Life Does Not Need To Be Hard

If you do not understand Mandarin, then you may be lucky in this instance.

先苦后甜

The above 4 words means “First Bitter Then Sweet”.

I was brought up to believe that one must study hard, work hard, play hard, save hard and then the retirement life will be very sweet. The harder you live now, the sweeter your retirement later.

This is, for the lack for better words, a huge B-S.

In school, I studied hard. My grades were no-where, I felt like a useless person.

When I joined the workforce, I worked very hard. I saw a senior colleague, he worked very hard for the company for more than ten years before me, his salary was lower than mine. I started to question “working hard”.

When I played games, I played very hard, and in the process, I did not enjoy the game and make enemies. I changed my mindset and played to enjoy, not played to win. It helps me to make more friends, enjoy the games more and slept better.

Up to the age of 40’s, my bank accounts were still zero or negative. I can stand at the hill and proudly declare, I worked hard, gave it 101%. Nonetheless, bank accounts depressing. Like my school grades, I am getting C, D, E and even F if the banks were to grade me like my teachers.

I gave up my entrepreneurial dreams and worked for the Americans as Regional Sales.

I witnessed how they lived their life, spent their hours, enjoy themselves in everything they do.

I thought they were rich until they revealed to me their bank accounts, I was stunt. We were no different.

How come like that?

Curious like an engineer, I studied the way they lived their life. I studied the way they work. I studied the way they communicate. I studied the way they think.

These guys are going to the grave with no money in their banks. And that do not worry them.

While alive, they live a great life. Big house, big cars, big TVs, big whatever. And they always have time for families.

If I were to stay in the office till 6 pm in USA, like I used to do in Singapore, I would be meeting the Janitor and the Cleaners who just came in. Everyone else has gone home. So much for working hard!

However, I do realize that I am a Singaporean. I cannot work the same way like them when I am back in Singapore. Hence, I got to find a middle ground.

What is the middle ground? Both me and my money have to work hard.

With that “changed” mindset, I learn financial literacy while working. Spending free hours in hotel rooms learning property investing. While waiting for planes, I would surf the net and listen to guru. While in the planes I would watch movies and ate sunflower seeds.

Bit by bit, my thinking changed. Like a big cruise, turning is slow. When I have money, I would buy a property. When I do not have enough, I would get my friends to own the properties together.

Soon, I have multiple streams of income.

Droplets of little water can fill a big pail. And one pail becomes two. And two become four.

Unknowingly, the income collected in one month exceeds expenses, then my active income.

I could give my family a good life. We would travel around the world in business class and stay at grand hotels. We traveled at our own pace. We wake up and go to sleep whenever we like. Life becomes good.

In my way of property investing, once life becomes better, it will only get better. Its almost impossible for life to become worse. I have seen people investing in stocks and become penniless overnight. This is not possible for Singapore properties. Its unheard of unless one is blindly chasing capital gains only. When one is focused on passive income aka rental income, the margin of safety is very big.

Few weeks ago, I chatted with my peers from the electronics industries. They are in their 50’s and even older. They are still living a hard life. I have seen them worked very hard. Where is the “sweetness” as promised?

For those who have retired, many have downgraded from a bigger property to a smaller one. From cars to bicycles. Witnessing this, my heart ached.

In the past, we would meet during Chinese New Year. They would talk about the good old days of glory and future days of darkness and gloom, even hopelessness. I stopped going to those gatherings. I would come home sad.

I am a rebel in Singapore. In USA , I am the average Joe.

I say “no” to “study hard, play hard, work hard, save hard and your retirement will be paradise”.

I say no to “life must be hard”.

Today, my life is wonderful. I decide how to spend my time.

You see, my dear readers, your destiny is in your hands. Whatever programs you allowed into your head determine your outcome. If you are working hard, etc, and still worried about your future, its time you say “NO “ to “Life must be hard”.

Love Marko
Investor, Practitioner and Full-Time Coach