Insights, stories, and field notes.

Today feels special. My first TEDx talk crossed 1,000 views - just as I complete another lap around the Sun! It's hard to imagine a better way to celebrate than by saying THANK YOU.

Thank you to everyone who watched, shared, messaged, or simply told me that the talk resonated with them. I am grateful that something I've believed in for years - that nobody teaches you the life skills that truly matter, and you must take ownership of your own learning - is finding its way into people's lives.

In the talk, I share stories and mistakes that shaped me - the moments where life taught lessons no degree ever covered. Using the world of Formula 1 as a metaphor, I speak about the MINDSETS that matter once the real race begins:

• Growth mindset when your car isn't running the way you hoped
• Purpose-driven mindset so you choose the right track
• No-comparison mindset so you focus on improving your own lap time
• Abundance mindset to start the race even when you're not fully ready
• and timeless grounding from the Bhagavad Gita

But the real message is simple: You are the driver of your own learning. It's time to take the wheel.

Thanks to my wife CA Jagariti Mathur for helping me live the Abundance mindset and to my friend Avi Z Liran for guiding me. I am constantly learning to improve and would love to hear your feedback.

We haven't had non-vegetarian food or alcohol since Jan 1, 2025.

Not because of a health reason.

Not because of a doctor.

But because of a book.

I always assumed you read The Bhagavad Gita when you're older - perhaps when you finally have time for reflection.

But last year, at a kids' art event in a Singapore temple, we picked up 'The Gita for Children' by Roopa Pai.

We read it together, and it changed what we think about purpose, discipline, and even what we consume.

While we are still learning and processing, here are a few lessons that stuck and actions we took:

1. Purpose & Duty (Karma, 2-47)
Find your purpose and do your duty. Find joy in the work itself, not in the result. Result is not only due to you, at the same time inaction is not an option.
ACTION: Reflect on my life's purpose and start bringing it to life.

2. States of Being (Sattva, Rajas, Tamas, 17-8)
The Gita says our mindset flows from three gunas or qualities: Sattvik (goodness/calm), Rajas (restless drive/passion), Tamas (dullness/inertia). We become what we consume - food, content, conversation, people.
ACTION: Move from restless Rajas to calmer Sattvik. Give up meat and alcohol.

3. Mind is Fickle (Chanchalam hi Manah, 6-34)
A happy mind is one free from fear and doubt (and this is most difficult to achieve). Self-discipline is like a muscle built regularly through hard work and sacrifice. In order to achieve Happiness, you need Self-Discipline + Faith.
ACTION: Quiet the self-doubt that clouds focus.

In the current world where uncertainty and anxiety are running high, we felt this brought a lot of calmness and strength.

The book is in a story form, rife with examples that appeal to both kids and adults. This timeless wisdom should be spread and discussed more widely.

Curious to hear if anything of late has made you change a daily habit or belief?

A decade of leadership distilled into ten lessons.

Taking inspiration from Arjun Purkayastha, I have been extracting one lesson from every year over the last decade:

2016: If something is not working, accept it. Seek how you might need to do things differently to improve. Learn from peers instead of defending old ways.

2017: Assert yourself. Being 'nice' all the time lets people take you for granted.

2018: Experiencing is different than knowing. Doing a Sales job and actually delivering the target every month is a different ball game than just knowing about it.

2019: Choose your balance between Scale vs Perfection. Businesses can have different needs over time.

2020: Take the time to build relationships. Show your full self at work and how you are feeling.

2021: Learn when to trust your intuition. Be willing to make gut calls, even when they're unpopular.

2022: Fast and clear decisions beat perfect but late decisions.

2023: Shift from servant leadership to impact leadership: "How can I help you?" becomes "What do you need to succeed at your goal?"

2024: Sometimes you have to be ambitious and even unreasonable to challenge teams and discover what's truly possible.

2025: Abundance mindset. Go for things even when you don't feel fully ready. Show up every day. Never stop learning.

One lesson per year changed how I operate.

Thanks a lot Arjun for the inspiration. Which lesson resonates the most with your own journey?

One hallmark of great leadership (both leading self and others) is fairly fast decision-making. I have seen some leaders jumping into decisions too quickly by themselves, and some who keep mulling over and do not decide. In both cases, the teams are left de-spirited - in the first people are unhappy that a decision has been made in which they didn't have a say, while in the second people are longing for direction which they do not get in a timely fashion. Over the years I too have gone through a learning curve and would like to share my conclusions here:

First it is helpful to identify which decisions are less important and which are more important.

