If I have seen more than most, it’s because I’m standing on the shoulders of giants
- Sir Isaac Newton
I am living a full life and I wouldn’t be here without the following amazing figures. They changed my life at one time or another. Because of them, I became who I am. I am and will always be indebted to all of them:
- Jesus Christ - my savior, my rock, my God. I have received abundant blessings from Him, although many times, I can’t appreciate nor see them. It’s my duty to spread this blessings to everyone I meet.
- Dad & mom - no, they’re not the ideal, fairy-tale-ish kind of parents. But while growing up, I realize more and more that they don’t have to be. And maybe they were never meant to be. But that’s where the beauty lies. I am who I am because of them. They’ve laid out the path of life clearly in front of me. They leave the rest up to me. I am hugely indebted to them for life.
- Olivia Willyost - she is one of the strongest women I know. I often found myself admiring her “how could she live through this?” I don’t know what I’d done if I were in her position. And misunderstood her actions and decisions a lot of times just because I was not willing to step into her shoes. She may not know it but I’m really proud of her because of her tenacity in dealing with her life. She does not always do the right thing, but she sticked through it and that’s what really counts. She is one of my role models in facing challenges in life. Only a few people really close to me know that I’d suffered 3 periods of depression in my life and she helped me cure myself of the last two. Other woman might have left me but she did not. She sticked through them. Thank you Vi, I am forever indebted to you.
- Robert T. Kiyosaki - if it weren’t because of his books, I would be in a very big trouble now. His financial wisdom enlightened me in terms of finance and business. His books gave me the courage to step out of the E quadrant, into the S and B quadrant. His way of thinking gave me a very clear framework of building a solid business. Thank you Robert; I wish to meet you one day.
- Steve Jobs - dude, too bad for me you’ve passed away. “Meeting Steve” would’ve been listed high in my bucket list. Your Stanford video changed my life forever. “Your time is limited, so don’t waste it living someone else’s life.” “Have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. They somehow already know what you truly want to become.” I will never forget your lessons.
- Robin Sharma - he changed my life through his book “Leader who have no title”. I was so uncertain of my stance in life. I have a full conviction of what I am doing; that they are the right thing to do. But society subtly keep throwing me subliminal messages, trying to shape me into someone who I’m not, throw my ideals away, and lower my standard of excellence. Thanks to Robin, I found myself back and this time, I will change the world, not the other way around.
- Eric Ries - this dude man.. this dude. If there’s anyone who has given me a solid framework of how to start up a business, it’s this dude. I recommend anyone who has even the slightest interest to starting up a business to read The Lean Startup. It’s so good I felt there’s no way I could possibly fail building a business (unless I ran out of runways :) ). Check it out.
- John Vervaeke - he was my professor when I first entered a cognitive science class. A very bright man who had the guts to tell the class: “cognitive science is the most intellectually challenging subject” but also possessed the humility to admit that everything he had been teaching could turn out to be flat out wrong; and that’s why he wanted to develop students’ skill of critical thinking. Thank you John for the skill you have passed down to me.
This list will always expand. I’m still early in my life and I have a lot of things to do, a lot of people to meet, a lot events to go through. The next on the list could just be you :)
