AiaAsia Wants To Fly more passengers than Singapore Airlines SIA

Laugh all you want, but one day, AirAsia will be bigger than Singapore Airlines (SIA).

This is the brash claim of the Malaysian budget airline's chief, Mr Tony Fernandes, who added: 'We are already carrying more passengers than SIA.'

Dressed in a blue polo T-shirt and jeans, sans his signature AirAsia red cap, he exuded self-confidence - that some might perceive as arrogance - during an exclusive interview in Kuala Lumpur last week.

He said: 'I'm sure many people who read this report will laugh at us.

'That's okay. It's good to dream. It's good to have a mission. It's better to do that than sit down and say, 'I'm never going to be as good as SIA'.

'What's the point of getting up in the morning? We want to be as good as the best.'

AirAsia has carried 47 million passengers to date. Its media relations officer, Ms Janet Leow, revealed that from advance bookings so far, AirAsia would reach 50 million passengers by June this year.

Mr Fernandes added: 'Last year, we carried 16 million passengers and SIA's figure was lower.

'This year, we will be carrying about 20 million passengers and SIA will be carrying about 18 million.'

SIA posted a net profit of $1.52 billion for the nine months ended December 2007. Its financial year ends in March. In comparison, AirAsia made about RM452million ($197m) in pre-tax profit for 2007.

So are these brave words just a pipe dream for Mr Fernandes?

He said: 'It's a truth that we carry more passengers. We're only 6 years old. SIA is 35.

'It has the backing of Temasek Holdings and the Singapore Government. Here, it's little me and four other guys who started this airline.

'Look at what we've done in six years. We grew faster than Malaysia Airlines or SIA.

'So why can't we be bigger (one day)?'

Still, the flamboyant businessman admitted that 'profit wise', he was far from his target.

The 44-year-old Malaysian, who is also chairman of Singapore Slingers (a franchise basketball team who play in Australia's National Basketball League), added: 'But that's my target.

'You always set yourself targets and SIA is one of the best airlines in the world.'

Asked if he thinks that SIA will sit back and let him fly past, he said, 'No'.

'I think SIA has responded by investing in Tiger Airways,' Mr Fernandes said with a snigger, adding that he didn't think Tiger was a threat to AirAsia.

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The Secret Is Out! Happiest Nation In The World Discloses Everything

The Danes are the happiest because they have learned not to expect anything. When something goes right they are happily surprised!

The Secret Is Out! Happiest Nation In The World Discloses Everything
Written on Saturday, February 23rd, 2008 by Alex Shalman
Posted in Happiness Project

In the United States, one of our constitutional rights is the pursuit of happiness. Strangely enough, despite this being a national goal, the U.S. ranks #23 in happiness according to research. The #1 spot belongs to Denmark. I would have expected a nation with tropical weather, more money, better health, or at least better food to rank #1 for that one trait that eludes many of us.

To be perfectly honest, when I started watching this video, I got a sudden urge to pack my bags, and head over to Denmark. Perhaps not to live there, but to see first-hand how a nation thinks in order to be the happiest in the world. Actually, that’s going on my to-go list right now.

The Danes consider themselves to be a very content people. They are well taken care of by their government in many ways. They are actually PAID to go to school, are provided with health care, child care, and many other benefits. The price of this is the government taking 50% for taxes.

One way to look at the Danes paradigm of themselves is that they are the underdog. When the underdog team loses, it isn’t a big deal, or a huge disappointment, because they weren’t the best team to begin with. However, when the underdog wins, it becomes a tremendous triumph, with all the reason to celebrate.

The key to Danish anti-depression is to have low expectations. They get really excited when things don’t go as bad as they thought they would. The trick is to remain ambitious, and strive for constant and never ending improvement, without being horribly disappointed when things don’t go as planned.

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How to Find Happiness Without Buying It

Our materialistic society has led us to believe that happiness cannot be obtained without having money. Rather than learning to be satisfied with what we have, we are taught to want more.

Rather than focus on the temporary satisfaction you may feel from spending money, try the following to bring you happiness without it.

