Author: Shain

Shain is a Sydney-based blogger and writer who believes there is much more to life than surviving the mad rat race. A father, a husband, a tennis fan, an IT professional. Looking back at fond memories, looking ahead with big dreams, looking around and trying to focus on the present moment, the positives, the glass-half-full. While still confused, a bit lost sometimes, trying to figure out what is the meaning of all of this, what are we meant to be doing around here, swinging between inspiration and desperation, between hope and despair, constantly Looking For Meaning.
By Shain Posted on

How to Publish your Short Stories

Every Writer-to-Be tends to have these doubts at some point of their journey. Am I good enough? Will anyone ever be interested in reading my creative work? Or is it all going to waste… Another obstacle we face is how to get our stories out there. Do we have to find a proper publisher like in the old days, given the chances are low to ever get published? Or are there other options in the digital world to put our words out there and give them the life they deserve?

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America’s New Dawn

Like many others, I felt like these are the most crucial US elections in many years. It was time for a change, otherwise who knows what would happen next. So here we go, as of November 7, the Hope is real and the US has decided to make a change and kick Donald Trump out of the White House. Phew, it feels like the nightmare is over, a glitch in US history, a farce which was much more dramatic than comic.

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Vote Him Out

Let me tell you why Trump must lose in this election. We need new Leaders, new Role Models, new Hope for our children, a generation that have seen way too many abrupt, inconsiderate and disrespectful leaders. People who only care about themselves rather than the People they are meant to lead, who have absolutely no vision, no long term plan, no care for equality, humanity, freedom or climate action.

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King of Clay but NOT the GOAT

There is no doubt Rafa Nadal is the ultimate King of Clay. We got another reassurance this morning, when he thrashed Novak Djokovic in the 2020 final of the Roland Garros, cementing his place as the dominator of the red dirt in Paris, tying the grand slam record with Federer. But, are they really tied as the greatest of all time?

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Jumping Out of Bed

When was the last time you found yourself jumping out of bed, excited about the new day ahead of you? Possibly a long time ago. Why is it so, that we are going through life this way, dragging ourselves to work in the morning, lacking motivation to be the best version of ourselves. Surely there’s a better way, there must be a better place for us to find, there is much more to life.

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The Power of Words

Let’s talk about the Power of Words and how they can influence our lives. It might be the written word, though even more significantly those that are spoken. They may come from our parents, our mentors, our leaders. They can unite us, or divide between us. Bring peace or start a war. Bring hope or send us into the darkest times. Words. That’s all it takes.

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Global Leadership Crisis

It has been quite some time since we had inspiring leaders who put the people ahead of themselves, led by example and united us all with hope and common purpose. In the midst of the worst health and financial global crisis in a century, the people of the world are looking up to their leaders for help, guidance and reassurance. Unfortunately, this is what they currently see.

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Life Post Coronavirus

Imagine how life post-Covid would look like, six to twelve months forward, or possibly even further down the track. Would things ever go back to how they used to be? probably not, but that’s not necessarily a bad thing, is it. Let’s have a preview on a foreseeable future and how this pandemic might change the world for good.

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Mr Trump, You’re Fired

I’m not a big fan, to say the least. It’s been three and a half years since he got into the White House, and I still can’t believe it actually happened. Trump is a clown, a racist, egocentric, it’s all about him and his tweets, everything else is just fake news. He clearly lives in his own world, in a different dimension, where his reality is very different to what most others see. But now, with the way he is managing the COVID19 crisis, enough is enough.

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5 Tips for Staying Happy at Work

Evidence suggests only one in five people enjoy going to work, feeling engaged and motivated at all times. That indicates 80% of the workforce is unhappy, unengaged and literally miserable. Given the average full time employee spends most of their day at work, we got a recipe for a bucket of frustrations and lack of productivity in the workforce. Clearly something is wrong with this picture.

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COVID19 and Climate Change

A few months ago we were all deeply involved in the Climate Change debate, especially down here in Australia where the bushfires were raging across the nation. Then, all of a sudden, came along the Coronavirus and literally stopped the world from spinning. The Climate Change debate is not on anyone’s agenda anymore.

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Survival Guide to COVID19

As most of us are forced into self isolation to stop the spread, bend the curve and save lives, the future is unknown and nobody can predict how long these unprecedented circumstances would last. But is it really that bad? surely some good things can come out of this madness. So before we start to lose our minds, let’s try and explore the things we can control, to try and make the best of this period.

