What would you do if money wasn't an issue?
What would you do if money wasn't a problem?
Not all of us are blessed enough to get to work in a job that we love, one that excites us every morning. Some people put up with their mean bosses and all the draining office politics, often staying on because they need to pay the bills.
Quitting to pursue what you love isn't always easy, but it gets harder as you have more people depending on you. Your parents, spouse, children, etc.
If money wasn't an issue and you didn't have to worry about the bills, what would you choose to do?
My childhood dream while growing up was to be an author. I loved getting lost in imaginary worlds built by Enid Blyton, Roald Dahl, J K Rowling, Nicholas Sparks and more.
(OMG I literally just realised I'm about to marry the man with the same name as my favourite romance author 😦 is this fate or what HAHA)
They were my much-needed solace and escape during moments when my parents fought, when my sister became estranged from us, when I was close to giving up. I grew up in those stories.
But beyond just reading, I wanted to recreate my own world for myself and let others get lost in them too. I wanted to recreate the same feelings of comfort that my books were able to give me throughout all these years. I wanted to show another child that it was okay if their parents fought and if they didn't feel loved. That everything will always work out in the end.
I had so many stories in my head waiting to be told. Stories mostly about the perfect family I dreamed and wished I had.
Stories about love, acceptance, bravery and magic.
But my dad told me that being a writer in Singapore wouldn't be enough to pay the bills. He pointed out that Catherine Lim is one of the only few Singaporean authors who is still surviving till now, and that even Straits Times journalists don't make a lot of money writing for a living. He wanted me to be more practical and find a stable job that would pay the bills. He suggested communications in the public sector.
At least that would be an iron rice-bowl. I'll get to write (although not necessarily on topics I like) and earn my monthly keep without having to worry about putting food on the table like my parents did during the Asian Financial Crisis in the 1990s when my mom lost her job.
So I caved.
When my school picked my story to publish into a proper printed book for me to hold (and remaining copies to be kept and distributed among the other schools in their libraries), I was over the moon. I finally had my words in print, and students my age were reading about the dream brother I never got to have, but who was every bit as real as brothers are in my book. I'm not going to reveal what happened to him and his sister in the end though lol.
Then during my university years, after benefiting from a scholarship that enabled me to pursue my studies when all other doors were closed to me (due to a lack of money to pay for the tuition fees), I thought about how I could return the favour by helping other needy kids too.
Given how much I loved teaching GP, I thought about setting up my own GP tuition centre to tutor needy students for free. Students who sincerely wanted to improve their English, but didn't have the money for tuition.
N has always been encouraging me on this dream. Year after year, as yet another student graduated with an A or B on their result slip, he said it was a waste that my time was only limited to the few students I could teach on weekends.
But money is the problem you see. Teaching full time wouldn't be enough to pay the bills if I taught just GP alone. It also takes a fair investment to set up the centre in the first place, which won't ever break even since my idea is for it to be free.
We were limited by the huge amount of money needed to make this dream work, and we didn't have it.
Then my next dream was to provide affordable or free financial education through books and courses. I started out with just my blog, but I wanted to see my words in print, on Popular's bookshelves, especially since there isn't quite enough literature on financial education for children.
As many experts have pointed out, many successful investors have what it takes to succeed because of their character. These are all stuff we nurture through one's growing up years.
I'd love to spearhead the movement for raising financially savvy children so they become more equipped to succeed in life later on.
Other than basic management of one's money, I'd also focus on character traits that are deemed valuable to financial success. Traits like being patient, being able to delay gratification, and of course being innovative and entrepreneurial.
Not every successful business owner is highly educated, but they're definitely street smart. Our kids lack this these days.
So in my "post-retirement", I'll be running 2 "jobs":
1) a GP tuition centre for needy students
2) financial education, with a special branch focus on children
The rest of my time will be spent watching (maybe writing too?) dramas, spending time with my loved ones, and travelling the world to take in the different cultures and lifestyles together.
I won't be tied down by a single job just because I need the money to pay the bills. I get to do things that bring me fulfilment.
Don't get me wrong – I quite like my job now, but it isn't what I want to do with the rest of my life.
I can see myself staying here and working with the team for another 10 to 15 years, but probably not any more than that. The industry doesn't stir up a fire in my heart. It doesn't give me that same sense of satisfaction and fulfilment I get when I see my kids score well in their tests, or the knowledge that I've changed yet another life.
//Goblin's ending (sidetrack!) //
They'll fall in love again.
📺 a lot of people are complaining on Facebook about how they didn't like the ending of Goblin and I thought I just wanted to share my interpretation here!
I thought the show ended on a really nice note. At first I felt it so unfair that Kim Shin had to go through 9 years of torture for such a short-lived reunion with Eun Tak. 30 years of waiting before they meet again in her second life. How many years of loneliness will there be in between the third and fourth? Why torture the Goblin so much?
But there were hints! The Almighty said not once, but twice, that he was always listening. I believe that Kim Shin will continuing waiting for Eun Tak until her third lifetime is over, then he'll beg the gods to let him die and reincarnate with her for her fourth lifetime on earth. Since the Almighty is always listening, I believe he'll grant them this.
In her fourth life, neither of them will have the memories of their previous lives. But they'll still find, recognise and fall in love with each other. They'll find a way to come back to each other. Even if their minds have forgotten, their hearts will remember.
That's what the scriptwriter was trying to show us with the rushed reincarnation and love story of Sunny and Wang Yeo in their next life. And if they could have their happy ending, then I believe Kim Shin and Eun Tak will, too!
They'll find a way to come back to each other.
If money wasn't an issue, what would YOU be?
(I think right now if money weren't an issue I'll fly to Korea cos I heard Gong Yoo ads are all over the nation HAHAHA my wanderlust has been activated by the show!)