* Imagine Having no Money: Imagine what you would do for happiness if you had no money at all. Think about how you would spend your time, and what you would do for enjoyment. Change your focus from material possessions to other things that bring you enjoyment, such as spending quality time with your family and friends. Rather than focusing on the accumulation of possessions, concentrate instead on playing with or reading to your children, or spending time out enjoying nature.

* Want What you Already Have: Society teaches us to want what others have. Instead, shift your thinking so that you are satisfied with, or want, what is already yours. What tends to happen is once we reach our goals in terms of owning personal possessions, we trade those old goals in for a set of new ones that involves bigger, better, and grander objects.

Goals are good to have because they motivate us to work, and to continue to strive for self improvement. The key is to find a balance between having worthy goals and recognizing when we are allowing the desire for possessions to overwhelm the importance of other aspects of our lives. Rather than constantly striving for things we do not have, we need to shift our focus to being thankful for the things we already possess.

* Volunteer Your Time: One way to appreciate what you have is to work with others who have nothing, or who have disabilities that no amount of money can overcome. Volunteering time to work in a food bank, or to work with underprivileged children, can really alter your perspective on where you are in life, and can create a deeper appreciation for the gifts you do have in your life.

Helping others can boost your spirits as well. There is a great deal of personal satisfaction to be gained from giving aid to those who are in need of it, leaving you with a sense of satisfaction that will carry over into your own life. Use the experiences of helping others to teach your children compassion and civic responsibility.

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Rock the Party: How to Appear Friendly and Approachable

It's important to understand body language and the way it affects perception. By reading the body language of others and managing your own, you can create the first impression that represents you best.

The Basics of Body Language

The idea of reading body language can seem like voodoo, but the truth is you’re already doing it. The mind subconsciously interprets body language and uses it to form impressions.

Do you ever have impressions of people that don’t seem justified? Maybe they strike you as strange or untrustworthy, but for no particular reason? Chances are, their body language is giving off bad signals that your brain is reacting to subconsciously.

Once you start paying attention, these signal are easy to spot. It’s a language you already speak and it’s extremely intuitive, you just need to become consciously receptive to it. This post is intended to be an overview of the basics, but there is more good info here and here.
Projecting Openness

The key to appearing friendly and approachable is projecting openness. Fortunately, it looks just like it sounds. Examples of open body language are:

* Arms at sides (as opposed to crossed).
* Outward facing palms
* Legs stretched out and uncrossed
* Elbows away from the body
* Leaning forward (like you’re interested)
* Standing straight (no slouching)

If you are in a good mood and open to meeting people, you’ll naturally have open body language. We run into problems when we’re in a sour or reclusive mood but still need to be sociable.

Maybe you’re tired, nervous, or a person who doesn’t enjoy big crowds. In these cases, you can actually put yourself into a more likable mood by assuming more likable body language. It sounds crazy, but it works. Force yourself to smile a giant smile and you will instantly feel (at least a little bit) happier. Try it you don’t believe me.

If you are in a social situation and feel things aren’t going well, your natural tendency will be to hide behind closed body language. This will only make things worse. You need to fight your first instinct and focus on projecting the open signals listed above.
Eye Contact

Making eye contact is crucial. Have you ever met someone who couldn’t look you in the eye? What was your perception of them?

Refusal to make eye contact conveys a lack of self confidence and trustworthiness. It makes other people suspicious and unlikely to respect you. Make a concerted effort to look every person you speak with directly in the eye. If that’s too much to ask, an old trick is picking a spot on the lower forehead to stare at.

Eye contact is also a great way to start conversations. The eyes are the window to the soul, so making eye contact creates a powerful connection. Be careful not to stare, but if you see someone you’d like speak with, try to make eye contact as you walk by. If successful, try to open up a conversation.
Adjusting to the Signals of Others

Managing your own body language is only half of the equation. The other half is recognizing and reacting to the body language of others.

If you notice a person has closed body language, it’s a sign you should give them space and proceed with caution. Some people just don’t want to be talked to. Forcing the issue will likely exacerbate their negative feelings.

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Google's Office in Zurich (PICS)

Seeing such offices makes you wish you were working for Google. They have everything a person needs in there and even more. They have massage chairs, slides, pool tables and other games, private cabins and much more. These photos are from Google office in Zurich.








