Beijing Citizens, Shrouded In Pollution, Flock To Giant Screens To View Artificial Sunrise

Beijing Citizens, Shrouded In Pollution, Flock To Giant Screens To View Artificial Sunrise

Tyler Durden on 01/17/2014 10:15 -0500

You know it’s bad when…The smog has become so thick in Beijing that the city’s natural light-starved masses have begun flocking to huge digital commercial television screens across the city to observe virtual sunrises. Following this week’s practical shutdown of the city of “beyond index” levels of pollution, as The Mail Online reports, residents donned air masks and left their homes to watch the only place where the sun would hail over the horizon that morning… It’s grim… The futuristic screens installed in the Chinese capital usually advertize tourist destinations, but as the season’s first wave of extremely dangerous smog hit, ths happened…

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Even the largest of companies often started small; interview with Public Bank Bhd’s founder and chairman Tan Sri Teh Hong Piow on his journey from opening his first branch in Malaysia to being a regional banking powerhouse

Updated: Saturday January 18, 2014 MYT 9:01:05 AM

Even the largest of companies often started small

BY LIM WING HOOI

Teh: No one has a crystal ball that can tell you whether you will succeed or not

GREAT companies always draw the interest of potential investors, suppliers, shareholders and yes, their customers! It should be noted that great businesses were small and medium-sized enterprises (SME) or startups once upon a time. It is the persistence, innovation and entrepreneurship that drives a company towards success through various business cycles. Read more of this post

The Wisdom of Insecurity: A Message for an Age of Anxiety

The Wisdom of Insecurity: A Message for an Age of Anxiety (Vintage) Paperback

by Alan W. Watts  (Author)

“Anyone whose life needs a course correction would be fortunate to be guided by The Wisdom of Insecurity. My life still is, some thirty years later.” —Deepak Chopra, from the Introduction
Alan W. Watts’s “message for an age of anxiety” is as powerful today as it was when this modern classic was first published.
We spend too much time trying to anticipate and plan for the future; too much time lamenting the past. We often miss the pleasures of the moment in our anxious efforts to ensure the next moment is as enjoyable. Drawing from Eastern philosophy and religion, Watts argues that it is only by acknowledging what we do not and cannot know, that we can find something truly worth knowing. In order to lead a fulfilling life, one must embrace the present—live fully in the now.
Elegantly reasoned and lucidly written, this philosophical achievement contains all the wisdom and spirit that distinguished Watts’s long career and resonates with us still. Read more of this post

An Antidote to the Age of Anxiety: Alan Watts on Happiness and How to Live with Presence

An Antidote to the Age of Anxiety: Alan Watts on Happiness and How to Live with Presence

by Maria Popova

Wisdom on overcoming the greatest human frustration from the pioneer of Eastern philosophy in the West.

“How we spend our days is, of course, how we spend our lives,” Annie Dillard wrote in her timeless reflection on presence over productivity — a timely antidote to the central anxiety of our productivity-obsessed age. Indeed, my own New Year’s resolution has been to stop measuring my days by degree of productivity and start experiencing them by degree of presence. But what, exactly, makes that possible? Read more of this post

Parables from the financial world give insight into a culture that compels young people to take risks in pursuit of wealth and prestige

Having Enough, but Hungry for More

JAN. 17, 2014

John Bogle, 83, founder of the mutual fund company Vanguard, said his sense of enough came from not wanting very many things in life. “I am not saying in any way that I’ve taken vows of poverty,” he says. “I just don’t need any more.” Jessica Kourkounis for The New York Times

Wealth Matters

By PAUL SULLIVAN

THREE recent stories got me thinking about a concept that is central to money, wealth and ultimately contentment but that is overlooked this time of year: knowing how much is enough. Read more of this post

Stop Trusting Yourself: Why we struggle to keep the promises we make, even to ourselves

Stop Trusting Yourself

JAN. 17, 2014

By DAVID DeSTENO

TRUST is a double-edged sword. Though you can accomplish more in life if you put your faith in others, doing so also leaves you vulnerable. If your friend, business partner or political ally betrays you, he benefits — in terms of money, power or some other resource — at your expense. This risk is the drawback of trust, and it leads many people to prefer self-reliance, an arrangement that seems more secure because the only person you have to count on is yourself. Read more of this post

5 Principles Successful People Follow: Follow your talents; Focus your quest; Limit your options; Work toward meaningful goals; Never give up

5 Principles Successful People Follow

ADAM TOREN, ENTREPRENEUR
JAN. 17, 2014, 4:43 PM 2,768

Depending on who you ask, success means different things. If you were to ask me, I’d say it means having a career that revolves around my real life. If you were to ask my cat, she’d say it involves finding a way to catch, immobilize and destroy her own tail. The first step in achieving success is often deciding what it means to you. Follow your talents.Chances are your answer is similar to mine. But whatever your version of success, people who want to be successful should mimic the behaviors of the great ones who came before them. These behaviors include: Read more of this post

New Warnings From an Investing Pioneer: Nowhere to run, nowhere to hide–and no one to get unbiased advice from

Jan 17, 2014

New Warnings From an Investing Pioneer

JASON ZWEIG

Dean LeBaron, pictured at his home in Nokomis, Fla., says, ‘Look for the questions that are not being asked.’

