陈智成
指甲图
和年轻人面谈，我最感兴趣的话题是，他们的理想。
也许生活条件太优渥，生长环境太安定，我开始发觉大多数的年轻人没有理想这回事。当然，如果“尽快、不费力地赚很多很多钱”也算是理想的话，那就另当别论了。当金钱财富被公认为成功人生的大指标，大多数的年轻人自然都会有这样的方向感。
除了金钱财富以外，理想是什么？
倘若按照逻辑思考，如果生活条件艰难，自小就要面对钱财拮据的困扰，成长的过程中，脑中无时不在盘算着如何脱离贫穷的困窘，追求财富成为当然的人生目标，乃理所当然。相反的，钱财如果不是一道纠缠着成长岁月的生活命题，绝大部分时间可以用于其他方面的漫游与遐想，有大把机会在不受束缚的情况下，拥抱理想腾飞。
偏偏真实的世界总是如此出人意表，经常是适得其反。
一位家庭经济丰裕的朋友，费尽九牛二虎之力，无法叫他唯一的儿子明白很简单的一个道理，什么叫“自食其力”。退而求其次，朋友说，儿子如果健康快活，不给他惹祸也就算了，哪还能和他谈理想？这么多年来，对儿子有求必应，想方设法，予以栽培，吃喝玩乐不说，外加各种各样的教育，从来没有“忤逆”过儿子的意愿。严格说来，儿子在成长过程中也曾经有过无数的“理想”，而且每个“理想”，朋友都欣慰地让它实现，用钱呗！儿子的众多“理想”，跟着年龄增长而长大，从很小的玩具，到很炫的跑车；从最好的学校到最贵的学位。说也奇怪，这些年来，儿子的“理想”，更贴切地说，仿佛是朋友自己的“理想”，因为他把儿子的那些这些“理想”，变成自己不断拼搏赚钱动力。
现在好了，朋友老了，眼看着儿子终日无所事事，没有人生方向，甚至连“理想”也不再提。有时候，儿子被劝说得烦了，回答说：你的钱让我花一辈子也花不完，我除了花你的钱，还需要做什么呢？
转载自联合早报
Agreed totally with e viewpoint brought up here..
Almost none of my friends has vision other than money..
Then use the money to buy branded goods to pamper oneself and also perhaps to show off?
Are Asians that materialistic?
Or can it be due to the inferiority mindset such that they need physical goods to show others that they have make it?
Reminds me of the time when I'm at Bloor (think of it as Orchard Road in Toronto) with Dear and we were browsing around the branded shops for fun and its the Chinese that are filling up the stores.
At times Dear is the only white customer in the store!!
Really dont feel like im in a western country
I can understand the huge influx of China tourist in cities such as Paris, New York, London but Toronto, which is not a popular tourist destination in the first place, too?!?
& it's also quite a fact that younger Singaporeans tend to lose the hunger/motivation..
too used to 饭来张口， 衣来伸手。。
esp when quite a significant num have maids waiting on them at home..
even i can be lazy at times too..
not too sure about other races so i'll just say that perhaps Chinese parents can learn a thing or two from the Western parents.
If there is anything that they teach their kids well, its independence..
Start donating your wealth away (if you are rich) so your kid wont have the clutch mentality..
'kick' them out of home so they will learn not to take things for granted..
but looking at how the Chinese parents dote on or even spoil their kids, i wonder....
however i will say e situation is not unique to SG, it is also very prevalent in Japan too..
humans are just humans afterall, like to stay inside comfort zone..
so looking ahead, i guess the threats theory abt China & India may not materialise as they also may follow e footsteps of SG & Japan...