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How to Recover From a (Big) Mistake at Work

Unfortunately, mistakes happen. Sometimes, big mistakes happen. I recently had to handle one at the office. I'm an attorney, and the mistake I made was partly the result of an error in judgment on my part, and partly the result of a lack of communication from my bosses. The mistake: I missed a filing deadline, a BIG filing deadline.

I discovered the missed deadline three days after it had passed, when I checked my email upon arriving home from work. I felt embarrassment and horror as I realized the error in judgment that I had made. I felt anger at my bosses for their lack of communication and failure to tell me that this filing might be coming and that I should keep an eye out for it. I also felt helpless as I realized that the error in judgment would be a stain on my reputation and record for some time to come.

After a few minutes, I realized that I wasn't entirely helpless; there were some things I could do to minimize the damage that my error had caused. While I hope you don't need to utilize these tips, I think you'll find them helpful if you find yourself in a similar situation:

1. Take responsibility. Upon realizing the error that had occurred, I resisted the temptation to bury my head in the sand and instead immediately called my bosses' attention to the problem and apologized.

2. Take initiative. Even though I had the next day off (it was a Friday before a long weekend), I went into the office. Early. As soon as I arrived at the office, I took as many actions as I could to start solving the problem. My bosses weren't in yet, but there were some things I could do to begin the process of asking the court for an extension of the filing deadline.

3. Act quickly. Once my bosses arrived, I updated them on the work I had already done. I then worked hard to get the extension filed as quickly as possible. It was done by mid▴morning.

4. Do good work. I got the filing done by the extended due date, and I even received compliments on the quality of work that I did on it.

It's too soon for me to know the long-term impact of this mistake and in fact, I'm concerned that it might affect whether I get a promotion that I'll be eligible for in a couple of years. However, I can already tell that the actions I took immediately following the mistake have helped to significantly mitigate its effects.

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30+ Useful Websites You Probably Didn't Know About

Collection of pure, no nonsense, get something done now, kind of sites.

General Goodness

• Cellphone Contract Buster. Want out of your cellphone contract? You may be able to do just that. Check out: Cellswapper and CellTradeUSA. Note that you need to get permission from your carrier in advance and let them know if you want to keep your phone number.
• GetHuman: Stop being frustrated with automated phone systems. This extensive list will give you the ways to reach a live person at hundreds of companies!
• Cash in on Airline Points: at Points.com: If you can't sell your airline points and if you can't use them either, you can now swap them for other items.
• How Stuff Works: If you ever need to know how something works from computer related queries to health to business and more, check out How Stuff Works.
• Online Conversions. Convert any measurement to another. Extensive and useful resource!
• Search Public Records. Links to over 41,000 searchable public record databases. United States, Canada, Australia, and Europe.
  

Health & Fitness

• Toilet Finder: Mizpee.com - Lists public restrooms in 18 US and Canadian cities. Go find one now or add your favorites and rate them! Handy when you gotta go!
  
• Weight Management: Free calorie counter, weight loss calculators and weight loss tutorials. Very no-nonsense.
  

Happiness

• Musicicovery. Discover new music according to mood, energy level, genre, and more. Very cool interface with results displayed in mindmap format. Very cool!
• WikiTravel. Wikipedia for travelers. Tons of great information on your chosen destination.

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9 Ways To Jumpstart Your Writing Goal

Like most goals, accomplishment comes with investments in time, in brain power, and consistent commitment. Here I will discuss some specific things you can do to get a jump start on developing a writing habit. If writing is not for you, think of a life goal that you have and then build a plan for it.

Building The Writing Habit

1. A set time. Each and every morning I wake up at 6am and begin writing. They say the first waking hour is the Golden Hour, where you concentrate and experience the most creativity. I think this is true for me, and it can be true for you even if you aren't a morning person. Once you are in the habit of writing at a certain time, that is your Golden Time.

2. A set place. Since I do my writing right when I wake up, it's pretty much always done in my bedroom, at my writing desk, on my laptop. While I will occasionally write from other locations or on different computers, this is home base (literally). The purpose of this is to continually trigger my mind into a creative flow. You might want to have a completely separate computer just for your writing in order to build an even stronger connection with writing and this apparatus.

