Philip Khor

Failure before success

[edited 22/04/2009 with more Information]

During my meeting with Adeline Chong, we learnt from one another a lot of things. Among the things discussed was life, business, friendships, and the one that I’m excited about, failure (phailure, phailed, phail, you get the idea).

Abit about Adeline. During her Primary 6 exam (the trials), all students were mixed up sorted alphabetically across the 4 classes in our school (Red, Green, Blue, Yellow). Due to some administrative cock up, they (actually Mr. Tiwary, the Senior Assistant) decided to put Adeline in an all boys class. I’m guessing it was the 2nd class lah (in order), so I was there cuz my name is Philip (P) and she was at the last spot since its Adeline (A). <- ok, that was being TOO specific unnecessarily. Or unnecessarily too specific!

Adeline Wept.

Upon reflection, back then it wasn’t kewl to mix with guys. Don’t know why lah, but she didn’t feel comfortable having all that attention, I guess.

The Future Queen of Brunei, now Princess Sarah [wiki: Pengiran Anak Sarah | Crown Prince of Brunei] was her classmate (thus my schoolmate). My portfolio of friends from Brunei include, a lawyer, family doctor for the royal family, someone to take care of the nutritional needs of the country as well as to control epidemics, the ministers of foreign affairs and minister of defence (tactical), we’ve got a soldier (possibly an army general), more backup doctors and dentists, a couple of engineers (mechanical and the construction type), people in IT and Telecommunications, a professional vocalist, we’ve got all our bases covered. I find myself as the advisor to the Minister of Finance (also the Sultan) on how to manage people and money.

If Brunei were to start a war with Sarawak (oil or territorial issues), we got the backend support to get it done. OK, 25% of those mentioned are Malaysians lah, but still, product of the BEST school of that time, St. Andrew’s School.

It surprises me to see some contrasting fortunes for different personality types. I for one, was quite “promising” (hehe, self praise). I was top 10 throughout Primary School and within the top half in Secondary School. 2005 I flunked Engineering Diploma, 2006 my TER for an Aussie Matriculation was a pathetic 70+ where most friends get 85 and above, mostly in the 95 and above range. I flunked Finance (twice) and skipped a semester (thats about RM 11,000 + RM 5500). Hospital bills due to this failure (long story), also 5-figures.

A playful boy (that we all know and love back in high school) ends up being a decently successful engineer. A good looking guy (said by many) became a pilot flying in Newcastle Upon Tyne somewhere in London. We’ve got lots of Aussie graduates from Monash, Perth and of course, the overhyped, overpriced Melbourne U. My IT partner for all the school IT projects didn’t persue this useless course (of IT) but went for something so canggih it blows my mind away. He’ll be the future tactician for the Brunei army.

God works in mysterious ways.

The failures. So far only a handful have shared their so-called “failures” with me. I wouldn’t call it a failure because it is just a stepping stone to success. Sounds cliche (Gail – for you Arsenal fans) but I really believe its true. God has a greater plan in store for you.

I’m speaking for myself here when I say that “everyone has a rough patch in their life, especially during tertiary education”. All the mixed emotions, hormonal and biological changes (sic boobs, man boobs included) as well as our surroundings.

According to the 5-minute presentation entitled “Do You Know”, back in 1900, they say a week’s worth of New York Times is more information that any living human being will encounter throughout his lifespan. They predict in 2009, about 4,000,000 Terabytes of unique information will be produced. Ok, so the number is skewed due to the huge Science and research databases, and all those Sarah Palin porn. But isn’t it amazing?

Everyone deserves a second chance. Being a high flier in Kindergarden and Primary School does not guarantee future success. I feel I’m lucky considering that I hit my peak in the critical stages of my life. Its like going 3-0 down on halftime to win it on penalties in the end. That’s how I feel my life is. Its all about finishing strong in life.

Aim high. Don’t settle for mediocrisy. It may sound way off but my financial goals in life is to earn 5-figures off the bat, millionaire in 24 months and billionaire in 8 years. I won’t settle for a 12 hour 6 day week stressful job paying rm 6 an hour plus benefits (once u break it down) and having to put up with shitty bosses. Heck no.

I feel that in life, we are limited by the limits we were implanted with by the rich and successful. If everyone’s a boss, who will be the employees? Who will be the garbage collectors and waiter / waitresses of the society? Who will fix our Astro, and clean up our sewerage and be our doorman and drivers and amahs?

We were born naked and equal. So too will we die naked and equal.

Life is like a game of dice. 6 possibilities, everybody on earth has an equal chance. Breaking down the math, yes, there are various variables and environmental factors. Whatever your roll was, there are about a billion people just like you. Its what you do with your life and the ways you impacted this world that will be remembered by history.

Bottom line

1. If you’ve experience a huge failure in life, pick your self up. Give yourself time and never ever give up.

2. If you’re still high flying, and everything is rosey for you, thank God for it. I believe you will be successful. But prepare yourself for failure. You can never be too prepared for that.

3. Outward appearance does not truly reflect how a person is currently feeling; the problems he is facing. In the words of The Killers – “Are we human, or are we dancers?”

4. Remove negative feelings. Go jogging, dancing or gymming. And don’t forget to reward yourself with Haagen Daaz or Carl’s Jr once a while. Open up to the world and embrace the fallen nature due to our forefathers. No one is perfect. Acknowledge that we have fallen. Acknowledge that we make mistakes. Acknowledge that we are not always right.

5. Never give up. Never lose hope. Encourage, don’t pull people down with your negativity.

Orinigally posted by Phailed Pippo
20-April-2009

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