Doubt Me.

“Doubt if you must, it’s something I have grown accustom to. If people don’t doubt you it means you’re not pushing the boundaries, not daring to do something that can’t be done. The moment people stop doubting you it’s not because you won them over but rather because you lost yourself.”

– life experiences

From the start people will doubt you and your aspirations. In an attempt to clip your wings all types of methods will be used; no matter what you must resist the barraged of attacks. At the end of high-school after 4 years of planning to become a psychologist I discovered the world of economics. My plan for the next 10 years was scratched in 10 minutes as I frantically scrambled through my research to determine the prerequisites of my new dream.

The Chinese could not have built a greater wall than what stood between me and economics.

The hurdles added up to around 2 years of more schooling. I scurried over to my high school academic advisor to devise a master plan in which my dream would become a reality way sooner. Little did I know, she would doubt me.

“Shaaz, why are you trying? Just give up on this goal of yours. You can’t do this it’s just too much for you. Stop and settle for what you have; you would probably need 3 years of schooling to get the perquisites. There is no way this can be done.”

Some great Academic Advice eh?

So I picked up the pieces of my shattered goal from the floor and made a quick exit. After some consulting with my family and other sources (you can smell my sheer determination at this point, never give up), the solution was found!

Take that Risk

I had a meeting with the department of economics at Carleton which produced a a risky choice. I could take a harder version of  grade 12 calculus at Carleton (some hybrid version which means more in-depth/challenging) and VOILA  I would be majoring in economics at uOttawa. However, the chance to waste money, time, rejecting job offers and failing was high as I had ZERO experience with math at that level.

Of course I took the class.

LONG days LONG nights and NO Summer with LOTS of stress. On average 5-6 hours of studying a day everyday period.

Raw brute force.

Result?

Determination worked as I finished in the top 10% percent of the class with a 79%.  Proved a good amount of people wrong but more importantly proved to myself I could live out my dream, no matter how tall those walls were.

Now I am only 7 months away from my degree in International Economics and Development with a minor in Business Administration. I have 3 years of government work experience. I have the privilege to be the VP Finance of uOttawa’s Tennis League and  the VP Academic uOttawa’s Economic Student Association. Furthermore, I been lucky enough to embark on a 20 day economic delegation to China and Malaysia as a Trade Ambassador.

This message  is not about me or my life but rather about the powers of doubt itself.

Keep pushing the boundaries and doing what’s not possible time and time again.

So for those people please continue to doubt me and MTG.

It only means good things are coming our way…

Mind the Economy: “Currency War” made simple

How do Currencies and Interest rates play off each other?

More recently, many developing countries have had to contend with their own currencies rising and undermining their competitiveness.

The problem is that those low interest rates in the developed world have led investors to seek higher returns elsewhere, in emerging markets.

To invest in those markets, they need to buy the currency and that pushes its value up. That in turn makes those countries’ goods more expensive for foreign buyers and the overseas investment money creates a danger of unsustainable bubbles in their property and financial markets.

China has stopped its currency rising much by buying foreign currency. If it were to refrain from that and allow the yuan to rise, it would probably help other developing countries that compete with China, as well as the US which is protesting the most.

But there is another force behind the rising developing world currencies. Their economies are growing robustly, while the rich countries are not.

The tension over between the US and China over currency policy surfaced once again at the International Monetary Fund Talks

USA renewed the pressure on China to allow its currency to rise. The US has a long-standing grievance over China’s currency policy, which limits the movement of the yuan against the dollar. The American complaint is that it gives Chinese exporters an unfair competitive advantage.

There was a vigorous response from Zhou Xiaochuan, governor of China’s central bank (The People’s Bank of China), who blamed the rich countries for problems in the currency markets. Mr Zhou said extremely low interest rates in rich countries had created “stark challenges for emerging market countries”.

My Thoughts on the Gap.

Tensions are rising among the developing world and developed as priorities on currency (non)manipulation begin to clash. However, should a country stop manipulating its currency in the name of “fairness”?

Destabilizing the economy in the short run, running the risk of damaging the private sector as businesses go bankrupt; jeopardizing an economy’s growth and ability to reduce poverty  does not sound “fair”. The notion of “fair” implies morals which begs the question: who is making these moral rules?

WTO….IMF….WB……USA…..CHINA…..WALDO?????

