The Walk of Life

Imagine that you were born into a rather poor family where you have to move house 9 times in 11 years and always in the middle of the night because the family could not afford the rent! Have to change schools 9 times as well. I am impressed by the real life story of this guy and to me this is one of the most inspiring stories in recent years.

This boy left school at the tender age of 13, with very little friends because of the constant changing environment and his social skills were terrible, frequently getting into fights. Having no particular skills, he worked in all sorts of jobs, from potato picking to making ice lollies to collecting boxes to working in newspapers to chopping up wood to working in the confectionary business.

By the time he is 60, he has made $20 Million! He built himself a multmillion dollar company, had 12 different offices with some of the best employees in the world. It was one of the best times in his life. Everything felt "right". Woke up every day with a smile, and was absolutely overjoyed to be alive.

In less than a year, each of his 12 offices was losing $20,000 a month. He tried desperately to sell off the offices... to find some kind of relief... but it just didn't happen. And in that one sentence, he lost it all. In the span of a few months, not only did he lose 12 offices... each one costing him circa $20,000 a month in losses ... but also lost a clean slate. It was the darkest and dismal period of his life and he was 65 years old with a debt of $4.5 Million to settle.

The trials were never-ending. At age 65, when most people would be retiring, he had to take another job and it wasn't just any kind of job. It was a commission-only job. That's right - starting at age 65, he still had no security whatsoever, not even a paltry base salary.

Starting all over again, and in 10 years when he reached 75, he not only paid off his $4.5 Million debt but also made himself another $20 Million! Thats not all, he suffered 6 strokes in 5 months and doctors said he would not be able to speak again! He overcame all odds and he recovered his speech. Wow! what an amazing story of true grit, determination and perseverance. He is known as the $20 Million Dollars Man and his name is Douglas Goodey. What an inspiring story! Thats him shown below:-

Don't you think, after reading this story, "Giving-up on yourself is NOT an option in life."

Nowadays, we, the consumer need to be educated and be informed of the various health hazards we bring upon ourselves due to using simple, take for granted daily commercial products such as shampoos! I was told by a friend that the normal shampoo we used contain a chemical known as SLS (Sodium Lauryl Sulphate) which is used in the preparation of floor cleaners!!!!

The fact is Sodium Lauryl Sulfate is an anionic surfactant used in cosmetics and industrial chemicals as a cleansing agent. In absorption, metabolism and excretion studies Sodium Lauryl Sulfate had a degenerative effect on the cell membranes because of its protein denaturing properties. High levels of skin penetration may occur at even low use concentration.

For more details on SLS please check out at natural-health-info or this toxicology report!

I was told that the following Brands of Shampoos contain SLS! Do check them out and just be warned for your own health :-

There are more products on the list but I guess the above serves the point! So the next time you buy your Shampoo just read the details!!!!

Lately our Political Parties in Malaysia are caught-up in a frenzy and excitement of choosing the leadership for next term. Many statements were made and one of those statement that came out was rather shocking! It goes like this "Taking Utusan to court is dishonoring Malays because Utusan belongs to UMNO and in turn a Malay Party'. This statement was aimed at MP Theresa Kok who is suing Utusan, a local newpaper for defamation on her recent ISA arrests due to incorrect publication and accusation of her doing something which she denied.

What is alarming is the illogical flow from that statement! If it is true, then Utusan can publish anything whether it is the truth or not, nobody can sue them for defamation or else that person is bringing the wrath of UMNO and hence the Malays on him or her!

Wow! scary! If you want to write or report on anyone, it is better to use Utusan, for you are 'protected' by virtue of the fact that it belongs to UMNO! Now, don't you think this sounded so ridiculous? Such statements coming from leaders is devoid of logic and justice! We might as well do away with the Judiciary which in fact, to a certain extent happened! Now we see all the mistrust, scandal and reports of corruption in our Judiciary and the consequences lead to BN loosing the two-third control of the Govenment in the recent General Election.

I am sure many citizens irrespective of race, can see the flaw in such statements! It is indeed crucial who we elect as leaders and especially in selecting people who represent us in the Government. Let not party loyalty, religious or race biases be the guide for I strongly believe in Leadership by Example! Having a title, qualifications, wealth, popularity and successful business are no guarantee for character and morality. Take the example of the family unit and we all know the consequences of bad leadership by parents that can lead to so much confusion, pain and turmoil in our children! What more on a National basis!

The recent Credit Crunch Fiasco in the US and Europe was something everybody talks about universally! The G7 meeting did not come out with any real solid guidelines except for the usual promises and assurances that they are doing something! Well, I don't blame them for it is a real sticky problem and not an easy one to solve. In my own life experiences, I had gone through two recessions, one in 1987 and another in 1997!

Even in Malaysia, although our Government keep assuring us that 'we are not affected' (Ha! Ha! Ha!) I can see worrisome faces on so many people (investors). Some of them mentioned to me is that our new Finance Minister thus far, had not come out with any solid plans as to what our Government is doing to assure the local investors!!

I think such times are indeed stressful times! Who is not worried because their money may just go "Puff" like a Candle in the Wind as sung by Elton John! So one of my financial guru friend came out with an interesting Investment Guide during such times and he has very convincing evidence for it! Sharing this great tip with you and if you don't gain anything out of it at least you get a good laugh which I believe is the best medicine in such times! :-

If you had purchased $1,000 of Delta Air Lines stock one year ago, you would have $49 left.

With Fannie Mae, you would have $2.50 left of the original $1,000.

With AIG, you would have less than $15 left.

But, if you had purchased $1,000 worth of beer one year ago, drunk all of the beer, then turned in the cans for the aluminum recycling REFUND, you would have $214 cash.

Based on the above, the best current investment advice is to drink heavily and recycle

This is just for a laugh and not meant to promote heavy drinking!