PNE Fair

When I first heard about the PNE Fair, I was reluctant to pay the admission fee...you have to understand I am a poor student XD But then, my brother mentioned that they are open for free on August 20 from 9am to 12pm. I hesitated for a while, but then I decided to grasp this opportunity to witness something new, even though I had to wake up earlier than usual. 

We got off the skytriain, and headed toward the bus stop near Renfrew Skytrain. We waited for the bus for a long time and realized that every single bus passed us were full already, and they wouldn't accept more people to get on. In order to get to the fair before 12pm, we went on foot. 

To me it was exhilarating to watch different kinds of shows, but for my brother he didn't bother to stay and linger around. lol He left the exhibition after two hours, whereas I stayed there for about seven hours watching shows and enjoying my life. :D 

4-H Sheep, Dog, Chicken & Goat Competitions

The audience were waiting for Peking Acrobats to start. Over 80% of the seats were taken!

Peking Acrobats

Ferris wheel

Evolution of Extreme

Some of the tricks those motorcyclist did really took my breath away! 

SuperDogs

Family Feud Live

Hang Johnny

A very interesting musical instrument! The sound actually makes people feel relaxed. 

Evolution of Extreme

DrumBeats

I love the way they performed with confidence and great energy! 

Meditating X Strolling X Reading

As school almost starts, I wanted sometime off to think about what I want to do in the future, and what strategy I want to use when coping with schoolwork and extracurricular. Successful people talk about how important it is to have your own vision towards the future, maybe in 10 years, 20 years what do you want to see yourself to be? This question is hard for me to answer for the time being. My vision is so vague that I can't really fill in the details. In other words, I'm still trying to figure out what is the dream I want to pursue the most. Maybe I can find it as I go along with the opportunities that I encounter... 

What other places are better than English Bay to take a wake and meditate?! It was a relaxing day. I was in no hurry to do something else, just thinking, walking along the beach, and reading my economics book. 

When I was getting to the skytrain, I passed by one McDonald's, and a pack of teenagers were approaching a homeless woman. I thought they were up to something bad, but the next thing I saw, I instantly knew that I was totally wrong. The kids asked the woman, if she wanted to eat a free McDonald's meal, which they just got it from the restaurant. I have to say Vancouver is the most friendly place I have ever seen! Back in my hometown, we were taught not to approach strangers, and don't spare the homeless any coins. But that's not how the Vancouverites do when somebody else is in need of help. Although I doubt by giving them coins can help the homeless in the long term, at least you show your sympathy towards their misfortune. I was touched by what those teenagers did. : )

CA Speaker Series

At one point of time, I was so determined that I wanted to pursue the CA designation. Recently, I rather questioned myself a lot. Am I able to do this? Is this really what I want? So I went to this event to seek for my answer.

Kingsley Chen

He told us two stories. The first story was about buying mattresses. He told the sales person he wanted to buy mattresses, but he didn't say how many. So the sales person was recommending him one brand for $799. Later on, Kingsley asked for a deal of 50 mattresses for $300 each. The sales person discussed with the owner and took the offer. The point of this story is that people are the most difficult thing to deal with. I'm not sure if I get this story totally, but it's worth to think about.

The second story was he went to an interview, even though he got there 15 minutes earlier, his interviewer accused him of being late. "Respond. Don't react." are the words Kingsley gave us. The day after that, when I was contacting one of the textbook sellers, we got some misunderstandings. I ended up being angry with him, but then I remembered those words "Respond. Don't react." I calmed myself down before I replied the text message. Thanks for the lesson, Kinsley. : )

Barry MacDonald

He is a partner of PwC, and he is in the recruiting group. Some of the attributes of being a CA is you have the opportunity to go abroad and the flexibility you get. Barry himself had practiced eight years in Hong Kong. As Barry has described, PwC  is a firm that embraces different culture. For example, over half of Barry's colleagues who works on the same floor as he does are Asian. PwC got a significantly diverse culture. Barry also mentioned the culture of supervisors helping novices to succeed in the firm. I believe that when people are generous of helping others, actually help themselves grow at the end. That's how a firm succeed.  

