Who should you learn from?

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Who should you learn from?
What a question! Who should we learn from? Of course, we should learn from the best. We should learn from those who are experts in their fields. This has been one of my criteria for selecting my teachers, coaches and mentors all these years. I now realise I’ve overlooked another important criterion, which is whether the expert is a practitioner in his/her…
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Maya’s Memory Story

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Maya’s Memory Story
I was observing my 12-year-old daughter Maya incessantly memorise facts about the Opium war, and I was quick to say, “What for ?” I am a believer of what Seth Godin said, “Anything that can be looked up is not worth memorising.” Maya can easily look up such facts when she needs them. But I was wrong. Yes, she may not need…
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The Meaningless Stock of Skills

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The Meaningless Stock of Skills
For Yoky Matsuka, childhood was a period of confusion and blur. Growing up in Japan in the 1970’s everything seemed laid out for her in advance. Her parents believed in the importance of sports in her development and pushed her into competitive swimming at a very early age. They also had her take up the piano. For other children in Japan it…
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