Hey sister, happy new year!

Happy new year! A reminder for you sister as you navigate 2025.  True love and true worth doesn't come from others.  If someone rejected you and failed to see the value of your worth, that is not your fault.  It is not your job to make them see it.  People often fail to see the beauty in others due to their own inabilities and insecurities. Don't fall into that trap.

Your worth isn't tied to your accomplishments, projects, service to others.  Your worth isn't dependant on anything but your pure existence.

True fulfilling love starts from within.  No one has the power to diminish your worth unless you allow them to.  People, opinions cannot diminish your talent, your detail, your essence.

When others cannot love you the way you should be love, there is nothing wrong with you.  When you accept your true worth, you stop listening to others, you stop listening to the negative voices and that realisation is key to finding fulfilment in the next year.

Stop chasing recognition or  attention from others.  You were born worthy sister.  One step at at time.

With blessings 

Enid.

I have bloody time before the baby comes!

WOW, I haven't touched this blog in...6 years has been a long time and have I done much in that time?

Let's recap:

1. Got married to Dr A.
2. Left my comfortable job
3. Started a business : Enara
4. Became a fashion designer; not on purpose
5.Founded Samoa's first annual fashion show
6. Continued the business feeding 5 other families
7. Handled more business
8. Donated to the Children's hospital ward from the Samoa Sinnet Fashion Show
9. Wanted to do more for Samoa Fashion
10. Planned the 2nd Samoa Sinnet Fashion Show
11. Approached to start Samoa's first modelling agency
12. Decided to attend fashion school
13. Carried out show
14. Left Samoa and Dr A  for fashion school

15: Came back to Samoa and decided to have our first baby

16: Graduated fashion school 

17. Had the baby, smashed the house down and renovated 

18. Dr A got his contract in NZ and so we all moved

19. COVID came 😒 and took over the world 

20. The baby decided she wanted to go to school at 15 months old 

21. Got bored playing housewife and decided to start a book project for Samoa’s  children 

22. Stared collecting books and aiming to send  1000 children’s books before June 2021 

23. Started Enara jewellery line to fund the book project and all its costs

24. Phew and now we’re here, Tauranga 

Everything else in between are the gaps and sealed alleyways to where I am now. I keep telling myself that I have much to do and thank God for a husband and family who are extra supportive.

Ehhh..your grandmother was hot too!

My vision fulfilled

When Dr A (fiancee) proposed 2 new years ago, I suggested a photo shoot of some sort. Of course being shy with a busy life style does not help matters much.  Dr A strongly opposed the idea. Camera. Lights.Action. were better saved for the operating theater. His patients need him more than some photographer  and a nagging fiancee.  It was just a no fly zone.

He opposed even more when my imaginative script was explained to him. "Why would we want to do that? The photographer wants to take a photo of you in your wedding dress! That is crazy!"  

My script was easy, he is a Dr and I'm a pilot.  The two can work together, it will be a win-win situation. I wanted to include my red leather bag, his diamond and some aviators.  Easy.  The man did not see it this way.   For all he knows, I'm a consultant of some sort and yes I used to fly planes but that does not necessarily mean jack.  A pilot who is a highly paid driver (batman) versus a doctor who saves lives (superman) , we know who the superhuman is. Then again when it comes to war of wills, the woman should always have the last say? Ok, maybe not.

While Dr A was busy with his overseas training and saving lives, I was busy conjuring up the inner Director in me. JK (photographer) and I were discussing all sorts of plots and  props for this photo shoot.  He wanted aviators, white park chair and a wedding dress, I wanted my red leather bag and a plane. JK was very particular about what he wanted and I too was fixated on the red.  

Samoa Faleolo International Airport will be undergoing major construction work over the next year, our runway will never look the same again.  The terminal will look flasher than before I'm sure. Being an airport fanatic, my love for the air transport system has grown  as big as my love for farming/sleeping.  I don't think anyone has done an airport/hangar/engagement photo shoot in Samoa before thus I thought it a brilliant idea.

The poor doctor did not know what he was in for.  I updated him continuously about the planning progress.  He still did not see the point.  At one stage I said "Well...I want to do it, one day we will be wrinkly and saggy! When I'm old and grey, when I'm a fat grandma, I want to point to those photos and say to my grandson "ehhhhhhhhhh your grandmother was hot too". 

