some example.

Even worse, I came across this article.
It said that Singapore McDonald often hire a lot of senior citizens as counter staff, many of them are not very proficient in English. So sometime we must pronounce it in the following way so that the auntie-auntie can understand it.

Mc.Donald's (Meh Donner)
Happy Meal (Hair Pee Mew)

......

To make it more interesting and fun, why don't I type the way they pronounce it and see how many of these words you can guess correctly.

1. Flench Fly
2. Feese Burger
3. Mus-sloom Burger
4. Meh Narget
5. Bee Blare Fers
6. Or Leng Joo
7. Apper Pai
8. Whore Cakes
9. Up Sai
10. Kon Kap

.....

And here are the actual words

1. French Fries
2. Fillet O Fish
3. Mushroom Burger
4. Mc. Nugget
5. Big Breakfast
6. Orange Juice
7. Apple Pie
8. Hot Cakes
9. Up size
10. Corn Cup

Interesting right? :)

Having said that I'm not saying that I speak perfect English. Definitely not.
But I am a person who believe in continuous learning. As long as there is room for improvement, I will do my best to make it better.

I remember those days when I first came to Singapore. I can't really speak English properly. And in fact I failed my English test, so I have to take English Proficiency class for 1 year.
And because I can't really speak English correctly, I tend to mingle around with my fellow Indonesian students and speak Bahasa with them, which turns out it make my English even worse. So the only thing that I can do to improve it was to Practice, Practice and Practice. And I was finally able to overcome it.

Now, it's important not only to speak English fluently, but to articulate it correctly also.
Here's my favorite video about the importance of speaking good English

Not easy. But practice make perfect!

Love,
Merry Riana
http://www.merryriana.com.sg/

20 Inspirational Songs

2009-08-26T00:07:00.007+08:00

Do you feel like you are lacking of motivation?
Do you feel like you have no energy? no drive? no passion?

Sometimes, when I do feel down or when I'm going through a tough time in my life, One way to help me gain back my energy, motivation and drive is to listen to my collections of Inspirational Songs.

Positive songs can create huge impact to my life, especially if the lyrics is so meaningful.
There are many great inspirational songs out there.
And I thought it will be useful for me to share it with you some of my favorite inspirational songs.

Here it is

20 Inspirational Songs
(in random order)

1. When you believe (Mariah Carey & Whitney Houston)
2. Reach (Gloria Estefan)
3. Power of Dream (Celine Dion)
4. You raise me up (Josh Groban)
5. Go the distance (Michael Bolton)
6. If we hold on together (Diana Ross)
7. One moment in time (Whitney Houston)
8. Hero (Mariah Carey)
9. Wind beneath my wings (Bette Midler)
10. The greatest love of all (Whitney Houston)
11. Voices that care (David Foster & Friends)
12. Do I make you proud (Taylor Hicks)
13. That's what friends are for (Stevie Wonders)
14. I believe I can fly (R. Kelly)
15. Can't take that away (Mariah Carey)
16. I believe (Fantasia)
17. Count on me (Whitney Houston)
18. The Climb (Miley Cyrus)
19. The world's greatest (R. Kelly)
20. I'm your angel (R. Kelly & Celine Dion)

Coming soon, I'll share with you my 20 POWER Songs !
Songs that can make you feel recharged and filled with energy.

In the mean time, feel free to add the list if you have other inspirational songs that wasn't in the list

Love,
Merry Riana
http://www.merryriana.com.sg/

Making friends with your money

2009-08-25T02:16:00.013+08:00

Whether we admit it or not, money plays an important role in all our lives.

In my book "A Gift From A Friend", I wrote that money is NOT the MOST important thing in life; however, money can affect the most important things in life.

Money is a life-enhancer. It can enhance love, it can enhance relationships, it can enhance the quality of life that you have in your family, and many more.

You can become the master of your money or you can become its servant.
The choice is yours.

Choose to be smart and make friends with money.
Here's some simple steps to help you making friends with money.

Step 1
As always, it all started with your mindset first.

Is money a blessing in your life? For many people, money are a problem both emotionally and practically. Most of us feel we don't have enough of it. Frequently we don't manage it well. Often we inherit our negative attitudes about money and don't even realize it.

The way you feel about money is important. Never feel embarrassed for having a healthy respect for money and what it can do for you and others. When you look at all the good that money does, admit that money is the root of much good. Be positive about it !

Step 2
Appreciate it.

Don't take money for granted. Analyze how you use money. Make a list of how you have spent it wisely and how you have not.

Step 3
Take control of it.

If you are not careful, money can enslave you. I've seen a lot people simply just cannot control themselves when it come to managing their money. But if you learn how to tame it and master it, however, it will do whatever you tell it to do. You can decide how, when and where it will be used.

Step 4
Don’t spend money. Allocate it.

Save at least 10% of every money that you earn.
In my previous post, I've shared with you how I allocate my money every single month.
Basically, I will allocate it to 5 different accounts. You can click on the link to know more about it.

Step 5
Protect it

Protect your money from fire, theft, death and disability.

You can work a lifetime and then lose everything you have achieved if your house burns down or is robbed, if you die prematurely or become disabled. You need to protect it from theft, fire, death, disability and major illness. Use insurance –- mortgage, house, life, disability and health -- to protect your money and your family.

When you make friend with money, your money will make friend with you too
... and eventually, they will stick with you !) :)

Love,
Merry Riana
www.merryriana.com.sg

Do I look like below 21 ?

2009-08-23T01:33:00.002+08:00

Just came back from Movie not long ago

You guys won't believe what I experienced today at the cinema. I handed over my ticket and about to walk to the cinema hall, suddenly the ticket-guy stopped me. He wanted to check my identity card to check whether am I above 21? Hahaha... I was flattered. Do I look like I am below 21 years old? :) Thank you for the compliment ! :)

Anyway, as female, we always feel happy if people thought we look younger than our actually age. Am I right, Girl? :)

So how can we able to achieve that?
Well, one of the way is to do regular exercise.

Speaking about exercise, it reminds me of 1 particular video that I find very funny.
Again, it's another Thai production. This time they are actually promoting daily exercise.
You have to really see it for yourself:

I personally like the 2nd one :)

Also, just to update you that I'm so happy that my new website is about 75% done.
Hopefully everything will be finished by September :)
I really can't wait to launch it. I believe you guys gonna like it very much.

In the mean time, enjoy your weekend ! :)

Love,
Merry Riana
www.MerryRiana.com.sg

Blow your baloon

2009-08-21T15:06:00.007+08:00

When you first bought a pack of baloon in a supermarket, what did you see?
At first the balloon is flat. You could put it in your pocket or in the middle of a book and no one even know what you are keeping. Sometimes you could hold it in your hands without anybody noticing what you have.

But the moment you blow air into the fat baloon, it becomes impossible for you to put it in the middle of your book like you did earlier! Once you start blowing the balloon, you cannot fold it in your hands as you did before! Everybody around you begins to notice the balloon. They begin to pay attention to its colors and its size.

What can you learn from this analogy?

When you have an idea, initially it may be in your book or on a piece of paper in your hands and no body know about it. But when you start to blow energy and passion into your idea, people begin see it. It also becomes impossible for you, the visionary, to hide the idea.

The air sustains the balloon as long as there is no place for air to escape. Your business also thrives as long as creativity, energy, and your passion is not allowed to escape.

The balloon traps air inside to be able to exhibit its real size and at the same time it takes advantage of the air to move up. The breeze does not often favor the balloon but the balloon still takes advantage of the breeze to dance in the air. You and I know so well that the balloon might be fully blown but it does not move if there is no breeze to carry it.

Many people came to me and told me that they have a lot of ideas to fullfill their dreams, but they all also complain to me saying that they can't do anything because they have no money.

Well, let me tell you, you do not have to start with money.
Start with what's on your mind.

There are people who have ideas and are waiting for money to start. What amazes me is that there are people who have money and are waiting for ideas so that they can invest their money!

Start blowing your baloon, and let people around you see how beautiful it is !

Love,

Merry Riana
www.merryriana.com.sg

10 tips on how to save more money

2009-08-18T23:58:00.007+08:00

In this current financial crisis, many people do their best to cut down some expenses.

Today, I'm going to give you 10 very simple things that you can do to help you to spend less

1. Master the 30 days rule. Whenever you’re in doubt whether you should buy that item or not, wait 30 days and then ask yourself if you still want that item. Very likely, you’ll find that the urge to buy has passed and you’ll have saved yourself some money.

2. Give up expensive habits, like cigarettes, alcohol, and clubbing. Those habits cause money to flow away from you with nothing in return. If you can't give up straight away, at least do your best to cut down slowly every single week.

3. Save the electricity. Use less energy, especially when you are not using it. Be diligent about turning off lights before you leave, keep your air con at 25 degree instead of 18 degree, use energy-saving electronic product. You will be amazed to see how much different will it make in your electricity bill.

4. Hide your credit cards. Put them in a safe place in your home, not in your wallet where it’s easy to spend them. Make sure you do so until you have the willpower control your temptation of spending.

5. Don’t spend money just to de-stress. Many people used to spend money just to wind down from a stressful day at work. Try something FREE. Some people often feel much better by going home and spend some quiet time just to relax and then meditate. Or you could just exercise, go for jogging to de-stress, or maybe just sleep early.

6. Eat at home. Home cooking is cheaper and healthier than take-out or dining out. Even better, you can spend more time with your family member at home. It is definitely more fun.

7. Cut down your hand phone bill. If it is difficult for you to cut down your talking time or sms, one way to help you to minimize your hand phone bill is by checking your hand phone bill and look for services you don’t use, and cancel them. Things like an international roaming, caller number non-display, web access, etc

8. Cut down on your vacation spending. If you need to go for a vacation, try to go for budget vacation instead of going on a big, extravagant trip. There is a lot of choices that is currently available for you to choose.

9. Turn off yout TV. By watching less television, you'll have less exposure to guilt-inducing advertisements, and also less electrical use, therefore less expenses.

10. Home entertainment. Invite friends over instead of going out. Almost every activity at home is less expensive than going out. Have a cookout or a potluck meal, then play some cards and watch DVD.

Love,
Merry Riana
http://www.merryriana.com.sg/

Life is hard ...

2009-08-15T14:06:00.004+08:00

I was playing with my 9-month baby, Alvernia.

And when it is about time for her to eat her dinner, I suddenly remembered that I still have some presents that I got during Alvernia's 1 month celebration that I haven't used. It is a baby feeding set.

