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A while ago, I was having dinner with a friend. She jokingly mentioned that my biography should be titled “Beating the System” or something along those lines, because of all the stuff I’ve managed to get away with.
And in retrospect, she could be right. I’ve gotten away with a lot of things. Given the stuff I’ve done, I should have got into way more trouble than I have, and I should have been far from where I am now. But I’m not. Why? Partly, I think it’s because I’m capable of bullshitting my way out of most situations.
But that’s not what I want to focus on now, because I don’t think it’s the most important thing. I think the most important things is this: I’m willing to try and push the system. I’m willing to go against the system, to test the limits, and to take the leap and see what happens.
And I think that’s the first, and arguably most important step in beating the system. Having that willingness to take the risk, to stand by what you want, and go for it. Too many people, especially here in Singapore, worry about getting into trouble. They worry that if they test the rules, or the authority, that they will get completely screwed over and things will be horrible. But more often than not, that’s not true.
Of course, you don’t just break the rules for the sake of it. But if you see a rule that you think is pointless, if there’s a part of the system you don’t agree with, have the courage to go against it. Once you get rid of that fear (of getting into trouble, of being outcast, etc), you’re halfway there.
Taking the leap is half the battle won.
What’s stopping you from going against the system, and living life on your own terms?
Those of you who know me would know that I’ve been playing music for a long time. I’ve never given myself a shot at it, though, basically because I’ve always felt I wouldn’t be good enough.
Now, that’s about to change. I’ve finally decided to step out and go after this dream that I’ve had for the longest time, and as such, I’m putting up my very own concert. I’ll be doing 5 originals – which I’ve written over the past 2 months – as well as a few originals, from John Mayer, Bon Jovi and the like.
So, for those of you in Singapore on 30 April, I would love if you could come and support me. It’ll be at 8pm, at the HSR auditorium. Maybe you’ll be inspired that you too can live your dreams as well.
As some of you may already know, I play guitar and keyboard, and am very much a music person. Most of you probably don’t know, though, that I do some songwriting as well. And well, I just wrote a song over the past week, a message to myself which I feel fits in well with the theme of this blog, so I thought I’d share it here.
No recording yet, though, but that’ll come in time. In the meantime, here are the lyrics to one of my latest songs. Let me know what you think?
Out of this Mould
I stare blankly at this page before me
Every word I think of just seems so cliche
It’s a striking image of my own life
Where there’s nothing new, and everyday just seems to be the same
I’m tired of the same old story
The same old excuses and worries
And I know, that it’s time to make a change
I’ve got to break out of this mould
Step out of this comfort that I’ve been trained to live in
Got to break out of my routine
Follow my heart, and start pursuing my dreams
Can’t just keep doing what I’m told, no, no,
I’ve got to break out of this mould
I take two steps forward,
Then one step back
Struggling to find my way
On this brand new track
I search for a sign, or a path that I can follow
But there’s none,
And I’ve got to go on my own
I’m tired of being just another face in the crowd
It’s time for me to stand up up and finally be myself
So yeah, that’s it. A reminder to myself to be true to myself and not let anyone else dictate my life. If you have any comments/suggestions, I’d love to hear them. =).
Earlier this year, Arielle Patrice Scott (an awesome young lady who you should definitely check out) gathered a group of driven young people, fora meetup where they talked about their personal brands. It’s since evolved into a meetup for them to support each other and help each other achieve what they want to do. That meet-up has since become GenJuice, a meetup for young driven people to help each other reach specific professional goals.
Arielle explains more about GenJuice in this video:
When she first told me about it, I was really excited about the idea. Using social media to help young people achieve their dreams – that’s something I really believe in and want to be a part of. That’s what I love the most about social media. For me social media is not really about helping big companies market their products (don’t get me wrong, it’s useful for that, but that’s not where my passion lies). To me, social media is a great platform for individuals to achieve their dreams.
So, I’ve decided to start a GenJuice in Singapore. I think it’s something that could be really great for young people here, and I’m really looking forward to it.
If it sounds like something that you’d be interested in, I’d love to have you come. You can view the event details (and RSVP) on the Facebook event, but basically, it’s on 6 March, 6pm, at Hackerspace Singapore.
It happens to the best of us, in whatever we’re doing. Sometimes we just hit a dead end and it feels like no matter what we do, it’s not going right. How do you get out of the slump?
