8 Feb 2016 update: (CNY Day 1, day after mom's funeral), at breakfast with all and asked 3 girls to write down on paper 5 principles they learnt from me. Only Tian managed to include both principles here. Also asked her to collate all 3 lists to produce '3 pieces of paper for life'.
During the 2008 Global Financial Crisis when share prices were so beaten down that many of their PE (price/earning) ratios were below 10 and dividend rates were more than 10%, I used up all my cash together with some from my youngest sister buying up shares between Sep-Dec 08. My first purchase was $20k of Lehman Brothers (shares) which went bankrupt! (so lost all that money). After that, prices continued to go down through to Mar 09 when I was sitting on book losses of about 15% on my whole portfolio. However, after that things improved and a year later, my portfolio was up close to 60% (including dividends).
Because of that, I decided to get my kids and nieces/nephew interested in share investing. So during Chinese New Year of 2009 I offered the kids 2 choices of 'ang pows' - one containing $150 and the other with 'share certificates' (issued by me) for 1,000 shares of CapitaREIT China (a real estate investment trust run by Capital Land that invests in mainly shopping malls in China).
After showing the older ones (all below 12) how to check for the price of the share (about 50c) and its past year dividend rate online, they decided to take the 'shares' instead of the cash (the youngest who was about 6 then did not understand anything and just followed the others).
On those 'certificates' I outlined my terms - redemption of the shares from me can only be done after age 17 and dividends must be claimed within a year of dividend declaration by the company involved (although actual collection can be done later). The intent of the latter condition is to start them on where/how to check for dividend announcements and calculating them.
Over the next 2 years I issued other shares to the kids as CNY ang pows and took the opportunity to show them again how to do the online checks and calculate how much dividend they got. When they saw how much they were getting they were very happy.
During one of the training sessions (in Dec 2010), the one who impressed me was my niece TYL from Australia. When I announced that I will be showing her and my younger daughter how to do that, she asked me to wait while she ran upstairs to get her note book so that she could record what I was about to show. Some one had taught her well on the power of paper! (see History of Paper below)
So before I left KL for Singapore, I passed TYL 2 pieces of paper with notes on them and told her that they contain what I consider are important things to remember as she grow up. One was on the old Indian fable 'the elephant and 5 blindmen' and the other about the 3 levels of human development.
The Elephant and 5 Blindmen
This is an old Indian fable I learnt in primary school in Malaysia. I always tell others that if there is one fable they wish to remember or impart to their young, this is the one.
It is the story about 5 blindmen who wanted to find out what an elephant is like. But because they touched different parts of the elephant, each of them had a different perception:
- one touched the ear and said 'elephant is like a fan',
- one touched the body and said 'it is like a wall',
- one touched the leg and said 'it is like a pillar'
- one touched the tail and said 'it is like a rope'
- one touched the nose and said 'it is like branch of a tree'
This fable is trying to convey a few different messages:
- all of us start life like 'blindmen' with little experience and understanding of things
- sometimes we think we know the truth when we only have a partial or incomplete picture
- cooperation, listening to and learning from others can help one form a much more complete picture (so do not be arrogant and not talk/listen to others)
If each of those blindmen was selfish/arrogant and not receptive of what the others say, then each will end up with wrong or incomplete picture of the elephant. However, if they were to share their findings and cooperate to find out why they each had a different perception, then they all have a better chance of forming a better picture than they started with.
The 3 Levels of Human Development
Can't remember how I got this idea but only remember that it was sometime in 2001. I could have read something like it somewhere, probably from a book on Buddhism.
The idea is that different humans operate at different levels depending on their level of development or attainment :
Level 1 - Self and Greed
Level 2 - Awareness
Level 3 - Control and Choice
Level 1 - Self and Greed
Human behaviour tend to be driven by self (self centredness, self preservation, self first etc) and greed. Their first instinct is to take care of themselves or their self interests and satisfy their greed. At this level, it is all about 'what is in it for me?' with little or no consideration for other people or their environment.
Self first is hardwired into all animals because it is essential for survival. But human greed far exceeds that which is needed for survival. Other animals may collect and store enough food to last at most one winter. But there is no limit to some human greed as some will continue to gather wealth even when they already have enough to last many generations! Greed is the source of most conflicts and man-made disasters.
Quote: The world has enough for everyone's needs but not everyone's greed - Mahatma Gandhi
People who operate only at Level 1 are therefore very dangerous and one should be very careful when dealing with them because they will bring harm to others (more likely) and themselves.
