How A 1st Class Honors Graduate Stumbled Into The World of Feng Shui
You must be wondering: what’s the story here? Can Millennial & Feng Shui even appear in the same sentence?
Let me be the first to assure you. I am just an ordinary Singaporean millennial who followed the standard “Singaporean” life script for the past 27 years. I was born and grew up on this tropical island.
Throughout this period, I was constantly reminded how important it was to achieve academic excellence so I can “secure that good job.”
And I did get there! I graduated from NTU with a first class honors degree in banking & finance – a highly coveted piece of paper and the dreams of many parents for their children. Needless to say, it seemed that I was going to do very well in the corporate world. I have already planned and structured my future success carefully.
But life has a way of not following your well-laid plans.
Unplanned Disruption #1
During my second year in NTU, I was posted to a work attachment with a bank. To my horror, I discovered that the job wasn’t right for me. That experience sparked an incredible deluge of doubts in my mind – so much so that I almost wanted to quit my studies in NTU.
I felt I was wasting my time to pursue a Banking & Finance degree which I would not use. But of course, my parents would have none of that – they threw a fit when I said the word “quit my studies”.
Being a dutiful son, I decided to complete my degree anyway and maintained a 4.5 GPA.
Finally, I could cross out “First class honors degree” from my to-do list. I was glad to put that piece of paper aside to start exploring my new goals.
Financial Success Seemed Elusive
Since a piece of paper told me I was capable & smart, I thought achieving financial success was going to be easy.
I joined a stock trading company with low pay to build up a passive income. Apparently trading was not so easy despite my finance degree – and eventually I left after a year.
I ventured into trading, plumbing, internet marketing and even tried starting my own business. It all failed to garner enough traction and didn’t succeed as well as I hoped.
How long can I continue to “explore”? How long can I hold on without a “proper job”? That kiasu Singaporean instinct was kicking in…
Attending the Feng Shui Academy
Back when I was with the stock trading company, I attended a Feng Shui talk. It intrigued me to say the least.
I went to the Academy and made a decision to enrol for their Feng Shui course.
This was not some $388 course but it was their most comprehensive program – a pretty heavy investment.
Why Did I Sink An Almost 5-Figure Sum On A Feng Shui Course?
I really wished I have a better reason to tell you.
But the honest truth was this – the key thing that me sign up was the looks of my current Master.
There was a certain aura on his face that simply made me think he was someone that I can trust, someone different.
I know! It was so weird. I am 100% aware of how that sentence reads like. I am a numbers guy – cold, hard data is my playground. But… it is what it is.
But I decided to embrace the decision. Tony Robbins once said that your moments of decision – that is when your destiny is shaped.
Of course, my brain tried to rationalise (and justify) this decision in a few ways:
- If I am going to learn Feng Shui, I might as well start here
- If I started elsewhere, I could get conned or worse, learn the wrong stuff
- The high price means there is some substance in the knowledge
So I started my Feng Shui learning journey – which I chronicled its impact on my life here.
