stars and opportunities......

"Are you crazy?!???!?" was one of the first remarks Jimmy was treated to during Thanksgiving dinner went he broke the news to his relatives about resigning after about two years working for a well established law firm. Jimmy was going to become an insurance agent.

Other comments Jimmy got thrown at with:

"Why are you taking so much risk coming out?"

"Changing career when times are so bad? What's wrong with you?"

"What were you thinking when you handed in your resignation letter?"

"Did the stress at work get to your head?"

With the credit crunch lingering, the global market conditions are deemed unsound and many world economies are facing slowing GDP growth. Three quarters of the world are cutting back on spending and taking more steps to save money. Clearly, Jimmy's relatives did not share Jimmy's viewpoint.

Ironically when most of us would have thought your relatives should be the ones supporting you and giving you some form of encouragement. Not for Jimmy though. Although he did expect some negative comments, he clearly wasn't ready for this much.

That very night after the dinner, Jimmy went up to the house roof and just sighed while looking up into the starry night. He just sighed, "I sure as hell better make sure I do well out there! The last thing I want to hear is 'I told you so' from all of them."

While Jimmy was lying down on the cool roof tiles, his father went up to join him in the cool night. "You came up here to tell me I have lost my mind as well?", Jimmy asked. 

"No son, if I was going to do that, I'd just yell from down there and make sure the neighbours hear it!", chuckled his father.

Jimmy just brushed it off, "Very funny dad. Very funny."

"Son, I'd be lying if I said I wasn't feeling a pinch of disappointment knowing you are not going to continue your career in law. After all, I did use my hard earn money for that piece of paper you got hanging in your room. But I am happy my son has got the guts to come out and challenge status quo", said Jimmy's father.

Jimmy looked at his father, "Really?".

Jimmy's father gave an approving nod and said, "Yup! Wouldn't lie to my own son now would I? Unless I might just cheer you up enough for you to say you'd pay me back for the money spent on your tuition fees.", as he laughed it off.

Jimmy couldn't help but laughed, "Why you stingy old fart! Hahahahahahahaha........." Laughing until his stomach ached, he said, "Thanks dad. You supporting my decision means a lot to me. Really."

Jimmy's dad looked up at sky and said, "Take a look at the sky kid. What do you see?"

Jimmy took a good look at the sky, "It's a beautiful night filled with stars."

"Heck of a lot of starts up there ain't it?", Jimmy's father asked. "But the skies isn't just telling you how beautiful it is, it tells you and me a whole lot more than that. It tells us, the stars are just like opportunities - it is limitless! This whole world doesn't revolve around one opportunity Jimmy, it revolves around opportunities. You just need to go out there and grab it with your two bare hands. Opportunities don't come to you son, you've got to reach out to them like your life depends on it."

Jimmy nodded in agreement, "Just like you came out on your own to start your own food business. Don't recall your brother being eclectic about it."

"He sure didn't share my enthusiasm. More than anything else he said I was crazy to leave my high paying job as a general manager. But if I hadn't come out on my own I wouldn't have had quality time with you or your mom. The flexibility it gave me, gave me more opportunities to be with you guys and do other things I like to. I had more time to go fishing as well.", replied Jimmy's father.

Jimmy nodded approvingly, "Definitely looking forward to a brand new, fresher life compared to the long hours I am putting into my job."

"Go on out there and enrich people's lives with your insurance policies son. Don't hold back and make the best of yourself! Alright, let's get the hell back inside the house before both of us catch a cold.", Jimmy's father said.

Jimmy replied, "It's getting cold alright......... and dad, thanks again."

~Path of Time~ by Micky Foo is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 Unported License.

what dinner over traffic jam taught me~

I had to work fairly late last night and ended up leaving office late and in a dire need for food to get into my stomach. As I was driving back about 9.30 at night and of all things to happen, I had to get stuck in a traffic jam.

It was bad enough I had a tough day at work, being stuck in a traffic jam with a hungry, growling stomach really does not make matters any better. Without giving it much thought I took a quick turn into Jaya One, a commercial zone with heaps of eateries. 

