Road divide into the barren hills which lead into Emmett, Idaho (LOC) (Photo credit: The Library of Congress)

Life is a road. And there are many roads and path we can take.

Some paths are long, others short. Some smooth sailing, while others rocky and hard to navigate.

These paths could lead to wonders, or result in dead ends. Like any roads, you may also encounter detours, or find yourself heading down a completely wrong path.

And of all roads, a crossroad with multiple paths is probably the most confusing of all.

What road do you take, and how do you guarantee it’s the right one for your destination?

The first thing to realize is that there are absolutely no guarantees.

Life has no guarantees. You never know where a path will take, and whether the decisions you make will lead you to your outcome. And the outcome you may not to not be what you expected in the first place.

You can make alot of money, with no guarantee of happiness. You can love someone with all your heart, with no guarantee it would be returned. But that’s why it’s also important to focus on the journey and not just the destinaton.

Notice how wrong decisions are always in hindsight? Makes sense. Had you realized a wrong decision would occur, would you have gone with it? Probably not.

But hoping to avoid ever making a wrong decision will only keep you wherey ou are. Wrong decisions are equally important to make, because they give FEEDBACK to make BETTER decisions in the future.

The more risk you take and the more decisions you make, the better your feedback mechanism gets in calibrating to making optimal decisions. Of course, the downside is that you may make plenty of mistakes along the way (I know I have).

But compared to the alternative of just staying where you are, or remain indecisive and miss opportunities (or lessons), I will always rather explore my paths. The guarantee of no wrong turns also guarantees you will never reach more roads.

In recently having to make a series of decisions facing multiple options, here’s a few ideas that helped me:

1. Know more about your situation. Clarify the real issue. The lack of information about a situation is often a reason for indecision. Look at the bigger picture, and ensure you have some idea of the outcome you want. It’s also possible to break a big decision into smaller decisions, and start with the small decisions as feedback loops to see if they bring you closer to your goal.

2. Look at your priorities, and weigh them with your options. A priority list is not the same as a to-do list (thanks Alex!). Beware of the paradox of choice, and overcomplicating your options (I have a tendency to do this myself).

3. Be open to new ideas and spontaneity. the best idea may be an idea you haven’t even thought of, or it could be one right in front of you that you haven’t realized. Ask your friends for new ideas and play with them, but remember to make your own decision for yourself in the end.

4. Look at the pros and cons. I read a book recently teaching models of decision making, and one of them involved looking at all the factors keeping you there and pushing you away from a decision. If you are able to visualize this, you may be able to even eliminate and simplify your decisions.

6. Realize no decision is permanent. No decisions last forever, and most decisions do not result in most bad outcomes we fear. Consider worst case scenarios, and be strategic in your short term and long term decision making process, but remember that you can always make micro decisions and finetune them along the way based on feedback.

7. Trust yourself. Have faith in your decision making process. Trust yourself, and just take action. It may be the wrong decision, or it may be the best decision you could make. And remember that you can always make a better decision next time.

What other decision making tools or strategies have you used to make better decisions in your life? Let’s hear them in the comments below :)

I came across an interesting article today by Roger Ebert, the American film critic & Pulitzer Prize winner, discussing why box office revenue at movie theaters are now ‘lagging far behind 2010′. I’m pretty interested in market trends, and found this piece pretty fascinating. Here is Roger’s analysis on 6 reasons why this is:

1. The absence of a must-see mass-market movie. When moviegoers hear about “Avatar” or “The Dark Knight,” they blast off from home base and land in a theater seat as quickly as they can.

2. Ticket prices are too high. People have always made that complaint, but historically the movies have been cheap compared to concerts, major league sports and restaurants. Not so much any longer. No matter what your opinion is about 3D, the charm of paying a hefty surcharge has worn off for the hypothetical family of four.