Barry mentioned several things to look out when applying to PwC:

• They are not concerned with your degree. No matter you are an art student, business student or others, it's not so important as other skills. They have the confidence to give you accounting knowledge and build up those skills. 
• GPA? As long as your GPA is above 3.1, it should be fine. 
• What makes you different? Recruiters are looking for curiosity, passion, confidence and authenticity.  
• At the end of the interview, ask questions that shows you have done some research, or you can refer back from the events what the recruiter had said about himself/herself or the firm. It shows that you were paying careful attention to what have been said.  
• Transferable skills from your experience. Sports shows your teamwork skills; music background shows the discipline; volunteering might show how well you can put up an event. Never underestimate the experience of working in a retail store or a restaurant. Those part-time jobs offer you the opportunities to work with people and deal with customers. 

Peter Kingsten 

• Networking! This is not a new concept to me anymore, but it's still intimidating. Vancouver is a small place. You never know what connections you made will help you in the future.  
• Grab opportunities to learn and grow. Sometimes when you are going straight line towards something, you might miss out other chances to learn, and you never know what surprises you'll get if you never take the chance. 
• Keep learning. Peter himself is a CA, but he has the certifications of realtor and CFP. I love the idea of keep learning even if you have already reached your goal. 
• Seek mentors. 
• Build and maintain your personal brand. I don't know if it's because I don't have much work experience, I can't quite understand how I can build my personal brand...

Q&A

1. How to build rapport? You have to show you are genuine and basically get people to like you. If they don't like you, it's not possible to have further relationship. Be known for delivery is crucial. Keep your promise and gain their trust. 
2. How to deal with stress? Face the issue. If a customer is not happy with your service, ask them why. By understanding the root of the problem helps you decide what to do next.  

Battle of Prices

School almost starts! I have 7 courses for the fall term, which means....around $700 will be spent on textbooks. I have no intention of spending that much money, so I started to search for used books. I was able to find many textbook sale posts on craiglist. It was fun to compare the prices each seller is offering, and don't forget that edition can affect the price. I don't want to buy a cheap textbook, but end up having difficulty following the instructor in class. Thus, it's actually a lot of work to compare the prices, and check out the edition and author.

Top Goal: Cheapest but Newest Edition I can Find

After several success in finding the lowest price of the edition that I've targeted, I had the confidence to do it again with accounting textbook. First thing I did was to contact the sellers who offered the price that I targeted. One of them replied me first, and he was offering two accounting textbooks for $110. I've seen some posts offering two accounting textbooks for $100, so I assumed that it was the cheapest price I can get. I took the deal and asked the buyer to meet at 7:30pm. Around 4pm, another girl sent me an email, said she was offering "both for $70." She was originally offering each for $45. It sounds too good to be true. So I asked her if she meant "both for $70 each or both for $70?" She didn't reply me instantly. I just thought...never mind I'll get two books for $110 then. By the time I get my books, she replied and said she meant both for $70. Regret. Lots of regrets. If I didn't act on impulse, I could have saved $40.

Lesson learned: Don't rush it. I can wait.

Even though a lot of people offer a set of textbook for discounts, I still insist on buying the lowest price of each one. Why? Because sometimes I don't need certain books in the list, and I had the confident that if I bought individually, I can still beat the discounts they offered. At the end, I spent about $350 in total. I saved up over half of the money. Mission accomplished! :D

Whistler Trip

It's always nice to do something exciting once in awhile to stimulate myself after a period of uneventful life. This time I chose to join the tourist group to visit Whistler. Since my brother hadn't done any outdoor activities for some time, I dragged him along with me. I would never join a tourist group if I have other means of transportation. I like taking time to enjoy the food, observing people, and savoring the view. When following a tourist group, that means I have to follow their schedule, and most of the time, time is being compressed so that we can get back on time or whatever other reasons might be.

Village Fair

I went volunteering again yesterday! This time was mostly there to accompany my brother. He needed 9 more hours of volunteering to meet the school's graduation requirement. Thus, we stayed there for the whole 9 hours! It wasn't that bad though. Mainly, we just needed to pick up the trash. However, there wasn't that much trash on the floor.

Why do people pursue higher education?

Why do people attend college or university?

Gay Pride Parade

It was my first time seeing the Gay Pride Parade yesterday. I'm glad I went there and witness all the fun stuff and the profound meaning behind it!

Are Grades that Important?

To a certain point, grades are important because they reflect on how well you learn the subjects. However, grades shouldn't be the only thing you focus on. There are only that much they can teach you at school. Why not try to take part in the following parts as well when school starts?

Volunteering

To me, volunteering is not only about helping others, it's also a great time to get away from school work. When you're working seven days a week, it wouldn't be more productive than taking some time off and do something else.  Moreover, volunteering gives you an opportunity to meet new people and make connections.

