Realise Your Potential

It's been a month since I last saw Dr Tay at the park or reservoir. Well, maybe less. But anyway, I didn't see him today.

Then I was thinking why I wanted his advice. He doesn't know me that well. He doesn't know much about what has gone on in my life. Hmm...that got me thinking. Perhaps getting advice from someone who knows you very well is a dangerous thing. People who know you well would tend to see you in the light they always see you. They have preconceived notions about you that wouldn't change much, though you might have changed, however slightly. Of course providing solutions and advice objectively is almost an impossible feat in any circumstance. But those loved ones might be doing more harm than good. And I can't emphasise the word 'might' enough.

In any case, I would like to quote from a speech given by Carly Fiorina, the recently ousted HP CEO, to a bunch of university graduates.

"We should be motivated by our own sense of possibility. We should be motivated by our own sense of accomplishment. We should be motivated by what we believe we can become."

"People's ideas and fears can make them small - but they cannot make you small. People's prejudices can diminish them - but they cannot diminish you. Small-minded people can think they determine your worth. But only you can determine your worth."

"I do not know any of you personally. But as a business person and a former CEO, I know that people who have overcome much can achieve more than people who've never been tested."

"Living life defined by your own sense of possibility, not by other's notions of limitations, is the path to success."

Well said.