People operating at this level also tend to think highly of themselves (egoistical), spiteful and deceitful (as they have to hide their self centredness and greed to avoid being found out). Because of their selfishness, they will not be willing to share things (including knowledge) with others.
To a frog at the bottom of the well, the sky is only as big as the well's opening - Mao Tze Tung
Until established otherwise, in all our dealings we must start with the assumption that the other party (friends, colleagues and family included) is operating based on self and greed, and one therefore should not be too trusting of what they say or do. Always double check and watch what they do!
The people most likely and able to steal from or take advantage of you are the ones closest to you (because you tend to trust them most).
People who get cheated by others tend to be Level 1 type because salesmen and con men etc. know how to make use of this human tendency to be selfish and greedy to entice/entrap them. They are the easiest to fool...
Level 2 - Awareness
Humans can progress beyond Level 1 only after they start to use their awareness and thinking ability.
Awareness is the prerequisite for the acquisition of knowledge. Knowledge is power.
One who has a keen sense of awareness may start to observe and analyse what is happening around (the enviroment0 and by so doing begin to understand how and why things work the way they do. That may be understanding how Nature works (e.g. science, maths) or how humans behave (e.g. the principles contained in this article)
If one is not so egoistical (Level 1) as to think that others have nothing to teach them, awareness also allows that person seek to learn from others. People who are not aware that books or the internet exist or are too arrogant to learn from others will not be able to expand their knowledge as quickly as others. Egoism or arrogance is self centredness.
Combination of awareness and good analysis allows one to differentiate real knowledge/truths from false knowledge/untruths or misconceptions.
Quote: To know what you know and know what you don't know is true wisdom - Confucius
With REAL knowledge one can also improve one's ability to judge other people and determine their real character and intent.
To establish the true character of another person:
- be aware of what the other party do or say at different times,
- seek other people's opinion about that person (but dont take as truths)
- observe how that person deal with other people who cannot do anything to or for that person
- analyse all above together!
Essentially, it is to apply the 'elephant and 5 blindmen' principle on judging human character. A person below Level 2 will not be able to apply that principle beause to fully appreciate that fable and its teachings require awareness.
Level 3 - Control and Choice
When one has gained REAL knowledge, then one can progress to the next level. Instead of just operating in Level 2 and gathering knowledge, one can begin to use those knowledge to manage or improve one's future or environment.
Some people operate in Level 2 but do not progress further because they do not know how to utilise the knowledge they have or are too lazy (no desire or will).
Knowledge is worthless if not used nor shared
Compassion without knowledge is ineffective
Knowledge without compassion is inhumane - Victor Weisskopf
Level 3 people are also better able to predict what is going to happen ahead of time and others (see further), prepare for their impact and, if possible, influence their outcome. In other words, they are better able to understand and manage risks.
Knowledgeable people tend to have more choices in life and less fearful when faced with new challenges because their knowledge enable them to think through issues and challenges and come up with alternative responses or action plans.
Only with real knowledge can one be able to make right choices and control outcomes positively which in turn is the source of true freedom and satisfaction (happiness).
But knowledge can also be dangerous if deployed for ill intent. There are knowledgeable people who by choice use what they know to satisfy their greed and self, and use their control of information and knowledge to control others for the same purpose. These are the most dangerous people because they are pros doing it consciously and in controlled fashion (because they are Level 3!). Big time and sophisticated conmen and salesmen fall into this category. Only sharp people with high awareness can spot such people. Similarly, such pros can spot those sharp people and would not go near them nor target them to con (there are lots more easier preys).
People today is more 'free' than people in the past because with new techonologies like telephone, radio, TV and internet, more people have access to knowledge and selfish people are less able to keep knowledge to themselves or control who get access to those knowledge.
Quote: Know oneself and know one's competition, a hundred battles a hundred victories - Sun Ze (Sun Tzu)
Quote: In the land of the blind, the one-eye jack is king
RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN THE 2 CONCEPTS:
A level 1 blindman may think that he already knows all that is to be known about elephants and ignore the other blindmen. His egoism will be the cause of his problems because he would go round thinking that he is right and the others are wrong. Believing a Level 1 blindman's view but not others will bring disaster.
A level 2 blindman who listen to the other blindmen may quickly realise that he may not have complete picture and stop claiming his view is whole truth and be open to consider possibility others may also be right but have incomplete picture like him. But that does not mean he would end up with a better picture of the elephant. It depends on what he chooses to do further with the others' information.