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Coronavirus Panic Attack

The world has gone mad. People are losing it, hoarding toilet paper and groceries. It’s the end of the world as we know it, we are all going to die. So, is this how it all ends? Coronavirus is causing havoc around the world, but it seems like the biggest problem we are currently facing is just not the flu-like mysterious disease, but the panic that drives human nature to take some extreme measures.

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New Year’s Resolution 2020

I don’t tend to come up with whole new resolutions for the new year (or decade in this case). For me, it’s a natural evolvement of the goals I’ve previously set, those I should be working towards every day, and those I have to remind myself are much more important than anything else in this world. This year, because it’s the beginning of a new decade, I came up with 10 things to guide the way into the new era.

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Gun Laws in America

When we grew up, back in the 80s and 90s, America was the land of dreams and endless opportunities, the place you go to make the impossible possible, a country offering its people a better life. But things have changed… So many civilian casualties in mass shooting across the states, and yet absolutely NO ACTION by the US Government to change it once and for all.

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Climate Action NOW

The world is changing, the weather is becoming more and more extreme, temperatures keep rising, our blue planet is warming up, the icebergs are melting, these are all scientific facts. Yet, as we are heading towards a disaster, there are still many people who ignore the facts and do absolutely nothing to stop it. Our World Leaders.

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The neverending Tennis GOAT Debate

In recent years the debate over the Tennis G.O.A.T has been going on and on. Who is the Greatest Of All Time? Some say it’s impossible to compare between the different generations, others argue that it should be clearly defined by the most number of grand slam wins. Tennis is an amazing sport full of statistics, and one could spend an endless amount of time going through the figures, compare between the champions and keep the debate going endlessly.

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Call To Action

What if someone told you that today is your last day and you’re invited to your own funeral tomorrow afternoon just before sunset? how would you feel about it? would your eyes be filled with tears because you’re going to miss watching your kids growing up and you’re not going to be there for them? will you be disappointed that you haven’t fulfilled your dreams to travel the world or finish that book you’ve always wanted to write and publish?

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Traveling with Kids

When thinking about traveling with children, most people would probably imagine a luxury holiday in a nice resort on a Pacific island, or a flight to classic Europe to see major attractions including Disneyland of course. However, that’s not what I’m talking about. Ever thought about a Caravan Road Trip?

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Career Burnout and When to Move On

Have you ever had this conversation in your head, or with a friend or colleague? It goes like that: “I hate my job. I’m not learning anything anymore. My career will never progress over there. The job is monotonous and chaotic. All I do is fire fighting. I cannot go on like that. I have to stop lying to myself. It is time to move on”. Well, easier said than done… 

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True Leadership says NO to Racism

Where can you find true leadership these days around the world? Nowhere but the most remote and maybe unexpected place on the globe: New Zealand. Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has proven to be the only light in a very dark world. While USA, UK, Europe, Russia and Australia are swept by nationalism and trumpism, a dividing leadership which is hardly able to articulate a single sentence without blaming, hating and promoting White Supremacy.

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Melanoma March

My mum passed away just over a year ago, after fighting Melanoma for nearly 3 years. Apparently 10 years ago, people who were diagnosed with Advanced Melanoma had a very poor prognosis and were literally sent home to start saying their goodbyes to family and friends. In recent years, global research breakthroughs have tripled the life expectancy for advanced melanoma patients. My dear mum was one of these patients.

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So You Wanna Be a Writer

So you wanna be a writer, and you’re willing to dedicate whatever time you have to write your own special blog, the manuscript you had in the back of your mind since forever, or the novel which would be your first real breakthrough. How do you do that while juggling family, kids, work and everything else in your super busy life?

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This is Me / About Self-Confidence

On a scale of 1 to 10, how would you rate your self-confidence? Would it be right to say that most of the human population is not confident enough in their own abilities? How do we get to the point where we are happy with what we see in the mirror? How good is the feeling of walking with our head up high, where we are true to ourselves and don’t give a damn about what other people think about us? Well, we do care, but we are confident enough in our way so people would just have to accept it.

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Take a Risk – Make a Change

Here’s a story: we had this short seminar at work where they talked about identifying “Your Strengths” leading towards using them to accomplish your goals. This is when I realised my Top Strength is Prudence. What does that even mean? It’s about time I look inside, stare at the mirror and ask myself some serious questions. It’s time to take more risks and make a change.

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Maybe It’s Time We Let The Old Ways Die – New Year’s Resolution

You know it’s time for a CHANGE. A Change you have been longing for. For way too long. But you just don’t do enough to make it happen. You keep pushing it back. Procrastinating… Every new year brings the thought of a New Year’s Resolution. This is when we all resolve to change an undesired trait or behavior, to accomplish a personal goal or otherwise improve our life. This could be your time to finally make things happen.