3. The theater experience. Moviegoers above 30 are weary of noisy fanboys and girls. The annoyance of talkers has been joined by the plague of cell-phone users, whose bright screens are a distraction. Worse, some texting addicts get mad when told they can’t use their cell phones. A theater is reportedly opening which will allow and even bless cell phone usage, although that may be an apocryphal story.

4. Refreshment prices. It’s an open secret that the actual cost of soft drinks and popcorn is very low. To justify their inflated prices, theaters serve portions that are grotesquely oversized, and no longer offer what used to be a “small popcorn.” Today’s bucket of popcorn would feed a thoroughbred.

5. Competition from other forms of delivery. Movies streaming over the internet are no longer a sci-fi fantasy. TV screens are growing larger and cheaper. Consumers are finding devices that easily play internet movies through TV sets. Netflix alone accounts for 30% of all internet traffic in the evening. That represents millions of moviegoers. They’re simply not in a theater. This could be seen as an argument about why newspapers and their readers need movie critics more than ever; the number of choices can be baffling.

6. Lack of choice. Box-office tracking shows that the bright spot in 2011 was the performance of indie, foreign or documentary films. On many weekends, one or more of those titles captures first-place in per-screen average receipts. Yet most moviegoers outside large urban centers can’t find those titles in their local gigantiplex. Instead, all the shopping center compounds seem to be showing the same few overhyped disappointments. Those films open with big ad campaigns, play a couple of weeks, and disappear.

So the natural question is… what’s next?

Are moviegoers starting to mass shift into online media services such as Netflix and various online platforms?

What about the current shift onto mobile platforms? What would be the dominant movie delivery service?

People will always still watch movies, so if theaters are losing their charm and the markets are pretty unpredictable right now, my prediction is that we’ll be seeing a whole new host of platforms in 2012/2013 that will completely revolutionize the movie industry.

What kind of entrepreneural opportunities would this create?

In fact, this may be holding you back from wanting to go explore the road. And truth is, that’s a pretty valid fear.

Unreliable internet is the last thing anyone with an online business wants.

But believe it or not, there’s a chunk of that fear that’s just in your head.

Tomorrow, you can actually be packing your bags and dropping everything to go chase wild zebras in Africa (while getting chased by lions).

Why I decided to write this

Over the last couple of years from over 35+ countries, I tested my ability to work on an internet business from anywhere in the world.

What I discovered was that there’s definitely alot of places where the internet sucks.

But there were certain plans that also totally surprised me.

So I guess I’m writing this as a shortcut guide for the entrepreneur who wants to experiment with world travel, but wants to ensure where he/she ends up in won’t result in thumb twiddling on a 28.8k dial up modem.

Anyway let’s get to it.

10 countries you will be able to reliably run your internet business:

1. Sweden (highest speed clocked: 19.5 Mb/s, living costs ~$6000 a month)

Expensive booze by the bottle and beautiful blondes that look like super models working in MacDonalds… yes, it’s all true.

There are few countries that provide internet with the kind of consistency and speed like Sweden.

Household broadband mainly operates via cable and ADSL with speeds varying from 128 kbit/s to 100 Mbit/sec. Internet is also very reliable, as I clocked 15 Mb/s with minimal lags on  connection, and had pretty much zero downtime.

If stability and speed with your internet is important and your pockets run deep, Sweden is a good choice.

Do note: you can spend as much as $500 a day, depending on how you eat (and how you drink). The upside is that Sweden is the cheapest of all the Scandanavian countries.

2. Portugal (highest speed clocked 5.3 Mb/s, living costs ~$2500 a month)

The beaches, the surf, the weather and the food… there is truly no country in Europe like Portugal.

A 2 bed 2 bath apartment costs between $2,000-$3,000 a month. Food is reasonably cheap. The internet is also pretty consistent with good penetration and few dropped connections.

In the capital, Lisbon, you can hop on a train and be away from the busy center in minutes and be lounging on a beach. People are super cool and friendly too. Compared to Sweden, it’s also alot more affordable. Language is occasionally a barrier, but it’s a good opportunity to learn some Portuguese.

