There was a student who told me he wanted to do gaming too. I told him my purpose in tutoring him is to let him have a backup, and also to try to learn to do something he don't like. Doing things he like is one thing, but doing things he don't like and still do it well, ah...that's the key to success. Not sure if he still retains the lesson though, or just wind beside the ear :)
My definition of an education is the ability to READ, WRITE, and COUNT.
Beyond that, its a bonus!
What you've shared with your student is definitely a bonus!
Judging by the number of people in our community who wants to invest/trade their way out to financial freedom - a nicer way to say escape what they are doing now - your student will definitely remember what you've said!
Unless he is the few luckier souls who after leaving school, finds an activity he loves while getting paid for it!
If a person needs to support his poor family financially immediately after graduation from school, it is irresponsible to pursue a passion that cannot bring home the cashflow.
It is a everyone's dream to quit the job to do what they want and like because almost everyone hates their job. It is reckless and irresponsible to simply quit without a job if the person has dependents unless he has enough savings buffer to weather the dry cash season.
Everyone envys someone who attains financial freedom to pursue his passion. However, it is irresponsible of him to prematurely announce he has attained financial freedom when he has just enough to support himself only but not enough to fulfill his duty to his family members and "debt" to parents. No money to pay allowance to financially tight aged parents, no money to pay medical bills for sick parents, no money to have babies if spouse is keen on having babies. That is selfish and irresponsible behavior.
If a person is born rich with no dependents and he is expected to only be able to support himself, please pursue your passion by all means. It is better than working as an unmotivated salary worker in a job that he hates. Indeed, perhaps this is why many young entrepreneurs come from rich family backgrounds.
If a person is born middle-class or poor and has several dependents, duty comes first. Suck it up, work hard in the first 10-15 years to first accumulate your pot of gold to cover your responsibilities, then go all out to pursue your passions.
What you say is true provided we don't use "duty" as an excuse ;)
We all know that person who "guilts" his love ones and whines if not for him and her, he would be this and that today...
"Ah boy, mommy makes so much sacrifices to give you everything... Must score A1 for me OK?"
Lucky my parents are not like that! Phew!
Anecdotally, it would seem most young entrepreneurs (no choice) would come from less well to do backgrounds.
That's if we include unglamorous small and medium sized businesses like food catering (hawkers, durian vendors; seafood tse char restaurants), transportation (school bus, moving trucks, couriers), manufacturing (bit parts supplier); and so on.
Those hipsters cafe and IT startup "entrepreneurs" (got choice) are from well to do families ;)
Its precisely for the reasons you mentioned that if we came from less well to do families, we must first Take Care Of Ourselves First .
When we are strong and healthy - financially, mentally, and physically - then we can support and care for our loves ones.
Ahh ... it goes back to having the intellectual and emotional honesty when making important life decisions. It takes courage for a person to quit a stable job to pursue his passion. Some, as you have sharply observed, may be using duty as a noble-sounding excuse to hide behind his lack of courage to quit his stable job to pursue risky passions. Similarly, among the young people in the "financial freedom" community, it will be a healthy exercise to reflect deeply within what is it that really drive them to want to quit their jobs to do what they want. Hatred for current job versus passion for whatever they are going to do. Which has greater weightage?
One can never go wrong pursuing a philosophy of "taking care of ourselves first", poor or rich. If everyone takes care of themselves, even selfishly without having a bleeding heart to help others, society will be taken care of automatically. It sums up how the invisible hand of Adam Smith works and creates prosperity. 人不为己,天诛地灭.人人为己，太平盛世 as long as don't 利己损人. I expect government regulators to come in to guard against people who 利己损人. It will be wonderful if rich people have bleeding hearts to help others, particularly if income disparity is becoming a big social problem today.
My pleasure is mine too. You always take the time to reply.
For a financial blogger with snake-oil background, I think your financial blog surprisingly has the least, if not zero, financial agenda other than cheap kopi and google ad revenue. It is sincere and helpful to the majority of the young readers in their 20s and early 30s. Keep it up!
Apart from the wisdom in each of your post. Another part of your blog that I love is the comment section. There will always be many interesting comments!
Moral of Story: don't tell others tell you what to think or do.. you tell them what to think and do hehehe :p
Why leap over hurdles and jump through hoops for that little dog biscuit when we should be spending more time coming up with new ways to herd sheep ;)
Even better if we can recruit shepherds to do the work for us!
