Young, Gifted and Blocked

Last week, an article in The Economist “Young, Gifted and Blocked – Korea needs fewer wage slaves and more entrepreneurs”, discussed some of the causes which the magazine felt contributed to the current lack of entrepreneurs in Korea.  What particularly caught my eye was the last sentence, “The real obstacle to enterprise is a society that urges its best young minds to aim low.”

To me, that sentence sums up not only the situation described in the article, but also the predicament in Singapore.  Similar to Korea, many parents in Singapore tend to encourage or steer their children towards stable careers in the civil service, the professional, the multi-national companies or the government-linked companies.  There is no doubt that these career choices are safer and provide more financial stability.  However, what is the cost to the society? What is the personal cost to a young child who aspires to be an artist, an entrepreneur or a career path that is not well-trodden?

I remembered my own experience when I decided to pursue my dream and to set up my own atypical Education Consultancy, 6 years back.  People who loved and cared about me were not always very encouraging.  It is not unusual to hear comments like “Why not join the civil service?”, “Are you crazy?”, “It’s not going to work”, “How long do you think you can last?”, and “How are you going to re-pay your study loan?” coming from friends and family.  As my practice continued to grow and develop, the concerned people began reminding me, “Just have fun for a while and then do something serious after that.”

Do not get me wrong, I am not against people choosing to work in the civil service, the professional, the multi-national companies and the government-linked companies.  Many of my very talented friends as well as people whom I admire are working in these organsisations. They are not only doing a very good job, but they are also enjoying themselves. Because this is what they have always wanted to do.  By no means are their responsibilities or achievements any lesser to that of any entrepreneurs.  However, not everyone shares the same dream.  We often tell our very young - the sky’s the limit; have the courage to do what you want to do.  But do we ourselves have the courage to embrace and to support them when that time comes?