Young Singaporeans lack drive?

Response to Young S'poreans lack the drive to succeed.

I have a couple of questions that remain unanswered:

1) What is defined as success? (Making the most money? Having the biggest market influence? Or finding satisfaction in what you are doing?)

2) How did the companies measure the local students' drive? Did they have any interviews or survey results to suggest the lack of drive or are they merely subjective opinions?

Feedback from company CEOs are that local students lack the drive to succeed in the global playing field, but they may not necessarily lack the drive to succeed locally. Just as companies go through alpha and beta tests before releasing their products & services into the market, people strive to succeed locally first before moving on to "greener pastures". This is called street smarts.

Which leads me to the question: how do the companies measure competitiveness? Most productivity for the lowest salary? If so, then sure, changing educational methods can serve to increase the students' productivity. But considering how the current workforce is already being pushed to work at its limit while sacrificing personal & family life, then forcing the younger generation to work harder for the same pay would be unfair.

Being raised in a materialistic and individualistic world, people cannot blame the younger generation for caring more about themselves. After all, aren't those companies working for personal profits themselves? Or do they claim to work for the greater good of Singapore and/or the world? Unfortunately, this selfish mentality (a.k.a. competitiveness) to excel at the expense of others that is encouraged by companies may become the very undoing of the fabric of our society.

While I agree that young Singaporeans now lead more comfortable lives as compared to their parents, we cannot deny the existence of those who still struggle to support themselves or their families just because it is unreported.

Parents support their children financially and emotionally long after they have completed their schooling because 1) they care for their children 2) the higher cost of living is making it harder for the younger generation to survive on basic wages. This is called thinking out of the box.

Singaporeans tend to lie low and not speak their minds because they can be sued for it.

The education system may value grades more than anything else, but so does the real world, except that the grades are now ranks and profits. So in what way are students ill-equipped for the real world?

However, I agree that young Singaporeans are easily discouraged.

According to Mr Goh, "They quit when they are unhappy; once they feel unappreciated, they leave for greener pastures." But isn't that taking a risk?

Personally, having learned from the wisdom of the older generation, my goals in life have become much simpler: to do meaningful work which gives me great satisfaction.

The biggest regrets people can say at the end of their lives are:

1) not spending enough time with family and friends

2) not doing the things that they've always wanted to do

3) not taking good care of others or their own health

4) not getting a chance to apologise and/or reconcile with someone.

Seldom do you hear a person, at his/her end of the road, say, "I wish I had worked harder for my boss."

Quotes of wisdom:

"Whoever loves money never has money enough; whoever loves wealth is never satisfied with his income. This too is meaningless. As goods increase, so do those who consume them. And what benefit are they to the owner except to feast his eyes on them?"

"For the wise man, like the fool, will not be long remembered; in days to come both will be forgotten. Like the fool, the wise man too must die!"

"Naked a man comes from his mother’s womb, and as he comes, so he departs. He takes nothing from his labor that he can carry in his hand."

Perhaps people should learn to see things from various perspectives, because not everyone has the same definition of success in life.