Quickly searching for a decent parking lot, I went to look at the eatery directory and I found myself in a state of bounded rationality. Choices, choices, choices, choices...... just too much choices of eateries! Just check out the list below.

Al-Esfan	Banana Leaf	Blk D, Unit 23-G	Palm Square	03-22834336
Al-Esfan	Indian (Mamak)	Blk D, Unit 63-LG2	Wai Sek Kai	03-22834336 03-79579786
BBQ Chicken	Fast Food	Blk M, Unit 12-G	Palm Square	03-79548722
Brisik	Indonesian	Blk M, Unit 10-1	Palm Square	03-79586681
Brussels Beer Café	Belgian Beer House	Blk L, Unit 20-G	Palm Square
Coffee Bean	Coffee	Blk K, Unit 2A-G	PJLA
Cubes	London Chinese	Blk L, Unit 18-1	Palm Square	03-79586616
Divino	Wine Bistro	Blk M, Unit 6-1	Palm Square	03-22878368
Duck King	Chinese	Blk M, Unit 8-G	Palm Square	03-79579819
Fireman BBQ	Steamboat & Grill	Blk C, Unit 43-LG2	Wai Sek Kai	03-77277432 03-78800707
Frontera	Mexican & Bar	Blk L, Unit 18-G-1	Palm Square	03-79588515
Gemini Creation	Gifts & Flowers	Blk B, Unit 21-M	Health Wellness	03-79576003
Halo Café	Café & Live Music	Blk L, Unit 16-G	Palm Square	03-89413229
Hanazen Japanese Restaurant	Japanese	Blk C, Unit 43-G	Palm Square
Headquartrs	Fun Pub	Blk C, Unit 37-LG2	Wai Sek Kai
Jaya Noodle House	Chinese	Blk C, Unit 35-LG2	Wai Sek Kai	03-79542639
Killiney	Kopitiam	Blk D, Unit 55-LG2	Wai Sek Kai	03-79585545
Kinnaree	Thai	Blk M, Unit 12-1	Palm Square	03-79573910
Kissaten		Blk L, Unit 12A-1	Palm Square	03-79541990
Kluang Station	Kopitiam	Blk D, Unit 11-G	Palm Square	03-79579039
Lucky Nine Bistro	Pool & Pub	Blk D, Unit 3-1	Palm Square
Nando's	Fast Food	Blk C, Unit 33-LG2	Wai Sek Kai	03-79606555
Old Town White Coffee	Kopitiam	Blk C, Unit 31-LG1	Wai Sek Kai	03-79555321
Restaurant Oversea	Chinese	Blk J, Unit 35-LG-1	Life Learning	03-79569911
Santini	Italian & Bar	Blk D, Unit 3-G	Palm Square	03-79578866
Secret Recipe	Cakes & Café	Blk M, Unit 10-G	Palm Square	03-79606859
Simply Fusion	Local & Western	Blk D, Unit 13-G	Palm Square	03-79582291
Starbucks	Coffee	Blk M, Unit 6-G	Palm Square	03-79607224
Sun Wong	Hong Kong Café	Blk D, Unit 47/49/51-LG2	Wai Sek Kai	03-79562911
Tappers Café	Malaysian	Blk D, Unit 5-G	Palm Square	03-79583198
Tasty Treats	Malaysian	Blk D, Unit 59-LG2	Wai Sek Kai	03-79581770

After staring at the list for a long time, I gave up and just walked into the restaurant right next to the directory. I just couldn't be stuffed thinking about where to eat when my stomach was already screaming out for food. I walked into a fast food chain called Wendy's.

Took my queue, ordered my food and took a nice cushy seat. I was in no particular hurry so I took my time to enjoy my nice 3 layered beef burger. It was at that time I realised I could see a lot of activities going on around me. I found myself really taking the time to enjoy my burger and at the same time just to really observe what was going on around me. 

