A while back, I stumbled upon the following priceless commercial that aired in Malaysia over the Chinese New Year holiday several years back. Most of it is painfully familiar to Asians of my generation and I'm guessing to many from other cultures as well. The closing scene never fails to leave me with a heavy lump in my chest.
I hope you have a chance to enjoy this lovely look at some of the different types of success that we can experience in this world: Read more
One of the joys of spending time in Korea this past year was getting to know people like the barber I visited monthly. In sharing life stories, I was genuinely surprised by her fascination with my mindset as a dad. Read more
Schadenfreude is a German word that refers to the human capacity to experience pleasure in another person's suffering. It's an unhealthy form of envy that is highly damaging to the person who feels it. Read more
I've long held the view that it is good to be mindful of the finiteness of our days. In fact, I find value in having in mind the year that I will pass on according to life expectancy calculators - by having an exact year in mind, I'm naturally inclined to make the most of my days. Read more
Back in 2001, while eating dinner with a friend in Seoul, an elderly woman silently walked in and placed a chocolate bar on every table. My friend, in seeing that I was unsure of what was happening, explained that she was a poor grandmother who was looking for income selling chocolate, and that she would come by again in a few minutes to collect money. Read more