"This week, I was honoured to attend a Youth Global Entrepreneurship Forum and was asked to speak about my journey as an educator and entrepreneur. At the end of the session, someone asked me “what do you think are the things necessary to be a good entrepreneur?” and I think my answer applies to people beyond ones who are entrepreneurs.
I shared my 3Ps that I think are essential to success in life: Passion, Purpose and Perseverance. I think all three of these elements need to be present in a person in order for them to thrive and for their goals to be reached. Let me explain.
Passion
I truly believe that everyone has something they are passionate about and if they don’t, I think it’s because they haven’t discovered it yet. For me, it took over 2 decades to discover that my passion was with children and in the field of education. It took years of trying different things, finding things that I didn’t like and then ultimately finding something that I’m passionate about. When I realized that education was my passion, I wanted to change my course of study and it was something daunting for me to consider. But my dad said to me “every industry has someone who stands out. As long as it’s something you’re passionate about, do it and do it with all your heart”. That was 15 years ago and I’ve never looked back nor regretted my decision. Passion is what makes me think about children and education all the time. It’s what keeps me up at night and gets me up in the morning. There’s a saying that says “love what you do and do what you love”. I have found my passion and I’m blessed to be able to live it out daily. So have you found your passion? It might not necessarily be work but what is something you believe in, love and want to pursue? And if you have children, how are you helping them develop what their passions are? It breaks my heart to see children lifelessly going around and learning things when they have no heart and no passion for them. Find something they love and have them pursue it!
Purpose
Passion is the fuel but purpose is the direction. Without a clear direction, passion can be misplaced and misused. Purpose is the goal that you’re pursuing. For me, my purpose is to do what God has led me to do and that is to serve in the field of education. For others, it may be something completely different. But whatever it is, I hope that the purpose is to fulfill something bigger than ourselves – to somehow leave a mark and leave the world a better place. So what’s your purpose and how are you living it out in your family, work and with friends? What do you believe in and want to pursue? How are you explaining purpose to your children? If they’re being told that their only purpose is to get good grades, then the rest of life seems pretty meaningless. And the danger is what if they fail in that purpose one day? What else can they find purpose in?
Perseverance
The last P is one that everyone needs – perseverance - the tenacity and grit to hold fast to something and not to quit. No matter how passionate we are, and how noble are purposes are, there will be obstacles, challenges, hurdles, hurts and disappointments. It’s only with perseverance do we jump over hurdles, stand up after a fall and keep running towards the goal. And if we can learn to have perseverance for smaller endeavours, we may surprise ourselves with how much we have for the bigger ones. How are we training our ‘perseverance muscles’ for the challenges that come our way? How are we nurturing our children to be able to face obstacles?
There is no easy formula for success but I think at least 3 of the key ingredients are Passion, Purpose and Perseverance. "
Christine Ma-Lau
Founder & Principal
JEMS Learning House