Don't you dare come back from Hokkaido and blog about how much you've "saved" - I'll poke you till the end of days!
That would been a "wasted" trip... Want to save money? Don't travel lah!
But do share the new experiences you encountered, the people you met, how the local wine, woman, and song tasted, the fun you hand, plus the insights or reflections of your trip ;)
Sometimes if can do small little things that make some (your) important person to feel happy... just a small sacrifice i am ok. But if it is too big then i really cant do liao... of cos it is very depend on individual lah as different people their boundaries different mah... Sometimes is not we like to follow what people ask we do... just that some people mindset is got sop is better than no sop... some people character / mindset is like that... Just to share my thinking...
I am using one bamboo to hit one boatload of people ;)
Since you want to own up... You're it!
LOL!
We all did what you do at the beginning of our journeys. Once you have crossed the 2 years mark (max 5 years), then you should be able to generate your own investment ideas/thesis.
If not what's the point of DIY investing?
Might as well pay a good shepherd (money manager) to invest for you (active fund management); or adopt the passive investing approach (cough, cough).
Both approaches are at least intellectually more honest if we don't care for the craft of investing ;)
Smol,
ReplyDeleteHeng, my pupil says want to be gamer. Take part in competition and win money.
I say sure. But must be no.1. Meanwhile study first ok ... LOL
Sillyinvestor,
DeleteI'm not so sure abut the no. 1 part... But I agree must at least outrun the idiot standing next to us mah!
Cannot be World best must be Asian best!
Cannot be Asian best must be SEA best!
Cannot be SEA best must be Singapore best!
Cannot be Singapore best must be best in Queenstown!
Cannot be best in Queenstown must be best in my HDB block!
Still cannot?
Then I think better study first; at the very least till O' levels.
Beyond that, I'm unqualified to speak...
LOL!
Hi guys,
ReplyDeleteThere was a student who told me he wanted to do gaming too. I told him my purpose in tutoring him is to let him have a backup, and also to try to learn to do something he don't like. Doing things he like is one thing, but doing things he don't like and still do it well, ah...that's the key to success. Not sure if he still retains the lesson though, or just wind beside the ear :)
LP,
DeleteMy definition of an education is the ability to READ, WRITE, and COUNT.
Beyond that, its a bonus!
What you've shared with your student is definitely a bonus!
Judging by the number of people in our community who wants to invest/trade their way out to financial freedom - a nicer way to say escape what they are doing now - your student will definitely remember what you've said!
Unless he is the few luckier souls who after leaving school, finds an activity he loves while getting paid for it!
And he doesn't suffer from Monday blues ;)
Pursuing passion is good but ...
ReplyDeleteDuty comes first before passion.
If a person needs to support his poor family financially immediately after graduation from school, it is irresponsible to pursue a passion that cannot bring home the cashflow.
It is a everyone's dream to quit the job to do what they want and like because almost everyone hates their job. It is reckless and irresponsible to simply quit without a job if the person has dependents unless he has enough savings buffer to weather the dry cash season.
Everyone envys someone who attains financial freedom to pursue his passion. However, it is irresponsible of him to prematurely announce he has attained financial freedom when he has just enough to support himself only but not enough to fulfill his duty to his family members and "debt" to parents. No money to pay allowance to financially tight aged parents, no money to pay medical bills for sick parents, no money to have babies if spouse is keen on having babies. That is selfish and irresponsible behavior.
If a person is born rich with no dependents and he is expected to only be able to support himself, please pursue your passion by all means. It is better than working as an unmotivated salary worker in a job that he hates. Indeed, perhaps this is why many young entrepreneurs come from rich family backgrounds.
If a person is born middle-class or poor and has several dependents, duty comes first. Suck it up, work hard in the first 10-15 years to first accumulate your pot of gold to cover your responsibilities, then go all out to pursue your passions.
Duty comes first before passion.
hyom hyom,
DeleteWhat you say is true provided we don't use "duty" as an excuse ;)
We all know that person who "guilts" his love ones and whines if not for him and her, he would be this and that today...
"Ah boy, mommy makes so much sacrifices to give you everything... Must score A1 for me OK?"
Lucky my parents are not like that! Phew!
