A Nobody
“As you think, so shall you become.”
- Bruce Lee
Have you ever dreamed of working for a dream company? This company does not have to be Google. Or Xiaomi. Yet, you are still burying your head into your work, because the mission of the company totally aligned with your values.
Have you ever dreamed of working for a hero who you truly admire? The hero is someone who you dream of meeting in person. Even all you might get from him is just a handshake, a hug, or simply a picture with him. It’ll make your day.
Have you ever dreamed of working for a project which stretches the borderline of your comfort zone? You put your head down, all in, take it as the only shot in life and still worry about the quality of your work.
If you have dreamed about all these, read on.
I have been that person. I have a dream. I don’t want to die with a deep-rooted belief that I can make a positive impact in the universe. I need money to survive, but I also need a dream to live by. Without a dream, I would rather die.
Sounds grandiose, huh?
Everyone wants to live their dreams, but I come from a humble background; I am a NOBODY. I grew up living in a public house. All of the fancy mansions I have ever been and are jealous of, belonged to my classmates’ parents or my friends’ relatives. I grew up studying in traditional public schools. I never went to the Ivy League. I graduated from a state university and majored in economics; While everyone was talking about their favorite major subjects, I chose economics because of my background - shortage of money. I went to the state university because of the low tuition fee. I majored in economics because of, again, the low tuition fee. I wouldn’t have enough money to support myself, if I go for a major which needs fancy equipment. All I wanted was to graduate from college and raise my family. I still remember it when I left Hong Kong and went to the United States for the final year of college. HKD 120,000 was all I had in my bank account. ¾ of them came from my personal saving. ¼ of them came from my family, a blessing for my future.
I deliberately chose Spring and Summer semesters to finish off my bachelor degree. Because a Summer semester could save me a lot of money. Plus, I could make my time more effective. I could take as many credits as I like. In those 9 months overseas, the campus restaurant became my friend. I worked 20-hour per week. And I had my minimum wage salary and free meals over there. Usually I would have 2 meals, sometimes up to 3 meals at the restaurant for each working day.
Thank God. I made it. I finally graduated. I still remember the day of the graduation ceremony, which happened at Salt Lake City. It was snowing, even though it’s in July. Everyone was frozen to death. Despite the coldness, I was overjoyed. I believed that a bright future was waiting for me. But the snow seemed telling me a brutal hard fact upfront - life wouldn’t be that easy - which I wasn’t aware of at that point. I wasn’t aware of how ordinary I am; I was a total NOBODY, even after all the hardship I’ve put in. I was one of the thousand commodities manufactured by the college, the biggest factory in the world.
After getting back from the States, I was eager to find a job which could make me a millionaire. Hundreds, if not thousands, of resumes rolled out from my email. Alas, “Inbox: 0” was what I saw everyday when I checked the email inbox in the morning.
Doubts started to kick in. Anxiety was growing to a point which my parents would notice. I kept telling myself; God’s delay is not God’s denial. Finally, I got an opportunity for an interview at Wall Street Journal. Going all in, I unleashed my potential to the max. I still remember the face of the manager in that interview. Because I’d never forget how he talked to me with complete candor. “Hey NOBODY, thank you for applying for this job. But your English capability is not fluent enough to get into an international company.”
I blew it.
I was devastated; I’ll never forget the lesson - I suck at English. As I am a difficult person, I swore to myself that I’ll elevate my English up to a level in which I could write a book in the future. A seed was planted in my head years ago. Luckily I still survive and reach you out via English words by now.
Self-doubt? Anxiety? Panic? You name it. I experienced all negative emotions after the Wall Street Journal interview. I was afraid of being jobless; The millionaire dream became the most distant subject in my mind. All I wanted was just any paid job after all the emotional storms. I didn’t care what the job's nature was. The financial pressure pushed me to face reality.
Few months into it, I was getting hired as a financial consultant, working as a commission-based business development agent. I managed the clients’ assets from only the perspective of my own interest, instead of theirs. Financial planning, asset management, retirement planning… etc. I used a number of industry jargon to convince them into buying any investment constructs that would pay my commission. I passed the probation in three months by achieving the sales target.
My parents started to ease their tension. Since I had a job. It’s that simple; If you ask any Chinese parents what they want their children to be in the future, they will tell you. “Be a good person. Be healthy. Be happy. That’s it.” My parents are no exception. In their eyes, I am forever their child. I don’t need to grow up as long as I am safe and sound.
Yet, the motto says “Money can’t buy happiness.” I started to feel guilty. My performance dropped gradually because my financial pressure was eased. After a full year beating up myself, I found that my performance was below average. Meanwhile, the financial crisis swiped all over the globe in the year of 2008. Lots of people were forced to leave the financial industry. Perfect. I had an excuse for my failure. Hence, I left.
In the next 5 years, I hopped from job to job to pursue my dream. A dream that I was unable to see clearly at the beginning of my career. I no longer worked only for the money. I read tons of personal development books and looked for role models around the world who could inspire me. I lived modestly and spent a big chunk of my salary on buying books and attending courses that could nurture my mind.
In the dream job journey, as a NOBODY, I got to my role models, knocking on their doors, and tapping their brains. In the past, I always thought all these role models were unreachable as if they were living on the top of the mountain. Funny enough - the fact is they’re not. Just like the sun in mid noon, shining all by itself, vibrating the entire universe with its lights, blocking out every dark particle, they are warm as the sunrise in the early morning. The one who inspired me the most was Derek Sivers.
Interested in how a Hong Kong 20ish NOBODY met his role model?
Turn to the next page and read on….
Read the next chapter: Press the Send Button
Or table of contents: Brick by Brick