Mayfly

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Live Life To The Fullest

Mayfly Times

Think of how you spent your day today. What did you do for the majority of it?

How about the week? Are you spending your time in a way that matters? Do you care about your work? Is it based on a cause you stand behind? Is the world better as a result? Are you better as a result?

Do you even know why you are doing what you are doing? Sadly over 80% of people are not happy with their work and even more do not have a clue as to why their doing it. Most people know what they are doing and some even

Everything Starts With ‘Why’

know how they are doing it but very few know why. The problem is that the Why is the only part that inspires people. It is your purpose, your belief, your reason for being. Whether you want to end world suffering or just trim your waistline by getting yourself to stick to one spoonful of peanut butter instead of five, without a why you are nowhere. Unfortunately since those

A campaign that encourage people to discover their innate ability to live life to the fullest. Supported by: Ministry of Community Development, Youth and Sports (MCYS)

- MCYS Publication Established 2012 -

Life is too short for anything else, and too long to be doing something meaningless. Either find

the meaning or create it. All of us are here for a reason. We are the only ones who can be the judge

of that. How we spend our time or how we define success is not something society should tell us and it

is not something we should aimlessly go about. There is nothing more important than intentionally discovering

your own success and your unique purpose.

The intention of Mayfly Times is to serve as a guide on the journey. You are the only one who can find your passion. It

is inside you and just has to be uncovered. In our program you will find all kinds of practical tools, advices, actions and

experiments for understanding yourself, finding your purpose and living it. Every bit of it helps us better understand ourselves and

how you can better push limits and put your dent in the world. Life is meant to be lived on your terms, doing things that matter. This is a

place to start so let us do it.

with a why happen to be the exception, most the world is lost. They are sleepwalking.

The world would be an altogether different place if we all did work that actually mattered to us. It would literally change the world.

Mayfly is an insert that lives only for a day in its winged

form. We are as mayflies -- live incredibly short, but immensely busy lives. As such results, we should treasure everything and have a full recognition ourselves, spend our time on things that excites and actually matter to us. Then, the world will be better.

Every one of us has our own path to pursue, whatever paths that we take, the most important thing is to have passion in it. Live our legend, change the world. Get active and start making things happen.

Quit following a template laid

down by others.Pursue dream

is never too late.

Understand your Why.

YOU DO NOT HAVE TOSUFFER THE SAME FATE.

Everything begins with the smallest start and the right reason.

10 SMALL STEPS TO SUCCESSFULLY START DOING WORK YOU LOVE

Hating Your Job Is A Tragedy.

How to make your job fun

11 Steps To Insane Focus:Do More Of What Matters

Goal Setting and Action

SELF DISCOVERY

CHASE YOUR PASSION, NOT YOUR PENSION.

The sleepwalking is over.

There are 3 times when you are most susceptible to tuning out your heart and only listening to others:

1. After college2. After grad school3. When you get fired

Transitions are scary. They are foreign so

we look for guidance. The problem is we do not know where to look. In college we spend four years studying something often as a result of some under-thought, 15-minute decision. Then as we graduate we search by two main criteria: money and status. We dive in blindly.

Listen to Yourself, Not ‘Them’

Do not take what ‘they’ say for granted. They are not

you. They do not have your same goals or values. The topic of your life is much too big to model off what

you find in a book, read on a blog, hear from a peer or get told in school. It is fine

to take those as data points. But refusing to do your

own experiments is what leads to sleepwalking.

Wake up. Be interested in walking a different path.

Then start walking. Look for what excites you.

Period.

Mayfly Journal

When you’re fired, panic and despair are usually the first emotions to hit. This causes pure short-term thinking. Now money is the only thing on your mind. Not to mention the chatter among family, colleagues and friend groups along the lines of ‘Oh! I wonder what he is going to do now’. We reach for anything we can find. However, no one

YOU DO NOT HAVE TO SUFFER THE SAME FATE.

“A successful life is one that is lived through understanding and pursuing one's own path, not chasing after the dreams of others.”

