Music Box

Song spinning now: Mariah Carey - Music Box

This song is the inspiration behind my virtual name "Musixvox". What comes to your mind when you come across the word 'Music Box'? To me, it represents feminineness, elegance, poise and beauty.

I think the good old music box, especially those with dancing ballerinas, is on the brink of extinction now. I still remembered when I was a child, watching the little ballerina dancing to a crystal-clear classical tune in that Victorian-styled box always fancinates me, it feels just like watching a little performance.

History of the Music Box

Antoine Favre, a watchmaker from Geneva, first incorporated a gadget in watches, perfume bottles, pendants in 1796. This gadget, a “music comb”, if you will. The music comb is a comb shaped device that is made from steel then hardened and tempered to produce a number of 'springy' teeth varying in length. Pins set into a revolving cylinder pluck the teeth. As each tooth is plucked it produces a musical note. The note produced by each tooth is determined by, the length of that particular tooth. Each tooth, a different note. The pins in the cylinder are arranged in such a way that a melody arises from the comb as the cylinder turns.


I have to say this person is extremely talented to think of a way to bring live music to homes without the need of performers. In fact, the ancestor of radio is not the gramaphone, it's the music box!

Well..sad to say that the ballerina music box that added color to my childhood had already been thrown out. I think its because I lost the ballerina after I played with it :P , so my mum thought its quite meaningless to keep this useless junk and hence decided to get rid of it.

If only this thing is still with me now, it will be a valuable antique 20 years down the road..so the moral of the story is...don't throw your junk away!

What's a Morpheus?

Morpheus


?? Which Of The Greek Gods Are You ??
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Well..80% accuracy..except that leader part.. :P

Who Moved My Cheese?

Song spinning now: Six Pence None The Richer - Don't Dream Its Over

"Cheese" is a metaphor for what we want in life. We each define our own cheese, and pursue it because we believe it will make us happy. When we do find it, we often become attached to it and complacent.

Once, long ago, there lived 4 little characters who ran through a maze looking for cheese to nourish them and make them happy. Each has a different attitude in their quest to acquire Cheese.

Sniff and Scurry are mice. Sniff is good at "sniffing out" Cheese, and Scurry excels at "scurrying" after the Cheese once he knows where it is. The two mice don't really think about things, they simply react.

Hem and Haw, are little people. They are always thinking, learning and using past experience. Sometimes it holds them back, and sometimes it allows them to go forward.

Every morning, the mice and the little people dress in their running gear and travel the maze to a large store of Cheese. Hem and Haw eventually move their homes closer to it and build a life around it.

One day, when the cheese disappears, Sniff and Scurry aren't surprised. Since they had noticed the quality and supply of cheese had been going down, they were prepared for the inevitable and were quickly off in search of New Cheese.

Unlike the simple mice, Hem gets angry and waits for the cheese to reappear. Haw is fearful and confused, but he's willing to venture out because he knows that "Movement In A New Direction Helps You Find New Cheese."

As Haw ventures out, he paints a picture in his mind. He sees himself in great realistic detail, sitting in the middle of a pile of all his favorite cheeses-from Cheddar to Brie! The more clearly he sees the image of himself enjoying New Cheese, the more real and believable it becomes. He writes on the wall: "Imagining Myself Enjoying New Cheese, Even Before I Find It, Leads Me To It."

The story ends with Scurry, Sniff and Haw enjoying new cheese. Hem is sitting back at the original place, waiting for the cheese to come back. He is frustrated and angry that someone took away his world. He is not willing to go forward, not willing to challenge himself and do what he knows he needs to do. He hasn't learned that "It Is Safer To Search In The Maze Than Remain In The Cheeseless Situation."

The story of "Who Moved the Cheese?" is very simple. Change happens in life whether you expect it or not. We must keep moving with the changes. When change comes, we have to venture outside of our comfort zone, move beyond our fears, and get a clearer picture of what we want. If we can learn to enjoy and embrace change we can then savour the adventure and the taste of new cheese.

Adapted from Who Moved My Cheese? by Dr. Spencer Johnson.

Sophie's World

I once read 'Sophie's World' by Jostein Gaarder. Basically, this is a wonderful little book that really makes you start to think about the world and yourself. This fiction like book is like a introduction to philosophy handbook, a summary of the philosophical theories by all the great philosophers of the era. It is a good read that makes a normally dry subject like this comes alive! If you want to open up your mind, you have to read this!

'Who are you? Where does the world come from?' These are two questions Sophie (the character in the book), a fifteen year-old Norwegian girl, receives in her mailbox one day from an unknown stranger. Thus begins a mysterious adventure for Sophie, and an adventure for any person of any age who reads her story.

