A lot of people seems fixated by which school you go to, the grades that you get, etc. I’m on a different track, especially when grooming my kid.

I teach him social interaction, empathy, identifying risks and problems, coming up with solutions, stamina, and perseverance and always have a backup plan.

I own and run a business with mid-8 figure revenue. I didn’t graduate from the top schools for my undergrad degree. I make up for it by taking up short courses at Ivy League schools. Even NUS, turned out quite disappointing for the lacklustre quality of teaching staff.

And why I teach my son all these, and why I’m practising them. In running a business, we can always hire Ivy Leagues to execute the business plans. But it takes more than the smart guys to run a business.

We need EQ to connect with people at a deep level, we need empathy to truly understand our customers and partners problems, we need out of the box thinking to come up with a solution as our customers and partners are staffed with the smart brains.

We need gumption to ask stupid questions so that we can really dive deep and understand the issues. We need humility to talk to people.

So to everyone, think differently. Grades and pedigree are important, but to be the top 1%, it is way more than that.

Here are what netizens think:

• Great insight, And I am aligned with your approach on kids, The people I hire in my team, the successful ones tend to have good EQ. Another important attribute is communication skills. That is paramount.

• Different strokes for different folks. Perhaps your kid may not like to go into business, even with the right guidance. Keep the options open and allow them the chance to learn and flourish in what they are genuinely keen on.

• You can just hire high EQ people to “connect with people at a deeper level no?” I mean being rich is not a path to being successful, its actually being successful. Stop joking around and just grow your child adequately enough such that hes not the stupid one who is gonna squander it.

• Humble-bragging about your “8 figure revenue” and being “the top 1%” certainly shows tremendous “EQ” in you

You ever think you’ll be more useful to your family dead than alive?

I know I’m smart and also irritating. My relationship with my parents is difficult even though we all think we are trying. I want to help and I am not given more opportunities, I’m treated like a toddler even though I’ve already proven my capability more than once. tbh even when they ask me to help they also don’t use anything I did. I’m of no use to my family.

Any insurance payout from my accidental death or murder will make my parents rich. I’m insured like crazy bc I’m so young and healthy that any insurance company will happily bet on me, and the premiums are bloody cheap as a result. They’ll financially be better off even if I paid them as much allowance as I can probably afford for the next 40+ years. There will be no more arguments or fighting or dealing with this whiny brat, no more paying my uni fees or my bills, all you have is this rose-tinted memory of a poor, clever, passionate child snuffed out in the prime of their life, which is much easier to deal with.

I can imagine the conversations already. “So-and-so’s kid died. Yah, apparently was an NUS student, about to graduate already. Quite sad lah.”

Even my brother will be better off. All my valuables (including some heirlooms that were passed to me, and will default to him after my death), most of my CPF, etc will go to him. He gets to start his working life with an extra cushion of thousands upon thousands of dollars, extra valuables to pawn if needed, becomes a white horse because he will be the only child now.

Sometimes I just pray for me and me alone to die in a car accident or get randomly murdered, something quick and ‘honourable’, no loss of face (VS if say, I die while out drinking) and minimal medical expenses on me because I’m dead or beyond saving before an ambulance arrives. Since it wasn’t a suicide and was clearly not something I could reasonably prevent, insurance will pay out, I become the poor, tragic child, life will be easier for everyone. There will be my funeral costs and my family and friends will be sad, but life goes on, and my memory will be easier to live with than my reality.

I don’t plan to do anything. No need to fear. Insurance will only pay out if it is an accident or murder, so I must continue as normal until hopefully that happens. I want to die, but don’t want to DIY, DIY will be pointless since you get the combi of no insurance payout + stigma + more regrets for those around me, and my goal is to maximise benefit > pain.

I don’t know what god is listening, but if they have a sense of justice or mercy they will let it happen soon. Why am I alive when I don’t want it and my family will objectively be better off with me dead, and so many much more deserving people who did want to live, who had people who needed them, die everyday in stupid accidents or to murder or something else? Irritating pricks like me, who have angered and annoyed so many people, whose deaths will benefit others much more than their life ever did, should be the ones to die, not them.

To the gods: Kill me! Come on and kill me if you think you’re a just god! Kill this bastard who doesn’t want to live, and spare someone else who did want to.

Am I the b*tch?

I am a paid gf, for my selective bfs or clients, I sometimes fly to other countries joining them for business trip or holiday.

I chose this lifestyle, it cleared my debts and I make a good living. I got two condos and investments in a few small business. I have a young pretty cousin (18), her family got issues and she owes me a fair bit of $$.

I am persuading her to join me, I can help her find someone to take care of her. It is not like she is some innocent gal, she had bfs and mostly a-h0les who just leech on her.

She might as well earn some money if she going to sleep around. I am close to having her join me for a trip but am I the b*tch for persuading her to do this? I never force her, she is going into this with her eyes open.

Here are what netizens think:

• It’s natural career upward progression in becoming a Mama San, or pimp. Soon you can build your entire team.

