ONE of 4 must-have job skills in 2013: 

Clear communications (Spoken & Written)

Whatever their level, communication is key for workers to advance.

“This is really the ability to clearly articulate your point of view and the ability to create a connection through communication,” says Holly Paul, U.S. recruiting leader at PricewaterhouseCoopers, the accounting and consulting firm based in New York.

For job seekers in particular, clear communication can provide a snapshot of their work style to employers. “I can walk away from a five-minute conversation and feel their enthusiasm and have a good understanding of what’s important to them,” Paul says.

As office conversations increasingly move online, some workers are losing or never developing the ability to give a presentation, for example. Others may be unable to write coherently for longer than, say, 140 characters.

“Technology in some ways has taken away our ability to write well. People are in such a hurry that they are multitasking,” and they skip basics such as spelling and proofing, says Paul McDonald, senior executive director of Robert Half International, a Menlo Park, Calif., staffing firm.

Point to Note: Regardless of how technology advances and changes and so on, the fundamentals remain the same. And, what are the fundamentals? A strong command of the English Language is key. It is crucial to be able to speak well and write well in order to progress.  

[All credits to: http://sg.finance.yahoo.com/news/must-job-skills-2013-140423361.html] 

What's the LONGEST word?

The longest English word that appears in a dictionary is the 45-letter pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosis. It is alleged to mean "a lung disease caused by inhaling very fine ash and sand dust," according to Oxford Dictionaries. Scientists now just refer to it as P45.

The longest non-technical non-coined word in the English language hasn't changed since I learned this word when I was in elementary school. Antidisestablishmentarianism is 28 letters long and refers to a 19th century political movement that opposed the disestablishment of the Church of England, according to Oxford.

The longest non-technical, coined word is Floccinaucinihilipilification. It is 29 letters long and is a noun meaning "the action or habit of estimating something as worthless," according to the dictionary.

[All credits to: http://sg.news.yahoo.com/blogs/daily-buzz/man-creates-most-boring-video-saying-world-longest-163907502.html]

Extracts from Education Minister Heng Swee Keat

Wise, wise words from Education Minister Heng Swee Keat: 

He said: "We must encourage our students to apply themselves and to persevere, so that they can reach their full potential in their chosen fields. When they put in the effort, we should cheer them on. When they succeed, we should recognise and celebrate their success."

He added that in education, it is useful to bear in mind two key points — that children need to develop at their own pace and they need to develop as a whole person.

"Pulling up the shoot to accelerate its growth or distorting growth in particular areas at the expense of holistic development will set the children back," he said.

This is why, Mr Heng said, "we are putting the emphasis on a ’student—centric, values—driven’ education."

"Rather, we [adults] should encourage them [children] to persevere, to pursue learning along appropriate pathways, and help them succeed in the next phase. What matters is that our children grow up to have a love for learning, and to be life—long learners. It is a marathon, not a sprint."

He hopes parents will support and encourage their children in their next phase of learning and growth regardless of their examination results.

He concluded: "Our children will be more likely to succeed if they grow up to be confident and resilient, able to bounce back from setbacks; and be inventive and adventurous, able and willing to try and create new things. Let us celebrate their effort, continue to encourage excellence, and broaden our definitions of success."

The POWER of Strong Command of (THE ENGLISH) LANGUAGE

5 Career Mistakes That Keep You Underpaid (Adapted)

http://sg.finance.yahoo.com/news/5-career-mistakes-keep-underpaid-160000648.html
By Ryan Ong | MoneySmart – Wed, Nov 7, 2012 12:00 AM SGT[All credits to original author and the stated URL] 
One of the five career mistakes that keep you underpaid is *ta dah*: 

Not Writing Well

You don’t need to write Singapore’s answer to War & Peace. But you do need to write proposals and reports well. If you can’t, your employer might value you less than your peers.

HR Consultant Angeline Seah says:

“Writing skills affect productivity. A poorly worded e-mail can stall workflow, cost money, or unintentionally offend others. Most companies require employees at the management level to be able to write clearly, and in a concise manner.

Writing skills are also important when responding to customers. Some jobs require you to contact customers via e-mail, or provide instructions and clarifications on products. It’s a part of sales.”

If you can’t write well, Angeline suggests business writing classes. The British Council, along with many private schools, offer these. 

At the risk of sounding like a very broken recorder, I have to reiterate that having an excellent command of the English Language will give you an edge in your future. The person who can write well nails the job! 

DO MORE OF WHAT MAKES YOU HAPPY! :D

In class, I noticed that my student had one of the cutest pencil cases with a slogan of sorts printed on it. I am a big fan of slogans and puns! Her pencil case had the words "DO MORE OF WHAT MAKES YOU HAPPY" printed on it and I felt that that was just AWESOME! :) 

Here's sharing an email that I received sometime back. It is just great to remind ourselves about how to seize the day, every day! 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Ms. Bronnie Ware has worked with the dying for many years. She detailed the top 5 regrets that people have on their deathbed on her blog (http://www.inspirationandchai.com/Regrets-of-the-Dying.html). All credits go to Ms. Bronnie Ware. 