3. The Philippines (highest speed clocked 3.8 Mb/s, living costs ~$1500 a month)

The Philippines is not a typical destination for most tourists. But for an internet business owner on budget, it’s one of the better locations in Asia.

Living costs are reasonable and the internet is surprisingly fast. There’s also less tourists than other populated areas in Asia like Thailand. So if you’re on a budget and need fast internet, it’s a good option.

Some say that The Philippines can be extremely dangerous. But except for a taxi driver driving us in circles upon arrival to airport, we had no problems. It probably helped that our hotel security pulled out a gun. Don’t you love weapons!

Christmas is a great time to spend in The Philippines. They celebrate it there like you celebrate New Years. Watching fireworks light up the midnight sky for hours on Christmas while getting massages for like $10 an hour is a pretty epic experience.

4. Thailand (highest speed clocked 1.2 Mb/s, living costs ~$2000 a month)

Reasonable living costs, warm weather, amazing culture/people and great food… Thailand has been and remains as one of my favorite places in the world.

If you like diving and watersports, Thailand has some amazing beaches and dive sites.

There are also alot of internet and affiliate marketers who live there now, so if you’re in that space I’m sure you will love the networking.

Downsides? In this part of Asia, expect somewhat inconsistent internet at times.

5. Croatia (highest speed clocked 2.6 Mb/s, living costs ~$2500 a month)

The internet in Croatia exceeded my expectations. You can get a 2 bed 2 bath place for $1500 a month, especially in smaller towns like Omis (attached photos) near Split, Croatia. People are pretty friendly too.

Food was surprisingly expensive, especially if you eat out alot. An average dish of spaghetti or pizza even from a fast food joint costs around $20, matching close to Sweden prices.

Overall, lifestyle in Croatia (at least in Omis) is pretty laid back, and the summer breeze here will keep you smiling. Just cook yourself, or hire a personal chef. I have a recommendation if you need one.

6. Panama (highest speed clocked 3.2 Mb/s, living costs ~$3000 a month)

Forget everything you saw in ‘Prison Break’.

Panama has it all. Beaches, mountains, forests and cities, all mixed into one awesome country.

We hiked up to over 3k feet and spend a night at an eco-hostel situated at over 3000 ft (pic to the left) enroute to a surf island in the mountains.

The internet in Panama City was stable enough, and the food was cheap and excellent. Accomodation will cost you no more than $1k-$1.5k a month.

The slower pace of life especially with service support may take some adjusting to. The internet was also slightly slower and less consistent than some of the other locations in this list. If the internet went down, expect to take up to 24 hours before you get a technician to respond.

There are however more reliable and consistent internet especially in the newer condos near downtown. Panama is worth checking out.

7. Netherlands (highest speed clocked 5.2 Mb/s, living costs ~$5000 a month)

If you’ve never been to The Netherlands, go.

The internet here was as good as it was in the UK (even though that says little). What’s impressive is the high internet penetration. It’s everywhere.

Do note: Amsterdam is a pretty expensive city for short term living. You’ll easily spend $1-2k a week, so it may not be for those on a tight budget. It’s also not easy to find an apartment in the city center.

However if you’re willing to venture out to outer cities, living costs do become more reasonable for the average person. Look into outskirt cities like Leidin and Rotterdam.

8. Hong Kong (highest speed clocked 7.6 Mb/s, living costs ~$4000 a month)

Hong Kong’s internet is known to be one of the best in Asia. But besides the internet, Hong Kong is a great place to live. Most people here speak pretty decent English. The shopping and food here is also pretty awesome. If you’re a foreigner, there’s also a large expat community.

The downside? Hong Kong can get expensive fast. A small apartment unit the size of a square box can still easily run you $3-4k a month. But this is the major expense, everything else such as food, transport and shopping are very reasonable and make up for the price extremity of Hong Kong properities.

