How Hungry Are You, A Social Experiment.

In 2015, I had the opportunity to meet Emily during the filming of "A Singaporean Abroad." It was a brief encounter and unfortunately, our interaction was not very engaging. However, yesterday, Emily contacted me out of the blue, expressing her interest in my work experiences and obstacles that I had faced. She explained that she was looking for information on behalf of a friend. Later that evening, I received a WhatsApp message from her, reintroducing herself and reminding me of our previous encounter before diving into the topic at hand.

Nowadays, younger generations seem to expect everything handed to them on a silver platter. If they don't get what they want, they feel like the world is against them. In my opinion, this reflects a loss of the win-win philosophy that existed in the old school. While some might say that I am out of touch, I believe that the old school practised respect and manners that the new school seems to be lacking.

When I received her message once more, she said she was interested in finding out more about my work experiences, encounters, and obstacles. However, I quickly realized that she wasn't willing to pay for my knowledge or services. This is something that I can no longer provide for free as I have set up a consultancy firm to recoup my years of struggle, triumphs, and failures.

As soon as she realized that I wouldn't provide the information for free, she immediately retracted. She didn't even attempt to negotiate a win-win collaboration or inquire about my fee. Her intentions were purely to get something for free. Throughout the conversation, she didn't once mention how I could benefit from this collaboration. I found this behavior to be selfish and self-centered.

What struck me the most was her response when I declined to provide the information for free. She told me she doesn't need my share of knowledge anymore as the person she was looking for the information for would understand. In short, they were not hungry enough for knowledge.

If the person had approached me correctly, I would have only charged her $1 for the consultation. The experiment was not about the money, but rather about the respect and value placed on knowledge and expertise. In conclusion, it is essential to maintain respect and manners in any collaboration or interaction. The win-win philosophy benefits all parties involved.