About Me

Peace and grace to you.

We are who we are today because of our life experiences and how they have shaped us; the scars and marks they leave on us, the lessons they taught us or just the sheer memories of them.

One who has a negative perception on life may break under pressure while those who are positive minded will strive under stress.

I would like to put myself in the latter category. It is something that we all aim for. Just like pure carbon under constant pressure and heat stress can transform into diamond and shine, so can we.

We need to adopt the right attitude when presented with obstacles and challenges. Instead of avoiding them, face them head-on. It does not matter whether we succeed or defeated, the most important thing is to learn from them. If it was a success, learn what you did right and apply to other situations.

If it was a failure; revise, plan and do again. It is never too late to learn how to improve oneself, unless he has taken a vacation 6 feet under.

Learn from experience is the most important lesson I gained through my professional development. It started with working as Outdoor Assistant Trainer in Langkawi.

Sept 2007 to March 2009 @ Wilderness Centre Sdn Bhd, Langkawi

Langkawi, an island of myths and folklore. It's easy to see why there are many mystical stories shrouding the island; the beauty and appeal of the island seem like a setting out of a fantasy story,

Beside than the main island, there are 103 islands in the archipelago. But during low tide, some islands become conjoined and there are left with 99 islands.

Being an Outdoor Trainer in Langkawi, I was lucky to get the opportunity to explore a few of the other islands. As there are only three islands that are inhabited, Langkawi main island, Pulau Tuba and Pulau Dayang Bunting, the other islands were deserted. No one beside us were there. It felt like I was a king on the islet, must have been what Robinson Crusoe or Tom Hanks felt in Cast Away.

The allure of Langkawi; the beauty of the night sky decorated with thousands of stars, the occasional dolphin sightings, the encounter of humongous jellyfish during kayaking and many other invaluable memories during work, always put our mind at peace.

It is only when your mind is calm can the learning process begin.  The module of program that the company employed was  Experiential Learning Cycle . It was a part of Outward Bound Program.

This is the overview of the program; we take participants from their comfort zone and put them into the wilderness. The participants are mainly from urban areas and the big cities, this is their comfort zone. The wilderness is the sea and jungle of Langkawi of which became their "home" during the 5-day program.

Throughout the duration of the program, participants had to work together as a team to accomplish daily activities such as cooking, setting up shelter and campsite and other chores. They also had to do outdoor activities like trekking, hiking, kayaking, high rope activities and engaged in mind challenging games.

All these were new to the participants, The learning process that they engrossed in was in summary like this; plan, do, revise, improve. There are other models but they basically the same.

This active learning process is simple but very effective and is applicable to everyone. One who pursues success needs to keep improving and this is a way to for continuous development.

It was while working in Langkawi that I have conquered the peaks of a number of mountains in the northern region as well as Mount Kinabalu. It was a great achievement for me, as I was not active nor athletic before started working as Outdoor Trainer.

I learned the second most important lesson for success after reaching the peak of my first hike (it was a hill, but it was too challenging, at that time, for me). For success, it is mind over matter. The body can achieve what the mind perceives.

Being an Outdoor Trainer means most of the time you are exposed to many hazards. This could come from environment, weather, tools and equipment used for the activities. The aim was not to eliminate all the risks and hazards, but rather how to identify and manage them to ensure the safety of everyone; participants and trainers.

The work in Langkawi was Fun and Adventurous, the very same qualities of the work in Awana Genting Highland.

April 2010 - June 2011 @ Fun and Adventure Department, Awana Genting Highland

The Fun and Adventure Department is responsible for the recreational activities and programs for the resort. The department was just a small department in size (total number of manpower: 6) but it was not small in comparison to the workload.

Because of that, the trainer had to do more than just ensuring the smooth operations of activities and programs, we also had to cover all other scope of department; management and administration.

Versatility was highly required. We had to learn and adapt to many different task and responsibilities in the shortest of time to meet clients' requirements. From different modules of Teambuilding Programs, Corporate Social Responsibilities to Media Exposures, Family Days and Camping at the Longhouse.

As there were only a small number of manpower, each one of us had to work to our maximum capacity and capabilities. It was during this time to I learned how to use whatever available resources efficiently to ensure the smooth running of operation.

With the small number of people, we manage to run programs for many big groups back-to-back in two weeks time successfully (with the help of 2 part time workers). It was a hectic period, but it was not chaotic.

I also had the opportunity to develop higher self confidence when I took over the mic to emcee several events, including the resort annual dinner.

All the experience has made me more confident, helped to polish my communication skills and I also learned how to use available resources more efficiently and effectively.

Important Life Lesson

During both working experiences, I smoked too much and drank a lot of coffees.

These two habits took a toll on my health.

After my recovery, I learned that a healthy mind start with a healthy body. The mind cannot go where the body cannot take it too.

For this reason, I have a deep interest in nature as being in the untouched pristine environment is a therapy to mind, body and soul.

I also have incorporated healthy habits into my daily routine to make sure that I can work to my maximum capabilities.

Now it the time for me to find out my real abilities.

Thank you for reading.