When I open it, I was surprise to see what I saw, so I decided to take a picture of it.
Here it is...

Take a look at the wording that says: "Life is hard... " and there is this small little chicken fell down (or is it jump down to suicide? ) hahaha...

I was wondering what was the designer thinking when he created it? Thought normally it should be a happy and positive wordings and drawing like: "I love daddy and mommy", "Life is beautiful", "Be happy", etc.

I believe our subconscious mind is very powerful, whatever we see it often enough, it will come true. If you see the word "Life is hard" every single day, every single moment continuously, it will eventually come true.

That's why is it important for us to have a 'filter' in our brain to choose what kind of information that we want to see everyday and believe.

So what did I do with that baby-feeding set?.
I decided to change it :)

Love,
Merry Riana
www.MerryRiana.com.sg

Cheers !

2009-08-15T12:35:00.005+08:00

In my last post, I mentioned about how important it is to be grateful everyday.
Here is one of my favorite video about being thankful in whatever thing that happened in our lives.

It's hilarious, and yet meaningful :)
Whatever bad things that happened to you today or this week, I hope that this video will cheer you up !

For every little good thing in life, Cheers !

Love,
Merry Riana
http://www.merryriana.com.sg/

How to stay Positive

2009-08-13T23:30:00.004+08:00

Today I took a cab, and interestingly I saw this motivational poster hanging inside the cab.

I was very impressed. Now days, motivational poster not only can be found in working place, school, office, shopping centre, but even inside the cab can also be found.

I guess, that help us to remain positive at all times, especially in the current situation where is very challenging. The world is having a financial crisis; retrenchment everywhere, people lost their life time savings in the stock market, also not to forget the current pandemic, H1N1 flu.

To stay positive every time, every single day is definitely important.

There are many ways that you can do to keep yourself stay positive. One of the way is to be grateful everyday.

“The single greatest thing you can do to change your life today would be to start being grateful for what you have right now” ~Oprah Winfrey~

And I can't agree more. In my book, A Gift From A Friend, I wrote that Gratitude is the most forgotten, yet essentially important, emotion in our lives.

Without gratitude, we don’t feel satisfied.
Without gratitude, we feel inadequate.
Without gratitude, we don’t value relationships.
Without gratitude, we take things for granted.

With gratitude, we enjoy life more.
With gratitude, we enjoy ourselves more.
With gratitude, we enjoy relationships more.
With gratitude, we enjoy our possession more.

To have gratitude is to have the highest level of enjoyment within ourselves.

This is my challenge to you right now:

Think about all the positive experiences that have ever happened to you in your lives.
Think about all the material possessions that you own currently.
Think about all the positive relationships that you have ever been involved with.
Think about all the positive qualities you have now.

And then tell me whether you can still feel sad or depressed.

To have gratitude is an essential factor to enjoy this journey of success.

"When you are grateful, fear disappears and abundance appears"
~ Anthony Robbins~

Have you felt grateful today?

Love,
Merry Riana
http://www.merryriana.com.sg/

3 stages of life

2009-08-11T22:15:00.001+08:00

Do you know that there are 3 stages of life ?

When we are teenager, we have Time and Energy, but No Money

When we are working adult, we have Money and Energy, but No Time

When we are old, we have Time and Money, but No Energy

Irony isn't it?

I was once experienced before, as teenager, I had a lot of times, and I had huge amount of energy, unfortunately I wasn't able to enjoy many things because I was very much limited by my financial situation.

That's why on my 20th birthday, I made a resolutions for myself:

"To be able to achieve my Financial Freedom before age 30"

Why Financial Freedom?

Because by achieving it, I'll have TIME for me to enjoy the fruits of my hardwork.

Why before age 30?

Because by achieving it, I'll still have the ENERGY for me to have fun in life, and not only that, most importantly my parents will still have the energy to taste of my success together with me.

And I was blessed to be able to accomplished that.

Now, my question to you is: Which stage of life are you in right now?

Well, whatever your answer is, it doesn't matter.

The most important question is what can you do to change it?

Love,

Merry Riana

http://www.merryriana.com.sg/

www.facebook.com/merry.riana

What keeps me motivated ?

2009-08-08T22:01:00.000+08:00

Had an ACE Reunion today at my place, Newton.

This is a regular event organized by my team of Managers and Leaders. This event serve as a venue to keep in touch and also as a platform for people who want to work in my organization, MRO (Merry Riana Organization) to get a closer look.

During the session, some participants asked questions to my Leaders.

He asked one of my manager, Gaius: "What keep him staying for so long in MRO"

and his answer was because of the 'sense of belonging' that he felt in MRO. To him, he felt that those people who worked closely together with him were just like his own extended family.

Another question was asked for one of my leader, Leslie: "What has MRO changed you?"

Leslie immediate answer was Family's Love. Sometimes in live, people take their parents and family's love for granted. Having working in MRO for years have made him realized the importance of having the love for his family member. He realized that all his success will have no meaning if it wasn't shared together with his loved ones; his family who have been supporting him all these while.

I was just sitting behind them as both of them shared their experiences, but deep down inside, my heart was smiling :) I was happy to hear their answer and to know that I've made an impact in their lives! I was proud to know that they were not only able to earn their wealth and success in MRO, but also able to learn important values and beliefs in lives.

Sometimes people come and ask me: "What keeps me motivated?"
And my answer is the people.

To be able to know that by doing the things that I do everyday, I will make a positive impact in other people's lives! That's the thing that keep me motivated every single day.

And today, both Gaius and Leslie have definitely reaffirm that.
Thank's guys! :)

Gaius, Me and Alva

Leslie and Me

Love,
Merry Riana
http://www.merryriana.com.sg/

Merry Riana's LIVE video

2009-08-07T23:12:00.004+08:00

Last Saturday, I sang 2 songs at the Church of St. Mary Of The Angels.

It was really a great honor for me when Fr. John Wong invited me few months back to sing for their Evening Concert to celebrate their feast day.

Well, I'm not a professional singer. But that night I just give my best and sing it with my heart :)

Here's the video that I took. Hope you like it :)

Me, singing my 1st song: Among All

Me, singing my 2nd song: Beautiful Mother

Love,

Merry Riana
http://www.merryriana.com.sg/

Are you a good boxer ?

2009-08-05T15:07:00.002+08:00

Every Tuesday Afternoon, I always spend 1 hour to groom the Elite Force members.

Elite Force is the group of outstanding and talented people who are committed to do whatever it takes to achieve their goals. All the members are personally chosen and coach by me.

During the Elite Force Meeting yesterday afternoon, I shared this analogy with them

Do you know what it takes to be a good businessperson?
Interestingly, what it takes to be a good businessperson may be very similar to what it takes to be a good boxer.

Most of us may think that the most important skill as a boxer is to throw punches to his opponent.

But, is it reallly true? :)

What if this boxer, who is very good in throwing punches, is suddenly punched in the face by his opponent? If this boxer can't take punches well, no matter how good is he in throwing punches, he'll seldom win a match. Because, once he was punched, he'll go down.
And the chance is almost 100% that if you're in a boxing match, you'll get punched once in a while.

So, there are 2 important skills to be a boxer.
The ability to throw punches and the ability to take punches.

Similarly, there are 2 important skills to be a good businessperson.
One is the ability to take massive actions.
Another one is the ability to persevere through failures, to go up again everytime you fall.

The same thing also applies if you are working in a sales industry.

If you want to be successful, you not only need to master the skill how to close more sales, but in the same time, you also need to be able to take rejection.

Merry Riana's Giving Account

2009-08-03T22:52:00.001+08:00

Finally, it's time for me to share about my last account, my Giving Account.

This is the account that actually gives me the most inspiration and motivation to continue my hard work in building my businesses to earn even more money.

This is the account that also gives me the most satisfaction when I use the money inside it.
This is my purpose in life.

As the name suggests, the money in my Giving Account is for me to give away.
I've given to many churches and many Christian organizations previously.
I've also started many non-profit initiatives using the money from this account.

To know more about my non-profit initiatives (there are about 5 of them at this moment), you can visit my website http://www.merryriana.com.sg/

The more you give, the more you'll receive. :)

Love,
Merry Riana
www.MerryRiana.com.sg

Merry Riana's Fun Account

2009-08-03T21:51:00.005+08:00

Now is the time for me to share about my Fun Account.

Actually, many people have already been distributing their income to different accounts such as Necessity Account and Business Development Account.

Probably, they don't label them as such, but most people usually either spend their money for expenses and save/invest the difference.
But, I seldom know people who have a Fun Account.

I usually put around 5% of my income into my Fun Account.
The money in my Fun Account can be used for whatever purpose, no matter what it is.
I can buy anything I wish with it, whether it's useful or not :)
I can even give it to anyone I want.

Basically, I have total freedom in using the money in my Fun Account.
As long as it let me enjoy and have Fun.

Having this Fun Account will motivate me to make even more money.
Because I know that 5% of whatever my businesses and investments earn for me is actually going to let me fulfill any wish that I've ever had.

And without feeling guilty that I actually use the money that I've worked so hard for.

Are you motivated to work hard? if the answer is NO, is it because you seldom have fun with the money that you earn? :)

Love,
Merry Riana
www.MerryRiana.com.sg
www.facebook.com/merry.riana

Answer for "Magic Eye"

2009-08-02T22:36:00.001+08:00

For those of you who read my previous post: "Magic Eye - Very interesting" last week, you must be waiting to know whether your guesses are correct or not.

Well, as promised, here is the correct answer

Picture 1

Picture 2

Picture 3

Picture 4

Picture 5

Picture 6

For those of you who got it correctly, CONGRATULATIONS !
For those of you who still can't figure out, be patient ! Keep practice and soon you'll see it.

Love,
Merry Riana
http://www.merryriana.com.sg/
www.facebook.com/merry.riana

St. Mary Of The Angels' Feast Day

2009-08-01T23:21:00.000+08:00

Today, I sang 2 songs at the St. Mary Of The Angels Feast Day :)
It was a Great Event ! Praise God that it went smoothly.

For those of you who were there, Thank you for all your support. I hope you enjoyed it :)
For those of you who missed the event but curious to see me sing ... well.. I gotta little surprise for you, I actually have it recorded to show to you guys! hahaha..

I just need to transfer it to my laptop, then I'll upload it for you to see :)
Stay tuned !

Love,
Merry Riana
www.MerryRiana.com.sg
www.facebook.com/merry.riana

Strength vs Weakness

2009-07-31T01:08:00.006+08:00

If I ask you to make a guess, what do you think is the MOST common questions that will be asked during an interview?

