don’t work. be hated. love someone

4/26/12 Don’t work. Be hated. Love someone. - Half & Half

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2012 (1)

Half & HalfHalf & Half

Don’t work. Be hated. Love someone.

This witty yet piercing commencement speech is one of my favorite reads. I t resonates

deeply with me as I am about to graduate from college. I 'd like to share it with you guys

as I hope that not only new grads, but everyone else can benefit from it, too.

—–

Written by Adrian Tan, author of The Teenage Textbook (1988), was

the guest-of-honour at a recent NTU convocation ceremony. This was

his speech to the graduating class of 2008.

—–

I must say thank y ou to the faculty and staff of the Wee Kim Wee School of

Communication and Information for inv iting me to giv e y our conv ocation address. It’s

a wonderful honour and a priv ilege for me to speak here for ten minutes without fear

of contradiction, defamation or retaliation. I say this as a Singaporean and more so as

a husband.

My wife is a wonderful person and perfect in ev ery way except one. She is the editor of

a magazine. She corrects people for a liv ing. She has honed her expert skills ov er a

quarter of a century , mostly by practising at home during conv ersations between her

and me.

On the other hand, I am a litigator. Essentially , I spend my day telling people how

wrong they are. I make my liv ing being disagreeable.

Nev ertheless, there is perfect harmony in our matrimonial home. That is because

when an editor and a litigator hav e an argument, the one who triumphs is alway s the

wife.

And so I want to start by giv ing one piece of adv ice to the men: when y ou’v e already

won her heart, y ou don’t need to win ev ery argument.

Marriage is considered one milestone of life. Some of y ou may already be married.

Some of y ou may nev er be married. Some of y ou will be married. Some of y ou will

enjoy the experience so much, y ou will be married many , many times. Good for y ou.

The next big milestone in y our life is today : y our graduation. The end of education.

You’re done learning.

You’v e probably been told the big lie that “Learning is a lifelong process” and that

therefore y ou will continue study ing and taking masters’ degrees and doctorates and

professorships and so on. You know the sort of people who tell y ou that? Teachers. Don’t

y ou think there is some measure of conflict of interest? They are in the business of

14 APR14 APR

20122012



learning, after all. Where would they be without y ou? They need y ou to be repeat

customers.

The good news is that they ’re wrong.

The bad news is that y ou don’t need further education because y our entire life is ov er.

It is gone. That may come as a shock to some of y ou. You’re in y our teens or early

twenties. People may tell y ou that y ou will liv e to be 7 0, 80, 90 y ears old. That is y our

life expectancy .

I lov e that term: life expectancy . We all understand the term to mean the av erage life

span of a group of people. But I’m here to talk about a bigger idea, which is what y ou

expect from y our life.

You may be v ery happy to know that Singapore is currently ranked as the country

with the third highest life expectancy . We are behind Andorra and Japan, and tied

with San Marino. It seems quite clear why people in those countries, and ours, liv e so

long. We share one thing in common: our football teams are all hopeless. There’s v ery

little danger of any of our citizens hav ing their pulses raised by watching us play in

the World Cup. Spectators are more likely to be lulled into a gentle and restful nap.

Singaporeans hav e a life expectancy of 81 .8 y ears. Singapore men liv e to an av erage

of 7 9.21 y ears, while Singapore women liv e more than fiv e y ears longer, probably to

take into account the additional time they need to spend in the bathroom.

So here y ou are, in y our twenties, thinking that y ou’ll hav e another 40 y ears to go.

Four decades in which to liv e long and prosper.

Bad news. Read the papers. There are people dropping dead when they ’re 50, 40, 30

y ears old. Or quite possibly just after finishing their conv ocation. They would be v ery

disappointed that they didn’t meet their life expectancy .

I’m here to tell y ou this. Forget about y our life expectancy .

After all, it’s calculated based on an av erage. And y ou nev er, ev er want to expect

being av erage.

Rev isit those expectations. You might be looking forward to working, falling in lov e,

marry ing, raising a family . You are told that, as graduates, y ou should expect to find

a job pay ing so much, where y our hours are so much, where y our responsibilities are

so much.

That is what is expected of y ou. And if y ou liv e up to it, it will be an awful waste.