- Chin-Ning Chu

knows your success. In all three scenarios somehow we lose our thoughts. Without knowing it we replace them with those around us. The problem is no one knows your success. They do not have a clue what you want. How could they? You might not even know.

If you are currently in any of the above stages, be very careful. Listen closely.

We are not meant to do things the way they are always been done. We are meant to find and follow our own paths; and this leads us to greatness.

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You are the only one who can find your passion - it is inside you and just has to be uncovered. Use the below to explore what lights you on fire. Do not rush through these. Go somewhere quiet, with no internet and dedicate at least 2-3

What is your belief of how the world should be? It does not have to be some

grand earth-shattering belief. It just has to matter to you. If you care enough, others will care too.

If you do not know then I am almost sure you have people close to you who have suggested something: “Oh you would make a great coach or speaker or writer or teacher”.

Listen to them and listen to yourself. Then start investigating. That is the stuff that matters. Not what some job role or area of study says you should be. What do they know about you anyway? Not much. Few people do. That is why you owe it to yourself to start searching. If you do not have a why for what you are doing, then sit down and find one.

Because without a why, not only will you not inspire anyone else, but more importantly, you will never inspire yourself. You are the first person you must get on board. Nothing important ever gets done without a powerful enough reason. Running a marathon or leading a revolution – it all starts with why.

A Why Is The Only Reason Meaningful Things Get Done

Understand your Why.hours to developing your answers. Some may apply more than others. That is fine. Allow your mind to run wild. These questions will only be useful if you allow them to.It is time to start living with passion!

Ask why for everything. Do not do anything without a good reason.Mayfly Review

Finding what makes you come alive.

We can do work we love, we just have to understand ourselves first.

What do people thank you for?

What are you ridiculously good at? What are your precious gifts?

Who do you look up to? Who are your mentors? Who inspires you? Why?

When was the last time you were in a state of flow, in the zone and totally lost track of time? What were you doing?

Imagine you won $158 million in the lottery. It’s now three months later. How will you spend tomorrow?

What would you do if you knew you could not fail?

What topics do you find yourself continuously arguing or defending with others? What beliefs does your stance represent?

What makes you most angry about the state of the world? With unlimited resources how could you fix it?

If you were able to be a member of the audience at your own funeral (in 100 years or so) what would you want to hear people say?

What do your friends always tell you you’d be good at, that you should do for a living (i.e. “he’d make a great…)? If you do not remember, then go ask five of them.

When was the last time you could not sleep because you were so excited about what you had to work on? What was it?

If you had a free hour to surf the internet, what would you explore?

Think back to when you were 5 or 10 years old. What did you want to be when you grew up? Anything goes. What skills and metaphors do these represent (i.e. pilot may be a symbol for freedom)?

What careers do you find yourself dreaming of? What jobs do others have that you wish were yours?

What revolution do you want to lead?

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Nothing happens until you start. Every beginning needs momentum! Start as absolutely small as possible.

Instead of searching for reasons to wait, make it too easy not to begin.

Daily Mayfly

Find your passion, live on purpose.

Everything begins with the smallest start and the right reason.

All you have to have is enough

of a dream, a vision, a belief, so that you have the courage to take that first tiny step. Every step after that is easier. People start to get behind you. Things start to work and suddenly you are rolling. But you have to start! Starting is really the easiest part. The first step always seems like the worst. It involves the most fear, the most unknown and the most energy. That is why most people

never take it. But even though we build it up in our head to the size of an obese elephant, the actual first step, from a physical effort perspective, is probably the easiest part of the process. It might only take five or ten minutes to write the first email or have the first meeting.

Put enough of those together and all of a sudden the smallest of beginnings turns into something meaningful. That is how a paragraph

turns into the next best-seller. How a slab of concrete turns into a home. How a step turns into a marathon.

