Singapore - A New Paradigm

"If we don't change, we don't grow. If we don't grow, we aren't really living."

- Gail Sheehy

I once read a very meaningful book, “Think and Grow Rich”, by Napoleon Hill, from where I learnt that everything starts with an idea. It all begins in the mind, and only when it is conceivable in the mind, can it and will it be realised in the physical world.

So, I would like to start sharing my ideas and philosophies of entrepreneurship with you by addressing the most important and essential component first: The mindset.

Pareto’s Principle - The 80/20 Rule

In 1906, Italian economist Vilfredo Pareto created a mathematical formula to describe the unequal distribution of wealth in his country, observing that 20 per cent of the people owned 80 per cent of the wealth.

Now, if I were to ask you a question, “Do you want to belong to the minority 20 per cent that own 80 per cent of this world’s wealth or do you want to belong to the majority 80 per cent that own only 20 per cent of this world’s wealth?”, what would your answer be?

My guess is that you would want to belong to the minority 20 per cent that own most of this world’s wealth, right?

Then my next question to you is: “If you want to belong to the top 20 per cent of this world’s population, what have you done today that puts you on the right track to be part of the top 20 per cent?”

Look at yourself and the environment around you. Are you doing things that most people are doing? Or are you doing things differently in your efforts to go up to the top 20 per cent population?

If you associate yourself mostly with the 80 per cent group, if you are still doing things similar to those being done by the 80 per cent group, how do you expect yourself to be part of the top 20 per cent group?

In order to gain a foothold in the top 20 per cent of this world’s population that own the majority of this world’s wealth, you must do things that are different from what the majority are doing.

You must find out how the people from the top 20 per cent group think, how they talk to one another, what actions they take, and so on.

In short, you’ve got to associate yourself with people who are already in the top 20 per cent group.

Even better if you can find a mentor who is already in the top 20 per cent group and who is willing to spend his or her time in guiding you to find a way for you to raise yourself from the 80 per cent group to the top 20 per cent group.

Cow vs. Horse

Have you ever observed the difference between a cow and a horse?

Well, in Singapore, the country where we live in, it may not be easy to find and to observe a real life cow and horse. However, I believe we can use a little of our imagination here.

Let’s imagine a cow first.

The life of a cow is hard. A cow has to pull a burden, get milked, bred to bear calves for the beef industry and to replace the daily herd. For all its efforts, a cow only has grass to eat. At the end of its life, the worn-out cow is sent for slaughter. Even its skin is processed and manufactured into bags, wallets, or other leather products.

Now, let’s imagine a horse.

A horse is an animal that also works hard in its life. A good horse may be trained to be a race-horse. A race-horse is given shoes called the horse-shoe. It is also given a house called the stable. A race-horse eats only selected high quality horse food. A really good race-horse will win many championships in horse-races. The horse will receive awards and recognition for its hard work.

Now, my question to you is, if you only have two choices, one of which is to be a cow and the second choice is to be a horse, which of the two animals would you want to be?

My guess is that you would prefer to be a horse. Am I right?

To work hard and eventually receive your due rewards for your hard work, to run fast and to stand out from all the other horses, to win many awards and receive much recognition based on your performance, and to be valued by your ‘owner’ (boss / employer) - I feel that most people will want to live a life like that.

Now, my follow-up question is: “Have you done anything to put yourself in the position of the ‘horse’ instead of the ‘cow’?”

Let me share with you a secret.

Each and every one of us is born as a horse, rather than as a cow. But we were born, raised and educated to think and work like a cow, rather than like a horse. When it is time for us to graduate from school and to be independent financially, many of us look for a good job with a good pay and good benefits.

We subconsciously do exactly what all the other people around us are doing. We create a nice resume; send it out to as many companies as possible with the hope that we will be accepted in one of those companies, working in a normal nine-to-five job. We do all these without realising that we are subconsciously choosing to live as a cow, instead of as a horse.

Look around and observe the people that you see and meet every day. Do most of them go to work, full of energy and motivation or do they depict a dejected and bored state of mind?

Day in and day out they are being ‘milked’ by their employers (over-worked) and only given ‘grass’ to eat (under-paid). And when the most unfortunate day comes, they just hope that they will not be the one to get ‘slaughtered’ (retrenched / pay-cut).

My suggestion to you is while you still have the energy and time now, choose to live more like a horse rather than a cow.

A good horse trainer will always search for potential horses to train and eventually to compete in the race and win the championship. Similarly, there are good bosses out there constantly seeking young individuals with the potential and promise to be developed.

Look for a good horse trainer, associate yourself with other good horses, then run the race and win the championship!

If you can be a horse that eats high quality horse-food, wear a horse-shoe and live in a stable, why would you want to be a cow that only eats grass all the days of your life while waiting to be slaughtered?

By Merry Riana, millionaire entrepreneur, best-selling author & motivational speaker
Business & Investment Opportunities
YourVietnamExpert is a division of Saigon Business Corporation Pte Ltd, Incorporated in Singapore since 1994. As Your Business Companion, we propose a range of services in Consulting, Investment and Management, focusing three main economic sectors: International PR; Healthcare & Wellness;and Tourism & Hospitality. We also propose Higher Education, as a bridge between educational structures and industries, by supporting international programs. Sign up with twitter to get news updates with @SaigonBusinessC. Thanks.