Ok. enough said, we did it. The 5 am wakeup call was worth it.  Smiling for the camera is hard work. JK and his brother were more excited about the planes than us.  Thanks to a great team, we pulled it off. So, for anyone who is hesitant to do a creative photo shoot, just do it! You too can say "Ehhhh your grandmother was hot too!"

JK's pick of the day

Dr A and I

My journey

 As shared on Massey University's Alunmi Feature in 2011

Hello,

I am a School of Aviation Management Graduate and I'd like to share my story since graduation.

I was a young 18 yr old aviation enthusiast when I got selected into the Air Transport Pilot Program at Massey Aviation in 2002 and studied until the end of 2004 when I had to pull out of the program due to a family tragedy. I took a year off from Massey and returned to Samoa to help my family.

Upon my return in 2006, I changed majors to Aviation Management without knowing the roller coaster ride this qualification will take me.  I graduated in Nov 2008 with the Bachelors of Aviation Management and about 100 flying hours from the ATP Program.  At the same time, Massey University launched my poetry book (the majority of which i wrote at Massey Palmerston North) which they published at Massey titled 'Raw Edges' .  The launch was held in Palmerston North a few days before my graduation.  Raw Edges was also launched in Samoan upon my return in December 2008, which was also presented to our Head of State (King) 'Tuiatua Tupua Tamasese Efi' and commended by the Prime Minister (Tuilaepa Sailele Malielegaoi) and Deputy Prime Minister (Misa Telefoni Retzlaff). see link below

http://www.samoaobserver.ws/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=1504:raw-poems-to-launch-late-december

I was initially employed as the Samoa Airport Authority's first 'Research & Training Officer' responsible for managing training programs and seeking training opportunities for its 200 employees, a year later I was to work for the Ministry of Works, Transport & Infrastructure under the Civil Aviation Division as their Aviation Licensing Officer responsible for the issuance and monitoring of all air transport/aviation licenses including pilots,engineers, airports, airlines, etc...Last year 2010, I was awarded a full scholarship to study the Graduate Diploma in Aviation at the Singapore Aviation Academy in partnership with the National University of Singapore. I completed the Program in 11 weeks and was award a 4.67GPA. 

Early this year, I was up for a promotion and now been made the first Aviation Principal Licensing & Certification Officer overseeing and spearheading a big project which will see the direct issuance of Samoa's first very own Commercial /ATPL licenses since we have only been validating NZ and Australian Licenses as well as Air Traffic Control and engineer licenses.

At the same time, I have been awarded a FULL Scholarship to take up the Masters Degree (MSc Air Transport Planning & Management) in London, University of Westminster UK in October this year. see link below http://www.westminster.ac.uk/about/news-and-events/news/2011/University-scholarships-top-4m-as-international-awards-are-announced

and will be graduating with that in Oct 2012 (God willing).

The Bachelor of Aviation Management from Massey University has helped me launch an exciting career and the aviation industry has never ceases to amaze me. It is still dynamic, inspirational and never boring! I'd like to thank all my instructors,lecturers, Wendy Wilson (i see she's no longer with the Aviation school) and anyone who has been of help to me during my time at Massey.  Upon the completion of my Masters degree, I wish to study at Massey again, perhaps a PhD!!

Business Focus

Top 10 Ways to Capture Attention

You probably deal with attention issues every day. How do I get the attention of new customers? How do I retain the attention of existing clients? How do I captivate my boss or my upcoming date? It’s a hard problem to solve, especially since very few people understand how attention fundamentally works. Writing my new book Captivology: The Science of Capturing People’s Attention, I combed through more than a thousand research studies and interviewed dozens of scientists, PhDs, business leaders, and luminaries to understand why we pay attention to certain people and ideas and not others. For my friend Guy Kawasaki, I’ve cherry-picked ten ways to capture attention, based on my research. While they won’t make you a superstar, they will help you capture more attention for your ideas:

1. Give people a hot coffee. Studies show that we associate the physical sensation of warmth with interpersonal feelings of warmth. In other words, if you give somebody a hot cup of coffee or tea, they are more likely to have positive feelings towards you.

