Wilson Ng started helping the family business since 9 years old. Since then, he had dreamt to be a successful entrepreneur, one who starts great businesses  ( he has started 7) from scratch with insight, guts and initiative. He keeps his focus on growing the business by creating value-- not on politics, or wasteful distractions. He brings the same focus to community service, teaching, life and family.

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	Saturday, January 08, 2005

A Sense of Entitlement   ( on life) On the course of everyday life, we get to meet many people.  Some we like.  Some we don't.  Some we immediately feel a sense of affability, some at the start, we immediately feel that they are odious or obnoxious. There are a lot of reasons why we dislike people -- maybe they are discourteous, maybe we don't like the way they dress or look, maybe they rub us the wrong way, or maybe we are just having a bad day.  There is not much you can do if people dislike you because they don't like your face, but there is something you certainly can do if people start to avoid you because of the way you behave. And I believe that a lot of how we bounce off others, either positively or negatively,  have a lot to do with each of our sense of entitlement vis a vis theirs.  As a citizen of this world, we give and then we receive.  And just like in business, where we are expected to pay a fair price for the products and services that we choose to enjoy, there is also a hidden ledger in life where people expect you to be fair -- you get in proportion to what you have given. Of course, just like in business, there is always an attempt to get more than you give.  The results, sometimes can strike us as not fair. Others have given much but believe they have not gotten something back in proportion.  Then there are people who are born with silver spoons in their mouth -- they have received much and endowed with much ( good looks, rich parents, incredible talent) but have given back nil. I howeer, believe that this hidden ledger keeps a fair share -- people who have gotten much without giving much try to enjoy everything they can but deep down feel a certain degree of unhappiness.  It is the sense of entitlement that nags you deep down. They feel they don't really deserve what they got, not having work for it, and therefore feel some unworthiness which prevents them from enjoying life at the fullest. But the people who probably are the most odious are those that display a warped sense of entitlement.  These are the people who thinks they are entitled to get without giving, simply because of their station in life.  When they are together with other people, they felt they are entitled to better attention, and better food.  They believe that they should get certain perks in life that others don't deserve.  It is well if they have given something to deserve it, but many haven't.  There is for instance, an unemployed bum in a developed country who is protesting that 1,200 dollars a month unemployment benefit is plainly not enough and not considering that there are many more hardworking and deserving people in developing countries working 12 hours a day and subsisting on 40 dollars. Thus, some people go around in life thinking that the world owes them a living, their associates owe them respect ( even if they have not earn it), and their parents owes them to give them every hard earned dollar without their raising a finger.  They get what they can without thinking what to give.  Have you meet this kind of people? Do you like them? I'd like to end this by quoting Winston Churchill who said, "we make a living by what we get, but we make a life by what we give. "  I hope this can be your food for thought for the day.  And to quote another great person Woodrow Wilson, who upon being conferred an award, said, "I'd like to believe that honor is felt not because of what I got, but because of what I had given. " Wouldn't this be a much happier world if everybody can be more conscientious that they at least give back the same measure ( if it cannot be more)  as they have received? 4:22:46 PM     comment []   trackback []

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2005  --  June , May , April,  March , February,  January

2004  --  December, November, October, September