Why are people worried about their livelihood?

[lizard44]

hi ALL,

i used to be worried about my livelihood ... but now i managed to "almost over-come" it.

therefore, i hope people out there in SRC can come in here and tell their stories and how they manage to overcome their predicaments and rise from the ashes.

thereby helping those still in the red to do a come-back ...

if there is just one other story, i will share mine (my business story) ... hahahahahahaha

conditional offer lah ...

lizard

[minsmarine]

I am not worry because every week I buy Toto.

One day, I know I will become millionarie becuase I win Toto.

[lizard44]

your TOTO winning is not counted.

lizard

[blueheaven]

Not sure whether I had interpreted you correctly but here's my say

I feel that people should do whatever they are interested in, follow their passion and achieve their dreams.

I had posted a poll quite some time ago with this question "Do you work for money or for interest?" Some how, I have come to realise that slogging more than half of your life just to earn money is not quite sane. I mean you have only 1 life and you should spend the time you are given to do something you like and not just place money on top of everything.

So for those who have failed, just follow your heart and let it guide you

[icecold]

h BH...

Ideally.... what you said is right... "...people should do whatever they are interested in, follow their passion and achieve their dreams...."

however.... in a practical world.... when you start joining the society... $$ counts... You no longer have the luxury where you can strectch out your hand... $$ drops down (from parent's wallet)... you will start to worry on how to find $$ for everything... ... family needs, perosnal needs and etc all comes in...

Do have your thinking when I was in my poly, uni days.... .... live life to the fullest...

but now... this is just a dream to me... struggling with all the bills and school fee loans that I took up....

lastly.... sorry...

cheers!!

my SGD0.02 worth...

[blueheaven]

Haha i got to learn the hard facts of it by having this hobby

To be honest, I pay for 95% of total expenses in my tank which also includes all the equipments and stuff

I know of a guy who is a owner of a multi million artiste manager company. He started his business with only 10cents and followed his passion. Unbelievable? Believe it!!

[lizard44]

thanks BRO blueheaven

you have indeed a good sense. do keep it up. really it is the passion that counts. but following one's passion is only the first step, it does not make all the money you need for the rest of your life.

another key to this: it must be a business. by working for people, one will find the route that one travels will get narrower every day. i.e., the more senior one is, the more worried of their livelihood and retrenchment. really why bother to work in the first place.

one of key reasons why MINSMARINE and I couldn't sleep is because we have nothing much to do. he is newly FREE and i am oldly FREE. after a while if the business is doing the right thing. there is really nothing much one can do but to just wait for our month-end pay.

to start a business with 10cents sounded so much better than me. i started off by being sued for S$3.2m. it was my properties purchases that killed me in 1997.

having a multi-million company is nothing. it is the amount that you take home that matters. if your friend takes home multi-million, then we better get his story and learn from him.

slowly i worked my way up to now still minus S$1.8m (8 years later), but i no longer fear as much. i am now trying to enjoy my little fruits (without letting my banks know). in fact, i hope to square it off by 2007 (exactly 10 years to pay off my mistake). so please there is no such thing as try 10 things, if one thing good. then one is okie. SORRY one has to pay for the other 9 mistakes first. damn ...

hi BRO ICE,

i do understand your struggle. you have to break out of it. unfortunately, that decision is yours to take. no matter how much truth out there, you have to be the one that takes the plunge. remembering always the number of rich people is always WAY WAY lesser than poor people. hahahahahahahaha ... you better fish for good stories to learn from.

the joke is simply this: when i was young i have no mentor to teach me. it was through trial and error and a little bit of luck that i managed to get a true business going. it is never easy but hey i am thoroughly enjoying the process. HINT: i need a ga-ga spectator too.

for the rest of US, maybe we can learn a thing or two from this EAGLE story:

Eagles are the most long-lived bird in the world. By the time they reach 40 years old, their claws will start to age, losing their effectiveness and making it hard for them to catch preys. The lifespan of an eagle is up to 70 years old. But in order to live this long, it must make the toughest decision at 40. At 40, its beak is too long and curvy that it reaches its chest. Its wings, full of long, thickened feathers, are too

heavy for easy flying. The eagle is left with 2 choices - do nothing and await its death or go through a painful period of transformation and renewal.

For 150 days, it first trains itself to fly beyond the high mountains, build and live in its nest and cease all flying activities. It then begins to knock its beak against granite rocks till the beak is completely removed. When a new beak is grown, the eagle will use it to remove all its old claws and await quietly for new ones to be fully grown. When the new claws are fully grown, the eagle will use them to remove all its

feathers, one by one. Five months later, when its new feathers are fully grown, it will soar in the sky again with renewed strength and is able to live for the next 30 years.