I bet more than half of you will guess: "what are your strengths?"
and the other half of you will guess: "what are your weaknesses?"

Have you ever wonder, why is it so important for them to know your weakness and your strength? Or maybe I ask this question back to you, why do you think it is important for YOU to know your own strength and weakness?

Traditionally, in the business world, it was told that in order to excel in our work, we need to know what areas we are weak in so that we can plan a necessary training and development programme to overcome those weaknesses. That's why most people in general, after they listed down all their strengths and weaknesses, they will leave their strength alone and focus on improving their weaknesses.

For example, if you are very good with technical stuff but you always scared of doing public speaking or presentation, so you do your best to improve your weakness by attending some public speaking courses. Do you think you are doing the correct thing?

Should we focus on our strength and forget about our weakness? or should we do something to eliminate our weakness? the answer is: depends.

For me, no matter what is the situation, I will always focus most of my energy and attention on my strengths. And whether I should do something about my weakness or not, that depends on whether the weakness is an obstacle for getting me where I want to be or not.

For example: When I first started my first career in sales, one of my weakness is my language. I can't speak mandarin, on which in the country that I live in (Singapore), most people are very comfortable talking in mandarin. But instead of focusing on my weakness and trying to take courses to learn mandarin (which I think it will take at least 1 year before I can start communicate fluently), I choose to focus on my strength. For me at that time, not able to speak mandarin wasn't really an obstacle for me to achieve my success because I can still make sales by approaching all the English-speaking people. And the number of people who can speak English is definitely more than enough to bring me a lot of sales. Therefore instead of spending extra hours learning mandarin, I used that extra hours to approach more people.

Another example: If you are a great computer programmer and wanted to be the best in the industry, does it really make sense for you to take a public speaking class instead of using that time to keep up with ever-changing technology?

Of course big exception is when your weakness is getting in the way of your goals.
When I know that my weakness is getting in the way of my goals, I will have to eliminate it, either by learning about it myself, or hire some expertise who can do it for me :)

For example: When I first started my own organization, I don't have any experience in managing people, create a system, etc. But I can't just ignore that, because that is essential for me to be able to grow in my career. Therefore I then learn how to lead others, how to motivate my team, managing them, etc.

I hope by now you all should get the picture on what you should do with your strengths and weaknesses. And I hope what I just shared with you will help you in your life.

So in summary few things that you need to do:
1. Know your strengths and weaknesses.
2. Determine the strengths and weaknesses that can affect your path to success.
3. Focus and leverage on your strengths
4. Eliminate the weaknesses that stop you from getting what you want.

Love,
Merry Riana
http://www.merryriana.com.sg/
www.facebook.com/merry.riana

Merry Riana's Bank Account (Part 5)

2009-07-30T23:11:00.000+08:00

So far, I've shared about my Necessity Account, my Business Development Account, and my Income Generator Account.

Now, I'll share with you about my Education Account.
I'm a firm believer in life-long learning. I believe my life is a journey of learning more about myself and about the world around me.
I also believe that the our capacity of success depends on the level of our skills and knowledge.
To achieve more success, I must be a more skillful and a more knowledgeable person.

Thus, every month, I set aside 5% of my income for my Education Account.
I use the money in this account to buy books, buy audio CDs, attend seminars, etc.

I believe these are not 'expenses', but 'investment'.
When I educate myself, I am basically investing in myself.
And just like my businesses and my rental properties, I believe when I invest in myself, I'll be able to generate even more money as the outcome.

When was the last time you invest in yourself? :)

Love,
Merry Riana
www.MerryRiana.com.sg
www.facebook.com/merry.riana

Magic Eye - Very interesting

2009-07-29T22:25:00.002+08:00

While I was searching through my small library at home just now, I found my very old book, Title: Magic Eye. I Bought this book many years ago, it is actually a compilation of 3D illustration.

Many years back, when I was still in Primary 6, I remembered I was so amused with this new things called 3D illustration. From far it actually looks like a normal picture but if you see clearly there is a three dimensional image hidden within the two dimensional pattern.

At that time, it was the 'in' things, so almost in every shopping centre in Jakarta have a shop who sold painting and picture of it. And the price for every painting is very expensive, so I remembered sometimes I can just stay inside the shop for hours, looking at their collections and try to 'solve' the mystery by finding the hidden image.

Initially it took me a long time to figure it out, but after some practice it only took me a few seconds for me to see the hidden image (not bad, huh?). After a while, it became very addictive for me, once I managed to solved one picture, I keep wanted to solve more and more.

Well, I actually took a few picture of few pages from the book to show it to you guys.

Let's see whether you can see the 3D image hidden within the picture.

Picture 1

If you think I'm bluffing you, I'm not.
There is actually really a 3D image hidden inside.

If you can't see it, I will try to guide you.

In order for you to 'see' the picture, 2 things must happen:

1. You must get one eye to look at the point in the image, while the other eye looks at the same point in the next pattern.

2. You must hold your eyes in that position long enough for the marvelous structures in your brain to decode the 3D info.

You can follow this method:

Hold the image right up to your nose. (Ignore those people who might be tempted to make comments about you) It should be blurry. Let your eyes relax and focus as though you are looking through the image into the distance. Very slowly move the image away from your face, perhaps an inch every 2 or 3 seconds. Keep looking through the page. Stop and comfortable reading distance and keep staring. Soon you'll see the hidden image magically appear. Once you perceive the hidden image and depth, you can look around the entire 3D image. The longer you look, the clearer the illusion becomes. The farther away you hold the page, the deeper it becomes.

Here I upload a few more photo that I took from the book for you to practice. If you manage to see 'something' do drop me a message or leave a comment and tell me what did you see.

I'll give you the correct answer by end of this week. That means, you have 3 days to solve it

Good Luck!

Picture 2

Picture 3

Picture 4

Picture 5

Picture 6

Love,
Merry Riana
http://www.merryriana.com.sg/
www.facebook.com/merry.riana

The Climb

2009-07-29T09:53:00.003+08:00

I love Motivational Songs.

When I feel like I need energy, I need inspiration, or I need to feel positive, one of the easiest way for me to achieve that is by listening to good songs.

This time, I would like to share with you 1 song that I discovered few weeks back and I love it so much. The lyrics is great, the tune is very easy to catch, and most importantly I find it very meaningful. It's the new song by Miley Cyrus called: "The Climb"

Attached is the lyrics

THE CLIMB

I can almost see it
That dream I am dreaming
But there's a voice inside my head
saying"You'll never reach it"
Every step I'm taking
Every move I make feels
Lost with no direction
My faith is shaking
But I gotta keep trying
Gotta keep my head held high

There's always gonna be another mountain
I'm always gonna wanna make it move
Always gonna be a uphill battle
Sometimes I'm gonna have to lose
Ain't about how fast I get there
Ain't about what's waiting on the other side
It's the climb

The struggles I'm facing
The chances I'm taking
Sometimes might knock me down
But no, I'm not breaking
I may not know it
But these are the moments that
I'm gonna remember most, yeah
Just gotta keep going
And I, I got to be strong
Just keep pushing on'

Cause there's always gonna be another mountain
I'm always gonna wanna make it move
Always gonna be a uphill battle
Sometimes I'm gonna have to lose
Ain't about how fast I get there
Ain't about what's waiting
on the other side
It's the climb, yeah!

There's always gonna be another mountain
I'm always gonna wanna make it move
Always gonna be an uphill battle
Somebody's gonna have to lose
Ain't about how fast I get there
Ain't about what's waiting on the other side
It's the climb, yeah!

Keep on moving, keep climbing
Keep the faith, babyIt's all about,
it's all about the climb
Keep the faith, keep your faith, whoa

Hope you guys like it :)

Love,
Merry Riana
http://www.merryriana.com.sg/
www.facebook.com/merry.riana

Inspiration from My Husband

2009-07-27T09:24:00.001+08:00

Setting your goal, focusing on the outcome, being clear about what you want in life can make your dreams come true.

There is another key element that comes into play, an element that each and every one of the 'positive thinking' books has in common: The first step in all of them is to write down your goal.

You probably heard her name, Suze Orman, financial wizard, author of the number one New York Times bestseller, The 9 Steps to Financial Freedom, and a frequent guest on Oprah Winfrey Show, tells how she started out.

She got a job at Merrill Lynch and was terrified she would not be able to meet her sales quota.
The most she had ever made up until then was $400 a month as a waitress.

She said, 'I created what I wanted for myself first on paper. Every morning before I went to work, I would write over and over again: I am young, powerful, and successful, producing at least $10,000 a month.'

And guess what ?? it came true. And writing down her new truth helped make it materialize. Even after surpassing that target figure, she continued to carry the saying around with her.

My own inspiration came from my husband, who came to me one day with anamused expression and a piece of paper in his hand.

He said, 'I found this list from years ago when I was cleaning our room. I don't know how, but everything on this list came true, and I forgot Iwrote it.'

Among other things, he had studied Mandarin in China (both my husband & I were in Beijing for 3 months in 2002), established his own business (our current business in the Financial Services industry), got married with me :) and become a millionaire (we achieved this together in 2006) - all without being conscious of checking off items on the forgotten list.

My husband's experience made me think. I noticed the same phenomenon happening in my own life. Have you had similar experience too? :)

Love,
Merry Riana
http://www.merryriana.com.sg/
www.facebook.com./merry.riana

Are you on the "Right" path ?

2009-07-26T00:41:00.001+08:00

I would like to start by sharing with you this very beautiful poem:

When things go wrong, as they sometimes will,
When the road you're trudging seems all up hill,
When the funds are low, and the debts are high,
And you want to smile, but you have to sigh,
When care is pressing you down a bit,
Rest if you must, but don't you quit.

Yes! You know you mustn't quit, but sometimes when your life isn't easy right now or nothing seems to be going according to what you want, you might be wondering and ask yourself whether am I doing the right thing in my life? am I in the right path? and how do I know whether I am in the right path?

I might not have the exact answer for you, but I can give you my opinion.

As yourself this question: "How many right path do you think is available out there?"

Well, my question probably make you think for a while. Why?
Simply because a lot of people normally have the assumption that there is only one 'right' path to walk. And if we believe there is only one 'right' path, then we are also assuming that there are many 'wrong' path too. Given these odds, there is more likely that most people are on one of those 'wrong' path, including us. Seems like bad news isn't it??

Well, Fortunately, that is not right. The truth is everything in your life is unfolding in perfect order. Or in another word, everything is on schedule. Any 'wrongness' you see in your current path doesn't make the path intrinsically wrong. It's so-called wrongness only comes from your expectations about what 'should' be happening or unfolding on your path instead of what actually IS happening.

