IZ Writing Society

GLOBAL COMMUNITY PUBLICATIONSDon’t let the thought of putting pen to paper discourage you. I address this statement to you all friends. If you feel afraid to write down what’s been trouble in your mind, I have the answer for your problem. To write is to describe your self. That’s why I sincerely welcome you to join my Writing Society in the coming days. Together we discuss problems in writing and, of course, we will produce some writings to be published. Do not hesitate and feel free in expressing your creativity.

I started writings when I was in high school, and I have kept at it for the past five years. I have joined some writing competitions written in different languages held by several national and international organizations. I won the second prize for provincial writing competition about various cultures of Indonesia written in German language held by East Java Government National Education Department. Not only that, I was certified the champion by the former National Education Minister, A. Malik Fajar, in national writing competition about various cultures of Indonesia, also written in German language held by Indonesia National Education Ministry.

For those achievements, I was invited to attend the 57th Independence Day Ceremony in Istana Merdeka, Jakarta. Later, I was sent to Japan for Teenage Ambassador for Indonesia Program organized by Indonesia National Education Ministry and AEON 1% Club Japan. For that event, I was required to write about pollution problems in Indonesia using English language. I have done some researches to use as the data and the references of my writings.

I wrote some articles, edited and published the first internal English Magazine, WORD, at I/A/L/F Surabaya. Furthermore, I was the senior journalist for President University Newsletter and I have contributed some article writings. Those were some writings experiences done in teams I have gained in the last two years.

Currently, I take News Reporting and Report Writing class as the requisite subject in my major, Public Relations. Soon, our class is going to finish our final project that is making an internal newsletter. During the study at President University, I also got some improvements in my writing skills by doing some written assignments for different subjects. In spite of writing some essays both in Indonesian and English languages about environment and employment problems in our country. Additionally, I am a young environmentalist too. This role influences me to focus more on environmental writings.

Finally, some programs of IZ (Innovative Zone) Writing Society have been well planned such as essay writing competition for students; talk show and workshop inviting writers or speakers; one-day writing course with guest lecturer; comparison study visit to other writing societies; contact publishers, tabloids, magazines and newspapers; publish our writings. We can talk it through lunch gathering.

Well, it seems enough for me to explain about the internal preview of how IZ Writing Society will be covering the students’ needs of a medium to share and to brainstorm the ideas of expressing themselves through writings. For further information and member sign-up, please contact me: Mohammad Reiza, and simply send me email to mohammadreiza@yahoo.de. I look forward to welcoming you to IZ Writing Society

Memancing Kreativitas

Berapa kali Anda merasa otak tiba-tiba kosong dan tidak tahu harus melakukan apa, yang sialnya selalu terjadi saat Anda dikejar deadline laporan yang harus diberikan pada atasan? Bukan hanya itu, Anda tidak bisa menulis apa-apa karena tidak ada bayangan apa yang harus ditulis, sehingga hanya mampu menatap kertas kosong dengan perasaan tak berdaya. Ups, jangan panik dulu. Ini kukan pertanda Anda mulai pikun (dan percaya deh, Anda tidak mengidap penyakit Alzheimer yang menyerang secara mendadak). Bisa jadi, hal ini disebabkan karena Anda harus mulai menyesuaikan diri dengan keadaan baru tersebut.

Jadi bagi Anda yang mungkin saat ini sedang pusing karena terlalu sibuk, istirahat dulu sebentar dan simak artikel berikut. Siapa tahu akan membantu.

1. Lakukan pada waktu yang tepat
Kebanyakan orang yang telah berumur berpikir lebih jernih pada pagi hari; sedangkan mereka yang lebih muda, pada siang hari. Temukan kapan waktu Anda yang tepat, dan selesaikan masalah-masalah yang memerlukan pemikiran di waktu-waktu tersebut.

2. Pendidikan tinggi — namun jangan terlalu berlebihan
Pendidikan sekolah memiliki pengaruh besar dalam memupuk kreativitas seseorang terutama pada masa-masa akhir kuliah, namun penaruh tersebut mulai menurun setelah lulus. Pendidikan memang sangat penting, namun hal itu tidak menjamin kesuksesan Anda di bidang tersebut (alias banyak hal-hal lain yang harus diperhatikan).

3. Mengikuti nasehat Konfusius
salah satu petunjuk mengingat yang selalu digunakan oleh para ahli yang melakukan penelitian tentang ingatan : Supaya tidak lupa bila ada hal penting, tulis di secarik kertas. Sebagaimana kata pepatah Cina, tulisan yang tintanya tidak jelas bertahan lebih lama daripada ingatan paling kuat sekalipun.