International Economics is a game where rules are subjective but actual substantive growth is tangibly objective. I am not for currency manipulation but neither am I for irrational and sudden policies  that would jeopardize  an entire economy….especially not the economy that’s the driving force of world growth in terms of consumer consumption ….

-Articles combined from BBC & CBC

ASIA IS TAKING OVER THE WORLD!

WHHAAAATT?!

Calm down

Asia is taking over the WORLD wide web.

Coming back from the economic trade delegation in China and Malaysia I thought to myself about Asia’s role in the Internet market. After traveling to India many times it was clear that the Internet was increasingly becoming an integral part of society but not through the use of PCs. In China and Malaysia the market was booming as we met with countless companies that pointed to the use of the Internet. Many people think developing countries are not “advance enough” for Internet usage…oh they lack the required infrastructure…well lots of people are wrong.

Looking at a McKinsey Report here are some fast facts to grab your attention

• Over the next 5 years nearly 700 million more Asians will start using the internet
• Internet opportunities in emerging Asia could reach $80 billion by 2015

Now we move on to what McKinsey has to say

Malaysia

While the country has only around 15 million–plus Internet users, that’s close to 55 percent of the total population, and mobile Internet penetration is close to 30 percent of it. Given the Malaysian government’s push to expand high-speed broadband, we forecast that the country will have up to 25 million Internet users by 2015, or close to 80 percent of the population. As both fixed and wireless broadband grow, we project that more than 50 percent of all users will choose to have both personal-computer and mobile-device options for getting online.

Malaysians consume 35 percent more digital media than Internet users in China and 150 percent more than users in India, particularly on social-networking sites and instant messaging. That may, for example, give handset manufacturers opportunities to build social-network access into their devices. We also found that Malaysians like to multitask across both digital and traditional media. For advertisers, that’s problematic, since viewers are paying less attention to traditional media content—and thus advertising.

China

China leads the world in sheer numbers of Internet users—more than 420 million people, or close to 30 percent of the population. Over 80 percent surf the Web from home, while 230 million use mobile devices. We forecast that the number of Internet users will almost double over the next five years, hitting 770 million people, or 55 percent of the population. More than 70 percent will use both PCs and handheld devices.

China’s digital usage, which is similar to that of the United States, skews toward instant messaging, social networks, gaming, and streaming video. Increasingly, Internet users in China are substituting digital media for traditional ones, with the potential for further cannibalization as digital consumption grows. This development has stark implications for advertisers and how they allocate future marketing budgets. Consumers, meanwhile, also use the Internet in their purchasing decisions. They are more influenced by recommendations from social-network contacts and friends than by traditional marketing messages or visits to company Web sites.

India

With only 7 percent of the population connected (81 million users), India is Asia’s digital sleeper. Yet we believe that it’s poised to become a truly mobile-Internet society as new users leapfrog PCs altogether. We project that by 2015, the number of Internet users will increase almost fivefold, to more than 350 million—28 percent of the population—with more than half of those accessing the Web via mobile phones. To capture this opportunity, companies will need to roll out wired and wireless broadband networks aggressively, to make smartphones and network access more affordable, and to develop new content types.

Consumer demand clearly is robust. On average, Indians spend more than four hours a day consuming online and offline content. On PCs, often used in cyber cafés, Indians spend much time e-mailing and are heavy consumers of downloaded videos and music, as well as DVD movies. While Indian consumers use mobile phones predominantly for voice services, they also treat them as offline personal-entertainment devices, listening to radio stations or to downloaded music. There is significant pent-up demand for more convenient and personalized Internet access—a void the mobile Web could fill.

Embracing the opportunity

High hardware costs, inconsistent network quality, and limited access could check these optimistic growth prospects. But the extent of such barriers varies by nation, and there’s notable progress overcoming them. Construction of network infrastructure is proceeding apace—companies in India, for example, just spent nearly $25 billion on telecommunications spectrum. Meanwhile, hardware and access costs are declining in most markets. The biggest challenge is to make money while creating a variety of low-cost content.

Three issues are especially important:

• Innovators and entrepreneurs must develop content creation and delivery models priced low enough to compete against the pirated options currently available.
• Content and Web services providers need to foster the growth of local and regional advertising markets to help defray the cost of content creation.
• E-commerce platforms, including transaction systems that make purchases more convenient and trusted, must be developed.

