This Kyle Andrew’s music video just brought a smile to my face like no other. The whole video is just so carefree and cheerful.

My friend Victor was the unexpected, the surprise, the unthinkable.

I was a new employee trying to clock in for my shift at Disney California Adventure, stumbling with my ID card, sliding it the wrong way. I was nervous, people were waiting for me so they can also clock in. Then, I felt someone tapping my shoulder. “GREAT… This person is gonna yell at me now..”

I turned around, and I saw an older gentleman of a short stature, graying hairs, and a big smile. He took the card from my hand, pointed at my ID number, and proceeded to type it in. He gave me my card back, typed his own ID number, pat me on the back,  and walked away with a smile.

Edward Halim clocked in at 4:30 PM that day.  No words were spoken, no words were needed.

I ran around the store frantically looking for someone that can help me find a correct shirt size. I ran into the gentleman that had help me with clocking in the other day. I showed the shirt to him and asked if he can help me find me a size “Large.” He proceeded to point at his ear and shook his head. Thinking that he couldn’t hear through the  crowd noise, I repeated: “LARGE.” He smiled, nodded, and gestured for me to follow him.

Edward Halim found a size LARGE that day. No words were spoken, no words were needed.

It wasn’t until a few days after that I realized Victor was deaf. I understand now. No words were spoken, no words were needed.

As the months went on, we developed a silent bond. He never spoke a single word to me, and I didn’t speak his language. Victor was always more than gracious in teaching me sign language. Every day, he would teach me a a new word, mostly related to food and being hungry. Words such as “thirsty” and “chicken.”

I once taught him the shoulder tap trick. Tap on the left and move to the right. He loved it. Victor shoulder tapped many other cast members that night.

Throughout my nine-months internship with the Disney Company, Victor was the unexpected,  the surprise, and the unthinkable. Victor never spoke a single word to me, he knows that I don’t sign very well. Words to him were exchanged through my awkward gestures and through a notepad that he carried around, but Victor still listened. Victor’s actions speak louder than his words.

I never saw him again after my internship. I now have an annual pass and I come as a guest few times a month. Every time I visit Disney California Adventure, I peek into the stores, looking for familiar faces, looking for Victor. Ready to run in and shoulder tap him on the left and slide to the right. Nothing.

Last night, I found out that Victor passed away.

I don’t think I ever let Victor know how much I appreciated him, and how he has changed my life. I wish I had a chance to see him one more time. Victor, wherever you are, I want you to know that you have taught me more than most people do with words.

Rest in Peace my friend. You’re shoulder tapping with the angels now.

I re-watched the curious case of Benjamin Button recently, and a forgotten quote from the movie has re-inspired me to pursue my dream. I would like to share the quote with all of you and hope that it inspires you as much as it did me:

“For what it’s worth: it’s never too late or, in my case, too early to be whoever you want to be. There’s no time limit, stop whenever you want. You can change or stay the same, there are no rules to this thing. We can make the best or the worst of it. I hope you make the best of it. And I hope you see things that startle you. I hope you feel things you never felt before. I hope you meet people with a different point of view. I hope you live a life you’re proud of. If you find that you’re not, I hope you have the strength to start all over again.” -Benjamin Button

1. Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland: Banned in 1931 in the Hunan Province of China due to the portrayal of talking animals which exudes sense of equality between man and animal. To sum up the book: A little girl fell down a rabbit hole and meet unusual creatures. It delves into logic and education. Some of the characters in it were a representation of the author’s friends and enemies.

2. All Quiet on The Western Front: All right, guess which country banned this? Germany. For insulting their defense-force, The Wehrmacht. It’s a good read, I read it back in high school. It’s about the detachment of German civilians life.

3. Animal Farm: I highly reccomend this book. It’s  short book, you can read it in a couple of hours. Was banned in 3 countries; 1946 in Yugoslavia, 1991 in Kenya, and 2002 in United Arab Emirates. It’s an allegory in which the farm animals were able to set up its own government system and eventually revolted against humanity. Moral of the story? Don’t be a vegetarian, those pigs might turned on you. Then you’ll be wishing that you hadn’t been a vegetarian.

4. Fight Club: Banned in China for explicit content in making explosives. That tickles me. If you don’t want to read the book, watch the movie. It great nonetheless.

5. The Call of the Wild: Banned in Yugoslavia and Italy. A story of a pampered dog turned sled dog. Okay, so the plot is a little deeper than that, but that’s the gist of it.

