christian oey » inspiration

Wait ’til The Fog Clears.

Christian Oey — Thu, 17 May 2012 18:30:17 +0000

“Due to intense mind fog all my thoughts have been grounded” - Laura Griffin

This year, and it’s only May, I’ve had to make a series of unexpected business decisions, and they all came knocking on my door, one after another.

The decisions I had to make were large decisions, you know, the ones that impact your future or someone else’s future for better or for worse.

I couldn’t seem to arrive at any decision, and as the days and weeks rolled by, my mind was becoming far more cluttered; with different advice, opinions, gestures, counsel, information, and it got to a point my head started hurting!

Thankfully I had to travel out of town for a few days and I had ample opportunity in between my commitments to think in solitude. From that time of solitude I derived insight which lead to decisions being made.

Now, don’t get me wrong, some of the decisions were a little off track, but that’s ok, because once I had the momentum of moving forward I was able to steer back on course, but the point is, I made the decisions I made after time in rest and peace.

If you are facing crossroads, or a fork in the road, clear your mind, unclutter the clutter, get alone, and think it through in solitude. The answers will come.

Even the genius legend Thomas Edison once said, “The best thinking has been done in solitude. The worst has been done in turmoil.”

Sssshh! Thinking in progress….

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Deleting Isn’t The Answer.

Christian Oey — Tue, 15 May 2012 18:30:28 +0000

There was the eraser. Then there was liquid paper/white out. Then came the delete/backspace button.

Mistakes can be erased, whited out, deleted, and they should be; because your future is always brighter than your past, no matter how good things used to be, or even how bad they used to be. That’s why the rearview mirror in your car is small, and your windscreen is large…it tells us what’s ahead is far more important than what’s behind us.

I am an expert “mistaker”. I act too quick, ponder too long, talk without thinking, think without talking; I can actually become a Professor of Mistakes if that vocation was in existence.

But I am also thankful for my mistakes. I learn from them and for that, I am a better person, husband, dad, business guy, leader, and friend. If it wasn’t for the mistakes, I would remain immature, arrogant, ignorant, and living in the past.

People sometimes make mistakes…but more importantly, mistakes sometimes make people.

“The future belongs to those who learn from the past” - Rick Warren

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Autumn Leaves.

Christian Oey — Mon, 07 May 2012 18:30:18 +0000

I think one of the worst things in life is owning a backyard swimming pool that sits right next to a big, tall, deciduous tree…in Autumn. It’s a lost battle.

Swooping and re-swooping up the leaves over the weekend, in my frustration I started thinking, “Why would a tree be deciduous? How ridiculous! They’re meant to have leaves…all year ’round! That’s why it’s a tree!..”

Without doing any research or Googling any information on this, I thought about why a tree may be deciduous.

I decided that perhaps it needs a break. It makes sense; it’s been producing all year round, doing what it was meant to do in its season, so maybe it needs a season of time-out, to rest, to replenish, to relax, to recover.

Perhaps it needs to be stripped bare, to drop all the bad stuff from the season that’s just finished, so it can produce fresh, clean, healthy, invigorating, new leaves.

These are possible answers, and I’m sure there is a real reason why trees are deciduous, and I’m sure some tree-expert will email me and tell me; but for the purposes of this blog, let’s assume my thoughts are the real reasons why deciduous trees are in existence; and if this is so, then I am convinced life is the same.

There are seasons we go through where we work, we stress, we strive, we think, we create…we live, but then we need to stop and breathe. Time-out, rest, replenish, relax, recover. Everyone needs this. Even God took annual leave on the seventh day!

Then there are seasons when the wind of life’s circumstances blows and we are stripped bare; whereby the purpose the wind blew in our direction, (most times seemingly against us), was to blow away old habits, old ways of living, old hurts, old negative thoughts, hence forcing us to produce new, healthier, fresh leaves for the new seasons to come – a better way of living, a better life.

New leaves can’t come if the old ones don’t drop off. Sometimes, circumstances come blowing us away – sometimes it’s gale force winds! – not to knock us down, but i believe —> to build us up.

Seasons come, seasons go. Leaves drop off, they grow back. If you are in a windy season right now, you may be feeling stripped bare and you see the leaves falling on the ground uncontrollably….but expect the goodness of life start to grow in its place. Fresh new leaves will grow back – it has to.

