ANZA Member Melissa Johnston offers an easy exercise to get that biggest of muscles working; your mind.

So what is mindfulness? It’s essentially boot camp for the mind; it enables individuals to find focus and calm in the craziness of the everyday.

When you go to the gym you lift weights to build muscle; you do star-jumps to build fitness. With mindfulness you undertake practice to train your mind (it is a muscle after all).

Mindfulness has many layers, so let’s start by just considering one. What do you do when someone in your team misses a deadline? When you get a rude email from a colleague? When you are reprimanded by your boss? When the sales pitch you have worked on for days is rejected? React, right?

As human beings, we are conditioned to do this. A reaction is driven from deep in our subconscious – so we don’t even think about it before we do it. We experience and we react. Hands up if you’ve fired off an angry reply to a rude email only to regret your reaction immediately.

When we react, we don’t always create the outcomes we desire. And it can become a vicious cycle – your angry email triggers a ruder email from your colleague that you react to… and so on.

In comes mindfulness. If we can train our minds we can turn our reactions into responses by creating space.

How? You remember your parents telling you when you were little to count to 10 and take a breath? We don’t always have the patience but it’s a concept to reintroduce. Mindfulness doesn’t happen overnight; just like going to the gym, it takes time to see results.

Remember, this is about focus and calm. It is hard to deny the benefits – whether you are a stay-at-home parent, a small business owner or a high-flying corporate type we can all benefit from being more mindful.

If you feel like making a start on your journey, take a look at the simple exercise. For more info, check out the Search Inside Yourself Institute and book (siyli.org) or connect with the ANZA Wandering Yogis for more practice options.

Mindfulness 101

This practice is designed to just run over a couple of minutes. Two minutes a day will still help to train your mind.

01.
Begin by getting into a comfortable seated position. Ensure you’re relaxed, but still alert. You can be on a chair or on the floor… just find a spot and body position that works for you.

02.
Now take three slow and deep breaths; in through your nose and out through your mouth. These are deliberate breaths while you bring your attention away from everything around you and onto your breathing.

03.
Continue to just breathe naturally. In and out… but take time to become conscious of your breathing. Can you find the space between the end of your ‘in’ breath and the start of your ‘out’? Just focus… if you find your mind wandering that is ok. Be aware and consciously bring your mind back to your breathing.

04.
Think of this exercise as a way to rest your mind. Breathe in and out… visualise somewhere peaceful and keep focusing on your breathing. Relax.

05.
When you are ready to end this practice, remain focused and say these affirmations in your mind. “(‘In’ breath) I am calm; (‘Out’ breath) I am happy.”

This month’s VOYA celebrates the ANZA members who give back to the community – like Toph Brown of the ANZA Scouts Group.

When did you first become involved with ANZA Scouts?
My son was one of the founding members of the second ANZA Scout Troop back in 2013 and I helped with some activities during the year. The following year the Troop was down to one leader. Grant Reid, an inspirational and dedicated guy, appealed for help and I saw it as a great chance to get involved.

What do you particularly love about working with the Scouts?
The feedback when working with youth is immediate; they are either enjoying it or not, and you know straight away. We’re lucky that the adult leadership group is highly collaborative, and it never feels like hard work.

Apart from obvious hands-on skills, what else do you think Scouts teaches the kids?
The best thing about the Scouting programme is that it encourages kids to develop independence and team work.
It’s a good environment to learn from both your successes and failures without being judged. The youngest Joey Scouts are only five-years-old so obviously need guidance and supervision, but by the time we get to Venturers (15-18 years) they are planning and leading the activities themselves. The adult leaders’ role by then is to mentor the kids and ensure a safe yet adventurous environment.

What are your plans for Scouts?
We have expanded the programme to cover ages 5-18 and in Joeys and Cubs we have parity between girls and boys. Having gender balance in ANZA Scouts and Venturers is the current goal. James Mansfield-Page and I would also like to establish a Rover Crew which continues the Scouting adventure to the 18-25 age group. It’s a great fit with the ANZA ethos of making friends and contributing to the community.

What are your dearest memories of Scouts as a kid?
It’s definitely not wearing shorts on freezing Melbourne nights! I have vivid memories of our Patrol entering a billy cart in a regional competition, and the wild ride down the hillside track. The billy carts had to have brakes and ours relied on a lever that dug into the earth. Simple but effective – and hair-raising when I actually used it.