Do be warned: Hong Kong is a dense place. The crowds can get overwhelming. Hong Kong can also get hot and humid in the summers too, so come in the Autumn and the Spring. It’s in this list because it has the right infrastructure and stability, and alot of people come to Hong Kong specifically to do their business so the support structure with commerce and banking are there.

9. Czech Republic (highest speed clocked 4.8 Mb/s, living costs ~$4000 a month)

The Czech Republic has pretty good infrastructure due to the large influx of tourists, so you can expect pretty reliable internet there. But prices are steeply increasing due to tourism from Western European countries, especially if you live in the center of Prague (Praha 1).

If you’re on a budget, look at living further out from the center, say in Praha 4 or 5. Living costs will drop drastically.

If you like a cool town with cool people, great food and reasonable living costs (while it’s now on the rise), the Czech would be a great base in Europe. Oh, and the internet is pretty solid.

10. USA (highest speed clocked 13.9 Mb/s, living costs ~$3000 a month)

The USA is not one of the 10 countries you expect, especially since the whole point of this guide sounds like it’s to get you to explore outside the US.

But I think the bigger point is to get comfortable with trying new things and doing something different.

And the US is a big place…  28 hour long haul flights. There are also few places when it comes to running your internet business that have the efficiency, consistency, convenience and reliability as the US.

BONUS LOCATION S11. South America (Colombia, Argentina, Brazil, Peru, Venezuela, etc.)

South America may in fact be  a great solution for those that want to be close to the US but with possibly lower living expenses.

I plan to check it out in 2012/2013 so I will update this post if I do (if I forget and you’re reading this in 2012/2013, just drop me an email)

If you have any recommendations for that part of the world, I’d love to hear from you as I’m always looking for new places to check out too.

Conclusion

There are still many countries to visit, so perhaps in a year if I update this post, my top 10 will be entirely different.

But I certainly encourage every internet business owner to go and enjoy life. After all, you chose doing this so that you can live a life, right? :)

If you have comments on the internet in the countries above or other countries I did not include, please share them in the comments below.

Bon Voyage.

The Pale Blue Dot is a photograph of planet Earth taken in 1990 by Voyager 1. I saw it for the first time today. The image show planet earth against the vastness of space. The image was taken by request of Carl Sagan after Voyager 1 completed it’s primary mission and was leaving the Solar System. They turned the camera around to take a photo of Earth, across a great expanse of space and here’s what he said:

“Look again at that dot. That’s here. That’s home. That’s us. On it everyone you love, everyone you know, everyone you ever heard of, every human being who ever was, lived out their lives.

The aggregate of our joy and suffering, thousands of confident religions, ideologies, and economic doctrines, every hunter and forager, every hero and coward, every creator and destroyer of civilization, every king and peasant, every young couple in love, every mother and father, hopeful child, inventor and explorer, every teacher of morals, every corrupt politician, every “superstar”, every “supreme leader”, every saint and sinner in the history of our species lived there.”

On a mote of dust suspended in a sunbeam.

“Schuler envisions a world where cutting tools no longer use blades, cancer treatments take a few hours and DNA treatment is a simple outpatient procedure.”- Daniel Dumas, WIRED

What is genomics? How will it affect our lives? Barry Schuler tells all in this awesome talk on Genomics from TED. “If you can remain healthy for just another 20 years, expect to see to 250, 300″.  Entrepreneur Barry Schuler does a nice comparison between the growth of PCs and macs in comparison to the upcoming revolution of genetics.

Barry Schuler’s multimedia firm Medior built key interactive technologies for AOL, helping millions connect to the Internet through a simple, accessible interface. Now, through venture capital he is involved with Synthetic Genomics in genetic research. He served once as AOL’s CEO when it acquired Time Warner.

[TED]

I accidentally bought a copy of The Intelligent Investor by Benjamin Graham when I was a student. It came as a £2 bonus in my shopping cart.