It’s only a matter of time.

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It’s All About Persistence.

Christian Oey — Mon, 30 Apr 2012 18:30:49 +0000

Josephine Esther Mentzer was born in Corona, Queens, in 1906, one of nine children born to a Hungarian Jewish mother, Rose Schotz Rosenthal, and a Czechoslovak Jewish father, Max Mentzer.When she was a baby, her parents wanted to name her Esty, after her mother’s favorite Hungarian aunt. When it was time for the clerk to write out the birth certificate, her mother chose Esther instead of Esty. She did so because Esty was too unusual and no one knew how to spell it. Esty was her parents’ nickname.

Much of her childhood was spent trying to make ends meet with most of the nine children helping out at the family’s hardware store. It was while working in this store that Esty got her first taste of business. Her father’s hardware store gave her a better understanding of entrepreneurship and what it takes to be a successful retailer, although her childhood dream was to become an actress, her “name in lights, flowers, handsome men”.

As Esty grew older she became more interested in her uncle’s business than her father’s. She agreed to help her uncle, Dr John Schotz, a chemist. He owned a company called New Way Laboratories and all the day long he sold numerous beauty products. Esty was fascinated as she watched him create creams, lotions, rouge, and fragrances. Her uncle taught her how to wash her face and do facial massages.

After high school, she focused on her uncle’s business. She called one of his creams “Super Rich All-Purpose Cream” and began selling beauty products to her friends. She sold creams like “Six-In-One Cold Cream” and “Dr Schotz Viennese Cream” to beauty shops, beach clubs and resorts.

Esty met Joseph Lauter when she was in her early 20s. On January 15, 1930, they married. The surname was later changed from Lauter to Lauder.

In 1948, Esty persuaded the bosses of New York City department stores to give her counter space at Saks Fifth Avenue. Once in that space, she utilized a personal selling approach that proved as potent as the promise of her skin regimens and perfumes.

This, of course, is the story of Estée Lauder (Esty changed her name to Estée because when her father pronounced Esty, it sounded like Estée, due to his accent); and even after forty years in business, Estée Lauder would attend every launch of a new cosmetics counter or shop. She would give her famous friends and acquaintances small samples of her products for their handbags; she wanted her brand in the hands of people who were known for having “the best”. Princess Grace of Monaco once said, “…I don’t know her very well, but she keeps sending all these things”.

“If you have a goal, if you want to be successful, if you really want to do it and become another Estée Lauder, you’ve got to work hard, you’ve got to stick to it and you’ve got to believe in what you’re doing.” -Estée Lauder

“When I thought I couldn’t go on, I forced myself to keep going. My success is based on persistence, not luck.” – Estée Lauder

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Highs ‘n’ Lows.

Christian Oey — Tue, 17 Apr 2012 18:30:53 +0000

Michelangelo once said, “The greater danger for most of us is not that our aim is too high and we miss it, but that it is too low and we hit it.”

I think we underestimate ourselves most times. Most people do not set high goals not because they are lazy or cannot be bothered, but it is due to the fear of failure and the fear of disappointment.

This fear stagnates you. It keeps you where you are and nothing ever changes. The same sour relationship, the same surroundings, the same friends, the same income, the same situation, the same circumstances; it’s comfortable and it’s safe.

In the suburban estate where I live there is a huge man-made lake. The water doesn’t go in or out, it just sits there. Stagnant. Walking around this lake, there are spots where the water is dirty and sluggish, especially around the edges, almost looking oily and polluted. That’s what our lives become when we just stay where we are. Sluggish, polluted, tired, unhealthy in mind and body.

But when you go down to a flowing river, where the water keeps moving in and out, flowing in one forward direction, there is no build up of scum; the water is always clear, clean, fresh and new, meaning it is healthy. There’s action, there’s movement, there’s momentum.

Life is a breeze when you have the brains to be in the top maths class but you choose to be in the general maths class so you know you won’t fail…but you won’t accomplish much, you won’t live to your potential, and you won’t be living your dreams…..and that is not beneficial to yourself or anybody else.

You have the brains. You have what it takes. Go for it.

