I have a confession to make.

I kinda like cartoons, even at my age.
Especially one called "Naruto", the story of a bumbling young ninja underling who dreams to become a great ninja chief one day.

My girlfriend, Sandra, and I were getting a drink at a mall when we came across rows of those cheap capsule-toy dispensing machines: the kind where you insert a dollar, and out comes a plastic capsule that has a little suprise inside.

I normally wouldn't spend too much glancing at those dispensing machines. But for some reason or another, I turned to take a second look at one in particular, and Lo and Behold! Here's a machine that dispenses nifty little Naruto pendants! They looked rather well done, and I thought it might just be worth my dollar!

I took my first dollar coin and plonked it in. Out came a little spiral pendant that looked like this:


It was nice.... but not quite the one I wanted.
You know how it is: you don't always get what you want from these little capsule dispensers. That's how they get you to keep coming back for more!

I thought how nice it would be to get a different design of a little ninja throwing dart. Just then, Sandra came along with a dollar change from the drink she bought. She asked me to get another one for her brother. And so I did. This time, this was what came out:


Exactly what I was hoping for: the little dart with a spiral on it. But then, looking at it a second time, I'm not so sure I like it more than the first one I got. How odd!

I am convinced that whatever we truly want in our hearts, we will get. Its uncanny; you just think about it, and it will happen as you've thought about it. However, here's the real question: is what you think you want what you truly want?

I am reminded of something that happened while I was 14.

I was tutored by my cousin, Cheh Hon, who studied Engineering in the Nanyang Technological University in Singapore. He had a brilliant mind, and I thought it was such an amazing thing to study in the same course as he did, and I told myself that when I was old enough, I want to be where he is.

Then things happened: I forgot to apply for Junior College, which was considered the most direct way to University. After which, I forgot all about my promise to be like my cousin. I started to work as a designer part time, while studying in a Polytechnic, and went on to serve my National Service for a couple of years in the Army. During that time, I came upon Network Marketing and went on to pursue it as a serious profession.

On my 23rd birthday, just as I left the Armed forces, I was in the midst of making what became one of the biggest decisions in my Life: to either focus on building up my thriving Networking career full-time, or concentrate on furthering my education.

That was when it hit me that I was where I had planned to be: in my hands were the application forms to an engineering course in Nanyang Technological University! However, I realised that it was no longer where I wanted to be!

I gave up my place in the University and became the Networking professional that I am today.

Be mindful of what you ask for, because you will surely get it. The question, though, is: would you still want it when it comes? :)