Nowhere to run, nowhere to hide — and no one to get unbiased advice from. Judging by my inbox, that is how a lot of investors feel. U.S. and most international stocks, bonds and real estate are all at least moderately overpriced by historical standards; cash offers a negative return after inflation; and most market pundits have a vested interest in their advice. Read more of this post

Pretty Smart? Why We Equate Beauty With Truth

Pretty Smart? Why We Equate Beauty With Truth

Jan. 17, 2014 7:43 p.m. ET

With some regularity we hear about the latest beauty-pageant contestant who has responded to a softball of a question with an epic fail of a mistake, a bizarre opinion or an incoherent ramble. There’s the Panamanian contestant who believed that Confucius invented the philosophy of “Confusion,” the Miss Hawaii who described the U.S. only in terms of the “rocky shores” and “sandy beaches” of Hawaii, and the Miss South Carolina Teen USA who explained that Americans don’t know enough geography because too many people can’t afford maps. Read more of this post

Three Myths on the World’s Poor; Bill and Melinda Gates call foreign aid a phenomenal investment that’s transforming the world

Three Myths on the World’s Poor

Bill and Melinda Gates call foreign aid a phenomenal investment that’s transforming the world.

BILL AND MELINDA GATES

Jan. 17, 2014 7:50 p.m. ET

By almost any measure, the worldjs is better off now than it has ever been before. Extreme poverty has been cut in half over the past 25 years, child mortality is plunging, and many countries that had long relied on foreign aid are now self-sufficient. Read more of this post

THE BIG HAUL: This Teenage YouTube Shopping Star Makes Half-A-Million A Year And Has More Fans Than Vogue

THE BIG HAUL: This Teenage YouTube Shopping Star Makes Half-A-Million A Year And Has More Fans Than Vogue

ALEX HALPERIN JAN. 18, 2014, 8:49 AM 9,027 12

Any discussion of Bethany Mota, 18, social media goddess and ascendant fashion icon, needs to begin with her metrics. Mota’s most popular YouTube channel has more than 4.8 million subscribers, more than Lady Gaga’s. As of this writing, upwards of 2.2 million souls follow her on Instagram, more than Vogue, Elle, Marie Claire, Glamour and Cosmopolitan combined. Her twitter following is a mere 1.15 million, not great but nothing to sneeze at. Read more of this post

Fired From Subway, This 20-Year-Old Started A Company And Makes A Living Off Facebook Traffic

Fired From Subway, This 20-Year-Old Started A Company And Makes A Living Off Facebook Traffic

NICHOLAS CARLSON

JAN. 18, 2014, 8:30 AM 2,320

Most of us think of Facebook as a place to catch up on baby photos, keep tabs on your ex, and maybe read some quirky news about 2013’s most important corgis. But, for a small but growing class of small business owners, Facebook is a place to find customers, sell them stuff, and make a decent living.

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Why So Many Tech Founders Who Are Jerks Become Insanely Rich And Successful

Why So Many Tech Founders Who Are Jerks Become Insanely Rich And Successful

ALYSON SHONTELL

JAN. 18, 2014, 8:45 AM 2,661 1

“Startup DNA” is the idea that the world’s best entrepreneurs, like Steve Jobs and Jeff Bezos, have some inherent talent they were born with that made them successful.

The DNA is comprised of characteristics like “resilience” and “ability to accept risk.” Read more of this post

Doing math on the fly, birds form V for efficiency

Doing math on the fly, birds form V for efficiency

BY MICHAEL HABIB 
ON JANUARY 18, 2014

Across the globe, hundreds of species of birds can be seen flying in V-formations. We have long suspected that these formation might help birds fly with less effort. Yet the precise mechanics have remained unknown – until now. Read more of this post

For the Love of Money; We are letting money addiction drive too much of our society

For the Love of Money

By SAM POLK

JAN. 18, 2014

IN my last year on Wall Street my bonus was $3.6 million — and I was angry because it wasn’t big enough. I was 30 years old, had no children to raise, no debts to pay, no philanthropic goal in mind. I wanted more money for exactly the same reason an alcoholic needs another drink: I was addicted. Read more of this post

The Right Way to Answer “What’s Your Greatest Weakness?”

