10 is greater than 90 !!

Have delivered this speech in a Toast Masters' speech contest (inter division) in 2008. Got runner up in the contest. The inspiration for this speech came from 3 people - Robert Kiyosaki, Donald Trump and Steve Job. Have learned a lot from their life's ups and downs and how they overcome. wanted to share this with the rest.

International Speech Contest

10 > 90

Do you know 10 is greater than 90!
I never failed in mathematics in my schools and in fact, I got 100 out of 100 most of the time. Well, the equation works like this.

10% of the world population controls, 90% of the entire wealth. They are called rich and super rich.
Rest, which is 90% of the population, shares the left over that is 10%.
That’s why this is a very very tight quadrant; the poor and middle class fight a lot to survive in this space.

What could make us to move to rich and super rich quadrant?

Fall but forward, fall forward
I think I was in primary 6. We got a sports day in our school. I gave my name for 1500m run. I didn’t have any clue about the track events, the practices, strategy, etc., etc., But I was very adamant to win. On the day of the race, I got up at 4am in the morning and I was kept running in the ground relentlessly for hours and hours. 10am the race starts, I was on the lead through out till the finish line but I stumbled just before the finish line and fell. I fell on the side, if I would have fallen forward, I would have gained ground and won the race. This was a very valuable lesson in my life.

Next, Stay Hungry! Stay Foolish!
Have an eternal hunger to win and Be foolish to believe what you love, no matter what.
There is a hungry and foolish guy in America, his biological mother gave him for adoption on the 1st day of his birth itself. He was a college drop out. Everyday he used to walk 7 miles to Hara Krishna temple to get one meal a day.
He started his business at car garage, and grew it to 2 billion $ company with 4 thousand employees. This sounds jut like another rag to riches story. His name is Steve Jobs, Apple Computers. Here is the twist. He was fired by the board of the company that he owned! Weird huh!

He was a jobless but he was a phoenix. He started PIXAR which produced incredibles, toy story, finding nemo kinda movies. It was a great success, then Apple say they can’t live without Steve. He got his Apple Back.
He was hungry to win back and at the same time he loves what he does and he believed that.

Next, Be adamant, learn & unlearn.
Being adamant is part of being a winner. That’s what Donald Trump says. You might have seen him in the TV reality show The Apprentice, he loves to fire people at the show. Building skyscrapers, tallest buildings is his business. I am also like him. I do build together with my son but only at Changi beach with sands.

His father Fred Trump was in real estate business. He believed that people need soda drink, acidities due to lot of junk foods. So he started a company called 3 UP. He produced the wonderful soda drink and came to the market jut to learn that is a flop. He renamed it to 4UP and started to sell, failed again. He still believes people need soda and there is no such product in the market. He started 5UP, guess what failed again, then 6UP, disaster. He still believes that people need soda drink and market do not have a good soda product. But he didn’t the energy, so he QUIT.

Someone was watching him. He believes on Fred Trump’s belief. So he started a company called 7UP and it was a huge success. He sold the soda drink as soft drink with preservatives, sugar, etc., People wanted to drink soda but with the soft drink components.

Don’t quit soon, Be adamant in what you believe, don’t try to do the same thing and expect a different result, which will not work out.

Fall forward, stay hungry, be adamant, love what you do. That’s the mantra to be an member in the 10% quadrant.

Cheers!