For less important decisions - Make them quickly. Even better if you delegate.

For more important decisions:

• Set the decision-making principles - what are the key criteria, Stop/Continue if XX happens, Research for YY hours, etc. Make sure to really listen to what the team is saying.
• Limit options and do not look for the perfect answer - critical decisions are sometimes experiential and ironically difficult to get to a universally acceptable conclusion.
• Don't hesitate to use intuition - for some of the biggest decisions you need a leap of faith. I am not saying don't look at the data, but trust your intuition if it is telling you something else.

Reminder: While it is good to ask input from various stakeholders, in my experience it is critical to make decisions quickly - even if there is limited or ambiguous information.

Often you will find yourself in situations when the team is asking you for a tough decision between two options, you see merit in both and would like to delay the decision. Remember to fight that urge and make a decision IN THE MOMENT.

Let go of the anxiety and the fear of the potential loss if the decision is wrong, instead think of the loss of people's time and mind space when they do not get clarity/decision in time.

Make a greater impact by giving greater clarity to the teams around you.

Be Fearless. Be Bold.

I was in the gym the other day and it struck me how Leadership requires maintaining a balance between so many paradoxes. Here are a few:

First, the balance between being caring and demanding - between being close to your team and taking great care of them, BUT also giving tough feedback when needed and being demanding to ensure work of the highest standards. I have often seen new leaders - in order to gain the support of their teams - shy away from giving the feedback that needed to be shared. Only later do they realize that by doing so, they undermined their own ability to deliver. In the leadership literature, this balance is referred to as the 'Standards-Devotion matrix' by Frances Frei and Anne Morriss in their book 'Unleashed' (HBR Press, 2020), or as 'Radical Candor' (St Martin's, 2019) by Kim Scott.

Second, the balance between having humility and ambition - between being humble to let others take centre stage and believe you are still learning, BUT also showcasing your achievements and demanding bigger roles. Some of us do a lot of self-promotion which is not ideal, while some believe that no promotion is required and that 'results speak for themselves'. While we are ok to do full-scale marketing of all our products, why do we hesitate in promoting ourselves?

Third, the balance between trusting your intuition and listening to others - this one is hard, as conventional wisdom highlights the importance of seeking others' opinions. In my experience, however, there are times when you should trust your gut even when the rest of the team and the facts point in a different direction. You are in a position because of what you have seen - maybe in similar situations earlier or in different businesses. Your gut is what it is because of those experiences. Trust it - it is telling you something. Needless to say, you should not do this all the time.

Lastly, the balance between short term and long term - staying focused to deliver the month while thinking a few years out. There are conflicting priorities, and making choices on resource allocation and aligning with senior management can help.

So, what does this mean and what can you do with this understanding?

First, leadership is an art, and different situations will require you to operate differently. It is not easy to get it right every time - but is ok as long as you continue to learn.

Second, reflect on the above, identify which skill you have to develop, and put CONSCIOUS effort to do so. For the 'nice people' out there, you need to get more demanding if you intend to develop your people, even if it makes you uncomfortable. Similarly, if you always trust your gut, perhaps it is time to start rethinking your opinions based on listening to others.

Would love to hear if any other paradox comes to your mind.

What is the irony behind critical decisions?

Standard thinking would suggest that the more important the decision you are about to make, the higher effort you should put to arrive at a universally best decision: consider all possible OPTIONS and have clear decision-making criteria.

Only thing is it doesn't turn out this way.

For really critical decisions (whom to marry, which city to retire in, which company to acquire, etc.), you consider very few options as there is no way you can think of all potential options. This is because:

1) Most critical decisions are experiential - you cannot choose a partner without experiencing how it is to be with him/her (duration can vary significantly), which makes the decision-making process infinitely long if you consider many options.
2) Options that are available today might not be available tomorrow - a country might make it more difficult for immigrants to enter, a potential partner might decide to be with somebody else, etc.

While you need to be clear about the decision-making criteria, at the end it often takes a leap of faith which cannot be modeled as a mathematical formula.

Due to the above, you might not feel confident you have made the right decision, not get support/agreement from close family/friends, and might have a lingering uh-oh feeling.

On the other hand for less critical decisions (where to have dinner tonight, which SKU to drive during an upcoming campaign), you can consider all the options, put clear criteria and arrive at a decision - one that people are likely to agree with.

I find it fascinating that we feel least confident about our most critical decisions. I often see many colleagues and family members trying to look at more and more options and remind them about the importance of moving ahead with a decision even if they have not considered many options.