Even the 'right' road-to-happiness has it's obstacles.

So, believe me when I said that where you are now is perfect. Because this is where you are supposed to be. You are on your path now. Whatever bad situation that is happening to you right now, don't see it as troubled. Just let it go and let go of the attachment to how things 'should' be. As you become more trusting of life, you relax into it more and resist it less.

Stop demanding that things go a certain way and have them be the way they are. Things will work out. In fact, things are working out now. To help you feel better, always believe that things are happening FOR us rather than TO us. This means that no matter how painful or uncomfortable things may be, it is all there for our growth and edification.

If not because of the financial crisis and unstable political situation back in Jakarta in 1998, I wouldn't be in Singapore

If I came from a very well to do family, I woudn't have so BIG drive and motivation to achieve the current success that I achieved today.

If 'X' company never reject my scholarship application back then in my 2nd year in University, I would never start my entrepreneurship journey (because I have to served bond working few years in that 'X' company, and probably by now I will still be a normal employee)

If I didn't loss almost all my savings in the stock market, I wouldn't even try to go to sales and make my first million from there.

There were many unfortunate things happened to my life. But I know that everything happen for a reason and those things happened FOR me.

Sometimes the road gets rough, but don't give up. You've got to keep on moving. Ask yourself: "What can I learn and discover from this situation", and ask "how can I move forward in the most positive way."

I would like to end this by writing the remaining poem that I shared with you earlier

Life is queer with it's twists and turns,
As everyone of us sometimes learns,
And many a failure turns about,
When he might have won had he stuck it out.
Don't give up though the pace seems slow,
You may succeed with another blow.

Success is failure turned inside out,
The silver tint of the clouds of doubt,
And you never can tell how close you are,
It may be near when it seems so far,
So stick to the fight when you're hardest hit,
It's when things seem worse, That you must not quit.

Love,
Merry Riana
http://www.merryriana.com.sg/
www.facebook.com/merry.riana

Merry Riana's Bank Account (Part 4)

2009-07-24T00:49:00.003+08:00

Today I want to share with you about my Income Generator Account.
I usually allocate around 20% of my income into my Income Generator Account.
I use the money in this account ot build Income Generators for me.
For those of you who are not really familiar with the concept of Income Generator, you can read my book 'A Gift From A Friend'. My book is available at all the major bookstores in Singapore, Indonesia & Malaysia.

Basically, Income Generator is something that generates recurrent income for me, even though I may not be doing anything much to actually work for it.

Let me give you a good example of an Income Generator.
I have a couple of properties that I rent out to tenants. One of it is being rented out at $2500 per month.
After paying all the expenses (i.e. installment, maintenance, etc), I still earn $1000 left every month from that rental property.
I don't need to even think about it, and I will still get $1000 nett from this particular property every single month, without fail. :)

This is what I called an Income Generator.
So, I use the money in that I gather in my Income Generator Account to create even more Income Generators in my life.

Love,
Merry Riana
www.MerryRiana.com.sg
www.facebook.com/merry.riana

Follow your heart

2009-07-22T00:54:00.004+08:00

Many time in my seminars, or through my website, people come and ask me for advice.

One guy told me that he has been considering to go into sales for many years and he knew and believed that he can do well and achieve his success by doing it, but people perception about salesman is not very good, therefore until now he still hesitate to do it.

Another lady emailed me and shared with me that she only have 'O' Level (= Secondary School) Certificate and she has this big dream that one day she will be a very successful businesswomen, but sometimes she also feel very inferior and no confidence because she felt that if people know that she only has 'O' level certificate, they will look down on her.

Sadly, in life sometimes we made certain decision not really based on what we believe in, but based on what other people think. And today I would like to share with you this interesting story:

A couple bought a donkey from the market. On the way home, a boy commented, ‘Very stupid. Why neither of them ride on the donkey? ‘Upon hearing that, the husband let the wife ride on the donkey. He walked besides them.

Later, an old man saw it and commented, ‘The husband is the head of family. How can the wife ride on the donkey while the husband is on foot?’ Hearing this, the wife quickly got down and let the husband ride on the donkey.

Further on the way home, they met an old Lady. She commented, ‘How can the man ride on the donkey but let the wife walk. He is no gentleman.’ The husband thus quickly asked the wife to join him on the donkey.

Then, they met a young man. He commented, ‘Poor donkey, how can you hold up the weight of two persons. They are cruel to you.’ Hearing that, the husband and wife immediately climbed down from the donkey and carried it on their shoulders. It seems to be the only choice left.

Later, on a narrow bridge, the donkey was frightened and struggled. They lost their balance and fell into the river.

You can never have everyone praise you, nor will everyone condemn you. Never in the past, not at present, and never will be in the future.

Thus, do not be too bothered by others words if our conscience is clear..

When I first started my entrepreneurship journey 7 years ago, some of my close friends thought that I was crazy and too brave.
When I first do sales in the beginning of my career, a lot of people thought that I wouldn't be able to make it
When I want to write my own book "A Gift From A Friend" in 2006, some people laughed and said that nobody will want to buy that kind of book.

Well, If I decided to follow what other people said, I would not be able to be a successful entrepreneur, achieve my 1st million before age 26 and become a best-selling author.
If I was too bothered by what others think, I would not be able to be where I am today.

I'm glad I know what I want and go for it.

Love,
Merry Riana
www.MerryRiana.com.sg
www.facebook.com/merry.riana

Business Development Account

2009-07-21T23:36:00.002+08:00

As I've shared before, I usually distribute my income into different accounts: Necessity Account, Business Development Account, Income Generator Account, Education Account, Fun Account, and Giving Account.

Similar to my Necessity Account, I also put around 30% of my income into my Business Development Account.
The money that I have in my Business Development Account is used to fund my existing businesses: to pay office rental, to pay staff salary, and to fund other business expenses.

The reason why most % of my income goes back into my businesses is because these existing businesses are the main income sources for me.
At this moment, I have profitable businesses in the Financial Services industry and Training & Consultancy industry.

When you spend money to make more money, it's not really called an 'expense'.
It's actually called an 'investment'.
So, my Business Development Account is actually my investment account, where I invest in my own businesses to make them even more profitable. :)

For those of you who are in the corporate world, you can have a Career Advancement Account instead of Business Development Account.

Love,
Merry Riana
www.MerryRiana.com.sg
www.facebook.com/merry.riana

Merry Riana's Bank Account (Part 2)

2009-07-20T01:16:00.004+08:00

Previously, I shared in my blog that I usually manage my personal finances by distributing my income into different accounts, immediately once I earn it.

The different accounts that I have are: Necessity Account, Business Development Account, Income Generator Account, Education Account, Fun Account, and Giving Account.

For those of you who are curious to know more about it, Here it is ...

Today, I'll share with you about my Necessity Account.
I'll share about the rest of the accounts in my future blog entries.

I usually put around 30% of my income into my Necessity Account.
The money in my Necessity Account is for my monthly expenses.
It includes my condo expenses (i.e. installment, property tax, maintenance, utility bills, etc), my car expenses (i.e. maintenance, petrol, car insurance, road tax, cash card, car park coupons, etc), and my personal expenses (i.e. HP bills, insurance, income tax, groceries, F & B, movies, manicure-pedicure, haircare, spa, etc).

Each and every one of us has this Necessity Account.
The difference is that, there are some of us who control & manage this Necessity Account well, and there are some of us who spend 100% of our income for this.

How many % of your total income goes to pay for your Necessity Account? :)

If you don't have an answer for that, I encourage you to start tracking, because only when you are aware of your current financial situation then you can start doing something about it.

Love,
Merry Riana
www.MerryRiana.com.sg
www.facebook.com/merry.riana

Training at NTU and my upcoming concert

2009-07-18T23:29:00.006+08:00

Another GREAT Day...

Started from 9 am this morning, I went to NTU (Nanyang Technological University) to teach the 1st day of their Entrepreneurship module. It is a course organized by NTC (Nanyang Technopreneurship Centre). It has been about 10 months since I conducted the last session there. I remembered I was 6.5 months pregnant at that time but I still really enjoyed the time that I spent with the students :) and shortly after that I went for my maternity leave. So I was definitely looking forward for today session.

It was really a fun day. The students are all very active and vibrant. I shared with them about my entrepreneurship journey from school to the business world. Also teach them few important elements needed in entrepreneurship. And especially for this class, I did some changes in the activities. I taught them one very important skills that a person need to have; a life time skills that everyone simply cannot afford not to learn; which is the Sales Skills. And who else can teach them better than someone who already been there and successfully done that before, right? And I was extremely happy because it seems that they all were having fun learning it.

Here are some photos that was taken during the session.

After NTU, I headed directly to Bukit Batok.

I had a practice for the 2 songs that I will have to sing for the St. Mary Of The Angels' Concert.
(Yup..!! I will be one of the singer for the Concert)

That was the very first time I practiced with the musician because I missed the last week practice since I was overseas. So there's a lot that I had to catch up, because in just 2 hours they were already full dress rehearsal at the church.

Luckily everything turned out well. I just need to practice a little bit more at home myself and of course memorize the lyrics.

So for those of you who are reading my blog... ALL of you are most welcome to come for the Concert. I am very sure that it's going to be a wonderful evening.

I'm practicing so hard for it, so you must give me support OK :)

Here's the details:

Date : Saturday, 1st August 2009
Time : 7.30 pm - 9.30 pm
Place : Church of St Mary Of The Angels
5 Bukit Batok East Ave 2
Singapore
Cost : FREE !!

Hope to see you there! :)

Love,

Merry Riana

http://www.merryriana.com.sg/

www.facebook.com/merry.riana

BREAKING NEWS: Jakarta bomb blasts hit JW Marriott and Ritz Carlton Hotel

2009-07-17T23:38:00.000+08:00

I landed at Changi Airport, Singapore at 1 am this morning. Feel good to be home again. After I unpacked my stuff, took shower, prepared milk for my baby and put her to sleep I then have a good rest for myself.

I wake up this morning, and as usual, first thing that I always do every time I woke up is to turn on my TV to Channel News Asia. To my surprise, I heard a breaking news saying that Jakarta is bombed ! At first I thought I was dreaming or I must heard wrongly because it has been quite a while since there were bombs in Jakarta, but unfortunately what I heard is true.