Except…I never read it.

In fact I think I sold it off for £1.50 after it collected dust for a year, at a loss of 50p.

Clearly I knew nothing about investing!

Who is Benjamin Graham?

Benjamin Graham for those of you who don’t know, was Warren Buffett’s mentor.

At one point in time, I became fascinated with Buffett’s investment strategies behind Coca Cola and Wrigley.

More than anything else were the simplicity behind his strategies, and Warren’s philosophies and approach to life itself.

Interesting Facts About Warrent Buffett

For the world’s richest man, Warren Buffett is a simple man.

He never flies in a private jet — even though he owns the largest private jet company in the world.

He also lives in a small three-bedroom house he bought 50 years ago, and keeps himself occupied by playing online bridge (mostly with Bill Gates).

As a side note, it may also interest you that Warren Buffett is Bill Gates mentor.

Yep. The world’s richest man mentors the world’s second richest man!

One advice I recall most vividly from Warren Buffett was when he talks about never to do anything that you would not want on the front page of a newspaper.

We have all done things we’re not necessarily proud of in the past.  You can only live and learn, and ever since I heard his advice, I’m doing my best to live by this.

More than anything else, it is refreshing, and inspiring, to hear of a man with all the wealth in the world who still believes that happiness lies not with riches but within yourself.

Bill Gates is trying to live up to that now, having quit Microsoft, to focus on the Gates foundation and give his wealth away.

But the difference with Warren and Bill Gates is that Gates is still trying to win the Nobel Peace Prize!

I want to share 7 of Warren Buffett’s secrets with you that I have been applying to my own life:

Secret #1: Happiness comes from within.

“In my adult business life I have never had to make a choice of trading between professional and personal. I tap-dance to work, and when I get there it’s tremendous fun.” — Warren Buffett

If you do what you love and love what you do, you’ll naturally be productive.

When I used to work in hospitals, I found most days a bit of a drag, and having to drag myself out of bed, drag myself to the hospital, and by the time I got home, I felt like dead man walking. But now, I wake up most mornings doing what I love, and loving what I do.I can’t wait to get started with the day. There just doesn’t seem to be enough time! I wish days were longer, even though what I do technically could be considered more draining for some people… but I enjoy it.

Find what excites you.

Secret #2: Find happiness in simple pleasures.

“I have simple pleasures. I play bridge online for 12 hours a week.” — Warren Buffett

There are certain things in my life that make me very happy, and most of them are pretty simple pleasures.

For example:

I love strolling on a beach barefoot just as the sun is setting and soak in the last rays of the sun as I bask in the glowing water, soft sands and gentle waves.

I like to sit in cafes to watch people pass, think about how we all stem from common ancestors and are living our lives doing what we believe makes sense to each of us.

I love filming videos, taking photos, and then creating something interesting out of them.

I love coming up with simple ideas and inspirations that empower others.

All of these things, in my opinion, are simple pleasures. In fact, they cost close to nothing to do.

So perhaps happiness is closer to you beyond the $500k fancy car, the expensive clothes, or the big million dollar beach house?

If the world’s richest man says so, I’d listen.

Secret #3: Live a simple life.

“I just naturally want to do things that make sense. In my personal life too, I don’t care what other rich people are doing. I don’t want a 405 foot boat just because someone else has a 400 foot boat.” — Warren Buffett

I recently purchased a book called Affluenza by Oliver James.

The idea of the book is that an epidemic of ‘Affluenza’ is spreading throughout the world.

Oliver James spent 9 months traveling through different cities and cultures, including Sydney, Singapore, Moscow, Copenhagen, New York and Shanghai. In each place he interviewed several groups of people to discover why do so many more people want what they haven’t got and want to be someone they’re not, despite being richer and freer from traditional restraints.

And, in so doing, James uncovers the answer to how to reconnect with what really matters and learn to value what you’ve already got. In other words, how to be successful and stay sane.

