Saturday, August 31, 2013

Yeo Sze Ling vs Jamie Chua

I blogged about Dr Yeo Sze Ling earlier and was tempted to compare her with Jamie Chua. Looks like many also felt the same.

Jamie is very popular. I read somewhere she had garnered upward of 89K likes on Instagram.

People are typically contradictory. They called Jamie shallow but I bet countless women have given her more mindshare that Sze Ling.

Fast forward 20 years for both of them. Imagine what might have happened. Forward to the point of death, that point when nobody ever complained about spending too little time in the office; looking better than others or being the top dog. What mattered then would be your relationships and if you are leaving this world a little better than you had first found it.

Update: Sep 1, 3:30pm

So fortunate to be able to locate this story I used to receive in the mail years ago. Few people are like this fisherman, i.e., most would take the advice of the investment banker. Explains why so many are in awe and deeply admiring Jamie Chua. I could very well substitute her for any iconic successful personality here or abroad. At the end of the day it is one lifelong ego trip isn't it? A waste of time but most find it irresistible to resist. It is also the cause of much troubles in the world today. This is also the root of divisions and the wealth gap.

The investment banker was at the pier of a small coastal
Mexican village when a small boat with just one fisherman docked.
Inside the small boat were several large yellow fin tuna. The
investment banker complimented the fisherman on the quality of his fish
and asked how long it took to catch them.
The fisherman replied, only a little while.
The investment banker then asked why didn't he stay out longer and catch
more fish?
The fisherman said he had enough to support his family's immediate needs.
The investment banker then asked, but what do you do with the rest of your
time?
The fisherman said, "I sleep late, fish a little, play with my
children, take siesta with my wife, Maria, stroll into the village each
evening where I sip wine and play guitar with my amigos, I have a full
and busy life, senor."
The investment banker scoffed, "I am a Harvard MBA and could help you. You
should spend more time fishing and with the proceeds, buy a bigger boat.
With the proceeds from the bigger boat you could buy several boats, eventually
you would have a fleet of fishing boats. Instead of selling your catch to a
middleman you would sell directly to the processor, eventually opening
your own cannery. You would control the product, processing and
distribution. You can leave this small coastal fishing village and move to Mexico City,
then LA and eventually NYC where you will run your expanding enterprise."
The fisherman asked, "But senor, how long will this all take?"
To which the American replied, "15-20 years."
But what then, senor?
The American laughed and said that's the best part. When the time is
right you would announce an IPO and sell your company stock to the public
and become very rich, you would make millions.
Millions, senor? Then what?
The American said, "Then you would retire. Move to a small coastal
fishing village where you would sleep late, fish a little, play with your
kids, take siesta with your wife, stroll to the village in the evenings
where you could sip wine and play your guitar with your amigos."

4 comments:

  1. The sad fact about Singapore society is not that Jamie Chua and her lifestyle exist, but that there are tons of such women (and men!) and many wannabes (who will not hesitate to sell their souls for such a lifestyle) in Singapore.

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  2. Why not compare her with Ho Yeow Sun?

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  3. I don't understand this at all. Ms Chua married a rich husband. She has money. She buys pretty things. She dolls herself up. She flaunts. But at the end of the day, what has Ms Chua done to deserve the "awe and admiration" and attention?

    MSM in Singapore like to feature these rich people, don't it? What's the point of these articles anyway and for what purpose - to elicit admiration or envy, or both?

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