To be perfectly honest, I don’t have the answer myself. I’m struggling with that too. But poker has thought me a couple of things about it, though.
Firstly, it’s thought me to go back to basics when things aren’t going my way. More often than not, when things aren’t going well, the best way to get back on track is just to go back to basics. Things that won’t set the world alight, but you know will give you consistent results. Do that for a while, get some confidence back, and you’ll be back on track.
Secondly, while you’re doing that, figure out why exactly it is that you’re not succeeding as much as you think you should. You have to be perfectly honest with yourself. Sometimes, you just aren’t doing the right thing, and you need to re-evaluate your strategy/actions.
Thirdly, I think sometimes, the best thing to do is just take a break. Take a step away from it all – it’ll sometimes give you a fresh perspective on things.
That’s my three tips for getting out of a slump. But again, just my opinion. You guys probably have better ideas than I do, and I would love to hear them. So, yeah, what do you do when you feel you’re in a slump?
Watching the Arsenal vs Chelsea match on Sunday really hurt, as an Arsenal fan. It sucked to see Arsenal lose.
The biggest thing about the loss, though, was the way it happened. Arsenal had most of the possession, they passed it around well. They even created a few chances and all, but in the end they could not score. They couldn’t make the most of having controlled possession.
Chelsea on the other hand, had 3 shots all match. 2 of them went in, and 1 hit the crossbar. That’s pure efficiency. And that’s why we won.
And I think that’s true of anything in life as well. It’s all well and good being elegant and all, but at the end of the day, you need to be aware of whatever opportunities come up.You’ll always have opportunities and chances to achieve what you want. But you need to take your chances, or you’ll never win.
By now, those of you in the social media scene have probably heard of the incident with Daniel Brusilovsky and TechCrunch. For those of you who don’t, here’s a rundown of the situation. Daniel was interning for TechCrunch, and allegedly asked for a Macbook Air in exchange for a post about a startup. TechCrunch found out about it, and fired Daniel, who followed up with a personal statement, admitting that “a line was crossed”, but not quite saying much else.
To be perfectly honest, I’ve been quite intrigued by the whole scenario. I honestly did not know of Daniel before this (though I probably should have), so it was interesting. To see another young blogger do something like this, and the reactions that its received.
Personally, I think what Daniel has done is indefensible. A group of us bloggers in Singapore recently had a meetup where we were just talking about the up-and-coming culture of bloggers asking to be paid. And I’m personally hugely against it. So, that’s where I stand on the whole issue. Daniel was wrong, and deserved to be fired.
The main two things that catch my attention, though, are these.
Firstly, Daniel’s statement. He doesn’t quite admit to anything on this. He says “a line was crossed that should have never been”, but that he “[does] not want to go into details”. He also seems to make excuses, claiming his youth. He then makes a request for privacy. You know what the statement reminds me of? Tiger Woods’ statement after his accident at the end of last year. It feels like a crafted statement, to reveal as little as possible, and try to sweep everything under the rug as quickly as he can.
Ppl praising @danielbru ask yourself this: After getting caught red-handed what other choice did he have but to apologize?
And that’s what it strikes me as. An apology (not even an apology, but a statement), for the sake of it because he was already busted. Of course, I could be wrong, but personally, reading that, it didn’t seem particularly sincere or remorseful. I’d like for him to come out and be straight about it, and say “I did this. It was wrong, there was no excuse for it.”
Secondly, and more importantly, I think is the fact that lots of people are saying that people should cut him some slack because he is a kid. Yes, he is a kid, but kids can and do take on responsibilities too. (And for what it’s worth, from the way his statement itself is crafted, it seems to me that he’s more than smart enough to have known what he was doing.)
Granted, I’m a couple of years older than him (and am not quite anywhere near his level of fame), but speaking as a kid, I don’t think he should be excused on those grounds. Us “kids” are always asking to be treated and respected as adults, and well, to quote Spiderman, “with great power comes great responsibility”. You can’t have it both ways – you can’t ask to be respected as an adult, but hide behind the image of being a kid if you make a mistake.
If you want to hide behind the label of a kid, stay in the playground. Once you choose to step out, you need to face the responsibilities of being an adult – and own up to your mistakes. It may sound harsh, but that’s my 2 cents.
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