Tips to making things happen in life

It’s normal to be afraid of starting something new, but instead of letting worries run endlessly through your head, get to work. There are ways to unblock your creativity, gain courage and try new things. If you feel stuck, try different approaches in your life or businesses. Actions engender change, and every little step brings you closer to realizing your creative dreams.Overcome fear and procrastination. Stop self-sabotage. Fix your time and define your task. Snap out of sluggish work attitude. Make your task specific. Break them into smaller pieces. Make them present. No point having a goal in 2 years when you can do something today.
Understand that mistakes are just part of the process. Change is also necessary. Conviction and comfort never come together. Feel comfortable? You are likely wasting your life. Embrace change. Find a strong support network.

生活中的小贴士

害怕尝试新鲜的事物是正常的，但是不要让忧虑一直困扰着你，忙起来吧。很多方法都能开发你的创造力，勇于尝试新鲜事物。如果感觉在生活或者工作中被困住了，请试试其他的办法，行动能带来变化，每一步都能让你更接近那充满创造力的梦想，克服恐惧和拖延，别再自我糟践。

调整时间，重定任务，摆脱懒散的工作态度。

细化任务，且把他们分为更小的模块。

现在开始行动起来，不要在你可以现在可以做到某些事情的时候，反而制定了2年的目标，这毫无意义可言。

要明白错误只是过程中的一部分

变化是必要的，信念和舒适从来不会同时出现。现在感觉舒适，有可能就是在浪费你的生命。拥抱改变，快找一个良好并能支持你的网络吧。

数字过载和时间的优化

由于电子邮件和大量的储存空间，你的信息超负荷了。 想象一下，成千上万的记者和编辑每天都在大量地制造大量的信息，阅读，处理并记住细节是毫无可能的。

我们比以前拥有更多的渠道来与陌生人以及我们的同事，进行实时地交流。现在也没有理由不去回应，您的同事可以发送已阅回执，甚至直接在Whatsapp上跟踪蓝色已读标记，如果这还不够，还有一些应用可以追踪你的位置,生活正迅速地变得透明。

当你被要求随时传递某些东西时，工作质量就下降了，且其使得工作逐渐失去控制。很难和老板或是同事为什么你需要更多的时间，且他们很容易就在谷歌上面知道相关的信息。但是这个也是关键所在。每个人都可以在互联网上面获取信息。所谓的内容管理并不存在。考虑每一条信息是否可以合理存续都需要花费时间。

下面有些简单的方法来缓解这个超负荷的信息量所带来的问题， 且能更好的选择你需要的信息，让我们一起来看看。

保持邮箱的干净，你不需要1000封邮件。整理邮箱，并且把重复的邮件清除。 尽量避免打印。用一个简单的工具来保存和分类。 可以试下Evernote或者Microsoft的便签。又或者简单地创建更多的邮箱文件夹。但是记住让你的收件箱邮件维持在最低的数量。

尽量不做代办事项清单。做任务清单从来不会给你优先考虑 的时间。充其量， 它只能让你想起大量且没有完成的工作，认真地保留一个或者两个任务 。专注于大的方向和其他事情一起跟进，我之前也尝试做快的小的任务，比如这个任务只需要2分钟或者更少的话那就先做这个小任务。然而在我看来，这个效率很低，切换任务很费时间，又不轻松。

使用密码管理器或者其他任何的密码工具 ，记住与回想密码是一件痛苦的事情。如果你借用一个系统来记，可以节省很多的时间。

写的的简单点。 使用主动的语态，用最简单的可能的方式说你需要说的，把你的形容词和描述都收起来。

阅读高度编排的资源。我只读华尔街日报、金融时报和其他可信的大众媒体，不是我想成为一个媒体的势利小人。但是如果内容能满足我而且我的时间有限的话，我会选择编排的更好的资源。

没有工作的动力-最好的动力来自于内部

你有没有想过为什么你非常想要一份好工作？是因为想要获得可观的薪水吗？还是想要获得为您的家人提供美好生活的能力？

也许这里有一个更基本的原因：幸福。实现幸福的理念是一个中心动力。但是，在我们认为是通往幸福的道路 - 积累物质和追求金钱收益 - 最后往往变成一个死胡同。实际上，丰厚的薪水和新的保时捷并不能保证幸福。所以我们不应该靠外部的力量，比如金钱，来培养长期的动力。

例如，假设如果你今天比平时多写了15封电子邮件，那么你的老板就会承诺给你你400美元的一次性奖金。你接受了这个提议并拿到现金。但是，如果没有了额外的现金奖励，你明天还会如此疯狂地工作吗？

