You want to tell a story about me? So this is my story.
This is truly me, 100% me.
I have nothing to sell to you. I just sell who I am.
I’m emotional. I shed tears.
I’m weak, in the eyes of people who think that men don’t cry.
But then I make myself very transparent to you.
I had very low self esteem when I was younger
because I came from a poor family.
When I compared myself with other families,
because they were better off and wealthier...
I lived in a wooden hut with a wooden roof.
Other people had better.
So when I compare that, other people were always better than me.
I thought I was a nobody you see.
I always felt I was a second class citizen
or a second class human, you know.
Low self esteem affected me from my teenage years
until when I was a young adult.
It started to change when I became a teacher.
One or two years into my career
a ten year old boy came to me and said,
‘Mr Chong, you are my hero.’
Wow, I was taken aback. How?
In my mind at that time, I thought I was a nobody.
So I said, ‘Why do you think I am your hero?’
And he said, ‘When you teach mathematics I can understand it so well.’
I decided to believe in myself.
I don’t care what the whole world thinks about me...
when I go to the classroom I shall be the hero to the students.
I taught with my heart and soul.
I connected with the students.
And then I could see the results... they got better and better
and I also grew as a teacher.
In the newspaper there was an article that
one third of our youth in Singapore,
they have serious mental problems.
Why? Has Singapore failed our youth?
As an educator, have I failed our youth?
In my heart, if I had to pinpoint one reason,
perhaps it’s a disconnect to nature,
it’s a disconnect to nature.
Now most of them are on mobile phones or computers.
It’s ironic... good life, prosperity and comfort
leads to mental problems of our youth.
How many of our youth venture out into nature?
How many of our youth go into the wild?
How many of them look after plants and soil
and get their hands dirty?
Perhaps these are the experiences our youth do not have.
I want to help people like that to connect with nature.
When I was younger I said I’m going to work for the government
to be a loyal civil servant my entire life until I retire.
But then I left being a civil servant.
Some of my friends said, ‘Hey John, don’t be silly.’
‘Why do you want to leave this secure job?’
‘You’re only a few more years from retirement.’
That vision in my mind was so powerful
I just had to do it.
If I don’t do it, I think I will regret it.
Officially I am no longer a civil servant.
When I got home I realised I am totally alone.
Suddenly fear came over me. What if I fail?
What if I fail?
In the Asian culture, nobody glorifies failure.
They will say that you are a failure.
A failure is somebody to be looked down upon.
Because of that I allowed fear to come into me.
Fear is so inhibiting.
Try to understand what is the source of the fear
or what is the source of the danger.
And if you can overcome the danger, overcome the risk,
then what is stopping you from doing what you want to do?
I came back to my vision, my dream, what I could do...
it came back to me and that strengthened me again.
It gave me the strength. It gave me the confidence.
It is the conviction that is within my heart...
that I know that this is the right thing.
Even if other people all disagree with me, everybody disagrees with me.
But I know deep within the recess of my heart
it’s the right thing to do, and I had to do it.
And then I pursued my dream again... step by step.
And that’s how I arrived here today.
I have this favourite quote by Jim Elliott,
‘He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep’
‘to gain what he cannot lose.’
Our dream, our passion, our purpose... we cannot lose
if we pursue it with all our heart and soul.
When you have a dream so compelling
just do it, go do it now, at all costs.
I lost a lot of job security.
I lost a lot of financial security.
But the loss is nothing compared to what I’ve gained now,
nothing compared to what I’ve gained.
As a human, I want to be a contributor.
I want to contribute, do good for some thing,
whether it’s a cause or for somebody.
Whatever little thing that I see and I do now could have a great impact.
Like planting a little seed...
how fruitful the tree grows up to be, I don’t know...
but I want to be the planter of good seeds.
I think I want to be known as a good husband to my wife,
a good father to my children,
a good friend to them.
If you are a stranger then I hope that we will become friends.
And I will be very transparent, I won’t hide anything from you.
And I will be your friend, that’s all.
Simply pure, pure, pure heart.