The fear of failure is worse than failure itself.

Revisit your goals today. Are you aiming high enough or are you cheating yourself out of your best life?

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Living The Dream.

Christian Oey — Mon, 16 Apr 2012 18:30:46 +0000

“I’m living the dream” is one of my favourite replies when someone asks me “How are you?”. I probably don’t say it enough.

But when I do, I’m always amused by the response and looks I get…it’s almost like “Wow, what are you sniffing, I want some…”

Why is that? Is it that out of character if we are actually living our dream; am I in the minority? My life is far from plain sailing. The responsibilities I have are great. The decisions I make effect many. The challenges I face are as great as the challenges you face. I am as human as anybody else facing the same life issues.

But in all, I wouldn’t have it any other way. The happy times are happy, the challenging times are times of growth and learning. With all its issues, life really is ok. At the start of a new day, we must realise that yesterday really did end last night, today is a new day, and tomorrow….anything can happen and it probably will.

You can live your dream life too…right now….even if you’re broke, busted and disgusted. It’s a perspective. It’s a decision. It’s a mindset.

Never forget that dreams do not have deadlines.

I believe that success in and of itself will not bring happiness. But happiness….happiness will always bring success. Society says once I’m successful I’ll be happy. Really? Ask some really successful people how happy they are. Movie and music stars commit suicide or overdose or self-abuse. Happy? Really?

No, society has got it wrong, success won’t necessarily bring happiness, but happiness will bring success. So live the dream, because I know you won’t be happy until you do.

To quote a famous Australian talkback radio host, “Keep the dream alive!”

christian oey || Living The Dream. Follow Christian on: Facebook Follow Christian on: Twitter

“Normal is…

Christian Oey — Thu, 12 Apr 2012 18:30:34 +0000

..nothing more than a cycle on a washing machine.” – Whoopi Goldberg

To get abnormal results, you have to commit to do abnormal and be abnormal.

I’m abnormal. So was Steve Jobs. So is Barack Obama. So was Einstein. So was Henry Ford. You can be too.

There is no way we can achieve any kind of success or a different result that’s better than what we have now, without being absolutely ridiculous in making sure we get where we want or need to be.

This isn’t just about money. This works in our relationships – making efforts to date and mate your spouse and treating each other like King and Queen, in business and career, in money, in health and mental fitness.

If you can live like nobody else now, you will live like nobody else later.

To get something you’ve never had or want to have, you’ve got to do something you’ve never done. Step out of your comfort zone and step into your destiny.

Forget normal; it’s overrated. Be weird.

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Travelling Well.

Christian Oey — Tue, 03 Apr 2012 18:30:08 +0000

Life is definitely a journey. And with every journey comes chaos, adventure, drama, left-fielders, spanners-in-the-works, & wrong turns.

Since life is a journey, I believe we will find it hard travelling without optimism and effort packed in your bag. It’s like your passport and plane ticket. You will go nowhere without them. Grounded.

“Be sure to be appropriately packed and ready for opportunity. Optimism and effort should go in your bag first.” – Chris Hogan

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The Optimist, Pessimist, & the Realist.

Christian Oey — Mon, 02 Apr 2012 18:30:30 +0000

Dear Optimist, Pessimist, and Realist. While you guys were arguing about the cup of water, I drank it. Sincerely, The Opportunist.

Opportunities wait for nobody. Indecision will lead to inaction.

Just make a decision & do it.

“For a light to appear at the end of the tunnel, walk down there and light the thing yourself!” – Rick Godwin

christian oey || The Optimist, Pessimist, & the Realist. Follow Christian on: Facebook Follow Christian on: Twitter

“Always Bear In Mind…

Christian Oey — Tue, 27 Mar 2012 18:30:12 +0000

…that your own resolution to succeed is more important than any other one thing.” - Abraham Lincoln

Before he was elected president, Abraham Lincoln had a business go under, lost a local legislative race, three congressional races and two senatorial races, and lost a bid for the vice presidency (and throughout he lost three sons).

Now Lincoln is regarded as one of the most influential figures in American history for his role in saving the Union and freeing the slaves.

Resilience & perseverance will result in you overcoming, succeeding, & achieving.

And if Abe can do it…so can you.

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