The Right Way to Answer “What’s Your Greatest Weakness?”

by David Reese  |   11:00 AM January 17, 2014

Thomas Jefferson once said that “honesty is the first chapter in the book of wisdom”. Though truth-telling abounds in grade school platitudes, it seems scarcer the older we get. But this decline in honesty — let’s call it dishonesty — isn’t necessarily innate. Dishonesty can be taught. In my experience, I’ve noticed that, of all culprits, college career centers are exceptional traffickers of such miseducation. In the process, they’re hurting their brightest students’ chances of making it in the world of startups by convincing them to give dishonest answers to tough interview questions. Read more of this post

How to Suppress the Apology Reflex; Confidence, at least in the American workplace, means never having to say you’re sorry

How to Suppress the Apology Reflex

JAN. 18, 2014

By AUDREY S. LEE

Confidence, at least in the American workplace, means never having to say you’re sorry.

I know that now, but early in my career I found myself apologizing over and over as my confidence and self-worth were tested on every level — from my job function to performance reviews, from networking to winning clients. Read more of this post

Workers of the World, Faint! In history, magical events have been reported when indigenous peoples confront industrial capitalism

Workers of the World, Faint!

By JULIA WALLACEJAN. 17, 2014

PHNOM PENH, Cambodia — Just over two years ago, at the Anful Garments Factory in Kompong Speu Province, a young worker named Chanthul and 250 of her colleagues collapsed in a collective spell of fainting. They had to be hospitalized; the production line shut down. Read more of this post

K-pop talent show finalist slams Singapore’s education system

K-pop talent show finalist slams Singapore’s education system

Edvantage
Friday, Jan 17, 2014

SINGAPORE – K-Pop Star Hunt 3 finalist Stephanie Koh is not proud to be a Singaporean, and in her latest online video, she explained why. Koh represented Singapore and was placed among the top four in the singing competition but lost out to eventual champion, Taiwanese Andy Su, 15, in the finals last Sunday. Read more of this post

Up Close and Personal with Bernard Peillon, president of Hennessy Cognac

pdated: Saturday January 18, 2014 MYT 11:23:40 AM

Up Close and Personal with Bernard Peillon, president of Hennessy Cognac

BY LIZ LEE

BERNARD Peillon is an heir of sorts after “inheriting” a famous brand of French wine. While he may not bear the luminous family name of the Hennessy lineage, Peillon has being given an important task, through his role as the president of Hennessy Cognac. Taking the helm of the cognac house is not like joining a company, rather it is like becoming part of a family business, he says. “There is this sense of inheritance, of transmission, that you’re becoming part of the long history of Hennessy.” Read more of this post

Secretaries as governance champions?

Updated: Saturday January 18, 2014 MYT 7:20:02 AM

Secretaries as governance champions?

BY ERROL OH

We need to know more about their role as gatekeepers.

IT’S great that the Malaysian Code for Institutional Investors is now at the public consultation stage. On Wednesday, the Securities Commission (SC) and the Minority Shareholder Watchdog Group (MSWG) issued a joint consultation paper to seek feedback on the code. Read more of this post

The Meaningful Brand: How Strong Brands Make More Money

The Meaningful Brand: How Strong Brands Make More Money Hardcover

by Nigel Hollis  (Author)

Why do consumers pay a premium price for a brand? Is it better quality, the look and feel, or is it the brand’s social standing? Author Nigel Hollis believes the answer to all those questions is “yes.” Yet the vast majority of brands today trade on past equity and transient buzz. And marketers focus on plan execution rather than creating meaningful differentiation rooted in the brand experience. This lack of meaning is creating a market full of commodities rather than products that instill loyalty. But loyalty (i.e., repeat business) is the key to long term success, and that requires focusing on meaningful differentiation: functional, emotional, or societal. Here, brand expert Nigel Hollis focuses on the four components of a meaningfully different brand: purpose, delivery, resonance, and difference.This unique model will be applied to two very different brand models: premium priced and value priced. The models will show readers how to amplify what their brand stands for across all the brand touch points including: findability, affordability, credibility, vitality, and extendibility. The book will include cases of global brands such as Dyson, Johnnie Walker, Geico, Volkswagen, and more. Read more of this post

Breaking inner shackles

Updated: Wednesday January 8, 2014 MYT 12:26:55 PM

Breaking inner shackles

Breaking bonds: Learning while holding on to old dogmas and preconceived notions is the intellectual equivalent of being shackled.

