Somehow, I've managed to put a lot of what I know to some professional use, whether it's my ability to write, edit, speak, teach, take good photos, or, most unexpected of all, my love for gemstones.
I suppose honing skills that can be used in multiple domains is never a waste, even if you don't consciously think that you are developing those skills.
And perhaps that's the secret - to unconsciously improve them, not necessarily as part of your professional life.
Watching Masters at Work Have Taught Me Much
It's always a pleasure to watch a master at work who's passionate about his/her craft.
The calculated moves, graceful handling, and infectious enthusiasm all make the experience captivating and awe-inspiring.
I've seen them in many professions - painters, chefs, jewellery smiths, professional speakers, handymen, and more.
Even though they may not have time to explain everything that they're doing, I still learn a great deal from simply observing them.
Some day, I hope to join their ranks of mastery.
I don't know what it'll be in yet, but it's something I aspire towards.
Should I Start A New Instagram Account for Professional Purposes?
Over the past 2 years or so, I’ve been actively taking pictures while I’m at school workshops and other public events. Of course I have older pictures, but I never took them with specific purposes in mind.
I believe I have gathered enough to start putting them together into an online portfolio of my work.
Most of the major topics that I cover have been photographed to some degree (some more than others, of course, due to differences in frequency).
So, of course, the next step is to decide what platform I should make the portfolio on.
Since it’s mainly pictorial, I thought about using Instagram.
The reason I don’t use my personal account is that I’d prefer to reserve it for my truly personal life and interests - namely food, travel, and photography.
As such, I’ve registered another Instagram account and I plan to start posting soon.
It’s definitely going to be slow-going, but I figured it’s worth a shot.
After all, it’s better to put up a short blog post than none at all.
Let’s get started soon!
My First Overseas Conference - PDC 2017 in Yangon
Late last month, I was in Yangon for the Professional Development Conference (PDC) 2017. It was held at the historic, beautiful Sule Shangri-La (previously known as Traders Hotel) in the heart of commercial activity in Yangon.
The conference brought professionals from various industries together to learn from the expertise of over 30 trainers from Singapore. I numbered one amongst them.
The style of the conference was such that there were five concurrent Executive Overview Sessions (EOS) occurring at any one time, excepting timeslots for breaks and lunch. Each attendee to the conference was free to attend any of these sessions, according to the areas of their interest. It was inevitable that some wished to attend sessions that have timing clashes. Nevertheless, feedback regarding this style of conference was positive.
Trainers who weren't training during a timeslot were free to attend other EOS's or network / mingle with other attendees.
Over the first 2 days of the conference, I got to meet a number of locals who were either currently part of the private education sector or intending to be part of it. In the following days, I learned that many of the other attendees were also interested in setting up training centres, pre-schools and/or tuition centres in the city.
It is heartening that the private education sector in Myanmar is taking the leap and spearheading changes in the way education is done there.
I will follow up with some of the contacts I made and see how I may be of assistance to them. Who knows? I may be there for longer periods of time in the coming months.