Keeping up with the Joneses is the worst epidemic among those who should never contemplate that notion in the first place. Less is more.

Secret #4: Think Simply.

“I want to be able to explain my mistakes. This means I do only the things I completely understand.” — Warren Buffett

I have found that sometimes I do over-complicate matters, and make things a lot more complex than they really are.

Sometimes the solutions are so simple and right in front of us, but we go about things in such a roundabout way.

Keep your thoughts simple and it will keep your life simple.

If you apply this rule in your life, you can develop clarity and sanity in your thoughts. Life is about simple yet profound choices.

(this is definitely one of the areas I struggle the most with in my life, because I want to do waaay too many things!)

Secret #5: Invest Simply.

“The best way to own common stocks is through an index fund.” — Warren Buffett

I think I’m pretty good at investing in businesses and my own ventures, but when it comes to investing in stocks and shares, I might as well be playing russian roulette.

For example, about a year ago, I was recommended to a professional investment manager.

I thought I’d give it a try, with very small amount per month.

The following is a sample of the portfolio which I invested in: UK Growth Fund C, UK Equity Income Fund C, UK FTSE All Share Index Tracking Fund C, European Fund C, Smaller Companies Fund C… split into something like 20%, 15%, 15%, 25%, 25% or something retarded like that.

In all that time, when I lost over 50% of my investments, if I had just studied the market, Gold and Oil would have been easily spotted as winners. And those 2 simple investments alone, I would have made a nice bunch.

So I guess the lesson is: Often, the simplest route to investing will bring you the most riches, and the most happiness.

Secret #6: Have the right friends and mentors in life.

“I was lucky to have the right heroes. Tell me who your heroes are and I’ll tell you how you’ll turn out to be. The qualities of the one you admire are the traits that you, with a little practice, can make your own, and that, if practiced, will become habit-forming.” — Warren Buffett

One of my favorite sayings this year is ‘The top people you surround yourself with define who you are’.

This has probably been the biggest lesson to me. It took a long time to drill into my head.

My social circle have changed drastically in the past couple of years. I came to realise that having the right friends and mentors are as important as having purpose in your life.

Having the wrong influences and mentors are as devasting as having a wrong purpose in your life.

I owe alot of changes and transformations in both my mindset and skillset in recent months to some people that I truly consider as my heroes.

But it was not always like this.

For a while in my life, I was surrounded by the ‘wrong’ people and I didn’t even know it.

In the process, I unfortunately was so emotionally invested and somewhat codependent on these relationships that I kept trying to grasp onto them.

All I know is that if I don’t let go, history will just keep repeating itself.

Chose your friends wisely. Choose your mentors wiser.

Secret #7: Making money isn’t the backbone of your guiding purpose; making money is the by-product of your guiding purpose.

“If you’re doing something you love, you’re more likely to put your all into it, and that generally equates to making money.” — Warren Buffett

I’m still really defining my ‘purpose’. I have a pretty good idea now, and the motivation surprisingly isn’t purely money. I must admit that at one point, it was strongly so. I truly believe in what I am about to do is going to change the world, and for the better. And that in itself drives me. I find myself almost talking about it on a daily basis now and I think people around me, especially my inner circle, can see how strongly it’s motivated me in the last year.

Also, when money is the main motivator, it makes it hard to find the courage, determination, and patience to push through. The truth is, making money is NEVER easy at the start. Its brutally difficult and requires will power, risk taking, courage and determination. And alot of patience.

Hence don’t focus on the money, but on enjoying the process. I love what I do now, and actually enjoy it. I get paid in return for my knowledge, skills and ideas. I hope it stays that way, and money never become the object and end all of your motivation.

If you like this post, please leave a comment, digg it, twitter it or stumbleupon it! :)

And recently it dawned upon me, that ever since a kid, I’ve also been a quote junkie.

I believe a single sentence from someone else can touch you, move you, inspire you.