If y ou expect that, y ou will be limiting y ourself. You will be liv ing y our life according

to boundaries set by av erage people. I hav e nothing against av erage people. But no one

should aspire to be them. And y ou don’t need y ears of education by the best minds in

Singapore to prepare y ou to be av erage.

What y ou should prepare for is mess. Life’s a mess. You are not entitled to expect

any thing from it. Life is not fair. Ev ery thing does not balance out in the end. Life

happens, and y ou hav e no control ov er it. Good and bad things happen to y ou day by

day , hour by hour, moment by moment. Your degree is a poor armour against fate.

Don’t expect any thing. Erase all life expectancies. Just liv e. Your life is ov er as of

today . At this point in time, y ou hav e grown as tall as y ou will ev er be, y ou are

phy sically the fittest y ou will ev er be in y our entire life and y ou are probably looking

the best that y ou will ev er look. This is as good as it gets. It is all downhill from here.

Or up. No one knows.

What does this mean for y ou? It is good that y our life is ov er.

Since y our life is ov er, y ou are free. Let me tell y ou the many wonderful things that

y ou can do when y ou are free.



The most important is this: do not work.

Work is any thing that y ou are compelled to do. By its v ery nature, it is undesirable.

Work kills. The Japanese hav e a term “Karoshi”, which means death from ov erwork.

That’s the most dramatic form of how work can kill. But it can also kill y ou in more

subtle way s. If y ou work, then day by day , bit by bit, y our soul is chipped away ,

disintegrating until there’s nothing left. A rock has been ground into sand and dust.

There’s a common misconception that work is necessary . You will meet people working

at miserable jobs. They tell y ou they are “making a liv ing”. No, they ’re not. They ’re

dy ing, frittering away their fast-extinguishing liv es doing things which are, at best,

meaningless and, at worst, harmful.

People will tell y ou that work ennobles y ou, that work lends y ou a certain dignity .

Work makes y ou free. The slogan “Arbeit macht frei” was placed at the entrances to a

number of Nazi concentration camps. Utter nonsense.

Do not waste the v ast majority of y our life doing something y ou hate so that y ou can

spend the small remainder sliv er of y our life in modest comfort. You may nev er reach

that end any way .

Resist the temptation to get a job. Instead, play . Find something y ou enjoy doing. Do it.

Ov er and ov er again. You will become good at it for two reasons: y ou like it, and y ou do

it often. Soon, that will hav e v alue in itself.

I like arguing, and I lov e language. So, I became a litigator. I enjoy it and I would do it

for free. If I didn’t do that, I would’v e been in some other ty pe of work that still

inv olv ed writing fiction – probably a sports journalist.

So what should y ou do? You will find y our own niche. I don’t imagine y ou will need to

look v ery hard. By this time in y our life, y ou will hav e a v ery good idea of what y ou

will want to do. In fact, I’ll go further and say the ideal situation would be that y ou

will not be able to stop y ourself pursuing y our passions. By this time y ou should know

what y our obsessions are. If y ou enjoy showing off y our knowledge and feeling

superior, y ou might become a teacher.

Find that pursuit that will energise y ou, consume y ou, become an obsession. Each day ,

y ou must rise with a restless enthusiasm. If y ou don’t, y ou are working.

Most of y ou will end up in activ ities which inv olv e communication. To those of y ou I

hav e a second message: be wary of the truth. I’m not asking y ou to speak it, or write it,

for there are times when it is dangerous or impossible to do those things. The truth has

a great capacity to offend and injure, and y ou will find that the closer y ou are to

someone, the more care y ou must take to disguise or ev en conceal the truth. Often,

there is great v irtue in being ev asiv e, or equiv ocating. There is also great skill. Any

child can blurt out the truth, without thought to the consequences. It takes great

maturity to appreciate the v alue of silence.

In order to be wary of the truth, y ou must first know it. That requires great frankness

to y ourself. Nev er fool the person in the mirror.



Permalink

I hav e told y ou that y our life is ov er, that y ou should not work, and that y ou should

av oid telling the truth. I now say this to y ou: be hated.

