Pwn , Pawned & Owned

Pwn -as meaning to appropriate or to conquer to gain ownership. The term implies domination or humiliation of a rival .

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Young man , you will get pawned . Like it or not , In life , Everybody ..will get pawned . There will always be some one better , faster & stronger than you . Everybody is going to eat that HUMBLE PIE . The question is when ? Today ? Tomorrow ? Next year ? Last year ? Yesterday ? You get pawned in every area of your life . Work , business , guitar , high school fights , chicks , relationship , battle of the bands …

We humans love to compare , and when we do , we get pawned . Simple concept .

Lim Goh Tong got pawned when he was young .
Tiger Woods gets pawned now .
MCA gets pawned every year.

For those who think they will never get “pawned” , and they are always the best. They are living in denial .

Would you like a quick pawned ? Try traveling to other advance countries , such as U.S or Japan . Heck , you can even go Singapore can get pawned . Compare your standard of living , your income , your security , your technology , your chicks ? your fashion … You know what they say , you open your eyes when you see the world.

But today , this entry is not about some emo crap depression entry . I wanna talk about 2 types of pawned .

By the way , if you are a female , you can close this page right away because you wouldn’t understand shit . Getting pawned , is a guy ego thing . And yes , it is VERY important for our survival and self esteem .

The 2 Basic Types of Pawned .

The complete pawned - The type where YOU GET COMPLETELY PAWNED . A Pro vs A noob would be the best situation to describe it . After you get completely pawned . You give up . You change . You are scared shit . You live in fear .

The inspired pawned - The positive pawned . The type where , yes , he is better than you . But what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger , you become determine , you want to be better , you are inspired to be better , you want to pawn him someday.

You see the big difference ? that is why , my “heroes” are not the SUPER FAMOUS kinda heroes , my heroes are simple people , who are slightly better than me . I learn from Zack Kim , not Steve Vai . I do not read Donald Trump , Warren Buffet for business tips , i know their books will open my eyes and make me wanna give up , cause i am such a small fry in the big picture . Instead , i learn from people who are 5-10 years business owners , some one who just walked my path and understands me . Heck , i even learn from people who are not business owners .

Sometimes i wonder , is there such thing as the right timing for the right knowledge? Having more knowledge is ALWAYS good , but when it depressed you , or makes you feel like shit …? Is it good ? Is it better to live in denial ?

You see , this is where KIRK HAMMET , SLASH & JERRY C comes in . They are more important than you think . They can INSPIRE a beginner to pick up a guitar . Imagine showing your student , a Rusty Cooley video . Rusty Cooley will scare their asses away , and they wouldn’t dare to touch a guitar again .Slash is a great inspiration to guitarist who just started to pick up a guitar . You get my point ?

Sometimes , it is not a good idea to learn from the BEST GUITARIST (Guthrie Govan) right away , sometimes it is better to take one at a time . Learn from Satriani , JP and others , to boost your confidence . Instead of getting CRUSH by Guthrie .

Inspired pawned are like Good Cholesterol (HDL) . It sounds dangerous , but its good for you .

Complete pawned are like Bad Cholesterol (LDL) . It is dangerous . You can completely change a person’s perception , and personality by a complete pawned .

We will always learn from Inspired pawned . But once we get the bitter gift of COMPLETE PAWNED , we will

1) Isolate ourselves
2) Change - realist ?
3) Turn very bitter and negative
4) Filled with Fear , Hate & anger .

..and possibly try to hurt others so that we can feel better .

This are the things , that will get push us further away from our goals .

The worst type of pawned .

I think the worst type of pawned , is what i called “The Element of Surprise pawned”

Its like , you think you and your competitor are at the same level . or maybe he is just “slightly better” than you . One fine day , you found out that the fact is , he COMPLETELY PAWNED YOU upside down . He is light years ahead of you . You realized You’ve been living in denial for a very long time .

Some examples :

You are competing with your younger brother . The competition is , who has more money ? who is more successful ? you think you’re slightly better .Until one fine day , you found out that he has 100x more wealth than you , and he has been keeping it a secret all this while because he don’t want to hurt you . Complete element of surprise pawned .

DOTA score , 17 kills for your opponent , 15 kills for your team . You think this game is going to be an exciting one because your scores are close. Suddenly you see that hero got a Butterfly at Level 9 . You didn’t know he was farming all this while ! Then , he pawned your whole team non stop until the game ends .

Another painful one , would be ..you and your wife are in love . you think that SHE IS THE ONE . You are experiencing TRUE LOVE . Until you caught her cheating on you after 15 years of marriage .  All these years , your “love” is just a perception . ouch !