4. Tampil bersemangat dengan doping
Penelitian menunjukkan kadar kafein dalam secangkir kopi dapat membantu kita berkonsentrasi terhadap sesuatu hal dengan lebih baik. Namun bagi Anda yang rentan atau mudah terkena depresi, sebaiknya jauhkan diri dari sentuhan kopi karena akan berakibat buruk bagi sel-sel otak.

5. Hubungkan hal baru dengan yang lama
Dengan menghubungkan informasi atau hal-hal baru dengan apa yang telah Anda ketahui, percaya deh, akan lebih mudah untuk mengingatnya kembali.

6. Berlatih terus
Belajar dan melatih kemampuan yang baru didapat dengan berulang-ulang akan mengubah organisasi internal otak, yang pada akhirnya akan sangat membantu dalam melakukan proses mengingat. Jadi kuncinya adalah berlatih, berlatih, dan berlatih.

7. Beri kesempatan pada ide-ide baru
Kebanyakan dari kita memperoleh kelebihan kemampuan yang dengan cepat menyaring fakta yang ada dan dengan cepat pula memutuskan “ya-atau-tidak”. Kreativitas memerlukan lebih banyak waktu senggang atau pendekatan yang lebih santai — yaitu dengan memberikan ruang bagi ide-ide gila Anda.

8. Pilih profesi yang menghadirkan tantangan bagi otak dan pasangan yang cerdas
Orang-orang yang berkarir di bidang yang memerlukan tingkat konsentrasi atau penggunaan intelegensi tinggi besar kemungkinannya untuk dapat mempertahankan kognisinya di level tertinggi. Selain itu, menikahi seseorang yang pintar juga dapat membantu Anda untuk terus mendapat stimulasi tingkat tinggi.

9. Jangan ragu untuk mengetahui hal-hal baru
Kreativitas kerap diartikan sebagai kemampuan seseorang untuk mengadaptasikan satu cara penyelesaian masalah ke masalah lain yang berbeda. Banyak sekali contoh kreativitas manusia yang bermula dari hal-hal kecil (namun menjadi besar), misalnya ide membuat pin untuk membuka kaleng minuman ringan yang berasal dari cara seseorang membuka kulit pisang.

10. Belajar dari pengalaman Da Vinci
Seperti halnya Da Vinci yang terkenal dengan ide-ide revolusionernya (dan membuatnya dijuluki sebagai pelopor jaman rennaisance), tidak ada salahnya melakukan hal-hal yang tidak berhubungan dengan pekerjaan, yang tujuannya adalah untuk merangsang stimulasi otak. Beberapa diantaranya misalnya melakukan juggling bola atau menulis dengan tangan kiri (atau kanan bagi Anda yang kidal).

11. Perhatian
Pernah mengalami lupa nama seseorang beberapa saat setelah Anda bertemu atau berkenalan dengannya? Masalahnya bukan pada ingatan Anda, namun lebih ke arah konsentrasi yang tercurah saat itu. Dengan bertambahnya umur, kita harus lebih sering mengulang-ulang informasi yang baru didapat supaya masuk ke pusat penyimpanan data yang terletak di dalam otak kita.

12. Mendengarkan musik klasik
Seorang psiolog eksperimental menemukan sebuah bukti yang mendukung adanya “Efek Mozart” — otak yang terekspos (dalam hal ini mendengarkan) musik klasik (contohnya Mozart) akan dirangsang saedemikian rupa sehingga informasi yang kita peroleh dapat masuk lebih cepat ke dalam otak.

13. Menjaga kebugaran badan
Banyak yang percaya bahwa dengan berolah raga, maka kemampuan berpikir/mengingat juga akan semakin menguat. Hal ini disebabkan oleh meningkatnya kadar oksigen dan nutrisi yang dialirkan ke dalam otak, sehingga merangsang sel-sel otak untuk tumbuh lebih pesat. Meski penelitian belum membuktikan pandangan ini akurat, rasanya tidak ada salahnya kalau dicoba.

14. Mencoba sesuatu yang baru
Dalam sebuah studi yang membandingkan orang-orang yang mudah mengalami burnout dengan mereka yang dapat mempertahankan kreativitasnya, diketahui bahwa kelompok yang terakhir dapat mempertahankan penampilannya karena terus berusaha menambah pengetahuannya. Jadi, siapa bilang membaca itu tidak penting?