If you can start, you can finish. Each step makes you more committed to the last. You will find more and more reasons to make it epic as you go. It all stats with starting.Do not intimidate yourself by the image of people living their dreams. Do not focus on the huge gap you might have to cross to get to

where they are. They had to cross it too. But they did not cross it in one day. It likely took a thousand little acts. Any one of which seemed insignificant at the time. A journey of a thousand miles still begins with a single step. Nothing’s changed. Do not worry about not knowing about the future. No one does anyway. If you do not start, how can you ever finish?

Life’s real failure is when you do not realize how close you were to success when you gave up.

What if martial arts have never been screened?

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Do Not Wait For The Right Time To Act.If you are waiting for the right time to do one of the below, please do not wait. It will not come. There is never a good time to do any of the important things in life. Stop waiting. The right time will not come. You have to start by starting. Then again you could always do it later. But when was the last time that happened?

Mayfly Journal

Make a tiny list of tiny things. Think as small as possible. Look something up. Ask someone a question. Anything.

Talk to someone who’s done it. Find a model. It helps tremendously to see a similar path before you walk yours.

Read something about it. Find a blog post, news article or book chapter about someone who has done it. Get the juices flowing.

Make it fun. Look at office space, throw around name ideas, or grab a bottle of wine and sit down with your husband or wife and check out other websites in the space.

Write about it. Expanding on a new invigorating idea is a ton of fun. Write a sentence. Then maybe another. Write for at least 10 minutes, but you don’t have to stop there. Try keep an ongoing idea list in a journal and it makes for a great conversation piece at parties as well.

List out your reasons why it is so important to you. What amazing things could happen if you do it? What will you miss out on if you do not? List them down on paper.

Find your support. A stiff dose of courage and accountability makes for strong beginnings. Think of 2-3 people who will stand behind your idea. Buy them coffee and divulge your plan.

Help someone. If you plan to offer a service (like teaching, coaching, consulting or web design) then start offering it to those close to you. Find someone in need of something you’re good at. Start helping. Giver’s high is amazing.

Put a price on it. You will never get paid if you do not ask for money. If you have already been helping people then at some point you got to put a price on your goods. You are worth something to someone. It only takes an instant to change your price from $0 to something. Getting money for things you’re good at motivates. Simple as that.

10 SMALL STEPS TO SUCCESSFULLY START DOING WORK YOU LOVE

If you do not have time to do it right, when will you have time to do it over?

You know it does not buy happiness. It never has. Yes, you need to eat, but contrary to popular belief, you can buy food with money you make from doing things that matter. It might not start out as big money. However, if you stay true to it, it will likely become bigger and bigger. It is not about the money. It is about fulfillment. Most things done purely for money, do not provide fulfillment. Most fulfilling things you are truly dedicated to, provide money.

Who cares if there is a PhD, MD or CFO next to your title. What people think of you does not effect long-term enjoyment. It starts from inside. If you are doing it to sound good at a bar or at the sports club, that is generally a sign to hit yourself over the head.

Just because your three brothers, both parents and your uncle were doctors does not make that your purpose. It is just one of the unlimited options. Keep looking.

Do you even know what prestigious is at that point? That is what I thought. You are just taking someone else’s word for it. When I got out of college everyone thought investment banking was the best job ever. Right up until a few of

Mayfly Forum

The beginner’s guide to enjoying a job you hate.

them found themselves sleeping under their desks 4 days a week. Go for excitement, not prestige.

So what if you wanted to be a neuroscientist when you were little. Now maybe you love teaching yoga and helping people stay fit. So what if your rockstar grades weren’t necessary to do what you are doing. You know how to really look smart? Spend your time in a way that matters to you.

Big companies often tightly define job roles. If you are in charge of stacking boxes, are you really going to do nothing but stack boxes? Find a way to add more value. See if the boxes could be designed more effectively. Get creative. How on earth could you grow any other way? My first job was nonstop number crunching but I loved branding and positioning so I worked with my boss to understand how and why

customers bought the products we managed. It made us both better.

It is quite possible to go four years through advanced education and perhaps through your whole life without learning a thing about the most important subject.

