The power of positive thinking (Today 8 Jul)

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The power of positive thinking (Today 8 Jul)

Posted by admin 27 July, 2009

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The power of positive thinking

Attitudes just as important when beating a recession, say entrepreneurs
05:55 AM Jul 08, 2009
by Christopher Toh

QUESTION: What do actress Irene Ang, model Rebecca Tan, Member of Parliament Teo Ser Luck and a group of entrepreneurs have in common?

Answer: They are all involved in a music video, It Starts Today.

With its tagline, “together we’ll be the recession”, the music video is part of an anti-recession initiative called Beat The Recession, started by the Young Business Leaders (YBL).

The group, which now has 18 members, was formed two years ago by Youth Network Committee, under the National Youth Council, to get entrepreneurs, business and corporate leaders to cooperate and share through networking sessions and to promote entrepreneurship.

Mr Teo, who is also the Senior Parliamentary Secretary (Ministry of Community Development, Youth and Sports and Ministry of Transport), is their adviser.

Beat The Recession was launched in May to encourage Singaporeans to adopt a more positive outlook during the recession.

“We realised this was an opportunity for us to be a catalyst to changing people’s mindset,” said YBL member, Mr Palanikkumar Ayasamy Pillai, Group CEO of TNBT Worldwide.

It’s not as bad as it may seem

They initially launched a website (www.itstartstoday.com.sg), with members putting up their plans to beat the recession and inviting people to share their views.

Yesterday, they launched the music video. Apart from featuring several celebrities and a cameo by Mr Teo, the video follows four people taking proactive steps to make ends meet during the economic downturn.

It hopes to show that not everything is as bad as it seems.

Said another YBL member Mr Ivan Lee, CEO of ThaiExpress Concepts: ” Things are bad, sure, but bad is relative, right?”

Mr Pillai, 42, added: “One should … take positive action to beat the recession.”

“But before positive action can happen, we have to have a positive mindset. If we (have that), we can beat the recession.”

Taking positive action includes learning new skills, readjusting your lifestyle if needs be, and basically not giving up in the face of adversity.

But can a music video and a website actually help people beat the recession?

“It’s impossible to measure, but I believe it will work,” said Mr Lee, 33.

And just how long will YBL push out the Beat The Recession campaign?

It all depends on how long the recession lasts.

Mr Pillai said: “We don’t have a five-year plan as such … but I’ve found that when you put a couple of young entrepreneurial leaders together, a lot of good things can come out of it.”
URL http://www.todayonline.com/Business/Enterprise/EDC090708-0000054/The-power-of-positive-thinking

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