Happiness Comes Before Success

There you go. May not be the most foolproof experiment. Happiness leads to success.

Li Ka-Shing On How A Normal Person Can Lead Extraordinary Life

Hong Kong business magnate Li Ka-Shing advises how normal people, like me, can work our way up the success ladder. I think this is very useful advice for the young and those who are clueless in life. He crystallises his life and business philosophies into actionable steps for the masses. The article also highlights qualities that Li feels are important to him as a person, an entrepreneur and a businessman. 

Live frugally

Especially when we are young and not earning a lot. Our body should be able to take the brunt, he says. Wait till we are rich to buy tonic to pamper our bodies. Very practical advice.

Networking

Even when a person is earning a meagre $2000 monthly, he should set aside 20% for buying people lunch. This goes to show how much emphasis he places on networking. His guideline is:

Always remember to buy lunch for people who are more knowledgeable than you, richer than you or people who have helped you in your career.

Totally agree with this one. Awesome things have happened to me through people I know. Saved me effort from reinventing the wheel. However, I think we should make friends genuinely and not with a motive.

Learning

This one is a given. Setting aside 15% monthly for books and courses. Interestingly, he advises us to share the knowledge that we have learnt to earn credibility - to make our mark in something and to be known for something. Another part of learning is to set aside 10% monthly for travelling to expand horizon and gain new experiences. Definitely not what a typical person will think of when trying to make ends meet.

Invest

Setting aside 25% monthly to invest. I thought is to put in some stocks or funds but he suggests to start a small business - go to wholesalers and look for products to sell. Today's times, this is made so much easier with the Internet. One really doesn't have any excuse.

相信成功

"I don't care about right or wrong, I care about success" - Steve Jobs

我们的李光耀先生似乎也是这么想的。这份文章说到：

He did not believe in governing according to opinion polls. Government’s job is to govern and deliver what it promised, even if some policies were unpopular. Voters can then decide whether he had delivered at election time every five years.

乔布斯说过，苹果公司在设计新产品时，也不会做市场调查。因为当今没有的功能，用户不知道也不会提议。惟有这样才能推陈出新。他也常提到汽车大亨Henry Ford说过的一句话：

If I had asked people what they wanted, they would have said faster horses.

李光耀先生象乔布斯一样，在政治领域以他独到的眼光及不畏惧的坚定意志，带领新加坡走到了今天。他禁止口香糖，实行双语政策，1970年代的“两胎停”，求经济增长等。他也增在他的新书《Hard Truths》访问中提到，他也是不在乎舆论，他坚持他在以往当时的时机作的决定。