While we are all bound to have some regrets in life, here are the top 5. 

1. I wish I’d had the courage to live a life true to myself, not the life others expected of me.

Ware said that this was the most common regret of all. It’s easy to let our dreams slip by due to circumstances or decisions that we’ve made. These choices mark the divide between living a fulfilled life or one that is full of regrets.
It’s important that we aim to achieve at least some of our dreams along the way. We often put off trying for our dreams due to a myriad of reasons. Before we know it, we would have lost our health and therefore, our chance to attain them.
If your dream is to start a business, get to it. If it’s to learn how to dance or try skydiving, book a class. If you want to make music, pick up a guitar.
Don’t put it off any longer.

2. I wish I didn’t work so hard.

In between having ends meet and aiming for a luxurious lifestyle, it’s easy to see why we get caught up with our work.
Ware said that this was a common regret of male patients who didn’t manage to spend enough time with their family.
It’s easy to get caught up in the rat race, but remember to set aside some time for the important things in life. Most importantly, you will have to understand why you do what you do. Is it for your own personal achievement, for family, or for a higher calling?

3. I wish I’d had the courage to express my feelings.

Hands up anyone who has suppressed their feelings in order to avoid potential embarrassment or argument.
Avoiding arguments is good for a harmonious life, but the problem comes when we take it too far. When we blindly follow the opinions of someone more assertive just to avoid arguments, we’re shortchanging ourselves.
While it’s understandable that we use Twitter and blogging to rant about things we are unhappy with, do remember that talking about it face-to-face is always a more sincere option.
So if an issue is major enough, try approaching the person for an honest and frank chat. We’re not saying that the talk will be smooth sailing, but your relationships will emerge stronger and healthier.

4. I wish I had stayed in touch with my friends.

It’s easy to lose touch with good friends. A busy lifestyle can take away time from the ones you love. This is where technology comes in.
With services like Facebook, WhatsApp and Yahoo! Messenger, it’s easy to keep tabs on old friends. Talking to friends is so effortless today that we have no reason to let staying in touch with friends take a backseat.
At the end of the day though, nothing beats chatting over a cup of coffee. So always remember to occasionally take things offline and catch up with your friends the old fashioned way.

5. I wish that I had let myself be happier.

‘Many don't realize until the end that happiness is a choice’, said Ware in her blog post.
This is very true. Happiness is something that we choose for ourselves. Many get upset over the circumstances in their lives. What they do not realize is that they can choose to face difficulties with a smile.
Take a moment and enjoy life. If difficulties come your way, remember that pain is inevitable but wallowing in misery is always optional.
Choose to be happy.

And, DO MORE OF WHAT MAKES YOU HAPPY! Woo Hoo!! :) Let's look for Rainbows! 

A Speech about Life by Anna Quindlen - a good read...

I was looking through some meaningful emails that I had stored in a folder in my email account and I am pleased to share another thoughtful read. Here goes:

This was a speech made by Pulitzer Prize-winning author, Anna Quindlen at the graduation ceremony of an American university where she was awarded an Honorary PhD.

"I'm a novelist. My work is human nature. Real life is all I know. Don't ever confuse the two, your life and your work. You will walk out of here this afternoon with only one thing that no one else has. 

There will be hundreds of people out there with your same degree: there will be thousands of people doing what you want to do for a living. But you will be the only person alive who has sole custody of your life. Your particular life. Your entire life. Not just your life at a desk, or your life on a bus, or in a car, or at the computer. Not just the life of your mind, but the life of your heart. Not just your bank accounts but also your soul.

People don't talk about the soul very much anymore. It's so much easier to write a resume than to craft a spirit. But a resume is cold comfort on a winter's night, or when you're sad, or broke, or lonely, or when you've received your test results and they're not so good.

Here is my resume: I am a good mother to three children. I have tried never to let my work stand in the way of being a good parent. I no longer consider myself the centre of the universe. I show up. I listen. I try to laugh. I am a good friend to my husband. I have tried to make marriage vows mean what they say. I am a good friend to my friends and they to me. Without them, there would be nothing to say to you today, because I would be a cardboard cut out. But I call them on the phone, and I meet them for lunch. I would be rotten, at best mediocre at my job if those other things were not true.

You cannot be really first rate at your work if your work is all you are. So here's what I wanted to tell you today: Get a life. A real life, not a manic pursuit of the next promotion, the bigger pay cheque, the larger house. Do you think you'd care so very much about those things if you blew an aneurysm one afternoon, or found a lump 
in your breast?

