Lesson of the day: Be Prepared (BP) When I was much younger, I was a Boy Scout and our Scout Motto is Be Prepared and it is the same acronym for our founder, Lord Baden-Powell. and I didnt imagine it to come useful again today. You see, I was meeting the management of a government organization where Ill be the host for two State level ceremonies. The Guest of Honour (GOH) of the Ceremonies will be one of our Cabinet Ministers and the President of The Republic of Singapore respectively. Granted that I was referred in for the assignment, look young (boyish, I guess) and the fact that last years host was an events veteran in his 50 years old, there was prepping up to do. I started small talking with two of the staff and the boss (an AD) was coming over from another meeting. It was all cordial and fact-finding until the boss stepped in and the atmosphere changed a little. The first curve ball came after a while when he asked, Ben, why are you doing this? And I knew the intent of his question especially when I practically have to dedicate two full days for this state-level event but itll be on a pro-bono basis. So I shared with them that one, it is for a good cause and I do believe in giving back given my past history of volunteering. But more practically, I told them quite frankly there is an opportunity cost and especially when Im running my business, it is important I get mileage for what I do. When I do a good job and I have had done so on multiple occasions, I almost never fail to get a glowing testimonial and potential referrals for paid work. The boss then told me that he was indeed looking for collaborations beyond these 2 ceremonies and shared with me the potential for upcoming commercial projects. (great, even more motivation for me now) It wasnt long after that we continued discussing about the event and he had one of his staff pass the script over to me and wanted me to do a read-out of an entire page i.e. my second curve ball. Thankfully, my past training with The Emcee Academy under the tutelage of FD and Chris Henson as well as my prior experiences served me well. I joked to him afterwards that this sounds like American Idol but assured him that my whenever my clients engage me, they run through the face test, voice test, track record test etc. And thankfully, I havent failed many yet. Now barring my profile being finally cleared by their Board, Ill have the honour to host the said ceremonies and do a good job at them. Ive always felt that our youth is our biggest asset. It gives you the leeway to experiment, be bold, take risks and push the envelope. You are most energetic and least tainted in terms of world view, preconceptions, assumptions and of the what is and what should be. Whenever I see someone is his or her late teens or early twenties realizing that their next big thing is just within an arms reach and they are at the edge of the potential and shipping great work, it just pumps me up to no limits! Because I know the only one person that stops young people from tapping into their deepest potential is their silly selves telling themselves that they are inadequate or inexperienced. Dont get me wrong, I think age and maturity counts a lot but to paralyze yourself into inaction because you think youre too young to do something is the greatest failure and undoing in itself! Whos to say or decide you are finally old enough to do X or Y or Z? The beauty of life is in its ambiguity and subjectivity in all honesty, I do believe there arent many situations in life that you are ever ready enough to do something (just ask anyone whos ever been a father). Action breeds readiness, experience and wisdom. And inaction... in my opinion, just breeds fear, rationalization and lethargy. That said, management of expectations and impressions are also important since every endeavour is a transaction of value being involved. If anything, young people needs to err on the side of intentional boldness but not foolishness or recklessness. The sky is the limit but always bring a parachute with you. I am thankful for moments like these and even if the outcome turns out awry and I dont get to host the ceremonies, the insights I glean along the way makes me realize that while life looks all haphazard and blurry when you dive forward... it becomes clear and all starts to make sense, when you look backwards a la Steve Jobs. The painful 4 years I spent studied Accounting and fighting with the institution for a bloody degree change but was rejected like Ive been, by my past crushes? I now maintain my own books but outsource most of them and am able to relate to my clients in the financial and entrepreneurship space a lot better. The sleepless nights when I was transcribing terribly-accented lawyers as a part-time legal transcriber? I now listen sharper and the shorthand serves me excellently and I can catch the nuances and ask more insightful questions for my book interviews. Those years when I hated getting dirty, grimy and sweaty as a fat Boy Scout? You got it. So get out there, blaze some new trails and fumble a little because youre never ready. The good thing is - you always have the choice to Be Prepared. And when you are, it will all make sense, someway somehow.
Posted on: Fri, 27 Jun 2014 08:05:21 +0000
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