What are your values measured by?

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I read about a lot of very successful people and heard of how they achieved their successes. Each and every one has their very own success story to tell. Whether it is hard work, determination, tenacity, perseverance or just plain luck, it's never a secret. Did you ever know a successful person that didn’t tell you all about it?

I personally know quite a number very successful people. Some of them are my good friends and they are very simple and down to earth people. Millionaires and multi-millionaires, they still find time to sit down with me every now and then, chatting over a cup of kopi-O, in a food-court somewhere. We talk for hours, sharing common stories of our simple beginnings and our humble pasts.

We talked about the days when school bags were hand sewn from old lorry canvas and when our schools books were wrapped with used calendar sheets. We shared stories about hand-downed Bata shoes, free oat meals from school and free tuition at YMCA. We joked about our first “kup chais” (motorcycles) and laughed about how we learn to drive with manual Datsun cars (now Nissan). We are proud of the humble way we were brought up. We appreciate those who helped and supported us. We are grateful to those who stood through thick and thin with us. We are indebted to those who helped us and gave us opportunities.

Successful or not, rich or poor, it was through all these experiences, we learned to measure our values by respect, friendship, loyalty, faithfulness, honesty, trust, promise and commitment.

Then there are other people who after achieving success in their lives, they forget about a lot of things. Not that there are forgetful in nature but they just choose to readily and conveniently forget. They forget how to be humble, only to display their arrogance. They forget about their simple beginnings, only to embrace decadence. They forget their friends of trying times, only to accept companions from the affluent. They forget about the lesser folks, only to be associated with the rich.

Oh yes, I almost forget … they definitely have forgotten about me.

But ironically, while they choose to forget, they want to be remembered. They want to be remembered how many times their photos appeared on the social pages of top lifestyle magazines. They want to be remembered among the “who and who” of the higher echelons. They want to be remembered by their fame of opulence. They only want to be remembered for their present glamour but not to be reminded of their struggling past.

And their values? Well, they have their very own set of values that are measured by their X6s, LVs, GUCCIs, ARMANIs, BREITLINGs and the luxurious houses they lived in.
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