In life, as an individual, even in an organization, sometimes, we have to learn to make difficult decisions so as to make room for changes. Changes bring about renewal. And the only way for us to soar again is to let go old ways, old habits, old lives. For as long as we are prepared to put aside our old baggage - past glory or shame, past success or failure - be willing to become zero, with an empty cup mentality, we will be able to discover our potential and head towards a renewed perspective in any aspect of our lives.

And the journey of renewal will be painful and it requires an attitude of 5 words - I WANT, I AM WILLING.

Finally, be bold, be strong and soar like an eagle.....

lizard

[blueheaven]

Nice quote

[gothia]

Well then, BH , tell us what it takes,"to do whatever we are interested in, follow their passion and achieve their dreams" without slogging?

[lizard44]

hi BRO BLUEHEAVEN,

sorry ... i might accidentially insulted your friend about his multi-million company ... (no such evil intention meant)

sorry again ...

what i meant was even for a hugh company like the Popular Bookstores, it was a difficult struggle. they turned S$400m every year, but they only take home $8m or so (2% gross profits). if they have bad debts or bad decisions on locality of their hugh stores. they will go into losses. imagine the amount of effort in running a S$400m turnover company, wah ... hair sure whiter than dead SPS corals man ...

lizard

[AquaRa]

i feel is too idealistic a view to follow one's passion and survive in this world today. Being in this cynical age of ours, material gains and benefits rule. Just as Jack Neo has put it, 'No money, no talk' There has to be a balance. There has to be some kind of balance. Too much of slogging for money screws you entirely. Your passion will not allow you to survive, unless its some kind of business.

In the end, it still goes down to the individual. Take the case of my teacher, he badly wants to be a humanitarian volunteer worker when he graduated from university. However, as he is the eldest son in the family, he has no choice but to fulfil his responsibility as a big brother and find a stable job to see the rest of his siblings through their education. If he were to choose to work as a relief worker, he will regret not fulfulling his parents' wishes.

Thus, i believe that the most important term here is 'calculated risk.' One has to weigh the pros and cons of trying to initiate a new enterprise in this place. (funny most of us have weird passions)

Still think being the youngest is the best. You can do whatever you like when you are young, and start looking for a stable job when you've had your fun.

just my 0.01 rupiah.

[blueheaven]

Yes bro AquaRa has brought up a good point.

Circumstances do sometimes be obstacles in our lives.

As in your teacher's case, he has not much of a choice but if he could see teaching as some sort of humanitarian effort, it's good.

The people whom I am talking about slogging their lives away are those who totally have no interest or see no meaning in their jobs and keep complaining

[icecold]

hi BRO ICE,

i do understand your struggle. you have to break out of it. unfortunately, that decision is yours to take. no matter how much truth out there, you have to be the one that takes the plunge. remembering always the number of rich people is always WAY WAY lesser than poor people. hahahahahahahaha ... you better fish for good stories to learn from.

Yoz bro.... thanks for the encourgament!!!

Really appreciate it... frankly speaking... struggled for two years when I am out of my comfort zone (uni)... now going to my fourth year of work... finally see some $$ in my account.. but some of it kena poured back into the "little piece of ocean" in my living room

Think I still have the traditional mentality.... whether I dare to take that PLUNGE!!! always thinks that there should be sufficient savings aside before making that plunge... at least my family can survive for that little while more....

[rockfish]

As for me, I'm trying to make my passion and interest something that i slog for.

I know its going to be tough. But at least i noe that when i drag my tired body to bed at nite I'll fall asleep with a smile on my face.

Setting up a restaurant was my dream.. setting up a restaurant with marine theme is my passion.

i just quit my good paying job with good bonuses to pursue my passion. So rite now, I'm breaking my beak, pulling out my claws and stripping myself ###### of the feathers.. awaiting for my restaurant to be ready for me to soar.

Some ppls told me to forget about it .. some just shakes their head.. and some friends totally lose faith in me.. some wanna share their failure experiences with me so that i can be frighten and back off.

Nobody told me that doing business is a bed of roses.. but i rather slog for my passion and my dreams then to slog for others that will not appreciate me.

