Adious 2011 and Ola 2012~

As 2011 bid us farewell and a turbulent year draw to a close, ol'Jon is continuing a tradition to reflect on the achievements and failures of past year. I've done this for many many years and through this self-reflection, ol'Jon had improved as a human being and will continue doing it till the day the Lord decide to bring me home to Him. So, how has 2011 affected you as a person, be it from the achievement stand point or failure stand point. For me it is one of those many 'mixed' years I had, where success is followed by failures then success and then failure again. I wouldn't say it was a failure year but I too find it hard to call it a very successful year. To put it in a perspective, a solid 6.5/10 rating would summed up my year perfectly.

In the beginning of 2011, my career took a change for the better(I think so) when I was offered a job in ixmation MALAYSIA. It was an upgrade job from Keyence and I enjoyed it to bits. More pay, more authority, more responsibility and more challenge. From a local player, ol'Jon went global, arm twisting with the best in the world. It was a fresh breath challenge for me, something I enjoyed very much. My take on life is best described as dynamic whereby fresh challenges are needed to keep me interested and motivated. I've always had 'heart & passion' on my work and the need to be successful meant that I kept an empty glass attitude. Learning, experimenting, executing and more learning to achieve better results. It was all good and rosy for the 1st quarter of the month.


2nd quarter was a challenge to my personal life and career. Turned down a Fortune 500 company with better pay and perks to be with ixmation MALAYSIA because ol'Jon believe in the project that I'm involved in. Hate to admit it but I do love, yes I do love ixmation. It felt strange for someone like me, whereby money and position is always my number 1 goal in career. I find people who tell me during interviews that they want to work with me in any particular company for interest and learning to be a MORON. You learn in your school, if it is not enough, go to a college. You find interest in hobby class or your home during your free time. The prime motivation to work should always be career advancement be it position or monetary. So there you have it, I'm contradicting myself by turning down that offer. Then my personal life took a nose dive and almost break the fabric of my personal life. It is during this time that I felt the weakest and most vulnerable. So many times I thought of giving up and just raised the white flag. But the tenacity in me wouldn't allow me. To cap off a bad quarter, I lost a huge project due to something not my doing....

The 3rd quarter came and goes without much fanfare except that I almost got blind. Well it was a biggie but now everything is fine. I got to visit the US and drove the Camaro. I also put the disappointment of 2Q behind me and got a couple of good size project from some new clients. Things looked good for a while before someone in the company decide it is a good time to provoke ol'Jon again. Not biting the bait, ol'Jon weathered the storm with a calm and cool head. But not before barraging that person with a long e-mail of my version of the story.

4th quarter is a YoYo for me. The position I dreamt of is going to be filled by someone else deemed better than me. Reason? Perhaps he is a better man, or perhaps the management felt that I'm still too young for such a high position. I don't really care but it does affect my mood a little. I always believe if you're good enough then you're old enough. But there is 2 things I do not like; 1) Don't build me up so high when you deemed I'm too young(yes I'm still 28 and the average age for this position is 35) 2) The previous guy who helmed the position that fulfils the management criteria of age and experience flopped miserably. He is not even worth being mentioned as my competitor, I'm being cocky here but he is 40 and he is not even half as good as me. Thus, this new guy better be good, if not the love affair with ixmation ends. Lastly, a special girl arrives in my life...her name? Natalie Ooi Ru Yue....so 4th quarter is a bitter sweet with the sweet coming in late of the year...

I've fulfiled 7 out of the 9 New Year Resolution for 2011. How about you? 77.78% is considered a passing mark. My 2012 resolution? I'll list it down below;

1. Be More Patient with High EQ
2. Learn Spanish and able to speak fluently
3. Shed 5~7kgs of my hefty weight
4. See things more objectively
5. Take criticism with a high degree of acceptance
6. Grow my team more and make them the Elites of the company
7. Be a loving guy to Silly Bean and Co
8. See my parents more
9. A random act of kindness to stranger or friends whenever possible
10. Reach the 200k per annum line
11. To be able to still say 'You're still the one' to Silly Bean

There you have it, if I had a 80% passing rate next year end, then it would be a Successful 2012. Goodbye 2011 and Hello 2012. I hope/pray that I'll love it!