I read an article about Amber Chia in the Star newspaper recently. Actually I really admire her qualities as a person apart from being a Christian as well. How often can you find a model nowadays who is down to earth & humble? If you ask me, I think she has the potential to be one of the world's top supermodel in the future if given the chance. The article described what is her earlier childhood days were like when she was younger. Most of us might think a prominent figure like Amber would come from a well to do family, but the fact is she actually originated from a poor family background. There's one time her family was so poor she had to steal food from a grocery store & for that she got caned by her dad real bad. Even though they are poor, they still maintained their dignity & principles by not making a living through committing crimes. After going through some hardships & struggles, Amber managed to become an accountant & was working in Kuala Lumpur. During that time her talents & looks got discovered & that is where her modeling career began. Today you can see her face almost anywhere in the advertising media from international to local brands. Truly a good example of what a Malaysian should be, to able to engage culture creatively and be a world shaker in the marketplace.
However my main reason to highlight Amber's story is not to promote her, but to educate some of us here who has the "This is M'sia mah!" mentality especially among parents. I've seen the same scenario every year, again & again. After the SPM results are released, I would ask many of my younger friends what do they want to do in the future;
Friend A
Then: After high school straight away I want to become a musician.
Now: Play music cannot cari makan la in M'sia so I'll just study Graphic Designing lor.
Friend B
Then: I want to be the next Chef Wan!
Now: My parents say no status la become chef so I terpaksa study Business Admin.
Friend C
Then: I love fen tau music so I think I'll be a deejay in the future!
Now: Parents say no future la being a deejay in M'sia so now I study Hospitality Management.
Friend D
Then: Although I love salsa dancing but I don't want to take risk so I'll just follow the crowd lah since most of them are taking business courses.
Now: Haihz I graduated already but still cannot find job. How to cari makan wei like that???
Friend E
Then: You see lah one day I'll become pro playing basketball.
Now: Ooh now I'm studying Mass Communications. (Ooh I see)
Friend F (This one really saddens me)
Then: I also thinking about doing sports especially football after SPM.
Now: My parents say no future for sports lah here in M'sia.
Back then they have their own dreams & aspirations, but what happen now? Why the change of mind? Most of them are taking courses which does not appeal to them nor suit their interests & strengths. Along the way some of them quit their courses, complaining "This is not what I really wanted to do!" Instead they enrolled to different courses, which again does not match their interests hoping this time they made the right choice. I even had a friend who is 22 years old now but still pursuing a Diploma in Hospitality Management when his real passion is being a guitarist. I'm really disappointed with Friend F's statement though. I know he has a great potential to build a name for himself in the local football scene, but he decided to study Mass Comm which the course appeared totally alien to him because he doesn't know what else to do besides sports. I have pleaded many times with my friends over the years. Do something which is compatible with your passion & interests. Doing something else you do not like at all is like walking towards a giant pit blindfolded. Once you fell inside the hole it's going to be very difficult to get out of the hole. In other words once you realize that you're miserable & unhappy doing a stupid course, it's going to be difficult to withdraw because a large amount of time & money is involved & it will all go down to the drain if you want to quit halfway just like that.
I really do not understand what the bloody feather is wrong with parents nowadays. The future of most youngsters are destroyed mainly because of parental pressure. I'm sure all of our parents had said this before to us, "Your future is in your hands, no one else can decide it for you". If that is the case, then let the children take their own initiatives & decide for themselves what they want to become in the future without interfering them by dictating the choices they made. However this is not the case. Generally parents will force their kids to enroll in popular courses such as medicine, business, engineering, accounting, hotel management, etc. They think that such courses will promise their children lucrative salaries & no risk is involved. Look at Friend D's statement. Although he studied in a popular course such as Business Management, he still has a problem in securing a job & this is his third month already into unemployment. If you think that sports, performing arts & music involves a lot of risks, what makes you think that it is a different situation for other professions? Lets say I decided to study business. After graduation I have to go for interview. At the same time many graduates are like me going place to place for interviews. This will make my competition to secure a job to be even more intense. Not to mention the world is suffering from recession at the moment which make job vacancies to be a scarce. So tell me, what does not involves risk? If Amber Chia can achieve success in the modeling industry despite her disadvantages, then why not me? If Daniel Lee can achieve success in the music industry despite being a nobody from the beginning, then why not me? If Nicol David can be world number one in squash despite being a Malaysian, then why not us?