It’s not as easy as it sounds. Do y ou know any one who hates y ou? Yet ev ery great

figure who has contributed to the human race has been hated, not just by one person,

but often by a great many . That hatred is so strong it has caused those great figures to

be shunned, abused, murdered and in one famous instance, nailed to a cross.

One does not hav e to be ev il to be hated. In fact, it’s often the case that one is hated

precisely because one is try ing to do right by one’s own conv ictions. It is far too easy to

be liked, one merely has to be accommodating and hold no strong conv ictions. Then

one will grav itate towards the centre and settle into the av erage. That cannot be y our

role. There are a great many bad people in the world, and if y ou are not offending

them, y ou must be bad y ourself. Popularity is a sure sign that y ou are doing

something wrong.

The other side of the coin is this: fall in lov e.

I didn’t say “be lov ed”. That requires too much compromise. If one changes one’s looks,

personality and v alues, one can be lov ed by any one.

Rather, I exhort y ou to lov e another human being. It may seem odd for me to tell y ou

this. You may expect it to happen naturally , without deliberation. That is false.

Modern society is anti-lov e. We’v e taken a microscope to ev ery one to bring out their

flaws and shortcomings. It far easier to find a reason not to lov e someone, than

otherwise. Rejection requires only one reason. Lov e requires complete acceptance. It is

hard work – the only kind of work that I find palatable.

Lov ing someone has great benefits. There is admiration, learning, attraction and

something which, for the want of a better word, we call happiness. In lov ing someone,

we become inspired to better ourselv es in ev ery way . We learn the truth worthlessness

of material things. We celebrate being human. Lov ing is good for the soul.

Lov ing someone is therefore v ery important, and it is also important to choose the

right person. Despite popular culture, lov e doesn’t happen by chance, at first sight,

across a crowded dance floor. It grows slowly , sinking roots first before branching and

blossoming. It is not a silly weed, but a mighty tree that weathers ev ery storm.

You will find, that when y ou hav e someone to lov e, that the face is less important than

the brain, and the body is less important than the heart.

You will also find that it is no great tragedy if y our lov e is not reciprocated. You are

not doing it to be lov ed back. Its v alue is to inspire y ou.

Finally , y ou will find that there is no half-measure when it comes to lov ing someone.

You either don’t, or y ou do with ev ery cell in y our body , completely and utterly ,

without reserv ation or apology . It consumes y ou, and y ou are reborn, all the better for

it.

Don’t work. Av oid telling the truth. Be hated. Lov e someone.

44kLike



129 responses

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12 days ago aelena (Twitter) responded:

Hey, thanks for sharing this text. Did not know it but it too resonates with me, at least some

of the ideas.

12 days ago aashudwivedi (Twitter) responded:

reading this after a soul crushing day at the work i hate well ..

12 days ago shahensha responded:

This is one piece of awesomeness mate! Thanks for sharing. I loved the part which said -

"Be Hated"!

12 days ago shahensha liked this post.

12 days ago possnfiffer liked this post.

12 days ago possnfiffer responded:

So True,

12 days ago invisiblepilot (Twitter) responded:

I really enjoyed reading this - thank you for sharing :)

12 days ago Dilanka responded:

Well put Adrian.

Dilanka

11 days ago gauravdott (Twitter) liked this post.

11 days ago ridgecritter responded:

Well said. Words to remember and act upon.

11 days ago Benedictus Yoga liked this post.

11 days ago aashudwivedi (Twitter) liked this post.

11 days ago Geiti responded:

I love it, thank you :)

11 days ago cade responded:

So we should "Avoid telling the truth." because we might be hated for it, but right after that

you say we should "Be Hated."?

11 days ago Rahul responded:

What a nice post!! I also share the same ideas and philosophy about living as you do. It is

very important to find your work in life. Only then you will be able to give your best and

contribute something, that is of value, in your field.



11 days ago David Tran liked this post.

11 days ago michaelborger (Twitter) responded:

Absolutely fantastic and it's all true. It takes courage and guts to go against the norm but the

greatest will do it regardless of popular opinion. Thanks for posting this.

11 days ago Alexander Ainslie (@AAinslie) liked this post.

11 days ago Dileep Damle responded:

So well put! Always lived this way , but didn't know why! Now I do! I also know why no one

loves me, don't know whether I've succeeded in being hated, though!