6. Gulliver’s Travel: Banned in Ireland. My grandpa used to tell me this story. After He finished reading the book to me, I would keep making him tell me more stories of Gulliver’s travel. Since there’s no more story to tell, my grandpa would just make up random adventures that Gulliver would go on. Yep, he was quite the story teller.

7. Wealth of Nations: Banned in communist countries. Duh. Too much capitalism in one book. Must read for any business students.

8. 1984: Banned in the USSR back in the 50′s. Stalin thought he was reading his own future. Read the book and watched the movie. The concept of Big Brother has always been real through out the ages.

I know there are still many must-read banned books out there, but these are my personal recommendations based on what I have read. If you want to add anything else, Don’t hesitate to leave a comment!

-I’m still here!

NOTE: EDIT: The Wehrmacht, and “defense-force”

We all know that money can’t buy happiness … but many times we act as if we’d be happier with a bit more money. We are conditioned to want to be rich (when we know the rich aren’t happy either); we are trained to want the latest gadget or style that television tells us to want; we want to earn more money because then we’ll have the good life.

But none of that will bring us happiness. No matter how much we earn, no matter how much we have in the bank, no matter how nice our clothing or cars or toys, none of it will make us happier. And the sad thing is that it could take us decades of pursuing wealth and luxury items before we realize this.

So what will bring us happiness? Luckily, it’s three things that don’t cost a thing. These three things have been proven by research — surveys of hundreds of thousands of people about what they have, what their lives are like, and how happy they are.

Here they are, the Three Secrets to Happiness:

1. Good relationships.

We have a human need to be close, to be intimate, with other human beings. Having good, supportive friendships, a strong marriage or close and loving relationships with our family members will make us much more likely to be happy. Action steps: Take time, today, to spend time with your loved ones, to tell them what they mean to you, to listen to them, and develop your relationship with them.
2. Positive thinking.

I’m obviously a big proponent of positive thinking as the best way to achieve your goals, but it turns out that it can lead to happiness too. Optimism and self-esteem are some of the best indicators of people who lead happy lives. Happy people feel empowered, in control of their lives, and have a positive outlook on life. Action steps: Make positive thinking a habit. In fact, this should be one of the first habits you develop. Get into the habit of squashing all negative thoughts and replacing them with positive ones. Instead of “I can’t” think “I can”. It may sound corny, but it has worked for me, every time.
3. Flow.

This is a popular concept on the Internet these days — the state we enter when we are completely focused on the work or task before us. We are so immersed in our task that we lose track of time. Having work and leisure that gets you in this state of flow will almost undoubtedly lead to happiness. People find greatest enjoyment not when they’re passively mindless, but when they’re absorbed in a mindful challenge. Action steps: Find work that you’re passionate about. Seriously — this is an extremely important step. Find hobbies that you’re passionate about. Turn off the TV — this is the opposite of flow — and get outside and do something that truly engages you.

You’ve been given the Three Secrets to Happiness. Don’t waste them!

Ramit Sethi, the the author of iwillteachyoutoberich is almost finished with his book and Ramit is making his book available for pre-order on amazon.com. Now, most of you by now probably is going to take this post with a  grain of salt. But let me assure you. Ramit is the real deal. No one gets “young people finance” more than Ramit.

If you haven’t already, check out his blog. It’s filled with money saving tips, money management, investing, entrerpreuneurship, and many more. Here’s the deal, if you pre order his book, you can become a part of an exclusive community. Order it and forward your receipt to VIP-blogreaders@ramitsethi.com

I’m currently reading a little preview of his book, and so far, it has been amazing! Ramit talked about the different accounts i.e checking and saving. He also divulged into the difference of Mortar&Brick banking with online banking and why it’s more beneficial for us to utilize online banks.

As long as I have known Ramit, He always offer his advice with a clear step-by-step implementation. After he talked about the different banks and accounts, he showed how he personally managed his bank accounts. Many of the implementations that he offers are actually very feasible.

If you guys still don’t believe me, go ahead and visit his blog and spend 10-20 minutes reading his posts. You will be blown away.

- I’m still here

Learning is not memorizing. Memorizing is a process of learning, but it’s not all there is to it. For us to be able to “learn” we need to understand it. By understanding it, I mean looking at the bigger picture. When memorizing, we are looking at the different spots of that picture. However, if you take the time to actually understand what you are learning, you will slowly, but surely, starts to see the whole picture. So how would you know that you understand something? When you can explain whatever it is, to someone that has never heard of it before and make THEM, understand it.

