On a chili evening in San Francisco a few weeks ago, I ran into my entrepreneur mentor Galen Yuen. We chatted from 11pm till 5am about entrepreneurship + life.

One great lesson I learned is to …

{ Always be a thermostat, Never a thermometer}

When you walk into a room filled with negative people, the thermometer minded person instantly become negative.

But if you’re a thermostat minded person, you control the “temperature.” You dictate your thoughts, which are correlated to your mood.

Simple, yet it takes a life time to master and perhaps seasons for this to become a habit.

I love this video. A few lessons I learned.

+ Do something you love. Life is so short. If you’re not doing something you love, slowly transition. If you want to leave your law firm and become a radio host, get a mentor in that field. Read up on that field. That fact is that people don’t want it enough.

+ Embrace hardship. Steve Jobs was adopted and never graduate from high school. He also got fired from the company he started. But all the hardships build character. Never giving up is a great character trait, but more importantly, never giving up becomes a life long habit.

+ Be HUNGRY, BE Foolish. Yes, all entrepreneurs must have this drive. It is 3:47am right now in Hong Kong and I am working. Be foolish, meaning try things that are different. Color outside the lines. Challenge authority, embrace change. Be the Purple Cow.

I agree with Ge Wang. We all have a creative side but we just need a platform or vehicle.

Being creative has many forms.

You can create music, write a Knock Knock joke, or simply create a new dance form.

“How is the Hong Kong economy?”

“How do people survive in this city?”

I like to learn from taxi drivers. They are observant and overhear thousands of conversations. At the end of the trip, I commented “never be too greedy in this city!”

Just after I paid my fare, Mr. Taxi (~58 years old) turned around and made a confession.
Three years ago, his son jumped off the 31st floor and committed suicide. It was not over money but simply his son did not succeed in school + had mental issues.

His son trapped himself inside his room and just played video games.
Mr. Tax man firmly said, “computers killed my son!”

Later, he said that that day another person had jump off the same building.

Mr. Taxi formerly worked for the Hong Kong government for over 30 years and on the side, he started a food delivery business along with his wife in order to afford to buy homes.

Three years later after the death of his son, he is still sad. As a Christian, he had lost faith and just had hated against the world. He works 12 hour days driving the taxi just to escape the pain he feels.

So he shared his story while he double parked his tax on the side of the road in Wan Chai for 30 minutes I had read enough self help books to know that the best thing I could do was simply listen and not provide solutions to how he was feeling so sad.

My takeaway from this experience. I felt blessed that taxi drivers open up to me and share intimate stories. I can also affirm that money does not business happiness.

The absence of pain does not equal happiness.
If anything, happiness is a state of mind and the ability to appreciate the present and the wisdom to embrace all the experience that comes your way.

I learned not to chase the cars or the white picket fence.
Instead, I learned that 80% of my happiness is having a healthy relationship with friends and family.

My mentor Galen Yuen taught me, appreciate and enjoy each grain of rice.

I live a humble life in Hong Kong. As a matter of fact, I live in a small 200 sq place, but boy I have to admit I am one happy dude.

I have friends that want to commit suicide because they don’t have the house or career their child friend posses.

Stop comparing! Live you own dam life.

so run wild, be foolish, and live a fulfilling life.

Dear Mommy,

I can relate to this quote first hand.
I have idiots in my life giving me advice about entrepreneurship when they have never taken any risk themselves, but they are simply dreamers.

Idiots are all around us.
I have seen a lot of them.

Idiots are guys who think that driving nice cars will get them the girls.
Idiots are people who depend on the title on their business card to make them who they are.
Idiots are people who need to bark at the waitress in order to get their orders.

Idiots fall for get rich fast schemes.
Idiots also read books about how to manipulate girls.

They come in all sizes and colors.
Young/old/purple/unicorn

Identify them, quickly dash away.

So never associate with idiots.

They rob you of your time, which is the most important asset in life.
But always have class and never call them an idiot.

Instead, live out your life as a winner.
Action speaks louder than words.

I am a big fan of Jeremy Lin.

Yes, Jeremy Lin has talent but I am a big fan mostly because of his character.

Jeremy Lin has tenacity.
He has a relentless pursuit and his dreams finally came true, to play in the NBA.

Jeremy Lin has been called racist names, bypassed by Pac 10 team for scholarships, yet he stayed focus and I admire that.

As much as this is a blog for my readers, more importantly, it is blog acting as a daily reminder to never give up for MYSELF.

