You are a CHAMPION with a heart of GOLD!

You are a OUR CHAMPION Datuk Lee Chong Wei!

The whole country felt you, through your eyes, throughout the journey that you've shared with us. Having been in a competitive sports myself, I couldn't help but shed tears watching him fight his way till the end in his last game. He's tired, the whole country was watching him, and he indeed felt the pressure to bring home Malaysia's first ever GOLD. 

He may not have brought home that piece of Gold medal, but his spirit and act were GOLD. 

Please don't cry for you have done more than you can ever possibly do and you have nothing to apologise for. No one will ever know exactly what you feel, but do know that each and everyone of us Malaysians have you to thank for. 

At least if you retire from this, you know that you're retiring at a high - having beaten Lin Dan AND was in the running for a GOLD MEDAL!  You will forever be everybody's CHAMPION!

Where do you see yourself in 5 years?

Remember that question HR/Interviewers like to ask when you are in the midst of applying for a job - "Where do you see yourself in 5 years and what do you see yourself doing?"

I'm exactly at that stage, doing something I like and contented.

You know that feeling when you feel like everything is going your way? Recently I was telling Aiman about how I really love what I do at work and that I'm so thankful I have great teammates. Who you work with and who you surround yourself with are very important especially when it is something that you have to do every single day. Sleep. Work. Repeat.

...And then someone mentions "Man, I really don't like my job". 

Just like that, you feel like the luckiest person to have the best job in the world. Or at least that feeling. May not be completely on point in totality.

It got me thinking: What is it about the job that you don't like? Is it the job, or the people? Really, it is so important to differentiate these two. If it is the people, then why do you continue staying where you are? Why not seek for opportunities with people you may potentially be able to work with? Don't like what you do, then why stay where you are? Don't like the brand, then don't be selfish and stick around.

But never blame a brand because it is not a living thing. People are what represents a brand.

I guess I've been very lucky to have been able to be in situations where I love what I do and it is a big enough reason to make me feel happy and grateful. Why situations is because I have served 8 departments in my 6 years (1 year of Masters) with the firm so far. Some things that I realize would help:

1. Trust - Be honest in your work and work hard in every single thing that you do. No matter how small the task is. Building trust amongst your colleagues should be the first thing you do. 
2. Respect - I believe that you need to respect in order to gain it too. Discuss rationally.
3. Be honest - This is so important as you would not want to end up doing things that are wrong or things that you aren't sure about. Ask if you don't know and express your opinion (in a polite manner) if you have ideas. In the working world, everyone is an adult, everyone (maybe not all) should be able to have mutual respect in everything that they do.
4. It's OK to make mistakes - How else are you gonna learn otherwise? Better to make a mistake than not to have tried at all. 
5. Positivity - Make friends with everyone in the firm. It is just a job at the end of the day. It shouldn't be something that kills you nor should it take all your happiness away after work. Do not bring work stress home. If you are not happy, evaluate and speak to your bosses about it, everything is figureout-able remember? And no issue is life's biggest problem. Be grateful for all the good things, it will take you a long way!
6. Learn to compartmentalize - Do not waste energy on things that may disrupt your work. Divert your focus and attention away from negative vibes at all times. 
7. Treat everyone equally - Does not mean if you are an executive officer, you are any higher than the tea lady or the drivers or even the security guards. Spend time with them too, go out for lunch with them, play sports with them. You'll be amazed at how inspiring some of them are! I love them all, always giving me smiles everytime I come to office!

These are obviously just some of the factors, but the few that have given me a really good experience :)) Take one day at a time and you'll realize that as much as good times come to an end, down times do come to an end too!

Best F&B Set Up Award at the Young ASEAN Entrepreneurs Award 2016

Last weekend was definitely a weekend that the team wanted to remember forever and ever!

Just a week before, Aiman and I had one of those moments when we realized we had a bit too much on our plate and started reminiscing those days when we were sleeping in on weekends, travelling on our off days and had ample free time to do whatever we wanted to when we're not at work. Today, weekends are like any normal weekdays, and there's clearly no such thing as sleeping early every night. Unless except for when we fall asleep without even realizing it haha!

This is why we should never forget that God hears us, at all times. Great times, down times, ANYTIME! Allah probably heard us and gave us this Best F&B Set Up Award at the Young ASEAN Entrepreneurs Award 2016 to remind us that we are actually doing pretty ok, Subhanallah such a miracle! One phone call and our moods were lifted up sky high! We totally did not see this coming at all!

The past year has been nothing short of a roller coaster ride for us, having two jobs to handle - occasionally having a lot more down times stressful moments at both work and cafe but guys, one thing that definitely kept us going was to stop, reflect and divert all focus on the good that had happened instead of the down times. Knowing that Allah is with you at all times keeps one very sane when running a business. It is so very powerful because you know He would never put you through something that he knows you cannot handle.

At the end of the day it isn't the end of the world, no customer feedback, staff issue nor shutting the freezer switch OFF (remember that time when all my ice cream melted guys????), no struggle should drag you down and demotivate. Take it with a big smile, improve and move on. Everything's figureout-able if you take one step at a time :)

Alhamdulillah for all the ups and downs that have brought us all to where we are today, and definitely for the supportive family, friends, customers and my awesome team who had worked with us for without them, we would not have won the award. This award is not just for us, but for everyone. Here's to more ideas to improve and expand!!

CIMB ASEAN Scholarship Boot Camp

CIMB ASEAN Scholarship is the first ever that was introduced by CIMB Group earlier this year and whoa!! Thousands...yup, THOUSANDS of applications came in from all applicants across Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, Singapore, Cambodia, Indonesia. If I could, I would've applied for myself too (now that I've completed my bond you know, haha. Love this company don't I?)!

I was very privileged to have been picked to become one of the Assessors during their 5th round of assessment which was the Bootcamp. We had to interact and understand the applicants' characteristics, identify their strong traits and I am amazed that they are only 18 or 19 or some 20 but they're all so academically intelligent, driven and know what they wanted in life. Some are already in their first years in Cambridge, LSE, Imperial you name it!

What was I doing at 18? Still lost trying to familiarize myself with London city and was forever homesick. Haha, gooood times!

What was great about this ASEAN scholarship was that successful applicants will become both Scholars AND Employees of CIMB, how awesome is that? You go to Uni knowing that you have a company to come back to upon graduating. Reminded me a bit of my Masters days being both a Scholar and Employee of CIMB. Good times too, I would want to go through it again and again if given the chance. Especially loved seeing so many non Malaysian applicants who had made it to the 5th round too, I know for sure they'd make a good additional to our ASEAN offices in the future. 

Made so many new friends, and obviously they made me feel 10 years younger! Totally needed that young driven positive energy vibes :))) Made assessment for me a little tougher since I wanted all of them to proceed to the next round! Hehe!