Clubs

By joining clubs, you can practice your skills or even put theories into practice. In classes, we only have so limited resources. I felt that when I participate a club, I learn more by doing. For example, I've been a Toastmasters member since this March. The feedback I received and the techniques I learned are invaluable. I look forward to join a business club when school starts.

Part-time Job

There are plenty of stuff you get to learn from having a job. Firstly, you learn how to interact with others. That's a crucial part, especially when you are dealing with angry customers or colleagues. Secondly, you learn to take on responsibilities, when you are given tasks.  

No matter it's volunteering, joining clubs, or having a part-time job, you are being tested on how well you multitask. Time management and your ability of dealing pressure, thus, become very important.  

Linchpin--Are You Indispensable

The book Linchpin, written by Seth Godin talked about creating our own art, and do more than what we've been told to. When we are following rules and instructions, we are merely a cog in a machine. If the company can find somebody else to do the same work, we are replaceable. For that reason, we should create our own map. It is not like older generation where they find one job, and they can stick with that one until they retire.

Art is more valuable. The art he referred to isn't just about painting, or drawing, it can be any kind of creation in any field. It can be making connections with your customers. Have you ever have the experience where two similar restaurants, you would always pick one over the other? Why? Is it the price that matters? Or is it because the enthusiasm or the attitude of the waitress?  The ability of making connections makes you more human. Machines can't build relationships with the others.

Even though Seth talked about we should avoid following the others, for instance, not being trapped in writing resumes, it is hard to change the environment, especially if you are just starting out your career. The whole idea about creativity and art should be based on what we got now and make adjustments so it can be  more valuable.

Even an ordinary job can be turn into an awesome job, it depends on how you act on it. If you are willing to change and to do more, you certainly stand a chance to be a linchpin.

Darren LaCroix: Good to Great

Darren LaCroix is a fantastic professional speaker! If I didn't watch the video clip that it was taken about 20 years ago, I would probably not know that when he started as a speaker, he was just like us, not that competent and very nervous while on stage.

If you never heard about Darren before, he is the 2001 World Champion of Public Speaking. After he graduated from college, he started his own Subway to pay off his debt. However, he was in vain. According to him, he doubled the debt. One day while he was driving to work, he heard the host of the radio said, "What would you dare to dream, if you know you wouldn't fail?" He thought he wanted to be a comedian. With no support from his family and friends, he took his first step by going to a local comedy club. He went on stage to entertain the audience, but he only got one laugh that night, and it was by accident.

He didn't give up after his first attempt. He continued to seek out for professional comedians and asked for advice. After 11 successive years of hard work, he won the World Championship. He believes that no one can become great alone. If you want to be the best in your profession, then you should seek out to people who are the best of it. They have a higher perspective, and they know how to guide you. Sometimes, when we keep practicing our own speech, it's possible that we are not in the right track, and if we keep practicing, it's not going to make the speech better, lucky if not worse.

Oftentimes, we are so sure that we are doing the right thing, and we keep doing it. We won't even recognize where it went wrong. So, how exactly to achieve great?

1. Talk to a person who excels in the profession
2. Do a research, read a book
3. Observe other people how they do

During the process, failure is inevitable. Thus, learn to embrace it, and move on.

If you want to be the best, then go to people who are the best. Get the thoughts (advice) from them, and turn thoughts into habits. "Habits are like tram track. It's hard to do, but once you do, it'll take you to anywhere you want." Keep asking yourself this: "Will I be better tomorrow because of what I do today?" If not, what could have been done differently?

Mindset is also the crux of whether you'll be able to reach your dream or not. Darren told us about two brilliant MIT students. Both of them were co-op students of a company. The company were facing finial struggles when the students started working there. The students were asked to stand at the end of a factory line and separate the defects from the good one. The first student couldn't stand the job after a couple of days; the second student, however, asked the company's permission to take home the defects, and he studied how to make an improvement. Same job, but different people see it differently. The second student had just found himself a great opportunity to learn.


After I went to this event, I have been thinking about what's my dream and how I can take my next step. I'm still looking out for my passion. Before I find it, I'll keep learning and create opportunities along the way. : )

Caribbean Day

My friend, Naomi, invited me to go to the Caribbean Festival with her. I didn't know much about the culture. Thus, it was a great opportunity to widen my horizons.

Regardless that I didn't hear anything about this festival before, the park was crowded with people! I have to admit that a place that's crowded with people in Canada is rare. We were welcomed by the music and delicious smell of various food.

