How you know you no longer Bei Kambing?

In Singapore's context, most people will immediately think of certifications, diplomas, awards, etc.

My tavern master recent wrote this interesting reflection:

"Learning the different roads and how to drive from one place to another is like learning a language. If your family do not have a car when you are a child, you can learn to drive in your adulthood, but you will never be able to know how to go from A to B without a GPS."


The words jump right out to me.



We can read his statement on 2 levels.

Less start with the easier one. How to know you no longer a bei kambing?

If you have ever bought furniture from IKEA for the first time, what you do? Read the assembly instructions word for word, line by line right, picture by picture. No?

Even so, you may still give up trying to assemble IKEA furniture yourself! You can't understand the cartoon instructions!!! You pay someone to do it. The assemblers came and put everything together without taking a single glance at the assembly instructions right?

Same with your ah ma who cooks. Can you remember the last time she looked at a recipe book? Even when watching cooking shows on TV, if she sees an new recipe or new cooking procedure, she doesn't rush to write down the recipe flashed on TV right? Ah ma will experiment it on her own and come out with her own interpretation. She makes the new recipe her own!

Yup. This is easy. You know you no longer a bei kambing in whatever task you do when you don't need "for idiots and dummies" GPS support. Wink.

Before you want to argue back, ask yourself how Master of the Universe you feel when a machine tells you to turn right, you turn right? Good boy! Well done! Pat on the head. Woof, woof!



LP is probably smiling as he knew where I'm going next.

Same applies for those who can read between the lines, or 听弦外之音。

That's the reason why "enlightened" parents expose their children early to soft skills (grey and fuzzy) that may have more impact to their future happiness than academic or technical skills (precision up to 2 decimal places).

These soft skills are more intuitive when its part of "play and fun"; less effective if they were for a SMART goal... How the hell you measure happiness!?

For eg, everyone knows children can pickup new languages super fast. Without taking proper lessons some more! They just pick it up on the playground!?

Just look how you envy your colleagues when they can speak a third or fouth language during that business trip to Europe? Yeah, you boss took notice too.

How about drama and dance? If one has no problem acting, singing, and dancing on stage, do you think you child will have a problem with public speaking as an adult? Or making presentations to boss and clients?

On MRT rides, I often like to spot which women had ballet lessons from the way they sit or stand on the train. Elegance and grace.

Same goes with love for reading. If the child reads because he enjoys reading, it will extend to adulthood. Those who track and record how many books they've read in a month or year... How sustainable is it when the focus is on achieving the (meaningless) goal than deriving pleasure from reading?

Then there's appreciation of the Arts and Culture. Of course there the when Limpeh gets rich Limpeh can "buy" Art and Culture nouveau riche way; and there's the smile on our faces when we discover our dates for the evening were not brought up in a cultural desert.

And of course sports! OK, not everyone can be captain of the football or basketball team. Even if we don't talk about out early exposure to leadership skills, there's this thing called getting along and working in a team. I've noticed quite a lot of grown ups have this difficulty... (Those seeking financial freedom to quit?)

If you are reading and taking courses on how to improve EQ as an adult, I think you are missing the point. Its like taking courses on entrepreneurship...

Then its back to the recent discussion about whether trading and investing can be taught?

Of course can! Just like the GPS, people tell you to turn left, you turn left. Easy! But whether having a GPS will make you a competent driver? Hmm...

Let's see how many years of driving before LP will share with us in his annual reflections that he no longer has any need for the GPS!

On this note. I'll put down my naughty pen.

Wishing everyone Happy Holidays and Merry Christmas!

P.S. I think I'll take the opportunity to share with newer readers that quite a few veteran bloggers who started blogging 5 years or more ago were spin-offs from having begun as regualr readers at LP's tavern.

I drink water never forget source one OK?

Any yes, I started from "stealing with pride" too!