11 days ago Kenny Shen liked this post.

11 days ago Varun responded:

Incredibly spoken about life. I will take a lot of cue from this.

11 days ago Patrick responded:

Can anyone explain why he asks us to "Avoid telling the truth"? What's so bad about that? I

guess the message was "think before you speak", but expressing that with the words "avoid

telling the truth" is ... weird. Or maybe a cultural difference thing...

In any case - this single statement makes me question the whole speech - was he telling

what he thinks is the truth / honest advice, or was he avoiding it?

11 days ago hileon responded:

Awesome post!

I really like the last sentence, "Don’t work. Avoid telling the truth. Be hated. Love someone."

This will be the reason that I am still living.

11 days ago hileon responded:

Awesome post!

I really like the last sentence, "Don’t work. Avoid telling the truth. Be hated. Love someone."

This will be the reason that I am still living.

11 days ago ilanuki (Twitter) liked this post.

11 days ago Frank Cieslik liked this post.

11 days ago Apoorv_M (Twitter) liked this post.

11 days ago miffalicious (Twitter) responded:

Glad to see more and more Singaporeans thinking out of the box. Appreciate.

11 days ago curlyreggie (Twitter) responded:

One terrific post. Must say, this reflects more on myself and I would thank you from the

bottom of my heart to make me look myself courageously into the mirror now.

11 days ago Rahul responded:

po-tay-toe or po-tah-toe.... !!! All same ..nothing new, but explained with a touch of rage,

rationality and anticapitalistic ideas..:)

Don’t work. Avoid telling the truth. Be hated. Love someone.~ Thats what all Eco hippies do

around the world along with smoking weed....

11 days ago mythsnlegends liked this post.

10 days ago FRANTISEK REHOR liked this post.

10 days ago Natalia responded:



Really enjoyed this. Thanks for getting up in everyone's face!

10 days ago mposchange (Twitter) responded:

I had to re-share this as it resonates with me also. This is the message that I have been

sharing with youth and adults alike. In a talk that I did in Canada a few years ago I asked the

question "Are you living a deferred life?" (video here:

http://mypositivechange.com/2010/08/09/are-you-living-a-deferred-life/). I presented to 200

young people and had a very positive response from individuals telling me that the question

made them think or re-think what they wanted to do with their time here on Earth. Reality is

what we make of it.

I certainly wish that more young people are being told similar messages in high school and

college. Thank you Adrian Tan for the inspiring talk, and Jiake Liu for sharing.

10 days ago Abhi17cr (Twitter) responded:

Dont love what you do (Work),

Do what you love - (Play),

A great inspiring post :)

10 days ago Abhi17cr (Twitter) liked this post.

10 days ago sudheeshu (Twitter) liked this post.

10 days ago Kevin Omondi responded:

this is quite an encouraging speech. he talks about life the way it is without any

expectations. life sucks and even our hard earned college degrees cannot save us. it is all

about thinking and acting.

10 days ago cmtbonifacio liked this post.

10 days ago Jonathan responded:

I think this is a great speech EXCEPT the bit about not telling the truth.

WE NEED TO BE HONEST.

More truth.

In fact, this very speech is an example of telling the truth.

Maybe he means not spewing every bit of truth you know. Yet, the truth should generally not

be held back.

10 days ago Peeyush responded:

Awesome stuff. Great speech.

10 days ago Mikas Ridikas responded:

good post.

the last sentence I suggest to rephrase to more positive words:

from

Don’t work. Avoid telling the truth. Be hated. Love someone

to:

Play with passion. Think how you influence before telling. accept side effects of being

different. Love someone without asking for return...

10 days ago Tom responded:



Amazing. Putting this on my wall!

10 days ago alok kuamr responded:

just one word awesome...........

10 days ago Marc responded:

I just got back to work after a two weeks break.Like most people I am not in love with it,

althought I described it as ''not bad and interesting''. But no deep seensation of love and

passion at all. You know what's the sickest part? For several reasons, I know I'll be leaving

this position in less than a year, I know it as a matter of fact from day 1, 5 months ago.

