The following is an essay written by me about our younger generation which has been extracted from my book - The Universe - A Personal View ( page 169 to 174 )
Link to my book :- https://docs.google.com/viewer?a=v&pid=sites&srcid=ZGVmYXVsdGRvbWFpbnxqa2hjbGlmZXN0eWxlfGd4OjM5NmM2NTViMjAzY2M5MTk
Of Youth and Youngsters
I had doubts in discussing this topic here because I am quite sure that youngsters will not read my book. My feeling in this regard is similar to the scenario of a priest giving a sermon in a Sunday church service denouncing those who do not observe Sunday services. Those listening to the scolding are the good guys while the bad ones will never undergo such an ordeal. However, I have still decided to go ahead with this issue because there is a faint hope that if my arguments are succinct enough the parents of youngster who are my readers will pass on my message to their kids. Worst come to worst, the current generation of youngsters will read it when they are mature enough. I always hold a stubborn attitude when it comes to principles and the one involved here is our obligation to give guidance to our younger generation. Here also lies the beauty in writing a book. It can endure the test of time if it does have some genuine and sobering messages to deliver. Better late than never is a sound piece of advice. Just like the goal of education, faith, hope and perseverance are the orders of the day in delivering one's message.
Youth is a gift. It is a mandate to enjoy oneself to excessive limits and to be able to be reckless at times. It is a time for adventure and acquisition of experience of all sorts. It is a time to exercise one's rights without having to bear the related obligations. On the other hand, it can also be hazardous to the well being of those who are fortunate enough to possess it. So much so that their precious life could be tragically cut short in extreme scenarios. It is all a matter of perspective as dictated by Einstein's Relativity. To the highly complex and chaotic nature of human affairs, common sense cannot always be applied in a straight forward manner. Take the question of old age, for example. Common sense cannot straightly apply. If I am 65, I can normally be considered an old man. But if I had the blessing ( or curse depending on how you look at it ) of staying alive until 100, I could still be considered as a middle-aged man. On the contrary, if I were 18 and were to meet with a fatal traffic accident at 21, then I could have been considered to be a very old man at 18 on hindsight. The question of age or ageing is all a matter of the heart. I sincerely believe in the wonderful idea of being young at heart. You may think that I am
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just being difficult and cunning with my arguments and that the foregoing scenarios are
merely hypothetical cases. But mind you, I did have a relative whose son was killed in a
tragic crash on his graduation day from a famous west coast college in USA in a new
speeding sports car given to him by his father as a graduation present. He was 21 and his
father later died of a broken heart. So, youth is not equivalent to invinciblity. On the
contrary, It could be a one way passport to thy kingdom come. Then, I had another friend
whose 12 year old son has an inborn problem of a deformed pocket of blood vessels in his
brain. If these delicate blood vessels are broken through a heavy blow on the head in an
accident, it can cause a massive haemorrhage that could kill him. Therefore, my friend is
gravely disturbed by his son's unfortunate inborn defect in his brain. However, this defect
has also caused his son to be more mature and cautious in his physical activities. My
friend used to be a bit relieved at least temporarily when I told him the above sad story and
he accepted my suggestion that his son's conditions may have been a blessing in disguise
and better things may result from his conditions. At least one thing is clear so far, his son
has already gained an advantage in the earlier maturity of his mental faculties. He has
already developed a sense of responsibility toward himself at such an early age which
may very well see him to his ripe old age. The universe very often works in strange ways.
Or, if you are religious, God's ways are sometimes mysterious, subtle and benevolent. I
know for sure that some of the readers will challenge me on this issue but without asking
them to commit themselves to the idea of the existence of an almighty deity, I will set out
my eccentric ideas on this particular issue later in this chapter. But for now, let us move on
to the behaviour of teenagers.
How often do teenagers kid themselves into thinking that an extra cigarette a day will not hurt them. Or one more drink before they hit the road is harmless for those with sharp reflexes. Youngsters are strange but lovely creatures. They cannot tolerate the monotony of a few minutes of wise but boring counselling from their seniors and yet they can accept smoking and drink driving that can surely kill them in due course without the blink of an eye. Are they really that silly or are there any explanations for their apparently irrational behaviour ? Let us think for a moment about the possibilities. I for one can think of some scientific support for such behaviour in the Theory of Chaos and the Science of Networks. As far as the former theory is concerned, the human brain including young brains are without a doubt classical chaotic systems that are most sensitive to even very slight changes in their initial positions. Even identical twins with almost identical genetic dispositions will grow up to be completely different in personality and character although their physical appearance remains very similar to each other. This is the obvious result of nature and nurture coupled with the chaotic working of the brain. Even twins can conceivably be subject to different cultural and social conditioning in terms of different subjects taken in their education process and different careers being pursued. Once the initial inputs into their brains differ even very slightly the resultant conditioning may vary considerably due to the multi-lateral interactions between various aspects of their mental faculties. This is the peculiar way in which chaotic systems function. In more practical terms, young brains can be more unpredictable because the normally chaotic working of the brain may be substantially amplified on account of the still developing intellect which does not possess the more established and, therefore, more stable mental and moral principles or ideas as in the case of mature persons. There can be considerable changes of moods and emotions on account of hormonal changes in the biological maturing
process.
