Study Grandmaster - The Blog

Inspiring Song

// March 8th, 2010 // No Comments » // Success Stories, The Study Grandmaster's favourites, You can be Happy

I remember during my school days, I not only excel in academic, but also in sports as well. This song “One Moment in Time” by Whitney Houston really inspired me to succeed in life and to become a Study Grandmaster. Though it is an Olympic Theme, it inspires me in all aspects of life.

Go after your dreams, nothing can stop you.

Enjoy the song!

watch?v=1cCq46Dfgkk&feature=related

Each day I live
I want to be a day to give the best of me
I’m only one, but not alone
My finest day is yet unknown
I broke my heart for every gain
To taste the sweet, I faced the pain
I rise and fall,
Yet through it all this much remains

I want one moment in time
When I’m more than I thought I could be
When all of my dreams
Are a heart beat away
And the answers are all up to me
Give me one moment in time
When I’m racing with destiny
Then in that one moment of time
I will feel, I will feel eternity

Continue Reading

All the best for the A level students this year!

// March 6th, 2010 // No Comments » // News and Updates

To all my ex-students from last year, I hope that you are on your way to being a grandmaster!

THE results of the GCE ‘A’ Level examinations were released on Friday, with this year’s cohort doing slightly better than last year’s.

Of the 14,212 students who sat the examination last year, 12,488, or 87.9 per cent scored at least three H2 passes, with a pass in General Paper (GP) or Knowledge and Inquiry (KI). This is a 0.2 per cent improvement over last year.

Students received their results at 2.30pm from their respective schools.

At Raffles Institution, 598 students, or 47 per cent of those who sat for the A-level examinations, scored four H2 distinctions. This cohort of students was the first in both schools to go through the Integrated Programme (IP) from Secondary 1. Previous IP batches had started the programme in Secondary 3.

RI’s top scorer is Pan Zixiang, who obtained distinctions in 13 academic units for nine subjects, including German and Higher Chinese.

Another top RI boy is Chen Sihan, a Chinese scholar, who scored 12 distinctions for nine subjects.

Over at Hwa Chong Institution, 216 out of its 1,000 A-level students scored seven distinctions or more, with Lee Jia Li, 18, topping with nine distinctions

Procrastinations and rebuttals

// March 1st, 2010 // No Comments » // Study Techniques

* I’m not in a good mood and I don’t write well when I’m not in a good mood - I’ll do it later when I feel better.
** Rebuttal:  Nothing will make you feel as good as getting something done.  The main reason for your bad mood is that you don’t really want to do this task, so getting it out of the way will feel great.

* Life is so hard - I can’t believe I have to do this unpleasant task.  I’ll even it out by doing something more fun first.

** Rebuttal:  Yes, life is hard, and it’s terrible that you have to do this task.  That’s why you will reward yourself after you do the task.  Otherwise you’re applying backwards conditioning, which doesn’t work.  And don’t forget to plan enough fun and relaxation time into your schedule.

* I’ll definitely do it, in a minute or so
* Rebuttal:  Set a timer, or that minute could last 2 hours. When the timer goes off, do the task.  Even better, do it now!

* After this bad thing is over in my life (tests, assignments, homework etc.) my life will seem easier and I’ll be able to do my task on a daily basis.  So I’ll wait until then.

** Rebuttal:  Life is always like this.  You can afford to do 15 minutes of work today, can’t you?  This is the one small act you can do to make your life a little better.

* I just don’t feel like it
** Rebuttal:  So what?  Do it anyway!  If you wait until you feel like it, the task will get done in 10 years if you’re lucky.  They only way to make yourself feel like it is to get started and get into the flow of the work.

* Why do just a little today - I’ll do double tomorrow - I work better when I feel pressure anyway.
** Rebuttal:  It’s a fallacy that you work better under pressure. It’s not true, because anxiety reduces creativity and clear thinking.  And doing double the next day will backfire.  You will feel less like doing it tomorrow because you’ve decided you must do double the work, and it will seem more overwhelming and less appealing, so you’re even more likely to put it off until the next day.

* I can only work in one place (the library, a café, my classroom) and that place isn’t available or I can’t get there - so there’s no point in working at all.

** Rebuttal:  You’d be surprised how much work you can get done no matter where you are.  Even if you don’t have your laptop with you, you can pull out a scrap of paper and write down a few notes on what you’d like to accomplish in the section you’ve been working on.  Try it!

* I’m not sure how to do this - I don’t know how sitting down and writing will enable me to do it — it’s just hopeless so why even start?

** Rebuttal:  If you’re not clear enough on what to do, writing may be the only way to get you out of this state.  If you truly need help from someone else on this problem, you need to write down the questions clearly.  The process of writing them down may clarify the issue for you.

* I didn’t write well yesterday, so today will be terrible.
** Rebuttal:  Often bad writing days are followed by better ones.  The reason to write daily is that your brain is still plugging away on it while you’re doing other things or sleeping.  So you may surprise yourself today!

The ‘Before’ and ‘After’

// February 22nd, 2010 // No Comments » // Grandmaster Habits

The Study Grandmaster sees all the advertisements on TV and the papers that show slimming centres showing the before picture of a really fat woman and then the after picture of the same slim confident woman. It seems that magic can be done in such a very short time. In some things, you can change things in the blink of an eye.

However, do you think you can change from a failure to an A scoring student just like that too? Using magic right, dream on.