You wouldn't believe the effect this speech had on me. I feel like just slamming the door and

leave. And no I am not the overemotional internet type of dude. I never comment on blogs, I

never engage in online discussions.

Thank you (or not?) so much for posting this.

10 days ago important dude responded:

naa man.. i'd rather love my work and be hated :)

dont temme wat to do >.<

hypocrite..

10 days ago Vince liked this post.

10 days ago marcelo Ballona liked this post.

10 days ago marcelo Ballona responded:

This is a great piece of advice, real life considerations. Aspirational, but absolutely real life

situations.

Love it!

10 days ago Chris responded:

This shows how hopeless many people are in today's world. You all need to find God, who

loves us unconditionally, who's full of mercy and gave us his only son to redeem us and

give us salvation. Go and read it in the Bible, pray to God, discuss with people about things

you don't understand. God Bless

10 days ago Wyatt responded:

Truly enjoyed this articled. Things seem much clearer now.

10 days ago Anna Tarkov liked this post.

10 days ago ravi responded:

Perfectly echoing my thoughts!!

Awesome read

9 days ago Ekansh Gupta responded:

Thanks for sharing this with me i Am a 3 year Undergraduate student and now i know

thanks to you what is to be done

9 days ago Rachel J responded:



Three simple things.

Most enjoyable read.

9 days ago Rachel J liked this post.

9 days ago Beliz responded:

Nothing new... moving on.

9 days ago Charanjit Singh liked this post.

9 days ago sandeep responded:

Loved your post ,

I am not looking for logical proofs to what he said , They look true intuitively , Believe it!

9 days ago Lujeanne Brand responded:

I just love it when you read or hear something and feel it resonate with my being. It is the

resonance that makes me realize just how much truth is in us even before we become

conscious of it. Thank you so much for putting my feelings exactly in such a wonderful

poetic, wise blog. Bless you!

9 days ago nika responded:

I love everything except avoid telling the truth. It should be: accept the truth and break it to

others gently. :)

9 days ago Mahmoud B responded:

I HATE IT. ohh isnt tht what Adrian is asking us to do?! :) no seriously well written article

however the idea is cliché i.e. i have heard it over and over and over from many other

authors/presenters/teachers the only new thing is z tools used to reach that stage the main

idea. Adrian got some catchy titles to drive attention and deliver his message "Avoid telling

the truth. Be hated. Love someone", which can be argued easily.

overall i would say the speech is more pessimistic than opti, and in soo many cases cannot

be implemented, however if you slice the speech you can note some helpful notes which

can be useful in life.

i rest my case :p

9 days ago Ramtin responded:

Great piece of work but full of spelling and grammar mistakes...how about doing a spill

check, or is that too much work ;)

9 days ago sivaranjini1980 (Twitter) responded:

Awesomeness is the word..

9 days ago Vivek Girotra liked this post.

9 days ago Praveen responded:

Very beautifully told!

9 days ago sankarbb (Twitter) responded:

Awesome post :-) http://halfhalf.posterous.com/dont-work-be-hated-love-someone

9 days ago Coré liked this post.

9 days ago annikaskywalker (Twitter) responded:

I wish more people would follow these rules - it would open the job market for those who do



want income and are willing to work. I however did the opposite you suggest - I worked

really hard all through college, then started a software company, I hated my job but

continued to work so that I could retire by age 29.

I always thought that the fact that so few people are willing to work hard to put away money

is why the US economy is in such a shambles. Just don't expect to have anyone stocking

the grocery store shelves, as that would be work. Also, if you're not working, you should get

good at stealing, unless you want to live on welfare, but then you probably couldn't afford

rent or a car, so live in the forest and don't go anywhere. Play. with sticks.

9 days ago Amgan R. responded:

That was horrible. I didn't find anything meaningful in that speech. It was saying things that

you wanted to hear in a completely messed up manner.

Why would you actually want young graduates to not seek out a job? So they can literally

land on their two feet and end up on the streets of the very city that gave them a chance to

become something? Yes, you should love your job, but that doesn't mean you shouldn't find

one just because everyone else hates their jobs. Yeah, I don't really like this speech at all.

9 days ago pamadkisson (Twitter) responded:

One of the most exciting, wonderful and REAL writings that I ever ever read about Life!! I

LOVE this!!