15. Hindari hal-hal yang bisa membuat Anda tidak fokus
Saat berada dalam situasi chaos atau berisik di mana banyak hal-hal di sekitar yang mampu mengganggu konsentrasi. Seandainya harus mengerjakan sesuatu yang penting, akan lebih baik bila Anda mampu menjauh dari lingkungan tersebut, misalnya dengan menyendiri di tempat sepi supaya lebih berkonsentrasi.

Satu hal lagi yang tidak boleh dilupakan adalah untuk tetap mengobarkan semangat (rasa cinta) Anda terhadap pekerjaan yang sedang dilakukan! Dalam sebuah penelitian yang dilakukan seorang psikolog Belanda terhadap master dan grandmaster catur menunjukkan bahwa tidak ada perbedaan tingkat kecerdasan diantara mereka. Satu-satunya yang membedakan adalah : para grandmaster menyukai dan menghayati permainan catur. Ini menunjukkan bahwa semangat seseorang adalah pemicu yang paling baik bagi kreativitas. Coba saja kalau tidak percaya!

Niat Untuk Mengubah Masa Depan

Pernahkah Anda merasa bahwa di tahun 2002 yang baru berlalu tersebut, banyak kesalahan atau sikap yang ingin Anda perbaiki? Kalau jawabannya ya, berarti Anda merupakan salah satu dari banyak orang yang melakukan hal demikian. Memang sih, saat-saat seperti awal tahun dipercaya banyak orang mampu meningkatkan motivasi untuk memulai sesuatu yang baru. Namun sering kali niat mulia tersebut terkikis saking banyaknya hal yang ingin diubah sekaligus. Ingin mengubah kebiasaan marah-marah, malas, bangun siang, dan masih banyak lagi. Kalau ini dibiarkan, bisa-bisa tahun ini akan sama dengan tahun-tahun sebelumnya. Jadi daripada mubazir, simak kiat-kiat berikut supaya niat baik Anda bisa kesampaian.

1. Tidak perlu mencoba semuanya dengan sekaligus
Setiap pergantian tahun selalu saja ada godaan untuk mengubah nyaris semua hal, tapi jangan terpancing! Anda akan lebih memperoleh tingkat keberhasilan lebih tinggi dalam satu atau dua hal dibandingkan dengan daftar dosa yang bisa mencapai puluhan. Lakukan satu-persatu, toh belakangan Anda masih bisa menambah kalau satu-dua perubahan tersebut sukses dijalani.

2. Ucapkan dengan hati-hati
jangan paksa diri (secara tidak sadar) untuk mematuhi resolusi tersebut, karena hal ituhanya kan menjadi pemicu stres yang pada akhirnya akan membuat niat memulai sesuatu yang baru gagal total. Kita misalkan niat Anda tahun ini adalah berusaha lebih bersikap sabar pada orang lain. Jangan berpikir, “Tahun ini saya harus menjadi orang yang sabar” karena hal itu seolah Anda memaksakan diri untuk sesabar mungkin. Mungkin akan lebih baik bila pendekatan Anda menjadi, “Tahun ini saya akan berusaha menggunakan beberapa cara yang ampuh untuk melatih kesabaran.”

3. Lakukan perencanaan
Bila telah mendapatkan resolusi mana yang ingin Anda lakukan tahun ini, coba untuk mendeskripsikannya dengan terperinci. Tidak ada orang yang berhasil menjalankan sesuatu dengan melakukan semuanya sekaligus, yang terjadi nanti malah Anda kecewa dan membatalkan niat untuk berubah tersebut. Rencana tersebut tidak harus rumit, yang penting niat Anda bisa menjadi lebihkuat untuk menjalankannya.
Untuk relaksasi, Anda bisa mencoba cara-cara berikut :
a) buka-buka majalah atau situs internet untuk mengetahui berbagai teknik relaksasi yang ada.
b) Buat daftar teknik-teknik relaksasi yang Anda ketahui dan ingin mencoba.
c) Pilih salah satu dari teknik tersebut – meditasi atau hipnotis diri sebagai contoh – dan coba satu untuk setiap bulannya.
d) mencoba teknik-teknik berbeda setiap bulan sampai menemukan yang Anda sukai.