This being the case, young people are generally more susceptible to the Cascades Effect and Coercive Externalities as defined in the Science of Networks. In short, they are very much open to peer pressure because of their social needs to be accepted by their friends. Such desparate need which is their perceived reality (PR) will cause them to give in to such pressure regardless of whether or not the so-called accepted behaviour for the moment among their group is right or wrong. That is why teenagers can easily acquire bad habits such as chain smoking or bin drinking which are considered to be “ cool “ among the younger generation. This distorted images of a “ cool “ life style can in turn be traced to undesirable effects produced by socially unhealthy T.V. programs and the mass media. In this regard, teenagers can engage in the most bizzare and even painful practices such as body piercing to wear ornamental rings in even the
How often do teenagers kid themselves into thinking that an extra cigarette a day will not hurt them. Or one more drink before they hit the road is harmless for those with sharp reflexes. Youngsters are strange but lovely creatures. They cannot tolerate the monotony of a few minutes of wise but boring counselling from their seniors and yet they can accept smoking and drink driving that can surely kill them in due course without the blink of an eye. Are they really that silly or are there any explanations for their apparently irrational behaviour ? Let us think for a moment about the possibilities. I for one can think of some scientific support for such behaviour in the Theory of Chaos and the Science of Networks. As far as the former theory is concerned, the human brain including young brains are without a doubt classical chaotic systems that are most sensitive to even very slight changes in their initial positions. Even identical twins with almost identical genetic dispositions will grow up to be completely different in personality and character although their physical appearance remains very similar to each other. This is the obvious result of nature and nurture coupled with the chaotic working of the brain. Even twins can conceivably be subject to different cultural and social conditioning in terms of different subjects taken in their education process and different careers being pursued. Once the initial inputs into their brains differ even very slightly the resultant conditioning may vary considerably due to the multi-lateral interactions between various aspects of their mental faculties. This is the peculiar way in which chaotic systems function. In more practical terms, young brains can be more unpredictable because the normally chaotic working of the brain may be substantially amplified on account of the still developing intellect which does not possess the more established and, therefore, more stable mental and moral principles or ideas as in the case of mature persons. There can be considerable changes of moods and emotions on account of hormonal changes in the biological maturing
process.
This being the case, young people are generally more susceptible to the Cascades Effect and Coercive Externalities as defined in the Science of Networks. In short, they are very much open to peer pressure because of their social needs to be accepted by their friends. Such desparate need which is their perceived reality (PR) will cause them to give in to such pressure regardless of whether or not the so-called accepted behaviour for the moment among their group is right or wrong. That is why teenagers can easily acquire bad habits such as chain smoking or bin drinking which are considered to be “ cool “ among the younger generation. This distorted images of a “ cool “ life style can in turn be traced to undesirable effects produced by socially unhealthy T.V. programs and the mass media. In this regard, teenagers can engage in the most bizzare and even painful practices such as body piercing to wear ornamental rings in even the
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most intimate parts of their young bodies that can result in permanent injuries and other
health problems. Putting irremovable tattoos on their body is yet another one of such
seemingly bizzare practices among youngsters.