Okay , the reality is , in life ,  we do get completely pawned and completely element of surprise pawned. When we do , how should we handle it ?

Here are some answers that i gather from my friends .

1) Share it with another person & let it out  (pussy way , got this answer from a girl)
2) Religion , learn to appreciate what you have .
3) Get inspired even more and try harder - very unlikely . Not realistic at all .
4) Work out , try to forget about it .
5) Shred , try to forget about it .
6) DOTA , try to forget about it .

I don’t have the answers , but i would like to learn how . So far , looks like number 2 , 5 and 6 works the best for me. Now let me ask you , How would you handle complete pawned ?

4 Steps . You Learn .

When i was 18 , i had my first band manager ..He told us this ..

“Okay , Melvin , Clement , Kevin ..You guys are great when you are on your own . But as a band , you SUCK ! ”

Didn’t quite understand what was he trying to say ….until today.

Me & Joshua offered to coach a band in Music Master for Free.
This band , is a unique one . All of them were kids , they were orphanage , like 13-15 years old .They were from Myanmar .
They are the type of kids , who would wake up , eat breakfast , pick up a guitar , play it for 10 hours without stopping , eat dinner then go to sleep . Really admire them .

Individually , they were fantastic (duh , after all that practice) .Honestly , when i was 13-14 ..i couldn’t play as well as them . They were YEARS ahead of me . If i can turn back time , they would pawn me to the ground .

But as a band , they suck . My ego felt much better when i saw their first song .

There wasn’t any chemistry , no direction . It sounded like shit .
After the 2nd Chorus , they didn’t know whether they wanna repeat the chorus , or enter the bridge.
They have no idea what the chords were , all of them were “playing by ear” or following the lead guitarist . See ,  the problem with following your band mate is , your timing will be like shit .

Then , I wrote them something on a paper …and pass it to them .

1.Confirm the songs that you wanna play . Write down the chords , the riff , give everybody one copy . Make sure all of you are playing the same thing .

2.Do the arrangements , Verse 1 , Chorus , Verse 2 , Chorus 2 , Bridge , Chorus 3 etc…

3.Figure out , how you wanna Start the song , End the song , Enter the Bridge Or continue to another song .

4.Lastly , figure out something special ..such as dynamics , add some off timings , stops and attacks etc ..to make your band memorable .

Then , i left them on their own for an hour . Let them figure things out their own . I thought their individual skills is sufficient enough to figure out the rest .
When i came in the jamming studio . I swear they sounded 300% better than they were when they just started .

I taught them for 10 minutes . Let them figure for 1 hour . I see results . mmmm , i like the investment and return-investment ratio . Maybe i should do this more often .

I suggest you apply this simple 4 steps. When you wanna learn a song .

1.Figure out the CHORDS first
2.Learn the arrangements
3.Learn the song’s characteristic .Study how it builds itself , and how it ends.
4.Improvise .

I realized , alot of guitarist ALWAYS skip Step 1 , 2 , and 3 …and straight away go to Step 4 . Find out what key the song is in , then solo straight right ?

Let me ask you , what did you learn ? Nothing .
I don’t wanna treat my bandmates like some “backing track” that i just solo over . I want my band to know my solo . So that they can ATTACK together with me when i am just about to give that POWER orgasm bend , I want them to go easy on the volumes when there are parts where i want my vibrato to be crystal clear . I want my bassist to Hold his note when i am about to shred . Get the idea ?

This post kinda Reminds me of the Golden Eye Concept …Can apply sial .Fuh.

The Best Product in the World

Okay , back to my favorite topic , business .

When i was young , i like to think “what is the best product in the world?”

I made a list when i was 17 years old . The best product in the world must be .

1) Very sellable , the demand exceeds the supply  .. everybody wants a piece of it .

2) Very low cost & high profit margin

3) Do not need to keep stock , so that i can apply JIT system

4) Of course , a high quality product that can grow and expand ..to Overseas market.

5) very little competition , or none .

6) A service or Skill that ONLY i can offer ..

I thought of many things ..Such as Insurance , Cars , New Burger Chain Store , Computer game , DRIVING SCHOOL (My fav) , Cinema , Amusement park , drugs ..heck , i even thought of selling MALAYSIAN PORN .

Lots of crazy ideas ..but , most of them are either illegal , or i need ALOT of Capital to start ..

Then , here comes WORKING LIFE ..(Started teaching guitar when i was 17)

I found out ,  there are 2 different types of product .. Both different nature..