4. Tulis di kertas
Agar dapat selalu mengingatnya setiap saat, tuliskan hal-hal apa saja yang ingin Anda lakukan di tahun mendatang (dan sebelumnya belum pernah dilakukan) serta langkah-langkah konkretnya. Kalau perlu taruh di tempat-tempat yang mudah terlihat supaya Anda selalu ingat, misalnya di pintu lemari es. Hal itu juga akan memudahkan Anda bila sewaktu-waktu ingin mengubah resolusi tersebut seiring dengan berlalunya waktu.

Nah, tunggu apalagi? Jalankan sekarang dan buat hidup Anda lebih baik!

El Libro Blanco De Mi Vida

The White Book of My Life…

Meaning to say that I have to start writing on blank pages in the very first days in January 2007. I start a brand new beginning. Back to basic. It’s the GROUND ZERO of myself. That’s why I call this “The White book of My Life”

I have to leave all bad things behind. I have to be brave and I have to be tough. Life must go on. It ain’t over yet, simply I need to close one part of my life and I have to start new pages in a new book. It’s not easy at all bu I have to try hard and harder to drop my pen ink on it. I have to make a great maneuver to encounter this nightmare.

El Libro Blanco De Mi Vida…Perdido Sin Ti.

I was so lost without you my guiding star. I was so lost!

But now, it;s the time for me to wake up and to stand up once again. That’s what life is all about, we fall down and we stand up – asleep and awake.

The white pages are ready to be written, to be filled with love to be filled with new spirit, new beginning and new plans, and we go on forward and never look back! NEVER!

Whatever will be will be…My life will never be the same if I take control.

Be brave and tough, Reiza!!! Life is yours! live it! Never waste it!

Work and do a lot of things as if you live forever, and pray to the Almighty as if you died tomorrow! Keeop going boy, keep going. You are a young man of potential. Don’t waste it. Don’t be sorry for yourself! stop regreting! stand up and reach out your dreams and help others! That’s is more important than thinking about something that is out of your capacity, and beyond your limit. Let if flow! be strong and be brave!

May the Almighty will always be with you as long as you live!!

Be tough, Reiza! Yourself will never leave you, I’ll stay here with you till the end of time. You can’t turn back time and you will never be able. Live it through without regret.

Face it with your brave heart because life will never be the same if you take control!

Stay cool and stay calm. Wisdom will lead the way for you to future.

El Libro Blanco De Mi Vida, I am ready to live my brand new life. Here I come!

REBORN!

The Treasure in Me

Treasure of ourselves is something so precious…and I just found it yesterday!

Sometime and most of the time we are looking for things. We are searching for something that we want out there. But remember, look inside yourself what you are looking for, first. You might have it inside there! Trust me.

It is the same case as if you are wondering what is going on. Ask yourself first. You might have the answer. Find it in yourself.

This is the treasure that God gives to us. We have everything we need and we want inside ourselves, but we are simply to hesitant to find it inside. We prefer to lok for it outside. We ask someone else. We look the treasure somewhere out there. Till we realize that we are lost in the middle of nowhere.

Your treasure is inside. It won’t go anywhere. It stays there as long as you keep them and as long as you nurture them.

We are rich. We are beautiful inside. We have to know it. and we must take care of it.

I was looking for someone who can really help me to organize my youth campaign and after long searching I found nobody, but guess what? I found this person, the right person who can really help me succeed my youth campaign, in the office!

This is what I call the beauty or prosperity of ourselves. Ask yourself first to figure out what you have inside. Remember you are always with your spirit within.

I feel so blessed to have such treasure. I am very thankful to God that I found it. Just know the basic principle. Ask yourself! I also would like to thank an Uzbekhistani guy who thought me this principle. Thank you for the lesson. I will remember this in my life. This is also self-empowering attitude that’s sometime forgotten.

Find the beauty and the treasure of your own before you look for it outside!

Push Yourself Push It Hard

Illuminating…

That’s what I can feel rite now towards myself: ILLUMINATING. I eventually could touch and work on the Communication Manual for the UNESCO Office Jakarta. After a while, I was in a state of moody feeling, today this morning after pushing myself to work on this project – concept – I eventually did it!

I did it! I made it!

Now, I must finalize the concept and furnish the layout of the paging, so it looks nice when it’s presented to the Director. This is what I want to: IMPROVEMENT.

It’s been three weeks I’ve been in not productive stage at all. Too many confusion, disappointment and feel so unsatisfied. It was horrible feelings that I have ever felt. It’s a great loss of precious time when you actually could finish your jobs in a day or two. But you realize that your mind drive you away from the will and motivation to finish them all at once. So, you delay and delay until you realize that the time is up. And you regret.