In front of the stage, the audience dance as the bands were performing. At first, I felt uncomfortable to move since I don't dance a lot, or my body is just too stiff to move...As a hour passed by, I started nodding with the tempo. Another hour passed by, I started to move my feet. Finally, in the last hour before the festival ends, I can sort of dancing like a normal person. XD  It's all about observation and imitation. Of course, courage too.

If you ask me what I learnt today, I'll say "I learnt how to relax and shake all the constraints away!" : )

Volunteering for Community BBQ

I've always loved volunteering! Once I received the email from South Burnaby Neighbourhood House asking for volunteers to help with the community BBQ, I signed up!

I was assigned to help with preparing food along with some other girls. Preparing trays filled with chips wasn't hard at all. However, I had to be fast because people come and go quickly, and we had a long line-up.

Other than BBQ, they had various activities going on such as face-painting, balloon-twisting, soccer, and wall-painting. In fact, a group of volunteers were high school kids. I really admire that they would take their time to volunteer even though they don't benefit much from it other than helping others. I thought teenagers would rather do something else on their own. I guess I was wrong!

Why do I love volunteering?

Meet people

Volunteering is a kind of networking, just without the business suits. It's less formal, but you can still make connections with people you never met before. To me, meeting new people is a way to get out of my comfort zone. I'm pretty sure I'm not the only one who doesn't feel comfortable in an unfamiliar surrounding. However, it's always a good start to get used to the feeling and practice on your networking skills.

Participate the Event

As a volunteer, you're helping and you're participating the event for FREE. Oftentimes, the organization would provide food and drinks to appreciate the help of the volunteers. Not only that you can go around the place, enjoy the music, learn more about the culture if the event is based on a foreign tradition, and have a further understanding of the organization.

Feels GOOD

Don't you feel great when you know there are something you can do to help others? When I see people's smiles on their face and joy in their eyes, I know it worth my while volunteering there. When you are making a positive impact, no matter how small it is, you're happy that you spent the time and energy.

 

 Kids painting the wall

Three Lessons I've Learned from the Past

I used to believe that when you get a well-paid job, then you become successful in whatever field you are in. That was my definition of "success". That had been stuck in my head for several years. In order to reach success, I had been trying to be the best student in class. Always trying to be perfect. Either got a perfect mark, or the highest mark in the class was the source of my happiness. Can you imagine doing nothing all day but studying? I had done that all three years in my senior high school.

Without a doubt, I lost a lot of things. I didn't join any clubs. I didn't show up often for family union events. I didn't participate many of the social events. I confined myself in textbooks.

I started to realize that the way of my learning was totally wrong. I wish I could do things differently by the following:

Life is not all about Studying or Working

When you are working all day long, after 6-7 hours of working, it's probably manifest that you are not as efficient as the first one or two hours. Why not take a break, go somewhere else, change the scenery around you, in that way, you will be motivated again and you might even get inspiration while you are taking a break.

A 36-year-old, well-paid computer engineer once confessed that all the money he made doesn't mean much to him, since he doesn't have the time to spend it, and he doesn't have a partner to share the joy with. He worked hard all his life, but the emptiness still exist. Happiness doesn't always come from the money or property you own. Certainly, you probably won't be happy, if you lack money. I believe that you can find happiness if you feel it with your whole heart, even little things can be the source of your happiness.  

Learn how to Solve Problems is Way More Important than Memorize the Content 

Oftentimes we study the textbook, and memorize the important facts, equations, or formulas. However, that's merely following the instructions without processing the true meaning behind it. I used to study textbooks without questioning their authentication, or what's the real purpose of learning this chapter. In order to learn more effectively, having some pauses in between chapters is necessary. Pause and think about what you get out of the chapter. Think about how you can use this method to solve problems in the future.

Have Your Own Ideas and Opinions, instead of Following Instructions Blindfolded

I was so used to do what I was told to do. Follow my parents and teachers' instructions, nothing could go wrong, since they were more experienced than I was. The mistake was I have to live my life not them. If I just simply do what they say, I am the one who is responsible for the decision at the end of the day not them.   Others' opinions can be important to certain level, but you have to think the whole thing carefully and understand what you want to do the most. 

There are so many successful people's stories and the path they went through. If we choose to follow their path instead of coming up with our own, we are reliving their lives! Be brave and courageous to start your own journey, and explore what's suitable and can benefit yourself the most! 

