Lack of updates.. and a view on life..

Dear Blog Readers

I'm horrendously sorry for the lack of updates. Really, I am. While a ton of excuses would never suffice to explain my inability to blog, I must thank those of you who expressed 'desire' at wanting to read my load of trash. This next entry, I guarantee you, is far from trash. In fact, its the most precious piece of sharing I hold dear and personal until now. Well, since my last update sometime back in March, things have changed both on the work front as well as to my personal life.

-Work-

A couple of months back I took up a job offer with a US-based MNC to head up a new division which they formed and am currently overseeing their Asian operations. It certainly gave me a rejuvenated vote of confidence in my abilities as well as reaffirmed a belief I have always held on fast to.

Childhood...

I am a grand total of 24 years and 5 months old as of writing, not exactly young, neither am I old. I was not born with a silver spoon in my mouth, let alone even a spoon. As far back as memory serves me, we had to rent a tiny room where a happy family squeezed in every night but lived blissfully as Dad worked day jobs and studied to better himself at night, while Mum was trained to start training others (ok la she's a teacher, and still is very much passionately). I never knew what it was like to be rewarded for something good, until Primary 1, when we were doing better enough to finally afford a proper rooftop over our heads. This was when Dad completed postgraduate studies and through hard work managed to start getting promoted. Then a proper car came along, the type which had fascinatingly automatic windows and never leaked water on me whenever it rained. Things were looking up, I could feel it, but one thing I never understood was whenever I asked Dad what was it he worked so hard for, the answer would always come back as "For you all, just do your part and work hard". Back then the reply from me was also "oh ok.." although I didnt understand why I said that.

Primary school...

I always dreaded that column in school report books which demanded Parents Signature in bold, giving a menacing feeling whenever I gulped and presented it to Dad. Mum would never want to sign it as that would be tantamount to endorsing my laziness. Never a bright student, I so thankfully completed PSLE with better-than-expected grades and scraped into EM1 through God's immensely endless grace. This was the first time ever I was truly rewarded for something which resulted from my hard work, but I was also presented with words of 'wisdom' - "You should be working harder!". I never understood what that meant, let alone realise the importance of believing in one's self and the power of determination.

Secondary school...

Oh boy those were really fun-filled days. I joined a whole lot of ECAs, even got myself into some kind of funny leadership group which was core to executing the school's annual orientation camp for freshies. School competitions, national teams, you name it I've been in it. Then the reality struck. I played hard, and now was the time to think hard. Grades weren't as fantastic comparatively towards primary school results. But out of the entire experience, I realised what was core to where my interests and passions were. Without that, I would be absolutely nothing today. Of course God was still ever faithful to me, I was only referring to absolutely nothing in the eyes of the world.

Post-Secondary / JC...

The tough decision had to be made. I knew that I could never excel in life if I were to end up in JC, as my interests were in totall different areas. Why on earth did I have to study History, Mathematics C and Economics when that had absolutely nothing to do with what I aspired to be? Simple, parental decision. I was deemed to be still too immature in thinking, with my mind clouded with passions which could never turn into reality. The way forward seemed to be in excelling well in studies and through some magic repeat what I had achieved in Primary school. I was, afterall, in the top 10% of students in the country. Finally giving into my endless whinings during family dinners, my parents decided to allow me to pursue a course of study for Diploma in Computer Studies on condition that I still continued mugging for 'A' levels. The end result was rather surprising not just to family, but me. For the subjects which I mugged so hard for in the 'A' levels, day and night, tuition after tuition, extra lessons after lessons, I ended up just scraping through the education system. On contrary, I excelled in every single subject with clear distinctions in the computer course. And mind you - these two courses of study were pursued concurrently - I attended JC classes during the day, then hurried off after extra lessons to attend night classes, just in order to pursue my tiny little dream. No weekday passed with me reaching home before 11pm and setting off the next day at 6:30am sharp. With whatever little scrimps of time I had, you would find me reading a computer book, tearing through heaps of Pascal code, debugging programs for friends, and fighting with Dad for the limited 60 hours per month of 14.4kbps Internet access we had.

It (finally) paid off...