2. Put a red border around your profile picture. Want to win at Tinder and online dating? One study found that just putting a thick red border around a person’s face increased how attracted a stranger found that person. Red is your friend in the dating world.

3. Use contrasting colors for “Buy” buttons. Amazon.com is filled with orange and yellow “Buy” buttons for a reason: they have clear contrasts against the site’s white and grey backgrounds which means a higher click-through rate.

4. Make what you’re offering scarce. Our frame of reference shifts when we think something is scarce. Gmail and Medium got tons of attention by limiting who could join through controlled invite systems. Slow rollouts and limiting access is often a powerful way to capture attention.

5. Give a gift at the most surprising time. Our brains are tuned to pay attention to surprises that violate our expectations. Next time you give a gift, do something different such as wrapping it in custom paper, giving it when people least expect it, or adding your own unexpected flair. Make sure you’re doing something unique and creative!

6. Provide a visual of any prize or reward you offer. Multiple studies show that we are motivated when we can see the reward we want to achieve or see the prospective fruits of our labor. So don’t just tell your audience about a reward, show it to them!
7. Harness experts. Our attention is incredibly deferential to experts, and experts are consistently rated as the top spokespeople a company can utilize. So try using a credible expert in your industry to provide a recommendation or to speak in your favor.

8. Harness the crowd. We trust the wisdom of the crowd–without that trust, sites like Yelp would have no users. The crowd also gravitates towards places where it can participate and have a direct impact (like Indiegogo and Kickstarter).

9. End with a cliffhanger. We have a compulsion for completion– an innate, insatiable need for closure–because we are uncomfortable with uncertainty. Don’t be afraid to end your stories or campaigns with a cliffhanger because your audience will want to come back for the sequel! Remember how Steve Jobs ended his keynotes with “One more thing”?

10. Validate what makes your audience special. We have an innate need for validation from others and to feel like we belong. The greatest projects, startups, and brands build lasting communities around them. More than anything, let your audience know it is appreciated, respected, and cherished.

 This is a guest post by Ben Parr, the author of Captivology. (from Kawasaki website)

If you embrace these ten recommendations, you’ll be sure to capture more attention, and as anyone with real-world experience knows, you can’t do much until you have people’s attention.
Ben Parr is the co-founder of DominateFund, former Co-Editor of Mashable, and the author of Captivology.

By Guy Kawasaki|March 2nd, 2015

Some great advice : The One Crucial Trait All Incredibly Successful People Possess

Sharing this today..Do you?

Image: Getty Images

Anyone can succeed without capital, without a business plan, without a marketing plan, and even without a great idea.  But no one can succeed without one essential ingredient.  Think about the keys to business success: plenty of capital; a comprehensive business plan; a thorough market analysis; remarkable employees.
Each is definitely important. But there is one trait every successful entrepreneur possesses:
Irrational optimism.
Why? To be successful you must embrace belief, which means pushing aside all those self-doubts: Feeling you aren't smart enough, dedicated enough, adaptable enough, or simply that, in spite of your best intentions and best efforts, you won't succeed.  Often other people make it even harder to maintain that belief. Family and friends tend to shoot multiple holes in your ideas, not because they want to bring you down but because they care about you and don't want to see you fail.

That's why people rarely say, "Hey, that's a great idea. You should go for it!" Most people aren't wired that way. Most people--myself definitely included--are a lot better at identifying and listing potential problems. We like to play devil's advocate because that makes us seem smart.  And that's why you need to be irrationally optimistic: Not because the odds are stacked against success, but because irrational optimism helps you succeed in ways capital, business plans, and marketing savvy can't.  Of course you can take irrational optimism too far--but then again, maybe you can't.  Think about sports, the ultimate zero-sum game. Only one individual or one team can win, but great athletes still go into every game believing they will win--because if they don't believe they can win, they've already lost.

Is complete self-belief irrational? Sure. Is it also a requirement for high-level athletic success? Absolutely. Great athletes push aside doubt and disbelief.
So do great entrepreneurs.

