As always in December, I like to set aside some time to reflect on the past year and set goals & resolutions for a new year. 2016 was a great year, both at work and in my personal life and I think I have reached a very good work-life balance. I’m confident 2017 will be just as good, if not even better.
2016 Self-Reflection
This year was an eventful year, and also one that marked a turning point for my personal growth. I’m going to share what had achieved well this year in various aspects.
Finance: As I mentioned in the past, this is the first year for me to build and achieve double digit annual income growth starting from year 2020 onwards. I’m quite satisfied with how I did so far and will be able to keep my cash flow positive every month and currently still on track to achieve it. I have also invested in global stock market to achieve more balanced and diversified investment portfolio.
Below are some of the results achieved so far.
My First Investment Income from US:
Purchase price: $57.60
Selling price: $70.50
Total amount invested in local currency: RM3,130
Total amount received in local currency: RM3,820
Net earnings: RM690
Net earnings in percentage: 22%
Period of investing: 10 months
My First Dividend Payout from APOTC:
Total dividend: HKD 1000
(-) Interbank transaction fee: HKD 50
Amount: HKD 950
Conversion rate: 0.5085
Amount: RM 483.08
(-) Handling fees @ 5%: RM24.15
Net amount received in local bank: RM458.92
Health/Fitness: Managed to go gym at least once a week. Completed 1x full marathon (42KM) – Penang International Bridge Marathon (PBIM) this year with new personal best record of 6hr 30min and also completed 3x half marathon (21KM) which are AIA Run, Garmin Run, and Penang Island Run Series as well as maintaining 10KM run once in a month. I have also successfully lost more than 5kg in 5 months! Big results come from many small changes accumulated over time. I will strive to achieve better next year.
I always prioritized sleep by going to bed strictly before 12am on weekdays. We all live in a culture of competitive sleep deprivation. Getting enough sleep has a huge impact on our health, energy, productivity, and long-term acting against the clock can cause serious health issues.
Personal Growth: Attended seminars, conferences and workshops to constantly upgrade my investment skills and also able to make some new friends from the networking session. I tried to be humble so that people will be more willing to share their knowledge with you. If you are acting smart or being too calculative, you will create a barrier between you and the person. Learning something new is an important part of our life. Whether you start an investment course or just read a book for pleasure, just make sure you are always taking in new information and ideas. It will open up your mind to different ideas and ways of looking at things. This way it will give you better life and make it more pleasurable.
Other than that, I also get involved in many volunteering projects which help me to grow my networking base. Among those are Penang CNY Heritage Event, George Town Word Heritage Event, Tech Dome Launching, Penang International Science Fair and many other sport events.
I contribute, therefore I am. I believe that building from within and investing in personal development is the key to achieving success in our life.
Career: Implemented a fixed schedule to finish work on time, which helped to improve my work productivity. A good time management and high productivity is crucial as it allows us to have more free time to do other meaningful stuff.
Today, everything is linked with the software development, including cloud computing, data analytics, big data, IoT, automation, artificial intelligence…So, we need to integrate and innovate! I have also been part of the team to drive the change in bringing more convenience to the people in their daily life.
Technology: Well, it was my first time buying things from the online store sometime in August this year. It is hassle free and quite convenient but I found that it only makes sense economically if you can get better deal for the same item that you want to purchase at retail store. Thus, we need to be smart when making a purchase online. Only those who have gone through the “Zero Moment of Truth” when making purchase are considered as smart consumers.
I managed to get some of the tech gadgets for my own collection – Sports Bracelet, Casio G-Shock Watch, Digital Car Recorder, Bluetooth Tracker, Radio FM kit, and so forth.
That’s all for this year. What’s next?
Stay tuned for my next post on my plan for 2017…