Since I want to penetrate the sports & fitness industry one day, then allow me to use the example of Lim Teong Kim. Many of us have never heard of this guy's name before, but do you know he is one of the few famous M'sian footballers that has proven us that being a M'sian does not mean you cannot make it big in sports? Lim is an ex-international player for M'sia & he used to play in Europe for clubs such as Hertha Berlin in the German Division Two League. Today he is an assistant coach for the youth team of Bayern Munich, one of the most fearsome football clubs in Europe. When you say that you can't do it just because of your nationality particularly being a M'sian, then you are just admitting that you are lousy & nothing you do will ever change the outcome. Friends the most ironic thing that can happen to a person is not because when one fails in life, but when one gives up without even trying.
Last but not least to parents out there as well as future parents, do not discourage your children from what they do best because by doing so you are saying that they are not good enough & this effects their self-esteem believing that they are worthless. Great people are not born but they are trained just as a baby learning how to crawl before it can learn to walk. If you want your kids to excel in studies then they simply have to study in order to improve their knowledge. How can you say such things to your children that they will not score good grades before they have even tried sitting for their examinations? Then what is the point studying all this time & taking extra tuitions? It's better for them to commit suicide because you have already admitted that your kids are lousy & nothing they will do can change anything. In contrast, if you want your kids to excel in various disciplines such as sports, performing arts or music then they simply have to train in order to improve their skills. How can you say such things to your children that they will not make it in the sports, dancing, acting, or music industry before they have even tried their hands in their respective professions? Then what is the point practising all this time & taking extra training sessions? It's better for them to commit suicide because you have already admitted that your kids are lousy & nothing they will do can change anything.
C'mon guys I'm sick of hearing the same excuse "...because this is M'sia mah" over & over again. God created us to do great things in His image & not just do mediocre things. The question is not whether Malaysia boleh (can) or not. It's whether M'sia mahu (want) or not. Does M'sia want to be a great country or does it want to be an unknown country, ask yourselves this. The first thing we must change is our attitude & self-belief. I am a M'sian, but this should not stop me from obtaining greatness. One day I will achieve something great in the sports & fitness industry. I will be the salt & the light in the marketplace. I believe I can do it not because of my own strength, but through the spirit of God. Wo de ming zi shi Wu Wen Hao, I am the Knowledgeable Warrior & that is how I shall live out my life just like my name, a conqueror!
However my main reason to highlight Amber's story is not to promote her, but to educate some of us here who has the "This is M'sia mah!" mentality especially among parents. I've seen the same scenario every year, again & again. After the SPM results are released, I would ask many of my younger friends what do they want to do in the future;
Friend A
Then: After high school straight away I want to become a musician.
Now: Play music cannot cari makan la in M'sia so I'll just study Graphic Designing lor.
Friend B
Then: I want to be the next Chef Wan!
Now: My parents say no status la become chef so I terpaksa study Business Admin.
Friend C
Then: I love fen tau music so I think I'll be a deejay in the future!
Now: Parents say no future la being a deejay in M'sia so now I study Hospitality Management.
Friend D
Then: Although I love salsa dancing but I don't want to take risk so I'll just follow the crowd lah since most of them are taking business courses.
Now: Haihz I graduated already but still cannot find job. How to cari makan wei like that???
Friend E
Then: You see lah one day I'll become pro playing basketball.
Now: Ooh now I'm studying Mass Communications. (Ooh I see)
Friend F (This one really saddens me)
Then: I also thinking about doing sports especially football after SPM.
Now: My parents say no future for sports lah here in M'sia.
