Do money and success change people? No.

RT “@gr8benj: Money and success don't change people they merely amplify what is already there.- #JustSaying”

I came across this quote today and I totally agree. By the way, do follow @gr8benj as his tweets are simply awesome!

So Do money and success change people? No. They only amplify what is already there.

If the person is already greedy, then with more money, the more the greed will grow.

If the person is already a miser, then with more money, the more miserly that person will be.

If that person is already so full of himself/herself, in other words, egoistic, then with success, he will only feel even bigger and be filled to the brim with over inflated ego, like a balloon that can never finish expanding, never popping.

This reminds me of the Malay proverb/peribahasa Melayu: "Bagai resmi Padi, makin berisi, makin menunduk".

Literal Translation: Like the rice grain in the field, the more it is filled, the more bent it is.

In Asian countries, rice is the staple food just like wheat, bread and potatoes are to the West.

The meaning of the proverb is to remind humans that in our daily life, we must emulate the staple food, the rice, by being humble regardless of how much you are filled, be it money, knowledge or fame.

Traditionally when I was a little girl, we learned this proverb in class and the teacher taught us it is to keep highly educated people grounded. Now I'd like to reinterpret it according to my own interpretation - this applies to wealth and success as well as knowledge.

This reminds me of another saying in Chinese: The bigger the tree, the more it will attract stronger wind (and fall).

It is not wrong to feel proud and motivated once in awhile but over inflated ego and a lack of humble nature are a lethal combination as a human. Think about it.

My birthday is in 3 days on Oct 2, hence writing a more philosophical blog post to commemorate an additional year to my age. Oh I feel so wise already, lol, haha just kidding. Happy birthday to me!

P/S: Random pix of hubby's pet goldfish. Goldie, Blackie, Goldfish 1, Goldfish 3, Goldfish 3 and Goldfish 4. I only named two of them. :) Blackie is that black mass in the background, zoom in to see that strong black fish. We call them our babies that we can never cuddle. :)