Begin With The End In Mind

Anneyohaseyong!

Today was an absolutely gorgeous day - one of those days where the warmth of the sun wraps around you like a warm blanket. It's Friday and where I am, it's the start of a long weekend. This is the day of the week when I feel most at ease and relaxed compared to the rest of the week.

As we entered into the new year of 2024, I decided to print out a set of planner sheets that I could fill in and put up on my wall, right in front of my workstation. This is where I spend most of my time when I'm not doing household chores. The planner is divided into different sections - annual goals, quarterly goals, weekly goals, and daily to-do lists. While having a digital planner on my phone is convenient, there's something more exciting about physically seeing my goals in front of me. Whenever I look at those goals on my wall, it motivates me to work harder, stay on track, and achieve everything that I've set out to do. It reminds me of Steven Covey's famous quote from "The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People" - "Begin with the end in mind."

One of my big goals for this year is to write several E-books in Malay Fiction. The purpose of the book is to provide light reading materials that will encourage more young people to read.  It's becoming increasingly rare to see people reading books voluntarily as more people spend more time watching videos on screens.  Today, I took a significant step toward my dream of being a published author. I finally began writing the introduction to my very first E-book. After much contemplation and brainstorming, I sent the file to a few of my trusted friends, requesting them to kindly provide me with their honest feedback. I'm eager to know whether my writing style resonates with them; if they find the introduction compelling enough to continue reading, and if they can visualize the story playing out in their minds. Their feedback will be invaluable to me as I strive to create a book that captivates and resonates with my audience.

I received some fantastic feedback and words of encouragement from the respondents, and it really gave me a significant boost of enthusiasm and motivation. It made me realize the importance of connecting with various people because it allows you to gain different perspectives, which can be invaluable in many ways. I am thrilled to say that I am currently working on my first-ever Malay Fiction, which is a significant milestone for me as I have only written poems before, which are called Sajak in Bahasa Melayu. I am excited to see where this journey will take me and will do my best to make it a success. Till then,

Ciao,

Izarose

Happiness Is

Anneyohaseyong!

This entry was something I wrote in my journal on the 4th of November 2022

I planted a bed of Japanese Roses or Portulaca Grandiflora in the backyard, on the roadside of the back alley, outside of our fence, hoping that when they bloom, the people passing by will get a beautiful view.  The view that will make them smile. It turned out to be such a beautiful view. Subhanallah!  I always start my day sipping a cup of Nescafe O Kaw (extra black Nescafe Classic with raw sugar), sitting at the bench in my backyard, enjoying the view of the flowers and,  I come to notice that everyone passing by this back lane will stop, or slow down to look at the flowers, somehow like they were enjoying the view, most of the time they smiled and waved at me and left.

Every Friday morning, Alam Flora, the waste management company, will come and collect our garbage.  They will use our back alley and will stop by every house (backyard) to get the garbage bags.  So I thought it would be nice if they were greeted by the beautiful, colorful tiny roses.  But then again, Portulaca family only blooms at 10.00am, hence in Malaysia, they are known as 'Bunga Pukul 10'.  So I planted other types of roses as well, and I really love the small white roses, the climbing type.  I can't remember the name.  They bloom really well.

The beautiful view of those roses lifted my spirit, and I hoped they would lift others too. It gives me such a beautiful feeling.  To be able to entertain people's eyes with God's beautiful creation. To lift spirits. To put a smile on someone's face.  Simple things that makes a different.

Ciao,

Izarose

Happy 2024!

Anneyohaseyong! 

Hello and welcome to my blog. Happy New Year! Yes, my new year starts in February, and I have decided to inaugurate this blog now. I had a different blog name on Blogger since 2008, but I removed it recently due to inactivity. Towards the end of last year, I tried to start a new blog, but I got stuck again and eventually removed it.

Entering this new year, which marks a new phase in my life, I have realized that I need to express whatever is in my head. I've done a lot of thinking and still have more to do, and I need to let those thoughts out. Unfortunately, nobody really has the time to sit with me all day to listen, but I appreciate their effort and respect their time. Therefore, I have decided to blog about what I want to say.

We could agree that this blog works as my journal and a place where I practice writing. I may write about my opinion, interesting encounters, ideas, gratitude, dreams, and more. Despite the frequent use of "my" throughout the text, it could also refer to the people around me, as a third-party story or imagination.

I have another reason for starting this blog that I would like to share. I need new acquaintances if not new friends. I know the word "friend" might sound corny, so let's just say that I am looking for new connections. Due to my occupation, location, and responsibilities, it is challenging for me to make new connections in person. However, I am optimistic about making connections through this borderless society.  For those who enjoy connecting, reading diverse content, and leaving comments for engagement, this blog is a great fit.

"Who is this person asking for connections? Let me introduce myself, my name is Izarose. I speak Bahasa Melayu and English. I'm currently self-employed and work from home. As a mother of three, I always feel young at heart, no matter how old I turn on my birthday. I love reading, but not just any reading, mostly self-enrichment, self-growth, and human management materials. Some of my favorite authors include Robin Sharma, Sahil Bloom, Anthony Vicino, Codie Sanchez, and Matt Bell. I enjoy reading books about North Korea, biographies, autobiographies, fiction by Andrea Hirata, and some short stories written by Malaysian writers." 

"I love handcrafting. I make and sell handcrafted skincare for sensitive skin, here. My hobby is sewing stuffed animals; I 100% hand-sew them. I also write poems in Bahasa Melayu and English, and have self-published some anthologies with other Malaysian writers. Occasionally, I conduct Conversational English classes for children, teenagers, undergrads, and adults. Most of the time, I am just a hardcore homemaker."

Since I don't have any photos of my New Year's celebration, I thought I'd share with you a picture of the dessert I had to welcome the new year. It's nice to meet you and I hope we can connect.

I had this delicious strawberry croissant at a really cozy cafe called The Brew and Butter, Swiss Garden Residence in Sg.Karang Kuantan, Pahang Malaysia.  It is really a nice place to be when you just want to celebrate yourself, by yourself.  Till then.

Ciao,

Izarose