Anecdotally, it would seem most young entrepreneurs (no choice) would come from less well to do backgrounds.
That's if we include unglamorous small and medium sized businesses like food catering (hawkers, durian vendors; seafood tse char restaurants), transportation (school bus, moving trucks, couriers), manufacturing (bit parts supplier); and so on.
Those hipsters cafe and IT startup "entrepreneurs" (got choice) are from well to do families ;)
Its precisely for the reasons you mentioned that if we came from less well to do families, we must first Take Care Of Ourselves First .
When we are strong and healthy - financially, mentally, and physically - then we can support and care for our loves ones.
Ahh ... it goes back to having the intellectual and emotional honesty when making important life decisions. It takes courage for a person to quit a stable job to pursue his passion. Some, as you have sharply observed, may be using duty as a noble-sounding excuse to hide behind his lack of courage to quit his stable job to pursue risky passions. Similarly, among the young people in the "financial freedom" community, it will be a healthy exercise to reflect deeply within what is it that really drive them to want to quit their jobs to do what they want. Hatred for current job versus passion for whatever they are going to do. Which has greater weightage?
DeleteOne can never go wrong pursuing a philosophy of "taking care of ourselves first", poor or rich. If everyone takes care of themselves, even selfishly without having a bleeding heart to help others, society will be taken care of automatically. It sums up how the invisible hand of Adam Smith works and creates prosperity. 人不为己,天诛地灭.人人为己，太平盛世 as long as don't 利己损人. I expect government regulators to come in to guard against people who 利己损人. It will be wonderful if rich people have bleeding hearts to help others, particularly if income disparity is becoming a big social problem today.
hyom hyom,
DeleteIts a pleasure always to have an intellectually stimulating conversation with you ;)
Hi Jared,
DeleteMy pleasure is mine too. You always take the time to reply.
For a financial blogger with snake-oil background, I think your financial blog surprisingly has the least, if not zero, financial agenda other than cheap kopi and google ad revenue. It is sincere and helpful to the majority of the young readers in their 20s and early 30s. Keep it up!
hyom hyom,
Delete讨厌！
Blush, blush.
LOL!
Apart from the wisdom in each of your post. Another part of your blog that I love is the comment section. There will always be many interesting comments!
ReplyDeleteMoral of Story: don't tell others tell you what to think or do.. you tell them what to think and do hehehe :p
sleepydevil,
DeleteThe force is strong in you ;)
Why leap over hurdles and jump through hoops for that little dog biscuit when we should be spending more time coming up with new ways to herd sheep ;)
Even better if we can recruit shepherds to do the work for us!
Don't you dare come back from Hokkaido and blog about how much you've "saved" - I'll poke you till the end of days!
That would been a "wasted" trip... Want to save money? Don't travel lah!
But do share the new experiences you encountered, the people you met, how the local wine, woman, and song tasted, the fun you hand, plus the insights or reflections of your trip ;)
Now that's what I call a fruitful trip!
Hi smol
ReplyDeleteSometimes if can do small little things that make some (your) important person to feel happy... just a small sacrifice i am ok. But if it is too big then i really cant do liao... of cos it is very depend on individual lah as different people their boundaries different mah...
Sometimes is not we like to follow what people ask we do... just that some people mindset is got sop is better than no sop... some people character / mindset is like that...
Just to share my thinking...
Cheers :)
sy sy,
DeleteThe truth is the majority likes to be told what to do.
In school, at work, within the home, and without in society.
Its partly culture (Asia is group over individualism), partly in our DNAs.
The irony is when someone seeks financial freedom to do what he likes, but relies on others to feed him ideas what stocks to buy and at what price...
Something does not smell right...
u say me arh???...(ー_ー)!!
DeleteMe also got ask people which stock to buy & at what price... hehehe
sy sy,
DeleteI am using one bamboo to hit one boatload of people ;)
Since you want to own up... You're it!
LOL!
We all did what you do at the beginning of our journeys. Once you have crossed the 2 years mark (max 5 years), then you should be able to generate your own investment ideas/thesis.
If not what's the point of DIY investing?
Might as well pay a good shepherd (money manager) to invest for you (active fund management); or adopt the passive investing approach (cough, cough).
Both approaches are at least intellectually more honest if we don't care for the craft of investing ;)
Aiyah...... 中计添 :p
Delete:)
Delete