9 days ago Confused responded:

I agree with just about everthing your speech suggests except the part of not telling the truth.

Yes the truth does hurt, but it also lends credibility to the fact that we are all fallible, and if we

hide our fallibilities, then we are deceptive, and deceptiveness can in no way build trust in a

relationship...most people feel more betrayed by deceptiveness than by the act that led to

the deceptiveness...honesty will at least set the other person free by respecting their own

self-will, not by manipulating them into believing something false

9 days ago lauren responded:

sweet article, but what if telling the truth is my claim to fame in being hated. truth is

important. truth sets us free, at least for me!

8 days ago Alex responded:

The article contradicts itself so many times, let me just pick one:

"Often, there is great virtue in being evasive, or equivocating. There is also great skill. Any

child can blurt out the truth, without thought to the consequences. It takes great maturity to

appreciate the value of silence."

Uhm... no.

Silence equals withholding the truth. I suggest the other road, the one without burden nor

guilt, the one that will slap you in the face just once, but after that, the pain will be gone, and

you will have the burden no more.

There is no value in silence, for it can not communicate itself, and will only cause

confusement, resentment, and finally death.

8 days ago 1srimy3 (Twitter) liked this post.

8 days ago witono responded:

Thank you for speaking my heart out. these are the exact things that I would want to tell the

next generations or my children if there's gonna be any. while certain expectations are

necessary, I would like to quote 'Lao Zi', Chinese philosopher to be 中庸, take balance,

while being true to yourself and others.

8 days ago WP | The Conscious Life responded:



Very inspiring speech. I especially like this part "If you work, then day by day, bit by bit, your

soul is chipped away, disintegrating until there’s nothing left." I've gone through this and can

attest that it's true. Hopefully, at least some of the new graduates will take these words to

heart.

8 days ago Kurt responded:

What if the reason you're hated is because you told somebody a hard truth? Which takes

precedence?

8 days ago Dave responded:

That was the most inconsistent, fallacy-filled, poor reasoned speech I have heard in a while!

Sometimes it gives good advice with horrible justifications, and then at other times horrible

advice that sounds enticing.

8 days ago Smarty Pants responded:

The truth is everything. Why be fake? Be honest, and the world would be such a better place.

Quit spreading misconceptions! Such a contradicting speech with several grammatical

errors. Maybe you were trying to convey a different message with the don't tell the truth part

but jesus, pick some better words and terms. Some people might take everything you're

saying as golden. Some I wholeheartedly agree with you, some I do not. Super opinionated,

too many contradictions.

8 days ago Truth Seeker responded:

The truth will set us all free in a world full of lies.

During times of universal deceit, telling the truth becomes a revolutionary act.

THIS. TRUE credibility. George Orwell.

8 days ago Alastair responded:

Dear Mr. Tan.

Until you are able to express your thoughts (if they can be called as such) without obscuring

them through the use of sophistic, rhetorical techniques, I am unable to take this seriously

as a piece of writing.

By viewing teachers as nothing more than money-hungry producers you are setting up a

strawman. By telling young people that they should see teachers in this way you are

advocating a redundancy in the value of education, not as a 'business' but as an institution.

Alongside this, your distinction between 'work' and 'play' is nebulous. When you say 'play',

you mean to say work that we enjoy. Work can be enjoyed. Many people enjoy their work. To

understand work as activity we are forced to perform against our will and without our

enjoyment is to overlook this.

Lastly, the importance of those who are willing to speak the truth despite the danger that

such speaking must bring cannot be overemphasized. Unless, of course, you desire a

global population of sycophants, cowards and the easily persuaded.

8 days ago Uttam responded:

One of the most inspiring, real life experience I have ever ever read. Super Awesome. Loved

it

8 days ago Bindaas_Chokri (Twitter) responded:

Amazing!!!



8 days ago jatinderjit (Twitter) liked this post.

8 days ago William responded:

Let's face it. We are always going to need people to dump our rubbish, pump our gas, take

our MacDonald's orders, and wash our dishes.

The author can write about following his dreams because he had the luxury of Singapore's

good education system and a good job market. For the large majority of the human race,

following your dreams is a mere empty bravado talk.