It is easy to follow in the haze of an inefficient workplace. Same

It all begins and ends with passion.

“A man is but the product of his thoughts -- what he thinks, he becomes.”

- Mahatma Gandhi

If you want to do work you love, DO NOT do the following:

1. Do it for the money.

2. Do it for the title or status.

3. Do it because your family

4. Do it because it is the most prestigious job out of college.

5. Do it so people wo not think you are an idiot.

6. Only do work related to your specific job role.

7. Don’t understand yourself.

8. Do not try to learn new skills and become an expert in your field.

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HATING YOUR JOB

IS A TRAGEDY.

Stop doing everything yourself. Only do things you are amazing at. There is someone out there to do the rest.

thing every day. Do something about it. Find a way to do your job in 7 hours instead of 8 (or in many cases 2 hours instead of 8). Use the rest to make yourself better.

If you don’t have a job, do not wander around begging for one. Go out and get some skills. Attract employers. You know, you can job hunt while you become an expert.

Just because it is inside your job

role, does not mean you have to do it. The possibilities with outsourcing are unreal. If you can not outsource it, then find someone who really likes the task and trade with them.

Either be busy doing things that matter, or leave so that you can do things that matter. It is not acceptable for presence to be a show of hard work. That trains laziness. Many large companies

still do it because they do not have another easy way of accountability. Work your ass off, show your boss what you did. If you have to stay then pick up another activity at work so you can keep growing. If ass-in-chair time is all that matters, do everyone a favor and quit. There is a better place for you.

You can waste your life doing things you are naturally bad at or you can wake up excited each day doing things you’re

naturally awesome at. Know your superpowers and use them.

Do not fill the rental car tank with Premium just so you can get more miles on your company credit card. I do not care if everyone else does it. Treat the business as if you were the owner. If you aren’t willing to do that then go find a place where you give a sh*t.

Just because your job only takes 3 hours to do, do not sit on Facebook the rest of the time. Find a way to be useful or leave. Get better at something.

This is not a reason. Complacency and boredom are the mother of dead dreams. Figure out an escape route immediately.

You are not your job. You are you. Make friends. Learn what people do. See what excites you. If you are about to fire yourself then maybe you will know where to go at the next.

This is the most infectious of all. Complacency breeds complacency. Boredom breeds boredom. Misery breeds misery. The good news is that passion breeds passion. You are the average of your peer group. Surround yourself with passionate people. You will become one.

10. Appear busy just to impress people.

9. Do work that someone less skilled could do.

11. Don’t use your strengths.

12. Waste company’s money.

16. Be around people who hate their job.

15. Do not get to know people in other divisions.

14. Stay if it is miserable or because you can tolerate it.

13. Waste your time.

“Try to become not a man of success, but try rather to

become a man of value.”

- Albert Einstein

What if moonwalk is just a scientific term? Take a chance, make a change. Rock the world by following

your passion. Unleash your capabilities. Walk towards your dreams and live the legend.

Mayfly Living

It’s on you.If you have done the above you’re in one of two places: you now actually like your job and want to stay or you have at least found some enjoyment in it but still know there is more to life.Either way, if you are going to stay (for now) you might as well have some fun.

1. Be candid with your boss.No boss wants their employee to be miserable. I know it might seem that way but there is no question that happy employees do better work. Your boss knows that. Be nice about it but be truthful-do not hold anything back. Tell them you want to stay but need to figure something more enjoyable out. Put it on them. You are worth more than you think.

2. Understand where you are best.Spend your time doing it and find a way to stop doing the things you suck at. If you love spreadsheets but hate making sales calls, then find a coworker who is the opposite. Offer up a trade. Everything is so much better when you fill your time doing things you are awesome at.

3. Negotiate working from home.Take a vacation day but then crush a ton of work out while you’re gone. Then follow up with a note that you had more time at home than you thought and here’s all the stuff you did. A big part of happiness is owning your own calendar. This starts with training your boss to focus on output, not time in office.