So far, I have only dealt with the negative aspects of teenage behaviour. On the other hand, young people can be lovely creatures if they are correctly motivated. I have previously mentioned the voluntary social work projects I had experienced in Hong Kong where the participants are almost entirely young people. Therefore, as can be seen from my past experience and other similar situations, the Casades Effect and Coercive Externalities can be made to work positively in the service of the community. Again, the importance of education is the key. Young people have a lot of energy and, sometimes, have an excessive supply of it in the sense that they tend to engage in naughty and even destructive activities if they are not given a proper outlet to vent this overflowing energetic urge to express themselves. This, as I mentioned, can be utilized to their great advantage. The obvious outlet is sporting activities. That was why we were engaged in a dispute with the school authorities in our own education project in China over sporting equipments which we saw as being vital to the education of the children while the authorities looked at them as an opportunity to fatten their own pockets instead. Besides putting their physical energy to healthy use, sports have yet another more subtle function of building up the self- confidence of young people. As our mind and character require the proper conditioning through experience to achieve maturity, sports are ideal for the training of the juvenile mind. While adults have had the benefit of social and their daily experiences over the years to shape their character, young people are not yet seasoned in this respect. The ideal and safest way to go about this mental training is through participation in sports. Where else can young people learn from their mistakes both physically and mentally without paying the ultimate price of life and limb and other emotional trauma to prepare themselves for their later lives except in sporting activities. That is why there is a lot of benefits to be reaped by the young in playing games. The traditional Chinese thinking that encourages young people to spend more of their time in academic curriculum rather than games ( including sports ) is not a sound policy. Traditional over-emphasis on pure knowledge without corresponding healthy sporting activities to improve physical fitness during the pre-modern era had caused great suffering to China and her citizens in terms of their inferior physique. The lack of encouragement to the younger generation to develop interest in physical activities and practical knowledge had also contributed to the slow progress in science and technology in China. Their curiosity and creative spirit have not been properly motivated. This unfortunate situation had ultimately made Chinese citizens victims of many unequal treaties in the Nineteenth and early Twentieth Centuries. On a positive note, sports also provide definite objectives for teenagers to direct their efforts. Success in sports is undoubtedly a source of great satifaction for young people and a good foundation for building self-confidence.
At this juncture, I wish to make a few suggestions and propose some guidelines for our younger generation to develop their self-confidence which is absolutely essential for success in all aspects of their lives as they mature. Firstly, you must know your rightful position ( have a correct perspective of yourself ) in life. At the family level, your main duty is to get yourself a good education. Therefore, your studies are the top priority. Your parents are working like a dog to support your education. So the least you can do is to show them some good results as a sign of appreciation for their hardship they undergo on your account. Help out around the house to show that you are aware of your obligations as well as your rights to a good education and the basic daily needs which you are getting for free. Never take anything for granted. No one is entitled to any favours from any other person as a matter of course, not even between parents and their children. Assume the right mentality and try out this approach at home. You will begin to develop a harmonious relationship with other family members instantly. At school, you should mind your manners towards your teachers and fellow students. Respect is something mutual. You cannot demand respect. You just have to earn it. One very sensible policy is respect begets respect. So, take the initiative by showing your respect for others, not just through your manners but also through your tolerance of the beliefs and opinions of others. This is the first and foremost principle in a democratic society. The famous French writer of the eighteenth century Voltaire wrote about democracy in the following manner :-” I disapprove
So far, I have only dealt with the negative aspects of teenage behaviour. On the other hand, young people can be lovely creatures if they are correctly motivated. I have previously mentioned the voluntary social work projects I had experienced in Hong Kong where the participants are almost entirely young people. Therefore, as can be seen from my past experience and other similar situations, the Casades Effect and Coercive Externalities can be made to work positively in the service of the community. Again, the importance of education is the key. Young people have a lot of energy and, sometimes, have an excessive supply of it in the sense that they tend to engage in naughty and even destructive activities if they are not given a proper outlet to vent this overflowing energetic urge to express themselves. This, as I mentioned, can be utilized to their great advantage. The obvious outlet is sporting activities. That was why we were engaged in a dispute with the school authorities in our own education project in China over sporting equipments which we saw as being vital to the education of the children while the authorities looked at them as an opportunity to fatten their own pockets instead. Besides putting their physical energy to healthy use, sports have yet another more subtle function of building up the self- confidence of young people. As our mind and character require the proper conditioning through experience to achieve maturity, sports are ideal for the training of the juvenile mind. While adults have had the benefit of social and their daily experiences over the years to shape their character, young people are not yet seasoned in this respect. The ideal and safest way to go about this mental training is through participation in sports. Where else can young people learn from their mistakes both physically and mentally without paying the ultimate price of life and limb and other emotional trauma to prepare themselves for their later lives except in sporting activities. That is why there is a lot of benefits to be reaped by the young in playing games. The traditional Chinese thinking that encourages young people to spend more of their time in academic curriculum rather than games ( including sports ) is not a sound policy. Traditional over-emphasis on pure knowledge without corresponding healthy sporting activities to improve physical fitness during the pre-modern era had caused great suffering to China and her citizens in terms of their inferior physique. The lack of encouragement to the younger generation to develop interest in physical activities and practical knowledge had also contributed to the slow progress in science and technology in China. Their curiosity and creative spirit have not been properly motivated. This unfortunate situation had ultimately made Chinese citizens victims of many unequal treaties in the Nineteenth and early Twentieth Centuries. On a positive note, sports also provide definite objectives for teenagers to direct their efforts. Success in sports is undoubtedly a source of great satifaction for young people and a good foundation for building self-confidence.