The time between the ‘before’ and ‘after’ of success is where people suffer the most. You see Phelps and Bolt getting golds in the Olympics like its a stroll in the park. Do you really think success drops down from the sky for them. The suffering part is what these people will never tell you about.

Continue Reading

Does the Grandmaster fail?

// February 15th, 2010 // 2 Comments » // Grandmaster Habits, Study Techniques

Looking back at my long history, I can’t remember how many times I have failed. But I don’t perceive them as failures. I perceive them as learning oppurtunities. Everytime I did a mistake, be it during exam or other areas of life, I will ask myself what have I learnt from this. Then I will commit myself to not making the same mistake again.

You see, failure is not the mother of success. If you didn’t learnt anything from your failure, chances are you will commit the same mistake again. It is just like walking into a shithole. If you accidentally drop inside one day, you will curse and swear and climb your way up. But if you did not learn that there is a shithole there, you will most probably drop into it again.

Continue Reading

Punching bags work!

// February 8th, 2010 // No Comments » // Health and fitness

Feeling stressed? Go get a punching bag. The more punches you hit, the more pressure you relieve. Imagine the punching bag being the only thing between you and the As that you need to get at the end of the year. Then focus on just punching the bag to submisson. Make sure that you try to rip the punching bag but not your hands. At the same time, you get pretty nice bruised up knuckles and a real rush of adrenaline.

Continue Reading

Simple Stuff, Strong Medicine!

// February 3rd, 2010 // No Comments » // Success Stories

Dear Sir,

I wish to thank you for writing the book, “The 10 Step Study Formula” It is really effective and simple to read.

I am a secondary 2 boy and I didnt do well for my PSLE. It is mainly due to my fault for not having the motivation to study. As a result, I ended up in a neighbourhood school. I tried putting in effort but I tend to give up halfway as I found the information too much to absorb. As a result, my results suffered further.

But after reading your book, I fould out that it is not a matter of how haard I study, but rather, how I study. I learnt to make my own notes and use memory skills that you taught in your book to help me memorize better. I realized that close to 80% of the stuff in my textbook are not relevant at all! I just have to identify the crucial 20% and make them into my own notes.

I found memorizing more simple and fun now. And my results improved a lot during my last exam. I felt more confident and capable after reading your book.

Thanks for your help and looking forward for eve greater stuff from you.

Regards
Kevin Ng
Student, Singapore

To find out more about Study Grandmaster’s Resources, visit http://blackmarket.studygrandmaster.com/

Terry Fox, the Determined

// February 1st, 2010 // No Comments » // Health and fitness, The Study Grandmaster's Idols

Heard of Terry Fox, the Canadian marathon runner? Well, at 18, Terry was diagnosed with cancer and had to have his right leg amputated.

Most people would see this as a tragedy and never, in their wildest dreams, would they see themselves running. Not Terry Fox. This courageous man decided that he would use this experience to raise money for cancer research and make a difference to all cancer sufferers. So, despite having only one leg, Terry started to run across Canada to raise a million dollars.

Continue Reading

The 6 Driving Emotions in Our Lives

// January 25th, 2010 // No Comments » // Grandmaster Habits, Study Techniques, You can be Happy

Contrary to what we think, it is not logic which drives most of our behaviours but rather, it is our emotions. We humans are creatures of emotions. Even a Study Grandmaster like me is no exception. In this teaching, I would like to share a powerful insight that I have used to help thousands of students to understand themselves, break their habits and addictions, get motivated to study and reconcile relationship issues.

Have you wondered why it is seems so difficult to change our habitual behaviours? The reason is because our decisions and behaviours are driven by our emotions more than by our logic. Logically, we want to stop smoking or stop overeating, who does not know that smoking and overeating is bad for our health? I am sure everyone knows, yet many people are still doing it repeatadly. The reason? They satisfy their emotional needs.

At the same time, we all logically want to study hard and score As in our exams. Yet, why are there still so many students lazing around, even during exam times. The reason is because they do not feel the motivation to study as their emotional needs is not satisfy by studying. As a Study Grandmaster, I constantly makes studying satisfy my emotional needs. That is why I am so motivated to study at all times. I will share with you later.

In order for our behavior to change, you must first understand that our decisions and actions are driven by these 6 emotional needs. This is why we sometimes do things that don’t make any sense at all. We do it simply to meet these 6 emotional needs. So, what are these 6 emotional needs?

Emotional Need 1: Certainty

The first emotional need is the need for certainty. It is a sense of security we all need to feel that things will be okay. It gives us peace of mind and assurance.

Although we all have the need for certainty, we do different things to meet this need. For example, when you feel stressed, worried, or uncertain, how do you meet your need for certainty?

Some people use destructive behaviours like over-eating, smoking or drinking alcohol. It helps them get ino this ‘high’ mood where they feel that everything will be ok, only to find out after the feelings went over, that their uncertainty still remains. Others get certainty by imposing their will on other people or by losing their temper.

At the same time, there are constructive behaviours to get certainty. Many people pray or use religion to get that sense of certainty. While some people, adopt empowering beliefs like, ‘ I know I can succeed this time’ or they simply have faith in themselves. Others get certainty through exercise, reading in books to strengthen their beliefs or confiding in a friend.

So, think about this. How do you meet your need for certainty? And Is it constructive or destructive to you? If it is destructive, how can you change it to make it constructive and yet satisfy your need at the same time?

Continue Reading