About Work

Wednesday 1:00 AM 09-12-09

Dear Brother

I'm still at work, and while waiting for my disaster recovery batch job to run, I shall tell you a thing or two about working as a young adult.

As young adults we tend to come out to the world with all our ideals about where we want to go, and what we want the world to be. We fill our heart with passion and eagerness to learn, to suggest, to improve, to excel. Until we got a cold slap from reality.

There will be days when you feel like whatever you do don't make any sense, and yet you have to fight with your team people to get them to do it. There will be days when you help others complete their jobs and get blamed for mistakes they made. There will be days where authority takes over logical explanations and rationale thinking. There will be days when you feel like no matter how much you try, it doesn't matter, and it never will be enough. There will be days when you feel like all your work is taken for granted. There will be days when you feel like smoking (DON'T. Because you'd end up writing letters to your future son on a dead bed like me).

Those are the days when you asked yourself: "What is it that I truly want? Does this all worth it?" You need to look at the people around you and do what you need to do, the right thing you should do. You need to stand firm with your belief. You need to FIGHT back.

You see the problem with us young people is that we are afraid. We are afraid of our career path being threatened because we don't follow orders. We are afraid of changing (job scopes, jobs, bosses). We are afraid of being stuck. We are afraid to speak. We are afraid to chase after what we truly want.

Don't be.

Life's too short. Do what you wish to do. You already know the right things to do. Don't be afraid to make that choice. Even if it's a mistake, it's gonna teach you MORE than any normal days where you keep your head low and listen to others.

Be kind, too. To the people around you. Your family and those that are close to you did nothing wrong. Do not let your work affect them. Leave work at the office and be kind elsewhere. Your life is yours, make an effort to make it work, even you have to work 14 hours a day (although I'm working this hour just because you'd have a better future than mine).

If you have a chance to lead, make sure you are kind to your people too. Bosses can be harsh to you, but don't become them. Treat your guys as human. Chase them home when it reaches mid night. Teach them rather than just scold them. Listen to them. And learn from them. Always.

That's all I know as of now, since I'm just a very young guy who's just been working for 2-3 years. I hope you find it useful.

Work hard, but don't forget the people around you. I'm sorry I couldn't have been there more for you because of my work and my distance. I hope I can be a good brother to you too

With love