(Photo by adesigna)

I started this blog with the intention to provide my insights on living a balanced life through personal development. Over time, I have crystallized this mission into the three-legged stool concept.

The diagram shows a three-legged stool: my depiction of a balanced life. Each leg of the stool is a key pillar needed for life fulfillment as follows:

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This blog is about leading a balanced life focusing on career, relationships and money. You can read more about balancing your life here. These articles are written for you. If you find them useful, feel free to subscribe for regular updates as new articles are posted. It's FREE. :)

Photo by Ebeth

Let’s test your creativity. I am going to tell you a real story, a problem; let’s see if you can derive a creative solution to this problem.

There was a hotel; a grand, historical five star hotel established since the 1940s. Everything was great about the hotel; posh, grand, cozy and all, except for one thing. The old elevators were too old and too slow. These were the very first batch of elevators designed for high rise building installed more than 40 years ago. It was taking too long to reach the customers in the upper floors, and the hotel management was getting a lot of complaints about the slow elevators.

The hotel management called in the engineers and they proposed two solutions:

1. To change the existing elevators to the latest, faster models.
2. To add more elevators to the hotel.

Both options would cost the hotel management a hefty sum which was way beyond their budget. Can you think of any other solution to this problem?

You Are A Creative Genius

When we talk about creativity, we think of names like Leonardo Da Vinci, Albert Einstein, Picasso… Some think that being creative is a gift that is limited to the blessed few, but it is not. Everybody has creativity in them, and it can be harnessed with the proper process or steps, which I have learned and will share with you today.

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Photo by SpAvAAi

Throughout my work experiences, I often have to attend meetings with clients and social events such as conferences, seminars, dinners; professional settings which requires me to interact with new people but don’t allow me to be the truly funky, hunky dory self that I usually am . I believe you’ll agree the challenges of attending functions filled with strangers. It can be a very uncomfortable feeling. The unsettling silence after the ‘Hi, nice to meet you’ can be very awkward; as you desperately search for a topic to start the conversation.

Here, I provide some great conversation starters that works for me.

The Weather - I know, it’s so cliché; I used to feel the same way too. But hey, it works! The weather can lead to interesting conversations, especially with foreign visitors.

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Photo by Meredith_Farmer

A recent post by Steve Pavlina on authenticity strikes a chord in me, and prompted me to write this article. In his post, Steve talks about the importance of authenticity in what he considers good blogging.

It helps me realize the reason why I (and many others) have always enjoyed his posts. Steve is a living example of authenticity. Through his writings, I can almost feel his presence and his sincerity. He may be an expert in self improvement, but he is also very forward about his weaknesses, negative emotion and imperfection; he does not try to be Mr. Perfect. In essence, he is very human.

Ironically, such authenticity helps us to relate to Steve’s writings and his philosophies, which I believe contributed largely to his success as a blogger.

I like to extend Steve’s argument beyond blogging/writing into career and business life.

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