Start with Why – A Father's Voice, A Lifelong Compass

“Eugene, if you ever make it in life, always remember to consider those who are less fortunate than you.”

That sentence shaped me.

I heard it often from my father while growing up. At the time, it felt abstract. We were not a wealthy family. Why the repeated emphasis on giving?

As I grew older, I began to understand what shaped those words.

My father came from humble beginnings. His family reared hogs and fishes for subsistence in rural Sembawang. With nine children at home, there was barely enough to go around. He often spoke of helping my grandfather with farm chores—feeding the animals, cleaning waste, cutting grass to feed the fishes. His childhood was hard, and there were few privileges.

Yet he somehow made it through the education system—against the odds. He was the only one in his village to graduate from university with an accountancy degree. He often told me it was not because he was the smartest. He had to repeat a year. But at each stage, he encountered good teachers who helped him forward. That left a lasting impression. He never saw his success as self-made. He saw it as grace. And he made sure my brother and I carried that memory forward.

That legacy became a quiet force in me.

Simon Sinek’s Start with Why teaches that leaders inspire action by communicating from the inside out. The Golden Circle begins with Why—our purpose, cause, or belief. From that flows How—our guiding values—and finally What—the visible actions we take. While most people communicate from the outside in, the most inspiring leaders start with why.

Over the years, I have come to understand my why.

I serve not because I am trying to repay something, but because I believe deeply in what it means to lift others. I have had people walk with me, believe in me, teach me, open doors for me. None of that was owed. It was grace. And I do not want to hoard what I have received.

When I have more than I need—not just income, but also time, experience, networks, or knowledge—I see it as a resource to serve. To pass it on. To be that teacher, that encourager, that open door for someone else.

Whether I am volunteering with a community group, mentoring a younger colleague, or listening to someone’s struggle—service reminds me that leadership is not about recognition. It is about contribution.

In Start with Why, Sinek wrote, “People do not buy what you do; they buy why you do it.” That is true of leadership. But it is just as true of life.

So here is what I have been reflecting on lately—what is the belief that anchors your actions? And how might you begin to live it out more intentionally today?

Because the next Golden Circle does not begin in a book.

It begins with your life.

And you already have everything you need to draw it.