4. Knock something out of the park.Think of a project or role that looks like a ton of fun. Find a way to take it on or at least pitch in to help. Do kick-ass work and before long you will be given more of it. All of a sudden you are having fun.

5. Make someone’s day – everyday.Humans are hard-wired to want to help others. It feels awesome. If you can find nothing else redeeming in your job, then

Making Good Of Today Does Not Mean Sacrificing Passion Of Tomorrow.

pick someone who could use an extra smile and decide that your job is to give it to them. Someone always has it worse than you do. Get over yourself – create a connection and help how you can.

6. Find a bigger reason why.When you are stuck in your sixth set of spreadsheet gymnastics, it is all too easy to lose sight of life. Find a way to connect your seemingly mundane task (assuming someone else cannot do it) to the overall purpose of the company or the people your product is designed to serve.You have to identify with the underlying why.

7. Get really f*ing good at something.Becoming an expert is unbelievably fun. Not only will your boss be impressed, but you will also feel mountains better about how you spend your hours. Pick something in-line with your strengths and get specific. Pick one and start running. People will start to notice. The better you are, the more you are valued and the stronger your leverage.

No matter how small, find something. Make it fun. Changing the state of those around you is one of the most powerful ways to impact the world. Nothing feels better.

Let us be clear. The above is not an excuse to stay in a job you hate. None of us deserve that. It is simply a short-term solution to a problem that millions of people face. You are still on the hook for finding your most meaningful work. It is out there. But remember, there will never be a perfect time to take the jump. Wait as little as possible.

Hating your job is a choice.

Before we can do what we love, we must first start by loving what we do.

Unfortunately that does not usually happen overnight. Sometimes it does, but it is rare. It generally takes a boatload of hard work and experimenting. Once you find it, it is more than worth the effort.

You may be in a spot you do not feel you can get out of right now. Perhaps because you have a huge mortgage, kids, a divorce or any one of the other million possibilities out there that do not allow you to totally push reset. But that also does not mean you condemn yourself to career complacency and sleepwalking.

Take a second to reread the quote at the top. Even if we have nothing else, we have the freedom to choose what things mean and how we interpret our experiences.

But, it is likely going to take work to get there. Welcome it. If you are not happy with your current situ-ation then sack up and do something about it. Happiness not spent today does not equal more happiness tomorrow.

It’s on you – always has been, always will be. No excuses.

Great tips that benefit you always.

How to make your job fun

Take a chance, make a change.

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Lack of focus is the most common killer of making things happen.Mayfly ReviewIf you believe in your path, then

walk it. Simple as that. All the rest is a distraction.

11 Steps To Insane Focus:Do More Of What Matters

1. Know what actually matters. Be honest with yourself about the actions that truly move the needle in your business and your life. If you are stuck, just think of the tasks you fear the most, so that it gives you anxiety just to think about and those are likely the most important.

2. Pick your top 2-3 core tasks each day. These are the things that must happen no matter what. If you get these done your day is a success. Stick to no more than three, or better yet one. They must move you closer to your big goals. Checking email does not count.

3. Do them first thing. The longer you wait, the more distractions will intrude. Nothing happens before these get done.

4. Do not connect to anything until your core tasks are done. Do not convince yourself you need the internet or email to do your most important tasks. 95% of the time you do not. Leave the internet off and phone on airplane mode until you crush through the important..

5. Turn off email and notifications (and anything else that interrupts you). When you sit down to do something, nothing else gets attention. Just because someone decides to email, chat or call you, does not mean it is more important. Those things can wait. But if you know they are waiting there,

Without focus we are headed for disaster and the consequences are as dangerous as they come. What is the biggest risk of losing our focus? Wasting our time and living a meaningless life. The solution is to simplify. Get back to the basics of doing the important.

you will be too tempted. Avoid temptation at all cost.