Back then they have their own dreams & aspirations, but what happen now? Why the change of mind? Most of them are taking courses which does not appeal to them nor suit their interests & strengths. Along the way some of them quit their courses, complaining "This is not what I really wanted to do!" Instead they enrolled to different courses, which again does not match their interests hoping this time they made the right choice. I even had a friend who is 22 years old now but still pursuing a Diploma in Hospitality Management when his real passion is being a guitarist. I'm really disappointed with Friend F's statement though. I know he has a great potential to build a name for himself in the local football scene, but he decided to study Mass Comm which the course appeared totally alien to him because he doesn't know what else to do besides sports. I have pleaded many times with my friends over the years. Do something which is compatible with your passion & interests. Doing something else you do not like at all is like walking towards a giant pit blindfolded. Once you fell inside the hole it's going to be very difficult to get out of the hole. In other words once you realize that you're miserable & unhappy doing a stupid course, it's going to be difficult to withdraw because a large amount of time & money is involved & it will all go down to the drain if you want to quit halfway just like that.
I really do not understand what the bloody feather is wrong with parents nowadays. The future of most youngsters are destroyed mainly because of parental pressure. I'm sure all of our parents had said this before to us, "Your future is in your hands, no one else can decide it for you". If that is the case, then let the children take their own initiatives & decide for themselves what they want to become in the future without interfering them by dictating the choices they made. However this is not the case. Generally parents will force their kids to enroll in popular courses such as medicine, business, engineering, accounting, hotel management, etc. They think that such courses will promise their children lucrative salaries & no risk is involved. Look at Friend D's statement. Although he studied in a popular course such as Business Management, he still has a problem in securing a job & this is his third month already into unemployment. If you think that sports, performing arts & music involves a lot of risks, what makes you think that it is a different situation for other professions? Lets say I decided to study business. After graduation I have to go for interview. At the same time many graduates are like me going place to place for interviews. This will make my competition to secure a job to be even more intense. Not to mention the world is suffering from recession at the moment which make job vacancies to be a scarce. So tell me, what does not involves risk? If Amber Chia can achieve success in the modeling industry despite her disadvantages, then why not me? If Daniel Lee can achieve success in the music industry despite being a nobody from the beginning, then why not me? If Nicol David can be world number one in squash despite being a Malaysian, then why not us?
Since I want to penetrate the sports & fitness industry one day, then allow me to use the example of Lim Teong Kim. Many of us have never heard of this guy's name before, but do you know he is one of the few famous M'sian footballers that has proven us that being a M'sian does not mean you cannot make it big in sports? Lim is an ex-international player for M'sia & he used to play in Europe for clubs such as Hertha Berlin in the German Division Two League. Today he is an assistant coach for the youth team of Bayern Munich, one of the most fearsome football clubs in Europe. When you say that you can't do it just because of your nationality particularly being a M'sian, then you are just admitting that you are lousy & nothing you do will ever change the outcome. Friends the most ironic thing that can happen to a person is not because when one fails in life, but when one gives up without even trying.
Last but not least to parents out there as well as future parents, do not discourage your children from what they do best because by doing so you are saying that they are not good enough & this effects their self-esteem believing that they are worthless. Great people are not born but they are trained just as a baby learning how to crawl before it can learn to walk. If you want your kids to excel in studies then they simply have to study in order to improve their knowledge. How can you say such things to your children that they will not score good grades before they have even tried sitting for their examinations? Then what is the point studying all this time & taking extra tuitions? It's better for them to commit suicide because you have already admitted that your kids are lousy & nothing they will do can change anything. In contrast, if you want your kids to excel in various disciplines such as sports, performing arts or music then they simply have to train in order to improve their skills. How can you say such things to your children that they will not make it in the sports, dancing, acting, or music industry before they have even tried their hands in their respective professions? Then what is the point practising all this time & taking extra training sessions? It's better for them to commit suicide because you have already admitted that your kids are lousy & nothing they will do can change anything.
C'mon guys I'm sick of hearing the same excuse "...because this is M'sia mah" over & over again. God created us to do great things in His image & not just do mediocre things. The question is not whether Malaysia boleh (can) or not. It's whether M'sia mahu (want) or not. Does M'sia want to be a great country or does it want to be an unknown country, ask yourselves this. The first thing we must change is our attitude & self-belief. I am a M'sian, but this should not stop me from obtaining greatness. One day I will achieve something great in the sports & fitness industry. I will be the salt & the light in the marketplace. I believe I can do it not because of my own strength, but through the spirit of God. Wo de ming zi shi Wu Wen Hao, I am the Knowledgeable Warrior & that is how I shall live out my life just like my name, a conqueror!
this is good stuff man!
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