A few wrongly chosen words can really get you in hot water these days, as well-known TV personality and Motivator found out in a hard way. His comments (perhaps not ill intended though certainly revealing a personal judgment not exactly inspiring)

I am someone who is always open to learning new things and new ideas, so when a friend asked me to listen to a talk by Dada J.P Vaswani recently, I was more than eager. Who after all would not be interested to know the ‘Formula for Prosperity’, which was the title of the lecture, in these times of economic uncertainties?

When I was in high school I used to hate it when my French teacher called me a twit. Every time I did something stupid, she’d say, “You’re such a twit, aren’t you?” with a look that made me feel like an imbecile.

We now have three pairs of candidates vying for the position to be the president and vice president of this republic. Whether they are the best sons and daughter of the country is questionable but at least each seems to be convinced that he or she is the right person to lead this nation to happiness and prosperity.

I don’t particularly like watching competitive events, whether they be in the form of drama-packed talent contests, nail-biting sporting events like the Olympics or World Cup or suspenseful major awards shows like the Oscars.

Recently a friend introduced me to a new definition of the word stupid. As he is a person with acute perspicacity and power of discernment that borders on the supernatural, I generally take his words seriously and consider it a gross disservice

I know this is the second time I’ve focused on the elections in this column, but the legislative polls a month from now are giving me a lot of misgivings. Perhaps it’s because I haven’t received my voter’s card yet, which, though it would give me a wonderful excuse not to vote

With the general election just around the corner I suppose the proper thing to do when election day comes is to go to the polling booth, cast my vote and do my part to ensure the sustainability of democracy

I'm following with interest the edifying 'fatwas' recently issued by our venerable old men of MUI and to be honest, rather disappointed that they did not come up with injunctions that are a lot more relevant, tougher and pertinent to what this country really needs

Things don't happen unless there is a need and a wish for them to happen. Things change unless the energy for it is there.

Barack Obama’s inauguration as the US President is only a couple of days away and the whole planet is gripped with Obamamania. It is a historic moment to be sure, but then Obama has already taken his place in the annals

Now that the new year is here I suppose the thing to do is jot down on a fresh sheet of paper my list of New Year's Resolutions; an annual task that I admit I still do with the earnestness of a school girl wanting to get good marks for her homework

My cousin is finally in love and is seriously planning to get married. It is indeed heart warming to see her so happy and excited about the thought of spending the rest of her life with a person that she considers her Mr Right and Soul Mate.

Have you ever had one of those days when the Universe is trying to tell you something for no apparent reason perhaps, except to remind you of the importance to be more aware of its wonderful workings? I had one the other day as I was trying to catch a Garuda flight to Bali to attend a seminar and conduct an interview.

This has been another eventful week for me, although being in the media I cannot really remember the last time there really was nothing very much going on. As a matter of fact, as I've often pointed out, things are moving so fast these days that there often is very little time to absorb what's going on let alone trying to figure out the meaning.

God won't ask what kind of car you drove, but will ask how many people you drove who didn't have transportation.

God won't ask the square footage of your house, but will ask how many people you welcomed into your home.

Increasingly numbers and figures are becoming the means by which we define our lives. We measure our joy in yields and gains and track our emotions in the rise and fall of capital market indexes. Our sentiment soars when the stock market is high and falls when share prices plunge.

One day, the father of a very wealthy family took his son on a trip to the country with the express purpose of showing him how poor people live.