The first suicide bomb happened in J.W Marriot Hotel at 7.48am local time.
I held my wedding banquet exactly at that hotel back in 2004. It was 1 year after the Marriott bombing incident in 2003. At that time I thought that was the safest hotel because even if there was bombing incident again, the person who did it definitely won't target the same place for the 2nd time.

Now they prove me wrong. Never in my imagination that the same incident can happen again at the same location, 6 year later. This time, not only they attacked J.W Marriott, but they also attacked nearby hotel, Ritz Carlton. Only heartless and insane people dare to do this non-human things.

Here actually the video taken from the CCTV (Surveillance Camera) at the hotel, just before the bombing happened.
There was one guy wearing full black jacket and hat (cannot really see his face) with a big suitcase went to the restaurant, and few seconds after that the restaurant exploded.

If you watch the video closely, you should feel that there was oddness in the video.
The big question is: Why the CCTV is following that guy ever since he walked from the hotel corridor to the hotel lobby to the restaurant? Did they already suspect the guy?

I also have no answer for that.

My deepest sympathies go out to the victims and their families of this tragic incident.
I really hope that this thing will never happen again.

Love,
Merry Riana
http://www.merryriana.com.sg/
www.facebook.com/merry.riana

Expect the Unexpected

2009-07-16T11:42:00.003+08:00

Just gave a motivation talk at the Oriflame - "Expect the Unexpected" yesterday

Feel GREAT and happy. There were about 1,500 people attending and they all are very energetic and fantastic people. It was definitely not a difficult job for me to motivate them :)

It was a very well organized event, thanks to Mr. Andreas and his team (you won't believe that Mr. Andreas is Swedish BUT he can talk very fluent Bahasa Indonesia, even with Indonesian slank ! Amazing)

Also, very cool and energetic MC (Pak Surya)

And of course the unforgettable audience who is super extremely enthusiastic with my talk, my book and my autograph :)

In this photo, I was almost squeezed. Luckily the security guard and Pak Surya came to make sure they all queue properly.

By the way, if you are wondering why I never put the photo when I gave the talk?

Well, that's because my husband was sooooo engrossed watching me on stage until he forgot to take any single picture (hahaha...)

Overall, it was definitely a successful event.

Received many email from the participants. A lot of them also wrote about the event in their blog. I felt happy to be able to give them more inspiration and motivation through my life story and life philosophy.

For Oriflame consultant who read this blog, I wish you all every success, May all your dreams be fulfilled this year !

Love,

Merry Riana

www.merryriana.com.sg

www.facebook.com/merry.riana

Catch Me 'LIVE' in Jakarta, Wed 15th July 2009

2009-07-12T02:12:00.008+08:00

I’m writing this blog at my cozy room in my hometown, Jakarta.

That’s right everybody!, I’m back in Jakarta since yesterday, so if I haven’t update my blog since then it is because I wasn’t that accessible to internet as compared to Singapore.

I’m so excited, not only because I am able to enjoy my weekend with my family here in Jakarta, but also because on Wednesday I will be the main speaker for the great event, organized by one very big and prominent company in Indonesia, Oriflame. If you want to catch me live on stage, you can take note this following detail

“Expect the Unexpected”

Date : Wednesday, 15th July 2009

Time : 6pm
Venue : Plaza Bapindo
Assembly Hall 10
Jln Jend. Sudirman kav 54-55
Jakarta

I guarantee that it’s gonna be a fantastic event !

In the mean time, I’m enjoying my time here in Jakarta with my family. Having dinner with my mom & dad, spending time with my in-law and of course nonstop playing with my cute little angel, Alvernia

With grandpa, look so happy :)
(of course the glasses is fake one, just for taking photo purposes)

Isn't she adorable ? :)

Love,
Merry Riana
http://www.merryriana.com.sg/
www.facebook.com.sg/merry.riana

Interview with Merry Riana (part 2)

2009-07-11T23:54:00.002+08:00

If you read my previous post Interview with Merry Riana, here's the part two:

6. Was there ever a moment where you wanted to quit the work you were doing and go on to something which wasn’t as aggressive? What kept you going?

No. I enjoy my business. I love the people in my Organization, MRO (Merry Riana Organization), who are outstanding young individuals who believed in my vision and have been working together with me to achieve our dreams together ever since.

I started my entrepreneurship journey with a dream to be successful while I'm still young so that I can share my successes with my parents.

Now, my motivation comes not only from the desire to provide a better life for my parents, but also from my desire to help other young people to be able to do the same, to provide a better life for themselves, their parents, and their families.

My vision is to raise up a new generation of successful young people who take charge of their lives, live their dreams, and eventually contribute back to society.

7. What are your views on the perceptions which people have and the barriers of entry which these perceptions have created for careers which are considered “women’s jobs” or “men’s jobs”?

I always remind myself that these so-called 'barriers' are created by people's perceptions, which means they are not real, they are only perceptions in people's minds.

8. How do you balance your professional and personal life (with regards to being wife, woman, mother and boss)?

I believe in a balanced lifestyle. I enjoy spending quality time with people that I love and very close to me; my husband, my 8 months daughter,my family back in Jakarta as well as people whom I work closely together with in my organization.

Eventually, you want to reach success because you want to be able to share it with your loved ones and to be able to enjoy it long-term optimally by having good health.

Remember, money in itself is just a medium of exchange. However, money, if used wisely, is able to enhance the more important things in life like relationships and health.

So, at the end of the day, we want to be successful not only with overflowing wealth, but also with outstanding time-tested relationships and abundant health. One of my mentors once said that happiness consists of 3 things: love, health and wealth.

And I could not agree more with that.

9. What do you feel about maternity and having children? Do you think such discrimination exists and if there’s a way around the issue?

We're fortunate to be living in Singapore, a country where there are many rules and guidelines that favor women during their pregnancy period, the few months just before and after they deliver their babies, and the next few years when they are raising their children.

Unlike other countries, which may even implement a policy that you can only have 1 child, Singapore government has always been encouraging us to start a family and have children, if possible the more children the merrier.

10. Do you believe that a woman can have both a successful career and a great family? What’s your secret?

My life revolves around my family and my close friends.

As I have mentioned so many times before, the reason why I want to be successful while I'm still young is so that I can share my successes with my parents. My parents played a very important role in my early days of entrepreneurship; they were my main driving force.

Currently, I live with my husband and my baby girl. I enjoy building this great Organization together with my husband, my 2 brothers and my close friends.

So, this is what my life is all about.

There is no meaning to life if you do not have love. In fact, that's what life is all about. To love and be loved.

Look closely to those people in your life who are close to your heart. They are not immortals. There will be time when you will not have them around anymore. Treasure them now, while you still can.

11. What do you feel about women’s rights in Singapore as opposed to Indonesia?

In this modern times, I guess women's rights both in Singapore and Indonesia are very similar, at least on paper.

However, in its real implementation on daily lives, I believe Singapore has definitely reached a much higher level of achievement in terms of championing women's rights compared to Indonesia, or any other countries in the region.

12. What do you think an ideal environment could be to promote equality and productivity among people in the workplace?

I believe that success is not a solo project - it needs to be shared. And success is not a competition. There is plenty of it to go around. You have to work with a team that shares the same dreams and objectives. A team will give you leverage. It makes success quicker and easier. It's all about synergy - the concept of adding 1 plus 1 and getting 11 - not 2.

People working together can accomplish far more that they can separately. Incredible power can be released when people work together. Associating with like-minded, success-oriented, joyful individuals - a Dream Team - is one of the most amazing success tools that exists. Anyone who achieves great success - anyone - must have a Dream Team.

Instant solutions exist in Dream-Teaming. This process helps you to take your ideas and expand them into greatness.

What characteristics should a Dream Team possess? A successful Dream Team consists of a group of people with a common purpose, where both hearts and heads are constantly in harmony with one another. There should be a spirit of joy and contribution within the group. Only a dedicated, committed, and joyful Dream Team can achieve great successes.

13. What do you think about lifestyle choices of youth today? (Promiscuity, etc)

I believe there is a period of time in our lives when we are trying to find our true self, our true identity.

This is the time when we are experimenting with ourselves, e.g. trying out different hairstyles, trying out different outfits and accessories, trying out different activities, different environments, and different experiences.

As long as you know how to control yourself in not crossing the 'healthy' boundaries in your pursuit of getting new experiences, then I guess it's okay for you to experiment and explore more possibilities.

14. Do you see any big issues with youths these days?

There are many young people I know, who know exactly what they really want and are committed to working very hard day and night to achieve their dreams. The sad thing is sometimes they do not have proper guidance which eventually causes them to make silly mistakes, that are not only wasting their time and money in the process, but worse, it may even discourage them to the point that they give up their dreams and return to those
normal 9-to-5 jobs.

I was fortunate to have learnt from many entrepreneurs and business gurus through their personal sharing, seminars, and books. But how fortunate are those who really have a personal mentor that is willing to invest time and money in their growth.

Such personal mentors are made in heaven and are a very rare breed indeed.

Remember, there is no synergy on your own. It takes at least two. Almost all successful people have mentors. They recognize the need to have a mentor.

Actually, there are few more questions, but if you want to know more ... I guess the best way is to wait for the issue to be out. After that you can read everything from there!

Love,
Merry Riana
www.MerryRiana.com.sg
www.facebook.com/merry.riana

Merry Riana's success habit

2009-07-10T03:22:00.007+08:00

72 hrs since I conducted a Goal Setting session for my organization.

Everyone was very motivated and inspired.

I believe some time in your life you've experienced this kind of motivation also, being it through seminar, retreat, book, etc

But, my questions is how long does your motivation last? Are you excited for the moment but feel down or back to normal the next day? Can your motivation endure for a long time?

I actually ended my goal setting session by leaving them with one final message:

Motivation is what gets you started.
Habit is what keeps you going.

And today I want to elaborate more on that.

I believe that successful people are NOT necessarily a more talented group of people compared to the others who are less successful. I also believe that successful people are NOT necessarily a more hard-working group of people either. Successful people achieve success merely because they have better habits compared to others.

Here is a simple example. :)
Some of us have better dental health compared to others.

It means some of us succeed in having healthier teeth.
But, does it mean that those of us with healthier teeth are more talented or hard-working?
Have you ever felt that you're talented in brushing your teeth?
Does it feel like hard work to brush your teeth every day? :)
Of course, not.
It feels natural, right?

The reason why some of us 'succeed' in having healthier teeth is because we have better habits (i.e. brush our teeth twice a day, visit the dentist twice a year, etc).
When certain activities become a habit to us, we don't need any talent to do it again and again, and we also don't feel like its hard work.

