Thr Rule of 90/10

The ratio of 90/10 could be further reduced to 95/5 or even 99/1. The actual number is not as important as to illustrate the contrast between the majority and the minority.

10 percent of the world population controls 90 percent of world total wealth.

Out of 10 Olympic participants, only 1 gets the gold medal. The ratio is 9 to 1.

90 percent of business fails within the first five years. 10 percent succeeded. Of that 10 percent, 90 percent would have failed many times before. And 90 percent of those succeeded will fail within the next ten years.

90 percent of the flights worldwide took off and landed safely. 10 percent got involved in incident/accident with/without casualty.


90 percent of landings done by a pilot are smooth and comfortable. 10 percent are considered ‘firm or rough or bumpy or uncomfortable’. Passengers focus on that 10 percent and say that this pilot is unskillful.

90 percent of the news reported is bad news. They are either news on disasters, theft, murder, victimization, etc. Only 10 percent is good news and is usually reported at the end of the show.

90 percent of the people choose to be average and comfortable. They refuse to step out of their comfort zone and ‘rock the boat’. 10 percent who chose to take some risk often ended up disappointed and got ‘laughed at’ by the 90 percent.

90 percent of the people are contented with mediocrity. Only 10 percent excel in what they are doing. 90 percent of the people live and die and won’t be remembered soon after they left. Only 10 percent left a legacy. They had contributed so much that they left the world a billion times better than when they first found it.


Should I be among that 90 percent? Knowing that it is definitely not easy to be in that 10 percent, should I still try? Should I continue to live in fear of losing what I have or should I risk losing some of what I have and start living with courage and in high spirit?

Walking Down the Memory Lane

I went back to my hometown to renew my passport recently. It has been 15 years since I left this small town named Sungai Petani located in Northern Peninsular Malaysia for greener pasture in Singapore.



The ‘dim sum’ restaurant my grand father used to frequent so often had since disappeared. He went there ritually every morning to meet his old friends over a pot of Chinese tea and a plate of ‘siew mai’ (steamed minced meat dumpling). I got to tag along as I was his favorite grand son. I was young then. (And still is :-)) My grandpa had passed on. So did many of his friends and now his favourite restaurant too.


I purposely stopped for lunch at one of the coffee shops located in the town center. The chicken rice still tasted as good. But the price had increased by more than 50%.





And guess what? The driving school that I took my first driving lesson was there waiting patiently for me to come back to visit.

After flying to so many places around the world, I still prefer the familiar old charm of my hometown. The people here are still simple, friendly and down-to-earth. It is a good place for me to lay back, relax and enjoy life. If nothing else worth mentioning, a tasty bowl of ‘Asam Laksa’ (white round noodles in sour minced fish soup) should make your visit here worthwhile.