23. Look backward to look forward.
It is apt for me to look back into my life and prospect into the future.
In secondary school, I still recalled having this little wish. It was “by 30, I will work hard to obtain my first 100k.” Looking back, it seemed impossible at that given time. By a stroke of luck, I attended Temasek Poly’s Diploma in Business and was part of PACEsetter. Through the 3 years, I met amazing friends – notably my group members. Their friendship is proven to be invaluable and I will treasure it. They had made many things possible for me. I strived for the best and achieved more than I expected – both from academics and holistic development perspective.
Subsequently, Mr Eric Quek and Mr Samuel Wee offered a job opportunity to work with Temasek Poly’s Centre for Character and Leadership Education. (I nearly did not get the job due to my enlistment date! I convinced them, anyway) It was an extremely enjoyable time working with my dear lecturers that became friends later on. We organised 7th Character and Leadership Education Forum for the public, and I met Dr Tim Elmore and his wonderful team.
During my stint, I was late for work one day. But by being late, I met a kind lady called Mdm Alice Lau in the lift. Later on, I found out she is part of the Entrepreneurship Centre. She always looked out for me, and asked me along for lunches. She also pursued me to apply for my SPRING scholarship again. I failed the first time. Although she was a bit disappointed I didn’t choose SMU, I did make her proud by attaining the SPRING scholarship eventually. My HR module lecturer, Mdm Philomea Lee, told me I was trustable and provided good advice too.
I am also grateful for my lecturer, Mr Daniel Ng, who recommended me a book called “One Up On Wall Street: How To Use What You Already Know To Make Money In The Market
During army, I was thankful for having the time to read. I devoted nearly 20% of my sergeant pay for book purchases from Amazon. I told myself, no one is ever going to be more interested in my growth than myself. I have to take ownership of my own growth. That’s why I started reading like a mad dog (woof!). Those books proven to be instrumental in my investing decisions but I still continue to learn every day from my surroundings. It was also during my BMT, right in my bunk, I met an acquaintance that became a closer friend today.Dave. A very down-to-earth individual with a keen and sharp mind for investing. We are both committed to grow together in values and in wealth.
Another group of people whom I like to thank, are people I got to know from the internet. They injected their own refreshing perspectives and proved to me, friendships from the internet are real. My internet friends are really smart, generous, kind and loving group of people. While I may never be as brilliant as some of them, they never made me felt any inferiority. I gained a lot from them.
With all humility, I don’t like to associate myself with my wealth. It is just a ridiculous idea to think that wealth is able to put you into a superior position than others. However, without any arrogance, I had even surprised myself with my returns in this few initial years.
The craziest decision that I’ve done in my life time was to drop my NTU’s bachelor in biz degree and SPRING scholarship altogether to pursue an investment analyst job in an ASX-listed company. The job is a beautiful marriage between two of my interests: helping people, and passion for investing. I do not think that I am so capable at any given time, and life is still a constant journey I am discovering for myself. Funny as it may seems, I am just 23, what kind of contribution do I think I am able to make? Do I matter at all?
Well, I guess time will tell me the results out of it.
I had enormously underestimated the value of friendships I made, and there were many peope who taught me this over the past few years.
Friends who I thought didn’t care about me, cared so much about me that I didn’t know what to do.
Friends who I thought didn’t think the slightest about me, thought so highly about me and I am so undeserving of their praise.
Friends who taught me how to care about each other by remembering small yet significant details.
Friends who taught me how to go beyond myself, and put my friends ahead of myself.
Friends who are truly committed to my well-being and genuinely wants the best for me.
For the past 2 – 3 years, I really did change a lot. From money-driven to values-driven.
Lastly, I have to thank my family for being supportive. They allowed me to roam and do whatever I want, having the belief I know what is best for myself. I hope I have done well.
I look forward into the next few years with great anticipation but also a tinge of anxiety. As I grow older, there will be more responsibilities added on. Few minutes ago, someone told me: “as we grow older, we feel more like we are nobodies.” How true is that! So much more to learn.
Few days ago, finally, I confessed to someone. She needed more time, so I’ll wait for her for one year. There are some goals I’ve set in my mind, and I have no doubts I will make it happen. While life can be tough occasionally, life is actually very beautiful and meaningful. You can wake up every day and feel for yourself, your sense of purpose.
While obtaining more wealth is good, but all these won’t ever materialise without God’s guidance. More importantly, what is wealth? Is it really just about accumulating more money? There were so many instances where God was just there despite my own failings. End of the day, I believe I am ordinary made extraordinary by God.
All glory to God the Almighty, and the Greatest!
In summary, there are two quotes which I will leave everyone and these are key ingredients for the ultimate success in life:
“Nothing, nothing at all, matters as much as bringing the right people into your life. They will teach you everything you need to know.”
“Our light shines differently, some brighter and some dimmer, but we bring light to places of darkness.”
“As I see it, this is the outer journey of the value investor – the quest for wealth, physical comfort and success. But it is important not to get so caught up in this meaninglesss chase that we forget what matters most — the inner journey toward something less tangible yet more valuable. The inner journey is the path to becoming the best version of ourselves that we can be, and this strikes me as the only true path in life. It involves asking questions such as: “what is my wealth for? what gives my life meaning? and how can I use my gifts to help others?”
With that, as Charlie Munger says, “I have nothing to add.”