Book Review of "Wisdom on How to Live Life" on Amazon
5.0 out of 5 stars Best spiritual book I have ever read, June 26, 2010
By A. J. Bray "Adrian Bray" (lowestoft, suffolk)
It has been several years since I came across the concept of 'living in the now'; it appealed to me because I wanted to live a contented life and not continually worry about the future. So when I read of the book 'Wisdom on how to live life - transforming Earth into heaven' by Dr. Tommy Wong, I was hooked!
In my early days I used to attend church upto three times on a Sunday where it was drummed into me that heaven was something you went to after dying and everything would be alright once you got there. Somehow, this translated into my mind that living on the earth was, at best, extremely difficult or at worst, horrible. God was something 'out there', cut off from us. This author proposes the concept that God is really a 'Great Spirit' that is in everything in and beyond our universe, yet smaller than an atom, in fact, everything that is. He goes on to say about divine, physical and man-made laws and gives great examples of each. 'Success' in life is defined through conversations Tom has with Guru's Dick and Harry. One reflects the way things are today in modern life, whilst the other suggests a better, fairer, more satisfying way. This book is easy to read, will challenge you to think about how you are living your life. It is a life changer and one to keep. Meanwhile, I can not wait to read Bk2. In my opinion, 5 stars are not enough to rate Bk1.
"Wisdom on how to live life" can be purchased here.
Wednesday, June 30, 2010
Sale of my books
My books are available for sale at the following major bookstores:
1. Harris
2. MPH
3. Kinokuniya
4. Times bookstores
5. Popular
You can also buy them online at www.easysearch.sg/ishop. Click here to see the various titles.
1. Harris
2. MPH
3. Kinokuniya
4. Times bookstores
5. Popular
You can also buy them online at www.easysearch.sg/ishop. Click here to see the various titles.
Yield on life insurance
Some people wondered why I write about the bad points of life insurance, when I had headed a life insurance coperative for 30 years.
Life insurance can be a good financial product, if it provides protection and allows the policyholder to get a fair yield on the savings. It becomes bad only when the insurance company give a poor yield to the policyholder through high charges for commission, expenses and profit.
In my book, Practical Guide on Financial Planning, I gave a benchmark on the "effect of deduction" for various durations of the policy. If you find an insurance product with an effect of deduction that is lower than the benchmark, it is a good product. If it exceeds the benchmark, the products should be avoided.
So, what is good or bad, depends on the pricing of the product and the net yield to the policyholder. When I headed the cooperative, I made sure that the policyholder gets a good yield on their savings.
Tan Kin Lian
Life insurance can be a good financial product, if it provides protection and allows the policyholder to get a fair yield on the savings. It becomes bad only when the insurance company give a poor yield to the policyholder through high charges for commission, expenses and profit.
In my book, Practical Guide on Financial Planning, I gave a benchmark on the "effect of deduction" for various durations of the policy. If you find an insurance product with an effect of deduction that is lower than the benchmark, it is a good product. If it exceeds the benchmark, the products should be avoided.
So, what is good or bad, depends on the pricing of the product and the net yield to the policyholder. When I headed the cooperative, I made sure that the policyholder gets a good yield on their savings.
Tan Kin Lian
Success on the second attempt
Many people are afraid to try something new. They are afraid of failure. They worry too much about what could go wrong and the consequence of failure. They are not willing to try. They prefer to have someone else to take the decision and the responsibility.
Sometimes, we have to fail before we can succeed. I wish to share this story. During the early 1980s, the insurance cooperative that I headed wanted to launch a new product, life annuity. We made detailed plans, trained the managers, employees and agents and set aside an advertising budget. They was a well publicised media launch for this product. A lot of effort was put in for two months. The sale of life annuity was NIL. It was a total failure.
There were many reasons for the failure. One key reason was the unwillingness of the public to buy a product where they can lose their capital on early death.
Three years later, we relaunched the life annuity product and modified it to provide a guaranteed period of payment. The payout was lower, compared to a life annuity that does not have any guarantee. On the relaunch, it was a big success and created a dominant market share of life annuity for the cooperative for two decades.
I am convinced that if we had not tried and failed on the first attempt, we would not have got the big sucess on the relaunch. I hope that this story will encourage you to be willing to take the plunge and try something new!
Tan Kin Lian
Sometimes, we have to fail before we can succeed. I wish to share this story. During the early 1980s, the insurance cooperative that I headed wanted to launch a new product, life annuity. We made detailed plans, trained the managers, employees and agents and set aside an advertising budget. They was a well publicised media launch for this product. A lot of effort was put in for two months. The sale of life annuity was NIL. It was a total failure.
There were many reasons for the failure. One key reason was the unwillingness of the public to buy a product where they can lose their capital on early death.
Three years later, we relaunched the life annuity product and modified it to provide a guaranteed period of payment. The payout was lower, compared to a life annuity that does not have any guarantee. On the relaunch, it was a big success and created a dominant market share of life annuity for the cooperative for two decades.
I am convinced that if we had not tried and failed on the first attempt, we would not have got the big sucess on the relaunch. I hope that this story will encourage you to be willing to take the plunge and try something new!
Tan Kin Lian
School work and holidays
RECENT revelations by parents on how their children are being deprived by schools of their term breaks to complete projects or study for exams, or both, suggest the following:
- poor time management;
- over-zealous or too much teaching;
- not recognising the need for children to rest; and
- the belief that more is better.
The allotted curriculum time and term time should be adequate in imparting whatever knowledge students need without having to encroach on the students' holidays.
It's generally accepted that term time is sacrosanct and should not be siphoned off for non-educational purposes.
Why shouldn't the school vacation be likewise left alone for the benefit of the students?
There's much that the students can do during school holidays: reading outside school texts, travelling, playing sports, or just enjoying the respite, all of which can contribute to their learning and development.