At this juncture, I wish to make a few suggestions and propose some guidelines for our younger generation to develop their self-confidence which is absolutely essential for success in all aspects of their lives as they mature. Firstly, you must know your rightful position ( have a correct perspective of yourself ) in life. At the family level, your main duty is to get yourself a good education. Therefore, your studies are the top priority. Your parents are working like a dog to support your education. So the least you can do is to show them some good results as a sign of appreciation for their hardship they undergo on your account. Help out around the house to show that you are aware of your obligations as well as your rights to a good education and the basic daily needs which you are getting for free. Never take anything for granted. No one is entitled to any favours from any other person as a matter of course, not even between parents and their children. Assume the right mentality and try out this approach at home. You will begin to develop a harmonious relationship with other family members instantly. At school, you should mind your manners towards your teachers and fellow students. Respect is something mutual. You cannot demand respect. You just have to earn it. One very sensible policy is respect begets respect. So, take the initiative by showing your respect for others, not just through your manners but also through your tolerance of the beliefs and opinions of others. This is the first and foremost principle in a democratic society. The famous French writer of the eighteenth century Voltaire wrote about democracy in the following manner :-” I disapprove
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of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it. “ This statement says a
lot about the true spirit of the democratic principle. Strike a sensible balance between work
and play. Only by active participation in class and school affairs can you get the best out of
your education for which your parents have worked so hard. Get your best value from it
which will surely be reflected in your future success in life to your own satisfaction and that
of your family.
On a personal level, you should integrate into the social groups to which you belong before you can contribute to the groups and interact with other members to your mutual benefit. You must have various circles of social groupings of which you are a member. These may include your friends, relatives, schoolmates, religious organizations and other sports clubs or teams. At times you may find it difficult to feel at home among such groups. This is a sign of having integration problems. One common reason for such maladjustment may be attributable to the failure on your part to find your rightful position in the group. You will always feel comfortable among your close friends or mates ( in Australian terminology ) because you feel secured in the knowledge that they care and support your values, opinion and personal feelings. In short, they have identical value judgments as your own. But if you accept the democratic principle to respect the values and opinions of all people, there is no reason why you cannot have the same sense of security among various social groups in which you are a member. But it will take some training. This argument is true only on the assumption that you are aware of your rightful place in the group. Therefore, you must make an intellectual effort to find out. This will involve the initial step of knowing your own personal objectives and goals. Without these personal targets, you will be like a seafarer that sails the seven seas without a chart or destination. You are bound to get lost and never be able to reach the yonder shores. However, it is only fair to assume that at your tender age you may still be looking for your meaningful goals in life and rightly so. In this regard, I would venture to make the following recommendations. You can afford the time to seek your ultimate goal in life but there should always be an awareness on your part that this is the most important task in your life. While you are still undecided, try to make the task easier by classifying your goals into the short term, the medium term and the long term ones. By short term, here I mean by the week; and medium term by the month; and long term by the year. For example, short term goals may involve how to spend your mid- term school break. Time tables of targets activities such as home assignments and sports commitments are always of great help. This is called your time management skill or procedure which you must master in due course. There are, in fact, training classes for such skills which I would highly recommend. Medium term goals may deal with badly needed improvements in certain academic subjects and sports or other extracurricular activities. Long term goals will probably concern the academic position in your class you are aiming at by the end of the school year or which streams of studies ( the science or arts subjects ) you wish to major in next year. Professional counselling in your academic planning is appropriate in these circumstances and it may be available at your school. There is, in fact, the goal for the very long run which is your goal in life. No one should rush into these things which require prolonged personal experience and endless soul searching before a sensible decision can be reached. In my own case, I only decided on my career goal ( a long term goal ) during my matriculation level which was when I was about the age of 18. As mentioned in the prologue, I was not good in mathematics so I decided to change to the arts subjects which finally culminated in the more practical and job-friendly subjects of economics and accounting at the university because of the financial needs of my family. So, each one
must decide on one's own background, ability and interest.