8 days ago space__bacon (Twitter) responded:

BOOM! I hope you pick up some more haters from this article because i'm loving it way too

much. Might throw you off balance.

8 days ago raffi responded:

this was a god speach

8 days ago Dancing Fingers Singing Keypad responded:

Thanks for sharing this. It was a good speech. The four major points were put forth very well

with just the right amount of humor.

7 days ago Katerina responded:

Dobree! Moc dobree ;)

7 days ago C.R. responded:

this is really, really superficial! sorry to say this. please be aware that there are a lot of folks

who have found their vocation. and who love their work, their jobs and what they do every

day. they know how to handle their time and, besides of the fact that they love their jobs, they

get time to do some of the other stuff that they like.

i'd say almost the oppsosite: work. tell the truth. be loved. love someone.

it really works if you never fool yourself with doubtful philosophy like this post contains. I

can't believe that people really buy this stuff.

7 days ago Michael Kessler responded:

Absolutely amazing.

7 days ago Kelvin Quek liked this post.

7 days ago Unearthly responded:

I hate you =)

7 days ago Tanziha Nujhat responded:

Amazing!

7 days ago Nicenice Torres liked this post.

7 days ago aks responded:

I think that by avoid the truth he means: know the truth, but you don't have to scream it out or

"blurt it like a child", and keep proving your point just to win the argument. Truth does more

harm, if you are solely concerned with proving your point in every argument. In some

situations (not all) , knowing the truth, and being silent is more powerful. Like for instance,

when he has an argument with his wife, he says, "you don't have to win every argument

when you have already won her heart". So, perhaps he is saying that you might think you



know the "truth" in the argument or that you are in the right side, but being silent does more

good than screaming it out to simply win the argument.

7 days ago Shreya responded:

I'd pretty much affirm everything but the third statement.

Be hated?!

There are less cloudy ways of saying that we should assert the truth despite majority

opposition. But you're just encouraging a stupid protocol for greatness. I guess if we went

by your words, everyone would hate everyone in the world and everyone, would at the same

time, think they're right, courageous and among the greats.

Kinda lousy, I'm sorry.

7 days ago Yasmine responded:

This was so powerful. I agree, we should all learn to play more. Its really important to do that

:)

And to trust ourselves and leave out everyone around us has to say.

7 days ago Flowerbug89 (Twitter) responded:

There was just something about the points raised. They go against common values. Yet it

is intriguing, many of us have a main goal to strive for the best education, and the higher the

better, and to have a job is an achievement, this is what is accepted in out society,

education and work. I think that is why this is so refreshing it gives some ground for people

to do what feels good and not feel guilty about.. permission to stop suffering in the form of

futher education and stressful or just lifeless jobs. However if you get down to the facts

people work to provide for themselves. Also the sense of achievement that comes from

completing education makes play more enjoyabe. Anyway a very good article, definatley has

got me thinking, and after I complete this degree I cannot wait to play.

7 days ago Nemo responded:

Seems he's rather popular. How ironic.

6 days ago Sangeetha responded:

I must say, very matured thoughts, through the words of the person can say that person

must have had life experiences to share. This kind of wisdom is very important for our

present day world that has lost all its charm...the once that was divine.

6 days ago Wei responded:

@Alastair,

despite your subtle racism, your comment is the only thing worth reading here.

6 days ago sahi_agg (Twitter) liked this post.

6 days ago sahi_agg (Twitter) responded:

im inspired :)

5 days ago Kach responded:

This sounds great and all but how can you "not work" and do what you love coming out of

college when you're in debt and don't have anyone to support you? You can only do what you

love if you are able to monetize it and that usually is a process that can take years.

5 days ago JG responded:



Sounds like a rewrite of Steve Job's Speech at Stanford. Good stuff though.

5 days ago Tazeen Imam responded:

With only one reservation: I know being truthful is important, exceptions being there; this has

been one of the best articles I''ve read and enjoyed in a long, long time.

5 days ago AbhishekPriyam (Twitter) liked this post.

5 days ago Mahendra Samsu liked this post.

4 days ago babar1 responded:

life is not about living in a fools paradise.....its certainly not about betraying ppl and be hated

! meanwhile falling in love is like a religion that always has a fallible god....sigh !