I remembered this part where sophie asked 'Why don't people asked themselves about this question? I have never thought of it before?', so her 'teacher' replied 'That's because most people are buried deep inside the rabbit's fur and are too comfortable for them to move out. Everytime they get to the tip of the fur, they start to feel uncomfortable about the unknown and that drives them back into the fur again where they are most familar and comfortable with.'

Sounds like complacency plays a big part here in our quest for the ultimate 'truth' about the world and the human race. If you link this with the article 'Heros' in the previous post, they both give the same message - only those who constantly challenge themselves and always moving out of the comfort zone will find the truth to who they are and why they are here.

Think of it this way, we are like living in the matrix, getting by like everyone else everyday and treating these questions as a big waste of time. Only people like Neo can get out of this system, setting themselves free. The best thing is, they even come back to 'save' everyone, just like what Neo did! You get what I mean? :)

Unsung Heros

Heroes
By Blair Singer


It seems that in these days of war, conflict, and challenge there are those that emerge as heroes. They give or risk their careers, their families and even their lives in the service of others.

It is humbling and inspiring - all in the same moment. We eulogize them and honor them, but at the same time they leave questions in our own minds. 'Would I be as brave?' 'Would I sacrifice myself in the heat of battle to save others or would I be looking to cover my own behind?'

The thing about heroes is that they set high standards for the rest of us. Do they do it consciously? I don't know. But I do know that each person responds, in the heat of pressure, based upon how they have been conditioned, drilled, and disciplined. I maintain that every single person reading this has a hero inside them. A hero to your team, to your community, to your kids... a hero to yourself. If and when it ever shows up is a giant question mark.

In the Line of Fire
Do you have to give your life in order to exercise that strength? No!

But you do have to position yourself to be in the line of fire in whatever your endeavors are. It could be driving your business to a bigger game. It could be making a presentation that has more on the line than ever before. It could be intervening with the school in order to protect and maximize the education of your kids. It is NOT about 'getting by' or striving for comfort.

There are two parts to being a hero. The first is putting yourself in the line of fire. The second is conditioning yourself for that day when you will be called upon to step up to the plate. You have been spending your whole life training for something! What is it? In my work over the years, I have found that the challenge and moment of greatness sometimes shows up when you least expect it. Whether or not you seize that moment depends upon what you have done up to that point.

Can You Seize the Moment?
Have you practiced your presentations, drilled the tough objections, worked out at the gym? Have you diligently driven your standards higher and demanded better team players along the way...or have you been "nice" to yourself and those around you and allowed what was "okay" before to be "okay" now - and in the future?

I work with so many people who have great aspirations. But they don't realize them for a couple reasons. The usual reasons are what I call the "Three Cs": No credibility, no cash, and no confidence. The real issue is the third "C" - Confidence. And that is really simple. Confidence comes from tons of repetition.

You can try to kid yourself... and try to pump yourself up, but that will fade quickly in the eye of the storm. It is truly the repetition of the critical skills and disciplines that will allow you to automatically step up to the plate when your opportunity calls.

Believe in Yourself
At some point in your career you must believe that there IS a hero inside of you. You would not be inspired by others if they didn't tickle a place inside of you that vibrates to the same vibration as they do. In the last two-day program that we did, I literally watched as the hero inside of each person ultimately mustered the courage to step up and actually experience the greatness inside them if even for a few moments. The good news is that they will never go back. To command bigger checks, it requires greater confidence and courage.

Most of those folks have already experienced bigger checks, greater receptivity, bigger games, and - most of all - the incredible power inside them.

Born to Be Great
Heroes touch us because they remind us of who we could be. We are inspired by them because they pose questions to all of us. "Who could I be?" You were born to be great. It's not about being splashed on the front page of the paper. It's about what you do in your very next breathing moment. It's either preparing like you have never prepared before or it's about stepping into the line of fire. Mostly, it's about doing it for the betterment of others: your family, your business, your market, and in some way for humanity. At the minimum it sets an example for others to follow.

Nearly every evening for the last couple of years, before my eight year-old goes to bed I tell him a story about a "hero." Each night the tale is different. Each night he asks me the name of the hero. I always tell him that when I tell the last story, I will tell him. He begs for those stories every night. They are stories of valor, overcoming unbelievable challenge, supporting others selflessly, respect and mostly how those feats are accomplished through great practice and preparation. Some are based on real stories of real people and tons of them are made up.

But when I leave the house before he wakes up and leave him a note to be a great "hero" today... he knows exactly what I mean. Do you?

It's in you...it's your choice, Right now!


Live In The Present. Live With Purpose.