3. Writing Utensils. I do 95% of my writing on my Dell Inspiron 6000 machine. It may not be luxurious, but it gets the job done. My program of choice for all initial writing happens to be Dark Room. It is a very basic program that takes up the whole screen and forces concentration on the written word.

4. Idea Lists. An important part of stimulating creativity is the act of bringing plentiful ideas to the writing table. To do this it is important to carry a Moleskin or a Voice Recorder with you throughout the day. You might be in a very random place when you get your million dollar idea and you'll want to capture every nuance of it instead of letting it get forgotten by trusting your memory.

5. Kill Distractions. I hope no one skimming this list is going to throw a hatchet at the first person to knock on the door while they're writing. On a serious note, it's very important to preserve quiet in a distraction free writing space because it takes several minutes to enter a creative flow state after a disturbance. If it takes you 15 minutes to get into maximum flow, and you get distracted every 20 minutes, you aren't realizing your full writing potential as you throw yourself into the writing world.

6. Quit Quitting. Get used to quitting all those self-limiting beliefs that say you have nothing to write about, no fresh ideas, and cannot properly articulate the language. Forget that. Put the pen to the paper, and write anything that comes to mind, and see where that takes you.

Keep writing. Keep doing it and doing it. Even in the moments when it's so hurtful to think about writing.
Heather Armstrong

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20 Things I'm Glad Life Taught Me

Here are 20 things that I personally came to understand and believe in. Your 20 could be totally different. Perhaps you only have 5, it doesn't matter. The key is that you learn from your life, your failures and your successes. Neglect any one of those and you are taking a rocky road to learning and personal development.

# You must create and look for opportunities: Opportunities rarely ever come knocking on the door of someone who's not seeking them. You have to create and seek opportunities for yourself. You have to take the initiative to get the ball rolling and the doors opening.

# Negativity will only bring more of it: When you focus only on negativity, obviously that's all you will see. You will not seek out positivity, and even when positivity comes into your life, you'll look for the negative part of it.

# Where you are does not determine where you can go: It doesn't matter if you're homeless or living in a mansion, poor or rich, or if you have a 4.0 grade point average or "failing", it won't make any difference in the future. There are countless rags to riches stories to back this point up. If you have the drive and talents, you can go anywhere. You create your own limitations and horizon.

# If you can't help others, you can't help yourself: Even if it's just to hold the door for someone or some other simple gesture, it will do wonders for your life. You'll feel great and you'll eventually be returned the favor sometime during your life, whether you realize it or not. If you don't want to help others, then others won't want to help you, and nor should they.

# Follow your passion, money will follow: If you have passion and have fun doing your job, then I wouldn't consider it a job. You can focus on creating even more passion for that subject and money will eventually follow you. If you focus only on the money, it won't come because you're focused on the quantity of your work and not the quality.

# Enjoy yourself: Have fun as much as possible, don't take everything so seriously. Push your worries aside and bring enjoyment closer.

# If it were easy everyone would do it: This is why get rich quick schemes will never be true. If it was so quick and easy then everyone would be millionaires. Making money and accomplishing tasks is hard work, but well worth it.

# Planning is good but so is being spontaneous: Planning ahead in business and in life is important but so is being able to quickly change that plan. Various people and events will get in the way of your plans, so you have to be able to modify or forget your plans at times. Be spontaneous once and awhile, it makes life interesting.

# You have many talents: You may be a talented athlete or musician but you probably have ten more talents you don't even know about. When people find something they're good at, they only focus on that instead of seeing what else they can do.

# Don't work hard without rewards: What's the point of working hard to follow your dreams if you aren't going to treat yourself along the way. Each little or big goal you accomplish should be rewarded with a proportionate treat, maybe a day off or a big slice of cake.

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Simple (And Easy) Money Saving Tips For Frugal Living

We all know that scrimping and saving is a pain and too dull for words but the fact is that making a few tiny changes to the way we shop, save and invest could mean the difference between ending our days in a mansion or an old peoples home.

