黄镇辉

Have you been to Macau, Hong Kong, China or Malaysia before? You’ll notice the one thing all of them have in common is good food. And a lot of people.

Having come back from China recently, it made me realise a lot of things - China is the up and coming superpower of the next decade. Given that it has so many millionaires, multi-millionaires and billionaires, it’s no surprise it will catch up with America within the next 5 years.

That’s the elite level, scaled big for all to see. What about the ordinary people? They have elites there too - masters of their trade. It’s not surprising to see so many elites around - in a country with 1.3 billion people, you need to be fast and strong to keep your head above rising waters. Although their food is relatively cheap, the food there is really good. So good that I can go there just for porridge and come back to Singapore again.

It made me wonder - if the Chinese can go so far as to perfect their skills
just for sustenance, what are we Singaporeans doing? Always complaining about not having enough, always wanting more, yet not willing to give up temporary pleasures for permanent gains. The Chinese are so much different - they moved far away from their hometowns and families to work in various provinces for little, so that they and their families can afford to live.

I may be wrong, but Singapore’s only competitive advantage here may be our knowledge based economy - we know how to leverage technology and people to effectively develop our country and ourselves. If this is true, Singapore will be a first class country for quite a long while. Until China addresses its human rights issues, and when its people start to adopt the same practices that Singapore does, we will still be able to outsource works to them.

But at the breaking point, when wealth starts getting spread evenly throughout China, perhaps even India, what are Singaporeans going to do? As cause and effect comes full circle, we Singaporeans may end up being servants to the super rich, ending up like the residents of Macau. Jobs start getting outsourced to us, and we find our butts kicked down to the lower tiers of Maslow’s hierarchy of needs.

Some of my friends are quick to respond that they won’t be around when that happens. Have they spared a thought for their descendents?

So, what can you do?

The cost of living in Singapore is increasing slowly, day by day. I remember the days when chocolate bars cost only $1.30 and are so full of volume 10 years ago. Now, Cadbury bars are being sold at $2.30 for half the size. With economic development comes inflation, attracting more investors to come, thereby spiralling Singapore’s growth. In the ascension, we’ve all forgotten about the people who worked together to make it happen - Us.

Is it still possible for families that earn S$3k per month to even sustain a living? Even if $3k is the take home pay, let’s not forget about taxes, housing and even the car instalments. Marriage is a big event for any couple’s and family’s lives. Will you go for the cheapest or the grandest ceremony? Even misers would shun the former choice! With that, debts start accumulating. For families that intend to have children, congratulations! You’ve just added more pressure to your finances! With the government encouraging people to constantly upgrade themselves, additional money needs to be forked out here and there.

I’ve seen people getting trapped in a debt cycle - working not because they want to, but because they have to. State taxes, instalments on the house and car, debts from your grand marriage, your children’s schooling fees and allowances - can you feel what your parents feel? Let’s not forget debt’s best friend - compounding interest XD

Pride and face are the most important asset to humans. Just because they don’t show it, doesn’t mean it’s non-existent.

There are 2 things you can do now:

1) Treat this whole article as bullshit, ask those who spend more than they earn to read this, get them to agree with you that HZH is an idiot and laugh at him XD

2) Think, ask the right people, learn from them, do what they do.

Either way, you are correct. This life is yours to lead.

In generic terms, ‘Database’ would be defined as a body of organised data that can be easily retrived within the system. Today, we live in a world where we are data bits - fragmented pieces of society where, when joined up, forms a big and magnificient picture - We are all helping one another build up a grand network that keeps the economy going.

What is the human database all about? Simply put, it is the number of loyal customers you have to your organisation. Be it business, social or religious, as long as you have people using your service, they are considered to be within your database. Is Singapore itself a database? Yes! Why does the government encourage all of us to keep on upgrading ourselves? We, the pillars of Singapore, are the ONLY resource of our country. People must then continually seek to improve themselves in productivity, servicing skills or mindsets in order to improve the economic and social standards. Are churches, the Buddist and Muslim community databases as well? Yes! Pardon me if I’m being cynical here - we who pursue spirituality often donate, and these organisations are often the ones receiving our donations. More things can happen within that database. For example, free advertisements of books, artifacts, donations for good causes can easily stir people whose hearts are loyal to purchase or to extend their helping hand to those in need.

