During my primary school days, I loved to watch the Twilight Zones.
Some episodes really stuck in my mind even after all these years.
This episode is one of them:
To those of us in sales or have profit and loss responsibilities, this is not new.
There are no vegetarians or vegans when it comes to the bottom line.
But then again, when a person has a hole in his heart, and is desperately clutching at straws, he is at his most vulnerable.
This applies not only in our community of get rich tryhards.
We see it everywhere.
In politics; in religion especially; and most prevalent while climbing the corporate career.
Remember that time when your long time no see friend/classmate called you out from the blue?
Your enthusiasm to reconnect with old friendship came crashing down the moment he shoved the cookbook across the dining table towards you:
"To Serve Man".
Ooo, Twilight Zone and The Outer Limits. Remember watching them when young and getting scared lol
ReplyDeleteUnintelligent Nerd,
DeleteThen there's Hammer House Of Horrors during my secondary school days :)
Holes in the heart are caused by personal failures. If a person has failed and he has no hole, he will remain a permanent failure. Hence, holes are good to have because they spur "failed" people to succeed later.
ReplyDeleteThe problem with these holes is when people fall prey to superficial solutions to patch the holes. Some buy status material symbols. Others top it up by buying impressive fake titles. The only people who are really happy are the snake-oil salesmen who claim to serve their customers(or victims).
There is a saying "You cannot con an honest man". Down-to-earth people will look at the root cause and the solutions ALWAYS involve hard work, perserverance and SACRIFICE.
hyom,
DeletePrecisely.
Holes in the heart can be a good motivating force; it can also destroys.
Comparison and trying to be someone other than yourself could probably traced back to low self-esteem.
We can be earning $10K per month and be quite contented and happy until we had that class gathering and discovered the class idiot earning $20-30K per month as an insurance or property agent...
We start questioning our career choices... Shouldn't I also be in sales?
When I read those in their late 50s or 60s losing hundreds of thousands of their retirement funds into get rich schemes, want to bet they are "savers" all their lives?
We could hit $1 million by age 65 with discipline by voluntarily contributing to CPF, but if we are not strong enough mentally not to compare with others, we could easily "capitulate" and try to make up for lost time, when we are most vulnerable...
Especially when our peers have made 5 times, 10 times more through the Earn More path with properties or equities. Now add cryptos for youths.
Flushed with money but have not gone through the rites of passage of the Earn More path - which is losing money big time and surviving it!
We'll believe anything!
SMOL,
DeleteCareer choices should be made based on each individual's natural temperament, strengths/weaknesses, likes/dislikes. I do not regret my career choice as engineer, never mind the class "idiot" who earned far more in a different profession and industry. Credit goes to the "idiot" who found the right path for himself. Each of us got to use our unique human capital to make money our own way.
Some people are fortunate to have the human capital to make a good living from financial markets. Unfortunately, financial speculation is a skill-set which cost a lot of money for a person just to discover whether he has it or not. Same goes for entrepreneurship. It is not like a normal salary job where failure means low pay or lose job. Failure means losing money or even bankruptcy for people who lose control.
I hope retirees who are attending financial trading courses realize the risks before they start. I had a close family member who did not have good experience with these courses.
For retirees who already have enough, it's unwise to start speculating at that age. They should have done it when they were younger. Even then, no guarantee they can succeed. The best risk-adjusted, down-to-earth way to earn a good living is still through a high paying salary job that one is competent in.
Time has changed. Nowadays, we may suddenly received What apps message from number not in our phone contacts. Long time no see friend. What next? LoL! To Serve Friend?
Deletehyom,
DeleteThat's the motherhood "ideal".
Well, you should know better than me.
In your engineering class, how many of your classmates were there because they had dreamed of being engineers when they were young?
How many had no freaking clue in what they liked to do when they graduate?
They were there because they were simply Science stream and good in math?
Or they have to "settle" for engineering since they can't get into other "professional" faculties?
How many of your engineering classmates ended up as engineers in the real world after they graduate?
You think why we have mid-life crisis?
I was "luckier" due to many multiple job-hopping phase.
I not bright.
I depend a lot on crash got sound.
Try, quit. Try, quit.
Then found THE company that changed me life.
People will be people.
