the signage. Try to find one that has none or the least number of deaths - that would be a good doctor.’ The pious son, relieved, went to the town centre and followed the instruction. ‘Yes!’ He found a clinic signage with no death images. Rejoiced, he asked the doctor to attend to his mother. The elderly took the medicine... BUT DIED. The son felt cheated and looked up the fairy who said ‘that cannot be wrong’. The son went back to the clinic and used the Magic Mirror again. Alas! He saw his mother. The clinic was a new one with a new doctor. This is a made-up story. As new joiner to the medical profession, you are making a fresh start having the best chance to be a good doctor. CHALLENGES... There will be many challenges along the way. I was speaking to a group of banking and finance graduates earlier, many felt worried to join the industry in troubled times - economic slowdown, geopolitical tension, the COVID pandemic, technology changes, and so on. These affect us all - in banking or the medical profession. It’s a challenge, but it’s also a privilege to be at the centre of happenings. It brings along opportunities. It forces us to try harder and discover our unknown strength and potential. The times in banking which I most treasured and relished were the trouble times with unprecedented happenings like: • 1983 the Hong Kong Dollar was pegged to the US Dollar - The market was turbulent. I was a fresh graduate joining banking. • 1997 the Asian financial crisis - Thai Baht interest rate surged and market collapsed. I was a bond trader. • 2000 The Tech Bubble burst and 2003 SARS • 2008 The global financial crisis - I was at the management role, looking after the bank’s global markets business, with dealing rooms in 18 countries in Asia-Pacific. Some of the most difficult times in banking. But through these, you will not only grow and learn, you will be making valuable friendship with whom can be colleagues, fellow professionals, family, friends or just people you met along the way. I can see this similarly in the medical profession. CHANGES... In the equation of life, as the Greek philosopher Heraclitus said, ‘Change is the only constant.’ Embrace changes and be bold to look for them. I am a believer that it’s better stay equipped instead of one day changes coming to you unprepared. Be agile and avoid complacency. Have humility – No matter how successful one becomes, one can be ignorant or blind on certain things. Be humble, open and listen to others’ thoughts. Intellectual humility is about the importance of knowing one might be wrong. People have different ways to stay on edge and be ready. Explore your own way. I worked for two banks. I looked for changes when things got too ‘settled’, took up different roles or move to a different environment. Stay curious and interested, look forward to new things. Instead of focusing on what’s in there for me, focus on what’s there to learn. PRACTISE CHANGES - Have the mobility, 22
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