So, let’s analyse this database concept and compare it with pop culture. There are 8 things that affects pop culture as a whole which in turn affects majority of the population’s mindsets, especially the youths.

1) Advertising

2) Celebrities

3) Music

4) Movies

5) TV (Television)

6) Fashion

7) Sports

Arts

In order to reach out to the masses, the TV, radio and internet are usually used to disseminate information in every possible form - music, movies, arts, fashion and sports. However, the most prominent items you will notice amongst these are advertisements and celebrities.

People pay big bucks to have celebrities endorse and promote their products in advertisements. However, is it really that good just because a celebrity promotes it? In the eyes of the viewer, the celebrity is a role model - perhaps in looks and even health. Any statements used by the role model would be translated into absolute truths and hence, customer loyalty will be retained. This is how databases are formed in the traditional business world and you can see how powerful these companies can become. Take a look at Adidas and Nike. With creative advertisements performed by celebrities and sponsoring their products in movies, they have created a <reliable branding image> and can hence command any price they wish.

The saying that "No man is an island" applies pretty well here. I must say that I was the biggest idiot in 2007 for thinking that I alone can accomplish much. However, having been in a network cum database for a period of time, I have been humbled. Let me take this opportunity to apologise for always insisting that I am always correct - it was a childish mistake of mine which was also my blind spot. Fortunately, my friends around me were good mirrors - they often gave me feedback about what I do well and where I ought to improve, often doing so subtly.

Sorry for the sidetrack. Does that mean that without a database, we are headed for financial doom? Nope. We all have a circle of friends, remember? xD

However, not everyone in your social circle can be your database members, because they are interested in their own welfare. Imagine that you’re the International President of GNC, and ALL of your friends are people who have little to no regard of their health. Are they your database members? In a conflicting way, your closest friends will seldom end up as your business partner.

If you can see what a database can do for you, you will understand that this is POWER. Imagine that you are selling greeting cards and have 100 people who are in your database and know each other. You simply need to keep in touch with the more influential people within the database and tell them about what business you’re doing. So, when a person’s birthday is around the corner, what happens? The "manager" will go around like a trumpet blaring about your wares. Let’s say 30% of them want to send a greeting card. What happens? Instantly, you get 30 greeting cards worth of sales~ And that’s totally free of charge. No celebrities, no 30 second advertisements, no technical explainations. Just word of mouth. How powerful is that? If you happen to have a business consultant within your network and want to ask him for advise on expanding your business, you may even get a discount!

Even the priviledges that I enjoy in my database are free. I don’t need to pay for the time I need to consult busy people for their advices, to learn about all these powerful concepts, to network and to broaden my horizons. All I need is to have the will and desire to pursue my dream. That’s pretty much what everyone here has.

Of course, don’t believe everything that I’ve just said. As Yu Song has shared with me, even Buddha said, "Epipassiko", which aptly means "Come, try and see for yourself".

I have come to realise that as a human, I am bound to err.

This story was shared by a few great people, and here, I’ll try to preserve its essense as far as possible. Of course, I’m only human. Please forgive any mistakes or misinterpretation on my part XD

A very very long time ago, there lived a baby lion. He was left alone in the forest without his family while he was asleep. Since he was a stillborn, he didn’t recognise his parents nor his breed. Hungry and alone, he wandered around to look for food and water to survive.

After some time, he came upon plains where sheeps and were feeding on grass. Seeing a lion, the predator of their species, they were all intimidated at first. Upon a closer examination, the sheeps found out that the lion was harmless - he can’t roar, let alone attack them. The mother sheep saw this and took him in.

Over the next few years, the lion would grow into one who has a very confused identity. He often questioned why he was so different from his sheep brothers, "Why do I have all this yellow fur around my face while my family are all white?", "Why do I go ‘rar’ when my brothers go ‘meh’?", "Why do they enjoy eating grass so much while I can’t stand it?". Not knowing what to do, he tried to assimilate as much as possible. In the end, he still found that he was suffering from an identity crisis. Some of his sheep brothers would mock at him for being different, and some could only sympathise with his uniqueness.

One day, this herd of sheep encountered a group of lions from afar and tried to run away. The lions saw them and the young lion caught their attention. So they roared, "Hey you! Stop running!". The young lion saw that they were chasing after him, and therefore tried to run. The lions, though hungry, ran after the young lion instead of the sheeps as they wanted their brother back.

