30 Lessons in 30 Days - Excuse me, are you a Pencil?

The Pencil Maker took the pencil aside, just before putting him into the box.

“There are 5 things you need to know,” he told the pencil, “Before I send you out into the world. Always remember them and never forget, and you will become the best pencil you can be.”

One: “You will be able to do many great things, but only if you allow yourself to be held in someone’s hand.”

Two: “You will experience a painful sharpening from time to time, but you’ll need it to become a better pencil.”

Three: “You will be able to correct any mistakes you might make.”

Four: “The most important part of you will always be what's inside.”

And Five: “On every surface you are used on, you must leave your mark. No matter what the condition, you must continue to write.”

The pencil understood and promised to remember, and went into the box with purpose in its heart.

Reflections from the Pencil Parable

Lesson 1

There are 2 interesting parts about this first verse. The definition of "greatness" differs among people. The 2nd thing I noticed was a possible difference interpretation of the words 'held in someone's hands'. Let us disregard the spiritual appreciation of these words for this article, and focus on the business interpretation.

The way I see it, we are special in our own ways, and we should not allow our self image to be influenced by others. Trying too hard to please everyone you know is one of the fastest path to low self esteem and depression.

During my university days, I was involved in a late night project discussion with my project mates, when one team member, H, decided to excuse herself, citing the reason that she needed to go home to feed her dog, as her family was overseas and there was no one at home whom she can delegate this task to. When we pressed for her stay a while longer, her response was adamant. "Weixi," she exclaimed, "To you, I am one of many project mates. To my dog, I am her one and only." At that time, I brushed it off as just another excuse. But as I age, I begin to appreciate her reasons for leaving.

To your family, you might be the most important person they look up to. To me, to be able to bring up your kids despite life's circumstances is Greatness. To be able to build a company from scratch, and sustain it for decades is Greatness. To be able to achieve the pinnacle position within your organisation is Greatness. To dedicate your life educating and nurturing our generation is Greatness. To impact and help hundreds and thousands as a social worker is Greatness. To brave the dangers of the Covid-19 as a frontline medical staff is Greatness.

I construe the part of "being held in someone's hand" as the willingness to put in the hard work, and possess a Learning mindset to learn from others who are better than us. No matter what path we take to achieve our potential, one thing is certain, there are sacrifices to be made, and we cannot always do what we want. A Pencil is tool for an artist's expression. As a facilitator, I am just a vessel to distribute knowledge. Without the research of academics as a basis, and the support of the curriculum design team, there is no way I can deliver a satisfactory end product.

Be a Pencil.

Lesson 2

This is related to my previous article about facing adversities. Everyone will make mistakes. What is important is to learn from it, adjust our plans, and bounce back.

Second, like the pencil, every one of us makes mistakes. However, we must learn from the mistakes and continue on. There is no failure, only feedback and our results will remain the same unless we learn from them and do things differently.

Here's a lesser known story about the invention of Double Ended Colour Pencils that was shared with me by an artist from Thailand. In my younger years, there was a particular brand of double ended pencils with a different colour on either end (produced by the now defunct Colleen Pencil Co), that was very popular in Singapore.

According to legend, the inspiration for the design came from an employee working in their R&D division. One fine day, the employee (who had 2 sons), and was trying to teach his younger son how to draw. But the young one was giving him a big headache by complaining to his dad that he wanted more pencils. The younger son's insatiable appetite and constant whining was disrupting the elder son from concentrating, and soon pushed him to his breaking point. In anger, the elder son took one of the traditional colour pencils that they were using, and sharpened off the other end. "Now you have two pencils. Please shut up!" He yelled. Miraculously, he managed to appease his younger brother, and planted the seed for his dad's subsequent invention.

Let's look at life's challenges in a positive way. Our breaking point is our breakthrough point.

Be a Pencil.

Lesson 3

We all make mistakes. The key word here in the third verse is "will". We have the power to make things right. We have the power to say "sorry". We have the power to learn from our mistakes. We have the power to seek out partners who can be our "Erasers". But will we?

Be a Pencil.

Lesson 4

Back to Colleen. The company's initial success has led to many spin-offs (I call this the Bubble Tea syndrome) products, with similar design and packaging, and sometimes lower price. How can a sucker for value like me resist the temptation to try out these competing products? What if, just what if? I can get the same value at half the price? Big mistake Weixi. You get what you pay for. If its too good to be true, it probably is.

I've tried out several "inspired-by" products over the years, some even better looking than the original Colleen. These products usually suffer from the same problem. The lead within the colour pencils break too easily.

Our value in life is not determined by our worldly possessions. Instead, it is determined by our mind, our spirit and our body. Are we doing enough to nurture and strengthen ourselves on the inside? Are we pursing our passion and inspirations? Do we spend time cultivating our minds and purging ourselves of bad habits? Are we nursing a compassionate heart for our neighbours and fellow human beings? No one is perfect, and life is a long journey my friend.

Be a Pencil.

Lesson 5

The show must go on. "You must continue to write". Just as a pencil becomes shorter with constant usage and sharpening, using it to colour, draw or write becomes more difficult. In life, some tasks get tougher with age (shout out to fellow Army mates who are still serving out their NS liability in their 40s!). We must acknowledge our weaknesses and accept that situations can get out of control, and forge ahead with tenacity and resilience.

As Lincoln says, "And in the end, it's not the years in your life that count; it's the life in your years."

Be a Pencil.

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Weixi Tan helps clients to implement impactful change initiatives by addressing the human side of change through the use of psychometrics such as Workplace Big 5 and Strength Deployment Inventory. He also facilitates sessions using award winning online simulations that highlights important principles of change management. All interventions can be conducted in a virtual instructor led environment. He can be contacted at [email protected].