At the same time, companies in consumer-facing sectors (for instance, automotive, packaged consumer goods, and retailing) will need to reconsider their marketing and advertising strategies in light of the shift away from traditional media. At stake is a significant competitive advantage in a region that already boasts more than half the world’s Internet users—and will only continue to grow.

Video: Shaaz in Chinese Microsoft Meeting

Junior Team Canada had a discussion with one the experts at Microsoft Asia-Pacific region in Beijing R&D Headquarters.

We went over were Microsoft sees the world in the next ten years as the expert provided us with extensive market analysis on various sectors within the industry. The Asia-Pacific region is playing an increasingly significant role in Microsoft’s global innovation strategy. They create cutting-edge of technology, innovating solutions that impact millions of people around the world.

They have a focus on their four core pillars of research, incubation, development and ecosystem partnership, their engineers and researchers are passionate about creating the world’s best solutions and experiences.

Emerging Markets
Countries in the Asia-Pacific form some of the top emerging markets. China has the world’s largest number of mobile device and consumer electronics users and the world’s second largest number of PC and Internet users. Its vast market and specific user needs such as SMS and online games inspire new forms of technology integration, while offering new business opportunities. Actively engaging theses emerging markets like China in the development of competitive technologies, products and services is the best way to bring the benefits of innovation to these markets and the rest of the world. Microsoft Asia-Pacific R&D discussed how they are  exploring areas such as healthcare, education and mobile technology.

We were the first ever group of Young Canadian Professionals to engage with Microsoft Asia-Pacific R & D!

Here is a brief video….it’s very random and after the presentation lol

TED.com comes to Ottawa!

TED (Technology Entertainment and Design) is a global set of conferences curated by the American private non-profit Sapling Foundation, formed to disseminate “ideas worth spreading”. The talks have been offered for free viewing online, under a Creative Commons license, through TED.com.

TED was founded in 1984 as a one-off event, and the conference was held annually from 1990 in Monterey, California. TED’s early emphasis, was largely technology and design, consistent with a Silicon Valley center of gravity. The events are now held in Long Beach and Palm Springs in the U.S. as well as in Europe and Asia, offering live streaming of the talks.

They address an increasingly wide range of topics within the research and practice of science and culture. The speakers are given a maximum of 18 minutes to present their ideas in the most innovative and engaging ways they can. Past presenters include Bill Clinton, Jane Goodall, Malcolm Gladwell, Al Gore, Gordon Brown,Richard Dawkins, Bill Gates, Google founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin, and many Nobel Prize winners.

Coming to Ottawa?

Yes, now a select few will have the chance to be filmed for 5 minutes in which the speaker will cover 1 life changing moment she/he has experienced thus far.  Another topic can be 1 life lesson that everyone should adhere to in order to succeed in life.

These mini ted inspired talks will be posted on Mind the Gap for all to learn from and discuss about!

The goal is to foster an environment where the citizens of Ottawa can use MTG as a medium to communicate to everyone….Ottawa is one of the most educated cities in the world…a responsibility  is bestowed upon us to share this knowledge.

I am drafting up the speakers from students and professional, if you want to take a shot at it …give me a shout through facebook or email.

Shaaz and Andrea on CBC LIVE!!!!!

Andrea and I will be on CBC’s Ottawa Morning tomorrow at 8 :15 am!

Ottawa Morning is Ottawa’s number one morning show, hands down. In fact, day in and day out, more people listen to CBC Radio One in Ottawa than to any other station in town.

Join Kathleen Petty and the Ottawa Morning team for a fresh take on what you need to know to start your day, and what you want to know to live your life.

We will cover our journey with Global Vision over the past 8 months and share the experiences we gained through the China Malaysia Economic delegation

Crazy Chinese Video by Shaaz and Potters in Guangzhou

As we entered our world class hotel, Mr. Potters was transfixed on the floating musical instrument….it was a white piano on some type of platform which floated on water (leave it to the Chinese to make something this epic).  Mr. Potters was tired from the long bus ride  and stated “this is some fine looking glass” as he jumped into the water (about 1 foot deep). He shortly realizes glass is not liquid as he scurries over to counter asking whether it was possible to dry his very nice shoes……

The man replies “Ah yes we will send them to the shoe cleaning centre”

we both replied “A SHOE CLEANING CENTRE?!?!!?”

about 30 mins later after we settle down in our amazing room, we decide to make a video ……..upon recording the Shoe Cleaning Centre enters the room by fluke….