The young lion ran and ran, and they kept shouting at him to stop. He wondered why he was the target of predators when there were so many other fat, fluffy sheeps around. Eventually, he came to a river, the end of the line for him. He knelt down and cried, begging the lions to spare him.

The lions then shouted at him, "Wake up your idea! You’re one of us!". The young cub didn’t believe them. "I’ve been with my sheep family all my life, how can I be one of you?" The lions then told him, "Look into the river and tell us what you see". The young lion complied. As he gazed at his reflection, the other lions went towards the river as well. The young lion finally found his true family and more importantly, his identity.

-

Have you ever wondered if you’re a wierdo, pursuing something that others do not see? Have you ever thought that it’s a taboo to be too enthusiastic during activities? Is it wrong to be too rich or powerful? Could it be that you’re the lion amongst the sheeps? Brought up in a society where people seek to conform rather than to perform, any individual is susceptible to social consensus in standards, morals, ethics, beliefs and behaviours. But is all hope lost? No! If you are able to see that you are special in you own ways and have the courage to break out of this trap, you will be a proud lion eating sheeps and getting 20 hours of sleep everyday!

Another reason I put this story up was due to an identity crisis I was suffering from not too long ago. Think about the Lion and the Sheep as metaphors for 2 organizations that I used to belong to. To me, it’s an exact representation XD

Being a young lion in this world, I didn’t know who my real family was until recently - like minded people, respectful of opinions and would never force down a doctrine that is against your personal morals. I blindly followed sheeps and did whatever they did. Though I was uncomfortable and didn’t get as much benefits as they did, I still carried on doing what they do because of my blind faith. I was mocked and scolded for carrying some ideals that were seemingly smaller than a set of Rules, for not conforming enough and following the shepard’s direction.

Yet, without having stumbled into the sheeps, I wouldn’t have been found by the lions. While I was looking for young, lost lions to come join our family of sheeps, I came across a seemingly lost lion who knew his identity really well. He knew who he was and why he did the things he did. Eventually, I started to see life from another perspective and that’s where I found my family. Ironic fate, issn’t it? Seeking the lost, only to be found.

God’s plans and intentions for us can never be fantomed.

Just by looking at the way a person talk or present himself, you’ll know if he is using the principles applied written in this powerful book. Better still, you’ll know if he will ever win anyone over or influence anyone if he apply methods that run contrary to the principles stated here. For example, if you want to aquire $, it would be best that you get your ass off the chair and start doing some work. How do you not get $ then? Simple. Just sit down and idle away!

So many of my friends and myself read and re-read this book over and over again simply because its principles are so simple yet challenging to apply. The best thing is they’ve gained so much value by doing so - financially and relationally. Best part is, it only costs ~S$18! If I can only have one book in this life, this will be it!

People say that the world is a deceiving one. I may be wrong, but paraphrasing it, it would mean that when some one wants to get to know you, they already have an intention behind it. What is it really? Winning you over to their ideology or way of thinking? No one would really know what intentions they have. However, what if their friends choose another path in their life away from theirs? This is when their real colours surface. A great friend of mine who I keep in touch with shared this fact with me when some one behaved indifferently towards him after he declared that he would take another path in life somewhere in September - October 2007. Of course, I may be wrong,as I frequently am, for all this is only hearsay and I may not have understood everything.

Mr CY told me some issues aren’t worth bothering over, such as my recent decision to… change my lifestyle. Naturally, when someone undergoes a lifestyle change, critisisms will follow. Remembering what Mr Colin Huu said, "Opinions are like your ass. Everybody has one". Am I going to be confined to opinions about what I SHOULD or MUST do? Hahahahaha. I don’t know if I’m right to say this: If one were to always say, "You SHOULD / MUST do this, this, this" on a debatable topic such as moral ethics or behaviour, there are high chances that there will be reluctance in obeying the person’s orders and resentment for disagreements.

Can one really win souls when he can’t even win a person over to his way of thinking?

An excerpt taken from Dale Carnegie’s "How to win friends and influence people":

When Theodore Roosevelt was in the White House, he confessed that if he could be right 75% of the time, he would reach the highest measure of his expectation.

If that was the highest rating that one of the most distinguished men of the 20th century could hope to obtain, what about you and me?