Whitecaps!

I've watched several soccer matches on TV before, but this is my first time watching live soccer. 

The Vancouver Whitecaps VS San Jose Earthquakes match was exciting! I went to a football game once, and the audience wasn't that frantic during the game, so I didn't anticipate the crowd to be cheering and chanting for the home team all the time.

Watching the audience's reaction was one of my enjoyments. I wouldn't be able to experience those if I just watch the game at home. 


Some of the chants are so interesting. I love it!

On Joe Cannon goal kicks: 
During buildup to kick: ssssssssssssss
When Joe kicks the ball: BOOOOOM!

On opposing goal kicks: 
During build up to kick, with arms raised: Whoooaaaaaaaaa.
When the keeper kicks the ball: YOU FAT BASTARD!

"We are blue, we are white, we are fucken dynamite"

At the end, Whitecaps won the game. It's not really that surprising to me though because they have such supportive fans chanting for them throughout the game.  I would love to watch the games live again! : )

Grouse Grind--All About Perseverance

Yesterday was my birthday. I thought about doing something different this year to celebrate turning into 21-year-old. One of my friends recommended me to pay Grouse Mountain a visit. It is said that Grouse Mountain is a must go place, if you ever visit Vancouver.

First time being there, I didn't want to take a Skyride to the peak. Instead, I chose to have a memorable experience by hiking. The thing is I didn't do a thorough research about hiking at Grouse Mountain. I was naive enough to believe that Grouse Grind is as easy as any other trail. I realized I was wrong after about 10 minutes of hiking.

It was challenging! At first, I had to rest after only 10 minutes of hiking. Then, I found my legs were sore. I started to rest a bit after 5 minutes of hiking. Furthermore, I had a hard time choosing which rock to step on because if I couldn't stable myself, I could have fell.

I didn't workout a lot to prepare myself before hiking, and I never had this kind of hiking experience before, even my outfit and bag were not suitable for hiking! But I made it after 2 hours and 10 minutes of effort to finish the 2.9-km trail. The fresh air, the fantastic scenery, and the fulfilling feeling of such an accomplishment totally worth the energy it took to reach the peak.

Now that I think of it, I would say it's all about persistence that got me going all along. Even though once in awhile, I felt exhausted and unable to continue the hike, in the back of my head I wanted to go on and reach the top. Just like reaching any other goals, there will always be hindrance in the way. If you want to taste the joy of accomplishment, then perseverance is a necessity.

After this experience at Grouse Mountain, I believe I will come back soon to challenge myself again!

My Toastmasters Experience

I've been always wanted to join Toastmasters when I first heard of it, but I never really had the courage to do so. I'm terrified of talking to people who's not in my comfort zone. However, deep inside of my mind, I knew that well, I have to face my fear sooner or later. So, I chose sooner.

My first time in the Toastmasters meeting as a guest can be traced back to March of 2012. They had an Open House day on a Friday morning, 7 am. When I arrived that day, I was standing in front of the door too afraid about what would happen when I push the door open. If it wasn't the voice told me, "don't think, just do it.", I would have just left.

My first meeting experience was great. It wasn't about just sitting there and enjoying the show. They actually made me participate! During the table topics session, they threw me a question, "why did you choose BCIT?" It threw me off guard. An easy question like that one was hard to answer when I was totally nervous and embarrassed that I couldn't find much to say. I tried at least, and the Toastmasters members actually complimented my courage. It is because of the warm welcome and encouraging feedback made me want to come back to the meeting every week.

Taking some of the roles at Toastmasters meeting seem impossible to me at first, for instance, being a chair person, an evaluator, etc. The interesting thing is that when I found myself willing to try and keep practicing, I can actually do the roles well.

I've heard about Toastmasters changing people's lives, and it's possible as long as you are willing to walk out of your comfort zone, and be persistent in participating the meetings.

I know I want to make progress whether it's interacting with others, enhancing relationships, or be better at public speaking. The hard part is once school starts in September, I'll have to deal with projects and exams. I'll try my best and see how things work out.

I absolutely love Toastmasters. It has widen my horizons in public speaking and leadership.  : )

BCIT Sunrise- http://easy-speak.org/portal.php?marknow=0
Toastmasters International- http://www.toastmasters.org/default.aspx

BCIT Legacy

I have been a member of BCIT Legacy for 9 months now. Legacy is a fair new club comparing to the other existing clubs on campus, but we continuously hold our own events and participate school ones. It's amazing when you got to watch a small club which not much people heard before, to people starting to have an awareness of the existence of Legacy!