Get a life in which you notice the smell of salt water pushing itself on a breeze at the seaside, a life in which you stop and watch how a red-tailed hawk circles over the water, or the way a baby scowls with concentration when she tries to pick up a sweet with her thumb and first finger.

Get a life in which you are not alone. Find people you love, and who love you. And remember that love is not leisure, it is work. Pick up the phone. Send an email. Write a letter. Get a life in which you are generous. And realize that life is the best thing ever, and that you have no business taking it for granted. Care so deeply about its goodness that you want to spread it around. Take money you would have spent on beer and give it to charity. Work in a soup kitchen. Be a big brother or sister. All of you want to do well. But if you do not do good too, then doing well will never be enough.

It is so easy to waste our lives, our days, our hours, and our minutes. It is so easy to take for granted the colour of our kids' eyes, the way the melody in a symphony rises and falls and disappears and rises again. It is so easy to exist instead of to live.

I learned to live many years ago. I learned to love the journey, not the destination. I learned that it is not a dress rehearsal, and that today is the only guarantee you get. I learned to look at all the good in the world and try to give some of it back because I believed in it, completely and utterly. And I tried to do that, in part, by telling others what I had learned. By telling them this: Consider the lilies of the field... Look at the fuzz on a baby's ear. Read in the back yard with the sun on your face. Learn to be happy. And think of life as a terminal illness, because if you do, you will live it with joy and passion as it ought to be lived".

Be Inspired to Work Hard, VERY VERY HARD

I am a firm believer in hard work. Putting in good effort ups our chances of success. We can't guarantee success but we can do all we can, namely, put in whatever it takes, to work purposefully to reach our goals and to succeed. 

I am inspired to keep striving after reading this article and I would like to share this :) Read and be Inspired to put in the hours, put in the good effort, make the sacrifices... to see excellent results! Yes, we reap what we sow! 

16 People Who Worked Incredibly Hard To Succeed

Max Nisen | Sep. 5, 2012
http://www.businessinsider.com/16-people-who-worked-incredibly-hard-to-succeed-2012-9?op=1 (All credits to respective websites! :))

Successful people in every field are often said to be "blessed with talent" or even just lucky.

But the truth is, many worked harder than the average person can even imagine.

From athletes like Michael Jordan to executives like Howard Schultz, these people are known for waking up early and working toward a goal while other people are still in bed, and staying later than everyone else too.

Old fashioned hard work. Anyone can do it. Let these people be an inspiration.

NBA legend Michael Jordan spent his off seasons taking hundreds of jump shots a day

Michael Jordan had prodigious physical gifts. But as his long time coach Phil Jackson writes, it was hard work that made him a legend. When Jordan first entered the league, his jump shot wasn't good enough. He spent his off season taking hundreds of jumpers a day until it was perfect.

In a piece at NBA.com, Jackson writes that Jordan's defining characteristic wasn't his talent, but having the humility to know he had to work constantly to be the best.   

Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz continues to work from home even after putting in 13 hour days

Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz must be a frequent consumer of his company's products to maintain his frenetic schedule. Since returning to turn around the company, he gets into the office by 6 in the morning and stays until 7.

Schultz continues talking to overseas employees even later at night from home. He goes into the office on Sundays and reads emails from his thousands of employees on Saturdays.

Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban didn't take a vacation for seven years while starting his first business

At first glance, the amazing success of Mavericks owner and entrepreneur Mark Cuban looks like a stroke of luck. He sold his first company at the peak of its value, and got into technology stocks at exactly the right time.

Cuban writes on his blog that it took an incredible amount of work to benefit from his luck. When starting his first company, he routinely stayed up until two in the morning reading about new software, and went seven years without a vacation. 

Phillies pitcher Roy Halladay's workouts are so intense, others can't make it halfway through them

Cy Young award winning pitcher Roy Halladay is one of the hardest working man in baseball. According to Sports Illustrated, he routinely puts in a 90 minute workout before his teammates make to the field.

His former pitching coach told SI that when other pitchers attempted one of his workouts, none of them could complete half of it. His pre-game preparation is so intense that he had a personal entrance card to his former team's training facilities.

GE CEO Jeffrey Immelt spent 24 years putting in hundred hour weeks

A 2005 Fortune article on GE CEO Immelt describes him as "The Bionic Manager". The article highlights his incredible work ethic, he worked 100 hour weeks for 24 years. Immelt strictly divides that time, devoting a specific portion of each day to deal with every part of his business.

All of that comes after a 5:30 A.M. workout where he's already reading the papers and watching CNBC. 

Apple CEO Tim Cook routinely begins emailing employees at 4:30 in the morning

Steve Jobs left incredibly big shoes for Tim Cook to fill. However, the man got the top job for a reason. He's always been a workaholic, Fortune reports that he begins sending emails at 4:30 in the morning.