If you can be sure of being right only 55% of the time, you can go down to Wall Street and make a million dollars a day. If you can’t be sure of being right even 55% of the time, why should you tell other people they are wrong?

You can tell people they are wrong by a look or an intonation or a gesture just as eloquently as you can in words - and if you tell them they are wrong, do you make them want to agree with you? Never! For you have struck a direct blow at their intelligence, judgement, pride and self-respect. That will make them want to strike back. But it will never make them want to change their minds. You may then hurl at them all the logic of a Plato or an Immanuel Kant, but you will not alter their opinions, for you have hurt their feelings"

How many people do you know who say things so confidently and are so sure they are correct, especially when you talk about debatable topics such as politics, history, the stock market or philosophy? Don’t they piss you off? And when they say that it’s according to their experience that what they’re saying is the absolute truth, is it really? We’re only humans.

Even if a person is correct about what he says, yet presents it in such a way that your stand is absolutely wrong and his is absolutely correct, are you going to agree with him? Worse, what if he says is totally contrary to what you respect? Is there a better way of putting it?

Some atheists are really smart. They can use modern science and mathematics to prove the non-existence of God. Yet, is it the truth? Are there undiscovered sciences that CAN prove the existence of God? The bible and the koran states another thing - that a heaven and loving God awaits us. With most muslims and an increasing number of people believing in God / Allah, a conflict of interest arises.

Is there a way to live harmoniously together? The solution is really simple. We hear each other’s story, respect each other as fellow humans and not denounce what the other party does as a mistake. If you are to ask me about God, I would only say that I believe that God exists and not proclaim it as an absolute truth.

Are there any absolute truths? Yes. Humans are imperfect.

Has man’s life ever been predestined by God? There are many things that we have no control over, such as our parents and gender. There is no answer as to why we were the strongest amongst the millions competing for a place in this world. What comes to your mind over uncontrollable events? That word is ‘fate’. According to www.dictionary.com, it’s defined as "that which is inevitably predetermined; destiny".

We may be born poor, and that’s not our fault. How many poor people have you read about throughout history that made it big starting from Zero? An example would be Mr Tan Tock Seng - from being a vegetable and fruits trader to a philantrophist. Then there are some who were born rich, and ultimately end up losing everything.

What really causes this cycle? There are no absolute answers, and I may be wrong as well. Why don’t we think about what successful people do? They are often frugal, have a powerful mindset and have sharp judgement in making decisions. What caused them to be who they are? External environment may be an answer and so may DNA. In the end, quite a big portion, say 50%, ends up on our own part in controlling our life. The other 50% has been decided even before we were born.

Will God create us and create a plan for us to fail? As long as you are able, there is no way you can die of starvation in a first world country unless you want to. Similarly, there is no way you can not succeed unless you want to remain at where you are all your life. Although we cannot choose 50% of what we want to have, we have another 50% - choices.

The choices we made yesterday determines what choice we have today and ultimately, what we are going to have in the future. A theory known as ’cause and effect’ is one that gives us hope over fate.

Imagine if you have 2 choices of institutes where you hope to further your studies - let’s say MIT or NTU. If you decide to go to MIT, there will be a set of events waiting to happen: staying in the US, experiencing the 4 seasons, having cultural exchange, expanding your network to foreign grounds, etc. If you decide to study in NTU, you will be closer to your family and friends, thinking that Singapore is the worst country to stay in and continually using Singlish.

So, let’s say that you chose to study in NTU. Due to the stress factors, travelling time and rising cost of living, you begin to think at Singapore is the worst place to live in. You begin to contemplate how to emigrate over to Australia where the grass is greener. Then again, if you’ve chosen to study in MIT, you may decide to come back to Singapore to stay for good due to racial discrimination. Is it an absolutely correct decision? There’s no way to answer that until you’ve crossed over - all we humans can do is to speculate.

God made us with great plans, and they’re bounded by this law called cause and effect. No way can you take drugs and sit idly everyday and become a millionaire. Even if he’s fated to be one, he has to get off his ass and start walking to a gold mine.

I’m sick and tired of being poor!!!!

When your appointments are cancelled, how would you normally feel? And worse, let people’s comments wear you down?