Basically what we do in Legacy is to aim for something to leave on campus every year. The first project was a cherry tree, which was planted in front of the business school. Last year's project was a photo gallery exhibited in Library Learning Commons.  

Some of the advantages that I gain by joining Legacy:

Meet People and Make Friends

Since our club is not limited to any school, students come from everywhere. We have members from engineering, nursing, marketing, airplane maintenance, etc, which is good to meet people outside of your program. If you are a BCIT full-time student, then you know that you have a set of classmates, who take the same courses as you do. By joining a club that's not limited to any program, you can easily expand your network.

Opportunity for Organizing Events

I personally organized two events. Speed Dating and Photo Award Ceremony. Honestly, I never had this kind of experience before. Once I got started on organizing, it's a lot of work, but fulfilling as well. You get to talk with the team, club coordinator, and others to discuss your plan. Then, you get to carry it out. I learned a lot from doing so. I constantly needed to contact people, sometimes ask questions, sometimes make a negotiation, and sometimes make a request. When I was organizing events, I got to see things from a marketing perspective as well as finance perspective. It was really interesting!

Practice Our Skills

Whenever you make a mistake in a school club, as long as not a very serious one, it's okay, and you get a chance to learn from it. I see our club as a very small organization, where a lot of things function the way as a company would. Sometimes, when we were trying to promote our events, and nobody really seemed to be care, we learn other ways to attract attention. Those little details is something that I wouldn't be able to notice, if I weren't in the club.

The other thing is leadership. Being a leader is not about giving commands to your team members. It's more about supporting them and helping them to achieve their goals and reach great accomplishments. Without practice, you would never be able to visualize it.


I enjoyed being a member of the club, and look forward to meeting more people and accomplish more together!

"Speak"

Speak is the first Toastmasters documentary movie. In the movie, they interviewed the contestants of the world championship of public speaking. Two of the contestants had inspired me greatly.

Rich

He and his wife have six children to raise, and as his wife takes care of the children, he needs to make his family's ends meet. Even though life has been harsh on him, he still chose to chase after his dream of becoming the public speaking world champion. Later on he even had to amputate a leg, he still hadn't given up his hope. 


Even though many of his friends didn't support him on chasing his dream, he still insisted on giving it a shot. He didn't succeed in wining the world championship at his first try. However, he didn't just give up. He constantly practiced his speech and he came in second place the next year. As he was able to let people hear his voice, he got more clients and eventually he was able to make his family's ends meet.  

LaShunda

She had six surgeries before she entered the 2008 world championship. It was hard enough to deal with her own health problems. Her doctor, her sister and herself were not certain that how much more time would she be able to stay with them. However, she didn't get defeated by the disease. She looked on the positive side of life, and kept fighting all the odds against her. As a result, she won the 1st place of world championship of public speaking.


Nobody else knows how much of potential and ability you have. People who told you that you will not be able to do it, some of them don't even care about you will succeed or not. If you know this is your dream, then go for it! There's no indication of what will happen in the future. We might not have a long time to live, but we can decide what we want to accomplish right now. I would rather chase after my dream, then regret later when I don't have the chance anymore. As Steve Jobs said "You get to find what you love...If you haven't find it yet, keep looking, don't settle."

The championship doesn't mean so much as a competition for the first place after all. it's about making a difference in others. It's about making your voice heard. What really wins the audience is the speaker's sincerity and being authentic. Not everyone can step on the stage of World Championship. Only the ones who fought so hard with their hindrance, the ones that they want to share their experience of how they overcame the obstacles on their way, and the ones who truly can inspire the audience. 

Speak - Come find your voice.

Deloitte Vancouver Office Tour

Since I decided to become an accountant, I am always curious of how their work day look like and what's their working environment like. It was a great opportunity to answer all that questions of mine simply by joining a Deloitte Vancouver Office Tour!

This event is composed of three segments: presentation, office tour, and networking.

Presentation 

During the presentation, the parts that I like about Deloitte are

• going green & environmental friendly--we talk about saving the environment for our generations, but not everyone would care to carry out a plan to protect the environment. 
• donate money to charities--for instance, they have jeans day every Friday, and people who wear jeans donate $5 to charities. 
• sports team-- soccer, ice hockey; jogging & hiking events 
• end of season parties--work hard, play hard! Rewards after a busy season cannot be neglected! 