A level 3 blindman that chooses to react to the additional information from the other blindmen (by exercising his choice and control over his own action) in a positive way, will combine all 5 blindmens views and if he manage to get the others to cooperate, overtime end up with much better picture of what an elephant is like!
HISTORY OF PAPER, PRINTING PRESS AND THE SPREAD OF KNOWLEDGE:
People who know history know that paper is a cheap means for disseminating information and knowledge, and together with the invention of the printing press contributed significantly to the great leap in science and technology after Europeans learnt how to make paper and invented printing press.
Paper was invented by the Chinese 2,000 years ago (Han Dynasty). Around 700 AD the Arab armies had taken over the Persian empire (which included today's Afghanistan). That brought them next to the Chinese Tang empire which then included today's Tajikistan (a country north of Afghanistan). As a result, the 2 armies met. In one of the battles, the Tang army was defeated and the Arabs caught many Chinese soldiers and support staff which included army scribes responsible for recording events for reporting back to emperor.
From those Chinese scribes, the Arabs learnt how to make paper and from there that knowledge spread throughout the muslim world which then included places like North Africa, Spain and Portugal.
In the 12th century, Spanish christians defeated the muslims and learnt to make paper from Arabs ruling Spain then. From there, knowledge of paper making spread throughout Europe.
In the 15th century, German Johannes Gutenberg invented the 'movable type printing press' which allowed books to be mass produced much more cheaply and faster than reproduction by hand and other means. That invention substantially enabled the spread of knowledge in Europe.
18th century German philosopher: Johann Gottfried Herder said about paper: Hail to the inventor of paper who did more for literature than all the monarchs on earth.
Monday, January 10, 2011
Friday, January 07, 2011
Value of a Pencil Case
When the whole family went out shopping in Bukit Bintang (popular shopping belt in KL), we split up to do our own shopping. On the appointed gathering time, none of the others were there. So I called my sister and found out that they were still trying to help my niece Le look for a pencil case. Apparently they had gone from one complex to another to no avail. Curious with how buying a pencil case could take so long, I decided to join the 'search'.
In the interest of time, this time only me and my 3rd sister (but not her mom) went with her.
There are a lot of small shops in that area selling all kinds of cheap unbranded products, and that was where we went to search for her pencil case. Very soon I noticed that what we had seen so far in those low end shops were not what she had in mind. We could find cases of the right size but they were still not it.
While trying do describe in more detail, she mentioned that all her other classmates in Aus had one of those things (like all kids, she was longing for what her friends had!). Since I had no knowledge of Aussie kids' latest pencil case fad I asked her if she had seen anything close to it so far. She said 'yes but they are too expensive'. I said 'never mind but show me'
She then brought us back to the Parkson department store (where we started at the beginning of the shopping trip!). The 'real thing' was a pouch made of soft rubber like those shock absorbent computer notebook 'sleeves' (just smaller and with zippers). And the place where the 'right case' was found was none other than the section selling Aussie brands like Billabong etc.! (I should have thought of it earlier). The case she liked was from the brand 'Rip Curl'. I took a look and could tell that not only were the quality different but the designer patterns on the thing looked much nicer.
Knowing by then what she was looking for and how important it was to her, I told her in front of my 3rd sis 'Buy it. No point going to other places anymore. Even if we bring you to the moon and back we will not find what you want anywhere else'.
But the young girl hesitated and said 'but my mom said it is too expensive'. That's when I realised that they had actually found what the girl wanted at the very beginning (we started our shopping there) but was told that she could not have it because it was 'too expensive'!
The Rip Curl case was selling at RM40 after 20% discount while the unbranded ones were RM10 to RM20.
I said to Le 'ignore the price and tell me what you think about the quality of this case compared to the others. Are those RM10-20 ones in the other shops of the same quality as this one?' She said 'No'.
I told her 'just look at the zipper of this Rip Curl case and compare it to the zipper of the (ubranded) money pouch you are carrying. Can you see the difference in quality? This zipper is much smoother and more robust. It will last much longer than the other zipper'
That is why one should not buy things based only on price. Only simpletons who do not know how to determine quality do that. They rely on price and price only because they have no other basis for comparison. But people with sufficient knowledge and awareness do not do that.
A good quality product selling at twice the price but looks much nicer (and makes you fell better) and lasts twice as long as a cheaper one is NOT expensive. It is value for money. We should buy products because they are 'value for money' and not because they are cheap.
