Welcome to Peng's Blog. Personal power is a choice we make internally.

Wednesday, Dec 09, 2009

"You don't know what you don't know"

By Peiying Peng

Wednesday, Dec 09, 2009 10:44

Above sentence is borrowed from Landmark Education, Inc. It was made case in point today over my rumination over a hot topic--Health Care Reform (henceforth HCR). We are not going to discuss HCR here, but we are going to talk about what to do when "you don't know what you don't know." I have been tracking friends' comments on Facebook on HCR. Opinions are pretty predictable since most of them are made by educated middleclass Americans. Yes, from both parties. But still (or maybe because of that), the spectrum of opinions is pretty predictable. So what's that has to do with the post today? What got me thinking is that we, the educated middleclass, really won't know what others think because we just don't have those experiences. To offer our opinion is a very valid thing to do, but we can't say we know about the whole matter. What? You say that you grew up poor (or rich), and you really know what you are talking about. Good for you. But just on this topic, right? There are other things you don't know, right? The topic of today's post really applies to everything. "You don't know what you don't know." And you don't even know that you don't know. So what to do? Because "you don't know what you don't know," you can't read about it, you can't take a class on it, you can't even google or wiki it. It's like a blind spot that you don't know that it's there. You can, however, get a coach, such as us (shameless self promotion here), and let the coach shine a light on your blind spot. It's also like letting us turn the mirror you are looking at just a bit. Suddenly you see what you didn't see before. And voila, once you know it's there, you can read about, take a class on it, google it, wiki it, and more so, do something about it. Or change. Case closed. Contact us. Today.

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Saturday, Oct 31, 2009

It's All About Perspective

By Peiying Peng

Saturday, Oct 31, 2009 01:48

One of my favorite perennial topics is on perspective. Events and circumstances just ARE. There's nothing good or bad about them. It is through difference perspective people decide whether something is good or bad. Let's look at the dollar as case in point. Since the financial downturn, there has been lots of rumors and speculation about the dollar. The dollar's value has been declining. Now is that good or bad? And why does that has anything to do with this blog? Well, if you have been saving in dollars for the last few years in hope for a European vacation; it's probably bad because your money does not go as far as it used to, since lodging, food and tickets all become more expensive. But if you are a real estate agent working with foreign investors, you might suddenly see a surge in your business, as foreign investors rush in to buy the now cheaper properties in the US. This is, of course, dicing the micro and macro economy to some extreme simple concepts. But you get the idea. How you look at things will determine your state of being. Let me give you a simpler example. Let's say that right now, in autumn, two people are looking at the same tree. One is depressed about the falling leaves on the ground and the bare branches. The other is excited about the building up of nutrients of the leaves that foretells an awesome spring. Events and circumstances are like that tree. You don't get to choose the state of the tree. But you do get to choose who you want to be. You can be the one who's depressed, or you can be the one who's excited. Which one do you choose?

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Friday, Aug 07, 2009

When Lady Luck comes a-knocking, will you be ready?

By Peiying Peng

Friday, Aug 07, 2009 10:45

Paul Potts shot to stardom when he auditioned for Britain Got Talents a couple years ago. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1k08yxu57NA Since then, he has launched a successful career as a singer. His song has been No. 1 in 10 countries, and top 10 in eight more countries. If you read his story, you would find out that he was weeks away from bankruptcy and that he decided on going for the audition with the flip of a coin. And the rest, as they say, is history. He made a great performance, and everybody cheered for the underdog. HE WAS LUCKY. VERY LUCKY. But he also has the talents. If he could not sing, will the flip of coin help? Will the audition help? Will he maintain his success? Doubtful. Lady Luck may not be showing up on your doorstop yet. When she does, you better not open the door empty handed. Even she cannot help someone like that. Be prepared, be ready, practice, have faith, and trust the process.

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Friday, Jul 03, 2009

A story of a leaky faucet and the moral of that story

By Peiying Peng

Friday, Jul 03, 2009 12:38

For three years, I have had a leaky faucet in the bathtub. For three years, I have tolerated it. But yesterday I fixed that leaky faucet. I have never fixed a leaky faucet before. Yet with the help of the man at OSH, I was able to do it, even though it took me three trips there to get the whole thing right. So what's the moral of the story? First, don't tolerate little irritants, for it might erode your soul. I have wasted a lot of good water. And that's shameful for a person who supposedly cares about the environment. Second, get a coach for un-familiar stuff. Every step along the way, I was able to get help from an expert, who told me step by step how to get the work done. And remember, there are more than enough tools to take care of your problems. Third, just because one never has done something does not mean one cannot do it. It was not smooth sailing, and at times I was on the verge of giving up and even called "Mr. Handyman." But back to point 2, and I did it. And finally, it's never too late to change for the better.

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