Pursuing CA:
Vancouver office UFE pass rate is 98%. The company provides:

• one on one mentor
• weekend study sessions
• financial support to pay all of your materials (textbook and CA fees)

Students have the full support from the company to pass UFE. 

Work life:
Client's office is often their office. They might be away for one month to discuss with their clients. They don't always work from 9 am to 5 pm. During busy season some times they have to work from 7am to 11pm, especially tax people. 

Services:
Assurance & advisory, tax, financial advisory, consulting.

Variety of Clients:
Mining, IT, banks, auto...

Co-op:
Students have to rotate audit, tax, financial advisory, and enterprise risk services.
Summer projects: IFRS Training, Toastmasters, Ultimate Tournament...
 

Office Tour

Some of the questions that answered during the tour: 

• The company holds training for employees to broaden their knowledge. Each employee needs to meet 100 hours of training. It's great for employees to continue learning and improving. 
• If you are not sure whether tax or audit best fits you, then start with audit, from there you might start to have a sense of which direction that you want to go.
• As an audit student, you have a coach who you can seek help from, ask questions, deal with stress, discuss your accounting interest, your future plan...etc

Networking

Rest of the time, they left us to mingle around the room and ask questions regarding the company. I met a girl who studied forensic accounting, which is a program that teaches you how to collect evidence that points to whoever committed the crime. Dennis, from BCIT, gave me an advice to have 2 people as your study group because it's a lot of work and you need someone else to discuss the accounting problems with. 

Networking is always interesting that you are able to meet people from different kind of backgrounds. Generally, the students who joined the same tour with me were from UBC, SFU, Capilano University, and BCIT. This group is composed of people with a variety of knowledge towards accounting. Some of them just graduated, and some already started working, and rest of us are still studying. 

As to most of us were interested in becoming an intern at Deloitte, we were told to grasp the opportunity to apply during September. 

 

Discipline

I am a goal-setting person. Without setting goals for my day, a day can pass by quickly and I accomplish nothing, which makes me feel discontent. Recently, I have been reading The Hunger Games. It's a fantastic book that it will just drive you to continue reading until you finish. That's not good. It completely interrupt my plan! I have a speech to deliver just in a couple of days, but I can't help reading it! Sometimes I'm so tempted to think that it's okay since I'm having a summer break. In the mean while, I have another voice telling me to start preparing my speech. Finally, I came up with couple of solutions.

Reward Myself

It's hard to tell myself keep working the whole day. When you think of it, you would instantly feel that's going to be hard, and then you really don't want to do it. So, why don't you tell yourself to work on things you need to do first, and you can reward yourself with some time of leisure? I plan to work on my speech for one hour, and then I get to read one chapter of Catching Fire. It doesn't sound so hard as working all day with a few hours of reading time just before bed time.

Finding Back my Motivation  

When you are distracted while you are trying to pursue your goal, think about why you want to reach your goal in the first place? I made myself to deliver at least one speech a month, and I know it's for my own sake. If I fail to accomplish this month's goal, sooner or later I'll regret it. Then why would I even want it to happen in the first place? 

Stop Whatever You're Doing and THINK

When you're lost, and don't know what to do, just stop. Put down everything you are working on, put on your sneakers and go for a walk. Moving around, changing the scenery, and breathing in the fresh air help you to generate ideas, sometimes you can even come up with solutions that you never thought about. 

The most thing that I desire to do is finish my speech and deliver it smoothly on Wednesday! 

The Hunger Games

Imagine you are put into an arena, where you have to fight to death with the other 23 people. Only one survivor is allowed. Not only that, you also have to find a way to survive in the nature; finding your own source of water, food, and a safe place to rest. This is the story of “The Hunger Games” written by Suzanne Collins. You might not think that you would ever encounter something like this in the real life. However, some of the strategies used in the games might be helpful in the workplace.

Know Your Strengths

In the arena, Katniss, the main character, knew well that she was excellent at archery. The tributes that survived after the first day in the arena have some special talents to keep them alive. Similar to the workplace, you need to know "what are you particularly good at?" "What is something that you do much better than others?" "What makes you stand out?" If your strength does not land on physics or mathematics, then why go for engineering?  

"Surviving Skills"

During the games, not only does Katniss needed to protect herself by using the bow, she constantly needed to hunt in order to feed herself, and she needed the knowledge to treat her wounds. It's not enough, if you only get strengths in the workplace. You need to constantly learn new skills that would help you to thrive in your career. For instance, you can always make an effort to learn leadership, social media, technologies, or even a second language. You might not need to use those skills yet, but if you know how it can be an asset.