这正是笔者所建立的测试。在2013年的实验中，笔者为英特尔负责组装芯片的员工提供了额外的资金，英特尔是美国的主要技术公司。他们所要做的就是承诺达到一定的配额，然后将在一天开始的时候得到这笔钱。

这种激励起了作用。但是在第二天，以及之后的日子里，他们的生产力就恢复了正常水平。他们不再收到任何额外的钱，所以没有理由继续更好更快地工作。

外部激励因素是不可持续的。只有当我们受到自己内部的某些激励，我们才能从中获得纯粹的享受，那么我们才能够长期坚持努力。

例如，在上述实验中，员工也被告知，如果他们在某一天完成的工作超过了一定单位数量，他们将收到一份简单的“做得好”的文字。这些收到激励的参与者，他们能够比平时做更多的芯片。

在接下来的两天中，他们的产量略低于之前的水平，但仍然超过了货币激励后第二天和第三天的产量。驱使他们做到这样的，是因为“做得好”的赞美给了他们与目的相关并推动事情发展的内在动力。

动力可以从许多不同的地方得到，但驱动人们实现的主要力量是意义。我们从需要投入大量努力的活动中获得意义感，掌握一个项目的所有权并达成重大目标。

百度评级面临降级风险

By Sarah Chen and Alex Lew 

百度评级可能下调

根据国际评级机构惠誉5月31日宣布，中国互联网技术巨头百度将被纳入 "负面观察" 名单, 惠誉声称对百度旗下日益增长的影子银行业务表示担忧, 这将可能导致他的评级下调，并且惠誉提到仍会持续观察百度名下这些发展迅速的影子信贷业务。

国内信贷扩张迅速

时下，国内信贷的迅速张与多样化投资选择的匮乏, 以及市面上大大小小的金融公司的大力宣传和推波助澜，琳瑯满目的理财产品实在让人应接不暇，心动非凡，导致个人、银行以及公司很轻易就将过剩的现金投资于影子信贷产品, 尤其是理财产品 (WMPs)。但是大部分理财产品的资金去向，风险监控及评估机制等仍然存在着很大的问题，所以作为投资者，并不是在购买了理财产品后，就能高枕无忧，享受产品经理告知的稳固收益，在投资前，你若没有擦亮眼睛谨慎选择，还是会有上当受骗的风险，比如近日，美的下属集团就陷入一场理财骗局，涉及资金多达到10亿人民币，幸而发现及时，涉案人员现已抓捕归案，部分资金也已收回，受损资金还在可控范围内，因此损失还不大。

投资理仍需谨慎

前面之所以谈到的理财投资需谨慎，是因为你要清楚，购买理财产品的收益，是在集合所有购买资金后，再由金融公司投入到货币市场，债券，企业贷款等等当中从而实现收益。作为消费者，你必须清楚了解理财产品的七大风险：市场风险、通货膨胀风险、信用风险、流动性风险、操作管理风险、信息传递风险、以及政策风险，因而你得评估理财产品的实际风险与实际收益，如果这之间的差异在你可以接受的范围之内，再考虑购买。

影子银行业务过多

现在国内的主要搜索引擎百度 (wmp) 通过迅速扩大其金融服务集团来进入这场游戏, 惠誉表示, 百度的整体业务风险正在增加。根据百度2017年季度财报显示的数据，百度在理财及小额贷款等金融业务总资产为250亿元，相当于百度总资产的12%，而在2016年底，该资产规模仅为120亿元，这表明，在一个季度内，百度的金融资产已经翻了一番，在这种情况下，由于涨势过快，百度的理财产品参与的融资项目大多良莠不齐，这其中很多无法从银行获得贷款的公司却能从百度金融这边得到贷款，而且百度的运营的时间不长，整体风险仍然很高，如此种种都会引起百度财务状况的波动。

核心业务利润下滑

据百度2017年第一季财报显示，百度收入168.9亿人民币（25.5美元），同比增长6.8%。其中移动收入占到总收入的70%，较2016年一季度60%的水平有所上升，营业利润为20.1亿人民币（2.9亿美元），同比下滑9.3%。净利润为17.8亿人民币（2.6亿美元），同比下滑10.6%，这其中百度核心业务（搜索与交易服务）的非美国通用会计准则（non-GAAP）营业利润率为26.2%，交易服务令百度核心业务的非美国通用会计准则运营利润率下降16.8%，因爱奇艺下降了10.6%。

曾经身陷医疗丑闻

百度一直都在向移动网络方向靠拢，然而就在去年，因为魏则西医疗事件，百度还一度陷入丑闻当中，因为收取了医疗广告费用，让可疑的医院排名靠前，致使一个大学生因诊治无效而身亡。该事件过后，百度的营业额直接损失了20亿。