I believe a thought provoking quote can even transform your whole thinking and perception.

A great quote can create a paradigm shift, and transform your life.

In the comments below, simply share your favourite/ best quotes.

And even better, tell me what that quote means to you, and how you have used it, and how it’s affected/changed your life.

Just the other day, I almost got arrested by 2 police officers.

Here’s the whole story, and what I learned from it.

Background

It was late at night.  The local supermarket was open for 24 hours. I was hungry so I made a trip down the road.

The roads were entirely empty.  I felt pretty safe initially.

But just as I turned a corner, a police van drove by very slowly on the other side of the road.

There was a cage on the back of the van.  It looked kind of amusing, and being me, I wanted to take a photo.

I pulled out my camera and just as I was about to take a pic, the windows to the van rolled down and the drivers started shouting at me in Spanish as the van screeched to a halt.

Oh, shit.

Eye contact. Police grins and gesters me over.

My 2 Options

1. Run as fast as I could, and hope they don’t shoot me in the back.

(The probability of this occuring I estimated to be around 70%-80%, in view of various conflicting local laws)

2. Go over and say hello.

I went with the latter option because a 75% probability of getting shot just wasn’t too appealing.

‘Show me wallet’

As I got closer, I could see the hungry look in the eyes of the 2 cops inside.

They had eyes that looked like hungry werewolves. (if this is starting to turn on any teenage Twilight fan, I apologize.)

The difference was that there was a mix of fear in their eyes, as they glanced around the street.

Something wasn’t right, but it was already too late.

‘Show me passport, show me wallet,’ the closest cop to me shouts.

I didn’t have my passport on me.

That’s when I recall rule number 1 in situations like this:

1. Act Like A Dumb Happy Tourist

So I pretended I didn’t know what he was asking for.

He asked for it again.

I handed him my US driving license.

Fortunately, Cop #2 nodded.

But Cop #1 stared at me.  The other cop now said something about ‘dineros’.

Umm doesn’t ‘dineros’ mean money, I thought.

Now I’m not new to bribes in situations like this but herein lies the problem…

I only had 3 dollars on me.

‘Lo Siento!’ I said. ‘Solo Tres Dollares!’

They looked at each other, probably thinking damn, what a waste of time.

I thought I was going to get away with it, when the first cop pointed at the cup of water I had in my hand.

He grabbed it, and sniffed it.

‘Alcohol?’ he asked.

‘Agua Freya,’ I said.

He sniffed it again.

‘Oh no, alcohol,’ he replies.

This is not looking good.

I figured I had  to act fast, because in about 10 seconds they’d probably pull out their fake breathalyzer and handcuffs.

Seeing that my options are running thin and my patience was running out, I took approach number 2:

2. Act Like A Chinese Triad Mafia

Panama happened to have a population that is 10% chinese. And I heard alot of the local chinese are associated with the triads.

It also happened that my temporary apartment was in the ‘Chinatown’ of Panama.

So I told them that ‘mi chino amigos’ were just around the corner and I was on my way home, that I live here and work in restaurant.

They looked at each other, and scanned me up and down, and looked confused about what they should do.

So I stuck out my hand for a handshake.

The first cop fell for it, and shook my hand.

(for those that don’t know, this is called a pattern interruption – you break someone’s pattern and change their state. One of the fastest ways to put someone into a trance. Glad I got certified in NLP ;))

The cop, startled, hands back my ID.

‘Goodnight senor,’ I say.

‘Goodnight,’ they reply, and drove off.

I ran home.

Lesson Learned

1. Going out alone in the dark, even as an adult male with Bruce Lee kung fu capabilities is still not something I should do on a frequent basis.

2. Carry a photocopy of your passport on the road. I fail to do this often but kind of like not buying travel insurance, it could save alot of hassle.

3. Carry more than $3 on you for potential bribes in various cities.

4. Make friends with the local triads.

5. Learn how to run faster than the speed at which bullets travel.

Pura la vida!