4 days ago Sunshine responded:

Thank you. For all you wrote. I was stunned when I realised I had to stop reading because I

was crying. Just thank you.

4 days ago Phil Neo liked this post.

4 days ago awholelifetolive liked this post.

3 days ago wacinski (Twitter) liked this post.

3 days ago ChelseaForCL (Twitter) responded:

Awesome :)

3 days ago Anirban Mukerji responded:

really well written, though it needs to be balanced with the Harvard Blog article on

To find happiness forget about passion

This article has been recommended by many in facebook, initially I disagreed with the title,

but reading the article convinced me, To summarize as per the article

Happiness comes from the intersection of what you love, what you're good at, and what the

world needs. We've been told time and again to keep finding the first. Our schools helped

developed the second. It's time we put more thought on the third. What big problems are

you trying to solve?

3 days ago Ravi responded:

I wish if indeed this speech were true, however inspirational it is, it may be good for a

speech and to get name but I bet many ppl who have practically lived life would disagree

with the main themes expressed here! While everyone must try to slice in some of these

virtues it would be tantamount to foolishness to get lost in them!

I hope many ppl dont have not already lost themselves due to this!

This speech at best helps ppl those who are good, but for the average this does the

greatest damage!

To me this looks like a spirit booster party speech not some great advice that can stick up

for life!

3 days ago Pranay responded:

Nice one...

3 days ago Anshu responded:

Soothing speech for a grieving soul. Thanks for sharing.



2 days ago stebrah liked this post.

2 days ago Kelvin Quek liked this post.

1 day ago ruby responded:

this is so inspiring............i never thought abt dis......

1 day ago Bennett Wales responded:

I thought this article was great. I was surprised to see a few negative posts though. I think a

few of you are reading what the writer was trying to say way out of context. Don't over analyze!

The message in this article is simple: do something that you love, no matter how much you

may be hated or put down. I would also like to post this great quote, one of my favorites.

"The master in the art of living makes little distinction between his work and his play, his

labor and his leisure, his mind and his body, his information and his recreation, his love

and his religion. He hardly knows which is which. He simply pursues his vision of

excellence at whatever he does, leaving others to decide whether he is working or playing.

To him he’s always doing both.” -James A, Michener

1 day ago dmadalani (Twitter) responded:

its contradicting... if some of us start following this... How can ONE be hated and love

someone and that someone loves u back when u want to be hated :P …

and people lie about not Loving you which might lead to hatred....we won't have anything to

do anyways...

overall a good read though :) Peace!

Love you all :D

about 18 hours ago JulesBartow (Twitter) responded:

Adrian,

Perpetrate hate? We love you at EzPL8 where we innovate and communicate machino y

machino so you can masticate as you perambulate.

Squeals of Laughter followed by paroxysms of tears. You yanked me up then yanked me

down. You turned me into an emotional yo-yo, worse than a 16-year old girl in her first love

affair --it's just so wrong. I'm a 50-year old man!

A good story will do that to you. Thank you.

We'd love your opinion about the concept of Drive-by Dining, where you get Fast Food Faster

- Smarter. People wear a RFID bracelet so they are automatically recognized with their

personal preferences, their name, and their face by receptionists and fast food cashiers.

The common man now receives personalized service reserved for royalty and wealthy

clientele at exclusive restaurants. Blue-blood Ivy Leaguers hate it that a high school drop out

ordering a Big Mac at a McDonald's drive-thru gets the same treatment as a CEO at Mortons

and Ruth's Chris Steakhouse.

We're not sure what your take on the privacy and socio-economic aspects will be, but we

know it'll be a good read.

about 15 hours ago Yogesh A responded:

Well I would say it was a good post as it force you to think about your life and the way you

live. Whether we agree with the methods and the reasoning is a different matter.

I do not agree with most of the points mentioned in this article based on the reasoning

behind it, but surely there are some good points to be taken. In the end its your life and only

YOU should decide how you should live it.



about 14 hours ago Paul Falvo liked this post.

about 3 hours ago K responded:

Cool, but why is he dissing teachers at a convocation? Kind of ruined the whole thing for

me.

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don’t work. be hated. love someone

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