6. Kill multitasking. Stop thinking it is more efficient. It is not. No surfing during phone calls, reading during meals, chatting while writing. Do one thing at a time. Simple. Not only is multitasking terribly inefficient but it stresses you out and it is rude to anyone around you

7. Do not check email first thing in the morning. It will change your life. It feels terrible to know we have spent a couple hours refreshing and going in and out of email without really getting anything done. If you check it, you will not be able to help yourself, and you will stumble face first into the worm hole. So do not even open it until you have a few hours of focused action under your belt (this is at least 11am for most).

8. Batch your emailing to two times a day MAX. Maybe 30 min before lunch and 30 min late afternoon. If you need an email for your core task, do not go to your inbox. Go straight to the search feature and find it. If you need to write an email as a core task (which should very rarely be the case), write it offline in a simple program like notepad. Save reactionary items for after you get the important done.

9. Try to get less done in a day–practice Slow Working. Do not fill every moment of your calendar with tasks. You will be

stressed and rushed the whole day. Slow down and move through your core tasks calmly. Then maybe you do a few more things with the remaining time but don’t cram them in. If you do, you will always feel behind.

10. Plan more time.This is the easiest way to alleviate the schedule. And things always tend to take longer than we think. If your core task will take you 45 minutes, then block out 90. Actually schedule it on your calendar. If it only takes you 40 minutes then suddenly you have free time – how awesome (and rare) is that!

11. Do not forget to take breaks and reward yourself. Most of us can only intensely focus on something for an hour at best. Take at least a few-minute break every 30 or 60 minutes to clear your head. Find a fun way to get you free and clear. Take a walk, meditate, feed the ducks, breathe, get a snack or some water or listen to an inspiring song. You pick.

Here is a brief 11-step guide to reclaiming insane FOCUS:

Enjoy having nothing to do.Do the above and your day will be a victory before most people wake up. It is a pretty awesome feeling. You will get way more done than you planned but your mind and schedule will also be clear to enjoy life a little more. That is when your mind really starts to have some fun. The big ideas will begin to show up.

Review What Made Last Year AwesomeTake stock of what you have accomplished and what you are proud of. Also think through the low points of the year and what you do not want to repeat. Use the below questions to guide you.

1. What are you most proud of in the last year?

2. If there were a newspaper headline describing this past year for you, what would it say?

3. What unfinished business did you want to resolve before the year-end and when will you do it? (i.e. lingering relationships, apologies, goals yet to achieve)

4. When were you most excited about life in this past year? What were you doing? Who were you with?

5. Looking back, what would you have done differently during last year?

6. What new dream for yourself did you achieve?

7. Where did you let fear hold you back from a goal you had?

8. What was boring to you this year that you hope to change for the next year?

Do Something Now, No Matter How Small.Never leave the site of a planning session without taking some action to get you closer to victory. It could be the tiniest thing in the world. Maybe send a short email or make a quick list. Pick something that only takes 5 minutes or less. And do it. Let the momentum build.

Pick one small task for your top few goals that you can do right now to get you closer.

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Goal Setting and ActionUse the following questions to get crystal clear on your goals and the actions required to make them happen. The key is to keep it simple, actionable and exciting.

Become Your Dreams - Just Add Hard Work.Before we start thinking through our massive goals, it is good to start with general themes of improvement or change you want to work on.Treat them as habits or resolutions. Habits are things you want to adopt as a part of your life going forward. Some examples of habits include: being early, scheduling less, slowing down, spending less time on email, singletasking or getting more sleep. List up to 3 habits or resolutions you would like to focus on.

Habits and Resolutions:

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Lack of focus is the most common killer of making things happen.Mayfly ReviewIf you believe in your path, then

walk it. Simple as that. All the rest is a distraction.

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SELF DISCOVERYWhenever you find yourself on the side of majority, it is time to pause and reflect.

You cannot replace doubt with courage and reality until you start to act.

organized by

mayfly

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Nothing happens until you start.

DATE24 - 26 August 2012

TIME11am - 10pm

VENUEGarden Court, Level 1

Raffles City Shopping Mall

For more information,visit www.mayfly.com.sg