Tactics 

After Katniss found the source of her food and water, a place to hide, and a weapon to protect herself, she began to form plans and schemes. She had a good understanding of the Career Tributes, who are trained to be killers, only has the strength of killing, but they didn't know how to find source of food on their own. Katniss formed a tactic of destroying their food, and then they would starve to death. When you think of it as applying to the workplace, you probably don't want to destroy your colleagues, but you should form your own strategies upon the environment. Think of it as "What can I do to bring most profit to the company?" I met a girl from Douglas Toastmasters. Their target members are generally students. So, they organized meetings for students to practice interview skills, and that meets their needs.  

Turn Adversity into Advantage

One time, Katniss was trapped on the tree with a pack of Career Tributes waiting on the ground to kill her, and she found a tracker jacker nest above her head. She managed to drop the nest and all the venomous bees all flew out to attack her enemies. She successfully turned an adversity into her advantage!

Get the Right Ally 

During the games, one of the tributes, Rue, warned Katniss a beehive was above her head. They formed an alliance soon after that. Rue cured Katniss's swelling, and Katniss shared her food with Rue. In the workplace, people often care only about themselves. You need to be careful when making friends with others. It's hard to say that if they truly want to help you, or they will stab you from behind someday. However, if you happen to find genuine friends, they can be an asset as to help you in your career.

The Hunger Games is a fantastic read that I enjoyed very much. Furthermore, I realized I learned so many lessons from the book that I can certainly apply to my life, even though I don't have to hunt to survive.

Toastmasters Leadership Institute

Waking up at 8 am is not something I would do during the weekend, but today I have a special mission to accomplish: join the Toastmasters Leadership Institute! This conference is made up of the following sessions.

Characteristics of Effective Leaders 

          "Leadership is ultimately about creating ways for other people to make extraordinary things happen."
Personality Qualities:

• Emotionally mature: no negative emotions because it will influence the whole team
• Independent: be confident enough to say your ideas; don't always rely on the team
• Strong-willed: don't fluctuate when someone else say something; have your own set of ideas; be focused 
• Courageous: feel the fear and do what you want to do anyway; have the courage to make mistakes
• Ambitious: ambition is the driving force that gives you motivation
• Resilient: keep going even run into problems
• Charismatic: influence team members, inspire them

 As a leader you need to know

1. Yourself: know your core values; you don't want to do something against your own core values; integrity  
2. Your team: know them well enough to inspire them
3. Environment: work environment, economic environment...

Working in the Team Environment

Strategies and tips to:

1. Develop Team Relations: in order to build team relationships, you have to know them and see the master in them. The way you can accomplish that is through communication. Have social events, such as luncheon. Remember don't ever think that you are too big for someone. A good company leader knows every single person in the company! 
2. Encourage Commitment: get people involve and give them a chance to grow
3. Provide Structure: reward accomplishment 
4. Build Trust: listen, share, and be honest with them. Whatever you do, keep it consistent. Otherwise, people will have doubts in you. If you make mistakes, apologize genuinely.    
5. Resolve Conflict: conflicts can bring positive effects to the team if it is well resolved. Conflicts is caused by unfulfilled needs and expectations.  

Goal Setting and Planning

Don't set up any goals but S.M.A.R.T. goals! (Specific, measurable, action-oriented, realistic, and time-bounded) For example: instead of setting up a goal as writing a book, let's put it as "finish writing a 200 pages book before the end of 2013 by writing 5 pages per week".


Success Tips

• Write out your goals: put it in a place that you'll see everyday. Remind yourself of the goal. 
• Communicate your goals: tell your friends and family about your goals so that they can help you achieve it.
• Celebrate milestones: whenever you make an achievement, celebrate it! Rewarding yourself before you go on to the next level is important, it makes you feel worth the while and it motivates you to go on.

"He who fails to plan, plans to fail."     

Unlocking the Toastmaster Secret 

I think the secret of Toastmaster is members help each other out. Not only do them want themselves to grow, they also want to see others succeed. The constructive feedback or evaluation of each speaker is truly the reason why members grow. They accept the feedback and continue to work their way out.


This conference truly is a valuable experience for me. I got to hear not only from the speakers but some of the audience's ideas and thoughts. If they ever hold an event like this, I will definitely go again, and I recommend you to go and see for yourself!