Sunday August 13, 2006
Motivational tools
BY BRIGITTE ROZARIO
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Singer Sharizan Borhan (pic) started thinking about the future when he became a father. Concerned about how he would provide for his three children, as well as build his career, he turned to motivational books.
Sharizan admits to indulging in reading merely in the past six or seven years. As a child, he read comics, but mostly, he watched TV. In secondary school, it was schoolbooks that occupied his time.
Today, even though he still watches a lot of TV (to get ideas for work, he says), Sharizan usually takes a book with him wherever he goes – whether it’s to meetings or recording sessions, or the airport. He reads while waiting for his flight, or to meet people at appointments.
“I tend to read more motivational stuff. I didn’t go to college so I had to pick up education from the street. I read to get bits of knowledge here and there.
“Motivational books give me an idea of what other people think about certain things – all of which can be applied to what I do. I need tools that I can apply to my business. These are the things they don’t teach you in school.”
The book that got him started on the motivational path is Rich Dad, Poor Dad by Robert T. Kiyosaki. “It’s more on money management and financial management. In school, they also don’t teach you how to invest.
At the end of the day, when you have to start everything on your own, you really need to set up a small business empire and think of your retirement plan. You have to do something that will last for the next 25 years. My entertainment career will probably be over in another 10 years. What’s going to happen then?”
“How to Get Rich by Donald Trump is another very interesting book. Basically it’s about how Trump approaches things, and attitude changes. If you want to be successful, you’ve got to be a go-getter. This book helps you prepare, mentally, for that.
“Recently, my wife, Samantha, gave me Think Like a Billionaire, also by Trump. It’s about how you present yourself.”
Sharizan also has books related to the music industry. He bought Jim Pettigrew’s The Billboard Guide to Music Publicity in London, together with How to Make it in the Music Business by Sian Pattenden.
The latter shows the job scope and stress levels of different jobs in the music industry, he explains. “We get to learn a bit of everything about how the business works and what the roles are within the industry. This helps a lot in my business,” says Sharizan, who has a recording company called Voice Creations.
The one book in his collection that probably stands alone is The Other Side of Mahathir by Zainuddin Maidin.
“I really enjoyed reading it. I’ve always looked up to Dr Mahathir – he’s always been like a father to me, albeit from afar. I lost my father at the age of six. Sometimes (when that happens) you look for a father figure and somehow, I picked Dr Mahathir. This book tells about his life, what happened at Umno, and how he was kicked out of the party at one point.”
Sharizan, who occasionally emcees and does voiceovers, is currently reading another Trump book, as well as one on network marketing. He has just released an album called Timeless.
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