The motivational talk by Mr Aman was really an inspiring one.I was an exact person before he starts the talk however after the talk I want to try to be a more than person.It will be hard and it might also take a long time to change it since that's what I've doing all the years before I attend the talk.He mentioned Michael Phelps about how he spent 5 years everyday training not missing for even one day.I believe I can learn from him maybe not so extreme but just revise the things learn from the lecturer every day and make sure I hand in all assignment before due date. Last but not least I would like to try out different experience to find out what am I really interested in.

 

On the first day, I was so happy to know so many new friends and my new classmates.I'm also very interested in the Sandbox opportunities. I always wanted to start my own business. Thus, when I realized I can do so with funding provided, I got very happy, so maybe next semester, once I am familiar with poly life I might try the sandbox thing. The Sparks Workshop were also quite interesting. It allowed me to understand more about the opportunities and chances I have. The Engine Room activity is extremely fun. Personally, I enjoy doing things hands-on , so needless to say , I loved the Engine Room activities. It really invoked my interest in the engineering. 

 

On the Malaysia overseas trip, we went to many different places. First, we went to the Zenxin Organic Farm. We were able to see first-hand how the farmers grow organic crops and how they water and protect the crops. For the watering of plants, there was spraying and dripping. I also learnt how multi-croping works. We also went to the Coffee factory. However, I didn't really like it cos I don't drink coffee. But it was interesting as I got to find out about different type of coffee beans.

 

We also had a Motivational Speech from Mr Aman. From that speech , I learnt several things. 

1) Always try to do more than expected

2) Be more than anyone else

3) Put a dent in the universe

4) Easy is never a thing. Everything in the future will be difficult.

5) Choices have consequences

6) Discipline: The 10,000 hour rule

 

I learnt about the growth mindset. The growth mindset is the mentality to give 100% in everything you do.Alway try to challenge yourself #ChallengeAccepted and no matter what always take responsibility of your actions. I also found out about a very true and important equation:

10%( Event) + 90%(Response) = 100% (Outcome)

It is about how you respond to the event that really affects the outcome. Overall, I learned a lot and it was extremely helpful.

2)Some key takeaway from the motivational talk was when he told us the three type of person in the world: the one who would do less than expected, the one who do exactly and the one who do more than. When we were doing this activity I realize that I was part of the group that would just do exactly when people ask me to do and not more, this make me think that if I just continue to do exactly what people ask me to do I won’t stand out at all so I would try to change myself to do more. He also showed us what Steve job said when he was asked why he wake up everyday, his answer was ‘I wake up to make a dent in the universe’. This make me think that I should start changing my mindset as now I still don’t know why I wake up everyday but this question make me think and hopefully able to change myself. Also every choice made have different consequences so we need to think before we do anything, this allow us to assess the situation and see what is the most suitable choice.

On the first day of school, I came to school feeling nervous. I was worried about not having friends in the class, people judging me, not being able to do well in the course, all sort of worries. However, my worries turned out not as bad as I thought they would be. Someone approached to talk to me and I was really grateful for it but the whole class has so many people though, am I really going to only have that one or two friend throughout my poly life? From here, as you can tell, I worry a lot. However, it was not as bad as it felt. From Mr Yang’s activity, it helped me destressed for a bit. I found out that I still like drawing after all. I thought I lost the passion for it after secondary 2 but the activity made my creative juices spin again. 

Things got better on the second day when we were supposed to go Malaysia for our trip. I supposed I couldn’t stand being friendless and tried to open up bit by bit. Thanks to the traffic jam I managed to get to converse or say, at least participate in what they were doing. I thought about talking to them many times in the bus because they seem so close to each other, it felt intimidating. How I wish my friends were here but I learnt that I have to adapt to new environments and blend in to it since it will be the case when I start to work. I would not know any of my co-workers and they would have already known each other already so I thought I should really try push myself into doing things I might not like but it will be good for me to have that experience. This is something that I felt I should start doing more since I started going to poly. Things are becoming more real now so I have no choice I got to push myself if not I will fall behind others. That’s something that changed about me from my secondary school self.

