Do you judge people by how much money they make?
Money holds a lot of power both in our minds and in the real world. It can mean the difference between getting by or thriving, and it can also mean financial servitude or financial freedom.
Watch this short video as Christopher Tan, CEO of Providend, shares his views and personal experience on this matter.
Hello everyone, thank you for watching this video clip.
We hope that through this way, we would be able to share some of our thinking with you so that we can leave behind some food for thought and hopefully makes small impacts in your financial and non-financial life.
Today I want to share with us a true story that happened to me one and a half years ago.
I was asked to speak to a group of poly students on personal finance.
And you know, I’ve always got a special place in my heart for poly students because I was once a poly student. I was a graduate or rather, I am a graduate of Singapore Polytechnic.
And so, for this session, I was asked to talk about budgeting.
It was a short session. But in those twenty minutes, you know as much as I tried, I realised that the students were very distracted and they weren’t listening to me. It was quite disheartening actually.
As the session came to a close, I asked myself what can I leave behind that can make an impact on their lives. And this was what I shared with them, “Guys, can you just listen to me for the next 1 minute?”
And I said this:
You know the world judges all of us based on what we have or what we don’t have. Isn’t it true? The world judges us based on the car we drive, unfortunately, the house we stay, the amount of money we have in the banks and for you students, even your results, even the school you go to.
And I saw many of the noddings away because it’s true.
And if we know that this is true and we can’t change it, there are three things that we can do or there are three responses that you can have. The first response goes out there, get as much as you can so that the world will listen to you. That’s the first response.
The second response is after you’ve got what you need to get, please do not judge others based on what they have or do not have because that is wrong.
And the third response is you know in life, it’s like that, as much as you try, you will never be able to get everything that you want.
“But please do not let the world judge you based on what you have or do not have because your identity is not linked to what you have or do not have”
Many of you, you are here at the Polytechnic not by choice. Some of you, I know you came by choice but many of you, you did not come here by choice. You are here because perhaps your results weren’t good enough to go to a better school, a top school.
Please do not let people judge you based on your academic results. Please do not let people judge you based on the schools that you go to. Because that is not true and that is not right.
Even as I end the session, I saw many of the students in front of me they were tearing away.
Why?
Because it’s true
And I know it because more than 30 years ago, I was a poly student in a lecture theatre. It’s just that nobody then told me about it
This is why at Providend, we believe that money is not a goal. Money is just an enabler. And that’s why we always advocate that it is important to first make a life decision before you make a financial decision.
Do not let your financial decisions lead to your life decisions. Make your life decisions and let your financial decisions support your life decisions.
For more related resources, check out:
1. Let Your Financial Decisions Enable Your Life Decision
2. Making A Name Through Ethical Practices
3. Know What You Can Control As An Investor
We do not charge a fee at the first consultation meeting. If you would like an honest second opinion on your current investment portfolio, financial and/or retirement plan, make an appointment with us today.