What do you think? How do you make big decisions vs small decisions?

Should one make new year's resolutions?

We are coming to the end of six weeks in the new year and can be a good time to ask this question and check how we are doing vs our goals.

In case you are behind vs goals, can I guess it is due to a combination of not having enough focus or discipline? You had too many resolutions (not enough focus) and no system to track the progress (not enough discipline)?

It was like this for me for many years but I changed things in 2022.

I had ONLY ONE resolution - writing (focus) broken down into trackable activities - 2 posts a month against which I tracked my progress (discipline). I realized in the middle of the year that I was behind vs my target and had to give up something (late night chitchats with family) in order to make more time for this. Ending the year ahead of target was highly fulfilling.

So if you have always wanted to exercise more, play a new sport, write a book, look for a job change, start financial planning - and put them as your new year resolutions, but are seeing mixed progress, I would like to remind that it is possible to achieve your resolutions as long as you can:

1) BE FOCUSED - pick only one resolution and don't jump to another until you have achieved your goal.
2) BE DISCIPLINED - track your progress and course-correct if needed.

Welcome any comments, critiques, or inputs.

Really? Half of 2022 is already over? Pretty sure the first thought that comes to your mind on realizing this is "wow - isn't time just flying"? With everything that is going on right now, some might even feel that the world has gone crazy.

Key takeaways from this:

1) Time runs by quicker than we expect - we might not have time to do all the things we aspire to. Think about what REALLY matters to you and what you can drop to make time for it (your capacity is finite, so yes you will need to drop something).
2) Don't get distracted or hassled with all the craziness around us. The need to stay focused on what we want to do has never been greater.
3) Creating specific goals for personal aspirations brings us closer to achieving them.

To share my example: I set specific personal goals at the start of the year - how many books I want to read, how many pieces of content I will create, etc. As I evaluate myself at this half-yearly mark, I am doing well on my target of reading (50%+ achieved vs year target) and other personal goals, but I am behind on writing (only 25% achieved vs year target). So, I will be prioritizing 'writing' in the next few months - that I aim to achieve by sleeping early (I will drop late-night chitchats) and dedicating early mornings twice a week.

How are you doing on your goals? What will you do differently in the balance half of the year to achieve them?

My dad used to say this often. As I complete 6 years at the LEGO group this month, I couldn't agree with this more. It has been an incredible journey of learning and self-development, but it has taken time and this last year many of our long-held dreams came to fruition:

We opened an awesome LEGO Certified Store in Singapore at an iconic location - next to Universal Studios.

We were fortunate to partner with the Singapore Zoo to bring the LEGO experience to thousands of kids, and this was rated as the #1 activity for kids during the holidays.

We launched a localized campaign in Indonesia to explain the LEGO play proposition to millions of families who have not grown up with the brand.

We announced plans to build a new factory in Vietnam by investing more than USD 1bn (our first carbon neutral run factory).

My key reflections:

1) Patience is under-rated. Dream big, stay focused, keep your standards high, but also be patient for things to happen at the right time. All big successes happen after years of effort. It helps to be patient and to keep a Growth Mindset to improve constantly.
2) Having the right team and mentors is THE MOST CRITICAL part of the mix. We could achieve/initiate the above only because of our awesome teams and leaders in SouthEast Asia, APAC, and in various global teams.

Now onto 2022 and beyond, we have so many more ambitions, so many more kids to reach, and with new dreams popping up, it seems we have just started.

Looking to start/renew your journey of reading with non-fiction / self-development books, but don't know where to start? Well, I received this question from three different people since the beginning of the year, and instead of replying to the last request on WhatsApp, I thought might as well post broadly.

A brief intro for those who don't know me well: I have always loved reading and sharing about my latest reads with friends/colleagues/family, but have really championed it in the last few years, reading 20+ books per year and gifting close to 50 copies of my favorite books every year. Let me know if you would like a gift this year.

Here is my recommended list of the ten greatest books on self-development, leadership and business for those who have not read a lot in this area. Most of these are relatively easy to read and have a good mix of theory and practical examples:

1. Mindset (Carol S. Dweck, 2017): A liberating way to approach life, as per which everything great is work in progress. A must-read and the book I have gifted most often.

2. Winning (Jack Welch, 2005): Probably the best book on business and leadership out there. Great advice which I keep referring to regularly. Often while facing a difficult situation at work I am reminded of some of the learnings: "Don't run for office. You are already elected." Or how Candor is the biggest dirty little secret in business.

