Discover Your Human Potentials: Until they are discovered, your potentials will remain hidden and undiscovered. If you cannot sing, it does not mean you cannot learn how to sing. If you have not been taught to cook, it does not mean that you cannot cook. First you need to develop interest in things that other people seem to have the skills at doing them, and then have the courage to learn these skills.

Keep it real. If you can write a letter, don’t use the mobile phone or get on Skype to keep in touch with your friends. Recently I sent a postcard to a friend overseas because I love the idea of keeping touch through the mail, the traditional way as opposed to writing emails or texting message.

Be down-to-earth: Make your own bed, fry an egg on a stove and fry pan instead of using the microwave oven. Peel bananas and squeeze your own fresh orange juice for your breakfast. Pour a cup of tea with natural tea leaves without using the tea bags. Boil your water from the kettle on the stove, not from the electric kettle. Get down and dirty, scrub the floors at home. Every small detail that gets into performing these chores goes a long way to help our kids and us understand the very meaning of life. Sure, if you can afford to use the vacuum cleaner, go ahead. But do you have to use it everyday, not touch dust and dirt, and risk losing our sense for what’s clean because we have no dirt in our hands for comparison?

Carry some cash: If you live off plastics like credit cards or membership cards, it gets harder to understand or appreciate the value of money you use to pay for things. By value, it can also literally mean the prints on the currency. Recently my daughter surprised me when she tested my knowledge about the paper money. She noticed so many fine details and asked us questions: what’s with the dots?; Which is the front?; Which is the back? How many sides are there in a coin? We had placed a $50/- note on the table after finishing our meal at a food court. The cleaning lady thought we were callous to be discussing money in public to my kid. She stared at us as she passed our table. My daughter was oblivious to the stare, she started talking about the art in making the fine print on the $50/- note. After 20 minutes, all I could say was, “Wow! I did learn a lot of things from you today!?” How did she come to speak to us about money? “My teacher spoke to us about money today. She did not discover the things I have told you, but I saw them.” Did school kill creativity here? It certainly has not.

Make an appointment with nature everyday. If you fail to see the sun because you have stayed in bed all morning, you still have to get out of the house to experience anything else that nature offers. Step on the grass, look at the passing clouds, collect leaves or just simply sit under a tree. Pick a time in one day, everyday, and allow your entire body to soak in the beauty and freshness of nature. It does not matter how long: 1 minute, 1 second or 1 hour. Breathe, listen, see, touch, smell and breathe again.

Spend lots of time with your family: Have you heard of anyone who complains he has spent too much time with his family? More often then not, people complain about how little time they have spent with their family. The family unit forms our basic foundation that supports creativity. So many creative impulses are created during family gatherings. Mum cooks, dad sings, little brother plays cricket, sister dances, and cousin plays basketball.

Do not delegate tasks that need your personal attention: If you have a domestic helper, why not leave some tasks such making your morning tea or cleaning your bedroom to yourself? Demonstrate independence by doing it yourself routines. If you have kids at home, they naturally learn from our examples. Prepare them of life of independence and responsibilities.

Socialise with people face to face, even if you have to speak to the local grocer about his apples and oranges, do so. It is not about skilful conversation; it feeds your human desire to give and receive attention from other fellow humans. Praise begets praise. Pay it forward to nature if nobody has made you happy that day: “What a beautiful day! How are you today my friend?” Stand at the window to appreciate the nature beyond.

Last but not least: respect your elders and learn from the simple ways of getting things done from those who have succeeded before us.