A few years ago, I was invited to speak to a bunch of smart young people working as consultants. They had the kind of jobs I could only dream about, as I don’t have the necessary string of letters after my name, except for a few I invented myself which apparently don’t count.

At the question-and-answer session at the end of the talk, somebody asked me what one-word piece of advice I’d give to young people.

Usually in such a setting, wise old farts like me who are invited to speak to such an audience would’ve said something deep and wise, especially when facing a bunch of people (consultants) who supposedly keep the world rolling, in spite of the dearth of proof supporting such a claim, and many proofs to the contrary.

I would have been supposed to say something like “value” – as in adding to shareholders’ value, as in making them even richer. But regardless of what business schools say, that’s not a concept that I cared for much during my working career or after it.

Don’t get me wrong. I was part of many teams that added great value to shareholders in all of my jobs. In one instance, I was part of a team that topped the table for three consecutive years in its sector across the entire Asia-Pacific region of those adding such value to shareholders.

I just think such a concept is a mask for greed that has caused untold harm to society ever since it was popularised. There’s never a “reasonable” way of adding shareholders’ value – there’s only an all-out damn-the torpedo way, regardless of casualties and costs.

If that brands me as a bleeding-heart socialist, then so be it. Many people see socialism as the antithesis of capitalism – that particular “ism” that had raised billions out of poverty – and as irrational, even evil.

Socialism and heaven

In my simple heart though, socialism is just about caring for and protecting the weakest members of society. Socialism on earth may be fraught with controversies, but I can tell you of one place where socialism is the norm: heaven.

Whether you believe in heaven or not, you would know that it’s a place where colour and creed and status and wealth don’t matter; where everybody is healthy as a right and not a privilege; where people don’t worry about their next meal; or about being victims of greed and injustice.

If that’s a good enough goal for most of us to shoot for after we die, why can’t it be a goal for us when we are still alive?

Alternatively, my one-word answer could be “values” – a much-overused word often bandied around by those in positions of power and leadership.

Having the right values apparently will allow you to increase shareholders’ value – even if that’s not explicitly admitted – as well as bring the greatest good to all the stakeholders because that’s the “right” thing to do.

That second part sounds like the socialist ethos as reflected in whatever we all know and accept as heaven.

But that doesn’t rank high in my books either, given the greed behind the desire to make the shareholders’ rich as well as the prancing around in society as if you’re the most virtuous of angels.

It wasn’t the answer that I gave.

I didn’t have to think much about the answer. It’s something I believe in wholeheartedly. There’s no debate in my mind.

One word to rule them all

What I said without much thinking was this: travel.

That answer certainly raised a few eyebrows, and thankfully, a few curious and expecting looks. Perhaps these young people, even if they’re consultants, still hold some hope of turning out to be good people after all!

Why travel you may ask, as many of them certainly did ask me. My answer is simple. Apart from struggling to do the right thing as a productive member of society and fulfilling your duty to your loved ones, what else is there that’s important?

For the longest time I have been guided by something I heard a long time ago: that the saddest thing in life is to be the richest on the day you die. I can’t fathom why anybody would labour and scrimp and save just to have the greatest amount of wealth on your last day on Earth.

For most people, it’s very unlikely you’d be at your richest on the day you die, if during your life you had done all the right things: taken care of your loved ones, saved for rainy days especially down the road and helped others who are less fortunate than you.

You can game this thing by bequeathing all or most of your riches to family or friends or causes, but if it’s merely done to exploit loopholes, then that’s actually cheating, and you won’t get my support to go to heaven, if such support is needed.

I’ve told my children not to expect much after I pass on. I’ve spent a considerable sum to give them the best life that I could, especially to give them the best possible education my money can buy and their brain can handle.

Assuming I don’t do a Dr Mahathir Mohamad and live past the century mark, or even anywhere close to it, then I’d probably be able to pay all the bills and still have a few pennies left over for travelling.

And travel I do. Since I made the decision to retire seven years ago, I’ve spent well over a year on the road to all parts of the world. And that is in spite of the few years when we were all confined, or rather locked down, because of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Why you travel does matter.

If all you care about is to tick off buckets lists and post on social media, then you’re not quite my kind of people, nor I yours.

Same with if your travels are business ones either to spread good company values or increase shareholders’ value. These don’t count with me.

I wouldn’t even say you need to travel to open yourself to new things, as you’re already an open person if you believe this. And if you travel not to go somewhere but to run away from something, then you need to take a long hard look at yourself.

See it while it lasts

Here’s why you should travel: the world is an incredibly wonderful, beautiful, ever changing place that’s also under threat from many sources, both human and natural.

In the one life that you have, go and see as much of it as you can.

Some of those things are incredibly rare and fragile and may be gone one day, just as you yourself will be. Don’t wait.

You also need to travel so you can open your eyes to see how the rest of your brothers and sisters and cousins – other members of the human race – live. If you look at them with a heart that’s generous enough, you’ll see that, in spite of the surface differences such as language and customs and beliefs, we’re all the same underneath.

We love and care for and worry about our loved ones. We’re willing to sacrifice for them, even if sometimes the willingness is misguided and the sacrifices made are unnecessary, wrong or even cruel. We’re humans after all. We’re all works in progress.

Travel, if done with an open heart, will lay bare the lie that many constantly make in their quest for power or driven by fear and insecurity: that lie is that we’re all different, and that some of us are better and more worthy and more valuable than others.

Such beliefs, if taken to extremes, will cause much harm to humanity and in my mind, will guarantee you don’t get to go to the socialist heaven.

Of course, not all people can travel, an activity that comes with a cost, both financial and otherwise.

But travelling doesn’t have to be big grand events which are the highlights and defining moments of your life. They can be simple ones that you can sneak in whenever the opportunity meets the desire.

Some of my best travel experiences were done either locally or to nearby places. Our eyes need to be open not just to the germ far away, as the Malay proverb says, but also to the elephant right in front of our noses.

It could very well be actual, and not just proverbial, elephants too. Malaysia is still blessed with these creatures running wild in the jungles, which I’ve had the pleasure to witness.

Ultimately the best aspect of travelling is the desire and willingness to experience something new and to accept that we’re all worthy of our existence regardless of whatever superficial differences that divide us.

If that happens, it will truly mean that we’ve lived a life that our Creator had meant for us – heaven may not be so unlikely after all.

The views expressed are those of the writer and do not necessarily reflect those of FMT.