Everyone is No.1

My road isn't your road, my pain isn't your pain;
Each person has hidden abilities to go forth and face any challenges.

My tears are not you tears, my pain isn't your pain;
Under the same skies with different glorious moments embeds the same feeling.

There is no need to feel fear or guilt.
Instead, we need to stay calm and keep running forward.
Tell yourself, "I can do it!"

Everyone is No.1!
No matter the circumstances, never question if you can do it or you can't do it.
Just take a deep breath to refresh yourself and embrace the future for it will not wait.

Everyone is No.1!
The secret to success lies in your willingness, where the hottest sweat flows from the most sincere heart;
Everyone can truly be number one.

My hands are not your hands, my mouth is not your mouth;
As long as you have a heart, through the strongest winds and rain, we can all be best of friends.

There is no need to feel fear or guilt.
Instead, we need to stay calm and keep running forward.
Tell yourself, "I can do it!"

Everyone is No.1!
The secret to success lies in your willingness, where the hottest sweat flows from the most sincere heart;
Therefore everyone can be number one.

Do not fear the cold road ahead, for as long as there is a bit warmth I will gather my strength and speed.
No matter the circumstances, never question if you can do it or you can't do it.
Just take a deep breath to refresh yourself and embrace the future for it will not wait.

Everyone is No.1!
The secret to success lies in your willingness, where the hottest sweat flows from the most sincere heart;
Therefore everyone can be number one.

These are the words of my favourite Chinese singer, Andy Lau. Fine, fine, fine, some of you may think he is old and why am I not listening to younger singers like Jay Chou, Wang Li Hom, etc... (just don't like them). Besides, I find much meaning in most of Andy Lau's songs. The lyrics came from the song "Everyone is No.1", the official theme song for the Beijing Paralympics 2008.

It is actually a Mandarin song and I hope I got the translation correct. Anyone who thinks I may have made a mistake in the above translation, please let me know and I will do the necessary corrections.

Personally, I can't get tired of listening to this song because of the deep rooted meaning in the song. Everyone is special in their own way and despite the fact that we live in a result oriented world, it really isn't always about the results. Everyone judges one another by evaluating what one has achieved or done. "He made is 1st million when he was 35 years old", "she created this multi-million dollar business on her own", "he created this ground breaking gadget", "she designed this award winning blouse", he did this, she did that...... all these finger pointing at others' successes has now become synonymus with our lifestyles. I can't say that there is anything wrong with that because it does become a focal point for motivation for many people. I have my reservations for such habits though.

I used to look up to many successful people - from extraordinary CEOs, conglomerate founders, country leaders and many more. Keyword here - USED to look up. Up until recently, I realised it wasn't a very healthy habit. I found myself becoming more materialistic, results driven and sometimes even unreasonably agitated at myself.

Rather than being a motivational factor, it somewhat turned into a demotivating factor and was in fact an impetus for low self-esteem. Easiest way to explain the predicament I went through - I suddenly found myself making comparison with these successful people, trying to imitate their success recipe, trying to be like them, do those so called success habits. At the start, I found it very helpful giving me the drive, or at least that's what I thought it was doing. Instead, as time went past, I found it tiring trying to meet those self-imposed expectations. A friend of mine coined it "killing myself".

On top of "killing myself", it also introduced health problems to me. I have now become a statistic suffering from irritable bowel syndrome, gastric, insomnia and also having a very close call with depression. Not to mention, some added medical bills to the tab.

I heard this song some time last year, and it never really occured to me how much truth was embedded in the lyrics. We are all different - in terms of skin colour, ethnicity, backgrounds, jobs, height, weight, and close to everything else. It is with such differences, that we all stand out in our very own way. Some of us may be very fast at picking up languages, some are innately good at socialising and making new friends, or some are born leaders.

There is absolutely nothing wrong with trying to be successful but be successful in your own way. You don't have to have net asset worth of 1 million or a billion to be considered successful, you don't need to drive a Beemer or a Merc to be considered successful, you don't have to wear a watch that costs as much as a house or even eat food that costs as much as 10 McDonald's lunch sets!

I caught a glimpse of the Paralympics that went on in conjunction with Beijing Olympics 2008. Those athletes were no where as fast as the record breaking runner or swimmer but they showed the spirit and emotions in participating. Deep down, I felt that great sense of pity for them because seeing a guy without one leg and yet being able to swim well is no joke. The guy who played tennis in a wheelchair is not the world's no.1 tennis player like Roger Federer but he is no.1 in his own way - you try playing tennis in a wheelchair and I am sure you'll get the point.

Just like the lyrics of the song above, we all have our own set of special abilities. There is no need to try to imitate some other person just because he/she is successful. Be special in your own way, be who you are. Failures happen every now and then but put this way - sometimes even failing can be difficult for some people! Everyone is No.1 - and I mean you too!