# Make your lunch

It’s so easy I’m surprised more people don’t do it. If an average sandwich is $5 a pop and you buy one each day you’re at work, then over a year it’s going to cost you about $1,200 (assuming you have 28 days holiday which is more than most people will get). Get into the habit of rustling up your own food and you can easily pocket half of that cash, using the other half to bulk buy your groceries at the supermarket.
# Downgrade your brand purchases

Going for the cheapest beans in the store is a bit over the top (especially since they probably taste horrible). Drop a brand level on everything you can and the overall price drops by roughly 30%. Often you’re only paying for the branded packaging anyway.
# Align your eyes to belly ratio

Americans actually waste about 40% of food produced for consumption. According to Wasted Food, that amounts to an annual cost of over $100 billion. Buy only what you need for the week and avoid stocking up with food which could spoil quickly. If you run out of food mid-week it’s no big deal to make a second trip to the supermarket.
# Reduce your heating bill

By turning the temperature down in your house by just one degree you can save almost 10% on your heating bill. Also, you’ll prevent about 240kg of carbon dioxide being released into the atmosphere. Cheaper, and greener too.
# Enjoy happy hour

If you like a beer with your buddies in the evening, consider going at less popular times of the day. Many bars offer happy hour deals when it’s quiet which can often see you save up to 50% of the cost. You can’t complain at getting more beer for less.
# Be a late adopter

I know it’s tough to wait until the buzz surrounding the new mobile phone or games console has died down - especially if you’re a techno-geek - but if you can hold back from buying until at least six months after the new technology is launched you could save up to 50%. Let other obsessed geeks drive the price down for you.

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11 Common Beliefs I’ve Found Untrue

Through history and through society we have been taught to believe many different things to be true in life. Our parents passed these beliefs down to us, we were taught these in school, and we just came to believe them because others did as well. However, here are 11 beliefs I’ve found to be untrue.

1. Life is hard

Life and the obstacles you encounter are only as hard as you make them. People are always complaining that their lives are so hard, but they never keep in mind that someone else has it worse. If you’re reading this, then your life is far better and easier than most in the world. If you think about it, life isn’t really that hard, at times it’s only challenging, and you create those challenges.

2. It takes a long time to achieve success and change

We are taught that we must work for many, many years before we can achieve success. However, success can be achieved in a matter of weeks. With the state of technology and the world, never has there been a time when success can come to someone so quickly.

3. Life is short

Our time on this earth is a paradox. It’s not a lot of time, yet it is. We can all accomplish so much in our short lives. We can go from poverty to prosperity, obscurity to celebrity, and we can change the world. You can’t say you have no time to achieve your goals, there’s plenty of time, yet there’s not enough time in our lives to wait.

4. You need money to make money

Money is not the most crucial part of achieving success and wealth. Action and persistence are. When you have no money you will find a way to get what you need.

5. School is important

To a point, education is very important. I believe that everyone should graduate from high school or obtain a GED. But if you didn’t or don’t excel in school, don’t sweat it. Your grades will not determine your destiny. Obviously certain career choices require you to graduate from college. The stigma of not attending college after high school should be lost in our society. You’ll learn more lessons from real life experiences than you will in any school.

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9 Things You Can Do to Increase Your Income - Today

If you are happy with your income level and not phased by the way everything has become more expensive in the last year, save time, stop reading, go take a nap. If however, you want to get a leg up and you are willing to do the work, read on - these will help you on your journey.

1. Wake up early. Did you miss this one already? Don’t worry because we have 8 more things you can do to increase your income – today.

2. Practice and improve your speaking skills. Join a Toastmasters club if there is one in your area. If there isn’t one, get a few like minded people together and start one.

One of the most touted things people in business recommend to help others improve their income is to improve their communication and leadership skills. Being able to confidently stand up and speak in public is one of the most visible and recognized skills you can have at your disposal. Being able to present a compelling case to a customer prospect or to your boss as to why they should spend more on you or whatever you are selling likely won’t fly if you are a wallflower or turn to mush when called on to speak. You should instead stand and deliver your message in a clear and compelling manner.