3. Good to Great (Jim Collins, 2001): One of the most popular business books. Concepts introduced in this book like Level 5 leadership, Stockdale's paradox, Flywheel and Hedgehog concept have become almost legendary.

4. Shoe Dog (Phil Knight, 2016): An adrenalin-pumping story of how Nike was built. If you are not into non-fiction and would like to start somewhere, this could be the perfect start.

5. Hit Refresh (Satya Nadella, 2017): A great read on leadership, empathy, and how to drive change. Learn how to transform an organization and a bit about partnerships and technology.

6. Barking up the Wrong Tree (Eric Barker, 2017): Wonderful perspectives and insights about success. References existing books/case studies and intriguing chapter headings such as 'Do nice guys finish last' and 'Work work work...or work life balance'.

7. Atomic Habits (James Clear, 2018): Given changing habits is so difficult, this easy-to-read and practical guide about small changes every day makes change plausible - perfect to pick up at the beginning of the year to help with your resolutions.

8. Think Again (Adam Grant, 2021): Newest in this list, asking us to be open to rethinking our point of view like a scientist for both business and personal aspects as well as kids. Be prepared to toss out some conventional wisdom.

9. Life's Missing Instruction Manual (Joe Vitale, 2006): I learned some important life lessons from this book such as only you are in control of your feelings and the Law of Attraction. Wish I could have read it earlier.

10. 7 Habits of Highly Effective People (Stephen R. Covey, 1989): No such list would be complete without this iconic book which inspired training programs in so many organizations. Behaviors such as 'Begin with the end in mind' and 'Sharpen the saw' which are a part of the popular lexicon today were first introduced here.

One last note before I end this: it is great to aspire to read more, but if it doesn't give you joy, please don't kill yourself to do it. Secondly, the objective is to learn - so it is not really about how many books you read, but how many you really learn from and how that changes your thinking and behavior.

Let me know if you would like any specific recommendations given your interests. Also feel free to drop a message if you think a book should have been included and is not on my list.

I won the lucky draw at the Asia Professional Speakers Singapore Annual Convention. But the real prize was everything that came before it.

Two days with some of the world's best professional speakers - and every session was a masterclass.

My key takeaways:

1. Develop a strong business case: Speakers need to be fundable by businesses (organizations pay for professional development and not personal empowerment) and need to create REAL IMPACT (much beyond the training scores). Sometimes it can require us to work beyond the keynote for a workshop, or even an advisory role. Thank you David Avrin, Su-Yen Wong (CSP), Kenneth Kwan (CSP) for the insights.

2. Become a true expert in your domain: Speakers need to define their capabilities, the light that guides them, and develop REAL EXPERTISE. We need to keep on learning - and at times this might require us to reframe our identity. If you speak about Dunning-Kruger, read the actual paper. Thank you Heather Hansen, Dr. Tanvi Gautam, and Derek Ariss for the provocations.

3. Best practices for a keynote: Scott Friedman on storytelling - half the words, power of the pause, self-deprecating humour, don't always be the hero. Paul N Larsen on audience prep - know the REAL PROBLEM in the room before you walk in. Talk with, not at. Tara Saxon on pricing - price is a problem, value is what you bring.

I have so many more - enough for a year's action and practice. Thank you Dr. Jerome Joseph (CSP), Nick Jonsson, Michael Arnot for the inspiration.

It was a privilege to be in that room with so many generous, exceptional people. Superb organization thanks to Terence Choo, Dr. Damini Chawla, Eugene Seah and team. Congratulations to Andrew Chow (CSP), Scott Friedman, Happy Coach Yuantai Liu for the very well-deserved awards. Thanks to Joe Augustin and Dona Amelia, Guan Hin Tay and Karolina Gwinner for being the most wonderful emcees one could ask for.

As for the lucky draw - I did win one and details are coming. Let's just say it gives me wings to start flying towards my first dream.

Honored to have been invited by the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) to share thoughts on innovation at MHA Innovation Month kickoff last week. The event was attended by over 300 staff and officers, including Permanent Secretary (Home Affairs) Mr Pang Kin Keong and Permanent Secretary (Ministry of Social and Family Development) Mr Aubeck Kam.

My sharing consisted of case studies from our work at LEGO South East Asia bringing out the necessary behaviors to drive Innovation: Curiosity to really know your consumer and their behavior, Collaboration both internally and externally, and a 'Yes, and' Mindset that propels us to think and go for the unachievable but also embrace failures.