If you listen to the naysayers you'll never start a business, never expand, never work and struggle and overcome--and never succeed. If you don't believe in yourself, however irrationally, you will not succeed.  Although no amount of self-belief is enough to ensure success, the smallest bit of doubt can ruin your chances.
In Bounce, Matthew Syed quotes Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger, one of the most successful football (soccer) coaches in the English Premier League, on how athletes must approach competition:

To perform to your maximum you have to teach yourself to believe with an intensity that goes way beyond logical justification. No top performer has lacked this capacity for irrational optimism; no sportsman has played to his potential without the ability to remove doubt from his mind.

The same is true for entrepreneurs--and, really, for everyone. Be smart, be logical, be rational and calculating, and never stop trying to improve your skills. But most important, be irrationally optimistic.  Belief in yourself will take you to places no external forces ever can.

 By Jeff Haden

Published on: Feb 10, 2015 on http://www.inc.com/jeff-haden/the-one-crucial-trait-all-incredibly-successful-people-possess.html?cid=sf01002

Keep your love letters.

At this age of technology and fast wagging tongues, our houses are overflowing with old (real) stuff that we used to love and now neglect.  That old grandma-ish shoe box, the lace curtain which can be turned into a wedding dress (God forbid), the seashell necklaces that line our walls, framing our photos and dozens of hard cover books that our children do not read anymore.

I am as old fashioned as hard cover books and hand written letters.  There is that old paper smell that makes the senses come alive. Earthy, ancient, old money scent. I used to love reading books more than sleeping.  The faster I read, the more I learn. The hand written letters from mother dearest and siblings are priceless and I still have my love suitcase full of letters. The anticipation for a post office letter with stamps and all just warms the heart, especially when you are far away from home.  When you open the mail box and a letter with your name on it stares back at you, it's a cause for celebration.  It means, someone, somewhere is not only thinking of you but you are important enough for them to put those thoughts on paper!

I've coveted hand written letters since I could hop on a plane by myself.  I was 9 years old when I went on my first un-accompanied minor journey.  An old past time was to go through mother dearest's ancient letters from her own grand mother.  In those letters were stories of a time that is long gone,  when flights between Samoa and New Zealand were few and far in between, the letters which are dated and fragile. Paper might be  meaningless but the words describing of life in downtown Auckland in the 60s and just the thought of this old lady slouching over the table as she wrote holds a very high sentimental value.

In continuing tradition, mother dearest used to write me several letters a month throughout highschool and university life.  They usually started with " Faafetai i le Atua ua tatou aulia mai lenei aso fou" (Thank you Lord for bringing us into this new day), followed by the usual lecture parents give their children when they leave the nest.  

"Try hard in school, say your prayers every morning, look after your younger siblings, set an example for other children, here is the money and here is a list of things to spend it on and lastly, be safe and make us proud".

She wrote to me until my third degree.  I guess she figured I was old enough and that studying in London was not too big a deal like studying in Auckland, Australia or Singapore.  I've received so many letters from people, even those I did not know well.   These pieces of paper still hold meaning and were a comfort in times of loneliness and struggle.  The writers are people that have enriched my life with their encouragements. One common denominator in most of my letters is God and my family's faith in me.  In particular, I have an older sister whose faith in my academic abilities is still unfounded.  I've been a thorn in her side since I laid eyes on her.  It's probably that blind faith that helped me achieve exceptionally well in school.  At the end of one letter she wrote:

Try hard in school, I know you can do it.  I love you heaps.  Your victory, your success is mine.  So go to the top of the world. Never forget to pray and never forget God is there for you when you feel lonely  

In continuing the old tradition, I told my special friend at the time to send me hand written letters when I was away at University of Westminster, London . Emails are rather impersonal and can be easily deleted but a love letter is something one can cherish and reread. I know of many mothers who still write to their children regardless of technology.  Please continue to write.  If your child is anything like me, they might act tough on the surface when they board the plane back to university or college but when they are homesick, they will slowly unfold your letter and read it again.  Letter writing not only improves your cursive writing, it also tells your mother/child how well you write, your sentence structure, your very thoughts.  My mother is much nicer on paper as there is no volume although the words still hold much power. So continue to write and wait for a reply. Keep your letters close and love letters closer.