As regards the goal for life which is one of the main themes in this
book. It would appear at first sight to be too distant for young people but, as a matter of fact, time simply flies by without your noticing it. Therefore, even teenagers should think about it once in a while before they enter their tertiary level of education. The sooner you can decide the better for two obvious reasons. Firstly, the earlier you decide the more time will there be for reaching that important goal. Secondly, an earlier start can give you ample time to change your mind and switch to another one should the initial decision be proven unworkable for you over a period of time. For example, if you find that the actual experience of becoming a medical practitioner is not your cup of tea, then you can switch
On a personal level, you should integrate into the social groups to which you belong before you can contribute to the groups and interact with other members to your mutual benefit. You must have various circles of social groupings of which you are a member. These may include your friends, relatives, schoolmates, religious organizations and other sports clubs or teams. At times you may find it difficult to feel at home among such groups. This is a sign of having integration problems. One common reason for such maladjustment may be attributable to the failure on your part to find your rightful position in the group. You will always feel comfortable among your close friends or mates ( in Australian terminology ) because you feel secured in the knowledge that they care and support your values, opinion and personal feelings. In short, they have identical value judgments as your own. But if you accept the democratic principle to respect the values and opinions of all people, there is no reason why you cannot have the same sense of security among various social groups in which you are a member. But it will take some training. This argument is true only on the assumption that you are aware of your rightful place in the group. Therefore, you must make an intellectual effort to find out. This will involve the initial step of knowing your own personal objectives and goals. Without these personal targets, you will be like a seafarer that sails the seven seas without a chart or destination. You are bound to get lost and never be able to reach the yonder shores. However, it is only fair to assume that at your tender age you may still be looking for your meaningful goals in life and rightly so. In this regard, I would venture to make the following recommendations. You can afford the time to seek your ultimate goal in life but there should always be an awareness on your part that this is the most important task in your life. While you are still undecided, try to make the task easier by classifying your goals into the short term, the medium term and the long term ones. By short term, here I mean by the week; and medium term by the month; and long term by the year. For example, short term goals may involve how to spend your mid- term school break. Time tables of targets activities such as home assignments and sports commitments are always of great help. This is called your time management skill or procedure which you must master in due course. There are, in fact, training classes for such skills which I would highly recommend. Medium term goals may deal with badly needed improvements in certain academic subjects and sports or other extracurricular activities. Long term goals will probably concern the academic position in your class you are aiming at by the end of the school year or which streams of studies ( the science or arts subjects ) you wish to major in next year. Professional counselling in your academic planning is appropriate in these circumstances and it may be available at your school. There is, in fact, the goal for the very long run which is your goal in life. No one should rush into these things which require prolonged personal experience and endless soul searching before a sensible decision can be reached. In my own case, I only decided on my career goal ( a long term goal ) during my matriculation level which was when I was about the age of 18. As mentioned in the prologue, I was not good in mathematics so I decided to change to the arts subjects which finally culminated in the more practical and job-friendly subjects of economics and accounting at the university because of the financial needs of my family. So, each one
must decide on one's own background, ability and interest.
As regards the goal for life which is one of the main themes in this
book. It would appear at first sight to be too distant for young people but, as a matter of fact, time simply flies by without your noticing it. Therefore, even teenagers should think about it once in a while before they enter their tertiary level of education. The sooner you can decide the better for two obvious reasons. Firstly, the earlier you decide the more time will there be for reaching that important goal. Secondly, an earlier start can give you ample time to change your mind and switch to another one should the initial decision be proven unworkable for you over a period of time. For example, if you find that the actual experience of becoming a medical practitioner is not your cup of tea, then you can switch
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to becoming a pharmacist or pathologist and may be a research micro-biologist. Before
you make a final decision, make your curriculum of studies as flexible as possible to
facilitate later changes should you so wish. But the general direction such as science and
arts may have to be decided earlier. The accepted practice appears to be a general
education that involves majoring in the sciences or the arts and having a minor credit in
the other. This is a very sensible approach in view of the needs of a modern well-informed
citizen to be able to make judgments on matters from different perspectives. Therefore,
there is a basic need to be able to connect all aspects of one's daily life and society as a
whole.