CONCLUSION
When you want to model a particular successful people to also achieve what she has achieved previously, you can just simply get to know more of her Success Habits. Then, make it your own.

Love,
Merry Riana
www.MerryRiana.com.sg
www.facebook.com/merry.riana

Interview with Merry Riana

2009-07-09T01:37:00.005+08:00

Last week I received an invitation for an interview. SMU magazine, Blurt! wanted to feature me inside.

Since the past 2 days I was so busy with the Goal Setting, therefore only today I finally got the time to answer it. Here are some of the questions (and my answers of course !)

1. It seems that from the beginning, with engineering, you chose to enter a mainly male dominant industry. Why was that so? What was your initial experience like?

I studied Electrical & Electronics Engineering (EEE) in NTU. I guess the reason why I chose to major in engineering had a lot to do with my background. My father is an engineer. And so are my uncles, aunties, and relatives. Having the opportunity to see how my father worked probably influenced my decision too. And since I was a small kid, when people asked me what I want to be when I grow up, my most natural answer will be, "I want to be like my father. I want to be an engineer." So, I guess being brought up in such a family influenced me when I was choosing which major to take.

Having said all that, I was never really interested in the engineering field. I took the subject because of the very simple reason that, having a background like mine, engineering seemed to be the most natural choice I should take. Having studied engineering for 4-years has helped me to think more logically and to be a more systematic person.

2. Why did you leave engineering and move on to finance?

I knew that being a fresh graduate, I would probably be earning around$2,500 per month. Minus off the mandatory 20% contribution to the CPF, it would leave me with only $2,000. Minus off another $1,000 for my living expenses (food, accommodation, transportation, hand phone bills, etc) what is left with me is only $1,000. I had the intention to send at least $500back to support my parents, so that would leave me with the remaining of$500.Assuming that I would set aside $500 every month to pay for my outstanding study loans, I calculated that I would only be able to pay off the entire loan of $40,000 (plus interest of 4% p.a.) in a period of 10 years.

By that time I will be 32 years old with no savings at all, no car, no house.Nothing! So, at that time I knew that I could never achieve my goal to be successful while I'm young if I choose this path of a normal 9-to-5 job.

I chose to keep my dreams intact and change my career path after graduation, from doing a normal engineering job to something that could allow me to attain my goals in a shorter time-frame.

3. What setbacks did you encounter while trying to enter the finance industry, especially as a woman? Did you experience gender discrimination?

In the finance industry, I'm required to meet many new people who are potential customers. A few of these potential customers are my own friends, some of them are referrals from my friends or existing clients,and the rest of them are strangers, people whom I've never known or met before.

As a woman, one of the setbacks that I encountered while trying to enter the finance industry is the difficulty to be taken seriously as a professional by a certain type of potential customers, especially those who didn't know me personally.A couple of them are only interested in getting to know me better, to become friends, or just to chit-chat. They may have no interest with the financial services or products that I'm promoting at all. Of course, I don't mind to be friends with my clients. In fact, most of my clients are my friends now. However, I always build my business professionally, and I make sure that all my potential customers know this.

4. How does it feel to be a woman in finance world? How different do you think it is from any other industry?

Personally, I never thought much of how will it feel differently whether I'm a woman or a man in the finance world.Fortunately, Singapore is an advanced first world country, where gender discrimination is almost non-existent, compared to other developing countries.

I guess most of the industries in Singapore, especially finance, will allows your results to speak about your qualities as a professional businessperson.I believe most of my clients, business partners, colleagues and staff,look up to me because of my achievements and track records, rather than my gender.

5. There’s this perception of men being aggressive in the finance world. How did you handle your superiors/colleagues acting like that? Did you have to change yourself because of such an environment?

I believe both men or women can be aggressive. Again, I guess it depends on the individual more rather than his/her gender.When others display their 'aggressiveness' still within a healthy context, I will view it as a good opportunity for me to be more competitive. I'm a strong believer that a healthy competition will improve productivity.

However, if others are being aggressive in ways that are beyond the healthy boundary (i.e. in ways that are no longer legal, moral or ethical), then I choose not to be involved with such people.It is definitely easier to achieve success within the boundaries of morals, laws and ethics rather than to risk ending up in jail, or worse,facing your conscience. When we work hard towards our dreams every day, we want to be able to go home and have a good night's sleep. We do not want to be haunted by our own conscience for doing something against that small little soft voice inside us.

Well guys..., that's not all !! think still got another 7 - 8 questions more that I have to answer ;)
After I answer it, I'll upload the reminding questions and answers in my next post

Take Care all ! :)

Love,
Merry Riana
www.MerryRiana.com.sg/
www.facebook.com/Merry.Riana

Best Goal Setting I've ever conducted

2009-07-08T00:47:00.010+08:00

Today is a wonderful day ! I conducted Goal Setting for my organization, Merry Riana Organization (MRO).

I've been doing this since I established MRO, and we do this twice a year.
So far ,I can say that this is the BEST Goal Setting that I've ever conducted.
I personally feel very satisfied and happy with everything.

My aim for this goal setting is for everybody to feel good and recharge. A lot of time we normally use more of our brain to think about our goal, plan a strategy, etc. Nothing wrong with that. In fact that is definitely an important thing to do. But one thing that is also extremely important is that you must not forget to attach a good feeling towards it. So, that's why this Goal Setting I planned to keep it short, sharp to the point and yet inspirational. I focused more to attach a positive and fantastic good feeling to everyone.

I'm also feel very happy, because this is the first time I finally have my very own "The Merry Riana Show".

To be able to have my own talk show has always been one of my passion. It is actually one of the thing that I put in my Dream Book that I hope to achieve. I hope those who were there this afternoon enjoyed the sessions. Thank you for my 3 special guests, Joanne, Dwi and Gaius and of course thank you for all of you who were there supporting !

Today, I realised once again on how blessed my life is. One person asked me during my talk show:

"After making such a big achievement in your life, at this moment, what do you value most?"

and my answer to that is RELATIONSHIP.
My relationship with people that I love; my lovely daughter, my husband, my family and the member of my organization, especially those who have shared this entrepreneurship journey with me since many years ago.

Thank you so much for being a part of my life.

Love,

Merry Riana
www.merryriana.com.sg/
www.facebook.com/Merry.Riana

Do you want to see my bank account ?

2009-07-06T01:57:00.004+08:00

After I posted 'My Best Investment' article, I received numbers of email asking me whether I can share with them how do I manage my personal finances.

Today I'm going to share with you tips on how you can manage your finances successfully.

Here's how:
First of all, It is very important for you to know where all your money goes to.
Most people usually never keep track of their income and expenses.
I created a few accounts (these accounts may or may not be real savings accounts in the bank) where my income goes to.
For me, I have: Necessity Account, Business Development Account, Financial Freedom Account, Education Account, Fun Account & Giving Account.

Every time I earn my income, it goes to these accounts with the following proportion:

- Necessity Account (30%)
- Business Development Account (30%)
- Income Generator Account (20%)
- Education Account (5%)
- Fun Account (5%)
- Giving Account (10%)

I'll share with you in more details about each of these accounts in my future blog entries. :)

Love,
Merry Riana
http://www.merryriana.com.sg/
www.facebook.com/merry.riana

Merry Riana's Dream Book

2009-07-04T01:09:00.015+08:00

I'm in the midst of preparing for my organization's annual goal setting (6th - 8th July 2009)
I decided to take a break for a while and write my blog instead :)

Let me ask you this question.

How many of us had set a goal or new year's resolution back in January this year?

I bet 8 out of 10 people reading my blog will say yes.

Either is to get more money, be smarter, look prettier, lose weight, get company's award, have boyfriend/girlfriend, travel to exotic countries, read more books, etc. We always do the same thing every year, which is set our goal.

But how many of us have diligently follow our goal closely? or even worse, how many of us still remember what our goals are?

It's July, we're halfway through the year, and this is the perfect time to reassess our goals.

I know it might sound tedious and boring, but if you are really serious about achieving your goals, this is definitely an important step.

To me, goal setting can be very exciting :)
I have so many things that I can share with you on how to make the process of goal setting more fun and more effective. The most important of all is:

Write down your goal

This is a MUST !! If you fail to do this one very simple thing you will fail to achieve your goals. writing your goal is important because by doing so it forces you to visualize your goals. On top of that by externalizing it and put it down on paper it creates a commitment on your part.

To make it more fun, create a DREAM BOOK. I had mine since year 2000, and I'm still updating it even until today.

If you are curious to see how does Merry Riana's Dream Book look like?
well.. here it is....

It's just a simple sketch book, but inside are full of pictures of things that I wanted to have in life, things that I wanted to achieve in life, and many more. On top of that I also write down verses or quotes that means a lot to me through out my journey in pursuing my dream. Every time I open and look at the picture or read what I wrote there, I ALWAYS feel energized and motivated.

That's exactly the purpose of this DREAM BOOK, to give you energy and excite you every time you see it.

Here's another page of my dream book

I pasted that cute little baby picture in year 2007. And I pasted Tom Cruise's daughter Suri because I wanted to have a cute baby :) And you know what? Amazingly, I year after that, I got pregnant and have a little angel in my life, her name is Alvernia.

So you see how powerful it is !!

If you don’t already have one, I strongly encourage you to go out and buy the best, brightest and most appealing sketch book you can find. This dream book can become your planning space, your anchor, your bright ideas holder, your dream catcher, your source of inspiration and your celebration place. Do update it regularly and read it often.

In my next few post, I will give you more tips about how to do your goal setting in more fun and effective ways.

In the mean time, have fun with your dream book ! ;)

Love,
Merry Riana
http://www.merryriana.com.sg/
www.facebook.com/merry.riana

Meeting my long lost friend

2009-07-03T01:26:00.008+08:00

Met with my old best friend, Elaine today. I have known her for 17 years. We went to same secondary school, same high school and eventually same university which is NTU. We stayed in the same hostel, studying the same course and even doing Final Year Project together. So you can imagine how much time that both of us has spent.

Unfortunately 2 years after graduation, she moved back to Indonesia for good.
She is happily married and currently stay in Bali. It has been almost 5 years since I saw her, so I was very excited to know that she is in Singapore now.

We had a good lunch together, talked about old days. It was very fun ! Wish we can even spend more time together... there's just so much things to catch up with each other :)

Here's a photo of us after lunch.

Who was your best friend in school? Do you still remember him/her?
Well, here's a quote about friendship

“Good friends must not always be together;
It is the feeling of oneness when distant That proves a lasting friendship.”