[blueheaven]

Good to hear that bro

Keep up the good work and never give up

[lizard44]

hi BRO ROCKFISH,

i am glad that you have taken the plunge ...

i can assure you that you will never regret it.

i am now quite old ... soon to be a grandfather i think ... i believe i have seen enough shit to say a few passionate words about what to do and what to avoid.

every business is different and that means one cannot just apply another business' lessons learnt directly.

nevertheless, i hope you can listen more and do more ...

here is a good link:

Build Your Pipeline Dream ...

listen to it at least 5 times and let it sink in ... you will never regret it.

one of the key problems about singaporeans is that they seldom share their success, they always tell their failures. KIASU-ISM? i really don't know. failure who don't know, it is the success that we are keen to hear ...

but i do hope the successful ones do come forward and share ... after all, what's 3 million versus the world ... we can definitely unite and find street monies from the world oyster.

most importantly, enjoy the process ...

i hope your family is fully behind you ... me not so lucky ... i have to find a ga-ga spectator hahahahahahaha to tell my bedtime story ...

lizard

[rockfish]

Hi bro lizard,

I understand the importance and the need to talk and listen to others.

I talked to ppls that

gives good suggestions,

some that throw insults,

some that ask lots of questions,

some that just smile and pat my shoulder,

some that wanna discourage me,

and some that says " we believe in u".

I take all that as a blessing.

Suggestions to improve my planning.

Insults to improve my tolerance.

Question to bring out areas i have not tot of.

Smiles and pats on my shoulders to courage me to stick to my dreams.

Failure examples to remind myself that i can't give up.

And those that says "we believe in u" to give me fuel to go all the way.

Although i lose the faith of some friends who wanna strive together in the beginning, but I still have my whole family behind me. And My dad is the key man.

Not only did he support me mentally, he even pump in money to make the venture possible.

He understands. He was like me and he made it. And he wants us(my bros and I) to be successful too.

[ervine]

i'm one of those who gave up a piece of paper (or in the process of giving up a better paper) in order to pursue his passion/dreams..

and I must say it ain't easy... especially so when you have friends around you earning many many more times what you earn... (for me it's just about zero income for now)... not to mention the pressure from your family and gf to earn money...

and all people in the creative field will know that money and art seldom mix well... everyone (esp singaporeans perhaps) want cheap and good things.. everything cheap and good, no one can appreciate modestly priced and good anymore... but when things get too cheap, how can an artist sustain himself?

but heck it.. i'm a lot happier now than I was before... so who's the one who has the last laugh?

[Dazza]

Great to hear all the stories here & I always have respect for people who dare take the plunge to pursue their passion. I also took the plunge abt 4 yrs ago & found it a different kind of struggle. Go for it bros & sis. Btw where is ur new restaurant bro rockfish, will ask frds to pop by. It'll be great to be able to help each other out. Every little bit helps especially at the start...

[minsmarine]

Ah yea why do u guy want to work har

we got so many things can do

rob the bank ( need to know which bank has 50M in cash first )

buy toto ( 4D is not counted in cause return is lower than toto )

set up a company , talk rubbish , go IPO, sell all share , than become millionaire.

Cheat People

If you are smart , intellegance , honest than there are so many BAD GUYS out there to skin you ALIVE.

I'd learned for 180K, that don't ever be honest and stupid to those BAD GUYS.

[rockfish]

Great to hear all the stories here & I always have respect for people who dare take the plunge to pursue their passion. I also took the plunge abt 4 yrs ago & found it a different kind of struggle. Go for it bros & sis. Btw where is ur new restaurant bro rockfish, will ask frds to pop by. It'll be great to be able to help each other out. Every little bit helps especially at the start...

It will be at Amoy St. Will let u guys noe when i'm ready to launch.

Will be ready in Oct!! so just pop by have a cup of coffe and chat about fish .. haha

[ervine]

It will be at Amoy St. Will let u guys noe when i'm ready to launch.

Will be ready in Oct!! so just pop by have a cup of coffe and chat about fish .. haha

does it have a show tank??

[stabilo]

does it have a show tank??

Wah, near my office !!! I sure drop by when it's ready......btw, how many feet tank will it be?

[mUAr_cHEe]

Well then, BH , tell us what it takes,"to do whatever we are interested in, follow their passion and achieve their dreams" without slogging?

relac sis.... some of us still slogging with u...

[rockfish]

Wah, near my office !!! I sure drop by when it's ready......btw, how many feet tank will it be?

i'm planning to have a 4ft or 5 ft reef tank in there..

have to depends on the layout of the shop.

and maybe some fengshui issues too .