不稳定性仍然较强

并且如果其销售的任何理财产品（WMPs ）未能达到其目标回报率或产生违约的情况, 将特别损害公司的声誉，从而增加更多不稳定性，惠誉表示“与中国的银行一样, 百度不需要在其理财产品业务（WMPs ）的潜在违约率上预留大笔资金.....所以理财产品业务（WMPs ）变成项目或投资的一种替代形式, 无法取得银行的贷款资格。”穆迪警告，百度大规模扩张的金融业务将可能导致现金的大量流失。

Digital overload and ways to maximise the use of time

With emails and cheap storage, you are overloaded with information. Just imagine the thousands of reporters and editors churning tons of information on a daily basis. It is impossible to read, process, and remember details anymore.

We also have more channels than ever before to communicate with strangers and colleagues on a real time basis. There is now no excuse not to respond. Your colleagues can send read receipts, and they can even track your “blue ticks” on Whatsapp. If this is not enough, there are apps to track your location. Life is fast becoming transparent.

When you are asked to deliver something at a moment’s notice, you sacrifice quality of work. This leads to a gradual loss of control. It’s no longer easy to explain why you need more time. Bosses and customers know the information is easily available on Google. But that is precisely the point. 

Everyone can churn information on the internet. The curation process is non-existent. It takes time to consider which pieces of information continue to be valid.

There are some simple ways to mitigate information overload. Be very selective on the information you keep. Let go.

Keep a clean email policy. You don’t need 1000 emails. Sort out emails and eliminate duplicates. Try not to print. Use a simple tool to save and sort content. Try Evernote, or Microsoft One Note. Or simply create more email folders. But always keep your inbox down to the bear minimum.

Avoid to-do lists. To-do lists never ever give you a sense of priority. At best, it remembers you of the tons of work you have not completed. Conscientiously keep one or two tasks alive. Focus on the big wins and let the rest flow along. I’ve read advices to do small tasks quickly – if it takes 2 mins or less, do it first. This is inefficient in my opinion – task switching is expensive and tiring.

Use lastpass or any password tool. Recalling passwords and retrieving them is a pain. Can’t explain how much time you can save if you use a systematic solution.

Write simply. Use active tense. Say what you need to say in the shortest possible way. Save your adjectives and description for another that should never come.

Read from highly curated sources. I read only from WSJ, FT, and other credible mass media. I’m not trying to be a media snob. But if content is free and my time is limited, I choose to read from places where editorial processes are in place.

Motivation for work – why the lack of it? Is money everything?

Many workers suffer from the lack of motivation. They go to work for money. This is tedious. While money is the simplest motivation, it is not the best.

Motivation is complex. It is a mix of happiness, achievement, pride, fulfillment and more.

You don’t work just for money. Perhaps you work because the job gives you a nice title or because the colleagues are friendly. Money alone is hardly sustainable.

The best form of motivation is meaning. Meaningful work has an achievable goal that benefits others. There is a Greek myth about a King, Sisyphus who was punished for eternity. He had to push a boulder up a hill and once it reached the top, it would roll back down.

No one likes toiling towards unreachable goals. Many simply quit when the task does not seem to be leading anywhere.

Here’s a real life example of an experiment performed on engineers. A group of engineers were asked to build something out of Lego Bionicles. Half of the group liked the task, the other half didn’t like it. Once they completed the task, the robot was dismantled and the engineers were asked to rebuild the robot. After a few rounds, even those who liked the exercise initially gave up.

Ownership of work is also important. The more effort and ownership you give an employee, the harder he will work.

The idea of achieving happiness is a central motivator. In reality, a fat paycheck and a new Porsche don’t guarantee happiness. Therefore, we shouldn’t rely on external forces like money to foster long-term motivation.

In fact, money as the sole motivator will backfire. If you were given an extra sum of money to work 2 more hours, you will no longer work 2 more hours once the sum of money is withdrawn.

In summary, find work that gives you ownership, has meaning to society, is achievable and grants you recognition.

多任务执行通常让你事与愿违

更精确地说，这叫任务转换，这会让你在做事时变得没有效率并且不够完善。

有很多研究都可以证明这一点，这里还包括范德堡大学近来的一份研究报告。

研究者找不到任何有关神经学的证据来解释人类的大脑可以同时接受大于一项任务的工作。

大脑所能做的就是反反复复从一个任务转到另一个任务。它进行地很快从而让你产生同时在进行很多任务的印象，然而实际上它做的却是任务转换。

在任务间转换最终会变得效率低下且浪费时间，因为无论你进行着积极抑或消极的转换，很明显，你都需要停下一边大脑的思考从而来进行另一项任务。

避免自己对所雇员工或同事贡献出自己的时间而影响到已定的计划。

Multitasking is counterproductive

A more accurate name for this method of working is switch tasking, and it is an inefficient and inadequate way of getting things done.