Glad that day one ended early because I really wanted to rest. Ha ha. But bowling was really fun though! On the third day, to be honest I still am not close to most of my classmates but I greeted them at the lobby so that’s great. The trip to Zenxin Farm was pretty good. I went there before so the information was nothing new but I did find the mudball throwing pretty interesting though. Miss that out the other time. I supposed listening to a second time really does strengthen my memory. During lunch, I got a pleasant surprise. There are more people like me that is a vegetarian (one vegan friend). YAY. I broke the silence and talked to them. We clicked and I had a good time and we even walked around the area again talking to each other. I suppose you got to make that first step sometimes. Then we went to the coffee factory in Kluang which felt really old and had that vintage feel. I learnt that out kopi-o is actually roasted with margarine and sugar. During paint ball I was really scared of it to be honest because I heard that it is really painful but I really want to have some fun so I decided to not give a damn and ran for it. I got hit in the head the first time and was so shocked I didn’t dare to run forward without thinking again. People learn through pain most of the time and that’s how I learnt not to run without thinking. Should have come up with a plan or something. 

On the fourth day, we had a motivational talk and Mr Aman was really humorous. But what I learnt from him is to be the best there is and being the most hardworking. That’s how to get your goal be it studies or work. Some pretty good guidelines for goal setting. They are: Being specific, Finding Motivation, Measurable, Action Plan, Realistic and setting a time limit. Being disciplined is also very important as well together with the 10-thousand-hour rule. All these require a lot of effort to be put in and I don’t think I have that much perseverance but I am going to give it a try I want to do well. Why? Because there are things I want to do for the society that’s why I’m in this course in the first place. That’s my motivation. 

Our trip to Malaysia was definitely the highlight of the induction week as there were many key learning points to take away throughout the entire trip. It was amazing to watch complete strangers bond through the bonding activities during the trip. There were games that required us to work in teams without prior notice and I feel like those were the best times for us to strengthen our bonds.

During the trip, I also learnt important lessons about time management and careful planning while we were choosing our groupmates for the upcoming project. It was not about choosing groupmates based on preference, but we also had to meet the requirements and accommodate to everyone so it was a tough obstacle to overcome but I’m glad we were able to discuss the groupings as a course.

Of course, every trip involves value-inculcating and through this trip, I have learnt to understand and respect the culture in Malaysia. 

I also listened to our tour guide attentively as she talked about the various trademarks every time we pass by a significant location

Bringing us to the coffee factory and organic farm was also a great idea as the whole experience was just unbelievably enriching. I gained so much knowledge and it was interesting to get to see the various farming methods I’ve learnt in Geography in secondary school being applied in real life. It almost felt like I extended my learning outside of my classroom.

In a nutshell, the induction week was really productive and the best way to kickstart my Polytechnic life.

2)For myself, I think the most important segment of the entire trip was definitely Mr Aman’s motivational talk. I felt like I connected and could feel he sincerity in his words which had led me to tear up a few times during his talk. I think what struck me most was when he questioned us why are we aiming so high in our life academically for. It really made me think a lot and I think that it really impacted my life in a way as I realized I needed to search and think about the answer to this question in order to start up a burning desire to do well for my future. His talk made me realized that many of us lose motivation and feel like giving up often because we really lack a strong burning desire to do well. Therefore, I am going to carefully think and plan for myself for now on. Another key takeaway would be the message of always doing more in order to achieve the best out of this extremely competitively world. What we might have thought was sufficient effort might not be produce the outcome we all want and most definitely isn’t the best that we can do. I need to stretch my potential and aim to do better and much more than I am expected to do in order to achieve satisfying results. Lastly, in order to keep myself going even during the bad days, I decided to keep in mind “event + response = outcome”.

I must not think that all hopes are lost when faced with a challenging problem, because it is how I respond and react to it that will eventually determine if things would turn out right.

Secondly, the camaraderie quest forced me to step out of my comfort zone, from meeting new people to having to communicating with them comfortably. Starting of with the very first activity of our trip, bowling. I cant lie, at that point of time, I felt a little worried and uncomfortable as I barely knew any friends there. Luckily, during the bowling session, my classmates were all very friendly and open to each other. This made a strong bond between us. Even though the bowling alley’s condition was not as good as the ones we have in Singapore which caused most of us to bowl badly, I feel that what matters most was the process we had. We had lots of fun and I made lots of new friends through this activity. Then, the following day we played paintball. I have learnt that paintball is all about team spirit, only with a good team spirit then we can strive to win. Without a good communication within the team, it is very hard to play paintball. Thus, this created the opportunity for many of us to bond together through teamwork and communication.