How?  I will share in a different post sometime.

I want to really add Spanish (and Russian, which I currently don’t speak a word of) to my spoken languages.

I figured together with other languages I speak, these cover the most surface areas in primary languages on the globe :)

I made a list of the top 100 spoken words in English translated to Spanish.

It may not be 100% accurate but probably a good start.  Enjoy!

I’m going to be deconstructing the language soon, and these 100 words certainly helped me grow my common vocabulary.

2. When I was young I wanted to be a performer. My top choices were (1) a singer (2) a magician. I did both (released 3 albums and was hired to do close up magic at various events through medical school)

3. I had the least votes for class rep in my 1st year in high school. Years later, I was President of my medical school.

4. I barely spoke English till my early teenage years. Dan Brown (bestselling author of ‘The Da Vinci Code’) was one of my English teachers. He asked if I wanted to be in movie. I thought he was joking.

5. In late 2008 I decided to sell everything I own, except for basic essentials. I didn’t realize how attached I was to my 37″ HDTV.

6. I was rejected from every audition in my first 2 years of high school. In the last 2 years I was playing on sport teams, co-directing singing groups, and elected to be on various school boards.

7. I lived 2 doors down from Prince William in the same corridor for a year in University. We played chess a few times, and he once walked into my room in the middle of sex. At least it’ll be hard for him to forget me.

8. When I was 10, I ran my own bulletin board system on the internet. I also built electronic circuit boards, and made my first dollars.

9. I learned how to skateboard when I was 11. Mostly to impress the girls in high school. Unfortunately, I never figured out how to do a kick flip properly. I didn’t have a girlfriend through high school :(

10. I once almost died when I fell out of a 3.5 storey building at the age of 13. Doctors thought it was a miracle, because I didn’t injure a single bone in my body. I think I was just amazingly fortunate. My philosophy on life changed alot from that day forwards.

11. I have 2 sisters. I love both of them and will do anything for them.

12. At 15, I drove my mom’s car down a one way street to pick her up from the supermarket. I got there. She found it amusing. My father never knew.

13. I’ve had botox once. It gave me a funny eyebrow.

14. I had an eye operation gone wrong when I was 17. One of my eyes is often slightly red. I wear sunglasses alot to prevent the condition from getting worse. As of the time of writing, there is still no cure. I try not to think about it and just have faith that medicine and technology will eventually be able to resolve this for me. I often edit photos to minimize the redness.

15. I visited Chernobyl Ukraine (the site of the nuclear disaster from the 80s). I hope I will live till 30.

16. I speak 4 languages fluently (English, Cantonese, Burmese, Mandarin) and 3 conversationally (Russian, Spanish, Japanese). I want to get the 3 conversational ones fluent, and do so by living in countries where those languages are spoken for at least 1 year to learn the language. I love languages.

17. Ever since I quit my day job and started my online businesses, I’ve lived in over 35 countries around the world.

18. I am left handed. But I eat like a right handed person.

19. At 18, I borrowed £60 and turned it to over £15,000 in less than 4 months. I spent most of it on stupid things.

20. I often don’t go to bed till the early hours of the morning. But I wish I was an early bird, and may experiment with this in the near future.

21. I once owned one of 7 special error 1st edition / 1st print Harry Potter novels in the world. I invested most of my savings to buy it, and 2 years later resold it for close to 1500% profit. But I was young, and again, spent the money on stupid things :(

22. I’ve kept a journal since I was 17 of things I will / want to accomplish. I’m definitely checking alot of things off the list, but I have to read it to remind myself that there’s still alot I want to do in the finite time I have left in the world.

23. I never learned how to crawl.

24. I plan to accumulate a lot of wealth… then someday, give it all away.

25. I once had a crush on a girl in high school who turned out to be mormon. She tried to convert me to the religion. I’m glad I stayed single.