Low inflation and unemployment, an emphasis on entrepreneurship and lower taxes, plus high marks for innovation and technological savvy. That’s the mix lifting Singapore to the 8th ranking of the Best Countries for Business.

Whoa… Surely thats something to be wow-ed at… Come on, lets altogether write the facts down together… We have 4.5 Million people… We have only been independant for just over 40 years… And we are 8th… What… 8 is a lucky number is it??? If im not wrong… Woosh… For just a tiny red dot on a super ginormous map, people may be wondering where the heck, I mean, WHAT the heck is a Singapore? Haha…

Ok enough of that… Thats good news for us… Our previous generation has provided us a great platform for us to work on… Most people would now tell me, ” Hey Shazwi! What are you trying to say? Are we getting conned? We are so stressed up with work, not enough pay, high oil prices, high COE, high ERP, blah blah blah…. Now you’re telling me we are the 8th best place to do business?” Hey Mister, it’s not what I said, its Forbes… Haha…

Anyways, back on track… it’s time for us generation Y-ers to step up to the plate… I wouldn’t say it’s possible for us to go on Number 1 because our geographical size is just too insignificant compared to the superpowers that are now rising like China and India… Yeah, America is still sinking… Obama good luck… Singapore, if you ask me, still has lots and lots of opportunity laughing at you for not taking it quickly… Yep, don’t believe this, you can ask me… Or comment, I can give you a heck lot of opportunities… Yes, I would take them down one by one… But steady ahoy matey…

What can you take back from this? Yes you may be 15 years old or maybe 8, but it does NO HARM to go that extra mile to know of the global news that shows us the shifts of markets,etc. etc. etc. What you can do now, is, keep on reading online sites like Forbes, Entrepreneur.com, Fortune, Watch Apprentice ( my second favourite ), mix around with like-minded friends and lastly PAY ME FOR MY ADVICE ( my ultimate favourite, nothing comes better than this… )

Life has been so fast-paced and hectic that I didn’t have the time to look at my past… Sure, my present isn’t that great to tell the whole wide world, but it’s worth mentioning at this very moment…

June 2007 was the most important and beneficial for me as it was my first MoneyTree camp together with a lot of friends that till today, I do not fail to keep in touch with… It was the Junior Level 1 Camp, (dont ask me why I joined, I just did, like fate or smth)… That was the first time I saw Mike…Together along with Ryan, Chiu Hwa and Jacky… It was a very fruitful event that led me thinking that I had more to life than my current path back then… Now these people may be just the typical average Joes to one’s eyes but I bet to you and me, they’re more like a connection between the brain and the ‘financial’ cells of us… If they say that nuclear power provides us with the most everlasting energy, these people ARE nuclear power… I can proudly say that even chatting with them and getting the priceless information from them is equivalent to all the camps that I have sat for… To top it off, it’s real…

The journey was great, meeting new people from all walks of life… Both the highs and lows, the ups and downs… You see this friend from the first camp but the next thing you know, she won’t be able to go for the next camp… It’s happening… That’s life… They say that if you’re unhappy or not satisfied with the system, you either go against it or adapt to it… Guess what… Frankly speaking, you’ve gotta adapt and move along… Just like business, Facebook has came along and has been a good business tool for companies… If you don’t use it, you just fall out…

Now back to the subject, Mike and Ryan once told me that success is a process and you don’t just get there overnight… If you doubt this, I suggest you find another pathway as you’ll either burn out half way or just not like what you’re gonna do… These people, I can safely say, are so close to not only me, but other MoneyTree students that we can safely say we are a family of our own… Yes! We are… This applies to Malaysia too, man with the manpower you have there, it’s nearly impossible to be left out…

EYLN ‘08 was the first competition MoneyTree sent us too… Whether it is to promote MoneyTree or to give us a glimpse of real life, I can bet on it that it has been a great testimonial for yourself as it did for me. And guess what, (Im telling this on behalf of Malaysia too), MoneyTree has a lot for us, ONLY if you choose to accept it… After EYLN ‘08 came YESCOM, SAGE, YEAH, and another event that I choose not to disclose as for now… Not to mention media attention, from newspapers, IT blogs, radio, and many more… I would like to say that you’ll only get what you want and what you desire when you step up, and ask for it…

Lastly, I would leave you with a quote my close friend Joseph bumped into :

” Success comes to the person who is too busy to be looking for it ”

All this will not be possible without:

Ryan

Chiu Hwa

Jacky

Martin

Pat

Mike

Evelyn

Robert Kiyosaki (thanks to his books :D)

We have inserted a cool gallery page where all our pictures will be uploaded. This includes competitions, media interviews and many many more. I’m so excited that I have to post this up… Yeah, I’ve been pretty hyped up these past few days.

Hope you guys are not feeling too stressed up with your school work. Have a balanced lifestyle and you’ll never know when you might bump with success. Yes, even my teacher told me that if you don’t lead a balanced lifestyle and plan for your future, the system will take control and decide your path. Want that? Want to get tied down by a lot of burdens? No? Then start now, do something beneficial. Sports may be one, networking with new people is another and the list is endless man…

I would really love to hear from our friends in Malaysia. For us Singaporeans, ok we admit it, we are nosy sometimes. Time to let the cat out of the bag. Guess what, the Malaysian teams are doing something like YESCOM! We here in Singapore hope all of you sell to the max as we know you guys have completed the entrepreneur course too. :D… All the best!

F.Y.I-We are now working with the Malaysian side for them to create a similar blog of their own and we will of course, link up.

Today was the end of the 2 day fast track camp for our Apprentice Level 1 Camp. There were a lot of things happening that I took hours to think what I should write in just one post. For just 2 days, I bet there were a lot of things that our friends learnt that they could not have in school. With trainers like Mike, Poh Lern, Yusri and Kuan Woei, it’s easy for our friends to feel at home and of course, learn new things.

Now, our friends who went for the camp really enjoyed it ( im assuming this 100% ). You know why? They had ‘butlers’ who bought for them food from McDonald’s! Oh boy, guess what people will think looking at a skinny guy going to Mac and buying 40 dollars worth of food. Ya, you know what I mean…

Of course, I can’t miss this amazing event that happened today. It was actually Aloysius’ birthday that we all celebrated together. Darn, I wished I could eat those huge cakes during my time in the camp. Now you know how all of us at MoneyTree love our students. Hmmm, how do I say this? Theyre like precious gemstones that can be hardly sold because of super duper high value. Yep, I think if they were to have a welfare award for companies, we would have won every single year. Perhaps, they would even give us 5 awards, even though we have only been running for a year.

Do keep yourselves updated with the blog as we will be posting up your pictures and testimonials. Yep, you’ll be famous. Know why? We are soon opening our club to the public! Mmhmm, where’s the confetti? Time to celebrate man!

Hi MoneyTree Ambassadors,

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Regards,
Shazwi Suwandi
aclub.moneytree.sg