Returning to the buiding of self-confidence, Eleanor Roosevelt, the wife of the US president during the Second World War ( Franklin D. Roosevelt ) had this to say :- “ No one can make you feel inferior without your consent.” Thus, the key to self- confidence is to know your rightful position in any particular situation. This in turn requires knowledge applicable to that specific occasion. Therefore, a keen and inquesitive attitude is preferrable in combating the mortal sin of ignorance. If you have a general impression of the different aspects of reality ( i.e. the different types of realities- S,H,O,P and their particular natures ) and the working of your own consciousness ( and, in particular, the manner in which your brain works - by conditioning and reinforcement ), you will build up your self-confidence in no time at all. Take my personal experience for example. When I was working as a tax manager in an international CPA firm in Hong Kong at the start of my career, I was given the daunting task of attending a meeting of the board of directors of a very large public company in the place of my supervisor who was on leave. My task was to express our professional tax opinion on a huge real estate development project to be undertaken by the company. Present at the board meeting were the chairman, CEO, CFO, other directors and their legal counsels of the highest calibre. Such an array of seasoned experts is enough to deter the most experienced of tax consultants. On top of all these people, I was accompanied by a senior partner of my CPA firm who is supposed to monitor my performance at the presentation and to lend support if I was considered not to be up to the job. With such a watchful eye on my back and a demanding audience, I felt like I was taking my cut-throat public university entrance examination all over again. I started gingerly but I did put all my expertise in taxation to effective use. As the seconds ticked on I was able to catch everyone's full attention. I noticed that because the legal counsels as well as the CEO and CFO were raising queries in response to the finer points in my presentation of our firm's tax opinion. Then, my self-confidence sets in when I realized from the questions they asked that even the highpower legal counsels were not good at all in accounting principles as they were not supposed to be. There lies the key to my self- confidence. Nobody can be equally good in all areas of skill and knowledge. Do not let famous reputation intimidate you. Each person is an expert in his own way so long as he is well-informed ( i.e. not ignorant ) about his own area of expertise. As long as you put up sufficient effort and with some standard intelligence, anyone can become an expert if one so wishes. In the present example, my in-depth knowledge of my clients' project coupled with my expertise in taxation and a lot of preparation work had won over the day. As times went by, I became more confident and that had a snowball effect on the fluency of my presentation. All parties were completely satisfied by the end of my presentation. So much so that the senior partner had subsequently sent my supervisor an office memorandum that specifically cited my above memorable assignment as an example of the quality to be looked for in my replacement at the time I resigned to start up my own practice. This was a great compliment to me because my firm knew that I was resigning to compete against them in some minor ways. Furthermore, most of my clients had given my small sole proprietorship practice some jobs either for their own associates companies or their business associates as a token of their appreciation. I also remained as personal tax consultants to some of the chairmen of public companies and their close relatives for considerable periods of time even after my resignation from the international CPA firm. This was another great compliment to my abilities and led to further consolidation on my self-confidence.
The important lesson I have learned about self-confidence is that you have to work for it - no pain, no gain. It is a constant law of nature that no one can override. If you want to slim your waistline which is mass ( fat ), you have to burn it into
Returning to the buiding of self-confidence, Eleanor Roosevelt, the wife of the US president during the Second World War ( Franklin D. Roosevelt ) had this to say :- “ No one can make you feel inferior without your consent.” Thus, the key to self- confidence is to know your rightful position in any particular situation. This in turn requires knowledge applicable to that specific occasion. Therefore, a keen and inquesitive attitude is preferrable in combating the mortal sin of ignorance. If you have a general impression of the different aspects of reality ( i.e. the different types of realities- S,H,O,P and their particular natures ) and the working of your own consciousness ( and, in particular, the manner in which your brain works - by conditioning and reinforcement ), you will build up your self-confidence in no time at all. Take my personal experience for example. When I was working as a tax manager in an international CPA firm in Hong Kong at the start of my career, I was given the daunting task of attending a meeting of the board of directors of a very large public company in the place of my supervisor who was on leave. My task was to express our professional tax opinion on a huge real estate development project to be undertaken by the company. Present at the board meeting were the chairman, CEO, CFO, other directors and their legal counsels of the highest calibre. Such an array of seasoned experts is enough to deter the most experienced of tax consultants. On top of all these people, I was accompanied by a senior partner of my CPA firm who is supposed to monitor my performance at the presentation and to lend support if I was considered not to be up to the job. With such a watchful eye on my back and a demanding audience, I felt like I was taking my cut-throat public university entrance examination all over again. I started gingerly but I did put all my expertise in taxation to effective use. As the seconds ticked on I was able to catch everyone's full attention. I noticed that because the legal counsels as well as the CEO and CFO were raising queries in response to the finer points in my presentation of our firm's tax opinion. Then, my self-confidence sets in when I realized from the questions they asked that even the highpower legal counsels were not good at all in accounting principles as they were not supposed to be. There lies the key to my self- confidence. Nobody can be equally good in all areas of skill and knowledge. Do not let famous reputation intimidate you. Each person is an expert in his own way so long as he is well-informed ( i.e. not ignorant ) about his own area of expertise. As long as you put up sufficient effort and with some standard intelligence, anyone can become an expert if one so wishes. In the present example, my in-depth knowledge of my clients' project coupled with my expertise in taxation and a lot of preparation work had won over the day. As times went by, I became more confident and that had a snowball effect on the fluency of my presentation. All parties were completely satisfied by the end of my presentation. So much so that the senior partner had subsequently sent my supervisor an office memorandum that specifically cited my above memorable assignment as an example of the quality to be looked for in my replacement at the time I resigned to start up my own practice. This was a great compliment to me because my firm knew that I was resigning to compete against them in some minor ways. Furthermore, most of my clients had given my small sole proprietorship practice some jobs either for their own associates companies or their business associates as a token of their appreciation. I also remained as personal tax consultants to some of the chairmen of public companies and their close relatives for considerable periods of time even after my resignation from the international CPA firm. This was another great compliment to my abilities and led to further consolidation on my self-confidence.
