Week 3: Of Purpose, Meaning, and A Personal Story, Part 1

I think I should start by warning you that this is going to be a bit of a long post. But if you made it all the way to the end, I hope you find it worth your time. :)

Listening to Per Jonsson tell his story today, I can certainly relate to some of the messages that he's trying to convey to us. I am writing this down now while everything is still fresh in my mind and in case I forget some of the things that I want to say.

Part 1

When I was young, from between the ages of 7 to 10, all I ever wanted was to be a paleontologist. I used to go to the backyard in my house and start digging for dinosaur bones, until my mom saw me digging one day and said to me "What are you digging back there?"

"I'm digging for dinosaur bones Mom!" I would reply. And she would say, "But there are no dinosaur bones in Malaysia!"

And so my dreams of being a paleontologist in Malaysia were crushed. So I thought, you know what, I'm going to be a scientist then! Since I was really good in Science back in primary/elementary school.

But my Mom told me, "You can't make money by being a scientist in Malaysia!" (Asian parents :P )

So I finally decided that I was gonna do something that would make me a lot of money!

*Fast forward* I was 16 when I was selected to be part of my high school's Young Entrepreneurs (YE) Club, an elite club that only admits the top 30 applicants. One of the many activities and competitions that I took part in was the Kuala Lumpur Stock Challenge (KLSC) sponsored by Citibank and the American Chamber of Commerce (AMCHAM). It was basically a 2-day investing and stock market simulation. In the end, my team and I finished 1st runner up among the hundreds of teams participating from all over the country and shattered the previous record held by a Singaporean team with a profit of 1050% (RM 10,500 from a starting seed money of RM 1,000). I was good at it. I have heard that there was a lot of money in it. And I thought, "Man, this is what I'm gonna do for the rest of my life!"

Which brings me to the point in my story (sorry it took awhile to get here). Per mentioned that the things we tell ourselves eventually become the truth and how the seeds we plant are important (thanks Mom). The process I'm going through here has left me questioning if some of the things that I always thought I wanted to do for the rest of my life are really what I truly want for my life. Maybe some of it is not my purpose or what I really want to do with my life.

People talk about PASSION all the time. But I think that PASSION is an overused word. What exactly is PASSION? It encompasses so many things and means different things to different people.

I had the pleasure of having a small, private conversation and lunch with my idol Warren Buffett. And one of the things he shared with our group was what PASSION means to him. I find this to be the most helpful and intuitive way to think about it.

Passion is waking up at 5am in the morning everyday, looking forward to what you're about to do even though you're not getting paid for doing it for the rest of your life. If you can find something like that, then you've found your passion.

I'm not sure I've found mine yet.

Ohh, and one more thing. It's kinda funny and ironic how just before I left for Stockholm, Sweden, my Mom and I were talking on Facetime and she said, "You know, money is not everything. Happiness is the most important." Thank you once again Mom (you could have told me sooner you know)!