A wise man once said, “Some people learn from their mistakes, but smart people learn from other people’s mistakes.” I learnt the importance of money management from my parents. It was my parents who taught me the importance of insurance, savings and investments. Where did my parents learn about financial planning? That’s an amazing story!

I was born into a middle class family in which both my mother and father had been raised in poverty. My dad was an assistant tax manager while my mum was a housewife. My mum was an Indonesian Chinese who met my dad while she was in Malaysia seeking medical treatment. She suffers from SLE (Systemic Lupus Erythematosus) and at a very young age, I’ve witnessed the disadvantages of being unfunded by medical insurance.

Those days, both of my parents were used to the concept of living from payday to payday, never having enough saved for themselves to survive more than a week or two. Like many Asians of their time, they struggled to keep their heads above water. Fortunately for me, my parents were filled with determination to send their only child to complete my tertiary education.

I’ve first learnt how to make my first dollar at the age of seven. Back then, it was a tradition to play country-flagged erasers in school and the flag of Brazil was one of the most sought-after eraser. Everyday after school, I would rush to the nearest stationery shops to source for the lastest arrival and purchase all the erasers with Brazil flag on it. I would purchase the erasers at 10 cents per piece and sell it in an ‘auction’ in school. At most times, the rich kids in school will buy the Brazil-flagged eraser for a dollar. It was a way to display their taste for ‘branded’ goods.

I’ve learnt the Power of Leveraging at the age of eight through an animated TV series called Captain Planet. If you were born in my era, you would probably remember the 5 Planeteers with rings based on the Classical elements: Earth, Fire, Wind, Water and Heart. When the modern-day Planeteers combine their powers, they summon the elemental warrior, the superhero, Captain Planet. As it was a hit among my peers, I soon started creating my own Paper ‘Element Rings’ and started selling them to my schoolmates. It created a buzz in school and I soon started employing my close friends to work for me to ‘manufacture’ the Paper ‘Element Rings’ to sell it in school.

By the age of Twelve, I’ve learnt the importance of building a Money Making Machine. It was in 1997 when Nintendo GameBoy was a Must-Have for all kids. Sega GameGear was the ‘Dream Machine’. Knowingly that my parents will never buy those gadgets for me, I bought the Sega GameGear with all the savings in my piggy bank and started renting it to my friends. That was probably the best investment I’ve ever made!

During my teens, my parents were exposed to the Network Marketing business and they made a decision that transformed all our lives. They started to focus their lives upon learning the skills and activities of the rich! Everything was going well but the only problem was this.. Their uplines who were making 6-figure income per month looks good on the outside but they were poor on the inside. Some of them were not only clients of Cycle & Carriage but they were also clients of Ah Longs! It was hard to figure out in the beginning but as time goes by, after taking financial planning courses and workshops, reading personal financial management books, and talking to the ‘Millionaires Next Door’, I finally to understood why..

The fact is, being a Financial Genius is not so much about how much money can a person make, but how much money you protect, how much money you keep, and how hard your money works for you.

“You may or may not believe that there was an intentional conspiracy against teaching about money in the school system. But what you cannot deny is that our school should receive a failing grade when it comes to financial education” – Robert Kiyosaki

Today, I’m in a business of providing training and consultancy in the area of Financial Intelligence. I believe that Financial Planning is not only about money. It is about focusing on building a life of security and passion for what you love and for the people whom you love. It is about knowing yourself and maximizing the fullest potential of your God given talents and your wealth.

The only limits you have in your life is the limits you put on yourself!

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