In addtion, I told her that she had some dividend money of her own anyway and can decide on what to spend it on herself without worrying about what others think or say. That was why I wanted to teach her and the other kids the importance of share investing. Having one's own source of income is freedom!
The young girl then reached into her own pouch for her money and bought that Rip Curl case with her own money.
When I tried to pull her leg on the next outing by asking her if what she was looking at was too expensive, she smiled and said 'I still have some more of my dividend money!'
That Rip Curl pencil case proved to worth much more than RM40 indeed...
In the interest of time, this time only me and my 3rd sister (but not her mom) went with her.
There are a lot of small shops in that area selling all kinds of cheap unbranded products, and that was where we went to search for her pencil case. Very soon I noticed that what we had seen so far in those low end shops were not what she had in mind. We could find cases of the right size but they were still not it.
While trying do describe in more detail, she mentioned that all her other classmates in Aus had one of those things (like all kids, she was longing for what her friends had!). Since I had no knowledge of Aussie kids' latest pencil case fad I asked her if she had seen anything close to it so far. She said 'yes but they are too expensive'. I said 'never mind but show me'
She then brought us back to the Parkson department store (where we started at the beginning of the shopping trip!). The 'real thing' was a pouch made of soft rubber like those shock absorbent computer notebook 'sleeves' (just smaller and with zippers). And the place where the 'right case' was found was none other than the section selling Aussie brands like Billabong etc.! (I should have thought of it earlier). The case she liked was from the brand 'Rip Curl'. I took a look and could tell that not only were the quality different but the designer patterns on the thing looked much nicer.
Knowing by then what she was looking for and how important it was to her, I told her in front of my 3rd sis 'Buy it. No point going to other places anymore. Even if we bring you to the moon and back we will not find what you want anywhere else'.
But the young girl hesitated and said 'but my mom said it is too expensive'. That's when I realised that they had actually found what the girl wanted at the very beginning (we started our shopping there) but was told that she could not have it because it was 'too expensive'!
The Rip Curl case was selling at RM40 after 20% discount while the unbranded ones were RM10 to RM20.
I said to Le 'ignore the price and tell me what you think about the quality of this case compared to the others. Are those RM10-20 ones in the other shops of the same quality as this one?' She said 'No'.
I told her 'just look at the zipper of this Rip Curl case and compare it to the zipper of the (ubranded) money pouch you are carrying. Can you see the difference in quality? This zipper is much smoother and more robust. It will last much longer than the other zipper'
That is why one should not buy things based only on price. Only simpletons who do not know how to determine quality do that. They rely on price and price only because they have no other basis for comparison. But people with sufficient knowledge and awareness do not do that.
A good quality product selling at twice the price but looks much nicer (and makes you fell better) and lasts twice as long as a cheaper one is NOT expensive. It is value for money. We should buy products because they are 'value for money' and not because they are cheap.
In addtion, I told her that she had some dividend money of her own anyway and can decide on what to spend it on herself without worrying about what others think or say. That was why I wanted to teach her and the other kids the importance of share investing. Having one's own source of income is freedom!
The young girl then reached into her own pouch for her money and bought that Rip Curl case with her own money.
When I tried to pull her leg on the next outing by asking her if what she was looking at was too expensive, she smiled and said 'I still have some more of my dividend money!'
That Rip Curl pencil case proved to worth much more than RM40 indeed...
Saturday, January 01, 2011
Cutting the Invisible Strings
My sister living in Australia returned to Malaysia with her daughter Le (who was on school holiday) for a visit.
As they did for the last few trips (of slightly more than a month long from Dec to Jan - summer holidays in Aus), they flew to KL and spent a couple of weeks there to catch up with relatives and friends, then they travelled with my parents to Batu Pahat for a few days to visit my second sister and family, and then to Singapore for a few days to visit me and her sister-in-law. After that they returned to KL where they caught their return flight home after a week or so.
I imagine it must have been quite hectic for the 2 of them. So this time I offered to drive them back to KL using youngest sister's car (since I was not working) and spent the next week with them in KL. (That was the last trip I made back to Malaysia before my 3 months temporary Singapore re-entry permit expired. The usual length of the permit is 5-years. But the terms of my 'technical skill resident' PR is such that they would not issue one if I was not employed. I got that 3-month temp permit only on appeal)
Over the few days in Singapore, I noticed that Le who was then 13 was sometimes going out without carrying a bag or pouch of her own (my younger daughter who went out with her always carried a pouch with her handphone etc.)
