Inferiority

The difference to greatness is in accomplishment. People tend to have similar ideas, desires, wishes but the line which differentiates these people is accomplishment. Imagine all those famous inventors, take the household name- Thomas Edison. This man was responsible for the existence of lightbulbs, the telegram (if i'm not mistaken) and other products of his genius. Now who wouldn't think of the lightbulb? Maybe not the exact lightbulb itself but the thought of having light generated by electricity is highly plausible. Leaders start out with an objective in mind and stick to it through thick and thin. (Sometimes, it may end up as ridiculous as the communist leaders, but still... John Maynard Keynes praised them for their "determination")

I wonder whether there truly is inferiority in failing to keep to your original goals or accomplish them for the matter. This leads to the question - Does failure denote inferiority? Although there is the common saying "failure is the mother of success", there are limits to how many failures the soul can permit. The sight of failure burns guilt and disappointment in some, uplifts some, is brushed aside by some or runs doubts through minds. You chance upon failure sometimes when what you do is just not enough. Once again is inferiority denoted by failure? I do not know the full answer but this i know- failure to recover from failure is the worst kind of failure.

Now another question on my mind is... when is it right to invest? How do you know the marginal benefit outweighs the marginal cost. There are people who receive ideas but who do not set aside the time to implement it. Are making the right measure of opportunity costs? Will you be able to receive your maximum utility by doing this? How do you know that it will reap you the rewards that you deserve from your efforts? All this is so arbitrary!

i guess at the end of the day, we simply have to judge for ourselves. And maybe that's why failure is needed, to shape our judgement and wisdom in making decisions.

A new beginning

A friend of mine told me that he intended to have his humanities research project based on how large scale events contribute to the growth of Singapore. The word growth was an understatement. What is happening is total evolution, the changing of the whole landscape of this tiny country. The entire scene of Singapore is currently going through a massive upheaval and there is so so so much to expect in the future. 2 years back, we auctioned the two plots of land- sentosa and marina bay in anticipation of two humongous integrated resorts to emerge in a few years' down the road. The IMF and world bank summit in 2006, 117th IOC session in 2005, the grand prix's in town this year. What more can we expect?

The Youth Olympic Games in 2010. The wait for that moment of truth was worth it.

It was held in the padang. Roads were temporarily closed and if you spun around 360 degrees, you would realise that before you stood the old supreme court building flanked on both sides by two skylines (city districts). The varying architecture gave a telling tale of the transformation of this land with the exception of one obstinate victorian styled building sitting there immovable. A series of performances from various schools and local celebrities built up to the real deal- the announcement of the YOG results. This was followed by a video showcasing Singapore's widespread publicity, the tireless efforts of the MCYS and all the events that led to this day struck me hard. At that instant, it shook me and i began to realise the insurmountable effort of the government towards moving Singapore beyond what we currently are. There used to be a saying that Singapore is a disneyland with a death penalty. We are indeed a disneyland but we will never ever come close to the death penalty. With everything that is going to happen, we are definitely far from death. Well, the moment soon arrived. Tension and anxiety sealed our lips for that short instance as the IOC chairman, Jacques Rogge, announced our country's name to host the 2010 Youth Olympic Games.

Everyone immediately erupted into euphoria and 7000 strong crowd roared with pride. A magnificent sight and emotion to behold... even Parliamentary Secretary of the MCYS Teo Ser Luck had difficulty withholding the tears all welled up in his eyes. Few other moments can repeat or capture that spontaneous response. And now we shall continue to count down. But this time, to the event itself. In Singapore. Singapore still has a long way to go. And this simple statement gives hope to every Singaporean.

afresh!

This is not about me. This blog will not speak or mention my personal life in detail. Of course, through my ruminations and thoughts laid out, you can figure my personality. The world wide web has been an uncanny tool in bringing forth knowledge, thoughts, works, emotions, information and ideas. Ideas especially so. The beliefs of Man are everywhere and though I have often advocated the use of personal journals, online web journals will optimise the spread of ideas. Ideas to share. Ideas to influence. Ideas to make that difference to society (as cliche as that may sound).

I would not call this page an online journal. It is, as the heading explicitly says - a collection of profound thoughts and inquiries. Lately, my mind has been in a mess of many thoughts and so the need to arrange them through this blog. It is disconcerting to know so much and forget much. It's just like a filling a bathtub with a hole. This blog would serve as a chart which maps my growth in thoughts in black and white or in fact, electronically. I admire people who keep to their faiths and beliefs. Philosophers, economists, matyrs, religious figures, many forgotten ones who stand firm in their principles. Resilience and trust. Choosing what you think is right. This is what divides the world. The 20th century was not only a series of battles between the Soviet and Allied bloc. It was a battle of ideas to shape the world economy and modern thinking. Keynes and Hayek fought it out. As I see it (pardon the deviation), Hayek somewhat stood triumphant over Keynes. These people fuel my aspirations to be a frame of ideas, unwavering before challenges.

Yet, on stockmarket charts, there are the dips. I may not always be correct, well substantiated or fallacious. Forgive me if I am errorneous whether it be in my grammar, use of vocabulary or ideas published.

And thus, this entry marks the start of ideas to come.