The important lesson I have learned about self-confidence is that you have to work for it - no pain, no gain. It is a constant law of nature that no one can override. If you want to slim your waistline which is mass ( fat ), you have to burn it into
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energy ( Einstein's law of mass and energy equivalence ) by physical exercise that will
turn fat into heat energy, water vapour and carbon dioxide. Mass and energy are both
conserved for always. They only change forms but can never be destroyed. Some people
choose what they think is the easier way out in taking dubious drugs and undergoing other
unproven proccesses without enduring the pain of doing exercise. Apart from possible
ramifications on their health, such people have to pay expensively for these questionable
treatments. Nevertheless, the financial costs they pay are also hard earned dollars
obtained as a result of physical or mental efforts by themselves or someone close to them.
There is no free lunch. Occasionally, you may think that you get one but it is only an
illusion. Only someone else has paid for it and sometimes without your knowledge. In
short, returns for efforts is one of those laws of nature that belongs to the category of
objective realities (OR) that are rigid and unchanging phenomena from which no one is
exempt. Therefore, be prepared in terms of knowledge and skill and with a bit of luck
which is essential ( that is the Network view of history ) you will be on your way to a
blooming career when the right chance comes along. Meanwhile, be patient and work on
your knowledge which will inevitably breed self-confidence. It is a win-win situation as far
as the knowledge acquiring process is concerned. Your knowledge is always conserved
( with you until your dying day ) so there is no wastage anyway. You may even pass it on
to your off-springs like what I am doing here and now and that knowledge may be retained
for an eternity if it is useful stuff. If you are not prepared, luck will simply be squandered
and it will pass you by when it drops in to say hello !
As I have emphasized at the beginning of this section, youth is nature's gift. Young people have the built-in impeccable computer hardware in the form of an agile and sharp intellect ( your fine and marvelous brain ), it would be a sheer waste if you do not put in the all important software program ( that is exemplified by relevant and useful knowledge ) to run it and to beat the cardinal evil of ignorance. You are the future pillars of society and our hopes and dreams. So, youth of the world, whatever you do, never put your brain on hold. As previously mentioned, only about 10 % to 15% of the normal brain capacity is utilized. If you do not make use of it, you will be more foolish than a fool. Because a fool is not up to the task while you are more than capable of accomplishing the job of banishing ignorance from your life forever only if you are willing to try. You will also recall that the process of learning works on a geometric progression basis as I have personally experienced it in my present intellectual journey. It is always a difficult task to overcome the initial mental inertia to start the learning process. It took me some 3 months to read Stephen Hawking's book of A Brief History of Time which consists of only 185 pages. Once the breakthrough is achieved after reading about 30 books in my case ( it is definitely different for each individual depending on your previous training ), the Critical Threshold is attained in terms of the predictions of the theory of the Science of Networks and the Information Cascades take hold. From that point onwards, I never look back, so to speak, as far as the learning process goes. There is one more point of interest for young people. Efforts in learning, I have come to realize, also follow the first law of thermodynamics - the conservation of mass and energy. Whatever efforts you have expended on learning is conserved. The knowledge you have accumulated through your efforts remains with you throughout your life. It is a very fair deal. Besides, if you do not work hard for it when you are young and physically fit you will definitely pay for your neglect in terms of a hard life when you are old and gray. That is a frightening thought, isn't it ? So, it is a matter of sooner or later for making personal efforts. One way or another, you are going to pay for it ( in living your life ). There is no free lunch, remember ? Therefore, it is always better to be sooner rather than later that you acquire enough knowledge to take contorl of your own life. This equally applies to the well-to-do youngsters. Yes, you who have rich parents. Whatever you can expect from your family legacy it cannot sustain your life indefinitely without the protection of knowledge. Without the necessary know-how to manage your inherited wealth, you can lose it in a jiffy. So, the only sensible proposition is to start taking an interest in learning and making a genuine effort to input the software into your really exclusive PC that is your own brain here and now. The earlier you learn the more time you have to make use of the knowledge you have acquired to your own benefit and that of society and, possibly, the whole human race. Who knows? There could probably be a few young Einsteins among you. Never