So one day when I got to speak to her alone, I told her that she should carry a personal bag with essential things like some money, personal identity, important contact numbers etc. every time she goes out so that in case of emergencies like when she loses touch with her mom while out travelling, she can 'survive' on her own for a short time while she make or find her own way home or look for help (her grandma also have umbrella, water and useful ointments in her bag all the time). Otherwise whenever she goes out she would be 'fearful' of losing touch with her parents and others, and would always feel the need to be very close to them and have little freedom to do her own things.
That, I said, is an 'invisible string' that should be cut.
Once she is well prepared to survive alone for a while if need be, then she would have the confidence to do things on her own like leave her parents for a while to look for her own things when out shopping without a sense/fear of helplessness.
I then offered to buy her a pouch but she said that my youngest sister had bought her one while she was in KL.
Also passed her a small compass and said that since she live in a big place Australia where population is sparse and places far away, getting help from others may be difficult and she must be able to operate alone if required. So a compass and map can be very useful. She should familiarise herself with the location and compass direction of key places around her house and school. And always stay on main roads (instead of small ones) where there is better chance to run into help.
As a few months before there were some big bush fires near the town Churchill where they lived, I also told her that a small radio would be useful and to know the wind directions (draw arrows on maps!) there at different times of the year so that in case of such fires again she would know which direction to go or avoid (fires follow direction of prevailing wind so e.g. you have higher chance of running into the fire if you go against the wind).
[Note: different areas on globe have different wind directions and patterns.
In Malaysia and Singapore we have the northeast (Nov to Mar) and southwest (May to Sept) moonsoons when weather is wet and winds blow in from the northeast and southwest respectively. But in coastal areas like Singapore, the sea breeze may override when monsoon winds are weak. During day when land is warmer, wind blows from sea to land. At night, the reverse. So not so straight forward. Wet finger test may be better...]
From that day on, Le carried her pouch with her all the time.
When out shopping in Batu Pahat (on way back to KL) with her cousins Tian and Ze, I purposely told them that I was going off to shop alone and the 3 kids should do the same and meet me back at the same place at the appointed time. They went off and came back happily...
Also told them that if we didn't get to meet at agreed location, do not go elsewhere but stay at the agreed place. At most, retrace the last 2 places we went together but never go off to new places the whole party did not go before that!
I also shared with Le another thing I noticed for years - which was my sister always brought her along wherever she went, even when out meeting her old school friends.
So I asked Le what she did when her mom was catching up with her 50 year old friends. She said nothing and kept quiet when I said it should be very boring for her. I said that is also another form of 'invisible string'.
The good thing about having one's own self-sufficient pouch is that even if she accompanies her mom to meet her friends, the pouch would give her the confidence to leave her mom for a while and explore the places around there and do things on her own instead of just sitting there doing nothing.
[Knowing my sister who is very risk averse and fearful of everything, I suspect that bringing her daughter along with her increases her own sense of security. That's fine when Le was young and could not care for herself. But all that will have to end some day as the young girl will grow up and have to be left and learn to do things on her own sooner or later.]
Life Lesson:
Some one once wrote a book in which he said that life is all about understanding and managing risks. Humans progress over time because we learn more and more about the different risks we encounter and how to deal with those risks better than before.
Everyone is fearful of risks. But different people develop to different level depending on how well they understand and manage the risks they face or take. That is the critical difference.
Here is an analogy: Crossing road has risks but we do not stop ourselves from crossing roads. Instead we learn how to reduce the risk of being knocked down by a car.
Some people are so fearful of facing new risks that they either avoid doing new things or they freeze up when faced with new risks and could not take appropriate risk mitigation or management actions. Such people will never go far in life or achieve anything significant.
But the people who think or plan ahead before they do anything new and try to identify the potential risks they may face, and learn or think through how they can overcome or minimise the impact of those risks will be much less fearful of doing things (taking risk) and more likely to succeed in life.
So life is all about risk management...
As they did for the last few trips (of slightly more than a month long from Dec to Jan - summer holidays in Aus), they flew to KL and spent a couple of weeks there to catch up with relatives and friends, then they travelled with my parents to Batu Pahat for a few days to visit my second sister and family, and then to Singapore for a few days to visit me and her sister-in-law. After that they returned to KL where they caught their return flight home after a week or so.