3. Sharpen your analytical knife. Whatever your area of interest, become better equipped to perform analysis. Practice reviewing financial statements. Pay attention to the various aspects that experts in the field are looking at. Start with whatever your company or organization pays you. Whether you own it or not, learn to analyze it as an owner does. If you are in a technical area, practice analyzing the problems you are working on as though you were an expert or an owner with a vested interest in the outcome.

4. Ask. Ask for the order if you are selling something. Lift the telephone even if it seems to weigh 10, 000 pounds when it is time to ask a customer prospect for an appointment. When facing this person, ask for the order even if it is not highly likely you will get it and the odds are high that you will face rejection. Ask your boss for a raise if you are indeed as valuable as you think you are. Ask for candid feedback if you are not sure. Ask for a more generous severance package if you were wrong. People who tend to avoid asking difficult questions, generally do not fare as well as those who do ask such questions.

5. Focus. This is stressed so often in so many places by so many people that it has become cliché. But that doesn’t make it any less valuable. So, like so many others before us have said: focus, focus, focus.

6. Spend less. Spending money usually takes time and effort away from making money. It can substantially weaken your power base if you squander your financial resources and leave yourself dependent.

7. Increase your documentation habit. Writing or somehow tracking information in a permanent form dramatically decreases the need to remember stuff. It frees up tremendous mental capacity if we don’t need to rely on our memory for everything. In practice, those who document stuff well (from long term goals to short term stuff like contact information and item lists) tend to enjoy increased memory capacity.

8. Review meaningful stuff in a meaningful way. Find ways to immediately assess what you are doing so that you can determine what creates value. Then focus on it, and scrap the stuff that does not. Chances are that most of your value creation occurs in a relatively small amount of time. This works well with having good documentation habits.

9. Take your best shot first. If you only had a day left to live and wanted to accomplish something meaningful, how would you approach the day? Don’t waste time fumbling around on unimportant or trivial tasks that won’t help you make an impact. Set the unimportant matters aside, focus on what matters and make the best move you can toward accomplishing what you need to accomplish to make your last day count.

Use this same philosophy when it comes to increasing your income. If you have a good customer prospect or some opportunity to demonstrate a high value proposition to your boss or co-workers, don’t wait. Do it now. If it doesn’t work, you might still get another shot. And if it does, then you have just increased your income!

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5 Traits You Will Need on Your Way to Becoming a Leader

Whether you are striving to be a leader in your career, or simply want to be a leader in your own private life, there are many lessons and characteristics that will serve you well in either of these endeavors.

1. A Leader Must Have a Vision: This could be your grandest goal, or an overall sense of accomplishment. Either way, the leader must be able to visualize where he wants to be, where he wants his company to be, or where he wants his family to be. Everything begins with a worthy vision that provides a goal to work towards.

2. A Leader Must be Able to Develop Relationships: Great interpersonal skills are necessary for any leader to possess. The hermit will not achieve greatness, no matter how adept, because the world will not notice him. The leader builds quality relationships based upon trust, respect, cooperation, and teamwork. The leader does not ask what others can do for him, but rather what he can be doing to help others. A leader inspires others to join him in his quest for success.

3. A Leader Must be Able to Strategize: Successful leaders not only have a great vision, but they are able to develop a plan to reach their goal successfully. The leader knows what accomplishments need to be made, what obstacles must be overcome, and what resources will be needed in order to realize his vision.

4. A Leader Must be Able to Resolve Conflict: A good leader will examine conflict from all angles and be able to determine its root cause. In addition to realizing the feelings and perspectives of others, the leader will also recognize and acknowledge his own role in the conflict. He will then work collaboratively with other involved parties in order to successfully resolve the conflict issue while keeping important relationships intact.

5. A Leader Must be a Good Problem Solver: No matter how well thought out, the road to realizing a vision will be full of potholes. Thorough planning can help smooth out the road, but there will be some ruts in the road that threaten to rip the wheels off of the car. A good leader will recognize this ahead of time and plan accordingly, offering a backup plan when the original one goes awry. A leader is able to think on his feet, gather all available information, decipher the facts, and use some good common sense to come up with a workable solution.

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The Rocky Balboa of New Zealand

"Success is not final, failure is not fatal: it is the courage to continue that counts."

