The 1981 Notice Board That Changed My Life

🎓 National Junior College (1981) — The Day I Stopped Waiting

In 1981, getting into National Junior College was one of my proudest achievements.

But when I stepped into that campus, I was completely lost.

No one guided me. No one briefed me. No one handed me a timetable.

The teacher simply said: “If you want to know where your class is, go to the notice board and copy it yourself.”

That sentence changed my life.

That was my first real lesson in adulthood:

No one owes you direction.

If you want clarity, go and get it.

Lesson 1: Initiative Is the Real Scholarship

Many people think elite institutions give you advantage.

They don’t.

They give you responsibility.

If you cannot manage yourself, you drown.

That notice board was my first training in self-leadership.

No grant. No shortcut. No spoon-feeding.

Just initiative.

Lesson 2: Growth Happens in Discomfort

I was one of only two guys in a class of 18.

I was shy.

But I had no choice — I had to interact.

And some of the girls were even shyer than me.

That was my second lesson:

Confidence is not given.

It is built through forced exposure.

Today, people attend courses about communication, leadership, confidence.

Back then? Life forced it on us.

Now Fast Forward to the AI Era

Today in Singapore, there are grants to learn AI. Grants to subscribe to AI tools.

And many people ask: “Should I wait for subsidy?”

Let me say something uncomfortable.

Grants are usually designed to help those who are behind, those who lack resources or confidence.

The government does not design grants for frontrunners.

They design them to uplift those who hesitate.

I started using AI in December 2022. I paid for multiple models. Over time, it has cost me tens of thousands of dollars.

Why?

Because if something is the future, I don’t wait for discount.

I invest.

Entrepreneurs Don’t Wait

Jack Ma did not wait for a grant to start Alibaba.

Steve Jobs did not wait for subsidy to build Apple.

Front-runners move first. They figure out funding later.

Waiting is comfortable. Moving is powerful.

The Hard Truth

• If you need a grant before you start learning AI, You are already late.
• If you need permission before investing in yourself, You are already behind.
• The people who win in the AI era are not the ones who get the most subsidies.
• They are the ones who:

        Move before certainty

        Pay before validation

        Experiment before perfection

My First Lesson at 17 Still Applies Today

Go to the notice board.

Copy it yourself.

Figure it out.

That mindset is more valuable than any grant.

And in the AI era, initiative is no longer optional.

It is survival.