Tuesday, September 11, 2012

Windfall.

As mentioned earlier, here I am again. The catalyst to my urge to write another post was a special remark made by my friend. We all love positive reinforcements, don't we? :)

Just a random thought. What would you do if you had a windfall of say, 1 million dollars? Well what is 1 millon dollars these days, so many people are millionaires. With inflation, rise of living costs, increase in life expectancy - circumstances changed. The value of a million has diminished since.

Well, let's step it up to $10,000,000. What would you do if you had a windfall of $10m?

The answer may constructed by many factors - way of life, status, vision and dream. For example - Ser Siang, I know he is passionate about combating hunger. If he had abundance of health to dispose (wait, he already has!), he would probably donate food to feed the needy or even set up a research institute that generates crops at faster rate? Another friend of mine, Ker Lee shared a similar point of view, she ultimately would use her wealth to fight against diseases and hunger, aiding those in need.


We've lead a comfortable life, sometimes it's good to realize the not-so-perfect side of life. It's terrific to help the less fortunate when you can afford to.

On the other hand, some would say, they dream to increase the literacy level in Malaysia, set up more libraries and affordable learning institutions.

Besides all these selfless thoughts, there are who are simpler and have other intentions. I've heard that one would stop working and live on with comfort because $10m is good to feed one person till he/she reaches their deathbed. How about dreams, legacy, the world is offspring is going to be born into?

I shall share my thoughts on what I would do if I had such a windfall. Because I came from a middle-class family, my aspirations may differ a little.

Firstly, I would delegate a portion of the wealth for investment - be it properties, stocks, land, start a F and B chain or anything that enables capital appreciation and generate returns (what to do, we humans have insatiable desire for wealth).

Next, I would like to share with you I have a dream, my dream is to nurture. I want to nurture, teach, guide and develop people. Be it helping a school kid achieve his gold medal in sports, helping an overweight person to be fit, or even simply inspire one to be a better member of the society.

Recently, the London Olympics was held. Even more recent was the Paralympics. Heck, when I saw a photo of the trainer leading blind sprinters in a 100m event, I had goosebumps. I thought to myself, the paralympic athletes are amazing beings, their determination is out of the world! But the patience and dedication of their trainers are not short of the description of amazing either. I've even seen a blind Kenyan marathon runner. Hats off to these people who give us more to ponder on humanity.

Respect.

Because of my enthusiasm in sports, I wish to set up an academy that would train, nurture young talents. There's so much that sports can offer besides shaping you to be fit, it cultivates discipline. My passion to nurture and develop someone may be related to my urge to start a family and have kids. Imagining the little ones develop into fine beings (no matter how tough it is), ah that would make me smile - a smile that I would proudly bring to my grave.

Next, I would pamper those who are dear to me - my family, extended family, wife (if I'm ever blessed with one), close friends. Seeing people around me happy makes me happy. Note the title of my blog; "It's you that matters". It has never changed since 2005 when I started this blog. When I said it's you that matters, it doesn't refer to a specific girl, mind you. It actually refers to everyone close to me, each and everyone of you matters to me, in whatever extend of proximity.

Lastly, I would love to travel everywhere else! I used to be a school boy Geography-nerd, I love looking at atlas, maps and identifying flags. Among the places that I would like to visit are New York, Vancouver, Rio de Janeiro, Paris, Venice, Capri, Rome, The Alps, Seoul, New Zealand, Maldives, Beijing, Yangtze River, Hong Kong, South Africa & so much more! So far I've only crossed Malaysian borders to Thailand, Singapore, London and Melbourne - but not forgetting my trip to Tokyo by end of this year! I would love to see every other part of the world :).

I may have came to the end of my thoughts for today. Need to keep some brain juice flowing for work tomorrow. Back to reality! But yeah - those are my thoughts and wish that I would like to realize them some day.