Winston Churchill

New Zealand hero Sir Edmund Hillary and his climbing partner, Sherpa Tenzing Norgay, became the first men to conquer Mt. Everest. An amazing feat! But Hillary isn’t the only New Zealander whose accomplishments still inspire me.

I am referring, here, to my one-time neighbor John Britten, who was born with a serious learning disability that made reading extremely difficult. Not able to learn in conventional schools, Britten attended night school and eventually earned an engineering degree from Christchurch Polytechnic Institute of Technology. His determination to earn a degree - and, more important, gain precious knowledge - was a sign of things to come.

Britten was a quiet, unassuming, totally focused individual. Some years before I met him, he began building, of all things, a futuristic motorcycle in his garage. His stated goal was to win the prestigious Battle of the Twins international cycle race in Daytona Beach, FL.

His cutting-edge cycle involved over 6,000 parts, most of which Britten made by hand. With the notable exception of the engine, his extraordinary machine was constructed primarily of carbon fiber, a first for the motorcycle industry.

He had dedicated helpers who worked for free, mostly at night, while holding down full-time jobs during the day. Incredibly, the actual cost of Britten’s masterpiece was not more than a few hundred dollars. Meanwhile, many large corporate sponsors spent several million on their entries.

Working while others slept was a Britten norm that was accepted by those who agreed to become involved in his projects. Toiling around the clock was his trademark. Anything short of a superhuman pace would have made it impossible for him to build his one-of-a-kind cycle from scratch in just under 11 months, barely finishing in time for the Battle of the Twins.

With just three weeks to go before the big race, Britten’s carbon-fiber cycle crashed while being tested. It was a cruel blow, a bad break that everyone agreed Britten didn’t deserve. The task of locating and correcting the problem, then repairing the bike, seemed insurmountable. But Britten and his crew again managed to overcome all obstacles, and arrived in Daytona just in time.

Then, during the qualifying run, disaster again struck. Just 12 hours before race time, a hairline crack in a cylinder sleeve - one of the few parts Britten had not built himself - threatened to end his bid for the unofficial world championship for twin-cylinder motorcycles. His reaction? After tireless but fruitless efforts to find the part in the Daytona area, Britten, who had no previous experience welding cylinder sleeves, repaired it himself.

By race time, Britten had been awake 47 hours straight. But, as events unfolded, it looked as though the monumental effort by him and his team would finally pay off. Once again, however, bad luck reared its ugly head. With Britten’s cycle leading the pack, rain forced an end to the race one lap from the finish. The entire race had to be run over.

In the restarted race, Britten’s cycle again led the pack most of the way, until - you guessed it - yet another non-Britten-built part, a faulty rectifier, halted his bid for victory once and for all. John Britten had captured the admiration of the racing world, but had failed to come home with a trophy.

But when he returned to New Zealand, he didn’t waste time focusing on the bad breaks he had experienced in Daytona. Instead, he went right back to work, rebuilt his handcrafted motorcycle, and returned to Daytona the next year. This time, he won the Battle of the Twins, a Rocky Balboa finish if there ever was one.

The victory doesn’t end there. The first commercial version of the Britten motorcycle sold for a record $140,000. Not a bad return on the few hundred dollars he had spent on the design and construction of the original model.

The moral to this story is that most bad breaks, particularly those that do not involve life-changing injury, terminal illness, or death, are no match for human intervention. As Benjamin Disraeli once said, "Man is not the creature of circumstances, circumstances are the creature of man. We are free agents, and man is more powerful than matter."

Intangibles such as focus, commitment, and action, all of which John Britten displayed in abundance, have a way of rearranging the playing field, notwithstanding injustices harsh enough to bring most of us to our mental knees. John Britten proved that a determined individual can overcome most of the bad breaks life puts in his path.

Ironically, though Britten was a master at overcoming adversity, shortly after winning the Daytona title - in the prime of his life at age 44 and hard at work on a revolutionary new airplane - he was diagnosed with cancer and passed on quickly. It was a sad ending for those of us who knew him.

Britten’s story is a grim reminder that the typical injustices we encounter in our day-to-day lives are rarely of major importance. They could be more properly categorized as the "little irritants" that gave birth to Murphy’s Law, especially the part that states, "If anything can go wrong, it will - at the worst possible moment."