Love,
Merry Riana
www.MerryRiana.com.sg
www.facebook.com.sg/merry.riana

My Favorite Food

2009-07-02T01:10:00.014+08:00

For those of you who knows me personally.

This question is for you ! (see whether you can get it correctly)

What is my most favorite food?

a. Chicken

b. Prawn

c. Mutton

d. Beef

e. Pork

The answer to the above question is

(please scroll down if you want to know the answer)

B. Prawn :)

I don't eat Mutton, Beef, Pork, Duck, etc. It's not because of I am a vegetarian nor religion things. I can actually eat everything, but it just that I don't really like the 'meaty' kind of taste and texture, that's why most of the time I eat just seafood or a little bit of chicken.

My husband always says that I missed all the good food in the world.. but I respectfully disagree, because I just think that seafood (especially prawn and crab) taste so much better than meat (and it is definitely healthier also)

So, today I decided to share with you more about my favorite prawn dish.

Best things that I have had so far:

1. Shrimp steamed in beer with garlic @ Bubba Gump

This is my favorite one even until today. Available at Bubba Gump. Best shrimp I ever taste. I first knew it during my trip to Hawaii in 2006. The shrimp steamed in beer to tender perfection and served with aromatic Bubba Gump’s garlic spice. Excellent !! I really missed it a lot, but too bad still didn't manage to have it again because most of the Bubba Gump Restaurants are located in US. The nearest one to Singapore is in Bali. Maybe this year I will make a trip there :)

2. Cereal Prawn

My favorite cereal prawn is the one sold at one of the seafood restaurant at Paris Ris Pond. (I can't remember the name of the place, my secretary recommended it to me few years back)

3. Steamed prawn with garlic sauce @ No Sign Board

Wow!! I just had this today for dinner. I was eating at No Sign Board, my all time favorite seafood restaurant. The prawn is just so fresh !

4. Cold Water Prawn @ Ikea

It is fresh and sweet (and sour, if you squeeze the lemon on top of it). You must eat it while it is still cold, fresh from the fridge. Every time I go to Ikea, I surely MUST have this meal.

5. Prawn Satay @ Lau Pa Sat

Although it cost $2 per stick, but I just can't stop eating it. My favorite stall is the satay stall no 3 & 4.

6. Salted egg prawn @ Crystal Jade

Super delicious. The coating its actually the yolk of the salted egg. So yummy !!

Haha.. writing this post make me feel so hungry :) I guess I better go to sleep right now. In the mean time, if you know some good eating place that sell super yummy shrimp / prawn dishes, do let me know, okie :)

Love,

Merry Riana
http://www.merryriana.com.sg/
www.facebook.com/merry.riana

Coming Soon: Brand new www.MerryRiana.com.sg

2009-07-01T03:07:00.002+08:00

Just met my website designer today.

Like what I shared with you 2 days ago, I'm going to revamp my current website, www.MerryRiana.com.sg :)
The new website, with the same name, will be up latest by September.

The reason it may take a bit of time to develop is because I plan to make it a totally interactive website. It means, not only will it have a 'static' information about me, my businesses, etc, but it will also have 'dynamic' information that will be updated every single day!

Since I have been writing my blog every single day, I told my designer to include Blog section in my new website also (which means you can just visit my website directly and read my blog, no need to visit this blogspot anymore).

I will probably also include a Forum, where each and every one of you can communicate with each other. So, you will be able to share and learn, not just with me, but also with other young individuals who aspire to reach their personal dreams too!

And many other features, which I believe is best to be personally experienced by you once the new website is up.

So, let's countdown together ... 2.5 more months! :)

At the same time, you can always provide me with suggestions if you have good ideas on my new website. :)

As usual, you can email to merry@merryriana.com.sg or simply post your comment to this blog entry.

Love,
Merry Riana
www.MerryRiana.com.sg
www.facebook.com/merry.riana

My Best Investment

2009-06-29T11:36:00.000+08:00

Today I conducted my last session for the TeleMastery.

TeleMastery is one of the Series of Mastery Training Programme that I teach personally in my organization every week for a period of 6 months.

I ended today session by sharing with them way on how to keep their momentum going.
Do you want to know how? the answer to that is by continuous learning.

Let me share with you this.
Many people have often asked me about investment.

What is good to invest in?
When should it be invested?
How to invest it?

But, actually, for me the most important question does not start with 'what', 'when', or 'how'. The most important question always starts with WHY.

Why do you want to invest? :)

I guess your answer will be similar like mine. I want to invest so that I can grow my resources. Which means, if I invest my money, I want to grow it to more money in the future.

Now, my next question is:

What's your best resources?
Is it your money? Is it your look? Is it your network?

I know that my money, my look or even my friends, can come and go. But, what I know will never be able to be taken away from me is my KNOWLEDGE, SKILL, and EXPERIENCE.
It's what's inside that counts, not what's outside.

So, my best investment is when I invest IN myself.

And I do it regularly.
Last year alone, I spent more than $20,000 in one overseas seminar.
But I know, my investment will bear fruits much more than that.
How about you? :)
How much have you invested in yourself? :)

Remember this:

Your formal education will make you make a living;
Your personal education will make you a fortune

Love,
Merry Riana
www.MerryRiana.com.sg
www.facebook.com/merry.riana

Busy Sunday

2009-06-29T01:24:00.006+08:00

What a long day.. I just finished doing my photo shoot today. It started from 9.30 am in the morning until around 5pm. Total of 8 hrs non stop of smiling, changing outfit and posing. (I even have to skip my lunch). But it was definitely worth it because I am very happy with the results.

My photographer, Soo is a fantastic photographer. He was the one who took picture for my wedding and also my Christmas CD album, "A Christmas Gift".

So far all his works are above my expectation :)

And my make up artist, Candy is another great person. I knew her 5 years ago when I took my wedding photo, and until today she has been the one who always do my make up. Every time I had functions, dinner events, photo shoots, interview, etc I always trust her to make me look prettier :)

So you can expect that the photo will definitely turn out to be great !

This is the picture that I took after I finish my last shot :)

I look so happy because finally I can go and have my dinner + lunch.

By the way, if you are wondering, what is the purpose of me taking so much photo?

Well.. the photos are actually for my new website.

That's right everybody, I will have a new website soon !! Currently in the midst of designing and putting it into pieces.

I am super excited, because it will be a total new look with a new concept.

According to my website designer, it will be ready in around September (I guess good things must wait right? :) I will definitely update you guys once it is done.

In the mean time, just watch this space to know more update about me and things that is happening in my life.

Good nite everybody!

Love,

Merry Riana

http://www.merryriana.com.sg/

www.facebook.com/merry.riana

My very first business

2009-06-28T00:59:00.002+08:00

Today, I am going to share a little bit more about one of the businesses that I manage, which is the one in the financial industry.

The Financial Services industry is very close to my heart, because this is the place where I became an entrepreneur for the first time.

Immediately after my graduation from NTU in 2002, I started my very first business in this industry by joining a leading financial services company as a Financial Consultant.
It was not an easy task for me since I have no sales background at all. Plus I can't speak mandarin, which is definitely a disadvantage for me since many Singaporeans are more comfortable talking in mandarin :(

But I knew one thing.. I knew that I shouldn't focus on my limitation, because the more I think about it, the more I couldn't do.
Since I realized that I have limitation, I must even work doubly hard compared to other financial consultants. During those time, I worked non stop 7 days a week, 14 hrs per day.
And my hard work paid off.

Within 1 year, I managed to earn in excess of $200,000! :)
I was thrilled because it was the first time in my life I saw a 6 digit figure in my bank account.
I straight away paid-off my $40,000 loan. And because at that time I didn't have a cheque book, so what I did was to pay the whole amount of $40,000 in cash. The feeling was absolutely GREAT !

In 2006, I've earned my first million, at just the age of 26. That was also another proud moment in my life. I felt it even more when I shared this good news with my parents.

At this moment, I'm leading around 60 Financial Consultants in MRO (Merry Riana Organization). And we're still growing!

I'm sharing all these to you, NOT to impress you, but to impress upon you, that if I can do it, so can you!

Love,
Merry Riana
www.MerryRiana.com.sg
www.facebook.com/merry.riana

Farewell Michael Jackson

2009-06-27T02:16:00.003+08:00

Today, the world had just lost it's greatest entertainer, Michael Jackson.

I wasn't really a huge fan of Michael Jackson (MJ), but I don't deny that I really like and enjoy his songs. I spent my teenager life listening to his great songs, such as Billy Jean, Thriller, You are not alone, Heal the world, and many more...

I remember choreographed a dance using "Black or White" song together with my friends and performed it during my primary school graduation day ... hahaha.. I really can't believe I did that! It was 1992. I was 12 yrs old , and it was our last day of school. :) (wish I had some photos performing that dance)

I also still remember how I was always looking forward to see MJ's music video clip. If I heard that they were playing it on TV, I would run all the way from my room to the living room, cos I wouldn't want to miss it. My favorite one: ALL of them !! (How can I choose when everything is so amazingly good ??) Compared with MJ's video, others are really nothing.

Well.. I guess eventhough I am not his #1 fan, I still feel sad that he is gone.
It is very rare to find such a unique, talented and legendary artist like him.

May he rest in peace.

Love,
Merry Riana
www.MerryRiana.com.sg

Someone wants you to read this message

2009-06-26T01:44:00.005+08:00

This is interesting...

I was initially planning to share with you about my day today, and as I was thinking thru things that I was about to write, suddenly I was reminded about a story that I heard about 2 years ago. A close friend of mine in my organization actually forward this story to me. And strangely, I don't know why I felt that I have to share this on my blog today.

So.. if you happen to read this blog by chance, probably this message is for you.

Carrot, Egg or Coffee Bean?

You will never look at a cup of coffee the same way again.
A young woman went to her mother and told her about her life and how things were so hard for her. She did not know how she was going to make it and wanted to give up. She was tired of fighting and struggling. It seemed that as one problem was solved, a new one arose.

Her mother took her to the kitchen. She filled three pots with water and placed each on a high fire. Soon the pots came to a boil. In the first, she placed carrots, in the second she placed eggs, and the last she placed ground coffee beans. She let them sit and boil, without saying a word.

In about twenty minutes she turned off the burners. She fished the carrots out and placed them in a bowl. She then pulled the eggs out and placed them in a bowl. Then she ladled the coffee out and placed it in a bowl. Turning to her daughter, she asked, "Tell me, what do you see?"

"Carrots, eggs, and coffee," she replied.

