Live and Let Live.

One of the most wonderful experience in my job (as a financial planner) is to be able to engage with many people at the deepest level. Some people are more successful than others in life. I have learned from my observation that people can be categorized into 4 categories.

1.Those who “Don't Live and Don't Let Live” : This group of people blame the failure of their life to every other thing (or people) other than themselves. They can cite convincing reasons (usually backed with sound arguments) like having the wrong parents, teachers, spouses, bosses, government, weather... etc (the list is endless). As you can see, their energy is being expensed on finding fault, they don't have much resources left to live the life they ought to. Not only that, they frequently find fault in others, and easily get into heated arguments with the people around them. You can easily notice this group of people with their perpetual bittergoud face.

2.Those who “Don't Live and Let Live” : This group of people don't take their own personal and professional life seriously, but they can be best of friends. They can live with the mediocrity of life, rarely take the extra step to make things better. Dealing with them for professional or business matters can be a nightmare. However, they can be first class in dealing with their family members, friends and football buddies(or shopping buddies for the ladies). Such people typically worked as an employee, front line customer officer of insurance company, bank, telco company, or civil servant.

3.Those who “Live and Don't Let Live” : This group of people are labeled as “sharks”. They are highly successful in everything they do (professionally or personally). However, their success is usually built on other people's blood and sweat. They are extremely intelligent, and can spot the narrowest of gap to score political points to get ahead in life. However, if you step onto their toes (whether purposely or accidentally), you can be assured of a ruthless retaliation of the highest order. They are usually gifted at communication, and usually can be found in most upper echelon of global companies, governments, and non-profit organizations. Recently, some high profile court cases have shown that these people can rise and fall in equally spectacular manner.

4.Those who “Live and Let Live”: This group of people are God-sent. They are full of life which manifest in the conduct of their business, work and relationship. They are also blessings to the people around them. They understand that human beings are not perfect, they forgive, and they encourage! The most amazing things I noticed this group of people is their humility and ever ready to seek forgiveness if their own dealings are less than expected. This group of people are rare, they are typically leaders of their chosen field, and ever ready to leave the scene if they are not required any more.

The “Live and Let Live” attitude is great, but usually it is not something one is born with. It is often learned and molded when one recovers from some big failures in life.

My observations in Kuala Lumpur (KL).

I was at KL over the weekend to attand an professional investment training with a group of Malaysian financial planners. I also took the opportunity to learn something about the country. Below are my observations.

I make a short trip to KLCC, the up-market shopping centre. Most of the shoppers were tourists and expats. Over at mid-valley, the mega-mall, which caters to mid-level income shoppers, the crowd were overwhelmingly chinese. These observations do give me an indication on the concentration and distribution of wealth in the country.

Next, I took mental notes on the type of newspapers and magazines on the streets and bookstores. The two main newspapers were The Star (which i was told is owned by the MCA) and News Straits Times (which is owned by UMNO). They were well written, and some articles by local journalists did have intellectual depth. The other newspapers were of lesser character and shallow in their contents, typically filled with over-blown dramas and stories with sexual, violence or spiritual themes. But the standard of news is not as bad as I have seen in Taiwan.

The part that impresses me the most is the "never say die" attitude of the local businessmen. My host runs a financial planning firm. The speed, courage and the thoughfulness of executing a business strategy in a less-than perfect (or chaotic) envirnoment by him and the management team is breathtaking, compared to the "complaining" attitude of the Singaporean counterparts. They are one up compared to us.

When I asked him casually the reason underlying such attitude, he answers me: "we are hungrier than you (i.e. S'pore)!"

This is thought provoking.

What to do when your baggage is mis-handled.

In Singapore, June is always a month that families have their holidays. Sometimes, a mis-handling of baggages (delay or missing) by the airline or the airport staff can turn a dream holiday into a nightmare. Below is what you can do to manage such situation:

1. Once you have confirmed that your baggage(s) is not on the designated conveyor belt in the airport, you immediately approach the airline staff to launch a P.I.R (Property Irregularity Report). For example, if you travel by SIA, you launch a P.I.R. from SIA; if you travel by MAS, you launch a P.I.R. from MAS etc.

With this P.I.R., the airline will trace the lost baggage from all the airports this aircraft has transited. If they find it, they will deliver the baggage to your hotel or apartment.

2. While waiting for your baggage, you can purchase some toiletries and spare clothes. You should also start calling your travel insurance agent to standby the baggage loss/delay claim process. The expenses on toiletries, clothes and phone bill to insurance agent can be claimed against the airline when you return to Singapore (therefore keep those bills handy). You can apporach the airline to advance you spare cash to purchase such items if you do not have a credit card or local currency.

3. If the baggage is completely lost, you can launch a claim with the airline back in Singapore. If you have a travel insurance policy, also launch a claim on the insurance company under "loss / delay baggage" clause. Incidentally, the insurance company also requires a P.I.R. to make their claim payout to you.

Above all, stay calm and continue your holiday.

*Above steps are advised by a veteran tour agency businessman who is also a good friend to me and my wife.