I imagine it must have been quite hectic for the 2 of them. So this time I offered to drive them back to KL using youngest sister's car (since I was not working) and spent the next week with them in KL. (That was the last trip I made back to Malaysia before my 3 months temporary Singapore re-entry permit expired. The usual length of the permit is 5-years. But the terms of my 'technical skill resident' PR is such that they would not issue one if I was not employed. I got that 3-month temp permit only on appeal)
Over the few days in Singapore, I noticed that Le who was then 13 was sometimes going out without carrying a bag or pouch of her own (my younger daughter who went out with her always carried a pouch with her handphone etc.)
So one day when I got to speak to her alone, I told her that she should carry a personal bag with essential things like some money, personal identity, important contact numbers etc. every time she goes out so that in case of emergencies like when she loses touch with her mom while out travelling, she can 'survive' on her own for a short time while she make or find her own way home or look for help (her grandma also have umbrella, water and useful ointments in her bag all the time). Otherwise whenever she goes out she would be 'fearful' of losing touch with her parents and others, and would always feel the need to be very close to them and have little freedom to do her own things.
That, I said, is an 'invisible string' that should be cut.
Once she is well prepared to survive alone for a while if need be, then she would have the confidence to do things on her own like leave her parents for a while to look for her own things when out shopping without a sense/fear of helplessness.
I then offered to buy her a pouch but she said that my youngest sister had bought her one while she was in KL.
Also passed her a small compass and said that since she live in a big place Australia where population is sparse and places far away, getting help from others may be difficult and she must be able to operate alone if required. So a compass and map can be very useful. She should familiarise herself with the location and compass direction of key places around her house and school. And always stay on main roads (instead of small ones) where there is better chance to run into help.
As a few months before there were some big bush fires near the town Churchill where they lived, I also told her that a small radio would be useful and to know the wind directions (draw arrows on maps!) there at different times of the year so that in case of such fires again she would know which direction to go or avoid (fires follow direction of prevailing wind so e.g. you have higher chance of running into the fire if you go against the wind).
[Note: different areas on globe have different wind directions and patterns.
In Malaysia and Singapore we have the northeast (Nov to Mar) and southwest (May to Sept) moonsoons when weather is wet and winds blow in from the northeast and southwest respectively. But in coastal areas like Singapore, the sea breeze may override when monsoon winds are weak. During day when land is warmer, wind blows from sea to land. At night, the reverse. So not so straight forward. Wet finger test may be better...]
From that day on, Le carried her pouch with her all the time.
When out shopping in Batu Pahat (on way back to KL) with her cousins Tian and Ze, I purposely told them that I was going off to shop alone and the 3 kids should do the same and meet me back at the same place at the appointed time. They went off and came back happily...
Also told them that if we didn't get to meet at agreed location, do not go elsewhere but stay at the agreed place. At most, retrace the last 2 places we went together but never go off to new places the whole party did not go before that!
I also shared with Le another thing I noticed for years - which was my sister always brought her along wherever she went, even when out meeting her old school friends.
So I asked Le what she did when her mom was catching up with her 50 year old friends. She said nothing and kept quiet when I said it should be very boring for her. I said that is also another form of 'invisible string'.
The good thing about having one's own self-sufficient pouch is that even if she accompanies her mom to meet her friends, the pouch would give her the confidence to leave her mom for a while and explore the places around there and do things on her own instead of just sitting there doing nothing.
[Knowing my sister who is very risk averse and fearful of everything, I suspect that bringing her daughter along with her increases her own sense of security. That's fine when Le was young and could not care for herself. But all that will have to end some day as the young girl will grow up and have to be left and learn to do things on her own sooner or later.]
Life Lesson:
Some one once wrote a book in which he said that life is all about understanding and managing risks. Humans progress over time because we learn more and more about the different risks we encounter and how to deal with those risks better than before.
Everyone is fearful of risks. But different people develop to different level depending on how well they understand and manage the risks they face or take. That is the critical difference.
Here is an analogy: Crossing road has risks but we do not stop ourselves from crossing roads. Instead we learn how to reduce the risk of being knocked down by a car.
Some people are so fearful of facing new risks that they either avoid doing new things or they freeze up when faced with new risks and could not take appropriate risk mitigation or management actions. Such people will never go far in life or achieve anything significant.
But the people who think or plan ahead before they do anything new and try to identify the potential risks they may face, and learn or think through how they can overcome or minimise the impact of those risks will be much less fearful of doing things (taking risk) and more likely to succeed in life.
So life is all about risk management...
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