Creativity and Imagination are key values at The LEGO Group and we are always using the above behaviors to drive innovation. We have had many amazing successes with LEGO Super Mario being a great example, but also some failures that have helped us learn and keep on improving.

It was also great to hear from representatives from DHL and Amazon Web Services on how they are driving innovation. It was great to hear more about the Amazon flywheel and upcoming innovation as well as about DHL's innovation in automation that has helped improve their workers' safety. In our panel discussion, we also discussed the importance of leadership in driving innovation and how to overcome the fear of failure.

A little bit about MHA for the unknown: MHA has 7 departments (such as SG Police Force, SCDF, ICA, among others) and 3 statutory boards (such as Yellow Ribbon SG, HTX, among others) and they collectively take care of our safety and security. The team is constantly innovating to ensure readiness and ability to respond effectively in order to serve the public better. It was amazing to see their focus on innovation, the hunger to learn from the corporate world, and a desire to reapply and not necessarily reinvent the wheel - I left in great respect for the team.

Honored to share the speaking stage with some amazing people at ICON 2022 this week in Jakarta. Spoke on 'The Power of Collaboration' where I shared some of the iconic partnerships we have created at The LEGO Group together with our learnings.

Thanks a lot GDP Venture for organizing this conference with a wonderful cross-section of experts who are at the forefront of business, technology and marketing. I leave energized with the progress of development in Indonesia, humbled by the deep love for the LEGO brand, and excited with the many ideas and potential partnerships we discussed.

My learning from this experience:

1) Doing something different drives great learning. I have been to Jakarta more than a dozen times, but this time the agenda was completely different and it enabled me to talk to (and learn from) so many people. Also fantastic to see the development in Indonesia's creative economy, rural infrastructure and to experience the new MRT in Jakarta.
2) Consumer is Boss. This first principle from P&G keeps coming back in various forms all the time. Martin Lindstrom reminded us about the need of Empathy and asked several times: "when was the last time you spoke to your consumers?"
3) Growth in Indonesia is currently being driven by smaller brands. Big brands need to come across as authentic to win market share. A few ways could be partnerships with influencers and other brands - who share the same values.

Lastly, big respect for our panel: Marcel - for helping so many brands grow in Indonesia. Jacqueline - for setting up Kokumi (drinks brand) which now operates 70 stores in Indonesia. And Samira - for creating Tinderlust (preloved designer fashion platform) and Stellar Women (community for women with 15k members).

So the next time you have a chance to visit somewhere different or try something different, go ahead and check it out.

10,000+ attendees. 16 speaking sessions. Exhilarating and energizing.

Proud to share that I was able to share my insights and learning with more than 10,000 people over 16 speaking engagements in the last 8 months. Most were on topics of Leadership, Diversity and Inclusion, Brand building and Partnerships. Some were internal at the LEGO Group, some linked to PR for LEGO commercial activities in SEA, some in external organizations such as Citibank, Grab, Johnson and Johnson, and some at external conferences such as ICON and FUTR - across four cities in South-East Asia: Singapore, Kuala Lumpur, Jakarta, and Bangkok.

Big Thanks to Helena for providing me the first platform to start doing this a couple of years ago, and grateful to so many people for providing these opportunities, encouragement and feedback: Amrita, Ira, Jeremy, Cesar, Claus, Claudia, Zhi Vern, Jeannie, PeiSi, Eline, Munah - so blessed to have your support.

Preparing for each of these sessions was highly energizing and made me reflect and refine my learning - in turn helping improve my focus both at work and outside. It was also a great way to meet some amazing people, learn from their journeys, hear their challenges, and find ways to help them.

If you are looking for a speaker for your next organization event or for a conference related to these topics, feel free to reach out.

What makes Singapore work?

Senior Minister Lee Hsien Loong, in one of his last speeches as PM a few months ago, mentioned three imperatives:

1) Social cohesion
2) Long-term planning
3) Political stability and trust

To bring it down to three - for any country or even an organization, is frankly, quite amazing.

Here I want to share a bit about #1 - which is becoming a bigger problem across the world as societies get more and more polarized.

One reason why social cohesion exists in SG is that the leaders continue to highlight its importance and drive it. Another is that all kids in primary schools sing 'The National Pledge' everyday. Penned by S. Rajaratnam, one of Singapore's founding fathers in 1966, the pledge has the kids recite "We, the citizens of Singapore,..., regardless of race, language or religion" - one of the simplest yet profound articulations of diversity and inclusion long before D&I became a thing.