I was surprise to note that I really observed a lot that was going on around me. I saw a few parents trying to stop their kids from running around the restaurant, I saw a few love birds enjoying their meal together with some couples feeding each other fries, I caught a glimpse of the kitchen and how the cooks handled food with gloves, I saw two guys in a deep discussion probably over a business proposition, I also saw one guy having his hand on his partner's bum as they were walking out the open air sitting area (Hawh! Thought you were discreet right? Guess not buddy!).

Anyway, my point isn't about what I saw while at the restaurant having dinner and waiting for the traffic jam to clear. My point is about taking a break, slow the pace of your lifestyle for a while and just enjoy what the world offers. The world has heaps to offer - from a nice juicy 3 layered burger to a breath of fresh air up on a hill in say, New Zealand. 

So go on out there and see what the world has to offer and slow the pace down. Our bodies like an engine will give way if we go at doing things at high gear continuously.

~Path of Time~ by Micky Foo is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 Unported License.

Beating the odds.....

One evening in 1927 an 11 year old young boy born a violin prodigy was going to perform the great Beethoven violin concerto in D major. That violin concerto is touted as one of the most demanding concertos emotionally and technically. At 11 years old, the slowly filling up crowd at the New York's Carnegie Hall, majority being highly regarded music critics were expecting the performance to be below standards considering the masterpiece to be too technically demanding for the hands of a young boy to handle.

It all started when this young boy received an invitation from the New York Symphony to perform with them earlier in the year. The invitation was to perform a different concerto - Mozart's violin concerto in A major. Being excited about the invitation, the young boy wanted something and pestered his father to talk the New York Symphony into letting him perform the Beethoven violin concerto. His father reassuringly told the little boy he'll see what he can do to talk to the conductor about changing the song.

The conductor was adamant about letting this young boy play the concerto, however much persuasion by the young boy's manager, the conductor reluctantly agreed to an audition.

On the day of the audition, as the young boy and his teacher walked up the stage to perform for the conductor, the conductor signaled for the teacher to step aside while he played the piano part of the concerto. The young boy's teacher was rather perplexed but allowed the conductor to have it his way.

As the conductor prepared himself on the piano, he gave a long studied look of the young boy while the little one was calmly taking out his violin from the case. The conductor chuckled as the young boy passed his violin to his teacher to be tuned. At 11 years of age, his hands still lack the strength to turn the pegs to tune the violin.

When the boy was ready, the conductor deliberately did not mention where he was going to start from and jumped straight into the final part of the orchestra introduction. The young boy calmly listened and lifted his violin. He raised his bow, and struck the first chord of the concerto. As the young boy played on, the conductor listened to his playing with absolute concentration. Less than 5 minutes into the concerto, he interrupted the song and stood up and held young boy's shoulder firmly and said, "You can play anything with me, anytime, anywhere!"

The first rehearsal with the orchestra was a wonderful surprise to the conductor and the orchestra. The conductor was utterly impressed with young boy's highly detailed playing not missing a single important point of the concerto.

The performance night on 1927 saw the Carnegie Hall packed to the roof. As the famous conductor stepped out to greet the audiences. He was accepted with the applause worthy of only a conductor as great as himself. All eyes however, were to the left as this young boy walked his way to the center of the stage, accepted the applause and handed his violin to the concertmaster to be tuned.

As the orchestra started the introduction of the concerto, the young boy stood unruffled, as if lost in his own world. Some in the audiences were worried he might miss in solo entrance. With seconds to spare, the young boy put his violin under his chin, raised his bow and started playing.

The audience saw in awe the technical proficiency of this young boy, his sensitivity to tonality, the accuracy of his intonation stunned the audience as they watched with complete silence absorbed into his playing.

As the concerto reached the cadenza (it's a section mid-way a concerto that allows the soloist to display his flare and technical proficiency), the audience saw and heard the absolute harmony of spirit and muscle. When the young boy finished playing the cadenza, the audience could no longer contain their excitement and simply applauded, almost interrupting the performance. The performance continued with the orchestra joining the young boy to complete the remaining parts of the concerto.

