I finally got back to work today after a week-long vacation in Ko Lanta. Taking a week away from work is hard, but sometimes it’s necessary. After stepping away, I was able to get a fresh perspective and also received some wise advice from my sister regarding some business decisions. Wise counsel is always a good choice. You don’t have to take the advice, but it’s good to hear different perspectives and then to take the time to ponder more about it before making big decisions.
I skimmed through a book while on the plane that I read a while back and the content was refreshing and timely. It’s called the Integrated Life written by Ken Eldred. There are many vital chapters in that book, but the premise of a quote in it grabbed my attention. It said that doing something 90% of the way is the worst waste because you do all the work but nothing to show for it. The author was quoting it in the context of working at 90% of efforts instead of putting in 110% into your work. The idea is that with just a little bit more work, you reap all the benefits of doing an excellent job in the eyes of all stakeholders. I took it in the sense that doing 90% of a project or business is wasted effort because you do 90% of the work and you have nothing to show for it.
I was on the brink of dropping a business after doing about 90% of the work. After speaking to my sister, and reading that quote, I changed my mind. Then while working today, I had some breakthrough with the business. I had a lot of work already completed. I need to think about it differently and utilized what I did have already. Today was a win.
My buddy hooked me up with his coworking pass, and I worked out from downtown Singapore. It was a great place to get work done. They have a cafe that I worked out of and had lunch and coffee throughout without going anywhere. It’s a huge time saver and kept me in flow with my work for longer.
Around 3 pm I got a bit hungry again and decided to shoot over to the mall next door to see what they had for food. I was blown away with the selection and quality of food in Singapore. It’s foodie heaven. I scanned through the restaurants that littered the halls of the lower level and upper level of the mall. I settled for a 1-star Michelin restaurant for dim sum. I’m forever tainted by my experience and will compare all other dimsum places to this restaurant. It was the best dimsum I’ve had, and I’ve had dim sum in Hong Kong of all places.
After finishing up work around 6 pm, I linked back up with my buddy, and we headed back to his place to have dinner with his folks. It was traditional Chinese food that reminded me of the dishes my dad made. It was tasty and quite nostalgic. We finished and went to do some exploring by car. Singapore is a beautiful country. It’s clean and extremely safe. I don’t believe it’s a cultural phenomenon like Japan but one constructed with regimented laws and extreme punishment.
In Singapore, if you’re caught with drugs, you could be hung. If you are found vandalizing public property, you are caned. It’s a bit extremebut you don’t see it often happening at all because the consequences are so high. There are also a fair amount of cameras throughout the country. It sounds very 1984 and feels a bit that way. However, it seems relatively standard for Singaporeans. I believe my Western upbringing makes me feel that it’s suffocating, but I can see the benefits of a country that promotes good values through a long-tailed punishment system.
Singapore is a lovely country nonetheless, and the food is out-of-this-world. I could see myself being a digital nomad in Singapore for much longer.
Tomorrow, we’ll be doing some fishing on my buddy’s friend’s boat. I was thinking about just working, but it’s not often I get to fish in Singapore. After tomorrow, I’ll have one last full day, and then I head out to Canggu Thursday afternoon.