How are your survival skills?
The Scouts‘ motto is very apt – ‘be prepared’. The biggest challenges if you’re lost are water and shelter, and if I go somewhere remote I make sure I have these two covered. When trekking, I also have a map and track our current location with GPS, just in case. Without going full Bear Grylls, some water purification tablets or a filter, and a good quality poncho should be enough to keep you safe until rescue comes.
Getting lost is never fun even for a short while, but I’d prefer it happened in the tropics than a harsher environment. I love jungle trekking and there is surprisingly little information around on it. We’ve been collating our own knowledge to make it more enjoyable and pass on learning.

What do you enjoy most about living in Singapore?
The people, the food and constantly finding new things to explore are the highlights. Singapore used to have a reputation for being sterile but that was always a superficial stereotype. I enjoy the subtle differences between neighbourhoods and the sheer amount
of cultural activity.

Where are your favourite places to get outside and enjoy here?
We are constantly exploring the outdoor destinations in Singapore, and regularly hike along the trails in the central catchment and Bukit Timah. If you go at night, you will see luminous fungus, fireflies and sometimes nocturnal animals. Please take care not to disturb the flora and fauna.
The ANZA Venturer Scouts love exploring old ruins such as the Marsiling Tunnels near the Causeway which are an incredible experience. This underground site was used during WWII to store aviation fuel and subsequently abandoned.

Tell us about a great little place.
If you’re interested in outdoor activities, then the Army Market on Beach Road is an essential destination. It’s on top of the Golden Mile Food Centre. The stalls have a wide range of adventure gear and the staff are always friendly. Afterwards, enjoy a meal at the hawker centre or cross the footbridge for Thai food at Gold Mile Complex.

Interested in joining ANZA Scouts? Click here for further info.

You’ve landed on new shores, or perhaps you’re ready for a new path on your career trek, and you’ve got plans to set-up in business. But have you really thought about what it takes to form a company in Singapore asks Charley Larcombe?

It took me forever to find a job. I rather arrogantly thought that down to international experience I’d find an Editor role not long after stepping off the plane. A week went by, then a month, then two… I was a total nightmare to live with because not only was I broke, bored and bitchy; I’m simply unsuited to not working. It reduces me to total laziness. You know that saying “if you want something doing, ask a busy person”? Yep, I had all the time in the world and I spent about half of it being productive by job searching and the other half fretting.
I also spent time looking into setting up my own freelance company. Researching ACRA and MOM and numerous other acronyms; talking to anyone I met who’d launched a business here; reading The Entrepreneur online every day… left me none the wiser. Especially as the information seemed to be so conflicting – and ever-changing. Nightmare.
Recently I met up with Katherine Chapman – you can catch her at one of the ANZA business events later this year. Her company, CSLB, essentially leads you through the jungle that is company set up here in Singapore. 45minutes with her and… well it’s still a jungle out there, but it is definitely possible to be the King.
As well as the numerous questions I had on business set ups, we did also discuss a couple of other options…

Stop. And think.
Your wife/husband/ partner is offered an incredible opportunity and you get caught up in the excitement of new adventures and all of the travel that makes Singapore such a good base. You hand in your notice and think that you’ll look for work once you land and once you’ve settled the most pressing issues – where are we going to live? Will the kids have a school space? Where stocks that familiar brand of coffee? There’s lots of chat from the respective HRs assuring your significant other that there are plenty – and most importantly easy – options for you. Oh how reality differs…
So take a breath and first of all talk to your employer – you may be surprised that they’ll be willing for you to work remotely.
Of course, this is all well and good but we’re already here; you’ve probably already done the move. It’s always easy to look back and say, “If only I’d…” – but maybe there is still the opportunity back at your previous role to enquire. It’s worth a shot.

Set up at home
“A Letter of Consent (LoC) will not be required when:

• The Dependent’s Pass (DP) holder is working for an overseas company from home; and
• The overseas company has no local presence; and
• The DP holder is not meeting or providing services to clients in Singapore.
• Therefore, you may still perform work for your overseas employer via telecommunicating from home if all the above requirements are met.”

So states the MOM. They don’t mind you working here… if you’re not really working here. If you’re working from home, on your offshore company and not meeting clients here in Singapore, you’re good to go. Being a boss. In your pyjamas. SOLD.
Alternatively, if you’re adamant about launching your business here, you really have two options.

A SOLE PROPRIETORSHIP

WHAT IS IT?
It’s a business owned by one person or one company. There are no partners and the Sole Proprietor (SP) has complete influence in the running of the business. If you are either a Singapore citizen, a PR, a foreign individual deemed as a person living outside of Sing’ or a local company, then you are eligible.

WHAT DO YOU NEED?