There are plenty of studies to back this up, including a recent one from Vanderbilt University. Researchers couldn’t find a single piece of neurological evidence to suggest that the human brain can take on more than one task at a time.

What the brain can do is switch back and forth, from one task to another. It can do this quickly enough to give you the impression that it is multitasking, but what it is really doing is switchtasking.

Switching between tasks is ultimately inefficient and a waste of time, because whether you are making active or passive switches, you will inevitably need to stop one train of thought to start another.

Avoid interruptions by making yourself available to employees and coworkers at regularly scheduled times.

Visa将正式进入中国

Visa已递交清算牌照申请

Visa正式申请在中国大陆运营。同时，Visa也在印度和欧洲继续推进支付体系的构建和完善。

Visa CEO小阿尔弗雷德·凯利表示，Visa已经于7月19号向中国人民银行递交清算牌照的申请，准备借此机会进入中国大陆市场。在获得运营资格之前，Visa已经在大陆有不少技术方面的投资。凯利同时表示，这些投资和布局是“着眼于长远的”。

“双标卡换单标卡”带来的收益只能算是一般，凯利说，但这的确是Visa需要持续关注的，因为中国的跨境交易分量不小。

“双标卡”的背景

双标卡是具有中国特色的一种信用卡，卡面上同时有银联和外国卡组织的标志。据估算，直至2016年年底，中国的银行总计发行了大约两亿四千张双标信用卡。

银联是中国大陆可以从事人民币清算业务的唯一卡组织。使用双标信用卡在国内消费时，清算走的是银联通道，收取服务费的也是银联。消费者持双标卡在境外消费，或者在国外的电商平台上消费时，人民币清算的过程依然是走银联通道，整个清算过程中银联和外国卡组织分摊服务费。

国际卡组织如Visa和MasterCard早在银联成立的2002年之前就已经进入中国大陆。银联为了在国内清算市场上有立足之地，借着自身的央行和政府背景，和这些国际卡组织所谓“合作”，发行“银联+国际卡组织”的双标信用卡，迅速成为中国大陆一家独大的银行卡转接清算机构。

银联的如意算盘是，自身的背景让银联卡很容易就可以在大陆市场上推行，等到大部分中国人都持有银联卡，同时越来越多的中国人前往海外消费，银联的国际化道路将会非常顺畅。因为银联卡在国内有数以亿计的用户，加上中国人在境外的消费能力不容小觑，国外的商户和银行自然不敢放弃这部分潜在客户，也就会顺理成章接入银联支付清算通道或者加入银联卡组织。

2015年中国银联总裁时文朝透露过银联国际化的三个步骤：第一，中国人走到哪里，银行卡服务到哪里；第二，逐步在当地发卡，为当地人服务；第三，和当地合作伙伴一起成长，为共同持卡人提供增值服务。而这个第一步的基础，就是先要走进绝大部分中国人的钱包，这依靠的就是自己背后的央行和中国政府。

到了2012年，世界贸易组织（WTO）就银联案作出裁决：“中国银联在中国垄断了人民币支付卡的发行和使用。”中国放弃上诉，也就是说接受裁决，承认银联存在论断现象，未来将会逐步开放银行卡清算市场。四年之后的2016年，中国官方才正式宣布中国国内清算市场开放。

银联的如意算盘打得怎么样？其实并没有预计中的好。直至2015年年中，银联海外发卡量只有4700万张，占50亿总发卡量的不足1%。一年后的2016年年中，海外发卡量也只有5500万张。

“双标卡退出市场“未必就是Visa和MasterCard这些国际卡组织的春天来临的信号。根据2016年6月发布的《银行卡清算机构管理办法》，境外机构与境内银行卡清算机构合作授权发行银行卡，应当采用境内银行卡清算机构的发卡行标识代码。境外机构不得通过合作方式变相从事人民币的银行卡清算业务。也就是说，在国际卡组织取得中国国内的清算牌照之前，不得从事人民币转接清算业务。按照现在的情况来看，银联仍然是大陆唯一的人民币清算组织。在中国境内刷国际卡组织的单标卡，清算时走的流程会非常麻烦，先转接外币清算再转接人民币清算，或者刚好收单行和发卡行是同一家银行的时候可以成功刷卡。所以大部分国内商户都没有接入国际卡组织的清算通道，消费者在国内刷单标Visa卡的时候，大多会被POS机提示“此为受限卡”。

