I've been busy these few weeks preparing for Girlee's birthday and entertaining my daddy, who's back in Singapore this week to celebrate two birthdays: my sister's (happy birthday sis!) & his only grandchild's.
Which totally explains my lack of posts these few days =)
Following our family's tradition, we gathered around my dad at the dining table as usual to listen to all the amazing stories my dad has to share every time he's back.
With more than 26 years of doing business, 18 of which were done in China, my dad has accumulated a storehouse of wisdom with regards to running a successful business. From selling T-shirts (when I was born) to a renovations company to running a hotel and bowling alley to selling seafood and many more. You name it, my dad has done it. He has met his fair share of failures and successes and has learnt first hand that trusting in God is the key to success.
After slogging it out for decades, my dad has finally started to see his hardwork paid off in the form of the Shanghai Expo 2010. Together with his Turkish partner, my dad sold Turkish ice cream, Chinese fast food and expo memobillia and made millions of dollars. I'm really proud of him!
And rather than spend the money on himself, he donated a large portion of his profits to build a church in Kunming (China), which he had been attending for many years now. Because of his sacrifice, God further blessed him with even greater profits, which enabled him to pay up the rest of the mortgage of the house and became debt free for the first time in his life!
Feeling that his wisdom should be shared with the world, I have decided to compile some of our favourite quotes from our dad that we all love:
1) With regards to getting things done: "Money talks, bullshit walks"
2) With regards to social networking: "It's not what you know, it's who you know"
3) Explaining why Singaporean food will not sell in China: "What people eat when they are young is what they eat when they are old"
4) Talking about his success: "It's not because of my hard work or that I'm smart, it is God that helps me"
5) With regards to his financial provision for me and my siblings: "It's not me, it's God. God will provide for your needs through me."
6) With regards to setting up a physical store: "I have 3 words for you: first is location, second is location, and third is still location!"
7) Talking about why God allow bad things to happen to us: "We think we are very smart. So we turn away. But God will make our lives haywire haywire then we come back and realise that actually we are not that smart..."
There's more of course...
And although my dad tends to repeat himself like a broken down tape recorder, you can't help but marvel at the truth of his words. Maybe one day I will write down my dad and mom's life experiences and their wisdom which is to be passed down to my children from generation to generation. Until I find the time to do that though, this shall surfice for now =)
Friday 1 July 2011