My dad tells me he goes with ex-principals and retired teachers up North and down South for wine, women, and song.
Whole life "goody, goody" - old flushed with money and too much time to kill - well, that's what we snake oils and gold diggers would love to target!
My ex-colleague was quite pissed off when her dad in his 70s decided to divorce because he found a younger woman...
When you own landed property, you're a babe magnet! Never mind you're 70 years young!!!
The older the better!
We all have holes in our heart.
CW,
DeleteEveryone is ever so helpful to help us get rich!
Introduce us to good "lobangs"!
Gee, I wonder why?
LOL!
SMOL,
DeleteHow other people end up making their career choices and life decisions is none of my business. What I do care is that the critical life decisions I make for myself is based on rational reasons. If the outcome does not turn out well, so be it. No regrets. Bad outcome, my fault. Good outcome, count my blessings.
Women and money are vulnerabilities that we'd better consciously guard against even in our 70s. I hope both of us still retain this soft spot for the former when we reach our 70s because that is a sign of health and energy. Lol. But must have the mental strength to resist.
hyom,
DeleteAh!
Your life; your path ;)
The force in you is strong!
I never say no to wine, women, and song :)
So there's nothing to resist!
LOL!
SMOL,
DeleteI wish you good health to enjoy wine, women and song till your 70s!
Hmm ... wine and women can be destructive to health. But then for most people who can live into their 70s, parents are probably dead and children grown up. With no dependents, the usual reasons for restraint to maintain a healthy lifestyle is largely gone. So, at that age, it is logical to enjoy life and be a true Man of Leisure without restraint. Haha.
Have a pleasant weekend.
hyom,
DeleteHave a super Sunday to you too :)
Haha, I was reading thru your old posts recently, and wow it's been 9 years.
ReplyDeletehttps://singaporemanofleisure.blogspot.com/2011/12/to-serve-man.html
Although I do wonder why the aliens bring a cookbook to the UN meeting and read from it.
ERSG,
DeleteHow times flies!!!
Its good to have "re-runs" once in a while ;)
Quite a few bloggers of that era 9 years ago have quietly left the scene...
Only to be replaced by ever more bright-eyed and enthusiastic bloggers every year :)
FIRE at age 35!
That's the power of youth!
Alamak. I like slowly leaving the blogging scene already.
DeleteGot hired by 2 different crypto companies for part-time work.
With 1 main job + 2 part-time jobs doesn't leave much time for blogging. On the plus side, compounding salary growth is more efficient than investment returns.
I am with Earn More camp as it is sure Win!
DeleteCW,
DeleteLOL!
In case some didn't detect your sarcasm, no, EARN MORE is not anyone and everyone - to be polite we say only 10% can make it?
SAVE MORE is a lot "easier"; hence anyone and everyone can offer advice to others on SAVE MORE ;)
I wouldn't say SAVE MORE is "sure win" though.
From biblical times to today, inflation is like rust to iron or rats to rice hoards - overtime will wither away..
Hence landowners hire shepherds to PROTECT their wealth - even if the landowner themselves are quite adverse to the risks of EARN MORE ;)
If SAVE MORE is all we need, big daddy would be quite happy with GIC. Why the need to have Temasek?
Ding!
P.S. Of course what happened to Venezuela, Zimbabwe, and Turkey will never happen to Singapore. What? Too far away?
How about Malaysia?
Once upon a time, Malaysia ringgit and Singapore dollar sama, sama.
Now?
We very sure 30 years later it won't be reversed? Singaporeans go to JB to work?
Never?
Ask those Hong Kongers who work at Shenzhen during the week and return back to HK over the weekends ;)
30 years river east; 30 years river west.
Unintelligent Nerd,
DeleteGreat!
You are working INSIDE the crypto secret society ;)
Take full advantage of it!
Your edge is you know when to cut and run ;)
Shh....
Hi SMOL,
DeleteYup. Already have insider advantage.
To use STI as an allegory, plenty of crypto bei kambings are buying up the Noble, NOL, SPH, and Starhub because they are "blue chips" of crypto. Me? I'm already heavily positioned in those in the STI reserve list that are growing. ;)
Feels both strange and refreshing that I am now a predator sharpening my claws at the bei kambings who are just entering the space......
;)
Delete