BY POOJA SWAMI SUKHABODHANANDA

Two students were having a conversation.

“How is the evil of the world explained by your master?” asked the first student. “He does not explain evil, he is busy transforming evil”, replied the second student. Then, the first student said, “When my master speaks he inspires people, but does not touch my heart. Why is it so?” The second answered, “Your master speaks to impress you. But my master speaks to express his heart and not to impress”. Be aware of what you do. Are you working to impress your boss or to express your gratitude to your company by enhancing its revenue? The firefighting squad in England became known for many heroic acts. Once, the firefighting squad was called to save a cat precariously perched on the roof of a building. Read more of this post

Creating the meaningful brand

Updated: Saturday January 18, 2014 MYT 7:38:48 AM

Creating the meaningful brand

BY M. HAFIDZ MAHPAR

Hollis and Millward Brown Malaysia country manager Nitesh Lall with Hollis’ latest book. 

MARKETERS today face so much time pressure and so many tasks daily that they may forget what makes their brand valuable assets, says a marketing expert. Nigel Hollis, chief global analyst of market research firm Millward Brown, says marketers worldwide are facing “a very different and very difficult environment today, much more fragmented and cluttered.” Read more of this post

G Shock’s Kikuo Ibe: Unbreakable teamwork in creating the shock of the new

Kikuo Ibe: Unbreakable teamwork in creating the shock of the new

Aulia R. Sungkar, The Jakarta Post | Business | Sat, January 18 2014, 12:46 PM

Kikuo Ibe became a pioneer in the world of watches because of a dream, his team and a refusal to crack under pressure.
The Japanese had loved the durable watch his father gave him as a high school graduation present, which lasted for 12 years through thick and thin. But most watches were expensive and less robust at the time, and the young Ibe was fixated on his dream of inventing a rugged and shock-resistant timepiece.
He joined Japanese electronics giant Casio as a member of its Design Center. He held onto his dream of creating his desired watch. After several years at the firm, and less than 30 years of age, Ibe presented the simple one-line concept – “a tough watch that won’t break when you drop it”.  Read more of this post

The legacy of Henry Clay Frick, the tycoon once called the “most hated man in America,” has been rehabilitated by the invaluable art library created by his daughter.

SATURDAY, JANUARY 18, 2014

The Precious Frick Library

By TERESA RIVAS | MORE ARTICLES BY AUTHOR

The legacy of Henry Clay Frick, the tycoon once called the “most hated man in America,” has been rehabilitated by the invaluable art library created by his daughter.

On Jan. 19, Johannes Vermeer’s Girl with a Pearl Earring will come down off the wall at the Frick Collection in New York. As the masses finally drift from the long rooms and the Frick’s permanent cache of masterpieces, it’s an ideal moment for budding collectors to familiarize themselves with one of the museum’s hidden jewels: The Frick Art Reference Library. Read more of this post

Do You Know What Makes Your Company Distinctive?

Do You Know What Makes Your Company Distinctive?

by Stephen Shapiro  |   12:00 PM January 17, 2014

Every company has a limited amount of time, money, and resources that it can invest in innovation. That’s why they should focus their energies on opportunities that will set them apart from their competition — that is, they should innovate where they differentiate. Read more of this post

Dangerous combination of drugs and loneliness fuels young bankers

January 17, 2014 8:23 pm

Dangerous combination of drugs and loneliness fuels young bankers

By Emma Jacobs, Maija Palmer and Daniel Schäfer

All-nighters and weekend work have for decades been seen as a rite of passage for young City bankers. But the death of a Bank of America Merrill Lynch intern last summer, which according to a coroner may have been triggered by long working hours, has acted as a catalyst for a reassessment of this mentality. Read more of this post

Understanding how habits rule our lives

UNDERSTANDING HOW HABITS RULE OUR LIVES

IN AN EXCERPT FROM CHARLES DUHIGG’S THE POWER OF HABIT , THE JOURNALIST EXPLAINS HOW HABIT IS THE FOUNDATION FOR THE MOST SOPHISTICATED FIGHTING ORGANIZATIONS ON EARTH–AND EVERYTHING ELSE.

BY CHARLES DUHIGG

I first became interested in the science of habits eight years ago, as a newspaper reporter in Baghdad. The U.S. military, it occurred to me as I watched it in action, is one of the biggest habit-formation experiments in history. Basic training teaches soldiers carefully designed habits for how to shoot, think, and communicate under fire. On the battlefield, every command that’s issued draws on behaviors practiced to the point of automation. Read more of this post