• Step 1 you work this, Step 2 you become pok pok gei

• Ahh money money. Won’t blame you girls lah it’s the demand from guys. Rich men who are lonely or unhappiness in marriage willing to spend so much to have a good time. It’s just becoming more and more obvious that we are entering a transactional era in relationships/marriages. Women want cash car condo clothes 5 star food rich lifestyle and men want beauty nice body and S. So welcome to the 21st century.

• Yes , you are . Do not taint an innocent young lady. What you do with your life , it’s your path . Whether you are having a good time, only you know. Material gains are temporary. And lady, don’t forget, you will get old , your face and body will not remain the same…

• No right or wrong. Each of us monetized our time in our own way. Moral or not, is each of our own judgement. But one day, sooner, not later, you need to come ashore. Find a permanent life partner and settle down. Your value drops as each days goes by.

Just curious if it is just me, but I find it extremely uncomfortable when my two close friends, who recently got together, begin to PDA at every single opportunity. LIKE. EVERY. SINGLE. OPPORTUNITY.

Like come on, do you really need to hug and kiss every time you draw a tile?? All these happened when we were mahjonging. Both of them playing as 1 ka, hugging, kissing, smelling hair all the time. It was definitely an eyesore.

I understand they are in a honeymoon period (less than 3 months), but do such things behind closed doors man.

Before people say I’m jealous or hating, I’m happily attached too, and my girlfriend and I will never do such a thing in front of others, especially at a mahjong table. We definitely do such things in our private space, that’s for sure.

How do I tell them about it? I’m sure I wasn’t the only one feeling EXTREMELY uncomfortable. I definitely wouldn’t want to ruin our friendship as well.

Advice please ????

Here are what netizens think:

• Did u lose money? If yes then they succeeded.

• U have to learn the god of gambling skill, then they both cannot pda anymore. Why? They’ll be losing money to u.

• Bring ur gf along for mahjong and PDA with her until ur close friends feel awkward. U never know.. it might become a closed mahjong session for 4.

• Didn’t u say it’s 3 months only

• U can tell the girl its making u uncomfortable

• She will usually understand

• If you can’t beat them then bring your gf/bf along and join them.

Need advices. I am suppose to graduate mid last year, but I failed 1 module.

Instead of immediately applying for next semester, I took leave of absence, and started working.

I lied on my résumé that I’ve already graduated. And my employer did not ask to see my certificate. Straight to the point. Company manpower audit is coming this April, but I won’t be able to complete my course until May.

During the audit, my company is known for contacting previous employers to verify if certain certificates are valid, and will also sometimes ask for WSQ cert printouts. And will even go to MOM or ITE or BCA etc… to check validity of safety or technical certificates of employees.

So what do I do if they contact NUS and find out that I’ve yet to graduate? My employment contract did have 1 sentence that outlines that “all information are true and correct to the best of my knowledge”.

Should I submit my 2 weeks notice? Hoping that since I’m not there they won’t audit me. Can they sue me for it? Also the job is paying pretty good, and I do see myself building a career here.

Here are what netizens think:

• Whats the different between you and apnn from overseas that has a fake degree

• if you are here to find more ways to cheat then you got the wrong place. Everything come with consequences, if the company found out it is up to their discretion to deal with you, the options are as follows: 1)retain you if you prove yourself to be good. 2) terminate you because you got character issue 3) Sue you cos the clause is there for a reason. Next time don’t lie because every lie will need more lies to cover up. hope is a lesson for you.

• It’s like you already know what’s the right thing to do, yet you’re still wasting our time from reading that essay.

• You better own up to it or you will honestly cause the company to fail the audit. And then the company will be forced to take legal actions against you for fraud because you have caused harm to the company due to this fact alone. Doing it before the audit, the company might still have some leeway, and thus be a little more forgiving.

How do you move on from someone you cannot be with?

Everything started at its peak but slowly came crashing down, causing both of us emotional stress, pain, and unhappiness.

I believe we truly have each other interests at heart and want each other to do well and thrive in life.

But with time, as we learned more about our priorities, lifestyle, belief, etc., we soon realized we weren’t compatible.

The feelings were intense, and it was hard to let go, but we are at a phase where there is too much pain to bear, and we can no longer take on the supporting role of helping each other to achieve greater heights or be the pillar for the person. At times, I could feel strong resentment, anger, and sadness toward me, which hurt me a lot.

I know it is not right of me to hold the person back, and hence I am trying my best to let go. I have been told that I am exhibiting many toxic traits, and that made me wonder why every time a disagreement happens, I am the one to put to blame. I tried my best to manage my emotion in every heated argument, and all I ever wanted was for my partner to be happy, and that is all I really wanted. For people that I care about, that matter, for them to be happy.

I am sorry this sounded negative. I really just needed a channel to let my feelings out. If you have read until here, thanks for listening, and I wish everyone a happy new year.