1.Group A : High Price , low quantity

High price , low quantity ..think BMW Cars …Only rich people can afford . Every month you sell ..maybe 50 units ? But the profit margin per sale is ALOT .

2.Group B : Low price , lots of quantity

Low price , lots of quantity , think , Tesco , Air Asia , Giant , Shampoo , Soap ..products that MANY people can afford and use . Every month 100,000 Sales , but you only earn RM1-RM20 per sale .

Which is better ? Same lah…

Group A will always argue that the profit earned from a SINGLE sale , is equivalent to Group B’s 10,000 Sale . All they need to  do is work on their TRAFFIC and their quantity .

Group B will always argue , because they have the quantity , they are more flexible ..they can have multiple streams of incomes , such as ADVERTISING to their audience and make group B pay for the advertising fees . The problem though , is Group B will have high overheads ..they need to hire alot of people ..can you imagine 10,000 customers dealing with  2 customer service rep ? LOL . Plus , the profit they earned per sale is RM1 ..what if its a hard ass demanding customer , is it worth all that trouble for that RM1 profit ?

Same lah , this argument can go on and on ..Its a good topic if you’re in the mood of debating . Quality Vs Quantity . Traditional never ending argument .

Back to myself , 18 years old kid . Once again , I was looking for the best product in the world . This is where i found the BALANCE ..selling GUITARS ..a perfect balance between quantity and quality . Other balance industry to consider are : fine dining , used cars , handphones , computers .. But they have ALOT of competition , so let us not get into there..

Okay , so business started…I became a guitar reseller when i was 19 …after 3 years , I started Music Master .Before Music Master , i thought i was selling the best product in the world ..but i was wrong ..

One day , while i was clearing my cupboard in my room , I found the list that i created when i was 17 years old (On top of this post) ..i realized , being in a guitar business .

1.Not very low cost

2.I need to keep stock

3.Fair amount of competition

4.MOST of the products , the supply exceeds the demand .

I realized , people wasn’t buying from me because i am selling BEST PRODUCT IN THE WORLD . I went on , tried to figure what’s wrong and what’s right ..soon , i got myself into the sound & lights , events , advertising and consultation industry ..

Then , I finally understood ,

The Best Product in the world ,

is YOU , YOUR BUSINESS & YOUR NETWORK .

Which basically means , contacts , people you know  , people you work with and people who work for you..yeah ..Networking . You always hear working people say shit like “its not what you know , but who you know” ..man don’t take it lightly ok , its SERIOUS SHIT. You’re in deep shit if you don’t have a strong network .

Let me give you an example .

I got a friend . Who has huge network with the government . Government love him so much and they gave him a contract . The contract was , he gets to be the official “Printer” for SPM , PMR & UPSR Test paper .

My friend , who got the contract . Charged the government RM0.10 per piece . Then he went to 5 other small photocopy companies and get them to do the dirty work . He paid them RM0.03 per piece .

He earned like mad .Imagine how much he makes ..by doing nothing  , he doesn’t even have a photocopy machine . All he has is a business license , a priceless contract and a name card .

*Not to mention his “extra income” by selling Pre-SPM paper to Kiasu students .

Example two :

Another friend , who is earning RM2000-RM3000 through Forex . Met up with me and introduced me to the world of Forex , He showed me its potential , how can it make money while he is sleeping . The business is autopilot .

All i need to do is , join his “group” and his “group” will teach me .

I told him , “Forex makes you money , but i know the REAL money is to TEACH people how to make money with forex “

True enough , joining his group would require to pay RM3500 per person . Imagine if i am the owner of the training company , and i have a network of lets say …100 people joining a MONTH ?!! Plus i can impose Subscription fees & membership fees , not to mention selling the software , subscription fee’s for the software , upgrades for the software , organizing bootcamps & seminars for forex . A super money generating business .

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Other examples :

Selling Insurance makes you money , but the real money is owning a network of Insurance Sellers

Selling Beauty Products via direct selling makes you money , but the real money is owning THE network , and supplying them the products

Opening Mcdonalds and selling burgers makes you money , but the real money is OWNING the BRAND , supplying your network of franchises.

Being a Pilot , makes you money , but the real money is owning Air Asia and pay YOUR Pilot .

Being Bentley and sell guitars makes money , but the real money is …owning Ibanez co . itself . Manufacturing guitars every month .  Getting your international network of guitar stores such as Guitar Center , Bentley , Swee Lee to carry IBANEZ so that they bow down to you .

Do you wanna know how to retire young ?

You sell your business & your network , for a big chunk of money .

Network is the SHIT .

Don’t think what product should you sell ..

Think …how do i build my network. Today .