She brought her closer and asked her to feel the carrots. She did and noted that they were soft. She then asked her to take an egg and break it. After pulling off the shell, she observed the hard-boiled egg. Finally, she asked her to sip the coffee. The daughter smiled as she tasted its rich aroma.

The daughter then asked, "What does it mean, Mother?" Her mother explained that each of these objects had faced the same adversity -- boiling water -- but each reacted differently. The carrot went in strong, hard and unrelenting. However, after being subjected to the boiling water, it softened and became weak. The egg had been fragile. Its thin outer shell had protected its liquid interior. But, after sitting through the boiling water, its inside became hardened. The ground coffee beans were unique, however. After they were in the boiling water, they had changed the water.

"Which are you?" she asked her daughter. "When adversity knocks on your door, how do you respond? Are you a carrot, an egg, or a coffee bean?"

Think of this: Which am I? Am I the carrot that seems strong, but with pain and adversity? Do I wilt and become soft and lose my strength?

Am I the egg that starts with a malleable heart, but changes with the heat? Did I have a fluid spirit, but after a death, a breakup, a financial hardship or some other trial, have I become hardened and stiff? Does my shell look the same, but on the inside am I bitter and tough with a stiff spirit and a hardened heart?

Or am I like the coffee bean? The bean actually changes the hot water, the very circumstance that brings the pain. When the water gets hot, it releases the fragrance and flavor of your life.

If you are like the bean, when things are at their worst, you get better and change the situation around you. When the hours are the darkest and trials are their greatest, do you elevate to another level?

How do you handle adversity? Are you changed by your surroundings or do you bring life, flavor, to them?

ARE YOU A CARROT, AN EGG, OR A COFFEE BEAN?

~ Author Unknown ~

Do you believe that everything that happens in life, happens for a reason? Well, I do.

There is definitely a reason why I felt like posting this message today,
and definitely there is a reason why you were led to read this blog.

So, for whoever you are at wherever you are, I just want to leave you with this quote:

Happiness keeps you Sweet, Trials keep you Strong,
Sorrows keep you Human, Failures keep you Humble,
Success keeps you Glowing,
But only God Keeps You Going!

Take care and be strong !

Love,
Merry Riana
www.MerryRiana.com.sg
www.facebook.com/merry.riana

How to get pay raise in this financial crisis ?

2009-06-24T23:20:00.009+08:00

I just finished watching "The Office" Season 3. It was hilarious !!

The episode that I watch is about "Negotiation" - there is this one employee (Darryl) who is doing his best to get his pay raise. He listed down all the good reasons why he deserve the raise and really persistence about getting it. On the other hand, the boss (Michael) knew exactly that Darryl wanted to ask for higher salary, therefore he did a research in wikipedia and found 20 tricks about how to win negotiation. And as you've probably guessed, he is using those tricks to withstand Darryl's request for a raise. It was so funny.. :)

I actually searched on youtube to see whether the video is available so that I could show it to you. Bad news is I couldn't find any. But Good news is I found another clip which I found it is equally funny. It is also about an employee who is asking for a pay raise.

After watching the 2 shows, I really felt very fortunate.

Simply because I never have to face the problem of asking for pay increment. I can decide how much I want to earn and I can have control of how much pay rise I want to get since I am doing my own business.

Immediately after I graduated from my university (NTU, Nanyang Technological University) in 2002, I started my very first business. So, actually, until today, I've never had the experience of working as a 9-to-5 employee. Well, except during my Industrial Attachment period, because at that time I had to worked in an engineering company for 6 months, as part of the academic modules that I needed to pass in order to graduate from NTU.

At this moment, I actually owns and manages 3 businesses in different industries:
1) Financial Services
2) Training & Consultancy
3) Non-Profit

But no worries.. !! I am not suggesting you to quit your job and start your own business. If you are reading this blog and working elsewhere, you can be as successful or even more successful than other business owner too. Just continue to be the best that you can be wherever you are !

And if after reading this blog you are so inspired to ask for a pay rise,

well at least I can give you 1 tips from my point of view as an employer.

To me the principle is actually very simple.
As long as you can convince your boss that your value are worth more than what your boss is paying you, and that your future value will be making your boss more money than your financial package cost him/her, I believe your boss will grant your request for the pay increase. :)

But if the above tips doesn't work, well... you might want to try the other method that you just watched in the youtube video... hahahha... *lol*

Wish you best of luck ! May you get what you deserve to get.

Love,
Merry Riana
http://www.merryriana.com.sg/
www.facebook.com/Merry.Riana

Training my muscle at 3.32 am in the morning

2009-06-24T03:31:00.003+08:00

It's 3.32 am in the morning.

If I could make a guess, probably about

96% of people that I know are currently enjoying their sleep right now,
3.5% of them are trying their very best to be able to sleep and
only 0.5% of them are totally awake
(of course those people who stay in the different time zone no count, because it's probably noon time out there!)

And here I am, writing this post.

If you think I drank too much coffee today and couldn't sleep, that's why I wrote this blog,
you are absolutely wrong!

Today was actually quite a long and tiring day for me. And in fact about 28 mins ago I almost fell asleep, but I force myself to wake up and write this post. WHY?
The answer is this word called SELF-DISCIPLINE

3 days ago when I first publish my post, I promised to myself that no matter how busy or tired I am, I MUST make sure that I keep writing my blog every single day. It is important for me because I know if I don't force myself and have this self-discipline soon there will be no more "Merry Little Notes"

What is self-discipline?
Self-discipline is the ability to get yourself to do what you are supposed to do even if you don't feel like doing it. To be able to continually taking action regardless of your emotional state.

If you want to achieve great success in life, this is one the most important factor that you need to have.

So how to build self-discipline ?
I can give you this analogy. Self-discipline is like a muscle. The more you train it, the stronger you become. The less you train it, the weaker you become.
And just as everyone has different muscular strength, we all possess different levels of self-discipline. If you want to have a six pack, you have to do more and more crunches every day
You should be prepared not to stay within your comfort zone, because you know that every time you feel tired and about to give up, is that extra push that you gave that build your muscle.

Start with a small step and you will begin to see the difference.

I challenge you to make small changes in your routine daily, train yourself to be in control of your actions, have self-discipline ! and I can guarantee you that it will dramatically change your life forever.

Love,
Merry Riana
http://www.MerryRiana.com.sg/

Thank God it's Monday !

2009-06-23T00:20:00.012+08:00

I don't know whether you believe me if I said that I never felt having any "Monday Blues" at all.
Yes it is true! or at least I really don't remember having it.

To me personally I love Monday! Why?? simply because it is the start of the week, it is a fresh beginning, a new chapter and no matter how bad my previous week was.. I can always make it a better one today!

Here 5 things that I can suggest to you to make sure that have a FANTASTIC MONDAY ! (or at least you won't have Monday Blues)

1. Use your favorite song as an alarm (use it for Monday only)
You will definitely feel recharge when you wake up in the morning.
For me I like the song "The Power", it's the song in the 90's sang by Snap. Everytime I hear the music, somehow I just feel energized! Very empowering.

2. Wake up earlier than normal day, so that you are not so rushed and you can give yourself more time to prepare the day to be your perfect day.
Trust me, the last thing you want is you wake up late and rush to office with the "just woke up - look"

3. Wear your best clothes.
Amazed your boss, your colleagues, your neighbours with your best look.
For me, I spend more time on Monday to make sure I look good; wear my favorite clothes, (or if I buy a new clothes over the weekend, normally I'll wear it on Monday), get a fabulous make up and hairdo, spray nice perfume, and get ready with a perfect SMILE :) Maybe that's why normally my colleagues & staff always said I look great on Monday! hahahha... *grin*

4. Get yourself busy with activities.
I need to packed my Monday with tons of activities, because I need to get the sense of achievement. Starting from some meetings in the morning, help my mentees during our regular coaching sessions, strategic meeting in the afternoon, giving training in the late afternoon.. and the list goes on. To me, the feeling of "I'm doing something useful today" is very important to set my week right. It is a MUST !

5. Give yourself a reward for going through a Great Day
Finally, you have successfully gone thru the very important day, which is the first day of the week. You definitely deserve some good treat. Get yourself a nice dinner with your loved ones, or chill out with your friends, watch some DVD, anything! as long as it make you feel happy :)
For me, I'm always looking forward to this. My favorite one.. is to end the day with a nice supper with my loving husband and chat about how lucky we are to be able to still enjoy today, and of course we'll also plan on what we want to do for the rest of the week :)

Well, that 5 things that I just told you works for me to make my Monday a
"Merry Monday"

And I'm really curious to know whether it works for you also.
Do drop me a message or leave a comments

In the meantime..
May you have a Terrific Tuesday tomorrow!

Love,
Merry Riana

There is something about Merry

2009-06-22T01:23:00.009+08:00

Today, I decided to share a little bit about myself, so that anyone who accidentally found this page can also know.

I am an Indonesian-born female who is currently living in Singapore.
My name -Merry Riana- actually has a very interesting meaning.

Merry means Happy
Ria --> in Indonesian means Cheerful

So by right I am supposed to be a very happy and cheerful person :) hahaha..
(next time I'll share with you the reason why my parents choose this name for me)

I am blessed and fortunate to be able to make my first million at just age 26

NOPE !! I didn't have a super rich family who supported me with a lot of capital, if that's what you think.. neither I married a millionaire guy.

Then you're probably wondering..

"HOW CAN SHE ACHIEVE HER FIRST MILLION BY JUST AGE 26?"

Well, that's the question that a lot of people asked me very often. And the answer to that question is written down in my book "A Gift From A Friend" which was published in 2006

So you see how impossible it is for me to answer your question in just one single post.

But don't be disheartened.. You don't need to buy my book to know the answer (Although you can still buy if you want, since it is also a best-seller :)) because I promise that in this blog I will share with you about my entrepreneurship journey, my book, my life stories, my philosophies in life, my business, and many more. Hopefully it will help you in your own journey towards your personal success. :)

You just have to keep reading ! ;)

Love,
Merry Riana

A New Beginning

2009-06-21T02:35:00.001+08:00

YES, I've finally made it !!! I have been wanting to write my own blog since 2 years ago, however it has never been a reality. Probably because back then there wasn't really a compelling reason why I must started it. No urgency.

But today I've decided to make it MUST, because I know if I don't force myself to post something today, probably it will never happen. Like Lao-tzu said: "A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step." And today, I took that step :)

So for all of you out there who read this post, I just want to say: "WELCOME TO MY BLOG"
I will do my best to write regularly on this blog, and I hope what you find here can contribute positively to your life!

Love,
Merry Riana :)