Yes, life is short and we often being distracted and neglected what we really want in life. I’m so glad that you are able to do what you love and spend time on things you want to focus on.

Wow! You still climbing mountain?? 😱 are you still going to KK often? Wow!! Representing Msia? You are always so active! You are the fittest boss I ever had, even till now.

I have a 7-year old daughter, very cheeky girl and always challenges my limits. Haha.. she doesn’t really fancy sports a lot but she always ask for gymnastics class. I enroll her for swimming lessons instead because I think this is a survival skill that she should master.

How about your family? Tell me more about them. How’s your wife? I hope they are all well.

Aww.. that’s really very kind of you to say that.. I was still so young and naive during then. (Daniel was still a little boy) 😬 I hope I’ll have opportunity to start something on my own some time later when time is right.

Yup, I hope to meet you when back to Msia. If you happen to come HK and have some free time, please let me know too.

Take good care and keep in touch. 😊

LIFE SHOULD NEVER BE ABOUT RETIREMENT

1... RETIREMENT AND THEN WHAT?


1.1... Whoever talks of retirement doesn't quite understand what life is about. The minute you retire, you actually expire. It is like a product on the shelf - they all carry expiry dates. When you pass that expiry date, you no longer have a valid product for consumption. Simply put, you are no longer relevant!

1.2... Fortunately life also carries an expiry date but the good news is that you set the expiry date yourself. If you decide to retire, you are actually setting your expiry date early. I have seen time and again good friends who chose the 'retirement' path pass away after one or two years of inactivity.

1.3... So long as we choose to continue to be active, the expiry date will be extended. A car unused always breaks down; a house unused always decay; a shirt unused always fades off: a tyre unused always hardens, a shoe unused always become unusable; a mind unused always becomes decadent; an organ unused always becomes ineffective. It essentially is down to how we choose!

2... THINK OF REFIREMENT AND NOT RETIREMENT

2.1... "Life begins at 60" is just so true! It is all about your mental state of mind and how you rationalize your response to life. I find I can play better, walk better, climb better, think better, reason better, love better and work better now than when I was 35. I am continuing to improve in many aspects of my games and pursuits and life in general and I really enjoy it.

2.2... The problem with so many is that they want the easier option, the more comfortable life, the better food and the lazier lifestyle. It is all about the aversion to problems and difficulties. If we put right our thought patterns right, we will welcome difficulties and understand that difficulties always make us better. The prize of reaching the mountain tops can only be attained when the difficulty of the climb is surmounted.

2.3... "As a man thinks, so is he!" How true a statement! The Chinese also have a proverb that says, "The good horse will not go back to eating the former grass! That is exactly what we should not do! It is time for us to look forward to the next stage of our lives with relish. Who sets the barriers and the limitations as to what we can or cannot do? Who decides on the condition that we will get into as we get older. Who says that we have to walk with a limp when we are 80?

It is time for a new break-through in who we think we are. It is time for us to learn not to wait for the storms to pass; it is time for us to learn to dance in the rain.

3... WE SHOULD NOW GO FOR THE MOUNTAIN-TOP EXPERIENCES

3.1... Let us take away the "Failure" mentality from our mental make-up - don't worry about failing eyesight, failing hearing, failing limb flexibility, etc. There will be things that we cannot do as well but there will be things that we can do better.

3.2... Let us go for new playing fields. We can still do business better and work on projects better. It is time for us to take up the mantle of greatness and pursue the dreams that have not been fulfilled yet. There are new mountains to climb and we should go out and do it.

3.3... We make walk a little slower and we may talk a little less but we can still be a people of power and of praise. It is time for us to set new goals and new dreams and to think of the mountain peaks that are waiting for us. It is time for us to show our children and our grandchildren that we can be like Caleb of old and still win battles in what we aspire to achieve. Let us all be winners in our closing years and bring hope and joy to our fellow-men. We can leave a tremendous legacy of goodness in what we choose to be!!!

Ong Hock Siew