Thirdly, the learning excursions we had were definitely an eye-opener for me. Despite the hot weather, I had a fruitful experience at the organic farm. I have learnt how to maintain and garden organic farms the most organic way as possible. I was very impressed by the many tedious steps the farmers follow to ensure that the vegetables grow healthily and the quality of vegetables sold to customers are value for money. What made me more fascinated was the fact that unlike some other organic farms, the farmers I met in Zen Xin organic farm were very hardworking and they would even go an extra mile to ensure that the quality of vegetables grown are good. Next was the coffee factory, despite myself being a barista at Starbucks, I never actually gotten the chance to see how the process of beans were made which I found very flabbergasted and interesting. Moreover, the freshly brewed coffees tasted different from all the other coffees I have drank.

2)The first key takeaway is that there are 3 types of people in this world. Firstly, there are the people who do less than what is asked for. Secondly, there are the people who do exactly, which means that they do the minimum that is asked for, & this is also where most people are. Lastly there are the people who do more than where they will do more than what they are asked for, which unfortunately very few people fall in this category. Usually people who fall into the category of more than are obviously more successful. Personally, I fall in the category exactly, which after this talk, I realised I need push myself in order to fall into the category more than as this would help me in the future.

The second key takeaway, is the quote that says "do things that you love, not for the money". Personally, when I first started off working in Starbucks, it was honestly for the money, to earn extra allowance. However, as the days went by, I found an interest at Starbucks, latte art. I made many barista friends and most of them had the same interest as me. We would practice and compare each other's latte art. At the same time, helping each other to improve. this really got me excited for my next work day. I found myself looking forward to going to work as I could pursue my interest while earning money. It’s like killing two birds with one stone. Now that I’ve found my interest, I am planning to pursue it in the future with my leisure time.

The third key takeaway is the poker chip theory. Poker chips represent one's self esteem. I have learnt that you are the one that decides how many poker chips you want in your life. This poker chip theory shows me that you are not limited to a few poker chips, one small mistake does not pull you down neither does it mean that it is the end of the world. You can choose to have many more poker chips than any others. Thus, do not limit yourself to a few amounts of poker chip as the choice is yours.

The fourth key takeaway would be the increase in self-esteem by constantly saying positive words to oneself. An example would be looking at oneself in the mirror & complimenting oneself like saying words such as "I look good today". This would help to boost one's self esteem.

The last key takeaway is the event + response = outcome formula. Things might not turn out the way we expect or want it to be, thus our response plays a very important role in determining the outcome. The event takes only 10% while the response takes up to 90%, adding up to a 100%. Thus, if one don’t respond to the event, the outcome would only be 10% however if one responds to the event, it would be a 100%. Thus, in life, it depends on whether one responds (100%) to the event or not (10%), this would lead to determining the outcome.

1)     Discuss at least 5 things you learn or discovered – for example about design, or working in groups or the physical world – through participating in the Sparks Workshop, Camaraderie Quest (bonding activities) and the Learning excursion (Coffee factory visit)

On the 4-Day 3-Night bonding program in Malaysia I learnt a lot about myself and my classmates around me. At the same time I got the opportunity to gain some useful life lesson and values which can be of very good use to me as I embark on my new journey in poly. On day 1, although we were alittle behind time due to the bad traffic we still managed to squeeze in sometime for a bowling session. During this time I got the chance to get to know my course mates better and open up more to socializing with others around me. It was a good experience and lesson learnt because in school, would cross paths with many different kinds of people from all walks of life. The day ended simply with the collection of our room cards. Day 2 was a bit more exciting we managed to visit two tourist hotspots in JB. First up was the coffee factory. We got the opportunity to see how much hard work is put in to manufacture less that about 10 bags a coffee powder. The workers had to work though less than ideal conditions in the factory. Life wasn’t easy for them and I from this I learnt to appreciate what I have around me because even for something small like a bag of coffee a lot of hard work was needed. Next visit was to ZenXin Organic farm. Although there really wasn’t much to take away from this visit I did learn the importance of conservation of the environment giving me more meaning in my course of study CEM. At the end of the day, we ended off with some light hearted simple bonding games. Although it was nothing elaborate I had just as much fun and even made a few new friends along the way. The next day we had a talk by Mr. Aman an experienced motivational speaker who has been giving speeches for years. I learnt the most form this talk. Three take away points I have is firstly “ Make active choices in life instead of going with the flow.” Next, have a Growth Mindset which means to have a way of thinking that helps you to grow and take responsibility. Lastly Add value for yourself. With these I hope to bring these values into my days in school and further on into the future. To sum up the five take away points I got from this trip is to appreciate what I got , be more outgoing and also including the three lessons learnt during Mr Aman’s talk.