I think that the worst enemy of everyone in this life. They sometime think that time is enough, I still have time so they delay their jobs to be completed and they are simply too relaxed and…lazy. Don’t get drown into your self-laziness, fight it. You must take the control. Never let them control yourself and bring you to the end of a cliff, than you fall because you’re imbalanced.

Wake up!! Time is running fast.

You must also have Personal Timing Management (PTM) integrated with Personal Self-Control Management (PSCM) to bring you to your personal goals. It’s very necessary to learn as everyone of us needs to be able to control ourselves to work together with our heart and mind to go to our destination through the right direction.

I know that most of us – young people – think that our time is long, yet we feel so enthusiastic somehow a litle bit lazy to bring our dreams into reality.

Most people ask the secret or the key success of celebrities or successful people, public figures. In fact we’ve got the answer: Ask Yourself! Ask yourself first to answer the questions, find the answers within yourself, you’ll find them! youself is the treasure you long to find. Once you find the treasure within, you will love yourself more and more everyday. You find your SECOND-HALF self! He is the best buddy you will ever have in this life. You will love him as a part of yourself. Control it!

Again. Today was somehow so motivating, not that much till’ I eventually finished the basic concept of the Communication Manual for the office. Thankfully! After pushing hard myself to get through it. I did it!

You can use the basic conception that I made above:
Personal Timing Management (PTM) + Personal Self-Control Management (PSCM) = success

I hope that this little formula can help you to complete your every single task you are doing . So, you have to take control of the time – time frame – and you also have to control yourself to focus on that particular task. You know when and where to focus on what.

If you are in office: forget about your family problems – don’t think about it too often as it will distract your concentration. If you are at home: never bring your office homework, you’ll get frustrated whereas you must be relaxed at home. So, start taking control of yourself and your life.

Life is simply too beautiful to mix up things in the wrong place and time.

Use your time wisely and control yourself carefully.

PR stands for Public Relations or Personal Resolution

what to describe: PR
is that Public Relations, no?

Hell yeah…I find another term for what PR stands for: Personal Resolution.

Let’s get it on. Why I suddenly get this thinking? it’s because we are COUNTING DOWN before New Year 2007 is coming. We must make a personal resolution fo the year 2007. We can make it by evaluating the resolution we have made for the year 2006.

Time definitely flies..so fast; as fast as a mouse click and as fast you turn up your handpalm! It feels like I just made my 2006 resolution yesterday and NOW I have to make my resolution for the year 2007.

In general, I want to be better and do better than this year (2006). I want to achieve and put some plans into action. I have actually five-year personal resolution that I made until year 2010 – until I turn 27 – when my International Relations lecturer asked the class to do so. I did it. I made it up to 101 wish list – to do list – for another 5 years time. It was not so bad, At least I have some dreams on the list already, and now it’s the time for me to make them, one by one come into reality, so they won’t stay in that wish list forever, till the end of time. no way.

So, to make your Personal Resolution more challenging, you also have to make a Public Relations program to bring them into action. Yoou can PR-ing your resolution to your good friends, best friends, boy/girl friends, parents and families, so that they will support you when they know what do you want and what do you want to achieve in year 2007.

But don’t tell people about your resolution only tell those who really know you, who you think will support you to succeed your 2007 resolution. If you tell people you don’t know, or those who don’t really like you they will mess up your plans.

You can work them out, slowly but sure…

Remember three good attitudes of a successful worker: fast-working, hard-working and smart working.

You work out your resolution with those three attitudes. You should work fast to catch up the deadline, you should work hard to realize them (forget a little while about laziness) and you should work smart – you make set some strategies, tactics to succeed your yearly resolution.

Those three working attitudes will be completed by another three personal attitudes: commitment, dedication and integrity add also a little professionalism in your working attitudes. I ma sure you will be able to succeed almost 80% of your yearly resolution.

Don’t forget also to pray. Balance your spiritual needs, the rest you can wait for the results. You follow the process of them to complete.

Well, I think that’s about Public Relations and Personal Resolution, both will work. Again, trust yourself that you can succeed your plans next year.

I want to say a very early NEW YEAR greeting:

Happy New Year 2007
I hope we all can be better people in this life
I hope we all can be the hero for this planet
I hope we all can be the saviours for ourselves

Last, happy planing your 2007 resolution