为了应对接下来可能涌入的国际卡组织，银联已经开始大举补贴消费者。今年六月，银联同国内四十多家银行合作，举办“62节”（银联单标卡卡号均是62开头），从6月2日到6月8日，在全国40个知名商圈约十万家商户，使用银联云闪付挥卡、手机以及扫码支付，均可享受6.2折优惠。众多电商平台也合作参与了银联的这次补贴大促。

Visa申请清算牌照仅仅是第一步，后续的发展中，Visa需要面对的是一个长期垄断，背景强硬的对手，众多正在涌入的国际卡组织，和正在悄悄兴起的补贴价格战。

Labour shortage Singapore falls behind China in terms of productivity?

China, the most populous nation has moved ahead of Singapore to produce 0 staff retail concept.

Where are we in Singapore given that we are arguably the nation with highest labor shortage and constraint?

Note that we have been talking about labour productivity since decades ago.
Truth is, we cannot allow old ways and mindsets to stop attempts to change. More aggressive restructuring is needed.

Like other convenience stores across China, the shelves of a BingoBox outlet in Shanghai are lined with instant noodles, beer, and bags of traditional snacks such as duck neck. But one thing is missing — the staff. 

Chinese retailers have taken pole position in a race to build unmanned shops, with more than a dozen in operation and hundreds more planned. Meanwhile, the unstaffed Amazon Go store has yet to open to the public. 

The entrance to the BingoBox in Shanghai, a single-aisle affair dropped Tardis-like into a parking lot behind a supermarket, is unlocked by the use of mobile phone app. Customers scan items for payment, with theft prevented by the use of real-name registration and video monitoring. 

No one can predict the financial markets - Invest smart

Ray Dalio, the creator of the renowned investment firm Bridgewater Associates, is considered a superstar of the stock market. But, back in 1971, he learned that no one can know for certain what the future holds.

That year, President Nixon had taken the United States off the gold standard, a move that resulted in the value of the dollar plummeting. Everyone, including Dalio, expected the stock market to take a tumble as well – but it didn't. It soared. And from that moment on, Dalio knew that it was impossible to ever predict anything with absolute certainty.

 You need to search for investment options that will result in the least amount of investment fees and taxes. This may lead you to look at index funds over mutual funds. Index funds don't have managers who charge expensive investment fees.

Instead, they're composed of stocks from an index such as the S&P 500, which includes successful companies like Apple and Microsoft. These stocks are only traded to reflect changes in the composition of the S&P 500, meaning that the shares are held for longer, thereby enabling you to avoid the higher short-term tax rate on gains.

A diverse portfolio will help protect you against changing trends and market crashes. There are four ways you can diversify: across different asset classes; within asset classes; across different markets, countries and currencies; and across time. Adding more than one asset class to your portfolio is a great way to diversify, as is making multiple investments in the same asset class.

Also, remember that the financial markets are global and you should feel free to look beyond your country's borders.

Finally, diversifying your portfolio across time means that you should always be adding capital to your portfolio, whether you do this monthly or yearly. The market is always fluctuating, and you can improve your chances of latching on to a new trend by adding new assets on a regular basis. Look out for investment fees.

Investment fees can be treacherous. 

In fact, if you're not careful, they can end up eating up two-thirds of your earnings. Take an average investment fund, for instance, which charges its clients a 2-percent yearly fee. Now, say that on average the fund delivers a 7-percent return on your investment over 50 years. This means that, after 50 years, every dollar will be worth nearly 30 dollars. With a yearly fee of 2 percent, however, your return is not 7 percent, but 5, and fifty years down the line, each dollar will only be worth just over 10 dollars, instead of 30. This illustrates how disproportionate the impact of investment fees can be! x

The irrational buyer (Adapted)

Cyril Wolf highlighted that pharmacy chains like CVS, Eckerd and Walgreens sometimes put unreasonably high prices on generic drugs such as Ibuprofen. 

Two chain stores, Costco and Sam's Club, sold the generic versions at a significantly lower price than the pharmacies mentioned above.

For instance, a bottle of Prozac pills – $117 at Walgreens – cost $12 at Costco.

Retirees with prescriptions don't compare prices at different stores, but simply assume that the price of generic drugs are consistent across all stores.

Hunting for deals is one thing. But there are also "deals" out there that are complete nonsense.

A two-wing meal, which includes fries and cole slaw, was listed at $3.03, and the three-wing meal cost $4.50. This means that one additional wing cost $1.47. That's more than the first two wings! We can sometimes be suckers for these "deals".