Recently, I was slightly down. I was upset by the slow progress of my company Campusfork.com

But I realized that there is No Birth Without Pain

so I continue to wake up every morning and try my best to succeed as an entrepreneur.

_

More on Jeremy Lin

People give me advice all the time.

“You should do this to your site”
“You should blog about this”

Lets face it, people like to give advice for what ever reasons.
But the key in life is differentiating good and bad advice.

1st, the prerequisite is to determine if the person giving me advice has my best intentions.
If they don’t, kick them to the gutter.

I have had past friends give me S@#! advice simply because they are jealous.
These are X friends that did not have the Ball/courage to go after their dreams so they want to hold me back.

I never tell them who they are. I just never associate with them again. No need to waste time on wasted warfare time.

Also, I use common sense.
I assign a “weight” value on each advice.

People that give me advice on how to blog but never blog, these are called IDIOTS.

People tell me how to be an entrepreneur yet they never even sold lemonade from their own lemonade stand.

If you want to be an entrepreneur, my best advice is to get words of wisdom from someone who has succeeded in your industry.

So if you want to be an entrepreneur, a painter, a singer, be prepared to have a mile long list of advice being thrown at you.
Be quick to filter the ones that matter, and spend more time honing in on your craft.

See you at the top.

Marilyn Monroe

I’m selfish, impatient and a little insecure. I make mistakes, I am out of control, and at times hard to handle, but if you can’t handle me at my worst, then you sure as hell don’t deserve me at my best. -Marilyn Monroe

I love this quote. This quote applies to me during my journey as an entrepreneur.

I am greeted by loneliness, doubt, and indecision.

But just when my mood dips at the lowest point, I remind myself that those who are my cheerleaders are my true friends.

I remind myself that pain is only temporary.

Failure is my teacher. & that with each failed attempt, I am one step closer to success.

George Foreman as a Judge on American Inventor

15 Pro Athletes Turned Entrepreneurs features a great list of creative pro athletes that made more bling after their careers.

Tonight, CNBC is airing – George Foreman New Series: CNBC Bizography Premieres Tonight 9:00 PM ET/PT

I met George Foreman in person when I was on American Inventor Reality TV on ABC a few years ago.

His radiant smile and positive energy is a simple reminder of why he is a great pitch man for mega hits such as the George Foreman grill.

Reportedly, George Foreman made more from selling the George Foreman Grill than he did in boxing.

{3 Reasons Why I would Hire George Foreman As a Pitch Man}

1:: Trust. Simply look at George. He looks like someone I would trust. His grill was not a new invention or anything extraordinary, but he repackaged the product. His energy shines through the television.

2:: Empathy. George Foreman has this gift which is simply related to having great people skills. I remember filming American Inventor and this little kid just got crushed by the words of the harsh judges. The kid came out of the door with tears flowing down his cheeks.

George Foreman made the extra effort to get off the judges table, walk to the waiting room, and comfort the little kid. One hug from George Foreman, the kid suddenly started to smile.

3:: Tenacity. George Foreman taught me to never give up. In his forties, he was still boxing. His NEVER GIVE UP + KEEP TRYING attitude are paramount characteristics of a true entrepreneur. Read Jab daily: don’t go for the Knock Out
_

+Watch the Bizogrpahy and let me know what you think
+Read more American Inventor: Rayfil on reality TV

Dear mommy,

I find it hard to stay humble.
I work hard at something, become great, and get these praises.

Next thing I know, my EGO is inflated.

But I find that being humble is a must in life.

_

3 Reasons to Remain Humble

1:: You win more friends. NO one likes a cocky person. Cocky breeds Enemies.

2:: You get more opportunities. I find that people have been referring me jobs, friends, and business deals just by staying humble.

3:: You stay hungry. Whether you’re a company or personal brand, staying hungry is key. Facebook is now king of social media, MySpace who?

_

#1 Way to Stay Humble

I have mentored kids from Stanford to kids from inner city from church camp. So arrogant bastards come in all sizes and from all social economic background. The secret to staying humble is to LEARN something out of your comfort zone.

If you have mastered basketball, try snowboarding.
If you can hip hop like Jay Z, waltz.

This past Monday, I tried Zumba my local YMCA.
I was humbled. I suck, but smiled and had so much fun.

In a room filled with 95% females, I did not shy away.
_

Reminder. Being humble is not to be confused with being weak. In fact, it is the opposite. When attending UC Berkeley orientation for college, a professor reminded us to stay humble. He noted that arrogant people have low self esteem. I can’t agree more.

Happy Sunday,
Live life to its fullest

Rayfil

{Return to Philosophy Page}