2. TAKING NOTES INTERFERES WITH PAYING INTENTION

That could not be more false! In the contrary, taking notes actually helps the mind engage in whatever it is you’re doing! It forces you to stop and listen. Not too mention, the repetition of writing things down will help you understand concepts better. However, I must warn you, note takings does not mean, copying things down. If you’re just copying the same exact things that your professor put on his/her powerpoint, you might be doing yourself a disfavor. Is that even a word? I will go over note takings at a later post.

3. I CAN ONLY LEARN MY WAY

What a load of turd. The process of learning starts with an open mind. If you can “only learn your way,” you already failed before you even started. Open up your mind to different ways of learning and the different concepts. Malcolm Forbes once said: ” Education’s purpose is to replace an empty mind with and open one.”

4. I CAN LEARN BY CRAMMING POWERPOINT BEFORE THE EXAM

No. Powerpoints alone are phenomenal for reviewing. It is however not good when use alone for learning. When professors use it, they supplement it with lectures. Unless you memorized their entire lecture, you won’t be able to cram with it. Then again, if you can memorize the ENTIRE lecture, then you’re probably on your way.

5. I WILL KNOW IT WHEN I SEE IT ON THE EXAM

Chances are, if you don’t know it right now, you won’t know it in the exam. Sorry folks. But seriously, if you have not mastered the materials, you won’t know it when you see it on the exam. You will “know it when you see it” only when you have mastered it and suffered a temporary memory loss.

Here’s a chart explaining the learning process simply

- I’m still here

Work, Life, Home

It’s hard, from within the storm of every day life, to see things with real perspective, to know what’s important and what’s simply pressing on our consciousness right now, demanding attention.

We have people emailing us for information and requesting action, we have phone calls and visitors and a long to-do list and a million chores and errands to run and all of the slings and arrows of our daily reality … and yet, what is important?

Ask yourself this: if you suddenly found out you only had 6 months to live (for whatever reason), would the thing in front of you matter to you?

Would those 20 emails waiting for a response matter? Would the paperwork waiting to be processed matter? Would the work you’re doing matter? Would the meetings you’re supposed to have matter? Would a big car and nice house and high-paying job and cool computer and mobile device and nice shoes and clothes matter?

I’m not saying they wouldn’t matter … but it’s important to ask yourself if they would.

What would matter to you?

For many of us, it’s the loved ones in our lives. If we don’t have loved ones … maybe it’s time we started figuring out why, and addressing that. Maybe we haven’t made time for others, for getting out and meeting others and helping others and being compassionate and passionate about others. Maybe we have shut ourselves in somehow. Or maybe we do have loved ones in our lives, but we don’t seem to have the time we want to spend with them.

When was the last time you told your loved ones you loved them? Spent good quality time with them, being in the moment?

For many of us, doing work that matters … would matter. That might mean helping others, or making a vital contribution to society, or creating something brilliant and inspiring, or expressing ourselves somehow. It’s not the money that matters, but the impact of the work. Are you doing work that matters?

For many of us, experiencing life would matter — really being in the moment, finding passion in our lives, seeing the world and traveling, or just seeing the world that’s around us right now, being with great people, doing amazing things, eating amazing food, playing.

These are just a few ideas … but what would matter to you?

I highly recommend that you spend at least a little time now, and regularly, thinking about this question … figuring out what really matters … and living a life that shows this.

How do you live a life that puts a great emphasis on what matters? Start by figuring out what matters, and what doesn’t. Then eliminate as much as you can of the stuff that doesn’t matter, or at least minimize it to the extent possible. Make room for what does matter.

Make the time for what does matter … today. Put it on your schedule, and don’t miss that appointment. Make those tough decisions — because choosing to live a life that is filled with the important stuff means making choices, and they’re not always easy choices. But it matters.

Spend time with your significant other, show them how important they are. Take the time to cuddle with your child, to read with her, to play with her, to have good conversations with her, to take walks with her. Take time to be in nature, to appreciate the beauty of the world around us. Take time to savor the little pleasures in life.

Because while you might not have only 6 months to live, I’m here to break the news to you: you really do only have a short time to live. Whether that’s 6 months, 6 years or 60 … it’s but the blink of an eye.

The life you have left is a gift. Cherish it. Enjoy it now, to the fullest. Do what matters, now.