• Get approval for the business name with ACRA.
• Provide a description of the actual business – i.e. what will you be doing?
• Register the business address. Homeowners can conduct small-scale businesses out of their residential property as long as they’re not employing ‘external employees’ and must have written go ahead to use their homes for home office use.

ADVANTAGES

• It is the easiest and least expensive business structure to set up
• Terminating a SP is easier, less time consuming and less expensive than other business entities.
• You are free of the obligation of filing returns annually and only need to renew your membership either every year or three years.
• Profits of the SP are treated as income of the individual who owns the entity and this is subjected to a tax rate as that of personal income (0-20%).

DISADVANTAGES

• The registered owner is financially and legally responsible for all debts.
• Creditors may sue for debts incurred and can obtain a court order to claim your personal assets.
• Capital is limited to your personal finances and the profits generated by the company so business expansion is limited and difficult.
• You can transfer the business only by the sale of assets, not the name.
• To work for an SP, you cannot apply on an Employment Pass (EP).

WHAT DOES THIS MEAN?
A Dependent Pass (DP) holder can no longer set up as a SP – contrary to what you’ve heard or read in the past. The MOM still issues Letters of Consent for DPs to work for an SP owned by a Singaporean or PR etc. Ergo, if you have your Big Idea, you can go into business with a PR etc., but they own your business on paper – you take the risk of losing out.  The owner can request a LoC from the MOM that will enable you to work FOR the business. Most of the time, the owner is a friend you are setting up with, but to avoid any nasty surprises, protect yourself and them by drawing up an employer/employee contract.

A PRIVATE LIMITED COMPANY

WHAT IS IT?
It is a registered business under the Companies Act, Chapter 50 and is the favourable legal option. It has rights to own properties, has perpetual succession and can sue or be sued in its own name. It is locally incorporated with a maximum of 50 shareholders. Singaporeans or PRs are eligible.

WHAT DO YOU NEED?

—      Company
What are you called?!
Preferred registration date.
What you’re doing.
Registered company address

—      Ownership Details
Share capital amount (in $) & no. of shares
Allocation of shares among shareholders

—      Management Details
Confirmation of who will be the company Directors
Confirm that at least one is Singaporean or PR

ADVANTAGES

• Shareholders are not personally liable for debts and losses.
• Profits are taxed at corporate tax rates which benefit from tax exemptions and incentives.
• There are no taxes on capital gains so this allows private business to distribute dividends to shareholders without incurring any tax liability.
• Shareholders’ personal assets are protected
• Company shares can be easily transferred from one member to another.

DISADVANTAGES

• Directors must disclose their interest in the company’s shares, contracts and debentures.
• Governed by Singapore Companies Act and violations will result in penalties. Annual Returns and Directors’ reports are required and must be filed, so the company must have at least one Director and one Company Secretary
• Operation costs are higher
• Must maintain on-going compliance with ACRA/IRAS.

WHAT DOES THIS MEAN?
There is plenty left to cover with this option, but you’re still facing a similar issue if you’re here on a DP. Once the company is registered, directors appointed, share capital and shareholders shown, company address registered as well as a company secretary on the books, the PTE LTD then needs to set up a bank account – never the most straight forward situation. And only then can the company approach the MOM to request a LoC or an EP for you to again technically work FOR the company.

Essentially, it IS possible, but there are hurdles to overcome. This article gives you the basic overview and hopefully offers an insight into what may work best for you. If I was in your Big Idea shoes though I would still go and speak to someone like Katherine. As with any aspect of your business, you’ll want to be bouncing ideas off someone, gathering information or asking questions – and you may as well start from the set-up stage!

Feeling business-inspired? Meet Katherine Chapman at the final event in ANZA’s Helping You Understand The Job Market series (register here)?

Tatyana Kildisheva goes in search of adventure in West Papua.

