The Millionaire and The Student

Robert Frost's "The Road Not Taken" is my favourite poem of all time. I feel like it was crafted beautifully for me as at the end of the poem, he mentioned that "I took the one less travelled by, and that has made all the difference." Indeed, all the decisions I made in the past have made all the difference in my life as a seeker of wisdom – I still miserably failed to drive my verbal and textual communications in a wise manner, though.?

Back in 2015, I was challenged by two big decisions in my life whether I would like to take the path of an entrepreneur, which I still strongly desired, or the path of a student. At that time, I was a reservoir engineer and conceptual developer for an energy consulting company. I researched and developed algorithms for the company's in-house software and managed several software development projects. I was not happy to be there because of my passion for entrepreneurship, yet at the same time, I fell in love with mathematics. I believe, still, until today, that passion and love are like a double-edged sword. Use it wisely, folks!

I decided to start my part-time entrepreneurship journey and simultaneously apply for a master's program in applied mathematics. Of course, when you're trying to juggle so many balls at one time, everything will fall apart. Wonderfully, my business went to the garbage bin, and I got rejected from all universities I applied. One day, my friend suggested I apply for the applied mathematics program at Novosibirsk State University, the brain powerhouse for Russia in Siberia. First, I don't know where Novosibirsk is, and second, why should I go to Siberia? To experience being in a Gulag? Anyway, I applied to Novosibirsk State University and received the Russian Government Scholarship with a monthly stipend of $25 per month. I said, "$25 per month. Wow, not bad, though."

Can I survive on $25 per month in Siberia? Of course not! My business collapsed, I wasn't happy at work, and the angel of love has blessed me with a chance to continue my master's in Siberia. Since I didn't have options at hand anymore, I was thinking about leveraging my passion for entrepreneurship to earn money before embracing my lovely mathematics in Siberia. Long story short, I made money for my studies, but later in Siberia, I worked part-time to earn money to survive – yes, I still needed to work.

Where and who is the millionaire in this story? He is my childhood friend. About a month before I departed for Siberia, he persuaded me not to continue my studies but to join him in his retail business. He had just started his business at that time. He said, uncensored, "Do you want to waste your time chasing useless diplomas or become a millionaire?."Now, my heart is wiggling. Of course, I wanted the second one because that is my drive and passion. In the end, I turned his offer down and embarked on my journey as a student. In the end, I chose love on top of money.

Do you know what happened next? After I finished my MSc in Applied Mathematics and Computer Science and obtained my "Red Diploma" equivalent to Dean's List Award, he became a millionaire. Just in two years. I envied him, of course, and resented myself for making the "bad" decision. But then, I continue again to do my PhD. You might think that I am just as clueless as the sloth is.?

However, during the Covid-19 pandemic, his business almost collapsed because of the Covid restrictions. When Covid-19 hit, I was visiting Brown University. Later, I left the US and was stuck at my parent's home in Malaysia. At this time, this millionaire came to me and asked for help in his business. He hired me as a business development consultant (part-time during Covid-19) to restrategize and restructure his business.

I believe you know how this story ends. I successfully boosted his business again by 600% increments in revenue during that hardship period of the Covid-19 pandemic. I also made a handsome fortune from it as I don't provide service for free – you're lucky if you received one from me for free.?;-)

Now, he is still a millionaire making about $1.5M per month, and I'm still a student. But I didn't regret it. I did my retrospective. I forgive myself and let the envy and resentment go from my heart. It wasn't a bad decision but a journey for me.

Throughout my journey as a student, I met and interacted with many successful people, whether they were scientists, entrepreneurs, millionaires, etc. I learned a lot from them, and I love being a student of life so much. That's actually bringing value into my life. I want to be a millionaire (I love wealth, actually). Still, I am a student forever while earning the perks of life. As Robert Frost says in "The Road Not Taken", "I took the one less travelled by, and that has made all the difference." :-)