The Pledge also mentions values and aspirations - "justice and equality, and happiness, prosperity and progress" - bonding together on things with a near-universal appeal - something the society back then really needed to come together and define the idea of Singapore.

Truly remarkable.

So on this Singapore National Day, I will urge you not just to sing the NDP song or watch the parade, but also to reflect on what makes this country what it is and continue to work to preserve and strengthen it.

I will be taking time to read 'The Lion's Roar' - the recently released authorized biography of S. Rajaratnam, one of Singapore's founding fathers and first Foreign Minister. Friendly, urbane, with strong anti-colonial nationalist credentials, he was respected for his strategic counsel, communication skills, and generosity of spirit. He played an inspirational role during the first decades of Singapore, providing leadership while managing the 1964 racial riots, the Separation in 1965, the crafting of the National Pledge, and his visit to China in 1975 - the first by a Singapore leader after independence.

Regarding the Pledge, Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew had observed: "Given the mood of the people in Singapore at that time, only Raja had the conviction and optimism to express those long-term aspirations in that pledge".

Happy Birthday Singapore.

Last month we celebrated the 25th anniversary of the Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad (IIMA) Alumni Association in Singapore. Alumni associations have a HUGE role to play, and having served as the Secretary of the association as well as in the IIMPACT series of events in the past decade, the event was highly meaningful for me.

The theme Reconnect-Rejoice-Reflect was really apt. Not only did we reconnect and rejoice with old friends and seniors/juniors, but the speakers and panel discussions made us reflect - on two areas in particular:

1) How can we help accelerate the relationship between India and Singapore? Given the big difference in the systems in both countries, there is a certain wariness amongst Singaporean businesses about India - in terms of how to navigate. This highlights a need to educate about the new version of India which is making great strides in the areas of infrastructure, digital innovation, and entrepreneurship. This should be done at various levels - at a policy level (Enterprise SG innovation alliance with their many offices in India), corporate level (employee stints/exchange), industry level (trade associations), and academic level (student exchange programs). With the India fever at a high right now, it might be the best time to accelerate this.

2) How can we enable Indians to better integrate into Singapore and contribute more towards the local community? It is easy to stay in SG and only be in a bubble within your set of friends - so it is important to take the initiative and connect at the grassroots. My family and I have been in SG for 15+ years and the key enablers for our integration were a) sending our kids to local schools, b) developing friendships with local families and joining community volunteering programs, and c) subscribing to the physical copy of The Straits Times - so you get to see everything without a bias from your past interests.

The evening also comprised of signing of a Memorandum of Understanding between IIMA and Singapore Management University (SMU) - two great institutions with similar goals and complementary geographic focus, helping further towards the 1st objective mentioned above.

There was also the launch of a commemorative book outlining the journeys of all the IIMA batches in SG, a standup comic, drinks, DJ, banter, and tempo-shouts within our 2008 batch and across batches - which led to a lot of rejoicing.

Thank you to all the speakers, panelists, and guests of honor: Mr. Piyush Gupta, Mr. Girija Pande, Mr. Lee Chuan Teck, Mr. Seah Chin-Siong, Ms. Nayantara Bali, Mr. Ravi Menon, His Excellency Dr. Shilpak Ambule, Prof. Lily Kong, Prof. Bharat Bhasker, Mr. Suresh V Shankar, among others.

Amazing job to the entire organizing team led by Anand Nandakumar, Rahul Phondke, Niloy Mukherjee, Ravish Kumar, Mum Taggu - for pulling it off in style and making it truly memorable.

Thank you Singapore. It has been 14+ years for me here, and while I always appreciated the rule-based system that is highly efficient and convenient combining the benefits of a first-world country with the convenience of an Asian family setting, I have grown to love this place even more in the last couple of years.

Key drivers were being closer to local families, getting a flavor of the local education system as our daughter is now in Primary 1, visiting the various monasteries and parks, reading and understanding founding father Lee Kuan Yew's memoirs (extraordinary efforts to build a nation), subscribing to the print edition of The Straits Times and understanding the who's who of the local political, cultural and influencer scene.

My biggest reflection and suggestion to immigrants anywhere in the world is to invest in knowing more about the country and the people - going beyond the superficial and really understanding the local culture.

NDP22 theme of 'Stronger Together' is highly appealing:

"...May our deeds define us
And our words remind us
All for one and one for all
Now the road ahead may have just begun
We will leave no one behind
It's in times like these we learn to live..."

Happy National Day Singapore.