A profile in Gawker reveals that he's the first in the office and last to leave. He used to hold staff meetings on Sunday night in order to prepare for Monday. 

American Idol host Ryan Seacrest hosts a radio show from 5 to 10 A.M. and runs a production company while appearing seven days a week on E!

Seacrest told the New York Times that even as a young child,  his goal was to be a “a classic iconic broadcaster". He's moved towards that goal by taking on a preposterous workload.

In addition to hosting American Idol, Seacrest appears 7 days a week on E!, hosts a daily radio show from 5 to 10 A.M., appears on the Today show, runs a television production company, and recently received $300 million in private equity funding to acquire more businesses. 

Nissan and Renault CEO Carlos Ghosn flies more than 150,000 miles a year

Carlos Ghosn runs two of the world's largest automakers, which should tell you something about his work ethic. A profile in Forbes describes how Ghosn works more than 65 hours a week, spends 48 hours a month in the air, and flies more than 150,000 miles a year.

His turnaround of Nissan is the subject of many case studies. Within a month he deployed a system that completely changed ingrained practices, helping save a company many thought irredeemable.  

Hong Kong business magnate Li Ka-Shing became a factory general manager by age 19

One of the richest men in Asia and a dominant figure in Hong Kong's economy, Li Ka-Shing started outworking everybody as a teenager en route to building a $21 billion empire.  

By age 15 Ka-Shing had left school and was working in a plastics factory. He told Forbes how he quickly became a salesman, outsold everybody else, and became the factory's general manager by 19. In 1950, he started his own business and did almost everything, including the accounting, all by himself.

Venus and Serena Williams were up hitting tennis balls at 6 A.M. from the time they were 7 and 8 years old

The Williams sisters, who have dominated women's tennis for many years, were all but raised on the court.

From an extremely young age, their life was, as described to the New York Times "..get up, 6 o’clock in the morning, go to the tennis court, before school. After school, go to tennis..." The Williams family was built around propelling the two towards success in the sport.

Petrobras chief Maria Das Gracas Silva Foster's work ethic earned her the nickname "Caveirao", slang for the armored vehicles used by police in Brazil

The current head of Brazilian Oil Giant Petrobras spent her childhood in a favela collecting cans to pay for school. She started as an intern in 1978, but quickly became the company's first female head of field engineering.

Bloomberg reports that her tireless work ethic has earned her the nickname Caveirao, for the armored vehicles police use to clean up crime ridden Brazilian neighborhoods. 

Yahoo CEO Marissa Mayer routinely pulled all nighters and 130 hour work weeks while at Google

Newly minted Yahoo CEO Marissa Mayer is known for her incredible stamina and work schedule. She used to put in 130 hour weeks at Google, and told Joseph Walker that she managed that schedule by sleeping under her desk and being "strategic" about her showers. 

Even people critical of her management style acknowledge that she "will literally work 24 hours a day, 7 days a week." That paid off with one of the biggest jobs in technology.

Lakers superstar Kobe Bryant completely changed his shooting technique rather than stop playing after breaking a finger

Nobody in basketball drives their body harder than Kobe Bryant. A profile in GQ describes how he has changed his shooting technique repeatedly rather than take time for dislocated and broken fingers.

When growing up outside of Philadelphia, ESPN describes how Kobe would spend his free time endlessly practicing jump shots in the park. The Laker's staff finds him doing the same thing at their practice facility at all hours of the day and night.

JP Morgan CEO Jamie Dimon spends his weekends preparing to grill employees on Monday

Though tarnished lately by the London Whale scandal, Jamie Dimon has been one of the most successful bankers of the past few decades.

The New York Times reveals that Dimon spends his weekends working through piles of reading and putting together a list of questions with which to grill employees on Monday. Fortune reports that his life is spent almost entirely on work and family, his one hobby is listening to music. 

Pepsi CEO Indra Nooyi worked the graveyard shift as a receptionist while putting herself through Yale.

Now of the most powerful and well known women in business, Pepsi chief Indra Nooyi worked midnight to 5 A.M. as a receptionist to earn money while getting her masters at Yale.

In an interview for a speakers series at Pepsi, she describes coming in to work every day at 7, rarely leaving before eight, taking home bags of mail to read overnight, and wishing there were 35 hours a day in order to do more work. She did all of this while raising two young daughters.

WB CEO Sir Martin Sorrell is a legendary workaholic whose employees can expect emails at any hour of the night

The CEO of advertising giant WBB is described by the Financial Times as a "notorious workaholic and micro manager." His typical workday begins at 6 A.M. and never seems to end.

A former client described sending Sir Martin a message while he was in a different time zone in the earliest hours of the morning. Sir Martin responded almost immediately.