I realised I was not just one of the youngest students to have completed the Diploma program and 'A' levels in Singapore, but among the top few cohort in the world. Yes, I was gleaming with whatever ray I could borrow from the sunshine when the news broke. You see, tradition has never brought me up to believe that such things are possible. It always seems like a distant fairy tale to hear that a relative has excelled in a certain area, I have cousins who are made up of scholars, doctors, lawyers, you name it and its in the family. But the joy I felt within myself back then was simply beyond that which any words could describe. I finally understood what Dad meant when he told me "You should be working harder" back then. Because when you work hard, you believe in yourself, and never give up. If you believe in yourself, and trust in God to set the path right for you, He will likewise guide you accordingly. There is no need to fear about uncertainty, the unknown future or even the impending difficulties facing you. Just be strong, keep your chin up when the going gets tough, persevere, strive even harder, don't look back, always (and I say ALWAYS) believe in yourself and put your whole trust in God.

A pattern of recurring events...

Since then, I have never looked back. Why? Because I am firmly rooted in the belief that although I may not be among the brightest of minds out there, it is through God's wisdom that I have excelled in every aspect of work. We may choose different paths in life, but I did not have to worry about what to do, how to do it, where to begin, all was set forth and presented right before me. Just believe in myself and follow the Lord's leading. I really like this song in the Youth Hymnal which goes like "Shepherd of my soul, I give you Full Control, wherever You may lead, I will follow" as this really made up a great part of my life since the last days of school right up until this moment I am writing this. And I am sure that no matter what situation we are in, continue trusting. Never cease to pray. He will never forsake you.

What the future holds...

Nobody can possibly predict the future. But I know one thing is for sure. And I believe after reading up till this point, you should know what that is too. After putting in much hard work, I am richly blessed with a great job, ever-caring parents, adorable younger brother. What more could I ask for? Truly, there is nothing more I would desire anymore besides serving the Lord with a pure heart. At a fine young age of 24, I have a great job which pays more than 10 times what my peers are getting after they graduate (some dont even hit that tier), possess a self-built-from-zero net worth more than any one my age could dream of, am invited to speak at events held half way across the world, etc and quite a few other perks which I cannot think of. Isnt all this God's enormous outpouring of blessing on me? I cannot but agree wholeheartedly.

At this point in time, you may think that I am just being boastful just because i've got it good coming. No. I believe there are others out there in this vast world who are more capable and more successful than me. But I am here to tell you one thing. Never stop believing. Never stop trusting. Always put your trust in God. I am a living testimony of this, although there are many times which I fall short and get entangled in sin, He has never once given up on me. He knows my situation yet continues to shower heaps of blessing over and over again. My friends often observe what a workaholic I am and I often reply saying "The day after I stop working is the day I will die", not true I realised, in fact "The day I stop believing in the Lord is the day I will die" - both physically and spiritually. I do have friends who are so aimless and lost to the extent that they just do not know what to do with their lives, I really do have such friends, and all I can do is pray for them. So many times throughout the years have I encountered youths who are dejected, lost, afraid of tomorrow, escaping reality, and I really truly do not know how to help them. All I can do is share with them a glimpse of hope based on my struggle.

Nowadays you can simply head on to google and search for the words "get rich quick", "become a millionaire" or even "earn big bucks". I guarantee you will end up being made to purchase some e-book or subscription or worse still end up in an online scam. The hard reality here is, there is no other book in the world that is going to ensure you everlasting success (you already know which Book I am going to recommend). MLM schemes will tell you of perpetual get-rich-quick plans which end up making you pay them first. Money will run out over time, but faith is something which will follow you for life.

Dear friend/visitor/reader/whoever-you-are, I hope this sharing does not come across to you as a piece of self praise. If indeed that was the idea you got, I am truly sorry, and would rather retract what I have said here. The sole intention of sharing this insight into my experience is that I want to tell all of you out there who are lost and helpless to continue believing. Continue trusting. Simple faith is all that is required. You need to firstly begin trusting in yourself and in God, then purpose in your heart with such an unwavering promise that you will work hard for what you believe in (the right things of course). The rest is clockwork.

I do sincerely thank you for reading through my longest ever blog entry, but sincerely hope that you have gained a bit of faith in my little sharing. It is certainly with much hesitation that I decided to make such details public, as most of my closer friends would know I am a highly secretive person when it comes to such things. On the other hand - Neither am I am goody holy guy, believe me, you have to trust me on this, those of you who know me well enough would be the first to jump at such a sharing. Indeed, I am far from holy, let alone innocent, probably evil as I would admit. But with whatever bit of conscience I have left within me, I cannot possibly live with myself having known and experienced the immense grace that God is constantly bestowing upon me, yet choose not to pen this down. (even my dog knows how to thank me when I give her a bone, if I did not know how to give God proper due thanks, I would be worse than a dog).

Questions? I am always an email away.