Learning is supposed to be an enjoyable experience.To make it any less so by needless overloading and depriving our students of rest and recreation would be counter-productive.
Lee Seck Kay
http://www.straitstimes.com/STForum/OnlineStory/STIStory_547818.html
Holiday homework blues
http://www.straitstimes.com/STForum/OnlineStory/STIStory_547819.html
'School holidays are the best time for students to learn.'
http://www.straitstimes.com/STForum/Story/STIStory_547996.html
School breaks important for catch-ups
http://www.straitstimes.com/STForum/OnlineStory/STIStory_547816.html
Tuition factor
http://www.straitstimes.com/STForum/Story/STIStory_547995.html
Holiday homework
http://www.straitstimes.com/STForum/Story/STIStory_547916.html
Adopt a balanced approach
http://www.straitstimes.com/STForum/Story/STIStory_547915.html
- poor time management;
- over-zealous or too much teaching;
- not recognising the need for children to rest; and
- the belief that more is better.
The allotted curriculum time and term time should be adequate in imparting whatever knowledge students need without having to encroach on the students' holidays.
It's generally accepted that term time is sacrosanct and should not be siphoned off for non-educational purposes.
Why shouldn't the school vacation be likewise left alone for the benefit of the students?
There's much that the students can do during school holidays: reading outside school texts, travelling, playing sports, or just enjoying the respite, all of which can contribute to their learning and development.
Learning is supposed to be an enjoyable experience.To make it any less so by needless overloading and depriving our students of rest and recreation would be counter-productive.
Lee Seck Kay
http://www.straitstimes.com/STForum/OnlineStory/STIStory_547818.html
Holiday homework blues
http://www.straitstimes.com/STForum/OnlineStory/STIStory_547819.html
'School holidays are the best time for students to learn.'
http://www.straitstimes.com/STForum/Story/STIStory_547996.html
School breaks important for catch-ups
http://www.straitstimes.com/STForum/OnlineStory/STIStory_547816.html
Tuition factor
http://www.straitstimes.com/STForum/Story/STIStory_547995.html
Holiday homework
http://www.straitstimes.com/STForum/Story/STIStory_547916.html
Adopt a balanced approach
http://www.straitstimes.com/STForum/Story/STIStory_547915.html
Exchange traded products
An important reform under the reforms being considered in America is for certain types of derivatives to be traded on an exchange. This ensures that the contracts and prices are transparent and that the financial risks are properly accounted for.
I encourage invesrors to invest in exchange traded products, for transparency and fair pricing, and to avoid all types of structured products that are issued by financial institutions (to achieve their sales and profit targets) that are not traded on an exchange.
Read Practical Guide on Financial Planning.
Tan Kin Lian
I encourage invesrors to invest in exchange traded products, for transparency and fair pricing, and to avoid all types of structured products that are issued by financial institutions (to achieve their sales and profit targets) that are not traded on an exchange.
Read Practical Guide on Financial Planning.
Tan Kin Lian
Sustainable Cities and Transport
Singapore has just hosted the World Cities Summit. It would have been a wonderful opportunity to showcase our previously lauded world class transport system, except that it had lost is lustre in recent years due to inadequate new infrastructure to meet the large increase in population.
Like many other large cities, Singapore roads are congested with private cars and other types of traffic. We also face inadequate parking space for the private cars at the homes and workplaces. Instead of building more roads, commuter lines and parking lots, we have to find innovative ways to deal with the universal challenge of moving people to work and back home.
I suggest that new towns be developed as a large car free zone. Commuting within the town should be by public transport in the form of feeder buses, taxis, shared cars and shared bicycles. The local transport will move the people to the train station, bus interchange, town center or the fringe car parks. Private cars can be used from the fringe car parks to travel on the highways to other parts of the city that are still dependent on private transport.
The new towns should be planned with the aim of encouraging people to live, work and study in the same town and avoid the need to commute long distances. The cost of buying and selling properties should be reduced, e.g. by removing the stamp duty, to encourage people to move to a new home that is close to their place of work.
This will lead to sustainable cities and a better quality of life. Perhaps when Singapore hosts the World Cities Summit again in the future, we will have a good showcase.
Tan Kin Lian
Like many other large cities, Singapore roads are congested with private cars and other types of traffic. We also face inadequate parking space for the private cars at the homes and workplaces. Instead of building more roads, commuter lines and parking lots, we have to find innovative ways to deal with the universal challenge of moving people to work and back home.
I suggest that new towns be developed as a large car free zone. Commuting within the town should be by public transport in the form of feeder buses, taxis, shared cars and shared bicycles. The local transport will move the people to the train station, bus interchange, town center or the fringe car parks. Private cars can be used from the fringe car parks to travel on the highways to other parts of the city that are still dependent on private transport.
The new towns should be planned with the aim of encouraging people to live, work and study in the same town and avoid the need to commute long distances. The cost of buying and selling properties should be reduced, e.g. by removing the stamp duty, to encourage people to move to a new home that is close to their place of work.
This will lead to sustainable cities and a better quality of life. Perhaps when Singapore hosts the World Cities Summit again in the future, we will have a good showcase.
Tan Kin Lian
FIFA World Cup - Quarter Finals
Of the 8 countries that qualified for the quarter finals, 4 are in South America (i.e Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay and Paraguay), 3 are from Europe (i.e. Germany, Spain and Nederlands) and 1 from Africa (Ghana). The South American teams have done quite well. So sad, that the 3 Asian teams (i.e Japan, North Korea and South Korea) were eliminated.
Passing the buck
This expatriate wants to set up a representative office in Singapore. He has to go from one agency to another. No agency wish to take the responsibility to assist him. It is a common behavior in Singapore. Read this letter.
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