The rest is history, enjoy the video of two very tired individuals being exposed to a world class hotel room.

please remember…we were running on 6 hours of sleep over 2 days…lol we were flipping out for no reason..also there was not a shanty town it was a construction zone…..it will all make sense once you watch the video.

I love Guangzhou. Good Memories.

I am Sorry.

While waiting for my airplane at the HK airport, I  was just thinking about Mind The Gap “MTG”….

This blog is about to go through a massive overhaul, it has not lived up to my standards thus far….. simply do to my unrealistic expectations of blogging/uploading videos everyday while on the actual mission.

Time was simply not on my time….nor was technology.

Regardless, MTG blog has been averaging around 60-80 hits day from various people on the net..and I am very grateful for the ones who follow my journey. It has been a ‘hit” in those terms…..

Restart

Once I create the new series of blogs, personal China/HK videos, and some good ol’ life lessons….MTG will be what my Communications Manger (William Greenwood) and I envisioned.  A portal of life lessons about the gaps between all of us, from economic to cultural.

William has worked very hard in promoting MTG…..but I feel like I have failed him and everyone by not fulfilling the  blogging quota as originally planned.

I will make up for this.

ps. there have been some people who have misunderstood “MTG” and are attempting to make a joke out of it.

It’s unfortunate, but I suppose you can’t win them all. For those who do appreciate what William and I are trying to do, thank you for your support….please feel free to offer some constructive criticism. We always love to hear from our followers!

Alright….next blog I will re explaining what “MTG” is all about.

Me at the Beijing Hotel

Shaaz in Malaysia and a HUGE “OIL” COMPANY

We have a meeting with Talisman Energy in a few hours so here is a bit of info on them…enjoy

Talisman Energy Inc. (TSX: TLM) is one of Canada’s largest petroleum SB companies. It was originally part of British Petroleum, known as BP Canada, but in 1992 it became an independent company named Talisman Energy. Based in Calgary, Alberta, Talisman Energy has operations around the globe including: Canada (B.C., Alberta, Ontario, Saskatchewan, Quebec) and the United States of America (Pennsylvania, New York) in North America; Colombia and Peru in South America; Algeria in North Africa; United Kingdom, Norway and Poland in Europe; Indonesia, Malaysia, Vietnam, Papa New Guinea and Australia in the Far East; and Kurdistan in the Middle East.

In the past the company grew mainly by mergers and acquisitions, and as such has a complex history and large diversity of holdings. Talisman is the first Canadian company to join the Voluntary Principles on Security and Human Rights Plenary Group and is a participant in the United Nations Global Compact.

The Company has a portfolio of international exploration opportunities. Talisman claims to be committed to conducting business safely, in a socially and environmentally responsible manner.

Shaaz on a HORSE?!

No I am not on a horse.

But I am in Hong Kong at the moment. I apologize for not uploading more blogs but we are very busy meeting with countless professionals trying to iron out deals for our sponsors. In terms of videos, youtube and emails were not working for me.

Regardless here it goes!

—

Shaaz gets a hair cut CHINA style (3 days ago)

At the four season Sheraton hotel I noticed they had an amazing hair solon, usually I prefer the barber back at home….but it’s not everyday I am in Guangzhou City. It was around 10 pm and I was dead tired, so I checked out the third floor and well..it was creepy.

4 Asians standing in a line waiting…

As I walked towards them they all shout out “HELLO HELLO HAIR HAIR”, I replied “yes”.

It was a gorgeous/ empty place with a red and black colour scheme, two of them grab my hand and rushed me to a modern looking room with crazy club lights/music. One guy washed my hair and gave a 10 min massage, while the other one measured my head. “good, gooooood” they both said with confidence, as they towelled down my head I sat down on the fancy astronaut chair and waited as they cleaned up.

I showed him a picture of what I usually get done, he was impressed and simply said,

“we begin”

20 mins later …

(he kept switching blades and scissors every 20 seconds while saying “perfect, perfect perfect”), we were done. However, the original guy jumps in slaps on a silk robe and throws me into the head shower/ massage place for another 10 mins.

no complaints from me

After a long day of hard work, crazy Asian hair cuts are amazing.

lol look what I am walking towards