It’s nice to know that these little irritants can be overcome by anyone who is intensely focused on a goal and determined to attain that goal. And that, in a nutshell, describes John Britten. He is one of the few people I can say I feel truly honored to have known.

Live A Beautiful Life by Creating the Perfect Environment

This article will guide you through a few of the things that will help you see your life in a beautiful light.

It's been known for ages that the types of people we surround ourselves with have a lot to do with how we're going to think, feel, and grow as individuals. As important as people are, and I'll talk more about this soon, there are other factors that greatly contribute to the quality of your life.

Here I will guide you through a few of the things that I do to help me see my life in a beautiful light.

Sunlight. Being in constant sunlight does much for your body

Flowers (via Gardenweb). They say 'flower power for a reason', and this is the reason.

Healthy Food. This is absolutely vital because the stuff we put in isn't just fuel, it isn't just

Friends to Play. You've heard laughter is the best medicine? Well friends are the best source of

Person to Love. Having a person to love, such as a significant other, or a family member can all

Room to Grow. We all need room to grow, physically, mentally, and spiritually. If we confine

Exercise. Exercise makes you feel good in so many ways. You feel good because you're working

Integrity. An environment of integrity is one that you create for yourself when you become

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5 Quick & Simple Breakfast-On-the-Run Ideas

OK, show of hands: how many people leave the house without eating breakfast? How many of you buy a bagel or pastry on the way into work? If you wait 5-10 minutes in line, you could use that time instead to make your own quick breakfast that is cheaper, tastier, and healthier.

Perhaps your idea of breakfast is simply a cup of coffee. And maybe also you notice that you tend to binge eat at night. If so, this is another great reason to consider making your own breakfast. By having something in the morning you'll be less likely to binge eat at night. Binge eating at night stems from accumulated stress and hunger that is built up during the day. You can ward this off by keeping your energy levels consistent throughout the day starting with a nutritious breakfast.

Quick and Simple On-the-Run Breakfast Ideas

1. Yummy Oatmeal.
Oatmeal is very healthy. It helps to lower cholesterol and takes 2 minutes to cook in the microwave. Add some nuts, cinnamon and honey and you have a delicious, nutritious breakfast. Pour it all into a tall plastic cup and bring it with you.

* 1/4-1/2 cup Oats (see the box for exact directions)
* 1/4-1/2 cup water
* pinch salt
* handful nuts (almonds, walnuts, pecans are great)
* cinnamon to taste
* 1-2 tspn honey

Optional

* 1/8 cup milk
* 1-2 tspn brown sugar instead of honey
* 1/4-1/2 favorite fruit (bananas, strawberries, blueberries)

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11 Solid Ways to Improve Your Time Management Skills

Here are a handful of tips to consider:

1. Make Lists: Write as much down as you can. If you don’t carry a planner or notebook already, start. Personally, I’ve always preferred a small, simple, white-lined notebook because you aren’t restricted by the various boxes and lines of the average planner.

A simple To Do List is often a huge help to anyone, but I can attest gleefully to the 3 Lists of 3 Method more than any other. You’re goal is to avoid a list that reaches outrageous length and is overwhelming to even look at.

2. Make Use of Down Time: Using walking, driving, showering, or otherwise “dead” times to plan. Think about what your goals are for that day or the next. Which goals are most important? Prioritization is the key.

3. Reward Yourself: Whenever you accomplish something, especially the important things, make sure to take the time to reward yourself. A Clockwork Orange author Anthony Burgess’ used the “Martini Method” to get things done. Burgess set a goal of 1,000 words per day. When he finished his word count, he’d relax with a martini and take the day off. Maybe a martini isn’t the ideal reward for some of us, but the method stands useful.

4. Concentrate on One Thing: The human mind works more efficiently when it is focused. As we’ve seen before multitasking is actually a disadvantage to productivity. Focus on one thing and get it done. Take care not to bleed tasks into each other. At times, multitasking may seem like a more efficient route, but it is probably not.

5. Avoid Procrastination at All Costs: When trying to be more productive and trying to save time, procrastination should be avoided like nothing else. It is the ultimate productivity-killer.

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