Surely you’ve been to Indonesia. Most likely it was a Bali visit, or temple-hunting in Yogyakarta, or maybe a paradise island beach resort? However, there is another part of Indonesia, which is not often visited by tourists: West Papua. The island, which became Indonesian territory in the late ‘60s, still has ongoing conflict between its indigenous population and the Indonesian government and its settlers. Because of this in-fighting, it’s important that you get a trusted guide if visiting the region – but don’t let that put you off exploring this part of the world.
I have always wanted to visit Papua to see the indigenous tribes and to climb Mount Trikora (the second highest peak in Australasia), but it took a while to find partners adventurous enough to embark on this challenging journey. Eventually we succeeded and our small expedition included myself, my partner John and our fearless friends, Susanne and Thomas.
Looking at the map, Papua appeared to be only a stone’s throw from Singapore – in fact there were no international direct routes. Four flights and 30 hours after leaving Singapore, our small propeller plane landed in Wamena, the largest town in Baliem Valley.
Knowing close to nothing about Papua before going there, we quickly absorbed information from our Indonesian guide Nanang Link Sunarko (who had lived in Wamena for 16 years), and from simply observing the people and our surroundings.
There are over 300 indigenous Papuan ethnic groups living in the valley (the most prominent of which are the Dani, Lani and Yali), and every August they stop their tribal wars and get together in Wamena for a festival.
While there are quite a few problems with the local population including violence, substance abuse and high rates of HIV, watching the tribal festival unfold was quite a spectacle. There was dancing, never-seen-before musical instruments, concerts, singing, and mock warfare. Villagers showed up in their tribal attire, adorned with conch and bead necklaces, plant fibre skirts, animal tusks and teeth, bird feathers, and koteka (penis gourds). Their faces and bodies were daubed with paint, and they were carrying spears, bows and arrows. Needless to say it all looked super exotic to us and was huge fun to photograph.

After two days of the festival, we left Wamena and trekked through the mountains, staying with locals in their wooden huts with roofs made from long grass. We witnessed traditional ways of living off the land, like cultivating sweet potatoes and raising pigs. We saw the way a huge meal was prepared for the whole village with the pork and potatoes cooked in a hole in the ground. The ditch was laid with sizzling hot rocks, covered with grass, then layers of potatoes, pork and edible grass with more hot rocks on top. After a couple of hours the rocks were removed and the meal was ready for everyone to dig into. There was no need for cutlery and plates; it was just our hands and leaves.
As we spent further time in the villages, we learned a few facts about life in Papua. For example, money was not so widely used in the region; pigs were a much stronger currency. Men practiced polygamy; the more pigs they owned, the more wives they had. Some men never marry because they do not have any pigs. We met quite a few ladies who were missing parts of their fingers due to a custom to cut them off when a family member died to show grief. Many of the older women were missing most of their fingertips, which made for quite a shocking sight.
The next few days we spent walking to Mount Trikora. We climbed up and down quite a few hills and vertical terraces on the way, struggling with the terrain as there were no paths cut through. Very few tourists visit the area and there was absolutely no one around. Our permit, obtained from the authorities in August, was the first one issued that year. According to our Indonesian guide, on average about 30 people visit the mountain annually. If you try to do any research, there is literally no information on a Mount Trikora climbing route – hence why it’s so very important to have a knowledgeable guide, as it’s pretty easy to lose your way up there.
It was pretty warm during the day but very cold, windy and dark at night as we reached over 3,000 metres. It was super helpful to have hiking sticks, gloves, strong hiking boots and protective gaiters – put those on your must-buy lists – as we walked through the bush and, at times dropping down into wet parts of a swamp. The area was very quiet; there were no wild animals or even birds in those desolate highlands.

The mountain itself was a massive vertical face and very eerie looking as we scrambled over rocks and traversed its long ridges. The formations were very sharp; the bottom of my boots had numerous cuts from climbing over the piercing rocks. We even stumbled upon a propeller plane wreck; the last remnants of a crash that happened over 20 years ago. We never found out what exactly happened or how many people died. There was very little left from the plane, most of the debris blown by the winds and washed off by rain.
We spent the night before reaching the summit at the highest camp on Trikora, pitching our tents at 4,150 metres above sea level. The next morning we started out at 4am to reach the top of the mountain, climbing the final peaks, scrambling up and down the ridges. The climb didn’t require much special equipment but it was challenging with vertical cliffs, loose rocks and sharp boulders. It was best to hold on tight and not look down!
Despite the cutting wind and icy cold the views were amazing. The scenery was like the backdrop of a sci-fi movie. There were no signs of any life as far as our eyes could see. Only grey spikes of rocks under our feet and very dry land with thick brush and tall dead trees at the foot of the mountain.
We got very lucky with the weather at the top as it was sunny and bright, and gave us unobstructed views of the valleys. However, when we were trekking back down, the weather suddenly changed and it became cloudy and foggy. Visibility worsened and it took a while to reach the camp for the night. We were extremely happy and relieved to make it back in time before the darkness and cold set in.
The trek to the mountain and back took five days. Each night we passed out in our freezing tents, exhausted from the challenging physical activities of the day. All our porters, who took care of our gear and food, were Papuan and didn’t outwardly seem so affected. They were singing during our breaks from trekking and some painted their faces with berry juices and decorated their hair with flowers they found along the way.
For most of them it was their first trip to Mount Trikora and I hope they found it as adventurous as we did.