Wednesday, October 19, 2011

Crossroads and dreams

So, I think Apple's CEO, Steve Jobs' death has made everyone of us pause a while and re-evaluate the meaning of life. I mean here's a man, who was on top of  the human food chain. Basically he was at the finishing line of the rat race, so to speak. He got to where everyone of us are striving day in and day out to reach. And yet, it seems, this place we are trying so hard our whole lives to get to, isn't exactly all rosy and perfect!

Sickness and death is unavoidable, even if you are the president of the United States, even if you have more money than God (Hubby's favourite phrase to describe people like 'pek mo'! lol)! Money, fame and power are useless when your time is up.

This reminds me of a joke I once read; there was once a miser who kept all his gold bars in a box in the attic so that when he died, he could pick up his treasure and bring it with him, on his way up to heaven! So one day, this old man died and went to heaven with his box of gold. St Peter met him at the gate and asked him what he had in the box. The old man opened up the box to show St Peter its contents. St Peter took a look then asked, "Why did you bring pavement??" :)

Okay, anyway, back to Steve Jobs. Here's one of his quotes:

Your work is going to fill a large part of your life, and the only way to be truly satisfied is to do what you believe is great work. And the only way to do great work is to love what you do. If you haven't found it yet, keep looking. Don't settle. As with all matters of the heart, you'll know when you find it.
Steve Jobs
 

So I translate that into... "Go open your cake shop!!!" Muahahaha...... and have been dreaming of gorgeous cake shops like these ever since:




I would so love to open one, and yet do not look forward to the responsibility which comes along with it. I already run a retail business, so I know it's not all fun and games. You get tied down... which is the total opposite of what I am working towards... FREEDOM! More or less... :) Freedom to travel whenever we feel like it, Hubby and I! Quality time to spend with my kids... etc..

So anyway, remember I said I wanted to close my pharmacy? Well, it's kind of a shame to waste the education my parents worked so hard for. And also it's hard to find a buyer for the business and I wouldn't be able to purchase medicine for family at wholesale prices anymore. There are also many other small factors which contributed to the conclusion Hubby made, which is to chop the shop into half!

That made sense, since I was heavy-hearted to close the shop, and yet wanted less responsibility, down-sizing seemed a good solution! This means that the pharmacy will be much smaller and thus can be easily managed, even by one person if need be.

Now, that left another half of a shop empty and open to all sorts of possibilities!! (ahem... cake shop anyone?) It was very, very, awfully tempting, but after much deliberation, I did not think I would enjoy all the headache and sacrifice which came with a retail outlet, we decided we will rent it out instead. Cake shop may still happen one day.... ;)

Well, for now, that's the plan; to chop the shop into half!


I'll leave you with another one of his quotes. One which parents especially should keep in mind:

“Here’s to the crazy ones, the misfits, the rebels, the troublemakers, the round pegs in the square holes… the ones who see things differently — they’re not fond of rules… You can quote them, disagree with them, glorify or vilify them, but the only thing you can’t do is ignore them because they change things… they push the human race forward, and while some may see them as the crazy ones, we see genius, because the ones who are crazy enough to think that they can change the world, are the ones who do.” – Think Different, narrated by Steve Jobs
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