When the performance ended, the young boy was given a standing ovation , some in tears of appreciation, even orchestra members stood up to give this young boy their respect. The audience could not stop applauding him, that he had to come out numerous times from backstage to accept their applause.

Music critics who entered the hall earlier in the evening having expected to pen this young boy to oblivion for having chose to play Beethoven's violin concerto could not help but to applause the young violinist.

The very next morning, a music critic wrote in the New York Times, "I had come to the hall convinced that a child could play the violin no more effectively than a trained seal. I left with the conviction that there is no such thing as an infant prodigy but that there is such a thing as a great artist who begins at an early age."

That young boy playing the violin is Yehudi Menuhin, and the conductor who performed with him is Fritz Busch. Yehudi ultimately beat the odds, exceeding all expectations.

~Path of Time~ by Micky Foo is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 Unported License.

Go on and take the first step!

When you take a step back and think about it, I am sure you will realise the first step in everything always seems to be most difficult. For many of us, approaching the opposite sex you have a crush on is likely to be THE toughest moment in your life (makes you feel seeing your boss isn't so bad right?).

I too find it difficult to take the first step at times. I found myself in a predicament when I was trying to decide on my career path. Just two days ago, I tendered my resignation to the HR department of my firm of chartered accountants. Upon tendering my resignation, I felt a sense of excitement. Excitement pointing me at the direction where a new experience awaits me.

At this juncture, I am going to hop on a train to a different career path. A brand new journey of which the destination is unknown to me right now.

Now that I look back at the path leading to my decision, I've come to realised it took me close to a year to make the decision to switch - that first step. Too many things were running through my head, my brain trying to work out all the possible outcomes that may arise from my decision to change my career. Truth be told, it was not something easy for me. It was very well an internal struggle trying to balance making a decision with my brain and with my heart. Having the thought process skewed either way would after all, produce an undesirable outcome.

Deciding using my brain would have led to too much thinking and no action taken. Deciding with my heart would have led to a hasty decision.

After all the struggling within me, I finally spoke to people I found tremendous respect for - my parents, superior(s) in my firm, and close friends outside my firm.

I met an array of reactions - some surprised, some indifferent and some thinking I had lost my mind. But all in all, my chats with them gave me a holistic view I desperately needed. Independent views from people who know me from different angles.

My parents were supportive of my decision albeit my mother was at first unagreeable with my idea of leaving the firm. My dad on the other hand supports me and has been a key figure in my decision making process. But most importantly, both of them had one similar point to note, "if I am going to have to see my son come back every night looking and feeling horrible, I'd rather he get a job he likes doing and at least I get to see him being happy." That statement in itself means a lot to me. It shows how much they care for me and I guess having to see your own child in a sad state like that isn't exactly what I would call a gratifying sight. Most importantly, they said the ultimate decision lies with me and no matter what decision I make, never regret it later on.

I also spoke to a superior in my firm. Well, actually more than just a superior - someone experienced and knowledgeable enough to be a head of department of a firm of chartered accountants - go figure. In terms of respect for people in my firm, if there is one person I'd respect the most in my firm (soon to be ex-firm), it will be her. For someone at her level to bring herself down to my humble level is to me, an exceptional feat. Communicating with her has been all about open communication. To a certain extent, talking to her has been almost like having a mother in my office - someone I could turn to to seek advice above and beyond work matters. In a nutshell, she gave me much encouragement to choose something I had passion for and not just do something that only has monetary measures. Personally, I feel that the opportunity to work with her would be something I would miss dearly. Throughout the time of slight over 2 years with the firm, the best working experience came from working with her.

Another superior mentioned one thing that meant more than many other sentences. She said, "impossible means I-M-POSSIBLE". For those who are still scratching your heads - it is read as I AM POSSIBLE. Opportunities are everywhere, and I just need to go get it.

All the people I spoke to shared one similarity - they were people who showed me the door and opened the door to a new beginning for me. At the end of the day, I have to walk through the door by taking the first step into that door. I finally made that step and it shall forever be a first step for me to remember for the rest of my life........

So, remember - for you to make something happen, you will have to take the first step. So go on and take the first step!