Here are what netizens think:

• The moment the person doesn’t wanan be with u, like it or not, u have to move on. I dunno how to move on from someone U love cos it’s super hard, but just fill ur life with other activities and remind urself life is more than just love. Love is a small component

• If ur partner calls u toxic, he/she maybe the same or worse. Just trying to make u feel guilty about it. The more u think about how this person makes u unhappy, the more u will slowly let go. No point trying to make the person happy if he/she is unhappy 24/7 & wants u to be unhappy too. Close this chapter for good and open a new chapter for a better life.

• Never allow you to believe that you are the sole toxic person and the only reason the relationship failed. Good to reflect back but it takes two to clap,

Is it okay for a mother to enforce curfews on her sons when they’re grown up?

I am a 24M in university, and I still get called up at pre-midnight hours by my mother to get back home asap.

I do like to enjoy my time with friends and s/o and that sometimes exceeds certain hours of the day. Usually the easiest solution is to ignore or appease, but the same issue keeps popping up over the years.

It sucks when your friends and s/o overhear my conversations with my mum, and to know I as an adult still get given a curfew. As far as I know, my older sibling got the same treatment as well, and the way he handled it was by ignoring all the nagging and reprimanding.

I really dislike conflicting with my mother as it gets more tiresome (she can keep rambling on and on, sometimes leaving for 2-3min and coming back/calling on the phone multiple times after she thought about what else to nag about). She claims it’s because I have work/school/etc reasons and need to be alert throughout the day (which I’ve never demonstrated my incapability for).

Honestly, the best solution was to stay in student housing, but that isn’t applicable all of the time (and won’t be after I graduate).

What should I do? Is this parenting gone too far, or am I just being a brat?

Here are what netizens think:

• I was like you once, when i was in my 20s. my mom would always call nearing midnight, even when i get to 30+ she’ll still call to check in on me any time I get home late. She does it for both me and my elder sis who’s wayyyy older.

• Tsk tsk… Your mum probably gave up ALL her nights out with friends (and sleep) after she had you… Just so that she could feed you, put you to bed, change your diaper, check your temp when you had a fever and make sure you were growing up well.

• Living under mother’s roof, must follow her rules. Want your own lifestyle, move out.

ok I may get bashed for being picky for my job hunting, but to be honest im not really in a rush and not blaming anything, but the job market is kind of bad right now, at least to me

so i just graduated and looking for a job now, didnt start early due to health issues.

My pay expectations are negotiable, as long as it corresponds to the job scope.

So I have been applying to some tech jobs and also received some calls from agents. They ask me about expected salary, I asked for 4k (can nego), they said that it was too much and offered me 3 to 3.5k, alright, the job scope looks long but I’m ok to try for interviews.

Then interviews came, tell me sometimes ot til night, maybe weekends need to come, but team very tight knit and good manager. Mind you, I was applying to MNCs and gov jobs, didnt expect sme treatment (ok I’m naive).

And this job is not those support/critical roles that req shift hours in the first place.

So am I applying to the wrong jobs, just bad luck, or is the work situation this bad? 3k and want me to work ot, i think the hourly rate maybe less than pt job. Is the possible ‘career path’ worth it? Shld I just take it that this is the norm and I’m expecting too much?

I’m fine w lower paid jobs if the job scope is reasonable, but to expect ot and possible work on weekends w a pay of 3k, to me is not worth it.

Yes I’m moving on and finding other jobs, but would like some thoughts on whther I’m too picky and shld suck it up w the pay and long job scope w possible ot.

Or since market is not gd rn, shld just accept any job and hope for the promised increment?

Thanks in advance, I’m mentally prepared for negative comments lol

As a child, I had been taught to always wish people a “Happy Chinese New Year” whenever I met them.

So when I visited my distant relatives, I said, “Gong Xi Fa Cai” and added a ‘Hong Bao Na Lai’ as a joke without thinking twice.

Little did I know that I had made a grave mistake. My parents’ faces immediately turned sour and I felt a sharp slap across my face.

I was shocked and confused. I didn’t understand why my parents had reacted this way.

It was only after the shock subsided that I realized that they did not seemed to pleased with me ‘demanding’ for an ang bao in my greeting.

My parents had been so angry that they had slapped me. I was embarrassed and ashamed. I had let my parents down and I felt like I had failed them. I was so embarrassed that I wanted to run away and hide.

But instead, I chose to stay and face the consequences. I apologized to my distant relatives and my parents and expressed my regret for my mistake.

I had learned a valuable lesson that day – that words can be powerful and that one must always choose them carefully.

I was also reminded of the importance of respecting my elders, no matter what the situation.

It was a lesson that I would never forget. I was fortunate that my mistake had only resulted in a slap across the face.

Others were not so lucky, as they sometimes faced much worse punishments for saying the wrong thing.

But I was determined to never make the same mistake again. I made sure to always use the correct greeting for Chinese New Year and to always be mindful of my words.

Unfortunately, the experience of getting slapped by my parents still haunts me to this day. I will never forget the embarrassment and shame that I felt that day, and I will never forget the importance of choosing my words carefully.