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.

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!