As I have emphasized at the beginning of this section, youth is nature's gift. Young people have the built-in impeccable computer hardware in the form of an agile and sharp intellect ( your fine and marvelous brain ), it would be a sheer waste if you do not put in the all important software program ( that is exemplified by relevant and useful knowledge ) to run it and to beat the cardinal evil of ignorance. You are the future pillars of society and our hopes and dreams. So, youth of the world, whatever you do, never put your brain on hold. As previously mentioned, only about 10 % to 15% of the normal brain capacity is utilized. If you do not make use of it, you will be more foolish than a fool. Because a fool is not up to the task while you are more than capable of accomplishing the job of banishing ignorance from your life forever only if you are willing to try. You will also recall that the process of learning works on a geometric progression basis as I have personally experienced it in my present intellectual journey. It is always a difficult task to overcome the initial mental inertia to start the learning process. It took me some 3 months to read Stephen Hawking's book of A Brief History of Time which consists of only 185 pages. Once the breakthrough is achieved after reading about 30 books in my case ( it is definitely different for each individual depending on your previous training ), the Critical Threshold is attained in terms of the predictions of the theory of the Science of Networks and the Information Cascades take hold. From that point onwards, I never look back, so to speak, as far as the learning process goes. There is one more point of interest for young people. Efforts in learning, I have come to realize, also follow the first law of thermodynamics - the conservation of mass and energy. Whatever efforts you have expended on learning is conserved. The knowledge you have accumulated through your efforts remains with you throughout your life. It is a very fair deal. Besides, if you do not work hard for it when you are young and physically fit you will definitely pay for your neglect in terms of a hard life when you are old and gray. That is a frightening thought, isn't it ? So, it is a matter of sooner or later for making personal efforts. One way or another, you are going to pay for it ( in living your life ). There is no free lunch, remember ? Therefore, it is always better to be sooner rather than later that you acquire enough knowledge to take contorl of your own life. This equally applies to the well-to-do youngsters. Yes, you who have rich parents. Whatever you can expect from your family legacy it cannot sustain your life indefinitely without the protection of knowledge. Without the necessary know-how to manage your inherited wealth, you can lose it in a jiffy. So, the only sensible proposition is to start taking an interest in learning and making a genuine effort to input the software into your really exclusive PC that is your own brain here and now. The earlier you learn the more time you have to make use of the knowledge you have acquired to your own benefit and that of society and, possibly, the whole human race. Who knows? There could probably be a few young Einsteins among you. Never
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underestimate your own potentials. You are what you want yourselves to be. Once you are
able to adopt such an attitude sky's the limit for you.
As my long term goal after my retirement, I have decided among other things on reading and writing about science and philosophy. This book hopefully is my first project and represents the results of 6 years of constant reading. You may ask to what purpose ? I can only answer it with another question. The same question that I asked in the preface of this book. Why do people risk life and limb to climb Mount Everest ? What can they gain through their blood, sweat and tears ? Probably, it is just this. I with a capital letter or yours truly have been there ! My learning experience in these past few years had been amazing in the sense that I have become even more confident in my self as a thinking and compassionate human being. I feel that I am at peace and in harmony with nature, my family, my friends and society in general. I sometimes even feel that I am a friend to the animals (our family dog can testify to that if it can speak but it does lie beside me when I am watching T.V. tobear witness to my claim ), the plants, the environment, the atoms, the stars and the galaxies and beyond....... Such is the soothing effects of knowing your rightful place in this universe. That is why I have no hesitatiion whatsoever in recommending such an intellectual journey that does not cost a lot in monetary terms to any mature person who can afford the time. But, be patient, young people of the world, wait until your turn comes along. Meanwhile, persevere in you short term, medium term and long term goals with the hopes and dreams that awaits you in the wings.
As my long term goal after my retirement, I have decided among other things on reading and writing about science and philosophy. This book hopefully is my first project and represents the results of 6 years of constant reading. You may ask to what purpose ? I can only answer it with another question. The same question that I asked in the preface of this book. Why do people risk life and limb to climb Mount Everest ? What can they gain through their blood, sweat and tears ? Probably, it is just this. I with a capital letter or yours truly have been there ! My learning experience in these past few years had been amazing in the sense that I have become even more confident in my self as a thinking and compassionate human being. I feel that I am at peace and in harmony with nature, my family, my friends and society in general. I sometimes even feel that I am a friend to the animals (our family dog can testify to that if it can speak but it does lie beside me when I am watching T.V. tobear witness to my claim ), the plants, the environment, the atoms, the stars and the galaxies and beyond....... Such is the soothing effects of knowing your rightful place in this universe. That is why I have no hesitatiion whatsoever in recommending such an intellectual journey that does not cost a lot in monetary terms to any mature person who can afford the time. But, be patient, young people of the world, wait until your turn comes along. Meanwhile, persevere in you short term, medium term and long term goals with the hopes and dreams that awaits you in the wings.