2)     What are the key takeaways from the motivational talk by Mr. Aman?  What tools can you use or skill sets can you develop to empower yourself?                        

we had a talk by Mr. Aman an experienced motivational speaker who has been giving speeches for years. Three take away points I have is firstly “Make active choices in life instead of going with the flow.” It is important to take control of your own life because sometimes going with the flow not necessarily has to be the right thing to do. Sometimes being different is good Next, have a Growth Mindset which means to have a way of thinking that helps you to grow and take responsibility. Having such a mindset is important especially in school because school is all about growth and learning and therefore making this lesson learnt very applicable in daily context. Lastly Add value for yourself. In other words improving yourself which is not only useful for school or the present but also the future. Therefore I find these key takeaways very useful  from the talk.

On the second day of induction week, we made our way to Malaysia. After the long journey, we played bowling at the resort we were staying at. Although I played badly, it was extremely fun and I got to know several new people.

We went to an organic farm during the morning of the third day. We were given a tour of the farm in which we were shown many different types of plants and their uses. We were also taught the different protection methods the organic farm adopted as an alternative to pesticides. This includes using a greenhouse, installing sticky traps, intercropping and shielding. This particular portion really intrigued me as I have always wondered how organic farms combat pests. After touring the farm, we even had the chance to make and fry our own curry puffs which gave me a sense of accomplishment. After lunch, we made our way to a coffee factory where we learned how coffee beans are roasted and ground. Watching as several employees worked together to mix the coffee beans with sugar and margarine, I realised how working together as a team can improve our efficiency. Soon after, we went to play paintball. I felt pretty scared at first as I had heard many people complain about how pain it was to get hit, however, I became excited as soon as I received my gun. The excitement wore off fast as we were thoroughly destroyed during every round. Thinking back, the other teams worked together really well whereas most of our team barely spoke to each other at all during the rounds. This taught me how crucial communication is in a team effort as there is a visible difference in the outcome. 

2. We sat for a motivational talk on the fourth day by Mr Aman. Although the talk was long, Mr Aman kept our attention through interactive games, jokes and even with magic tricks. Despite that, he managed to deliver several important points that I felt would be very beneficial to me. First of all, Mr Aman described how useful a growth mindset was, and therefore we should give our 100% in everything we do as well as daring to try something new. Another point he focused on is the importance of self-esteem and how to increase it. He then gave several methods on how we can increase our self- esteem, for example, affirming ourselves with positive words. Finally, he stressed the importance of setting goals. He used the acronym SMMART to guide us on how to set goals, which stands for specific, motivational, measurable, action plan, realistic, and time limit respectively. In conclusion, the talk was extremely entertaining and informative, and I will do my best to follow Mr Aman’s advice.

On the first day, I was so happy to know so many new friends and my new classmates.I'm also very interested in the Sandbox opportunities. I always wanted to start my own business. Thus, when I realized I can do so with funding provided, I got very happy, so maybe next semester, once I am familiar with poly life I might try the sandbox thing. The Sparks Workshop were also quite interesting. It allowed me to understand more about the opportunities and chances I have. The Engine Room activity is extremely fun. Personally, I enjoy doing things hands-on , so needless to say , I loved the Engine Room activities. It really invoked my interest in the engineering. 

 

On the Malaysia overseas trip, we went to many different places. First, we went to the Zenxin Organic Farm. We were able to see first-hand how the farmers grow organic crops and how they water and protect the crops. For the watering of plants, there was spraying and dripping. I also learnt how multi-croping works. We also went to the Coffee factory. However, I didn't really like it cos I don't drink coffee. But it was interesting as I got to find out about different type of coffee beans.

 

We also had a Motivational Speech from Mr Aman. From that speech , I learnt several things. 

1) Always try to do more than expected

2) Be more than anyone else

3) Put a dent in the universe

4) Easy is never a thing. Everything in the future will be difficult.

5) Choices have consequences

6) Discipline: The 10,000 hour rule

 

I learnt about the growth mindset. The growth mindset is the mentality to give 100% in everything you do.Alway try to challenge yourself #ChallengeAccepted and no matter what always take responsibility of your actions. I also found out about a very true and important equation:

10%( Event) + 90%(Response) = 100% (Outcome)

It is about how you respond to the event that really affects the outcome. Overall, I learned a lot and it was extremely helpful.