There was an interesting speaker, Mr Colin Huu, who said along the lines, "You’re not coming ar? YES AR!!! Sibeh UP lar~!". In a joking manner, he associates rescheduling appointments as a joy. In that case, people will call up many others to feel the feelings of having appointments cancelled. Truth be told, there is weight within his words if you took it with a pinch of salt. The truth is that for every thing that happens, it happens for a reason and it serves you.

What is the one thing at least 80% of humans are most afraid of? I may be wrong, as I am frequently, but let’s analyse this together: They fear rejection and disapproval. Even I face that at times. Interestingly, certain disapproved ideas have made a remarkable change in our lives, and approved ideas have also made a remarkable change for the worse.

Lord Kelvin, a genius physicist of his time (1824-1907), once said that all that can be invented has been invented. Little did we know, about 50 years later after his death, the first satellite was launched into space, which ushered in the age of information and research. That’s for the better.

Let’s take a look at approved concepts, shall we? Think about an ideology that has caused economic powerhouses to slow down. What really happened? People believed in and approved of a concept which they do not fully comprehend, and are usually unaware of the consequences. I’m not sure if I’m right to say this, but those who agree readily with ideologies promoting equality in the 18th century are usually those who are worse off.

Fast forward to modern day. Today, we live in a world where truth has been distorted. Truth is usually defined by social consensus now - if a major group of people strongly believes that lying, cheating and stealing is correct, then an anarchist system will eventually develope. Without law, anything "wrong" in a first class country will then be considered ethical in that country. And you don’t need everyone to approve that this is right - you only need 80% of the population.

Are you starting to see a pattern here?

So, what is right and what is wrong now? We usually ask ourselves if our dreams are appropriate. Often, we end up consulting those people in that pool of 80%. Then, all they need to do is to do give some opinion and your dream’s gone in an instant.

An absolute truth I’ve learned from Mr Colin: Everyone has an opinion. Just like how everybody has a butt. Are we going to let our dreams be killed by a few words? And do we really owe those 80% of people a life that is really worth living? Are we going to let people who can’t decide what SPECIFICALLY they want for themselves define a boundary for us?

If you are reading this without feeling offended, congratulations. You are one step closer towards true joy.

I had one of the greatest honour of saying "好" to a sincere, powerful yet humble figure yesterday and have him respond to me with a smile and saying a "好" in response.

That feeling is priceless.

He was also the person who taught many the phrase, "对人要真". Your teachings have made me a lot more loving than before. From the bottom of my heart, thank you.

~Fring Fring~

What is an income that will make you feel contented and not strive further? If you were offered a career with a potential payout of S$4k, and that’s the end of the ladder you can climb, will you take it at an instant? Before you answer the previous question, think about this: Are you really worth only S$4k?

If you can command life to give you what you want for your monthly salary, what value would you place upon yourself? S$1 million per month? S$2 million per month?

A fact is that each and every one of us are potentially worth a hell lot more than those figures up there. If you use your heart to think about it, what is the value of your soul or existence to the world? Someone once tried to auction his soul on EBay, and the highest bid was US$400. Pathetic, don’t you think, to actually place a value on a human? Who’s worse? The person who wanted to know what he’s worth, or the person who gave him that evaluation?

If you say that you’re worth S$1 mil, that’s bullshit, simply because that’s too insignificant for any human being on this world. If God paid His life so that you can live, can you place a value on His life?

Let’s draw another illustration. Several years ago, there was a major event. That event determined who would come into this world alive. And that person is you. BS, you say? Let’s read up on some biology shall we? In order for us to be alive today, we have surpassed millions of competitors to run a big race. We were the fastest and strongest, yes, sperm cell, to reach the egg. We alive today were the fittest and the strongest to break down, penetrate the walls and fertilise the egg in our mother’s womb. Do you still think that you’re lousy?

Please also note that it is one matter to think and another to act. If you think that you’re worth a million, act like one! Speak like someone who is worth a million, do the things the person would do, think the way he does and most importantly, use your heart and true feelings in whatever you do.

Why am I feeling so strongly about this? It’s because I feel sad whenever my friends are down or look down on themselves. If you have been to heaven before, you won’t want to come back to earth. In the similar way, showing people the way to living a life full of possibilities and dreams is one that I aspire to achieve. Misunderstanding and shit happens, and I don’t blame them as they have not experienced the things I’ve gone through or learnt.

I’m not afraid that your worth is neglibible. I’m only afraid that your potential power is unstoppable.